Highly Adhesive and Self-Healing Zwitterionic Hydrogels as Antibacterial Coatings for Medical Devices.

Bacterial infection of medical devices has caused incalculable losses to maintenance costs and health care. A single coating with antibacterial function cannot guarantee the long-term use of the device, because the coating will be damaged and fall off during reuse. To solve this problem, the development of coatings with high adhesion and self-healing ability is a wise direction. In this paper, a multifunctional polyzwitterionic antibacterial hydrogel coating (PZG) composed of amphozwitterion monomer, anionic monomer, and quaternary ammonium cationic monomer was synthesized by dipping UV photoinitiated polymerization. The structure of PZGs was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Ascribing to the hydrogel internal electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bond, and cation-π interaction, the obtained PZGs exhibited high ductility (>1200% strain) and appropriate strength (>189 kPa). Remarkably, PZGs could also adhere firmly on different substrates through noncovalent interaction, and their adhesion could be controlled by adjusting the amount of zwitterionic. Reversible physical interactions in polymer networks endowed hydrogels with excellent self-healing properties. In addition, PZGs exhibit good antibacterial activity and biocompatibility due to the synergistic effect of quaternary ammonium cation and amphozwitterion monomer. This work provides a multifunctional antibacterial coating for medical equipment and has broad application prospects in the biomedical field.

Fabrication of nano-hammer shaped CuO@HApNWs for catalytic degradation of tetracycline.

With widespread and excessive use of antibiotics in medicine, poultry farming, and aquaculture, antibiotic residues have become a significant threat to both eco-environment and human health. In this paper, using hydroxyapatite nanowires (HApNWs) as an ecologically compatible carrier, a novel nano-hammer shaped conjunction with HApNW conjugating CuO microspheres (CuO@HApNWs) was successfully synthesized by in-situ agglomeration method. The catalytic degradation performance of the nano-hammer shaped CuO@HApNWs with Fenton-like activation was investigated by using tetracycline (TC) as a representative antibiotic pollutant. Remarkably, it exhibited excellent catalytic activity, which the removal rate of TC got to 92.0% within 40 min, and the pseudo-second-order reaction kinetic constant was 18.33 × 10-3 L mg-1·min-1, which was 26 times and 5 times than that of HApNWs and CuO, respectively. Furthermore, after recycling 6 times, the degradation efficiency of TC still remained above 85 %. Based on radical scavenger tests and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, it demonstrated that the excellent activity of CuO@HApNWs was mainly attributed to the fact that Fenton-like activation promotes the circulation of Cu2+ and Cu+, the generated main active oxygen species (•OH and O2-•) achieve efficient degradation of TC. In summary, the nano-hammer shaped CuO@HApNWs could be in-situ synthesed, and used as an eco-friendly Fenton-like catalyst for effectively catalytic degradation of organic pollutants, which has great potential for wastewater treatment.

Constituents, Antibacterial Effect, and Cytotoxicity of Essential Oil from Aerial Parts of Notopterygium incisum.

Notopterygium incisum Ting ex H. T. Chang (N. incisum) is a precious Chinese traditional medicine distributed in high-altitude regions of southwest China. The aim of this study was to investigate the composition, antibacterial activity, and cytotoxicity of essential oil from aerial parts of N. incisum. N. incisum essential oil (NI-EO) was extracted by hydro-distillation, and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis showed that the major components of NI-EO were D-limonene (18.42%) and γ-terpinene (15.03%). The antibacterial activity and mechanism study showed that the diameters of inhibition zone (DIZs) of NI-EO against E. coli and S. aureus were 14.63 and 11.25 mm and the minimum inhibitory concentrations were 3.75 and 7.5 µL/mL, respectively. NI-EO not only caused intracellular biomacromolecule leakage and cell deformation by destroying bacterial cell wall integrity and cell membrane permeability, but also degraded the mature biofilm. The low toxicity of NI-EO was demonstrated in an assay on bovine mammary epithelial cells. These results implied that NI-EO was mainly composed of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes and had excellent antibacterial activity and showed low levels of cytotoxicity. It is expected to be applied as a natural antibacterial agent in the future.

