Polyvinyl Alcohol Microspheres Reinforced Thermoplastic Starch Composites

We reported a new method to prepare polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/thermoplastic starch (TPS) composites by using polyvinyl alcohol microspheres (PVAMS). The PVAMS/TPS composites were characterized using tensile test, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results exhibited that adding small amounts of PVAMSs can effectively improve the mechanical strength and toughness of the composites, especially for the 1 wt %PVAMS in TPS matrix, with a tensile strength of 3.5 MPa, an elongation at break at 71.73% and an impact strength of 33.4 kJ/m2. Furthermore, the SEM and shift in the tan δ peak (Tα and Tβ) at the maximum value of 69.87 and −36.52 °C indicates that the PVAMS decreased the mobility of the amorphous starch molecules due to the strong intermolecular hydrogen bonds between PVAMS and TPS. The peak temperature of maximum decomposition rate (Tp) of 1 wt % PVAMS/TPS composites increased about 5 °C compared with TPS in TGA curves

Investigations on Engineering Properties of Solidified/Stabilized Pb-Contaminated Soil Based on Alkaline Residue

Solidification/stabilization (S/S) has been considered as one of the most effective techniques for remediation of the heavy metal-contaminated sites. Among various binders adopted in S/S, alkaline residue (AR) could be considered as a new binder to treat heavy metal-contaminated soil due to its strong adsorptive capacity for heavy metal ions. So in this paper, the strength, leaching, and microstructure characteristics of the solidified/stabilized Pb-contaminated soil by using alkaline residue are systematically investigated. Test results present that the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the treated soil will increase, while the leached Pb2+ concentration will decrease, with the increase of the alkaline residue content in the specimen. The UCS increases significantly with the curing time increasing during the initial 28 days, after which the UCS of the specimen becomes stable. The leached Pb2+ concentration decreases significantly at the initial 28 days followed by a stable trend with curing time increasing. The UCS decreases and the leached Pb2+ concentration increases with the increase of the initial Pb2+ concentration in the specimen. The microstructural analysis performed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that the increase of the alkaline residue content and curing time will result in more hydration products and densified microstructure, which could effectively improve the engineering properties of the specimen

Invitation comme "Grand témoin"

National audienc

Copper single-atom catalysts with photothermal performance and enhanced nanozyme activity for bacteria‐infected wound therapy

Nanozymes have become a new generation of antibiotics with exciting broad-spectrum antibacterial properties and negligible biological toxicity. However, their inherent low catalytic activity limits their antibacterial properties. Herein, Cu single-atom sites/N doped porous carbon (Cu SASs/NPC) is successfully constructed for photothermal-catalytic antibacterial treatment by a pyrolysis-etching-adsorption-pyrolysis (PEAP) strategy. Cu SASs/NPC have stronger peroxidase-like catalytic activity, glutathione (GSH)-depleting function, and photothermal property compared with non-Cu-doped NPC, indicating that Cu doping significantly improves the catalytic performance of nanozymes. Cu SASs/NPC can effectively induce peroxidase-like activity in the presence of H2O2, thereby generating a large amount of hydroxyl radicals (•OH), which have a certain killing effect on bacteria and make bacteria more susceptible to temperature. The introduction of near-infrared (NIR) light can generate hyperthermia to fight bacteria, and enhance the peroxidase-like catalytic activity, thereby generating additional •OH to destroy bacteria. Interestingly, Cu SASs/NPC can act as GSH peroxidase (GSH-Px)-like nanozymes, which can deplete GSH in bacteria, thereby significantly improving the sterilization effect. PTT-catalytic synergistic antibacterial strategy produces almost 100% antibacterial efficiency against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In vivo experiments show a better PTT-catalytic synergistic therapeutic performance on MRSA-infected mouse wounds. Overall, our work highlights the wide antibacterial and anti-infective bio-applications of Cu single-atom-containing catalysts

Diagnostic Value of Serum miR-182, miR-183, miR-210, and miR-126 Levels in Patients with Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

<div><p>Blood-circulating miRNAs could be useful as a biomarker to detect lung cancer early. We investigated the serum levels of four different miRNAs in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and assessed their diagnostic value for NSCLC. Serum samples from 112 NSCLC patients and 104 controls (20 current smokers without lung cancer, 23 pneumonia patients, 21 gastric cancer patients, and 40 healthy controls) were subjected to Taqman probe-based quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The data showed that the serum levels of miR-182, miR-183, and miR-210 were significantly upregulated and that the miR-126 level was significantly downregulated in NSCLC patients, compared with the healthy controls. Further receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that the serum miR-182, miR-183, miR-210, or miR-126 level could serve as a diagnostic biomarker for NSCLC early detection, with a high sensitivity and specificity. The combination of these four miRNAs with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) further increased the diagnostic value, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.965 (sensitivity, 81.3%; specificity, 100.0%; and accuracy, 90.8%) using logistic regression model analysis. In addition, the relative levels of serum miR-182, miR-183, miR-210, and miR-126 could distinguish NSCLC or early-stage NSCLC from current tobacco smokers without lung cancer and pneumonia or gastric cancer patients with a high sensitivity and specificity. Data from the current study validated that the four serum miRNAs could serve as a tumor biomarker for NSCLC early diagnosis.</p></div

ROC curves to assess the value of serum miRNA and CEA levels in 112 NSCLC patients compared to 23 pneumonia patients.

<p>The <i>P</i> values of serum miR-182, miR-183, miR-210, miR-126, and CEA as well as the predictive value of logistic regression were 0.0061, 0.0259, 0.0350, 0.0002, 0.1914, and 0.0031, respectively.</p

Serum levels of miRNAs in NSCLC or early-stage NSCLC patients versus smokers, pneumonia patients, and gastric cancer patients.

<p>The serum levels of miR-182, miR-183, miR-210, and miR-126 were assessed in 112 NSCLC patients, 20 current smokers, 23 pneumonia patients, and 21 gastric cancer patients using qRT-PCR. U6 snRNA was used as the reference. *<i>P</i> < 0.05 between groups using the Mann-Whitney test.</p

Sensitivity, specificity, and areas under the curves (AUC) of the four miRNAs plus CEA in NSCLC or early-stage NSCLC vs. normal controls (2^-ΔCt).

<p>Sensitivity, specificity, and areas under the curves (AUC) of the four miRNAs plus CEA in NSCLC or early-stage NSCLC vs. normal controls (2^-ΔCt).</p

Expression of miR-182, miR-183, miR-210, and miR-126 in sera from NSCLC patients and healthy controls.

<p>Graphs show dot-plots of medians and inter-quartile ranges of log₂-transformed values of each miRNA in sera from 112 NSCLC patients (<i>black</i>) and 40 healthy controls (<i>grey</i>). U6 snRNA was used as the reference. <i>P</i> values of miR-182, miR-183, miR-210, and miR-126 were <i><</i> 0.0001, 0.0181, 0.0299, and < 0.0001, respectively, using the Mann-Whitney test. *<i>P</i> < 0.05 between patients and controls.</p