Search

Three novel ent-kaurane diterpenes, namely sigesbeckin A–C (1–3), in conjunction with eight previously identified analogues (4–11), were isolated from Sigesbeckia orientalis. Their chemical structures were resolved through multiple spectroscopic analyses. All compounds were assessed for antimicrobial bioactivity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) strains. In particular, compounds 1 and 5 demonstrated moderate efficacy, with MIC values of 64 μg/mL. Moreover, compounds 3, 5, and 11 were found to synergize with doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) and vancomycin (VAN) against MRSA and VRE. The aforementioned findings offer valuable insights for the development of novel alternatives to antibiotics, which can effectively tackle the escalating issue of antibiotic resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by social communication disability and stereotypic behavior. This study aims to investigate the impact of prenatal exposure to 1‐nitropyrene (1‐NP), a key component of motor vehicle exhaust, on autism‐like behaviors in a mouse model. Three‐chamber test finds that prenatal 1‐NP exposure causes autism‐like behaviors during the weaning period. Patch clamp shows that inhibitory synaptic transmission is reduced in medial prefrontal cortex of 1‐NP‐exposed weaning pups. Immunofluorescence finds that prenatal 1‐NP exposure reduces the number of prefrontal glutamate decarboxylase 67 (GAD67) positive interneurons in fetuses and weaning pups. Moreover, prenatal 1‐NP exposure retards tangential migration of GAD67‐positive interneurons and downregulates interneuron migration‐related genes, such as Nrg1, Erbb4, and Sema3F, in fetal forebrain. Mechanistically, prenatal 1‐NP exposure reduces hydroxymethylation of interneuron migration‐related genes through inhibiting ten‐eleven translocation (TET) activity in fetal forebrain. Supplement with alpha‐ketoglutarate (α‐KG), a cofactor of TET enzyme, reverses 1‐NP‐induced hypohydroxymethylation at specific sites of interneuron migration‐related genes. Moreover, α‐KG supplement alleviates 1‐NP‐induced migration retardation of interneurons in fetal forebrain. Finally, maternal α‐KG supplement improves 1‐NP‐induced autism‐like behaviors in weaning offspring. In conclusion, prenatal 1‐NP exposure causes autism‐like behavior partially by altering DNA hydroxymethylation of interneuron migration‐related genes in developing brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anxiety and depression can influence adherence to Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). However, there is limited research on the temporal dynamics of anxiety and depression among men who have sex with men (MSM) using PrEP. Methods: From December 2018 to November 2020, we administered the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to participants in the China Real-World Oral Intake of PrEP (CROPrEP) to measure their anxiety and depression levels. The group-based trajectory model (GBTM) depicted the dynamic changes of anxiety and depression scores over time. Results: A total of 1023 MSM were included, with 4523 follow-up assessments. The GBTM categorized the trajectories into three distinct patterns: consistently low (54.8% for anxiety, 60.7% for depression), consistently moderate (39.3% for anxiety, 31.4% for depression), and high but bell-shaped (5.9% for anxiety, 7.9% for depression). Higher anxiety levels were associated with being aged 18–30 years old, earning less than US$619 per month, female-identifying, adopting the bottom sexual role with men, and having two or more anal sex partners in the past three months; similarly, higher depression levels correlated with a monthly income under US$619, female-identifying, sexual behavior as bottom and a positive syphilis at baseline. PrEP adherence was notably lower in the high but bell-shaped anxiety and depression group compared to the other groups, particularly at the 12th-month follow-up. Conclusions: Close monitoring of anxiety and depression levels in MSM on PrEP is crucial. Provision of targeted mental health support is essential to enhance PrEP effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monoterpene indole alkaloids exhibit structural diversity in herbal resources and have been developed as promising drugs owing to their significant biological activities. Confidential identification and quantification of monoterpene indole alkaloids is the key to quality control of target plants in industrial production but has rarely been reported. In this study, quantitative performance of three data acquisition modes of ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry including full scan, auto‐MS2 and target‐MS2, was evaluated and compared for specificity, sensitivity, linearity, precision, accuracy, and matrix effect using five monoterpene indole alkaloids (scholaricine, 19‐epi‐scholaricine, vallesamine, picrinine, and picralinal). Method validations indicated that target‐MS2 mode showed predominant performance for simultaneous annotation and quantification of