Expanding the Ligand Classes Used for Mn(II) Complexation: Oxa-aza Macrocycles Make the Difference

We report two macrocyclic ligands based on a 1,7-diaza-12-crown-4 platform functionalized with acetate (tO2DO2A²⁻) or piperidineacetamide (tO2DO2AM^Pip) pendant arms and a detailed characterization of the corresponding Mn(II) complexes. The X−ray structure of [Mn(tO2DO2A)(H₂O)]·2H₂O shows that the metal ion is coordinated by six donor atoms of the macrocyclic ligand and one water molecule, to result in seven-coordination. The Cu(II) analogue presents a distorted octahedral coordination environment. The protonation constants of the ligands and the stability constants of the complexes formed with Mn(II) and other biologically relevant metal ions (Mg(II), Ca(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II)) were determined using potentiometric titrations (I = 0.15 M NaCl, T = 25 °C). The conditional stabilities of Mn(II) complexes at pH 7.4 are comparable to those reported for the cyclen-based tDO2A²⁻ ligand. The dissociation of the Mn(II) chelates were investigated by evaluating the rate constants of metal exchange reactions with Cu(II) under acidic conditions (I = 0.15 M NaCl, T = 25 °C). Dissociation of the [Mn(tO2DO2A)(H₂O)] complex occurs through both proton− and metal−assisted pathways, while the [Mn(tO2DO2AM^Pip)(H₂O)] analogue dissociates through spontaneous and proton-assisted mechanisms. The Mn(II) complex of tO2DO2A²⁻ is remarkably inert with respect to its dissociation, while the amide analogue is significantly more labile. The presence of a water molecule coordinated to Mn(II) imparts relatively high relaxivities to the complexes. The parameters determining this key property were investigated using ¹⁷O NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) transverse relaxation rates and ¹H nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion (NMRD) profiles.     

Blocking Effect of Demethylzeylasteral on the Interaction between Human ACE2 Protein and SARS-CoV-2 RBD Protein Discovered Using SPR Technology

The novel coronavirus disease (2019-nCoV) has been affecting global health since the end of 2019, and there is no sign that the epidemic is abating. Targeting the interaction between the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein and the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor is a promising therapeutic strategy. In this study, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was used as the primary method to screen a library of 960 compounds. A compound 02B05 (demethylzeylasteral, CAS number: 107316-88-1) that had high affinities for S-RBD and ACE2 was discovered, and binding affinities (K_D, μM) of 02B05-ACE2 and 02B05-S-RBD were 1.736 and 1.039 μM, respectively. The results of a competition experiment showed that 02B05 could effectively block the binding of S-RBD to ACE2 protein. Furthermore, pseudovirus infection assay revealed that 02B05 could inhibit entry of SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus into 293T cells to a certain extent at nontoxic concentration. The compoundobtained in this study serve as references for the design of drugs which have potential in the treatment of COVID-19 and can thus accelerate the process of developing effective drugs to treat SARS-CoV-2 infections.     

Computational Study of the Electron Spectra of Vapor-Phase Indole and Four Azaindoles

After geometry optimization, the electron spectra of indole and four azaindoles are calculated by density functional theory. Available experimental photoemission and excitation data for indole and 7-azaindole are used to compare with the theoretical values. The results for the other azaindoles are presented as predictions to help the interpretation of experimental spectra when they become available.     

用于宽谱带发射白色发光二极管的黄色荧光粉Sr8MgAl(PO4)7∶xEu2+的制备及发光性能

通过高温固相反应合成了一系列宽谱带发射黄色荧光粉Sr_8MgAl(PO_4)_7∶x Eu~(2+)(SMAP∶x Eu~(2+)),并对其物质结构、发光性能及其在白色发光二极管(WLED)领域的应用进行了探究。X射线衍射(XRD)测试结果表明,SMAP∶x Eu~(2+)系列荧光粉具有单斜结构和C2/m空间群,激活剂Eu~(2+)离子能够很好地进入SMAP基质中并占据Sr~(2+)离子的晶格位点。漫反射光谱分析显示SMAP基质属于宽带隙材料,带隙宽度为3.60 e V。此外,SMAP∶x Eu~(2+)具有较宽的激发范围(280～500 nm),对应于Eu~(2+)离子的4f~7→4f~65d~1跃迁;在380 nm近紫外光激发下,呈现出450～800 nm的多发光中心的非对称黄光发射,发射峰位于590 nm处。基于高斯多峰拟合结果,得到3个发光中心,分别位于528、600和680 nm。最后,将已制备的黄色荧光粉SMAP∶0.05Eu~(2+)与商业化蓝粉Ba Mg Al_(10)O_(17)∶Eu~(2+)混合涂覆到400 nm芯片上制得色温较好(3 344 K)、显色指数较高(90.1)的WLED。     

