Preparation of raspberry-like polypyrrole composites with applications in catalysis

Raspberry-like composites were prepared by coating the silver/polypyrrole core/shell composites onto the surface of silica spheres via oxidation polymerization of pyrrole monomer with [Ag(NH3)2]+ ions as oxidants. The whole process allowed the absence of stabilizers, which greatly improved the quality of the conducting polymer composites. The morphology of the resulting composites was investigated, which can be described as raspberry-like; also, the structure and composition of the composites were characterized in detail. A possible formation mechanism was proposed. The present synthetic strategy substantially extended the scope of metal/conducting polymer composite synthesis. The raspberry-like composites exhibited excellent catalytic properties in the reduction of methylene blue dye with the reducing agent of sodium borohydride.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: N

Expression of Immune-Related Genes of Ducks Infected with Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC)

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) can cause severe disease in ducks, characterized by perihepatitis, pericarditis and airsacculitis. Although the studies of bacteria isolation and methods of detection have been reported, host immune responses to APEC infection remain unclear. In response, we systemically examined the expression of immune-related genes and bacteria distribution in APEC-infected ducks. Results demonstrated that APEC can quickly replicate in the liver, spleen and brain, with the highest bacteria content at 2 day post infection. The expression of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), avian β-defensins (AvBDs) and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) were tested in the liver, spleen and brain of infected ducks. TLR2, TLR4, TLR5 and TLR15 showed different expression patterns, which indicated that they all responded to APEC infection. The expression of AvBD2 was upregulated in all tested tissues during the 3 days of testing, whereas the expression of AvBD4, AvBD5, AvBD7 and AvBD9 were downregulated, and though MHC-I was upregulated on all test days, MHC-II was dramatically downregulated. Overall, our results suggest that APEC can replicate in various tissues in a short time, and the activation of host immune responses begins at onset of infection. These findings thus clarify duck immune responses to APEC infection and offer insights into its pathogenesis

Patterns of conducting polypyrrole with tunable morphologies

An effective and reliable method was established to fabricate ordered arrays of conducting polypyrrole (PPy) with tunable morphologies. A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp was used to lift up the top layer of silica spheres with a closed-packed hexagonal arrangement on a silicon wafer. The lattice spacing of the silica sphere array on the PDMS stamp could be tuned by controlling the swelling of the stamp. Afterwards, the silica spheres were transferred onto a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) film which was pre-spin-coated on an ITO glass. The silica spheres were etched away with hydrofluoric (HF) acid, and the resulting porous PVA film maintained an identical ordered array but of holes. Electrochemical polymerization of pyrrole monomer was carried out with the ITO glass as a working electrode, on which was the PVA film with ordered holes. Different charge densities applied led to PPy patterns with different morphologies; a possible mechanism was addressed.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Fabrication of flexible superhydrophobic films by lift-up soft-lithography and decoration with Ag nanoparticles

Superhydrophobic films with excellent flexibility have been fabricated by combining the lift-up soft-lithography technique and chemical reduction of [Ag(NH3)2]+ ions to Ag nanoparticles (NPs) on the surface of silica spheres which are patterned on the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images reveal the presence of raspberry-like hierarchical structures on the PDMS films. The influence of the amount of Ag NPs and the size of the silica spheres on the wettability of the soft films is investigated carefully. Because PDMS films are elastomeric materials, our superhydrophobic films offer great flexibility. The resulting films can be easily transferred from one substrate surface to another without destroying their superhydrophobicity. These flexible and superhydrophobic films can be used repeatedly to satisfy a wide range of applications.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Cherry Valley Ducks Mitochondrial Antiviral-Signaling Protein-Mediated Signaling Pathway and Antiviral Activity Research

Mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein (MAVS), an adaptor protein of retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) like receptors (RLRs)-mediated signal pathway, is involved in innate immunity. In this study, Cherry Valley duck MAVS (duMAVS) was cloned from the spleen and analyzed. duMAVS was determined to have a caspase activation and recruitment domain at N-terminal, followed by a proline rich domain and a transmembrane domain at C-terminal. Quantitative real time PCR indicated that duMAVS was expressed in all tissues tested across a broad expression spectrum. The expression of duMAVS was significantly up-regulated after infection with duck Tembusu virus. Overexpression of duMAVS could drive the activation of interferon-β, nuclear factor-κB, interferon regulatory factor 7, and many downstream factors (such as Mx, PKR, OAS, and IL-8) in duck embryo fibroblast cells. What’s more, RNA interference further confirmed that duMAVS was an important adaptor for IFN-β activation. The antiviral assay showed that duMAVS could suppress the various viral replications (duck Tembusu virus, novel reovirus, and duck plague virus) at early stages of infection. Overall, these results showed that the main signal pathway mediated by duMAVS and it had a broad-spectrum antiviral ability. This research will be helpful to better understanding the innate immune system of ducks

Immune responses of ducks infected with duck Tembusu virus

Duck Tembusu virus (DTMUV) can cause serious disease in ducks, characterized by reduced egg production. Although the virus has been isolated and detection methods developed, the host immune responses to DTMUV infection are unclear. Therefore, we systematically examined the expression of immune-related genes and the viral distribution in DTMUV-infected ducks, using quantitative real-time PCR. Our results show that DTMUV replicates quickly in many tissues early in infection, with the highest viral titers in the spleen 1 day after infection. Rig-1, Mda5, and Tlr3 are involved in the host immune response to DTMUV, and the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (Il-1β, -2, -6, Cxcl8) and antiviral proteins (Mx, Oas, etc.) are also upregulated early in infection. The expression of Il-6 increased most significantly in the tissues tested. The upregulation of Mhc-I was observed in the brain and spleen, but the expression of Mhc-II was upregulated in the brain and downregulated in the spleen. The expression of the interferons was also upregulated to different degrees in the spleen but that of the brain was various. Our study suggests that DTMUV replicates rapidly in various tissues and that the host immune responses are activated early in infection. However, the overexpression of cytokines may damage the host. These results extend our understanding of the immune responses of ducks to DTMUV infection, and provide insight into the pathogenesis of DTMUV attributable to host factors