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Plants, as a large and complex system, are rich in a variety of natural bioactive constituents. It is crucial to enrich, isolate, purify and detect these natural products. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are a class of polymers prepared by molecularly imprinted technology (MIT) that have specific recognition sites and are complementary to templates in shape, size, and binding groups. The synthesis and polymerization mechanism of MIPs are introduced. A variety of preparation methods for MIPs have been developed. MIPs can be classified into three types: non‐covalent molecularly imprinted, covalent molecularly imprinted, and semi‐covalent molecularly imprinted. MIPs usually consists of five parts: template, functional monomer, cross‐linker, initiator, and solvent/reagent. With the advantages of high‐specificity binding ability, MIPs have shown excellent efficacy in the separation, enrichment, and purification of plant active products, such as flavonoids, polyphenols, terpenoids, and other components, especially as specific adsorbent materials. Due to the high selectivity to target the analytes, MIPs have also been used as sensors to detect the bioactive constituents in plants. Undeniably, MIPs still face undeniable limitations in the application of plant natural products. The development of MIPs with high selectivity, strong affinity, cost‐effectiveness, sensitivity, and environmental friendliness are valuable and promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report herein a practical protocol for the synthesis of symmetrical disulfides under atmospheric pressure, utilizing 1 mol% ABNO (9‐Azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane N‐oxyl) as an efficient catalyst and O2 as terminal oxidant. Thiophenols and aliphatic thiols could be oxidized smoothly to give disulfides in 70%–90% yields. This method has advantages such as high atom‐economy, commercially available catalyst, broad substrate scope and mild reaction conditions, providing researchers a simple and attractive way to synthesize disulfides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic‐inorganic hybrid metal halide perovskite materials, as an emerging semiconductor, have been successfully used in the field of solar cells and currently achieved a record efficiency of 25.7% within a decade, surpassing the mature thin film photovoltaic technologies on the market. To further improve the stability and efficiency of the forthcoming commercialization of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), ionic liquids (IL) have been selectively applied to the field of PSCs due to its excellent properties including designability, thermal stability, and conductivity. In this review, by summarizing recent research progress, the mechanism is discussed as IL serve as precursor solvents, additives, interfacial modification layers, independent electron transport layers, and p‐type dopants. Finally, the future research trend of IL has been prospected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: The cysteine674 (C674) thiol of sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase 2 is easily and irreversibly oxidized under atherosclerotic conditions. However, the contribution of the C674 thiol redox status in the development of atherosclerosis remains unclear. Our goal was to elucidate the possible mechanism involved.Experimental Approach: Heterozygous SERCA2 C674S knock-in mice in which half of the C674 was substituted by serine (S674) were used to mimic the removal of the reactive C674 thiol, which occurs under pathological conditions. Bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) and cardiac endothelial cells (ECs) were used for intracellular Ca2+ , macrophage adhesion, and protein expression analysis. The whole aorta and aortic root were isolated for histological analysis.Key Results: Cell culture studies suggest the partial substitution of SERCA2 C674 increased intracellular Ca2+ levels and induced ER stress in both BMDMs and ECs. The release of proinflammatory factors and macrophage adhesion increased in SKI BMDMs. In ECs, overexpression of S674 induced endothelial inflammation and promoted macrophage recruitment. SKI mice developed more severe atherosclerotic plaque and macrophage accumulation. Additionally, 4-phenyl butyric acid, an ER stress inhibitor, suppressed ER stress and inflammatory responses in BMDMs and ECs, and alleviated atherosclerosis in SKI mice.Conclusions and Implications: The substitution of SERCA2 C674 thiol accelerates the development of atherosclerosis by inducing ER stress and inflammation. Our findings highlight the importance of SERCA2 C674 redox state in the context of atherosclerosis and open up a novel therapeutic strategy to combat atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green chemistry is currently attracting more and more attention due to its eco‐friendly, and green carbon dots (g‐CDs) are creating a research boom. The g‐CDs have huge application prospects in analysis and detection due to their excellent optical properties, high biocompatibility, and low toxicity compared to other fluorescent