Nb/N Co-Doped Layered Perovskite Sr2TiO4: Preparation and Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation Tetracycline under Visible Light.

Sr2TiO4 is a promising photocatalyst for antibiotic degradation in wastewater. The photocatalytic performance of pristine Sr2TiO4 is limited to its wide bandgap, especially under visible light. Doping is an effective strategy to enhance photocatalytic performance. In this work, Nb/N co-doped layered perovskite Sr2TiO4 (Sr2TiO4:N,Nb) with varying percentages (0−5 at%) of Nb were synthesized by sol-gel and calcination. Nb/N co-doping slightly expanded the unit cell of Sr2TiO4. Their photocatalytic performance towards antibiotic (tetracycline) was studied under visible light (λ > 420 nm). When Nb/(Nb + Ti) was 2 at%, Sr2TiO4:N,Nb(2%) shows optimal photocatalytic performance with the 99% degradation after 60 min visible light irradiation, which is higher than pristine Sr2TiO4 (40%). The enhancement in photocatalytic performance is attributed to improving light absorption, and photo-generated charges separation derived from Nb/N co-doping. Sr2TiO4:N,Nb(2%) shows good stability after five cycles photocatalytic degradation reaction. The capture experiments confirm that superoxide radical is the leading active species during the photocatalytic degradation process. Therefore, the Nb/N co-doping in this work could be used as an efficient strategy for perovskite-type semiconductor to realize visible light driving for wastewater treatment.

Cyclic hydrostatic pressure promotes uroplakin expression in human urothelial cells through activation of ERK1/2 signaling.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of cyclic hydrostatic pressure on the expression of uroplakins and the role of extracellular regulated protein kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) in the hydrostatic pressure-induced uroplakin expression of human urothelial cells (UCs). METHODS: Human UCs were seeded into a cell culture flask and subjected to cyclic hydrodynamic pressures for 24 h. Pressure parameters were set as follows: static, 100 cm H2O, 200 cm H2O and 300 cm H2O pressure. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blot were used to detect the expression of uroplakins. The role of the ERK1/2 was investigated using ERK1/2 inhibitor. RESULTS: Compared with the 0 cm H2O control group, 200 cm H2O hydrostatic pressure significantly increased the expression of uroplakins, however, 100 cm and 300 cm pressures could not promote uroplakin expression. Hence, ERK1/2 expression was also detected under 200 cm H2O hydrostatic pressure. Western blot showed that 200 cm H2O pressure promoted the expression of ERK1/2. ERK1/2 inhibitor decreased the pressure-induced ERK1/2 activivation and uroplakin expression. CONCLUSIONS: Cyclic hydrostatic pressure increases the expression of uroplakins via activating ERK1/2 signaling pathway in human UCs, and 200 cm H2O pressure may be an optimal stress parameter to promote the uroplakin expression.

Self assembly and controlled drug release of a nano-laminated graphite carbon nitride/methotrexate complex.

In this study, g-C3N4/methotrexate (g-C3N4/MTX) nanohybrids were obtained via a self assembly method. XRD and TEM demonstrated that bulk g-C3N4 had been stripped into thin nanosheets with size range of 150-250 nm. FTIR investigation indicated that the self assembly of the hybrid was attributed to the hydrogen bond between g-C3N4 nanosheets and MTX molecules. It is confirmed by the UV-vis spectra that the hybrids can achieve a sustained drug release within long period for 70 h. Furthermore, the drug release mechanism was investigated by kinetic models and a first-order relationship was concluded, which indicated that the drug release is a simple diffusion process cohydroxyapatite/methotrexate complexntrolled by gradient drug concentration. Cell viability tests confirmed that g-C3N4 presented excellent biocompatibility and g-C3N4/MTX hybrids had obvious suppression efficiency on MG63 cells which showed a positive correlation to the drug concentration and incubation time.

Correction to: Self assembly and controlled drug release of a nano-laminated graphite carbon nitride/methotrexate complex.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. In the Abstract section the sentence "Furthermore, the drug release mechanism was investigated by kinetic models and a first-order relationship was concluded, which indicated that the drug release is a simple diffusion process cohydroxyapatite/methotrexate complexntrolled by gradient drug concentration." was wrong. It should read as "Furthermore, the drug release mechanism was investigated by kinetic models and a first-order relationship was concluded, which indicated that the drug release is a simple diffusion process controlled by gradient drug concentration."

Morphology effect of nano-hydroxyapatite as a drug carrier of methotrexate.

In this study, morphology effect of nano-hydroxyapatite as a drug carrier was investigated for the first time. Hydroxyapatite/methotrexate (HAp/MTX) hybrids with different morphologies were successfully prepared in situ using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a template. SEM, TEM, XRD and FTIR results confirmed that the hybrids of different morphologies (laminated, rod-like and spherical) with similar phase composition and functional groups were obtained by changing the preparation parameters. UV-Vis spectroscopy was used to identify the drug loading capacity and drug release mechanism of the three hybrids with different morphologies. It is concluded that the laminated hybrid exhibits a higher drug loading capacity compared to the other two hybrids, and all the three hybrids showed a sustained slow release which were fitted well by Bhaskar equation. Additionally, the result of in vitro bioassay test confirms that the inhibition efficacy of the three hybrids showed a positive correlation to the drug loading capacity.

