Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a critical role in renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). Intermedin (IMD) reportedly protected against myocardial IRI via its antioxidant effects; however, its protective role in renal IRI has not been investigated. We overexpressed IMD in rat kidneys and examined how the kidneys respond to renal IRI. Eukaryotic expression plasmid encoding the rat IMD gene or control empty vector was transfected into the left kidney using an ultrasound-microbubble-mediated delivery system. This method yielded high expression of IMD in kidney cells. Renal IRI was induced by clamping the left renal artery followed by reperfusion. In response to IRI, overexpression of IMD in the kidney significantly improved renal function and pathology compared with the kidney transfected with control plasmid. We investigated the mechanisms by which IMD protects against renal IRI. We examined renal superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content and found SOD activity was significantly increased, while MDA level was markedly decreased in kidneys transfected with IMD, suggesting ROS production and oxidative stress were reduced by IMD overexpression. We also measured myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, tubular cell apoptosis, and the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), P-selectin, and endothelin-1 (ET-1) in the kidney. Renal MPO activity and the expression of ICAM-1, P-selectin, and ET-1 stimulated by IRI were significantly inhibited by IMD overexpression. Moreover, IMD overexpression prevented kidney cells from apoptosis caused by IRI. Our results demonstrate that overexpression of IMD in the kidney protects against renal IRI, apparently by reducing oxidative stress, consequently suppressing inflammation and vasoconstrictor production and apoptosis.

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A facile, green, and efficient approach for the fabrication of Ag-coated Fe 3 O 4 @TiO 2 microspheres with a good core/shell structure has been demonstrated. The protocol employed involves the coating of successive layers of TiO 2 nanoparticles on to a magnetic core using a vapor-thermal method at low temperature followed by the deposition of silver nanoparticles on the surface of the Fe 3 O 4 @TiO 2 microspheres through a photochemical route. The Ag-coated Fe 3 O 4 @TiO 2 microspheres show excellent magnetic properties at room temperature. The photocatalytic properties of the products were investigated for the degradation of organic dyes. The loading of Ag nanoparticles coated on to the surface of the Fe 3 O 4 @TiO 2 microspheres was controlled by changing the

Compared with aramid fabrics, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene fiber unidirectional (UHMWPE UD) composites have higher ballistic limited velocity at the same areal density, making UHMWPE UD composites better candidate materials for the design of body armor against ballistic and stab impact. In this study, UHMWPE UD composites impregnated with thermoplastic films were prepared, and a novel methodology was proposed to evaluate the stab‐resistant performance of these composites using the concept of stab impact. Stab‐resistant performance is strongly affected by stab impact parameters, such as stab velocity or impact energy, layers of UD, and stab angle. Results show that the stab‐resistant performance of composites can be significantly improved by thermoplastic films, particularly polyethylene terephthalate and polypropylene films. The structure of UD composites functions importantly in enhancing stab resistance. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.