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Objective To elucidate the molecular mechanism(s) by which methyl salicylate enhances the skin delivery of herbal ingredients with diverse lipophilicity. Methods The toxicity of methyl salicylate on skin cell lines was evaluated using the MTT assay. The Franz diffusion cell method was used to measure the permeability enhancing activities of methyl salicylate for five herbal ingredients with a range of lipophilicities. The interaction between methyl salicylate and the stratum corneum (SC) was observed by using an infrared spectroscopy technique. Moreover, the solubilities and SC-vehicle partition coefficient were determined to monitor the impact of methyl salicylate on the drug thermodynamic activities and partition into the SC layer, respectively. Results Compared with azone (1-dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one), methyl salicylate showed lower toxicity to skin cells in terms of the IC50 values. The in vitro skin permeation studies showed that methyl salicylate could greatly improve the cumulative amounts or steady state flux of the selected model drugs with the exception of osthole, which indicated that methyl salicylate was prone to promote the skin delivery of hydrophilic drugs. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies revealed that methyl salicylate mainly interacted with SC lipids, leading to the disruption of the orderly arrangement of the SC. In addition, methyl salicylate had no obvious effect on the drug thermodynamic activity and partition into the SC. Conclusion Methyl salicylate could effectively promote the skin delivery of relatively hydrophilic ingredients in externally used traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) without obvious cytotoxicity.

To explore the influence of the CO2 volume fraction on methane explosion in a confined space over wide equivalent ratios, the explosion temperature, the explosion pressure, the concentration of the important free radicals, and the concentration of the disastrous gas generated after the explosion in a confined space were studied. Meanwhile, the elementary reaction steps dominating the gas explosion were identified through the sensitivity analysis. With the increase of the CO2 volume fraction, the explosion time prolongs, and the explosion pressure and temperature decrease monotonously. Moreover, the concentrations of the investigated free radicals also decrease as the increase of the CO2 volume fraction. For the disastrous gas, the concentration of the gas product CO increases and the concentrations of CO2, NO, and NO2 decrease as the volume fraction of CO2 increases. When 7% methane is added with 10% CO2, the increase rate of CO is 76%, and the decrease rates of CO2, NO, and NO2 are 27%, 37%, and 39%, respectively. If the volume fraction of CO2 is constant, the larger the volume fraction of methane in the blend gas, the greater the mole fraction of radical H and the lower the mole fraction of radical O. For radical OH, its mole fraction first increases, and then decreases with the location of peak value of 9.5%, while the CO concentration increases with the increase of the methane concentration. For all the investigated volume fraction of methane, the addition of CO2 reduces the sensitivity coefficients of each key elementary reaction step, and the sensitivity coefficient of reaction promoting methane consumption decreases faster than that of the reaction inhibit methane consumption, which indicates that the addition of CO2 effectively suppresses the methane explosion.

Chinese prickly ash is an ecologically and economically important tree species. In southwestern China, its yield is low due to severe fruit and flower drop related to the relatively low nutrient status of shoots and/or flowers caused by a lack of nutrient supply. Therefore, studies on flower bud differentiation are of great importance to improve the yield of Chinese prickly ash. An orthogonal experimental design was used to study the effects of N (urea, 97.8, 195.7 and 391.3 g/individual), P (superphosphate, 150, 300 and 600 g/individual) and K (potassium sulphate, 83.3, 166.7 and 333.3 g/individual) treatments on flower bud differentiation in 3-year-old Zanthoxylum armatum ‘Hanyuan Putao Qingjiao’ trees. The results showed that N, P and K fertilizer application significantly increased the flower bud differentiation rate, branch diameter and number, the soluble sugar content, the soluble protein content, the C/N ratio, the ABA content and the ABA/IAA ratio but decreased the GA content and IAA content in Chinese prickly ash. The flower bud differentiation rate was positively related to the soluble sugar content, soluble protein content, C/N ratio and ABA/IAA ratio (p

Resveratrol (Res) is a natural active antioxidant that is effective in relieving inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, the specific mechanism for its function is unknown. In our study, dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced mouse IBD disease model was constructed. All mice were randomly divided into three groups. The treatment effects of resveratrol on IBD were evaluated by observing the body weight, fecal traits, colon/spleen gross appearance, tissue hematoxylin-eosin (H&E)/immunohistochemistry (IHC) and inflammatory factors. The expression of small ubiquitin-like modifier protein 1 (SUMO1) and its Wnt/β-catenin pathway-related genes was analyzed by IHC, Western blot, Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and Immunofluorescence. The outcome indicated that resveratrol treatment significantly relieved the symptoms of IBD. The expression level of anti-inflammatory cytokines was increased while that of pro-inflammatory cytokines was decreased in both colon and spleen tissues of resveratrol-treated mice. SUMO1 expression and Wnt/β-catenin pathway were suppressed in colon and spleen tissues of IBD mice treated with resveratrol. In addition, we provided evidence that resveratrol inhibited SUMO1 and β-catenin expression and their nuclear localization in human colonic epithelial cell line (FHC). Moreover, we found that SUMO1 and β-catenin had higher expression levels in colorectal cancer patients than in health and colitis patients. In conclusions, resveratrol alleviates DSS-induced IBD by modulating SUMO1 through Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

