Activity

More importantly, lignin-PGEA-PEGMA copolymers have excellent antioxidant activity. The novel cationic lignin-PGEA-PEGMA copolymers can be promising gene carriers for gene delivery.To cure serious bone tuberculosis, a novel long-term drug delivery system was designed and prepared to satisfy the needs of both bone regeneration and antituberculous drug therapy. An antituberculous drug (rifampicin, RFP) was loaded into a porous scaffold, which composed of a newly designed polylactone, poly(ε-caprolactone)-block-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (b-PLGC) copolymer, and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP). The releasing results demonstrated that RFP could be steadily released for as long as 12 weeks both in vitro and in vivo. During the in vivo experimental period, the drug concentration in tissues surrounding implants was much higher than that in blood which was still superior to the effective value to kill mycobacterium tuberculosis. MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts proliferated well in extracts and co-cultures on composite scaffolds, indicating good cytocompatibility and cell affinity of the scaffolds. The results of a rabbit radius repair experiment displayed that scaffolds have good bone regeneration capacity. The RFP-loaded b-PLGC/TCP composite scaffold thus could be envisioned to be a potential and promising substrate in clinical treatment of bone tuberculosis.We demonstrated that graphene oxide (GO) can be oxidized and cut into graphene quantum dots (GQDs) by hydroxyl radicals (˙OH), which is obtained by the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) with a tungsten oxide nanowire (W18O49) catalyst. The clean oxidizing agent (H2O2) and the solid catalyst lead to a simple GQD preparing method without any by-products. The obtained GQD aqueous solution can be directly applied to fluorescence imaging in vitro without any further purification. The effect of the W18O49 catalyst on the ˙OH formation is discussed, and the size of GQDs can be controlled via changing the concentration of hydroxyl radicals.Nanocarriers provide a platform to integrate therapy and diagnostics, which is an emerging direction in medical practice. Beyond simply therapeutic functionality, theranostic nanomaterials have been designed to deliver multiple components and imaging agents, facilitating simultaneous and synergistic diagnosis and therapies. In this article, polymeric materials with diverse functionalities and properties for manufacturing theranostic nanomaterials are discussed and compared. We focused on recent advancements in polymeric multifunctional nanomaterials for synergistic theranostics. The drugs and imaging agents were encapsulated within and/or conjugated to the surface of the nanocarriers, according to the fabrication process and carrier type. In parallel with therapy, polymeric multifunctional nanomaterials can be exploited to exhibit distinctive magnetic, electrical, and optical properties for concomitant imaging. This has been accomplished by incorporating various imaging agents, such as fluorescent dyes, biomarkers, quantum dots, metal composites, and magnetic nanoparticles. We discussed theranostic nanomaterial synthesis, carrier fabrication and its applications. 3BDO in vivo By presenting this comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art, we demonstrated that polymeric multifunctional nanomaterials exhibit distinctive advantages and features in theranostics.Sexual health is important to the self worth, emotional well being, and overall quality of life of women in midlife. However, urinary incontinence, which is prevalent in this population, has a negative impact on sexual function. The purpose of this article is to review the impact of urinary incontinence on female sexual dysfunction and discuss the impact of urinary incontinence treatment on sexual function. We carried out a literature review on the effect of stress urinary incontinence and urgency urinary incontinence on sexual health and physiological response, including coital incontinence, satisfaction, desire, orgasm, frequency, and partner relationships. We examined the literature regarding changes in sexual function related to non-surgical and surgical interventions for incontinence. Overall, though studies are lacking and of poor quality, treatment of incontinence has been shown to improve sexual function. Both pelvic muscle training and midurethral slings have been shown to improve sexual function in those with stress urinary incontinence. In urgency urinary incontinence, evidence indicates improvement in sexual function after treatment with anti-muscarinic medications. Coital incontinence commonly improves with treatment of the underlying incontinence subtype. Although problems related to sexual health are complex and involve both psychological and physical factors, it is important to consider treatment of urinary incontinence as part of management of sexual dysfunction.A macroporous TiO2 film (M-TiO2 ), which was prepared by burning off the polystyrene microsphere (PS) template from a PS/TiO2 composite film, can provide a large active surface, improve electron-transport performance, and increase the photocurrent. Furthermore, core-shell-shell CdSeTe@CdS@ZnS quantum dots (QDs) were introduced to sensitize the M-TiO2 film, which can efficiently broaden the absorption spectra range, separate and transfer charge carriers, reduce recombination loss, and improve photovoltaic response, with a sensitization shell of CdS and a passivation shell of ZnS. A multisignal-amplified photoelectrochemical platform was fabricated by further modifying this film with a combination of biotin-DEVD-peptide (Biotin-Gly-Asp-Gly-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-Gly-Cys) (which is specifically cleaved by caspase-3) and streptavidin-labeled alkaline phosphatase (SA-ALP). Under the enzymatic catalysis of ALP with the substrate 2-phospho-L-ascorbic