A Homotypic Membrane-Camouflaged Biomimetic Nanoplatform with Gold Nanocrystals for Synergistic Photothermal/Starvation/Immunotherapy.

Although photothermal therapy (PTT) has great potential for tumor inhibition, this single mode of action frequently encounters recurrence and metastasis, highlighting the urgent need for developing combination therapy. Inspired by established evidence that PTT could induce efficient immunogenic cell death (ICD), we here developed a versatile biomimetic nanoplatform (denoted as AuDRM) for the synergism of photothermal/starvation/immunotherapy against cancer. Specifically, dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully constructed followed by the in situ synthesis of Au NPs in the mesopores. Afterward, a hybrid membrane was coated to facilitate the loading of R837. Upon efficient accumulation in the tumor tissue by homotypic targeting, the pH-sensitive membrane could be jettisoned to ensure the exposure of Au NPs for starvation therapy and the effective release of the immunostimulator R837 for enhancement of immunotherapy. Except for the PTT-mediated tumor ablation, the induction of ICD coupled with the release of tumor antigens could work synergistically with the immunostimulator R837 for inhibiting the primary tumor as well as the metastasis and induce a long-term immune memory effect for tumor inhibition via a vaccine-like function. Thus, this study paves the way for high-performance tumor ablation by the synergism of photothermal/starvation/immunotherapy.

Antiproliferative Activity of Triterpene Glycoside Nutrient from Monk Fruit in Colorectal Cancer and Throat Cancer.

Colorectal cancer and throat cancer are the world's most prevalent neoplastic diseases, and a serious threat to human health. Plant triterpene glycosides have demonstrated antitumor activity. In this study, we investigated potential anticancer effects of mogroside IVe, a triterpenoid glycoside from monk fruit, using in vitro and in vivo models of colorectal and laryngeal cancer. The effects of mogroside IVe on the proliferation of colorectal cancer HT29 cells and throat cancer Hep-2 cells were determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and the expression levels of p53, phosphorylated ERK1/2, and MMP-9 were analyzed by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. The results indicated that mogroside IVe inhibited, in a dose-dependent manner, the proliferation of HT29 and Hep-2 cells in culture and in xenografted mice, which was accompanied by the upregulation of tumor suppressor p53, and downregulation of matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) and phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK)1/2. This study revealed the suppressive activity of mogroside IVe towards colorectal and throat cancers and identified the underlying mechanisms, suggesting that mogroside IVe may be potentially used as a biologically-active phytochemical supplement for treating colorectal and throat cancers.

A Non-sulfided flower-like Ni-PTA Catalyst that Enhances the Hydrotreatment Efficiency of Plant Oil to Produce Green Diesel.

The development of a novel non-sulfided catalyst with high activity for the hydrotreatment processing of plant oils, is of high interest as a way to improve the efficient production of renewable diesel. To attempt to develop such a catalyst, we first synthesized a high activity flower-like Ni-PTA catalyst used in the hydrotreatment processes of plant oils. The obtained catalyst was characterized with SEM, EDX, HRTEM, BET, XRD, H2-TPR, XPS and TGA. A probable formation mechanism of flower-like Ni(OH)2 is proposed on the basis of a range of contrasting experiments. The results of GC showed that the conversion yield of Jatropha oil was 98.95%, and the selectivity of C11-C18 alkanes was 70.93% at 360 °C, 3 MPa, and 15 h(-1). The activity of this flower-like Ni-PTA catalyst was more than 15 times higher than those of the conventional Ni-PTA/Al2O3 catalysts. Additionally, the flower-like Ni-PTA catalyst exhibited good stability during the process of plant oil hydrotreatment.

Preparation and characterization of NiW-nHA composite catalyst for hydrocracking.

The synthesis, characterization and catalytic capability of the NiW-nano-hydroxyapatite (NiW-nHA) composite were investigated in this paper. The NiW-nHA catalyst was prepared by a co-precipitation method. Then Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) were used to analyze this material. In addition, the catalytic capacity of the NiW-nHA composite was also examined by FT-IR and gas chromatography (GC). The results of FT-IR analysis indicated that Ni, W and nHA combined closely. TEM observation revealed that this catalyst was needle shaped and the crystal retained a nanometer size. XRD data also suggested that a new phase of CaWO(4) appeared and the lattice parameters of nHA changed in this system. nHA was the carrier of metals. The rates of Ni/W-loading were 73.24% and 65.99% according to the EDX data, respectively. Furthermore, the conversion of 91.88% Jatropha oil was achieved at 360 °C and 3 MPa h(-1) over NiW-nHA catalyst. The straight chain alkanes ranging from C(15) to C(18) were the main components in the production. The yield of C(15)-C(18) alkanes was up to 83.56 wt%. The reaction pathway involved hydrocracking of the C═C bonds of these triglycerides from Jatropha oil. This paper developed a novel non-sulfided catalyst to obtain a "green biofuel" from vegetable oil.

Clinical observation on acupuncture combined with microorganism pharmaceutical preparations for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome of constipation type / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the best program for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) of constipation type.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ninety-five cases of IBS were randomly divided into 3 groups. Group A (n = 30) were treated by acupuncture combined with microorganism pharmaceutical preparations, group B (n = 35) by oral administration of medicine for loosening the bowel to relieve constipation plus microorganism pharmaceutical preparations, and group C (n = 30) by simple acupuncture.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The total effective rates were 90.0%, 77.2% and 66.7%, in the group A, B and C, respectively, with a very significant differences as the group A compared with those in the groups B, C (P < 0.01), and with no significant difference as the group B compared with that of the group C (P > 0. 05). The intestinal available bacteria, bilidobacteria and lactobacillus, increased and enteric bacilli decreased in varying degrees in the 3 groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupuncture combined with microorganism pharmaceutical preparations has a better therapeutic effect on irritable bowel syndrome of constipation type.</p>