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Tandem nitrate electroreduction reaction (NO3−RR) is a promising method for green ammonia (NH3) synthesis. However, the mismatched kinetics processes between NO3−‐to‐NO2− and NO2−‐to‐NH3 results in poor selectivity for NH3 and excess NO2− evolution in electrolyte solution. Herein, a Ni2+ substitution strategy for developing oxide heterostructure in Co/Fe layered double oxides (LDOs) was designed and employed as tandem electrocataltysts for NO3−RR. (Co0.83Ni0.16)2Fe exhibited a high NH3 yield rate of 50.4 mg ⋅ cm−2 ⋅ h−1 with a Faradaic efficiency of 97.8 % at −0.42 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in a pulsed electrolysis test. By combining with in situ/operando characterization technologies and theoretical calculations, we observed the strong selectivity of NH3 evolution over (Co0.83Ni0.16)2Fe, with Ni playing a dual role in NO3−RR by i) modifying the electronic behavior of Co, and ii) serving as complementary site for active hydrogen (*H) supply. Therefore, the adsorption capacity of *NO2 and its subsequent hydrogenation on the Co sites became more thermodynamically feasible. This study shows that Ni substitution promotes the kinetics of the NO3−RR and provides insights into the design of tandem electrocatalysts for NH3 evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About 80% of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients are in advanced stages and ineligible for curative surgery. Palliative treatments just maintained limited survival, thus an effective downstaging therapy is badly needed. Here we report an initially unresectable patient who underwent radical hepatectomy after successful downstaging with selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT). A 34‐year‐old man was diagnosed with China Liver Cancer Staging (CNLC) IIIa HCC. Due to insufficient future liver remnant and vascular involvement, the patient was suggested to be unresectable. SIRT with yttrium‐90 resin microspheres was given. At three months post‐SIRT, a complete response was achieved. The tumor was downstaged to CNLC Ia stage. The patient underwent anatomical hepatectomy 5 months after SIRT. Histopathological examination of the resected specimen showed 4% viable tumor cells inside a necrotic mass. To our knowledge, this is the first case who underwent SIRT with yttrium‐90 resin microspheres in China mainland. The success of the downstaging in this case renders a possible cure to be achieved in an initially unresectable patient. In addition, the nearly complete tumor necrosis in the resected specimen indicates a good prognosis post‐surgery. This is the first case who underwent SIRT with yttrium‐90 resin microspheres in China mainland. SIRT followed by anatomical hepatectomy is a potentially curative strategy for unresectable HCC, which deserves a confirmative trial in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Allergic asthma is an important respiratory system problem characterized by airway inflammation, breathlessness, and bronchoconstriction. Allergic asthma and its outcomes are triggered by type 2 allergic immune responses. Tectorigenin is a methoxy‐isoflavone with anti‐inflammatory effects. In this study, we investigated the effects of tectorigenin on the pathophysiology of allergic asthma in an animal model. Methods: Asthmatic mice were treated with tectorigenin. Then airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), eosinophil percentage, levels of interleukin (IL)‐33, IL‐25, IL‐13, IL‐5, IL‐4, total and ovalbumin (OVA)‐specific immunoglobulin (Ig)E, and lung histopathology were evaluated. Result: Tectorigenin significantly (P 〈 0.05) reduced eosinophil infiltration (41 ± 7%) in the broncho‐alveolar lavage fluid (BALF), serum IL‐5 level (41 ± 5, pg/mL), and bronchial and vascular inflammation (scores of 1.3 ± 0.2 and 1.1 ± 0.3, respectively) but had no significant effects on AHR, serum levels of IL‐33, −25, −13, and −4 (403 ± 24, 56 ± 7, 154 ± 11, and 89 ± 6 pg/mL, respectively), total and OVA‐specific IgE (2684 ± 265 and 264 ± 19 ng/mL, respectively), goblet cell hyperplasia, and mucus production. Conclusion: Tectorigenin could control inflammation and the secretion of inflammatory mediators of asthma, so it can be regarded as a potential antiasthma treatment with the ability to control eosinophilia‐related problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play a key role in tumor cell growth, drug resistance, recurrence, and metastasis. Proanthocyanidins (PC) is widely existed in plants and endowed with powerful antioxidant and anti‐aging effects. Interestingly, recent studies have found that PC exhibits the inhibitory effect on tumor growth. However, the role of PC in CSCs of colorectal cancer (CRC) and molecular mechanism remain unclear. Methods: CCK‐8, colony, and tumorsphere formation assay were used to evaluate cancer cell viability and stemness, respectively. