Astragalus polysaccharide alleviates IL-13-induced oxidative stress injury in nasal epithelial cells by inhibiting WTAP-mediated FBXW7 m6A modification.

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) a common and complicated upper airway disease mediated by specific IgE antibodies. Our study aims to explore the pharmacological effects of astragalus polysaccharide (APS) on AR and elucidate the mechanisms involved. Methods: RT-qPCR and Western blotting were used to analyze mRNA and protein expression. Interleukin (IL)-13-treated human nasal epithelial cells (hNECs) was employed as the AR cell model. Cell apoptosis and viability were evaluated by TUNEL staining and MTT assay, respectively. ROS level was examined by the DCFH-DA probe. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were measured by the corresponding kits. FBXW7 m6A modification level was assessed by MeRIP assay. Methods: Our results showed that APS treatment reduced cell apoptosis, ROS, and MDA levels while increasing SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px levels in IL-13-treated hNECs by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway. Moreover, APS alleviated IL-13-induced oxidative stress injury in hNECs by downregulating WTAP. In addition, WTAP knockdown increased FBXW7 mRNA stability by regulating FBXW7 mRNA m6A modification. It also turned out that APS alleviated IL-13-induced oxidative stress injury in hNECs through the WTAP/FBXW7 axis. Conclusions: Taken together, APS inhibited WTAP-mediated FBXW7 m6A modification to alleviate IL-13-induced oxidative stress injury in hNECs.

Porous organic polymers assisted aptamer signal amplification for enhanced photoeletrochemical detection of MUC1.

Mucin1 (MUC1) is an extensively glycosylated transmembrane protein that is widely distributed and overexpressed on the surface of cancer cells, playing an important role in tumor occurrence and metastasis. Therefore, highly sensitive detection of MUC1 is of great significance for early diagnosis, treatment monitoring, and prognosis of cancer. Here, an ultra-sensitive photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensing platform was developed based on an aptamer amplification strategy for highly selective and sensitive detection of MUC1 overexpressed in serum and on cancer cell surfaces. The sensing platform utilized copper phthalocyanine to fabricate porous organic polymers (CuPc POPs), and was effectively integrated with g-C3N4/MXene to form a ternary heterojunction material (g-C3N4/MXene/CuPc POPs). This material effectively improved electron transfer capability, significantly enhanced light utilization, and greatly enhanced photoelectric conversion efficiency, resulting in a dramatic increase in photocurrent response. MUC1 aptamer 1 was immobilized on a chitosan-modified photoelectrode for the selective capture of MUC1 or MCF-7 cancer cells. When the target substance was present, MUC1 aptamer 2 labeled with methylene blue (MB) was specifically adsorbed on the electrode surface, leading to enhanced photocurrent. The concentration of MUC1 directly correlated with the number of MB molecules attracted to the electrode surface, establishing a linear relationship between photocurrent intensity and MUC1 concentration. The PEC biosensor exhibited excellent sensitivity for MUC1 detection with a wide detection range from 1 × 10-7 to 10 ng/mL and a detection limit of 8.1 ag/mL. The detection range for MCF-7 cells was from 2 × 101 to 2 × 106 cells/mL, with the capability for detecting single MCF-7 cells. The aptamer amplification strategy significantly enhanced PEC performance, and open up a promising platform to establish high selectivity, stability, and ultrasensitive analytical techniques.

Hydrophobic polyethylene film prepared by film blowing process for preservation of fried shrimp rolls.

Hydrophobic coatings have wide applications, but face challenges in food flexible packaging in terms of poor adhesion and inadequate wear resistance. Health hazards and poor adhesion drive the search for novel hydrophobic coatings substitutes. Here, we introduced rationally synthesized carnauba wax-SiO2 microspheres as a component to composite polyethylene (PE) film construction, and created a wear-resistant hydrophobic composite PE film via the blown film technique. The resultant hydrophobic composite film demonstrated an enhanced water contact angle from 86° to above 100°, coupled with favorable mechanical properties such as wear resistance, tensile strength and effective barrier performance against water vapor and oxygen. Upon implementation in the preservation of a Cantonese delicacy, Chaoshan fried shrimp rolls, it was observed that at 25 °C, the carnauba wax-SiO2-PE composite packaging film extended the shelf life of the product by 3 days compared to pure PE film.