The aim of this study was to determine the disease spectrum and drug types causing drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in northeast China, so that the affected population can be reminded of the need to increase their post-medication monitoring.A total of 470 DILI patients hospitalized at Shengjing Hospital between 2013 and 2016 were involved in this retrospective study.There were significant differences in the disease spectrum of the different age groups (P 0.001) and genders (P = 0.009). Drugs used to treat osteopathies, dermatitis and infections, as well as health care supplements, each accounted for 10% of all drugs that caused DILI. The percentage of DILIs related to Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) gradually increased with patient age (P = 0.002). The percentage of males taking health supplements or CHMs was significantly lower compared with females. Total bilirubin (β = 0.01, OR = 1.01, P 0.001) and INR (β = 0.74, OR = 2.11, P 0.001) were found to be independent predictors of liver damage.The main type of drug that causes DILI in northeast China is a CHM. There are differences in the disease spectrum found in DILI patients of different ages and gender. Making appropriate changes in the drug-taking habits of high-risk groups and the drugs used to treat high-risk underlying diseases, as well as increasing patient monitoring, may help to reduce the incidence of DILIs.

Farmland conversion to forest is considered to be one of the effective measures to mitigate climate change. However, the impact of farmland conversion to forest land or grassland on soil CO2 emission in arid areas is unclear due to the lack of comparative information on soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization of different conversion types. The SOC mineralization in 0–100 cm soil layer in farmland (FL), abandoned land (AL) and different ages (including 8, 15, 20 and 28 years) of Zanthoxylum bungeanum plantations were measured by laboratory incubation. The size and decomposition rate of fast pool (Cf) and slow pool (Cs) in different land-use types and soil layers were estimated by double exponential model. The results showed that: 1) Farmland conversion increased the cumulative CO2-C release (Cmin) and SOC mineralization efficiency, and those indexes in AL were higher than that in Z. bungeanum plantations. The Cmin and SOC mineralization efficiency of 0–100 cm soil increased with the ages of Z. bungeanum plantation. Both Cmin and SOC mineralization efficiency decreased with the increase of soil depth; 2) Both soil Cf and Cs increased after farmland converted to Z. bungeanum plantations and AL. The Cs in the same soil layer increased with the ages of Z. bungeanum plantation, and the Cf showed a “V” type with the increased ages of Z. bungeanum plantation. The Cf and Cs decreased with the increase of soil depth in all land-use types; 3) Farmland conversion increased the decomposition rate of Cf (k1) in all soil layer by 0.008–0.143 d−1 and 0.082–0.148 d−1 in Z. bungeanum plantations and AL, respectively. The k1 was obviously higher in the 0−20 cm soil layer than that in other soil layers, while the decomposition rate of Cs (k2) was not affected by FL conversion and soil depth; and 4) The initial soil chemical properties and enzyme activity affected SOC mineralization, especially the concentrations of total organic nitrogen (TON), SOC, easily oxidizable organic carbon (EOC) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC). It indicated that the conversion of farmland to Z. bungeanum plantations and AL increases SOC mineralization, especially in deeper soils, and it increased with the ages. The conversion of farmland to Z. bungeanum plantation is the optimal measure when the potential C sequestration of plant-soil system were taken in consideration.

OBJECTIVE Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is mainly caused by human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) through vasoactive mediators such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and various inflammatory factors. Our previous study showed that soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) played a protective role in PCOS by inhibiting VEGF, so wanted to explore the role of sRAGE in OHSS. METHODS Two sets of experiments were performed in this study. In part one, sRAGE protein levels in follicular fluid (FF) samples from 60 patients with OHSS and 60 non-OHSS patients were measured by ELISA. In part two, ovarian granulosa cells were isolated from an additional 25 patients with OHSS and cultured. Then, ovarian granulosa cells were treated with different concentrations of sRAGE. Granulosa cells cultured without sRAGE stimulation were used as the control group. The levels of VEGF, amphiregulin (AREG), betacellulin (BTC), and epiregulin (EREG) mRNA were examined by quantitative RT-PCR. The protein levels of VEGF, AREG, BTC, and EREG were measured by ELISA. RESULTS Compared with non-OHSS patients, patients with OHSS exhibited lower sRAGE levels in both serum and FF (p

In order to improve the corrosion resistance and biological activity of micro-arc oxidation (MAO) coating on Mg alloys, a puerarin-loaded (PL) coating was prepared and applied on the MAO coating by the method of dip-coating in phytic acid (PA) solution with puerarin. The chemical and morphological characterizations of the coatings were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The corrosion properties of the coatings were studied by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in simulated body fluid (SBF). Besides, the bioactivity properties of the coatings in SBF were investigated following 3, 7, and 14 days of immersion. The results indicate that the defects of through-pores weaken the corrosion resistance of the MAO and PL coatings with a high cross-link density sealing of the pores of the MAO coating. The higher initial impedance, lower current density, and loss of weight show that PL coatings have higher corrosion resistance than do MAO coatings. Furthermore, PL coatings improve the bioactivity of the MAO coating by accelerating apatite mineralization. The use of such a coating is expected to promote the application of Mg in bone repair materials and improve bone healing rate in the early stages of implantation. Keywords: Micro-arc oxidation, Magnesium, Biodegradable, Corrosion, Bone repair, Puerarin

