Cellulose-based aerogel fibers with enhanced mechanical properties for thermal insulation and humidity response.

Aerogel fibers have emerged as ideal materials for thermal insulation, due to the high porosity, low thermal conductivity, and unique nano-gel network structure. However, they typically suffer from poor mechanical properties and limited functionality. Herein, bacterial cellulose/graphene oxide (BC/GO) aerogel fibers were prepared via wet-spinning with surface modification by polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDDA).

Generation of 200 fs optical vortex pulses with 12 MW peak power from a Yb-doped fiber amplifier.

We report the generation of high peak power linearly polarized femtosecond optical vortex pulses based on parabolic pulse amplification within a large-mode-area few-mode Yb-doped fiber (YDF) amplifier system. A dispersion-managed passively mode-locked Yb-doped fiber oscillator with a Gaussian-shaped spectrum serves as the seed source, which evolves into parabolic shape in the subsequent preamplifiers. A -plate-based mode converter, positioned before the power amplifier, is employed to convert the Gaussian-shaped beam into optical vortex beams with a topological charge of = ±1.

Environmental Concentrations of Polystyrene Nanoplastics Induce Low-Dose Tamoxifen Toxicity Through Oxidative Stress in Caenorhabditis elegans.

In recent years, significant focus has been placed on the negative impacts of nanoplastics on living organisms. However, nanoplastics at environmental concentrations may interact with drugs, leading to more severe side effects in organisms. This study used Caenorhabditis elegans (C.

Polystyrene nanoparticles strengthen high glucose toxicity associated with alteration in insulin signaling pathway in C. elegans.

Using Caenorhabditis elegans as animal model, we investigated the effect of exposure to polystyrene nanoparticles (PS-NPs) in the range of μg/L on high glucose toxicity induction. With lifespan and locomotion behavior as endpoints, we observed that PS-NP (10 and 100 μg/L) enhanced toxicity in 50 mM glucose treated animals. In insulin signaling pathway, expressions of genes encoding insulin receptor (daf-2), kinases (age-1 and akt-1/2), and insulin peptides (ins-9, ins-6, and daf-28) were increased, and expressions of daf-16 and its target of sod-3 were decreased in high glucose treated nematodes followed by PS-NP exposure.

Paeoniflorin mitigates high glucose-induced lifespan reduction by inhibiting insulin signaling in .

In organisms, high glucose can cause several aspects of toxicity, including the lifespan reduction. Paeoniflorin is the major component of Paeoniaceae plants. Nevertheless, the possible effect of paeoniflorin to suppress high glucose toxicity in reducing lifespan and underlying mechanism are largely unclear.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel urolithins derivatives as potential phosphodiesterase II inhibitors.

A series of urolithins derivatives were designed and synthesized, and their structures have been confirmed by H NMR, C NMR, and HR-MS. The inhibitory activity of these derivatives on phosphodiesterase II (PDE2) was thoroughly studied with 3-hydroxy-8-methyl-6H-benzo[C]chromen-6-one and 3-hydroxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-6H-benzo[C] chromen-6-one as the lead compounds. The biological activity test showed that compound 2e had the best inhibitory activity on PDE2 with an IC of 33.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Novel 6-Benzo[]chromen-6-one Derivatives as Potential Phosphodiesterase II Inhibitors.

Urolithins (hydroxylated 6-benzo[]chromen-6-ones) are the main bioavailable metabolites of ellagic acid (EA), which was shown to be a cognitive enhancer in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. As part of this research, a series of alkoxylated 6-benzo[]chromen-6-one derivatives were designed and synthesized. Furthermore, their biological activities were evaluated as potential PDE2 inhibitors, and the alkoxylated 6-benzo[]chromen-6-one derivative was found to have the optimal inhibitory potential (IC: 3.

The TORC1 inhibitor Nprl2 protects age-related digestive function in .

Aging and age-related diseases occur in almost all organisms. Recently, it was discovered that the inhibition of target of rapamycin complex 1 (TORC1), a conserved complex that mediates nutrient status and cell metabolism, can extend an individual's lifespan and inhibit age-related diseases in many model organisms. However, the mechanism whereby TORC1 affects aging remains elusive.

Toxic effect of the novel chiral insecticide IPP and its biodegradation intermediate in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Caenorhabditis elegans, a kind of model organism, was used to investigate biodegradation pathway of IPP and M1 in nematodes, in vivo toxicity from IPP and M1 and the possible underlying molecular mechanism. The results showed that both IPP and M1 could decrease lifespan, locomotion behavior, reproductive ability and AChE activity. During IPP biodegradation process, three intermediates (M1-M3) were monitored and identified.

Antioxidant Activity of Water Extract from Fermented Mycelia of Cordyceps sobolifera (Ascomycetes) in Caenorhabditis elegans.

This research aimed to evaluate the potential of Cordyceps sobolifera in mycelial biomass production via liquid culture and to assay the safety and determine the antioxidative and antiaging activities of Caenorhabditis elegans. A C. sobolifera isolate was cultured using the one-factor-at-a-time method to illustrate its carbon and nitrogen requirements.