analytes, and was then applied to determine monoterpene indole alkaloids in Alstonia scholaris (leaves, barks) after extraction procedures optimization using Box‐Behnken design of response surface methodology. The variations of A. scholaris monoterpene indole alkaloids in different plant parts, harvest periods, and post‐handling processes, were subsequently investigated. The results indicated that target‐MS2 mode could improve the quantitative capability of ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry for structure‐complex monoterpene indole alkaloids in herbal matrices. Alstonia scholaris, monoterpene indole alkaloids, quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry, qualitative and quantitative analysis, ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-elemental and multi-dimensional data are more and more important in the development of data-driven research, as is the case in modern paleontology, in which, in an examination by experts, or some day artificial intelligence, every fossil specimen plays a fundamental role. We here release a dataset of 1550 graptolite specimens representing 113 Ordovician to Silurian graptolite species or subspecies that are significant in global stratigraphic correlation and shale gas exploration. The dataset contains 2951 high-resolution images and a data table of each specimen's scientific information, including the taxonomic, geologic, and geographic information, comments, and references. Our dataset provides images for specialists or laypeople worldwide, is supported by the tool FSIDvis (Fossil Specimen Image Dataset Visualizer), which we developed to facilitate the interactive exploration of the rich-attribution image dataset, and includes a nonlinear-dimension reduction technique, t-SNE (t -distributed stochastic neighbor embedding), to project image data into a two-dimensional space to visualize and explore the similarities. Our dataset potentially contributes to virtual examinations of specimens, global bio-stratigraphic correlation, and improvement of the shale gas exploration efficiency. All data, images and the spreadsheet are available at 10.5281/zenodo.6688670 (Xu, 2022). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two unique windmill-like aziridine-containing indole alkaloids, possessing an unprecedented 6/5/5/6/6/5/3 rigid ring system and an unusual azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane core, were isolated from Alstonia scholaris. Their structures were established by spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electronic circular dichroism calculations. The novel compounds exhibited significant anti-inflammatory bioactivity in vitro and alleviated LPS-induced acute lung injury in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Veratrazine A (1), a steroidal alkaloid with a unique 6/5/5 triheterocyclic scaffold as the side chain, was isolated from Veratrum stenophyllum, and its structure was established via spectroscopic analyses and X-ray diffraction. A plausible biosynthetic pathway for 1 is proposed. Bioassy exhibits moderate anti-inflammatory activities in vitro and in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient catalytic cleavage of C–O bonds in lignin derivatives is crucial for converting these compounds into valuable chemicals. The reliance on expensive noble metals and harsh operational conditions poses significant challenges for existing catalyst systems. In response, we have developed a Ni-based catalyst through an acetone-driven etching-deposition-pyrolysis technique, tailored to maximize exposure of Ni active sites. Systematic optimization of the support's surface properties, pyrolysis temperature, and Ni loading were instrumental in augmenting C–O bond cleavage efficiency in aromatic ethers. Remarkably, the catalyst, 2Ni/CNS-500, facilitated the cleavage of the C–O bond in diphenyl ether (DPE) to monomers under mild conditions (140 °C for 2 h under 1 MPa H 2 pressure), surpassing the performance of several existing heterogeneous Ni-based catalysts. The catalyst's superior performance is attributed to the robust interaction between nickel and carbon nanosphere (CNS) species and the significant exposure of nickel active sites. Versatility was demonstrated with a variety of lignin-derived substrates, including 4-phenoxy phenol (4- O -5), benzyl phenyl ether (α- O -4), phenyl ethyl benzene (β- O -4), and anisole, showcasing the catalyst's broad applicability. Therefore, the acetone-driven etching-deposition-pyrolysis strategy is considered a promising method for preparing highly dispersed nickel-based hydrogenolysis of lignin derivatives catalysts with broad industrial application prospects. [Display omitted] • 2Ni/CNS-500 was prepared through an etching-deposition-pyrolysis technique. • Acetone exhibited positive effects on dispersing the Ni nanoparticles on the phenolic resin carbon nanosphere. • The dimensions of Ni nanoparticles were governed by preparation conditions. • Selective hydrogenolysis of diphenyl ethers was achieved under mild conditions. • 2Ni/CNS-500 