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression. Tumor xenograft experiments were employed to examine the tumorigenicity of CRC cells in nude mice. Results: PC decreased the proliferation of CRC cells (HT29 and HCT‐116), and improved the sensitivity of CRC cells to oxaliplatin (L‐OHP), as well as inhibited tumor growth in nude mice. Further studies showed that PC also down‐regulated CSCs surface molecular and stemness transcriptional factors, while suppressed the formations of tumorspheres and cell colony in CRC. In addition, PC‐impaired proteins expressions of p‐GSK3β, β‐catenin and DVL1‐3. LiCl, an activator of the Wnt/β‐catenin signaling, rescued PC‐induced downregulation of CSCs markers, and reduction of tumorspheres and cell colony formation abilities in CRC cells. Furthermore, the effects of PC on inhibiting cell proliferation and enhancing L‐OHP sensitivity were impaired by LiCl. Conclusions: PC exerted an inhibitory effect on CSCs via Wnt/β‐catenin in CRC, and may be a potential new class of natural drug for CRC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common tumor with high morbidity and mortality. The use of oxaliplatin (L‐OHP) as a first‐line treatment for CRC is limited due to chemoresistance. Growing evidence have revealed that the existence of cancer stem‐like cells (CSLCs) is one of the important reasons for drug resistance and recurrence of cancers. Dihydroartemisinin (DHA), a derivative of artemisinin, has showed anticancer effects on a variety of malignancies, in addition to its antimalarial effects. However, the effect and mechanism of DHA on CSLCs and chemosensitivity in CRC cells remains unclear. In this study, we found that DHA inhibited cell viability in HCT116 and SW620 cells. Moreover, DHA decreased cell clonogenicity, and improved L‐OHP sensitivity. Furthermore, DHA treatment attenuated tumor sphere formation, and the expressions of stem cell surface marker (CD133 and CD44) and stemness‐associated transcription factor (Nanog, c‐Myc, and OCT4). Mechanistically, the present findings showed that DHA inhibited of AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. The activation of AKT/mTOR signaling reversed DHA‐decreased cell viability, clonogenicity, L‐OHP resistance, tumor sphere, and expressions of stemness‐associated protein in CRC. The inhibitory effect of DHA on tumorigenicity of CRC cells has also been demonstrated in BALB/c nude mice. In conclusion, this study revealed that DHA inhibited CSLCs properties in CRC via AKT/mTOR signaling, suggesting that DHA may be used as a potential therapeutic agent for CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beneficial effect of probiotics on host health is impaired due to the substantial loss of survivability during gastric transit caused by small intestinal enzymes and bile acids. Encapsulation helps to preserve the probiotics species from severe environmental factors. Lactobacillus paracasei, highly sensitive probiotic species to gastric acid, was encapsulated with polyacrylate resin. C57BL/6 male mice were equally divided into three groups; control group was fed with basal diet without any additives, the un‐encapsulated group was fed with 0.1% of a mixture of encapsulating material and L. paracasei, and encapsulated group was fed with 0.1% encapsulated L. paracasei (microcapsule) for 4 weeks. The result showed elevated fecal moisture percentage in the encapsulated group, but not in the un‐encapsulated group. Further study showed that the ratio of villus height to crypt depth in the small intestine was significantly higher compared to un‐encapsulated and the control group. Microencapsulated probiotics also remarkably increased intestinal mucin and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) concentration, intestinal MUC‐2, and tight junction protein mRNA expression levels improving the intestinal barrier function of mice. In addition, microcapsules also reduced proinflammatory factor mRNA expression, while considerably increasing anti‐inflammatory factor mRNA expression. Microbiota metabolites, fecal LPS (Lipopolysaccharide) were downregulated, and acetate and lactate were upraised compared to control. Furthermore, glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐Px) and TAOC levels were increased and Malondialdehyde (MDA) was decreased improving antioxidant capacity. Microflora and bioinformatic predictive analysis of feces showed that encapsulated probiotics remarkably increased Lactobacillus proportions. Mice's intestinal health can thus be improved by using microencapsulated probiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The restoration of dental implants presents a unique challenge due to the intrinsic biomechanical differences between osseointegrated implants and natural teeth, and their subsequent responses to occlusal loading. However, controversy exists regarding the role that occlusion plays in the physiology of the peri‐implant complex. Purpose: To provide an overview of the scientific literature regarding occlusion as it relates to implant dentistry and peri‐implant disease. Materials and Methods: This article presents a narrative review on occlusal loading and its potential effects