Does the Use of a Uterine Manipulator or Intracorporeal Colpotomy Confer an Inferior Prognosis in Minimally Invasive Surgery-Treated Early-stage Cervical Cancer?

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To identify whether the use of a uterine manipulator (UM) or intracorporeal colpotomy conferred inferior short-term survival among patients treated for early-stage cervical cancer. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Tertiary university-based hospital. PATIENTS: 1169 patients with stage IB1 to IB2 cervical cancer. INTERVENTIONS: All patients underwent minimally invasive radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A total of 1169 patients diagnosed with preoperative stage IB1 to IB2 cervical cancer were primarily treated with surgery from 2018 to 2019. The eligible patients had a median age of 48 years (range, 23-76 years), and the median follow-up time was 34 months (range, 3.57-50.87 months). The 2-year overall survival rate of the patients with pathologic stage IB1 and IB2 was 99.8% and 98.8%, respectively, according to the 2018 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging system. Univariable analysis revealed that the UM group had a 7.6-times higher risk of death than that of the manipulator-free group (p = .006), but multivariable analysis clarified that only tumor size (p = .016; hazard ratio, 2.285; 95% confidence interval, 1.166-4.479) and parametrial involvement (p = .003; hazard ratio, 3.556; 95% confidence interval, 1.549-8.166) were independent risk factors for overall survival. There was no statistically significant difference in survival between patients who underwent intracorporeal and protective colpotomy. CONCLUSION: Short-term survival outcomes in women undergoing minimally invasive radical hysterectomy for treatment of early-stage cervical cancer did not differ when a UM was avoided or when a protective colpotomy was performed.

Exploring a Better Adjuvant Treatment for Surgically Treated High-Grade Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of the Cervix.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to explore a better adjuvant treatment for patients with high-grade (HG) neuroendocrine cervical carcinomas (NECC) who had undergone surgery as a primary treatment. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study, which involved women diagnosed as HG-NECC, was conducted in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University. All patients had undergone radical surgery and pelvic lymphadenectomy with a laparotomy or a minimally invasive surgery. An analysis was made of the prognosis of HG-NECC. METHODS: Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) curves were drawn using the Kaplan-Meier method to be compared via log-rank tests. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the independent prognostic factors. RESULTS: A number of 110 patients diagnosed as HG-NECC at the pathological stage IA2 to IIIC2 according to the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) 2018 staging system were initially treated with a primary surgery between 2008 and 2020. The eligible patients had the median age of 42.5 years (range: 22-76), with the median follow-up period of 39.6 months (range: 1.0-156.6). The 5-year OS of the patients at pathological stage I, II, and III accounted for 84.9%, 85.7%, and 60.9%, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed no significant differences in OS and PFS between postoperative chemoradiotherapy and chemotherapy alone (OS: p = 0.77; PFS: p = 0.41). Etoposide plus platinum therapy did not improve OS when compared with platinum plus paclitaxel therapy after surgery (p = 0.71). The univariable analysis showed that chemotherapy with cycles ≥4 presented a better prognosis than with cycles <4 (OS: p = 0.01; HR = 6.71; PFS: p = 0.02; HR = 5.18). The multivariate analysis indicated that the cycles of chemotherapy (p = 0.02; HR 0.29) were a prognostic factor for PFS. LIMITATIONS: A retrospective design and the absence of partial follow-up data are limitations of the study. CONCLUSIONS: In initially surgically treated HG-NECC, postoperative chemotherapy alone showed no inferiority when compared with chemoradiotherapy for HG-NECC, and 4+ cycles of chemotherapy tended to produce a better prognosis than 4-ones.

Facile construction of BiOBr ultra-thin nano-roundels for dramatically enhancing photocatalytic activity.

