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LLKL, a new traditional Chinese medicine formula containing Edgeworthia gardneri (Wall.) Meisn., Sibiraea angustata and Crocus sativus L. (saffron), was designed to ameliorate type 2 diabetes mellitus. Despite the therapeutic benefits of LLKL, its underlying mechanisms remain elusive. This study evaluated the LLKL anti‐diabetic efficacy and its effect on gut microbiota to elucidate its mechanism of action in Zucker diabetic fatty rats. We found that administration of different LLKL concentrations (4.68, 2.34 and 1.17 g/kg/d) improved several diabetic parameters after a 6‐week treatment. Moreover, LLKL modulated gut microbiota dysbiosis, increased the expression of occluding and maintained intestinal epithelial homeostasis, leading to a reduction in LPS, TNF‐α and IL‐6 levels. Hepatic transcriptomic analysis showed that the Toll‐like receptor signalling pathway was markedly enriched by LLKL treatment. RT‐qPCR results validated that LLKL treatment decreased the expressions of TLR4, MyD88 and CTSK. Furthermore, a gene set enrichment analysis indicated that LLKL enhanced the insulin signalling pathway and inhibited glycerolipid metabolism and fatty acid metabolism, which were verified by the liver biochemical analysis. These findings demonstrate that LLKL ameliorates hyperglycaemia, modulates the gut microbiota and regulates the gut‐liver axis, which might contribute to its anti‐diabetic effect.

Background. Although traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has good efficacy in the treatment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), especially memory improvement and safety, its substance basis and intervention mechanism are particularly complex and unknown. Therefore, based on network pharmacology and data mining, this study aims to explore the rules, active ingredients and mechanism of TCM in the treatment of MCI. Methods. By searching the GeneCard, OMIM, DisGeNET and DrugBank databases, we obtained the critical targets associated with MCI. We matched the components and herbs corresponding to the important targets in the TCMSP platform. Using Cytoscape 3.7.2 software, we constructed a target-component-herb network and conducted a network topology analysis to obtain the core components and herbs. Molecular docking was used to preliminarily analyze and predict the binding activities and main binding combinations of the core targets and components. Based on the analysis of the properties, flavor and meridian distribution of herbs, the rules of herbal therapy for MCI were summarized. Results. Twenty-eight critical targets were obtained after the screening. Using the TCMSP platform, 492 components were obtained. After standardization, we obtained 387 herbs. Based on the target-composition-herb network analysis, the core targets were ADRB2, ADRA1B, DPP4, ACHE and ADRA1D. According to the screening, the core ingredients were beta-sitosterol, quercetin, kaempferol, stigmasterol and luteolin. The core herbs were matched to Danshen, Yanhusuo, Gancao, Gouteng and Jiangxiang. It was found that the herbs were mainly warm in nature, pungent in taste and liver and lung in meridian. The molecular docking results showed that most core components exhibited strong binding activity to the target combination regardless of the in or out of network combination. Conclusion. The results of this study indicate that herbs have great potential in the treatment of MCI. This study provides a reference and basis for clinical application, experimental research and new drug development of herbal therapy for MCI.

Bupleuri Radix is a famous traditional Chinese medicine (TCM ) and an important raw material in TCM patent prescriptions. It is widely used in several countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, and America. However, the impact of heavy metal transfer rules on TCM s remains unknown. In this study, a total of 45 paired original medicines (OM s), decoction pieces (DP s), and vinegar‐processed (VP s) samples were simultaneously determined via inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry after a microwave digestion. The concentrations of the elements were shown at three levels: (a) Al and Fe at the mg/g level; (b) Pb, Cu, Ba, Mn, Cr, and Ni at the mg/kg level; (c) Co, As, Cd, and Hg at μg/kg level. It is worth noting that the Cu levels were found to exceed the maximum concentration set by Chinese legislation (20.0 mg/kg). In addition, Mn, Ni, and Cu levels were higher in samples from the Gansu province than those from other provinces. The accumulation of the heavy metals decreased in the order of OM s > DP s > VP s; this was especially true for the Al and Fe levels. Furthermore, the results indicate that decocting the samples may reduce the intake of heavy metals. The element transfer ratios for decoctions were under 50% compared to herbal medicines and decreased in the order of Co > As > Mn > Hg > other metals. Our study strongly suggests that long‐term and regular monitoring for heavy metals in the plant is necessary.

For seeking novel antibacterial agents with high efficacy and low toxicity to deal with drug resistance, the effects of Salvia miltiorrhizae from various sources on Escherichia coli were evaluated by microcalorimetry coupled with chemometrics. Firstly, the heat-flow power-time curves of E. coli growth affected by different S. miltiorrhizae samples were recorded. Then, some crucial quantitative thermo-kinetic parameters including growth rate constant, heat-flow power and heat output, etc. were obtained from theses curves and were further investigated by some powerful chemometric techniques including similarity analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, hierarchical clustering analysis and principle component analysis. By analyzing the principle parameters, growth rate constant of the second exponential phase (k 2) and the heat-flow output powers of the second highest peak (P 2), together with the derived parameter inhibitory ratio (I, %), it could be quickly concluded that the tested S. miltiorrhizae samples from different sources in China exhibited strong antibacterial effects on E. coli and the samples from Beijing city exhibited the strongest anti-E. coli effects, which might be used as novel and underlying antibacterial candidates for the resistance of E. coli to the existing drugs in practice. This study provides a useful tool and helpful idea to accurately and rapidly evaluate the antibacterial effects of some complex matrices, offering some references for exploring new antibacterial agents.

