Ligand-Modified Gold Nanoparticles as Mitochondrial Modulators: Regulation of Intestinal Barrier and Therapy for Constipation.

Intestinal metabolism-related diseases, such as constipation, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and colorectal cancer, could be associated with the dysfunction of intestinal mitochondria. The mitochondria of intestinal epithelial cells are of great significance for promoting intestinal motility and maintaining intestinal metabolism. It is necessary for the prophylaxis and therapy of intestinal metabolism-related diseases to improve mitochondrial function. We investigated the effect of 4,6-diamino-2-pyrimidinethiol-modified gold nanoparticles (D-Au NPs) on intestinal mitochondria and studied the regulatory role of D-Au NPs on mitochondria metabolism-related disease. D-Au NPs improved the antioxidation capability of mitochondria, regulated the mitochondrial metabolism, and maintained intestinal cellular homeostasis via the activation of AMPK and regulation of PGC-1α with its downstream signaling (UCP2 and DRP1), enhancing the intestinal mechanical barrier. D-Au NPs improved the intestinal mitochondrial function to intervene in the emergence of constipation, which could help develop drugs to treat and prevent mitochondrial metabolism-related diseases. Our findings provided an in-depth understanding of the mitochondrial effects of Au NPs for improving human intestinal barriers.

A Review on the Effect of the Mechanism of Organic Polymers on Pellet Properties for Iron Ore Beneficiation.

Iron ore pellets not only have excellent metallurgical and mechanical properties but are also essential raw materials for improving iron and steel smelting in the context of the increasing global depletion of high-grade iron ore resources. Organic polymers, as important additive components for the production of high-quality pellets, have a significant impact on the formation as well as the properties of pellets. In this review, the mechanisms of organic polymers on the pelletizing properties, bursting temperature, and pellet strength at low and high temperatures, as well as the existing measures and mechanisms to improve the high-temperature strength of the organic binder pellets are systematically summarized. Compared with traditional bentonite additives, the organic polymers greatly improve the pelletizing rate and pellet strength at low temperatures, and significantly reduces metallurgical pollution. However, organic binders often lead to a decrease in pellet bursting temperature and pellet strength at high temperatures, which can be significantly improved by compounding with a small amount of low-cost inorganic minerals, such as bentonite, boron-containing compounds, sodium salts, and copper slag. At the same time, some industrial solid wastes can be rationally used to reduce the cost of pellet binders.

Synthesis and Weak Hydrogelling Properties of a Salt Resistance Copolymer Based on Fumaric Acid Sludge and Its Application in Oil Well Drilling Fluids.

Fumaric acid sludge (FAS) by-produced from phthalic anhydride production wastewater treatment contains a large amount of refractory organic compounds with a complex composition, which will cause environmental pollution unless it is treated in a deep, harmless manner. FAS included saturated carboxylic acid, more than 60%, and unsaturated carboxylic acid, close to 30%, which accounted for the total mass of dry sludge. A new oil well drilling fluid filtrate loss reducer, poly(AM-AMPS-FAS) (PAAF), was synthesized by copolymerizing FAS with acrylamide (AM) and 2-acrylamide-2-methyl propane sulfonic acid (AMPS). Without a refining requirement for FAS, it can be used as a polymerizable free radical monomer for the synthesis of PAAF after a simple drying process. The copolymer PAAF synthesis process was studied, and the optimal monomer mass ratio was determined to be AM:AMPS:FAS = 1:1:1. The temperature resistance of the synthesized PAAF was significantly improved when 5% sodium silicate was added as a cross-linking agent. The structural characterization and evaluation of temperature and complex saline resistance performance of PAAF were carried out. The FT-IR results show that the structure of PAAF contained amide groups and sulfonic acid groups. The TGA results show that PAAF has good temperature resistance. As an oilfield filtrate loss reducer, the cost-effective copolymer PAAF not only has excellent temperature and complex saline resistance, the API filtration loss (FL) was only 13.2 mL/30 min after 16 h of hot rolling and aging at 150 °C in the complex saline-based mud, which is smaller compared with other filtrate loss reducer copolymers, but it also has little effect on the rheological properties of drilling fluid.

A review on nanocellulose as a lightweight filler of polyolefin composites.

Nanocellulose (NC) possesses low density, high aspect ratio, impressive mechanical properties, nanoscale dimensions, which shows huge potential applications as a reinforced filler. Polyolefin (PO), represented by polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), has been widely used in industries. Recently nanocellulose/polyolefin nanocomposites (NC/PO nanocomposites) have caught more attention from the application of automotive components, aerospace, furniture, building, home appliances, and sport. In this review, the surface modifications of nanocellulose and polyolefin are summarized respectively, such as surface adsorption modification, small molecule modification, and graft copolymerization modification. The common preparations of NC/PO nanocomposites are discussed, including the melting compounding, the solvent casting, and the in-situ polymerization. The lightweight, mechanical properties, and aging-resistant properties of NC/PO nanocomposites are highlighted. Finally, the potentials and challenges for industrial production development of NC/PO nanocomposites are discussed.

Iron oxide nanoparticles for targeted imaging of liver tumors with ultralow hepatotoxicity.

Even though iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles are promising materials for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents, their biocompatibility and targeting efficacy still need to be improved. Herein, we modified glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) groups on Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4@cGlu-GA) for liver tumor-targeted imaging. To evaluate the biocompatibility of these nanoparticles, we studied their cytotoxicity, hemolysis, and hepatotoxicity. We measured the uptake of Fe3O4@cGlu-GA nanoparticles in normal and liver tumor cells, then we investigated the specificity of Fe3O4@cGlu-GA nanoparticles in mouse models bearing subcutaneous and orthotopic liver tumors. With good biocompatibility and targeting efficacy both in vitro and in vivo, the Fe3O4@cGlu-GA nanoparticles are promising MRI contrast agents with ultralow hepatotoxicity and show great improvement on existing Fe3O4-based nanoparticles.

[Application of fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to non-invasive detection of pleomorphic adenoma of salivary gland in vivo].

In the present work, 20 patients with salivary pleomorphic adenoma were recruited for FTIR spectroscopic measurement. These obtained FTIR spectra were analyzed and compared. It was found that there were significant differences in the spectral features of the skin covering normal salivary gland, pleomorphic adenoma, and carcinoma change of pleomorphic adenoma, such as the changes in peak position, band shape and relative intensity of the bands in the ranges of 1000-1800 cm(-1) and 2800-3000 cm(-1). Pathological diagnosis demonstrated that 2 of the 20 patients suffered actually carcinoma change of pleomorphic adenoma, which is in good agreement with the result of FTIR spectroscopicmeasurement. FTIR spectroscopic m ethodsuggested that pleomorphic adenoma is the intermediate between normal salivary gland and carcinoma change of pleomorphic adenoma.