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Background Subjective memory impairment (SMI) is common in the elderly. We aimed to reveal the interaction effect of midday napping duration and depressive symptoms on the risk of SMI. Methods Using a dataset representative of the Chinese population from a longitudinal study of health and retirement in China, subjects with SMI were screened using the question “how do you feel about your memory now?” and the Mini-Mental State Examination. A logistic regression model was applied to explore the factors affecting SMI. Additive and multiplicative models were used to analyze the interaction effect of midday napping duration and depressive symptoms on the risk of SMI. Results We enrolled 8,254 subjects included and the incidence of SMI was 63.9%. Depressive symptoms, nap time, and physical activity were influencing factors of SMI. Midday napping duration and depressive symptoms had positive additive interaction effects on the risk of SMI. When extended-length naps and depressive symptoms coexisted, the risk of SMI was 1.06 times greater than that for either alone (RERI = 0.27, 95% CI = 0.07–0.43; AP = 0.14, 95% CI = 0.01–0.23; S = 1.06, 95% CI = 0.57–1.62). When short naps and depressive symptoms coexisted, the risk of SMI was 1.2 times higher than that for either alone (RERI = 0.12, 95% CI=-0.14–0.39; AP = 0.13, 95% CI=-0.07–0.22; S = 1.20, 95% CI = 0.79–1.82). Limitations Since this was a cross-sectional study, the cause-and-effect relationships between the associated variables cannot be inferred. Conclusions The interaction effect that exists between nap time and depressive symptoms in the elderly is important for the identification and early intervention of people at risk for SMI.

Transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) can enhance insect resistance to insecticides by regulating the detoxification metabolic network. Our previous studies have confirmed that overexpression of cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) and glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are both involved inlambda-cyhalothrin resistance inCydia pomonella. In this study, we report that AhR regulates GSTs thus conferringlambda-cyhalothrin resistance inC. pomonella. Spatiotemporal expression patterns indicated thatAhRgene ofC. pomonella(CpAhR) was highly expressed in the Malpighian tubules of larvae. Moreover, the expression ofCpAhRwas induced bylambda-cyhalothrin exposure and was up-regulated in alambda-cyhalothrin-resistant population. RNA interference (RNAi) of the expression ofCpAhRcould effectively decrease the relative expression level ofCpGSTe3and enzyme activity of GSTs, but not P450s, further reducing the tolerance of larvae tolambda-cyhalothrin. Furthermore, β-naphthoflavone (BNF), a novel agonist of AhR, can effectively increase the expression ofCpAhRand the activity of the GSTs enzyme, resulting in the enhancement of larvae tolerance tolambda-cyhalothrin. These results demonstrate thatlambda-cyhalothrin exposure can effectively activate the expression ofCpAhRand increase GSTs enzyme thus leading to the development of resistance tolambda-cyhalothrin, which enriches the theory of insecticide resistance regulation inC. pomonella.

Background. Substantial evidence has demonstrated that tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are correlated with patient prognosis. The TIL-based immune score (IS) affects prognosis in various cancers, but its prognostic impact in gastric cancer (GC) patients treated with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy remains unclear. Methods. A total of 101 GC patients who received chemoradiotherapy after gastrectomy were retrospectively analyzed in this study. Immunohistochemistry staining for CD3+ and CD8+ T-cell counts in both tumor center (CT) and invasive margin (IM) regions was built into the IS. Patients were then divided into three groups based on their differential IS levels. The correlation between IS and clinical parameters was analyzed. The prognostic impact of IS and clinical parameters was evaluated using Kaplan–Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazard regression analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to compare the area under the curve (AUC) of IS with other clinical parameters. Nomograms for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) prediction were constructed based on the identified parameters. Results. Finally, 20 (19.8%), 57 (56.4%), and 24 (23.8%) GC patients were identified with low, intermediate, and high IS levels, respectively. GC patients with higher IS levels exhibited better DFS ( p p p p

