Facile synthesis of nanostrip-structured pseudo-boehmite "nest" for nano-TiO2/γ-Al2O3construction to remove tetracycline hydrochloride in water.

A particular bird's nest-like pseudo-boehmite (PB) composed of cohesive nanostrips was prepared by a novel and facile approach based on the reaction of Al-Ga-In-Sn alloy and water, together with ammonium carbonate. The PB possesses a large specific surface area (465.2 m2g-1), pore volume (1.0 cm3g-1), and pore diameter (8.7 nm). Subsequently, it was utilized as a precursor to form the TiO2/γ-Al2O3nanocomposite for tetracycline hydrochloride removal. The removal efficiency can reach above 90% at TiO2:PB = 1:1.5 under the Sunlight irradiation simulated by a LED lamp. Our results indicate that the nest-like PB is a promising carrier precursor for efficient nanocomposite catalysts.

A Subpathway and Target Gene Cluster-Based Approach Uncovers lncRNAs Associated with Human Primordial Follicle Activation.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as a critical regulator in controlling the expression level of genes involved in cell differentiation and development. Primordial follicle activation (PFA) is the first step for follicle maturation, and excessive PFA results in premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). However, the correlation between lncRNA and cell differentiation was largely unknown, especially during PFA. In this study, we observed the expression level of lncRNA was more specific than protein-coding genes in both follicles and granulosa cells, suggesting lncRNA might play a crucial role in follicle development. Hence, a systematical framework was needed to infer the functions of lncRNAs during PFA. Additionally, an increasing number of studies indicate that the subpathway is more precise in reflecting biological processes than the entire pathway. Given the complex expression patterns of lncRNA target genes, target genes were further clustered based on their expression similarity and classification performance to reveal the activated/inhibited gene modules, which intuitively illustrated the diversity of lncRNA regulation. Moreover, the knockdown of SBF2-AS1 in the A549 cell line and ZFAS1 in the SK-Hep1 cell line further validated the function of SBF2-AS1 in regulating the Hippo signaling subpathway and ZFAS1 in the cell cycle subpathway. Overall, our findings demonstrated the importance of subpathway analysis in uncovering the functions of lncRNAs during PFA, and paved new avenues for future lncRNA-associated research.

Advanced nanozymes possess peroxidase-like catalytic activities in biomedical and antibacterial fields: review and progress.

Infectious diseases caused by bacterial invasions have imposed a significant global health and economic burden. More worryingly, multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogenic bacteria born under the abuse of antibiotics have further escalated the status quo. Nowadays, at the crossroads of multiple disciplines such as chemistry, nanoscience and biomedicine, nanozymes, as enzyme-mimicking nanomaterials, not only possess excellent bactericidal ability but also reduce the possibility of inducing resistance. Thus, nanozymes are promising to serve as an alternative to traditional antibiotics. Nanozymes that mimic peroxidase (POD) activity are also known as POD nanozymes. In recent years, POD nanozymes have become one of the most frequently reported and effective nanozymes due to their broad-spectrum bactericidal properties and unique sterilization mechanism. In this review, we introduce the mechanism as well as the classification of POD nanozymes. More importantly, to further improve the antibacterial efficacy of POD nanozymes, we elaborate on three aspects: (1) improving the physicochemical properties; (2) regulating the catalytic microenvironment; and (3) designing multimodel POD nanozymes. In addition, we review the nanosafety of POD nanozymes for discussing their potential toxicity. Finally, the remaining challenges of POD nanozymes and possible future directions are discussed. This work provides a systematic summary of POD nanozymes and hopefully contributes to the early clinical translation.

Exosomes derived from odontogenic stem cells: Its role in the dentin-pulp complex.

Odontogenic stem cells originate from cranial neural crest cells and offer unique advantages in the regeneration of dentin-pulp complex. There is increasing evidence that stem cells exert their biological functions mainly through exosome-based paracrine effects. Exosomes contain DNA, RNA, proteins, metabolites, etc., which can play a role in intercellular communication and have similar therapeutic potential to stem cells. In addition, compared with stem cells, exosomes also have the advantages of good biocompatibility, high drug carrying capacity, easy to obtain, and few side effects. Odontogenic stem cell-derived exosomes mainly affect the regeneration of the dentin-pulp complex by regulating processes such as dentintogenesis, angiogenesis, neuroprotection and immunomodulation. This review aimed to describe "cell-free therapies" based on odontogenic stem cell-derived exosomes, which aim to regenerate the dentin-pulp complex.