Direct Degradation of Fresh and Dried Macroalgae by Agarivorans albus B2Z047.

Marine macroalgae are increasingly recognized for their significant biological and economic potential. The key to unlocking this potential lies in the efficient degradation of all carbohydrates from the macroalgae biomass. However, a variety of polysaccharides (alginate, cellulose, fucoidan, and laminarin), are difficult to degrade simultaneously in a short time. In this study, the brown alga Saccharina japonica was found to be rapidly and thoroughly degraded by the marine bacterium Agarivorans albus B2Z047. This strain harbors a broad spectrum of carbohydrate-active enzymes capable of degrading various polysaccharides, making it uniquely equipped to efficiently break down both fresh and dried kelp, achieving a hydrolysis rate of up to 52%. A transcriptomic analysis elucidated the presence of pivotal enzyme genes implicated in the degradation pathways of alginate, cellulose, fucoidan, and laminarin. This discovery highlights the bacterium's capability for the efficient and comprehensive conversion of kelp biomass, indicating its significant potential in biotechnological applications for macroalgae resource utilization.

[The Effect of the Phase on Characteristic Energy of All-Trans-ß-Carotene].

All-trans-ß-carotene has important functions of light collection and light protection, and it is also an important electrooptical material. The Raman spectra of polyenes are a result of the modulation effect of the π electron energy gap on the vibration of CC bonds, which associate with the external field. So it has higher theoretical significance and practical value to study the molecular structure and properties change under the external field. Ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra and resonant Raman spectra of all-trans-ß-carotene in cyclohexanol were measured from 341 to 275 K. The liquid-solid phase transition of the sample appears at 295 K. The characteristic energy describes the conformational change of all-trans-ß-carotene molecule. After the solution phase transition, the characteristic energy ε of all-trans-ß-carotene molecule becomes bigger. And when temperature decreasing, the rate of change of the Huang-Rhys, the wavelength of UV absorption peak, electron-phonon Parameter, RSCSs of the CC bond increase. the Huang-Rhys in solid phase is an order of magnitude higher then liquid phase. The characteristic energy of liquid is 0.206 7 eV. The characteristic energy of liquid is 0.559 6 eV. The increasing of the characteristic energy ε makes the rate of increasing of the effectively conjugated length becomes bigger. The decreasing of the π electric energy gap quickens. The function of moderation from electron energy gap to all-trans-ß-carotene molecule enhances. Electron-phonon Parameter increases. RSCSs of the CC bond substantially increases.

[Study on the Turning Effect of the Energy Gap of π Electron on Atomic Vibration in Conjugated Linear Polymer].

The Visible absorption and Raman spectra of ß-carotene were measured in dimethyl sulfoxide in temperature ranging from 81 to 25 ℃ and in carbon disulfide in pressure range from 0.04 to 0.60 GPa, respectively. The results indicated that the visible absorption and Raman spectra are both red-shifted, Raman scattering cross section increase with the temperature decreasing. And with the pressure increasing, the visible absorption spectra are red-shifted, but the frequency shift towards higher frequencies in the Raman spectra, the Raman scattering cross section decrease unexpectedly. The latter can't be explained by the model of "effective conjugation length" and "coherent weakly damped electron-lattice vibrations". In this paper, we combined electron-vibration coupling rule with theoretical calculations and found that the electron-phonon coupling constant had a certain changing trend with the temperature and pressure variation, which Indicate that the interaction between π-electron and CC bond vibration was essential for this experiment result. Thus, the turning effect of energy gap of the π on CC vibration mode is responsible for such phenomenon.

[Effect on Fermi Resonance by Some External Fields: Investigation of Fermi Resonance According to Raman Spectra].

