Antibacterial alkaloids from Artabotrys crassifolius Hook.f. & Thomson

Chloroform extract of bark of Artabotrys crassifolius Hook.f. & Thomson exhibited antibacterial activities against both American Type Culture Collection and clinical bacterial strains in vitro with zones of inhibition ranging from 7 to 14 mm. Further analysis of this extract yielded artabotrine, liridine, lysicamine and atherospermidine. Artabotrine displayed a broad array of antibacterial activity mostly against Gram-positive bacteria with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 1.25 μg/mL to 5 μg/mL. Of note, artabotrine, liridine and lysicamine are bactericidal against Gram-negative extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella with MIC values equal 2.5, 2.5 and 10 μg/mL, respectively, and minimum bactericidal concentrations values equal to 2.5, 5 and 20 μg/mL.     

Two new chalcones from Shuteria sinensis

Two new chalcones, 2′,3,4,4′-tetrahydroxy-2-prenylchalcone (1) and 3-methoxy-2′,4,4′-trihydroxy-2-prenylchalcone (2), together with two known compounds, munsericin (3) and 3,4-dihydroxylonchocarpin (4), were isolated from the ethanol extract of the whole plant of Shuteria sinensis. Their structures were identified by spectroscopic analysis methods, such as 1D and 2D NMR, along with HR-MS data. Glucose metabolism activity of four compounds was tested, compounds 3 and 4 showed effect on the glucose consumption of insulin-resistant HepG2 cells.     

Study of the Function of G‐Rich Aptamers Selected for Lung Adenocarcinoma

Guanine (G)‐rich oligonucleotides have attracted considerable interest as therapeutic agents. Two G‐rich aptamers were selected against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)‐transfected A549 cells, and their G‐rich domains (S13 and S50) were identified to account for the binding of parental aptamers. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra showed that S13 and S50 bound to their targets by forming parallel quadruplexes. Their binding, internalization, and antiproliferation activity in cancer and noncancer cells were investigated by flow cytometry and 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐5‐(3‐carboxymethoxyphenyl)‐2‐(4‐sulfophenyl)‐2H‐tetrazolium (MTS) assay, and compared with those of nucleolin‐binding AS1411 and thrombin‐binding aptamer. The two truncated aptamers (S13 and S50) have good binding and internalization in cancer cells and noncancer cells; however, only S50, similar to AS1411, shows potent antiproliferation against cancer cells. Our data suggest that tumor‐selective antiproliferation of G‐rich oligonucleotides does not directly depend on the binding of the G‐rich aptamer to cells.     

Investigating S-wave bound states composed of two pseudoscalar mesons

In this study, we systematically investigated two-pseudoscalar meson systems with the Bethe-Salpeter equation in the ladder and instantaneous approximations. By solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation numerically with the kernel containing the one-particle exchange diagrams, we found that the \begin{document}$ K\bar{K} $\end{document}, \begin{document}$ DK $\end{document}, \begin{document}$ B\bar{K} $\end{document}, \begin{document}$ D\bar{D} $\end{document}, \begin{document}$ B\bar{B} $\end{document}, \begin{document}$ BD $\end{document}, \begin{document}$ D\bar{K} $\end{document}, \begin{document}$ BK $\end{document}, and \begin{document}$ B\bar{D} $\end{document} systems with \begin{document}$ I=0 $\end{document} can exist as bound states. We also studied the contributions from heavy meson (\begin{document}$ J/\psi $\end{document} and \begin{document}$\Upsilon $\end{document}) exchanges and found that the contributions from heavy meson exchanges cannot be ignored.     

Pressure-tuning domain-wall chirality in noncentrosymmetric magnetic Weyl semimetal CeAlGe

Science China Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy - The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is the largest and most sensitive single-dish radio telescope in the world and...     

Spin waves and phase transition on a magnetically frustrated square lattice with long-range interactions

We investigate the effects of long-range interactions on the spin wave spectra and the competition between magnetic phases on a frustrated square lattice with large spin S. Applying the spin wave theory and assisted with symmetry analysis, we obtain analytical expressions for spin wave spectra of competing Neel and (π, 0) stripe states of systems containing any-order long-range interactions. In the specific case of long-range interactions with power-law decay, we find surprisingly that the staggered long-range interaction suppresses quantum fluctuation and enlarges the ordered moment, especially in the Neel state, and thus extends its phase boundary to the stripe state. Our findings illustrate the rich possibilities of the roles of long-range interactions, and advocate future investigations in other magnetic systems with different structures of interactions.     

Solid-phase extraction techniques based on nanomaterials for mycotoxin analysis: An overview for food and agricultural products

Mycotoxin contamination is a globally concerned problem for food and agricultural products since it may directly or indirectly induce severe threats to human health. Sensitive and selective screening is an efficient strategy to prevent or reduce human and animal exposure to mycotoxins. However, enormous challenges exist in the determination of mycotoxins, arising from complex sample matrices, trace-level analytes, and the co-occurrence of diverse mycotoxins. Appropriate sample preparation is essential to isolate, purify, and enrich mycotoxins from complicated matrices, thus decreasing sample matrix effects and lowering detection limits. With the cross-disciplinary development, new solid-phase extraction strategies have been exploited and integrated with nanotechnology to meet the challenges of mycotoxin analysis. This review summarizes the advance and progress of solid-phase extraction techniques as the methodological solutions for mycotoxin analysis. Emphases are paid on nanomaterials fabricated as trapping media of solid-phase extraction techniques, including carbonaceous nanoparticles, metal/metal oxide-based nanoparticles, and nanoporous materials. Advantages and limitations are discussed, along with the potential prospects.     

Neutral 1D Perovskite-Type ABX3 Phase Transition Material with a Narrowband Emission and Semiconductor Property

Cyclic organic amines are emerging as excellent building blocks to assemble organic–inorganic hybrid phase transition materials due to their flexible cyclic structure. Here, we have assembled a 1D organic-inorganic hybrid dielectric material C₅H₆NOPbBr₃ ( 1 ) by alloying the cyclic organic amine 3-hydroxypyridine. 1 displays a remarkable switchable dielectric response induced by an order-disorder transformation of the organic moiety, this transformation behaviour is confirmed by DSC and Hirshfeld surface measurements. More interestingly, 1 has a narrowband emission (FWHM=4.64 nm) at 590 nm; FWHM is a major quality figure for narrowband photodetectors. In addition, 1 exhibits semiconducting properties with an indirect bandgap of 2.78 eV by the analysis of the UV-Vis absorption results.     

Two New 3D Metal-Organic Frameworks Constructed by Polycarboxylate and N-Donor Ligands: Crystal Structure,Photocatalytic Performances,and DFT Calculation

Russian Journal of Coordination Chemistry - Two new metal-organic frameworks, [Zn(Bdc)(Bip)?H2O] (I) and {[Cd2(Btc)2(H2O)2](H2Bib)· 6H2O} (II) (H2Bdc = 1,3-benzenedicarboxylic acid,...