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A novel procedure to unfold the heavily overlapped valence-shell excitation spectrum of a diatomic molecule has been established. Compared with the traditional least-squares fitting method, the present program repeatedly changes the fitting parameter values by Monte Carlo random walk, which can greatly increase the probability of hunting the global minimum variance. Especially, the modification to the Franck-Condon factors for the vibronic states of an individual electronic state has been introduced, which can surmount the problems caused by the invalidity of Franck-Condon approximation, and improve the reliability of the fitted results. This program is used to determine the optical oscillator strengths of the vibronic states of the electronic states B Σ u + 1 and C Π u 1 of molecular deuterium by the dipole (γ, γ) method. The good agreement of the fitted results with the previous experimental and theoretical ones indicates the validity of this unfolding program.

The generalized oscillator strengths of the valence-shell excitations from the ground state to the 2 p 5 ( 3 s , 3 s ′ , 3 p , 3 p ′ , 4 s , 4 s ′ ) states of atomic neon have been determined by means of fast electron scattering, with an incident electron energy of 1500 eV and an energy resolution of about 80 meV. The adopted relative flow technique improved accuracy of the experimental measurements prominently. The validity condition of the first Born approximation is clarified by comparing the present measured data with previous experimental and theoretical results. We found that the first Born approximation is not applicable for the monopolar transition in the whole momentum transfer region even at the incident electron energy of 1500 eV. However, the high-order Born terms are found dominating only at the minimum for the dipolar transitions. The good agreement of the present extrapolated optical oscillator strengths with previous available data confirms the reliability of the measurement. With the cross-checked generalized oscillator strengths, the state-resolved integral cross sections in a wide collision energy range have been obtained by adopting the BE-scaling method. The analysis of the feasibility of the BE-scaling method demonstrates that the scaling law applies for the typical dipole-allowed transitions while it would overestimate the cross sections for the dipolar transitions with significant dipole-forbidden components. Present data compilation constitutes a benchmark for developing and testing the theoretical methods or computational codes.

The elastic squared form factor of gaseous carbon dioxide was measured for the first time by high resolution X-ray scattering to separate the elastic and inelastic scattering. Bond lengths of rCO = 1.172 ± 0.008 A and rOO = 2.344 ± 0.016 A of CO2 were determined from the measured elastic squared form factors, which are in good agreement with the NIST benchmark data of rCO = 1.1621 A and rOO = 2.3242 A. Moreover, the obtained elastic squared form factor difference shows a clear binding effect in the region of small momentum transfers. The present work shows that high resolution X-ray scattering is a powerful tool to study the binding effect of molecules.

Delivery and penetration of chemotherapeutic drugs into neoplasm through the tumor vasculature are essential mechanisms to enhance the efficiency of chemotherapy. "Vascular targeting" strategy focuses on promoting the infiltration of chemotherapeutic drugs into neoplastic tissues. In this study, we achieved a targeted therapy by coupling tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) with TCP-1, a novel vascular-targeting peptide, in an orthotopic colorectal cancer model in mice. High dose of TCP-1-conjugated TNFα (TCP-1/TNFα: 5μg/mouse) displayed potent antitumor activity by inducing apoptosis and reducing microvessel number in tumors than unconjugated TNFα, with no evidence of increased toxicity. In the combined therapy, the antitumor action of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was potentiated when the mice were pretreated with a low dose of TNFα (1ng/mouse) and to a greater extent by the same concentration of TCP-1/TNFα. In this regard, TCP-1/TNFα combined with 5-FU synergistically inhibited the tumor growth, induced apoptosis and reduced cell proliferation. More importantly, TCP-1/TNFα normalized the tumor vasculature and facilitated the infiltration of immune cells to neoplasm as well as attenuated the immunosuppressing effects of TNFα in bone marrow and spleen. At the same time, TCP-1/TNFα significantly improved 5-FU absorption into the tumor mass. Taken together, these findings underscore the therapeutic potential of TCP-1 as a drug carrier in cancer therapy. TCP-1 is a novel vascular-targeting peptide and appears to be a promising agent for drug delivery. TCP-1 fused with TNFα holds great promise for colorectal cancer therapy.

Relevance to ethnopharmacology Dahuangzhechong pill (DHZCP), a well-known and canonical Chinese medicine formula from “The Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber”, is officially approved and recommended by Chinese association of integrative medicine for the prevention and treatment of hepatic fibrosis in China. Aim of the study To test the hypothesis that therapeutic effects of DHZCP on hepatic fibrosis are conferred by regulating cytokine profile through a mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Materials and methods Hepatic fibrosis is inducted by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in rats which then were randomly divided into six groups: hepatic fibrosis model group, high dose DHZCP group, low dose DHZCP group, Fufang Biejia Ruangan Pian (FBRP) group, Colchicine group and control group. Pathological, immunohistochemical, multiplex immunoassay and protein expression studies (Western blotting) are performed. Results DHZCP significantly decreases the levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, hyaluronic acid, laminin, type IV collagen and procollagen III, and reverses hepatic fibrosis in rat model. DHZCP also could reduce the expression of α-smooth muscle actin, and lower the serum level of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin 13 (IL-13). The expressions of phosphorylated p38 MAPK and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) are down-regulated, while no significant changes are found in phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Conclusions DHZCP can alleviate hepatic fibrosis induced by CCl4. The anti-fibrotic effects of DHZCP are conferred by decreasing the secretion of TNF-α and IL-13 through down-regulating p38 and ERK phosphorylation.