Background: Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of the locus coeruleus (LC) in sleep-wake regulation. Both essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson's disease (PD) share common sleep disorders, such as poor quality of sleep (QoS). LC pathology is a feature of both diseases. A question arises regarding the contribution of LC degeneration to the occurrence of poor QoS. Objective: To evaluate the association between LC impairment and sleep disorders in ET and PD patients. Methods: A total of 83 patients with ET, 124 with PD, and 83 healthy individuals were recruited and divided into ET/PD with/without poor QoS (Sle/NorET and Sle/NorPD) subgroups according to individual Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score. Neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (NM-MRI) and free-water imaging derived from diffusion MRI were performed. Subsequently, we evaluated the association between contrast-to-noise ratio of LC (CNRLC) and free-water value of LC (FWLC) with PSQI scores in ET and PD groups. Results: CNRLC was significantly lower in ET (pâ=â0.047) and PD (pâ=â0.018) than in healthy individuals, whereas no significant difference was found in FWLC among the groups. No significant differences were observed in CNR/FWLC between patients with/without sleep disorders after multiple comparison correction. No correlation was identified between CNR/FWLC and PSQI in ET and PD patients. Conclusions: LC degeneration was observed in both ET and PD patients, implicating its involvement in the pathophysiology of both diseases. Additionally, no significant association was observed between LC integrity and PSQI, suggesting that LC impairment might not directly relate to overall QoS.
Flexible metal-organic framework (MOF) adsorbents commonly encounter limitations in removing trace impurities below gate-opening threshold pressures. Topology reconfiguration can fundamentally eliminate intrinsic structural flexibility, yet remains a formidable challenge and is rarely achieved in practical applications. Herein, we present a solvent-mediated approach to regulate the flexible CuSnF6-dpds-sql (dpds = 4,4''-dipyridyldisulfide) with sql topology into rigid CuSnF6-dpds-cds with cds topology. Notably, the cds topology is unprecedented and firstly obtained in anion-pillared MOF materials. As a result, rigid CuSnF6-dpds-cds exhibits enhanced C2H2 adsorption capacity of 48.61 cm3 g-1 at 0.01 bar compared to flexible CuSnF6-dpds-sql (21.06 cm3 g-1). The topology transformation also facilitates the adsorption kinetics for C2H2, exhibiting a 6.5-fold enhanced diffusion time constant (D/r2) of 1.71 × 10-3 s-1 on CuSnF6-dpds-cds than that of CuSnF6-dpds-sql (2.64 × 10-4 s-1). Multiple computational simulations reveal the structural transformations and guest-host interactions in both adsorbents. Furthermore, dynamic breakthrough experiments demonstrate that high-purity C2H4 (>99.996%) effluent with a productivity of 93.9 mmol g-1 can be directly collected from C2H2/C2H4 (1/99, v/v) gas-mixture in a single CuSnF6-dpds-cds column. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Backgrounds: Improving quality of life (QOL) is one of the main aims of lung transplantation (LTx). There is a need to identify those who have poor quality of life early. However, research addressing inter individual quality of life variability among them is lacking. This study aims to identify group patterns in quality of life among lung transplant recipients and examine the predictors associated with quality of life subgroups. Methods: In total, 173 lung transplant recipients were recruited from one hospital in Guangdong Province between September 2022 and August 2023. They were assessed using the Lung Transplant Quality of Life scale (LT-QOL), Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Life Orientation Test-Revised scale (LOT-R), and Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS). Latent profile analysis was used to identify QOL subtypes, and logistic regression analysis was used to examine the associations between latent profiles and sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics. Results: Two distinct QOL profiles were identified: "low HRQOL" profile [N = 53 (30.94%)] and "high HRQOL" profile [N = 120 (69.06%)]. Single lung transplant recipients, and patients who reported post-transplant infection, high levels of negative emotion or low levels of mindfulness and optimism were significantly correlated with the low QOL subgroup. Conclusion: Using the domains of the LT-QOL scale, two profiles were identified among the lung transplant recipients. Our findings highlighted that targeted intervention should be developed based on the characteristics of each latent class, and timely attention must be paid to patients who have undergone single lung transplantation, have had a hospital readmission due to infection, exhibit low levels of optimism, low levels of mindfulness or high negative emotions.
