BSA-Cu3(PO4)2 hybrid nanoflower-an efficient and low-cost nanoenzyme for decolorization of organic pollutants.

The Fenton reaction is one of the most effective methods for treating organic wastewater, which is extremely harmful to humans but difficult to treat. However, finding simple, low-cost, and efficient catalysts for the Fenton reaction remains a challenge. In this study, a BSA-Cu3(PO4)2 hybrid nanoflower (NF) was synthesized to investigate its peroxidase-like activity for the treatment of organic wastewater. Its morphology, composition, and crystallization had been fully studied and the results confirmed that the NFs were successfully prepared. Subsequently, the origin of the peroxidase-like activity of the NFs was further analyzed, with the results suggesting two reasons: (i) the transformation between Cu(I) and Cu(II) and (ii) nano-effects. Additionally, Congo red was selected as the organic pollutant to simulate the decolorization of wastewater. After 3 h, the decolorization efficiency reached 96%. Furthermore, the NFs exhibited good storage performance, maintaining approximately 90% relative activity after storage for 30 days. In summary, the NFs have great application prospects in the treatment of organic wastewater.

Lens culinaris agglutinin inhibits human hepatoma cell migration via mannose and fucose-mediated ERK1/2 and JNK1/2/3 signalling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the main types of primary liver cancer, which shows some abnormal glycosylation, such as the increase of fucose. Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA), a natural plant lectin that can bind to mannose and fucose, has been reported to be antiproliferative to may tumors. However, the effect of LCA on the vitality and migration ability of human hepatoma cells is not demonstrated. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of LCA on vitality and migration in human hepatoma cells and its potential mechanisms. METHODS AND RESULTS: LCA had no significant effect on viability of human hepatoma cells (HCCLM3, MHCC97L and HepG2) and hepatocytes (L02) by CCK-8 kit, but it could inhibit human hepatoma cells migration significantly without affecting hepatocytes by Transwell method. Sugar inhibition assay was used to verify the possible binding site between LCA and human hepatoma cells. The result showed that Mannose- and fucose- related sites were associated with LCA inhibiting human hepatoma cells migration. Moreover, LCA could affect HCCLM3 migration by activating ERK1/2 and JNK1/2/3 signalling pathways. LCA did not affect MMP-2 and MMP-9 of HCCLM3 through gelatinase zymography. However, the results of immunofluorescence standing showed that LCA could reduce the F-actin formation in HCCLM3 via ERK1/2 and JNK1/2/3 signalling pathways. CONCLUSIONS: LCA might inhibit human hepatoma cell migration by reducing the F-actin formation via the mannose and fucose-mediated ERK1/2 and JNK1/2/3 signalling pathway. This result will deepen people's understanding on plant lectin as a drug in tumor glycobiology.

Rapid recognition of volatile organic compounds with colorimetric sensor arrays for lung cancer screening.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in breath can be used as biomarkers to identify early stages of lung cancer. Herein, we report a disposable colorimetric array that has been constructed from diverse chemo-responsive colorants. Distinguishable difference maps were plotted within 4 min for specifically targeted VOCs. Through the consideration of various chemical interactions with VOCs, the arrays successfully discriminate between 20 different volatile organic compounds in breath that are related to lung cancer. VOCs were identified either with the visualized difference maps or through pattern recognition with an accuracy of at least 90%. No uncertainties or errors were observed in the hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). Finally, good reproducibility and stability of the array was achieved against changes in humidity. Generally, this work provides fundamental support for construction of simple and rapid VOC sensors. More importantly, this approach provides a hypothesis-free array method for breath testing via VOC profiling. Therefore, this small, rapid, non-invasive, inexpensive, and visualized sensor array is a powerful and promising tool for early screening of lung cancer. Graphical abstract A disposable colorimetric array has been developed with broadly chemo-responsive dyes to incorporate various chemical interactions, through which the arrays successfully discriminate 20 VOCs that are related to lung cancer via difference maps alone or chemometrics within 4 min. The hydrophobic porous matrix provides good stability against changes in humidity.

Mechanism Research of Platelet Core Marker Prediction and Molecular Recognition in Cardiovascular Events.