The salt-tolerant variety Chuanqiao No.1 and salt-sensitive variety Chuanqiao No.2 of Tartary buckwheat were used as experimental materials. The effects of exogenous calcium on physiological characteristics and the expression of salt tolerance related genes in Tartary buckwheat were analyzed. The results showed that under salt stress, treatment with the appropriate concentration of calcium was beneficial to improve the seed germination rate and seedling fresh weight of Tartary buckwheat, the salt-sensitive variety was increased more, significantly increased the leaf chlorophyll content of Tartary buckwheat, the salt-tolerant variety was increased more, and significantly reduced the leaf MDA content of Tartary buckwheat, the salt-tolerant variety was decreased more. The appropriate concentrations of calcium for Chuanqiao No.1 and Chuanqiao No.2 were 30 mM and 20 mM, respectively. Treatment with the appropriate concentration of calcium could significantly promote the expression of Ca2+-ATPase gene and CBL interaction protein related genes in the stem of salt-sensitive variety and the root of salt-tolerant one, and that of CaMK gene in the stem of salt-tolerant variety. The effects of exogenous calcium treatment on physiological characteristics varied obviously between salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive varieties of Tartary buckwheat.

Three new compounds (1‒3), including a phenylpropanoid (1), a bistetrahydrofuran lignin (2), and a lignan dimer (3), and seven known lignans (4‒10), were isolated from an EtOH extract of the aerial parts of Triadica rotundifolia. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic analyses. New compounds 1−3 were evaluated for their antineuroinflammatory and antioxidant activities. Research on the antineuroinflammatory activity suggested that compounds 2 and 3 had significant inhibitory effects on NO production in LPS-induced BV-2 cells, with the IC50 values of 15.7 and 5.8 μM, respectively. Meanwhile, compounds 2 and 3 exhibited better DPPH free radical scavenging activities with EC50 values of 2.0 and 4.3 μM, respectively, than the positive control vitamin C (EC50 = 14.3 μM).

Inorganic-organic modification of montmorillonite was carried out by the polymerized hydroxyaluminum cation (Keggin-Al30, [Al30O8(OH)56(H2O)24]18+) and hexadecylpyridinium chloride (cetylpyridinium chloride, CPC). The loading characteristics of CPC on montmorillonite and structural changes of montmorillonite before and after the modification were studied. The results demonstrated that Al30 could enter into interlayers of montmorillonite, and CPC can enter into the interlayers or be adsorbed on the surface of Al30 modified montmorillonite (Al30PMT) through hydrophobic interaction of alkyl chains. After the inorganic-organic modification, montmorillonite still can maintain stratified structures. With the increase of CPC dosage and solid-liquid ratio, the loading capacity of CPC on Al30PMT increased gradually. However, the loading capacity of CPC decreased firstly and then increased with the increase of pH. The CPC modification process of Al30PMT conforms to the Freundlich model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and thermodynamic studies showed that it is a spontaneous entropy increase and endothermic process. In addition, the model of Al30PMT modification by different CPC dosages was constructed through molecular simulation. The results demonstrated that arrangement of CPC in interlayers of Al30PMT includes lateral double-layer, inclined double-layer, and pseudo-three-layer. The simulated value of d001 is close to the experimental value, which proves the compatibility of experiment and simulation. This research further enriches the basic theory of montmorillonite modification technology, which provides application potential for the development of montmorillonite as a low-cost and high-efficiency adsorbent.

In the present work, a series of Mn+ cations (including Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+, Li+, Na+, or Al3+) and Mn4+ codoped Mg2TiO4 samples were synthesized through the hydrothermal–calcination route with an aim...

The codling moth

An improved vacuum-assisted heat reflux extraction (VAHRE) technique was proposed and applied to extract Radix Isatidis. The extraction parameters of VAHRE, including the boiling temperature, extraction cycles, extraction time, soak time, and liquid-solid ratio, were carefully optimized with a single factor experiment. The least-squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) novel machine learning algorithm was introduced to improve the optimization's predictive accuracy. The results indicated that the LS-SVM model had better performance, with a higher R2 and lower RMSE value than those of the conventional quadratic polynomial model (QPM). Compared with conventional reference extraction methods, the VAHRE method gave a higher extraction yield due to indirubin's reduced for volatile loss and more efficient release from the plant matrix with the aid of a vacuum. This is the first study on optimizing the extraction process of Radix Isatidis using VAHRE and LS-SVM algorithms. The present findings also demonstrated that VAHRE was a promising procedure for extracting indirubin from Radix Isatidis, which shows great potential for becoming an alternative system for industrial scale-up applications.

