Construction of atom co-sharing Bi/Bi4O5Br2 nanosheet heterojunction for plasmonic-enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic antibacterial activity.

The rapid advancement of photodynamic therapy (PDT) antibacterial materials has led to promising alternatives to antibiotics for treating bacterial infections. However, antibacterial drugs have poor light absorption and utilization rates, which limits their practical application. Constructing two-dimensional (2D) heterojunctions from materials with matching photophysical properties has emerged as a highly effective strategy for achieving high-efficiency photo-antibacterial performance. Here, we designed and prepared an atom co-sharing Bi/Bi4O5Br2 nanosheet heterojunction by a simple in situ reduction. This heterojunction material combines outstanding biocompatibility with excellent bactericidal efficiency, which exceeded 90 % against Escherichia coli (a Gram-negative bacterium) and Staphylococcus aureus (a Gram-positive bacterium) under visible light irradiation, around nine-fold higher than that with pure Bi4O5Br2 nanosheets. The results suggest that localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of shared Bi atoms on the Bi4O5Br2 nanosheets promotes light utilization and the separation and transfer of photo-generated charges, thus producing more abundant reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can partake in the PDT antibacterial effect. Our study underscores the potential utility of LSPR-enhanced Bi-based nanosheet heterojunctions for safe and efficient PDT to combat bacterial infections.

PointCAT: Contrastive Adversarial Training for Robust Point Cloud Recognition.

Notwithstanding the prominent performance shown in various applications, point cloud recognition models have often suffered from natural corruptions and adversarial perturbations. In this paper, we delve into boosting the general robustness of point cloud recognition, proposing Point-Cloud Contrastive Adversarial Training (PointCAT). The main intuition of PointCAT is encouraging the target recognition model to narrow the decision gap between clean point clouds and corrupted point clouds by devising feature-level constraints rather than logit-level constraints. Specifically, we leverage a supervised contrastive loss to facilitate the alignment and the uniformity of hypersphere representations, and design a pair of centralizing losses with dynamic prototype guidance to prevent features from deviating outside their belonging category clusters. To generate more challenging corrupted point clouds, we adversarially train a noise generator concurrently with the recognition model from the scratch. This differs from previous adversarial training methods that utilized gradient-based attacks as the inner loop. Comprehensive experiments show that the proposed PointCAT outperforms the baseline methods, significantly enhancing the robustness of diverse point cloud recognition models under various corruptions, including isotropic point noises, the LiDAR simulated noises, random point dropping, and adversarial perturbations. Our code is available at: https://github.com/shikiw/PointCAT.

Mogroside â ¤ Inhibits M1 Polarization and Inflammation of Diabetic Mouse Macrophages via p38 MAPK/NF-Κb Signaling Pathway.

BACKGROUND: Mogroside V (MV) has anti-inflammatory properties. However, its impact on macrophage polarization under diabetic condition is yet unclear. This study aimed to investigate effects and underlying mechanisms of MV on inflammatory response and M1 polarization of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) from diabetic mice. METHODS: BMDMs were isolated from normal and diabetic C57BL/6 mice. LPS and IFN-γwere used to produce M1-polarized BMDMs. MV treatment was administered throughout the M1 polarization process with or without SB203580 or PDTC. Surface markers CD11b, F4/80 and CD86 of macrophages were identified using flow cytometry or immunofluorescence staining. Inflammatory cytokines IL-1ß and IL-6 and phosphorylation levels of p65 and p38 were examined by western blot. RESULTS: High glucose increased proportion of CD11b+F4/80+CD86+ cells, protein levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-1ß and IL-6 and phosphorylation levels of p65 and p38 in LPS+IFN-γ-induced BMDMs, while they were decreased upon MV treatment. Additionally, these effects were further downregulated when MV was co-added with SB203580 or PDTC. CONCLUSIONS: MV suppressed M1 macrophage polarization and inflammatory response, which was partially through NF-κB and p38 MAPK in LPS+IFN-γ induced BMDMs under high glucose condition, implying the potential of MV in treatment for inflammatory complications of diabetes.