BiOBr is a kind of promising photocatalyst because of excellent photoelectric separation efficiency and chemical stability. In order to improving practical application performance, a novel BiOBr ultra-thin nano-roundel (BiOBr-nR) was constructed in water-in-oil (WIO) emulsion microspheres, and prepared by hydrothermal reaction. Its specific surface area was increased by changing microtopography and downsizing. After being characterized by FT-IR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-Vis DRS) and photoluminescence (PL), it indicated the BiOBr-nR, being doped by C and N, is 4-5 times smaller and thinner than that of conventional BiOBr. It was also found that BiOBr-nR has narrower band gap energy (2.78 eV), excellent photocatalytic activity, significant reusability, and stability. The obtained BiOBr-nR photocatalysts were applied to remove organics. It presented excellent photocatalytic activity, the degradation rate of organics got to 99.2%. The mechanism of photodegradation was investigated, which indicated superoxide radicals and holes play a major role in the degradation of organics. Therefore, BiOBr-nR is a kind of environmentally friendly photocatalyst with stable photocatalytic activity, the removal rate still more than 97% after recycling for 10 times. In summary, we found a novel insight for designing and preparation of efficient and recyclable BiOBr photocatalytic materials, which exhibits high photoresponse for purifying the wastewater.

Preparation of a hybrids APT@MIL by one-step solvent-thermal method for effectively degrading organics.

The attapulgite (APT), a typical nano-rod structured clay was introduced to MIL-101(Fe), a typical eco-friendly iron-based Metal-Organic Framework material (MOF), during the preparation by a one-step solvothermal method, which afforded a novel APT and MOF hybrid (APT@MIL). Based on the characterization of SEM, FT-IR and XRD, it was found that the rod-like crystals of APT determined the size of MIL-101(Fe) while maintaining its regular octahedral crystal form, and the crystal size of MIL-101(Fe) in APT@MIL enlarged 4 times. It was also discovered that the rod-like APT were evenly distributed in MIL-101(Fe) crystals. Using APT@MIL as the photocatalyst, some organic dyes were photodegraded in simulated sunlight. The analysis indicated that APT@MIL has high adsorption and photodegradation activity, the removal rate of methylene blue was up to 99.5%. Finally, the photocatalytic activity of APT@MIL was verified by UV-Vis DRS, photoluminescence spectra. The thermodynamic adsorption, kinetic characteristics adsorption, and removal mechanism of APT@MIL are also discussed. In summary, a novel hybrid material APT@MIL was successfully prepared with good adsorption and photocatalytic performance. It is expected to be used in photocatalytic degradation of dye wastewater.

A One-Pot Strategy to Synthesize Block Copolyesters from Monomer Mixtures Using a Hydroxy-Functionized Ionic Liquid.

One-pot transformation of monomer mixtures into block copolymers remains a key challenge. Herein, a metal-free route to prepare block copolymers from monomer mixtures by a hydroxyl functionalized ionic liquid of 3-(2-hydroxyl-ethyl)-1-methylimidazolium bromide (HEMIMB) is described. HEMIMB can bridge two catalytic cycles including ring-opening alternating copolymerization (ROAC) of phthalic anhydride (PA) with epoxides and ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of L-lactide (LA), and enable a selective copolymerization from PA, LA, and epoxides. The selective copolymerization depends on the presence of PA in mixed feedstocks, exhibits the first ROAC of PA with epoxides and then ROP of LA to the formation of block polyesters in one-pot strategy. This work is beneficial to the development of metal-free catalysts for sequence-controlled polymerization that enable block architectures from mixtures of monomers.

