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A new highly oxygenated cycloheptane derivative crustane (1), along with fourteen known compounds (2–15) were isolated from Penicillium crustosum JT-8. The structure of compound 1 was determined by extensive spectroscopic data, DP4+ probability analyses and dimolybdenum CD method. Compound 1 exhibited moderate antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus with MIC of 4.0 μg/mL.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection is associated with strong infectiousness and has no effective therapy. We aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of Mycobacterium vaccae nebulization in the treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, we included 31 adult patients with moderate COVID-19 who were admitted to the Fourth People's Hospital of Nanning (Nanning, China) between January 22, 2020 and February 17, 2020. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: group A (standard care group) and group B (M. vaccae in combination with standard care group). The primary outcome was the time interval from admission to viral RNA negative conversion (oropharyngeal swabs were used in this study). Secondary outcomes included chest computed tomography (CT), mortality, length of hospital stay, complications during treatment, and so on. Patients were followed up to 4 weeks after discharge (reexamination of viral RNA, chest CT, etc.). Results: Nucleic acid test negative conversion time in group B was shorter than that in group A (2.9 days [2.7-8.7] vs. 6.8 days [3.3-13.8]; p = 0.045). No death and no conversion to severe or critical cases were observed in both groups. Two weeks after discharge, neither "relapse" nor "return to positive" cases were found. Four weeks after discharge, it was found that there was no case of " relapse " or "return to positive" in group B, and 1 patient in group A showed "return to positive", but there was no clinical manifestation and imaging progression. No adverse reactions related to M. vaccae were found during observation period. Conclusion: M. vaccae treatment might shorten the time interval from admission to viral RNA negative conversion, which might be beneficial to the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Clinical Trial Registration: ChiCTR2000030016.

The present study verified that 1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone (1), a common component in some industrial raw materials and dyes, could be converted into peniphenone (2), which possesses immunosuppressive activity and other medicinal potential, by Aleurodiscus mirabilis fermentation. The yield of peniphenone (2) after 7 days of fermentation was 11.05 ± 2.19%. To reveal the transformation mechanism, two secondary metabolites, emodin (3) and monodictyphenone (4), were isolated from the fermentation broth of A. mirabilis, implying that polyketide metabolic pathways from emodin (3) to monodictyphenone (4) might exist in A. mirabilis. 1,8-Dihydroxyanthraquinone (1) was suspected to be converted into peniphenone (2) via the same pathway since emodin (3) and 1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone (1) share very similar skeletons. The P450 enzyme and Baeyer-Villiger oxidase in A. mirabilis were confirmed to catalyze this biotransformation on the basis of ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) analysis. This novel investigation could shed light on the mechanism and therefore development of peniphenone production from 1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone by microbial fermentation.

A new highly oxygenated cycloheptane derivative crustane (

Roquefornine A, a sesterterpenoid with an unprecedented 5/6/5/5/6-membered pentacyclic system, was characterized from Penicillium roqueforti YJ-14. Its structure was determined by extensive spectroscopic analyses, [Rh2(OCOCF3)4]-induced CD data, and DP4+ calculations. A biosynthetic pathway, cytotoxicity, and anti-inflammatory activity were also discussed.

A new dimeric monoterpene indole alkaloid polonidine A (

A new tremulane sesquiterpene, lactedine (

Two new isoprenoid epoxycyclohexenones, expanstines A–B (1–2), and two novel isoprenoid epoxycyclohexenones, expanstines C–D (3–4), featuring an unusual oxetane ring were isolated from Penicillium expansum YJ-15. Their structures were initially investigated in detail by NMR spectroscopy, HRESIMS, XRD and ECD experiments. Expanstines A–D were derived under UV and visible light from 5 and 6, which plausibly underwent a rare intramolecular photoene reaction and a [2 + 2] Paterno–Buchi photoaddition respectively. Both 3 and 4 exhibited potent antibacterial activities against B. subtilis, with an MIC of 0.25 μg mL−1.

The ytterbium oxide (Yb3+) is found to have an extremely low work function of 2.42 eV, which is even lower than that of its metallic form Yb0 (2.64 eV). The stability of oxides makes Yb3+ an ideal electron injection material for both top-emitting and bottom-emitting organic light-emitting diodes (TOLED and BOLED). The device test data indeed show that at 1000 nit luminance, the TOLED has a 94 cd/A current efficiency and 70 lm/W power efficiency, and BOLED has a 76 cd/A and 60 lm/W efficiency, respectively. X-ray and ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopical studies indicate that the Fermi level of the metal oxide is pinned to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the electron transport layer, leading to the formation of a cathode interface with an ultra-low electron injection barrier.

