A Modified Vancomycin Molecule Confers Potent Inhibitory Efficacy against Resistant Bacteria Mediated by Metallo-β-Lactamases

Multidrug-resistant bacterial infections mediated by metallo-β-lactamases (MβLs) have grown into an emergent health threat, and development of novel antimicrobials is an ideal strategy to combat the infections. Herein, a novel vancomycin derivative V_b was constructed by conjugation of triazolylthioacetamide and vancomycin molecules, characterized by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The biological assays revealed that V_b effectively inhibited S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), gradually increased the antimicrobial effect of β-lactam antibiotics (cefazolin, meropenem and penicillin G) and exhibited a dose-dependent synergistic antibacterial effect against eight resistant strains tested, which was confirmed by the time-kill curves determination. Most importantly, V_b increased the antimicrobial effect of meropenem against the clinical isolates EC08 and EC10 and E. coli producing ImiS and CcrA, resulting in a 4- and 8-fold reduction in MIC values, respectively, at a dose up to 32 μg/mL. This work offers a promising scaffold for the development of MβLs inhibitors, specifically antimicrobials for clinically drug-resistant isolates.     

Toward High-Energy-Density Aqueous Lithium-Ion Batteries Using Silver Nanowires as Current Collectors

The lack of suitable lightweight current collectors is one of the primary obstacles preventing the energy density of aqueous lithium-ion batteries (ALIBs) from becoming competitive. Using silver nanowire (AgNW) films as current collectors and a molecular crowding electrolyte, we herein report the fabrication of ALIBs with relatively good energy densities. In the 2 m LiTFSI–94% PEG–6% H₂O solution, the AgNW films with a sheet resistance of less than 1.0 ohm/square exhibited an electrochemical stability window as broad as 3.8 V. The LiMn₂O₄//Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ ALIBs using AgNW films as the current collectors demonstrated an initial energy density of 70 Wh/kg weighed by the total mass of the cathode and anode, which retained 89.1% after 50 cycles.     

Stepwise Diagnostic Product Ions Filtering Strategy for Rapid Discovery of Diterpenoids in Scutellaria barbata Based on UHPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS

Diterpenoids are considered the major bioactive components in Scutellaria barbata to treat cancer and inflammation, but few comprehensive profiling studies of diterpenoids have been reported. Herein, a stepwise diagnostic product ions (DPIs) filtering strategy for efficient and targeted profiling of diterpenoids in Scutellaria barbata was developed using UHPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS. After UHPLC-HRMS/MS analysis of six diterpenoid reference standards, fragmentation behaviors of these references were studied to provide DPIs. Then, stepwise DPIs filtering aimed to reduce the potential interferences of matrix ions and achieve more chromatographic peaks was conducted to rapidly screen the diterpenoids. The results demonstrated that stepwise DPIs were capable of simplifying the workload in data post-processing and the effective acquisition of low abundance compounds. Subsequently, DPIs and MS/MS fragment patterns were adopted to identify the targeted diterpenoids. As a result, 381 diterpenoids were unambiguously or tentatively identified, while 141 of them with completely new molecular weights were potential new diterpenoids for Scutellaria barbata. These results demonstrate that the developed stepwise DPIs filtering method could be employed as an efficient, reliable, and valuable strategy to screen and identify the diterpenoid profile in Scutellaria barbata. This might accelerate and simplify target constituent profiling from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) extracts.     

Programmable mismatch-fueled high-efficiency DNA signal amplifier

Herein, by introducing mismatches, a high-efficiency mismatch-fueled catalytic multiple-arm DNA junction assembly (M-CMDJA) with high-reactivity and a high-threshold is developed as a programmable DNA signal amplifier for rapid detection and ultrasensitive intracellular imaging of miRNA. Compared with traditional nucleic acid signal amplification (NASA) with a perfect complement, the M-CMDJA possesses larger kinetic and thermodynamic favorability owing to the more negative reaction standard free energy (ΔG) as driving force, resulting in much higher efficiency and rates. Once traces of the input initiator react with the mismatched substrate DNA, it could be converted into amounts of output multiple-arm DNA junctions via the M-CMDJA as the functional DNA conversion nanodevice. Impressively, the mismatch-fueled catalytic four-arm DNA junction assembly (M-CFDJA) exhibits high conversion efficiency up to 1.05 × 10⁸ in 30 min, which is almost ten times more than those of conventional methods. Therefore, the M-CMDJA could easily address the challenges of traditional methods: slow rates and low efficiency. In application, the M-CFDJA as a DNA signal amplifier was successfully used to develop a biosensing platform for rapid miRNA detection with a LOD of 6.11 aM and the ultrasensitive intracellular imaging of miRNA, providing a basis for the next-generation of versatile DNA signal amplification methods for ultimate applications in DNA nanobiotechnology, biosensing assay, and clinical diagnoses.