on the peri‐implant complex, as well as some generally accepted guidelines for occlusion in implant dentistry. Results and Conclusions: Although there is strong evidence linking occlusal factors to mechanical complications of dental implants, the same cannot be said regarding biological complications. There is no clear scientific evidence on the relationship between occlusal overload and peri‐implant disease. However, occlusal overload may be an accelerating factor for peri‐implant disease in the presence of inflammation. As the biomechanical properties of dental implants differ from that of the natural dentition, modifications to classic concepts of occlusion may be necessary when dental implants are involved. Thus, clinical recommendations are proposed which function to minimize unfavorable occlusal forces on implant restorations and reduce the associated biological and mechanical complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow biocatalysis involving oxidoreductase is limited by the difficulty in recycling expensive cofactors. In this study, an enzyme‐rich hydrogel monolithic microreactor was developed via in situ microfluidic assembly of inexpensive crude enzymes. This porous gel biocatalyst exhibited good tethering functions to nicotinamide cofactors; thus, they were retained by the hydrogel to controllably form a novel heterogeneous biocatalyst with self‐sufficient cofactors. The flow asymmetric production of a chiral alcohol in this cofactor‐entrapped gel microreactor achieved >99 % enantioselectivity and a high space‐time yield of 46.3 g L−1 h−1 at 94.8 % conversion. Moreover, the turnover number of cofactors reached as high as 4800 after continuous operation of 160 reactor volumes, realizing significantly higher utilization of the cofactors compared with many reported strategies. Furthermore, this engineered heterogeneous biocatalyst exhibited improved performance in terms of product tolerance and storage stability, paving the way for a green, cost‐effective, and sustainable continuous‐flow production of enantiopure alcohols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus (ISKNV) is a highly lethal virus, which has brought significant losses to aquaculture. Therefore, a new vaccine against ISKNV with high efficiency, safety and convenience must be developed. While baculoviruses are more commonly used as protein expression systems for vaccine antigen production, this paper used baculovirus technology to develop a live‐vector vaccine, BacMCP, which contains the coding sequence of the major capsid protein (MCP) (GenBank accession no. AF371960) of ISKNV and is driven by a CMV promoter. Real‐time PCR and immunofluorescence showed that the MCP gene was successfully delivered to and expressed in fish cells and tissues inoculated with BacMCP. Immune‐related gene (IgM, TGF‐β, IL‐1, IL‐8, TNF‐α) expression was induced in BacMCP‐treated groups of largemouth bass compared with control groups. Specific antibodies could be detected in the serum of BacMCP injection‐vaccinated largemouth bass by ELISA. After injection or immersion vaccination with BacMCP for 21 days, largemouth bass were infected with ISKNV. The immune effect of the injected immunization on fish in different sizes was evaluated. The vaccine efficacy of injection‐vaccinated bass was 100% in small bass and 85.7% in large bass. The vaccine efficacy of immersion‐vaccinated small bass was 77.3%. This study suggested that BacMCP can be used as a vector‐based vaccine candidate to prevent the diseases caused by ISKNV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalytic oxidation desulfurization of gasoline liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a key process for the utilization of petroleum hydrocarbons. However, the inherent mechanism remains unclear and the kinetic investigation is usually performed in processes with limited mass transfer rates. Herein, the kinetics and mechanism of catalytic oxidation of sodium ethyl mercaptide were investigated with microfluidics. The effects of temperature, pressure, residence time, and gas‐liquid flow ratio on the oxidation were assessed on the basis of eliminating mass transfer resistance. According to the results of UV‐vis spectra and binding constant, it was confirmed that the catalytic center was in the form of the dimer. A heterogeneous reaction kinetic model was proposed as such. The kinetic parameters close to intrinsic kinetics and corresponding kinetic rate expression were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

