Strategy for Fabricating Multiple-Shape-Memory Polymeric Materials via the Multilayer Assembly of Co-Continuous Blends

Shape-memory polymeric materials containing alternating layers of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and co-continuous poly­(butylene succinate) (PBS)/polycaprolactone (PCL) blends (denoted SLBs) were fabricated through layer-multiplying coextrusion. Because there were two well-separated phase transitions caused by the melt of PCL and PBS, both the dual- and triple-shape-memory effects were discussed. Compared with the blending specimen with the same components, the TPU/SLB multilayer system with a multicontinuous structure and a plenty of layer interfaces was demonstrated to have higher shape fixity and recovery ability. When the number of layers reached 128, both the shape fixity and recovery ratios were beyond 95 and 85% in dual- and triple-shape-memory processes, respectively, which were difficult to be achieved through conventional melt-processing methods. On the basis of the classic viscoelastic theory, the parallel-assembled TPU and SLB layers capable of maintaining the same strain along the deforming direction were regarded to possess the maximum ability to fix temporary shapes and trigger them to recover back to original ones through the interfacial shearing effect. Accordingly, the present approach provided an efficient strategy for fabricating outstanding multiple-shape-memory polymers, which may exhibit a promising application in the fields of biomedical devices, sensors and actuators, and so forth

Influence of Cationic Precursors on CdS Quantum-Dot-Sensitized Solar Cell Prepared by Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction

Successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) is the most extensively used method for the direct and simultaneous synthesis and deposition of quantum dots (QDs) onto porous oxide films for quantum-dot-sensitized solar cell (QDSC) applications. In this work, the noticeable influences of the cationic precursors on the deposition of CdS QDs and the QDSC performance have been studied. A careful comparison of two cationic precursors, cadmium nitrate and cadmium acetate, for the preparation of CdS QDSCs by the SILAR method showed that, compared to the commonly used cadmium nitrate, cadmium acetate provided a significantly higher deposition rate of CdS QDs on TiO₂ films. A solar cell power conversion efficiency of 2.15% was achieved for a CdS QDSC employing cadmium acetate as the cationic precursor, much higher than the value of 1.44% obtained for the cell prepared using cadmium nitrate for the same number of SILAR cycles. Control experiments in which the recipes of the cationic precursor solutions were changed revealed a dramatic effect of the cationic precursor pH on the deposition rate of CdS QDs on the TiO₂ film. In addition, an appreciable anomalous red shift, which became more pronounced with increasing amount of QDs, was observed in both the optical absorption and photocurrent spectra of CdS-sensitized TiO₂ films

Additional file 3: Figure S3. of Thrombin-induced, TNFR-dependent miR-181c downregulation promotes MLL1 and NF-κB target gene expression in human microglia

Schematic overview of thrombin’s effects upon miR-181c and MLL1 in human microglia. Thrombin (via PAR4) induces TNF-α secretion from human microglia [21]. Thrombin-induced TNF-α (via TNFR) suppresses miR-181c levels. This suppression of the inhibitory miR-181c promotes MLL1 expression, increases NF-κB activity, and upregulates downstream NF-κB target gene expression in human microglia. (JPG 456 kb

Additional file 2: Figure S2. of Thrombin-induced, TNFR-dependent miR-181c downregulation promotes MLL1 and NF-κB target gene expression in human microglia

Thrombin’s proteolytic activity contributed to its effects upon miR-181c and MLL1 expression in human microglia. (A) Validation of the thrombin-specific proteolytic inhibitor PPACK’s inhibition of thrombin activity. Thrombin’s proteolytic activity was measured via a chromogenic assay following pre-incubation in the absence or presence of various concentrations of PPACK. Heat-inactivated (boiled) thrombin was applied as a negative control. *p < 0.05 versus control, †p < 0.05 versus boiled thrombin, ‡p < 0.05 versus thrombin. (B) Pre-incubating with PPACK significantly inhibited thrombin’s effects upon miR-181c and MLL1 expression. *p < 0.05 versus control, †p < 0.05 versus thrombin. (TIF 598 kb

A Theoretical Study on the Structural and Energy Spectral Properties of Ce³⁺ Ions Doped in Various Fluoride Compounds

Geometry optimization and wave function-based complete-active-space self-consistent field-embedded cluster calculations have been performed for a series of Ce³⁺-doped fluoride compounds (CaF₂, YF₃, LaF₃, KMgF₃, LiYF₄, K₂YF₅, and KY₃F₁₀) to investigate local coordination structures, crystal field parameters, and 5d¹ energy-level structures of doping Ce³⁺ ions. The crystal-field parameters of Ce³⁺ are extracted from the calculated energies and wave functions. The calculated crystal-field parameters and 5d¹ energy-level structures show excellent consistency with the experimental results. Our calculations show that the onset of 4f → 5d absorption, which is important in phosphors and scintillators, can be well-predicted. Apart from that, the distortion of local structure due to doping, the wave functions, and the crystal-field parameters of 4f¹ and 5d¹ states of Ce³⁺ in the hosts can be obtained. Those can seldom be obtained by fitting empirical crystal-field Hamiltonian to experimental data but are required by some detailed theoretical analysis, such as the calculation of transition intensities and hyperfine splittings. The obtained crystal-field parameters of Ce³⁺ may also be useful for other lanthanide ions in the same hosts