BACKGROUND: Thrombosis triggered by platelet activation plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to find platelet combined biomarkers for cardiovascular diseases and investigate the possibility of Concanavalin A (ConA) acting on platelets as a new pharmacological target. METHODS: High-throughput Technology and bioinformatics analysis were combined and groups of microarray chip gene expression profiles for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and sickle cell disease (SCD) were obtained using GEO database screening. R language limma package was used to obtain differentially expressed genes (DEGs). GO, KEGG, and other databases were utilized to perform the enrichment analysis of DEGs' functions, pathways, etc. PPI network was constructed using STRING database and Cytoscape software, and MCC algorithm was used to obtain the 200 core genes of the two groups of DEGs. Core targets were confirmed by constructing an intersection area screening. A type of molecular probe, ConA, was molecularly docked with the above core targets on the Zdock, HEX, and 3D-DOCK servers. RESULTS: We found six core markers, CD34, SOCS2, ABL1, MTOR, VEGFA, and SMURF1, which were simultaneously related to both diseases, and the docking effect showed that VEGFA is the best-performing. CONCLUSION: VEGFA is most likely to reduce its expression by binding to ConA, which could affect the downstream regulation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway during platelet activation. Some other core targets also have the opportunity to interact with ConA to affect platelet-activated thrombosis and trigger changes in cardiovascular events.

Resonance behaviors of encapsulated microbubbles oscillating nonlinearly with ultrasonic excitation.

The resonance behaviors of a few lipid-coated microbubbles acoustically activated in viscoelastic media were comprehensively examined via radius response analysis. The size polydispersity and random spatial distribution of the interacting microbubbles, the rheological properties of the lipid shell and the viscoelasticity of the surrounding medium were considered simultaneously. The obtained radius response curves present a successive occurrence of linear resonances, nonlinear harmonic and sub-harmonic resonances with the acoustic pressure increasing. The microbubble resonance is radius-, pressure- and frequency-dependent. Specifically, the maximum bubble expansion ratio at the main resonance peak increases but the resonant radius decreases as the ultrasound pressure increases, while both of them decrease with the ultrasound frequency increasing. Moreover, compared to an isolated microbubble case, it is found that large microbubbles in close proximity prominently suppress the resonant oscillations while slightly increase the resonant radii for both harmonic and subharmonic resonances, even leading to the disappearance of the subharmonic resonance with the influences increasing to a certain degree. In addition, the results also suggest that both the encapsulating shell and surrounding medium can substantially dampen the harmonic and subharmonic resonances while increase the resonant radii, which seem to be affected by the medium viscoelasticity to a greater degree rather than the shell properties. This work offers valuable insights into the resonance behaviors of microbubbles oscillating in viscoelastic biological media, greatly contributing to further optimizing their biomedical applications.

Effects of medium viscoelasticity on bubble collapse strength of interacting polydisperse bubbles.

Due to its physical and/or chemical effects, acoustic cavitation plays a crucial role in various emerging applications ranging from advanced materials to biomedicine. The cavitation bubbles usually undergo oscillatory dynamics and violent collapse within a viscoelastic medium, which are closely related to the cavitation-associated effects. However, the role of medium viscoelasticity on the cavitation dynamics has received little attention, especially for the bubble collapse strength during multi-bubble cavitation with the complex interactions between size polydisperse bubbles. In this study, modified Gilmore equations accounting for inter-bubble interactions were coupled with the Zener viscoelastic model to simulate the dynamics of multi-bubble cavitation in viscoelastic media. Results showed that the cavitation dynamics (e.g., acoustic resonant response, nonlinear oscillation behavior and bubble collapse strength) of differently-sized bubbles depend differently on the medium viscoelasticity and each bubble is affected by its neighboring bubbles to a different degree. More specifically, increasing medium viscosity drastically dampens the bubble dynamics and weakens the bubble collapse strength, while medium elasticity mainly affects the bubble resonance at which the bubble collapse strength is maximum. Differently-sized bubbles can achieve resonances and even subharmonic resonances at high driving acoustic pressures as the elasticity changes to certain values, and the resonance frequency of each bubble increases with the elasticity increasing. For the interactions between the size polydisperse bubbles, it indicated that the largest bubble generally has a dominant effect on the dynamics of smaller ones while in turn it is almost unaffected, exhibiting a pattern of destructive and constructive interactions. This study provides a valuable insight into the acoustic cavitation dynamics of multiple interacting polydisperse bubbles in viscoelastic media, which may offer a potential of controlling the medium viscoelasticity to appropriately manipulate the dynamics of multi-bubble cavitation for achieving proper cavitation effects according to the desired application.