Assessment of glycemic susceptibility across multiple urological and reproductive disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To test the glycemic susceptibility in three urological cancers and eight urological/reproductive diseases using the Mendelian randomization (MR) method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two-sample MR was applied to investigate the causal role of three glycemic traits (type II diabetes, fasting glucose and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c)) in eleven urological/reproductive diseases (kidney cancer, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, kidney/ureter stone, urinary incontinence, benign prostatic hyperplasia, erectile dysfunction, female infertility, male infertility, abnormal spermatozoa and polycystic ovary syndrome). Further multivariate MR (MVMR) and mediating analysis were performed to investigate the associations. RESULTS: Among all the 11 diseases, type II diabetes was positively associated with erectile dysfunction, which was stable across both cohorts [odds ratio (OR): 1.59, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.15-2.20, P = 0.005 for FinnGen Biobank and OR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.08-1.21, P < 0.001 for the other cohort]. Also, type II diabetes was negatively associated with male infertility (OR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.39-0.84, P = 0.005). In addition, all three glycemic traits were observed to be positively associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (OR: 2.36, 95% CI: 1.16-4.76, P = 0.017 for fasting glucose per mmol/L; OR: 3.04, 95% CI: 1.10-8.39, P = 0.032 for HbA1c per percentage; and OR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.00-1.46, P = 0.046 for type II diabetes). Mediating analysis confirmed the effect of type II diabetes on these diseases. CONCLUSIONS: There existed glycemic susceptibility in erectile dysfunction, male infertility and polycystic ovary syndrome. We could not conclude stable glycemic susceptibility in other urological/reproductive diseases.

Mechanism of carbon nanotube growth in expanded graphite via catalytic pyrolysis reaction using carbores P as a carbon source.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) had potential applications in energy conversion and storage devices, and it could be prepared by expanded graphite loaded with catalyst at high temperature, however, the mechanism of carbon nanotube growth in expanded graphite need further confirmation. In this work, carbon nanotubes' in situ growth in expanded graphite (EG) were prepared via catalytic pyrolysis reaction using carbores P as a carbon source and Co(NO3)3•6H2O as a catalyst. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope (EDS) indicated the carbon nanotubes could generate in, EG with the presence of carbores P as a carbon source and cobalt nitrate as a catalyst. More interestingly, the growth mechanism of carbon nanotubes could be concluded by the results of differential thermal analysis-thermogravimetry-mass spectrometry (DTA-TG-MS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The pyrolysis products of carbores P were mainly hydrocarbon gas such as CH4 gas, which reacts with Co(NO3)3·6H2O catalyst to reduces CoOx to Co particles, then the carbon form pyrolysis was deposited the on the surface catalyst Co particles and, after continuous solid dissolution and precipitation, carbon nanotubes were at last generated in EG at last.

Comparison of intrarenal pelvic pressure and postoperative fever between standard- and mini-tract percutaneous nephrolithotomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: High intrarenal pelvic pressure (IPP) induces systemic absorption of irrigation fluid containing bacteria or endotoxins, which is associated with postoperative fever (POF) and even urosepsis. The emphasis of this meta-analysis lies in comparison of IPP and POF between mini-tract percutaneous nephrolithotomy (MPCNL) and standard-tract percutaneous nephrolithotomy (SPCNL). METHODS: Eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified from electronic databases from inception to November 2019. Studies selection, quality assessment, data extraction and analysis were accomplished by two independent reviewers using Cochrane Collaboration's tools. RESULTS: Patients in the MPCNL group experienced higher IPP compared to SPCNL group [mean difference (MD): 8.31, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.67-12.96, P=0.0005] with highly between-study heterogeneity (P=0.001, I2=85%). Notably, the IPP was higher in MPCNL group in different stages of the procedure including introduction, fragmentation and end. However, only two trials were available for pooled analysis. Additionally, the risk of POF in MPCNL was 2.43 times higher than that in SPCNL [odds ratio (OR): 2.43, 95% CI: 1.39-4.27, P=0.002] with no significant between-study heterogeneity (P=0.83, I2=0%). The two procedures was comparable on stone-free rate (SFR) (OR: 1.06, 95% CI: 0.61-1.86, P=0.83) and operation time (MD: 5.69, 95% CI: -4.54 to 15.91, P=0.28). CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence indicates that MPCNL is an effective alternative to SPCNL with comparable SFR. IPP and POF is significantly higher during MPCNL compared to SPCNL. Intraoperative detection of IPP is of great significance for ensuring safety and reducing postoperative complications, especially for patients with MPCNL and the duration of stone fragmentation. Further large well-designed trials are warranted to confirm our findings.

Knockout of OsNramp5 using the CRISPR/Cas9 system produces low Cd-accumulating indica rice without compromising yield.

Rice grain with excessive cadmium (Cd) is a major source of dietary Cd intake and a serious threat to health for people who consume rice as a staple food. The development of elite rice cultivars with consistently low Cd content is challenging for conventional breeding approaches, and new strategies urgently need to be developed. Here, we report the development of new indica rice lines with low Cd accumulation and no transgenes by knocking out the metal transporter gene OsNramp5 using CRISPR/Cas9 system. Hydroponic culture showed that Cd concentrations in shoots and roots of osnramp5 mutants were dramatically decreased, resulting in rescue of impaired growth in high Cd condition. Cd-contaminated paddy field trials demonstrated that Cd concentration in osnramp5 grains was consistently less than 0.05 mg/kg, in contrast to high Cd concentrations from 0.33 mg/kg to 2.90 mg/kg in grains of Huazhan (the wild-type indica rice). In particular, the plant yield was not significantly affected in osnramp5 mutants. Furthermore, we developed promising hybrid rice lines with extremely low Cd content in grains. Our work supplies a practical approach to developing Cd pollution-safe indica rice cultivars that minimizes Cd contamination risk in grains.