Quantification and visulization of taurine delivery and penetration into skin

Taurine is used in many personal care products to help deliver skin repair and anti-irritation benefits. Enhancing the deposition and penetration of taurine in skin is likely to boost the performance of these products. In this study, we demonstrated the deposition of taurine onto skin surfaces through a serum formulation, as well as enhanced penetration of taurine into deeper skin layers, aided by permeation enhancers such as glycerin and dimethyl isosorbide. We used a tape stripping method to collect samples from porcine skin and, coupled with HPLC analysis, to quantify the deposition and penetration of taurine. Serum formulations containing different levels of the permeation enhancers were tested. Glycerin and dimethyl isosorbide were found particularly effective and showed a dose-response manner to enhance the taurine penetration. We also employed two spectroscopic techniques, ATR-FTIR and confocal Raman to visualize the taurine distribution in the skin. The hyperspectral images of both IR and Raman clearly demonstrated the increased penetration of taurine into the deeper layers of the skin, beyond stratum corneum and into the epidermis, through the use of these permeation enhancers. These observations are consistent with the results from the tape stripping-HPLC analyses

(2,4-Difluoro­phen­yl)[1-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)cyclo­prop­yl]methanone

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C12H9F2N3O, contains two independent mol­ecules (A and B) in which the benzene and cyclo­propane rings form dihedral angles of 33.0 (1) and 29.7 (1)°, respectively. In the crystal, weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link alternating A and B mol­ecules into chains along [010]

Spontaneously immortalised bovine mammary epithelial cells exhibit a distinct gene expression pattern from the breast cancer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Spontaneous immortalisation of cultured mammary epithelial cells (MECs) is an extremely rare event, and the molecular mechanism behind spontaneous immortalisation of MECs is unclear. Here, we report the establishment of a spontaneously immortalised bovine mammary epithelial cell line (BME65Cs) and the changes in gene expression associated with BME65Cs cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>BME65Cs cells maintain the general characteristics of normal mammary epithelial cells in morphology, karyotype and immunohistochemistry, and are accompanied by the activation of endogenous <it>bTERT </it>(bovine Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase) and stabilisation of the telomere. Currently, BME65Cs cells have been passed for more than 220 generations, and these cells exhibit non-malignant transformation. The expression of multiple genes was investigated in BME65Cs cells, senescent BMECs (bovine MECs) cells, early passage BMECs cells and MCF-7 cells (a human breast cancer cell line). In comparison with early passage BMECs cells, the expression of senescence-relevant apoptosis-related gene were significantly changed in BME65Cs cells. P16^INK4awas downregulated, p53 was low expressed and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio was reversed. Moreover, a slight upregulation of the oncogene <it>c-Myc</it>, along with an undetectable level of breast tumor-related gene <it>Bag-1 </it>and <it>TRPS-1</it>, was observed in BME65Cs cells while these genes are all highly expressed in MCF-7. In addition, <it>DNMT1 </it>is upregulated in BME65Cs. These results suggest that the inhibition of both senescence and mitochondrial apoptosis signalling pathways contribute to the immortality of BME65Cs cells. The expression of <it>p53 </it>and <it>p16</it>^{<it>INK4a </it>}in BME65Cs was altered in the pattern of down-regulation but not "loss", suggesting that this spontaneous immortalization is possibly initiated by other mechanism rather than gene mutation of <it>p53 </it>or <it>p16</it>^{<it>INK4a</it>}.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Spontaneously immortalised BME65Cs cells maintain many characteristics of normal BMEC cells and exhibit non-malignant transformation. Although this cell line displays altered patterns of gene expression, it is clearly distinct from malignant breast cancer cell line. It showed that co-inhibition of cellular senescence and mitochondrial apoptosis pathways coordinates BME65Cs cells immortalisation. Additionally, mechanisms other than gene mutation are likely to be involved in regulation of cellular functions. This study provides an insight into the relationship between cell senescence and immortalisation. BME65Cs cells will be useful in future studies of cellular senescence and tumorigenesis.</p

Radiotherapy Suppresses Bone Cancer Pain through Inhibiting Activation of cAMP Signaling in Rat Dorsal Root Ganglion and Spinal Cord

