Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes Accelerate Diabetic Wound Healing via Ameliorating Oxidative Stress and Promoting Angiogenesis.

Diabetic wounds remain a great challenge for clinicians due to the multiple bacterial infections and oxidative damage. Exosomes, as an appealing nanodrug delivery system, have been widely applied in the treatment of diabetic wounds. Endovascular cells are important component cells of the vascular wall. Herein, we investigated the effects of HUCMSCs and HUC-Exos (exosomes secreted by HUCMSCs) on diabetic wound healing. In this study, HUVECs were coincubated with HUCMSCs, and HUC-Exos were utilized for in vitro and in vivo experiments to verify their roles in the regulation of diabetic wound healing. Our results demonstrated that HUCMSCs have the ability to regulate oxidative stress injuries of endothelial cells through exosomes and accelerate diabetic cutaneous wound healing in vitro. The present study suggests that HUC-Exos accelerate diabetic cutaneous wound healing, providing a promising therapeutic strategy for chronic diabetic wound repair.

Development and Optimization of Cold Plasma Pretreatment for Drying on Corn Kernels.

This study was conducted to optimize a process of cold plasma pretreatment for hot-air drying on corn kernels. Effects of plasma pretreatment time (30, 40, 50 s), plasma pretreatment power (300, 400, 500 W) and drying temperature (37.5, 45, 52.5 °C) on drying time and drying rate during this process were investigated. Polynomial equations were established through a three-factor and three-level Box-Behnken design and used to evaluate the optimal operational conditions for the drying process. The optimal pretreatment conditions were drying temperature at 52.5 °C, plasma pretreatment time of 50 s and plasma pretreatment power of 500 W, and the corresponding drying rate and drying time were 3.6163 (g/g h-1 ) and 1.29 hr, respectively. The AFM images showed that cold plasma pretreatment can change the topography of the treated surface with some micro-holes, which explain how the plasma pretreatment can improve the drying process. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Cold plasma pretreatment can improve the efficiency of corn kernels drying. Furthermore, it has potential application for reducing energy consumption in drying. Cold plasma pretreatment could be potentially applied in grain drying.