A Study on the Amelioration of Circadian Rhythm Disorders in Fat Mice Using High-Protein Diets.

This innovative study investigates the effects of high-protein diets (milk protein) on the circadian rhythm of hepatic lipid metabolism. We aimed to understand how high-protein interventions regulate biological clock genes, maintain lipid metabolism balance, and affect the circadian rhythm of antioxidant levels in vivo. We divided 120 SPF-class C57BL/6J mice into the control, high-fat/low-protein (HF-LP), and high-fat/high-protein (HF-HP) groups. Mice were sacrificed during active (2 a.m. and 8 a.m.) and rest periods (2 p.m. and 8 p.m.). In the HF-LP group, hepatic lipid anabolic enzymes were consistently expressed at high levels, while key lipolytic enzymes slowly increased after feeding with no significant diurnal differences. This led to an abnormal elevation in blood lipid levels, a slow increase in and low levels of superoxide dismutase, and a rapid increase in malondialdehyde levels, deviating from the diurnal trend observed in the control group. However, high-protein interventions in the HF-HP group restored lipid synthase activity and the expression of key catabolic enzymes, exhibiting a precise circadian rhythm. It also improved the lipid-metabolism rhythm, which was disrupted by the high-fat diet. Overall, high-protein interventions restored the expression of key enzymes involved in lipid metabolism, improving the lipid-metabolism rhythm, which was disrupted by the high-fat diet.

Superhydrophobic Polytetrafluoroethylene/Heat-Shrinkable Polyvinyl Chloride Composite Film with Super Anti-Icing Property.

Wind power generation is an environmentally friendly way to produce electricity, but wind turbine blades that are prone to freeze in winter will reduce the efficiency of the generator. Therefore, the preparation of anti-icing blades is important and essential. Herein, anti-icing polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)/heat-shrinkable polyvinyl chloride (HSPVC) composite film was prepared by depositing a PTFE coating on the surface of HSPVC film via vacuum thermal evaporation. HSPVC films were pretreated respectively by argon and carbon tetrafluoride (CF4) plasma cleaning to introduce new groups and change their surface energy. After that, PTFE coating with a thickness of about 4 µm was deposited on the surface of HSPVC, obtaining a superhydrophobic surface with an apparent water contact angle of 150°. The results demonstrated that the breaking strength of the PTFE/HSPVC composite film using CF4 plasma pretreatment decreased by only 3.47% after exposing to ultraviolet light with the power of 1000 W for 5 min, suggesting an excellent anti-ultraviolet property. Furthermore, compared with the pristine films, the PTFE/HSPVC composite films exhibited better adhesive strength, super anti-icing property even after 10 icing-deicing cycles, and excellent dynamic anti-icing performance. The PTFE/HSPVC composite film with good adhesive strength, anti-ultraviolet, and anti-icing properties has prospective applications in packaging of wind turbine blades.

Fabrication of Dielectric Elastomer Composites by Locking a Pre-Stretched Fibrous TPU Network in EVA.

Dielectric elastomer (DE) composites with high electrical breakdown strength and large voltage-induced deformation were developed by retaining pre-stretched thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) fibers in ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA). The microstructure of the candidate E-TPU fiber membrane and EVA coated E-TPU (E-TPU/EVA) film were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The quasi-static and dynamic mechanical property, and the electromechanical properties, including the dielectric constant, dielectric loss tangent, and electromechanical sensitivity, of the DE composites were evaluated. Initially, tensile tests demonstrated that the DE composites based on E-TPU/EVAs had a higher elongation at break of above 1000% but a low elastic modulus of approximately 1.7 MPa. Furthermore, dielectric spectroscopy showed that the E-TPU/EVA had a dielectric constant of 4.5 at the frequency of 1000 Hz, which was 1.2 times higher than that of pure EVA film. Finally, it was found from electromechanical test that the voltage induced strain of E-TPU/EVA rose to 6%, nearly 3 times higher than that of pure TPU film, indicating an excellent electromechanical property. The DE composites developed have demonstrated the potential to be good candidate materials in the fields of artificial intelligence, biomimicry and renewable energy.