catalyst exhibits good recovery and recyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trifluoropyl methyldimethoxysilane ( TMDS) was used as constitution controller to treat the hydroxyl groups on the surface of silica, and then the treated silica was applied on fluorosilicone rubber. The powder-eating efficiency, physical properties, oil resistance and heat resistance of fluorosilicone rubber were investigated and compared with that of fluorosilicone rubber prepared with dimethyldimethoxysilane. The results show that TMDS can effectively reduce the hydroxyl content on the surface of silica, improve the powder-eating efficiency in kneading. The fluorosilicone rubber exhibits a good mechanical properties and oil resistance, while decreases the heat resistance slightly. With the increase of TMDS in fluorosilicone rubber, the tensile properties of fluorosilicone rubber increases first and then decreases, besides its elongation at break increases, and the compression set decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The structural annotation of target relies on high‐resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) information resulting in dubious identities in most cases. The accurate annotation of isomeric structures is still challenging to be confirmed with significant bottleneck. Objective: This study focused on the improvement of structural annotation of candidate structures via four pairs of isomeric flavanone‐7‐O‐diglucosides and their basic flavanone aglycones commonly detected in citrus products. Method: An integrated liquid chromatography coupled with high‐resolution mass spectrometry (LC–HRMS) approach merging retention time, accurate mass, tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) information (diagnostic ions), ion ratio at selected collision energy was established successfully. R esults : Feasibility of this approach was validated confidently in biological samples with relative standard deviation (RSD) of ion ratio range from 3.91 to 12.28%. Differences of fragmentation patterns of citrus flavanones were illustrated reasonably. MS/MS fragments of (S)‐hesperetin and (S)‐isosakuranetin were complicated and showed typical radical ion [1,2A – H]•– (m/z 164) in negative ESI mode due to the methoxyl group on B‐ring, which showed huge difference with (R)‐hesperetin and (R)‐isosakuranetin. Conclusion: This study integrated multiple levels to boost the confidence of structural annotation relied on LC–HRMS, and provided important values in practice for precise identification of citrus flavanones in biological matrices. An integrated method (RT‐AM‐MS/MS‐IR) relied on LC‐HRMS to promote the confidence of structural annotation was established and validated via isomeric citrus flavanones in biosamples. And this method was applied successfully to distinguish the enantiomers of flavanone aglycones that usually possess (R)‐ and (S)‐enantiomers in vivo including naringenin, hesperetin and isosakuranetin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To understand the mortality, attrition and influencing factors among HIV-infected persons receiving initial antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Danyang City, Jiangsu Province. Methods According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 413 HIV-infected persons receiving initial antiretroviral therapy were selected from National AIDS Comprehensive Treatment and Prevention System in Danyang City, Jiangsu Province from 2005 to 2020. Cox proportional hazard regression model was employed to analyze the mortality and attrition of HIV-infected patients with initial antiviral treatment, and to explore influencing factors. Results There were 314 cases were undergoing treatment, 28 were transferred out, and 58 cases were death, 1 lost to follow-up and 12 cases were attrition. There were followed up for 1 516.75 person-years by 413 HIV-infected patients, average age was 45 (18-84) years, and a male to female ratio of 3.8;1. The mortality and ART attrition rates among all patients were 3.82 / 100 person-years and 0.86 / 100 person-years, respectively. The main epidemiological characteristics were married or cohabiting accounted for 64.6%, heterosexual transmission accounted for 63.0%, CD4+ T lymphocyte count≥200/μL accounted for 52.3%, and EFV+ 3TC+ TDF accounted for 50.9%. Cox regression model analysis results showed that the main factors that increased the risk of mortality were aged ≥40 years (AHR=4.21, 95%CI: 1.58-11.17), CD4+ T lymphocyte count<200 cells/μL before treatment (AHR=2.63, 95%CI:1.37-5.08), and undetected CD4+ T lymphocytes (AHR=3.66, 95%CI:1.13-11.84). While the risk of mortality was lowed in women (AHR=0.37, 95%CI: 0.15-0.92). In addition, CD4+ T lymphocyte count <200 cells/μL before treatment (AHR=0.21, 95%CI:0.04-0.99) and married or cohabiting (AHR=0.20, 95%CI: 0.04-0.93) were low risk factors of attrition. Conclusion The mortality rate was still high, but the attrition rate was low among HIV-infected persons receiving initial antiretroviral therapy in Danyang, Jiangsu Province, an