Light-induced sulfur transport inside single-walled carbon nanotubes

This article belongs to the Section 2D and Carbon Nanomaterials.Filling of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and extraction of the encapsulated species from their cavities are perspective treatments for tuning the functional properties of SWCNT-based materials. Here, we have investigated sulfur-modified SWCNTs synthesized by the ampoule method. The morphology and chemical states of carbon and sulfur were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy, Raman scattering, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray photoelectron and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopies. Successful encapsulation of sulfur inside SWCNTs cavities was demonstrated. The peculiarities of interactions of SWCNTs with encapsulated and external sulfur species were analyzed in details. In particular, the donor–acceptor interaction between encapsulated sulfur and host SWCNT is experimentally demonstrated. The sulfur-filled SWCNTs were continuously irradiated in situ with polychromatic photon beam of high intensity. Comparison of X-ray spectra of the samples before and after the treatment revealed sulfur transport from the interior to the surface of SWCNTs bundles, in particular extraction of sulfur from the SWCNT cavity. These results show that the moderate heating of filled nanotubes could be used to de-encapsulate the guest species tuning the local composition, and hence, the functional properties of SWCNT-based materials.This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Project 18-72-00017), the bilateral Program “Russian-Germany Laboratory at BESSY II” in the part of XPS and C K-edge NEXAFS measurements, and shared research center SSTRC on the basis of the Novosibirsk VEPP-4 - VEPP-2000 complex at BINP SB RAS, using equipment supported by project RFMEFI62119X0022 in the part of S K-edge NEXAFS measurements. R.A. acknowledges the support from the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MAT2016-79776-P, AEI/FEDER, EU), from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme under the project “ESTEEM3” (823717) and from the Government of Aragon and the European Social Fund under the project “Construyendo Europa desde Aragon” 2014–2020 (grant number E13_17R, FEDER, EU).Peer reviewe

REACTIVITY OF RAT ERYTHROCYTES UNDER CONDITIONS OF PHYSICAL STRESS OF DIFFERENT INTENSITY

Цель. Изучить морфофункциональное состояние красной крови крыс в зависимости от физической нагрузки «до отказа».Материалы и методы. В исследовании использовали практически здоровых половозрелых крыс-самцов Wistar: контроль, нахождение в воде без движения, свободное плавание и плавание с грузом 2%, 6%, 8%, 10% и 15% от массы тела «до отказа» согласно протоколу по биоэтике утвержденному ИФ Коми НЦ УрО РАН. В крови определяли уровень гемоглобина, гематокрита, количество эритроцитов и ретикулоцитов. Измеряли диаметр 100 эритроцитов окрашенных по Романовскому-Гимза и бриллиантовым крезиловым синим. Статистическую значимость различий реакций исследованных животных оценивали с помощью непараметрического критерия Крускала-Уоллиса.Результаты. Физическая нагрузка «до отказа» характеризовалась повышением величины гематокрита, гемоглобина, количеством эритроцитов в крови крыс и физиологическим ретикулоцитозом, наряду со снижением концентрации гемоглобина в эритроците. Отмечено, что распределение ретикулоцитов по диаметру в пределах 6.4–6.7 мкм у плавающих крыс с грузом 8% от массы тела соответствует кривой Прайс-Джонса интактных животных.Заключение. У крыс в зависимости от характера и интенсивности физической нагрузки проявились разнонаправленные сдвиги в клеточном составе красной крови. Практическое использование только тестового плавания крыс с грузом 8 % от массы тела, судя по реакции эритроцитов, является физиологически обоснованным.Background. To study the morphofunctional state of red blood in rats depending on the physical load “to failure”.Materials and methods. The study used practically healthy adult male rats of the Wistar: control, staying in water without movement, free swimming and swimming with a load of 2%, 6%, 8%, 10% and 15% of body weight “to failure” according to the protocol on bioethics approved by the IPhys Komi SC UB RAS. In the blood, the level of hemoglobin, hematocrit, the number of erythrocytes and reticulocytes was determined. The diameter of 100 erythrocytes stained according to Romanovsky-Giemsa and diamond cresyl blue was measured. The statistical significance of the differences was assessed using the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis criterion.Results. The physical load «to failure» was characterized by an increase in hematocrit, hemoglobin, and the number of erythrocytes in the blood of rats and physiological reticulocytosis, along with a decrease in the concentration of hemoglobin in the erythrocyte. It was noted that the distribution of reticulocytes of diameters within 6.4–6.7 μm in floating rats with a weight of 8% of body weight corresponds to the Price-Jones curve of intact animals.Conclusion. In rats, depending on the intensity of exercise, multidirectional shifts in the cellular composition of red blood appeared. Practical use only of the test swimming of rats with a weight of 8% of body weight, judging by the nature of the reaction of erythrocytes, is physiologically justified