High expression of ALDOA and DDX5 are associated with poor prognosis in human colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: The identification of prognostic markers for colorectal cancer (CRC) is needed for clinical practice. Fructose-bisphosphate aldolase A (ALDOA) and DEAD box p68 RNA helicase (DDX5) are commonly overexpressed in cancer and correlate with tumorigenesis. However, association between expression of ALDOA and DDX5, and CRC outcome has not been reported. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We used 141 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens collected from 105 patients with CRC treated at the Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University and the People's Hospital of Liuzhou. We performed tissue microarray based immunohistochemistry to explore expression features and prognostic value (overall survival, OS; disease-free survival, [DFS]) of ALDOA and DDX5 in CRC tissues. The prognostic values were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier analysis, and Cox regression analyses. RESULTS: ALDOA and DDX5 were highly expressed in CRC tissues and liver metastatic CRC tissues compared with normal glandular epithelium tissues (all p<0.05). Interestingly, primary CRC tissues highly expressing ALDOA or DDX5 had poor outcome (p<0.0001 for both OS and DFS for ALDOA; p=0.001 for OS; and p=0.011 for DFS for DDX5) compared with patients who had low expression of those proteins. Furthermore, multivariate Cox analysis showed that ALDOA/DDX5 combination was an independent risk factor for OS and ALDOA was an independent risk factor for DFS. CONCLUSION: High levels of ALDOA and DDX5 contribute to the aggressiveness and poor prognosis of CRC. ALDOA/DDX5 expression could be a biomarkers for the prognosis of CRC.

Repair of calvarial defects in rabbits with platelet-rich plasma as the scaffold for carrying bone marrow stromal cells.

OBJECTIVE: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is becoming a new application in tissue engineering and a developing area for clinicians and researchers because it is a natural source of growth factors, many of which can accelerate and promote bone regeneration. However, few studies have reported the potentiality of using PRP as a scaffold in bone tissue engineering. The present study investigated the feasibility of using PRP as a scaffold to carry bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) to repair calvarial defects in a rabbit model. STUDY DESIGN: The primary cultured BMSCs were divided into 2 groups. One group was induced with dexamethasone and the other was not induced. Full-thickness bone defects of 5-mm diameter (4 defects per calvarium) were created on the calvaria of 10 New Zealand white rabbits. PRP or whole blood was used, respectively to incorporate the induced or uninduced BMSCs. Then, the composites were activated and applied to repair the defects. The samples were harvested 8 weeks later and bone regeneration was assessed grossly and analyzed by radiographic or histologic examination. RESULTS: Eight weeks after the implantation of the materials, substantial bone regeneration was observed at the calvarial defect restored with PRP incorporating the induced BMSCs. Less new bone formation was observed at the defect implanted with PRP incorporating the uninduced BMSCs. In contrast, no bone regeneration was detected at the defects implanted with the whole blood incorporating BMSCs, whether the BMSCs were induced or not. CONCLUSIONS: PRP can be used as a scaffold to carry in vitro expanded BMSCs to repair a rabbit's calvarial defect, but its inductive ability to BMSCs was limited.

Diaqua-bis(2,2'-biimidazole)zinc(II) 4,4'-di-carboxybiphenyl-3,3'-di-carboxyl-ate.

In the title compound, [Zn(C(6)H(6)N(4))(2)(H(2)O)(2)](C(16)H(8)O(8)), the Zn(II) atom, located on an inversion centre, is coordinated by two aqua and two bidentate biimidizole ligands, resulting in a slightly distorted octa-hedral ZnO(2)N(4) geometry. The four N atoms from the two biimidizole ligands lie in the equatorial plane and the two aqua O atoms lie in the axial sites. The biphenyl-tetra-carboxyl-ate anion also lies on an inversion centre. The Zn(II) complex cation and the anion are held together by N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a zigzag chain along [21]. The chains are further connected by water mol-ecules via O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.