A novel LiOPiv-promoted and palladium-catalysed formal [2 + 2 + 2] annulation reaction of vinyl triflates and o-silylaryl triflates via aryne intermediates has been developed. This methodology affords good to excellent yields of 9,10-substituted phenanthrenes (including cyclohexa[l]phenanthrenes) and is tolerant of a variety of functional groups such as ester, cyano, and ketone.

A new dimeric monoterpene indole alkaloid polonidine A (1), along with five known compounds, cyclopenol (2), verrucosidin (3), fructigenine A (4), 3-O-methylviridicatin (5) and aurantiomides C (6), were isolated from Penicillium polonicum TY12. Their structures were established on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses. Compound 1 exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities and moderate antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis with MIC of 4.0 μg/mL.

A new tremulane sesquiterpene, lactedine (1), along with seven known tremulane sesquiterpenes (2–8) and one known triterpene (9) were isolated from the fungus Irpex lacteus. Their structures were established on the basis of extensive spectroscopic data and DP4+ probability analyses.

In this study, powdery aerobic activated sludge (PAAS) was first prepared, and the removal rate, sorption capacity and mechanism of sorption uranium on PAAS was investigated. Before and after sorption, the surface morphology and structure of PAAS were characterized systematically using the Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), the X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), and the scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDX). In this work, the sorption mechanism and efficiency of uranium on the PAAS was study with static batch and ion exchange experiments, meanwhile, some influencing factors such as solution pH, contact temperature, adsorbent dose of PAAS and different initial uranium concentrations were studied. The batch sorption experiments illustrated that pH had a little effect in the process of sorption uranium on PAAS and it has a good removal capacity in a wide pH range (pH = 3–8). When the pH of solution was 7, the removal efficiency of about 93% for uranium when the initial concentration of uranium was 10 mg/L and the concentration of PAAS was 1 g/L. The XPS demonstrated that there are some active functional groups for instance carboxyl (-COOH), Hydroxyl (-OH), Amino (-NH2) and so on in the PAAS, and that all can combine with uranium. After sorption, there is an obviously U signal (marked in green) in the PAAS by charactering with the FE-SEM. In addition, kinetic parameters were fitted by the first-order kinetic (R2 = 0.9738) model and the second-order kinetic model (R2 = 0.9998), the pseudo-secondary kinetic model was better to illustrate the sorption process, so the chemical action was dominant, and existed physical sorption. The sorption isotherms date of PAAS was well-fitted to the Langmuir model (R2 = 0.9688). In the experiment of ion exchange, the concentration of Na+ in the solution hardly changed, the release of the other three ions was K+

Raman spectroscopy was applied to investigate the speciation in both single and mixed solutions of molybdate and vanadate at pH values from 10.0 to 1.0. Evidence was obtained for the difference of existing forms between these two elements. Vanadium mainly exists as (VO3)nn− while Mo is MoO42− in the pH range of 9.0–7.5. This difference is the theoretical basis for many available separation process. The species in the binary system was identified by comparing the Raman spectra with that in the single systems. Molybvanadates are formed below pH=6.5, which may partly be ascribed to the replacement of V atoms by Mo atoms in some V-O-V groups. Vanadium mainly exists as the decavanadate species in the pH range of 6.0–2.0. The predominant species of Mo are heteropolyanions having structural features of heptamolybdate rather than Mo8O264− and Mo36O1128− which are the predominant Mo species in single solution at pH=2.0–1.0.

Two previously undescribed seco-type C19-diterpenoid alkaloids, stylosines A and B (1–2), which possess an unprecedented opened D ring by the C(15)–C(16) broken bond forming a five-membered C(15)−O–C(14) lactone ring, together with 14 known diterpenoid alkaloids were isolated from the roots of Aconitum stylosum (Ranunculaceae). Compound 1 is the first reported C19-diterpenoid alkaloid with an α-orientation at H-13. Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic analyses, NMR calculations and DP4+ analysis. A plausible biosynthetic pathway of the undescribed compounds was proposed. Compounds 1 and 2 showed significant inhibitory activity against the production of inflammatory cytokines (interleukin 1β, cyclooxygenase-2, and tumor necrosis factor α) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus with MIC values of 2.00 and 32.00 μg/mL, respectively.

