Refinement of nanoporous copper by dealloying the Al-Cu alloy in NaOH solution containing sodium dodecyl sulfate.

This work reports the refinement of nanoporous copper (NPC) ligaments by introducing the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant in the dealloying process. The AlCu (at%) alloy precursor is chemically dealloyed in a mixed solution of NaOH and SDS surfactant, producing NPC with a hierarchical microstructure. Micron-scaled skeletons that build up higher level networks consist of geometrically similar nano-scaled bi-continuous ligament-pore networks at the lower level.

Targeting a vulnerable septum-hippocampus cholinergic circuit in a critical time window ameliorates tau-impaired memory consolidation.

Background: Abnormal tau accumulation and cholinergic degeneration are hallmark pathologies in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the sensitivity of cholinergic neurons to AD-like tau accumulation and strategies to ameliorate tau-disrupted spatial memory in terms of neural circuits still remain elusive.

Methods: To investigate the effect and mechanism of the cholinergic circuit in Alzheimer's disease-related hippocampal memory, overexpression of human wild-type Tau (hTau) in medial septum (MS)-hippocampus (HP) cholinergic was achieved by specifically injecting pAAV-EF1α-DIO-hTau-eGFP virus into the MS of ChAT-Cre mice.

Involvement of POMC neurons in LEAP2 regulation of food intake and body weight.

Liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2 (LEAP2) is a newly discovered antagonist of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR) and is considered the first endogenous peptide that can antagonize the metabolic actions of ghrelin. The effects of ghrelin administration on feeding behavior, body weight, and energy metabolism involve the activation of orexigenic neurons in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus. It is unclear, however, if LEAP2 applied directly to the ARC of the hypothalamus affects these metabolic processes.

Basal Forebrain Cholinergic Innervation Induces Depression-Like Behaviors Through Ventral Subiculum Hyperactivation.

Malfunction of the ventral subiculum (vSub), the main subregion controlling the output connections from the hippocampus, is associated with major depressive disorder (MDD). Although the vSub receives cholinergic innervation from the medial septum and diagonal band of Broca (MSDB), whether and how the MSDB-to-vSub cholinergic circuit is involved in MDD is elusive. Here, we found that chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) induced depression-like behaviors with hyperactivation of vSub neurons, measured by c-fos staining and whole-cell patch-clamp recording.

Alzheimer-like tau accumulation in dentate gyrus mossy cells induces spatial cognitive deficits by disrupting multiple memory-related signaling and inhibiting local neural circuit.

Abnormal tau accumulation and spatial memory loss constitute characteristic pathology and symptoms of Alzheimer disease (AD). Yet, the intrinsic connections and the mechanism between them are not fully understood. In the current study, we observed a prominent accumulation of the AD-like hyperphosphorylated and truncated tau (hTau N368) proteins in hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) mossy cells of 3xTg-AD mice.

Potential toxicity evaluation and comparison within multiple mice organs after repeat injections of linear versus macrocyclic gadolinium-based contrast agents: A comprehensive and time course study.

As nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) and increased signal intensities in deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) were successively discovered in renal insufficiency patients and healthy persons after gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) exposure, an awareness of potential toxicity with GBCAs exposure has been heightening. Herein, we performed a multi-organ/tissue toxicity assessment after different GBCAs administration with a large number of samples, and long-term, time-course schedule investigation. ICR mice were randomized to five exposure groups (n = 42/group) and received intravenous injection of GBCAs (2.

Development of fluorescence/MR dual-modal manganese-nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets as an efficient contrast agent for targeted ovarian carcinoma imaging.

Background: Development of sensitive and specific imaging approaches for the detection of ovarian cancer holds great promise for improving the therapeutic efficacy and the lifespan of the patients.

Results: In this study, manganese-nitrogen doped carbon nanosheets (Mn-N-CNSs) coupled with Anti-HE4 monoclonal antibody (Mn-N-CNSs@Anti-HE4) were synthesized for the specific and targeted fluorescence/MR dual-modal imaging of ovarian carcinoma. The prepared Mn-N-CNSs revealed excellent aqueous dispersity, good colloidal stability, great optical properties and high longtudinal relaxivity rate (r = 10.

