Polylactic acid electrospun membrane loaded with cerium nitrogen co-doped titanium dioxide for visible light-triggered antibacterial photocatalytic therapy.

Wound infection caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria poses a serious threat to antibiotic therapy. Therefore, it is of vital importance to find new methods and modes for antibacterial therapy. The cerium nitrogen co-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles (N-TiO2, 0.05Ce-N-TiO2, 0.1Ce-N-TiO2, and 0.2Ce-N-TiO2) were synthesized using the hydrothermal method in this study. Subsequently, electrospinning was employed to fabricate polylactic acid (PLA) electrospun membranes loaded with the above-mentioned nanoparticles (PLA-N, PLA-0.05, PLA-0.1, and PLA-0.2). The results indicated that cerium and nitrogen co-doping tetrabutyl titanate enhanced the visible light photocatalytic efficiency of TiO2 nanoparticles and enabled the conversion of ultraviolet light into harmless visible light. The photocatalytic reaction under visible light irradiation induced the generation of ROS, which could effectively inhibit the bacterial growth. The antibacterial assay showed that it was effective in eliminating S. aureus and E. coli and the survival rates of two types of bacteria under 30 min of irradiation were significantly below 20% in the PLA-0.2 experimental group. Moreover, the bactericidal membranes also have excellent biocompatibility performance. This bio-friendly and biodegradable membrane may be applied to skin trauma and infection in future to curb drug-resistant bacteria and provide more alternative options for antimicrobial therapy.

Aqueous biphasic systems developed with deep eutectic solvents and polymer for the efficient extraction of pigments from beverages.

Novel aqueous biphasic systems (ABSs) developed with benzyl-based quaternary ammonium salts-deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and polypropylene glycol (PPG) were herein proposed. The liquid-liquid equilibrium and the partitioning behavior of pigments in the systems were addressed. The results suggested that the shorter the carbon chain length of the DES, the easier to form two phases. The analysis of mixed samples showed that the selective separation was achieved in the ABSs, including 99.47% of tartrazine in the DES-rich phase and 98.47% of sudan III in the PPG-rich phase. Additionally, the systems were successfully applied to the extraction of pigments from the actual beverage samples with recoveries ranging from 93.43% to 102.15%. Furthermore, the study on the separation mechanism indicated that the hydrogen bonding played a significant role in the separation process. All the above results highlight the proposed DES/polymer-based ABSs have great advantages in selective and high-performance separation of pigments from beverages.

Retraction Note: HAX-1 Promotes the Chemoresistance, Invasion, and Tumorigenicity of Esophageal Squamous Carcinoma Cells.

The Editor-in-Chief has retracted this article [1] because Figure 3c appears to have been modified and reused as Figure 3d.

HAX-1 promotes the chemoresistance, invasion, and tumorigenicity of esophageal squamous carcinoma cells.

BACKGROUND: HAX-1 is an anti-apoptotic factor and regulates the expression of DNA pol ß. Interestingly, DNA polymerase pol ß is overexpressed in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, the functional role of HAX-1 in ESCC remains unclear. AIMS: To investigate the role of HAX-1 in chemoresistance, invasion, and tumorigenicity of ESCC. METHODS: Lentivirus-mediated overexpression or knockdown of HAX-1 was employed to establish ESCC EC9706 cell lines that expressed HAX-1 at different levels. The biological behaviors of these engineered cells were characterized in vitro and in vivo using a xenograft nude mice model. In addition, HAX-1 and pol ß expression in the tumor tissues was detected by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: HAX-1 overexpression promoted cell proliferation and resistance against cisplatin, increased cell invasion and suppressed apoptosis along with increased pol ß expression. Conversely, HAX-1 knockdown inhibited the malignant phenotypes of EC9706 cells. The xenograft nude mice model demonstrated that HAX-1 overexpression or depletion led to increased or decreased tumor growth in vivo, respectively. Furthermore, a positive correlation of HAX-1 and pol ß expression in the tumor tissues was observed. CONCLUSIONS: HAX-1 promotes the proliferation, chemoresistance, invasion, and tumorigenicity of ESCC, and this is correlated with increased poly ß expression. HAX-1 may represent a potential target to overcome the resistance and metastasis of ESCC.

The Effect of Component Transfusion on Perioperative Change of Hemoglobin , Hematocrit and Platelet Count / 대한마취과학회지

In order to study the changes of blood sugar and electrolyte during cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB) in open heart surgery, 28 patients were selected and observed. The results are as follows: 1) The levels of blood sugar were increased significantly(p<0.01) in all patients compared to the controls as the operation advanced to the end of the CPB. But there was no significant correlation the with the CPB. 2) The increase in blood sugar level was greater in the TOF group and it was at significantly increased(p<0.01) after the CPB and was maintained higher at the end of the CPB. 3) The changes of electrolyte and arterial blood gas values during CPB were not remarkable.