A transparent 3-mercaptopropyl trimethoxysilane (MPTMS)/Ag/MoO3 composite anode is introduced to fabricate green organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Effects of the composite anode on brightness and operating voltage of OLEDs are researched. By optimizing the thickness of each layer of the MPTMS/Ag/MoO3 structure, the transmittance of MPTMS/Ag (8 nm)/MoO3 (30 nm) reaches over 75% at about 520 nm. The sheet resistance is 3.78 Ω/□, corresponding to this MPTMS/Ag (8 nm)/MoO3 (30 nm) structure. For the OLEDs with the optimized anode, the maximum electroluminescence (EL) current efficiency reaches 4.5 cd/A, and the maximum brightness is 37 036 cd/m2. Moreover, the OLEDs with the optimized anode exhibit a very low operating voltage (2.6 V) for obtaining brightness of 100 cd/m2. We consider that the improved device performance is mainly attributed to the enhanced hole injection resulting from the reduced hole injection barrier height. Our results indicate that employing the MPTMS/Ag/MoO3 as a composite anode can be a simple and promising technique in the fabrication of low-operating voltage and high-brightness OLEDs.

On the basis of the Mechanics and Kinematics analysis of built-in chatter suppression boring bar, the research analyzes the motional stability of built-in chatter suppression boring bar, and uses SIMS vibration absorbers for chatter suppression theory to design the characteristic parameters of vibration absorber; then with MATLAB optimized to get structural material parameters of vibration absorber; finally conduct harmonic response analysis to built two-dimensional model of built-in chatter suppression boring bar by ANSYS, compare and optimize the results to guide the development of built-in chatter suppression boring bar.

The pharmacological basis of isosorbide mononitrate (ISMN), a widely used drug for cardiovascular diseases, is that it is metabolized to nitric oxide (NO). However, NO is a double-edged sword that results in either beneficial or detrimental effect. Vascular injury is the common consequence of many cardiovascular diseases, but it is not determined whether ISMN influences the restoration of injured artery in vivo. Carotid artery injury was induced by electric stimulation in mice. Vasoconstriction and endothelium-dependent and -independent relaxation were recorded by a multichannel acquisition and analysis system. ISMN (10 mg/kg, p.o.) treatment for 1 week and 1 month had no effect on reendothelialization, histology and function of carotid artery injured by electric stimulation. L-arginine (500 mg/kg, p.o.) and Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) (50 mg/kg, p.o.) treatment for 1 week did not affect the reendothelialization process, but L-NAME treatment induced neointimal hyperplasia and inhibited endothelium-dependent relaxation in electrically injured artery. These results suggest that supplement of exogenous or endogenous NO has no effect on the restoration of injured artery, but inhibition of endogenous NO induces neointimal hyperplasia in injured artery. ISMN treatment does not affect the restoration of injured artery.

Cardiac hypertrophy involves a remodeling process of the heart in response to diverse pathological stimuli. Both calcineurin/nuclear factor of activated T cells pathway and microRNA-133 ( miR-133 ) have been shown to play a critical role in cardiac hypertrophy. It has been recognized that the expression and activity of calcineurin increases and miR-133 expression decreases in the hypertrophic heart, and inhibition of calcineurin or increase of miR-133 expression protects against cardiac hypertrophy. Here we tested the interaction between miR-133 and calcineurin in cardiac hypertrophy. Cardiac hypertrophy in vivo and in vitro was induced by transverse aortic constriction and phenylephrine treatment. mRNA levels were measured by using real-time PCR methods. Luciferase assays showed that transfection of miR-133 in HEK293 cells downregulated calcineurin expression, which was reversed by cotransfection with the miR-133 –specific 2′- O -methyl antisense inhibitory oligoribonucleotides. These results were confirmed in cultured primary cardiomyocytes. miR-133 expression was downregulated, and calcineurin activity was enhanced in both in vivo and in vitro cardiac hypertrophy models. Treatment of cells and animals with cyclosporin A, an inhibitor of calcineurin, prevented miR-133 downregulation. Moreover, the antisense oligodeoxynucleotides against the catalytic subunits of calcineurin Aβ and the decoy oligodeoxynucleotides targeting nuclear factor of activated T cells transcription factor, a calcineurin downstream effector, increased miR-133 expression in cultured primary cardiomyocytes. Our data show that reciprocal repression between miR-133 and calcineurin regulates cardiac hypertrophy.