Low-Dose Sirolimus Immunoregulation Therapy in Patients with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis: A 24-Week Follow-Up of the Randomized, Open-Label, Parallel-Controlled Trial.

Background: We have reported previously the insufficient absolute number or functional defects of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), challenging conventional unspecific immunosuppressive therapy. Sirolimus, a mTOR inhibitor, is reported to allow growth of functional Tregs; here, we investigated the efficacy of low-dose sirolimus combined with conventional immunosuppressants (sirolimus immunoregulation therapy) for RA treatment with lower side effects and better tolerance.

Methods: In this nonblinded and parallel-group trial, we randomly assigned 62 patients to receive conventional glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants with or without sirolimus at a dosage of 0.

Multifunctional iron oxide-carbon hybrid nanoparticles for targeted fluorescent/MR dual-modal imaging and detection of breast cancer cells.

An efficient method for the highly sensitive and specific detection of cancer cells is crucial for the early diagnosis of cancer. In this work, we propose a one-pot approach to fabricating magnetic-fluorescent iron oxide-carbon hybrid nanomaterials (MCNP) with excellent stable, high quantum yield and excellent magnetic properties for breast cancer cells recognition and detection via magnetic resonance and multicolour fluorescence imaging. MCNPs were efficiently synthesised via one-pot, multi-component reactions of FeCl, FeCl•4HO, citric acid and ethylenediamine in diethylene glycol.

Memory Susceptibility to Retroactive Interference Is Developmentally Regulated by NMDA Receptors.

Retroactive interference (RI) occurs when new incoming information impairs an existing memory, which is one of the primary sources of forgetting. Although long-term potentiation (LTP) reversal shows promise as the underlying neural correlate, the key molecules that control the sensitivity of memory circuits to RI are unknown, and the developmental trajectory of RI effects is unclear. Here we found that depotentiation in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) depends on GluN2A-containing NMDA receptors (NMDARs).

Preparation of gadolinium doped carbon dots for enhanced MR imaging and cell fluorescence labeling.

Gadolinium doped carbon dots (Gd-CDs) were prepared as a dual-modal imaging agent for enhanced MR imaging and cell fluorescence imaging. The Gd-CDs were synthesized via one-step solvent free technique with Gd-DTPA and l-arginine as the Gd and carbon sources with a quantum yield of 57.78%.

Denoising Sparse Autoencoder-Based Ictal EEG Classification.

Automatic seizure detection technology can automatically mark the EEG by using the epileptic detection algorithm, which is helpful to the diagnosis and treatment of epileptic diseases. This paper presents an EEG classification framework based on the denoising sparse autoencoder. The denoising sparse autoencoder (DSAE) is an improved unsupervised deep neural network over sparse autoencoder and denoising autoencoder, which can learn the closest representation of the data.

Using Dictionary Pair Learning for Seizure Detection.

Automatic seizure detection is extremely important in the monitoring and diagnosis of epilepsy. The paper presents a novel method based on dictionary pair learning (DPL) for seizure detection in the long-term intracranial electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. First, for the EEG data, wavelet filtering and differential filtering are applied, and the kernel function is performed to make the signal linearly separable.

Sequential and Selective Detection of Two Molecules with a Single Solid-Contact Chronopotentiometric Ion-Selective Electrode.

A polymeric membrane ion-selective electrode (ISE) is typically designed for the determination of one specific ion using a conventional method. In this work, we demonstrate a simple, versatile, and sensitive platform for simultaneous detection of two molecules with a single ISE. Under a series of periodic galvanostatic polarization, a solid-contact ISE without ion exchanger properties under zero-current conditions has been successfully used for simultaneous detection of two opposite charged ions with high sensitivity, good selectivity, and fast reversibility.

Experimental study on optical image encryption with asymmetric double random phase and computer-generated hologram.

Optical image encryption, especially double-random-phase-based, is of great interest in information security. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate the security and feasibility of optical image encryption with asymmetric double random phase and computer-generated hologram (CGH) by using spatial light modulator. First of all, the encrypted image modulated by asymmetric double random phase is numerically encoded into real-value CGH.

Stimuli-sensitive hollow spheres from chitosan-graft-β-cyclodextrin for controlled drug release.

