Improving depression-like behaviors caused by diabetes is likely to offer a new perspective for the treatment of non-healing chronic wounds

BackgroundThree phases are often involved in the intricate process of wound healing: inflammatory exudation, cell proliferation, and tissue remodeling. It is challenging for wounds to heal if conditions like ischemia, persistent pressure, infection, repetitive trauma, or systemic or localized illnesses arise during the healing process. Chronic wounds are persistent injuries that do not follow the normal healing process and fail to progress through the stages of healing within a reasonable timeframe, like diabetic ulcers, vascular ulcers, pressure sores, and infectious wounds. Various factors affect chronic wound healing. A large body of research has illuminated that psychological distress may often be related to wound healing in clinical settings. Our observations have indicated that the pace of wound healing in diabetic mice is generally slower than that of healthy mice, and mice induced by streptozotocin (STZ) and fed a high-fat diet generally exhibit depression-like behavior. Our experiment delves into whether there is an inherent correlation and provides new ideas for clinical treatment to promote wound healing.MethodsIn order to explore the relationship between diabetes, depression, and wound healing, we observed wound healing through HE staining, Masson's trichrome staining, and IHC staining for CD31 and detected the depressive condition through behavioral tests. Then, RT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of α-SMA, Col1, CD31, and VEGF in wound tissue. Finally, the related brain areas were regulated through chemical genetic methods and the process of wound healing was observed.ConclusionIt has been observed that the lateral habenula (LHb) areas are associated with depression-like behavior induced by diabetes. Inhibiting LHb neuronal activity mitigates these depressive symptoms and enhances wound healing. Refractory wounds can be improved by considering patients' emotional issues from a broad standpoint, which provides fresh concepts for potential clinical treatments in the future

Construction and Mechanism of Action of Gelatin/Sodium Hexametaphosphate/Glutamine Aminotransferase Based Composite Hydrogel System

In this study, a composite hydrogel system was constructed by cross-linking of primary network hydrogels of gelatin (GE) and sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) by transglutaminase (TGase) after addition of Lactobacillus plantarum in order to improve its viability and bioavailability. The experimental results showed that the modification by SHMP and TGase changed the gel strength, water distribution state, and gel network structure of gelatin, and reduced the gelation rate, so that the three-dimensional network structure of the gel was more stable, and the intermolecular forces of the composite hydrogel was stronger, contributing to the resistance of the encapsulated L. plantarum to adverse environments. The presence of L. plantarum was found to slightly disrupt the ordered structure of the hydrogel by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Endogenous fluorescence spectroscopy analysis showed that addition of L. plantarum resulted in the exposure of the extended region containing tryptophan within the GE molecule to a more polar environment. The steric effect occurred during the gelling process, delaying the formation of covalent crosslinks and physical interactions between the biopolymer molecules, which led to changes in their microstructure. Simulated gastrointestinal digestion tests and storage tests showed that L. plantarum encapsulated in GE/SHMP/TGase gels had better survival rates and gastrointestinal release properties compared to single GE-based hydrogels. It was confirmed that GE/SHMP/TGase hydrogels had a better protective effect on L. plantarum. In conclusion, this study has explored a new method for preparing GE-based hydrogels as a delivery system for probiotics, which will provide a theoretical basis for the development of probiotic functional foods

Loss of ACS7 confers abiotic stress tolerance by modulating ABA sensitivity and accumulation in Arabidopsis

The phytohormones ethylene and abscisic acid (ABA) play essential roles in the abiotic stress adaptation of plants, with both cross-talk of ethylene signalling and ABA biosynthesis and signalling reported. Any reciprocal effects on each other's biosynthesis, however, remain elusive. ACC synthase (ACS) acts as the key enzyme in ethylene biosynthesis. A pilot study on changes in ACS promoter activities in response to abiotic stresses revealed the unique involvement in abiotic stress responses of the only type 3 ACC synthase, ACS7, among all nine ACSs of Arabidopsis. Hence an acs7 mutant was characterized and its abiotic stress responses were analysed. The acs7 mutant germinated slightly faster than the wild type and subsequently maintained a higher growth rate at the vegetative growth stage. Ethylene emission of acs7 was merely one-third of that of the wild type. acs7 exhibited enhanced tolerance to salt, osmotic, and heat stresses. Furthermore, acs7 seeds were hypersensitive to both ABA and glucose during germination. Transcript analyses revealed that acs7 had elevated transcript levels of the stress-responsive genes involved in the ABA-dependent pathway under salt stress. The ABA level was also higher in acs7 following salt treatment. Our data suggest that ACS7 acts as a negative regulator of ABA sensitivity and accumulation under stress and appears as a node in the cross-talk between ethylene and ABA