Highly-efficient Eu2+-activated Sr8Si4O12Cl8 cyan-emitting phosphors with zero-thermal quenching luminescence for versatile applications.

To settle the problem of phosphors with unsatisfactory luminescence efficiency and serious thermal quenching, Eu2+-activated Sr8Si4O12Cl8 cyan-emitting phosphors were designed. Excited at 387 nm, a dazzling cyan emission located at 492 nm is observed in the resultant phosphors and its maximum intensity is obtained when the Eu2+ content is 4 mol%. Moreover, the zero-thermal quenching luminescence, even when the temperature is 503 K, the integrated emission intensity still maintains 106% of its starting value at 303 K, is realized in resultant phosphors because of the efficient energy transfer from defect levels to Eu2+, which is confirmed by the thermoluminescence spectrum. The electroluminescence spectrum of the packaged white light-emitting diode (white-LED) is detected and it is found to possess a high color rendering index (91.0), low correlated color temperature (4875 K) and a superior luminous efficiency (68.7 lm W-1), implying that the developed phosphors can be adopted as cyan-emitting components to fulfill the cyan gap and realize a full spectrum white-LED. Furthermore, the cathodoluminescence (CL) performance of samples is also studied, in which its CL emission intensity is greatly impacted by the accelerating voltage and the filament current. Additionally, using the synthesized phosphors, various types of patterns are designed for use in information encryption. These achievements reveal that the Eu2+-activated Sr8Si4O12Cl8 phosphors are multifunctional cyan-emitting candidates for full spectrum white-LED, field-emission display and anti-counterfeiting applications.

Development of functional hydroxyethyl cellulose-based composite films for food packaging applications.

Cellulose-based functional composite films can be a good substitute for conventional plastic packaging to ensure food safety. In this study, the semi-transparent, mechanical strengthened, UV-shielding, antibacterial and biocompatible films were developed from hydroxyethyl cellulose Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and ε-polylysine (ε-PL) were respectively used as reinforcing agent and antibacterial agent, and chemical cross-linking among these three components were constructed using epichlorohydrin The maximum tensile strength and elongation at break were 95.9 ± 4.1 MPa and 148.8 ± 2.6%, respectively. TG-FTIR and XRD analyses indicated that chemical structure of the composite films could be well controlled by varying component proportion. From UV-Vis analysis, the optimum values of the percentage of blocking from UV-A and UV-B and ultraviolet protection factor values were 98.35%, 99.99% and 60.25, respectively. Additionally, the composite films exhibited good water vapor permeability, swelling behavior, antibacterial activity and biocompatibility. In terms of these properties, the shelf life of grapes could be extended to 6 days after packing with the composite film.

POSS and imidazolium-constructed ionic porous hypercrosslinked polymers with multiple active sites for synergistic catalytic CO2 transformation.

In this work, we reported a facile one-pot approach to construct polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) and imidazolium-based ionic porous hypercrosslinked polymers (denoted as iPHCPs) with multiple active sites towards efficient catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to high value-added cyclic carbonates. The targeted iPHCPs were synthesized from a rigid molecular building block octavinylsilsesquioxane (VPOSS) and a newly-designed phenyl-based imidazolium ionic crosslinker through the AlCl3-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts reaction. The desired multiple active sites come from the mixed anions including free Cl- and Br- anions, and in situ formed Lewis acidic metal-halogen complex anions [AlCl3Br]- within imidazolium moieties and POSS-derived Si-OH groups during the synthetic process. The typical polymer iPHCP-12 possesses a hierarchical micro-/mesoporous structure with a high surface area up to 537 m2 g-1 and shows a fluffy nano-morphology. By virtue of the co-existence of free nucleophilic Cl- and Br- anions, the metal complex anion [AlCl3Br]- with both electrophilic and nucleophilic characters and electrophilic hydrogen bond donor (HBD) Si-OH groups, iPHCP-12 is regarded as an efficient recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for synergistic catalytic conversion of CO2 with various epoxides into cyclic carbonates under mild conditions. The present work provides a succinct one-pot strategy to construct task-specific ionic porous hypercrosslinked polymers from easily available modules for the targeted catalytic applications.

