Drug discovery targeting thyroid hormone receptor (THR) for the treatment of liver diseases and other medical indications.

Thyroid hormone receptors (THRs), a crucial nuclear receptor protein family, primarily consist of two categories: receptors and receptors. Among them, THR is the primary subtype of thyroid hormone that confers benefits to the liver. In the last two decades, there have been efforts to develop THR agonists that selectively yield beneficial effects on the liver, such as lowering triglycerides and cholesterol, while reducing adverse effects on the heart, muscle, and bone.

High-Purity Ethylene Production from Ethane/Ethylene Mixtures at Ambient Conditions by Ethane-Selective Fluorine-Doped Activated Carbon Adsorbents.

Energy-efficient separation of light alkanes from alkenes is considered as one of the most important separations of the chemical industry today due to the high energy penalty associated with the applied conventional cryogenic technologies. This study introduces fluorine-doped activated carbon adsorbents, where elemental fluorine incorporation into the carbon matrix plays a unique role in achieving high ethane selectivity. This enhanced selectivity arises from specific interactions between surface-doped fluorine atoms and ethane molecules, coupled with porosity modulation.

Carbon Nanomaterials for Plant Priming through Mechanostimulation: Emphasizing the Role of Shape.

The use of nanomaterials to improve plant immunity for sustainable agriculture is gaining increasing attention; yet, the mechanisms involved remain unclear. In contrast to metal-based counterparts, carbon-based nanomaterials do not release components. Determining how these carbon-based nanomaterials strengthen the resistance of plants to diseases is essential as well as whether shape influences this process.

Iodide ion-imprinted chitosan beads for highly selective adsorption for nuclear wastewater treatment applications.

Iodide ions from radioactive iodine isotopes are common contaminants present in nuclear wastewater from nuclear power plants which are considered hazardous contaminants to be released in water sources even at low concentrations due to their association with metabolic disorders, therefore its removal from the nuclear wastewater effluents is necessary. Chitosan beads are natural and cost-efficient adsorbents that have been used for ion removal from wastewater. However, issues of poor selectivity persist in achieving high-efficiency iodide ion removal.

Metal-Organic-Framework-Derived Atomically Dispersed Mn-N-C Electrocatalysts Boosting Oxygen Reduction Modulated by Anion Exchange of Permanganate.

Mn-N-C materials have received increasing interest in recent years because of their low Fenton reactivity and ORR activity comparable to those of their Fe-N-C and Co-N-C counterparts. In this contribution, an atomically dispersed Mn-N-C electrocatalyst with a prominent oxygen reduction performance was constructed by employing a cationic Cd-MOF as a precursor that can facilely and accurately introduce MnO anions through anion exchange. The best-performing Mn-N-C catalyst displays a 0.

Melatonin Participates in Selenium-Enhanced Cold Tolerance of Cucumber Seedlings.

Melatonin is an important and widespread plant hormone. However, the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms of melatonin as a secondary messenger in improving cold tolerance by selenium are limited. This study investigated the effects of selenite on the cold stress of cucumber seedlings.

The separation of oily water using low-cost natural materials: Review and development.

This paper reviewed the recent progress on a number of important natural/biomass materials (fibers, leaves, woods, nutshells, algae, and sands, etc.) for the separation of oily water mixture/emulsions. Experiments were conducted with desert pristine sand samples, which were collected, sieved, characterized and tested for the separation of two surfactant-stabilized oil in water (O/W) emulsions in a simple cross-flow sand bed filter under the simulated natural gravity.

Effects of continuous cucumber cropping on crop quality and soil fungal community.

Long-term continuous cropping is a common practice in facility vegetable production, which has an adverse effect on cucumber yield and quality. Soil fungi are of great significance for creating a normal soil ecological environment. However, the impact of continuous cropping on cucumber quality and soil fungal community has yet to be understood.

[Effects of different forms of microbial agents on the growth and quality of L. ssp. Makino (non-heading Chinese cabbage)].

Reasonable application of microbial agents can significantly improve soil environment and increase the yield and quality of vegetables. In this study, we examined the effects of different forms of microbial agents on the growth and quality of L. ssp.

US-China health exchange and collaboration following COVID-19.

Strong US-China collaboration on health and medicine is a crucial element of the global effort against COVID-19. We review the history of health collaboration and exchanges between the public and private sectors in the USA and China, including the long-lasting collaboration between governmental public health agencies of the two countries. Academic and scientific exchanges should be reinvigorated and the increasing valuable role of non-profit foundations acknowledged.

Effects of exogenous sulfur on maize (Zea mays L.) growth and Cd accumulation in Cd-contaminated plastic shed soil.