Reuse of sludge waste in Electro-Fenton:Performance and life cycle assessment

To address aggravating environmental and energy problems, the harmless treatment and resource utilization of waste has become an inevitable choice. In this study, we report a highly efficient and low-carbon reuse approach of coagulation sludge waste based catalysts for electro-Fenton(EF) process to treat wastewater. The results showed that the relative amount of iron element in flocs increase gradually along with the growth in coagulant dosage, the main composition of floc is iron-HA complex and the interaction force acting between them was weak complexation. According to evaluation by electrochemical characterization, the selectivity of sludge electrodes for hydrogen peroxide in Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) process was more than 40%. Without add additional Fe2+, the as-prepared cathode material is able to achieves 98.7% bisphenol A (BPA) pollutant removal from wastewater within 130 min treatment due to its highly active two-electron reduction of oxygen (O-2). Based on life cycle assessment (LCA) results, compared to traditional sludge disposal, the raw sludge used for EF could reduce fossil resource consumption by 73.7% and carbon emissions by more than 97.1%. The coagulation sludge applied in the field of EF in this paper proposes a novel and reliable way of collaborative treatment of sludge and sewage pollutants, and has certain guiding significance in environmental treatment and sludge recycling

Reuse of sludge waste in Electro-Fenton:Performance and life cycle assessment

To address aggravating environmental and energy problems, the harmless treatment and resource utilization of waste has become an inevitable choice. In this study, we report a highly efficient and low-carbon reuse approach of coagulation sludge waste based catalysts for electro-Fenton(EF) process to treat wastewater. The results showed that the relative amount of iron element in flocs increase gradually along with the growth in coagulant dosage, the main composition of floc is iron-HA complex and the interaction force acting between them was weak complexation. According to evaluation by electrochemical characterization, the selectivity of sludge electrodes for hydrogen peroxide in Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) process was more than 40%. Without add additional Fe2+, the as-prepared cathode material is able to achieves 98.7% bisphenol A (BPA) pollutant removal from wastewater within 130 min treatment due to its highly active two-electron reduction of oxygen (O-2). Based on life cycle assessment (LCA) results, compared to traditional sludge disposal, the raw sludge used for EF could reduce fossil resource consumption by 73.7% and carbon emissions by more than 97.1%. The coagulation sludge applied in the field of EF in this paper proposes a novel and reliable way of collaborative treatment of sludge and sewage pollutants, and has certain guiding significance in environmental treatment and sludge recycling

Promoted bioelectrocatalytic activity of microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) in sulfate removal through the synergy between neutral red and graphite felt

The recent thrust in utilizing microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) has led to accelerated attention in environmental decontamination. One key factor that governs this process is electron transfer efficiency. In this study, neutral red (NR) is involved as electron transfer mediator to investigate whether it could contribute to MEC performance. Afterwards, influence of electrode material selection on NR addition system was also studied. The results indicate MEC with NR shows better electrochemistry activity, which means sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) can response to electron transfer mediator NR. Further study reveals graphite felt triggers a better synergy with NR to facilitate electron utilization efficiency of the system subsequently maintains bacteria metabolic activity for a longer time. Sulfate removal in this reactor reaches 79.0% with electron utilization efficiency of 54.2%. To explore the mechanism, electrode bioelectrochemical property, microorganism activity and community were investigated. Electrode morphology analysis confirms graphite felt affords abundant space for the growth of electroactive microorganisms especially SRB and promotes electron exchange through cooperating with NR, which fits in with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis. High-throughput sequencing analysis confirms improved reactor can fortify the population dominant of SRB in the community which greatly raises electron utilization efficiency of SRB. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</p