COx-free hydrogen production via ammonia decomposition over mesoporous Co/Al2O3 catalysts with highly dispersed Co species synthesized by a facile method.

Transition metals have been considered as potential catalysts for ammonia decomposition to produce COx-free hydrogen for fuel cells. However, the facile synthesis of transition metal catalysts with small size active species, high porosity and good structural stability is still a challenge in catalytic NH3 decomposition. Herein, mesoporous Co/Al2O3 catalysts with various cobalt contents were synthesized by a facile modified sol-gel method. The catalyst 15CoAl with 15 at% cobalt content realizes the optimal catalytic NH3 decomposition performance. 92% NH3 conversion at 600 °C is achieved with a gaseous hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 24 000 cm3 gcat-1 h-1 and a hydrogen formation rate of 33.9 mmol gcat-1 min-1 at 600 °C is maintained after a 120 h long-duration stability test. Uniform small cobalt particles with high dispersion are well embedded into the skeleton of the mesoporous Al2O3 matrix. The aggregation of active cobalt species during the high temperature reaction can be effectively prevented by the mesoporous Al2O3 matrix due to the strong interaction between them, thus ensuring a good catalytic performance for ammonia decomposition.

The Phase Relations of the Co-Ni-In Ternary System at 673 K and 873 K and Magnetic Properties of Their Compounds.

The phase relationships of the ternary Co-Ni-In system at 673 K and 873 K were investigated by means of powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy, and optical microscopy. Though CoIn2 does not exist at 873 K, the ternary solid solution Co1-xNixIn2 exists at both 673 K and 873 K with different composition ranges. The Rietveld refinements were carried out to investigate the crystal structure of Co1-xNixIn2 (x = 0.540, and 0.580) and Ni2-xCoxIn3 (x = 0.200). The magnetization dependence of temperature (MT) curves of Ni2-xCoxIn3 (x = 0.200) and Co1-xNixIn2 (x = 0.540) are similar to those of the ferromagnetic shape memory alloys Ni-Mn-A (A = Ga, Sn, and In), but do not undergo martensitic transformation. The maximum magnetic entropy changes in Ni2-xCoxIn3 (x = 0.200) and Co1-xNixIn2 (x = 0.540) under 3T are 1.25 and 1.475 J kg-1K-1, respectively.

Metalated-bipyridine-based porous hybrid polymers with POSS-derived Si-OH groups for synergistic catalytic CO2 fixation.

Herein, we construct a new series of N-heterocyclic ligand bipyridine-based porous hybrid polymers (denoted Bpy-PHPs) from the Heck reaction of a rigid building unit octavinylsilsesquioxane (VPOSS) and 5,5'-dibromo-2,2'-bipyridine. Surprisingly, the typical sample Bpy-PHP-4 was found to be a metal-/halogen-free heterogeneous catalyst in the cycloaddition reaction of CO2 with a few epoxides under atmospheric pressure. After coordination with ZnBr2, the resultant ZnBr2@Bpy-PHP-4 afforded largely enhanced heterogeneous catalytic activities upon the conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) and various epoxides into cyclic carbonates without using any co-catalysts under mild conditions. The moderate catalytic activities of Bpy-PHP-4 may be due to the presence of hydrogen bond donors (HBDs), i.e., polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)-derived Si-OH groups and N active sites from Bpy linkers. In comparison, the high catalytic efficiency of ZnBr2@Bpy-PHP-4 should be attributed to the synergistic catalysis of Si-OH groups, N active atoms, and Bpy-coordinated ZnBr2. Moreover, the catalyst ZnBr2@Bpy-PHP-4 can be easily recovered and reused ten times without any significant loss of catalytic activities. This work affords an efficient metal-based porous hybrid polymer heterogeneous catalyst for the cycloaddition reaction of CO2 and epoxides under mild and co-catalyst-free conditions.

