Nanoscale ternary chalcogenides have attracted intense research interest due to their wealth of tunable properties and diverse applications in energy and environmental and biomedical fields. In this article, ultrasmall magnetic CuFeSe ternary nanocrystals (<5.0 nm) were fabricated in the presence of thiol-functionalized poly(methacrylic acid) by an environmentally friendly aqueous method under ambient conditions. The small band gap and the existence of intermediate bands lead to a broad NIR absorbance in the range of 500-1100 nm and high photothermal conversion efficiency (82%) of CuFeSe nanocrystals. The resultant CuFeSe nanocrystals show superparamagnetism and effective attenuation for X-rays. In addition, they also exhibit excellent water solubility, colloidal stability, biocompatibility, and multifunctional groups. These properties enable them to be an ideal nanotheranostic agent for multimodal imaging [e.g., photoacoustic imaging (PAI), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) imaging] guided photothermal therapy of cancer.
The integration of photothermal therapy (PTT) with radiation therapy (RT) in a single nanoscale platform is believed to have considerable potential for cancer therapy. In this work, the rationally designed PEGylated Au@Pt nanodendrites (NDs) have been developed as a novel X-ray computed tomography (CT) and PTT/RT enhanced theranostic agent for cancer therapy. The absorption of Au@Pt NDs was turned to the near-infrared region with the growth of Pt nanobranches and thus enhances the efficacy of PTT. Furthermore, because of the high atomic number (high Z) of Au as well as Pt, Au@Pt NDs significantly enhanced lethal effects of RT by inducing a highly localized radiation dose within cancer cells. More importantly, the combination of Au@Pt ND-enhanced RT with PTT suppressed cancer cell growth more efficiently than that RT or PTT alone did, indicating a synergistic effect. Meanwhile, the Au@Pt NDs also possess significant CT imaging signal enhancement that has the potential to guide PTT/RT for cancers. The integrated strategy significantly improved CT and PTT/RT of cancer cells with mild laser and radiation. Because of these advantages, Au@Pt NDs have become appealing and effective agents for cancer theranostic.
Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is one of the key predisposing factors for low back pain. Although the exact mechanism remains unclear, inflammatory response and nucleus pulposus (NP) apoptosis are known to play important roles in this process. Prolactin protects against inflammation-associated chondrocyte apoptosis in arthritis. Based on prior studies, we hypothesized that prolactin might have therapeutic effects on IVDD by inhibiting the apoptosis of degenerative human disc NP cells. An experimental model of IVDD was established in 3-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats by submitting them to percutaneous disc puncture with a 20-gauge needle on levels 7–8 and 8–9 of the coccygeal vertebrae. Then the rats were injected with 20 or 200 ng prolactin on a weekly basis. Radiologic and histologic analyses were performed on days 4, 7, 14, and 28. The expression of prolactin and its receptor was analyzed in human tissue obtained from symptomatic patients undergoing microencoscopy discectomy, or from scoliosis patients undergoing deformity correction surgery. The results showed that intradiscal injection of prolactin maintained disc height and the mean signal intensity of the punctured disc. Histological analysis indicated that prolactin treatment significantly retained the complete structure of the NP and annulus fibrosus compared with the vehicle group. In addition, more collagen II, but fewer collagen I-containing tissues were detected in the prolactin treatment groups compared to the vehicle group. Moreover, low levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, cleaved-caspase 3, and TUNEL staining were observed in the prolactin treatment groups. We also demonstrated that prolactin impaired puncture-induced inflammation and cell apoptosis by downregulating activation of the NF-κB pathway. The degenerated NP tissues from patients had decreased expression of prolactin and its receptor, whereas expression was increased in the NP tissues removed from scoliosis patients. These results suggest that prolactin may be a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of IVDD.
Identification of genotypic differences in micronutrient concentrations of staple food crops is essential if plant breeding strategies are to improve human mineral nutrition. The concentrations of zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and manganese (Mn) in polished grains of 285 rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes and the relationship between concentrations of the four micronutrient elements and concentrations of protein and lysine were examined. Significant differences (P<.01) were found in the concentrations of Zn, Fe, Cu, and Mn in polished rice with a fairly normal distribution among rice genotypes. On average, Cu and Zn concentrations of Indica rice were about 2-fold higher than Japonica rice, while Fe concentrations of Japonica rice were slightly higher than Indica rice. Among Indica rice genotypes, red rice contained 1453
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