: Despite the determination of zinc (Zn) isotope in soil being undertaken by several laboratories worldwide, sample preparation steps are varied due to diverse soil properties and compositions. This paper proposes a widely applicable soil acid digestion procedure that has been thoroughly evaluated for both soil and geological reference materials. To ensure the general applicability of this method to large varieties of soil samples, synthetic multi‐element solutions of high matrix element: Zn ratios (M/Zn) were prepared by embracing all possible elemental compositions of forty‐three certified reference materials; the chemical preparation procedure was then tested and optimised using these synthetic solutions. Results show that the recovery rate of Zn could reach 99–100% after the pre‐treatment. Based on this method, the δ66/64Zn data relative to JMC‐Lyon 3‐0749L Zn of previously uncharacterised NIST reference materials (including SRM 2709a San Joaquin soil, SRM 2710a Montana Soil and SRM 2711 Montana Soil) and Chinese certified reference materials (GSS‐1a, GSS‐7a, GSS‐5, GSS‐8, GSS‐14, GSS‐18, GSS‐20, GSS‐24, GSS‐31) were measured using MC‐ICP‐MS with a range from ‐0.08‰ to 0.35‰. The Zn isotope compositions of twenty‐nine soil samples from twenty‐one provinces/municipalities across China were also analysed and were found to fall within typical ranges from ‐0.09‰ to 0.28‰. The intermediate precision of several pure Zn standard solutions was better than ± 0.05‰ (2s) over 22 months of measurement. This method and results are useful for comparison and calibration of data between laboratories as well as providing a solid reference soil dataset for future studies dealing with Zn isotopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthesis of Fe−N−C electrocatalysts by pyrolysis of porous materials has been shown to be a promising pathway for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Metal‐organic aerogels (MOAs) with unique micropores and mesopores should provide an excellent precursor for Fe−N−C electrocatalysts. This work reports a Fe−N−C aerogel synthesized by pyrolysis of MOA. The Fe−N−C aerogel shows excellent ORR performance in alkaline condition with an onset potential of 0.96 V (vs. RHE) and a limiting current density of 5.02 mA cm−2. The markedly enhanced ORR performance for Fe−N−C aerogel can be assigned to the synergistic catalytic effect between Fe−N catalytic sites and graphitized carbon and excellent mass transport due to the unique hierarchically porous architecture. In addition, satisfactory durability and methanol tolerance were obtained, demonstrating a promising material for ORR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beauveria bassiana has been widely used as an important biological control fungus for agricultural and forest pests, and clarifying the interaction mechanism between B. bassiana and its host will help to better exert the efficacy of the mycoinsecticide. Here, we proposed a novel pattern analysis (PA) method for analyzing time‐series data and applied it to a transcriptomic data set of B. bassiana infecting Galleria mellonella. We screened out 14 patterns including 868 genes, which had some characteristics that were not inferior to differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Compared with the previous analysis of this data set, we had three novel discoveries during B. bassiana infection, including overall downregulation of gene expression, the more critical first 24 h, and enrichment of regulatory functions of downregulated genes. Our new PA method promises to be an important complement to DEGs analysis for time‐series transcriptomic data, and our findings enrich our knowledge of molecular mechanisms of fungal–host interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high‐sensitivity square‐lattice photonic crystal fiber (PCF) refractive index (RI) sensor based on an external gold coating is proposed. This design eliminates the limitations of selective coating and liquid penetration in the micrometer holes, and avoids the side polishing of D‐type fibers. The effects of air hole diameter and gold film thickness on the sensing performance are studied in detail using the full vector finite element method (FV‐FEM). In addition, the sensing performance of the gold‐coated PCF under the optimized parameters is compared with that of PCF with the same air hole diameter and a gold grating. The results show that the proposed PCF has a higher structural tolerance to the air hole diameter, which improves the manufacturing feasibility. Moreover, the gold‐coated PCF has a maximum sensitivity of 31 000 nm RIU−1 and a resolution of 3.23 × 10−6 RIU in the RI measurement range of 1.34–1.49. The maximum sensitivity of the gold‐grating PCF with lower loss is 30 000 nm RIU−1 in the RI detection range of 1.38–1.46, and the resolution is 3.33 × 10−6 RIU. Low loss is beneficial for extending the length of the fiber, which is convenient for practical implementation. Thus, it has potential applications in biomolecular and biochemical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, two membrane dispersion microreactors in series are used to synthesize piperacillin with low impurity content in kilogram scale. By combining experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations, the membrane size and cross‐sectional area are scaled up from 2 mm × 0.7 mm and 2 mm × 1 mm to 6.5 mm × 2.5 mm and 6.5 mm × 3.5 mm, respectively, and the reaction time is extended from ~10 to ~60 min, which achieves that the synthesis scale of each batch is increased from 15 g to 1 kg. Subsequently, the