Highly stretchable and self-healable polymer gels from physical entanglements of ultrahigh-molecular weight polymers.

Highly stretchable and self-healing polymer gels formed solely by physical entanglements of ultrahigh-molecular weight (UHMW) polymers were fabricated through a facile one-step process. Radical polymerization of vinyl monomers in ionic liquids under very low initiator concentration conditions produced UHMW polymers of more than 106 g/mol with nearly 100% yield, resulting in the formation of physically entangled transparent polymer gels. The UHMW gels showed excellent properties, such as high stretchability, high ionic conductivity, and recyclability. Furthermore, the UHMW gel exhibited room temperature self-healing ability without any external stimuli. The tensile experiments and molecular dynamics simulations indicate that the nonequilibrium state of the fractured surfaces and microscopic interactions between the polymer chains and solvents play a vital role in the self-healing ability. This study provides a physical approach for fabricating stretchable and self-healing polymer gels based on UHMW polymers.

Calibration for a count rate-dependent time correlation function and a random noise reduction in pulsed dynamic light scattering.

A pulsed dynamic light scattering (DLS) system, which would be potentially applied to nonlinear DLS with molecular selectivity, was developed by combining a sub-nanosecond pulsed laser with a software-based detection system. The distortion of the time correlation function due to the clipping effect in the photon counting module, and the resulting underestimation of the particle size, were successfully calibrated based on a theoretical simulation. The effective removal of random noises was also demonstrated via time gating synchronized to the laser pulses.

Diagnostic performance of chest CT to differentiate COVID-19 pneumonia in non-high-epidemic area in Japan.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of chest CT to differentiate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia in non-high-epidemic area in Japan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 21 patients clinically suspected COVID-19 pneumonia and underwent chest CT more than 3 days after the symptom onset: six patients confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and 15 patients proved uninfected. Using a Likert scale and its receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, two radiologists (R1/R2) evaluated the diagnostic performance of the five CT criteria: (1) ground glass opacity (GGO)-predominant lesions, (2) GGO- and peripheral-predominant lesions, (3) bilateral GGO-predominant lesions; (4) bilateral GGO- and peripheral-predominant lesions, and (5) bilateral GGO- and peripheral-predominant lesions without nodules, airway abnormalities, pleural effusion, and mediastinal lymphadenopathy. RESULTS: All patients confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia had bilateral GGO- and peripheral-predominant lesions without airway abnormalities, mediastinal lymphadenopathy, and pleural effusion. The five CT criteria showed moderate to excellent diagnostic performance with area under the curves (AUCs) ranging 0.77-0.88 for R1 and 0.78-0.92 for R2. The criterion (e) showed the highest AUC. CONCLUSION: Chest CT would play a supplemental role to differentiate COVID-19 pneumonia from other respiratory diseases presenting with similar symptoms in a clinical setting.

Measurement of Particle Size Distribution in Turbid Solutions by Dynamic Light Scattering Microscopy.

A protocol for measuring polydispersity of concentrated polymer solutions using dynamic light scattering is described. Dynamic light scattering is a technique used to measure the size distribution of polymer solutions or colloidal particles. Although this technique is widely used for the assessment of polymer solutions, it is difficult to measure the particle size in concentrated solutions due to the multiple scattering effect or strong light absorption. Therefore, the concentrated solutions should be diluted before measurement. Implementation of the confocal optical component in a dynamic light scattering microscope1 helps to overcome this barrier. Using such a microscopic system, both transparent and turbid systems can be analyzed under the same experimental setup without a dilution. As a representative example, a size distribution measurement of a temperature-responsive polymer solution was performed. The sizes of the polymer chains in an aqueous solution were several tens of nanometers at a temperature below the lower critical solution temperature (LCST). In contrast, the sizes increased to more than 1.0 µm when above the LCST. This result is consistent with the observation that the solution turned turbid above the LCST.

