Wallacehogan9691

Nickel has been widely researched in the electrooxidation of borohydride due to its low cost and abundant reserves, but its catalytic activity and stability need to be improved for practical application. In this work, a Ni and P deposited nickel foam (Ni-P@NF) catalyst electrode with a unique hierarchical structure is prepared by a simple one-step electrodeposition method. The structure, morphology, and catalytic performances of Ni-P@NF are investigated systematically. The results show that Ni-P@NF exhibits excellent catalytic activity, stability, and durability during borohydride electrooxidation. BAY 1217389 purchase On the Ni-P@NF catalyst electrode, the current density for borohydride oxidation can reach 225 mA cm-2; the fuel utilization is up to 84% and 97% of the initial current is maintained even after 500 cycles of cyclic voltammetry (CV), while a traditional H-type direct sodium borohydride fuel cell (DBFC) assembled with a Ni-P@NF catalyst anode can deliver a maximum power density of 52.5 mW cm-2 and an open circuit potential of 1.87 V. These merits can be attributed to the unique hierarchical structure of the Ni-P catalyst and the introduction of phosphorus. The results also show that the Ni-P@NF catalyst has certain application potential in DBFCs.MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are emerging as a novel class of molecular targets and therapeutics to control gene expression for tissue repair and regeneration. However, a safe and effective transfection of miRNAs to cells has been a major barrier to their applications. In this work, a multifunctional polyplex micelle named PPP-RGI was developed as a non-viral gene vector for the efficient transfection of miR-218 (an osteogenic miRNA regulator) to bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) for accelerated osteogenic differentiation. PPP-RGI was designed and synthesized via conjugation of a multifunctional R9-G4-IKVAVW (RGI) peptide onto an amphiphilic poly(lactide-co-glycolide)-g-polyethylenimine-b-polyethylene glycol (PPP) copolymer. PPP-RGI self-assembled into polyplex micelles and strongly condensed miR-218 to prevent its RNase degradation. When the PPP-RGI/miR-218 complex was brought into contact with BMSCs, it exhibited high internalization efficiency and a fast escape from endo/lysosomes of the BMSCs. Subsequently, miR-218 released from the PPP-RGI/miR-218 complex regulated gene expressions and significantly enhanced the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. The multifunctional peptide conjugated nanocarrier serves as an effective miRNA delivery vector to promote osteogenesis.This study aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of the oral administration of Lactobacillus brevis FZU0713-fermented Laminaria japonica (FLJ) on lipid metabolism and intestinal microbiota in hyperlipidemic rats fed with a high-fat diet (HFD). The results demonstrated that the oral administration of FLJ significantly inhibited obesity and improved the serum and hepatic biochemical parameters in HFD-fed rats. Histopathological results also indicated that FLJ intervention could significantly reduce the accumulation of lipid droplets in the liver induced by HFD feeding. Furthermore, FLJ intervention up-regulated the fecal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels (mainly acetate, propionate and isobutyrate) in HFD-fed rats. Intestinal microbiota profiling by 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that FLJ intervention increased the relative abundance of Akkermansia, Collinsella, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-013, Defluviitaleaceae_UCG-011, Intestinimonas, Actinomyces and Tyzzerella, but decreased the abundance of Flavonifracte disturbance of lipid metabolism by regulating intestinal microflora and liver gene expression profiles, so it can be employed as a potential functional food to prevent hyperlipidemia.Shape and surface chemistry control in copper nanoparticle synthesis is an important research area due to a wide range of developing applications of this material in catalysis, energy conversion, sensing and many others. In addition to being an inexpensive and abundant metal, copper is an attractive photocatalyst due to its optical properties in the visible range. Here, we report a facile, tunable and sustainable methodology for synthesizing Pd-seeded Cu nanoparticles with various shapes, including cubes, spheres, raspberry-like particles and cages stabilized with a bilayer of a cationic surfactant in aqueous media. The experimental and theoretical examination of the optical response in the series of synthesized nanoparticles revealed that the low-energy extinction peak is associated with electronic interband transitions in the metal, in contrast to a widely spread attribution of this peak to a plasmonic response in Cu nanoparticles.Nutritional biomarkers are critical tools to objectively assess intake of nutrients and other compounds from the diet. In this context, it is essential that suitable analytical methods are available for the accurate quantification of biomarkers in large scale studies. Recently, structurally-related (-)-epicatechin metabolites (SREMs) and 5-(3',4'-dihydroxyphenyl)-γ-valerolactone metabolites (gVLMs) were identified as biomarkers of intake of flavanols and procyanidins, a group of polyphenol bioactives. This study aimed at validating a high throughput method for the quantification of SREMs and gVLMs in plasma along with methylxanthines (MXs), dietary compounds known to interact with flavanol and procyanidin effects. To accomplish this, a full set of authentic analytical standards were used to optimize a micro solid phase extraction method for sample preparation coupled to HPLC-MS detection. Isotopically-labelled standards for all analytes were included to correct potential matrix effects on quantification. Average accuracies of 101%, 93% and 103% were obtained, respectively, for SREMs, gVLMs and MXs. Intra- and inter-day repeatability values were 0.993). Most SREMs and gVLMs had limits of quantifications less then 5 nM while limits of quantification of MXs were 0.2 μM. All analytes were stable under different tested processing conditions. Finally, the method proved to be suitable to assess SREMs, gVLMs and MXs in plasma collected after single acute and daily intake of cocoa-derived test materials. Overall, this method proved to be a valid analytical tool for high throughput quantification of flavanol and procyanidin biomarkers and methylxanthines in plasma.