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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disease, characterized by cognitive dysfunction; however, the therapeutic strategies are not fully understood. Huang-Lian-Jie-Du-Decoction (HLJDD) is a famous traditional Chinese herbal formula that has been widely used clinically to treat dementia. Recently, according to previous study and our clinical practice, we generate a new modification of HLJDD (named modified-HLJDD). In this study, we indicated that modified-HLJDD attenuated learning and memory deficiencies in Aβ1-42 oligomer-induced AD model, and we confirmed the exact metabolites in modified-HLJDD solution, as compared with HLJDD by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS. Using GC-Q-TOF/MS-based metabolomics, we identified adenosine as the potential significant metabolite, responsible for modified-HLJDD regulating energy metabolism and synaptic plasticity in AD model. We also revealed that the potential underlying mechanism of modified-HLJDD in AD model may involve NMDA receptor-mediated glutamatergic transmission and adenosine/ATPase/AMPK cascade. Moreover, we also indicated the differential gut microbiota which mainly involved Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria at the phylum level upon modified-HLJDD treatment in AD model. Based on the correlation of metabolomic analysis with microbiome analysis, we clarified that Dorea is the most affected microbiota with adenosine upon modified-HLJDD treatment in AD model. Thus, our study suggests that modified-HLJDD may serve as a potential therapeutic drug in treating AD.

The NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome was reported to be regulated by autophagy and activated during inflammatory procession of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Berberine (BBR) is well-studied to play an important role in promoting anti-inflammatory response to mediate the autophagy activity. However, the effect of Berberine on NLRP3 inflammasome in PD and its potential mechanisms remain unclear. Hence, in this study, we investigated the effects of BBR on 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced PD mice, by evaluating their behavioral changes, dopaminergic (DA) neurons loss, neuroinflammation, NLRP3 inflammasome and autophagic activity. BBR was also applied in BV2 cells treated with 1-methyl-4-pehnyl-pyridine (MPP+). The autophagy inhibitor 3-Methyladenine (3-MA) was administrated to block autophagy activity both in vivo and in vitro. In our in vivo studies, compared to MPTP group, mice in MPTP + BBR group showed significant amelioration of behavioral disorders, mitigation of neurotoxicity and NLRP3-associated neuroinflammation, enhancement of the autophagic process in substantia nigra (SN). In vitro, compared to MPP+ group, BBR significantly decreased the level of NLRP3 inflammasome including the expressions of NLRP3, PYD and CARD domain containing (PYCARD), cleaved caspase 1 (CASP1), and mature interleukin 1 beta (IL1B), via enhancing autophagic activity. Furthermore, BBR treatment increased the formation of autophagosomes in MPP+-treated BV2 cells. Taken together, our data indicated that BBR prevents NLRP3 inflammasome activation and restores autophagic activity to protect DA neurons against degeneration in vivo and in vitro, suggesting that BBR may be a potential therapeutic to treat PD.

Background Abnormal expression of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) is increased in dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Low-molecular-mass protein 7 (β5i) is a proteolytic subunit of the immunoproteasome that regulates protein degradation and the MHC pathway in immune cells. Methods In this study, we investigated the role of β5i in DA neurons using a 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) model in vitro and vivo. Results We showed that 6-OHDA upregulated β5i expression in DA neurons in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Inhibition and downregulation of β5i induced the expression of glucose-regulated protein (Bip) and exacerbated 6-OHDA neurotoxicity in DA neurons. The inhibition of β5i further promoted the activation of Caspase 3-related pathways induced by 6-OHDA. β5i also activated transporter associated with antigen processing 1 (TAP1) and promoted MHC-I expression on DA neurons. Conclusion Taken together, our data suggest that β5i is activated in DA neurons under 6-OHDA treatment and may play a neuroprotective role in PD. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40035-018-0125-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Shenqi Maixintong capsule (SMC), a traditional Chinese medicine compound, exerts various therapeutic effects, including nourishing one’s vitality, improving blood circulation, regulating vital energy, and promoting coronary circulation. Studies have demonstrated that SMC could effectively alleviate atherosclerosis (AS) and delay its development. However, the effect of SMC on lipid metabolism remains unclear. Herein, we investigated the mechanism of SMC on lipid metabolism of RAW264.7 cells induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL). Drug-containing serum was prepared by intragastric administration of SD (Sprague Dawley) rats. RAW264.7 cells were transformed into foam cells with 25 mg/L ox-LDL. SMC-treated rat serum increased the survival rate of ox-LDL-induced RAW264.7 cells. Oil Red staining, total cholesterol, and free cholesterol detection data showed that the intermediated dose of SMC had the best effect on reducing the lipid accumulation, lipid droplets, intracellular cholesterol, and total cholesterol content of RAW264.7 cells. The results of western blotting showed that the expression of ABCA1, ABCG1, LXRα, PPARγ, and peroxisome proliferation-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) was increased by SMC, and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) was reduced, which promoted reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) of RAW264.7 cells and inhibited foam cell formation. Furthermore, SOD and MDA data indicated that SMC could reduce the senescence of RAW264.7 cells. These findings suggest that SMC might prevent ox-LDL-induced damage of macrophages in AS patients by improving cell viability and slowing down lipid accumulation and senescence.

