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Background: Mounting evidence has displayed critical roles of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in multiple cancers. The underlying mechanisms by which circFGD4 contributed to gastric cancer (GC) are still unclear. Methods: The levels and clinical values of circFGD4 in GC patients were detected and analysed by quantitative real-time PCR. The biological roles of circFGD4 in GC were assessed in vitro and in vivo experiments. Dual-luciferase reporter, fluorescence in situ hybridization, RNA immunoprecipitation, biotin-coupled RNA pull-down, and TOP/Flash and FOP/Flash reporter gene assays were employed to evaluate the effects of circFGD4 on miR-532-3p-mediated adenomatous polyposis coli (APC)/β-catenin signalling in GC cells. Results: circFGD4 expression was down-regulated the most in human GC tissues and cell lines. Low expression of circFGD4 was correlated with poor tumour differentiation, lymphatic metastasis, and poor prognosis of GC patients. circFGD4 suppressed GC cell viability, colony formation, migration, induced epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), and tumorigenesis and metastasis in vivo. Next, we validated that circFGD4 acted as a sponge of miR-532-3p to relieve the tumour-promoting effects of miR-532-3p on its target APC. The mechanistic analysis demonstrated that the circFGD4 suppressed GC cell viability, migration, and EMT by modulating the miR-532-3p/APC axis to inactivate the β-catenin signalling. Conclusion: circFGD4 suppressed GC progression through sponging miR-532-3p and enhancing APC expression to inactivate the β-catenin signalling. Thus circFGD4 provides a novel potential biomarker and valuable therapeutic strategy for GC.

With increased consumer demand in Europe for natural and efficacious health products, the use of herbal products in the market is rising. Products of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) could greatly expand European consumer options; however, only seven herbal medicinal products (HMPs) based on CHM formulae have been registered in the European Union (EU) since 2012.This study reviews the ten-year registration status of HMPs based on CHM formulae in Europe and identifies major challenges and possible solutions for pharmaceutical companies seeking market access for new HMPs.An overview of relevant EU regulations identifies pathways to market access in EU countries for CHM products. A discussion of successful attempts to register HMPs based on CHM formulae since 2012 highlights specific challenges that applicants can expect to face.CHM products can enter the EU market as HMPs through the full or well-established use marketing authorization, or through the simplified registration procedure. Alternatively, some CHM products have entered the market as dietary supplements, nutritional foods, and agricultural products; however, under these categories, claims for medicinal use cannot be advertised. Since the registration of the first CHM product, Diao Xin Xue Kang (with the single component of Dioscorea nipponica rhizome), in 2012, only six other HMPs based on CHM formulae have been successfully registered. Among these, four are mono-component products. The remaining two products contain combinations of several herbal ingredients. It is more difficult to register combination products than mono-component products, due to their more complex composition and differences in registration requirements (esp. concerning establishing indications) in China and Europe.To promote the successful registration of CHM products in Europe, pharmaceutical companies are advised to: demonstrate full control of, and the ability to test, their supply chain and manufacturing procedures following the guidance of European competent authorities; carefully adhere to all steps of the registration process and advices from European competent authorities; take the medication habits and pharmaceutical needs of European market into consideration; and establish collaboration with European local organizations, as appropriate.

All-solid-state sodium batteries (ASSSBs) are promising candidates for grid-scale energy storage. However, there are no commercialized ASSSBs yet, in part due to the lack of a low-cost, simple-to-fabricate solid electrolyte (SE) with electrochemical stability towards Na metal. In this work, we report a family of oxysulfide glass SEs (Na3PS4−xOx, where 0 x ≤ 0.60) that not only exhibit the highest critical current density among all Na-ion conducting sulfide-based SEs, but also enable high-performance ambient-temperature sodium-sulfur batteries. By forming bridging oxygen units, the Na3PS4−xOx SEs undergo pressure-induced sintering at room temperature, resulting in a fully homogeneous glass structure with robust mechanical properties. Furthermore, the self-passivating solid electrolyte interphase at the Na|SE interface is critical for interface stabilization and reversible Na plating and stripping. The new structural and compositional design strategies presented here provide a new paradigm in the development of safe, low-cost, energy-dense, and long-lifetime ASSSBs.