We proposed an ingenious mismatch-enhanced catalytic multiple-arm DNA junction assembly (M-CMDJA) which possesses more negative reaction standard free energy (ΔG) as the driving force, resulting in quite high conversion efficiency and much faster reaction speed.     

Cobalt and nitrogen atoms co-doped porous carbon for advanced electrical double-layer capacitors

Electrical double-laye r capacitors are widely concerned fo r their high power density,long cycling life and high cycling efficiency.However,their wide application is limited by their low energy density.In this study,we propose a simple yet environmental friendly method to synthesize cobalt and nitrogen atoms co-doped porous carbon(CoAT-NC) material.Cobalt atoms connected with primarily pyridinic nitrogen atoms can be uniformly dispersed in the amorphous carbon matrix,which is benefit for improving electrical conductivity and density of states of the carbon material.Therefore,an enhanced perfo rmance is expected when CoAT-NC is served as electrode in a supercapacitor device.CoAT-NC displays a good gravimetric capacitance of 160 F/g at 0.5 A/g combing with outstanding capacitance retention of 90% at an extremely high current density of 100 A/g in acid electrolyte.Furthermore,a good energy density of30 Wh/kg can be obtained in the organic electrolyte.     

大孔高镍LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2正极材料的制备及其电化学性能研究

本工作以聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)微球组装成的胶晶模板作为铸模,溶胶-凝胶法辅助获得大孔LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811)正极材料.结果 表明,利用PMMA作为造孔剂,形成了由100nm的颗粒堆积而成的大孔结构,这种结构有效地提高了材料的倍率性能和循环稳定性.大孔NCM811在0.1C的首次放电...     

椭圆形孔扩张弹性分析

圆孔扩张理论作为一种相对成熟的理论工具已经广泛运用于岩土工程中的各类问题,但是对于初始孔为椭圆孔的扩孔问题,圆孔扩张理论并不适用.基于保角变换的方法将原物理平面上初始椭圆孔洞的外部映射到像平面上的单位圆外部,将原物理平面上由于椭圆孔洞扩张所产生的位移边界条件转换到像平面上,利用平面复变弹性理论,得到初始椭圆形孔洞孔扩张的弹性解.将论文椭圆孔扩张的退化解与传统圆孔扩张的弹性解进行对比分析,验证椭圆孔扩张弹性解的正确性.续而,针对一算例详细分析了椭圆孔扩张的弹性力学特性.研究结果表明,椭圆孔的退化解与传统的圆孔扩张弹性解完全一致,椭圆孔在弹性扩张过程中长轴方向比短轴方向较难扩张,长轴方向需要的扩张压力比短轴方向的要大.此外,当扩张率a2/a1=0.11/0.1=1.1时,扩张的影响半径为10倍的孔径左右.     

激光诱导铝基碳纳米管薄膜及场发射性能

结合电泳沉积和激光纳米焊接技术在常温下成功制备了铝基单壁碳纳米管（SWCNTs-Al）薄膜。首先,将单壁碳纳米管电泳沉积到铝片基底上,再使用皮秒脉冲激光构建二者的可靠连接。对SWCNTs-Al薄膜进行场发射性能测试,开启电压从焊接前的5.1 V/m降低到2.1 V/m,发射电流密度显著提高且更加稳定。这主要是激光纳米焊接后界面接触阻抗减小,场致电子发射更容易实现的结果。基于SWCNTs-Al薄膜的表面形貌图和场发射性能测试结果,确定了最优的激光纳米焊接参数。     

Role of Natural Compounds and Target Enzymes in the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurological condition. The rising prevalence of AD necessitates the rapid development of efficient therapy options. Despite substantial study, only a few medications are capable of delaying the disease. Several substances with pharmacological activity, derived from plants, have been shown to have positive benefits for the treatment of AD by targeting various enzymes, such as acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), β-secretase, γ-secretase, and monoamine oxidases (MAOs), which are discussed as potential targets. Medicinal plants have already contributed a number of lead molecules to medicine development, with many of them currently undergoing clinical trials. A variety of medicinal plants have been shown to diminish the degenerative symptoms associated with AD, either in their raw form or as isolated compounds. The aim of this review was to provide a brief summary of AD and its current therapies, followed by a discussion of the natural compounds examined as therapeutic agents and the processes underlying the positive effects, particularly the management of AD.