Humic substances mediated superior photochemical pollutant conversion on defective TiO2 in environmentally relevant matrices: The key roles of oxygen vacancy in surface interactions, oxidant activation and radical generation.

Ubiquitous humic substances usually exhibit strong interfering effects on target pollutant removal in advanced water purification. This work aims to develop a photochemical conversion system on the nonstoichiometric TiO2 for pollutant removal in environmentally relevant matrices. In this synergistic reaction system, the redox-reactive humic substances and defective oxygen vacancies can serve as the organic electron transfer mediator and the key surface reactive sites, respectively. This system achieves a superior pollutant degradation in real surface water at low oxidant concentrations. Reactive oxygen vacancies on the TiO2 surface and sub-surface are of considerable interest for this photochemical reaction system. By engineering defective oxygen vacancies on high-energy {001} polar facet, the surface and electronic interactions between tailored TiO2 and humic substances are greatly strengthened for the promoted electron transfer and oxidant activation. Rendered by the strong surface affinity and molecular activation, defective oxygen vacancies thermodynamically and dynamically promote reactive chain reactions for free radical formation, including the selective O2 reduction to ·O2- and the H2O2 activation to ·OH. Our findings take new insights into environmental geochemistry, and provide an effective strategy to in-situ boost the humic substances-mediated water purification without secondary pollution. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATION: Humic substances are widely distributed in aquatic environment, thus playing important roles in environmental geochemistry. For example, humic substances can achieve good surface adsorption through electrostatic adsorption, ligand exchange and electronic interactions with typical TiO2 to form reactive ligand-metal charge transfer complexes for pollutant degradation. Inspired by the unique properties of surface and sub-surface oxygen vacancies, the defective TiO2 was designed to refine the humic substances-mediated photochemical reactions. A superior reactivity was measured for pollutant degradation. Our findings provide an effective strategy to boost naturally photochemical decontamination in environmentally relevant matrices.

Toward grouped-reservoir computing: organic neuromorphic vertical transistor with distributed reservoir states for efficient recognition and prediction.

Reservoir computing has attracted considerable attention due to its low training cost. However, existing neuromorphic hardware, focusing mainly on shallow-reservoir computing, faces challenges in providing adequate spatial and temporal scales characteristic for effective computing. Here, we report an ultra-short channel organic neuromorphic vertical transistor with distributed reservoir states. The carrier dynamics used to map signals are enriched by coupled multivariate physics mechanisms, while the vertical architecture employed greatly increases the feedback intensity of the device. Consequently, the device as a reservoir, effectively mapping sequential signals into distributed reservoir state space with 1152 reservoir states, and the range ratio of temporal and spatial characteristics can simultaneously reach 2640 and 650, respectively. The grouped-reservoir computing based on the device can simultaneously adapt to different spatiotemporal task, achieving recognition accuracy over 94% and prediction correlation over 95%. This work proposes a new strategy for developing high-performance reservoir computing networks.

Research on Hydrodynamic Characteristics of Electronic Paper Pixels Based on Electrowetting.

In this paper, we propose a driving waveform with a complex ramp pulse for an electrowetting display system. The relationship between the contact angle and viscosity of inks was calculated based on the fluid-motion characteristics of different viscosities. We obtained the suitable range of viscosity and voltage in the liquid-oil-solid three-phase contact display system. We carried out model simulation and driving waveform design. The result shows that the driving waveform improves the response speed and aperture ratio of electrowetting. The aperture ratio of electrowetting pixels is increased to 68.69%. This research is of great significance to optimizing the structure of fluid material and the design of driving waveforms in electrowetting displays.