Portal vein aneurysms (PVA) and intrahepatic portosystemic venous shunts are rarely diagnosed clinically.A 75-year-old female was admitted to our hospital for evaluation of significant weight loss, diabetes, and an irregularly shaped cystic lesion in the left lateral lobe of the liver.The patient was diagnosed with a portal vein aneurysm combined with an intrahepatic portosystemic venous shunt using multiple imaging techniques.The patient had no relevant clinical symptoms of PVA with concurrent intrahepatic portosystemic venous shunt; hence, no interventions were performed. Ultrasonography was suggested to be performed every 3 months.The patient did not visit the hospital after discharge; however, 4 telephonic follow-up evaluations showed that the patient was well.Multimodal imaging techniques should be used to evaluate the source of blood flow, presence or absence of shunts, and the course, number, and location of the shunts to prevent misdiagnosis of this disease.

With the development of social economy, China has entered into an aging society. At the present stage of research, it is found that “home care” is the common social aging model in China, and the vigorous development and use of intelligent design in the new era brings new opportunities for aging at home. The intelligent aging environment becomes one of the effective methods to cope with the aging at home problem. In order to meet the needs of the existing living space for the elderly and improve the quality of life of the elderly, the article takes the “home care” model as the base and proposes a new direction of intelligent design for the elderly living environment from the physiological and psychological aspects of the elderly, so as to provide a comfortable intelligent living space for the elderly.

A TMSCl-mediated cascade annulation of isatin-derived propargylic alcohols for the synthesis of 2-substituted 3-chlorobenzofurans is now reported. Mechanistic investigations showed that this proceeded through a sequential Meyer-Schuster rearrangement/nucleophilic addition/intramolecular annulation. TMSCl not only acts as a promoter, but also acts as a chlorine source in this protocol.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of imazethapyr on soil microbial communities combined with its effect on soybean growth. A short-term field experiment was conducted, and imazethapyr was applied to the soil at three different doses [1-fold, 10-fold, and 50-fold of the recommended field rate (H1, H10, H50)] during the soybean seedling period (with two leaves). Soil sampling was performed after 1, 7, 30, 60, 90, and 120 days of application to determine the imazethapyr concentration and microbial community structure by investigating phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC). The half-lives of the imazethapyr in the field soil varied from 30.1 to 43.3 days. Imazethapyr at H1 was innocuous to soybean plants, but imazethapyr at H10 and H50 led to a significant inhibition in soybean plant height and leaf number. The soil MBC, total PLFA, and bacterial PLFA were decreased by the application of imazethapyr during the initial period and could recover by the end of the experiment. The ratio of Gram-negative/Gram-positive (GN/GP) bacteria during the three treatments went through increases and decreases, and then recovered at the end of the experiment. The fungal PLFA of all three treatments increased during the initial period and then declined, and only the fungal PLFA at H50 recovered by the end of the treatment. A principal component analysis (PCA) of the PLFA clearly separated the treatments and sampling times, and the results demonstrate that imazethapyr alters the microbial community structure. This is the first systemic study reporting the effects of imazethapyr on the soil microbial community structure under soybean field conditions.

2,4-Dihydroxy-7-methoxy-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one (DIMBOA), the dominant benzoxazinoid hydroxamic acid in maize (Zea Mays L.), serves as important factors of resistance against insects and microbial diseases, allelochemicals used in competition with other plants. In this paper, a novel and simple method for the isolation and purification of DIMBOA from maize seedlings was developed. Frozen shoots from 7-d-old maize seedlings (1 000×g) were firstly defrosted and then were directly homogenized and extracted with ethyl acetate. The macerate was allowed to stand at room temperature (25±2)°C for 1 h to allow enzymatic release of DIMBOA from DIMBOA-glucoside. Then the ethyl acetate phase was filtered, dried and evaporated to dryness. The resulting light-tan, semicrystalline residue was stored at −20°C for 24 h. Upon recrystallization from acetone-hexane, a relative higher yield (0.58 g) of pure DIMBOA crystals was obtained compared with the yield afforded by Woodward methodology (0.26 g).

