Unveiling the charge transfer behavior within ZSM-5 and carbon nitride composites for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

ZSM-5/graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) composites were successfully prepared using a simple solvothermal method. By varying the amount of ZSM-5 and g-C₃N₄ in the composites, the charge carrier (electrons and holes) transfer within the materials, which contributes to the enhanced photocatalytic performance, was unraveled. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that more ZSM-5 component leads to a stronger interaction with g-C₃N₄. The photocatalytic performance test toward methylene blue (MB) degradation shows that more ZSM-5 in the composites is beneficial in enhancing photocatalytic activity. Meanwhile, the impedance electron spectroscopy (EIS) and photoluminescence (PL) analysis revealed that ZSM-5 facilitates the charge carrier transfer of photogenerated electrons and holes from g-C₃N₄ to the catalyst surface due to its lower charge transfer resistance. During the charge carrier migration, the interface between g-C₃N₄ and ZSM-5 particles may induce higher resistance for the charge carrier transfer, however after passing through the interface from g-C₃N₄ to ZSM-5 particles, the charge carrier can be efficiently transferred to the surface, hence suppressing the charge carrier recombination.

In the ZSM-5/g-C₃N₄ composite, ZSM-5 facilitates the charge transfer from g-C₃N₄ to the surface due to its lower charge transfer resistance.     

Toward an MRI-based nomogram for the prediction of transperineal prostate biopsy outcome: A physician and patient decision tool

Purpose

To develop and internally validate a nomogram using biparametric magnetic resonance imaging (B-MRI)–derived variables for the prediction of prostate cancer at transperineal sector-guided prostate biopsy (TPSB).

Potential of Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) for Detecting Liver Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Objective: Liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are chronic liver diseases that can cause serious health problems. Meanwhile, the methods used to detect liver cirrhosis and HCC are limited. Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) is a protein that makes up high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which plays a role in liver cirrhosis and HCC, and can be used as a biomarker. This study aims to determine the ability of ApoA1 to detect and differentiate liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 47 patients with liver cirrhosis and HCC at Margono Soekarjo Regional General Hospital, Purwokerto, Indonesia. This study also involved 33 healthy participants from blood donors at the Blood Transfusion Unit, Indonesian Red Cross, Banyumas. Serum ApoA1 levels were analyzed by ELISA method. Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) were used to evaluate the diagnostic power of ApoA1 and differentiate between cirrhotic, HCC, and healthy patients. Multivariate binary logistic regression test to determine the most influential variables on the incidence of cirrhosis, HCC, and health. Results: ApoA1 was able to differentiate cirrhosis from HCC, cirrhosis from healthy and HCC from healthy, with sensitivity 56.7%, 86.7%, 70.6%, specificity 70.6%, 93.9%, 84.9%, respectively, and AUC 68.5%, 92.6%, 75.0%. AFP (p = 0.002, OR 1.004) and bilirubin (p = 0.021, OR 1.259) were variables that contributed to cirrhosis - HCC. Age (p = 0.011, OR 0.766) and AST (p = 0.003, OR 0.834) are variables that play a role in health - cirrhosis. ALT (p = 0.024, OR 0.965) and PT (p = 0.004, OR 0.253) are variables that play a role in healthy - HCC. Conclusion: ApoA1 was best for detecting healthy from cirrhosis, followed by healthy from HCC and cirrhosis from HCC. ApoA1 is not the primary variable determining the incidence of cirrhosis - HCC, healthy - HCC, and healthy – HCC.     

Role of spleen tyrosine kinase in liver diseases

Spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK),a non-receptor tyrosine kinase,is expressed in most hematopoietic cells and non-hematopoietic cells and play a crucial role in both immune and non-immune biological responses.SYK mediate diverse cellular responses via an immune-receptor tyrosine-based activation motifs (ITAMs)-dependent signalling pathways,ITAMs-independent and ITAMs-semidependent signalling pathways.In liver,SYK expression has been observed in parenchymal (hepatocytes) and non-parenchymal cells (hepatic stellate cells and Kupffer cells) and found to be positively correlated with the disease severity.The implication of SYK pathway has been reported in different liver diseases including liver fibrosis,viral hepatitis,alcoholic liver disease,non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma.Antagonism of SYK pathway using kinase inhibitors have shown to attenuate the progression of liver diseases thereby suggesting SYK as a highly promising therapeutic target.This review summarizes the current understanding of SYK and its therapeutic implication in liver diseases.     

Solubility enhancement of ethyl p-methoxycinnamate under nanoscale confinement

The low solubility of ethyl p-methoxycinnamate (EPMC) inhibits its absorption in the gastrointestinal tract, impairing its pharmacological effect. The solubility of EPMC can be increased by utilizing a carrier in the type of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN). In the present study, we aimed to confine EPMC under the nanoscale of MSN (MSN-EPMC) to increase the water solubility of EPMC. MSN was prepared using sodium silica as a precursor and Tween 80 and Span 80 as templates. Briefly, 500 mg MSN was dispersed into 2% w/v EPMC solution, stirred at 100 r/min for 24 h, and dried at 60 °C. The results showed that the MSN formed had a particle size of 87.1305 nm, a surface area of 68.86 m²/g, a pore diameter of 20.45 nm, and a pore volume of 0.352 cm³/g. EPMC was successfully confined under the nanoscale of MSN. MSN-EPMC had an amorphous structure, a loading capacity of 10.6%, and a loading efficiency of 18.18%. The solubility of MSN-EPMC was increased by 2.63 folds at 30 min compared with EPMC. The amorphous structure of MSN-EPMC was responsible for the enhancement of the water solubility. It could be concluded that the confining of EPMC in MSN had the potential to increase the solubility of a water-soluble isolate of a plant.