Sulfhydryl compound levels are associated with ATO-induced side effects in acute promyelocytic leukemia patients.

OBJECTIVE: The remarkable effect of arsenic trioxide (ATO) was verified, but side effects are generally observed in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) patients, especially leukocytosis and hepatotoxicity. Our aims are to study predictors and reduce ATO-induced side effects without inhibiting efficacy. METHODS: Sulfhydryl in ATO-treated APL patients was detected by the Spectra Max M5 microplate reader. And patients were divided into high and low sulfhydryl groups according to median sulfhydryl concentration. The onset time of leukocytosis and the peak value of WBC were compared . Correlations between hepatotoxicity indicators and sulfhydryl concentrations were analysed. RESULTS: The concentration of sulfhydryl before treatment was significantly higher in the high sulfhydryl group. Leukocytosis ((7.0 ± 5.5) vs. (14.6 ± 8.5) day) and the peak value of WBC occurred earlier in the low sulfhydryl group ((10.8 ± 5.9) vs. (19.3 ± 5.5) day) than in the high group, and the peak value was significantly lower in the low sulfhydryl group ((24.04 ± 15.05) × 109/L) than in the high group ((42.95 ± 25.57) × 109/L). The elevated liver enzymes were smaller in the higher sulfhydryl group between time points before treatment and the treatment one week later (ΔALT 66.57 vs. 9.85 U/L, ΔAST 59.52 vs. 17.76 U/L), as between time points before treatment and peak value. There was a negative correlation between sulfhydryl and elevated liver enzymes. CONCLUSIONS: Higher sulfhydryl compounds contribute to ameliorating ATO-induced leukocytosis and hepatotoxicity in APL patients. The low sulfhydryl before treatment can advance the onset of leukocytosis. For patients with higher sulfhydryl in the early stage, close monitoring of liver enzymes is warranted instead of prophylactic applying any hepatoprotective intervention, to maintain ATO efficacy.

Highly stable lithium sulfur batteries enhanced by flocculation and solidification of soluble polysulfides in routine ether electrolyte.

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are among the most promising next-generation high energy density energy-storage systems. However, practical application has been hindered by fundamental problems, especially shuttling by the higher-order polysulfides (PSs) and slow redox kinetics. Herein, a novel electrolyte-based strategy is proposed by adding an ultrasmall amount of the low-cost and commercially available cationic antistatic agent octadecyl dimethyl hydroxyethyl quaternary ammonium nitrate (SN) into a routine ether electrolyte. Due to the strong cation-anion interaction and bridge-bonding with SN, rapid flocculation of the soluble polysulfide intermediates into solid-state polysulfide-SN sediments is found, which significantly inhibited the adverse shuttling effect. Moreover, a catalytic effect was also demonstrated for conversion of the polysulfide-SN intermediates, which enhanced the redox kinetics of Li-S batteries. Encouragingly, for cells with only 0.1 % added SN, an initial specific capacity of 783.6 mAh/g and a retained specific capacity of 565.7 mAh/g were found at 2C after 200 cycles, which corresponded to an ultralow capacity decay rate of only 0.014 % per cycle. This work may provide a simple and promising regulation strategy for preparing highly stable Li-S batteries.

Alterations in mitochondrial biogenesis and respiratory activity, inflammation of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype, and lipolysis in the perirenal fat and liver of rats following lifelong exercise and detraining.

The primary aims of this study were to determine the effects of lifelong exercise and detraining on age-related alterations in mitochondrial function, inflammation associated with senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), and lipolysis in the perirenal fat and liver of rats. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to four groups: young control (n = 12), old control (n = 12), detraining (n = 12), and lifelong exercise (n = 12). We then investigated mitochondrial function, SASP-associated inflammation, and lipolysis in the perirenal fat and liver using qRT-PCR and western blotting to assess the expression of AKT, hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), c-jun kinase (JNK), and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK). In the tissues of both the perirenal fat and liver, lifelong exercise significantly improved mitochondrial function, SASP-associated inflammation, and lipolysis. Meanwhile, pathways associated with inflammatory regulation were inhibited, predominantly via the activation of phosphorylated-AKT (p-AKT) and suppression of HIF-1α in both tissues, and via JNK in the perirenal fat and p38MAPK in the liver. Furthermore, detraining activated NF-κB expression in both tissues and induced the upregulation of serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels. Collectively, lifelong exercise was found to exert beneficial effects by ameliorating age-related alterations in mitochondrial function, SASP-associated inflammation, and lipolysis in perirenal fat and liver tissues, potentially inhibiting inflammation via the JNK and p38 MAPK pathways, respectively, as well as the HIF-1α and AKT pathways in both tissues. In contrast, detraining induced high levels of circulating hsCRP by activating the NF-κB signaling pathway in both tissues.

