With the increasing application of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films in the field of food packaging, it is important to improve its mechanical and antibacterial properties. This paper focuses on the preparation of PVA nanocomposite films and how their properties are affected by a silver-loaded nanocellulose solution. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were used as both the carrier and the dispersant of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) prepared using glucose as the reducing agent. Ag+ was stabilized by the many hydroxyl groups located in the CNCs, and then the Ag+ was reduced to AgNPs in situ. After addition of silver-loaded nanocellulose, the tensile strength of the CNC-PVA-AgNP films increased from 47 MPa to 73 MPa, and the nanocomposite films displayed reduced moisture absorption and good antibacterial properties.
Pressure overload has an important role in heart failure, inducing excessive autophagy in cardiac myocytes that is considered to be pathogenic. Resveratrol has been reported to improve cardiac dysfunction induced by pressure overload, but it has been unclear whether resveratrol ameliorates cardiac dysfunction by regulating autophagy. In this study, heart failure was induced in rats by constriction of the abdominal aorta. Four weeks after surgery, the rats with heart failure were randomized to treatment with resveratrol (8 mg · kg(-1) · d(-1) by intraperitoneal injection) for 28 days or to intraperitoneal injection of the vehicle (propylene glycol) alone. Echocardiography was performed to assess cardiac function. Expression of brain natriuretic peptide messenger RNA in the left ventricle was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction, whereas expression of proteins associated with autophagy (beclin-1 and lamp-1) was detected by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, autophagic vacuoles were detected in the heart by transmission electron microscopy, and the myocardial ATP content was measured by the bioluminescence method. Treatment with resveratrol significantly improved cardiac dysfunction and reduced brain natriuretic peptide expression in rats with heart failure. Resveratrol down-regulated beclin-1 and lamp-1 expression and also inhibited the formation of autophagic vacuoles in failing hearts. Furthermore, resveratrol restored the myocardial ATP level and reduced phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase at Thr172. These results suggest that resveratrol may inhibit autophagy through inactivation of AMP-activated protein kinase and restoration of ATP in heart failure induced by pressure overload. Accordingly, resveratrol may be beneficial for patients with hypertensive heart disease.
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