effects of distance between ammonia feed and 4‐ethyl‐2,3‐dioxo‐1‐piperazine carbonyl chloride feed, pH, circulation flow rate, and dispersed phase flow rate on solution concentration are discussed. The final piperacillin product with an average yield of ~94.70%, a purity exceeding 99.7%, the impurity D content ~0.077% and E content ~0.045%, satisfies the requirements of pharmacopeia regarding antibiotic impurities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A microreactor system consisting of membrane‐dispersion tube‐in‐tube microreactors and delay loops was developed for the continuous synthesis of 1‐ethoxy‐2,3‐difluoro‐4‐iodo‐benzene. Because of the high mass and heat transfer in the microreactor system, ortho‐ and halogen‐lithiation could be performed at −40 and −20°C, respectively, which are much higher than the temperature required (−70°C) for the batch reaction. In stirred tanks, the yield of 1‐ethoxy‐2,3‐difluoro‐4‐iodo‐benzene reaches 91.0% in 70 min. Nearly the same yield of 91.3% was achieved within a shorter time of 16 min in the microreactor system. Furthermore, the kinetics of ortho‐lithiation calculated by the Gaussian software, were used for the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of the reaction process in another microreactor system. Thus, a Gaussian‐CFD‐coupled‐method for efficiently predicting reaction kinetics and yield without experiments could be established. The predicted yield reached 88.7% at 1000 s, which is comparable with the experimental yield of 90.1% at 960 s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By studying the effect of pressure on relative volatility, azeotrope composition, and net reaction rate, a rigorous pressure‐swing thermally integrated reactive distillation (PST‐RD) process for isobutyl acetate synthesis is proposed. The steady‐state and dynamic characteristics of the PST‐RD process are evaluated based on Aspen and Aspen Dynamic. Steady‐state optimization results show that the energy consumption and the total annual cost (TAC) reduced by 42.32% and 34.20% compared with the conventional two‐column process, respectively. Subsequently, two control structures of the PST‐RD process under a rigorous model are developed and evaluated by large disturbances in throughput and feed composition. Dynamic simulation results show that peak dynamic transients can be effectively reduced by adding a Q/F feedforward control structure. Furthermore, the effective heat integration of high‐pressure (HP) and low‐pressure (LP) columns can be realized by implementing composition/pressure cascade control when the capacity of the LP column increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microchemical systems exhibit a unique capacity of preparing and manipulating various nanomaterials. In this review, the state‐of‐the‐art microchemical systems and the on‐demand development for the preparation of novel inorganic nanomaterials with certain dimensions or complex structures are summarized and discussed. Multistep synthesis and manipulation in microchemical systems are presented and compared, as well as new strategies such as in‐line monitoring, feedback control, and self‐optimization. The design and strategy for tuning the nucleation, growth, functionalization, and assembly of nanomaterials are considered. The challenges are put forward and an outlook for the future directions of nanomaterial preparation and production in microchemical systems is specially provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overharvesting Asian horseshoe crabs for food is a primary threat to their populations. In the present study, 451 residents were interviewed from the northern Beibu Gulf, the coastal area that is believed to accommodate the highest density of the Chinese horseshoe crab Tachypleus tridentatus worldwide, to obtain baseline information on their consumption behaviour and underlying drivers.Based on the survey data, it is estimated that a mean individual consumption rate of ten meals per year. Nearly half of the respondents (49.7%) claimed that they had previously eaten at least two horseshoe crab meals.Among the six occupation categories (managers, professionals, workers, environmental‐related workers, fishers and farmers, and students), fishers and farmers were identified as the group that had eaten a significantly higher number of horseshoe crab meals, had consumed them more frequently, and had a greater intention of eating them than that of students. The age, education level, and salary of participants were the important socio‐demographic variables related to their consumption behaviour. More than one‐third of respondents decided to consume horseshoe crabs because they perceived them as tasty 'seafood' and valuable ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine.Eighty‐three per cent of participants reported an overall decrease in the number of horseshoe crabs in the region.Although the community was supportive towards horseshoe crab conservation, their ecological knowledge of horseshoe crabs was limited. The findings may be