Number of Removed Pelvic Lymph Nodes as a Prognostic Marker in FIGO Stage IB1 Cervical Cancer with Negative Lymph Nodes.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the number of removed lymph nodes (RLNs) influences the clinical outcome of stage IB1 cervical cancer on the premise of uniform pelvic lymphadenectomy. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University. PATIENTS: Women (n = 782) with stage IB1 cervical cancer. INTERVENTIONS: Laparoscopic radical hysterectomy and uniform pelvic lymphadenectomy (common iliac, external iliac, internal iliac, obturator) for stage IB1 cervical cancer. The median time of follow-up was 64.7 months (range, 4.3-102.8). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of 782 patients with stage IB1 cervical cancer, the median number of pelvic RLNs was 19 (range, 7-49). Twenty-one patients (2.7%) had RLNs ≤ 10, 461 (59.0%) had 11 to 20, 263 (33.6%) had 21 to 30, and 37 (4.7%) had RLNs ≥ 31. The differences were not statistically significant in the clinicopathologic characteristics between the 4 groups (p >.05). In the multivariate analysis, pelvic RLN number became an independent prognostic factor for progression-free survival (PFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in stage IB1 cervical cancer (p = .029; .015 for CSS and PFS). After the stratified analysis by lymph node metastasis, RLN number remained an independent predictive value (p = .026 for CSS, p = .012 for PFS) in patients with negative pelvic lymph nodes. Moreover, patients with RLN number ≤ 10 carried a 5.550-fold higher risk for progression (p <.001) and 5.596-fold greater likelihood of death (p = .001) than those with RLN number > 10 in case of no lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSION: With uniform pelvic lymphadenectomy, the total pelvic RLN number could be a valuable predictor of outcome in stage IB1 cervical cancer without lymph node metastasis during a follow-up of at least 5 years.

Preparation of grafting copolymer of acrylic acid onto loess surface and its adsorption behavior.

Loess is a typical natural mineral particle distributed widely around the world, and it is inexpensive, readily accessible, and harmless to the environment. In this study, loess was modified by surface grafting copolymerization of functional monomers, such as acrylic acid, N-vinyl pyrrolidone, and N,N-methylenebisacrylamide as a cross-linking agent, which afforded a novel loess-based grafting copolymer (LC-PAVP). After being characterized by scanning electron microscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, its adsorption capacity and mechanism of removing lead ions (Pb2+) were investigated. With the study of the optimal experimental conditions, it was demonstrated that the removal rate of Pb2+ by LC-PAVP can reach up to 99.49% in 60 min at room temperature. It was also found that the kinetic characteristics of the adsorption capacity due to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the thermodynamics conformed well with the Freundlich model. In summary, as a lost-cost and eco-friendly loess-based adsorbent, LC-PAVP is a good potential material for wastewater treatment.

Anisotropic Nano-/Microparticles from Diversified Copolymers by Solvent-Mediated Self-Assembly.

Effective synthesis of anisotropic nano-/microparticles (APs) by the copolymers is of great significance in nanomaterials and nanotechnology. However, achieving regulation of the morphology, composition, property, and particle size of anisotropic nano-/microparticles (APs) with diversified copolymers is difficult due to complex mechanism and formation conditions. In this work, a versatile one-pot solvent-mediated self-assembly (SmSa) strategy had been proposed for the facile one-pot synthesis of shape-tunable anisotropic nano-/microparticles (StAPs). In addition, the formation mechanism of StAPs was determined through numerous characterization methods related to morphology and element distribution. The results revealed that the anisotropic architectures of StAPs were closely related to the nature of poly(methylacrylic acid-methyl methacrylate-butyl acrylate) (L1) and poly(butyl acrylate-styrene) (L2) polymer chains imparted by polymer blocks of different domains. Therefore, the ordered assembly of the rigid and hydrophobic L2 polymer chains in micelles consisting of the flexible and amphiphilic L1 and solvent could be successfully carried out under the mediation of increasing solvent polarity and the strong adsorption of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) for L2. Furthermore, the developed versatile SmSa strategy and the obtained StAPs play an essential role in the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Particularly given its adjustable emulsifying properties at different pH values, as well as numerous sites for further modification by fluorescent or other components, it can be employed to synthesize a wide range of functional materials.

Preparation of hydroxyapatite-based porous materials for absorption of lead ions.

In this paper, soybean protein isolate (SPI) was used as template, hydroxyapatite was crystallized on protein chains of SPI by in-situ synthesis, then the obtained inorganic HA/biopolymer SPI composite (HA@SPI) was calcined at suitable temperature, which afforded a novel hydroxyapatite-based porous materials (HApM). The results indicated that the product showed a porous morphology structure and excellent absorption performance for Pb2+. HApM maximum removal of lead was attained (96.25%) at an initial pH value of 7.4, temperature of 25 °C and contact time of 30 min with an initial metal concentration of 60 mg/L. In order to identify composition, structure and functional groups involved in the uptake of Pb2+, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD) scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis were carried out. Therefore, the hydroxyapatite-based porous materials (HApM) is a promising candidate for the treatment of liquid wastes containing toxic Pb2+ metal ion, heavy metal ion antidotes and other related fields.