economically developed area in China. We should improve the detection of CD4+ lymphocytes before ART, take the timeliness of the initiation ART and improve service management to reduce mortality of HIV-infected persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Litter size is an important factor that significantly affects the development of the sheep industry. Our previous TMT proteomics analysis found that three key proteins in the ovarian steroidogenesis pathway, STAR, HSD3B1, and CYP11A1, may affect the litter size trait of Small Tail Han sheep. Objective: The purpose of this study was to better understand the relationship between polymorphisms of these three genes and litter size. Material and Method: Sequenom MassARRAY detected genetic variance of the three genes in 768 sheep. Real‐time qPCR of the three genes was used to compare their expression in monotocous and polytocous sheep in relevant tissues. Finally, bioinformatics analysis predicted the protein sequences of the different SNP variants. Result: Association analysis showed that there was a significant difference in litter size among the genotypes at two loci of the CYP11A1 gene (p < 0.05), but no significant difference was observed in litter size among all genotypes at all loci of the STAR and HSD3B1 genes (p > 0.05). However, STAR expression was significantly different in polytocous and monotocous sheep in the pituitary (p < 0.01). Tissue‐specific expression in the ovary was observed for HSD3B1 (p < 0.05), but its expression was not different between polytocous and monotocous sheep. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the g.33217408C > T mutation of CYP11A1 resulted in major changes to the secondary and tertiary structures. In contrast, gene polymorphisms in STAR and HSD3B1 had minimal impacts on their protein structures. Discussion: This may explain why the CYP11A1 variant impacted litter size while the others did not. The single nucleotide polymorphism of the CYP11A1 gene would serve as a good molecular marker when breeding to increase litter size in sheep. Our study provides a basis for further revealing the function of the ovarian steroidogenesis pathway in sheep reproduction and sheep breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The citrus herbs have proved their important medicinal and nutritional values as medicine–food dual‐purpose herbs, functional foods, or medical herbs in China. In this study, phytochemicals and antioxidant activity among ten typical citrus herbs (ethanol extracts) were investigated comprehensively. The major ingredients and their contents were analyzed by high‐resolution mass spectrometry, and the differences of typical fragment ions between flavanone‐7‐O‐rutinoside(s) and flavanone‐7‐O‐neohesperidoside(s) were discriminated properly in negative electrospray ionization mode. Total polyphenols, total flavonoids, 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl, 2,2′‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulphonic acid), and ferric reducing antioxidant power tests were performed, which indicated their beneficial values and antioxidant effects. The medicine–food dual‐purpose herbs including Chenpi, Juluo, Daidaihua, Huajuhong, Xiangyuan, and Foshou exhibited antioxidant capacities significantly by decreasing intracellular reactive oxygen species intensity (P < 0.01), enhancing superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase activities (P < 0.01) in H2O2‐induced RIN‐m5F cells. Moreover, the functional foods Zhishi, Zhiqiao, and Qingpi showed moderate antioxidant bioactivity, while the medical herb Juhe showed weak antioxidant bioactivity, which were consistent with the multivariate analysis of their major flavonoids. The study provided a new sight for the chemical differentiation and practical application of citrus herbs as medicine–food dual‐purpose herbs, functional foods, or medical herbs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factor that binds to the inducer of short transcripts of the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (FBI-1) represents as a crucial gene regulator in colorectal cancer; however, the correlation between FBI-1 and preoperative radiotherapy (RT) in rectal cancer (RC) has not yet been reported. The aim was to detect FBI-1 expression in patients with RC with or without RT, by immunohistochemistry and quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and to analyze its association with clinicopathological features and response to RT. The results from immunohistochemistry analysis (n=139) and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (n=55) demonstrated that FBI-1 was overexpressed in patients with RC, whether they had received preoperative RT or not. Subsequently, the association between FBI-1 expression, and the clinicopathological features and response to RT in patients with RC was analyzed. Cytoplasmic FBI-1 was upregulated in non-RT (n=77) and RT (n=62) groups (17.7 vs. 74.0%, P<0.001; 41.1 vs. 69.4%, P=0.002, respectively) of patients with RC compared with normal mucosa. However, nuclear