Anti-Inflammatory,Antidiabetic Properties and In Silico Modeling of Cucurbitane-Type Triterpene Glycosides from Fruits of an Indian Cultivar of Momordica charantia L.

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease and one of the fastest-growing health challenges of the last decades. Studies have shown that chronic low-grade inflammation and activation of the innate immune system are intimately involved in type 2 diabetes pathogenesis. Momordica charantia L. fruits are used in traditional medicine to manage diabetes. Herein, we report the purification of a new 23-O-β-d-allopyranosyl-5β,19-epoxycucurbitane-6,24-diene triterpene (charantoside XV, 6) along with 25ξ-isopropenylchole-5(6)-ene-3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (1), karaviloside VI (2), karaviloside VIII (3), momordicoside L (4), momordicoside A (5) and kuguaglycoside C (7) from an Indian cultivar of Momordica charantia. At 50 µM compounds, 2–6 differentially affected the expression of pro-inflammatory markers IL-6, TNF-α, and iNOS, and mitochondrial marker COX-2. Compounds tested for the inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes at 0.87 mM and 1.33 mM, respectively. Compounds showed similar α-amylase inhibitory activity than acarbose (0.13 mM) of control (68.0–76.6%). Karaviloside VIII (56.5%) was the most active compound in the α-glucosidase assay, followed by karaviloside VI (40.3%), while momordicoside L (23.7%), A (33.5%), and charantoside XV (23.9%) were the least active compounds. To better understand the mode of binding of cucurbitane-triterpenes to these enzymes, in silico docking of the isolated compounds was evaluated with α-amylase and α-glucosidase.     

Anomalous NMR behavior of meso compounds with remote stereogenic centers on addition of chiral shift reagent or chiral solvating agent

A problem has arisen in using chiral shift reagents (CSR) and chiral solvating agents (CSA) to determine meso and racemic forms of diastereoisomers in which the stereogenic centers of the molecules are separated by achiral spacers. It is found that NMR signals of both meso and racemic forms of diastereoisomers may exhibit doubling on addition of CSR/CSA, which means that unequivocal assignments cannot be made without characterizing the effects for separate meso and racemic forms; this is particularly important for additions of CSR/CSA at relatively low concentrations, which always result in the splitting of some NMR signals of diastereoisomers. The phenomenon is demonstrated in the (31)P NMR spectra of meso and racemic forms of three spermine-bridged gem-disubstituted cyclotriphosphazatrienes, 1a-c, and compared with analogous achiral molecules, the per-substituted spermine-bridged cyclotriphosphazatrienes 2a-d. As expected, only one set of (31)P NMR signals was observed for the achiral compounds 2a-d, even on addition of CSA. Two sets of (31)P NMR ABX multiplets corresponding to meso and racemic diastereoisomers were observed for compounds 1a-c; on addition of CSA, the signals of at least one of the multiplets for each compound separated into more than the expected groups of three lines with an intensity distribution of 2:1:1. To understand this phenomenon, the meso and racemic forms of 1a and 1b and the meso form of 1c have been separated and characterized by X-ray crystallography. On addition of CSA to the racemic forms of 1a and 1b, the (31)P NMR spectrum shows the expected doubling of signals, but, unexpectedly, the same is observed for each of the meso forms of 1a-c. Analogous results using both CSA and CSR have been obtained for the meso and racemic forms of the diastereoisomeric piperazine-bridged macrocyclic-phosphazene compound, 3, whereas no effect was observed for the two meso forms of the doubly bridged macrocyclic-phosphazene compound 4. The phenomenon of doubling of the (31)P NMR signals of the meso form of singly bridged cyclotriphosphazatrienes, 1a-c and 3, is explained by consideration of the equilibrium in solution of independent complexation of a chiral ligand with molecules that have two chiral cyclophosphazene moieties separated by an achiral spacer group. The results show that the stereogenicity of such diastereoisomeric molecules in solution cannot be characterized unequivocally by NMR measurements on addition of either CSR or CSA.     