Large-scale syntheses of uniform AgCl nanocubes and nanospheres with sub-100 nm size have been achieved by the reaction of AgNO 3 and CCl 4 in a solvothermal system with polyvinylpyrrolidone as a capping agent. The reaction time and temperature have been proved to be the key factors for the morphological evolution of the AgCl nanocrystals. In addition, an interesting AgCl micro-tetrahedron structure can be obtained with dichloroethane instead of CCl 4 as the chlorine source. The synthesized products are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The growth mechanism of the AgCl crystals is proposed. The AgCl products can be converted to plasmonic Ag/AgCl photocatalysts under UV-light irradiation, which exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity for the degradation of the organic contaminant of Rhodamine B.

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are promising energy storage systems owing to their high theoretical energy density and low costs due to the abundant reserves of sulfur. However, the easy dissolution of intermediate polysulfides (Li2Sx, 4 < x ≤ 8) and insulating nature of sulfur have hindered their commercialization. Herein, we develop a novel confinement approach by using porous hollow carbon nanospheres (HCNs) embedded with well-dispersed cobalt monoxide (CoO) nanocrystals (CoO/HCN), which can effectively combine the advantages of physical entrapment and chemical binding interactions of sulfur species. When used as a sulfur host material, the CoO/HCN–S composite cathode with 1.4 mg cm−2 sulfur exhibits excellent electrochemical performance with high discharge capacity (996 mA h g−1 after 200 cycles at 0.2C), great rate capability (620 mA h g−1 at 5.0C) and superior cycle stability (629 mA h g−1 after 1000 cycles at 1.0C with a capacity decay of only 0.033% per cycle and 482 mA h g−1 after 1000 cycles at 2.0C with a capacity decay of only 0.043% per cycle). Furthermore, a high and stable reversible capacity of 640 mA h g−1 after cycling for 250 cycles is achieved with a higher sulfur mass loading (3.6 mg cm−2).

A cuboidal AgCl hollow nanostructure has been synthesized by a simple one-pot reaction using AgNO3 and CCl4 as precursors. The synthesized product is characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The AgCl product consists of well-dispersed hollow cubes with a side length of 600–900 nm and a cavity size of 400–600 nm. The formation mechanism is investigated, and it is revealed that the growth of the hollow cubes involves a dissolution–precipitation process accompanied by ion diffusion. Light irradiation of the AgCl product causes the formation of a plasmonic Ag/AgCl photocatalyst, which exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity for the degradation of organic contaminants of methyl orange (MO).

Recent studies have strongly shown that cell-to-cell transmission of neuropathogenic proteins is a common mechanism for the development of neurodegenerative diseases. However, the underlying cause is complex and little is known. Although distinct processes are involved in the pathogenesis of various diseases, they all share the common feature of iron accumulation, an attribute that is particularly prominent in synucleinopathies. However, whether iron is a cofactor in facilitating the spread of α-synuclein remains unclear. Here, we constructed a cell-to-cell transmission model of α-synuclein using SN4741 cell line based on adenovirus vectors. Cells were treated with FeCl2, and α-synuclein aggregation and transmission were then evaluated. In addition, the possible mechanisms were investigated through gene knockdown or over-expression. Our results demonstrated that iron promoted α-synuclein aggregation and transmission by inhibiting autophagosome-lysosome fusion. Furthermore, iron decreased the expression of nuclear transcription factor EB (TFEB), a master transcriptional regulator of autophagosome-lysosome fusion, and inhibited its nuclear translocation through activating AKT/mTORC1 signaling. After silencing TFEB, ratios of α-synuclein aggregation and transmission were not significantly altered by the presence of iron; on the other hand, when TFEB was over-expressed, the transmission of α-synuclein induced by iron was obviously reversed; suggesting the mechanism by which iron promotes α-synuclein transmission may be mediated by TFEB. Taken together, our data reveal a previously unknown relationship between iron and α-synuclein, and identify TFEB as not only a potential target for preventing α-synuclein transmission, but also a critical factor for iron-induced α-synuclein aggregation and transmission. Indeed, this newly discovered role of iron and TFEB in synucleinopathies may provide novel targets for developing therapeutic strategies to prevent α-synuclein transmission in Parkinson's disease.