Background/Aims: 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB) provokes spontaneous mechanical activity in isolated rat left atria. The present study is to characterize 2-APB-induced ectopic activity in rat atria and to investigate the inhibition of 2-APB-induced ectopic activity by anti-arrhythmic drugs. Methods: 2-APB-induced ectopic activity was measured through an isometric force transducer connected to a multichannel acquisition and analysis system. Intracellular [Ca2+]i was measured with fluorescence laser scanning confocal microscopy. Voltage-dependent L- type Ca2+ currents were recorded by using patch-clamp technique. Results: 2-APB dose-dependently increased the ectopic activity of left atria at 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 µM. Anti-arrhythmic drugs, quinidine (10µM), lidocaine (10µM), verapamil (5µM), and amiodarone (50µM,100µM) inhibited 2-APB-induced ectopic activity. 2-APB-induced ectopic activity was inhibited by Ca2+-free bath, Na+/Ca2+ exchanger blockers, 3′,4′-dichlorobenzamil hydrochloride (DHC) and Ni2+, not by non-selective cation channel blocker Gd3+. 2-APB also induced ectopic contractions in ventricular tissue straps and the ectopic contractions were inhibited by quinidine, verapamil and DHC. Lidocaine, verapamil and DHC inhibited 2-APB-induced increase of intracellular Ca2+ concentration in cardiomyocytes. Low molecular weight heparin inhibited phenylephrine (PE)-induced but not 2-APB -induced atria ectopic activity, and the pattern of 2-APB-induced ectopic activity was continuous, distinct from the discontinuous activity induced by PE. Conclusion: 2-APB-induced atria ectopic activity was inhibited by classic anti-arrhythmic drugs quinidine, lidocaine, verapamil, amiodarone, and Na+/Ca2+ exchanger blockers. It can be used for testing agents able to affect any of Na+, Ca2+ channel, Na+/Ca2+ exchanger without selectivity.

Objective Daptomycin, a cyclic lipopeptide that exhibits rapid, concentration-dependent bactericidal activity in vitro against a broad spectrum of Gram-positive pathogens, has now, since 2003, been approved in more than 70 countries and regions to treat skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs). The purpose of this meta-analysis was to compare the safety and efficacy of daptomycin with other antibiotics, especially with vancomycin which has long been considered the standard therapy for complicated SSTIs. Design Meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Data sources We thoroughly searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central to identify relevant RCTs. Six RCTs with a total of 1710 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Results The results demonstrated that the efficacy of daptomycin was at par with or maybe better than other first-line antibiotics for treating SSTIs as shown by the OR for clinical success (OR=1.05, 95% CI 0.84 to 1.31, p=0.65, I2=0%); daptomycin versus vancomycin subgroup (OR=1.19, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.83, p=0.43, I2=0%); overall microbiological success (OR=1.05, 95% CI 0.61 to 1.79, p=0.86, I2=42%); microbiological success of daptomycin versus comparators for Staphylococcus aureus (SA, OR=1.05, 95% CI 0.61 to 2.60, p=0.53, I2=47%), for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (OR=0.90, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.06, p=0.20, I2=56%). However, daptomycin tended to have a similar treatment-related adverse events (AEs) incidence in comparison with other antibiotics (OR=1.06, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.59, p=0.76, I2=41%). The trend showed that daptomycin might cause less discontinuation due to AEs and death compared with other first-line antibiotics (OR=0.71, 95% CI 0.46 to 1.10, p=0.12, I2=11%). Significantly more patients in the daptomyicn group had creatine phosphokinase elevation than those in the control group; however, it could be reversed when the therapy ended (OR=1.95, 95% CI 1.04 to 3.65, p=0.04, I2=0). Conclusions This meta-analysis demonstrated that the safety and efficacy of daptomycin was not inferior to that of other first-line drugs, and daptomycin tended to exhibit superior efficacy when compared with vancomycin or with comparators for SA infections; nevertheless, more high-quality RCTs are needed to draw a more credible conclusion.

