Pretreatment of corn cob in [EMIM][OAc] and [EMIM][OAc]/ethanol (water).

High cost and high viscosity of ionic liquid restricted its commercial application in pretreatment of lignocellulose. Water and ethanol were used as additive in [EMIM][OAc] to pretreat corn cob at moderate temperature (< 100 °C). It was found that enzyme hydrolysis (EH) sugar yield was increased with the increase of IL content.

Roles of activated astrocyte in neural stem cell proliferation and differentiation.

Recent studies demonstrated that the molecules secreted from astrocytes play important roles in the cell fate determination of neural stem cells (NSCs). However, the exact molecules involved and its possible mechanisms in the process remain largely unknown. In this study, astrocyte-conditioned medium (ACM) obtained from astrocytes unstimulated or stimulated by lipopolysaccharide was prepared to treat NSCs.

Insulin-producing cells derived from rat bone marrow and their autologous transplantation in the duodenal wall for treating diabetes.

Islet cell transplantation is one of the most promising therapies for diabetes mellitus (DM). However, the limited availability of purified islets for transplantation and the risk of immunological rejection severely limit its use. In vitro transdifferentiation of autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) into insulin-producing cells (IPCs) could provide an abundant source of cells for this procedure and avoid immunological rejection.