In order to research effects of the nitrogen top-dressing levels on carbon-nitrogen metabolism and yield of Desmodium styracifolium, a field experiment was conducted on the research farm of Guangxi University in 2007. Some physiological indexes and yield of D. styracifolium were compared among five nitrogen top-dressing levels (0, 37.5, 75.0, 112.5 and 150.0 kg N · hm−2). Results showed that the nitrogen top-dressing could significantly increase the contents of chlorophyll, soluble protein, sucrose and nitrogen as well as nitrate reducase activity. However, there were no significant differences in most of these indexes under high nitrogen levels. Consistently, there was no significant difference in yield among nitrogen top-dressing levels of 75 kg N · hm−2, 112.5 kg N · hm−2 and 150 kg N · hm−2. Therefore, the optimum nitrogen top-dressing level of D. styracifolium was 75 kg N · hm−2.

Polymeric ultrafiltration membrane formed via phase inversion by immersing polymer solution into nonsolvent bath was simulated with Monte Carlo method applying polymer bond fluctuation lattice model. In the simulation, the exchange algorithm using probability density has been employed for the first time at the boundary to simulate the open and wide diffusion layer in coagulation bath. The simulation focuses on the process of phase inversion of polymer solution from the interface to the inner by spinodal decomposition. It was found that the diffusion behavior of solvent obeys Fick's law and the apparent diffusion coefficient of nonsolvent has exponential relationship to the concentration of polymer solution and operation temperature. The asymmetrical structure from island-like phase to continuous phase comes from the mechanism transition of phase separation from spinodal decomposition to nucleation growth induced by the mutual diffusion of solvent and nonsolvent.

Prussian blue analogue Zn3[Fe(CN)6]2⋅xH2O (Zn-PBA) micro-/nanocrystals with well-defined spherical, cubic and polyhedral morphologies have been successfully synthesized by a simple room-temperature solution method. The morphologies and sizes of the micro-/nanocrystals can be easily tuned by HCl dosage and polymer additive. The as-prepared products are characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and Brunauer Emmet Teller adsorption-desorption analysis. The possible formation mechanism for these Zn-PBA micro-/nanocrystals is then proposed. In addtion, adsorption performances of these micro-/nanocrystals toward organic dyes are systematically investigated. It is demonstrated that they exhibit strong adsorption selectivity to methylene blue (MB) with an extraordinary adsorption capacity as high as 1.016gg(-1) due to the proper pore size and large specific surface area (643.2m(2)g(-1)) of the product as well as the strong electrostatic interaction between MB molecules and Zn-PBA particles. It is found that the morphology and size of the micro-/nanocrystals have an important effect on their adsorption performance. Moreover, the adsorbed MB dye can be well released in some organic solvents such as ethanol and trichloromethane. The facile morphology-controlled synthesis and excellent adsorption property afford the materials promising application in adsorption related fields.

Objective Herein, the synthesis, component, microstructure and pharmacological and toxicology researches of the Synthetic Mercury Sulfide (S-HgS) a kind of common drug in Chinese, Mongolia, Tibetan medicine, and Indian medicine system were summarized. The similar cognition about mercury toxicity & pharmacological action from some Asian regions was analyzed, and it can supply some useful direction for the traditional Asian medicine system. Method Recent literatures both domestic and abroad were summarized and analyzed. Result S-HgS is the basis of Vermilion, Mongolia-Vermilion, Zuotai, and Ras-sindoor. Athough the processes of synthesis are very different, but the microstructure and pharmacological & toxicology of S-HgS is similar. Conclusion S-HgS has a far-ranging application,and unique curative effect. New technology such as nanotechnology can be used for improving the advancement of traditional Asian medicine.

OBJECTIVE To find out the optimal nitrogen application level of Desmodium styracifolium. METHOD A field experiment using randomized block design was carried out to study the effects of 5 nitrogen application levels (150, 187.5, 225.0, 262.5 and 300.0 kg x hm(-2)) on yield and active component content of D. styracifolium. RESULT Nitrogen application could increase the yield and contents of polysaccharide, total flavonoides and total saponins of D. styracifolium. However, the enhancing extent of the active component content and the yield were not always significant with the increase of nitrogen level. In which, the yield were not significantly different among the nitrogen application levels of 225.0, 262.5, 300.0 kg x hm(-2) the polysaccharide content was no significantly difference among the nitrogen application levels of 225.0, 262. 5 and 300.0 kg x hm(-2), the total flavonoides content under the nitrogen level of 300.0 kg x hm(-2) was significantly lower than that of 150.0 kg hm(-2) (P < 0.01), and the total saponins content under the nitrogen level of 300.0 kg x hm(-2) was no significant difference compared with that of 262.5 kg x hm(-2). CONCLUSION The optimal nitrogen application level of D. styracifolium was 225.0-262.5 kg x hm(-2).