Lung Transplantation , Quality of Life , Transplant Recipients , Humans , Quality of Life/psychology , Lung Transplantation/psychology , Female , Male , Middle Aged , Adult , Transplant Recipients/psychology , Transplant Recipients/statistics & numerical data , Surveys and Questionnaires , China , Mindfulness , Latent Class Analysis
To address the issue of high energy consumption associated with monoethanolamine (MEA) regeneration in the CO2 capture process, solid acid catalysts have been widely investigated due to their performance in accelerating carbamate decomposition. The recently discovered carbon nanotube (CNT) catalyst presents efficient catalytic activity for bicarbonate decomposition. In this paper, bifunctional catalysts SO42-/TiO2-CNT (STC) were prepared, which could simultaneously catalyze carbamate and bicarbonate decomposition, and outstanding catalytic performance has been exhibited. STC significantly increased the CO2 desorption amount by 82.3% and decreased the relative heat duty by 46% compared to the MEA-CO2 solution without catalysts. The excellent stability of STC was confirmed by 15 cyclic absorption-desorption experiments, showing good practical feasibility for decreasing energy consumption in an industrial CO2 capture process. Furthermore, associated with the results of experimental characterization and theoretical calculations, the synergistic catalysis of STC catalysts via proton and charge transfer was proposed. This work demonstrated the potential of STC catalysts in improving the efficiency of amine regeneration processes and reducing energy consumption, contributing to the design of more effective and economical catalysts for carbon capture.
The coastal urban region is generally considered an atmospheric receptor for terrestrial and marine input materials, and rainfall chemistry can trace the wet scavenging process of these materials. Fast urbanization in China's east coastal areas has greatly altered the rainwater chemistry. However, the chemical variations, determinants, and sources of rainfall are unclear. Therefore, the typical coastal city of Fuzhou was selected for 1-year rainwater sampling and inorganic ions were detected to explore above problems. The findings depicted that rainwater ions in Fuzhou were slightly different from those in other coastal cities. Although NO3-, SO42-, Ca2+ and NH4+ dominated the rainwater ions, the marine input Cl- (22 %) and Na+ (11 %) also contributed a considerable percentage to the rainwater ions. Large differences in ion concentrations (2â¼28 times) were found in monthly scale due to the rainfall amount. Both natural and anthropogenic determinants influenced the rainwater ions in coastal cities, such as SO2 emission, air SO2 and PM10 content on rainwater SO42-, NO3-, and Ca2+, and soot & dust emission on rainwater SO42-, NO3-, indicating the vital contribution of human activities. Stoichiometry and positive matrix factorization-based sources identification indicated that atmospheric dust/particles were the primary contributor of Ca2+ (83.3 %) and F- (83.7 %), and considerable contributor of SO42- (39.5 %), NO3- (38.3 %) and K+ (41.5 %). Anthropogenic origins, such as urban waste volatilization and fuel combustion emission, contributed 95 % of NH4+, 54.5 % of NO3- and 41.9 % of SO42-, and the traffic sources contribution was relatively higher than fixed emission sources. The marine input represented the vital source of Cl- (77.7 %), Na+ (84.9 %), and Mg2+ (55.3 %). This work highlights the significant influence of urban human activities and marine input on rainwater chemicals and provides new insight into the material cycle between the atmosphere and earth-surface in coastal city.
