The Extracts of Polygonum cuspidatum Root and Rhizome Block the Entry of SARS-CoV-2 Wild-Type and Omicron Pseudotyped Viruses via Inhibition of the S-Protein and 3CL Protease

COVID-19, resulting from infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, caused a contagious pandemic. Even with the current vaccines, there is still an urgent need to develop effective pharmacological treatments against this deadly disease. Here, we show that the water and ethanol extracts of the root and rhizome of Polygonum cuspidatum (Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma et Radix), a common Chinese herbal medicine, blocked the entry of wild-type and the omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 pseudotyped virus into fibroblasts or zebrafish larvae, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 0.015 to 0.04 mg/mL. The extracts were shown to inhibit various aspects of the pseudovirus entry, including the interaction between the spike protein (S-protein) and the angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2) receptor, and the 3CL protease activity. Out of the chemical compounds tested in this report, gallic acid, a phytochemical in P. cuspidatum, was shown to have a significant anti-viral effect. Therefore, this might be responsible, at least in part, for the anti-viral efficacy of the herbal extract. Together, our data suggest that the extracts of P. cuspidatum inhibit the entry of wild-type and the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, and so they could be considered as potent treatments against COVID-19.     

金催化乙炔氢氯化的密度泛函理论研究进展

乙炔氢氯化(AH)是生产氯乙烯的主要途径之一,传统上使用高毒性的汞催化剂,因此开发无汞催化剂迫在眉睫。金(Au)催化剂是最有潜力的替代催化剂之一,然而其活性Au物种、反应物的活化过程或反应过渡态结构等催化机理仍不够清晰。密度泛函理论（DFT）在研究由Au催化AH的反应机理中发挥了极其重要的作用。本文综述了DFT对金催化剂活性位点、反应物在催化剂上的吸附性质及反应机理的研究进展。重点讨论了DFT对阳离子金和金簇催化AH反应过程的模拟计算,包括Au电子状态、其它原子掺杂及金簇尺寸和形状对催化AH反应影响的模拟。结果表明DFT模拟计算在微观分子尺度上研究反应物的吸附、反应中间体及过渡态等方面发挥了关键作用,对理解Au催化AH反应机理做出了重要贡献。     

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.     

Repurposing of intestinal defensins as multi-target,dual-function amyloid inhibitors via cross-seeding

Amyloid formation and microbial infection are the two common pathological causes of neurogenerative diseases, including Alzheimer''s disease (AD), type II diabetes (T2D), and medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). While significant efforts have been made to develop different prevention strategies and preclinical hits for these diseases, conventional design strategies of amyloid inhibitors are mostly limited to either a single prevention mechanism (amyloid cascade vs. microbial infection) or a single amyloid protein (Aβ, hIAPP, or hCT), which has prevented the launch of any successful drug on the market. Here, we propose and demonstrate a new “anti-amyloid and anti-bacteria” strategy to repurpose two intestinal defensins, human α-defensin 6 (HD-6) and human β-defensin 1 (HBD-1), as multiple-target, dual-function, amyloid inhibitors. Both HD-6 and HBD-1 can cross-seed with three amyloid peptides, Aβ (associated with AD), hIAPP (associated with T2D), and hCT (associated with MTC), to prevent their aggregation towards amyloid fibrils from monomers and oligomers, rescue SH-SY5Y and RIN-m5F cells from amyloid-induced cytotoxicity, and retain their original antimicrobial activity against four common bacterial strains at sub-stoichiometric concentrations. Such sequence-independent anti-amyloid and anti-bacterial functions of intestinal defensins mainly stem from their cross-interactions with amyloid proteins through amyloid-like mimicry of β-sheet associations. In a broader view, this work provides a new out-of-the-box thinking to search and repurpose a huge source of antimicrobial peptides as amyloid inhibitors, allowing the blocking of the two interlinked pathological pathways and bidirectional communication between the central nervous system and intestines via the gut–brain axis associated with neurodegenerative diseases.

Amyloid formation and microbial infection are the two common pathological causes of neurogenerative diseases. Here, we proposed a new “anti-amyloid and anti-bacteria” strategy to repurpose two intestinal defensins as multiple-target, dual-function amyloid inhibitors.     