Proteomes and Ubiquitylomes Analysis Reveals the Involvement of Ubiquitination in Protein Degradation in Petunias.

Petal senescence is a complex programmed process. It has been demonstrated previously that treatment with ethylene, a plant hormone involved in senescence, can extensively alter transcriptome and proteome profiles in plants. However, little is known regarding the impact of ethylene on posttranslational modification (PTM) or the association between PTM and the proteome. Protein degradation is one of the hallmarks of senescence, and ubiquitination, a major PTM in eukaryotes, plays important roles in protein degradation. In this study, we first obtained reference petunia (Petunia hybrida) transcriptome data via RNA sequencing. Next, we quantitatively investigated the petunia proteome and ubiquitylome and the association between them in petunia corollas following ethylene treatment. In total, 51,799 unigenes, 3,606 proteins, and 2,270 ubiquitination sites were quantified 16 h after ethylene treatment. Treatment with ethylene resulted in 14,448 down-regulated and 6,303 up-regulated unigenes (absolute log2 fold change > 1 and false discovery rate < 0.001), 284 down-regulated and 233 up-regulated proteins, and 320 up-regulated and 127 down-regulated ubiquitination sites using a 1.5-fold threshold (P < 0.05), indicating that global ubiquitination levels increase during ethylene-mediated corolla senescence in petunia. Several putative ubiquitin ligases were up-regulated at the protein and transcription levels. Our results showed that the global proteome and ubiquitylome were negatively correlated and that ubiquitination could be involved in the degradation of proteins during ethylene-mediated corolla senescence in petunia. Ethylene regulates hormone signaling transduction pathways at both the protein and ubiquitination levels in petunia corollas. In addition, our results revealed that ethylene increases the ubiquitination levels of proteins involved in endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation.

Detection of Insertions/Deletions Within SIRT1, SIRT2 and SIRT3 Genes and Their Associations with Body Measurement Traits in Cattle.

Growth traits are complex quantitative traits controlled by numerous candidate genes, and they can be well-evaluated using body measurement traits. As the members of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent family of histone deacetylases, class I sirtuin genes (including SIRT1, SIRT2 and SIRT3) play crucial roles in regulating lipid metabolism, cellular growth and metabolism, suggesting that they are potential candidate genes affecting body measurement traits in animals. Hence, the objective of this work aimed to detect novel insertions/deletions (indels) of SIRT1, SIRT2 and SIRT3 genes in 955 cattle belonging to five breeds, as well as to evaluate their effects on body measurement traits. Herein, the novel 12-bp indel of SIRT1 gene, the 7-bp indel of SIRT2 gene and the 26-bp indel of SIRT3 gene were firstly reported, respectively. The association analysis indicated that the indels within SIRT1 and SIRT2 genes were significantly associated with body measurement traits such as body weight, chest circumference, height at hip cross, hip width, body height, etc. (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Therefore, based on these findings, the two novel indel variants within bovine SIRT1 and SIRT2 genes could be considered as potential molecular markers for growth traits in cattle selection practices and breeding.

Mechanisms on formation of hierarchically porous carbon and its adsorption behaviors.

Using simple one-step carbonization-activation, the residues of paulownia flowers are employed as a precursor to prepare hierarchically porous activated carbon. After investigating the optimum conditions, the obtained paulownia flowers based activated carbon (PFAC) is characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific surface area analysis (S(BET)), thermo gravimetric analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The PFAC owns a high specific surface area of 1,053 m(2)/g as well as a hierarchically porous structure with a combination of micro-, meso- and macropores. The pore-forming mechanism is discussed according to results of characterization. Using methylene blue as model dye, the adsorption behaviors of PFAC were investigated. We found that the dye could be rapidly adsorbed by hierarchically porous PFAC, and the adsorption capacity of PFAC reached 300 mg/g.