Fermi resonance is a phenomenon of molecular vibrational coupling and energy transfer occurred between different groups of a single molecule or neighboring molecules. Many properties of Fermi resonance under different external fields, the investigation method of Raman spectroscopy as well as the application of Fermi resonance, etc need to be developed and extended further. In this article the research results and development about Fermi resonance obtained by Raman spectral technique were introduced systematically according to our work and the results by other researchers. Especially, the results of the behaviors of intramolecular and intermolecular Fermi resonance of some molecules under some external fields such as molecular field, pressure field and temperature field, etc were investigated and demonstrated in detail according to the Raman spectra obtained by high pressure DAC technique, temperature variation technique as well as the methods we planed originally in our group such as solution concentration variation method and LCOF resonance Raman spectroscopic technique, and some novel properties of Fermi resonance were found firstly. Concretely, (1) Under molecular field. a. The Raman spectra of C5H5 N in CH3 OH and H2O indicates that solvent effect can influence Fermi resonance distinctly; b. The phenomena of the asymmetric movement of the Fermi resonance doublets as well as the fundamental involved is tuned by the Fermi resonance which had not been found by other methods were found firstly by our variation solution concentration method; c. The Fermi resonance properties can be influenced distinctly by the molecular group reorganization induced by the hydrogen bond and anti-hydrogen bond in solution; d. Fermi resonance can occurred between C7 H8 and m-C8H10, and the Fermi resonance properties behave quite differently with the solution concentration; (2) Under pressure field. a. The spectral lines shift towards high wavenumber with increasing pressure, and frequency difference Δ varies with pressure, which induced the change of W; b. The W of νi + ν4 ν3 of CCl4 in C6H6 decreased more quickly in solution than in pure liquid with increasing pressure and the Fermi resonance disappeared ahead of that in pure liquid, which indicates that the phenomenon of Fermi resonance induced by pressure effect can reveal the mechanism of some solvent effects. (3) Under temperature field. a. The Fermi resonance properties of different molecules behave quite differently with temperature. For an instance, the one of CO2 can be influenced distinctly by temperature, while the one of CS2 behaves no change with temperature. This article offers systematic theoretical and experimental support to the investigation of identification and assignment of molecular spectral line, the confirmation of molecular conformation and conformers, the effect of hydrogen bond on molecular structure and properties, etc.

[Resonance Raman Spectral Properties Studies of Beta-carotene in Solution].

Beta-carotene is an important kind of polyene biomolecules, which has significant applications on researching optoelectronic and functional materials. In-situ high pressure Raman spectra of beta-carotene are measured in CS2 solution and water respectively at pressure range from 0-0.60 GPa. Then we compared both of them the Raman shift and CC bond of the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the Raman spectra. It is therefore concluded that both of the samples' Raman shift moved to the high wave number and the full width at half maximum increased depending of the pressure. The experiment phenomena were interpreted by the theory of "coherent weakly damped electronic-lattice vibration model" and "effective conjugation length model". The mechanism is that the beta-carotene is compressed and has the lower structure order, shorte the effective conjugation length, decreased Raman active, weaker the coherent weakly damping CC bond vibration in high pressure. Because of the CC bond length become short, so the Raman spectra are found to blueshift. The CC bond of the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the Raman spectra increased is attributed to the increase of difference in C--C and C==C bond lengths. Moreover, due to dissolving in non-polar CS2 solvent, the beta-carotene encounters the interaction of the surrounding solvent molecules. So the dispersion force interaction between solute and solvent is more sensitive to pressure. Then it makes that the slop of Raman shift and the full width at half maximum in the CS2 solution are faster than dissolved in water with increasing pressure. This paper provides an application value for research on molecular structure change under the external field and the presence form of polyenes biomolecules in the solvent.

[Resonance raman spectra of linear polymer molecule].

The present paper summarizes the characteristics of resonance Raman spectra of the linear polymer molecule, and its relations with the molecular structure, including: electronic spectra(ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrum), Raman spectra characteristics and its relations with external field; Modulation relation between the electron energy gap and CC atom vibration; Several experimental results were obtained: The UV-visible absorption spectra are red-shifted with decreasing temperature, increasing solvent density and reducing solution concentration, and because the linear polymer molecule has high structured order, decreasing pi electron energy gap; extended pi electronic delocalization, large effective conjugation length, large intensity of the Raman activity, Ramrnan spectrum are red-shifted, with large scattering cross section. "Am plitude modes" are the ideal theory models to study the linear polymer molecule.

