Mastoid Obliteration Using Three‐Dimensional Composite Scaffolds Consisting of Polycaprolactone/β‐Tricalcium Phosphate/Collagen Nanofibers: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study

Two different composite scaffolds, solid‐freeform‐fabricated PCL/β‐TCP supplemented with and without collagen nanofibers are fabricated. These scaffolds are evaluated whether a combination of collagen nanofibers with PCL/β‐TCP can promote osteogenesis in a mastoid obliteration. To assess the effects of the cellular activities of osteoblast‐like‐cells (MG63), SEM images and MTT assays are conducted. Experimental mastoid obliteration is performed using guinea pigs that are divided group A (PCL/β‐TCP/collagen‐nanofiber scaffold) and group B (PCL/β‐TCP scaffold). The results reveal that PCL/β‐TCP/collagen scaffold provide much broader cell attachment sites than PCL/β‐TCP scaffold. The µ‐CT and fluorescent microscopy results reveal that the acceleration of early new bone formation within the pores and scaffold itself at week 4 post‐operation is more effective in group A. In addition, based on the results of the histological and µ‐CT at 12 weeks post‐surgery, the effective regeneration of bone in the PCL/β‐TCP/collagen scaffold is appeared.

     

Nonenzymatic amperometric sensor for ascorbic acid based on hollow gold/ruthenium nanoshells

We report a new nonenzymatic amperometric detection of ascorbic acid (AA) using a glassy carbon (GC) disk electrode modified with hollow gold/ruthenium (hAu–Ru) nanoshells, which exhibited decent sensing characteristics. The hAu–Ru nanoshells were prepared by the incorporation of Ru on hollow gold (hAu) nanoshells from Co nanoparticle templates, which enabled AA selectivity against glucose without aid of enzyme or membrane. The structure and electrocatalytic activities of the hAu–Ru catalysts were characterized by spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques. The hAu–Ru loaded on GC electrode (hAu–Ru/GC) showed sensitivity of 426 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻² (normalized to the GC disk area) for the linear dynamic range of <5 μM to 2 mM AA at physiological pH. The response time and detection limit were 1.6 s and 2.2 μM, respectively. Furthermore, the hAu–Ru/GC electrode displayed remarkable selectivity for ascorbic acid over all potential biological interferents, including glucose, uric acid (UA), dopamine (DA), 4-acetamidophenol (AP), and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), which could be especially good for biological sensing.     

New Bisabolane Sesquiterpenes from the Rhizomes of Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb. and Their Inhibitory Effects on UVB‐Induced MMP‐1 Expression in Human Keratinocytes

Two new bisabolane sesquiterpenoids, 1 and 2 , along with five known ones, 13‐hydroxyxanthorrhizol ( 3 ), 12,13‐epoxyxanthorrhizol ( 4 ), xanthorrhizol ( 5 ), β‐curcumene ( 6 ), and β‐bisabolol ( 7 ), were isolated from the rhizomes of Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb . The chemical structures of the new compounds were determined to be (7R,10R)‐10,11‐dihydro‐10,11‐dihydroxyxanthorrhizol 3‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranoside ( 1 ) and (?)‐curcuhydroquinone 2,5‐di‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranoside ( 2 ) on the basis of 1D‐ and 2D‐NMR spectroscopic analyses and optical‐rotation characteristics. Compounds 2 and 3 decreased MMP‐1 expression in UVB‐treated human keratinocytes by ca. 8.9‐ and 7.6‐fold at the mRNA level, and by ca. 9.2‐ and 6.6‐fold at the protein level, respectively. The results indicate that the isolated compounds may have anti‐aging effects through inhibition of MMP‐1 expression in skin cells.     

The Effects of UV‐B Radiation Intensity on Biochemical Parameters and Active Ingredients in Flowers of Qi Chrysanthemum and Huai Chrysanthemum

The article studied UV‐B effects on biochemical parameters and active ingredients in flowers of Qi chrysanthemum and Huai chrysanthemum during the bud stage. The experiment included four UV‐B radiation levels (CK, ambient UV‐B; T1, T2 and T3 indicated a 5%, 10% and 15% increase in ambient UV‐B_BE, respectively) to determine the optimal UV‐B radiation intensity in regulating active ingredients level in flowers of two chrysanthemum varieties. Flower dry weight of two cultivars was not affected by UV‐B radiation under experimental conditions reported here. UV‐B treatments significantly increased the rate of superoxide radical production, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) (except for T1) and malondialdehyde concentration in flowers of Huai chrysanthemum and H₂O₂ concentration in flowers of Qi chrysanthemum. T2 and T3 treatments induced a significant increase in phenylalanine ammonia lyase enzyme (PAL) activity, anthocyanins, proline, ascorbic acid, chlorogenic acid and flavone content in flowers of two chrysanthemum varieties, and there were no significant differences in PAL activity, ascorbic acid, flavone and chlorogenic acid content between the two treatments. These results indicated that appropriate UV‐B radiation intensity did not result in the decrease in flower yield, and could regulate PAL activity and increase active ingredients content in flowers of two chrysanthemum varieties.     