Preparation of Thermo-Responsive Poly(ionic liquid)s-Based Nanogels via One-Step Cross-Linking Copolymerization.

In this study, thermo-responsive polymeric nanogels were facilely prepared via one-step cross-linking copolymerization of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate/divinylbenzene and ionic liquid (IL)-based monomers, 1,n-dialkyl-3,3'-bis-1-vinyl imidazolium bromides ([CnVIm]Br; n = 6, 8, 12) in selective solvents. The results revealed that stable and blue opalescent biimidazolium (BIm)-based nanogel solutions could be obtained without any precipitation when the copolymerizations were conducted in methanol. Most importantly, these novel nanogels were thermo-response, and could reversibly transform to precipitation in methanol with temperature changes. Turbidity analysis and dynamic light scatting (DLS) measurement illustrated that PIL-based nanogel solutions presented the phase transform with upper critical solution temperature (UCST) in the range of 5-25 °C. The nanogels were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, BIm-based nanogels could also be used as highly active catalysts in the cycloaddition reaction of CO2 and epoxides. As a result, our attributes build a robust platform suitable for the preparation of polymeric nanomaterials, as well as CO2 conversion.

[The natural history of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia I and the clinical significance of p16(INK4a) protein as a marker of progression in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia I].

OBJECTIVE: To describe the natural history of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) I and the biologic factors associated with the progression of CIN I and to analyze the predictive values of p16(INK4a) protein for the progression of CIN I. METHODS: From August 2010 to July 2013, 104 patients referred for abnormal cytology [≤ low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL); including negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy (NILM), atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS), LSIL] and high-risk (HR) HPV positive, and were diagnosed CIN I by colposcopy-assisted biopsy and followed at 1-year intervals in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. In order to analyze the relationship between the progression of CIN I with clinical biologic factors, including patient age, cervical cytology before colposcopy, loads of HR HPV, HPV L1 capsid protein, p16(INK4a) protein, χ(2) tests was used to compare the different frequencies of factors in groups of progressed and persisted/regressed CIN I, then five factors with progressed CIN I were processed into binary logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: (1) In the first year of follow-up, among 104 patients (including 15 cases NILM, 78 cases ASCUS, 11 cases LSIL), 52 cases of them were NILM and HR HPV negative, 30 cases were negative for intraepithelial lesion, 10 cases were CIN I, 5 cases were CIN II and 7 cases were CIN III. In total, 82 cases (78.8%, 82/104) cases had regressed, 10 cases (9.6%, 10/104) persisted, 12 cases (11.5%, 12/104) progressed [including 5 cases (4.8% , 5/104) progressed to CIN II, 7 cases (6.7% , 7/104) progressed to CIN III, none progressed to invasive cancer]. (2) All patients, 88 cases of them accepted immunohistochemical detection the expression of p16(INK4a) protein. The result shown that 30 cases (34%, 30/88) were positive and 58 cases (66%, 58/88) were negative. And 94 cases accepted immunocytochemical detection the expression of HPV L1 capsid protein, 49 cases (52% , 49/94) were positive and 45 cases (48% , 45/94) were negative. (3) Univariate analysis showed that age of the patient, loads of HR HPV, cervical cytology before colposcopy and the expression of HPV L1 capsid protein were not risk factors of the progression of CIN I (all P>0.05) except for the expression of p16(INK4a) protein (P<0.05). Multivariable analysis found that p16(INK4a) protein positive was associated with progression of CIN I (OR=5.1, 95%CI: 1.162-22.387, P=0.031). (4) Thirty-one cases were p16(INK4a) protein positive, 8 cases (27%, 8/30) of them progressed, while 4 cases (7%, 4/58) of 58 cases with p16(INK4a) protein negative progressed,in which there were significant difference (P<0.05). The sensitivity was 75%, the specificity was 71%, the positive predictive value was 27% and the negative predictive value was 93% for progression to CIN II-III of p16(INK4a) protein staining. CONCLUSIONS: The progression rate of CIN I with abnormal cytology (≤LSIL) and HR HPV positive was lower, and there was no progression to invasion at 1-year intervals. Immunostaining of p16(INK4a) protein as the risk factors of CIN I progression could have a role in prediction of CIN I and the management of high-risk CIN I.

