In vivo Kinetic Biodistribution of Nano‐Sized Outer Membrane Vesicles Derived from Bacteria

Evaluation of kinetic distribution and behaviors of nanoparticles in vivo provides crucial clues into their roles in living organisms. Extracellular vesicles are evolutionary conserved nanoparticles, known to play important biological functions in intercellular, inter‐species, and inter‐kingdom communication. In this study, the first kinetic analysis of the biodistribution of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs)—bacterial extracellular vesicles—with immune‐modulatory functions is performed. OMVs, injected intraperitoneally, spread to the whole mouse body and accumulate in the liver, lung, spleen, and kidney within 3 h of administration. As an early systemic inflammation response, increased levels of TNF‐α and IL‐6 are observed in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. In addition, the number of leukocytes and platelets in the blood is decreased. OMVs and cytokine concentrations, as well as body temperature are gradually decreased 6 h after OMV injection, in concomitance with the formation of eye exudates, and of an increase in ICAM‐1 levels in the lung. Following OMV elimination, most of the inflammatory signs are reverted, 12 h post‐injection. However, leukocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid are increased as a late reaction. Taken together, these results suggest that OMVs are effective mediators of long distance communication in vivo.     

Effect of hyperbranched poly(citric polyethylene glycol) with various polyethylene glycol chain lengths on starch plasticization and retrogradation

A series of hyperbranched poly(citric polyethylene glycol) (PCPEG) materials with varied polyethylene glycol (PEG) chain lengths as plasticizers were mixed with maize starch (MS) via cooking and film‐forming. The structure, pasting property, plasticization, aging property, moisture absorption and compatibility of plasticized starches were studied by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, rapid viscosity analysis, tension testing, moisture absorption measurements and scanning electron microscopy. Compared with PEG and citric acid, PCPEG was more effective in promoting starch chain movement and inhibiting the retrogradation of starch film. Also, PCPEG/MS had smaller moisture content. The longer the plasticizer chain, the better were the aging resistance and moisture resistance of starch. But with an increase of PEG chain length, mechanical properties of PCPEG/MS deteriorated and the compatibility between PCPEG and MS decreased. The hyperbranched derivative of PEG with longer chain exhibited improved plasticization and compatibility with starch. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

TiO2/MXene-Assisted LDI-MS for Urine Metabolic Profiling in Urinary Disease

Cancer remains an intractable medical problem. Rapid diagnosis and identification of cancer are critical to differentiate it from nonmalignant diseases. High-throughput biofluid metabolic analysis has potential for cancer diagnosis. Nevertheless, the present metabolite analysis method does not meet the demand for high-throughput screening of diseases. Herein, a high-throughput, cost-effective, and noninvasive urine metabolic profiling method based on TiO₂/MXene-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) is presented for the efficient screening of bladder cancer (BC) and nonmalignant urinary disease. Combined with machine learning, TiO₂/MXene-assisted LDI-MS enables high diagnostic accuracy (96.8%) for the classification of patient groups (including 47 BC and 46 ureteral calculus (UC) patients) from healthy controls (113 cases). In addition, BC patients can also be identified from noncancerous UC individuals with an accuracy of 88.3% in the independent test cohort. Furthermore, metabolite variations between BC and UC individuals are investigated based on relative quantification, and related pathways are also discussed. These results suggest that this method, based on urine metabolic patterns, provides a potential tool for rapidly distinguishing urinary diseases and it may pave the way for precision medicine.     

Brief Review of Precipitated Iron-Based Catalysts for Low-Temperature Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis

Topics in Catalysis - Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is a promising way to produce clean liquid fuels and high value-added chemicals from low-value carbon-containing resources such as coal,...     

Harmful effects of pyrethroid ester insecticide on the male reproductive system mainly through affecting testicular function and inflammatory markers

Pyrethroid esters are widely used as insecticides worldwide. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the harmful effect of deltamethrin on the male reproductive system through the assessment of reproductive hormones, inflammatory markers, and testicular function. To achieve our aim, eighty male 7-9-week-old, Wistar rats were taken, weighed, and divided into four experimental groups. The first group was kept as a control group, and the other three groups were given deltamethrin orally at different concentrations (0.87, 8.7, and 17.4 mg/kg body weight) for nine weeks. The results indicated that deltamethrin administration associated with a significant decrease in reproductive hormones, especially FSH, LH, and significant elevation in the interleukin 2 (IL2), interleukin 6 (IL6), histamine, and cortisol levels. Also, the significance of inhibition of sperm motility and viability, decreased testis weights, sperm count, and fructose in semen were noted. These findings clarify the harmful effect of deltamethrin on the male reproductive system by producing a significant alteration in reproductive hormones, inflammatory markers as well as testicular function.