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Diabetic encephalopathy (DE) is one of complications of diabetes mellitus. Carnosine is a dipeptide composed of β-alanine and l-histidine. Study has shown that carnosine could ameliorate cognitive impairment in animal model with diabetes mellitus. However, the mechanism remains unclear. An animal model of type 2 diabetes (db/db mice) was used in this study. The animals were treated with 0.9% saline or carnosine (100 mg/kg) for 8 weeks. Morris water maze was tested after drug administration. Oxidative stress-related factors malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), and pro-inflammatory factors inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were measured. Synapse-related protein postsynaptic density 95 (PSD95) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were detected by western blot. Besides, the expressions of sirtuin 6 (SIRT6), binding immunoglobulin protein (BIP), protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK), phospho-protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (P-PERK), inositol-requiring enzyme-1α (IRE1α), phospho-inositol-requiring enzyme-1α (P-IRE1α), activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), and C/EBP-homologous protein (CHOP) in the hippocampus of the brain were detected. The results showed that treatment with carnosine ameliorated cognitive impairment in db/db mice. Carnosine reduced neuronal oxidative stress damage and iNOS expression in db/db mice. Meanwhile, carnosine relieved neurodegeneration in the hippocampus of db/db mice. Furthermore, carnosine promoted the expression of SIRT6 and reduced the expressions of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-related factors (BIP, P-PERK, P-IRE1α, ATF6, and CHOP). In conclusion, these data suggested that the protective effect of carnosine against DE might be related to SIRT6/ER stress pathway.

Vascular dementia (VaD), the second cause of dementia, is caused by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion, producing progressive damage to cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and white matter. Ligustilide (LIG), one of the main active ingredients of

Vascular dementia (VaD) is the second cause of dementia after Alzheimer's disease. Ligustilide (LIG) is one of the main active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicines, such as Angelica. Studies have reported that LIG could protect against VaD. However, the mechanism is still confused. In this study, we employed a bilateral common carotid artery occlusion rat model to study. LIG (20 or 40 mg/kg/day) and Nimodipine (20 mg/kg) were orally administered to the VaD rats for four weeks. Morris water maze test showed that LIG effectively ameliorated learning and memory impairment in VaD rats. LIG obviously reduced neuronal oxidative stress damage and the level of homocysteine in the brain of VaD rats. Western blot results showed that pro-apoptotic protein Bax and cleaved caspase 3 increased and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 decreased in the hippocampi of VaD rats. But after LIG treatment, these changes were reversed. Moreover, Nissl staining result showed that LIG could reduce neuronal degeneration in VaD rats. Furthermore, LIG enhanced the expressions of P-AMPK and Sirtuin1(SIRT1) in VaD rats. In conclusion, these studies indicated that LIG could ameliorate cognitive impairment in VaD rats, which might be related to AMPK/SIRT1 pathway activation.

Two new endophytic species,Colletotrichumjishouensesp. nov.and.C.tongrenensesp. nov.were isolated fromNothapodytespittosporoidesin Guizhou and Hunan provinces, China. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of these new taxa are provided and morphological comparisons with similar taxa are explored. Phylogenetic analysis with combined sequence data (ITS, GAPDH, ACT and TUB2) demonstrated that both species formed distinct clades in this genus. This is the first record ofColletotrichumspecies fromN.pittosporoidesin China.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a most common neurodegenerative disease. Sodium Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate (STS) has been reported to ameliorate AD pathology. However, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. In this study, AD transgenic mouse model (APP/PS1) was used to explore the potential mechanism of STS against AD. Morris water maze and Y-maze tests showed that administration of STS improved learning and memory abilities of APP/PS1 mice. STS reduced the levels of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde, while improved the activity of superoxide dismutase in both hippocampus and cortex in APP/PS1 mice. STS inhibited the activity of acetylcholinesterase, while improved the activity of choline acetyltransferase in APP/PS1 mice. In addition, STS elevated the protein expressions of neurotrophic factors and synapse-related proteins in both the hippocampus and cortex in APP/PS1 mice. At last, STS improved the protein expressions of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) and low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1). These results indicated that the potential mechanism of STS on AD might be related to Aβ transportation function via GLUT1/LRP1 pathway. HIGHLIGHTS: STS improves cognitive impairment of APP/PS1 mice. STS ameliorates the oxidative stress damage and improves the cholinergic system. STS protects against neuronal dysfunction and enhances the synaptic plasticity. STS mediates the Aβ transportation of BMECs.