Antinociceptive Effects of Shenling Baizhu through PI3K-Akt-mTOR Signaling Pathway in a Mouse Model of Bone Metastasis with Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Shenling Baizhu additive powder (SLBZ-AP), a formulation of a variety of natural medicinal plants, has clinical efficacy in treating cancers in previous studies. We explored the effect of SLBZ-AP in bone metastasis of lung cancer (BMLC) mice, and the possible mechanism involved was further investigated in the present study. Mice model of BMLC was made and treated with SLBZ-AP. Pain behavioral tests were performed to explore the effect on BMLC-induced pain in mice. TUNEL staining was used to investigate apoptosis. The mRNA expression of markers in the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway was measured by qPCR, and protein expression was detected by western blotting and immunohistochemistry analysis. SLBZ-AP relieved BMLC-induced pain and prolonged animals' survival, promoted cell apoptosis in the marrow from the tibia of BMLC mice, and inhibited mRNA and protein expression of AKT, mTOR, P70S6, and VEGF, as well as protein expression of p-AKT, p-mTOR, p-P70S6, and VEGF upregulation in the marrow of tibia induced by BMLC, an effect which was similar to rapamycin. Our results suggested that SLBZ-AP may have antinociceptive effect and prolong survival of BMLC mice at least partially by inhibiting cell proliferation and promoting apoptosis through the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. SLBZ-AP may be a potential candidate for BMLC therapy.

An easy way to identify high performing covalent organic frameworks for hydrogen storage.

The complexity of secondary building units (SBUs), an indicator that can not only be calculated but also visually estimated, is proposed as a highly indicative predictor of hydrogen storage performance. With optimal pore sizes and void fractions, selecting COFs consisting of simple SBUs greatly improves the probability of top-performing COFs towards the ultimate DOE hydrogen storage target, as an easy principle for experimentalists to select hydrogen adsorbents.

Two-in-one: construction of hydroxyl and imidazolium-bifunctionalized ionic networks in one-pot toward synergistic catalytic CO2 fixation.

A succinct strategy was demonstrated for constructing a hydroxyl group and imidazolium-bifunctionalized ionic network via a one-pot quaternization. Key to success lies in the rational design of multi-imidazole precursor and hydroxyl-containing counterpart. Unique properties of the resultant ionic network render its high catalytic efficiency toward CO2 fixation under ambient conditions.

Facile synthesis of crystalline viologen-based porous ionic polymers with hydrogen-bonded water for efficient catalytic CO2 fixation under ambient conditions.

In this work, we report a series of crystalline viologen-based porous ionic polymers (denoted VIP-X, X = Cl or Br), that have in situ formed dicationic viologens paired with halogen anions and intrinsic hydrogen-bonded water molecules, towards metal-free heterogeneous catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) under mild conditions. The targeted VIP-X materials were facilely constructed via the Menshutkin reaction of 4,4'-bipyridine with 4,4'-bis(bromomethyl)biphenyl (BCBMP) or 4,4'-bis(chloromethyl)biphenyl (BBMBP) monomers. Their crystalline and porous structures, morphological features and chemical structures and compositions were fully characterized by various advanced techniques. The optimal catalyst VIP-Br afforded a high yield of 99% in the synthesis of cyclic carbonate by CO2 cycloaddition with epichlorohydrin under atmospheric pressure (1 bar) and a low temperature (40 °C), while other various epoxides could be also converted into cyclic carbonates under mild conditions. Moreover, the catalyst VIP-Br could be separated easily and reused with good stability. The remarkable catalytic performance could be attributed to the synergistic effect of the enriched Br- anions and available hydrogen bond donors -OH groups coming from H-bonded water molecules.

