Phosphorylation of ERK-Dependent NF-κB Triggers NLRP3 Inflammasome Mediated by Vimentin in EV71-Infected Glioblastoma Cells

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a dominant pathogenic agent that may cause severe central nervous system (CNS) diseases among infants and young children in the Asia-pacific. The inflammasome is closely implicated in EV71-induced CNS injuries through a series of signaling pathways. However, the activation pathway of NLRP3 inflammasome involved in EV71-mediated CNS injuries remains poorly defined. In the studies, EV71 infection, ERK1/2 phosphorylation, and activation of NLRP3 are abolished in glioblastoma cells with low vimentin expression by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockdown. PD098059, an inhibitor of p-ERK, remarkably blocks the vimentin-mediated ERK1/2 phosphorylation in EV71-infected cells. Nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 is dependent on p-ERK in a time-dependent manner. Moreover, NLRP3 activation and caspase-1 production are limited in EV71-infected cells upon the caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) administration, an inhibitor of NF-κB, which contributes to the inflammasome regulation. In conclusion, these results suggest that EV71-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome could be activated via the VIM-ERK-NF-κB pathway, and the treatment of the dephosphorylation of ERK and NF-κB inhibitors is beneficial to host defense in EV71-infected CNS.     

Structural Characteristics,Antioxidant and Hypoglycemic Activities of Polysaccharide from Siraitia grosvenorii

The structural characterization, the in vitro antioxidant activity, and the hypoglycemic activity of a polysaccharide (SGP-1-1) isolated from Siraitia grosvenorii (SG) were studied in this paper. SGP-1-1, whose molecular weight is 19.037 kDa, consisted of Gal:Man:Glc in the molar ratio of 1:2.56:4.90. According to the results of methylation analysis, GC–MS, and NMR, HSQC was interpreted as a glucomannan with a backbone composed of 4)-β-D-Glcp-(1→4)-, α-D-Glcp-(1→4)-, and 4)-Manp-(1 residues. α-1,6 linked an α-D-Galp branch, and α-1,6 linked an α-D-Glcp branch. The study indirectly showed that SGP-1-1 has good in vitro hypoglycemic and antioxidant activities and that these activities may be related to the fact that the SGP-1-1’s monosaccharide composition (a higher proportion of Gal and Man) is the glycosidic-bond type (α- and β-glycosidic bonds). SGP-1-1 could be used as a potential antioxidant and hypoglycemic candidate for functional and nutritional food applications.     

Designed Syntheses of Three {Ni6PW9}-Based Polyoxometalates,from Isolated Cluster to Cluster-Organic Helical Chain

Three new hexa-Ni-substituted Keggin-type polyoxometalates (POMs), [Ni₆(OH)₃- (DACH)₃(H₂O)₆(PW₉O₃₄)]·31H₂O (1), [Ni(DACH)₂][Ni₆(OH)₃(DACH)₃(HMIP)₂(H₂O)₂(PW₉O₃₄)]·56 H₂O (2), and [Ni(DACH)₂][Ni₆(OH)₃(DACH)₂(AP)(H₂O)₅(PW₉O₃₄)]·2H₂O (3) (DACH = 1,2-Diami- nocyclohexane, MIP = 5-Methylisophthalate, AP = Adipate) were successfully made in the presence of DACH under hydrothermal conditions. 1 is an isolated hexa-Ni-substituted Keggin unit decorated by DACH. In order to further construct POM cluster-organic frameworks (POMCOFs) on the basis of 1, by analyzing the steric hindrances and orientations of the POM units, the rigid HMIP and flexible AP ligands were successively incorporated, and another anionic monomeric POM 2 and the new 1D POM cluster organic chain (POMCOC) 3 were obtained. HMIP ligand still acts as a decorating group on the Ni₆ core of 2 but results in the different spatial arrangement of the {Ni₆PW₉} units. AP ligands in 3 successfully bridge adjacent isolated POM cluster units to 1D POMCOC with left-hand helices. The AP in 3 is the longest aliphatic carboxylic acid ligand in POMs, and the 1D POM cluster-AP helical chain represents the first 1D POMCOC with a helical feature.     