The degradation of acephate and its metabolite methamidophos during different stages of commercial processing, homing processing, and storage was assessed. Residues were determined by a simple gas-chromatographic method using a flame photometry detector. Acephate and methamidophos mostly remained in rice hull fractions, and hulling significantly reduced acephate and methamidophos in rice. Commercial processing caused the loss of 86% of acephate and 35.9% of methamidophos from rough brown rice to polished rice, whereas home processing caused the loss of 83.9% of acephate and 70% of methamidophos from polished rice to cooked rice. Washing for 5, 15, and 30 min (with tap water, 0.9% NaCl, and 0.1% Na 2 CO 3 ) caused an average loss in the range of 9.8%–35.3% of acephate and 9.7%–45.2% of methamidophos. Extending washing time and adding a small amount of soda into the washing solution can efficiently eliminate acephate and methamidophos. The stability of acephate and methamidophos in polished rice was studied at different storage intervals, from 7 to 42 days at ambient temperatures (25 °C). Methamidophos was found to be more persistent than acephate.

In this paper, the electronic structure in the UV–VUV region of PbWO 4 crystals is studied in a molecular-cluster model with the framework of the fully relativistic self-consistent Dirac-Slater theory, using a numerically discrete variational (DV-Xα) method. From the calculation, the fundamental energy gap is around 4.4 eV, W 5d orbitals are at the bottom of our conduction band, the valence band is almost purely formed by O 2p orbitals having small amounts of certain Pb 6s components. The Pb 6s narrow band is just below the valence band and the gap between them is 2 eV. These results are in reasonable agreement with experimental data measured in the fundamental absorption region using VUV synchrotron radiation.

Interactions between planar Cu phthalocyanine molecules, CuPc , arranged in vertical stacking sequence are studied by first-principles density functional (DF) and semiempirical molecular dynamics (MD) methods. Dependence of electronic structure upon interplanar spacing and staggering angle is analyzed in order to interpret observed electrical conductivity and magnetic coupling behavior of partially oxidized Cu ( pc ) I . MD predictions of equilibrium structure of dimers and tetramers are in excellent agreement with experiment on the linear chain species. DF predictions of interaction energy of dimers are compared with MD and experiment.

Self-consistent density functional calculations have been performed on a variety of planar conjugated Ni-centered macrocycles with a basic porphyrazine (tetraazaporphyrin) core and peripheral dithiolene groups (PZ) or fused-benzo groups (PC). Theoretical energy level diagrams, charge distributions, and densities of states have been obtained in order to understand the electronic structure modifications due to peripheral ligand substitution. The substituents role in altering electronic properties and charge distribution of the porphyrazine macrocycles has been used to interpret the observed variations in optical absorption profiles. In the Q-band (∼680 nm) region, a single peak is seen for high symmetry (D4h) macrocycles and a double peak for lower symmetry (D2h and C2v) systems. Calculated intensities and band splittings are compared in detail with qualitative molecular orbital models and experiment in the visible and UV regions. Predictions are made for the infrared absorption and semiconducting band gap.

Electronic structures and hyperfine interactions associated with the Cu-O environment of T, T*, and T' phases of (La1-xGdx)2CuO4 were studied, using the density functional theory in an embedded cluster approach. Mossbauer isomer shifts, electric field gradients and contact hyperfine fields for Fe-substituted species were determined for comparison with experiments performed on Fe:(La, Gd)1.85Sr0.15CuO4. These data are used to describe the response of charge and spin densities around Cu sites to sixfold (T), fivefold (T*), and fourfold (T') oxygen coordination.

Six saponins with low sugar chain were isolated from the leaves of Panax notoginseng (Burk) F. H. Chen. Their structures were elucidated as 20(R)-ginsenoside Rh2(I), 20(R)-ginsenoside Rg3(II), ginsenoside Mc(III), ginsenoside F1(IV), ginsenoside Rh1(V) and daucosterol(VI) by spectroscopic analysis and comparison with authentic samples. Compounds I-IV were first isolated from the plant.

Self-consistent Density Functional calculations have been performed on a variety of planar conjugated Ni-centered macrocycles with a basic tetraazaporphyrinic core and dithiolene groups (PZ) or fused-benzo groups (PC). Theoretical energy diagrams, charge and spin distributions and densities of states have been obtained in order to understand the electronic structure modifications due to peripheral ligand substitution. The substituents role in altering electronic properties and charge distribution of the porphyrazine macrocycles has been used to interpret the observed variations in optical absorption profiles. In the Q-band (∼ 680 nm) region, a single peak is seen for high symmetry (D4h) macrocycles and a double peak for lower symmetry (D2h and C2v) systems. Calculated intensities and band splittings are compared in detail with qualitative molecular orbital models and experiment in the visible and UV regions. Predictions are made for the infrared absorption and semiconducting band gap.