Ultrasmall iron oxide nanoparticles (USIO NPs) are expected to become the next generation T1 contrast agents; however, their diagnostic and therapeutic potential for primary brain tumors (such as glioblastoma multiforme, GBM) is yet to be explored. At present, the main challenge is the effective hindering of biological barriers, including the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the blood-brain tumor barrier (BBTB). Herein, we aimed to investigate whether the USIO NPs, in combination with MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS), could intensify MR imaging of GBM. In this study, we presented zwitterionic USIO NPs for enhanced MR imaging of both xenografted and orthotopic GBM mouse models. We first synthesized citric-stabilized USIO NPs with a size of 3.19 ± 0.76 nm, modified with ethylenediamine, and decorated with 1,3-propanesultone (1,3-PS) to form USIO NPs-1,3-PS. The obtained USIO NPs-1,3-PS exhibited good cytocompatibility and cellular uptake efficiency. MRgFUS, in combination with microbubbles, provided a non-invasive and safe technique for BBB opening, which, in turn, promoted the delivery of USIO NPs-1,3-PS in orthotopic GBM. This developed USIO NP nanoplatform may improve the precision imaging of solid tumors and therapeutic efficacy in the central nervous system.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate distribution and drug resistance of pathogens of bloodstream infection in patients with hematological malignancies, in order to provide reference for clinical infection control and treatment. METHODS: The clinical information of blood culture patients in the hematology department of our hospital from January 2016 to December 2021 was reviewed. They were divided into transplantation group and non-transplantation group according to whether they had undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The types of pathogens and their drug resistance were analyzed. RESULTS: Two hundred and ninety-nine positive strains of pathogenic bacteria were detected. In the transplantation group, Gram-negative bacteria accounted for 68.5% (50/73), Gram-positive bacteria accounted for 6.8% (5/73), and fungi accounted for 24.7% (18/73). The resistance rate of Escherichia coli to the third-generation cephalosporins was 77.8%, and 11.5% to carbapenems. The resistance rate of Klebsiella pneumoniae to the third-generation cephalosporins was 50.0%, and 56.2% to carbapenems. In the non-transplantation group, Gram-negative bacteria accounted for 64.1% (145/226), Gram-positive bacteria accounted for 31.0% (70/226), and fungi accounted for 4.9% (11/226). Gram-positive bacteria were mainly Enterococcus faecium (6.6%, 15/226) and Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (6.2%, 14/226). The fungi were all Candida tropicalis. The resistance rate of Escherichia coli to the third-generation cephalosporins was 63.8%, and 10.3% to carbapenems. The resistance rate of Klebsiella pneumoniae to the third-generation cephalosporins was 46.3%, and 26.8% to carbapenems. CONCLUSION: The types of pathogenic bacteria in bloodstream infection in patients with hematological malignancies are varied. Gram-negative bacteria is the main pathogenic bacteria. The resistance of pathogenic bacteria to antibiotics is severe. Antibiotics should be used scientifically and reasonably according to the detection and resistance of pathogenic bacteria.
Anti-Bacterial Agents , Escherichia coli , Gram-Negative Bacteria , Gram-Positive Bacteria , Hematologic Neoplasms , Humans , Hematologic Neoplasms/complications , Gram-Negative Bacteria/isolation & purification , Gram-Negative Bacteria/drug effects , Gram-Positive Bacteria/isolation & purification , Gram-Positive Bacteria/drug effects , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Drug Resistance, Bacterial , Klebsiella pneumoniae/isolation & purification , Carbapenems/pharmacology , Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation/adverse effects , Cephalosporins/pharmacology , Bacteremia/microbiology , Fungi
Aim: To investigate the association between cognitive function and body composition in older adults. Methods: We collected data on 2080 older adults (>60 years of age) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for the years 1999-2000 and 2001-2002. Candidate variables included: demographic data (sex, age, race, education level, marital status, poverty-to-income ratio), alcohol consumption, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, total bone mineral density, and total fat mass. A logistic regression model was established to analyze the association between cognitive function and body composition in older adults. In addition, stratified logics regression analysis was performed by sex and age. Results: Bone mineral density significantly affects cognitive function in older adults (p<0.01). When examining the data according to sex, this correlation is present for women (p < 0.01). For men, though, it is not significant (p = 0.081). Stratified by age, total bone mineral density was significantly correlated with cognitive function in 60-70 and 70-80 years old people, but not in older adults older than 80 years(for 60-70 years old, p = 0.019; for 70-80 years old, p = 0.022). There was no significant correlation between total bone mineral density and cognitive function (p = 0.575). Conclusion: The decrease of total bone mineral density was significantly correlated with cognitive decline in the older adults, especially among women and older people in the 60 to 80 age group. There was no connection between total fat mass, total percent fat, total lean mass, appendicular lean mass, appendicular lean mass /BMI and cognitive function in the older adults.
