Biosynthesis of SnO2 Nanoparticles Based on Response Surface Methodology and the Study of Their Dye Removal.

Litsea cubeba is an evergreen tree from the Lauraceae family, with the common name of mountain pepper in Taiwan. The extracts from different parts such as the bark, leaf, root and fruit have various medicinal properties and have been extensively used in traditional Chinese medicine. SnO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized using an extract of Litsea cubeba fruit based on response surface methodology (RSM). The phytochemicals present in the extract of Litsea cubeba fruit played a crucial role in the NP formation, which could be confirmed by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the validation of the RSM models and indicated that the quadratic model was highly significant and suitable to represent the response of the NP formation yield. The optimum parameters were determined using the Design Expert Program and were as follows: extract volume ratio 30.0%, pH 6.3 and reaction temperature 44.4 °C. Using the optimal reaction conditions from the central composite design (CCD) of RSM, the SnO2 NPs were prepared and characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The FE-SEM results showed that the SnO2 NPs were spherical, and XRD results showed that the NPs had a tetragonal crystal structure. Furthermore, the photodegradation kinetics of malachite green by the SnO2 NPs was represented well with a pseudo first-order model.

A novel zirconium-based metal-organic framework covalently modified by methyl pyridinium bromide for mild and co-catalyst free conversion of CO2 to cyclic carbonates.

Building metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) covalently modified by onium halides is a promising approach to develop efficient MOF-based heterogeneous catalysts for the cycloaddition of CO2 to epoxides (CCE) into cyclic carbonates. Herein, we report a novel zirconium-based MOF covalently modified by methyl pyridinium bromide, Zr6O4(OH)4(MPTDC)2.2(N-CH3-MPTDC)3.8Br3.8 ((Br-)CH3-Pyridinium-MOF-1), where MPTDC denotes 3-methyl-4-pyridin-4-yl-thieno[2,3-b] thiophene-2,5-dicarboxylate. The structure and composition of this complex were fully characterized with PXRD, NMR, XPS, TEM and so on. CO2 adsorption experiments show that (Br-)CH3-Pyridinium-MOF-1 has a higher affinity for CO2 than its electrically neutral precursor, which should be attributed to the fact that charging frameworks containing pyridinium salt have stronger polarization to CO2. (Br-)CH3-Pyridinium-MOF-1 integrated reactive Lewis acid sites and Br- nucleophilic anions and exhibited efficient catalytic activity for CCE under ambient pressure in the absence of co-catalysts and solvents. Furthermore, (Br-)CH3-Pyridinium-MOF-1 was recycled after five successive cycles without substantial loss in catalytic activity. The corresponding reaction mechanism also was speculated.

Data analysis guidelines for single-cell RNA-seq in biomedical studies and clinical applications.

The application of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) in biomedical research has advanced our understanding of the pathogenesis of disease and provided valuable insights into new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. With the expansion of capacity for high-throughput scRNA-seq, including clinical samples, the analysis of these huge volumes of data has become a daunting prospect for researchers entering this field. Here, we review the workflow for typical scRNA-seq data analysis, covering raw data processing and quality control, basic data analysis applicable for almost all scRNA-seq data sets, and advanced data analysis that should be tailored to specific scientific questions. While summarizing the current methods for each analysis step, we also provide an online repository of software and wrapped-up scripts to support the implementation. Recommendations and caveats are pointed out for some specific analysis tasks and approaches. We hope this resource will be helpful to researchers engaging with scRNA-seq, in particular for emerging clinical applications.

Identification of differentially expressed genes in metastatic and non-metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by suppression subtractive hybridization.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an epithelial neoplasm with high occurrence rates in southern China. The disease often metastasizes to regional lymphnodes at a very early stage. Local recurrences and metastasis occur frequently in patients with NPC and are a leading cause of death, despite improvements on treatment modalities. The molecular mechanism underlying the metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma remains poorly understood, however, and requires additional elucidation. The aim of this study was to explore possible NPC gene candidates that may play key roles in NPC metastasis. METHODS: Subtractive suppression hybridization (SSH) was performed to isolate differentially expressed clones between the metastatic 5-8F and non-metastatic 6-10B nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines. Differentially expressed clones were screened and confirmed by reverse Northern blotting. The sequences of cDNA fragments were subsequently analyzed and compared to known sequences in Genbank. RESULTS & DISCUSSION: The SSH library contained thousands of positive clones. Random analysis of 300 clones by PCR demonstrated that 269 clones contained inserted fragments. Reverse Northern blot confirmed that 20 out of 192 clones examined were significantly up-regulated in the 5-8F cell line. Among these 20 clones, 16 were previously identified genes (flotilin-2, ezrin, pim-3, fli-1, mel, neugrin, znf216, ASB1, raly, UBE2A, keratin6A, TMED7, EIF3S9, FTL, two ribosomal proteins RPL21 and RPL16), two were predicted genes (c9orf74 and MDS006), and two sequences shared no homology with known genes listed in GenBank and may represent novel genes. The proposed functions of the genes identified in this study include cell signal transduction, cell survival, transcription regulation, cell mobility, protein synthesis, and DNA damage repair. Flotillin-2, fli-1, pim-3 and ezrin have previously been reported to be associated with tumor metastasis and progression. The remaining up-regulated genes identified in this study have not been reported to be markers of metastasis and may represent new candidates of NPC metastasis-related genes. The results of this study may provide novel points of therapeutic intervention for NPC.

