Proteomics Sequencing Reveals the Role of TGF-ß Signaling Pathway in the Peripheral Blood of Offspring Rats Exposed to Fluoride.

The underlying mechanism of fluorosis has not been fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to explore the mechanism of fluorosis induced by sodium fluoride (NaF) using proteomics. Six offspring rats exposed to fluoride without dental fluorosis were defined as group A, 8 offspring rats without fluoride exposure were defined as control group B, and 6 offspring rats exposed to fluoride with dental fluorosis were defined as group C. Total proteins from the peripheral blood were extracted and then separated using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The identified criteria for differentially expressed proteins were fold change > 1.2 or < 0.83 and P < 0.05. Gene Ontology function annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed using the oeCloud tool. The 177 upregulated and 22 downregulated proteins were identified in the A + C vs. B group. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) signaling pathway significantly enriched. PPI network constructed using Cytoscape confirmed RhoA may play a crucial role. The KEGG results of genes associated with fluoride and genes associated with both fluoride and inflammation in the GeneCards database also showed that TGF-ß signaling pathway was significantly enriched. The immunofluorescence in HPA database showed that the main expression sites of RhoA are plasma membrane and cytosol, while the main expression site of Fbn1 is the Golgi apparatus. In conclusion, long-term NaF intake may cause inflammatory response in the peripheral blood of rats by upregulating TGF-ß signaling pathway, in which RhoA may play a key role.

Incidence, associated factors, and outcomes of acute kidney injury following placement of antibiotic bone cement spacers in two-stage exchange for periprosthetic joint infection: a comprehensive study.

Background: Two-stage exchange with placement of antibiotic cement spacer (ACS) is the gold standard for the treatment of chronic periprosthetic joint infection (PJI), but it could cause a high prevalence of acute kidney injury (AKI). However, the results of the current evidence on this topic are too mixed to effectively guide clinical practice. Methods: We retrospectively identified 340 chronic PJI patients who underwent the first-stage exchange with placement of ACS. The Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes guideline was used to define postoperative AKI. Multivariate logistic analysis was performed to determine the potential factors associated with AKI. Furthermore, a systematic review and meta-analysis on this topic were conducted to summarize the knowledge in the current literature further. Results: In our cohort, the incidence of AKI following first-stage exchange was 12.1%. Older age (per 10 years, OR= 1.509) and preoperative hypoalbuminemia (OR= 3.593) were independent predictors for postoperative AKI. Eight AKI patients progressed to chronic kidney disease after 90 days. A meta-analysis including a total of 2525 PJI patients showed the incidence of AKI was 16.6%, and AKI requiring acute dialysis was 1.4%. Besides, host characteristics, poor baseline liver function, factors contributing to acute renal blood flow injury, and the use of nephrotoxic drugs may be associated with the development of AKI. However, only a few studies supported an association between antibiotic dose and AKI. Conclusion: AKI occurs in approximately one out of every six PJI patients undergoing first-stage exchange. The pathogenesis of AKI is multifactorial, with hypoalbuminemia could be an overlooked associated factor. Although the need for acute dialysis is uncommon, the fact that some AKI patients will develop CKD still needs to be taken into consideration.

Seed-mediated synthesis of gold octahedra in high purity and with well-controlled sizes and optical properties.

We report a facile method for the synthesis of uniform Au octahedra with well-controlled sizes and optical properties by seed-mediated growth. Starting from single-crystal seeds of Au spheres with a uniform size, we could reproducibly obtain Au octahedra with a narrow size distribution (<7% in standard deviation) and in high purity (>90%). Moreover, the edge lengths of these Au octahedra could be readily tuned in a controllable fashion from 16 to 77 nm by varying the amount of seeds, the concentration of HAuCl(4) , or both. We have also investigated the effects of water and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) in the system, as well as the reaction temperature, on the evolution of octahedral shape.

Analytical model for optical bistability in nonlinear metal nano-antennae involving Kerr materials.

Optical bistability at nanoscale is a promising way to realize optical switching, a key component of integrated nanophotonic devices. In this work we present an analytical model for optical bistability in a metal nano-antenna involving Kerr nonlinear medium based on detailed analysis of the correlation between the incident and extinction light intensity under surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The model allows one to construct a clear picture on how the threshold, contrast, and other characteristics of optical bistability are influenced by the nonlinear coefficient, incident light intensity, local field enhancement factor, SPR peak width, and other physical parameters of the nano-antenna. It shows that the key towards low threshold power and high contrast optical bistability in the nanosystem is to reduce the SPR peak width. This can be achieved by reducing the absorption of metal materials or introducing gain media into nanosystems.

