Investigation Driven by Network Pharmacology on Potential Components and Mechanism of DGS,a Natural Vasoprotective Combination,for the Phytotherapy of Coronary Artery Disease

Phytotherapy offers obvious advantages in the intervention of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), but it is difficult to clarify the working mechanisms of the medicinal materials it uses. DGS is a natural vasoprotective combination that was screened out in our previous research, yet its potential components and mechanisms are unknown. Therefore, in this study, HPLC-MS and network pharmacology were employed to identify the active components and key signaling pathways of DGS. Transgenic zebrafish and HUVECs cell assays were used to evaluate the effectiveness of DGS. A total of 37 potentially active compounds were identified that interacted with 112 potential targets of CAD. Furthermore, PI3K-Akt, MAPK, relaxin, VEGF, and other signal pathways were determined to be the most promising DGS-mediated pathways. NO kit, ELISA, and Western blot results showed that DGS significantly promoted NO and VEGFA secretion via the upregulation of VEGFR2 expression and the phosphorylation of Akt, Erk1/2, and eNOS to cause angiogenesis and vasodilation. The result of dynamics molecular docking indicated that Salvianolic acid C may be a key active component of DGS in the treatment of CAD. In conclusion, this study has shed light on the network molecular mechanism of DGS for the intervention of CAD using a network pharmacology-driven strategy for the first time to aid in the intervention of CAD.     

A MALDI-MS sensing chip prepared by non-covalent assembly for quantitation of acid phosphatase

A novel sensing chip was designed for MALDI-MS quantitation of acid phosphatase(ACP).The ACP sensing chip was constructed through non-covalent interaction of streptavidin and biotin for the assembly of biotinylated peptide substrate on biotinylated polyethylene-glycol(PEG)modified indium-tin oxide(ITO)slide.In the presence of ACP,the peptide substrate was dephosphorylated under acidic condition to generate a new mass signal.The quantitative assay of ACP was achieved with the mass signal ratio of product to the sum of product and left peptide substrate.Under optimal detection conditions,the ratio was linearly correlated with the concentration of ACP in the range of 0.05–12 g/L with a detection limit(LOD)of 0.04 g/L.The designed ACP sensing chip has been used to analyze ACP in complex clinical samples,which exhibited high selectivity,good repeatability,and admirably anti-interference ability.This work further demonstrates the concept of MS sensing and the application of MALDI-MS in quantitative analysis,and provides a convenient method for the quantitation of proteases in clinical diagnosis.     

Steam-assisted crystallization of highly dispersed nanosized hierarchical zeolites from solid raw materials and their catalytic performance in lactide production

A solvent-free route based on solid raw materials affords higher product yield and lower waste production compared to the traditional hydrothermal synthesis. However, the as-made zeolites usually present blocky aggregation states, limiting their mass transfer and exposure of active sites in catalytic applications. Herein, highly dispersed nanosized hierarchical Beta zeolites with varied Si/Al ratios were prepared via steam-assisted crystallization from ball-milled solid raw materials. Thanks to the sufficient mixing of solid raw materials and favorable migration of solid mixture, nanosized Beta zeolites are obtained that are assembled from nanoparticles (∼15 nm) and possess abundant interconnected intraparticle mesopores. The strategy can also be extended to synthesize nanosized hierarchical ZSM-5 zeolites. The as-prepared Beta zeolite (Si/Al = 10) exhibits outstanding catalytic performance in conversion of lactic acid to lactide (as high as 77.5% in yield). This work provides avenues for simple and cost-efficient synthesis of highly dispersed nanosized hierarchical zeolites, promising their important catalytic applications.

A cost-effective synthesis strategy based on steam-assisted crystallization from ball-milled solid raw materials is developed to prepare a highly dispersed nanosized hierarchical Beta zeolite for conversion of lactic acid (LA) to lactide (LT).     

Anisotropic Superconducting Properties of Kagome Metal CsV_3Sb_5

We systematically measure the superconducting(SC) and mixed state properties of high-quality CsV_3 Sb_5 single crystals with T_c～3.5 K.We find that the upper critical field H_(c2)(T) exhibits a large anisotropic ratio of H_(c2)~(ab)/H_(c2)~c～9 at zero temperature and fitting its temperature dependence requires a minimum two-band effective model.Moreover,the ratio of the lower critical field,H_(c1)~(ab)/H_(c1)~c,is also found to be larger than 1,which indicates that the in-plane energy dispersion is strongly renormalized near Fermi energy.Both H_(c1)(T) and SC diamagnetic signal are found to change little initially below T_c～3.5 K and then to increase abruptly upon cooling to a characteristic temperature of ～2.8 K.Furthermore,we identify a two-fold anisotropy of in-plane angular-dependent magnetoresistance in the mixed state.Interestingly,we find that,below the same characteristic T～2.8 K,the orientation of this two-fold anisotropy displays a peculiar twist by an angle of 60° characteristic of the Kagome geometry.Our results suggest an intriguing superconducting state emerging in the complex environment of Kagome lattice,which,at least,is partially driven by electron-electron correlation.     

