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Three series of sulfonate derivatives of paeonol were synthesized and screened in vitro for their anti-oomycete activity against P. capsici, respectively. Among all the compounds, 4m displayed the best promising and pronounced anti-oomycete activity against P. capsici than zoxamide, with the EC50 values of 24.51 and 26.87 mg/L, respectively. The results show that acetyl and 4-OCH3 are two necessary groups. The existence of these two sites is closely related to the anti-oomycete activity. Relatively speaking, hydroxyl group is well tolerated, and the results showed that after modification of hydroxyl group with sulfonyl, the anti-oomycete activity was significantly increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relying on copper melt as a solvent, we successfully synthesize alpha-boron (α-B) and beta-boron (β-B) at ambient pressure. Distinct obtained allotropes ascribe to different fabrication processes and growth mechanisms. Coralloid eutectic boron exposes the messages of α-B, and primary boron has the typical traits of β-B. Considering experimental conditions and morphologies, constituent supercooling with appropriate temperature gradients is chiefly responsible for the growth of α-B. Moreover, a proper eutectic temperature and restricted growth space are provided by copper melt for α-B. For the formation of β-B, cyclic-twinning, screw dislocation-driven and the twin plane re-entrant edge (TPRE) growth mechanisms work together. Boron's growth models were put forward for vivid elucidation of these mechanisms. Thereafter, the stabilities of α-B and β-B were compared based on their forming conditions and sizes. Synthesis of α-B and β-B in copper melt at ambient pressure are of great significance for their practical applications in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Acute lung injury (ALI) is a common and devastating respiratory disease associated with uncontrolled inflammatory response and transepithelial neutrophil migration. In recent years, a growing number of studies have found that Ardisiae Japonicae Herba (AJH) has a favorable anti-inflammatory effect. However, its serum material basis and molecular mechanism are still unknown in ALI treatment. In this study, metabolomics and network analysis of serum pharmacochemistry were used to explore the therapeutic effect and molecular mechanism of AJH against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI. Methods: A total of 12 rats for serum pharmacochemistry analysis were randomly divided into the LPS group and LPS + AJH-treated group (treated with AJH extract 20 g/kg/d), which were administered LPS (2 mg/kg) by intratracheal instillation and then continuously administered for 7 days. Moreover, 36 rats for metabolomic research were divided into control, LPS, LPS + AJH-treated (5, 10, and 20 g/kg/d), and LPS + dexamethasone (Dex) (2.3 × 10 -4  g/kg/d) groups. After 1 h of the seventh administration, the LPS, LPS + AJH-treated, and LPS + Dex groups were administered LPS by intratracheal instillation to induce ALI. The serum pharmacochemistry profiling was performed by UPLC-Orbitrap Fusion MS to identify serum components, which further explore the molecular mechanism of AJH against ALI by network analysis. Meanwhile, metabolomics was used to select the potential biomarkers and related metabolic pathways and to analyze the therapeutic mechanism of AJH against ALI. Results: The results showed that 71 serum components and 18 related metabolites were identified in ALI rat serum. We found that 81 overlapping targets were frequently involved in AGE-RAGE, PI3K-AKT, and JAK-STAT signaling pathways in network analysis. The LPS + AJH-treated groups exerted protective effects against ALI by reducing the infiltration of inflammatory cells and achieved anti-inflammatory efficacy by significantly regulating the interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 levels. Metabolomics analysis shows that the therapeutic effect of AJH on ALI involves 43 potential biomarkers and 14 metabolic pathways, especially phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis and linoleic acid metabolism pathways, to be influenced, which implied the potential mechanism of AJH in ALI treatment. Discussion: Our study initially elucidated the material basis and effective mechanism of AJH against ALI, which provided a solid basis for AJH application., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Han, Tian, Liu, Zhao, Liu, Hu, Feng and Li.)

Glial cells play an important role in signal transduction, energy metabolism, extracellular ion homeostasis and neuroprotection of the central nervous system. However, few studies have explained the potential effects of exosomes from glial cells on central nervous system health and disease. In this study, the genes expressed in exosomes from astrocytes and microglia were identified by deep RNA sequencing. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis indicated that several pathways in these exosomes are responsible for promoting neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. Gene ontology analysis showed that extracellular exosome, mitochondrion and growth factor activity were enriched in exosomes from the unique astrocyte group, while extracellular exosome and mitochondrion were enriched in exosomes from the unique microglia group. Next, combined with the screening of hub genes, the protein-protein interaction network analysis showed that exosomes from astrocytes influence neurodegenerative diseases through metabolic balance and ubiquitin-dependent protein balance, whereas exosomes from microglia influence neurodegenerative diseases through immune inflammation and oxidative stress. Although there were differences in RNA expression between exosomes from astrocytes and microglia, the groups were related by the hub genes, ubiquitin B and heat shock protein family A (Hsp70) member 8. Ubiquitin B appeared to be involved in pleiotropic regulatory functions, including immune regulation, inflammation inhibition, protein catabolism, intracellular protein transport, exosomes and oxidative stress. The results revealed the clinical significance of exosomes from glia in neurodegenerative diseases. This study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Nantong University, China (approval No. S20180102-152) on January 2, 2018., Competing Interests: None

Neurological diseases such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease are among the intractable diseases for which appropriate drugs and treatments are lacking. Proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) technology is a novel strategy to solve this problem. PROTAC technology uses the ubiquitin-protease system to eliminate mutated, denatured, and harmful proteins in cells. It can be reused, and utilizes the protein destruction mechanism of the cells, thus making up for the deficiencies of traditional protein degradation methods. It can effectively target and degrade proteins, including proteins that are difficult to identify and bind. Therefore, it has extremely important implications for drug development and the treatment of neurological diseases. At present, the targeted degradation of mutant BTK, mHTT, Tau, EGFR, and other proteins using PROTAC technology is gaining attention. It is expected that corresponding treatment of nervous system diseases can be achieved. This review first focuses on the recent developments in PROTAC technology in terms of protein degradation, drug production, and treatment of central nervous system diseases, and then discusses its limitations. This review will provide a brief overview of the recent application of PROTAC technology in the treatment of central nervous system diseases., Competing Interests: None

We examined the role of photosynthesis in regulating soil CO 2 emission under nitrogen enrichment in Keerqin sandy grassland. Results showed that nitrogen (N) application could affect soil respiration rate by altering the allocation of photosynthetic products to the belowground. Gross ecosystem photosynthesis rate (GEP) was positively correlated with soil respiration rate (R s ). Nitrogen application reduced slope of the fitting function from 0.236 to 0.161, with the equation intercept difference (0.51 μmol·m -2 ·s -1 ) being similar to the nighttime soil respiration rate increment (0.52 μmol·m -2 ·s -1 ). From May to October, the difference of photosynthetic rate (differential ratio) caused by nitrogen application was significantly correlated with that of soil respiration (differential ratio). Results from partial correlation confirmed the essential role of photosynthetic rate difference (ΔGEP) in driving soil respiration rate difference (ΔR s ) caused by nitrogen application. In the nighttime, soil respiration rate was affected by the aboveground vegetation activities in daytime. The daily mean GEP was an important factor affecting the nighttime soil respiration rate difference (ΔR s ) (P<0.01). Photosynthesis, rather than soil temperature, was the main factor affecting soil respiration rate difference (ΔR s ) under nitrogen application. Thus, the role of photosynthetic assimilation-regulating may provide a novel supplement for elucidating the responses of soil respiration to nitrogen enrichment.