Investigation of glycerol electrooxidation activity of carbon supported PdCu bimetallic electrocatalyst.

In this study, Pd/C, Cu/C, and a series of PdCu/C bimetallic electrocatalysts were prepared by microwave-assisted modified polyol method to determine glycerol electrooxidation reaction (GOR) activities. The effect of microwave duration on catalyst structure and GOR activity was investigated on PdCu/C bimetallic catalysts. Also, a commercial Pd/C (com-Pd/C) was used to compare catalytic activities with prepared samples. Electrocatalysts were characterized by using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) analyses. In addition, the activity and stability of electrocatalysts for GOR were examined by using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). In XRD results, the formation of PdCu alloy structure was observed successfully in all bimetallic catalysts. It was found that the PdCu electrocatalyst with microwave duration of 150 s (PdCu150) was exhibited homogeneous dispersion in TEM images. The particle size of 6.45 nm for PdCu150 was identified from TEM. Furthermore, the performance results were indicated that PdCu150 has the highest activity (36.02 mA/cm2) and stability compared to Pd/C (8.56 mA/cm2), and com-Pd/C (10.23 mA/cm2) in glycerol electrooxidation.

Ni/NiO/Ni-B/graphene heterostructure-modified electrodes and their electrochemical activities towards acetaminophen.

The surface of graphene was decorated with nickel/nickel oxide/nickel-boron particles to develop high-performance electrochemical sensors. The nanohybrid structures were prepared via a one-step reduction method under an oxygen-rich atmosphere to obtain an oxide phase besides metallic nickel nanoparticles. In addition, the use of NaBH4 as the reducing agent enabled simultaneous formation of Ni-B species on the graphene surface. XRD, XPS, TEM, Raman, and TGA analyses were implemented to characterize the samples. The XRD and XPS results revealed the presence of Ni/NiO/Ni-B on the surface of graphene. The electroanalytical performance of the nanocomposite was investigated against acetaminophen, which is an extensively exploited antipyretic and analgesic drug. The analytical performance results showed that the Ni/NiO/Ni-B/Gr-based sensors had a very wide working window between 10 µM and 2500 µM (y (µA) = 10.706x (mM) + 0.3151 (R2 = 0.9993)). The excellent storage stability, selectivity, and recovery results along with the high analytical performance make the novel Ni/NiO/Ni-B/Gr hybrid systems promising materials for the development of novel sensor platforms.

Cytotoxic effect of 6-Shogaol in Imatinib sensitive and resistant K562 cells.

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is a clonal hematopoietic malignancy characterized by the formation of BCR-ABL fusion protein. Imatinib (IMA) is a BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), which exhibited a high rate of response for newly diagnosed CML patients. Emergence of IMA resistance considered as a major challenge in CML therapy. Recent studies reported the anti-cancer effect of natural extracts such as 6-Shogaol (6-SG) which is extracted from ginger and the mechanisms involved in targeting of cancer cells. In the present study, we aimed to explore the potential anticancer effect of 6-SG on K562S (Imatinib sensitive) and K562R (Imatinib resistant) cells. K562S and K562R cells were incubated with increasing concentrations of 6-SG (5 µM- 50 µM) to determine its cytotoxic and apoptotic effects. Cell viability and apoptosis were investigated with spectrophotometric MTT assay and flow cytometric Annexin V staining, respectively. The mRNA expression levels of apoptotic related genes (BAX and BCL-2) and drug transporter (MDR-1 and MRP-1) genes were evaluated with qRT-PCR. According to our results, 6-SG treatment inhibited cell viability, induced apoptosis in both K562S and K562R cells. Based on our RT-PCR results, 6-SG enhanced pro-apoptotic BAX gene and decreased anti-apoptotic BCL-2 gene expression levels significantly in both treated K562S and K562R cells. Furthermore, 6-SG increased MDR-1 mRNA expression level in K562S and K562R cells in comparison with their control counterparts. Whereas, 6-SG decrease MRP-1 mRNA expression level in K562S cells significantly. It is the first study that reveals the apoptotic effect of 6-SG in CML cell line and IMA resistance. Therefore, 6-SG treatment can be suggested as a promising strategy for CML therapy.