[Effect of pressure on electron-phonon coupling constants of all-trans-beta-carotene].

The present paper cited that R Tubino and other people introduced a kind of electron-phonon coupling constants with dimension, which can establish the relation with the Huang-Rhys factor and calculate the electron-phonon coupling constants of every C-C bond vibration mode. There are many reports about the visible absorption and Raman spectra of all-trans-beta-carotene with pressure. But the study about the Raman scattering cross section and the Huang-Rhys factor with pressure have not been reported now. Visible absorption and Raman spectra of all-trans-beta-carotene were measured in carbon disulfide in the pressure range from 0. 04 to 0. 60 GPa. The results indicated that the visible absorption spectra of beta-carotene in nonpolar solvent carbon disulfide are red-shifted with pressure increasing, but the frequency shifts towards higher frequencies in the Raman spectra, the Raman scattering cross section decreases, Huang-Rhys factor increases, and the electron-phonon coupling constants of CC bond vibration modes increase. The mechanism is that all-trans-beta-carotene caused by compression and a decrease in the structurally ordered properties of the molecules leads to narrow energy gap of the pi, shortens effective conjugation length, hinders delocalization of pi-electron, decreases the Raman scattering cross section, and increases the Huang-Rhys factor and the electron-phonon coupling constants.

Desmoid tumors of rectus abdominis: A case report and literature review.

RATIONALE: Desmoid tumor (DT) is a rare soft tissue tumor that can occur anywhere in the body. Abdominal wall DT presents unique clinical challenges due to its distinctive manifestations, treatment modalities, and the lack of biomarkers for diagnosis and recurrence prediction, making clinical decisions exceedingly complex. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 32-year-old female who underwent radical resection combined with patch reinforcement for rectus abdominis DT, successfully alleviating abdominal discomfort, with no recurrence during the 6-month follow-up after surgery. DIAGNOSES: Based on the imaging studies and medical history, the patient underwent radical surgical resection. Histopathology reveals that the tumor cells predominantly composed of proliferative fibroblasts with local collagen deposition. The lesional cells show positive staining for ß-catenin, indicating a diagnosis of DT. INTERVENTIONS: The patient underwent radical surgical resection with patch reinforcement to repair the abdominal wall defect. Pathology confirmed negative margins, achieving an R0 resection, and genetic testing identified a T41A mutation in CTNNB1. Consequently, no additional adjuvant therapy was administered postoperatively. OUTCOMES: The patient was discharged with the incision healing well after 3 days postoperation. Upon reexamination 6 months later, no recurrence or adverse complications were observed. LESSONS: Abdominal wall DT treatment requires personalized plans from multidisciplinary team discussions. Genetic testing plays a crucial role in identifying novel biomarkers for abdominal wall DT. We have once again demonstrated the significant clinical significance of CTNNB1 mutations in the diagnosis and progression of abdominal wall DT. Additionally, genes such as CCND1, CYP3A4, SLIT1, RRM1, STIM1, ESR2, UGT1A1, among others, may also be closely associated with the progression of abdominal wall DT. Future research should delve deeper into and systematically evaluate the precise impact of these genetic mutations on treatment selection and prognosis for abdominal wall DT, in order to better guide patient management and treatment decisions.

[Preparation of fluorescent carbon dots by flow-assisted melt polymerization for tetracycline detection in medical wastewater].