To enhance the corrosion resistance and biological activity of pure Mg, an ultrasonic micro-arc oxidation (UMAO)/chitosan (CS)/icariin (IC) coating was prepared on a pure Mg substrate using a combination of UMAO with electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), contact-angle meter, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The corrosion resistance of various samples was evaluated via potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in a simulated body fluid (SBF) solution. The cytocompatibility of the various coatings was investigated. The results demonstrated that the UMAO/CS/IC coating exhibited the best corrosion resistance compared to those of bare magnesium, UMAO, and UMAO/CS coating. Osteoblastic adhesion and proliferation were enhanced by the Chinese herbal extract coating. The combination of corrosion protection and cell compatibility reaction suggests that this coating is very promising for application in orthopedic implants. Keywords: Pure magnesium, Chinese herbal extract coating, Corrosion resistance, Cell compatibility

Objective High expression of VEGF in ovarian tissue, serum and follicular fluid of PCOS women is involved in the physiological and pathogenesis processes of PCOS. Our objective was to investigate the effect of sRAGE on VEGF expression and EGF-like growth factor in PCOS ovarian granulosa cells. Methods We collected ovarian granulosa cells of PCOS patients who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF). Then treatment ovarian granulosa cells with different concentrations of sRAGE. Levels of VEGF, AREG, BTC and EREG mRNA were examined by quantitative RT-PCR. The protein levels of VEGF, AREG, BTC and EREG were measured by ELISA. Results Treatment with sRAGE decrease the production of VEGF, and the effects were dependent on the concentrations of sRAGE ( P

Carbon nanotube (CNT) clusters grown in situ in three-dimensional (3D) porous graphene networks (3DG-CNTs), with integrated structure and remarkable electronic conductivity, are desirable S host materials for Li–S batteries. 3DG-CNT exhibits a high surface area (1,645 m2·g−1), superior electronic conductivity of 1,055 S·m−1, and a 3D porous networked structure. Large clusters of CNTs anchored on the inner walls of 3D graphene networks act as capillaries, benefitting restriction of agglomeration by high contents of immersed S. Moreover, the capillary-like CNT clusters grown in situ in the pores efficiently form restricted spaces for Li polysulfides, significantly reducing the shuttling effect and promoting S utilization throughout the charge/discharge process. With an areal S mass loading of 81.6 wt.%, the 3DG-CNT/S electrode exhibits an initial specific capacity reaching 1,229 mA·h·g−1 at 0.5 C and capacity decays of 0.044% and 0.059% per cycle at 0.5 and 1 C, respectively, over 500 cycles. The electrode material also reveals a remarkable rate performance and the large capacity of 812 mA·h·g−1 at 3 C.

The aim of this present study was to investigate the enhancing activities of animal-derived muscone on the transdermal permeation of drugs with different lipophilicities and shed light on its possible mechanisms of action. The epidermal keratinocytes and dermal fibroblast cell lines were employed to evaluate the cytotoxicity of muscone using MTT assay. A series of model drugs with a wide range of lipophilicity were tested using in vitro permeation studies in which Franz diffusion cells and rat skin were used. The saturation solubilities and SC/vehicle partition coefficients of model drugs were measured to monitor the effect of muscone on drug thermodynamic activities and partition of drug into SC layer, respectively. Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy were used to understand the effect of muscone on molecular organization of the stratum corneum (SC). It was found that muscone displayed lower cytotoxicity than the commonly-used and standard penetration enhancer Azone. Meanwhile, muscone could significantly promote the percutaneous absorption of all of five model drugs. The molecular mechanism studies revealed that muscone could enhance the skin permeability predominantly by interacting with the SC lipids, especially the disorder of the lipid bilayer packing. These results suggested that muscone could be a safe and efficient penetration enhancer in the external use.

Three-dimensional porous graphene networks containing in situ grown carbon nanotube clusters (CNTs@3DG) with a superior composited nanostructure have been fabricated in a one-step metal-catalyzed thermolysis. The unique self-assembled 3D porous structure exhibits a high surface area (1673 m2 g−1), a well-defined pore structure, as well as an excellent electronic conductivity. Inside the CNTs@3DG, abundant clusters of CNTs with an average size of 25 nm are in situ grown at the inner walls of porous graphene networks. The CNTs and graphene networks form a relatively stable architecture of 3D interconnected CNTs and graphene, which offers convenient channels for electron transport and lithium ion diffusion. This promising CNTs@3DG anode material reveals an ultrahigh reversible capacity of 1132 mA h g−1 and an advantageous retentive capacity of 1054 mA h g−1 after 200 cycles at 100 mA g−1. More significantly, excellent reversible capacities of 720 and 663 mA h g−1 and superior long-cycle-life capacity decays of 0.017 and 0.025% per cycle after 1000 cycles were obtained at large current densities of 1 and 2 A g−1, respectively. It also exhibits a remarkable rate performance, including large capacities of 459 and 383 mA h g−1 at 4 and 5 A g−1 current densities, respectively.