Deciphering the origin and therapeutic targets of cancer of unknown primary: a case report that illustrates the power of integrative whole-exome and transcriptome sequencing analysis

Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) represents a significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, being the third to fourth leading cause of cancer death, despite advances in diagnostic tools. This article presents a successful approach using a novel genomic analysis in the evaluation and treatment of a CUP patient, leveraging whole-exome sequencing (WES) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). The patient, with a history of multiple primary tumors including urothelial cancer, exhibited a history of rapid progression on empirical chemotherapy. The application of our approach identified a molecular target, characterized the tumor expression profile and the tumor microenvironment, and analyzed the origin of the tumor, leading to a tailored treatment. This resulted in a substantial radiological response across all metastatic sites and the predicted primary site of the tumor. We argue that a comprehensive genomic and molecular profiling approach, like the BostonGene© Tumor Portrait, can provide a more definitive, personalized treatment strategy, overcoming the limitations of current predictive assays. This approach offers a potential solution to an unmet clinical need for a standardized approach in identifying the tumor origin for the effective management of CUP

GEO-6 assessment for the pan-European region

Through this assessment, the authors and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) secretariat are providing an objective evaluation and analysis of the pan-European environment designed to support environmental decision-making at multiple scales. In this assessment, the judgement of experts is applied to existing knowledge to provide scientifically credible answers to policy-relevant questions. These questions include, but are not limited to the following:• What is happening to the environment in the pan-European region and why?• What are the consequences for the environment and the human population in the pan-European region?• What is being done and how effective is it?• What are the prospects for the environment in the future?• What actions could be taken to achieve a more sustainable future?<br/

Carbonate sludge as a nanostructured material for environmental engineering

The behaviour features of carbonate sludge which are a waste of water treatment process were studied in aqueous and oil environment. Based on the analysis of images of carbonate sludge particles in liquid media made by laser scanning confocal microscopes, the existence of nanostructures of various chemical compositions having several hundred nanometers in size, both single and forming porous conglomerate structures with a developed surface was revealed. The existence of such fragmentation of fine carbonate sludge powder particles in liquid media suggests that the mechanism of action of sludge additives is similar to that of nanoparticles. It was shown that the waste of the water treatment can be used as a cheap and environmentally friendly nanostructured material for industrial and environmental engineering, in particular, to improve the properties of hydrocarbon fuels. If necessary, the effect of carbonate sludge can be enhanced by changing its composition at the coagulation stage or by adding other nanoparticles. The data on the composition and texture characteristics of used sludge were given

Block copolymers as dispersants for nanomaterial added to fuel

Development and optimization of technologies using nanocomposite materials is one of important areas in modern industrial engineering. In transport industry and in fuel power engineering the use of nanoparticles can optimize fuel consumption, reduce pollutants, and increase aggregate productivity. A special role belongs to carbon nanomaterials, primarily to multi- and single-walled carbon nanotubes, since, beside the improvement of fuel characteristics, they can be completely utilized during combustion. Application of nanoparticles requires the preparing of stable suspensions suitable for various technological processes. In this work by the help of NMR spectroscopy the dispersing of nanomaterial by block copolymers was considered: by poloxamers (P184 and P407) in aqueous medium and by poloxamine (Diproxamine-157) and its mixture with liquid poloxamer P184 in oil medium. Good dispersibility of nanomaterial and stability of aqueous dispersions obtained with the help of poloxamers have been shown. Also, it has been established that pure liquid reverse-sequential poloxamines can be used to create oil-soluble dispersions of nanomaterial. Possible mechanisms to prevent reagglomeration by the help of poloxamines have been considered