Radiotherapy is one of the major clinical approaches for treatment of bone cancer pain. Activation of cAMP-PKA signaling pathway plays important roles in bone cancer pain. Here, we examined the effects of radiotherapy on bone cancer pain and accompanying abnormal activation of cAMP-PKA signaling. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were used and received tumor cell implantation (TCI) in rat tibia (TCI cancer pain model). Some of the rats that previously received TCI treatment were treated with X-ray radiation (radiotherapy). Thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia were measured and used for evaluating level of pain caused by TCI treatment. PKA mRNA expression in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) was detected by RT-PCR. Concentrations of cAMP, IL-1β, and TNF-α as well as PKA activity in DRG and the spinal cord were measured by ELISA. The results showed that radiotherapy significantly suppressed TCI-induced thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia. The level of PKA mRNA in DRG, cAMP concentration and PKA activity in DRG and in the spinal cord, and concentrations of IL-1β and TNF-α in the spinal cord were significantly reduced by radiotherapy. In addition, radiotherapy also reduced TCI-induced bone loss. These findings suggest that radiotherapy may suppress bone cancer pain through inhibition of activation of cAMP-PKA signaling pathway in DRG and the spinal cord

Selection of DNA aptamers using atomic force microscopy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) can detect the adhesion or affinity force between a sample surface and cantilever, dynamically. This feature is useful as a method for the selection of aptamers that bind to their targets with very high affinity. Therefore, we propose the Systematic Evolution of Ligands by an EXponential enrichment (SELEX) method using AFM to obtain aptamers that have a strong affinity for target molecules. In this study, thrombin was chosen as the target molecule, and an ‘AFM-SELEX’ cycle was performed. As a result, selected cycles were completed with only three rounds, and many of the obtained aptamers had a higher affinity to thrombin than the conventional thrombin aptamer. Moreover, one type of obtained aptamer had a high affinity to thrombin as well as the anti-thrombin antibody. AFM-SELEX is, therefore, considered to be an available method for the selection of DNA aptamers that have a high affinity for their target molecules

Global warming and shifts in cropping systems together reduce China's rice production

Climate warming is widely expected to affect rice yields, but results are equivocal and variation in rice cropping systems and climatic conditions complicates country-scale yield assessments. Here we show, through meta–a- nalysis of field warming experiments, that yield responses to warming differ strongly between China's rice cropping systems. Whereas warming increases yields in “single rice” systems, it decreases yields in “middle rice” systems and has contrasting effects for early and late rice in “double rice” systems. We further show that the contribution of these cropping systems to China's total rice production has shifted dramatically over recent decades. We estimate that if the present structure of rice cropping systems persists, warming will reduce China's total rice production by 5.0% in 2060. However, if the recent decline in the area of double rice systems con- tinues, China's rice production may decrease by 13.5%. Our results underline the need for maintaining the current area of China's “double rice” cropping system and for technological innovations in multiple rice cropping systems to ensure food security in a warming climate

Synergistic effect of elevated CO2 and straw amendment on N2O emissions from a rice–wheat cropping system

13 págnas.- 4 figuras.- 1 tabla.- referencias.- The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-024-01866-1Nitrous oxide (N2O) is one of the most important climate-forcing gases, and a large portion of global anthropogenic N2O emissions come from agricultural soils. Yet, how contrasting global change factors and agricultural management can interact to drive N2O emissions remains poorly understood. Here, conducted within a rice–wheat cropping system, we combined a two-year field experiment with two pot experiments to investigate the influences of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (eCO2) and crop straw addition to soil in altering N2O emissions under wheat cropping. Our analyses identified consistent and significant interactions between eCO2 and straw addition, whereby eCO2 increased N2O emissions (+ 19.9%) only when straw was added, and independent of different N fertilizer gradients and wheat varieties. Compared with the control (i.e., ambient CO2 without straw addition), eCO2 + straw addition increased N2O emission by 44.7% and dissolved organic carbon to total dissolved nitrogen (DOC/TDN) ratio by 115.3%. Similarly, eCO2 and straw addition significantly impacted soil N2O-related microbial activity. For instance, the ratio of the abundance of N2O production genes (i.e., nirK and nirS) to the abundance of the N2O reduction gene (i.e., nosZ) with straw addition was 26.0% higher than that without straw under eCO2. This indicates an increased denitrification potential and suggests a change in the stoichiometry of denitrification products, affecting the balance between N2O production and reduction, leading to an increase in N2O emissions. Taken together, our results emphasize the critical role of the interaction between the specific agronomic practice of straw addition and eCO2 in shaping greenhouse gas emissions in the wheat production system studied, and underline the need to test the efficacy of greenhouse gas mitigation measures under various management practices and global change scenarios.This work was supported by the earmarked fund for CARS-Green manure [CARS-22], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [32271635, 32022061, 32272218], the United Nations Development Program Project [00121838-SR-2021-05], and the China Scholarship Council [202303250050]. Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo acknowledges support from TED2021-130908B-C41/AEI/ European Next Generation EU/PRTR and from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for the I + D + i project PID2020-115813RA-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/Peer reviewe

