The metabolites and biotransformation pathways in vivo after oral administration of ocotillol,RT5, and PF11

Ocotillol, pseudo-ginsenoside RT5 (RT₅), and pseudo-ginsenoside F₁₁ (PF₁₁) are ocotillol-type saponins that have the same aglycone structure but with different numbers of glucose at the C-6 position. In this study, the metabolites of ocotillol, RT₅, and PF₁₁ in rat plasma, stomach, intestine, urine, and feces after oral administration were investigated by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The results showed that RT₅ was easily biotransformed into metabolites in vivo, whereas PF₁₁ and RT₅ were difficult to be biotransformed. Hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, dehydration, deglycosylation, deoxygenation, hydration, phosphorylation, deoxidation, glucuronidation, and reactions combining amino acid were speculated to be involved in the biotransformation of ocotillol, RT₅, and PF₁₁. Based on the structural analysis of metabolites, it was deduced that hydrogenation, dehydration, deoxidation, and reactions combining amino acid occurred on the aglycone structure, whereas deglycosylation, hydration, and phosphorylation occurred on the glycosyl chain. Further, metabolites in plasma, urine, feces, and tissues were different: First, glucuronidation products were found in urine, stomach, intestine, and feces, but not in plasma. Second, the ocotillol prototype was not identified in urine samples. Third, the RT₅ prototype was found in stomach, intestine, feces, and urine, but not in plasma.     

Rationally Design of Near Infrared Light Responsive Micro‐Photoelectrodes for In Vivo Sensing of Neurotransmitter Molecules in Mouse Brain†

The accurate quantification of neurotransmitter molecules is an indispensable means to reveal the physiological mechanisms of neuro movement in molecular level. However, existing detection strategies cannot fully meet practical needs, and the on‐site and in vivo detection of neurotransmitters in brain remains a great challenge. Here, we report the development of a near infrared light responsive photoelectrochemical (PEC) detection method for in vivo quantification of neurotransmitter dopamine in mouse brain. Under guidance of density function theory calculations, a combination strategy of non‐metal cation doping and defect engineering is introduced to rationally design the micro‐photoelectrodes with excellent biocompatibility and stability and implements the in vivo PEC detection of dopamine in mouse brain. It opens up a new way for the accurate in vivo detection of biomolecules and allows researchers to make novel inquiries for long‐standing questions in a new way.     

Cephalotanins A–D,Four Norditerpenoids Represent Three Highly Rigid Carbon Skeletons from Cephalotaxus sinensis

Four polycyclic norditerpenoids, cephalotanins A–D ( 1 – 4 ) representing three unprecedented carbon skeletons with highly rigid ring systems, were isolated from Cephalotaxus sinensis and structurally characterized by a combination of various methods. Compounds 1 and 2 are new skeletal norditerpenoid trilactones, while 3 and 4 are two norditerpenoids featuring different new carbon skeletons. Biosynthetic pathways for 1 – 4 were proposed by involving diverse and very fascinating chemical events with the coexisting cephalotane troponoids as the precursors. Compound 1 exhibited good NF‐κB inhibition with an IC₅₀ value of 4.12±0.61 μΜ.     

羟基对界面水分子的扰动与其对非离子型氢氟烃杂化表面活性剂聚集行为的改变

本文合成并比较了具有和不具有羟基的两种非离子型氢氟烃杂化表面活性剂，它们均表现出良好的热稳定性和优异的表面活性. 实验观察到羟基对改变其溶液的表面张力和所形成胶束的形态具有较大的影响. 该作用可归因于烷烃基团从空气/水表面上方到其下方的重排以及由羟基诱导的界面水结构的扰动. 本工作提供了一种通过修改界面处的取向结构来弱化碳氢链和碳氟链之间的不混溶性，从而利于设计具有不同界面性质表面活性剂的策略.     

Free control of far-field scattering angle of transmission terahertz wave using multilayer split-ring resonators’ metasurfaces

To enhance transmission efficiency of Pancharatnam–Berry (PB) phase metasurfaces, multilayer splitring resonators were proposed to develop encoding sequences. As per the generalized Snell’s law, the deflection angle of the PB phase encoding metasurfaces depends on the metasurface period’s size. Therefore, it is impossible to design an infinitesimal metasurface unit; consequently, the continuous transmission scattering angle cannot be obtained. In digital signal processing, this study introduces the Fourier convolution principle on encoding metasurface sequences to freely control the transmitted scattering angles. Both addition and subtraction operations between two different encoding sequences were then performed to achieve the continuous variation of the scattering angle. Furthermore, we established that the Fourier convolution principle can be applied to the checkerboard coded metasurfaces.     