[Effects of socioeconomic factors on urban plant diversity of residential areas in Shanghai, China]. / ç¤¾ä¼šç»æµŽå› ç´ å¯¹ä¸Šæµ·å¸‚å± ä½åŒºæ¤ç‰©å¤šæ ·æ€§çš„å½±å“.

Residential area, usually consisting of buildings and vegetation, is one of the dominant land use types and an important kind of habitat in the urban area. Therefore, it plays an important role in urban biodiversity conservation. Previous studies found that plant diversity abroad in urban residential areas was influenced by socioeconomic factors. However, it is not clear whether this result hold for Chinese cities which have completely different urban management regime. In this study, we investigated plant species diversity in 39 residential neighborhoods in Shanghai. Biodiversity indexes, regression analysis, and partial least square regression analysis were employed to estimate the relationships between plant diversity and socioeconomic factors of population density, house price, house age and greenspace coverage. Our results showed that socioeconomic factors did affect plant diversity in urban residential areas in Shanghai. The effects varied with plant species, population density, house price, house age, and greenspace coverage. The house age had the strongest effect on most plant taxa, then followed by population density, house price, and greenspace coverage. We tested the hypotheses of "luxury effect" and "legacy effect", and found that they only partially explained the spatial distribution of plant taxa in Shanghai. These results could provide insights for management and conservation of plant diversity, as well as urban landscape planning and design in Shanghai.

Plasmonic-3D photonic crystals microchip for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Plasmonic-dielectic hybrid substrates of Ag-islands on three-dimensional photonic crystals are fabricated through magnetron sputtering of silver onto hydrophobized silica photonic crystals, free from etching process. Without typical "hot-spots" such as nanogaps, significant Raman enhancements can be achieved, attributed to the enhanced electromagnetic field and scattering of the plasmonic nanoparticles as well as the enhanced light-matter interaction by the slow photon effects. The detection limit for adenine by the hybrid substrates reaches nM level, with a calculated enhancement factor of 1.13 × 107, which is three orders of magnitude higher than the conventional noble metal film over nanosphere (FON) control group. Furthermore, microchips based on the hybrid substrates are facilely achieved, enabling micro-detection through super hydrophobic concentration. The facile fabrication and effective Raman enhancements make the Ag-islands on 3D photonic crystals promising candidates in the field of chemical sensors, Raman mapping and bioassays.

Ku86 alleviates human umbilical vein endothelial cellular apoptosis and senescence induced by a low dose of ionizing radiation.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to observe the effect of Ku86 on cellular senescence and apoptosis induced by various doses of ionizing radiation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). METHODS: Senescence-associated ß-galactosidase activity was detected to evaluate cell senescence. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry and a caspase enzyme determination kit. p16Ink4a, Sirt1, superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), xanthine oxidase (XOD), and Bcl-2 protein expression levels were measured by western blotting. RESULTS: Low doses of ionizing radiation induced cellular senescence and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. The Ku86 protein was negatively correlated with ionization intensity. After transfection of Ku86 with a vector (pcDNA 3.1), or interference with siRNA (si-Ku86), apoptosis/senescence and related protein expression were observed. Western blot results revealed that this induction of senescence was associated with activated Sirt1 and SOD2, and downregulation of p16Ink4a and XOD in 0.2 Gy ionizing radiation. The expression levels of apoptosis-associated proteins, such as Bcl-2, cleaved caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9, were significantly altered in both the presence and absence of Ku86 with ionizing radiation (0.2 Gy). CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that Ku86 overexpression inhibits HUVEC apoptosis and senescence induced by low doses of ionizing radiation.

Constructing POSS and viologen-linked porous cationic frameworks induced by the Zincke reaction for efficient CO2 capture and conversion.