Because of their innate chemical stability, the ubiquitous perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been dubbed "forever chemicals" and have attracted considerable attention. However, their stability under environmental conditions has not been widely verified. Herein, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a widely used and detected PFAS, was found to be spontaneously degraded in aqueous microdroplets under room temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions. This unexpected fast degradation occurred via a unique multicycle redox reaction of PFOA with interfacial reactive species on the droplet surface. Similar degradation was observed for other PFASs. This study extends the current understanding of the environmental fate and chemistry of PFASs and provides insight into aid in the development of effective methods for removing PFASs.
BACKGROUND: Rest tremor is a movement disorder commonly found in diseases like Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor (ET). Rest tremor typically shows slower progression in PD, but more severe progression in ET. However, the underlying white matter organization of rest tremor behind PD and ET remains unclear. METHODS: This study included 57 ET patients (40 without rest tremor (ETWR), 17 with rest tremor (ETRT)), 68 PD patients (34 without rest tremor (PDWR), 34 with rest tremor (PDRT)), and 62 normal controls (NC). Fixel-based analysis was used to evaluate the structural changes of white matter in rest tremor in these different diseases. RESULTS: The fiber-bundle cross-section (FC) of the right non-decussating dentato-rubro-thalamic tract and several fibers outside the dentato-rubro-thalamic pathway in ETWR were significantly higher than that in NC. The fiber density and cross-section of the left nigro-pallidal in PDWR is significantly lower than that in NC, while the FC of bilateral nigro-pallidal in PDRT is significantly lower than that in NC. CONCLUSION: ET patients with pure action tremor showed over-activation of fiber tracts. However, when superimposed with rest tremor, ET patients no longer exhibited over-activation of fiber tracts, but rather showed a trend of fiber tract damage. Except for the nigro-pallidal degeneration in all PD, PDRT will not experience further deterioration in fiber organization. These results provide important insights into the unique effects of rest tremor on brain fiber architecture in ET and PD.
Plastic advertising banners (PABs) have been widely used for advertising and publicizing with large usage amount. The PABs are usually added with plenty of chemical additives for improving material performance, and the additives can be released during the lifetime of the PABs. However, limited knowledge is available on the composition and release of the additives in the PABs. In this study, benzenoids were found as the dominant additive categories in PABs. Release kinetics of benzenoid additives with high detection frequency and high abundance from the PABs under indoor and outdoor environments were investigated. During the 150-day release experiment, average release rates of the additives from the PABs under outdoor and indoor environments were 8.3 × 10-10 kg/m2·s and 6.3 × 10-10 kg/m2·s, respectively. The release rates of the additives were negatively related to the thickness of the PAB samples. Health risk assessment indicated that chemicals associated with PABs have potential carcinogenic risks to salesmen in the shopping malls. The risks of chemical exposure associated with PABs to consumers in the shopping malls were acceptable. This study unveils a considerable source of chemical exposure to humans.
Advertising , Plastics , Humans , Risk Assessment
OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of butylphthalide combined with donepezil versus butylphthalide monotherapy for the treatment of vascular dementia. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials were searched in electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database (VIP), Wan Fang, and China Biology Medicine from inception to 29 November 2022. Two reviewers independently screened the papers and extracted data from the included studies. The data were processed using RevMan5.4 statistical software. RESULTS: Nine randomized controlled trials (n = 1024) were included in this meta-analysis. Regarding the primary outcomes, compared with butylphthalide monotherapy, combined butylphthalide and donepezil treatment exhibited significantly greater total clinical efficacy (relative risk = 1.24, 95% confidence interval [1.17, 1.31]) and did not increase the adverse event rate (relative risk = 1.39, 95% confidence interval [0.91, 2.14]). Regarding the secondary outcomes, the meta-analysis results for the Mini-Mental State Examination, abilities of daily living, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores and the interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and superoxide dismutase blood levels all supported combined butylphthalide and donepezil treatment. CONCLUSION: Butylphthalide combined with donepezil may be a better treatment strategy than donepezil alone for the treatment of vascular dementia in clinical practice.