Tetracycline (TC) is one of the most important therapeutic drugs that is widely used in hospitals. However, its harmful effects on human health and various ecosystems cannot be ignored. Owing to its poor metabolic activity and low biodegradability, TC commonly discharges as the parent compound and accumulates readily in sludges and soils by precipitation from wastewater, which can induce the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria; therefore, it has been listed as one of the new pollutants with potential ecotoxicological risk. The control measures and environmental management of TC pollutants in environmental water samples require precise determination of TC pollutant concentrations. Carbon dots (CDs) are an emerging type of fluorescent material with numerous advantages such as easy preparation, low cost, low toxicity, and good biocompatibility. Consequently, they have attracted widespread attention in the field of TC detection. Herein, we synthesized TE-CDs with good blue-fluorescence performance via flow-assisted melt polymerization using tricarboxylic acid and ethylenediamine as raw precursors. The morphology and structure of the prepared TE-CDs were characterized. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that the prepared TE-CDs were well dispersed, with an average diameter of (2.43±0.48) nm. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed that the TE-CDs had an amorphous carbon structure. Infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterizations showed that the surface of the TE-CDs was rich in hydrophilic groups, such as amino, hydroxyl, and carboxyl groups, which indicated that TE-CDs had good water solubility and were advantageous for detecting TC in medical wastewater. Subsequently, the optical properties of the TE-CDs were investigated. The fluorescence emission spectra of the TE-CDs were recorded at various excitation wavelengths. The emission spectra of the TE-CDs exhibited excitation wavelength dependence and when the excitation wavelength changes from 300 nm to 400 nm, their fluorescence intensity decreased to varying degrees. The TE-CDs exhibited optimal fluorescence intensity at an excitation wavelength of 368 nm, while the emission wavelength was 448 nm. TC could effectively quench the blue fluorescence of the CDs, and by utilizing this property, the detection of TC concentration could be achieved. After the addition of TC, the fluorescence of the system immediately reached an extreme value, and no significant change was observed within 10 min. An incubation time of 20 s was selected to obtain precise results. Additionally, the TE-CDs exhibited stable fluorescence intensity over a wide pH range. The fluorescence stability of the TE-CDs was investigated, and no significant change in fluorescence intensity was observed after standing for 10 d, indicating that the prepared TE-CDs had excellent fluorescence stability. The fluorescence intensity of the TE-CDs decreased to varying degrees within the range of 2-200 mg/L TC until complete quenching occurred. TC mass concentration in the range of 4-20 mg/L showed a good linear relationship (R2=0.9978) with the fluorescence quenching intensity of the TE-CDs. The limit of detection was 0.2 mg/L. A preliminary investigation was undertaken to explore the quenching mechanism of the TE-CDs fluorescence by TC. Upon addition of TC, a significant reduction in the fluorescence lifetime of the TE-CDs was observed. During the quenching process, no new substances were observed by UV absorption spectroscopy. Additionally, no significant changes in the 1H NMR spectra of the TE-CDs were noted before and after the addition of TC, indicating the absence of an interaction between the TE-CDs and TC. Therefore, the quenching mechanism may involve dynamic quenching. The selectivity and anti-interference ability of the developed method were evaluated; in the presence of interfering substances, TC quenched the fluorescence of the TE-CDs, indicating that the TE-CDs had good selectivity and anti-interference performance towards TC. The method was applied to the quantitative detection of TC in medical wastewater, with recoveries of 96.5%-119.8% and relative standard deviations of 0.8%-2.6%. In conclusion, the analytical performance of the proposed method is comparable with that of previously reported detection methods; moreover, the method has the advantages of low operational cost, simple preparation process, time-saving, and good repeatability. Therefore, the TE-CDs can be used as chemical sensors for the detection of TC in medical wastewater and have good practical applications.

[Enhancing stimulated Raman scattering of water and heavy water lattice vibration by laser induced plasma].

Stimulated Raman scattering was studied in water and heavy water using pulse laser at the wavelength of 532nm, not only obtaining the stimulated Raman of O-H and O-D stretching vibration, but also obtaining the stimulated Raman lattice vibration. When the laser energy was 130 mJ, the low frequency Stokes and anti-Stokes 313 cm(-1) line of water could be observed; When the laser energy was 160 mJ, the low frequnecy Stokes and anti-Stokes 280 cm(-1) line of heavy water could be observed. The results were explained by physics mechanism of laser induced plasma.