To investigate diagnostic value of creatinine clearance rate (CCr) based on serum cystatin C (SCys C) in acute kidney injury (AKI), and whether it could predict the need for renal replacement therapy (RRT).The patients enrolled with the length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay over 3 days were collected from August 2010 to May 2011. According to the diagnosis of AKI during the ICU stay, patients were divided into the AKI group (n=21) and non-AKI group (n=30). After patients were admitted, the level of SCys C and creatinine (SCr) were measured so as to count CCr based on SCys C (SCys C-CCr) or on SCr (SCr-CCr) respectively, meanwhile urine volume and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score were monitored. The value of CCr counted by SCys C and SCr on predict AKI and the correlations between RRT were compared.SCr-CCr and SCys C-CCr in AKI group both were significantly lower than non-AKI group all the way through on admission, and 2 days and 1 day before AKI diagnosed and the day AKI diagnosed. The level of SCys C-CCr on 2 days prior to AKI diagnosed was significantly lower than the day admitted (70.6±8.4 ml×min(-1)×1.73 m(-2) vs. 114.8±15.8 ml×min(-1)×1.73 m(-2), P0.01), whereas the level of SCr-CCr were not significantly changed (76.4±19.3 ml×min(-1)×1.73 m(-2) vs. 78.7±22.1 ml×min(-1)×1.73 m(-2), P0.05). Receptor operative curve (ROC) analysis indicated that SCys C-CCr could predict AKI earlier than SCr-CCr, as the area under curve (AUC) of SCys C-CCr and SCr-CCr on 2 days prior to AKI diagnosed were 0.859 and 0.664, respectively, and the sensitivity were 90.5% and 47.6%, the specificity were 76.2% and 81.0%. In AKI group 6 patients were treated with RRT, the AKI patients receiving RRT had significantly higher APACHE II score on admission (29.6±4.5 vs. 17.0±5.6, P0.05) and less urine volume within 24 hours (740±465 ml vs. 1780±1230 ml, P0.05) than patients not received RRT, however, SCys C-CCr has no significant difference between the sub-group (50.4±11.2 ml×min(-1)×1.73 m(-2) vs. 53.0±8.4 ml×min(-1)×1.73 m(-2), P0.05). SCys C-CCr did not predict the need of RRT on the day to diagnose AKI (AUC=0.65).The sensitivity of SCys C-CCr were high, but its specificity not. The SCys C-CCr may be helpful for excluding diagnose of AKI in high risk patients. However, it could not predict the need for renal replacement therapy on the day AKI diagnosed.

To investigate the effect of hypothermia (HT) on the concentration of surfactant protein A (SP-A) during lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced acute lung injury (ALI) in rats.Forty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups. The ALI model was reproduced by LPS intratracheal instillation; only saline was instilled intratracheally for control group. Rats in both model group and control group were sacrificed respectively at 1 hour and 8 hours (each n=8). In HT group the body temperature was lowered to 32.5-33.0 centigrade 1 hour after LPS instillation, and 8 rats were sacrificed at 8 hours. The arterial blood gas was determined in all the groups before and 1 hour and 8 hours after instillation of saline or LPS, and the oxygenation index (PaO(2)/FiO(2)) was calculated. The concentration of SP-A in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The morphological changes in lung tissue of rats were observed under light microscope.At 1 hour after intratracheal instillation of LPS, the PaO(2)/FiO(2) of each group reached the diagnostic criterion of ALI. Compared with control 1 hour group, the SP-A (μg/L) in BALF of model 1 hour group was decreased (53.27±1.95 vs. 74.81±6.55, P0.01); the SP-A in model 8 hour group and HT 8 hour group (4.35±2.76 and 51.36±2.33) was both obviously decreased compared with control 8 hour group (70.81±5.01, both P0.01). Compared with model 8 hour group, the SP-A of HT 8 hour group was obviously increased (P0.01). Results of light microscopic examination, it was revealed that the alveolar structure of control 1 hour group and control 8 hour group was almost normal. Inflammatory response in lung tissues in model 8 hour group was found to be most serious; compared with model 8 hour group, inflammatory response in lung tissues in model 1 hour group and HT 8 hour group was reduced in certain degree.A certain extent of HT may reduce lung injury of early endotoxin induced ALI rats by delaying lowering of alveolar SP-A levels.