Preparation and study of polyacryamide-stabilized silver nanoparticles through a one-pot process.

A one-pot route was illustrated to synthesize stable well-dispersed silver colloids stabilized by polyacrylamide on a large scale. Reduction of silver ions and polymerization of acrylamide occurred almost simultaneously in the absence of a commonly used reducing agent and initiator. A possible mechanism for the formation of silver nanoparticles with bimodal size distribution was proposed. The structure and composition of the obtained nanoparticles were characterized carefully. Furthermore, light scattering simulation and UV-vis absorption studies confirmed that the obtained colloids were the mixture of Ag and Ag2O nanoparticles. The presence of silver oxide layers on the nanoparticle surface should be responsible for the broadening of the surface plasmon band of silver nanoparticles. Ag2O layers could be added or removed from Ag nanoparticle surfaces by the addition of HNO3, HAc, or NaCl solution to the as-obtained silver colloids.

Comparison study of gold nanohexapods, nanorods, and nanocages for photothermal cancer treatment.

Gold nanohexapods represent a novel class of optically tunable nanostructures consisting of an octahedral core and six arms grown on its vertices. By controlling the length of the arms, their localized surface plasmon resonance peaks could be tuned from the visible to the near-infrared region for deep penetration of light into soft tissues. Herein we compare the in vitro and in vivo capabilities of Au nanohexapods as photothermal transducers for theranostic applications by benchmarking against those of Au nanorods and nanocages. While all these Au nanostructures could absorb and convert near-infrared light into heat, Au nanohexapods exhibited the highest cellular uptake and the lowest cytotoxicity in vitro for both the as-prepared and PEGylated nanostructures. In vivo pharmacokinetic studies showed that the PEGylated Au nanohexapods had significant blood circulation and tumor accumulation in a mouse breast cancer model. Following photothermal treatment, substantial heat was produced in situ and the tumor metabolism was greatly reduced for all these Au nanostructures, as determined with (18)F-flourodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ((18)F-FDG PET/CT). Combined together, we can conclude that Au nanohexapods are promising candidates for cancer theranostics in terms of both photothermal destruction and contrast-enhanced diagnosis.

The effect of nanowire length and diameter on the properties of transparent, conducting nanowire films.

This article describes how the dimensions of nanowires affect the transmittance and sheet resistance of a random nanowire network. Silver nanowires with independently controlled lengths and diameters were synthesized with a gram-scale polyol synthesis by controlling the reaction temperature and time. Characterization of films composed of nanowires of different lengths but the same diameter enabled the quantification of the effect of length on the conductance and transmittance of silver nanowire films. Finite-difference time-domain calculations were used to determine the effect of nanowire diameter, overlap, and hole size on the transmittance of a nanowire network. For individual nanowires with diameters greater than 50 nm, increasing diameter increases the electrical conductance to optical extinction ratio, but the opposite is true for nanowires with diameters less than this size. Calculations and experimental data show that for a random network of nanowires, decreasing nanowire diameter increases the number density of nanowires at a given transmittance, leading to improved connectivity and conductivity at high transmittance (>90%). This information will facilitate the design of transparent, conducting nanowire films for flexible displays, organic light emitting diodes and thin-film solar cells.

Fabrication of cubic nanocages and nanoframes by dealloying Au/Ag alloy nanoboxes with an aqueous etchant based on Fe(NO3)3 or NH4OH.

This paper describes a two-step procedure for generating cubic nanocages and nanoframes. In the first step, Au/Ag alloy nanoboxes were synthesized through the galvanic replacement reaction between Ag nanocubes and an aqueous HAuCl4 solution. The second step involved the selective removal (or dealloying) of Ag from the alloy nanoboxes with an aqueous etchant based on Fe(NO3)3 or NH4OH. The use of a wet etchant other than HAuCl4 for the dealloying process allows one to better control the wall thickness and porosity of resultant nanocages because there is no concurrent deposition of Au. By increasing the amount of Fe(NO3)3 or NH4OH added to the dealloying process, nanoboxes derived from 50-nm Ag nanocubes could be converted into nanocages and then cubic nanoframes with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peaks continuously shifted from the visible region to 1200 nm. It is also possible to obtain nanocages with relatively narrow SPR peaks (with a full width at half-maximum as small as 180 nm) by controlling the amount of HAuCl4 used for the galvanic replacement reaction and thus the optimization of the percentage of Au in the alloy nanoboxes.