Endophytic Fungal Community of Huperzia serrata: Diversity and Relevance to the Production of Huperzine A by the Plant Host

As the population ages globally, there seem to be more people with Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, there is currently no specific treatment for the disease. At present, Huperzine A (HupA) is one of the best drugs used for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and has been used in clinical trials for several years in China. HupA was first separated from Huperzia serrata, a traditional medicinal herb that is used to cure fever, contusions, strains, hematuria, schizophrenia, and snakebite for several hundreds of years in China, and has been confirmed to have acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity. With the very slow growth of H. serrata, resources are becoming too scarce to meet the need for clinical treatment. Some endophytic fungal strains that produce HupA were isolated from H. serrate in previous studies. In this article, the diversity of the endophytic fungal community within H. serrata was observed and the relevance to the production of HupA by the host plant was further analyzed. A total of 1167 strains were obtained from the leaves of H. serrata followed by the stems (1045) and roots (824). The richness as well as diversity of endophytic fungi within the leaf and stem were higher than in the root. The endophytic fungal community was similar within stems as well as in leaves at all taxonomic levels. The 11 genera (Derxomyces, Lophiostoma, Cyphellophora, Devriesia, Serendipita, Kurtzmanomyces, Mycosphaerella, Conoideocrella, Brevicellicium, Piskurozyma, and Trichomerium) were positively correlated with HupA content. The correlation index of Derxomyces with HupA contents displayed the highest value (CI = 0.92), whereas Trichomerium showed the lowest value (CI = 0.02). Through electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), it was confirmed that the HS7-1 strain could produce HupA and the total alkaloid concentration was 3.7 ug/g. This study will enable us to screen and isolate the strain that can produce HupA and to figure out the correlation between endophytic fungal diversity with HupA content in different plant organs. This can provide new insights into the screening of strains that can produce HupA more effectively.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis and crystal structure of some novel 1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-ylmethyl-1,2,3-triazoles

Microwave-assisted 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of 5-azidomethyl 3-aryl-substituted 1,2,4-oxadiazoles to electron-deficient alkyne; phenyl propiolic acid affords a series of 1,2,3-triazole derivatives carrying 3-p-substitutedphenyl-1,2,4-oxadiazolyl methyl unit. The structures of all the cycloadducts were elucidated by IR, NMR (¹H, ¹³C, 2D), MASS (low and high resolution) spectra, X-ray diffraction data, and physical characteristics (melting points and R_f values).     

Poly[diaquadi‐μ6‐oxalato‐μ5‐oxalato‐chromium(III)rubidium(I)]: a new supramolecular isomer

The title compound, [CrRb(C₂O₄)₂(H₂O)₂]_n, obtained under hydrothermal conditions and investigated structurally at 100 K, is a three‐dimensional supramolecular isomer of the layered structure compound studied at room temperature. This novel polymer is built up from crosslinked heterobimetallic units. The linkage of alternating edge‐ and vertex‐shared RbO₇(H₂O)₂ and CrO₄(H₂O)₂ polyhedra running along three different directions gives a dense packing. The two independent ligands display two η⁴‐chelation modes and two conventional carboxylate bridges. However, the pentadentate ligand connects the Cr^III and Rb^I ions through one O‐atom bridge, while the hexadentate ligand exhibits an additional η³‐chelation and two O‐atom bridges. Each coordinated water molecule forms an O‐atom bridge between the two metals. Moreover, in the absence of protonated ligands, these water molecules act as donors through their four H atoms in strong‐to‐weak hydrogen bonds. This results in zigzag chains of alternating oxalate and aqua ligands parallel to the twofold screw axis. The six double oxalates known to date containing an alkali and Cr^III all present layered two‐dimensional structures. In the series, this supramolecular isomer is the first three‐dimensional framework.     

Investigation of critical phenomena and magnetism in amorphous Ising nanowire in the presence of transverse fields

A cylindrical magnetic nanowire system composed of ferromagnetic core and shell layers has been investigated by using effective field theory (EFT) with correlations in the presence of transverse fields and surface shell amorphization. Both weak and strong exchange couplings at the core–shell interface have been considered. The main attention has been focused on the former situation where the system exhibits similar characteristic features with that observed in thin film and semi-infinite systems in which the surface effects are prominent. A complete picture of the phase diagrams and magnetization profiles has been represented and the effect of the surface shell amorphization on these properties has been discussed. Furthermore, we have investigated the ground state behavior of total magnetization _mT$m_T$ curves and we have observed that _mT$m_T$ curves exhibit highly non-monotonous and exotic ground states in the presence of frustration in the surface shell. We have also analyzed the necessary conditions for the occurrence of reentrant behavior in the system.     

Blow-up behavior for the Klein–Gordon and other perturbed semilinear wave equations

We give blow-up results for the Klein–Gordon equation and other perturbations of the semilinear wave equations with superlinear power nonlinearity, in one space dimension or in higher dimension under radial symmetry outside the origin.     

Complexity analysis research of financial and economic system under the condition of three parameters’ change circumstances

This paper studies the characteristics of a series of complex systems, which are in combination of interest rate, investment, and price index parameters meeting the condition c?b?abc??0, including stable node, saddle points, bifurcation, Hopf bifurcation, and chaos, and the corresponding mathematical expressions of Lyapunov index are given. Based on this, we perform complexity analysis of the system and study the change circumstances of Lyapunov index when one or two parameters synchronously change. Numerical simulation results verify the theoretical analysis and conclusion. The results of this economic and financial system provide reference to practical problems, and have a positive effect on the actual application of the system of this type.     