acid trisodium salt (AAP), ascorbic acid (AA) was generated as a better electron donor, leading to increased photocurrent output. link2 The activity of caspase-3, which depends on the amount of residual peptide on the electrode, was inversely proportional to the amount of AA. By monitoring the variation of photocurrent caused by AA, caspase-3 activity and the therapeutic effect of nilotinib (a special medicine of chronic myeloid leukemia, CML) were indirectly detected and evaluated. The photoelectrochemical platform can be used as a potential evaluation system for monitoring caspase-3 activity and drug effects.We propose a series of azolium poly(azolyl)borate ionic liquids (ILs) for reversible SO2 capture. Density functional calculations demonstrate that the designed borate anions can strongly bond to SO2 at multiple sites with nearly uniform binding energies. Thus, as well as high overall uptakes, the ILs can achieve much higher effective uptakes (the uptake difference between absorption and desorption conditions) than existing SO2 -capture reagents. The larger size of the borate anions, the evenly distributed negative charge among the azolyl rings, and the blocking of the conjugation by the tetrahedral boron concertedly reduce absorbate-absorbate repulsion, which leads to a large disparity among binding sites in other multiple-site SO2 sorbents.A pressing need for new chronic kidney disease (CKD) biomarkers persists. link3 MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are emerging as a novel class of disease biomarkers in body fluids, but mechanisms conferring their stability in urine have not been fully elucidated. Here we investigated stabilization in human urine of ubiquitously expressed miR-16, and miR-192, which we have shown previously to be downregulated in renal fibrosis, by association with extracellular vesicles and with argonaute protein (AGO) 2. Endogenous urinary miR-16 was significantly more resistant to RNase-mediated degradation than exogenous, spiked-in, Caenorhabditis elegans cel-miR-39. We used our previously optimized high-resolution exosome isolation protocol with sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation to sub-fractionate the primary extracellular vesicle-rich urinary pellet. MiR-16 and miR-192 were enriched in exosomal sucrose gradient fractions, but were also detected in all other fractions. This suggested association of urinary miRNAs with other urinary extracellular vesicles and/or pellet components, complicating previous estimates of miRNAexosome stoichiometry. Proteinase K digestion destabilized urinary miR-16 and we showed, for the first time, RNA-immunoprecipitation of urinary miR-16AGO2 and miR-192AGO2 complexes. Association with exosomes and AGO2 stabilized urinary miR-16 and miR-192, suggesting quantitative urinary miRNA analysis has the potential to identify novel, non-invasive CKD biomarkers.In Switzerland, as in many other European states, there is an increasing emphasis in public policy on promoting later retirement from the labour market. But this accelerating drive in Swiss policy-making to extend occupational activity does not mean that every worker is currently likely to retire late, nor does it imply that all those who do retire late do so voluntarily. This article uses a life-course approach, first to study the determinants of late retirement, and secondly to analyse whether the decision to postpone retirement is made voluntarily or involuntarily. Both objectives are addressed on the basis of data from the Swiss survey Vivre/Leben/Vivere. The results of logistic regression modelling indicate that, whereas self-employed and more highly educated individuals are more likely to retire late, people with access to private pension funds and workers who have benefited from periods of economic growth have a lower tendency to retire late. Regarding voluntariness, those who are more likely to opt for voluntary late retirement tend to be Swiss citizens, more highly educated, and also benefited from periods of economic expansion, while the self-employed, men and widowed individuals leaving the labour market late tend to do so involuntarily. In conclusion, the article discusses the absence of a social inequality debate in the design of active ageing policies.Comprehensive pyrolysis models that are integral to computational fire codes have improved significantly over the past decade as the demand for improved predictive capabilities has increased. High fidelity pyrolysis models may improve the design of engineered materials for better fire response, the design of the built environment, and may be used in forensic investigations of fire events. A major limitation to widespread use of comprehensive pyrolysis models is the large number of parameters required to fully define a material and the lack of effective methodologies for measurement of these parameters, especially for complex materials. The work presented here details a methodology used to characterize the pyrolysis of a low-pile carpet tile, an engineered composite material that is common in commercial and institutional occupancies. The studied material includes three distinct layers of varying composition and physical structure. The methodology utilized a comprehensive pyrolysis model (ThermaKin) to conduct inverse analyses on data collected through several experimental techniques. Each layer of the composite was individually parameterized to identify its contribution to the overall response of the composite. The set of properties measured to define the carpet composite were validated against mass loss rate curves collected at conditions outside the range of calibration conditions to demonstrate the predictive capabilities of the model. The mean error between the predicted curve and the mean experimental mass loss rate curve was calculated as approximately 20% on average for heat fluxes ranging from 30 to 70 kW·m-2, which is within the mean experimental uncertainty.