FEN1 promotes tumor progression and confers cisplatin resistance in non-small-cell lung cancer.

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality worldwide. The therapeutic effect of chemotherapy is limited due to the resistance of cancer cells, which remains a challenge in cancer therapeutics. In this work, we found that flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) is overexpressed in lung cancer cells.

Adverse Effects of Hydroalcoholic Extracts and the Major Components in the Stems of L. on .

L. (Balsaminaceae), an annual herb found throughout China, has been extensively used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, our knowledge regarding the adverse effects of in vivo is very limited.

Screening lifespan-extending drugs in Caenorhabditis elegans via label propagation on drug-protein networks.

Background: One of the most challenging tasks in the exploration of anti-aging is to discover drugs that can promote longevity and delay the incidence of age-associated diseases of human. Up to date, a number of drugs, including some antioxidants, metabolites and synthetic compounds, have been found to effectively delay the aging of nematodes and insects.

Results: We proposed a label propagation algorithm on drug-protein network to infer drugs that can extend the lifespan of C.

Inferring new indications for approved drugs via random walk on drug-disease heterogenous networks.

Background: Since traditional drug research and development is often time-consuming and high-risk, there is an increasing interest in establishing new medical indications for approved drugs, referred to as drug repositioning, which provides a relatively low-cost and high-efficiency approach for drug discovery. With the explosive growth of large-scale biochemical and phenotypic data, drug repositioning holds great potential for precision medicine in the post-genomic era. It is urgent to develop rational and systematic approaches to predict new indications for approved drugs on a large scale.

Function of RSKS-1-AAK-2-DAF-16 signaling cascade in enhancing toxicity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes can be suppressed by mir-259 activation in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Caenorhabditis elegans is an important non-mammalian alternative assay model for toxicological study. Previous study has indicated that exposure to multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) dysregulated the transcriptional expression of mir-259. In this study, we examined the molecular basis for mir-259 in regulating MWCNTs toxicity in nematodes.

OGG1 is essential in oxidative stress induced DNA demethylation.

DNA demethylation is an essential cellular activity to regulate gene expression; however, the mechanism that triggers DNA demethylation remains unknown. Furthermore, DNA demethylation was recently demonstrated to be induced by oxidative stress without a clear molecular mechanism. In this manuscript, we demonstrated that 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase-1 (OGG1) is the essential protein involved in oxidative stress-induced DNA demethylation.

Anti-aging effect of polysaccharide from Bletilla striata on nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Background: Polysaccharide isolated from Bletilla striata, a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (Bletilla striata polysaccharide [BSP]) has been found to play important roles in endothelial cells proliferation, inducible nitric oxide stimulation, wound healing acceleration and other processes. Recent studies found that B. striata has anti-oxidative properties, however, potential anti-aging effects of BSP in whole organisms has not been characterized.

The lifespan-extending effects of Nymphaea hybrid root extract in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Nymphaea hybrid, a water lily from the Nymphaeaceae family, has been found to exhibit some in vivo beneficial effects. In the present study we investigated the lifespan-extending effects of Nymphaea hybrid root extract in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We found that Nymphaea hybrid root extract significantly extended the lifespan of C.

Adverse effects from clenbuterol and ractopamine on nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and the underlying mechanism.

In the present study, we used Caenorhabditis elegans assay system to investigate in vivo toxicity from clentuberol and ractopamine and the possible underlying mechanism. Both acute and prolonged exposures to clentuberol or ractopamine decreased brood size and locomotion behavior, and induced intestinal autofluorescence and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Although acute exposure to the examined concentrations of clentuberol or ractopamine did not induce lethality, prolonged exposure to 10 µg/L of clentuberol and ractopamine reduced lifespan.

Beneficial effects of wheat gluten hydrolysate to extend lifespan and induce stress resistance in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Previous studies have showed that wheat gluten hydrolysate (WGH) has the anti-oxidative property. In the present study, we examined the possible safety property of WGH and the beneficial effects of WGH to extend lifespan and induce stress resistance using nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as the in vivo assay system. We found that WGH at concentrations of 0.

A comparative evaluation on prediction methods of nucleosome positioning.

Nucleosome positioning plays an essential role in cellular processes by modulating accessibility of DNA to proteins. Many computational models have been developed to predict genome-wide nucleosome positions from DNA sequences. Comparative analysis of predicted and experimental nucleosome positioning maps facilitates understanding the regulatory mechanisms of transcription and DNA replication.

An essential function for beta-arrestin 2 in the inhibitory signaling of natural killer cells.

The inhibitory signaling of natural killer (NK) cells is crucial in the regulation of innate immune responses. Here we show that the association of KIR2DL1, an inhibitory receptor of NK cells, with beta-arrestin 2 mediated recruitment of the tyrosine phosphatases SHP-1 and SHP-2 to KIR2DL1 and facilitated 'downstream' inhibitory signaling. Consequently, the cytotoxicity of NK cells was higher in beta-arrestin 2-deficient mice but was inhibited in beta-arrestin 2-transgenic mice.