WDR54 exerts oncogenic roles in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

WDR54 has been recently identified as a novel oncogene in colorectal and bladder cancers. However, the expression and function of WDR54 in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) were not reported. In this study, we investigated the expression of WDR54 in T-ALL, as well as its function in T-ALL pathogenesis using cell lines and T-ALL xenograft. Bioinformatics analysis indicated high mRNA expression of WDR54 in T-ALL. We further confirmed that the expression of WDR54 was significantly elevated in T-ALL. Depletion of WDR54 dramatically inhibited cell viability and induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at S phase in T-ALL cells in vitro. Moreover, knockdown of WDR54 impeded the process of leukemogenesis in a Jurkat xenograft model in vivo. Mechanistically, the expression of PDPK1, phospho-AKT (p-AKT), total AKT, phospho-ERK (p-ERK), Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL were downregulated, while cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9 were upregulated in T-ALL cells with WDR54 knockdown. Additionally, RNA-seq analysis indicated that WDR54 might regulate the expression of some oncogenic genes involved in multiple signaling pathways. Taken together, these findings suggest that WDR54 may be involved in the pathogenesis of T-ALL and serve as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of T-ALL.

Isoxazole 9 (ISX9), a small molecule targeting Axin, activates Wnt/ß-catenin signalling and promotes hair regrowth.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Isoxazole 9 (ISX9) is a neurogenesis-promoting small molecule compound that can up-regulate the expression of NeuroD1 and induce differentiation of neuronal, cardiac and islet endocrine progenitors. So far, the molecular mechanisms underlying the action of ISX9 still remain elusive. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: To identify a novel agonist of the Wnt/ß-catenin, a cell-based SuperTOPFlash reporter system was used to screen known-compound libraries. An activation effect of ISX9 on the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway was analysed with the SuperTOPFlash or SuperFOPFlash reporter system. Effects of ISX9 on Axin1/LRP6 interaction were examined using a mammalian two-hybrid system, co-immunoprecipitation, microscale thermophoresis, emission spectra and mass spectrometry assays. The expression of Wnt target and stemmness marker genes were evaluated with real-time PCR and immunoblotting. In vivo hair regeneration abilities of ISX9 were analysed by immunohistochemical staining, real-time PCR and immunoblotting in hair regrowth model using C57BL/6J mice. KEY RESULTS: In this study, ISX9 was identified as a novel agonist of the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway. ISX9 targeted Axin1 by covalently binding to its N-terminal region and potentiated the LRP6-Axin1 interaction, thereby resulting in the stabilization of ß-catenin and up-regulation of Wnt target genes and stemmness marker genes. Moreover, the topical application of ISX9 markedly promoted hair regrowth in C57BL/6J mice and induced hair follicle transition from telogen to anagen via enhancing Wnt/ß-catenin pathway. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Taken together, our study unravelled that ISX9 could activate Wnt/ß-catenin signalling by potentiating the association between LRP6 and Axin1, and may be a promising therapeutic agent for alopecia treatment.

The efficacy of traditional chinese medicine combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for malignant ascites: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Malignant ascites (MA) is a common complication of terminal cancer, which seriously affects the life quality and prognosis of patients. Both hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparations have achieved significant efficacy in the treatment of MA. The treatment strategy of TCM combined with HIPEC has been gradually promoted and applied in China. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the efficacy of TCM combined with HIPEC in the treatment of MA. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of TCM combined with HIPEC for MA were searched from seven electronic databases. Two researchers used the Cochrane Collaboration's tool to assess the risk of bias. Excel 2019 was used to establish a database for information extraction, RevMan 5.4 software was used to analyze the included test data, and STATA v16.0 was used to conduct Egger's test to further detect publication bias. Results: A total of 19 studies involving 1,504 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that compared with the single use of HIPEC, TCM combined with HIPEC could significantly improve the clinical efficacy (RR = 1.51, 95% CI [1.40, 1.63], p < 0.00001) and karnofsky performance status (KPS) score (MD = 8.16, 95% CI [6.46, 9.85], p < 0.00001), reduce the ascites volume (MD = -156.98, 95% CI [-213.71, -100.25], p < 0.00001). However, there was no statistical significance in reducing abdominal circumference between TCM combined with HIPEC and HIPEC alone (MD = -1.8, 95% CI [-4.57, -0.97], p = 0.2). Conclusion: This study found that TCM combined with HIPEC had a beneficial therapeutic effect on MA. However, more standard, double-blind, multicenter RCTs are needed to further confirm the efficacy of TCM combined with HIPEC in the treatment of MA. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/, identifier CRD42022319993.

Automatic monitoring of lettuce fresh weight by multi-modal fusion based deep learning.

