The shortened Abstract is as follows: Therapeutic gas nitric oxide (NO) has demonstrated the unique advances in biomedical applications due to its prominent role in regulating physiological/pathophysiological activities in terms of vasodilation, angiogenesis, chemosensitizing effect, and bactericidal effect. However, it is challenging to deliver NO, due to its short half-life (<5 s) and short diffusion distances (20-160 µm). To address these, various polymeric NO delivery nanoplatforms (PNODNPs) have been developed for cancer therapy, antimicrobial and cardiovascular therapeutics, because of the important advantages of polymeric delivery nanoplatforms in terms of controlled release of therapeutics and the extremely versatile nature. This reviews highlights the recent significant advances made in PNODNPs for NO storing and targeting delivery. The ideal and unique criteria that are required for PNODNPs for treating cancer, cardiovascular diseases and infection, respectively, are summarized. Hopefully, effective storage and targeted delivery of NO in a controlled manner using PNODNPs could pave the way for NO-sensitized synergistic therapy in clinical practice for treating the leading death-causing diseases.

Inflammation is an important contributor to autoimmune thyroiditis. Yanghe decoction (YH) is a traditional Chinese herbal formulation which has various anti-inflammatory effects. It has been used for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as ankylosing spondylitis In this study we aimed to investigate the effects of YH on autoimmune thyroiditis in a rat model and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. The experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT) model was established by thyroglobulin (pTG) injections and excessive iodine intake. Thyroid lesions were observed using hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) staining and serum TgAb, TPOAb, TSH, T3, and T4 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay IL-35 levels were evaluated using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Th17/Treg balance in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was determined by flow cytometry and RT-PCR. Changes in Wnt/β-catenin signaling were evaluated using Western blot. Immunofluorescence staining and western blot were employed to examine NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the thyroid. YH minimized thyroid follicle injury and decreased concentrations of serum TgAb, TPOAb, TSH, T3, and T4 in EAT model. The mRNA of IL-35 was increased after YH treatment. YH also increased the percentage of Treg cells, and decreased Th17 proportion as well as Th17/Treg ratio in PBMCs. Meanwhile, the mRNA levels of Th17 related cytokines (RORγt, IL-17A, IL-21, and IL-22) were suppressed and Treg related cytokines (FoxP3, TGF-β, and IL-10) were promoted in PBMCs. Additionally, the protein expressions of Wnt-1 and β-catenin were unregulated after YH treatment. NLRP3 immunostaining signal and protein levels of IL-17, p-NF-κB, NLRP3, ASC, cleaved-Caspase-1, cleaved-IL-1β, and IL-18 were downregulated in the thyroid after YH intervention. Overall, the present study demonstrated that YH alleviated autoimmune thyroiditis in rats by improving NLRP3 inflammasome and immune dysregulation.

High‐efficiency absorptivity is crucial for the construction of high‐performance luminescent materials, especially the long‐wavelength near‐infrared II (NIR‐II) materials, thus seeking an efficient and universal strategy to elevate the absorptivity is extremely important but is still an intractable challenge. In this work, we discovered a simple but efficient design strategy involving the introduction of gold(I) unit that could effectively elevate the absorptivity of aggregation‐induced emission luminogens (AIEgens). As a result of the efficient elevation of absorptivity, the representative AIE‐active TBTP‐Au showed more superior NIR‐II (1220 nm) luminescence, much higher photothermal conversion efficiency, and unique intracellular reactive oxygen species generating ability compared with that of the TBTP ligand. Take advantage of these improvements, the fabricated tumor‐targeting TBTP‐Au‐cRGD nanoparticles achieved specific NIR‐II tumorous imaging in vivo and exerted high‐efficiency cancer therapy via the synergistic chemotherapy and photothermal therapy. Thus, this work provides a new and efficient strategy to construct high‐absorption luminescent materials and demonstrates the great potential of gold(I)‐based AIEgens as multifunctional theranostic agents.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Hanfeng Lake, an inland lake formed by the seasonal water fluctuations due to the water storage and sluice in the Three Gorges Reservoir, was faced with ecological challenges such as water pollution, aquatic biodiversity loss, and changes in land use pattern. This article takes the wetland ecosystem construction in Furongba Bay, Hanfeng Lake as an example to explore approaches to designing multi-functional wetlands which could adapt to hydro-fluctuation and other environmental changes, by drawing from the ecological wisdoms of water regulation, conservancy, and utilization developed in the agrarian age of China to support a dynamic, multi-layered landscape of mutualism and co-evolution.