A facile and efficient electrochemical oxidation method to directly activated carbon cloth as an excellent electrode material for supercapacitors is reported. Flexible asymmetric supercapacitor devices based on activated carbon cloth anodes reach a remarkable energy density and excellent long-term durability.

With the increasingly serious environmental problems, photocatalysis has recently attracted a great deal of attention, with particular focus on water and air purification and disinfection. Herein, we show an electroreduction strategy to improve significantly the solar absorption and donor density of BiOI nanosheet photocatalyst by introducing oxygen vacancies. These oxygen-deficient BiOI nanosheets exhibit an unexpected red shift of about 100 nm in light absorption band and 1 order of magnitude improvement in donor density compared to the untreated BiOI nanosheets and show 10 times higher photocatalytic activity than the untreated BiOI nanosheets for methyl orange (MO) degradation under visible light irradiation. Moreover, the as-prepared oxygen-deficient BiOI nanosheets also have excellent cycling stability and superior photocatalytic performance toward other dye pollutants.

Butyrate is a short chain fatty acid present in a high concentration in the gut lumen. It has been well documented that butyrate, by serving as an energetic metabolite, promotes the proliferation of normal colonocytes while, by serving as a histone deacetylase inhibitor, epigenetically suppressing the proliferation of cancerous counterparts undergoing the Warburg effect. However, how butyrate interrupts the metabolism of colorectal cancer cells and ultimately leads to the suppression of cell proliferation remains unclear. Here, we employed a metabolomics-proteomics combined approach to explore the link between butyrate-mediated proliferation arrest and cell metabolism. A metabolomics study revealed a remodeled metabolic profile with pronounced accumulation of pyruvate, decreased glycolytic intermediates upstream of pyruvate and reduced levels of nucleotides in butyrate-treated HCT-116 cells. Supplementation of key metabolite intermediates directly affected cancer-cell metabolism and modulated the suppressive effect of butyrate in HCT-116 cells. By a Drug Affinity Responsive Target Stability (DARTS)-based quantitative proteomics approach, we revealed the M2 isoform of a pyruvate kinase, PKM2, as a direct binding target of butyrate. Butyrate activates PKM2 via promoting its dephosphorylation and tetramerization and thereby reprograms the metabolism of colorectal cancer cells, inhibiting the Warburg effect while favoring energetic metabolism. Our study thus provides a mechanistic link between PKM2-induced metabolic remodeling and the antitumorigenic function of butyrate and demonstrates a widely applicable approach to uncovering unknown protein targets for small molecules with biological functions.

The increasing rate of injuries to the meniscus indicates the urgent need to develop effective repair strategies. Irreparably damaged menisci can be replaced and meniscus allografts represent the treatment of choice; however, they have several limitations, including availability and compatibility. Another approach is the use of artificial implants but their chondroprotective activities are still not proved clinically. In this situation, tissue engineering offers alternative natural decellularized extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds, which have shown biomechanical properties comparable to those of native menisci and are characterized by low immunogenicity and promising regenerative potential. In this article, we present an overview of meniscus decellularization methods and discuss their relative merits. In addition, we comparatively evaluate cell types used to repopulate decellularized scaffolds and analyze the biocompatibility of the existing experimental models. At present, acellular ECM hydrogels, as well as slices and powders, have been explored, which seems to be promising for partial meniscus regeneration. However, their inferior biomechanical properties (compressive and tensile stiffness) compared to natural menisci should be improved. Although an optimal decellularized meniscus scaffold still needs to be developed and thoroughly validated for its regenerative potential in vivo, we believe that decellularized ECM scaffolds are the future biomaterials for successful structural and functional replacement of menisci.

Butyrate is a typical short chain fatty acid produced by gut microbiota of which the dysmetabolism has been consistently associated with colorectal diseases. However, whether butyrate affects metastatic colorectal cancer is not clear. In this study we investigated in vitro the effect of butyrate on motility, a significant metastatic factor of colorectal cancer cells and explored the potential mechanism. By using wound healing and transwell-based invasion models, we demonstrated that pretreatment of butyrate significantly inhibited motility of HCT116, HT29, LOVO and HCT8 cells, this activity was further attributed to deactivation of Akt1 and ERK1/2. Suberanilohydroxamic acid (SAHA), another HDAC inhibitor, mimicked the inhibitory effect of butyrate on cell motility and deactivation of Akt/ERK. Furthermore, by silencing of HDAC3 with siRNA, we confirmed dependence of butyrate's effect on HDAC3, the similar reduced cell motility observed under HDAC3 silencing also indicates the significance of HDAC itself in cell motility. In conclusion, we confirmed the HDAC3-relied activity of butyrate on inhibiting motility of colorectal cancer cells via deactivating Akt/ERK signaling. Our data indicate that modulating butyrate metabolism is an effective therapeutic strategy of metastatic colorectal cancer; and HDAC3 might be a novel target for management of colorectal cancer metastasis.

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Purpose Elevated platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) are associated with poor outcomes in various diseases. The objectives of this study were to explore the utility of PLR and NLR in predicting all-cause mortality in patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) undergoing amputations. Patients and Methods A retrospective observational study was performed that included a total of 348 DFU patients undergoing amputations. The primary end-point was all-cause death. According to the PLR and NLR cut-off values, patients were divided into two groups and Kaplan–Meier survival curves were constructed. Multivariable Cox regression was conducted to test the independent predictors of mortality in the study cohort. Results All-cause mortality was significantly higher in patients with a high PLR/NLR compared to those with a low PLR/NLR. In the low NLR group, the overall survival (OS) rates at 1, 3, and 5 years after amputation were 96.8%, 84% and 80.1%, respectively ( p =0.001). In the high NLR group the corresponding OS rates at 1, 3, and 5 years were 85.2%, 58.6% and 23.9% ( p <0.001). According to the multivariate analysis, age (HR 1.074, 95% CI 1.045–1.104, p<0.001), Wagner classification (HR 2.274, 95% CI 1.351–3.828, p=0.002), PLR (HR 1.794, 95% CI 1.014–3.174, p=0.045), NLR (HR 2.029, 95% CI 1.177–3.499, p=0.011), creatinine (HR 1.003, 95% CI 1.001–1.004, p<0.001) and direct bilirubin (HR 1.154, 95% CI 1.081–1.232, p<0.001) were independent predictors of mortality following amputation. Conclusion Postoperative PLR and NLR values may be reliable predictive biomarkers of mortality in patients following amputation for DFU. Considering the high mortality in those patients, the patients with elevated PLR/NLR should be given more intensive in clinical practice.

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