[Mechanism of blood-activating and mass-dissipating Chinese patent medicine against hyperplasia of mammary glands and use with other medicine: a review].

Caused by endocrine disorder, hyperplasia of mammary glands(HMG) tends to occur in the young with increasing incidence, putting patients at the risk of cancer and threatening the health of women. Therefore, the prevention and treatment of HMG is attracting more and more attention. Amid the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), many scholars have found that Chinese patent medicine has unique advantages and huge potential in treatment of endocrine disorder. Particularly, Chinese patent medicine with the function of blood-activating and mass-dissipating, such as Xiaojin Pills and Xiaozheng Pills, has been commonly used in clinical treatment of HMG, which features multiple targets, obvious efficacy, small side effect, and ease of taking and carrying around. Clinical studies have found that the combination of Chinese patent medicine with other medicine can not only improve the efficacy and relieve symptoms such as hyperplasia and pain but also reduce the toxic and side effects of western medicine. Therefore, based on precious pharmacological research and clinical research, this study reviewed the mechanisms of blood-activating mass-dissipating Chinese patent medicine alone and in combination with other medicine, such as regulating levels of in vivo hormones and receptors, promoting apoptosis, inhibiting angiogenesis, improving hemorheology indexes, enhancing immunity, and boosting antioxidant ability. In addition, limitations and problems were summarized. Thereby, this study is expected to lay a theoretical basis for the further study and clinical application of blood-activating mass-dissipating Chinese patent medicine alone or in combination with other medicine against HMG.

Effectively enhanced photocatalytic performance of layered perovskite Bi2NdO4Cl by coupling piezotronic effect.

The coupling between piezoelectricity and photoexcitation is an attractive method for improving the photocatalytic efficiency of semiconductors. Herein, a novel layered perovskite photocatalyst Bi2NdO4Cl (BNOC) has been successfully prepared via solid-state reaction. PFM results confirm that BNOC has piezoelectricity, and its piezo-photocatalytic degradation performance was evaluated for the first time using tetracycline hydrochloride (TH) as a pollutant model. The results show that the piezo-photocatalytic degradation rate constant is about 1.5 times higher than the sum of the individual photo- and piezo-catalytic components. This synergistic enhancement can be attributed to the band tilting-induced piezoelectric polarization charges and formation of a piezoelectric field, which accelerates the photoinduced charge carrier separation and effectively enhanced the photocatalytic performance. This work may facilitate the development of novel piezoelectric photocatalytic materials that are highly sensitive to the mechanical energy of discrete fluids, and offer ideas for piezo-photocatalysis in environmental applications.

[Mechanism of anti-hyperplasia of mammary glands of Xihuang Pills blood-entering component based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS and network pharmacology].

In this study, based on network pharmacology and molecular docking method, the mechanism of anti-hyperplasia of mammary glands of Xihuang Pills blood-entering components was explored, and the efficacy and key targets of Xihuang Pills blood-entering components were experimentally verified by MCF-10A proliferation model of human mammary epithelial cells. In order to clarify the material basis and mechanism of Xihuang Pills in realizing anti-hyperplasia of mammary glands, the blood-entering components of Xihuang Pills were qualitatively analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS, and 22 blood-entering components were identified. By taking the blood-entering components as the research object, the network pharmacology prediction and molecular docking verification were carried out, and finally, three key targets were screened out, namely JAK1, SRC, and CDK1. In vitro experiments show that Xihuang Pills can inhibit the proliferation of MCF-10A cells, promote the apoptosis of MCF-10A cells, and reduce the expression of JAK1, SRC, and CDK1 targets in cells. To sum up, Xihuang Pills can promote the apoptosis of mammary epithelial cells by regulating the expression of JAK1, SRC, and CDK1 and then play an anti-hyperplasia role, which provides an experimental basis for clarifying the material basis of Xihuang Pills for anti-hyperplasia effect.