[Temperature effect on the hydrogen bonding behavior between DMSO and water in aqueous DMSO solutions studied by raman spectroscopy].

In the present paper, DMSO/H2O mixture with the ratio of volume 1:1 was measured in the cooling process by Raman spectroscopy, and the Raman assignments was made to the DMSO molecular and water molecular. The results showed that the behavior between intra-molecular hydrogen bonds and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds of DMSO and water leads to the change in the Raman spectra of the S==O stretching vibration of DMSO and the O--H stretching vibration of water. Further analysis showed that the hydrogen bond between DMSO and water was enhanced in the course of temperature decreasing process (27 to -30 degrees C), and the intramolecular hydrogen bonds between water and water replaced the intermolecular hydrogen bonds of DMSO and water in the course of temperature decreasing process (-30 to -60 degrees C). The research provides experimental basis for hydrogen bonding theory in aqueous solution.

[Temperature characteristics of huang-Ryes factor of all-trans-beta-carotene].

A visible absorption and Raman spectra of all-trans-beta-beta-carotene was measured in cyclohexanol solution in the temperature range from 68 degrees C to 26 degrees C. The results indicated that the visible absorption spectra are red-shifted, Raman scattering cross section increases, Huang-Ryes factor and electron-phonon coupling constants of CC bond vibration modes decreases with the temperature decreasing. The changes are interpreted using the theory of "coherent weakly damped electronic-lattice vibration model" and "effective conjugation length model". The red shift of the absorption spectra and intensity of the Raman active are attributed to the thermal conformational change-induced increase in the effective conjugation length in all-trans-beta-carotene chains. All-trans-beta-carotene has strong coherent weakly damped CC bonds vibrational properties, which lead to large Raman scattering cross section in the solvent of low temperature. The electron-phonon coupling constants with dimension are used, which can easily establish relation with the Huang-Rhys factor and calculate the electron-phonon coupling constants of CC bond vibration modes. Effective conjugation length, the pi-electron delocalization range and the Raman scattering cross section are described by the electron-phonon coupling constants.

Based on metabolomics, the optimum wind speed process parameters of flue-cured tobacco in heat pump bulk curing barn were explored.

To explore the influence of wind speed on the quality of tobacco in this study, we employed a heat pump-powered intensive curing barn and a three-stage curing process. By evaluating the influence of fan parameters on the quality of tobacco leaves at different curing stages, the optimal wind speed was determined. After adopting the optimized wind speed process, the degradation of macromolecular substances was faster, the accumulation of aroma substances was delayed to 55 °C, and the accumulation was more complete. Among them, the contents of reducing sugar and total sugar in flue-cured tobacco leaves were 22.25% and 29.2%, respectively, which were lower than those in the control group. The sugar was converted into more aroma substances, and the total amount of neutral aroma substances was 48.82% higher than that of the control group. The content of related aroma substances increased significantly. The content of petroleum ether extract related to aroma substances increased by 0.93% compared with the control group. The macromolecular substances were degraded more fully than the control group, such as the starch content decreased to 1.56%. The results of metabolomics showed that the contents of aldehydes, heterocyclic compounds, alcohols, ketones and esters increased significantly in different degrees after this process. These results show that the optimization of wind speed parameters can significantly improve the baking quality of tobacco leaves. This study provides a reference for the optimization of the flue-cured tobacco baking process.

[Study of Fermi resonance by means of solution concentration variation].