POSS and viologen-linked porous cationic frameworks (V-PCIF-X, X = Cl, Br) are constructed via the Zincke reaction between octa(aminophenyl)silsesquioxane and viologen linkers. The typical V-PCIF-Br has a high surface area with abundant ionic sites, micro-/mesopores and Si-OH groups, serving as an efficient porous adsorbent and metal-free catalyst for simultaneous CO2 capture and conversion.

A factor analysis of landscape metrics of particles deposited on leaf surface.

Particulate matter in the airborne environment is one of the top environmental concerns, as well as reasons of deaths and diverse diseases. Urban green infrastructure can improve the air quality by mitigating particulate matters from airborne environment and provide high spatial monitoring of particles by means of leaf particles as indicators. Three common species in Beijing (ailanthus, ash, and willow) were chosen to represent three different leaf characteristics. Then, we analyzed the correlation relationship of the particle metrics at landscape, class, and patch levels and implemented the principal components analysis and factor analysis. Firstly, at landscape level, metrics are mostly correlated with each other and the correlation relationship of metrics of ailanthus and willow were stronger than that of ash, which has coarse-texture leaves without hair. At class level, most of the metrics were correlated and the correlation relationship of metrics of ailanthus, whose leaves have microgrooves without hair, was weaker than that of ash and willow. At patch level, judging from proximity, the distance between particles from the same range was smaller for particles with complicated shape. Secondly, particles from four ranges were analyzed separately. The shape complexity of particles decreased and increased as the area increased respectively for PM1 (diameter ≤ 1 µm) and large particles (diameter ≥ 10 µm). Two principle components were identified for landscape and class levels respectively. These results will be useful for the in-depth understanding of the particles deposited on the leaf surface.

Does magnification of SEM image influence quantification of particulate matters deposited on vegetation foliage.

The metrics used to quantify the particles on the leaf surface can serve as indicators for the quality of the atmospheric environment and is employed to evaluate the ecosystem services that plants can provide. Magnification of an SEM image may affect the recognition of particles in various aspects, yet little research has examined the impact. In this study, images were obtained at magnifications of 500×, 1000×, 2000×, and 5000× for a widely planted vegetation fence species in Beijing: Euonymus japonicas. Particle amount per leaf area increased as magnification increased; the percentage of the leaf area covered by particles was a relatively stable index across magnifications at around 7% except for the magnification 2000× which was around 15%; and the weight of particles per leaf area was unstable over all magnifications. The mean area of each particle decreased from 5.68 µm2 at magnification 500× to 0.20 at magnification 5000×, and shape complexity increased as magnification increased from 1.29 at magnification 500× to 1.50 at magnification 5000×. Particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 µm are more sensitive to scale than particles with a diameter greater than 2.5 µm of judged by the differences of the characteristics, diameter, area and shape index, of particles with different diameter ranges over four magnifications. Regarding the percentage characteristic, the percentage of particles with a diameter smaller than 1 µm increased as the magnification increased and accounted for 46% at magnification 500× and 96% at magnification 5000×. The percentage of particles with an area smaller than 1 µm2 also increased as the magnification increased accounting for 56% at magnification 500× and 99% at magnification 5000×. Particles with shape index between 1-1.5 accounted for most of the particles across all four magnifications of which the percentage was 0.66-0.80. Therefore, when comparing the results from different magnifications, three factors should be considered carefully: magnification, quantification index, and particle size range. The revealed relationship of the factors can facilitate the understanding of the metrics as indicators for atmospheric environments and vegetation as a sink for atmospheric particles to improve the urban environment.

P-Doped carbons derived from cellulose as highly efficient metal-free catalysts for aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol in water under an air atmosphere.

P-Doped carbons, prepared by carbonizing phosphoric acid-treated cellulose, exhibit high catalytic activity in metal-free aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde (99.7% yield) in water under air. A high turnover frequency is obtained due to the doped P-species of C3PO, identified via experiments and DFT calculations.