2D/1D V2O5 Nanoplates Anchored Carbon Nanofibers as Efficient Separator Interlayer for Highly Stable Lithium-Sulfur Battery.

Quick capacity loss due to the polysulfide shuttle effects is a critical challenge for high-performance lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Herein, a novel 2D/1D V2O5 nanoplates anchored carbon nanofiber (V-CF) interlayer coated on standard polypropylene (PP) separator is constructed, and a stabilization mechanism derived from a quasi-confined cushion space (QCCS) that can flexibly accommodate the polysulfide utilization is demonstrated. The incorporation of the V-CF interlayer ensures stable electron and ion pathway, and significantly enhanced long-term cycling performances are obtained. A Li-S battery assembled with the V-CF membrane exhibited a high initial capacity of 1140.8 mAh·g-1 and a reversed capacitance of 1110.2 mAh·g-1 after 100 cycles at 0.2 C. A high reversible capacity of 887.2 mAh·g-1 is also maintained after 500 cycles at 1 C, reaching an ultra-low decay rate of 0.0093% per cycle. The excellent electrochemical properties, especially the long-term cycling stability, can offer a promising designer protocol for developing highly stable Li-S batteries by introducing well-designed fine architectures to the separator.

Visible Light-Driven Self-Powered Device Based on a Straddling Nano-Heterojunction and Bio-Application for the Quantitation of Exosomal RNA.

This paper reports the design and fabrication of a self-powered biosensing device based on TiO2 nanosilks (NSs)@MoS2 quantum dots (QDs) and demonstrates a bioapplication for the quantitative detection of exosomal RNA ( Homo sapiens HOXA distal transcript antisense RNA, HOTTIP). This self-powered device features enhanced power output compared to TiO2 NSs alone. This is attributed to the formation of a heterojunction structure with suitable band offset derived from the hybridization between TiO2 NSs and MoS2 QDs, i.e., the straddling (Type I) band alignment. The sensitization effect and excellent visible light absorption provided by MoS2 QDs can prolong interfacial carrier lifetime and improve energy conversion efficiency. This self-powered biosensing device has been successfully applied in quantitative HOTTIP detection through effective hybridization between a capture probe and HOTTIP. The successful capture of HOTTIP leads to a sequential decrease in power output, which is utilized for ultrasensitive quantitative HOTTIP detection, with a linear relationship of power output change versus the logarithm of HOTTIP concentration ranging from 5 fg/mL to 50 000 ng/mL and a detection limit as low as 5 fg/mL. This TiO2 NSs@MoS2 QDs-based nanomaterial has excellent potential for a superior self-powered device characterized by economical and portable self-powered biosensing. Moreover, this self-powered, visible-light-driven device shows promising applications for cancer biomarker quantitative detection.

Development and evaluation of novel recombinant adenovirus-based vaccine candidates for infectious bronchitis virus and Mycoplasma gallisepticum in chickens.

Avian infectious bronchitis caused by the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), and mycoplasmosis caused by Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) are two major respiratory diseases in chickens that have resulted in severe economic losses in the poultry industry. We constructed a recombinant adenovirus that simultaneously expresses the S1 spike glycoprotein of IBV and the TM-1 protein of MG (pBH-S1-TM-1-EGFP). For comparison, we constructed two recombinant adenoviruses (pBH-S1-EGFP and pBH-TM-1-EGFP) that express either the S1 spike glycoprotein or the TM-1 protein alone. The protective efficacy of these three vaccine constructs against challenge with IBV and/or MG was evaluated in specific pathogen free chickens. Groups of seven-day-old specific pathogen free chicks were immunized twice, two weeks apart, via the oculonasal route with the pBH-S1-TM-1-EGFP, pBH-S1-EGFP, or pBH-TM-1-EGFP vaccine candidates or the commercial attenuated infectious bronchitis vaccine strain H52 and MG vaccine strain F-36 (positive controls), and challenged with virulent IBV or MG two weeks later. Interestingly, by days 7 and 14 after the booster immunization, pBH-S1-TM-1-EGFP-induced antibody titre was significantly higher (P < 0.01) compared to attenuated commercial IBV vaccine; however, there was no significant difference between the pBH-S1-TM-1-EGFP and attenuated commercial MG vaccine groups (P > 0.05). The clinical signs, the gross, and histopathological lesions scores of the adenovirus vaccine constructs were not significantly different from that of the attenuated commercial IBV or MG vaccines (positive controls) (P > 0.05). These results demonstrate the potential of the bivalent pBH-S1-TM-1-EGFP adenovirus construct as a combination vaccine against IB and mycoplasmosis.