Optimizing Electric Vehicle Integration with Vehicle-to-Grid Technology: The Influence of Price Difference and Battery Costs on Adoption, Profits, and Green Energy Utilization

Over the past decade, the widespread adoption of global green energy has emerged as a predominant trend. However, renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, face significant wastage due to challenges in energy storage. Electric vehicles (EVs) are considered an effective solution to address the energy storage dilemma. &ldquo;Vehicle-to-grid&rdquo; (V2G) technology, allowing vehicles to feed electricity into the grid, enhances the efficiency of renewable energy utilization. This paper proposes an electric vehicle game model that comprehensively considers user choices, corporate profits, and green energy utilization. The model, based on difference in prices, electricity rates, and fuel prices, establishes user utility models to determine optimal driving distances and driving decisions. It separately formulates the maximum profit functions for selling conventional electric cars and V2G electric cars, deriving optimal pricing for enterprises and user adoption rates. The research findings indicate that when price difference can offset V2G battery costs, increasing price difference and reducing battery costs effectively enhance electric vehicle adoption rates, increase corporate profits, and improve green energy utilization. Moreover, compared to conventional electric vehicles, V2G electric vehicles demonstrate a comparative advantage, with the implementation of V2G expanding corporate profits and green energy utilization. Validation using Chinese data reveals that when price difference can offset V2G battery costs, drivers are more inclined to choose V2G electric vehicles. Both battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and V2G electric vehicles exhibit adoption rates that can increase by over 35%. This study provides theoretical and model support for the future development of V2G and policy formulation, underscoring the comparative advantages of V2G in enhancing green energy utilization efficiency. Additionally, this study offers valuable insights as a reference for business models in the V2G electric vehicle industry

The Study of Dynamic Potentials of Highly Excited Vibrational States of DCP: From Case Analysis to Comparative Study with HCP

The dynamic potentials of highly excited vibrational states of deuterated phosphaethyne (DCP) in the D–C and C–P stretching coordinates with anharmonicity and Fermi coupling are studied in this article and the results show that the D-C-P bending vibration mode has weak effects on D–C and C–P stretching modes under different Polyad numbers (P number). Furthermore, the dynamic potentials and the corresponding phase space trajectories of DCP are given, as an example, in the case of P = 30. In the end, a comparative study between deuterated phosphaethyne (DCP) and phosphaethyne (HCP) with dynamic potential is done, and it is elucidated that the uncoupled mode makes the original horizontal reversed symmetry breaking between the dynamic potential of HCP ( q 3 ) and DCP ( q 1 ), but has little effect on the vertical reversed symmetry, between the dynamic potential of HCP ( q 2 ) and DCP ( q 3 )

Dynamic Features of the Highly Excited Vibrational States of the HOCl Non-Integrable System Based on the Dynamic Potential and Lyapunov Exponent Approaches

In this article the dynamic features of the highly excited vibrational states of the hypochlorous acid (HOCl) non-integrable system are studied using the dynamic potential and Lyapunov exponent approaches. On the condition that the 3:1 resonance between the H–O stretching and H–O–Cl bending modes accompany the 2:1 Fermi resonance between the O–Cl stretching and H–O–Cl bending modes, it is found that the dynamic potentials of the highly excited vibrational states vary regularly with different Polyad numbers (P numbers). As the P number increases, the dynamic potentials of the H–O stretching mode remain the same, but those of the H–O–Cl bending mode gradually become complex. In order to investigate the chaotic and stable features of the highly excited vibrational states of the HOCl non-integrable system, the Lyapunov exponents of different energy levels lying in the dynamic potentials of the H–O–Cl bending mode (P = 4 and 5) are calculated. It is shown that the Lyapunov exponents of the energy levels staying in the junction of Morse potential and inverse Morse potential are relative large, which indicates the degrees of chaos for these energy levels is relatively high, but the stabilities of the corresponding states are good. These results could be interpreted as the intramolecular vibrational relaxation (IVR) acting strongly via the HOCl bending motion and causing energy transfers among different modes. Based on the previous studies, these conclusions seem to be generally valid to some extent for non-integrable triatomic molecules