Electrochemical and spectroscopic characterization of the novel charge-transfer ground state in diimine complexes of ytterbocene

The novel charge-transfer ground state found in alpha,alpha'-diimine adducts of ytterbocene (C(5)Me(5))(2)Yb(L) [L = 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen)] in which an electron is spontaneously transferred from the f(14) metal center into the lowest unoccupied (pi*) molecular orbital (LUMO) of the diimine ligand to give an f(13)-L(*)(-) ground-state electronic configuration has been characterized by cyclic voltammetry, UV-vis-near-IR electronic absorption, and resonance Raman spectroscopies. The voltammetric data demonstrate that the diimine ligand LUMO is stabilized and the metal f orbital is destabilized by approximately 1.0 V each upon complexation for both bpy and phen adducts. The separation between the ligand-based oxidation wave (L(0/-)) and the metal-based reduction wave (Yb(3+/2+)) in the ytterbocene adducts is 0.79 V for both bpy and phen complexes. The UV-vis-near-IR absorption spectroscopic data for both the neutral adducts and the one-electron-oxidized complexes are consistent with those reported recently, but previously unreported bands in the near-IR have been recorded and assigned to ligand (pi*)-to-metal (f orbital) charge-transfer (LMCT) transitions. These optical electronic excited states are the converse of the ground-state charge-transfer process (e.g., f(13)-L(*-) <--> f(14)-L(0)). These new bands occur at approximately 5000 cm(-1) in both adducts, consistent with predictions from electrochemical data, and the spacings of the resolved vibronic bands in these transitions are consistent with the removal of an electron from the ligand pi* orbital. The unusually large intensity observed in the f --> f intraconfiguration transitions for the neutral phenanthroline adduct is discussed in terms of an intensity-borrowing mechanism involving the low-energy LMCT states. Raman vibrational data clearly reveal resonance enhancement for excitation into the low-lying pi* --> pi* ligand-localized excited states, and comparison of the vibrational energies with those reported for alkali-metal-reduced diimine ligands confirms that the ligands in the adducts are reduced radical anions. Differences in the resonance enhancement pattern for the modes in the bipyridine adduct with excitation into different pi* --> pi* levels illustrate the different nodal structures that exist in the various low-lying pi* orbitals.     

Consensus-Related Performance of Triplex MASs Based on Partial Complete Graph Structure

This article mainly studies first-order coherence related to the robustness of the triplex MASs consensus models with partial complete graph structures; the performance index is studied through algebraic graph theory. The topologies of the novel triplex networks are generated by graph operations and the approach of graph spectra is applied to calculate the first-order network coherence. The coherence asymptotic behaviours of the three cases of the partial complete structures are analysed and compared. We find that under the condition that the number of nodes in partial complete substructures n tends to infinity, the coherence asymptotic behaviour of the two sorts of non-isomorphic three-layered networks will be increased by r−12(r+1), which is irrelevant to the peripheral vertices number p; when p tends to infinity, adding star copies to the original triplex topologies will reverse the original size relationship of the coherence under consideration of the triplex networks. Finally, the coherence of the three-layered networks with the same sorts of parameters, but non-isomorphic graphs, are simulated to verify the results.     

Effect of Phenolic Compounds from Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf. Leaves on Micellar Solubility of Cholesterol

Dyslipidemias are one of the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of death and hospitalization worldwide. One way to control cholesterol levels is to control the exogenous cholesterol intake in the body. Natural polyphenolic compounds, namely theaflavins from plant extracts such as black tea, showed the ability to inhibit the formation of the micellar structure, essential for the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine. There are several methodologies to determine this effect, many of which are expensive and time-consuming. Due to these facts, the main purposes of this work were to optimize an inexpensive colorimetric method to study, in vitro, the micellar solubility of cholesterol and applied it to plant extracts. In this work, Cymbopogon citratus leaf extracts, its phenolic fractions, and flavonoids were evaluated. The non-delipidified infusion (CcI) obtained a maximum percentage of micelle destruction of 59.22% for a concentration of 50 μg/mL and the delipidified infusion (CcdI) obtained a maximum percentage of micelle destruction of 58.01% for a concentration of 200 μg/mL. In the case of the fraction of phenolic acids (CcPAs), 23.85% of maximum micellar destruction was recorded for the concentration of 100 μg/mL, while for the fraction of flavonoids (CcF), the micellar destruction was 92.74% at 1 μg/mL, and for the tannin fraction (CcT) of 99.45% at 25 μg/mL. Luteolin presented a percentage of micelle destruction of 94.83% in the concentration of 1 ng/mL, followed by luteolin-7-O-glucoside with 93.71% and luteo-lin-6-C-glucoside with 91.26% at the concentrations of 25 ng/mL and 50 ng/mL, respectively. These results suggest the capability of polyphenols from Cymbopogon citratus to prevent the cholesterol absorption in the gut by micellar destruction, and its contribution for cholesterol-lowering activity.     

