Effect of Different Processing Methods on the Chemical Constituents of Scrophulariae Radix as Revealed by 2D NMR-Based Metabolomics

Scrophulariae Radix (SR) is one of the oldest and most frequently used Chinese herbs for oriental medicine in China. Before clinical use, the SR should be processed using different methods after harvest, such as steaming, “sweating”, and traditional fire-drying. In order to investigate the difference in chemical constituents using different processing methods, the two-dimensional (2D) ¹H-¹³C heteronuclear single quantum correlation (¹H-¹³C HSQC)-based metabolomics approach was applied to extensively characterize the difference in the chemical components in the extracts of SR processed using different processing methods. In total, 20 compounds were identified as potential chemical markers that changed significantly with different steaming durations. Seven compounds can be used as potential chemical markers to differentiate processing by sweating, hot-air drying, and steaming for 4 h. These findings could elucidate the change of chemical constituents of the processed SR and provide a guide for the processing. In addition, our protocol may represent a general approach to characterizing chemical compounds of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and therefore might be considered as a promising approach to exploring the scientific basis of traditional processing of TCM.     

Palladium-catalyzed chemoselective direct α-arylation of carbonyl compounds with chloroaryl triflates at the C–Cl site

This study described palladium-catalyzed chemoselective direct α-arylation of carbonyl compounds with chloroaryl triflates in the Ar–Cl bond. The Pd/SelectPhos system showed excellent chemoselectivity toward the Ar–Cl bond in the presence of the Ar–OTf bond with a broad substrate scope and excellent product yields. The electronic and steric hindrance offered by the –PR₂ group of the ligand with the C2-alkyl group was found to be the key factor affecting the reactivity and chemoselectivity of the α-arylation reaction. The chemodivergent approach was also successfully employed in the synthesis of flurbiprofen and its derivatives (e.g., –OMe and –F).

Palladium-catalyzed chemoselective direct α-arylation of carbonyl compounds with chloroaryl triflates in the Ar–Cl bond is reported. The effects of –PR₂ and C2-alkyl groups of the ligands are investigated using experimental and computational methods.     

Bioavailability Enhancement of Cepharanthine via Pulmonary Administration in Rats and Its Therapeutic Potential for Pulmonary Fibrosis Associated with COVID-19 Infection

Cepharanthine (CEP) has excellent anti-SARS-CoV-2 properties, indicating its favorable potential for COVID-19 treatment. However, its application is challenged by its poor dissolubility and oral bioavailability. The present study aimed to improve the bioavailability of CEP by optimizing its solubility and through a pulmonary delivery method, which improved its bioavailability by five times when compared to that through the oral delivery method (68.07% vs. 13.15%). An ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for quantification of CEP in rat plasma was developed and validated to support the bioavailability and pharmacokinetic studies. In addition, pulmonary fibrosis was recognized as a sequela of COVID-19 infection, warranting further evaluation of the therapeutic potential of CEP on a rat lung fibrosis model. The antifibrotic effect was assessed by analysis of lung index and histopathological examination, detection of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, interleukin-6 (IL-6), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and hydroxyproline level in serum or lung tissues. Our data demonstrated that CEP could significantly alleviate bleomycin (BLM)-induced collagen accumulation and inflammation, thereby exerting protective effects against pulmonary fibrosis. Our results provide evidence supporting the hypothesis that pulmonary delivery CEP may be a promising therapy for pulmonary fibrosis associated with COVID-19 infection.     

超宽带减反射膜的设计和制备

设计了400～900 nm波段上的超宽带减反射膜,在410～850 nm范围内的平均残余反射率设计值约为0.2%,在设计的全波段上约为0.24%.讨论了初始膜系结构的选择原则,分析了带宽、膜层折射率差、最外层折射率和膜层总厚度等因素对宽带减反射特性的影响.对特定的带宽.增加两种薄膜材料的折射率差和选择尽可能低的最外层折射率对获得优良的减反射特性是非常重要的.实验制备了K9玻璃上TiO2/MgF2两种材料组成的8层结构的超宽带减反射膜,实测结果表明,在带宽520 nm范围内的平均残余反射率约为0.44%,说明用二种材料设计超宽带减反射膜是成功的,对垂直入射的减反射膜.多种材料的膜系并不比两种材料更具优越性.     

