Differentiation of Uc-MSCs into insulin secreting islet-like clusters by trypsin through TGF-beta signaling pathway.

Differentiation of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (Uc-MSCs) into islet-like clusters which are capable of synthesizing and secreting insulin can potentially serve as donors for islet transplantation in the patient deficiency in islet β cell function both in type 1 or type 2 diabetic patients. Therefore, we developed an easy and higher efficacy approach by trypsinazing the Uc-MSCs and followed culture in differentiation medium to induce of Uc-MSCs differentiation into islet-like clusters, and the potential mechanism that in the early stage of differentiation was also investigated by using RNA-sequencing and bioinformatics. Results show that induction efficacy was reached to 98% and TGF-β signaling pathway may play critical role in the early stage differentiation, it was further confirmed that the retardant effect of differentiation progress either in cell morphology or in islet specific genes expression can be observed upon blocking the activation of TGF-β signaling pathway using specific inhibitor of LY2109761 (TβRI/II kinase inhibitor).

Enhanced dielectric and conductivity properties of carbon-coated SiC nanocomposites in the terahertz frequency range.

C-coated SiC nanocomposites (SiC@C NCs) were one-step synthesized under a mixture atmosphere of Ar and CH using a DC arc-discharge plasma method. The microstructure of the composites could be controlled by varying the volume ratio of Ar and CH. A strong response to the terahertz (THz) field was observed due to the existence of a graphite shell.

Andrographolide promotes pancreatic duct cells differentiation into insulin-producing cells by targeting PDX-1.

Regeneration of β-cells by differentiation of pancreatic progenitor cells has the potential to fundamentally solve the problems of the loss of β-cell function and mass during disease progression in both type 1 or 2 diabetes. Therefore, discovery of novel differentiation inducers to promote islet regeneration is of great significance. Pancreatic and duodenal homeobox1 (PDX-1) is a key transcription factor that promotes the development and maturation of pancreatic β-cells.

Electrical/thermal behaviors of bimetallic (Ag-Cu, Ag-Sn) nanoparticles for printed electronics.

In this work, Ag-Cu and Ag-Sn nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by a physical vapor condensation method, i.e. DC arc-discharge plasma.

Arc-discharge synthesis of nitrogen-doped C embedded TiCN nanocubes with tunable dielectric/magnetic properties for electromagnetic absorbing applications.

The development of novel composites consisting of ceramic and C materials to alleviate increasingly serious electromagnetic radiation is of great significance in the microwave absorption (MA) field, considering their superior anti-oxidation/corrosion performances and good mechanical strength as well as adjustable dielectric loss capabilities. However, it is still a great challenge to broaden their effective absorption bandwidth (reflection loss value ≤-10 dB) and strengthen the absorption intensity simultaneously, which is mostly attributed to the unreliable impedance matching degree at the absorber/air interface. Herein, a feasible strategy is adopted to synthesize TiCN@N-doped C nanocubes, whose low graphitization degree provides desirable impedance matching conditions.

Effects of combined chlorine on physicochemical properties and structure of shellac.

The objective of this work was studying the effects of combined chlorine on the physicochemical properties and the structure of shellac. Bleached shellacs with different chlorine content were prepared by means of elimination reaction which sodium ethoxide was used as nucleophilic reagent. Then polymerization time and iodine value characterizing the quality of shellac were tested for investigating the relationship between the physicochemical properties and chlorine.