The values of Raman scattering coefficients of some molecules in which Fermi resonance occurs vary with solution concentration variation. We measured the Raman spectra of some solvents such as CCl4, CS2, C6H6, etc by changing the concentration of the solutions ranging from 10% to 100% in volume. As a result, the authors obtained the general law of Fermi resonance. We found some weak Fermi resonance phenomena as well that the two bands of Raman spectrum shift asymmetrically and that the fundamental of overtone is tuned by Fermi resonance and moves towards the same direction with the overtone simultaneously, which is same as the results Bier K. D. obtained by means of high-pressure technique. By means of this method, the authors demonstrated the conclusion that only the fundamental in combinations which has the same symmetry as the fundamental involved in Fermi resonance directly can its intensity variation influence the Fermi resonance. In this article, the authors present a new method to study Fermi resonance. This method is valuable in the identification and the assignment of spectral lines of solutions, the determination of molecular configuration of enzyme, the discrimination of isomer, as well as the influences on the molecular structures and properties caused by hydrogen bond.

[Broad-area vertical cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers].

Based on the broad-area vertical cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers (VCSOA) of 970 nm, the amplifier gain and bandwidth characteristics were experimentally investigated and analyzed in the reflection mode. For 970 nm broad-area VCSOA operated in reflective mode, the maximum gain amplification of 24.8 dB and optical bandwidth of 0.14 nm (25 GHz) were reached when the injection current was 57% of threshold current and the signal input power was 0.7 W. The experimental gain value was larger than the theoretical value, due to many modes existing in VCSOA. Each mode had relative gain amplification, so the experimental gain value was larger than the theoretical value. This kind of broad-area VCSOA was improved not only in optical gain but also in saturated input power. The authors optimized the structure design of the wide area VCSOA of 970 nm. The simulation results showed that the improvement of the gain and bandwidth of the semiconductor laser could be obtained by appropriately reducing the DBR reflectivity of the emitting laser on the vertical cavity surface.

[Effect of the change in fundamental Raman scattering coefficient with the concentration on Fermi resonance in binary solution].

The Raman scattering coefficients of the fundamental v1 (992 cm(-1)) of C6 H6 and the fundamental v1 (656 cm(-1) ) of CS2 changed dramatically with relative concentration of the binary solution of CS2 and C6 H6. The Raman spectra of the binary solution with different relative concentrations were measured. The results show that both the v1 fundamentals intensities changed dramatically with the relative concentration of the solution and the fundamental v1 of C6 H6 has little effect on the Fermi resonance v1 +v6-v8. On the contrary, the change in the v1 fundamental intensity of the CS2 changed which has more effect not only on the Fermi resonance v1 - 2v2 but also on the v2 fundamental. In this report, the experimental results were analyzed based on the J. F. Bertran theory and group theory.

[Study of biological molecules in water by using the resonance raman spectra in liquid-core optical fiber].

Raman spectrum is an important and effective method for the study of biological molecules in water. Measuring the Raman spectra for biological molecules in water, however, is very difficult because of the small Raman scattering cross section and the high electronic excitation energy of water molecules. In the present paper, the authors applied both technologies of liquid-core optical fiber and the resonance Raman spectra, then the intensity of Raman spectra was enhanced to a great extent. In this experiment, we chose the laser wavelength 514.5 of Ar+ ion laser as excitation laser, because we could obtain the maximal intensity of resonance Raman spectra at this wavelength. The experiment results show that, for the trace inspecting study of beta-carotene biological molecules in water, the concentration in the range of 10(-7)-10(-9) mol x L(-1) can be detected by quartz liquid-core optical fiber and the concentration in the range of 10(-9)-10(-10) mol x L(-1) by Teflon liquid-core optical fiber. The detecting utmost will be further reduced if improving the quality of optical fiber.

