Exploration of the mechanism of reinfusion of fresh autologous blood in type 2 diabetes mice to induce macrophage polarization and inhibit erythrocyte damage.

AIMS/INTRODUCTION: Type 2 diabetes triggers an inflammatory response that can damage red blood cells. M2 macrophages have inhibitory effects on inflammation, and play an important role in tissue damage repair and fibrosis. Autologous blood transfusion has the potential to inhibit red blood cell damage by mediating macrophage polarization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Swiss mice were used to establish a suitable type 2 diabetes model, and autologous blood transfusion was carried out. The mice were killed, the blood of the mice was collected and CD14+ monocytes were sorted. The expression levels of phenotypic molecules CD16, CD32 and CD206 in CD14+ monocytes were analyzed by flow cytometry. The proportion of M1 and M2 macrophages were analyzed by flow cytometry. The Q value, P50 , 2,3-diphosphoglycerate and Na+ -K+ -ATPase of red blood cells were detected. The red blood cell osmotic fragility test analyzed the red blood cell osmotic fragility. Western blot analysis was used to analyze the expression changes of erythrocyte surface membrane proteins or transporters erythrocyte membrane protein band 4.1, sphingosine-1-phosphate, glycolipid transfer protein and signal peptide peptidase-like 2A. RESULTS: Autologous blood transfusion induced a significant increase in the number of macrophages. The state and capacity of blood cells improved with autologous blood transfusion. Reinfusion of fresh autologous blood in type 2 diabetes mice made erythrocytes shrink. The expression of erythrocyte-related proteins proved that the erythrocyte injury in the reinfusion of fresh autologous blood + type 2 diabetes group was significantly reduced. CONCLUSION: The reinfusion of fresh autologous blood into the body of patients with type 2 diabetes can induce macrophage polarization to M2, thereby inhibiting red blood cell damage.

Coupling desalination and energy storage with redox flow electrodes.

Both freshwater shortage and energy crisis are global issues. Herein, we present a double-function system of faradaic desalination and a redox flow battery consisting of VCl3|NaI redox flow electrodes and a feed stream. The system has a nominal cell potential (E0 = +0.79 V). During the discharge process, the salt ions in the feed are extracted by the redox reaction of the flow electrodes, which is indicated by salt removal. Stable and reversible salt removal capacity and electricity can be achieved up to 30 cycles. The energy consumption is as low as 10.27 kJ mol-1 salt. The energy efficiency is as high as 50% in the current aqueous redox flow battery. With energy recovery, the desalination energy consumption decreases greatly to 5.38 kJ mol-1; this is the lowest reported value to date. This "redox flow battery desalination generator" can be operated in a voltage range of 0.3-1.1 V. Our research provides a novel method for obtaining energy-saving desalination and redox flow batteries.

High-density array of ferroelectric nanodots with robust and reversibly switchable topological domain states.

The exotic topological domains in ferroelectrics and multiferroics have attracted extensive interest in recent years due to their novel functionalities and potential applications in nanoelectronic devices. One of the key challenges for these applications is a realization of robust yet reversibly switchable nanoscale topological domain states with high density, wherein spontaneous topological structures can be individually addressed and controlled. This has been accomplished in our work using high-density arrays of epitaxial BiFeO3 (BFO) ferroelectric nanodots with a lateral size as small as ~60 nm. We demonstrate various types of spontaneous topological domain structures, including center-convergent domains, center-divergent domains, and double-center domains, which are stable over sufficiently long time but can be manipulated and reversibly switched by electric field. The formation mechanisms of these topological domain states, assisted by the accumulation of compensating charges on the surface, have also been revealed. These results demonstrated that these reversibly switchable topological domain arrays are promising for applications in high-density nanoferroelectric devices such as nonvolatile memories.

Design and synthesis of hollow NiCo2O4 nanoboxes as anodes for lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries.

