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"Sun, Heng"
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Diplomacy of quasi-alliances in the Middle East
Quasi-alliance refers to the ideation, mechanism and behavior of policy-makers to carry out security cooperation through informal political and security arrangements. As a \"gray zone\" between alliance and neutrality, quasi-alliance is a hidden national security statecraft. Based on declassified archives and secondary sources, this book probes the theory and practice of quasi-alliances in the Middle East. Four cases are chosen to test the hypotheses of quasi-alliance, one of which is the Anglo-French-Israeli quasi-alliance during the Suez Canal War of 1956.
Book
Drought coping strategies in cotton: increased crop per drop
Summary The growth and yield of many crops, including cotton, are affected by water deficit. Cotton has evolved drought specific as well as general morpho‐physiological, biochemical and molecular responses to drought stress, which are discussed in this review. The key physiological responses against drought stress in cotton, including stomata closing, root development, cellular adaptations, photosynthesis, abscisic acid (ABA) and jasmonic acid (JA) production and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging, have been identified by researchers. Drought stress induces the expression of stress‐related transcription factors and genes, such as ROS scavenging, ABA or mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPK) signalling genes, which activate various drought‐related pathways to induce tolerance in the plant. It is crucial to elucidate and induce drought‐tolerant traits via quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis, transgenic approaches and exogenous application of substances. The current review article highlights the natural as well as engineered drought tolerance strategies in cotton.
Journal Article
Recent progress in silk fibroin-based flexible electronics
With the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the emergence of 5G, traditional silicon-based electronics no longer fully meet market demands such as nonplanar application scenarios due to mechanical mismatch. This provides unprecedented opportunities for flexible electronics that bypass the physical rigidity through the introduction of flexible materials. In recent decades, biological materials with outstanding biocompatibility and biodegradability, which are considered some of the most promising candidates for next-generation flexible electronics, have received increasing attention, e.g., silk fibroin, cellulose, pectin, chitosan, and melanin. Among them, silk fibroin presents greater superiorities in biocompatibility and biodegradability, and moreover, it also possesses a variety of attractive properties, such as adjustable water solubility, remarkable optical transmittance, high mechanical robustness, light weight, and ease of processing, which are partially or even completely lacking in other biological materials. Therefore, silk fibroin has been widely used as fundamental components for the construction of biocompatible flexible electronics, particularly for wearable and implantable devices. Furthermore, in recent years, more attention has been paid to the investigation of the functional characteristics of silk fibroin, such as the dielectric properties, piezoelectric properties, strong ability to lose electrons, and sensitivity to environmental variables. Here, this paper not only reviews the preparation technologies for various forms of silk fibroin and the recent progress in the use of silk fibroin as a fundamental material but also focuses on the recent advanced works in which silk fibroin serves as functional components. Additionally, the challenges and future development of silk fibroin-based flexible electronics are summarized.
(1) This review focuses on silk fibroin serving as active functional components to construct flexible electronics. (2) Recent representative reports on flexible electronic devices that applied silk fibroin as fundamental supporting components are summarized. (3) This review summarizes the current typical silk fibroin-based materials and the corresponding advanced preparation technologies. (4) The current challenges and future development of silk fibroin-based flexible electronic devices are analyzed.
Journal Article
Research on Intelligent Dispatching System Management Platform for Construction Projects Based on Digital Twin and BIM Technology
Building Information Modeling (BIM) adoption along with the recent emergence of Internet of Things (IoT) applications provides many unique knowledge and decision-making abilities all through the built environment’s life cycle. The ability to connect online sensors utilized in surroundings in real time has led to the definition of the Digital Twin (DT) of the Building Design. The goal of Digital Twins is to synchronize the physical world with a virtual platform for seamless management and control of the construction process, infrastructure solutions, environmental monitoring, and other life span processes within building design. Most of the researchers focused on either BIM or DT in the construction of building application. In this research work, a novel hybrid model of Digital Twin-Building Information Modeling (DT-BIM) is proposed. This model does the process of identifying the shortage of resources, analyzing requirement, performing decision, dispatching the resources, and updating all the process in the database with the support of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Hence, this hybrid model provides improved results when compared to the implementation of the individual technology to the same application. The study results revealed that these hybrid technologies help in assisting the dispatch systems in the construction projects to a greater extent.