New anti-infective cycloheptadepsipeptide congeners and absolute stereochemistry from the deep sea-derived Streptomyces drozdowiczii SCSIO 10141

Six cycloheptadepsipeptides, marformycins A–F (1–6), featuring a unique N-terminally formylated side chain and five non-proteinogenic amino acid residues, were isolated from the deep Sea-derived Streptomyces drozdowiczii SCSIO 10141. The previously unsolved absolute stereochemistry of 3 and 4 was determined and the structures of other four new congeners were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic, chiral-phase HPLC, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. Compounds 1–5 bear no cytotoxicity against a number of human tumor cell lines but show selective anti-infective activity against Micrococcus luteus.     

Efficient synthesis of nucleoside 5′-triphosphates and their β,γ-bridging oxygen-modified analogs from nucleoside 5′-phosphates

Thirteen nucleoside 5′-triphosphates (NTPs) and their β,γ-bridging oxygen-modified analogs (β,γ-CX₂-NTPs, X = H, F, Cl, and Br) have been efficiently synthesized from nucleoside 5′-phosphoropiperidates with 4,5-dicyanoimidazole as the activator. A high-yielding and chromatography-free protocol for the preparation of both natural and base-modified nucleoside 5′-phosphoropiperidates from the corresponding nucleoside 5′-phosphates was also developed.     

Folding Studies of Arginine Kinase from Euphausia superba Using Denaturants

Arginine kinase (AK) is a key metabolic enzyme for maintaining energy balance in invertebrates and studies on AK from Euphausia superba might provide important insights into the metabolic enzymes in extreme climatic marine environments. A folding study of the AK from E. superba (ESAK) has not yet been reported. To gain insights into the structural and folding mechanisms of ESAK, the denaturants guanidine HCl and urea were applied in this study. We purified ESAK from the muscle of E. superba and evaluated the inhibition kinetics with structural unfolding studies under various conditions. The results revealed that ESAK was almost completely inactivated when using 1.0 M guanidine HCl and 8.25 M urea. The kinetics, characterized via time-interval measurements, showed that the inactivations by guanidine HCl and urea were first-order reactions, with the kinetic processes shifting from monophases to biphases as concentrations increased. Measurements of intrinsic and ANS (anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonate)-binding fluorescences showed that guanidine HCl and urea induced conspicuous changes in tertiary structures and followed the regular unfolding mechanisms. Our study provides information regarding the folding of this muscle-derived metabolic enzyme and expands our knowledge and understanding of invertebrate metabolisms.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 99mTc-oxo and 99mTc-nitrido complexes with phenylalanine dithiocarbamate for tumor imaging

In this study, phenylalanine dithiocarbamate (PHEDTC) ligand was successfully synthesized and then radiolabeled with [^99mTcO]³⁺ core and [^99mTc≡N]²⁺ core to produce ^99mTcO–PHEDTC and ^99mTcN–PHEDTC, respectively. Both complexes were prepared with high radiochemical purity and had good stability. The partition coefficient results showed they were hydrophilic, while ^99mTcN–PHEDTC was more hydrophilic than ^99mTcO–PHEDTC. The biodistribution study in mice bearing S 180 tumor showed that ^99mTcO–PHEDTC and ^99mTcN–PHEDTC had high tumor uptake at 2 h post-injection, 1.91 and 1.21, respectively. The good uptake and retention in tumor together with favorable tumor-to-muscle ratios make them promising candidates for further evaluation as potential tumor imaging agents.     

Deterministic generation of Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger and W states for three distant atoms via adiabatic passage

We propose two schemes for generating Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger and W states of three distant atoms.In the present schemes,the atoms are individually trapped in three spatially separated optical cavities coupled by two optical fibres.Performing an adiabatic passage along dark states,the population of cavities and fibres excited is negligible under certain conditions.In addition,the spontaneous decay of atoms is also efficiently suppressed based on our proposals.Furthermore,the discussion about the entanglement fidelity is given and we point out that our schemes work robustly with small fluctuations of experimental parameters.     

自伴矩阵代数上约当半三可乘映射

In this paper,we show that every injective Jordan semi-triple multiplicative map on the Hermitian matrices must be surjective,and hence is a Jordan ring isomorphism.