3,4-Dichlorophenylacetic acid acts as an auxin analog and induces beneficial effects in various crops.

Auxins and their analogs are widely used to promote root growth, flower and fruit development, and yield in crops. The action characteristics and application scope of various auxins are different. To overcome the limitations of existing auxins, expand the scope of applications, and reduce side effects, it is necessary to screen new auxin analogs.

Analysis of the genetic contribution to thoracic aortic aneurysm or dissection in a prospective cohort of patients with familial and sporadic cases in East China.

Background: Thoracic aortic aneurysm or dissections (TAADs) represent a group of life-threatening diseases. Genetic aetiology can affect the age of onset, clinical phenotype, and timing of intervention. We conducted a prospective trial to determine the prevalence of pathogenic variants in TAAD patients and to elucidate the traits related to harbouring the pathogenic variants.

Engineered biomechanical microenvironment of articular chondrocytes based on heterogeneous GelMA hydrogel composites and dynamic mechanical compression.

Tissue-engineered articular cartilage constructs are currently not able to equal native tissues in terms of mechanical and biological properties. A major cause lies in the deficiency in engineering the biomechanical microenvironment (BMME) of articular chondrocytes. In this work, to engineer the BMME of articular chondrocytes, heterogeneous hydrogel structures of gelatin methacrylated (GelMA) containing differential-stiffness domains were first fabricated, and then periodic dynamic mechanical stimulations were applied to the hydrogel structures.

Engineering the biomechanical microenvironment of chondrocytes towards articular cartilage tissue engineering.

Tissue engineering holds great promise in the generation of cartilage analogues for cartilage injury repair and replacement. However, for a long time, a variety of issues have remained unsolved in articular cartilage tissue engineering concerning immunogenicity, stability, and mechanical strength, among others. One of the most remarkable reasons lies in the lack or insufficiency of recapitulating the chondrocyte biomechanical microenvironment (BME) in the articular cartilage tissue engineering.

Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis and management of fetal aortopulmonary septal defects: a case series.

Background: To investigate the prenatal ultrasound diagnosis and management of patients with aortopulmonary septal defects (APSDs).

Methods: A total of 8 fetuses with APSDs who underwent fetal echocardiography at our hospital from January 2015 to January 2019 were retrospectively included in this study.

Results: Among the 8 fetuses, there were 4 cases of type I APSD, 3 cases were type II, and 1 case was type III.

Precise Tuning of Bimetallic Electronic Effect for Boosting Oxygen Reduction Catalysis.

Tuning intermediate adsorption energy by shifting the d-band center offers a powerful strategy to tailor the reactivity of metal catalysts. Here we report a potential sweep method to grow Pd layer-by-layer on Au with the capability to measure the surface structure through an ethanol oxidation reaction. Spectroscopic characterizations reveal charge-transfer induced valence band restructuring in the Pd overlayer, which shifts the d-band center away from the Fermi level compared to bulk Pd.

Death-Associated Protein Kinase 1 Regulates Oxidative Stress in Cardiac Ischemia Reperfusion Injury.

To investigate the role of death-associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1) in cardiac ischemia reperfusion (I/R) in vivo, and to determine whether the process is regulated by nuclear factor E2-associated factor 2 (Nrf2)/Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (keap1). Western blot analysis was used to analyze the expression level of DAPK1 at different time points. The hemodynamic parameters and apoptosis of cardiac I/R injury in vivo were observed using DAPK1 knockdown lentivirus.

Noble metal nanowire arrays as an ethanol oxidation electrocatalyst.

Vertically aligned noble metal nanowire arrays were grown on conductive electrodes based on a solution growth method. They show significant improvement of electrocatalytic activity in ethanol oxidation, from a re-deposited sample of the same detached nanowires. The unusual morphology provides open diffusion channels and direct charge transport pathways, in addition to the high electrochemically active surface from the ultrathin nanowires.

Controllable syngas production on gold nanowires/nickel foam electrode in non-aqueous system.

A hierarchical electrode is prepared with Au nanowires grown on nickel foam. With large specific active surface area, it is used for producing syngas (H/CO) with controllable ratio, through electrochemical process in DMF. The synthetic innovation lies in the use of 3-cyanopropyltriethoxysilane, to achieve the adsorption of appropriate amount of Au seeds for the one-dimensional growth of ultrathin Au nanowires (d ≈ 5 nm).

The Synthesis of Hollow/Porous CuO Nanoparticles by Ion-Pairing Behavior Control.