Erratum: Cell-penetrating peptides enhance the transduction of adeno-associated virus serotype 9 in the central nervous system.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2021.02.019.].

Multidimensional analysis reveals environmental factors that affect community dynamics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in poplar roots.

Introduction: Poplar is a tree species with important production and application value. The symbiotic relationship between poplar and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) has a key role in ecosystem functioning. However, there remain questions concerning the seasonal dynamics of the AMF community in poplar roots, the relationship between AMF and the soil environment, and its ecological function. Method: Poplar roots and rhizosphere soil were sampled at the end of April and the end of October. The responses of AMF communities to season, host age, and host species were investigated; the soil environmental factors driving community changes were analyzed. Results: The diversity and species composition of the AMF community were higher in autumn than in spring. Season, host age, host species, and soil environmental factors affected the formation of the symbiotic mycorrhizal system and the AMF community. Differences in the communities could be explained by soil pH, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, available potassium, and glomalin content. Discussion: The AMF community was sensitive to changes in soil physicochemical properties caused by seasonal dynamics, particularly total potassium. The change in the mycorrhizal symbiotic system was closely related to the growth and development of poplar trees.

Phosphorylation of polysaccharides: A review on the synthesis and bioactivities.

Polysaccharides are macromolecules obtained from a wide range of sources and are known to have diverse biological activities. The biological activities of polysaccharides depend on their structure and physicochemical properties, including water solubility, monosaccharide composition, degree of branching, molecular structure, and molecular weight. Phosphorylation is a commonly used chemical modification method that improves the physicochemical properties of native polysaccharides, thus enhancing their biological activity, or even imparting novel biological activity. Therefore, phosphorylated polysaccharides have attracted increasing attention owing to their antioxidant, antitumor, antiviral, immunomodulatory, and hepatoprotective effects. In this review, we have discussed recent advances in the phosphorylation of polysaccharides, and the methods used for phosphorylation, structural characterization, and determination of biological activities, to provide a theoretical basis for the use of polysaccharides. The structure-activity relationship of phosphorylated polysaccharides and their use in the food and pharmaceutical industries needs to be further studied.

Cell-penetrating peptides enhance the transduction of adeno-associated virus serotype 9 in the central nervous system.

Recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs) have been widely used in the gene therapy field for decades. However, because of the challenge of effectively delivering rAAV vectors through the blood-brain barrier (BBB), their applications for treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases are quite limited. In this study, we found that several cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) can significantly enhance the in vitro transduction efficiency of AAV serotype 9 (AAV9), a promising AAV vector for treatment of CNS diseases, the best of which was the LAH4 peptide. The enhancement of AAV9 transduction by LAH4 relied on binding of the AAV9 capsid to the peptide. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the LAH4 peptide increased the AAV9 transduction in the CNS in vitro and in vivo after systemic administration. Taken together, our results suggest that CPP peptides can interact directly with AAV9 and increase the ability of this AAV vector to cross the BBB, which further induces higher expression of target genes in the brain. Our study will help to improve the applications of AAV gene delivery vectors for the treatment of CNS diseases.

Spatiotemporal characteristics and pollution level of brominated flame retardants in bivalves from Fujian southern coastal areas.

The concentration and spatiotemporal distribution of brominated flame retardants (BFRs), including hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), were analyzed in bivalves from Fujian southern coastal areas. The concentrations of HBCD and TBBPA ranged from ND (not detected) to 5.540 ng·g-1 (ww) (median of 0.111 ng·g-1) and ND to 0.962 ng·g-1 (ww) (median of ND), respectively. In addition, α-HBCD was found as the predominant diastereoisomer in all the studied samples, followed by ß-HBCD and γ-HBCD. The spatial distribution of BFRs showed a peak distribution, with the content being higher in the marine environment of Xiamen and Quanzhou, in South Fujian, and lower toward the marine environment of Zhangzhou, and Putian. BFRs contamination level was correlated to the bay geographical location and proximity to local industries. Furthermore, the results of the study showed a seasonal variation pattern: summer > autumn > spring > winter. This study provides base information on the contamination status of these BFRs in the marine environment of southern Fujian.