Herein, we develop a novel method to synthesize lanthanide-functionalized carbon quantum dots via free-radical copolymerization using the methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer as a functional monomer and introducing a lanthanide complex to obtain the dual-emission fluorescent composite material FCQDs-Ln(TFA)3 (Ln = Eu, Tb; TFA: trifluoroacetylacetone). The obtained composites were fully characterized, and their structures were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), 1H NMR spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Subsequently, a series of white-light-emitting polymer composite films FCQDs- (Eu:Tb)(TFA)3/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were designed and synthesized by adjusting the ratio of Eu(TFA)3/Tb(TFA)3 under different wavelengths. More significantly, FCQDs-Tb(TFA)3 was selected as a sensitive probe for sensing metal cations due to excellent photoluminescence properties, revealing a unique capability of FCQDs-Tb(TFA)3 of detecting Fe(III) cations with high efficiency and selectivity. Furthermore, the sensing experiment results indicated that FCQDs-Tb(TFA)3 is ideal as a fluorescent nanoprobe for Fe3+ ion detection, and the lowest detection limit for Fe3+ is 0.158 μM, which is superior to many other previous related research studies. This pioneering work provides a new idea and method for constructing a dual-emission ratio sensor based on carbon quantum dots and also extends the potential application in the biological and environmental fields.

Three new tyramine-type alkamides (1-3), three new natural products (4-6), five new N-acylated/formylated aporphine alkamides with different ratios of rotational isomers (7-11), and 20 known alkamides (12-31) were isolated from an EtOH extract of the stems and leaves of Piper puberulum. The absolute configurations of compounds 7, 8, and 10 were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In the biological activity assay, compounds 3, 5, and 10-23 displayed inhibitory effects against lipopolysaccharide-induced NO release in BV-2 microglial cells, exhibiting IC50 values of 0.93-45 μM.

Three new pairs of lignan enantiomers (1a/1b‒3a/3b) and two pairs of known lignan enantiomers (4a/4b and 5a/5b) were isolated from the stems of Mappianthus iodoides. The structures of the enantiomers were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic analyses. Their absolute configurations were assigned by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis as well as comparison of the experimental and calculated ECD spectra. The antineuroinflammatory activity research revealed that compounds 2a, 2b, 3a, 4a, and 5b could moderately inhibit NO production in LPS-induced BV-2 microglial cells with IC50 values ranging from 13.42 to 48.34 μM.

Two pairs of cycloneolignane enantiomers, piperhancins A and B (1 and 2, respectively), along with two enantiomeric pairs of biosynthetic related neolignanes, hancinone C (3) and piperhancin C (4), were isolated from the stems of Piper hancei. Compound 1 is an unprecedented 1',2:1,2'-dicyclo-8,3'-neolignane. Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses, X-ray diffraction, and electronic circular dichroism calculations. Among all of the isolates, compounds (+)-1, (-)-1, (+)-2, (-)-2, and (+)-3 could significantly inhibit the production of nitric oxide secreted by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation in BV-2 microglial cells, with IC50 values of 1.1-26.3 μM. In addition, compound (-)-1 could decrease the mRNA levels of iNOS, IL-6, and TNF-α induced by LPS in BV-2 microglial cells.

A salt‐tolerant variety (Chuanqiao No.1) and a salt‐sensitive variety (Chuanqiao No.2) of Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum [L.] Gaertn.) were used as experimental materials to study the effect of saline soil and amino acids on quality and yield. The treatment concentration of Pro (proline), Glu (glutamic acid), and Asp (aspartic acid) was 30, 60, and 40 μM, respectively. Three kinds of amino acids were sprayed twice on the leaves at seedling stage (30 days after sowing) and flowering stage (50 days after sowing). The results showed that Tartary buckwheat in saline soil is more enriched in calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and selenium (Se), and Tartary buckwheat in saline soil is more nutritious. Under appropriate kinds of amino acids treatment, the seed protein and rutin content of Tartary buckwheat were increased, and the Tartary buckwheat quality can be obviously increased. In particular, amino acids treatment can increase the yield of Tartary buckwheat in saline soil, Asp and Glu are the best in salt‐tolerant variety and salt‐sensitive one and more obvious in salt‐tolerant variety.

