Toxicity of Flonicamid to (Hemiptera: Liviidae) and Its Identification and Expression of Kir Channel Genes.

Flonicamid is a selective insecticide effective against piercing-sucking insects. Although its molecular target has been identified in other species, the specific effects and detailed mechanism of action in Kuwayama remain poorly understood. In this study, we determined that the LC of flonicamid for adults was 16.

Atomic structure evolutions and mechanisms of the crystallization pathway of liquid Al during rapid cooling.

The solidification of pure aluminum has been studied by a large-scale molecular dynamic simulation. The potential energy, position , height , and width of the first peak and valley of PDF curves, and the local structures were investigated. It was found that the FCC-crystallization ability of pure Al is so strong that still local crystal regions exist in the amorphized solid.

Local delivery of naringin in beta-cyclodextrin modified mesoporous bioactive glass promotes bone regeneration: from anti-inflammatory to synergistic osteogenesis and osteoclastogenesis.

The bone immune response dominated by macrophages plays an indispensable role in the osteogenesis of bone defects. Moreover, moderate polarization of macrophages against inflammatory M2 has been proved to promote osteogenesis. Therefore, the addition of anti-inflammatory agents to bioactive bone repair materials facilitates efficient bone regeneration by regulating the polarization of macrophages.

Correlation between the topologically close-packed structure and the deformation behavior of metallic CuZr.

The topologically close-packed (TCP) structural characteristics in a model metallic glass (MG) of CuZr have been investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. A group of structural indicators based on the largest standard cluster (LaSC) have been correlated with the non-affine displacement () of atoms, so as to reveal the hidden correlation between local structures and deformation behavior of CuZr during compression. It was found that the 15 types of Top-10 LaSCs are all TCP-like ones, among which the most numerous icosahedron (Z12 and 1-Z12) decreases in population sharply and moderately during respectively the elastic and yield region of compression; while in the fluid-flow region, the number of all Top-10 LaSCs tends to be almost constant.

Bioactive glass promotes the barrier functional behaviors of keratinocytes and improves the Re-epithelialization in wound healing in diabetic rats.

Upon skin injury, re-epithelialization must be triggered promptly to restore the integrity and barrier function of the epidermis. However, this process is often delayed or interrupted in chronic wounds like diabetic foot ulcers. Considering that BG particles can activate multiple genes in various cells, herein, we hypothesized that bioactive glass (BG) might be able to modulate the barrier functional behaviors of keratinocytes.

Different structural transitions of rapidly supercooled tantalum melt under pressure.

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been performed to study the effects of pressure (P) on the crystallization of tantalum (Ta) under different pressures from [0, 100] GPa. The average potential energy of atoms in the system, the pair distribution function and largest standard cluster analysis (LSCA) have been employed to analyze the structure evolution. It was found that the solidified state at 100 K changes from the complex crystal (β-Ta) through the body-centered cubic (bcc) crystal (α-Ta) to the hexagonal close-packed (hcp) crystal with increasing pressure.

Dose-dependent modulation effects of bioactive glass particles on macrophages and diabetic wound healing.

Many pathophysiologic conditions can interrupt the normal wound healing process and lead to chronic wounds due to the arrest of macrophages in their inflammatory phenotype. Thus, strategies that promote the recovery of macrophage functions are of great benefit to heal chronic wounds. Bioactive glass (BG) dissolution has been recognized for its modulatory functions in macrophage polarization.

Topologically close-packed characteristic of amorphous tantalum.

The structural evolution of tantalum (Ta) during rapid cooling was investigated by molecular dynamics simulation, in terms of the system energy, the pair distribution function and the largest standard cluster analysis. It was found that the critical cooling rate for vitrification was about R ≥ 0.25 K ps-1, two orders lower than other metals (such as Au, Ag, Al, Zr and Zn) and that the meta-stable σ phase (β-Ta) not only appears on the pathway from liquid to the stable body-centred cubic crystal, but is also easily obtained at room temperature as a long-lived metastable phase with some probability.

Promoting in vivo early angiogenesis with sub-micrometer strontium-contained bioactive microspheres through modulating macrophage phenotypes.

Early vascularization capacity of biomaterials plays an essential role in efficient wound healing and tissue regeneration, especially in large tissue tension implanting position such as bone augmentation. Strontium-contained silica-based bioactive materials have shown the role of promoting angiogenesis by stimulating osteoblasts to secrete angiogenesis related cytokines. However, osteoblasts have little effect on early angiogenesis due to the inflammatory reaction of implantation site.

Sequentially-crosslinked biomimetic bioactive glass/gelatin methacryloyl composites hydrogels for bone regeneration.

In recent years, gelatin-based composites hydrogels have been intensively investigated because of their inherent bioactivity, biocompatibility and biodegradability. Herein, we fabricated photocrosslinkable biomimetic composites hydrogels from bioactive glass (BG) and gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) by a sequential physical and chemical crosslinking (gelation + UV) approach. The results showed that the compressive modulus of composites hydrogels increased significantly through the sequential crosslinking approach.

Neurotensin-loaded PLGA/CNC composite nanofiber membranes accelerate diabetic wound healing.

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a threat to human health and can lead to amputation and even death. Recently neurotensin (NT), an inflammatory modulator in wound healing, was found to be beneficial for diabetic wound healing. As we demonstrated previously, polylactide-polyglycolide (PLGA) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) (PLGA/CNC) nanofiber membranes show good cytocompatibility and facilitate fibroblast adhesion, spreading and proliferation.