Fresh weight is a widely used growth indicator for quantifying crop growth. Traditional fresh weight measurement methods are time-consuming, laborious, and destructive. Non-destructive measurement of crop fresh weight is urgently needed in plant factories with high environment controllability. In this study, we proposed a multi-modal fusion based deep learning model for automatic estimation of lettuce shoot fresh weight by utilizing RGB-D images. The model combined geometric traits from empirical feature extraction and deep neural features from CNN. A lettuce leaf segmentation network based on U-Net was trained for extracting leaf boundary and geometric traits. A multi-branch regression network was performed to estimate fresh weight by fusing color, depth, and geometric features. The leaf segmentation model reported a reliable performance with a mIoU of 0.982 and an accuracy of 0.998. A total of 10 geometric traits were defined to describe the structure of the lettuce canopy from segmented images. The fresh weight estimation results showed that the proposed multi-modal fusion model significantly improved the accuracy of lettuce shoot fresh weight in different growth periods compared with baseline models. The model yielded a root mean square error (RMSE) of 25.3 g and a coefficient of determination (R 2) of 0.938 over the entire lettuce growth period. The experiment results demonstrated that the multi-modal fusion method could improve the fresh weight estimation performance by leveraging the advantages of empirical geometric traits and deep neural features simultaneously.

Zusanli (ST36) Acupoint Injection With Dexamethasone for Chemotherapy-Induced Myelosuppression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Myelosuppression is the most common adverse reaction of chemotherapy, which seriously affects the course of treatment. Zusanli (ST36) acupoint injection with dexamethasone has achieved good clinical efficacy in China. This study aimed to systematically evaluate the efficacy of ST36 acupoint injection with dexamethasone in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression (CIM). METHODS: Randomized controlled trials of CIM treated with ST36 acupoint injection with dexamethasone were retrieved from eight electronic databases. We used the Cochrane Collaboration tool to assess the risk of bias. Excel 2010 was used to establish a database for information extraction, and RevMan 5.3.0 software was used to analyze the included test data. GRADE profiler 3.6 software was used to grade the quality of evidence for the outcome indicators of the study. RESULTS: A total of 17 studies involving 1177 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that, compared with conventional western medicine (CWM), ST36 acupoint injection with dexamethasone could significantly improve the clinical total effective rate [RR=1.95, 95% CI (1.53, 2.49), P <0.00001] and increase white blood cell (WBC) (MD=1.38, 95% CI (0.74, 2.01), P<0.0001) and hemoglobin (Hb) levels [MD=3.89, 95% CI (1.57, 6.20), P=0.001]. In addition, ST36 acupoint injection with dexamethasone can shorten recovery time of myelosuppression [MD=-3.94, 95% CI (-4.97 to -2.91), P<0.00001] and improve Karnofsky performance status [MD=10.7, 95% CI (1.36, 20.05), P=0.02<0.05]. However, there was no significant difference among ST36 acupoint injection with dexamethasone and CWM in platelet (PLT) elevation [MD=4.61, 95% CI (-10.14, 19.35), P=0.54]. CONCLUSION: This study found that ST36 acupoint injection with dexamethasone had a positive effect on CIM. However, more studies with well-designed, large sample size, strict randomization, and clear descriptions about detection and reporting processes are needed in the future to further confirm the efficacy of ST36 acupoint injection with dexamethasone in the treatment of CIM. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/, identifier CRD42021223979.

Impact of anti-cancer therapy on disease severity and mortality in cancer patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Cancer patients are more vulnerable to Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and have a higher risk of adverse outcomes than the general population. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate whether anti-cancer therapies such as surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy will increase the severity and mortality of cancer patients with COVID-19.Methods: Relevant articles were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). The search time was from December 1, 2019 to January 23, 2021. Meta-analysis was conducted using Revman 5.3 statistical software.Results: A total of 26 studies were included in this meta-analysis, involving 5571 cancer patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Meta-analysis showed that surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy were not associated with disease severity or mortality (107/688, OR =1.30, 95% CI[0.79, 2.13], P =0.30; 1956/2674, OR =1.27, 95% CI [0.95, 1.69], P =0.10; 342/1455, OR =1.20, 95% CI [0.90, 1.61], P =0.21; 503/1378, OR =0.92, 95% CI [0.72, 1.19], P =0.54, respectively).Conclusion: In cancer patients with COVID-19, anti-cancer therapy had no adverse effect on disease severity or mortality. Further research is necessary to determine the complex interrelationship between anti-cancer therapy, particularly chemotherapy, and COVID-19.