Hollow porous NiCo2O4-nanoboxes (NCO-NBs) were synthesized with zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) nanocrystals as the template followed by a subsequent annealing treatment. The structure and morphology of the NCO-NBs were characterized using X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. When tested as potential anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, these porous NCO-NBs with a well-defined hollow structure manifested enhanced performance of Li storage. The discharge capacity of the NCO-NBs remained 1080 mA h g(-1) after 150 cycles at a current rate of 500 mA g(-1) and 884 mA h g(-1) could be obtained at a current density of 2000 mA g(-1) after 200 cycles. Even when cycled at a high density of 8000 mA g(-1), a comparable capacity of 630 mA h g(-1) could be achieved. Meanwhile, the Na storage behavior of NCO-NBs as anode materials of sodium ion batteries (SIBs) was initially investigated and they exhibited a high initial discharge capacity of 826 mA h g(-1), and a moderate capacity retention of 328 mA h g(-1) was retained after 30 cycles. The improved electrochemical performance for NCO-NBs could be attributed to the hierarchical hollow structure and the desirable composition, which provide enough space to alleviate volume expansion during the Li(+)/Na(+) insertion/extraction process and facilitate rapid transport of ions and electrons.

[Cohort study of remifentanil-induced hyperalgesia in postoperative patients].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence of remifentanil-induced hyperalgesia and screen for the relevant influencing factors in the post-operative patients. METHODS: A total of 1620 patients from June 2008 to December 2008 in our hospital undergoing general anesthesia with remifentanil and whose length of operative incision was less than 4 cm were enrolled. The incidence of postoperative hyperalgesia was investigated and recorded at the timepoints of staying at post-anesthesia care unit (PACU), 4 h and 24 h postoperation respectively. The unconditional statistical analysis of Logistic regression was used to explore such possible influencing factors as age, gender, methods of general anesthesia, operative duration, operative sites and remifentanil dose. RESULTS: The incidence of postoperative remifentanil-induced hyperalgesia was 16.1% (n = 261). The incidence of postoperative hyperalgesia was significantly increased in patients < 16 yrs (25.9%) vs ≥ 16 yrs (15.6%) (P < 0.05), males vs females (20.8% vs 13.0%, P < 0.01), operative duration > 2 h (32.7%) vs ≤ 2 h (9.9%) (P < 0.01) and remifentanil dose > 30 µg/kg (41.8%) vs ≤ 30 µg/kg (4.8%) (P < 0.01). And the incidence of limb protective action, touch and cold-induced allodynia were the two highest indicators (39.0%, 34.5%). Analysis of Logistic regression showed that ages under 16 years old, operative duration > 2 h and remifentanil dose > 30 µg/kg were relevant with hyperalgesia (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Ages under 16 years old, operative duration and remifentanil dose are the risk factors for postoperative remifentanil-induced hyperalgesia. Neither methods of general anesthesia nor operative sites has any effect on the occurrence of hyperalgesia.

Theoretic calculation for understanding the oxidation process of 1,4-dimethoxybenzene-based compounds as redox shuttles for overcharge protection of lithium ion batteries.

The effect of substituents on the oxidation potential for the one-electron reaction of 1,4-dimethoxybenzene was understood with a theoretical calculation based on density functional theory (DFT) at the level of B3LYP/6-311+G(d). It is found that the oxidation potential for the one-electron reaction of 1,4-dimethoxybenzene is 4.13 V (vs Li/Li(+)) and can be changed from 3.8 to 5.9 V (vs Li/Li(+)) by substituting electron-donating or electron-withdrawing groups for the hydrogen atoms on the aromatic ring. These potentials are in the range of the limited potentials for the lithium ion batteries using different cathode materials, and thus the substituted compounds can be selected as the redox shuttles for the overcharge prevention of these batteries. The oxidation potential of 1,4-dimethoxybenzene decreases when the hydrogen atoms are replaced with electron-donating groups but increases when replaced with electron-withdrawing groups. The further oxidation of these substituted compounds was also analyzed on the basis of the theoretic calculation.