Comparative pharmacokinetics of arctigenin in normal and type 2 diabetic rats after oral and intravenous administration.

Arctigenin is the main active ingredient of Fructus Arctii for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. In this study, the pharmacokinetics of arctigenin in normal and type 2 diabetic rats following oral and intravenous administration was investigated. As compared to normal rats, Cmax and AUC(0-10h) values of oral arctigenin in diabetic rats increased by 356.8% and 223.4%, respectively. In contrast, after intravenous injection, the Cmax and AUC(0-10h) values of arctigenin showed no significant difference between diabetic and normal rats. In order to explore how the bioavailability of oral arctigenin increased under diabetic condition, the absorption behavior of arctigenin was evaluated by in situ single-pass intestinal perfusion (SPIP). The results indicated that arctigenin was a substrate of P-glycoprotein (P-gp). The absorption difference of arctigenin in the normal and diabetic rats could be eliminated by the pretreatment of classic P-gp inhibitor verapamil, suggesting that P-gp might be the key factor causing the absorption enhancement of arctigenin in diabetic rats. Further studies revealed that the uptake of rhodamine 123 (Rho123) in diabetic rats was significantly higher, indicating that diabetes mellitus might impair P-gp function. Consistently, a lower mRNA level of P-gp in the intestine of diabetic rats was found. In conclusion, the absorption of arctigenin after oral administration was promoted in diabetic rats, which might be partially attribute to the decreased expression and impaired function of P-gp in intestines.

A LC-ESI-MS method for the simultaneous determination of madecassoside and its metabolite madecassic acid in rat plasma: comparison pharmacokinetics in normal and collagen-induced arthritic rats.

To develop a simple and highly sensitive high performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometric (LC-ESI-MS) method for the simultaneous determination of madecassoside and its major metabolite madecassic acid in rat plasma, and compare the pharmacokinetics of the two compounds in normal and collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rats. Glycyrrhetinic acid was used as the internal standard (IS). Chromatographic separation was accomplished on an Inertsil ODS-3 column, using a gradient elution with the mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and water acidified with 0.1% (V/V) formic acid. Detection was achieved by ESI-MS under the negative selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. In normal and CIA rats, madecassoside (30 mg·kg(-1)) was orally administered for 21 consecutive days from the day of arthritis onset. For madecassoside, the linear range was 10-1 000 ng·mL(-1) with the square regression coefficient (r) of 0.998 9, while for madecassic acid, the linear range was 10-500 ng·mL(-1) with the square regression coefficient (r) of 0.996 1. The lower limit of quantification was 10 ng·mL(-1) for both analytes. The intra- and inter-day precision ranged from 1.78% to 13.42% for madecassoside and 2.30% to 14.90% for madecassic acid, and the accuracy was between -0.95% and 6.30% for madecassoside and between -1.48% and 5.34% for madecassic acid. The average recoveries of madecassoside, madecassic acid and IS from spiked plasma samples were > 81%. The developed method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of madecassoside and madecassic acid in rats after an oral administration of madecassoside. During initial 7 days of dosing, the cmax and AUC of madecassoside were greatly decreased and Vd/F was markedly increased in CIA rats, and no significant difference was observed on the first day of dosing. In contrast, the T1/2, cmax and AUC of madecassic acid were significantly increased, and Ke of madecassic acid was greatly decreased in CIA rats compared with normal rats. Along with repeated administration of madecassoside, the differences of pharmacokinetic parameters of both madecassoside and madecassic acid between CIA and normal rats gradually subsided. The pharmacokinetic characteristics of both madecassoside and madecassic acid in rats were significantly altered by arthritis status, and the differences of pharmacokinetic parameters between arthritis and normal rats coincide with the severity of arthritis.