Journal Article
Catalytic activity tunable ceria nanoparticles prevent chemotherapy-induced acute kidney injury without interference with chemotherapeutics
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a prevalent and lethal adverse event that severely affects cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. It is correlated with the collateral damage to renal cells caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Currently, ROS management is a practical strategy that can reduce the risk of chemotherapy-related AKI, but at the cost of chemotherapeutic efficacy. Herein, we report catalytic activity tunable ceria nanoparticles (CNPs) that can prevent chemotherapy-induced AKI without interference with chemotherapeutic agents. Specifically, in the renal cortex, CNPs exhibit catalytic activity that decomposes hydrogen peroxide, and subsequently regulate the ROS-involved genes by activating the
Nrf2/Keap1
signaling pathway. These restore the redox homeostasis for the protection of kidney tubules. Under an acidic tumor microenvironment, CNPs become inert due to the excessive H
+
that disrupts the re-exposure of active catalytic sites, allowing a buildup of chemotherapy-mediated ROS generation to kill cancer cells. As ROS-modulating agents, CNPs incorporated with context-dependent catalytic activity, hold a great potential for clinical prevention and treatment of AKI in cancer patients.
Reactive oxygen species management is a practical strategy that can reduce the risk of chemotherapy-induced acute kidney injury, but at the cost of chemotherapeutic efficacy. Here the authors report catalytic activity tunable ceria nanoparticles as context-dependent reactive oxygen species scavengers, which can prevent chemotherapy-induced acute kidney injury without interfering with chemotherapeutic agents.
Journal Article
A nuclease-mimetic platinum nanozyme induces concurrent DNA platination and oxidative cleavage to overcome cancer drug resistance
Platinum (Pt) resistance in cancer almost inevitably occurs during clinical Pt-based chemotherapy. The spontaneous nucleotide-excision repair of cancer cells is a representative process that leads to Pt resistance, which involves the local DNA bending to facilitate the recruitment of nucleotide-excision repair proteins and subsequent elimination of Pt-DNA adducts. By exploiting the structural vulnerability of this process, we herein report a nuclease-mimetic Pt nanozyme that can target cancer cell nuclei and induce concurrent DNA platination and oxidative cleavage to overcome Pt drug resistance. We show that the Pt nanozyme, unlike cisplatin and conventional Pt nanoparticles, specifically induces the nanozyme-catalyzed cleavage of the formed Pt-DNA adducts by generating in situ reactive oxygen species, which impairs the damage recognition factors-induced DNA bending prerequisite for nucleotide-excision repair. The recruitment of downstream effectors of nucleotide-excision repair to DNA lesion sites, including xeroderma pigmentosum groups A and F, is disrupted by the Pt nanozyme in cisplatin-resistant cancer cells, allowing excessive accumulation of the Pt-DNA adducts for highly efficient cancer therapy. Our study highlights the potential benefits of applying enzymatic activities to the use of the Pt nanomedicines, providing a paradigm shift in DNA damaging chemotherapy.
One of the mechanisms underlying platinum (Pt) resistance is the spontaneous nucleotide-excision repair of cancer cells. Here, nuclease-mimetic Pt nanozymes are targeted to the cancer cell nucleus and induce concurrent DNA platination and oxidative cleavage to overcome Pt resistance.
Journal Article
A Gelatin-sulfonated Silk Composite Scaffold based on 3D Printing Technology Enhances Skin Regeneration by Stimulating Epidermal Growth and Dermal Neovascularization
One of the key problems hindering skin repair is the deficiency of dermal vascularization and difficulty of epidermis regeneration, which makes it challenging to fabricate scaffolds that can biologically fulfill the requirements for skin regeneration. To overcome this problem, three-dimensional printing was used to fabricate a gelatin-sulfonated silk composite scaffold that was incorporated with basic fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) through binding with a sulfonic acid group (SO
3
) (3DG-SF-SO
3
-FGF). The efficacy and mechanism by which the 3DG-SF-SO
3
-FGF scaffolds promote skin regeneration were investigated both within
in vitro
cell culture and
in vivo
with a full-thickness skin defect model. The histological results showed that the gelatin-sulfonated silk composite scaffolds promoted granulation, and that incorporation of FGF-2 significantly enhanced the regeneration of skin-like tissues after implantation in rat skin defects for 14 and 28 days. Further investigations demonstrated that 3DG-SF-SO
3
-FGF scaffolds might stimulate dermal vascularization. These findings thus suggest that incorporation of FGF-2 into the 3D printed scaffolds is a viable strategy for enhancing skin regeneration.