The Efficacy of Heat-Clearing (Qingre) and Detoxifying (Jiedu) Traditional Chinese Medicine Gargle for Chemotherapy-Induced Oral Mucositis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: Chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis (CIOM) is an extremely serious complication of cancer. In China, the heat-clearing (Qingre) and detoxifying (Jiedu) traditional Chinese medicine QRJD-TCM gargle has been widely used to treat CIOM. To date, no systematic evaluation has been conducted on the clinical efficacy of QRJD-TCM gargle in treating CIOM. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of QRJD-TCM gargle in the treatment of CIOM. Methods: Relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing QRJD-TCM gargle with conventional Western medicine mouthwash (CWMM) for CIOM were confirmed by systematically searching PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, Wanfang Database, and Sinomed until October 20, 2020. Two researchers independently assessed the risk of bias according to the Cochrane risk-of-bias criteria. Excel 2010 was used in setting up a database of extracted information, and RevMan 5.3.0 was used in analyzing included trial data. The composition of the QRJD-TCM gargle was evaluated. Results: A total of 25 articles were included in this meta-analysis. Results showed that compared with CWMM, QRJD-TCM gargle can reduce the incidence of CIOM (OR = 0.23, 95% CI [0.18, 0.29], p < 0.00001) and severity of CIOM (grade I-II: OR = 0.36, 95%CI [0.28, 0.46], p < 0.00001; grade III-IV: OR = 0.15, 95%CI [0.09, 0.28], p < 0.00001). In addition, QRJD-TCM gargle improved the effective rate of CIOM (OR = 15.91, 95% CI [7.93, 31.89], p < 0.00001). Conclusion: QRJD-TCM gargle is effective in preventing and treating CIOM. However, more standard, double-blind, and multicenter randomized controlled studies are needed to further confirm the efficacy of QRJD-TCM gargle in the prevention and treatment of CIOM.

Peptide enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (pELISA) as a possible alternative to the neutralization test for evaluating the immune response to IBV vaccine.

BACKGROUND: Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), a coronavirus, is one of the most important poultry pathogens worldwide due to its multiple serotypes and poor cross-protection. Vaccination plays a vital role in controlling the disease. The efficacy of vaccination in chicken flocks can be evaluated by detecting neutralizing antibodies with the neutralization test. However there are no simple and rapid methods for detecting the neutralizing antibodies. RESULTS: In this study, a peptide enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (pELISA) as a possible alternative to the neutralization test for evaluating the immune response to IBV vaccine was developed. The pELISA could indirect evaluate neutralizing antibody titers against different types of IBV in all tested sera. The titers measured with the pELISA had a coefficient of 0.83 for neutralizing antibody titers. CONCLUSIONS: The pELISA could detect antibodies against different types of IBV in all tested sera. The pELISA has the potential to evaluate samples for IBV-specific neutralizing antibodies and surveillance the infection of IBV.

A self-matting waterborne polyurethane coating with admirable abrasion-resistance.

Due to the paradox between abrasion-resistance and extinction, the development of a self-matting waterborne polyurethane (SMWPU) coating accompanied by excellent abrasion-resistance is still a challenge. Herein, a kind of hydroxyalkyl-terminated polysiloxane modified SMWPU was prepared and employed for matting leather/synthetic leather finishing. Simultaneously, the influences of hydrophilic chain extender and polysiloxane loadings on the matting effect and abrasion resistance of the coating were investigated in detail. The results indicated that the gloss of the coating was closely related to the hydrophilic chain extender content, and a stable emulsion and optimal matting effect could be achieved when a 1.6 wt% (based on solid content) hydrophilic chain extender was employed. With the introduction of polysiloxane, the silicon element content on the coating surface increased from 0% to 9.26%, just as expected, and an enhanced abrasion resistance of the coating was obtained. Specifically, the coating weight loss ratio was reduced from 2.36 wt% to 0.41 wt%, and obvious surface damage did not occur after 500 abrasions. Although the surface roughness and matting effect of the coating decreased slightly due to the introduction of silicone, the gloss of the modified coating was less than 1.5° (60° incidence angle), still exhibiting an excellent matting effect. Another interesting result was the elevation of anti-hot-pressing, compared with that of the unmodified one, and the gloss of the modified coating showed no changes under a 10 MPa, 150 °C hot-pressing condition.