FBI-1 was downregulated (75.8 vs. 22.1%, P<0.001; 83.9 vs. 35.5%, P<0.001, respectively) in both groups. RT had no significant effect on FBI-1 expression in RC tissues. Furthermore, nuclear FBI-1 was positively associated with tumor-node-metastasis stage and distant recurrence (P=0.003 and P=0.010, respectively). In patients with stage I, II or III RC, higher nuclear FBI-1 expression was associated with poorer disease-free survival [hazard ratio (HR)=1.934, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.055–3.579, P=0.033] and overall survival (HR=2.174, 95% CI: 1.102–4.290, P=0.025), independently of sex, age, growth pattern, differentiation and RT. In addition, FBI-1 was positively correlated with numerous biological factors, including p73 [Spearman's correlation coefficient (rs)=0.332, P=0.007], lysyl oxidase (rs=0.234, P=0.043), Wrap53 (rs=−0.425, P=0.0002) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ (rs=−0.294, P=0.026). In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that nuclear FBI-1 was an independent prognostic factor in patients with RC and correlated with numerous biological factors, which indicated that it may have multiple roles in RC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To observe the clinical effect of external application of Zi Cao Yang He Tang combined with dexamethasone ointment in the treatment of granulomatous lobular mastitis in the mass stage and the effect on cellular pyroptosis-related proteins. Methods: Forty patients with granulomatous lobular mastitis were randomly divided into 20 cases in the observation group and 20 cases in the control group. Both groups were given dexamethasone ointment for treatment, and the observation group was treated with external application of Zi Cao Yang He Tang on the basis of the control group. Breast lump vol-ume changes, breast pain and pus symptoms, pathology and histology and immunohistochemistry, cellular death-related indicators expression were compared between the two groups. Results: After treatment, the difference in mass volume of the observation group was significantly greater than that of the control group(16.7±21.5 in the control group and 32.9±27.4 in the experimental group) and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant(P<0.05);the objective remission rate of the patients in the observation group(ORR=85%)was significantly higher than that of the treatment group(ORR=50%, P<0.05). In terms of pus formation rate and pain level, the breast pain score of the observation group was significantly lower than that of the control group after two weeks or three weeks of treatment(P<0.05); the pus formation rate of the observation group was 30%, and the pus formation rate of the control group was 20%, and the difference was not statistically significant(P>0.05). The immunohistochemical expression levels of caspase-1 and GSDMD in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group(P<0.05); and in terms of the expression of cellular pyroptosis-related indexes, the expression of GSDMD, cas-pase-1, and NLRP3 in the observation group was significantly lower compared with that in the control group(P<0.05). Conclusion: The efficacy of external application of Zi Cao Yang He Tang combined with dexamethasone ointment in treating granulomatous lobular mastitis in the mass stage is remarkable, which can effectively reduce breast pain, reduce the size of the mass, de-crease the expression of cellular pyroptosisrelated indexes, and have a good anti-inflammatory effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interactions between water molecules and aromatic rings are known to be common and important in physics, chemistry and life sciences. Benzene–water complexes are the main prototype systems for O–H…π and lone-pair (lp)…π interactions in theoretical research, however solid state examples are very rare. Here, the solid state example of water sandwiched by a pair of aromatic rings is observed in a silver-mellitate framework, where lp…π and O–H…π interactions coexist. The coexistence of these two interactions has been further verified by theoretical calculations. In addition, ammonium ions and water molecules as proton sources, and strongly H-bonded nets as the pathway of proton transport, make the reported MOFs (metal–organic frameworks) exhibit distinct proton conduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a user-friendly software for photonic analog quantum computing with a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows for convenient operation without requiring programming skills. Hamiltonians can be flexibly set by either importing the waveguide position files or manually plotting the configuration on the interactive board of the GUI. Our software provides a powerful approach to theoretical studies of two-dimensional quantum walks, quantum stochastic walks, multiparticle quantum walks, and boson sampling, which may all be feasibly implemented in the physical experimental system on photonic chips, and it will inspire a rich diversity of applications for