[Effects of adenovirus on vein autografts: experiment with rat].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of transfection of adenovirus on the tunica intima hyperplasia of vein autografts. METHODS: An external branch of the internal jugular vein, 5 mm in length, of a Wistar rat was cut and transplanted to its own common carotid artery by end to end bypass so as to establish a model. Ninety Wistar rats underwent transplantation of vein autografts to their own arteries and then were randomly divided into 3 equal groups: experiment group, undergoing transplantation and adenovirus transfection; experimental control group, undergoing transplantation only; and normal control group. Three, 10, and 30 days later, samples of vessel were obtained. The expression of green fluorescence protein (GFP) was observed so as to measure the transfection rate of adenovirus. Routine HE staining and Verhoeff Van Gieson staining were made to measure the thickness of the vessels with computer-assisted image analyzer. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression of intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). RESULTS: Three day postoperatively, the expression of GFP reached the peak, (26.4 +/- 3.6)%; decreased to (14.5 +/- 2.1)% 10 day postoperatively; and became very low 30 day postoperatively, at the level of (0.81 +/- 0.2)%. The hyperplasia of venous tunica intima of the control group was obvious 10 day postoperatively, and became less obvious 30 day postoperatively. Proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and sedimentation of extra-cellular matrix in the experimental group were very obvious, compared with the other 2 groups (both P < 0.05). PCNA was very rare in normal vein walls, showing that the VSMCs were in the static phase. PCNA presentation increased obviously in the control group, showing a high proliferation rate of VSMCs. The positive rate of PCNA was associated with the thickness of the tunica intima. mRNA expression and protein expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 could be detected 3 days after the transplantation, peaked 10 days after the transplantation, and remained high 30 days after in the normal group, however, the corresponding expression levels of the normal vein group were all very low (all P < 0.05). The corresponding levels of the experimental group were all higher than those of the experimental control group, however, not significantly different. CONCLUSION: Transfection of adenovirus into the wall of transplanted vein causes inflammation and hyperplasia of tunica intima. However, such affects only a short time.

Antifibrotic effect of rapamycin containing polyethylene glycol-coated alginate microcapsule in islet xenotransplantation.

Islet microencapsulation is an attractive strategy for the minimization or avoidance of life-long immunosuppression after transplantation. However, the clinical implementation of this technique is currently limited by incomplete biocompatibility. Thus, the aim of the present study was to demonstrate the improved biocompatibility of rapamycin-containing polyethylene glycol (Rapa-PEG)-coating on alginate microcapsules containing xenogeneic islets. The Rapa-PEG-coating on the alginate layer was observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the molecular cut-off weight of the microcapsules was approximately 70 kDa. The viabilities of the alginate-encapsulated and Rapa-PEG-coated alginate-encapsulated islets were lower than the viability of the naked islets just after encapsulation, but these the differences diminished over time in culture dishes. Rapa-PEG-coating on the alginate capsules effectively decreased the proliferation of macrophage cells compared to the non-coating and alginate coating of xenogeneic pancreas tissues. Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion did not significantly differ among the groups prior to transplantation. The random blood glucose levels of diabetic mice significantly improved following the transplantation of alginate-encapsulated and Rapa-PEG-coated alginate-encapsulated islets, but there were no significant differences between these two groups. However, there was a significant decrease in the number of microcapsules with fibrotic cell infiltration in the Rapa-PEG-coated alginate microcapsule group compared to the alginate microcapsule group. In conclusion, Rapa-PEG-coating might be an effective technique with which to improve the biocompatibility of microcapsules containing xenogeneic islets. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Preparation and performance of photocatalytic regenerationable activated carbon prepared via sol-gel TiO2.

Preparation of photocatalytic regenerationable activated carbon (AC) is the key step for the practical application of in situ regeneration of exhausted AC. A novel photocatalytic regenerationable AC was prepared by sol-gel TiO2 in this work. The adsorption and regeneration performance of TiO2/AC were evaluated using phenol as model compound. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and nitrogen (77 K) adsorption isotherm were used to determine the surface area, pore structure and the distribution of TiO2. The results showed that with the increase of TiO2 loading, adsorption capacity of TiO2/AC decreased and the regeneration efficiency increased. The photocatalytic regenerationable AC with suitable TiO2 loading (2 wt%) exhibited suitable adsorption capacity and regeneration efficiency. TiO2 located mainly in the entrance of macro-pore of carbon. The prepared TiO2/AC exhibited similar surface structure and pore structure with material carbon.