Large-scale microlens arrays on flexible substrate with improved numerical aperture for curved integral imaging 3D display.

Curved integral imaging 3D display could provide enhanced 3D sense of immersion and wider viewing angle, and is gaining increasing interest among discerning users. In this work, large scale microlens arrays (MLAs) on flexible PMMA substrate were achieved based on screen printing method. Meanwhile, an inverted reflowing configuration as well as optimization of UV resin's viscosity and substrate's surface wettability were implemented to improved the numerical aperture (NA) of microlenses. The results showed that the NA values of MLAs could be increased effectively by adopting inverted reflowing manner with appropriate reflowing time. With decreasing the substrate's wettability, the NA values could be increased from 0.036 to 0.096, when the UV resin contact angles increased from 60.1° to 88.7°. For demonstration, the fabricated MLAs was combined to a curved 2D monitor to realize a 31-inch curved integral imaging 3D display system, exhibiting wider viewing angle than flat integral imaging 3D display system.

A Peptide-Based Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Detecting Antibodies Against Avian Infectious Bronchitis Virus.

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) causes substantial loss to the poultry industry despite extensive vaccination. Assessing the antibody response is important for the development and evaluation of effective vaccines. We have developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of IBV-specific antibodies, using a synthetic peptide based on a conserved sequence in the IBV spike protein. This peptide-based ELISA (pELISA) specifically detects antibodies to different genotypes of IBV but not antibodies against other common chicken viruses. This assay could detect IBV-specific antibody response on as early as day 7 postinfection. In the testing with field serum samples collected from chickens administered with IBV vaccines, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of pELISA were 98.30, 94.12, and 98.8%, respectively, relative to indirect immunofluorescence assay. Our data demonstrate that the pELISA is of value for the detection of IBV antibody and the evaluation of IBV vaccines.

Peptides with 16R in S2 protein showed broad reactions with sera against different types of infectious bronchitis viruses.

Vaccination plays a vital role in controlling diseases caused by chicken infectious bronchitis virus (IBV). The continuously variant antigenicity of IBV limits the application of current vaccine strategies and serological diagnostic systems. S2 protein is an invariant that harbors broad neutralizing epitopes. However, little is known about the key amino acids that contribute to the broad-spectrum S2 epitopes. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the specific amino acids contributing to S2 epitopes. Site mutagenesis and peptide-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) showed that 16R in S2 protein was a key amino acid mediating the antigenicity of S2 protein. S2-derived peptides with 16R, but not those with 16 K, could react with sera against different types of IBVs. Notably, a commercial ELISA kit for detection of antibodies against IBV did not react with sera against all types of IBVs. Taken together, these data demonstrated that S2-derived peptides with 16R could be used as novel marker-based antigens for developing both broad-spectrum vaccines and serological diagnostic kits to control IBV.

[Analysis on traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions treating cancerous fever based on grey screening method combined with multivariate analysis method and discovery of new prescriptions].

