Synthesis and Anti-Neuroinflammatory Activity of 1,7-diphenyl-1,4-heptadien-3-ones in LPS-Stimulated BV2 Microglia Via Inhibiting NF-κB/MAPK Signaling Pathways

A series of 1,7-diphenyl-1,4-heptadien-3-ones with various substituents (HO-, CH₃O-, CH₃-, Cl-) on the phenyl rings were synthesized and evaluated for anti-neuroinflammatory effects in LPS-stimulated BV2 microglia. The pharmacological results showed that the target compounds bearing methoxy groups greatly inhibited LPS-induced NO release, and that the active compounds CU-19 and CU-21 reduced the level of NO, TNF-α, IL-6 and PGE-2, downregulated the expression of COX-2 and iNOS in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells. A study of the mechanism of action revealed that CU-19 and CU-21 inhibited the nuclear translocation of NF-κB and phosphorylation of MAPKs (ERK, JNK, and p38). A preliminary pharmacokinetic study in rats revealed that the pharmacokinetic properties of CU-19 and CU-21 were dramatically ameliorated in comparison with the pharmacokinetic properties of curcumin.     

Stable Central Limit Theorems for Super Ornstein–Uhlenbeck Processes, Ⅱ

This paper is a continuation of our recent paper(Electron. J. Probab., 24(141),(2019)) and is devoted to the asymptotic behavior of a class of supercritical super Ornstein–Uhlenbeck processes(X_t)_t≥0 with branching mechanisms of infinite second moments. In the aforementioned paper, we proved stable central limit theorems for X_t(f) for some functions f of polynomial growth in three different regimes. However, we were not able to prove central limit theorems for X     

Evaluation of Water Ammonium Ion Test Kit and Its Feasibility for the Analysis of Protein in Food

The traditional method for the determination of protein in food needs the operations of digestion, distillation, absorption, and titration; therefore, it is complicated and time-consuming and requires professional personnel. Is there a more convenient and faster detection method that can directly determine the ammonium ions in protein digestion solution to obtain the protein content of food and avoid the distillation–absorption–titration process? The feasibility of water ammonium ion test kits for food protein rapid detection was discussed here. After digestion, the protein in food transforms into ammonium ions in the digestion solution. Because of the variety of food, there are many different inorganic ions left in the food digestion solution, and at the same time, digestion agents are added in the digestion process and become potential interference factors in ammonium determination. Therefore, the detection accuracy of ammonium test kits needs to be evaluated first, including their anti-interference ability. The standard curve of ammonium was established by the test kit. When the ammonium concentration was 0.00–2.50 mg/L, the absorbance at 620 nm was linearly related to the ammonium concentration, the determination coefficient R² was 0.9995, and the detection limit of this method was 0.01 mg/L. The influences of temperature, pH value, and reaction time on the test kit method were discussed. The precision was 0.90–3.33%; the repeatability was 1.71–4.86%; and the recovery rate of tap water, river water, and sea water was controlled within 90–103%. The anti-interference ability of the evaluated test kit was better than that of the national standard detection method. The test kit, combined with sample pretreatment and protein conversion formula, was used to detect protein in different types of food (milk powder, rice flour, wheat flour, soy, banana, milk, fish food, chicken food, and dog food). The results showed that there were no significant differences (ρ > 0.05) between the national method and the test kit method. The ammonium ion test kit method shortened the determination time and had higher sensitivity, showing its potential for the rapid determination of food protein.     

Tailoring Pore Structure and Morphologies in Covalent Organic Frameworks for Xe/Kr Capture and Separation

As a rising star among porous solid materials, covalent organic frameworks(COFs) with excellent properties including but not limit to facilely controllable structure, high porosity, and multi-chemical functionality represent significant potential for efficient ¹²⁷Xe/⁸⁵Kr capture and separation. In this study, through tuning the length of the organic ligands, two-dimensional(2D) COF mate-rials with identical connection group but different pore properties, denoted as ATFG-COF and TpPa-COF with AA-stacking model and TpBD-COF with AB-stacking model were synthesized and tested for Kr and Xe adsorption for the first time. Adsorption measurements indicate that the narrower pore apertures and higher porosity are conducive for COF materials to capture Xe and Kr. Furthermore, the Henry's constant, isosteric heat of adsorption(Q_st), and ideal adsorbed solution theory(IAST) selectivity of ATFG-COF, the pore size of which is closest to the kinetic diameter of the Xe atom(0.41 nm) among 2D COF materials, were carried out based on the single component sorption isotherms. The results illustrate that the high isosteric heat values of Xe/Kr adsorption on ATFG-COF are 25 and 16 kJ/mol at room temperature, respectively. Henry's law predicts that the selectivity factor of Xe to Kr is 6.07, consistent with the adsorption selectivity(ca. 6) calculated based on the IAST.     

嵌段共聚物自组装的研究进展

嵌段共聚物自组装在光学、电子、信息、化学及生物领域有着广泛的应用前景.本文从实验观测、理论研究和计算机模拟三个方面概述了嵌段共聚物自组装领域的研究进展.在实验观测方面,着重介绍了嵌段共聚物在体相及膜中的自组装及外场调控作用方面的研究进展;理论方面则分别介绍了强分相理论、弱分相理论、自洽场理论、动态密度泛函方法和元胞动力学等在嵌段共聚物自组装领域的应用;计算机模拟方面就 Monte Carlo 模拟、耗散粒子动力学等方法在该领域的应用作了详细的阐述.     