The individual cascades of the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) signaling pathway and the molecular mechanism of aging have not been fully clarified. In the current study, we explored the effect of DNA polymerase delta 1 (POLD1) on the IGF-1 signaling pathway in cell aging.First, we analyzed the relationship between IGF-1 and POLD1 expression in aging. To investigate the effect of IGF-1 on POLD1 expression and aging, the 2BS cells were incubated with young-age or old-age human serum, IGF-1 protein, or linsitinib. Next, the effect of IGF-1 on aging was examined in the 2BS cells with increased or decreased POLD1 expression to clarify the molecular mechanism.In this study, we found that IGF-1 expression increased and POLD1 expression decreased with aging in human serum and hippocampal tissues of SAMP8 mice, and a negative relationship between IGF-1 and POLD1 expression was observed. Furthermore, the cells cultured with old-age human serum or IGF-1 showed lower POLD1 expression and more pronounced senescence characteristics, and the effect could be reversed by treatment with linsitinib or overexpression of POLD1, while the effect of linsitinib on cell aging could be reversed with the knockdown of POLD1.Taken collectively, our findings demonstrate that IGF-1 promotes aging by binding to IGF-1R and inhibiting the expression of POLD1. These findings offer a new target for anti-aging strategies.

The Notch signaling pathway is a fundamental intercellular signaling system that regulates cell fate decisions in terms of proliferation and differentiation in multiple tissues. Abnormal activation of Notch1 signaling pathway leads to a variety of diseases, including the malignant tumors. Dysregulated Notch receptor activity has been implicated in breast cancer but the epigenetic mechanisms remains not clear. Compared to adjacent tissues, high expression of NIC1 and low expression of H4K16ac were found in cancer tissues. Notch1 knocked down in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 resulted in increased H4K16ac expression and a parallel reduction in their proliferation and migration capacity. Our study prompting H4K16ac to participate in the signal transduction of Notch1 in breast cancer cells. These results confirm Notch1 as a signal triggering epigenetic mechanisms in breast cancer cells, which may have implications in tumor dissemination, metastasis and proliferation. The identification of specific factors interacting with NOTCH signaling could thus be relevant to fully understanding the role of NOTCH in breast neoplasia.

BACKGROUND The expression of jumonji domain-containing 3 (Jmjd3) and trimethylated H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) in active ulcerative colitis (UC) and the correlation between vitamin D receptor (VDR) and the Jmjd3 pathway are unknown. AIM To study the relationship between VDR, Jmjd3 and H3K27me3 in patients with active UC. METHODS One hundred patients with active UC and 56 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The patients with active UC were divided into groups according to mild (n = 29), moderate (n = 32) and severe (n = 29) disease activity based on the modified Mayo score. Vitamin D levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. Colonic mucosal tissues from UC patients and controls were collected by colonoscopy. The expression of VDR, Jmjd3 and H3K27me3 in the intestinal mucosa was determined by immunohistochemistry staining. RESULTS Patients with active UC had lower levels of serum vitamin D (13.7 ± 2.8 ng/mL, P < 0.001) than the controls (16.2 ± 2.5 ng/mL). In the UC cohort, serum vitamin D level was negatively correlated with disease activity (r = -0.323, P = 0.001). VDR expression in the mucosa of UC patients was reduced compared to that in normal tissues (P < 0.001) and negatively correlated with disease activity (r = -0.868, P < 0.001). Similar results for VDR expression were noted in the most serious lesion (defined as UC diseased) and 20 cm proximal to the anus (defined as UC normal) (P < 0.05). Simultaneously, Jmjd3 expression significantly increased in UC patients (P < 0.001), but no difference was found between the different sites in UC patients. H3K27me3 expression in UC patients was significantly down-regulated when compared with normal tissues (P < 0.001), but up-regulated in the mild disease activity group in comparison with the moderate disease activity group of UC patients (P < 0.05). Jmjd3 Level was negatively correlated with the level of VDR (r = -0.342, P = 0.002) and H3K27me3 (r = -0.341, P = 0.002), while VDR level was positively correlated with H3K27me3 (r = 0.473, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Serum vitamin D and VDR were inversely correlated with disease activity in active UC. Jmjd3 expression increased in the colonic mucosa of active UC patients and was negatively associated with VDR and H3K27me3 level.