First-Principles Study on Structural, Electronic, and Spectroscopic Properties of γ‑Ca₂SiO₄:Ce³⁺ Phosphors

In the present work, geometric structures, electronic properties, and 4f → 5d transitions of γ-Ca₂SiO₄:Ce³⁺ phosphors have been investigated by using first-principles calculations. Four categories of typical substitutions (i.e., the doping of the Ce³⁺ without the neighboring dopants/defects and with the neighboring V_O^••, Al_Si′, and V_Ca″) are taken into account to simulate local environments of the Ce³⁺ located at two crystallographically different calcium sites in the γ-Ca₂SiO₄. Density functional theory (DFT) geometry optimization calculations are first performed on the constructed supercells to obtain the information about the local structures and preferred sites for the Ce³⁺. On the basis of the optimized crystal structures, the electronic properties of γ-Ca₂SiO₄:Ce³⁺ phosphors are calculated with the Heyd–Scuseria–Ernzerhof screened hybrid functional, and the energies and relative oscillator strengths of the 4f → 5d transitions of the Ce³⁺ are derived from the <i>ab initio</i> embedded cluster calculations at the CASSCF/CASPT2/RASSI-SO level. A satisfactory agreement with the available experimental results is thus achieved. Moreover, the relationships between the dopants/defects and the electronic as well as spectroscopic properties of γ-Ca₂SiO₄:Ce³⁺ phosphors have been explored. Such information is vital, not least for the design of Ce³⁺-based phosphors for the white light-emitting diodes (<i>w</i>-LEDs) with excellent performance

DataSheet1_Therapeutic effects and underlying mechanism of poly (L-glutamic acid)-g-methoxy poly (ethylene glycol)/combretastatin A4/BLZ945 nanoparticles on Renca renal carcinoma.doc

Introduction: The prognosis of advanced renal carcinoma is not ideal, necessitating the exploration of novel treatment strategies. Poly(L-glutamic acid)-g-methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)/Combretastatin A4 (CA4)/BLZ945 nanoparticles (CB-NPs) possess the dual capability of CA4 (targeting blood vessels to induce tumor necrosis) and BLZ945 (inducing M2 macrophage apoptosis), thereby inhibiting tumor growth.Methods: Here, the therapeutic effects and underlying mechanism was explored by CCK-8 cytotoxicity experiment, transwell cell invasion and migration experiment, H&E, western blot analysis, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, and other techniques.Results: These results demonstrated that CB-NPs could inhibit the growth of Renca cells and subcutaneous tumors in mice, with an impressive tumor inhibition rate of 88.0%. Results suggested that CB-NPs can induce necrosis in renal carcinoma cells and tissues, downregulate VEGFA expression, promote renal carcinoma cell apoptosis, and reduce the polarization of M2 macrophages.Discussion: These findings offer innovative perspectives for the treatment of advanced renal carcinoma.</p

Uniform Small Graphene Oxide as an Efficient Cellular Nanocarrier for Immunostimulatory CpG Oligonucleotides

Graphene oxide (GO) has attracted more and more attention as a promising nanomaterial in biomedical research and applications. In this study, we explore the ability of GO as nanocarrier for synthetic DNA strands. Immunostimulatory CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) are attached to Poly-l-Lysine (PLL) functionalized, polydisperse GO, or uniform small GO (sGO) nanosheets. Both types of GO-CpG ODN nanoconjugates can be delivered into murine Raw264.7 macrophages and possess immunostimulatory activity, while sGO-CpG appears to be a more efficient stimulator. In addition, sGO-CpG nanosheets exhibit higher cellular uptake but better biocompatibility compared to the larger GO-CpG counterpart. Furthermore, PLL functionalized sGO-CpG has higher immunostimulatory activity than azide functionalized sGO-CpG. Together, our studies provide evidence that sGO can be utilized as an ideal intracellular nanocarrier for synthetic single-stranded DNA, and sGO-PLL-CpG conjugates may serve as a potential proinflammatory therapeutic tool

Interaction effect between the <i>IL4</i>, <i>IL13</i> and <i>IL4RA</i> genotypes among cases and controls.

a<p>SNPs were classified as wild-type genotype and heterozygote/homozygote genotypes. The wild-type genotypes of <i>IL4</i> C-590T, <i>IL13</i> C-1055T, <i>IL13</i> Arg130Gln, <i>IL4RA</i> Ile50Val, <i>IL4RA</i> Ser478Pro, and <i>IL4RA</i> Gln551Arg were TT, CC, GG, CC, TT, and AA, respectively, and the heterozygote/homozygote genotypes of these six SNPs were CT/CC, CT/TT, AG/AA, CT/TT, CT/CC, and AG/GG, respectively.</p>b<p>Adjusted for age and sex in logistic regression model.</p

Distribution of selected variables among cases and controls.

a<p>Serum levels of total IgE (kU/L) and specific IgE (kUA/L) were log transformed to normalize the distribution.</p