Benzofurans , Dementia, Vascular , Humans , Benzofurans/therapeutic use , Dementia, Vascular/drug therapy , Donepezil/therapeutic use , Treatment Outcome , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
Iso-butene (iso-C4H8) is an important raw material in chemical industry, whereas its efficient separation remains challenging due to similar molecular properties of C4 olefins. The ideal adsorbent should possess simultaneous high uptakes for 1,3-butadiene (C4H6) and n-butene (n-C4H8) counterparts, endowing high efficiency for iso-C4H8 separation in adsorption columns. Herein, a sulfate-pillared adsorbent, SOFOUR-DPDS-Ni (DPDS = 4,4'-dipyridyldisulfide), is reported for the efficient iso-C4H8 separation from binary and ternary C4 olefin mixtures. The rigidity in pore sizes and shapes of SOFOUR-DPDS-Ni exerts the molecular sieving of iso-C4H8, while exhibiting high C4H6 and n-C4H8 uptakes. The benchmark Henry's selectivity for C4H6/iso-C4H8 (2321.8) and n-C4H8/iso-C4H8 (233.5) outperforms most reported adsorbents. Computational simulations reveal the strong interactions for C4H6 and n-C4H8. Furthermore, dynamic breakthrough experiments demonstrate the direct production of high-purity iso-C4H8 (>99.9%) from C4H6/iso-C4H8 (50/50, v/v), n-C4H8/iso-C4H8 (50/50, v/v), and C4H6/n-C4H8/iso-C4H8 (50/15/35, v/v/v) gas-mixtures.
BACKGROUND: Whether there is hypothalamic degeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD) and its association with clinical symptoms and pathophysiological changes remains controversial. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to quantify microstructural changes in hypothalamus using a novel deep learning-based tool in patients with PD and those with probable rapid-eye-movement sleep behavior disorder (pRBD). We further assessed whether these microstructural changes associated with clinical symptoms and free thyroxine (FT4) levels. METHODS: This study included 186 PD, 67 pRBD, and 179 healthy controls. Multi-shell diffusion MRI were scanned and mean kurtosis (MK) in hypothalamic subunits were calculated. Participants were assessed using Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), RBD Questionnaire-Hong Kong (RBDQ-HK), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), and Activity of Daily Living (ADL) Scale. Additionally, a subgroup of PD (n = 31) underwent assessment of FT4. RESULTS: PD showed significant decreases of MK in anterior-superior (a-sHyp), anterior-inferior (a-iHyp), superior tubular (supTub), and inferior tubular hypothalamus when compared with healthy controls. Similarly, pRBD exhibited decreases of MK in a-iHyp and supTub. In PD group, MK in above four subunits were significantly correlated with UPDRS-I, HAMD, and ADL. Moreover, MK in a-iHyp and a-sHyp were significantly correlated with FT4 level. In pRBD group, correlations were observed between MK in a-iHyp and UPDRS-I. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reveals that microstructural changes in the hypothalamus are already significant at the early neurodegenerative stage. These changes are associated with emotional alterations, daily activity levels, and thyroid hormone levels.