Dissimilarity nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) is of significance in agriculture ecosystems as the process is beneficial to N retention in soils. However, how fertilization regimes influence DNRA rates and functional microbes in agriculture was rarely estimated. In the present study, a 2-year pot experiment was conducted in two contrasting paddy soils to evaluate the effects of straw and nitrogen addition on DNRA process and the related functional microbes, using stable isotope tracer and molecular ecology techniques. The results showed that the abundance and transcription activity of nitrite reductase encoding gene (nrfA) involved in DNRA process and DNRA rates were significantly higher in alkaline soils than in acidic soils. Straw incorporation significantly enhanced nrfA gene abundance and transcription activity, with a greater effect in alkaline soil than in acidic soil. The rates of DNRA, abundance and transcription activity of nrfA gene positively correlated to soil C/N and C/NO3− induced by straw application. Sequencing analysis based on nrfA gene transcript showed that Deltaproteobacteria was the most dominant group in both soil types (30.9%–67.4%), while Gammaproteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Actinobacteria were selectively enriched by straw incorporation. These results demonstrated that DNRA activity can be improved by straw return practice in paddy soils while the effect will vary among soil types due to differentiated functional microbial communities and edaphic properties.

Twenty new chebulic acid and brevifolincarboxylic acid derivatives, including eight optically pure or achiral compounds (1–7 and 14) and six pairs of enantiomers (8a/8b–13a/13b), along with nine kn...

Due to the characteristics of confusing varieties of Chinese medicinal materials, different sources, complex chemical composition, non-standard preparation process, and non-standard pharmaceutical equipment, the quality of Chinese medicinal preparations is difficult to be controlled and evaluated effectively under the current quality control mode and method of Chinese medicinal preparation. The present study proposed an engineering quality view of Chinese medicine pharmacy and a strategy to control the quality of Chinese medicinal preparations based on the current situation. Thequot;overall, dialectical, and dynamicquot; multi-factor engineering quality view, covering original medicinal materials, preparation technologies, pharmaceutical equipment, and Chinese medicinal preparations, ensures the traceable process, measurable procedures, and feedback quality. The quality control mode of Chinese medicinal preparation with controllable sources, standardized preparation technologies, green pharmaceutical equipment, and intelligent manufacturing is built up.

To investigate the effect of PAX9 on the progression of cervical cancer (CC). PAX9 expression was quantified in CC tissues and adjacent normal tissues, as well as human CC cell lines and human cervical epithelial cells (HCerEpiC). PAX9-overexpression lentiviral vectors were transfected into CC cell lines, followed by the measurement of proliferation and apoptosis and the quantification of apoptosis-related proteins. In vivo, mice were subcutaneously injected with CaSki cells transfected with PAX9-overexpression lentiviral vectors and control vectors. Then, the volume and weight of tumors were measured followed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining, and immunohistochemistry. PAX9 expression in the CC tissues was lower than that in the adjacent normal tissues, which was correlated with the FIGO stage, tumor size, infiltration depth, parametrium invasion, lympho-vascular space invasion tumor-positive lymph nodes, and prognosis. Furthermore, PAX9 in CC cell lines was also lower than in HCerEpiC. PAX9 inhibits the CC cell proliferation and promotes the apoptosis, with the up-regulations of caspase-3, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), and Bax and the down-regulation of Bcl-2. In vivo experiments demonstrated that in the PAX9 group, the tumor weight and volume were lower than those in the vector group accompanying the decreased Ki-67, cleaved-caspase-3, and Bax expressions and the increased TUNEL and Bcl-2 expression. PAX9 was lowly expressed in the CC tissues and associated with the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis. PAX9 could inhibit proliferation of CC cell lines and promote the apoptosis, thus suppressing the tumor growth in vivo, indicating its potential therapeutic role for CC treatment.