Bone tissue repair materials can cause problems such as inflammation around the implant, slow bone regeneration, and poor repair quality. In order to solve these problems, a coating was prepared by ultrasonic micro-arc oxidation and self-assembly technology on a pure magnesium substrate. We studied the effect of berberine on the performance of the ultrasonic micro-arc oxidation/polylactic acid and glycolic acid copolymer/berberine (UMAO/PLGA/BR) coating. The chemical and morphological character of the coating was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The corrosion properties were studied by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in a simulated body fluid. The cumulative release of drugs was tested by high-performance liquid chromatography. The results indicate that different amounts of BR can seal the corrosion channel to different extents. These coatings have a self-corrosion current density (Icorr) at least one order of magnitude lower than the UMAO coatings. When the BR content is 3.0 g/L, the self-corrosion current density of the UMAO/PLGA/BR coatings is the lowest (3.14 &times, 10&minus, 8 A/cm2) and the corrosion resistance is improved. UMAO/PLGA/BR coatings have excellent biological activity, which can effectively solve the clinical problem of rapid degradation of pure magnesium and easy infection.

Background & Aims The morbidity and mortality of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) are high among patients with cirrhosis; however, the mechanisms of SBP pathogenesis are poorly understood. This study aimed to determine the role of the vitamin D-LL-37 pathway in the pathogenesis and treatment in patients with cirrhosis and SBP. Methods Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations of 119 patients with chronic liver diseases were tested. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) and LL-37 in peritoneal leucocytes of cirrhotic and ascitic patients with SBP were detected and compared with those without SBP. Then the peritoneal macrophages of non-infected patients were cultured and activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to analyse the changes of VDR and LL-37 expressions after incubation with vitamin D. Results Vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency was found in all of patients with cirrhosis. LPS inhibited VDR and LL-37 expression in peritoneal macrophages [1.3-fold decrease (P = 0.003) and 20-fold decrease (P = 0.010) respectively]. However, vitamin D could reverse the inhibition of both VDR and LL-37 [1.5-fold increase (P = 0.001) and 2000-fold increase (P < 0.001) respectively]. The effect of the incubation time following vitamin D supplementation was significant for LL-37 expression, with a peak expression found at 36 h (P < 0.001). Conclusions When vitamin D levels were low, bacteria inhibited VDR and LL-37 responses in peritoneal macrophages as a mechanism to evade antibacterial defence. Vitamin D supplementation could up-regulate peritoneal macrophage VDR and LL-37 expressions, which resulted in an enhanced immunological defence against SBP in patients with cirrhosis and ascites.

The objective of this article was to investigate the enhancing effect of menthone, menthol and pulegone on the transdermal absorption of drugs with different lipophilicity and probe their mechanisms of action at molecular level. Five model drugs, namely osthole, tetramethylpyrazine, ferulic acid, puerarin and geniposide, which were selected based on their lipophilicity denoted by logKo/w, were tested using in vitro permeation studies in which Franz diffusion cells and rat skin were employed. Infrared spectroscopy and molecular dynamic simulation were used to investigate the effect of these enhancers on the stratum corneum (SC) lipids, respectively. Three compounds could effectively promote the transdermal absorption of drugs with different lipophilicity, and the overall promoting capacities were in the following increasing order: pulegone menthol menthone. The penetration enhancement ratio was roughly in parabolic curve relationships with the drug lipophilicity after treatment with menthol or menthone, while the penetration enhancement effect of pulegone hardly changed with the alteration of the drug lipophilicity. The molecular mechanism studies suggested that menthone and menthol enhanced the skin permeability by disordering the ordered organization of SC lipids and extracted part of SC lipids, while pulegone appeared to promote drug transport across the skin only by extracting part of SC lipids.

Objective To investigate the percutaneous penetration effect of essential oil of mint from Mentha haplocalyx Briq. on the complex active components in Chinese herbal external preparations, and assess its toxicity on the skin cells. Methods The cytotoxicity of mint oil on HaCaT keratinocytes and CCC-ESF-1 fibroblasts was measured using an MTT assay. Five model drugs with a wide range of lipophilicity, namely osthole, tetramethylpyrazine, ferulic acid, puerarin, and geniposide, were tested using in vitro permeation studies to investigate the percutaneous penetration enhancement effect of mint oil. Secondary structure alterations of skin stratum corneum (SC) were measured using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Saturation solubilities and SC/vehicle partition coefficients of the five model drugs with and without mint oil were also determined to understand the potential mechanisms of the essential oil. Results Half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of mint oil were significantly higher in HaCaT and CCC-ESF-1 cell lines than values in the well-established and standard penetration enhancer Azone. Conclusions Mint oil at proper concentration could effectively facilitate percutaneous penetration of both lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs, and exhibit higher efficiency for moderate hydrophilic drugs. Mechanisms of penetration enhancement by mint oil could be explained with saturation solubility, SC/vehicle partition coefficient and the secondary structure change of SC.