Reliable Hydrogel with Mechanical "Fuse Link" in an Aqueous Environment.

A robust hydrogel with a reliable deformation region in an aqueous environment is proposed. The gel has a homogeneous network where hydrophilic/hydrophobic components are uniformly distributed. In an aqueous environment, aggregated hydrophobic segments serve as "mechanical fuse links," inhibiting sudden macroscopic fracture. The gel endures threefold stretching for more than 100 cycles in water without mechanical hysteresis.

Effects of natural nuclear factor-kappa B inhibitors on anticancer drug efflux transporter human P-glycoprotein.

Drug efflux transporter P-glycoprotein plays an important role in cancer chemotherapy. The nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) transcription factors play critical roles in development and progression of cancer. In this study, the effects of natural compounds that can inhibit NF-κB activation on the function of P-glycoprotein were investigated using human MDR1 gene-transfected KB/MDR1 cells. The accumulation of daunorubicin or rhodamine 123, fluorescent substrates of P-glycoprotein, in KB/MDR1 cells increased in the presence of caffeic acid phenetyl ester (CAPE), licochalcone A, anacardic acid, celastrol, xanthohumol, magnolol, and honokiol in a concentration-dependent manner. In contrast, lupeol, zerumbone, thymoquinone, emodin, and anethol had no effects. The ATPase activities of P-glycoprotein were stimulated by CAPE, licochalcone A, anacardic acid, celastrol, xanthohumol, magnolol, and honokiol. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α stimulated NF-κB activation was inhibited by CAPE, licochalcone A, anacardic acid, and xanthohumol. KB/MDR1 cells were sensitized to vinblastine cytotoxicity by CAPE, licochalcone A, anacardic acid, xanthohumol, magnolol, and honokiol, showing that these natural NF-κB inhibitors reverse multidrug resistance. These results suggest that natural compounds, such as CAPE, licochalcone A, and anacardic acid, have dual inhibitory effects on the anticancer drug efflux transporter P-glycoprotein and NF-κB activation, and may become useful to enhance the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy.

Dynamic light scattering microscope: accessing opaque samples with high spatial resolution.

We developed a new technique that conducts dynamic light scattering (DLS) under a microscope with high spatial resolution. This technique dramatically extends the range of DLS application from transparent to opaque samples. The total scattered electric field contains both electric field generated from the samples and time-independent reflected electric field. These two components are decomposed by applying a partial heterodyne method. By using this technique, we successfully calculate the characteristic size distribution of both multiple-scattering samples and strong light-absorbing samples. This is the first study to observe the collective motion of particles in a highly concentrated solution by using DLS.

Inhibition of anticancer drug efflux transporter P-glycoprotein by rosemary phytochemicals.

The effects of dietary antioxidative and chemopreventive rosemary phytochemicals on the function of the human drug efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (MDR1, ABCB1) and multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1, ABCC1) were investigated using P-glycoprotein-overexpressing human carcinoma KB-C2 cells and human MRP1 gene-transfected KB/MRP cells. The effects of natural phytochemicals found in rosemary such as carnosic acid, carnosol, rosmarinic acid, and ursolic acid were investigated. The accumulation of daunorubicin or rhodamine 123, fluorescent substrates of P-glycoprotein, in KB-C2 cells increased in the presence of carnosic acid, carnosol, and ursolic acid in a concentration-dependent manner. In contrast, carnosic acid, carnosol, rosmarinic acid, and ursolic acid had no effects on the accumulation of calcein, a fluorescent substrate of MRP1, in KB/MRP cells. The ATPase activities of P-glycoprotein were stimulated by carnosic acid, carnosol, and ursolic acid. KB-C2 cells were sensitized to vinblastine cytotoxicity by carnosic acid, showing that carnosic acid reverses multidrug resistance. These results suggest that rosemary phytochemicals, such as carnosic acid, have inhibitory effects on anticancer drug efflux transporter P-glycoprotein and may become useful to enhance the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy.