Spatiotemporally-controlled hydrophobic drug delivery via photosensitizer-driven assembly-disassembly for enhanced triple-negative breast cancer treatment.

Therapeutic approaches for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) have been continuously advancing, but inadequate control over release behavior, insufficient tumor selectivity, and limited drug availability continue to impede therapeutic outcomes in nanodrug systems. In this study, we propose a general hydrophobic antineoplastic delivery system, termed spatiotemporally-controlled hydrophobic antineoplastic delivery system (SCHADS) for enhanced TNBC treatment. The key feature of SCHADS is the formation of metastable photosensitive-antineoplastic complexes (PACs) through the self-assembly of hydrophobic drugs driven by photosensitive molecules. With the further decoration of tumor-targeting peptides coupled with the EPR effect, the PACs tend to accumulate in the tumor site tremendously, promoting drug delivery efficiency. Meanwhile, the disassembly behavior of the metastable PACs could be driven by light on demand to achieve in situ drug release, thus promoting chemotherapeutics availability. Furthermore, the abundant ROS generated by the photosensitizer could effectively kill tumor cells, ultimately realizing an effective combination of photodynamic and chemotherapeutic therapy. As an exemplary presentation, chlorin e6 has been chosen to drive the formation of PACs with the system xc- inhibitor sorafenib. Compared with pure drug treatment, the PACs with the above-described preponderances exhibit superior therapeutic effects both in vitro and in vivo and circumvent the side effects due to off-target. By manipulating the laser irradiation, the PACs-treated cell death mechanism could be dynamically regulated, thus providing the potential to remedy intrinsic/acquired resistance of tumor. Collectively, this SCHADS achieves spatio-temporal control of the drug that greatly enhances the availability of anticarcinogen and realizes synergistic antitumor effect in TNBC treatment, even ultimately being extended to the treatment of other types of tumors.

Effects of Blanching, Freezing and Canning on the Carbohydrates in Sweet Corn.

Sweet corn is frequently consumed in the US and contains carbohydrates as major macronutrients. This study examined the effects of blanching, freezing, and canning on carbohydrates in sweet corn. Fresh bi-color sweet corn was picked in the field and processed immediately into frozen and canned samples. Simple sugars, starch, and dietary fiber (DF) (including total DF (TDF), insoluble DF (IDF) and two fractions of soluble DF (SDF)) were measured according to the AOAC methods. Additional glycomic analysis including oligosaccharides, monosaccharide composition of total polysaccharides (MCTP) and glycosidic linkage of total polysaccharides (GLTP) were analyzed using UHPLC-MS. Sucrose is the major simple sugar, and IDF is the main contributor to TDF. Sucrose and total simple sugar concentrations were not altered after blanching or freezing but were significantly reduced in canned samples. Kestose was the only oligosaccharide identified in sweet corn and decreased in all heat-treated or frozen samples. Starch content decreased in frozen samples but increased in canned samples. While two SDF fractions did not differ across all samples, blanching, freezing and canning resulted in increases in TDF and IDF. Six monosaccharides were identified as major building blocks of the total polysaccharides from MCTP analysis. Glucose and total monosaccharide concentrations increased in two canned samples. GLTP was also profoundly altered by different food processing methods. This study provided insights into the changes in the content and quality of carbohydrates in sweet corn after food processing. The data are important for accurate assessment of the carbohydrate intake from different sweet corn products.

Effects of Reheating Methods on Rheological and Textural Characteristics of Rice Starch with Different Gelatinization Degrees.

Pregelatinized starch (PGS) is often used to improve the processing quality of foodstuffs, but little attention has been paid to the effects of different reheating methods and degree of starch gelatinization (DSG) on their rheological and textural properties. In this study, pregelatinized rice starches (RS) with gelatinization degrees ranging from 58% to 100% were prepared via different Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA) heating procedures and reheated in various methods, including high-power microwave (HM), low-power microwave (LM), and water bath. The rheological behavior and textural properties were explored, and the results demonstrated that the consistency, gel strength, hardness, and springiness of PGS in all tested samples decreased significantly after reheating. The storage modulus (G') of PGS increased dramatically while the thermal stability decreased. Interestingly, the reheating methods possessed various effects on the starch of different DSG.

A polymorphism in porcine miR-22 is associated with pork color.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are posttranscriptional regulators that play key roles in meat color regulation. Changes in miRNA expression affect their target mRNAs, leading to multifunctional effects on biological processes and phenotypes. In this study, a G > A mutation site located upstream of the precursor miR-22 sequence in Suhuai pigs was significantly correlated with the meat color parameter a*(redness) of the porcine longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle. AA genotype individuals had the highest average meat color a* value and the lowest miR-22 level. When G > A mutation was performed in the miR-22 overexpression vector, miR-22 expression significantly decreased. Considering that Ca2+ homeostasis is closely related to pig meat color, our results further demonstrated that ELOVL6 is a direct target of miR-22 in pigs. The effects of miR-22 on skeletal muscle intracellular Ca2+ were partially caused by the suppression of ELOVL6 expression.

Combining Music and Indoor Spatial Factors Helps to Improve College Students' Emotion During Communication.

Against the background of weakening face-to-face social interaction, the mental health of college students deserves attention. There are few existing studies on the impact of audiovisual interaction on interactive behavior, especially emotional perception in specific spaces. This study aims to indicate whether the perception of one's music environment has influence on college students' emotion during communication in different indoor conditions including spatial function, visual and sound atmospheres, and interior furnishings. The three-dimensional pleasure-arousal-dominance (PAD) emotional model was used to evaluate the changes of emotions before and after communication. An acoustic environmental measurement was performed and the evaluations of emotion during communication was investigated by a questionnaire survey with 331 participants at six experimental sites [including a classroom (CR), a learning corridor (LC), a coffee shop (CS), a fast food restaurant (FFR), a dormitory (DT), and a living room(LR)], the following results were found: Firstly, the results in different functional spaces showed no significant effect of music on communication or emotional states during communication. Secondly, the average score of the musical evaluation was 1.09 higher in the warm-toned space compared to the cold-toned space. Thirdly, the differences in the effects of music on emotion during communication in different sound environments were significant and pleasure, arousal, and dominance could be efficiently enhanced by music in the quiet space. Fourthly, dominance was 0.63 higher in the minimally furnished space. Finally, we also investigated influence of social characteristics on the effect of music on communication in different indoor spaces, in terms of the intimacy level, the gender combination, and the group size. For instance, when there are more than two communicators in the dining space, pleasure and arousal can be efficiently enhanced by music. This study shows that combining the sound environment with spatial factors (for example, the visual and sound atmosphere) and the interior furnishings can be an effective design strategy for promoting social interaction in indoor spaces.

Effects of the Musical Sound Environment on Communicating Emotion.

The acoustic environment is one of the factors influencing emotion, however, existing research has mainly focused on the effects of noise on emotion, and on music therapy, while the acoustic and psychological effects of music on interactive behaviour have been neglected. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of music on communicating emotion including evaluation of music, and d-values of pleasure, arousal, and dominance (PAD), in terms of sound pressure level (SPL), musical emotion, and tempo. Based on acoustic environment measurement and a questionnaire survey with 52 participants in a normal classroom in Harbin city, China, the following results were found. First, SPL was significantly correlated with musical evaluation of communication: average scores of musical evaluation decreased sharply from 1.31 to -2.13 when SPL rose from 50 dBA to 60 dBA, while they floated from 0.88 to 1.31 between 40 dBA and 50 dBA. Arousal increased with increases in musical SPL in the negative evaluation group. Second, musical emotions had significant effects on musical evaluation of communication, among which the effect of joyful-sounding music was the highest; and in general, joyful- and stirring-sounding music could enhance pleasure and arousal efficiently. Third, musical tempo had significant effect on musical evaluation and communicating emotion, faster music could enhance arousal and pleasure efficiently. Finally, in terms of social characteristics, familiarity, gender combination, and number of participants affected communicating emotion. For instance, in the positive evaluation group, dominance was much higher in the single-gender groups. This study shows that some music factors, such as SPL, musical emotion, and tempo, can be used to enhance communicating emotion.

Multipotency of mouse trophoblast stem cells.

BACKGROUND: In a number of disease processes, the body is unable to repair injured tissue, promoting the need to develop strategies for tissue repair and regeneration, including the use of cellular therapeutics. Trophoblast stem cells (TSCs) are considered putative stem cells as they differentiate into other subtypes of trophoblast cells. To identify cells for future therapeutic strategies, we investigated whether TSCs have properties of stem/progenitor cells including self-renewal and the capacity to differentiate into parenchymal cells of fetal organs, in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: TSCs were isolated using anti-CD117 micro-beads, from embryonic day 18.5 placentas. In vitro, CD117+ TSCs were cultured, at a limiting dilution in growth medium for the development of multicellular clones and in specialized medium for differentiation into lung epithelial cells, cardiomyocytes, and retinal photoreceptor cells. CD117+ TSCs were also injected in utero into lung, heart, and the sub-retinal space of embryonic day 13.5 fetuses, and the organs were harvested for histological assessment after a natural delivery. RESULTS: We first identified CD117+ cells within the labyrinth zone and chorionic basal plate of murine placentas in late pregnancy, embryonic day 18.5. CD117+ TSCs formed multicellular clones that remained positive for CD117 in vitro, consistent with self-renewal properties. The clonal cells demonstrated multipotency, capable of differentiating into lung epithelial cells (endoderm), cardiomyocytes (mesoderm), and retinal photoreceptor cells (ectoderm). Finally, injection of CD117+ TSCs in utero into lungs, hearts, and the sub-retinal spaces of fetuses resulted in their engraftment on day 1 after birth, and the CD117+ TSCs differentiated into lung alveolar epithelial cells, heart cardiomyocytes, and retina photoreceptor cells, corresponding with the organs in which they were injected. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that CD117+ TSCs have the properties of stem cells including clonogenicity, self-renewal, and multipotency. In utero administration of CD117+ TSCs engraft and differentiate into resident cells of the lung, heart, and retina during mouse development.