72Ge40的低激发态能级研究

用低本底反康谱仪(HpGe–NaI)和HpGe–HpGe的三参数符合γ–γ–T系统,对72Ga的衰变γ单谱、符合谱进行了研究,实验共获得2.3×10⁷个符合事件.根据实验结果建立了含有26个能级、87条γ射线的72Ga的衰变能级纲图,其中包含首次测到7条γ射线225.92、826.97、1349.71、1475.32、1667.91、2105.28、2247.39keV和4个能级3248.01、3396.27、3806.10、3864.56keVS并为2939.83keV能级和112.59、937.97、2402.25、2939.95keV4条γ射线的存在提供了证据;实验没有发现113.5、1155.7、1192.4keVγ射线和能级3307.1keV存在的证据。并把317.72keVγ射线的跃迁,由原来的能级3757.26keV跃迁到3439.51keV能级,改为3565.85keV到3248.01keV能级跃迁.     

采用(meta)-GGA泛函对Ag(111)、Rh(111)和Ir(111)上乙烯吸附的理论研究

本文针对在多种催化反应的重要中间体乙烯,使用(meta)-GGA等级的包含PBE,BEEF-vdW,SCAN以及SCAN+rVV10在内的多种交换关联泛函,系统研究了在过渡金属表面(Ag,Rh和Ir)上乙烯吸附势能面对泛函的依赖关系. 研究发现,对于乙烯在贵金属Ag(111)上的吸附,除了PBE外,BEEF-vdW,SCAN以及SCAN+rVV10均能预测出物理吸附态的存在. 对于乙烯在Rh(111)面的吸附,SCAN和SCAN+rVV10预测在化学吸附位之前存在有物理吸附前驱态,而基于PBE和BEEF-vdW的势能面并没有发现前驱态的存在. 而对于乙烯在Ir(111)上的吸附,BEEF-vdW也能微弱地预测出化学吸附前驱态的存在. 研究结果表明,无论在哪一种金属表面上,四种泛函中SCAN+rVV10给出的吸附能最强,其次是SCAN,最后是PBE或者BEEF-vdW.     

二维正方格子磁性光子晶体的界面传导模

采用平面波展开加超元胞方法计算了二维正方格子磁性光子晶体的光子带隙结构，其中散射子的形状分别为长方形，正方形，六角形和圆形.结果表明绝对带隙宽度和其宽高比远大于同种结构的非磁性光子晶体.在此基础上，构成了混合型异质结，并计算了相应的传导模，发现了理想的界面传导模，而且当磁性散射子为长方形、圆形、六角形散射子时产生传导模都不需要晶格畸变，这也是磁性光子晶体异质结所具备的优点. 关键词： 光子晶体 光子带隙结构 传导模     

Synthesis of Fluorescent Gold Nanoclusters Directed by Bovine Serum Albumin and Application for Nitrite Detection

In the present work, gold nanocluster (GNC) induced by bovine serum albumin (BSA) was synthesized as a novel fluorescence probe to detect nitrite (NO₂ ^?) sensitively and selectively. The fluorescence of GNC was found to be quenched effectively by NO₂ ^?. Under the optimum conditions, it was found that the change of fluorescence intensity was proportional with the concentration of NO₂ ^? in the linear range of 0.1–50 μM (R?=?0.9990), with a detection limit (S/N?=?3) of 30 nM. The absorption spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies were employed to discuss the quenching mechanism. In addition, the present approach was successfully applied in real water samples.     

The impact of cellulose structure on binding interactions with hemicellulose and pectin

Four cellulose substrates including highly crystalline cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) from Gluconacetobacter xylinus (cellulose Iα) or cotton (cellulose Iβ) and amorphous cellulose derived from CNWs (phosphoric acid swollen cellulose nanowhiskers, PASCNWs) were used to explore the interaction between cellulose and well-defined xyloglucan, xylan, arabinogalactan and pectin. The binding behavior was characterized by adsorption isotherm and Langmuir models. The maximum adsorption and the binding constant of xyloglucan, xylan and pectin to any CNWs were always higher than to PASCNWs derived from the same source. The binding affinity of xyloglucan, xylan and pectin to G. xylinus cellulose was generally higher than to cotton cellulose, showing that binding interactions depended on the biological origin of cellulose and associated differences in its structure. The surface area, porosity, crystal plane and degree of order of cellulose substrate may all impact the interactions.     

Direct Henry reactions with modified calcium oxide as solid catalyst

Commercial CaO was modified simply with benzyl bromide. The modified CaO had good water resistance, and characterization by FTIR and TG revealed the modifier was chemically bonded to the CaO surface. Commercial CaO and CaO modified with benzyl bromide were investigated as catalysts for the Henry reaction between benzaldehyde and nitromethane. It was found that the catalytic activity of the modified CaO was greatly improved, with high conversion of benzaldehyde to the (E)-phenyl nitroolefin and 1-phenyl-2-nitroethanol, and with different selectivity from commercial CaO. The effect of modification and reaction conditions on yield, selectivity, and mechanism were studied thoroughly.