Efficient and reusable photocatalytic river water disinfection by addictive graphitic carbon nitride/magnesium oxide nano-onions with particular "nano-magnifying glass effect".

Photocatalytic disinfection is a promising way to combat bacterial pollution in the water environment. Inefficient use of visible light and undirected diffusion of reactive oxygen species (ROS) reduce photocatalytic disinfection efficiency. Herein, inspired by the concentrating effect of convex lens, photocatalysts with particular "nano-magnifying glass effect" (TCNMgNOs) were designed by embedding magnesium oxide with "converge effect" into the tailored hierarchical triple-shell porous g-C3N4 with "one light multi-purpose effect" to boost the visible-light utilization. Meanwhile, the ATPase hydrolysis homeostasis of bacteria was destroyed by TCNMgNOs to achieve the targeted movement of ROS. The results confirmed that the photocatalytic sterilization efficiency of TCNMgNOs was amplified by 30 times over g-C3N4, which was achieved by focusing visible light, multiple reflecting visible light and light transmission within the porous thin shells as well as the "addictive sterilization mechanism". The sterilization efficiency still maintains 98.8 % (15 min) after 6 rounds recycling and reusing in practical river water disinfection. A novel pathway for fighting against microbial contaminants in natural water was explored.

An improved facile method for extraction and determination of steroidal saponins in Tribulus terrestris by focused microwave-assisted extraction coupled with GC-MS.

An improved fast method for extraction of steroidal saponins in Tribulus terrestris based on the use of focus microwave-assisted extraction (FMAE) is proposed. Under optimized conditions, four steroidal saponins were extracted from Tribulus terrestris and identified by GC-MS, which are Tigogenin (TG), Gitogenin (GG), Hecogenin (HG) and Neohecogenin (NG). One of the most important steroidal saponins, namely TG was quantified finally. The recovery of TG was in the range of 86.7-91.9% with RSD<5.2%. The convention heating reflux extraction was also conducted in order to validate the reliability of this new FMAE method. The yield of total steroidal saponins was 90.3% in a one-step FMAE, while the yield of 65.0% was achieved during heating reflux extraction, and the extraction time was reduced from 3 h to 5 min by using less solvent. The method was successfully applied to analyze the steroidal saponins of Tribulus terrestris from different areas of occurrence. The difference in chromatographic characteristics of steroidal saponins was proved to be related to the different areas of occurrence. The results showed that FMAE-GC-MS is a simple, rapid, solvent-saving method for the extraction and determination of steroidal saponins in Tribulus terrestris.

SCA8 mRNA expression suggests an antisense regulation of KLHL1 and correlates to SCA8 pathology.

An increasing number of inherited neurodegenerative diseases are known to be caused by the expansion of unstable trinucleotide repeat tracts. Spinocerebellar ataxia type 8 (SCA8) has been identified as being partly caused by a CTG expansion in an untranslated, endogenous antisense RNA that overlaps the Kelch-like 1 (KLHL1) gene. Clinically, SCA8 patients show similar features to those with the other SCAs, including limb and truncal ataxia, ataxic dysarthria and horizontal nystagmus, all of which are signs of dysfunction of the cerebellar system. However, allele sizes within the SCA8 proposed pathogenic range have been reported in patients with ataxia of unknown etiology, in individuals from pedigrees with other SCA or Friedreich's ataxia, and in patients with Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia or parkinsonism. These observations suggest that mutation of the SCA8 locus might affect neurons other than the cerebellum. Antisense transcripts are known to regulate complementary sense transcripts and are involved in several biologic functions, such as development, adaptive response, and viral infection. In order to test whether SCA8 affects the KLHL1 expression by antisense RNA in brain cells, we examined the expression pattern of KLHL1 and SCA8 in human tissues and in mouse brain regions. SCA8 expression was colocalized with KLHL1 transcript in many brain regions whose functions are correlated to the clinical symptoms of SCA8 patients. These findings lead to the hypothesis of a possible relevance that SCA8 transcript downregulates KLHL1 expression through an antisense mechanism, which then leads to SCA8 neuropathogenesis.