Parkinson Disease , Pindolol/analogs & derivatives , REM Sleep Behavior Disorder , Humans , Parkinson Disease/complications , Surveys and Questionnaires
Cytosine base editing achieves Câ¢G-to-Tâ¢A substitutions and can convert four codons (CAA/CAG/CGA/TGG) into STOP-codons (induction of STOP-codons, iSTOP) to knock out genes with reduced mosaicism. iSTOP enables direct phenotyping in founders' somatic cells, but it remains unknown whether this works in founders' germ cells so as to rapidly reveal novel genes for fertility. Here, we initially establish that iSTOP in mouse zygotes enables functional characterization of known genes in founders' germ cells: Cfap43-iSTOP male founders manifest expected sperm features resembling human "multiple morphological abnormalities of the flagella" syndrome (i.e., MMAF-like features), while oocytes of Zp3-iSTOP female founders have no zona pellucida. We further illustrate iSTOP's utility for dissecting the functions of unknown genes with Ccdc183, observing MMAF-like features and male infertility in Ccdc183-iSTOP founders, phenotypes concordant with those of Ccdc183-KO offspring. We ultimately establish that CCDC183 is essential for sperm morphogenesis through regulating the assembly of outer dynein arms and participating in the intra-flagellar transport. Our study demonstrates iSTOP as an efficient tool for direct reproductive disease modeling and phenotyping in germ cells of the founder generation, and rapidly reveals the essentiality of Ccdc183 in fertility, thus providing a time-saving approach for validating genetic defects (like nonsense mutations) for human infertility.
Gene Knockout Techniques , Germ Cells , Phenotype , Spermatozoa , Animals , Male , Female , Mice , Spermatozoa/metabolism , Germ Cells/metabolism , Disease Models, Animal , Infertility, Male/genetics , Mice, Knockout , Gene Editing/methods , Humans , Oocytes/metabolism , Zygote/metabolism
The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism by which resveratrol (Res) inhibits apoptosis and promotes proliferation and differentiation of pre-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells, laying the groundwork for the treatment of osteoporosis (OP). The TCMSP database was used to find the gene targets for Res. The GeneCards database acquire the gene targets for OP. After discovering the potential target genes, GO, KEGG, and Reactome enrichment analysis were conducted. Verifying the major proteins involved in apoptosis can bind to Res using molecular docking. CCK8 measured the proliferative activity of mouse pre-osteoblasts in every group following Res intervention. Alkaline phosphatase staining (ALP) and alizarin red staining to measure the ability of osteogenic differentiation. RT-qPCR to determine the expression levels of Runx2 and OPG genes for osteogenic differentiation ability of cells. Western blot to measure the degree of apoptosis-related protein activity in each group following Res intervention. The biological processes investigated for GO of Res therapeutic OP involved in cytokine-mediated signaling pathway, negative regulation of apoptotic process, Aging, extrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway in absence of ligand, according to potential therapeutic target enrichment study. Apoptosis, FoxO signaling pathway, and TNF signaling pathway are the primary KEGG signaling pathways. Recactome pathways are primarily engaged in Programmed Cell Death, Apoptosis, Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway, and Caspase activation via extrinsic apoptotic signaling pathways. This research established a new approach for Res treatment of OP by demonstrating how Res controls the apoptosis-related proteins TNF, IL6, and CASP3 to suppress osteoblast death and increase osteoclastogenesis.
Osteogenesis , Osteoporosis , Mice , Animals , Resveratrol/pharmacology , Network Pharmacology , Molecular Docking Simulation , Cell Differentiation , Osteoporosis/drug therapy
Glycogen metabolism is a form of crucial metabolic reprogramming in cells. PYGB, the brain-type glycogen phosphorylase (GP), serves as the rate-limiting enzyme of glycogen catabolism. Evidence is mounting for the association of PYGB with diverse human diseases. This review covers the advancements in PYGB research across a range of diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, nervous system diseases, and other diseases, providing a succinct overview of how PYGB functions as a critical factor in both physiological and pathological processes. We present the latest progress in PYGB in the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases and discuss the current limitations and future prospects of this novel and promising target.