化学计量学在分析化学中的应用

从化学定量构效关系、模式识别法、人工神经网络、波谱化学、多元校正分析法等方面对化学计量学在分析化学中的应用进行了综述。阐明了化学计量学在分析化学中的作用及广阔的应用前景。     

密闭微波消解-冷原子荧光光谱法测定蔬菜中的痕量汞

采用硝酸和过氧化氢体系,密闭微波消解,冷原子荧光光谱法测定蔬菜中的痕量汞,选择0.3g/L硼氢化钾溶液为还原剂,硝酸溶液(1 99)为酸介质。测定结果表明汞浓度在0~1μg/L范围线性良好,相关系数大于0.9990,汞的加标回收率为90.2%~99.6%,测定结果的相对标准偏差均小于4%,检出限为0.0058μg/L。     

An FEM approximation for a fourth-order variational inequality of second kind

A fourth-order variational inequality of the second kind arising in a plate frictional bending problem is considered. By using regularization method, the original problem can be formulated as a differentiable variational equation, and the corresponding discrete FEM variational equation is presented afterwards. Abstract error estimates and error estimates of the approximation are derived in terms of energy norm and L^2-norm.     

Asymmetric double-layer composite electrolyte with enhanced ionic conductivity and interface stability for all-solid-state lithium metal batteries

All-solid-state Li metal battery has been regarded as a promising battery technology due to its high energy density based on the high capacity of lithium metal anode and high safety based on the all solid state electrolyte without inflammable solvent.However,challenges still exist mainly in the poor contact and unstable interface between electrolyte and electrodes.Herein,we demonstrate an asymmetric design of the composite polymer electrolyte with two different layers to overcome the interface issues at both the cathode and the anode side simultaneously.At the cathode side,the polypropylene carbonate layer has enough viscosity and flexibility to reduce the inter-facial resistance,while at the Li anode side,the polyethylene oxide layer modified with hexagonal boron nitride has high mechanical strength to suppress the Li dendrite growth.Owing to the synergetic effect between different components,the asprepared double layer composite polymer electrolyte demonstrates a large electrochemical window of5.17 V,a high ionic conductivity of 6.1×10~(-4) S/cm,and a transfe rence number of 0.56,featuring excellent ion transport kinetics and good chemical stability.All-solid-state Li metal battery assembled with LiFePO_4 cathode and Li anode delivers a high capacity of 150.9 mAh/g at 25℃ and 0.1 C-rate,showing great potential for practical applications.     

Achieving room temperature phosphorescence from organic small molecules on amino acid skeleton

Room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) generated by small molecules has attracted great attention due to their unique potentials for biosensor, bioimaging and security protection. While, the design of RTP materials is extremely challenging for organic small molecules in non-crystalline solid state. Herein, we report a new strategy for achieving non-crystalline organic small molecules with RTP emission by modifying different phosphors onto diphenylalanine or phenylalanine derivatives. Benefiting from the skeletal structure of the amino acid derivatives, there are intermolecular hydrogen bond formation and rigidification effect, thereby minimizing the intermolecular motions and enhancing their RTP performance     

Potential Role of Melatonin as an Adjuvant for Atherosclerotic Carotid Arterial Stenosis

Carotid artery stenosis (CAS) is an atherosclerotic disease characterized by a narrowing of the artery lumen and a high risk of ischemic stroke. Risk factors of atherosclerosis, including smoking, hypertension, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, aging, and disrupted circadian rhythm, may potentiate atherosclerosis in the carotid artery and further reduce the arterial lumen. Ischemic stroke due to severe CAS and cerebral ischemic/reperfusion (I/R) injury after the revascularization of CAS also adversely affect clinical outcomes. Melatonin is a pluripotent agent with potent anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and neuroprotective properties. Although there is a shortage of direct clinical evidence demonstrating the benefits of melatonin in CAS patients, previous studies have shown that melatonin may be beneficial for patients with CAS in terms of reducing endothelial damage, stabilizing arterial plaque, mitigating the harm from CAS-related ischemic stroke and cerebral I/R injury, and alleviating the adverse effects of the related risk factors. Additional pre-clinical and clinical are required to confirm this speculation.