Interface modification of ferroelectric LiNbO3 (LN) films on silicon (Si) is performed by the incorporation of a ZnO buffer layer. The microstructures and memory characteristics of the heterojunctions are characterized. Single c-axis LN films are promoted on Si (1 0 0) substrates and interfacial reaction is prevented by the nanoscale modification. Due to the ferroelectric polarizations of the LN films, clockwise capacitance–voltage memory windows can be observed clearly even at lower sweep voltages than 5 V. The size of the window increases to a saturation value of ∼1.8 V with applied voltage and no obvious charge injection happens in the whole sweeping voltage range. After 105 s and 105 cycles, both the high and low capacitance values show no obvious degradation and the heterojunction exhibits good retention properties. Therefore, the present work supplies an effective route to improve the interface of LN/Si heterojunction and develop high-performance nonvolatile ferroelectric memory devices.

The rare earth metal-organic frameworks (Ln-MOFs) materials, Ln(BTC)(H 2 O)·(DMF), were synthesized using the rare earth metal (Ln=Sm, Eu, Tb, Y) and 1,3,5-trimesic acid (BTC) as a metal ion center and ligand, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were employed to characterize the Ln-MOFs structural features. The property of adsorption desulfurization of Ln-MOFs materials was evaluated with thiophene/n-octane as model oil. The results showed that Ln-MOFs with rare earth metals Sm, Eu, Tb and Y had perfect crystalline and good adsorption desulfurization ability. Y(BTC)(H 2 O)·(DMF) material had a comparatively better activity for the adsorption desulfurization with desulfurization rate up to 80.7% and the sulfur adsorption capacity was found 30.7 mgS/g(Y-MOFs). The Ln-MOFs materials had excellent reusability.

The aim of this paper was to investigate and compare the penetration-enhancing characteristics of menthol and essential oil from Mentha haplocalyx(M.haplocalyx oil) on the transdermal absorption of the complex traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) components. A series of TCM components were selected as model drugs based on their lipophilicity (logP value), namely osthole(OT, logP=3.85), tetramethylpyrazine(TMP, logP=2.34), ferulic acid(FA, logP=1.26), puerarin(PR, logP=-0.35) and geniposide(GP, logP=-1.01), in order to simply and characterize the TCM complex components system. Transdermal experiment in vitro was employed to investigate and compare the penetration-enhancing characteristics of menthol and M.haplocalyx oil on the transdermal absorption of these model drugs. Meanwhile, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) was used to further compare the effect of menthol and M. haplocalyx oil on the molecular structure of stratum corneum(SC). The results showed that both of menthol and M.haplocalyx oil at proper concentration could promote the transdermal absorption of the selected model drugs. After application of menthol, the drug logP values gradually tended to have negative linear relationship with the logarithm of penetration enhancement ratio(ER); while after application of M.haplocalyx oil, the logP values tended to have parabolic relationship with the logarithm of ER. However, both menthol and M.haplocalyx oil exhibited higher efficiency for the drugs with relative low lgP value(ie hydrophilic drugs), with similar penetration-enhancing characteristics between these two. Infrared spectroscopy results showed that menthol and M.haplocalyx oil could affect the skin barrier functions mainly via stratum corneum lipids, with similar effect intensity, and this was consistent with the results of transdermal experiment in vitro. Thus, Menthol had similar penetration-enhancing characteristics with M.haplocalyx oil, and had same effect on the SC molecular structure. Therefore, as transdermal penetration enhancer, the menthol with single composition could be considered to replace M.haplocalyx oil with complex compositions.

The enhancement of soil organic carbon (SOC) is important for sustainable agriculture, while changes in SOC depend on the balance between carbon (C) input and export. To investigate how chemical fertilizers contribute to C input (e.g. plant-derived C) and export (e.g. original SOC decomposition) in soil, a wheat (a C3 plant) pot experiment was conducted using a Phaeozem that had previously been used to cultivate maize (a C4 plant). The natural 13C abundance method was used to quantify wheat-derived SOC (WSC) and microbial respiration using the original SOC (Rmicrobial) during the wheat growing season. The wheat grain, WSC, wheat-derived C (WDC: including WSC, root and stubble biomass C) and Rmicrobial-derived CO2 emission (SCE) in fertilized treatments increased by 4.8–31.1%, 48.9–122.4%, 21.3–62.2% and 6.0–51.8%, respectively, when compared to unfertilized treatments. The total SOC in the post-experimental soil increased by 0.14–0.97% when compared to pre-experimental soil because the WSC input was larger than the SCE export, and it would be increased further if wheat root and stubble biomass C were included. Therefore, application of chemical fertilizer not only directly increases crop yield, but also indirectly contributes to C sequestration by favoring crop growth and crop-derived C input in soil.

Nucleosome positioning plays an essential role in various fundamental cellular processes by modulating the accessibility of DNA to binding proteins. Understanding the mechanisms and precise recognition of nucleosome positioning along genomic sequences are substantially important for elucidating regulations of cellular processes such as DNA replication, recombination, and gene transcription. In this report, we present a knowledge-based model for calculation of deformational energy of nucleosomal DNA and apply the model to the prediction of nucleosome positioning along the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae accurately. The model successfully predicted genome-wide in vitro nucleosome positions. When combined with quadratic discriminant classifier, the model achieved an accuracy of 92.9 % in discriminating in vitro nucleosome forming sequences from nucleosome inhibiting sequences. Our result supports the debated notion that the nucleosome positioning in the genomic sequences is guided primarily by deformational properties of DNA.