Cancerous fever is one of the common symptoms of advanced malignant tumors,which seriously affects the quality of life and survival of patients. At present,the clinical research on the treatment of cancerous fever by traditional Chinese medicine is limited,and there is a lack of research on the medication rules from multiple dimensions of disease-symptom-syndrome. The treatment of cancerous fever has not made substantial progress. In this study,we collected the literature on treatment of cancerous fever in Chinese medicine,and concluded that common syndrome types include Yin deficiency type,Qi deficiency type,Yang deficiency type,blood stasis type,damp-heat accumulation type,toxic heat flourishing type and liver meridian stagnated heat type. Two hundreds and fifty-seven prescriptions for Chinese medicine and 249 flavors for single medicine were extracted. The analysis of the drug composition of the drug found that the cancerous fever treatment was mainly based on heat-clearing drugs and deficiency-nourishing drugs. Apriori association analysis of the drug found that the second and third related drugs were mainly Rehmanniae Radix,Moutan Cortex,Artemisiae Annuae Herba,Trionycis Carapax and Anemarrhenae Rhizoma. The top five gray correlation degrees were Psoraleae Fructus,Bupleuri Radix,Hordei Fructus Germinatus,Scutellariae Radix and Massa Medicata Fermentata. And seven new prescriptions were evolved. The results showed that the treatment of cancerous fever can be started from the disease-symptom-syndrome,nourishing Yin and clearing heat is an important method for " disease differentiation and treatment". The combination of Bupleuri Radix and Scutellariae Radix is the embodiment of " symptom differentiation and treatment". The new prescriptions conform to the idea of " syndrome differentiation and treatment" of traditional Chinese medicine can provide reference for clinical medication. The grey screening method combined with multivariate analysis method was used to analyze the prescription rules of Chinese medicine in the treatment of cancer fever,which followed the black box structure of traditional Chinese medicine,made the potential rule of prescriptions explicit,broadened its thinking of Chinese medicine treatment,and made up for the deficiency of traditional analysis methods.

Efficacy of XELOX adjuvant chemotherapy for gastric mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinoma: A case report.

RATIONALE: Mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinoma (MANEC) is a rare neoplasm, and consensus on the treatment is unavailable. PATIENT CONCERN: A 60-year-old Chinese man presented with obstructive symptoms while eating and paroxysmal stomach pain for more than a month. DIAGNOSIS: MANEC was diagnosed based on clinical manifestations, imaging findings, and pathological examinations. INTERVENTIONS: The patient underwent radical gastrectomy and received XELOX adjuvant chemotherapy (oxaliplatin 200 mg day 1 + capecitabine 1.5 g twice a day) after surgery. OUTCOMES: After 4 cycles of XELOX adjuvant chemotherapy were administered, abdominal computerized tomography and liver magnetic resonance showed liver metastasis. LESSONS: The therapy of gastric MANEC is based on surgical operation, and adjuvant chemotherapy program has an important influence on its prognosis. Therefore, further studying the effectiveness of XELOX adjuvant chemotherapy for gastric MANEC is necessary.

Effects of ZnO Quantum Dots Decoration on the Field Emission Behavior of Graphene.

ZnO quantum dots (QDs) have been decorated on graphene deposited on patterned Ag electrodes as a field emission cathode by a solution process. Effects of ZnO QDs on the field emission behavior of graphene are studied by experiment and first-principles calculations. The results indicate that the attachment of ZnO QDs with a C atom leads to the enhancement of electron emission from graphene, which is mainly attributed to the reduction of the work function and ionization potential, and the increase of the Fermi level of graphene after the decoration. A change in the local density distribution and the density of states near the Fermi level may also account for this behavior. Our study may help to develop new field emission composites and expand ZnO QDs in applications for electron emission devices as well.

The effects of acupuncture on bladder interstitial cells of cajal excitability in rats with overactive bladder.

It is well known that acupuncture treatment has an effect on patients with an overactive bladder, but the mechanism of its action remains to be clarified. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of acupuncture on bladder overactivity, and the excitability of interstitial cells of Cajal of the bladder in a rat model of partial bladder outlet obstruction. Electroacupuncture (continuous wave, 30 Hz, 1 mA) was applied to stimulate the Ciliao point (BL32) and the Huiyang point (BL35) of rats for 20 min, 3 days. Results showed that acupuncture suppressed detrusor unstable contraction frequency and decreased detrusor maximum pressure in the bladder filling period. Compared with the normal control rats, HCN2 mRNA and protein expression within the bladder were upregulated and were reversed by electroacupuncture in overactive bladder rats as determined by RT-PCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Moreover, in-vitro cell-cultured OAB rats bladder interstitial cells of Cajal intracellular Ca(2+) concentration were higher than normal control rats, which were lowered after acupuncture treatment. These findings suggest that acupuncture stimulation can suppress bladder overactivity, and regulate the excitability of bladder interstitial cells of Cajal in treatment of overactive bladder myogenic mechanism.