Construction of self-propelled micromotor for "hunting bacteria".

The inherent migration behavior of bacteria has inevitably impacted the advancement of the antibacterial treatment technology. Hunting bacteria, especially those with flagellates, requires self-propelled materials, which could kill bacteria autonomously. Herein, we designed and synthesized a self-propelled micromotor (SPM) tailed with poly(thiazole) to yield bimetallic organic frameworks (BiOFs), in which the assembly of BiOFs are similar to the "Newman projection". The moving speed of the obtained SPM was 238.6 µm s-1 and presented excellent antibacterial activity; more than 90% bacteria were hunted and killed in flowing water. Its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against E. coli and S. aureus was 3.2 and 0.4 mg mL-1, respectively, and its antibacterial activity was still retained after recycling for 5 times. Its antibacterial mechanism along with the contribution of the active units and flow rate was investigated. In summary, a novel self-propelled material for hunting bacteria was synthesized by an unprecedented and efficient strategy. This approach is anticipated to create huge possibilities for its applications in the fields of antibacterial, disinfection, and microdevices.

Construction of HAnW-based nanotwigs for removing inorganic fluorion in wastewater.

The environmental pollution with fluoride compounds was currently being paid more and more attention as it threatens the safety of animal and human life in an ecosystem. In this study, an eco-friendly adsorbing material for removing fluoride ion (F-) was prepared by hydroxyapatite nanowires (HAnWs), a typical biocompatible inorganic conjugates. UiO66, a typical zirconium-based metal-organic framework (MOF), was conjugated onto HAnW by a simple in situ hydrothermal reaction, which afforded a novel HAnW-based nanotwigs of conjugates like millet (UiO66@HAnWs). Being characterized by SEM, EDS, FT-IR, XRD, XPS, and TGA, the obtained UiO66@HAnWs were applied to removing F- in wastewater, and its adsorption capacity was optimized. It was found that UiO66@HAnWs had a bigger specific surface area (115.310 m2/g), and its efficiency for removing F- got to 99.3%, which was greatly improved than that of related materials. It was considered that the adsorption of F- on UiO66@HAnWs was mainly multi-molecular layer adsorption, which fluoride ions aggregate on the Zr(IV) active sites to attain ligand switching, and the nanoconjugated structure like nanotwigs of millet greatly improved its adsorption capacity. In summary, a novel eco-friendly UiO66@HAnWs with nanoconjugated structure could be constructed by simple hydrothermal method, which the agglomeration defects of MOFs were not only ameliorated, but also its adsorption capacity was greatly improved.

Construction of hexagonal spindle-shaped Fe-MOFs induced by cationic copolymer and its application for effective wastewater treatment.

The environment and human health are in danger due to the long-term enrichment and buildup of organic pesticides, dyes, and harmful microbes in wastewater. The development of functional materials that are efficient for treating wastewater remains a significant problem. Eco-friendly hexagonal spindle-shaped Fe-MOFs (Hs-FeMOFs) were created in this study under the influence of cationic copolymer (PMSt). The mechanism of crystal growth and development of its unique morphology were described after looking into impact factors for the ideal circumstances and being characterized by XRD, TEM, XPS, and other techniques. It revealed that Hs-FeMOFs possess an enormous supply of adsorption active sites, a strong electropositivity, and the nanometer tip. Then, typical organic pollutants, such as herbicides and mixed dyes, as well as biological pollutants bacteria, were chosen to assess its efficacy in wastewater treatment. It was discovered that the pendimethalin could be quickly removed in wastewater and the removal rate reached 100% within 10 min. In separation of mixed dyes, the retention rate of malachite green (MG) reached 92.3% in 5 min and with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.8 mg/mL and demonstrated strong activity due to the presence of cationic copolymers. In actual water matrix, Hs-FeMOF could also play excellent adsorption and antibacterial activity. In summary, a novel, environmentally friendly MOF material with good activity was successfully created by cationic copolymer induction. It offers a fresh approach to develop functional materials in wastewater treatment.