PLA Nanofibers for Microenvironmental-Responsive Quercetin Release in Local Periodontal Treatment

The management of periodontitis remains a vital clinical challenge due to the interplay between the microorganisms of the dental biofilm and the host inflammatory response leading to a degenerative process in the surrounding tissues. Quercetin (QUE), a natural flavonol found in many foods, including apples, onions and tea, has exhibited prolonged and strong antibiofilm and anti-inflammatory effects both in vitro and in vivo. However, its clinical application is limited by its poor stability and water solubility, as well as its low bioavailability. Thus, in the present study, electrospun polylactic acid (PLA) nanofibers loaded with different amounts (5–10% w/w) of QUE were produced to rapidly respond to the acidic microenvironment typical of periodontal pockets during periodontal disease. This strategy demonstrated that PLA-QUE membranes can act as a drug reservoir releasing high QUE concentrations in the presence of oral bacterial infection (pH < 5.5), and thus limiting Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and Streptococcus mutans biofilm maturation. In addition, released QUE exerts antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects on P. gingivalis Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human gingival fibroblast (HGFs). The reported results confirmed that PLA-QUE membranes could inhibit subgingival biofilm maturation while reducing interleukin release, thereby limiting host inflammatory response. Overall, this study provided an effective pH-sensitive drug delivery system as a promising strategy for treating periodontitis.     

Target Design of Novel Histone Deacetylase 6 Selective Inhibitors with 2-Mercaptoquinazolinone as the Cap Moiety

Epigenetic alterations found in all human cancers are promising targets for anticancer therapy. In this sense, histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) are interesting anticancer agents that play an important role in the epigenetic regulation of cancer cells. Here, we report 15 novel hydroxamic acid-based histone deacetylase inhibitors with quinazolinone core structures. Five compounds exhibited antiproliferative activity with IC₅₀ values of 3.4–37.8 µM. Compound 8 with a 2-mercaptoquinazolinone cap moiety displayed the highest antiproliferative efficacy against MCF-7 cells. For the HDAC6 target selectivity study, compound 8 displayed an IC₅₀ value of 2.3 µM, which is 29.3 times higher than those of HDAC3, HDAC4, HDAC8, and HDAC11. Western blot assay proved that compound 8 strongly inhibited tubulin acetylation, a substrate of HDAC6. Compound 8 also displayed stronger inhibition activity against HDAC11 than the control drug Belinostat. The inhibitory mechanism of action of compound 8 on HDAC enzymes was then explored using molecular docking study. The data revealed a high binding affinity (−7.92 kcal/mol) of compound 8 toward HDAC6. In addition, dock pose analysis also proved that compound 8 might serve as a potent inhibitor of HDAC11.     

Effect of Tomato Peel Extract Grown under Drought Stress Condition in a Sarcopenia Model

Tomatoes and their derivates represent an important source of natural biologically active components. The present study aims to investigate the protective effect of tomato peel extracts, grown in normal (RED-Ctr) or in drought stress (RED-Ds) conditions, on an experimental model of sarcopenia. The phenolic profile and total polyphenols content (TPC) of RED-Ctr and RED-Ds were determined by Ultra High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) analyses coupled to electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (ESI-HR-MS). Human skeletal muscle myoblasts (HSMM) were differentiated in myotubes, and sarcopenia was induced by dexamethasone (DEXA) treatment. Differentiation and sarcopenia were evaluated by both real-time PCR and immunofluorescent techniques. Data show that myosin heavy chain 2 (MYH2), troponin T (TNNT1), and miogenin (MYOG) were expressed in differentiated myotubes. 5 μg Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE/mL) of TPC from RED-Ds extract significantly reduced muscle atrophy induced by DEXA. Moreover, Forkhead BoxO1 (FOXO1) expression, involved in cell atrophy, was significantly decreased by RED-Ds extract. The protective effect of tomato peel extracts depended on their qualitative polyphenolic composition, resulting effectively in the in vitro model of sarcopenia.     

Recasting the (Synchrosqueezed) Short-Time Fourier Transform as an Instantaneous Spectrum

In a previous work, we proposed a time-frequency analysis called instantaneous spectral analysis (ISA), which generalizes the notion of the Fourier spectrum and in which instantaneous frequency is utilized to the fullest extent. In this paper, we recast both the Fourier transform (FT) and filterbank (FB) interpretations of the short-time Fourier transform (STFT) as instantaneous spectra. We show that to recast the FB interpretation of STFT as an instantaneous spectrum with valid structure, frequency reassignment is a fundamental necessity, thus demonstrating that this IS is closely related to the synchrosqueezed STFT. This result provides a new theoretical motivation for the synchrosqueezed STFT. Finally, we illustrate through example the instantaneous spectra corresponding to the FT and FB interpretations of STFT using two closed-form examples.     

高压变质二氧化硅矿物的合成及表征

根据高能机械球磨与地球板块碰撞之间具有的碰撞局域性和剪切应力相似的特点, 采用高能机械球磨和静高温高压技术, 以α-石英与石墨混合粉末为原料, 提出了人工合成地表柯石英的一种新方法. 利用高能机械球磨制备了α-石英和石墨纳米非晶混合粉末, 其高温高压合成柯石英的最低条件是970 K和3.7 GPa. 合成的柯石英有10个Raman峰, 分别位于120, 152, 179, 206, 270, 329, 357, 428, 467和521 cm-1, 是目前最全的柯石英Raman谱.     

Physical Adsorption of H2S Related to the Conservation of Works of Art: The Role of the Pore Structure at Low Relative Pressure

The adsorption isotherms of H₂S in selected adsorbents were determined at 298 K, at relative pressures up to about 0.005, aiming the use of these materials in the removal of that pollutant from the museums atmosphere. The Dubinin-Astakhov equation adjusts very well the experimental results, although one cannot interpret the pre-exponential factor w₀ as the limiting adsorbed amount. The parameter E, related with the adsorption energy, and the parameter n, that can be associated with the surface heterogeneity of the adsorbents, are correlated and the first is also correlated with the adsorbed amounts. It was not found any expectable relationship between the adsorbed amounts and textural parameters of the adsorbents such as the specific surface area or the microporous volume. This points out that the adsorption of H₂S is highly specific. In general, 13X and Y sodium zeolites seem to be the most effective adsorbents, but at lowest tested pressures, near the concentrations found at museums, a pillared clay prepared from a Wyoming montmorillonite seems to be more efficient.     

Synthesis and Crystal Structures of Novel Keggin and Dawson Polyoxometalates Containing Amantadine

Heteropolyoxometalates are a large family of potent medicines due to their excellent antiviral and antitumor activity 1-4, while their application in clinic meets great difficulties for their toxicity 5. How to synthesize heteropolyoxometalate medicines possessing high activity and low toxicity has become the focus in heteropolyoxometalate medicine research. Previously reported polyoxometalates showing medical activities are all salts simple Na+, K+ or NH4+ etc. inorganic cations, in which o…     

软化学法低温合成超细K2La2Ti3O10及其剥离性质

软化学法低温合成超细K2La2Ti3O10及其剥离性质;软化学法; K2La2Ti3O10 ; 酸交换; 剥离