Owing to the properties of low density, large surface areas, excellent loading capacity, high permeability, and interstitial hollow spaces, hollow nanostructures have been widely applied in many important research fields, such as catalysis, drug-controlled release, confined synthesis, optics and electronics, and energy storage. This work provided a simple platform for hollow CuO nanostructure synthesis based on the surfactant controlling methodology, which is under the supposed mechanism of ion-pairing behavior at the initial nucleation stage. Thus here, we explore our system in two different directions: (1) we get different types of hollow CuO nanoparticles by controlling the surfactant concentration during the synthesis step in colloids, which is critical to the novel structure design and potential application in many different areas and (2) we explore the method to CuO hollow particle synthesis to test the hypothesis of the ion-pairing behavior during the initial nucleation by tuning the solvent ratio, cation concentration (such as NHNO addition amount difference in the synthetic step), and selective etching.

Pre-B-cell colony enhancing factor regulates the alveolar epithelial sodium-water transport system through the ERK and AKT pathways.

The sodium-water transport system is crucial for alveolar fluid clearance. The pulmonary edema caused by extracorporeal circulation is mainly due to increased alveolar capillary permeability and reduced fluid clearance. We previously demonstrated that pre-B-cell colony enhancing factor (PBEF) increases alveolar capillary permeability and inhibits the sodium-water transport system.

Biofunctionalization of decellularized porcine aortic valve with OPG-loaded PCL nanoparticles for anti-calcification.

Decellularized valve stents are widely used in tissue-engineered heart valves because they maintain the morphological structure of natural valves, have good histocompatibility and low immunogenicity. However, the surface of the cell valve loses the original endothelial cell coverage, exposing collagen and causing calcification and decay of the valve in advance. In this study, poly ε-caprolactone (PCL) nanoparticles loaded with osteoprotegerin (OPG) were bridged to a decellularized valve using a nanoparticle drug delivery system and tissue engineering technology to construct a new anti-calcification composite valve with sustained release function.

Nanotubular TiO regulates macrophage M2 polarization and increases macrophage secretion of VEGF to accelerate endothelialization via the ERK1/2 and PI3K/AKT pathways.

Background: Macrophages play important roles in the immune response to, and successful implantation of, biomaterials. Titanium nanotubes are considered promising heart valve stent materials owing to their effects on modulation of macrophage behavior. However, the effects of nanotube-regulated macrophages on endothelial cells, which are essential for stent endothelialization, are unknown.

Knockdown of PSMC3IP suppresses the proliferation and xenografted tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma cell.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most frequent malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Proteasome 26S subunit ATPase 3 interacting protein (PSMC3IP) is an oncogene in breast cancer, while its role in HCC remains unclear. Here, we found that PSMC3IP was critical for the cell proliferation and tumorigenic capacity of HCC cells.

pre-B cell colony enhancing factor negatively regulates Na and fluid transport in lung epithelial cells.

Unlabelled: This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of pre-B cell colony enhancing factor (PBEF) on Na and fluid transport in lung epithelial cells.

Methods: Type 1 and 2 cells were isolated from lung epithelium. After hypoxia reoxygenation treatment, the primary cell cultures were transfected with a plasmid over-expressing PBEF.

Simultaneous determination of pyrametostrobin and its two metabolites in cucumber and soil using a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method with HPLC-MS/MS.

An easy, effective and sensitive analytical method for the simultaneous determination of a novel fungicide pyrametostrobin and its two metabolites pyrametostrobin-M1 and pyrametostrobin-M2 in cucumber and soil was developed using a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method with high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. The extraction solvent was acetonitrile, and cleanup sorbents were primary secondary amine and graphitized carbon black for cucumber samples and primary secondary amine for soil samples. The three target compounds were successfully separated between 3.

The preparation of anisotropic hybrid nanostructures based on CdSe and CdS by the ligand combination method.

CdSe and CdS nanoparticles (NPs) are type I II-VI semiconductor materials with excellent optical properties. Usually various shapes of these NPs show a strong emission only from a CdSe or CdS single domain, while the emission from a CdSe core combined with a CdS shell is effectively suppressed due to the ultrafast hole relaxation from the CdS shell into the CdSe core. Therefore, the design and synthesis of heteronanostructures based on CdSe or CdS is of paramount importance in designing the ways of integrating these useful semiconductor materials into complex hybrid structures.

Synthesis of a tetrasaccharide substrate of heparanase.

A tetrasaccharide, corresponding to the heparan sulfate heparanase substrate, namely beta-D-GlcA(2S)-(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcN(NS,6S)-(1-->4)-beta-D-GlcA-(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcN(NS,6S)-OMe, was synthesized in a convergent manner via coupling of a pair of the disaccharide building blocks as a key step.