Journal Article
Ligustilide‐loaded liposome ameliorates mitochondrial impairments and improves cognitive function via the PKA/AKAP1 signaling pathway in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease
Background Oxidative stress is an early event in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and maybe a pivotal point of interaction governing AD pathogenesis; oxidative stress contributes to metabolism imbalance, protein misfolding, neuroinflammation and apoptosis. Excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) are a major contributor to oxidative stress. As vital sources of ROS, mitochondria are also the primary targets of ROS attack. Seeking effective avenues to reduce oxidative stress has attracted increasing attention for AD intervention. Methods We developed liposome‐packaged Ligustilide (LIG) and investigated its effects on mitochondrial function and AD‐like pathology in the APPswe/PS1dE9 (APP/PS1) mouse model of AD, and analyzed possible mechanisms. Results We observed that LIG‐loaded liposome (LIG‐LPs) treatment reduced oxidative stress and β‐amyloid (Aβ) deposition and mitigated cognitive impairment in APP/PS1 mice. LIG management alleviated the destruction of the inner structure in the hippocampal mitochondria and ameliorated the imbalance between mitochondrial fission and fusion in the APP/PS1 mouse brain. We showed that the decline in cAMP‐dependent protein kinase A (PKA) and A‐kinase anchor protein 1 for PKA (AKAP1) was associated with oxidative stress and AD‐like pathology. We confirmed that LIG‐mediated antioxidant properties and neuroprotection were involved in upregulating the PKA/AKAP1 signaling in APPswe cells in vitro. Conclusion Liposome packaging for LIG is relatively biosafe and can overcome the instability of LIG. LIG alleviates mitochondrial dysfunctions and cognitive impairment via the PKA/AKAP1 signaling pathway. Our results provide experimental evidence that LIG‐LPs may be a promising agent for AD therapy. Ligustilide‐mediated interactions of protein kinase A (PKA) and AKAP1 ameliorate the imbalance between mitochondrial fission and fusion in the brains of AD mouse model, alleviate oxidative stress injury and inhibit apoptosis. The increases in ATP triggered by Ligustilide treatment activate PKA and enhance the transcription of AKAP1, facilitating the upregulation of PKA/AKAP1 signaling.
Journal Article
Molecular landscape and subtype-specific therapeutic response of nasopharyngeal carcinoma revealed by integrative pharmacogenomics
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant head and neck cancer type with high morbidity in Southeast Asia, however the pathogenic mechanism of this disease is poorly understood. Using integrative pharmacogenomics, we find that NPC subtypes maintain distinct molecular features, drug responsiveness, and graded radiation sensitivity. The epithelial carcinoma (EC) subtype is characterized by activations of microtubule polymerization and defective mitotic spindle checkpoint related genes, whereas sarcomatoid carcinoma (SC) and mixed sarcomatoid-epithelial carcinoma (MSEC) subtypes exhibit enriched epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and invasion promoting genes, which are well correlated with their morphological features. Furthermore, patient-derived organoid (PDO)-based drug test identifies potential subtype-specific treatment regimens, in that SC and MSEC subtypes are sensitive to microtubule inhibitors, whereas EC subtype is more responsive to EGFR inhibitors, which is synergistically enhanced by combining with radiotherapy. Through combinational chemoradiotherapy (CRT) screening, effective CRT regimens are also suggested for patients showing less sensitivity to radiation. Altogether, our study provides an example of applying integrative pharmacogenomics to establish a personalized precision oncology for NPC subtype-guided therapies.
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant cancer type with high morbidity in Asia, and its current molecular classification is insufficient to predict therapy outcomes. Here the authors explore NPC subtype-specific response to therapy with a pharmacogenomics strategy integrating genomics and drug response of patient-derived organoids.
Journal Article
PRP significantly promotes the adhesion and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells on stent material
Background
The adhesion and survival state of cells on scaffold material is a major problem in tissue-engineered blood vessel (TEBV) culture. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) contains a large amount of biologically active factors and fibrin, which is expected to play an important role in TEBV culture.
Purpose
To combine PRP with cells and scaffold material to promote cell adhesion and biological activity on the scaffold material.
Methods
The adhesion status and migration of SMCs under the optimal concentration suitable for SMC growth and the optimal concentration of PRP were examined by scanning electron microscopy, HE staining, CCK-8 assays, qPCR, WB, and other experimental methods and compared with those under the conventional culture (20% FBS); finally, the effect of PRP on the deposition of ECM in vascular tissue engineering culture was verified by three-dimensional culture.
Results
PRP at 20% is a suitable concentration for SMCs. Compared with the control group, the 20% PRP group had better migration, and the number of SMC adhesions was significantly higher than that of the control group. In addition, collagen deposition in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group.
Conclusion
PRP
(
20%) can promote SMC adhesion, migration, and collagen deposition on the scaffold material.
Journal Article