Investigation on the Peroxidase-like Activity of Vitamin B6 and Its Applications in Colorimetric Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide and Total Antioxidant Capacity Evaluation

The peroxidase-like activity of vitamin B6 (VB6) was firstly demonstrated by catalyzing the peroxidase chromogenic substrate 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) at the existence of H₂O₂. The influence of different factors on the catalytic property of VB6, including pH, temperature, VB6 concentration, and incubation time, were investigated. The steady-state kinetic study results indicate that VB6 possesses higher affinity to H₂O₂ than natural horseradish peroxidase and some other peroxidase mimics. Besides, the radical quenching experiment results confirm that hydroxyl radical (•OH) accounts for the catalytic process. Based on the excellent peroxidase-like catalytic activity of VB6, the colorimetric methods for H₂O₂ and gallic acid (GA) detection were developed by measuring the absorbance variance of the catalytic system. Under the optimal conditions, the linear ranges of the methods for H₂O₂ and GA determination with good selectivity are 50.0–600.0 μM and 10.0–50.0 μM, respectively. In addition, the developed method was applied in the detection of H₂O₂ in milk samples and evaluation of total antioxidant capacity of different tea infusions. This study may broaden the application prospect of VB6 in environmental and biomedical analysis fields, contribute to profound insight of the physiological functions of VB6, as well as lay foundation for further excavation of small-molecule peroxidase mimics.     

Interfacial Charge Transfer Induced Electronic Property Tuning of MoS_2 by Molecular Functionalization

The modulation of electrical properties of MoS_2 has attracted extensive research interest because of its potential applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices.Herein,interfacial charge transfer induced electronic property tuning of MoS_2 are investigated by in situ ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements.A downward band-bending of MoS_2-related electronic states along with the decreasing work function,which are induced by the electron transfer from Cs overlayers to MoS_2,is observed after the functionalization of MoS_2 with Cs,leading to n-type doping.Meanwhile,when MoS_2 is modified with 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane(F_4-TCNQ),an upward band-bending of MoS_2-related electronic states along with the increasing work function is observed at the interfaces.This is attributed to the electron depletion within MoS_2 due to the strong electron withdrawing property of F_4-TCNQ,indicating p-type doping of MoS_2.Our findings reveal that surface transfer doping is an effective approach for electronic property tuning of MoS_2 and paves the way to optimize its performance in electronic and optoelectronic devices.     

Possible light neutral boson and particle mass quantization

Qualities of nucleons, such as the fundamental parameter mass, might be modified in extreme conditions relative to those of isolated nucleons. We show the ratio of the EMC-effect tagged nucleon mass to that of the free one(m*/m);these values are derived from the nuclear structure function ratio between heavy nuclei and deuterium measured in the electron Deep Inelastic Scattering(DIS) reaction in 0.3≤x≤0.7. The increase in m*/mwith A-1/3 is phenomenologically interpreted via the release of a color-singlet cluster formed by sea quarks and gluons in bound nucleons holding high momentum in the nucleus, from which the mass and fraction of non-nucleonic components in nuclei can be deduced. The mass of color-singlet clusters released per short range correlated(SRC) proton in the high momentum region(k > 2 fm-1) is extracted to be 16.890 ±0.016 MeV/c2, which evidences the possibility of a light neutral boson and quantized mass of matter.     

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.     

Common (π,π) Band Folding and Surface Reconstruction in Fe As-Based Superconductors

High resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy(ARPES) measurements are carried out on CaKFe_4 As_4,KCa_2 Fe_4 As_4 F_2 and(Ba_(0.6)K_(0.4))Fe_2 As_2 superconductors.Clear evidence of band folding between the Brillouin zone center and corners with a(π,π) wave vector has been found from the measured Fermi surface and band structures in all the three kinds of superconductors.A dominant ~(1/2)×~(1/2) surface reconstruction is observed on the cleaved surface of CaKFe_4As_4 by scanning tunneling microscopy(STM) measurements.We propose that the commonly observed ~(1/2)×~(1/2) reconstruction in the FeAs-based superconductors provides a general scenario to understand the origin of the(π,π) band folding.Our observations provide new insights in understanding the electronic structure and superconductivity mechanism in iron-based superconductors.     

A Fault Detection Method for Electrohydraulic Switch Machine Based on Oil-Pressure-Signal-Sectionalized Feature Extraction

A turnout switch machine is key equipment in a railway, and its fault condition has an enormous impact on the safety of train operation. Electrohydraulic switch machines are increasingly used in high-speed railways, and how to extract effective fault features from their working condition monitoring signal is a difficult problem. This paper focuses on the sectionalized feature extraction method of the oil pressure signal of the electrohydraulic switch machine and realizes the fault detection of the switch machine based on this method. First, the oil pressure signal is divided into three stages according to the working principle and action process of the switch machine, and multiple features of each stage are extracted. Then the max-relevance and min-redundancy (mRMR) algorithm is applied to select the effective features. Finally, the mini batch k-means method is used to achieve unsupervised fault diagnosis. Through experimental verification, this method can not only derive the best sectionalization mode and feature types of the oil pressure signal, but also achieve the fault diagnosis and the prediction of the status of the electrohydraulic switch machine.