Bubble pulsation characteristics in multi-bubble systems affected by bubble size polydispersity and spatial structure.

This study seeks to explore the bubble pulsation characteristics in multi-bubble environment with a special focus on the influences of the size polydispersity and the two-dimensional structure of bubbles. Three representative configurations of three interacting bubbles are formed by setting the initial radii of cavitation bubbles and inter-bubble distances appropriately, then the pulsation characteristics of a small bubble are investigated and compared by the bifurcation analysis. The results illustrate that the bubble size polydispersity and two-dimensional structure would greatly affect the bubble pulsations (i.e., the amplitude and nonlinearity of pulsations). Furthermore, the effects of two-dimensional structure are strong at a small inter-bubble distance of the large and small bubbles while the bubble size polydispersity always significantly affects the bubble pulsations for all cases. Moreover, the influences of both bubble size polydispersity and two-dimensional structure can be enhanced as the acoustic pressure increases, which can also become stronger when the large bubble is located at the same side as the small bubble and the initial radius of large bubble increases. Additionally, the effects would also be increased when the tissue viscoelasticity varies within a certain range. The present findings shed new light on the dynamics of multiple polydisperse microbubbles in viscoelastic tissues, potentially contributing to an optimization of their applications with ultrasound excitation.

Fast recognition of trace volatile compounds with a nanoporous dyes-based colorimetric sensor array.

Volatile compounds (VCs) are almost harmful to health even at low concentrations and can be used as potential biomarkers to indicate the risk of diseases. Here we report a new "nanoporous pigment array" constructed with composites of chemically responsive dyes and four nanomaterials that were successfully prepared with expected properties for rapid and highly portable identification of trace VCs. Using the array, clear differentiation has been easily achieved for 16 common VCs at low ppm concentrations within four minutes through the distinguishable difference maps. Based on the pattern recognition of HCA, PCA and LDA, five parallel samples of each VC could be classified accurately with an accuracy of ≥ 91.2%. Additionally, the nanoporous pigment array shows modest stability against the changes in humidity or temperature over a wide range, excellent batch to batch reproducibility and a long shelf life. Compared to current colorimetric sensor arrays only based on diverse chemo-responsive dyes, the improved reactivity of the nanoporous pigment implies that the functionalization with particular nanomaterials is one of most promising paths to further improving the properties of arrays. Generally, the "nanoporous pigment array" presents excellent properties for fast identification of VCs.

[Incidence and prognosis of intra-and extracranial large-artery stenosis in the rural community of Beijing].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence rates of intra- and extracranial large-artery stenosis in the rural community population and its related risk to the development of stroke. METHODS: The study subjects included 1337 residents in the rural community of Beijing. Transcranial Doppler was carried our to examine the relation between intra- and extracranial large-artery stenosis and subsequent cerebrovascular events, with a mean follow-up period of 16.7 months. RESULTS: The incidence densities of cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage in persons without cerebral large-artery stenosis were 410.6 and 351.9/100-thousand person-years, respectively. In the group with large-artery stenosis, the incidence density of cerebral infarction was 3303.7/100-thousand person-years. Data from The Fisher's Exact test showed a significant difference in the two groups (P = 0.004). Cerebral large-artery stenosis (OR = 6.593, 95%CI: 1.712 - 25.390) and smoking (OR = 8.437, 95%CI: 2.327 - 30.598) appeared to be independent risk factors to cerebral infarction. CONCLUSION: Cerebral large-artery stenosis and smoking were independent risk factors to cerebral infarction.