photonic quantum computing and quantum simulation. We have improved algorithms to ensure the efficiency of permanent calculation and provided case studies on educational uses, which bring users easier access to the studies of photonic quantum simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a weak blind signature scheme based on a genuinely entangled six qubits state. Different from classical blind signature schemes and current quantum signature schemes, our quantum weak blind signature scheme could guarantee not only the unconditionally security but also the anonymity of the message owner. To achieve that, quantum key distribution and one-time pad are adopted in our scheme. Our scheme has the characteristics of classical security and quantum security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of the survey of underground noise in Jinggezhuang and Donghuantuo mines, Kailuan Group, noise radiation intensity, noise propagation properties and noise frequency-spectrum characteristics of underground equipment were studied at different work conditions. The result indicates that the noise source intensity surpasses the noise limit requirement of 85 dBA completely. Nearly 70% noise sources exceed the noise limit of 90 dBA, and some are over 100 dBA. Noise attenuation in semi-free field environment on the ground is significantly different from underground far-field environment of noise source in coal mines. Noise of these regions, where staffs are long and highly concentrated, exceeds 85 dBA, the basic noise limit. The noise frequency-spectrum presents the wideband characteristics. Especially in the main frequency of the language communication 500, 1 000 and 2 000 Hz, the octave band of noise performs obviously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrathin high-k dielectric ErAlO films were deposited on Si (100) substrates by using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The very flat surface of the annealed film with a rms roughness less than 0.25nm was observed by using an atomic force microscope. The film shows good thermal stability when annealing at 900°C for 30 s in the O2 ambient. The effective dielectric constant of the film is around 15.2, and a low leakage current of 8.4×10-5 A/cm2 at an electric field of 1MV/cm was achieved for the film with the equivalent oxide thickness of 2.0nm after annealing [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) is an NAD+-dependent deacetylase with a significant role in 20% of all cancers, such as colon cancers and rectal adenocarcinoma. However, there is currently no effective drug for cancers related to SIRT6. To explore potential inhibitors of SIRT6, it is essential to reveal details of the interaction mechanisms between inhibitors and SIRT6 at the atomic level. The nature of small molecules from herbs have many advantages as inhibitors. Based on the conformational characteristics of the inhibitor Compound 9 (Asinex ID: BAS13555470), we explored the natural molecule Scutellarin, one compound of Huang Qin, which is an effective herb for curing cancer that has been described in the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCMS) library. We investigated the interactions between SIRT6 and the inhibitors using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We illustrated that the structurally similar inhibitors have a similar binding mode to SIRT6 with residues—Leu9, Phe64, Val115, His133 and Trp188. Hydrophobic and π-stacking interactions play important roles in the interactions between SIRT6 and inhibitors. In summary, our results reveal the interactive mechanism of SIRT6 and the inhibitors and we also provide Scutellarin as a new potential inhibitor of SIRT6. Our study provides a new potential way to explore potential inhibitors from TCMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a wet-chemical based method was adopted to acquire the uniform dispersion of graphene nanosheets (GNSs) in a powder metallurgy nickel-based superalloy (FGH96) to fabricate a new GNSs reinforced FGH96 metal matrix composite. The surface of the FGH96 powder was modified using a hydrophilic surfactant named polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), which has good wettability and strong hydrogen bonding between the –OH groups of PVA and oxygen groups of GNSs such as –COOH, –CHO, and –OH. It was shown that the GNSs displayed much better dispersion uniformity on the PVA modified FGH96 powder than the unmodified one. The existence of PVA improved the adsorptive capacity of the GNSs attached on the powder surface and prevented the agglomeration in the following thermal preparation process. Consequently, the micro-hardness of PVA modified composite with 0.1 wt.% GNSs reached 497.9 HV, 3.4% higher than the unmodified FGH96 alloy. Therefore, this preparation process could act as the foundation of a common strategy for the fabrication of GNSs in metal matrix composites with good dispersion uniformity, which may have great potential application in aerospace applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]