Cadmium (Cd) pollution in plastic shed soils has become increasingly severe, posing a great threat to human health and social stability. Phytoremediation of cadmium pollution is an environmentally friendly and inexpensive remediation method. In this study, maize (Zea mays L.

Heavy metal and soil nutrient accumulation and ecological risk assessment of vegetable fields in representative facilities in Shandong Province, China.

Shandong is one of the main areas for protected vegetable cultivation in China. A total of 88.5% of the facility soil samples had a pH between 7.

How Sensitive Is the Elasticity of Hydroxyapatite-Nanoparticle-Reinforced Chitosan Composite to Changes in Particle Concentration and Crystallization Temperature?

Hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticle-reinforced chitosan composites are biocompatible and biodegradable structural materials that are used as biomaterials in tissue engineering. However, in order for these materials to function effectively as intended, e.g.

The role of cities in reducing smoking in China.

China is the epicenter of the global tobacco epidemic. China grows more tobacco, produces more cigarettes, makes more profits from tobacco and has more smokers than any other nation in the world. Approximately one million smokers in China die annually from diseases caused by smoking, and this estimate is expected to reach over two million by 2020.

Hollow fiber membrane decorated with Ag/MWNTs: toward effective water disinfection and biofouling control.

The currently applied disinfection methods during water treatment provide effective solutions to kill pathogens, but also generate harmful byproducts, which are required to be treated with additional efforts. In this work, an alternative and safer water disinfection system consisting of silver nanoparticle/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (Ag/MWNTs) coated on a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) hollow fiber membrane, Ag/MWNTs/PAN, has been developed. Silver nanoparticles of controlled sizes were coated on polyethylene glycol-grafted MWNTs.

Surface activated carbon nanospheres for fast adsorption of silver ions from aqueous solutions.

We report the synthesis and activation of colloidal carbon nanospheres (CNS) for adsorption of Ag(I) ions from aqueous solutions. CNS (400-500 nm in diameter) was synthesized via simple hydrothermal treatment of glucose solution. The surface of nonporous CNS after being activated by NaOH was enriched with -OH and -COO(-) functional groups.

Covalent immobilization of nisin on multi-walled carbon nanotubes: superior antimicrobial and anti-biofilm properties.

Despite unique and useful properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) such as high strength and a low synthesis cost, their weak antimicrobial property hampers their use as an antimicrobial material. Herein, we demonstrate that the immobilization of nisin, a natural and inexpensive antimicrobial peptide, with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG(1000)) as a linker significantly enhanced the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm properties of MWNTs. The MWNT-nisin composite showed up to 7-fold higher antimicrobial property than pristine MWNTs against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis.

Synthesis of novel hybrid films of a layered silicate and alkylammonium cations on rough polymeric surfaces by Langmuir-Blodgett method.

Hybrid films of a layered silicate and an amphiphilic alkylammonium (hexadecyltrimethylammonium) cation have been prepared by Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) method and transferred onto a polyamide surface by dip coating. This is the first time that stable LB hybrid monolayer and multilayer films have been formed on rough polymeric surfaces. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and water contact angle measurements.

Effects of nutrient fortified complementary food supplements on anemia of infants and young children in poor rural of Gansu.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of complementary food supplements with protein and multi-micronutrients on hemoglobin and anemia in infants and young children.

Methods: In 5 poor counties of Gansu, 984 children aged 6-12 months were enrolled and divided into two groups. In addition to the usual home-made complementary food, all the children were fed one sachet of either Formula I or Formula II supplements each day.

Modeling of the adsorption breakthrough behaviors of Pb2+ in a fixed bed of ETS-10 adsorbent.

On the basis of experimental breakthrough curves of lead ion adsorption on ETS-10 particles in a fixed-bed column, we simulated the breakthrough curves using the two-phase homogeneous diffusion model (TPHDM). Three important model parameters, namely the external mass-transfer coefficient (k(f)), effective intercrystal diffusivity (D(e)), and axial dispersion coefficient (D(L)), were optimally found to be 8.33x10(-5) m/s, 2.

Selection of a practical assay for the determination of the entire range of acetyl content in chitin and chitosan: UV spectrophotometry with phosphoric acid as solvent.

The rapidly expanding use of chitomaterials in biomedical applications demands accurate and precise analytical methods to determine physico-chemical characteristics, especially the acetyl content of the sample. The analytical methods available for the determination of the acetyl content of the biomaterials are quite different in efficiency, accuracy and precision. Out of 22 analytical methods reviewed, XRD, DSC, FTIR (KBr pellet), solid state (13)C CP/MAS NMR, and acid hydrolysis-HPLC and the spectrophotometry assay using phosphoric acid as solvent (PUV) were selected in this study.