The Impact of Apple Variety and the Production Methods on the Antibacterial Activity of Vinegar Samples

Apple vinegar is a natural product widely used in food and traditional medicine as it contains many bioactive compounds. The apple variety and production methods are two factors that play a major role in determining the quality of vinegar. Therefore, this study aims to determine the quality of apple vinegar samples from different varieties (Red Delicious, Gala, Golden Delicious, and Starking Delicious) prepared by three methods using small apple pieces, apple juice, and crushed apple, through determining the physicochemical properties and antibacterial activity of these samples. The antibacterial activity was studied against five pathogenic bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli (ATB: 57), Escherichia coli (ATB: 97), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, using two methods, disk diffusion and microdilution, for determining the minimum inhibitory concentrations and the minimum bactericidal concentrations. The results of this study showed that the lowest pH value was 3.6 for Stark Delicious, obtained by liquid fermentation, and the highest acetic acid values were 4.7 and 4% for the vinegar of Red Delicious and Golden Delicious, prepared by solid fermentation, respectively. The results of the antibacterial activity showed considerable activity of apple vinegar on the tested strains. Generally, the Staphylococcus aureus strain appears less sensitive and Pseudomonas aeruginosa seems to be very sensitive against all samples, while the other strains have distinct sensitivities depending on the variety studied and the method used. A higher antibacterial activity was found in vinegar obtained by the apple pieces method and the Red Delicious variety, with a low MIC and MBC recorded, at 1.95 and 3.90 µL/mL, respectively. This study has shown that the choice of both apple variety and production method is therefore an essential step in determining and aiming for the desired quality of apple vinegar.     

ELECTRO-MAGNETO-THERMOELASTIC PLANE WAVES IN MICROPOLAR SOLID INVOLVING TWO TEMPERATURES

<正>The model of equations of micropolar generalized magneto-thermoelasticity is introduced within the context of the theory of two temperatures generalized thermoelasticity and we consider a problem of an isotropic homogeneous micropolar medium taking into account the heat effects and allowing the magnetic field effects.A plane wave analysis is employed to obtain the exact formulas of the two temperatures(conductive and mechanical),displacement components, micro-rotation components,stresses,couple stresses,induced electric current,electric field and magnetic field.Arbitrary application is chosen to enable us to get the complete solution.The considered variables are presented graphically and discussions are made for the results.     

Demonstration of the density dependence of x-ray flux in a laser-driven hohlraum

Experiments have been conducted using laser-driven cylindrical hohlraums whose walls are machined from Ta2O5 foams of 100 mg/cc and 4 g/cc densities. Measurements of the radiation temperature demonstrate that the lower density walls produce higher radiation temperatures than the high density walls. This is the first experimental demonstration of the prediction that this would occur [M. D. Rosen and J. H. Hammer, Phys. Rev. E 72, 056403 (2005)10.1103/PhysRevE.72.056403]. For high density walls, the radiation front propagates subsonically, and part of the absorbed energy is wasted by the flow kinetic energy. For the lower wall density, the front velocity is supersonic and can devote almost all of the absorbed energy to heating the wall.     

Thymus algeriensis and Artemisia herba-alba Essential Oils: Chemical Analysis,Antioxidant Potential and In Vivo Anti-Inflammatory,Analgesic Activities,and Acute Toxicity

The study of bioactive molecules of natural origin is a focus of current research. Thymus algeriensis and Artemisia herba-alba are two medicinal plants widely used by the Moroccan population in the traditional treatment of several pathologies linked to inflammation. This study aimed to evaluate the single and combined antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of the essential oils extracted from these two medicinal plants, and also their potential toxicity. Essential oils were extracted using hydro-distillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by two methods: the scavenging of the free radical DPPH, and the reduction in iron. Anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by evaluating the edema development induced by carrageenan injecting, while the analgesic power was evaluated according to the number of abdominal contortions induced by the intraperitoneal injection of acetic acid (0.7%). The acute oral toxicity was performed to assess the potential toxicity of the studied EOs, followed by an analysis of the blood biochemical parameters. The results of the two antioxidant tests indicated that our extract mixture exhibits good iron reduction capacity and very interesting DPPH free radical scavenging power, with an IC₅₀ of around 4.38 ± 0.98 μg/mL higher than that of the benchmark antioxidant, BHT. The anti-inflammatory test demonstrated that the mixture administered orally at a dose of 150 mg/kg has a better activity, exceeding that of 1% Diclofenac, with a percentage of maximum inhibition of the edema of 89.99 ± 4.08. The number of cramps in the mice treated with the mixture at a dose of 150 mg/kg is significantly lower (29.80 ± 1.92) than those of the group treated with Tramadol (42.00 ± 2.70), respectively. The toxicity results show no signs of toxicity with an LD₅₀ greater than 150 mg/Kg. These interesting results show that the two plants’ EOs had an important anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antioxidant activity, and also a powerful synergistic effect, which encourages further in-depth investigations on their pharmacological proprieties.