useful for providing insights to merge the gap between scientific data and management planning for the horseshoe crab population in the region. Conservation management initiatives, such as the involvement of fishers in monitoring and enforcement, developing a reporting system for landings and by‐catch, and implementing long‐term conservation education through the school curriculum could promote the protection and management of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Pith cavity formation is critical for bamboo to overcome the bending force during its fast growth; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. Multiple approaches, including anatomical dissection, mathematical modelling and transcriptome profiling, were employed in this study to investigate the biology of pith cavity formation in bamboo Pseudosasa japonica. We found that the corruption of pith tissue occurred sequentially and asymmetrically from the top‐centre of the internode down to the bottom, which might be caused by the combined effects of asymmetrical radial and axial tensile forces during shoot‐wall cell elongation and spiral growth of bamboo internodes. Programmed cell death (PCD) in pitch manifested by TUNEL positive nuclei, DNA cleavage and degraded organelles, and potentially regulated by ethylene and calcium signalling pathway, ROS burst, cell wall modification, proteolysis and nutrient recycle genes, might be responsible for pith tissue corruption of Ps. japonica. Although similar physiological changes and transcriptome profiles were found in different bamboo species, different formation rates of pith cavity were observed, which might be caused by different pith cells across the internode that were negatively correlated with the culm diameter. These findings provided a systematical view on the formation of bamboo pith cavity and revealed that PCD plays an important role in the bamboo pith cavity formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty‐two novel genipin derivatives have been designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase (AChE). As a result, compound 13a bearing ligustrazine moiety displayed the most potent AChE inhibitory activity in this series with IC50 value of 218 nm. Besides, MTT assay was performed to investigate the neuroprotection of these compounds against PC12 cells injured by Amyloid β‐protein 1–42 (Aβ1–42). Among them, 8a showed higher inhibition rate (%Inhibition = 22.29) than the positive reference Donepezil (%Inhibition = 17.65). Novel genipin derivatives were synthesized and biologically evaluated for their inhibitory activity against AChE. 13a displayed the most potent AChE inhibitory activity. Besides, MTT assay was performed to investigate the neuroprotective activity of these compounds in PC12 cells that suffering from injury induced by Aβ1–42. Among them, 8a showed higher inhibition rate than the positive reference Donepezil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Segmented flow microfluidics has attracted considerable attention owing to the excellent controllability of reaction environment. However, the accurate and stepwise addition of other reactants into the formed droplets/slugs in segmented flow is extraordinarily challenging to achieve, especially for performing particle growth and crystallization processes. Herein, we employed a segmented flow microchannel with passive picoinjection to realize the accurate addition of reactants and continuous particle manufacturing. A Venturi junction was integrated into the microchannel to control the injection volume without external power. Rapid mixing for the preparation of BaSO4 nanoparticles with an average size of 30–40 nm, multiple injection for the growth of Au nanoparticles from 32 to 91 nm, and continuous crystallization of vaterite CaCO3 with a high crystal purity were all successfully performed in this microchannel. The feasibility of long‐term operation and large‐scale production of particles by combining with droplet splitting was also experimentally verified. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 3817–3825, 2018 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental and model‐based studies of acrylonitrile biohydration catalyzed by free cells were conducted in this work. The high ratios of the two phases of the reaction system and the effects of inhibition and inactivation on the enzyme make the process complicated; thus, its exact kinetics have never been reported. To fully understand and model the reaction, a microstructured chemical system was employed to investigate droplet dispersion, the mass transfer process, the intrinsic kinetics with inhibition and inactivation, and the preparation process of acrylamide. By adjusting the structure size and flow conditions of the microreactor, acrylonitrile droplets of 40 μm were obtained and enhanced mass transfer was achieved. Compared to previous studies, the microchemical system in our work provides more accurate kinetic parameters, with a much higher maximum reaction rate and much smaller Michaelis constant. The