Seasonal control of spatial distribution of soil moisture on a steep hillslope.

Spatio-temporal variation in soil moisture plays an important role in hydrological and ecological processes. In the present study, we investigated the effect of environmental factors on variation in soil moisture at a hillslope scale. The relationships among various environmental factors, including soil properties, topographic indices, and vegetation of a humid forest hillslope, and soil moisture distributions were evaluated based on soil moisture data collected at 18 sampling locations over three seasons (spring, rainy, and autumn) at depths of 10, 30, and 60 cm. In order to evaluate the multi-dimensional data sets without the interaction among factors, the principal component regression (PCR) model was applied to identify the factors controlling the spatio-temporal variation in soil moisture. The effects on soil texture and topography were significant in spring. In addition, clay and sand appeared as critical control factors for the study area in all seasons. The transitional control patterns in the soil moisture profile indicated that the control varied depending on features, such as total amount, intensity, and duration, of rainfall events in spring and during the rainy season. The transitional control pattern for autumn showed that vegetation and local slope controlled transitions in topography.

Expression and purification of human ARP1 protein and rapid preparation of polyclonal antibody.

Angiopoietin-related protein 1 (ARP1) is one of the antiangiogenic factors and plays an important role in endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and blood vessel network formation. Here a rapid method to prepare ARP1 polyclonal antibody in 1 month was developed. The gene of fibrinogen homology domain (FD) for ARP1 was cloned and the protein was expressed in a soluble form of MBP-FD fused protein. The MBP-FD protein was purified using amylose affinity chromatography of maltose-binding protein. Polyclonal antibodies against MBP-FD were obtained through immunization in BALB/c mice. The titer was determined by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the antibody specificity was assessed by Western blot. The full-length ARP1 protein in stable form expressed in transfected human large lung cancer cell lines NCI-H460 was detected by immunocytochemistry (ICC) analysis using ARP1 polyclonal antibodies. The result shows that the antibody possesses good specificity and sensitivity. This work provides a substantial base for the further studies of ARP1 function and associated mechanisms. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Preparative Biochemistry and Biotechnology to view the supplemental file.

The synthesis and biological evaluation of novel Danshensu-cysteine analog conjugates as cardiovascular-protective agents.

A series of novel amide and thioester conjugates between Danshensu and cysteine derivatives have been designed and synthesized based on the strategy of "medicinal chemical hybridization". Pharmacological evaluation indicated that the amide conjugates 3a/4a/17a and thioester conjugates 6a-d exhibited obvious protective effects on H(2)O(2)-induced human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Pretreated with these conjugates could increase glutathione (GSH) activity and decrease malondialdehyde (MDA) level. Further study on mechanism of compound 4a revealed that it was related to its mitochondrial-protective effect and regulation of apoptosis-related proteins expression (Bax, p53, PARP, caspase-3, caspase-9 and Bcl-2). These results indicate that these Danshensu-cysteine analog conjugates possess significant cardiovascular-protective effects and merit further investigation.

Effects of municipal sewage sludge stabilized by fly ash on the growth of Manilagrass and transfer of heavy metals.