To optimize the matrix formulation of Chaizhi cataplasma (CC) and investigate its release and transdermal absorption properties in vitro. The optimized matrix formulation of cataplasma containing liquid herbal extract is determined by using D-optimal mixture design, with initial bonding strength, endurance bonding strength and gel strength as the evaluating indicators. Modified Franz diffusion cells were used to study the in vitro release and transdermal absorption of geniposide in CC. The optimized matrix formulation of CC contained NP700, aluminum glycinate, tartaric acid, glycerin, PVPK90 and water (9∶0.7∶0.8∶30∶5∶30.5). Cumulative release rate of geniposide in CC was (77.02±3.73)% in 24 h. The percutaneous penetration rate of geniposide was 7.25 μg•cm⁻²•h⁻¹ and the 24 h permeated amount was (156.22±4.90) μg•cm⁻². The optimized CC prepared by the D-optimal mixture design showed a good adhesion and formability. The in vitro release of the geniposide in CC was in accordance with the first order equation, while its in vitro transdermal absorption was close to the zero order equation.

Previous studies have clearly shown substantial increases of soil organic carbon (SOC) in agricultural soils of Yellow River reaches. Those soils did not receive organic fertilizer input, but did receive chemical fertilizer inputs. Thus, to investigate the hypothesis that the observed SOC increases were driven by chemical fertilizer additions, a maize pot experiment was conducted using a Fluvisol that developed under C3 vegetation in the Yellow River reaches. Using the natural 13C abundance method we calculated the SOC renewal ratio (C renewal), and separated total soil organic carbon (TOC) into maize-derived soil organic carbon (SOCmaize) and original soil organic carbon (SOCoriginal). Carbon dioxide fluxes and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) were determined by closed chamber method and fumigation-extraction method, respectively. The experiment included five treatments: (1) NPK: application of chemical fertilizer NPK; (2) NP, application of chemical fertilizer NP; (3) PK: application of chemical fertilizer PK; (4) NK, application of chemical fertilizer NK; and (5) CK: unfertilized control. Fertilization increased maize biomass (including grain, straw and root), TOC, C renewal, SOCmaize, maize-derived carbon (MDC: including SOCmaize, and root and stubble biomass carbon) and MBC, and these values among the treatments ranked NPK>NP>PK>NK>CK. The C renewal was 5.54–8.50% across the treatments. Fertilization also increased soil CO2 emission (including root respiration and SOCoriginal decomposition), while the SOCoriginal decomposition during the maize growing season only amounted to 74.0–93.4 and 33.5–46.1% of SOCmaize and MDC among the treatments, respectively. Thus input was larger than export, and led to SOC increase. Maize grain and straw biomass were positively and significantly correlated with soil δ13C, TOC, C renewal, SOCmaize, MDC and MBC. The study suggests that chemical fertilizer application could increase C renewal by increasing crop-derived C and accelerating original SOC decomposition, and that as long as a certain level of crop yield or aboveground biomass can be achieved, application of chemical fertilizer alone can maintain or increase SOC level in Fluvisol in the Yellow River reaches.

The objective of this study was to evaluate plant-available N pools and the role of N management index (NMI) in the surface (0–20 cm) of a fluvo-aquic soil after 18 years of fertilization treatments under a wheat–maize cropping system in the North China Plain. The experiment included seven treatments: (1) NPK, balanced application of chemical fertilizer NPK; (2) OM, application of organic manure; (3) 1/2OMN, application of half organic manure plus chemical fertilizer NPK; (4) NP, application of chemical fertilizer NP; (5) PK, application of chemical fertilizer PK; (6) NK, application of chemical fertilizer NK; and (7) CK, unfertilized control. Total organic N (TON), microbial biomass N (MBN), labile N (LN), inorganic N (ION, including ammonium (NH 4 + )–N and nitrate (NO 3 − )–N) contents, net ammonification rate (NAR), net nitrification rate (NNR), net N mineralization rate (NNMR), and NMI in the fertilized treatments were higher than in the unfertilized treatment. Application of chemical fertilizer N (NPK, NP, and NK) increased ION in soils, compared with application of organic N or control. Nitrate N prevailed over exchangeable NH 4 + –N in all treatments. Nitrogen storage of the OM- and 1/2OMN-treated soils increased by 50.0% and 24.3%, respectively, over the NPK-treated soil, which had 5.4–22.5% more N than NP-, PK-, and NK-treated soils. The MBN, LN, and ION accounted for 1.7–2.4%, 25.7–34.2%, and 1.4–2.9% of TON, respectively, in different fertilization treatments. The surface soils (0–20-cm layer) in all treatments mineralized 43.6–152.9 kg N ha–1 year–1 for crop growth. Microbial biomass N was probably the better predictor of N mineralization, as it was correlated significantly (P