Natural plant pigment is rich in resources, with the features of natural color and environment friendly, which has a broad space for development and market prospects. In order to further develop and utilize of natural plant pigment, this paper mainly introduces the natural plant dyes in the domains of food, cosmetics and health care products on the historical development process and their application. In addition,this paper summarizes the application of representative natural plant pigment, dyes, and prospects the market of natural plant pigment, so as to provide reference for the development of natural plant pigment in the enlarged health industry of China.

The human skeleton is a mechanical device that people can wear. It put the human intelligence and the robot physical together, relying on human intelligence to control the robot. It is a man-machine system to finish by people's own ability which is unable to complete tasks by robot alone. This paper studies the inherent law and movement mechanics of human body load walking principle. The purpose is to realize the human skeletons wearing comfort and walking stability, and improve the accuracy of the body weight. Analysis of the effect of load on gait parameters provided the necessary theoretical basis for the design of human bones.

Incorporation of nanoscale catalysts into porous structures of SOFC has been proven highly successful in increasing active sites and catalyst utilization. In addition, electrochemical reactions as well as heat transfer process in porous anode are strongly affected by complex porous structures. It is believed that study of anode thermal properties are critical for SOFC design and operation. In this work, an AA model is developed for nickel and YSZ components via ASE, and a CG technique is further applied to represent Ni and YSZ beads by VMD, which are then self-assembled to capture the anode nanostructure via GROMACS. LAMMPS is then employed to evaluate average thermal properties of the porous anode. It is found that, at low Ni content (

Ethnopharmacological relevance Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge. (Asparagaceae) yields Anemarrhenae Rhizoma, which has a long history to be used as a traditional medicine to treat various ailments, like cold-induced febrile disease with arthralgia, hematochezia, tidal fever and night sweats by Yin deficiency, bone-steaming, cough, and hemoptysis. It is also used as an ingredient of healthy food, wine, tea, biological toothpaste. Its importance is demonstrated by large scale to treat kinds of diseases in eastern Asian countries. The aim of this review is to provide up-to-date information about phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology of Anemarrhena asphodeloides based on scientific literatures. It will build up a new foundation for further study on mechanism and development of better therapeutic agent and healthy product from Anemarrhena asphodeloides . Material and methods All the available information on Anemarrhena asphodeloides was collected via electronic search (using PubMed, SciFinder Scholar, CNKI, TPL ( www.theplantlist.org ), Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, and Web of Science). Results Comprehensive analysis of the literatures searched through sources available above confirmed that the ethnomedical uses of Anemarrhena asphodeloides had been recorded in China, Japan, and Korea for thousands of years. The phytochemical investigation revealed the presence of steroidal saponins, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, alkaloids, steroids, organic acids, anthraquinones, and others. Crude extracts and pure compounds from Anemarrhena asphodeloides exhibited significant pharmacological effects on the nervous system and the blood system. They also showed valuable bioactivities, such as antitumor, anti-oxidation, anti-microbial, anti-virus, anti-inflammation, anti-osteoporosis, anti-skin aging and damage as well as other activities. Conclusions In light of long traditional use and modern phytochemical and pharmacological studies summarized, Anemarrhena asphodeloides has demonstrated a strong potential for therapeutic and health-maintaining purposes. Both the extracts and chemical components isolated from the plant showed a wide range of biological activities. Thus more pharmacological mechanisms on main active compounds (TBII, TAIII, mangiferin and other ingredients) are necessary to be explored. In addition, as a good source of the traditional medicine, clinical studies of main therapeutic aspects ( e.g. diabetes, Alzheimer׳s disease, Parkinson׳s disease, etc.), toxicity and adverse effect of Anemarrhena asphodeloides will also undoubtedly be the focus of future investigation.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a toxic secondary metabolite mainly produced by Aspergillus and Penicillium species, with strong renal toxicity, teratogenic, carcinogenic, mutagenic effect. Studies have shown that OTA is not only widely contaminated in food and feed crops, but also has been widely contaminated in Chinese herbal medicines such as spices, licorice and so on. In view of OTA's universality and harmfulness, this paper summarizes the flow visualization test strip, microsphere, electrochemical sensor, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy technology in OTA rapid detection, which provides reference for the research and application of high throughout detection instrument miniaturization in order to achieve OTA quick detection and simple operation.

