Facile Synthesis of High-Entropy Alloy Nanowires for Electrocatalytic Alcohol Oxidation.

Considering the structural and compositional advantages of high-entropy alloy (HEA) as high-efficient electrocatalysts, we here present a facile method to prepare high-entropy alloy nanowires with seven elements in an aqueous solution. The as-synthesized PdPtCuAgAuPbCo nanowires possess dispersed one-dimensional morphology and exhibit enhanced electrocatalytic performance with the mass activity of 9.9 A mgPd+Pt -1 toward ethanol electrooxidation. The HEA nanowires also perform superior stability, resistance to CO poisoning, and good electrocatalytic activities toward other alcohols (e. g., ethylene glycol and methanol) oxidation. The synthesis strategy is easy to operate with low cost and has wide application prospects for preparing desired electrocatalysts for fuel cells.

Perfusion preparation of the rat bladder decellularized scaffold.

Introduction: Bladder reconstruction is a huge challenge in the field of urology. In recent years, perfusion methods have brought promising results in the field of tissue engineering. We prepared bladder decellularized scaffolds by improved perfusion, which may be suitable for bladder reconstruction. Methods: We prepared decellularized scaffolds of rat bladder by perfusion of SDS (0.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate), SDS-SDC (0.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate +0.5% sodium deoxycholate). Histological characteristics of bladder decellularized scaffolds were assessed by Hematoxylin and eosin, Masson, and DAPI staining. Moreover, we also prepared a murine bladder transplantation model to evaluate the regenerative potential of scaffolds. Results: Hematoxylin and eosin, Masson, and DAPI staining indicated almost no cellular component residues in the SDS-SDC group. Histological analysis (hematoxylin and eosin staining, Masson staining), CD31 and F4/80 staining analysis, one month after implantation, revealed that the decellularized scaffolds had regenerative characteristics, and the SDS-SDC scaffold had better regenerative properties than the SDS scaffold. Conclusions: We successfully prepared the decellularized scaffold for the rat bladder by perfusion. Our results showed that the SDS-SDC scaffold had better decellularization efficiency and reconstruction ability than the SDS scaffold, which provides a new perspective on bladder reconstruction materials.

In vitro antibiofilm and bacteriostatic activity of diacerein against Enterococcus faecalis.

Enterococcus faecalis is one of the main pathogens that causes hospital-acquired infections because it is intrinsically resistant to some antibiotics and often is capable of biofilm formation, which plays a critical role in resisting the external environment. Therefore, attacking biofilms is a potential therapeutic strategy for infections caused by E. faecalis. Current research indicates that diacerein used in the treatment of osteoarthritis showed antimicrobial activity on strains of gram-positive cocci in vitro. In this study, we tested the MICs of diacerein using the broth microdilution method, and successive susceptibility testing verified that E. faecalis is unlikely to develop resistance to diacerein. In addition, we obtained a strain of E. faecalis HE01 with strong biofilm-forming ability from an eye hospital environment and demonstrated that diacerein affected the biofilm development of HE01 in a dose-dependent manner. Then, we explored the mechanism by which diacerein inhibits biofilm formation through qRT-PCR, extracellular protein assays, hydrophobicity assays and transcriptomic analysis. The results showed that biofilm formation was inhibited at the initial adhesion stage by inhibition of the expression of the esp gene, synthesis of bacterial surface proteins and reduction in cell hydrophobicity. In addition, transcriptome analysis showed that diacerein not only inhibited bacterial growth by affecting the oxidative phosphorylation process and substance transport but also inhibited biofilm formation by affecting secondary metabolism, biosynthesis, the ribosome pathway and luxS expression. Thus, our findings provide compelling evidence for the substantial therapeutic potential of diacerein against E. faecalis biofilms.

Main Pathological Changes of Benign Ureteral Strictures.

Objective: To identify the pathological classification of benign ureteral strictures according to the histological features and explore the relationship between various pathological types and inflammatory cells, fibroblasts, and collagen. Patients and Methods: Thirty one specimens from patients diagnosed with ureteral strictures between 2013 and 2021 were included and classified according to the histopathological characteristics. The number of fibroblasts and inflammatory cells was counted, and the proportion of type I and type III collagen in ureteral stricture tissues was detected by picrosirius red staining. Results: We identified three types of benign ureteral strictures in 31 specimens: inflammatory cell infiltration (n = 10, 32%), fibroplasia (n = 14, 45%), and hyalinization (n = 7, 23%), with significant differences in obstruction history and hydronephrosis grades among the three types. The number of inflammatory cells (lymphocytes, neutrophils and eosinophils) was significantly lower in hyalinization ureteral strictures than in the other two types (p < 0.05). The number of foreign-body giant cells associated with foreign-body reactions increased significantly in suture-induced ureteral strictures (p < 0.05). Fibroplasia type had the largest number of fibroblasts, whereas the other two types had smaller numbers. The results of type I and III collagen analysis showed that type I and III collagen were the most abundant in hyalinization among all ureteral stricture types (p < 0.05). Compared to ureteral strictures, the content of type I and III collagen in atresia increased significantly (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Common pathological types of benign ureteral strictures include inflammatory cell infiltration, fibroplasia, and hyalinization. Changes in type I and III collagen, inflammatory cells, and fibroblasts in different pathological types may be related to the progression of ureteral strictures.

Improving Estimates of PM2.5 Concentration and Chemical Composition by Application of High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) and Creating Aerosol Types from Chemistry (CATCH) Algorithm.

Improved characterization of ambient PM2.5 mass concentration and chemical speciation is a topic of interest in air quality and climate sciences. Over the past decades, considerable efforts have been made to improve ground-level PM2.5 using remotely sensed data. Here we present two new approaches for estimating atmospheric PM2.5 and chemical composition based on the High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL)-retrieved aerosol extinction values and types and Creating Aerosol Types from Chemistry (CATCH)-derived aerosol chemical composition. The first methodology (CMAQ-HSRL-CH) improves EPA's Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) predictions by applying variable scaling factors derived using remotely-sensed information about aerosol vertical distribution and types and the CATCH algorithm. The second methodology (HSRL-CH) does not require regional model runs and can provide atmospheric PM2.5 mass concentration and chemical speciation using only the remotely sensed data and the CATCH algorithm. The resulting PM2.5 concentrations and chemical speciation derived for NASA DISCOVER-AQ (Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from COlumn and VERtically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality) Baltimore-Washington, D.C. Corridor (BWC) Campaign (2011) are compared to surface measurements from EPA's Air Quality Systems (AQS) network. The analysis shows that the CMAQ-HSRL-CH method leads to considerable improvement of CMAQ's predicted PM2.5 concentrations (R2 value increased from 0.37 to 0.63, the root mean square error (RMSE) was reduced from 11.9 to 7.2 µg m-3, and the normalized mean bias (NMB) was lowered from -46.0 to 4.6%). The HSRL-CH method showed statistics (R2=0.75, RMSE=8.6 µgm-3, and NMB=24.0%), which were better than the CMAQ prediction of PM2.5 alone and analogous to CMAQ-HSRL-CH. In addition to mass concentration, HSRL-CH can also provide aerosol chemical composition without specific model simulations. We expect that the HSRL-CH method will be able to make reliable estimates of PM2.5 concentration and chemical composition where HSRL data are available.