Plant dry matter accumulation rate (DMAR), relative water content (RWC), electrolyte leakage percentage (ELP), chlorophyll content, osmotic adjustment ability (OAA), and osmotica accumulation in leaves of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) seedlings under different levels of dehydration and salinity stress induced by iso-osmotic PEG (polyethylene glycol) or sodium chloride (NaCl) were evaluated. Plants were subjected to four stress treatments for 10 days: −0.44 MPa PEG6000, −0.44 MPa NaCl, −0.88 MPa PEG6000, −0.88 MPa NaCl. Results showed that PEG and NaCl treatments decreased the plant's DMAR and RWC, and NaCl treatments had more severe inhibitory effect on the plants than PEG treatments. Leaf ELP in sunflower seedlings increased after NaCl and PEG treatments. However, leaf ELP under salt stress was higher than that under dehydration stress (PEG treatment). All stress treatments increased OAA in plant leaves. Leaf OAA was enhanced significantly as PEG concentration increases, while leaf OAA was less enhanc...

As an essential indicator of soil quality, soil organic carbon (SOC) and its different labile fractions have an important role in determining soil chemical, physical, and biological properties. The objective of this study was to evaluate the soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents in different soil organic matter (SOM) pools (light and heavy fractions), the role of light- and heavy-fraction C in SOC sequestration, and culturable microbial counts in the surface (0–20 cm) of a fluvo-aquic soil after 18 years of fertilization treatments under a wheat–maize cropping system in the North China Plain. The experiment included seven treatments: (1) OM, organic manure; (2) 1/2OMN, half organic manure with mineral fertilizer NPK; (3) NPK, mineral fertilizer NPK; (4) NP, mineral fertilizer NP; (5) PK, mineral fertilizer PK; (6) NK, mineral fertilizer NK; and (7) CK, unfertilized control. Carbon and N contents of the light and heavy fractions were highest in the OM treatment, while the CK treatment showed the lowest value. Application of half organic manure with mineral fertilizer NPK (treatment 2) significantly increased C and N contents of the light and heavy fractions in soil in comparison with application of mineral fertilizer alone (treatments 3, 4, 5, and 6). For the mineral fertilizer treatments, a balanced application of NPK (treatment 3) showed higher C and N contents of the light and heavy fractions than an unbalanced use of fertilizers (treatments 4, 5, and 6). Heavy-fraction C dominated total SOC storage in all treatments. The total SOC increase under fertilization treatments is attributed to an increase in C content of both the light and the heavy fraction. However, the SOC increase for the manure treatments was mainly due to an increase in the C content of the heavy fraction, whereas that for mineral fertilizer treatments was mainly due to an increase in the C content of the light fraction. The total soil culturable microbial counts (including bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes) was observed to be highest for the OM treatment, while the control plot showed the lowest value. Application of half organic manure with mineral fertilizer NPK was found to produce a higher culturable microbial counts than application of mineral fertilizers alone, and the NPK treatment gave a higher culturable microbial counts than other mineral fertilizer treatments (NP, PK or NK). Light-fraction C is probably the better predictor of microbial abundance, as it correlated more strongly with culturable microbial counts than total SOC did.

The effects of organic manure and chemical fertilizer on total soil organic carbon (C T), water-soluble organic C (C WS), microbial biomass C (C MB), labile C (C L), C mineralization, C storage and sequestration, and the role of carbon management index (CMI) in soil quality evaluation were studied under a wheat–maize cropping system in a long-term experiment, which was established in 1989 in the North China Plain. The experiment included seven treatments: (1) OM: application of organic manure; (2) 1/2OMN: application of half organic manure plus chemical fertilizer NPK; (3) NPK: balanced application of chemical fertilizer NPK; (4) NP: application of chemical fertilizer NP; (5) PK: application of chemical fertilizer PK; (6) NK: application of chemical fertilizer NK; and (7) CK: unfertilized control. Application of organic manure (OM and 1/2OMN) was more effective for increasing C T, C WS, C MB, C L, C mineralization, and CMI, as compared with application of chemical fertilizer alone. For the chemical fertilizer treatments, balanced application of NPK (treatment 3) showed higher C T, C WS, C MB, C L, C mineralization, and CMI than the unbalanced use of fertilizers (treatments 4, 5, and 6). The C storage in the OM and 1/2OMN treatments were increased by 58.0% and 26.6%, respectively, over the NPK treatment, which had 5.9–25.4% more C storage than unbalanced use of fertilizers. The contents of C WS, C MB, and C L in organic manure treatments (treatments 1 and 2) were increased by 139.7–260.5%, 136.7–225.7%, and 150.0–240.5%, respectively, as compared to the CK treatment. The CMI was found to be a useful index to assess the changes of soil quality induced by soil management practices due to its significant correlation with soil bulk density and C fractions. The OM and 1/2OMN treatments were not a feasible option for farmers, but a feasible option for sequestering soil carbon, especially for the OM treatment. The NPK treatment was important for increasing crop yields, organic material inputs, and soil C fractions, so it could increase the sustainability of cropping system in the North China Plain.