numerical predictions of the process model show good agreement with experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two structurally novel series of chalcone derivatives were designed and synthesized as potential agents against type 2 diabetes. As a result of the antidiabetic biological evaluation in streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced type 2 diabetes animal model, 13e, 13g, and 19f showed more significant reduction in serum Glu, TG, TC levels by contrast to the positive control AdipoRon. In addition to upregulating the expression of AdipoR1 and AdipoR2, 13e and 19f treatment also increased expression of AMPK and PPAR‐α. Taken together, these results suggested that 13e and 19f might be a promising compound for type 2 diabetes treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutations of microcephalin ( MCPH1) can cause the neurodevelopmental disorder primary microcephaly type 1. We previously showed that MCPH1 deletion in neural stem cells results in early mitotic entry that distracts cell division mode, leading to exhaustion of the progenitor pool. Here, we show that MCPH1 interacts with and promotes the E3 ligase βTr CP2 to degrade Cdc25A independent of DNA damage. Overexpression of βTr CP2 or the knockdown of Cdc25A remedies the high mitotic index and rescues the premature differentiation of Mcph1-deficient neuroprogenitors in vivo. MCPH1 itself is degraded by APC/ CCdh1, but not APC/ CCdc20, in late mitosis and G1 phase. Forced MCPH1 expression causes cell death, underlining the importance of MCPH1 turnover after mitosis. Ectopic expression of Cdh1 leads to premature differentiation of neuroprogenitors, mimicking differentiation defects of Mcph1-knockout neuroprogenitors. The homeostasis of MCPH1 in association with the ubiquitin-proteasome system ensures mitotic entry independent of cell cycle checkpoint. This study provides a mechanistic understanding of how MCPH1 controls neural stem cell fate and brain development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel class of tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives was designed and synthesized as antitumor agents and evaluated for their in vitro and in vivo biological activities. The antiproliferative activities of all the target compounds on HUVEC, MCF-7, and HT-29 were evaluated. Compared with colchicine (1.04 × 10−2 μ m), 17d and 17e exhibited outstanding activity on MCF-7 with IC50 values 0.26 × 10−2 μ m and 0.89 × 10−3μ m in cell cytotoxicity assay. The tubulin polymerization assay demonstrated that 17d and 17e exhibited better inhibition rate. In the MCF-7-xenograft mouse model that was treated with 17d and 17e by intraperitoneal injection, the tumor weight was decreased at same rate with tamoxifen, and relative tumor proliferation rates were 59.48% and 41.33%, while tamoxifen was 45.08% with a daily dose of 20 mg/kg, which were demonstrated potent in vivo efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asymmetric catalysis, biocatalysis, cofactors, continuous flow, sustainable chemistry Cover Feature: Recycling of Cofactors in Crude Enzyme Hydrogels as Co-immobilized Heterogeneous Biocatalysts for Continuous-Flow Asymmetric Reduction of Ketones (ChemSusChem 3/2023) Keywords: asymmetric catalysis; biocatalysis; cofactors; continuous flow; sustainable chemistry EN asymmetric catalysis biocatalysis cofactors continuous flow sustainable chemistry 1 1 1 02/10/23 20230208 NES 230208 B The Cover Feature b shows a river in which blue enzyme molecules are induced to form porous enzyme-rich hydrogels in the flow channel and the stable hydrogels have a good tethering effect on the flowing orange cofactor molecules. [Extracted from the article]

A series of novel piperlongumine derivatives ( 4a-i, 6a-i) were designed and synthesized. The inhibitory activities of platelet aggregation induced by ADP and AA in vitro have been evaluated by bron turbidimetry and liver microsomal incubated assay. The assay results show that compounds 4e and 6e exhibited remarkable potency to that of the positive control piplartine and aspirin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fungus Alternaria alternata is a common spot-producing plant pathogen. During the past decade, tobacco brown spot disease caused by this fungus has became prevalent in China and lead to significant losses. To better understand the molecular pathogenesis of this fungus, the aapk1 gene encoding a cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit was cloned, sequenced and characterized. The aapk1 deletion mutants were identified from hygromycin-resistant transformants by PCR strategy and confirmed by Southern blot analysis and RT-PCR. The aapk1 deletion mutant exhibited reduced vegetative growth and was less toxic than the wild-type strain sd1. Deletion of aapk1 also delayed disease development on detached tobacco leaves. Thus, we propose that the cAMP signalling pathway is involved in mycelia growth and pathogenic phenotype of Alternaria alternata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of heat integrated