materials. Based on the study of g‐CDs, the optical properties, synthesis methods, surface modification methods, and sensing mechanisms of g‐CDs are outlined, and the application in analysis and detection of environmental, food, biomolecules, and other organic small molecules are reviewed. At the same time, the challenges faced by g‐CDs are outlined. This review provides valuable references for further research and wider application of g‐CDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To calculate the shrinkage of the neck muscles and dosimetric changes and to clarify the necessity of covering part of the muscle in neck node region delineation for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated with intensity‐modulated radiotherapy. Methods: In total, 44 patients with NPC were enrolled. Distances between the lateral border of the neck muscles and longitudinal midline were measured on every selected slice. This process was repeated three times, and the mean values of the three distances of planning computed tomography (CT) images and repeated CT images were adopted (labeled d1 and d2). The mean value of the differences between d1 and d2 was regarded as the medial shrinkage of the neck muscles. The initial clinical target volume of cervical lymph nodes (CTV‐n) was shifted medially with the value of shrinkage, yielding a new CTV‐n. Doses that covered 95% of the planning tumor volume (PTV) (D95), 99% of the PTV (D99), mean dose (Dmean), and maximum dose (Dmax) were used to calculate the dosimetric variation between the initial and new CTV‐n. Comparisons were performed using the paired samples t test. Results: The median d1 was 3.81 cm (range: 1.19‐8.20 cm), and the median d2 was 3.68 cm (range: 0.94‐9.59 cm), with a statistically significant difference (P <.001). The mean difference between d1 and d2 was 1.5 ± 3.1 mm (SD). The D95 and D99 of PTV of initial CTV‐n decreased by 0.38% and 0.62% (P <.001 and P <.001, respectively). Conclusion: Patients with NPC experienced medial shrinkage of the neck muscles by 1.5 mm, and the consequent dose variation was negligible. It is unnecessary to cover part of the muscles in the delineation of the CTV‐n. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to promote the decomposition of pollutants, potassium peroxodisulphate (PDS) has been added to a gas‐liquid dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor with rod plate configuration for processing tetracycline (TC) wastewater. The effects of applied voltage, PDS dose, discharge gap, initial pH and TC concentration are discussed. The results show that the addition of PDS can significantly improve the removal efficiency of TC, the kinetic constant and the energy utilization of DBD. Compared with DBD treatment alone, the removal efficiency of TC (80 mg/L) can be increased by 45.5% after adding 0.6 g/L PDS. The TC removal efficiency increases with the increase of applied voltage and the decrease of TC concentration and discharge gap. The PDS dose has an optimal value. Weakly alkaline conditions are conducive to the removal of TC. Inorganic ions (Cl− and NO3−) have a significant effect on removing TC. The overall findings suggest an effective method to remove organic pollutants in wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long noncoding RNAs play essential roles in colon cancer tumorigenesis. This study aimed to explore the potential function and molecular mechanisms of LINC00961 in colon cancer. qPCR results showed that LINC00961 was downregulated in colon cancer cells and tissues. Functional assays demonstrated that LINC00961 suppressed the migration and invasion of colon cancer cells in vitro. LINC00961 functioned as an endogenous sponge for miR‐223‐3p in colon cancer cells. SOX11 was confirmed as a target gene of miR‐223‐3p. The effect of miR‐223‐3p on colon cancer cells was then investigated. MiR‐223‐3p inhibition enhanced their migration and invasion. The effect of SOX11 on colon cancer cells was studied. SOX11 overexpression inhibited the invasion of colon cancer cells. LINC00961 acted as an anti‐oncogene and upregulated SOX11 expression by functioning as a miR‐223‐3p sponge. This research revealed the molecular mechanism of LINC00961 in colon cancer. LINC00961 might act as a potential diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for further clinical treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the chiral recognition capability of a cinchona alkaloid crown ether chiral stationary phase, the crown ether moiety was modified by the chiral group of (1 S, 2 S)-2-aminocyclohexyl phenylcarbamate. Both quinine and quinidine-based stationary phases were evaluated by chiral acids, chiral primary amines and amino acids. The quinine/quinidine and crown ether provided ion-exchange sites and complex interaction site for carboxyl group and primary amine group in amino acids, respectively, which were necessary for the chiral discrimination of amino acid enantiomers. The introduction of the chiral group greatly improved the chiral recognition for chiral primary amines. The structure of crown ether moiety was proved to play a dominant role in the chiral recognitions for chiral primary amines