Synergistic Effects of Hyaluronate - Epidermal Growth Factor Conjugate Patch on Chronic Wound Healing

The proteolytic microenvironment in the wound area reduces the stability and the half-life of growth factors in vivo, making difficult the topical delivery of growth factors. Here, epidermal growth factor (EGF) was conjugated to hyaluronate (HA) to improve the long-term stability against enzymatic degradation and the therapeutic effect by enhancing the biological interaction with HA receptors on skin cells. After the synthesis of HA-EGF conjugates, they were incorporated into a patch-type formulation for the facile topical application and sustained release of EGF. According to ELISA, the HA-EGF conjugates showed a long-term stability compared with native EGF. Furthermore, HA-EGF conjugates appeared to interact with skin cells through two types of HA and EGF receptors, resulting in a synergistically improved healing effect. Taken together, we could confirm the feasibility of HA-EGF conjugates for the transdermal treatment of chronic wounds.11Ysciescopu

Diagnosis and Prognosis Using Machine Learning Trained on Brain Morphometry and White Matter Connectomes

Accurate, reliable prediction of risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is essential for early, diseasemodifying therapeutics. Multimodal MRI, such as structural and diffusion MRI, is likely to contain complementary information of neurodegenerative processes in AD. Here we tested the utility of commonly available multimodal MRI (T1-weighted structure and diffusion MRI), combined with high-throughput brain phenotyping—morphometry and connectomics—and machine learning, as a diagnostic tool for AD. We used, firstly, a clinical cohort at a dementia clinic (study 1: Ilsan Dementia Cohort; N=211; 110 AD, 64 mild cognitive impairment [MCI], and 37 subjective memory complaints [SMC]) to test and validate the diagnostic models; and, secondly, Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)-2 (study 2) to test the generalizability of the approach and the prognostic models with longitudinal follow up data. Our machine learning models trained on the morphometric and connectome estimates (number of features=34,646) showed optimal classification accuracy (AD/SMC: 97% accuracy, MCI/SMC: 83% accuracy; AD/MCI: 97% accuracy) with iterative nested cross-validation in a single-site study, outperforming the benchmark model (FLAIR-based white matter hyperintensity volumes). In a generalizability study using ADNI-2, the combined connectome and morphometry model showed similar or superior accuracies (AD/HC: 96%; MCI/HC: 70%; AD/MCI: 75% accuracy) as CSF biomarker model (t-tau, p-tau, and Amyloid β, and ratios). We also predicted MCI to AD progression with 69% accuracy, compared with the 70% accuracy using CSF biomarker model. The optimal classification accuracy in a single-site dataset and the reproduced results in multisite dataset show the feasibility of the high-throughput imaging analysis of multimodal MRI and data-driven machine learning for predictive modeling in AD

Synergistic nanoarchitecture of mesoporous carbon and carbon nanotubes for lithium-oxygen batteries

A rechargeable lithium–oxygen battery (LOB) operates via the electrochemical formation and decomposition of solid-state Li2O2 on the cathode. The rational design of the cathode nanoarchitectures is thus required to realize high-energy-density and long-cycling LOBs. Here, we propose a cathode nanoarchitecture for LOBs, which is composed of mesoporous carbon (MPC) integrated with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The proposed design has the advantages of the two components. MPC provides sufficient active sites for the electrochemical reactions and free space for Li2O2 storage, while CNT forests serve as conductive pathways for electron and offer additional reaction sites. Results show that the synergistic architecture of MPC and CNTs leads to improvements in the capacity (~ 18,400 mAh g− 1), rate capability, and cyclability (~ 200 cycles) of the CNT-integrated MPC cathode in comparison with MPC. © 2021, The Author(s).1

Chiral electroluminescence from thin-film perovskite metacavities

Chiral light sources realized in ultracompact device platforms are highly desirable for various applications. Among active media employed for thin-film emission devices, lead-halide perovskites have been extensively studied for photoluminescence due to their exceptional properties. However, up to date, there have been no demonstrations of chiral electroluminescence with a substantial degree of circular polarization (DCP), being critical for the development of practical devices. Here, we propose a new concept of chiral light sources based on a thin-film perovskite metacavity and experimentally demonstrate chiral electroluminescence with DCP approaching 0.38. We design a metacavity created by a metal and a dielectric metasurface supporting photonic eigenstates with close-to-maximum chiral response. Chiral cavity modes facilitate asymmetric electroluminescence of pairs of left and right circularly polarized waves propagating in the opposite oblique directions. The proposed ultracompact light sources are especially advantageous for many applications requiring chiral light beams of both helicities.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure

Analytical Methods Response surface optimised extraction and chromatographic purification of rosmarinic acid from Melissa officinalis leaves

a b s t r a c t The extraction of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) leaves with aqueous methanol was optimised using response surface methodology. Fifteen runs were conducted following a Box-Behnken design (BBD) followed by ridge analysis using the concentration of methanol, the extraction temperature and time as the independent variables and taking the extraction yield of RA from lemon balm as the response variable. The optimal extraction conditions were a methanol concentration of 59.0% (v/v), a temperature of 54.8°C and a time of 64.8 min, which gave a maximal RA yield of 46.1 mg RA/g dry materials. The RA extract was loaded onto a column packed with Sephadex LH-20 and then was eluted with 100% methanol, which resulted in RA with a purity of 38.8% and a yield of 43.8%. The purity of RA increased by 3.1-fold when compared to its initial purity in the extract obtained from extraction

Klebsiella pneumoniae Orbital Cellulitis with Extensive Vascular Occlusions in a Patient with Type 2 Diabetes

A 39-year-old woman visited the emergency room complaining of right eye pain and swelling over the preceding three days. The ophthalmologist's examination revealed orbital cellulitis and diabetic retinopathy in the right eye, although the patient had no prior diagnosis of diabetes. It was therefore suspected that she had diabetes and orbital cellulitis, and she was started on multiple antibiotic therapies initially. She then underwent computed tomography scans of the orbit and neck and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. These studies showed an aggravated orbital cellulitis with abscess formation, associated with venous thrombophlebitis, thrombosis of the internal carotid artery, and mucosal thickening of maxillary sinus with multiple paranasal abscesses. Three days later, initial blood culture grew Klebsiella pneumoniae. She recovered after incision and drainage and antibiotic therapy for 37 days

Electrochemical Properties of Chemically Processed SiO

A SiOx coating material for Si anode in lithium-ion battery was processed by using SiCl4 and ethylene glycol. The produced SiOx particles after heat treatment at 725°C for 1 h were porous and irregularly shaped with amorphous structure. Pitch carbon added to SiOx was found to strongly affect solid electrolyte interphase stabilization and cyclic stability. When mixed with an optimal amount of 30 wt% pitch carbon, the SiOx showed a high charge/discharge cyclic stability of about 97% for the 2nd to the 50th cycle. The initial specific capacity of the SiOx was measured to be 1401 mAh/g. On the basis of the evaluation of the SiOx coating material, the process utilized in this study is considered an efficient method to produce SiOx with high performance in an economical way

Enhanced Water Splitting by Fe 2

The effect of TiO2 layer applied to the conventional Fe2O3/FTO photoanode to improve the photoelectrochemical performance was assessed from the viewpoint of the microstructure and energy band structure. Regardless of the location of the TiO2 layer in the photoanodes, that is, Fe2O3/TiO2/FTO or TiO2/Fe2O3/FTO, high performance was obtained when α-Fe2O3 and H-TiNT/anatase-TiO2 phases existed in the constituent Fe2O3 and TiO2 layers after optimized heat treatments. The presence of the Fe2O3 nanoparticles with high uniformity in the each layer of the Fe2O3/TiO2/FTO photoanode achieved by a simple dipping process seemed to positively affect the performance improvement by modifying the energy band structure to a more favorable one for efficient electrons transfer. Our current study suggests that the application of the TiO2 interlayer, together with α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles present in the each constituent layers, could significantly contribute to the performance improvement of the conventional Fe2O3 photoanode

High colloidal stability ZnO nanoparticles independent on solvent polarity and their application in polymer solar cells

Significant aggregation between ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) dispersed in polar and nonpolar solvents hinders the formation of high quality thin film for the device application and impedes their excellent electron transporting ability. Herein a bifunctional coordination complex, titanium diisopropoxide bis(acetylacetonate) (Ti(acac)2) is employed as efficient stabilizer to improve colloidal stability of ZnO NPs. Acetylacetonate functionalized ZnO exhibited long-term stability and maintained its superior optical and electrical properties for months aging under ambient atmospheric condition. The functionalized ZnO NPs were then incorporated into polymer solar cells with conventional structure as n-type buffer layer. The devices exhibited nearly identical power conversion efficiency regardless of the use of fresh and old (2 months aged) NPs. Our approach provides a simple and efficient route to boost colloidal stability of ZnO NPs in both polar and nonpolar solvents, which could enable structure-independent intense studies for efficient organic and hybrid optoelectronic devices