Background. KLF4 and KLF5 are members of the KLF transcription factor family, which play an important role in many gastrointestinal tumors. To gain a deeper insight into its function and role, bioinformatics was used to analyze the function and role of KLF4 and KLF5 in gastrointestinal tumors. Methods. Data were collected from several online databases. Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), UALCAN database analysis, Kaplan-Meier Plotter analysis, LOGpc system, the Pathology Atlas, and the STRING website were used to analyze the data. We download relevant data from TCGA and then perform GO enrichment and KEGG enrichment analysis. The effects of KLF5 on gastric cancer cell proliferation were measured by CCK-8 assay. The effect of KLF5 on the expression of CyclinD1 and MMP9 was detected by Western blot. Results. KLF4 and KLF5 were differentially expressed in normal and tumor tissues of the gastrointestinal tract, and their differential expression is related to several genes or pathways. KEGG analysis showed that KLF5 was coexpressed with endocytosis-related genes. KLF5 promotes the proliferation of gastric cancer cells and the expression of metastasis-related molecules. Conclusion. KLF4 and KLF5 are of great significance for developing gastrointestinal tumors and can be used as therapeutic targets.

Controlling the morphology of micro/nanomaterials precisely enable us to manipulate their properties as desired. Therefore, understanding the complex growth mechanism of micro/nanomaterials, regulating and controlling their morphology and related luminescent properties are the focuses of chemistry and materials science. In this paper, we have firstly prepared five different morphologies of zinc borate (Zn 6 O(OH)(BO 3 ) 3 :Eu(III), ZBEu) phosphor by hydrothermal method, which were characterized by EDS, XRD, TG-DTA, FT-IR, SEM and TEM. Different morphologies of ZBEu were obtained via adjusting some of the reaction parameters, and the growth mechanisms of five kinds of morphologies were illustrated in detail. Photoluminescence (PL) analysis manifested that sphere-like ZBEu exhibited the strongest PL intensity in the five morphologies under the same doping concentration. The reasons why different morphology influences the PL intensity are also discussed in detail. Meanwhile, the influences of the doped Eu(III) concentrations and prepared time on the luminescent properties of ZBEu phosphor have also been investigated. The results indicate that Zn 6 O(OH)(BO 3 ) 3 could serve as a new good hydrated borate matrix for light-emitting materials.

The co-doped ZnB2O4:Eu3+, Tb3+ phosphor was prepared by a thermal conversion method using Zn[B3O3(OH)5]·H2O:Eu3+, Tb3+ as the precursor, which was characterized by energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer, x-ray powder diffraction, infrared, scanning electron microscopy, and photoluminescence. The effects of doped concentration, calcining temperature, and calcining time of precursor on the luminescence property of ZnB2O4: Eu3+, Tb3+ phosphor were investigated. The results showed that the ZnB2O4: Eu3+, Tb3+ phosphor with maximum luminescent intensity was obtained by calcining the precursor at 900 °C for 6 h. It is found that the ZnB2O4: Eu3+, Tb3+ phosphor prepared by this method exhibits much stronger emission intensity than that synthesized by conventional high temperature solid-state method. Meanwhile, ZnB2O4: Eu3+, Tb3+ also has stronger emission intensity and higher red to orange ratio than those of ZnB2O4: Eu3+.