Glycogen Phosphorylase , Glycogen , Humans , Glycogen/metabolism , Brain/metabolism
A new generation of food packaging films is gradually replacing traditional plastic packaging films because of their biodegradability, safety, and some functional properties such as anti-bacterial and oxidant resistance. In the present work, an antibacterial packing film based on amylose starch and 2-hydroxypropyl-trimethylammonium chloride chitosan (HTCC) was prepared for meat preservation. The interfacial bonding mechanism between amylose, HTCC, and glutaraldehyde (GA) was determined experimentally and through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The macromolecular chains of amylose starch and HTCC became entangled via inter-molecular H-bonds and then cross-linked with GA via the Schiff base reaction. The interaction of amylose starch and HTCC improved the mechanical properties of the amylose films. Compared with the amylose films, the tensile strength and elongation at break of the optimal HTCC/amylose films reached to 16.13 MPa (an increase of 206.65 %) and 53.86 % (an increase of 109.49 %). The HTCC/amylose films were found to provide obvious bacteriostatic performance, a relatively low cytotoxicity, the lower transmittance in the UV region, and thus the ability to enhance the preservation of fresh meat. These excellent characteristics therefore suggest that HTCC/amylose films might be promising candidates for application in antibacterial food packaging films.
Amylose , Chitosan , Amylose/chemistry , Starch/chemistry , Chitosan/chemistry , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Anti-Bacterial Agents/chemistry , Food Packaging , Quaternary Ammonium Compounds , Meat
Unveiling composition and release rates of chemicals in chemical-intensive products (CIPs) such as inkjet fabrics that are applied extensively in advertising and publicizing industries, is of importance to sound management of chemicals. This study tentatively identified 212 compounds from 69 inkjet fabric samples using gas chromatograph coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-QTOF-MS). Contents of six phthalate esters (PAEs) were quantified to range from 3.0 × 102 mg/kg to 3.1 × 105 mg/kg with GC-MS. Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate was predominantly detected to average 96 g/kg. The inkjet fabrics collected from southern China contained fewer non-intentionally added substances (NIASs) than from northern China. Annual mass release rates (RM) of the 6 PAEs from inkjet fabrics to air were estimated to range from 1.4 × 10-2 kg/year to 2.8 × 104 kg/year in China in 2020, and the mean indoor RM was comparable with the outdoor one. Equilibrium partition coefficients of the compounds between the product and air, ambient temperature, and concentrations of chemicals in the product, are key factors leading to RM with the high variance. The findings indicate that contents of the NIASs in the CIPs should be minimized, and the refining concept should be adopted in design of the CIPs, so as to control the release of chemicals from the CIPs.
Esters , Phthalic Acids , Esters/analysis , Phthalic Acids/analysis , Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/methods , China
Background: Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is a common chronic disease in orthopedics, and its molecular mechanisms are still not well explained. Aim: This study's objective was to bioinformatics-based discovery of IVDD biomarkers and immune-inflammatory infiltrates. Materials and Methods: The IVDD illness gene collection was gathered from GeneCards, DisGeNet, and gene expression profiles were chosen from the extensive Gene Expression Omnibus database (GSE124272, GSE150408, and GSE153761). The STRING database was used to create a network of protein-protein interactions, while the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) databases were used for functional enrichment analysis. Using hub genes, the immune cell infiltration between IVDD patient samples and control tissues was examined. Finally, quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot experiments were used to verify the expression of hub genes. Results: A total of 27 differentially expressed hub genes were identified by bioinformatics. According to GO and KEGG analyses, hub genes were prominent in immunological responses, chemokine-mediated signaling pathways, and inflammatory responses, with the key signaling pathways engaged in cellular senescence, apoptosis, Th1 and Th2 cell differentiation, and Th17 cell differentiation. Immune cell infiltration research revealed that T cells, lymphocytes, B cells, and NK cells were decreased in IVDD patients while monocytes, neutrophils, and CD8 T cells were increased. The expression levels of the senescence hub genes SP1, VEGFA, IL-6, and the apoptosis key gene CASP3 were considerably greater in the IVDD model group than in the control group, according to in vitro validation. Conclusion: In conclusion, the cellular senescence signaling pathway, the apoptosis signaling pathway, and associated hub genes play significant roles in the development and progression of IVDD, this finding may help direct future research on the senescence signaling route in IVDD.