半导体单晶生长过程中的位错研究

阐述了现有的半导体单晶位错模型,即临界切应力模型和粘塑性模型的基本理论及应用状况.分析了熔体法单晶生长过程中影响位错产生、增殖的各种因素,以及抑制位错增殖的措施.与熔体不润湿、与晶体热膨胀系数相近的坩埚材料,低位错密度的籽晶可有效地抑制生长晶体的位错密度;固液界面的形状及晶体内的温度梯度是降低位错密度的关键控制因素,而两因素又受到炉膛温度梯度、长晶速率、气体和熔体对流等晶体生长工艺参数的影响.最后,对熔体单晶生长过程的位错研究进行了展望.     

兆巴高压下c向蓝宝石的冲击辐射研究

采用三层夹心靶结构,利用铜箔与抛光蓝宝石之间良好的接触条件,使用辐射式高温计在1.30～1.72兆巴压力范围内观测到c向蓝宝石的强冲击辐射。在1.30和1.72兆巴的冲击压力下,得到蓝宝石在0.633μm波长处的不透明系数为1.7 cm-1和5.0 cm-1。实验显示蓝宝石的冲击辐射随着冲击压力的增加而急剧增强。     

ZnO纳米棒在Si衬底上外延生长研究

运用热蒸发ZnO粉末法,以金做催化剂,分别在Si(100)和Si(111)两种基片上外延生长了ZnO纳米棒(样品分别标为1#和2#).通过X射线衍射(XRD)和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)分析,结合ZnO与Si的晶格结构特征,从理论上得出了两个样品的晶格匹配关系.1#样品:[0001]ZnO∥[114]Si,[0001]ZnO∥[1-1-4]Si,[0001]ZnO∥[11-4]Si,[0001]ZnO∥[1-14]Si,失配度为1.54;;2#样品:[0001]ZnO∥[111]Si,[21-1-0]ZnO∥[11-0]Si,[1-21-0]ZnO∥[1-01]Si ,[1-1-20]ZnO∥[011-]Si,失配度为18.12;.研究表明Si衬底对ZnO纳米棒生长方向具有调控作用.     

BaY2F8晶体生长基元与结晶机理的探讨

本文通过对BaY2F8晶体结构的分析,从晶体的生长基元为负离子配位多面体理论出发,对自然冷却条件下BaY2F8晶体自发结晶习性进行了研究,提出了以Ba2+为中心的近八配位十二面体和以Y3+为中心的近八配位十二面体是晶体生长的基元.并根据自发结晶的BaY2F8的XRD,说明了BaY2F8晶体的{200}、{130}、{021}、{330}、{-111}、{111}、{221}、{002}等面族比较发育的原因.本文证实了仲维卓的负离子配位多面体理论对BaY2F8晶体生长的适用性,并对探索新的BaY2F8单晶生长方法有参考作用.     

硅锗合金Seebeck系数影响因素的研究

作为一种洁净能源,硅锗合金的热电转换性能的研究越来越受到人们的重视.本文重点研究了不同Ge浓度的硅锗合金以及Si、Ge单晶在300～1100K温度范围内,Seebeck系数随温度的变化.并对组分相同导电类型不同、晶向不同以及结晶状态不同的样品的Seebeck系数进行了比较.在研究温度区间,Seebeck系数的绝对值大小一般在200～600μV/K之间,随温度不同连续变化.通过对比发现SiGe合金的Seebeck系数大小不仅与Ge的浓度和温度有关,其他因素对其绝对值也有影响,其中晶向最为明显,表现出了明显的各向异性.此外,材料本身的电阻率除了作为一个热电参数影响最优值外,其大小还对Seebeck系数的绝对值有影响,即掺杂济浓度对Seebeck系数的影响.     

ZnO纳米钉的制备和光学性质研究

通过化学气相沉积(CVD)方法在Si(100)衬底上制备出新型的ZnO纳米钉结构.X射线衍射(XRD)结果表明纳米钉是六角纤锌矿结构.纳米钉顶部对角线在450～750 nm之间,纳米钉长度为几个微米.研究了不同气氛下退火样品的可见发光性质,认为绿光发射来自于导带电子和反位氧中空穴的辐射复合.