In this paper, sensitive polymeric hollow spheres self-assembled from chitosan-grafted-β-cyclodextrin (CS-g-CD) and sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) were prepared for controlled release of doxorubicin (DOX). The assemblies were formed by electrostatic interactions between positively charged amino group in CS-g-CD and negatively charged phosphate in TPP. The hollow spheres with diameters about 100nm were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and laser particle analyzer.

Nanostructured copper/copper oxide hybrids: combined experimental and theoretical studies.

With the extensive study of dealloying, copper oxides have been shown to be important members and exhibit huge potential in catalysis, energy transformation and storage fields. In this work, nanostructured copper/copper oxide hybrids were prepared through dealloying the sintered Al85Cu15 alloy and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations as well as calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) were performed to explore the oxidation mechanisms of copper in aqueous electrolytes. Cu/Cu2O/CuO compositions were obtained after immersing the sintered alloys in 20 wt% NaOH solutions under corrosion-free conditions at room temperature.

Determination of fluoroquinolone antibiotics via ionic-liquid-based, salt-induced, dual microextraction in swine feed.

In conventional microextraction procedures, the disperser (organic solvent or ionic liquid) is left in the aqueous phase and discarded after finishing the microextraction process. Because the disperser is water-soluble, it results in low extraction recovery for polar compounds. In this investigation, an ionic-liquid-based microextraction (ILBME) was integrated with salting-out assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (SALLME) to build an ionic-liquid-based, salt-induced, dual microextraction (ILSDME) for isolation of five fluoroquinolone antibiotics (FQs) with high polarity (log P, -1.

Development of a novel naphthoic acid ionic liquid and its application in "no-organic solvent microextraction" for determination of triclosan and methyltriclosan in human fluids and the method optimization by central composite design.

In traditional ionic liquids (ILs)-based microextraction, the hydrophobic and hydrophilic ILs are often used as extractant and disperser, respectively. However, the functional effects of ILs are not utilized in microextraction procedures. Herein, we introduced 1-naphthoic acid into imidazolium ring to synthesize a novel ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium naphthoic acid salt ([C4MIM][NPA]), and its structure was characterized by IR, (1)H NMR and MS.

Thermo-sensitive complex micelles from sodium alginate-graft-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) for drug release.

Polymer micelles with environmentally sensitive properties have potential applications in biomedicine. In this paper, thermo-sensitive complex micelles assembled from biocompatible graft copolymers sodium alginate-graft-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (SA-g-PNIPAM) and divalent metal ions were prepared for controlled drug release. The polymer micelles had core-corona structure, which was constituted by metal ions (Ba(2+), Zn(2+), Co(2+)) cross-linked sodium alginate as the core and thermo-sensitive PNIPAM chains as the corona.

Polymeric hollow spheres assembled from ALG-g-PNIPAM and β-cyclodextrin for controlled drug release.

In this paper, thermo-sensitive polymeric hollow spheres assembled from sodium alginate-graft-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (ALG-g-PNIPAM) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) were prepared for controlled release of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). In aqueous solutions, β-CD and PNIPAM formed rod-like segments through inclusion complexation interactions and sodium alginate acted as coil segments, which resulted in the formation of hollow structures. The size and wall thickness of assemblies increased with the increase of β-CD in mixtures.

Cytochrome b5 reductase 2 is a novel candidate tumor suppressor gene frequently inactivated by promoter hypermethylation in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Cytochrome b5 reductase 2 (CYB5R2), a member of the flavoprotein pyridine nucleotide cytochrome reductase family, is associated with a number of physiological reactions. However, its role in cancer, especially nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), has not been addressed. Here, we investigate the transcript levels and promoter methylation status of CYB5R2 in NPC derived cell lines and tumor biopsies and experimentally address its role as a tumor suppressor gene.

Evaluation of a new substrate for measurement of serum PON arylesterase activity.

It was found that the hydrolysis of 9-(4-chlorophenyloxycarbonyl)-10-methylacridinium triflate (CPOCMA) could be catalyzed by recombinant human PON1. Based on this property, the CPOCMA was evaluated as a substrate for serum PON activity assay. The apparent K(m) value of a serum sample for the substrate was determined as 85nmol/L, close to the K(m) value (83nmol/L) of rHuPON1.