CO2 capture using nanoporous TiO(OH)2/tetraethylpentamine

In this work, an inorganic-organic CO2 sorbent was prepared by immobilizing tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) onto nanoporous titanium oxyhydrate (TiO(OH)2). The prepared sorbents were characterized using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. At the optimal TEPA loading of 60 wt.% on TiO(OH)2, its CO2 sorption capacity reached 3.1 mmol CO2/g-sorbent for 1 vol.% CO2 in N2 along with ~1 vol.% H2O at 60°C. Studies of adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics showed that the activation energies for CO2 adsorption and desorption of TiO(OH)2/TEPA are 38.31 kJ/mol and 44.51 kJ/mol, respectively. Its low CO2 desorption activation energy means a high CO2 dsorption rate and thus a low CO2 capture cost. The sorbent has the potential to be used for capturing ultra-dilute CO2 from gas mixtures. Key words: CO2 capture; nanoporous titanium oxyhydrate; sorption; kinetics *Corresponding author’s email address:[email protected] (M. Fan), Tel.: +1 307 766 5633; fax: +1 307 766 6777

Comparison Study on the Effect of Mesenchymal Stem Cells-Conditioned Medium Derived from Adipose and Wharton’s Jelly on Versican Gene Expression in Hypoxia

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stem cells enhance tissue repair through paracrine effects following transplantation. The versican protein is one of the important factors contributing to this repair mechanism. Using MSC conditioned medium for cultivating monocytes may increase versican protein production and could be a good alternative for transplantation of MSCs. This study investigates the effect of culture medium conditioned by human MSCs on the expression of the versican gene in PBMCs under hypoxia-mimetic and normoxic conditions. METHODS: The conditioned media used were derived from either adipose tissue or from WJ. Flow cytometry for surface markers (CD105, CD73, and CD90) was used to confirm MSCs. The PBMCs were isolated and cultured with the culture media of the MSC derived from either the adipose tissue or WJ. Desferrioxamine and cobalt chloride (200 and 300 µM final concentrations, respectively) were added to monocytes media to induce hypoxia-mimetic conditions. Western blotting was applied to detect HIF-1α protein and confirm hypoxia-mimetic conditions in PBMC. Versican gene expression was assessed in PBMC using RT-PCR. Western blotting showed that the expression of HIF-1α in PBMC increased significantly (p < 0.01). RESULTS: RT-PCR results demonstrated that the expression of the versican and VEGF genes in PBMC increased significantly (p < 0.01) in hypoxia-mimetic conditions as compared to normoxia. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings in the present study, the secreted factors of MSCs can be replaced by direct use of MSCs to improve damaged tissues

Oligomer formation of SARS-CoV-2 ORF8 through 73YIDI76 motifs regulates immune response and non-infusion antiviral interactions

Introduction: Open Reading Frame 8 (ORF8) is a 121 amino acid length SARS-CoV-2 specific accessory protein that plays crucial roles in viral infectivity, and pathogenesis. Current SARS-CoV-2 treatments focus on spike or RNA-dependent RNA polymerase proteins. Hence, directing attention to ORF8 yields substantial benefits for innovative non-infusional therapeutics. Functional ORF8 is proposed to form oligomers via a crystallographic contact centered by 73YIDI76 motifs.Methods: Hence, the structure and atomistic interactions of trimeric and tetrameric ORF8 oligomeric forms were modeled by means of thorough molecular modeling and molecular dynamics simulations.Results: Results show that trimeric and tetrameric oligomers are stabilized by the interaction of β4-β5 (47-83) loops. 73YIDI76 motifs are involved in obtaining the oligomerization interfaces. It is shown that the tetramers which resemble a doughnut-like construction are the most stabilized oligomeric forms. Where four β4-β5 loops form the interfaces between two dimers. Each monomer links to two others through β4-β5 loops and a covalent Cys20-Cys20 bridge. Epitope mapping, binding site predictions, and solvent-accessible surface area analyses of different ORF8 forms show that the B-cell, MHC-I, and drug epitopes stay exposed in oligomeric forms.Discussion: Approving that the viral infectivity is expanded upon ORF8 oligomerization and the regions involved in oligomerization can be considered as therapeutic targets

Citral effect in male NMRI mice nonalcoholic steatosis model: assessing biochemical and histological parameters and PPARα gene expression

Citral is a small molecule present in various citrus species, with reported anti-hyperlipidemic and antiinflammation effects. Here, the effect of intraperitoneal (IP) administration of citral is evaluated in a mouse model of non-alcoholic steatosis. Male NMRI mice were divided into the following groups (n = 12): normal control group (NC) receiving a normal diet; high-fat emulsion group (HF) receiving high fat diet for four weeks; positive control group (C+) receiving HF diet for four weeks and then shifted to normal diet with IP-administered silymarin (80 mg/kg) for four weeks; sham group receiving HF diet for four weeks and then shifted to normal diet for four weeks; and EC1, EC2, and EC3 groups receiving HF diet for four weeks and then shifted to normal diet with IP-administered citral doses of 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg, respectively. HF diet resulted in steatohepatitis with impaired lipid profile, high glucose levels and insulin resistance, impaired liver enzymes, antioxidants, adiponectin and leptin levels, decreased PPARα level, and fibrosis in the liver tissue. Upon treatment with citral, improvement in condition was observed in a dose-dependent manner—both at histological level and in the serum of treated animals. and the PPARα level was also increased

Acroptilon repens induces apoptosis in human breast adenocarcinoma

Evaluating the effect of herbal extracts has been always interesting for cancer researchers considering that these natural materials could be suitable sources for finding new anti-cancer agents. In the present study, Acroptilon repens methanol extract had been evaluated for its cytotoxic effects in two human breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468, using MTT assay. The apoptosis potential had also been evaluated using annexin-V/propidium iodide assay, Hoechst 33258 staining and evaluating the cell cycle with flow cytometery. The MTT results showed cytotoxicity with IC50 values of 69.2 and 32.6 μg/mL for MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 cells, respectively. The results of the apoptosis assays confirmed the apoptosis potential of the plant extract in the breast cancer cell lines suggesting A. repens for further cancer studies.

Digital tools in allergy and respiratory care

Patient care in the allergy and respiratory fields is advancing rapidly, offering the possibility of the inclusion of a variety of digital tools that aim to improve outcomes of care. Impaired access to several health care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic has considerably increased the appetite and need for the inclusion of e-health tools amongst end-users. Consequently, a multitude of different e-health tools have been launched worldwide with various registration and access options, and with a wide range of offered benefits. From the perspective of both patients and healthcare providers (HCPs), as well as from a legal and device-related perspective, several features are important for the acceptance, effectiveness,and long-term use of e-health tools. Patients and physicians have different needs and expectations of how digital tools might be of help in the care pathway. There is a need for standardization by defining quality assurance criteria.Therefore, the Upper Airway Diseases Committee of the World Allergy Organization (WAO) has taken the initiative to define and propose criteria for quality, appeal, and applicability of e-health tools in the allergy and respiratory care fields from a patient, clinician, and academic perspective with the ultimate aim to improve patient health and outcomes of care

Blood transcriptome responses in patients correlate with severity of COVID-19 disease

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Infected individuals display a wide spectrum of disease severity, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). One of the main factors underlying this heterogeneity is the host immune response, with severe COVID-19 often associated with a hyperinflammatory state.AimOur current study aimed to pinpoint the specific genes and pathways underlying differences in the disease spectrum and outcomes observed, through in-depth analyses of whole blood transcriptomics in a large cohort of COVID-19 participants.ResultsAll WHO severity levels were well represented and mild and severe disease displaying distinct gene expression profiles. WHO severity levels 1-4 were grouped as mild disease, and signatures from these participants were different from those with WHO severity levels 6-9 classified as severe disease. Severity level 5 (moderate cases) presented a unique transitional gene signature between severity levels 2-4 (mild/moderate) and 6-9 (severe) and hence might represent the turning point for better or worse disease outcome. Gene expression changes are very distinct when comparing mild/moderate or severe cases to healthy controls. In particular, we demonstrated the hallmark down-regulation of adaptive immune response pathways and activation of neutrophil pathways in severe compared to mild/moderate cases, as well as activation of blood coagulation pathways.ConclusionsOur data revealed discrete gene signatures associated with mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19 identifying valuable candidates for future biomarker discovery

Neuromatch Academy: a 3-week, online summer school in computational neuroscience

Neuromatch Academy (https://academy.neuromatch.io; (van Viegen et al., 2021)) was designed as an online summer school to cover the basics of computational neuroscience in three weeks. The materials cover dominant and emerging computational neuroscience tools, how they complement one another, and specifically focus on how they can help us to better understand how the brain functions. An original component of the materials is its focus on modeling choices, i.e. how do we choose the right approach, how do we build models, and how can we evaluate models to determine if they provide real (meaningful) insight. This meta-modeling component of the instructional materials asks what questions can be answered by different techniques, and how to apply them meaningfully to get insight about brain function