一锅法可控合成金属有机框架材料Mn-荧光素用于核磁共振/荧光成像

通过一锅法,首次将核磁共振成像试剂Mn²⁺和荧光成像试剂荧光素（FSD）自组装于一个简单的金属有机框架材料（Mn-FSD）上。实验结果表明,Mn-FSD的粒径可被控制在微纳米水平内并进行生物成像。体外和体内实验结果证实,Mn-FSD可在细胞和裸鼠中显示强绿色荧光。同时,Mn-FSD表现出较高的弛豫值（r₁=4.95 L·mmol^-1·s^-1）。     

MD-UNET: Multi-input dilated U-shape neural network for segmentation of bladder cancer

Accurate segmentation of the tumour area is crucial for the treatment and prognosis of patients with bladder cancer. However, the complex information from the MRI image poses an important challenge for us to accurately segment the lesion, for example, the high distinction among people, size of bladder variation and noise interference. Based on the above issues, we propose an MD-Unet network structure, which uses multi-scale images as the input of the network, and combines max-pooling with dilated convolution to increase the receptive field of the convolutional network. The results show that the proposed network can obtain higher precision than the existing models for the bladder cancer dataset. The MD-Unet can achieve state-of-art performance compared with other methods.     

DCE-MRI定量参数对子宫内膜癌的诊断价值及与临床病理因素的相关性

本文选取了子宫内膜癌患者108例作为观察组,另选取子宫内膜良性病变患者105例作为对照组,均行DCE-MRI检查后发现,观察组容量转移常数(K trans)、速率常数(K ep)、血管外细胞外间隙容积比值(V e)高于对照组(P<0.05);K trans、K ep、V e值联合诊断子宫内膜癌的曲线下面积(AUC)为0.841;K trans、K ep、V e值与临床分期、肌层浸润程度呈正相关,与分化程度呈负相关(P<0.05)。本研究结果提示DCE-MRI定量参数对子宫内膜癌具有一定鉴别诊断价值,有助于进一步区分子宫内膜癌患者肌层浸润程度、临床分期、分化程度。     

磁共振扩散加权成像联合血清AFP对小肝癌临床诊断及疗效评估的价值

将194例小肝癌患者纳入小肝癌组,185例肝细胞结节患者纳入结节组,所有患者均行MRI扩散加权成像(DWI-MRI),评估患者在DWI-MRI上的形态学表现及ADC值,检测患者血清AFP水平,比较不同检测方法诊断小肝癌的准确度、灵敏度、特异度。结果显示,应用DWI-MRI联合血清AFP诊断小肝癌的特异度、灵敏度和准确度均显著高于单独应用DWI-MRI,或血清AFP(P<0.05)。表明DWI-MRI联合血清AFP对小肝癌的诊断价值显著,可为病情评估提供切实可行的参考。     

3D-ASL灌注成像与静息态功能MRI在癫痫诊断及鉴别中的价值

选取123例癫痫患者作为研究组,同期69例健康体检者作为对照组,均行三维动脉自旋标记技术(3D-ASL)灌注成像与静息态功能MRI(rs-FMRI)检查,研究二者在癫痫病诊断及鉴别中的价值。结果发现,研究组全面发作脑血流量(CBF)、低频振幅(ALFF)<部分发作和对照组,全面发作血清脑源性神经细胞营养因子(BDNF)、胰岛素样生长因子-1(IGF-1)水平、认知功能(MMSE)评分<部分发作<对照组,血清神经肽Y(NPY)>部分发作>对照组(P<0.05),且癫痫患者CBF、ALFF与BDNF、IGF-1、MMSE呈正相关,与NPY呈负相关。CBF与ALFF联合在诊断癫痫发作、鉴别不同癫痫发作类型方面均具有较高应用价值。说明3D-ASL灌注成像及rs-FMRI在癫痫发作诊断及鉴别不同癫痫发作类型方面应用价值较高。     

MRI参数对腰椎间盘突出症患者椎间盘退变程度的评估价值及与JOA、VAS评分相关性

选择腰椎间盘突出症(LDH)患者60例,分为轻度退变组、中度退变组、重度退变组。患者均行MRI检查,比较3组的MRI参数,包括髓核(NP)区、纤维环(AF)区T2值。检测比较发现,3组LDH患者NP区、AF区T2值间存在明显差异,且与腰椎功能评分(JOA)呈正相关,与腰部疼痛评分(VAS)呈负相关(P<0.05)。NP区、AF区T2值联合鉴别轻中度、中重度椎间盘退变程度的AUC大于各指标单一鉴别,具有较高评估效能。因此,MRI参数评估LDH患者椎间盘退变程度方面具有良好价值,可为临床明确患者病情提供重要参考。