Hypoxia in a solid tumor microenvironment (TME) can lead to the overexpression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), which correlates to tumor metastasis. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced tumor cell apoptosis is becoming a promising method in tumor treatment. https://www.selleckchem.com/TGF-beta.html Currently, the ROS generating systems, e.g., photodynamic treatment and sonodynamic treatment, highly depend on oxygen (O2) in the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, the level of O2 in TME is too low to produce enough ROS. Herein, we developed an ultrasmall DSPE-PEG2000 coated barium titanate nanoparticle (P-BTO) for tumor treatment based on ultrasound triggered piezocatalysis and water splitting. Interestingly, irradiated by ultrasound, the surface of ultasmall P-BTO nanoparticles produced imbalance charges, which induced a cascade of redox reaction processes to simultaneously generate ROS and O2, the latter one was hardly generated in large-sized barium titanate nanoparticles. The as-synthesized P-BTO reached the highest accumulation in the tumor site at 4 h after intravenous injection. The results showed that the produced O2 significantly alleviated the hypoxia of TME to down-regulate the expression of HIF-1α, and the produced ROS can efficiently kill tumor cells. Moreover, the tumor metastasis was also inhibited, providing a different way to treat triple-negative breast cancer, which was easily metastatic and lacked effective treatments in the clinic.Mitophagy is a vital biological process playing central roles in the regulation of metabolic activity and quality control of mitochondria. The presented dual-color fluorescent probes to directly monitor mitophagy were based on the optical response to pH change during mitophagy, but pH fluctuation may lead to interference. To overcome this, herein, two fluorescent probes (G-Mito, R-Lyso) were rationally designed to visualize mitophagy directly in a dual-color manner, relying on the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) process for the first time. Green emissive G-Mito targeted and anchored the mitochondria via reaction with protein thiols. Red-emissive R-Lyso exclusively targeted lysosomes. Live cells loaded with the two probes demonstrated strong fluorescence in only the green channel with excitation at 405 nm. After mitophagy, G-Mito in mitochondria was delivered into the lysosomes, and red fluorescence evidently increased due to the FRET process. With the probes, mitochondria, lysosomes, and autolysosomes could be discriminatively visualized in three different sets of signals. Mitophagy induced by starvation and in normal physiological status were successfully observed. The probes revealed that a certain amount of H2O2 could induce mitophagy. We expect that the two probes can serve as molecular tools for validation of mitophagy and promote the development of related areas.Essential oils (EOs) are natural antibiotic chemicals for food preservation; however, their use is challenging due to low solubility and high volatility. In this study, hybrid protein particles with hydrophobic interiors and colloidal stability were designed to carry hydrophobic eugenol with enhanced storage and thermal stability. Stable self-emulsified delivery systems (SEDSs) were facilitated by simply mixing eugenol with wheat proteins (WPs) and soy proteins (SPs) at pH 12 prior to neutralization. This strategy enabled protein co-folding that permitted the entrapment of eugenol with a high entrapment capacity of ca. 500 mg/g protein. Control over the SP/WP ratios contributed to tunable microstructural conformations, which in turn modulated the stability of SEDSs with prominent bacteriostatic properties against fungi when applied to rice cakes during long-term storage. These results underline the feasibility of properly utilizing EOs by binary protein structures, where the antibacterial properties of EOs could be manipulated coherently.Taking a robust zirconium-based metal-organic framework, UiO-66, as a prototype, functional postmodification via the versatile Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne "click" reaction was carried out, and sulfonic acid groups were successfully grafted into its skeleton. Characterizations revealed that the MOF network was still well maintained after being treated by "clicked" modification. Investigations by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements revealed that its proton conductivity increases exponentially up to 8.8 × 10-3 S cm-1 at 80 °C and 98% RH, while those of the UiO-66 and UiO-66-NH2 are only 6.3 × 10-6 and 3.5 × 10-6 S cm-1, respectively, at the same condition. Additionally, the continuous test shows it possesses long-life reusability. Such a remarkable enhancement on the proton conductivities and high performance in long-life reusability of the resultant MOF demonstrated that the "click" reaction is a facile reaction in postmodification of robust porous materials toward targeted applications, with which highly promising candidates of proton-conductive electrolytes for applying in proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) fuel cell can be achieved.The nature of the bonding and magnetic exchange pathways of the water-oxidizing complex of photosystem 2 is explored using broken symmetry density functional theory. The electronic structure and superexchange pathways are illustrated and analyzed using corresponding orbitals and intrinsic bond orbitals. These demonstrate a dominating influence on the bonding and magnetic interactions by both the geometrical structure of the Mn4CaO5 core complex and the ionic interactions of the oxo bridges with the neighboring Ca2+ ion. The demonstrated ionic nature of the Ca2+ bonds is proposed to contribute to the stabilization of the oxygen atoms participating in O-O bond formation.The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria has major issues for treating bacterial pneumonia. Currently, anoplin (GLLKRIKTLL-NH2) is a natural antimicrobial candidate derived from wasp venom. In this study, a series of new antimicrobial peptide (AMP) anoplin analogues were designed and synthesized. The relationship between their biological activities and their positive charge, hydrophobicity, amphipathicity, and secondary structure are described. The characteristic shared by these peptides is that positively charged amino acids and hydrophobic amino acids are severally arranged on the hydrophilic and hydrophobic surface of the α-helix to form a completely amphiphilic structure. To achieve ideal AMPs, below the range of the threshold of the cytotoxicity and hemolytic activity, their charges and hydrophobicity were increased as much. Among the new analogues, A-21 (KWWKKWKKWW-NH2) exhibited the greatest antimicrobial activity (geometric mean of minimum inhibitory concentrations = 4.76 μM) against all the tested bacterial strains, high bacterial cell selectivity in vitro, high effectiveness against bacterial pneumonia in mice infected with Klebsiella pneumoniae, and low toxicity in mice (LD50 = 82.