It is now well known that zinc is an essential micronutrient. Even though much information is available, there are many points that remain to be studied. zinc is absorbed by the intestine and transported in the plasma by albumin, forming a small exchangeable pool, which is rapidly exhausted even in cases of mild deficiency. zinc is essential for the activity of about 70 enzymes among other functions. Therefore, zinc deficiency produces a great number of clinical disorders, the symptoms of which may range between mild up to serious dysfunctions. These problems are corrected by a dietary supplementation with zinc. The lack of a reliable method to determine the zinc nutritional status reflects the problem to estimate the metal recommended dietary allowances, which are difficulty met specially by children, old persons and pregnant women which constitute the main risk groups. Although our knowledge concerning zinc toxicity is scarce, it is well known that the amounts of zinc that produces toxic effects are much higher than those that are contained in regular diets as well as in diets supplemented with this metal. Therefore, the need of the development of effective strategies, like food fortification with proper zinc compounds, appears as an attractive alternative in order to prevent and/or correct the deficiency of this vital element and to improve the health and the life quality of the whole population.
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ACS Appl Mater Interfaces
January 2025
Center of Nanomaterials for Renewable Energy, State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, School of Electrical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xìan, Shaanxi 710049, China.
Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) show great promise as cathode candidates for aqueous zinc-ion batteries thanks to their high operating voltage, open-framework structure, and low cost. However, suffering from numerous vacancies and crystal water, the electrochemical performance of PBAs remains unsatisfactory, with limited capacity and poor cycle life. Here, a simple coprecipitation method is shown to synthesize well-crystallized cobalt hexacyanoferrate (CoHCF) with a small amount of water and high specific surface area.
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January 2025
Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410013, China.
Atherosclerosis (AS) is a prevalent inflammatory vascular disease characterized by plaque formation, primarily composed of foam cells laden with lipids. Despite lipid-lowering therapies, effective plaque clearance remains challenging due to the overexpression of the CD47 molecule on apoptotic foam cells, inhibiting macrophage-mediated cellular efferocytosis and plaque resolution. Moreover, AS lesions are often associated with severe inflammation and oxidative stress, exacerbating disease progression.
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January 2025
Dept. of Plant Science and Crop Protection, University of Nairobi, P.O Box 29053-00625, Nairobi, Kenya.
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January 2025
Henan Normal University, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, CHINA.
Currently, the development of suitable transition metal chalcogenides (TMDs) for aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) is plagued by the terrible conductivity and electrochemical properties. Herein, a one-step ball milling method is applied to enhance the conductivity of commercial MnTe cathode by constructing three dimensional (3D) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) interweaved MnTe nanoparticles (abbreviated as MnTe@CNTs), which can achieve ultrafast ion conduction. The stable electrochemistry properties benefit from the synergistic effects between layered MnTe and 3D CNTs, which can improve the electrons/ions diffusion kinetics as cycling.
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Department of Chemistry, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong 793 022, India.
The interaction of protein with nanoparticles (NPs) of varying shape and/or size boosts our understanding on their bioreactivity and establishes a comprehensive database for use in medicine, diagnosis, and therapeutic applications. The present study explores the interaction between lysozyme (LYZ) and different NPs like graphene oxide (GO) and zinc oxide (ZnO) having various shapes (spherical, 's', and rod-shaped, 'r') and sizes, focusing on their binding dynamics and subsequent effects on both the protein fibrillation and antimicrobial properties. Typically, GO is considered a promising medium due to its apparent inhibition and prolonged lag phase for LYZ fibrillation.
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