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is one of the most common gram-negative opportunistic pathogens in nosocomial infection. The susceptible population is mainly patients with low immunity, such as pulmonary cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tumor, bronchiectasis and burn.Macrophages from monocytes are the main innate immune cells recruited to the site of inflammation. After infection leads to local inflammation, these macrophages recruited to the inflammatory site play a key role in the occurrence, diffusion and regression of inflammation. The proliferation ability of macrophages is reduced, which weakens the ability of macrophages to phagocytize pathogens, resulting in persistent infection and lung tissue injury.KLF6 plays an important role in the regulation of gene expression in inflammatory response, and it has been reported that there is a functional relationship between KLF6 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Our previous studies found that PA can induce the expression of KLF6 in lung tissue cells at the animal level, and may mediate apoptosis of lung tissue cells by regulating iNOS. In this study, the effect of PA supernatant on RAW264.7 cells apoptosis and the expression of KLF6 and iNOS were observed. In order to further study the role of iNOS in the apoptosis of RAW264.7 cells induced by PA supernatant, S-methylisothiourea sulfate (SMT) was added to the infected RAW264.7 cells to detect the expression level of iNOS, the change of NO content and the apoptosis of RAW264.7 cells. Methods: The MTT assay was used to detect the cell proliferation rate. Considering the different volume concentrations(the volume ratio of PA supernatant to complete medium) of PA supernatant, the experiment groups were divided into control group(add same volume of complete medium), 15% PA group, 30% PA group, 45% PA group, the cells in each group were treated for 12h and 24h respectively. In addition, SMT(+) group(SMT was the iNOS blocker) and SMT(-) group(without SMT) were designed for the experiment, the concentration was selected as 6μM according to the manual and preliminary results. According to MTT results, 30% PA supernatant treating for 24h was screened as the processing condition.Flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptosis rate. Hoechst 33342 staining was used to observe the nuclear morphological changes. Western blot was used to detect the expression of KLF6 and iNOS protein. The expression levels of KLF6 mRNA and iNOS mRNA were detected by real-time PCR. The NO content detection kit was used to detect the content of NO. Finally, the data analysis was conducted by using SPSS16.0 software. Results: When the PA supernatant at different concentrations treated the cells for the same time interval, the proliferation rate increased in a concentration-dependant manner, indicating that the PA supernatant inhibited the proliferation of RAW264.7 cells in a time-concentration-dependent manner. Meanwhile,the same results were achieved in flow cytometry and staining with Hoechst 33342 detected the same conclusion. Furthermore, the expression of KLF6 and iNOS protein, KLF6 mRNA and iNOS mRNA increased significantly after treatment, and NO content was statistically determined after treatment in a concentration-dependent manner and a time-dependent manner. Finally, compared with the SMT(-) group, the apoptosis rate was significantly decreased, and the NO content decreased after treatment with PA supernatant,.Conclusions: Our findings demonstrste tthat PA supernatant can inhibit the proliferation of RAW264.7 cells, and its inhibitory effect is concentration-time dependent. The mechanism by which PA induces apoptosis of RAW264.7 cells may be caused by the production of excess NO by KLF6 and iNOS. The reduction of iNOS expression has a protective effect on the cytotoxicity caused by PA supernatant infectied RAW264.7 cells.

Six new quassinoids, named kumulactone F (1), kumulactone G (2), kumulactone H (4), kumulactone I (5), kumulactone J (6), and kumulactone K (7), a pair of undescribed epimers α- and β-nigakihemiacetal G (3), 15 known quassinoids (8-22), and a mixture of the known compounds α- and β-neoquassin (23) were separated from the dried stems of the medical plants Picrasma quassioides. The chemical structures of all of the new compounds were established by spectroscopic data analyses (HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, and electronic circular dichroism (ECD)). Biologically, compounds 9 and 21 showed toxicity toward the Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri Kuwayama with potent activity even equal to that of the positive control (Abamectin), compound 11 exhibited an excellent neuroprotective effect against SH-SY5Y cells which were pretreated by H2O2 with potent activity equal to that of the positive control (Trolox), and none of them showed cytotoxic activity toward the HeLa or A549 cell lines (IC50 > 100 μM).

Two types of optical active metallo-supramolecular polymers were successfully constructed from the complexation of two enantiopure bis-pyridine-dioxazole (bis-pybox) ligands and 3d transition metal ions such as Zn2+ and Fe2+ in organic solution. The self-assembly process was investigated via UV–vis and fluorescent titration. The chiral characteristic of polymers was detected by circular dichroism. It was revealed that the phenyl-substituted polymers showed higher stability than the benzyl-substituted ones. Temperature-dependent circular dichroism spectra demonstrated the dynamic structure of this type polymer under the variation of temperature. This work highlights the opportunity in designing and constructing of the optical active metallo-supramolecular polymers from the organic privilege ligands in the field of asymmetric catalysis.