Understanding the Origin of Highly Selective CO2 Electroreduction to CO on Ni,N-doped Carbon Catalysts

Ni,N-doped carbon catalysts have shown promising catalytic performance for CO₂ electroreduction (CO₂R) to CO; this activity has often been attributed to the presence of nitrogen-coordinated, single Ni atom active sites. However, experimentally confirming Ni−N bonding and correlating CO₂ reduction (CO₂R) activity to these species has remained a fundamental challenge. We synthesized polyacrylonitrile-derived Ni,N-doped carbon electrocatalysts (Ni-PACN) with a range of pyrolysis temperatures and Ni loadings and correlated their electrochemical activity with extensive physiochemical characterization to rigorously address the origin of activity in these materials. We found that the CO₂R to CO partial current density increased with increased Ni content before plateauing at 2 wt % which suggests a dispersed Ni active site. These dispersed active sites were investigated by hard and soft X-ray spectroscopy, which revealed that pyrrolic nitrogen ligands selectively bind Ni atoms in a distorted square-planar geometry that strongly resembles the active sites of molecular metal–porphyrin catalysts.     

Solution-Based,Anion-Doping of Li4Ti5O12 Nanoflowers for Lithium-Ion Battery Applications

Solution-based, anionic doping represents a convenient strategy with which to improve upon the conductivity of candidate anode materials such as Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ (LTO). As such, novel synthetic hydrothermally-inspired protocols have primarily been devised herein, aimed at the large-scale production of unique halogen-doped, micron-scale, three-dimensional, hierarchical LTO flower-like motifs. Although fluorine (F) doping has been explored, the use of chlorine (Cl) dopants is the primary focus here. Several experimental variables, such as dopant amount, lithium hydroxide concentration, and titanium butoxide purity, were probed and perfected. Furthermore, the Cl doping process did not damage the intrinsic LTO morphology. The analysis, based on interpreting a compilation of SEM, XRD, XPS, and TEM-EDS results, was used to determine an optimized dopant concentration of Cl. Electrochemical tests demonstrated an increased capacity via cycling of 12 % for a Cl-doped sample as compared with pristine LTO. Moreover, the Cl-doped LTO sample described in this study exhibited the highest discharge capacity yet reported at an observed rate of 2C for this material at 143mAh g⁻¹. Overall, these data suggest that the Cl dopant likely enhances not only the ion transport capabilities, but also the overall electrical conductivity of our as-prepared structures. To help explain these favorable findings, theoretical DFT calculations were used to postulate that the electronic conductivity and Li diffusion were likely improved by the presence of increased Ti³⁺ ion concentration coupled with widening of the Li migration channel.     

Statistical Optimization of Flavonoid and Antioxidant Recovery from Macerated Chinese and Malaysian Lotus Root (Nelumbo nucifera) Using Response Surface Methodology

In this study, the combination of parameters required for optimal extraction of anti-oxidative components from the Chinese lotus (CLR) and Malaysian lotus (MLR) roots were carefully investigated. Box–Behnken design was employed to optimize the pH (X₁: 2–3), extraction time (X₂: 0.5–1.5 h) and solvent-to-sample ratio (X₃: 20–40 mL/g) to obtain a high flavonoid yield with high % DPPH_sc free radical scavenging and Ferric-reducing power assay (FRAP). The analysis of variance clearly showed the significant contribution of quadratic model for all responses. The optimal conditions for both Chinese lotus (CLR) and Malaysian lotus (MLR) roots were obtained as: CLR: X₁ = 2.5; X₂ = 0.5 h; X₃ = 40 mL/g; MLR: X₁ = 2.4; X₂ = 0.5 h; X₃ = 40 mL/g. These optimum conditions gave (a) Total flavonoid content (TFC) of 0.599 mg PCE/g sample and 0.549 mg PCE/g sample, respectively; (b) % DPPH_sc of 48.36% and 29.11%, respectively; (c) FRAP value of 2.07 mM FeSO₄ and 1.89 mM FeSO₄, respectively. A close agreement between predicted and experimental values was found. The result obtained succinctly revealed that the Chinese lotus exhibited higher antioxidant and total flavonoid content when compared with the Malaysia lotus root at optimum extraction condition.