The effect of pressure on the crystallization of rapidly supercooled zirconium melts.

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to explore the effect of pressure (P) on the crystallization of zirconium (Zr) under rapid cooling. The structural evolutions have been analysed in terms of the system energy, the pair distribution function and the largest standard cluster analysis. It was found that at the cooling rate of 1.

Controlled Dual Delivery of Angiogenin and Curcumin by Electrospun Nanofibers for Skin Regeneration.

In this study, we successfully fabricated a novel drug and plasmid DNA (pDNA) dual delivery system by electrospinning the dispersion composed of polyethyleneimine-carboxymethyl chitosan/pDNA-angiogenin (ANG) nanoparticles, curcumin (Cur), poly (D, L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). In vitro release studies showed that the bioactivity of Cur and ANG was preserved in the nanofibers, and a sequential release pattern was achieved in which nearly 90% of the Cur was released in ca. 6 days and the ANG release lasted up to about 20 days.

A combination of GDNF and hUCMSC transplantation loaded on SF/AGs composite scaffolds for spinal cord injury repair.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe trauma for which no effective treatment is currently available. In this study, a composited treatment system was prepared using a silk fibroin/alginates/glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (SF/AGs/GDNF) scaffold seeded with human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) and the combined therapeutic effects of the composite scaffold to repair SCI rats were evaluated. The use of SF as a scaffold material could act as a biomimetic platform allowing neurons to properly accommodate and rebuild the target tissue.

Structural evolutions and hereditary characteristics of icosahedral nano-clusters formed in MgZn alloys during rapid solidification processes.

To investigate the structural evolution and hereditary mechanism of icosahedral nano-clusters formed during rapid solidification, a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation study has been performed for a system consisting of 10 atoms of liquid MgZn alloy. Adopting Honeycutt-Anderson (HA) bond-type index method and cluster type index method (CTIM-3) to analyse the microstructures in the system it is found that for all the nano-clusters including 2~8 icosahedral clusters in the system, there are 62 kinds of geometrical structures, and those can be classified, by the configurations of the central atoms of basic clusters they contained, into four types: chain-like, triangle-tailed, quadrilateral-tailed and pyramidal-tailed. The evolution of icosahedral nano-clusters can be conducted by perfect heredity and replacement heredity, and the perfect heredity emerges when temperature is slightly less than T then increase rapidly and far exceeds the replacement heredity at T; while for the replacement heredity, there are three major modes: replaced by triangle (3-atoms), quadrangle (4-atoms) and pentagonal pyramid (6-atoms), rather than by single atom step by step during rapid solidification processes.

A novel crystallization pathway for SiGe alloy rapid cooling.

Understanding the structural evolution of covalent systems under rapid cooling is very important to establish a comprehensive solidification theory. Herein, we conducted molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the crystallization of silicon-germanium (SiGe) alloys. It was found that during crystallization, the saturation and orientation of covalent bonds are satisfied in order, resulting in three phase transitions.

In Vitro Study of SnS2, BiOCl and SnS2-Incorporated BiOCl Inorganic Nanoparticles Used as Doxorubicin Carrier.

Inorganic nanoparticles have been widely used in biomedical field. In this paper, we try to study the use of three types of inorganic nanoparticles (i.e.

Synthesis, characterisation and preliminary investigation of the haemocompatibility of polyethyleneimine-grafted carboxymethyl chitosan for gene delivery.

The development of safe and efficient gene carriers is the key to the clinical success of gene therapy. In the present study, carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) was prepared by chitosan (CS) alkalisation and carboxymethylation reactions. Then polyethyleneimine (PEI) was grafted to the backbone of CMCS by an amidation reaction.

Synthesis, characterization of dextran hydrogels and their in vitro release of gentamycin sulphate.

Purpose: This study reports on the synthesis and characterization of biodegradable dextran-allyl isocyanate-ethylamine (Dex-AE)/polyethylene glycol-diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogels for the controlled release of gentamycin sulphate (GS) and in vitro inhibition of organisms.

Methods: The Dex-AE precursor was prepared through a 2-step chemical modification and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).

Results: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results revealed that an increase in Dex-AE content led to an initial decrease in pore size of the Dex-AE/PEGDA hydrogels, but a further increase in Dex-AE content resulted in a slightly increase of pore size.

Preparation and properties of PLGA nanofiber membranes reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals.

Although extensively used in the fields of drug-carrier and tissue engineering, the biocompatibility and mechanical properties of polylactide-polyglycolide (PLGA) nanofiber membranes still limit their applications. The objective of this study was to improve their utility by introducing cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) into PLGA nanofiber membranes. PLGA and PLGA/CNC composite nanofiber membranes were prepared via electrospinning, and the morphology and thermodynamic and mechanical properties of these nanofiber membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA).

Controlled release and targeted delivery to cancer cells of doxorubicin from polysaccharide-functionalised single-walled carbon nanotubes.

Carboxyl single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were used to construct an innovative drug delivery system by modification with chitosan (CHI) to enhance water solubility and biocompatibility. Hyaluronan (HA), as the target ligand for CD44, was bound to the CHI layer to selectively kill cancer cells. To achieve a new treatment strategy for cancer, the drug delivery system was loaded with the anticancer drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX).