Dynamic structural evolution of supported palladium-ceria core-shell catalysts revealed by in situ electron microscopy

The exceptional activity for methane combustion of modular palladium-ceria core-shell subunits on silicon-functionalized alumina that was recently reported has created renewed interest in the potential of core-shell structures as catalysts. Here we report on our use of advanced ex situ and in situ electron microscopy with atomic resolution to show that the modular palladium-ceria core-shell subunits undergo structural evolution over a wide temperature range. In situ observations performed in an atmospheric gas cell within this temperature range provide real-time evidence that the palladium and ceria nanoparticle constituents of the palladium-ceria core-shell participate in a dynamical process that leads to the formation of an unanticipated structure comprised of an intimate mixture of palladium, cerium, silicon and oxygen, with very high dispersion. This finding may open new perspectives about the origin of the activity of this catalyst

Bisleuconothine A potentiates the effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy against traumatic brain injury by enhancing P2X4 protein expressions

Purpose: To investigate the effect of bisleuconothine A (BA), alone and in combination with hyperbaric oxygen (HO), on traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rats. Methods: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) was induced by dropping a 200-g weight of steel on the left anterior frontal areas of Sprague-Dawley rats. The synergistic effect of BA and HO was determined by assessing neurological score, as well as parameters of oxidative stress and inflammation, expressions of P2X4 protein and other proteins, and levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the brain tissues of TBI rats. Results: Neurological function score, levels of inflammatory mediators and oxidative stress parameters were significantly reduced in rats treated with BA alone, and in those treated with a combination of BA and HO, when compared with untreated TBI rats (p < 0.01). Moreover, treatment with BA alone, and BA-HO combination attenuated the altered protein expressions of P2X4, Akt, PI3K and TLR-4 in the TBI rats, and also upregulated the mRNA expression of P2X4 in the brain tissue, when compared with untreated TBI rats (p < 0.01). Conclusion: These results suggest that BA, when used alone or in combination with HO, reduces neuronal injury through upregulation of the protein expression of P2X4 in rats with traumatic brain injury. Thus, BA may be used clinically with HO therapy for the management of traumatic injury. Keywords: Bisleuconothine A, Hyperbaric oxygen, Neuronal injury, Oxidative stress, Inflammatory mediator

Nutlin-3 overcomes arsenic trioxide resistance and tumor metastasis mediated by mutant p53 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background: Arsenic trioxide has been demonstrated as an effective anti-cancer drug against leukemia and solid tumors both in vitro and in vivo. However, recent phase II trials demonstrated that single agent arsenic trioxide was poorly effective against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which might be due to drug resistance. Methods: Mutation detection of p53 gene in arsenic trioxide resistant HCC cell lines was performed. The therapeutic effects of arsenic trioxide and Nutlin-3 on HCC were evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. A series of experiments including MTT, apoptosis assays, co-Immunoprecipitation, siRNA transfection, lentiviral infection, cell migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchy-mal transition (EMT) assays were performed to investigate the underlying mechanisms. Results: The acquisition of p53 mutation contributed to arsenic trioxide resistance and enhanced metastatic potential of HCC cells. Mutant p53 (Mutp53) silence could re-sensitize HCC resistant cells to arsenic trioxide and inhibit the metastatic activities, while mutp53 overexpression showed the opposite effects. Neither arsenic trioxide nor Nutlin-3 could exhibit obvious effects against arsenic trioxide resistant HCC cells, while combination of them showed significant effects. Nutlin-3 can not only increase the intracellular arsenicals through inhibition of p-gp but also promote the p73 activation and mutp53 degradation mediated by arsenic trioxide. In vivo experiments indicated that Nutlin-3 can potentiate the antitumor activities of arsenic trioxide in an orthotopic hepatic tumor model and inhibit the metastasis to lung. Conclusions: Acquisitions of p53 mutations contributed to the resistance of HCC to arsenic trioxide. Nutlin-3 could overcome arsenic trioxide resistance and inhibit tumor metastasis through p73 activation and promoting mutant p53 degradation mediated by arsenic trioxide

Clinical characteristics of two patients with neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease and literature review

BackgroundNeuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID) is a rare chronic progressive neurodegenerative disease, with complex and diverse clinical manifestations and pathological eosinophilic hyaline intranuclear inclusions in the central and peripheral nervous systems and visceral organs. Improvements in diagnostic methods such as skin biopsy and gene testing are helpful in revealing the clinical and genetic characters of NIID.Materials and methodsWe presented two cases of NIID diagnosed by using NOTCH2NLC gene testing and skin biopsy. Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) showed high linear intensity in corticomedullary junction. We also reviewed all the published NIID cases with positive NOTCH2NLC GGC repeat expansion and skin biopsy results in PubMed.ResultsPatient 1 was a 63-year-old male who carried 148 GGC repeats and presented with progressive tremor and limb weakness. Patient 2 was a 62-year-old woman who carried 131 GGC repeats and presented with tremors, memory loss and headaches. The most common clinical manifestation of 63 NIID patients in this study was cognitive impairment, followed by tremors. In our study, almost all the patients were from East Asia, the male to female ratio was 1:1.26, with an age of onset of 54.12 ± 14.12 years, and an age of diagnosis of 60.03 ± 12.21 years. Symmetrical high signal intensity at the corticomedullary junction on DWI were revealed in 80.96% of the patients. For the GGC repeat numbers, the majority of GGC repeats were in the 80–119 intervals, with few GGC repeats above 160. The number of GGC repetitions was significantly higher in patients presented with muscle weakness than in other clinical manifestations.ConclusionNIID is a neurodegenerative disease caused by aberrant polyglycine (polyG) protein aggregation. NIID mostly occurs in the elderly population in East Asia, with cognitive dysfunction as the most common symptom. Staging NIID based on clinical presentation is inappropriate because most patients with NIID have overlapping symptoms. In our study, there was no significant correlation between the number of GGC repeats and different phenotypes except for muscle weakness. Abnormal trinucleotides repeat and PolyG protein aggregation maybe common pathogenic mechanism in neurodegenerative diseases and cerebrovascular diseases, which needs to be confirmed by more studies

High-surface-area, iron-oxide films prepared by atomic layer deposition on \u3b3-Al2O3

High-surface-area iron oxides were prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) on 130-m(2)/g gamma-Al2O3 for use as a catalyst support. Measurements of the sample mass, surface area, and pore-size distribution as a function of the number of ferrocene-O-2 ALD cycles at 623 K suggested that the iron oxide grew as a dense, conformal film with a growth rate similar to 0.016-nm per cycle. While films with 20 ALD cycles (20Fe(2)O(3)Al(2)O(3), 0.25 g Fe2O3/g Al2O3) were difficult to distinguish by HAADF STEM, EDS mapping indicated the Al2O3 was uniformly coated. Raman Spectroscopy showed the films were in the form of Fe2O3; but XRD measurements on samples with as many as 100 ALD cycles (100Fe(2)O(3)-Al2O3, 0.84g Fe2O3/g Al2O3) showed no evidence for crystalline iron-oxide phases, even after calcination at 1073 K. Specific rates for the water-gas-shift (WGS) reaction on the ALD-coated samples were significantly lower than those on bulk Fe2O3. However, addition of 1 wt.% Pd to Fe2O3/Al2O3 supports prepared by ALD exhibited specific rates that were much higher than that observed when I wt.% Pd was added to Fe2O3/Al2O3 prepared by conventional impregnation of Fe salts, suggesting more uniform contact between the Pd and FeOx phases on samples prepared by ALD

Non-pharmacological interventions related to pain in patients with breast cancer : A descriptive review

Background: Various pains associated with breast cancer were the most common complication in breast cancer survivors. It is crucial to explore more effective non-pharmacological interventions to alleviate the pain of breast cancer sufferers, promote comfort and improve their quality of life.Objective: To explore the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for pain relief in breast cancer patients.Methods: By using the search terms ‘breast cancer’ ‘pain’ and ‘interventions’, 11 publications on non-pharmacological interventions related to pain in breast cancer patients were systematically searched in Pub Med to address the research questions.Results: Findings were grouped into four themes, namely physiotherapy, psychotherapy, mind-body therapy and technology-based therapy. 11 therapeutic therapies comprising massage, dance movement therapy, healing touch and massage, acupuncture, ischemic compression and kinesiotherapy, hypnosis, cognitive behavior therapy integrated with mindfulness, music, mindful yoga, Qigong mind-body therapy and technology-based cancer pain management support program have all been demonstrated to improve pain.Conclusion: Although we have found that a wide variety of methods can be associated with the reduction of pain in breast cancer cases, in the practice of clinical application, each intervention has its range of suitability, so caregivers can use them in conjunction with the patient's specific condition and consider their usage in conjunction with other treatments on professional advice to better control cancer pain and improve quality of life.Keywords: Breast cancer, Pain, Non-pharmacological, intervention

Non-pharmacological interventions related to pain in patients with breast cancer : A descriptive review

Background: Various pains associated with breast cancer were the most common complication in breast cancer survivors. It is crucial to explore more effective non-pharmacological interventions to alleviate the pain of breast cancer sufferers, promote comfort and improve their quality of life.Objective: To explore the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for pain relief in breast cancer patients.Methods: By using the search terms ‘breast cancer’ ‘pain’ and ‘interventions’, 11 publications on non-pharmacological interventions related to pain in breast cancer patients were systematically searched in Pub Med to address the research questions.Results: Findings were grouped into four themes, namely physiotherapy, psychotherapy, mind-body therapy and technology-based therapy. 11 therapeutic therapies comprising massage, dance movement therapy, healing touch and massage, acupuncture, ischemic compression and kinesiotherapy, hypnosis, cognitive behavior therapy integrated with mindfulness, music, mindful yoga, Qigong mind-body therapy and technology-based cancer pain management support program have all been demonstrated to improve pain.Conclusion: Although we have found that a wide variety of methods can be associated with the reduction of pain in breast cancer cases, in the practice of clinical application, each intervention has its range of suitability, so caregivers can use them in conjunction with the patient's specific condition and consider their usage in conjunction with other treatments on professional advice to better control cancer pain and improve quality of life.Keywords: Breast cancer, Pain, Non-pharmacological, intervention