With the development of living condition, more and more people tend to show unique personality, thus hair dyes as hair cosmetics are highly favored. By the year 2012, the global sales of hair dye had exceeded $15 billion, with a sustained growth at a rate of 8%-10% annually. However, the harm caused by long-term use of hair dyes has aroused widespread public concern, so people begin to seek non-toxic or low toxic natural plant hair dyes. The types of commonly used hair dyes and the corresponding dyeing mechanisms were summarized in this manuscript, and the representative natural botanic dyes were listed. Thereafter, their effective fractions, constituents and application status were described. In addition, the values of botanic hair dyes and their broad market prospect were discussed. Finally, the problems that exist in the research and development of plant hair dyes were issued. This review may help to provide thought for developing novel, green and ecological natural plant hair dyes.

Berberine (BBR) is a bioactive plant ingredient derived from the roots and bark of Berberis aristata and Coptis chinensis and has a wide variety of pharmacological effects. 8-cetylberberine (8-BBR-C16) is the berberine (BBR) derivative reconstructed from adding octadecyl at C-8 of BBR to enhance its activity. This study presents a reliable method for the determination of BBR and 8-BBR-C16 in rat plasma, urine and feces. BBR and 8-BBR-C16 were determined by HPLC-UV after liquid-liquid extraction for plasma samples, and solid-phase extraction for urinary and fecal samples. The method was linear over the concentration range of 10-300 ng·ml-1 for the plasma samples, 25-2000 ng·ml-1 for the urinary samples, and 100-2000 ng·g-1 for the fecal samples. Furthermore, a metabolic investigation on urine was performed by LC/MS/MS analysis to identify the structures of 8-BBR-C16 metabolites by full scan and product ion scan. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups. In the control group, rats received 80 mg·kg-1 BBR, and in the drug-treated group, rats received 80 mg·kg-1 8-BBR-C16. The results indicate that there were significant differences in the pharmacokinetic parameters and in the accumulated excretion levels between the control group and the drug-treated group. The Cmax and AUC0-t of 8-BBR-C16 were 2.8 and 12.9 times higher than those of BBR, and the relative bioavailability of BBR to 8-BBR-C16 was 7.7%. The total excretion amount through the urine and feces of 8-BBR-C16 was 76.9%, but that of BBR was only 20.5%. Additionally, 8-BBR-C16 was metabolized in rat urine with phase I demethylation and phase II glucuronidation or sulfation.

Mesoporous catalysts [HPMo][HTAC]2/SiO2 with different loading amount of [HPMo][HTAC]2 were prepared by sol–gel method. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM and pore structure parameters. The catalytic activity for the oxidative desulfurization of benzothiophene (BT) and dibenzothiophene (DBT) was evaluated using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant. Results of the charaterization show that the Keggin structures of all the loaded catalysts were kept and [HPMo][HTAC]2 was highly dispersed on the surface of SiO2. The desulfurization rate of the catalyst 20%[HPMo][HTAC]2/SiO2 can be up to 91% for DBT and 75% for BT in 2 h.

The concentrations of berberine (BBR) and 8-cetylberberine (8-BBR-C16) in rat plasma and tissue were determined by RP-HPLC. Both the plasma pharmacokinetics characteristic and tissue distribution differences of BBR and 8-BBR-C16 were compared to provide experimental data for the mechanism research and further drug development. After the oral administrations of BBR and 8-BBR-C16 at the dose of 80 mg x kg(-1) for rats, the pharmacokinetics result showed that compared with BBR, the C(max) and AUC(0-t), of 8-BBR-C16 increased by 2.8 times and 12.9 times respectively, t1/2 extended from 3.61 h to 11.90 h. The tissue distribution result showed that compared with BBR, the concentration of 8-BBR-C16 in various organizations increased and the retention time extended remarkably. The maximum concentration was achieved in lung and the highest concentration in it was 3 731.82 ng x g(-1). After being derived, the C(max) in plasma and bioavailability of 8-BBR-C16 increased remarkably and the circulation time in vivo extended. The drug concentration in tissue increased remarkably, and the distribution ratio changed too, with strong targeting selection in lung.

Previous research works on solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have mainly focused on the large length scale phenomena, such as physical and chemical transport phenomena at macroscale. A new approach is proposed in this work, which combines concepts from all-atom (AA) modeling with coarse-graining (CG) molecular dynamics (MD) method to reveal the replacement mechanism of Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) and establish the nanostructures of a NiO-based anode and an YSZ-based electrolyte. Lattice constants of NiO and YSZ are obtained by special measurements. Nanocrystalline structures of anode and electrolyte material structures under disparate conditions are generated via Atomistic Simulation Environment (ASE). By combining this technique with the local lattice constants, the effect of temperature on crystal formation and the influence of sintering conditions on the volume shrinkage are predicted. The combined AA-CG-MD method is validated and subsequently applied to an equilibrated anode and electrolyte nanostructures with a box length of 50 nm. The resulting nanostructures of the materials show good agreement with the distributions from experiments based on Transmission/Scanning Electron Microscopy (TEM/SEM) techniques, and provide insight into atom/pore distribution and the volume shrinkage at a length scale which is expanded into atomistic/molecular dynamics simulation to capture the best materials’ performance and the balance of oxygen-ion conductivity and material stability.