热凝固致良性前列腺增生组织在590～1 064 nm的吸收和散射特性的变化

研究了自然的和热凝固的良性前列腺增生(BPH)组织在590～1 064 nm光谱范围的光学特性及其差异,实验采用带积分球附件的分光光度计以及反向倍增法获取组织样品的吸收和散射特性参数。结果表明：热凝固导致BPH组织在590～1 064 nm光谱范围的吸收系数明显地减小的,自然的和热凝固的BPH组织的吸收系数都有一个峰值在990 nm处,其值分别为0.438和0.416 mm-1,自然的和热凝固的BPH组织的吸收系数的最大差异在1 064 nm,其值为86.79%,其最小差异在920 nm,其值为4.74%。热凝固导致BPH组织在600～1 064 nm光谱范围的约化散射系数明显地增大,而在590 nm处,热凝固导致BPH组织的约化散射系数却是明显地减小,自然的和热凝固的BPH组织的约化散射系数都有一个峰值在970 nm处,其值分别为1.090和1.449 mm-1,其另一个峰值都在1 050 nm处,其值分别为1.116和1.627 mm-1,自然的和热凝固的BPH组织的约化散射系数的最大差异在1 060 nm,其值为47.73%,其最小差异在600 nm,其值为4.86%。     

消癌平诱导人肺腺癌(ASTC-a-1)细胞内caspase-3活化的荧光光谱分析

采用CCK-8技术检测发现传统中药消癌平（XAP）对人肺腺癌（ASTC-a-1）细胞的增殖活性具有显著的抑制作用。利用共聚焦扫描荧光显微成像、荧光共振能量转移（FRET）及其受体光漂白技术证实了基于FRET技术构建的SCAT3质粒在ASTC-a-1细胞中的稳定表达。将消癌平加入细胞培养液中培育细胞,并在不同的时间检测活细胞内SCAT3的荧光发射光谱,从而监测细胞中caspase-3的活化状态。实验结果表明：(1)消癌平可以有效抑制人肺腺癌（ASTC-a-1）细胞的增殖活性并诱导细胞的死亡,消癌平对细胞的抑制作用具有剂量依赖性。(2)消癌平处理细胞72 h后,细胞内大量的SCAT3被切割,表明细胞内caspase-3的活化水平明显升高。(3)将含消癌平的细胞培养液与细胞共同培养24 h,然后采用没有消癌平的细胞培养液培养细胞48和72 h后,细胞内SCAT3的光谱没有明显改变,表明消癌平作用细胞24 h内没有显著激活细胞内的caspase-3。     

Flexible organic frameworks sequester neuromuscular blocking agents in vitro and reverse neuromuscular block in vivo

Supramolecular sequestration and reversal of neuromuscular block (NMB) have great clinical applications. Water-soluble flexible organic frameworks (FOFs) cross-linked by disulfide bonds are designed and prepared. Different linker lengths are introduced to FOFs to give them varied pore sizes. FOFs are anionic nanoscale polymers and capable of encapsulating cationic neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs), including rocuronium (Roc), vecuronium (Vec), pancuronium (Panc) and cisatracurium (Cis). A host–guest study confirms that FOFs bind NMBAs in water. The multivalency interaction between FOFs and NMBAs is able to sequester NMBAs, and prevent them from escaping. These FOFs are non-toxic and biocompatible. Animal studies show that FOFs are effective for the reversal of NMB induced by Roc, Vec and Cis, which shorten the time to a train-of-four ratio of 0.9 by 2.6, 3.8 and 5.7-fold compared to a placebo, respectively.

Water-soluble flexible organic frameworks are prepared and used to sequester neuromuscular blocking agents, and reverse their neuromuscular block in vivo.     

一种油介质开关振荡器研究

为了产生较高中心频率宽带高功率微波, 对一种填充变压器油作为绝缘介质的1/4波长开关振荡器进行了研究。首先对这种开关振荡器特性阻抗分布进行了分析;然后利用静态电场仿真结果和变压器油击穿实验数据, 分析了该振荡器的耐压能力;在此基础上, 利用CST软件对其瞬态工作特性进行了仿真, 考察了开关间隙击穿位置和间隙电压下降时间对产生阻尼正弦信号的峰值和频率的影响;最后介绍了该振荡器以一种方向系数为3的短螺旋天线作为辐射天线的实验测试结果, 结果表明, 该开关振荡器充电电压上升时间为15 ns时, 耐压达到-322 kV, 产生宽带高功率微波中心频率约360 MHz, 3 dB带宽约22%, 辐射因子170 kV。