A series of Eu3+ doped Zn[B3O3(OH)5]∙H2O/ZnB4O7/ZnB2O4 phosphors have been prepared by a facile method. Namely, Zn[B3O3(OH)5]∙H2O:Eu3+ precursors with four kinds of morphologies were firstly prepared by a homogeneous precipitation method, then ZnB4O7:Eu3+ and ZnB2O4:Eu3+ phosphors were obtained by annealing of the as-prepared Zn[B3O3(OH)5]·H2O:Eu3+ precursors at (600–700) °C and (800–900) °C, respectively. The samples were characterized by EDS, XRD, TG–DTA, FT-IR and SEM. A systematic studies on the photoluminescence (PL) properties of Zn[B3O3(OH)5]∙H2O/ZnB4O7/ZnB2O4:Eu3+ phosphors have been performed. It was found that the emission intensity of ZnB2O4:Eu3+ phosphor prepared by present method was much stronger than that prepared by conventional high temperature solid-state method.

Four new complexes [Cd(1,3-bip)(1,4-bdc)] n (1), [Zn(1,3-bip)(1,4-bdc)] n (2), {[Cd(1,3-bip)(1,3-bdc)]·H 2 O} n (3) and {[Zn(1,3-bip)(1,3-bdc)]·2H 2 O} n (4) were prepared through hydrothermal reactions of Cd(II)/Zn(II) acetate with terephthalic acid (1,4-bdc)/isophthalic acid (1,3-bdc) and the flexible 1,3-bis(imidazole)propane (1,3-bip) co-ligands. All these complexes were structurally characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR spectroscopy, powder XRD and X-ray single-crystal diffraction. Single crystal X-ray analysis revealed that complexes 1 and 2 are isostructural, which exhibit a 2-fold parallel interpenetrated 2D → 2D (4,4) net. Complex 3 features a 2D layer structure with a binodal (3,5)-connected topology. Complex 4 shows a 2D layer with a (4,4) topology. Furthermore, the photoluminescence properties in the solid state at room temperature and thermal behaviors of these complexes were also investigated.

Two novel Fe7Mg8 and Fe8Co7 cluster-based 3D heterometallic coordination polymers, [Fe7Mg8(PMIDA)6(BTC)2(H2O)12]·6H2O(1) and [Fe8Co7(PMIDA)6(BTC)2(H2O)12]·6H2O(2), constructed by multifunctional H4PMIDA (N-(Phosphonomethyl)imino-diacetic acid) and H3BTC(1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate acid) as the co-ligands, have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions, and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectrum, powder X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The complexes 1 and 2 are basically isostructural and feature a cubic 3D open framework constructed by [M15(PMIDA)6(H2O)12]] (M15 = Fe7Mg8 for 1 and Fe8Co7 for 2) heteronuclear clusters and BTC3− ligands. Moreover, the solid-state fluorescence properties of the complexes have also been investigated at room temperature.

Monilochaetes nothapodytis sp. nov . was isolated from healthy Nothapodytes pittosporoides in Tongren City, Guizhou Province, China. Molecular analysis based on combined ITS and LSU sequence data showed that M. nothapodytis formed a distinct clade with the type species M. infuscans and other species in this genus. Morphological examination showed that M. nothapodytis differs from other Monilochaetes species in its host and in having aseptate, ellipsoidal conidia, the micro-conidiophores are shorter and the micro-conidia are smaller than in other species. The new species is described and illustrated and an updated phylogenetic tree is presented for Glomerellales.

We demonstrate high-performance In0.23 Ga0.77 As channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) with high on-current to off-current (Ion/Ioff) ratio grown on semi-insulating GaAs wafers by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The 2 μm channel-length devices exhibit a peak extrinsic transconductance of 150 mS/mm and a drain current up to 500 mA/mm. The maximum effective mobility is 1680 cm2/Vs extracted by the split C-V method. Furthermore, the Ion/Ioff ratio is significantly improved from approximately 4.5 × 103 up to approximately 4.32 × 104 by controlling the etch thickness of In0.49 Ga0.51 P. The high drain current and high Ion/Ioff ratio of the In0.23 Ga0.77 As channel MOSFETs are achieved due to the high effective mobility and the low gate leakage current density.