technology can decrease the energy consumption of the reactive distillation process but also increase the coupling degree, which means that the trouble of control is increased. As the improved process of the conventional reactive distillation (CRD) process with excess reactant feed, the design and control of a reactive dividing‐wall column (RDWC) process are explored for synthesizing amyl acetate. The results indicate that the TAC exhibits 12.15% savings compared with the CRD process and robust control is implemented in control schemes CS2 and CS3. In the analysis of the dynamic response results, a novel analytical method is applied, which includes a comprehensive analysis of the vapour flow rate and conversion rate. In addition, the economics and controllability of the two improved processes for synthesizing amyl acetate are compared that involve the different pressure thermally coupled reactive distillation (DPT‐RD) and RDWC processes. The comparison results indicate that the steady‐state economics of the RDWC process are less than those of the DPT‐RD process, but the RDWC process is more applicable industrially in terms of controllability, in which only the tray temperature control is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near‐infrared light‐driven photocatalytic CO2 reduction (NIR‐CO2PR) holds tremendous promise for the production of valuable commodity chemicals and fuels. However, designing photocatalysts capable of reducing CO2 with low energy NIR photons remains challenging. Herein, a novel NIR‐driven photocatalyst comprising an anionic Ru complex intercalated between NiAl‐layered double hydroxide nanosheets (NiAl‐Ru‐LDH) is shown to deliver efficient CO2 photoreduction (0.887 μmol h−1) with CO selectivity of 84.81 % under 1200 nm illumination and excellent stability over 50 testing cycles. This remarkable performance results from the intercalated Ru complex lowering the LDH band gap (0.98 eV) via a compression‐related charge redistribution phenomenon. Furthermore, transient absorption spectroscopy data verified light‐induced electron transfer from the Ru complex towards the LDH sheets, increasing the availability of electrons to drive CO2PR. The presence of hydroxyl defects in the LDH sheets promotes the adsorption of CO2 molecules and lowers the energy barriers for NIR‐CO2PR to CO. To our knowledge, this is one of the first reports of NIR‐CO2PR at wavelengths up to 1200 nm in LDH‐based photocatalyst systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intercalation of the [ Ru( dpds) 3] 4 complex into a layered double hydroxide structure is reported byLihong Liu, Wenkai Zhang, Yufei Zhao et al. in their Research Article ( e202407638). Under infrared light irradiation at 1200 nm, the obtained intercalation structure exhibits remarkable photocatalytic performance in converting CO2 to CO with excellent stability, demonstrating for the first time CO2 reduction at such long wavelengths. [Extracted from the article]

Osteoclast-stimulating factor (OSF) is an intracellular signaling protein, produced by osteoclasts themselves, that enhances osteoclast formation and bone resorption. It is thought to act via an Src-related signaling pathway and contains SH3 and ankyrin-repeat domains which are involved in protein-protein interactions. As part of a structure-based anti-bone-loss drug-design program, the atomic resolution X-ray structure of the recombinant human OSF SH3 domain (hOSF-SH3) has been determined. The domain, residues 12-72, yielded crystals that diffracted to the ultrahigh resolution of 1.07 A. The overall structure shows a characteristic SH3 fold consisting of two perpendicular beta-sheets that form a beta-barrel. Structure-based sequence alignment reveals that the putative proline-rich peptide-binding site of hOSF-SH3 consists of (i) residues that are highly conserved in the SH3-domain family, including residues Tyr21, Phe23, Trp49, Pro62, Asn64 and Tyr65, and (ii) residues that are less conserved and/or even specific to hOSF, including Thr22, Arg26, Thr27, Glu30, Asp46, Thr47, Asn48 and Leu60, which might be key to designing specific inhibitors for hOSF to fight osteoporosis and related bone-loss diseases. There are a total of 13 well defined water molecules forming hydrogen bonds with the above residues in and around the peptide-binding pocket. Some of those water molecules might be important for drug-design approaches. The hOSF-SH3 structure at atomic resolution provides an accurate framework for structure-based design of its inhibitors.

R88A, a mutant of the type IIE restriction endonuclease EcoRII, has been crystallized in space group P2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 58.7, b = 92.4, c = 88.3 A, beta = 108.1 degrees. There are two monomers in the asymmetric unit and the solvent content is estimated to be 50% by volume. The crystals diffract to 2.1 A resolution, which is much higher than that of the wild type, which diffracted to 2.8 A resolution. The mutant crystals have been used in the identification of an excellent heavy-atom derivative.