Thermodynamic modelling and optimization of oxy-reforming and oxy-steam reforming of biogas by RSM.

In this study, a comparative thermodynamic equilibrium calculation of biogas oxy-reforming and oxy-steam reforming processes to produce syngas has been conducted by Aspen Plus simulation software. The effects of temperature (600-800°C), pressure (1-20 atm), and inlet O2/CH4 (0-1.0), H2O/CH4 (0-3.0), and CO2/CH4 (0.3-1.0) mole ratios on the equilibrium compositions of products were determined. The operation of the process was optimized using Gibbs free energy minimization method and statistical approach: response surface methodology (RSM). Optimum operating conditions CH4/CO2/O2 = 1:0.51:0.12 at 788°C and 1 atm for oxy-reforming and CH4/CO2/H2O/O2 = 1:0.63:0.19:0.07 at 780°C and 1 atm for oxy-steam reforming were obtained to reach maximum H2 yield, CH4 and CO2 conversions by minimizing carbon selectivity to produce syngas for methanol production.

Sustained Adrenergic Signaling Promotes Intratumoral Innervation through BDNF Induction.

Mounting clinical and preclinical evidence supports a key role for sustained adrenergic signaling in the tumor microenvironment as a driver of tumor growth and progression. However, the mechanisms by which adrenergic neurotransmitters are delivered to the tumor microenvironment are not well understood. Here we present evidence for a feed-forward loop whereby adrenergic signaling leads to increased tumoral innervation. In response to catecholamines, tumor cells produced brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in an ADRB3/cAMP/Epac/JNK-dependent manner. Elevated BDNF levels in the tumor microenvironment increased innervation by signaling through host neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase 2 receptors. In patients with cancer, high tumor nerve counts were significantly associated with increased BDNF and norepinephrine levels and decreased overall survival. Collectively, these data describe a novel pathway for tumor innervation, with resultant biological and clinical implications.Significance: Sustained adrenergic signaling promotes tumor growth and metastasis through BDNF-mediated tumoral innervation. Cancer Res; 78(12); 3233-42. ©2018 AACR.

Evaluation of the relationship between fungal infection, neutrophil leukocytes and macrophages in cervicovaginal smears: Light microscopic examination.

BACKGROUND: Right after opportunistic fungi become pathogenic, they face immune system cells including macrophages and neutrophil leukocytes. Although the relationship between fungi and immune cells are being widely studied by using animal models and culture techniques, cervicovaginal smears have not been used to evaluate this interaction yet. AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the interactions between fungal infection, macrophages and neutrophil leukocytes in cervicovaginal smear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Papanicolaou-stained cervicovaginal smears from 2307 women, aged between 18 and 73 years, were examined by light microscopy. Periodic acid-Schiff stain was also used to confirm the presence of fungal cell walls. RESULTS: Fungal infections were detected in 239 of 2307 patients (10.4%), and these cases were taken as the study group. Cases without any infectious agents (n = 1800, 78%) were considered as the control group. When the study and control groups were statistically compared in view of macrophages and neutrophil leukocytes, a significant relationship between presence of fungal infection, macrophages and neutrophil leukocytes was detected (P < 0.05). Furthermore, macrophages and neutrophil leukocytes were found to work against the fungal infection together (P < 0.05). Additionally, when the relationship between the existence of yeast or filamentous forms and these immune cells were evaluated, a significant correlation was not found (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that macrophages and neutrophils may play a determining role in host defense against fungal infection together, but neither yeast nor filamentous forms affect the presence of neutrophil leukocytes and macrophages. As a result of this, both yeast and filamentous forms may have pathogenic effects.