A process of recovering Ge by chlorinating roasting was put forward. GeCl 4 was separated and recovered from lignite ash because of its low boiling point. Kinetic analysis indicates that the chlorinating roasting process fits with the unreacted-core shrinking model and the reaction rate equation corresponds to 1 − 2 a /3 − (1 − a ) 2/3 = kt . The apparent activation energy E a is calculated to be 22.36 kJ·mol −1 . The diffusion of product layer serves as the rate-controlling step in this process. When the roasting temperature is 250°C, the roasting time is 60 min, the concentration of hydrochloric acid is 10 mol/L, and the ratio of liquid to solid is 10 ( m HCl/ash = 10), and 90% Ge in lignite ash can be recovered.

17-Allyl-4,5-anhydro-7α-[(R)-1-hydroxy-1-methyl-3-(2-thienyl)propyl]-6-methoxy-6,14-ethanomorphinan-3,4,5-triol (thienorphine 6) was synthesized and structurally characterized by NMR spectra, ESI-MS and X-ray diffraction. The crystal structure indicates that thienorphine maintained the main rigid structure of morphine while containing the C6-C14 ethano bridge. The allyl group is located in the equatorial position as expected. The packing diagram of 6 showed the presence of intramolecular and intermolecular O-H···O hydrogen bonds linking the molecules into a zigzag infinite quasi-one-dimensional chain structure.

A procedure for deuterium and tritium labeling of the titled compound, an analgesic agent, was developed. A secondary amine intermediate was acylated to an acylamide, then the carbonyl function was reduced by LiAlD4 to yield the tertiary amine. In the tritium-labeled synthesis, the process utilized a bromo-substituted precursor, which was subsequently reduced with 3H2 in the presence of a Pd/C catalyst. The labeled compounds were successfully applied in pharmacokinetic and pharmacological studies. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In this work, we report a new concept of adaptive "ensemble aptamers" (ENSaptamers) that exploits the collective recognition abilities of a small set of rationally designed, nonspecific DNA sequences to identify molecular or cellular targets discriminatively. In contrast to in vitro-selected aptamers, which possess specific "lock-and-key" recognition, ENSaptamers rely on pattern recognition that mimics natural olfactory or gustatory systems. Nanographene oxide was employed to provide a low-background and highly reproducible fluorescent assay system. We demonstrate that this platform provides a highly discriminative and adaptive tool for high-precision identification of a wide range of targets for diagnostic and proteomic applications with a nearly unlimited supply of ENSaptamer receptors.

Vitamin D, which exerts its effect through vitamin D receptor (VDR), and LL-37, a vitamin D-dependent antimicrobial peptide, are involved in many infectious diseases.The objective of this study was to evaluate whether vitamin D status and expressions of VDR and LL-37 are involved in the pathogenesis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP).Serum and ascitic fluid 25-dihydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations and levels of VDR and LL-37 in peritoneal leukocytes were measured by ELISA and real-time PCR methods in cirrhotic patients with SBP (n = 19) and cirrhotic patients with simple ascites (n = 28). The correlations between these levels and clinical variables were evaluated.Cirrhotic patients with ascites showed low vitamin D concentrations in both serum and ascitic fluid. Lower serum vitamin D concentrations were observed in cirrhotic patients with Child-Pugh C class. 25(OH)D concentrations in ascitic fluid were positive correlated with that in serum (r = 0.74, P0.001). The SBP group showed significantly higher levels of both VDR and LL-37 mRNA expressions in peritoneal leukocytes than the simple ascites group (P = 0.005 and P = 0.003, respectively). In the SBP group, VDR and LL-37 expressions in peritoneal leukocytes were positively correlated (r = 0.70, P = 0.001).Vitamin D insufficiency was universal among cirrhotic patients with ascites, and the situation was more severe with more serious cirrhosis. Expressions of peritoneal leukocytes VDR and LL-37 genes were simultaneously up-regulated in cirrhotic patients with SBP when compared with cirrhotic patients with simple ascites. It is indicated that the vitamin D-VDR system and its downstream gene, LL-37, are involved in the pathogenesis and antibacterial immune response to SBP.

The anti-morphine peptide from canine brain, which is homologous to alpha subunit of hemoglobin of canine, has been isolated and characterized. The canine brain was homogenized and extracted in 0.1 M acetic acid. The supernatant was collected, and purified by chromatography of Sephadex G-50 and ion-exchange and RP-HPLC. A polypeptide was then obtained, which is termed as AMP5. It shows prominent antimorphine analgesic activity. AMP5 has an apparent molecular mass of 10.23kD. The isoelectric point was estimated to be around pH 6.7 by IEF. The amino acid composition of AMP5 and sequence of the N-terminal 50 amino acid residues was determined.

This paper describes the influence of bovine endozepine (BEP) on the analgesic effect of morphine. The intraventricular administration of BEP between doses of 2–4 nmole in mice resulted in the potentiation of the morphine-analgesic effect. The basic pain threshold did not change when BEP was given alone, thus indicating that BEP is unable to elicit analgesic effects alone. Intravenous injection of BEP in the dose range of 5–7.5 mg/kg also potentiated the analgesic effect of morphine. These observations suggest that endozepine can act as a regulator of pain.