Paraffinic oil residues after heating as a basis for fuel

The possibility of reuse of heavy residues (oily sludge) of low-sulfur, highly paraffinic Mangyshlak oils as a basis for fuel with improved environmental characteristics for engines to marine, river and railway transport, gas turbine and boiler plants, steam boilers and industrial furnaces was shown. A variant of the joint application of the methods of nuclear magnetic resonance, laser confocal microscopy and rheology for study of micro- and mesoscopic structure and some physicochemical properties of crude oil products has been developed. It has been shown that preliminary heating to 90 ° C leads to disruption of the structure and hydrogen bonds between oil associates and complexes, increasing sample homogeneity due to precipitation of solid impurities, partial removal of water content, air bubbles and dissolved gases. The addition of medium distillate diesel fractions to preliminary heated oil residues will make it possible to obtain a higher quality version of the fuel with a reduced resinous and asphaltene substances, lower pour point, good energy content and low sulfur content. Thus, valuable energy-containing raw materials can be reused. It should also be noted that the reuse of accumulated oil waste will reduce the harmful effects of landfills, will preserve the natural landscape, and will cut the cost of extracting natural resources

Effects of Lithium Nano-Scaled Particles on Local and Systemic Structural and Functional Organism Transformations Under Tumour Growth

The results of a study of structural and metabolic changes in CBA mice with hepatocellular carcinoma caused by lithium carbonate nano-sized particles are presented. Light microscopy, electron microscopy and other biochemical methods were used to show that injection of lithium carbonate nano-sized particles to the periphery of the tumour results in enhanced destructive processes within the tumour. The number of neutrophils and macrophages in the tumour increased, whereas the density of blood vessels and haemoglobin concentration were reduced, the extent of tumour necrosis lipid peroxidation and production of nitric oxide was also increased. At the same time, the activity of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase and catalase remained the same. The introduction of lithium carbonate nano-scaled particles protects vital organs including the heart and lungs from the damaging effect of secondary products of lipid peroxidation

Experimental studies of the effect of sea buckthorn and wheat bran in food on the physiological status of rats

The aim of this research paper was a sanitary-toxicological study of the effectiveness and safety of developed functional property products, such as chopped semi-finished products from chicken with wheat bran and shortbread cake with cottage cheese and sea buckthorn, in preclinical studies on laboratory animals. Methods — The effect of new products on the experimental rats was studied using physiological, biochemical, pathomorphological and histological research methods. As a result, it was discovered that the inclusion of foods with wheat bran and fresh sea buckthorn into the diet of experimental animals had a positive effect on the behavioral reactions of rats, the increase of appetite and the rapid growth of animals. Results — The improvement in the metabolic processes physiology of the studied rats was noted in the biochemical and morphological blood parameters. In the experimental group of rats where carbohydrates were partially substituted with cottage cheese shortbread cake and sea buckthorn, a significant decrease in the total bilirubin content was noted; the level of cholesterol in the blood serum of experimental animals from group which received chicken cutlets with bran was 1.4-1.7 times lower than the cholesterol content in animals of the control and other experimental groups. At the same time, statistically significant differences in the number of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and hemoglobin level, the activity of alanine and aspartate aminotransferases, alkaline phosphatase and amylase, the level of total protein and the creatinine content were not revealed in the group of experimental rats compared with the control group of rats, receiving a standard diet. The histological data showed that the liver structure of the experimental animals had a more pronounced beam and capillary structure compared with the control group, and the condition of the villi and epithelium of the small intestine showed the positive physiological effect of the studied herbal additives in food technology with functional properties. Conclusion — The research results allow us to conclude that the developed products are functional, intended for the systematic use in the composition of food rations by all age groups of a healthy population, which reduces the risk of gastrointestinal and liver diseases

κ-Carrageenan Hydrogel as a Matrix for Therapeutic Enzyme Immobilization

During the last few decades, polysaccharide hydrogels attract more and more attention as therapeutic protein delivery systems due to their biocompatibility and the simplicity of the biodegradation of natural polymers. The protein retention by and release from the polysaccharide gel network is regulated by geometry and physical interactions of protein with the matrix. In the present work, we studied the molecular details of interactions between κ-carrageenan and three lipases, namely the lipases from Candida rugosa, Mucor javanicus, and Rhizomucor miehei—which differ in their size and net charge—upon protein immobilization in microparticles of polysaccharide gel. The kinetics of protein release revealed the different capability of κ-carrageenan to retain lipases, which are generally negatively charged; that was shown to be in line with the energy of interactions between polysaccharides and positively charged epitopes on the protein surface. These data create a platform for the novel design of nanocarriers for biomedical probes of enzymatic origin