Salt-tolerant variety Chuanqiao No. 1 and salt-sensitive variety Chuanqiao No. 2 of Tartary buckwheat were used as experimental materials. The effect of aspartic acid on seed germination, physiological characteristics of seedlings and gene expression of salt exclusion in Tartary buckwheat were studied under NaCl stress of 150 mM. The results showed that the aspartic acid treatment could restore the seed germination rate and root vigor of seedlings to the control with non-damage level in salt-tolerant Tartary buckwheat variety under salt stress, and the salt-sensitive variety was increased greatly. Spraying aspartic acid had some protective effects on cell membrane of leaves in Tartary buckwheat under salt stress, and the protective effects were more obviously on salt-sensitive variety, and that could restore the activity of SOD and CAT of leaves to the control level in salt-tolerant Tartary buckwheat variety under salt stress, and the activity of antioxidant enzymes in salt-sensitive variety was increased significantly. The relative expression of FtNHX1 and FtSOS1 genes was increased significantly under salt stress, and that of FtNHX1 gene in salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive varieties was reached the maximum expression level at 12 h and 24 h respectively, while that of FtSOS1 gene in salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive varieties was reached the maximum expression level at 12 h, and the salt-tolerant variety was increased greatly. After spraying aspartic acid, the relative expression of FtNHX1 and FtSOS1 genes was increased more obviously. The relative expression of FtNHX1 gene in salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive varieties was reached the maximum expression level at 12 h, while that of FtSOS1 gene was reached the maximum expression level at 12 h and 24 h respectively, and that in salt-tolerant variety was increased especially more, indicating that spraying aspartic acid on gene expression of salt exclusion in salt-tolerant variety of Tartary buckwheat has a better effect under salt stress.

Salt-tolerant variety Chuanqiao No. 1 and salt-sensitive variety Chuanqiao No. 2 of Tartary buckwheat were used as experimental materials, and the effect of different concentrations of ABA on physiological characteristics of Tartary buckwheat under salt stress and the optimal ABA concentration on expression of salt tolerance-related genes were analyzed. The results showed that the ABA treatment with appropriate concentration improved the stress resistance of Tartary buckwheat seedlings, and the optimal ABA concentration varies in Chuanqiao No. 1 and Chuanqiao No. 2 with 30 and 20 μM. Under salt stress, the ABA treatment with appropriate concentration increased the fresh weight, root vigor of seedlings and leaf SOD, POD, and CAT activity of Tartary buckwheat, and reduced the leaf plasma membrane permeability of Tartary buckwheat, and the optimal ABA concentration under salt stress varies in Chuanqiao No. 1 and Chuanqiao No. 2 with 40 and 10 μM. The ABA treatment with optimal concentration promoted the expression of FtNHX1, FtSOS1, potassium channel, and four ABA receptor-related genes in the stem and root of two Tartary buckwheat varieties. The expression of salt tolerance-related genes is consistent with the improvement of physiological characteristics in Tartary buckwheat.

Three new tyramine-type alkamides (

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a single gene genetic disease, which seriously threatens the life span and quality of patients. On the basis of the pathogenesis of SCD and the alternative therapy based on fetal hemoglobin F (HbF), the research progress of transcription factors involved in the regulation of HbF gene expression, such as BCL11A, ZBTB7A, KLF-1, c-MYB and SOX6, as well as the application of CRISPR / Cas9, TALEN, zinc finger nuclease and other gene editing technologies in this field has been made, providing a solid theoretical basis for the exploration of new treatment schemes for β- like hemoglobin diseases, such as sickle cell disease and β- thalassemia.基于血红蛋白F的镰状细胞病基因治疗的研究进展.镰状细胞病（SCD）是一种单基因遗传病，严重威胁患者寿命和生活质量。本文从SCD的发病机制及基于胎儿血红蛋白F（HbF）的替代治疗入手，回顾了近年对BCL11A、ZBTB7A、KLF-1、c-MYB和SOX6等参与HbF基因表达调控的转录因子的研究进展，以及CRISPR/Cas9、TALEN、锌指核酸酶等基因编辑技术在该领域的应用，为SCD及β-地中海贫血等β-样血红蛋白病的新治疗方案的探索提供坚实的理论基础.

Drying is one of the most common unit operations in the production of traditional Chinese medicine. The drying process of traditional Chinese medicine materials is accompanied by the dynamic reduction of water content. As a key index to determine the end of the drying process, the moisture content of materials plays an important role in improving drying efficiency and saving energy. Recently, the drying process of traditional Chinese medicine is mostly monitored by offline detection, and there are few reports of online moisture detection applications. In this paper, the principle and current application of online inspection technology for the material drying process in different fields were introduced. The significance of online detection technology in drying of traditional Chinese medicine was also analyzed. Meanwhile, the application prospect of online detection technology in the field of drying of traditional Chinese medicine was predicted. In response to urgent transformation and upgrading of the traditional Chinese medicine manufacturing industry, the application of online moisture detection technology is expected to be a key breakthrough in the intelligent upgrading of traditional Chinese medicine drying technology and equipment.