Effects of lysedEnterococcus faecalis FK-23 on experimental allergic rhinitis in a murine model

In the current study, we sought to investigate whether lysed Enterococcus faecalis FK-23 （LFK）, a heat-killed probiotic preparation, attenuated eosinophil influx into the upper airway and had immunomodulatory activity in a murine allergic rhinitis model. Eighteen BALB/c mice were divided into three groups; the ovalbumin （OVA）-sen- sitized/challenged group, which received saline orally for 6 weeks （OVA group）, the OVA-sensitized/challenged group, which received LFK orally for 6 weeks （LFK-fed group）, and the non-sensitized group, which received saline for 6 weeks （saline control group）. Nasal rubbing and sneezing were monitored during the study. After the final challenge, interleukin （IL）-4, interferon （IFN）-y, and OVA-specific IgE levels in the sera and splenocyte culture supernatants were determined, eosinophilic infiltrate into the upper airway was quantified, and splenic CD4~CD25＋ regulatory T cells （Tregs） were examined by flow cytometry. We found that nasal rubbing was sig- nificantly reduced in LFK-fed mice compared to the OVA group on d 27 and 35, and sneezing was significantly inhibited by LFK administration for 35 d. LFK-fed mice had significantly less eosinophil influx into the nasal mucosa than the OVA group. There were no significant differences between the LFK-fed group and OVA group in the serum and splenocyte culture supernatant levels of IL-4, IFN-y, and OVA-specific IgE. Interestingly, the LFK-fed mice had a significantly greater percentage of splenic CD4＋CD25＋ Tregs than OVA group. Our results indicate that oral administration of LFK may alleviate nasal symptoms, reduce nasal eosinophilia, and increase the percentage of CD4＋CD25＋ Tregs in experimental allergic rhinitis.

Synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes-FePO_4 composite from phosphate residue and its application as effective Fenton-like catalyst for dye degradation

Phosphate residue is regarded as a hazardous waste, which could potentially create significant environmental and health problems if it is not properly treated and disposed of. In this study, nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes-FePO_4(NCNTs-FePO_4) composite was successfully synthesized from phosphate residue, and its application as an effective catalyst was explored. Firstly, an effective method was developed to recover FePO_4 from phosphate residue, achieving an impressive FePO_4 mass recovery rate of 98.14%. Then, the NCNTsFePO_4 catalyst was synthesized from the recovered FePO_4 by two main reactions, including surface modification and chemical vapor deposition. Finally, the synthesized NCNTs-FePO_4 was applied to photo-degrade 15 mg/L Rhodamine B(RhB) in a Fenton-like system. The results showed that 98.9% of RhB could be degraded in 60 min, closely following the pseudofirst-order kinetics model. It was found that even after six consecutive cycles, NCNTs-FePO_4 still retained a high catalytic capacity(>50%). Moreover, ·OH radicals participating in the RhB degradation process were evidenced using quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance analysis, and a rational mechanism was proposed. It was demonstrated that the materials synthesized from hazardous phosphate residue can be used as an effective catalyst for dye removal.

Preparation and optical properties of three-dimensional navel-like Bi_2WO_6 hierarchical microspheres

Three-dimensional(3D) navel-like Bi_2WO_6(BWO) hierarchical microspheres(HMSs) were successfully prepared using a simple hydrothermal method. The as-obtained BWO samples were characterized by a variety of techniques. XRD result indicated that the as-synthesized samples were well-crystallized orthorhombic phase Bi_2WO_6 structure. SEM observations revealed that the hierarchical microspheres with an average diameter of 2 μm were built from several dozen of nanosheets. UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrum study revealed that the obtained BWO sample had band gap energy of about 3.3 eV.Photoluminescence(PL) result showed that the sample had weak emission intensity. The BET specific surface area of the BWO sample was about 35.40 m^2/g. The photocatalytic efficiency of the as-obtained BWO was evaluated by the degradation of norfloxacin(NOR) antibiotic. The result showed an about 67%NOR degradation in 8 h.

Polyvinylpyrrolidone-assisted growth and optical properties of ZnO hexagonal bilayer disk-like microstructures

ZnO hexagonal bilayer disk-like microstructures are successfully fabricated using a simple solvothermal method assisted with polyvinylpyrrolidone（PVP）. The structure and morphology were investigated by Xray diffraction（XRD）, scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy（EDX）. XRD result indicated that the as-obtained samples were well-crystallized wurtzite hexagonal ZnO structure. SEM images showed that the ZnO hexagonal bilayer disk-like assembles consist of two uniform and smooth disks with an average edge length of 6 μm and thickness of ～4 μm. UV-vis spectrum reveals that ZnO sampls show an appreciable red shift and the band gap energy of the obtained ZnO samples were about 3.15 eV. A very strong ultraviolet（UV） emission at the UV region was observed in the photoluminescence（PL） spectrum of the as-prepared ZnO samples tested at room temperature. A possible growth process of the ZnO hexagonal bilayer disk-like microstructures was schematically illustrated.