and amino acids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The C9-position of quinine was modified by meta- or para-substituted benzo-18-crown-6, and immobilized on 3-mercaptopropyl-modified silica gel through the radical thiol-ene addition reaction. These two chiral stationary phases were evaluated by chiral acids, amino acids, and chiral primary amines. The crown ether moiety on the quinine anion exchanger provided a ligand-exchange site for primary amino groups, which played an important role in the retention and enantioselectivity for chiral compounds containing primary amine groups. These two stationary phases showed good selectivity for some amino acids. The complex interaction between crown ether and protonated primary amino group was investigated by the addition of inorganic salts such as LiCl, NH4Cl, NaCl, and KCl to the mobile phase. The resolution results showed that the simultaneous interactions between two function moieties (quinine and crown ether) and amino acids were important for the chiral separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we report the development of two fluorescent probes for the highly selective and sensitive detection of H2S. The probes take advantage of a CuIIcyclen complex, which acts as a reaction center for H2S and as a quencher of BODIPY (boron-dipyrromethene)-based fluorophores with emissions at 765 and 680 nm, respectively. These non-fluorescent probes could only be turned on by the addition of H2S, and not by other potentially interfering biomolecules, including reactive oxygen species, cysteine, and glutathione. In a chemical system, both probes detected H2S with a detection limit of 80 n M. The probes were successfully used for the endogenous detection of H2S in HEK 293 cells, for measuring the H2S-release activity of dietary organosulfides in MCF-7 cells, and for the in vivo imaging of H2S in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three types of zirconium phosphonate (org-ZrP) with different functional groups (-COOH, -SO3H, -NO2) were prepared first and then added into chitosan (CS) matrix, respectively. The effect of these functional groups on structure, morphologies, and mechanical properties of chitosan films was investigated. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that org-ZrP had intensely interacted with chitosan in the composites because of introducing functional groups on the fillers. The composite films filled with zirconium sulfophenylphosphonate exhibited the best mechanical properties among the three org-ZrP fillers. These differences of reinforcement effect appeared to be caused by the difference of interfacial interactions between the org-ZrP fillers and matrix. The stronger the interfacial interactions are, the better the reinforcement effect is. In addition, the moisture uptake ( Mu) of CS/org-ZrP-n composite films depended on the hydrophilic property of functional groups. It was found that zirconium nitrophenyl phosphonate showed the best moisture barrier property due to its poor absorbability for water molecules. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Experimental intrinsic aggregation rates of partially unfolded Fc and Fab. [•] Competition between Fab- and Fc-mediated aggregation is pH-dependent. [•] Hot spots within conserved regions of MAbs may also need to be improved. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: This study focused on the outcomes of patients with pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 who underwent IVF/ICSI and fresh day 2 or day 3 embryo transfer and the possible impacts of carrier gender and chromosome karyotype on pregnancy outcomes. Methods: A total of 214 couples (107 couples with one pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 in one partner [Group 1], 107 couples with normal karyotypes [Group 2]) underwent their first IVF/ICSI treatment and were included in this study. Oocyte number, normal fertilization rates, abnormal fertilization rates, cleavage rates, embryo utilization rates, fresh embryo transfer rates, clinical pregnancy rates (CPR), implantation rates, miscarriage rates, and live birth rates per embryo transfer (LBR) were compared between groups. Results: Group 1 did not show any disadvantage when compared with Group 2. The CPR and LBR were similar between all groups. The female carrier group had a higher normal fertilization rate and higher utilization rate than the male carrier group. Cases with inv(9)(p12;q13) had a lower utilization rate but a higher implantation rate than the remaining karyotypes. Conclusion: In the first IVF or ICSI cycle, couples with one pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 in one partner had satisfactory outcomes. The subgroup analysis showed a tendency of better prognosis for the female carrier and inv(9)(p12;q13) type. This is a retrospective cohort study during 7 years period. In the first IVF or ICSI cycle, couples with one pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 in one partner had satisfactory outcomes. The subgroup analysis showed a tendency of better prognosis for the female carrier and inv(9)(p12;q13) type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]