水溶性量子点荧光探针用于帕珠沙星的含量测定

文章采用荧光光谱和紫外光谱研究了CdTe量子点(CdTe QDs)与广谱抗菌药物帕珠沙星的相互作用。结果表明,随着帕珠沙星浓度的增加,CdTe QDs荧光强度有规律的降低,但通过透射电镜图对QDs及加入帕珠沙星后的QDs进行比较,发现QDs仍然均一单分散,表明反应的作用机理可能是帕珠沙星促使QDs表面键合的有机分子发生变化,在Cd空位表现出的表面缺损上形成了碲氧复合物,致使荧光猝灭。因此该反应可作为一种新颖的快速检测帕珠沙星含量的方法。在一定条件下,帕珠沙星溶液的浓度与量子点荧光强度成线性关系,线性范围为10.0～850 μg·mL-1,相关系数r为0.995 4,检测限(S/N=3)为3.254×10-3 μg·mL-1。药物对量子点的猝灭常数为2.188×104 L·mol-1。应用到冻干粉针剂和氯化钠注射液中帕珠沙星的含量测定,所得结果与标示量一致。该方法较常用检测方法具有简便、快捷、灵敏、线性范围宽的优点,并有望进一步开展发药物体内显像及作用机理的研究。     

CaLaAl3O7:Eu3+的凝胶-燃烧法合成及其发光性能

采用柠檬酸凝胶-燃烧法合成了CaLa1-xAl3O7:xEu3+(0.05≤x≤0.8)材料的前驱粉末,在低于700℃退火处理时,得到非晶态样品,而高于800℃退火处理后为纯相的CaLa1-xAl3O7:xEu3+粉末样品.通过激发光谱和发射光谱研究了Eu3+在CaLaAl3O7基质中的发光性能及Eu3+掺杂量,退火温度和柠檬酸与金属离子的配比等对发光强度的影响.结果显示,非晶态和晶态CaLa1-xAl3O7:xEu3+样品均可发光,非晶态样品的最强激发峰出现在7F0-5D2的465 nm处,而晶相样品的最强激发峰为7F0-5L6跃迁的394nm.非晶态粉末在465 nm激发下发射光谱由5D0-7F0的578 nm和5D0-7F1的587 nm及5D0-7F2的615nm组成.而晶态粉末在394 nm激发下的发射光谱与非晶态相比5D0-7F0跃迁消失了,同时5D0-7F1跃迁发生谱线劈裂,出现在587和596 nm两处.随着退火温度的升高,主峰615 nm强度增强了,但5D0-7F1跃迁峰的增强更加明显.     

Toxic Effect of Fullerene and Its Derivatives upon the Transmembrane β2-Adrenergic Receptors

Numerous experiments have revealed that fullerene (C₆₀) and its derivatives can bind to proteins and affect their biological functions. In this study, we explored the interaction between fullerine and the β₂-adrenergic receptor (β₂AR). The MD simulation results show that fullerene binds with the extracellular loop 2 (ECL2) and intracellular loop 2 (ICL2) of β₂AR through hydrophobic interactions and π–π stacking interactions. In the C₆₀_in1 trajectory, due to the π–π stacking interactions of fullerene molecules with PHE and PRO residues on ICL2, ICL2 completely flipped towards the fullerene direction and the fullerene moved slowly into the lipid membrane. When five fullerene molecules were placed on the extracellular side, they preferred to stack into a stable fullerene cluster (a deformed tetrahedral aggregate), and had almost no effect on the structure of β₂AR. The hydroxyl groups of fullerene derivatives (C₆₀(OH)_X, X represents the number of hydroxyl groups, X = 4, 8) can form strong hydrogen bonds with the ECL2, helix6, and helix7 of β₂AR. The hydroxyl groups firmly grasp the β₂AR receptor like several claws, blocking the binding entry of ligands. The simulation results show that fullerene and fullerene derivatives may have a significant effect on the local structure of β₂AR, especially the distortion of helix4, but bring about no great changes within the overall structure. It was found that C₆₀ did not compete with ligands for binding sites, but blocked the ligands’ entry into the pocket channel. All the above observations suggest that fullerene and its derivatives exhibit certain cytotoxicity.     

北京大学DC-SC光阴极注入器的升级设计

 基于直流电子枪-超导加速腔（DC-SC）光阴极注入器样机的初步实验结果,北京大学提出了新的注入器的改进设计。新注入器核心结构包括皮尔斯枪和3+1/2超导腔。文章给出了它们的详细结构参数,然后采用程序,对注入器的束流动力学进行了模拟。结果发现：新注入器可以提供具有高束流品质、高平均流强的电子束,束团的电荷量100 pC,横向发射度低于2 mm·mrad,脉宽5 ps,rms束斑可达0.5 mm,重复频率81.25 MHz;也可以提供电荷量为300 pC低重复频率的高峰值流强的电子束,其横向发射度小于3 mm·mrad,脉宽约为9 ps,以满足北京大学自由电子激光（PKU-FEL）实验平台的要求。