A greenhouse experiment was carried out to evaluate the feasibility of using an artificial soil for cultivation of Manilagrass. The transfer and transformation of heavy metals in the artificial soil-Manilagrass system were discussed at the same time. The results showed that fly ash-sludge indicated a positive effect on the growth of Manilagrass. The pots with 14% sludge and 6% fly ash mixture had the highest yield and nutrient concentrations of Manilagrass. With the increasing application of coal fly ash, the concentrations of Ni, Zn, Mn, Sb and Cu in Manilagrass decreased significantly, while Pb, V and Ti increased. Otherwise, the concentrations of Cd, As, Cr, Co, and Fe did not show a remarkable change. Except for Sb, the values of bio-concentration factor of heavy metals in Manilagrass were all below 1.0 after treated by the fly ash-sludge treatment, decreased as Sb>Ni>Zn>Cu>Pb>Mn>Co=Cr>Cd>Fe=V>Ti>As in an average for all treatments. Compared to the contrast check, the proportions of heavy metals in exchangeable, reducible and oxidizable fractions increased. Manilagrass could be used to reduce the eco-toxicity and bioavailability of Ti, V, Mn, Co, Cr and Cd in fly ash-sludge amended soil.

Luminescence of er doped ZnS quantum dots excited by infrared lasers.

ZnS:Er quantum dots were prepared in aqueous medium from readily available precursors. The construction, morphology and luminescence properties of the ZnS:Er quantum dots were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and photoluminescence spectra. The average particle size was calculated using the Scherrer formula to be 4 nm, which is also observed from high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) image. Different laser wavelengths at 976 +/- 2 nm and 1480 nm were utilized as the excitation source. ZnS:Er quantum dots had a fluorescence spectrum in 1550 nm region through the 4I13/2 --> 4I15/2 transition. Furthermore, intensity increased with increasing excitation intensity and dopant concentration. The reason for the photoluminescence spectra broadening is discussed. It is because the energy levels of Er3+ are split by a coulombic interaction between electrons, including spin correction and spin-orbit coupling, and eventually by the Stark effect due to ZnS QDs crystal field and local coordination.

Ultraviolet-inscribed long period gratings in all-solid photonic bandgap fibers.

Long period fiber gratings are fabricated in the cladding rods of all-solid photonic bandgap fibers (PBGFs) by point-by-point side UV illumination. Resonant couplings from fundamental mode to guided and radiative supermodes (rod modes), and bandgap-like modes are identified. We obtained a detailed insight over the modal and dispersive properties of the PBGF through a series of theoretical and experimental investigations on the spectral characteristics and the responses to temperature and high-index liquid of the LPGs.

Liquid crystal photonic bandgap fiber: different bandgap transmissions at different temperature ranges.

The temperature tuning properties of a liquid crystal (LC) photonic bandgap fiber's bandgap transmission was investigated in this study. Because of the special temperature responses of the LC's indices and its phase transition property, the bandgap transmission was found to have different temperature responses at different temperature ranges below the LC's clearing point temperature. At temperatures lower or higher than the LC's clearing point, the bandgap transmissions are quite different, which permits switching with an extinction ratio as large as 45 dB. At temperatures around the LC's clearing point, the bandgap transmission was depressed.

Electrically tunable Sagnac filter based on a photonic bandgap fiber with liquid crystal infused.

We demonstrate an electrically tunable Sagnac filter based on a photonic bandgap fiber that is realized by infusing liquid crystal into a solid-core air-hole photonic crystal fiber. The filter enables an electrical tuning with a range of about 26 nm for one single interference minimum in the transmission bandgap from 1330 to 1650 nm wavelength. The tuning efficiency is averaged to 0.53 nm/V.

Thermally tunable dual-core photonic bandgap fiber based on the infusion of a temperature-responsive liquid.

A dual-core photonic bandgap fiber (PBGF) is demonstrated by infusing a high-index liquid into a dual-core air-silica photonic crystal fiber (PCF). Extremal couplings have been experimentally observed. The temperature tunable characteristics of the dual-core PBGF's bandgap guiding and dual-core coupling are experimentally and numerically investigated. When we rise temperature, the dual-core PBGFs' bandgaps have been changed: compression of bandwidth, blue-shift and depression of the guiding band. Especially, the dual-core coupling is temperature tunable because of the tunability of the infusion liquid's index. We find that the rise of temperature increases the coupling length which results in the blue-shift of the resonant peak wavelengths with a speed of 1.9nm/degreesC, for a 20mm dual-core PBGF.