Synthesis of Halopyrazole Matrine Derivatives and Their Insecticidal and Fungicidal Activities

Matrine is a traditional botanical pesticide with a broad-spectrum biological activity that is widely applied in agriculture. Halopyrazole groups are successfully introduced to the C13 of matrine to synthesize eight new derivatives with a yield of 78–87%. The insecticidal activity results show that the introduction of halopyrazole groups can significantly improve the insecticidal activity of matrine on Plutella xylostella, Mythimna separata and Spodoptera frugiperda with a corrected mortality rate of 100%, which is 25–65% higher than matrine. The fungicidal activity results indicate that derivatives have a high inhibitory effect on Ceratobasidium cornigerum, Cibberella sanbinetti, Gibberrlla zeae and Collectot tichum gloeosporioides. Thereinto, 4-Cl-Pyr-Mat has the best result, with an inhibition rate of 23–33% higher than that of matrine. Therefore, the introduction of halogenated pyrazole groups can improve the agricultural activity of matrine.     

碱金属氟化物对掺Yb3+氟磷酸盐玻璃析晶稳定性和光谱性质的影响

研究了碱金属氟化物对掺Yb3 氟磷玻璃的光谱性质和析晶稳定性能的影响.运用倒易法计算了Yb3 的发射截面.结果显示,LiF的引入对吸收和发射截面的提高作用较大并出现最佳引入量极值,其次为KF.碱金属氟化物的引入可提高二元体系的析晶稳定性能,使玻璃网络结构得到改善;拉曼光谱显示二元体系中引入YbF<,3>后玻璃网络结构得到增强,而在引入碱金属氟化物的三元体系中掺杂YbF<,3>后破坏了网络完整性,降低系统析晶稳定性能.     

Cardiac-specific overexpression of Ndufs1 ameliorates cardiac dysfunction after myocardial infarction by alleviating mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis

Myocardial infarction (MI) is the leading cause of premature death among adults. Cardiomyocyte death and dysfunction of the remaining viable cardiomyocytes are the main pathological factors of heart failure after MI. Mitochondrial complexes are emerging as critical mediators for the regulation of cardiomyocyte function. However, the precise roles of mitochondrial complex subunits in heart failure after MI remain unclear. Here, we show that NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase core subunit S1 (Ndufs1) expression is decreased in the hearts of heart failure patients and mice with myocardial infarction. Furthermore, we found that cardiac-specific Ndufs1 overexpression alleviates cardiac dysfunction and myocardial fibrosis in the healing phase of MI. Our results demonstrated that Ndufs1 overexpression alleviates MI/hypoxia-induced ROS production and ROS-related apoptosis. Moreover, upregulation of Ndufs1 expression improved the reduced activity of complex I and impaired mitochondrial respiratory function caused by MI/hypoxia. Given that mitochondrial function and cardiomyocyte apoptosis are closely related to heart failure after MI, the results of this study suggest that targeting Ndufs1 may be a potential therapeutic strategy to improve cardiac function in patients with heart failure.Subject terms: Heart failure, Myocardial infarction, Myocardial infarction     

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.     

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.     

用化学溶液方法在Ni-5at%W基底上制备La2Zr2O7过渡层的研究

La2Zr2O7(LZO)过渡层以其独特的物理化学性质越来越受到人们的关注。本文以乙酰丙酮镧和乙酰丙酮锆为前驱盐,丙酸为溶剂配置前驱液,用化学溶液方法(CSD)在具有立方织构的Ni-5at%W基底上制备了LZO过渡层薄膜。研究了前驱液成分、性质以及退火温度对LZO成相以及取向的影响。用常规XRD和X射线四环衍射仪分析了LZO薄膜的相成分和织构。结果显示,在1050℃下退火可以获得强立方织构的LZO薄膜,其中(222)峰的Phi扫描半高宽值为8.95°;(400)峰的Chi扫描半高宽值为6.8°。用高分辨扫描电子显微镜(FE-SEM)观察到LZO薄膜表面均匀致密,没有裂纹和空洞。     

基于激光吸收光谱乙炔在线监测技术的研究

乙炔作为有机化工产品原料,广泛应用于化学工业中,但易燃易爆,在储存和工业生产中有必要对其进行实时在线监测.可调谐半导体激光吸收光谱(TDLAS)技术具有高选择性、高灵敏、快速响应等特点,在痕量气体检测中得到了广泛的应用.文章研究了乙炔气体在近红外波段的吸收线分布特征,详细地讨论了基于近红外可调谐二极管激光吸收光谱技术的乙炔在线监测系统设计方案;建立了实验测量系统,研究了信号检测方法和浓度反演算法,对长度10 cm的样品池和已知标准浓度乙炔气体配制的不同浓度乙炔气体进行检测,检测限可以达到1.46 cm3·m-3;进行了动态检测实验,测量结果具有较好的稳定性和可靠性.分析表明系统设计方案可行,由此发展的乙炔在线监测系统可用于乙炔储存、运输和使用过程中泄漏报警.     

电子束蒸发制备ZnO薄膜及其晶体结构和电学性质

采用电子束蒸发法制备了ZnO薄膜。研究了退火温度及衬底对薄膜的结晶状况以及电学性质的影响．X射线衍射测试结果表明。相同蒸发条件下制备的ZnO薄膜，硅(100)衬底上薄膜晶粒尺寸为73nm。结晶情况明显好于陶瓷和玻璃衬底上的薄膜．退火之后，各种衬底上薄膜的结晶情况相对未退火时都有明显好转；400℃退火时。薄膜逐渐结晶；600℃退火时，ZnO薄膜体现良好的择优生长的趋势，晶粒长大，晶化程度提高，大部分晶粒发生了织构．在400℃退火后。掺入Al2O3的薄膜和未掺杂的ZnO薄膜的电阻率下降了一个多数量级，但掺入MgO的薄膜电阻率变大。这是由于MgO掺杂起到了补偿作用，掺入MgO有可能实现ZnO薄膜的P型掺杂．     

虾肝肠胞虫感染病理特征、18S rRNA基因序列及系统进化树分析

为调查浙江省部分地区虾肝肠胞虫(Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei,EHP)暴发来源及与其他宿主来源的微孢子虫进化关系,本研究利用形态学特征和分子鉴定,尝试对引起浙江多地凡纳对虾生长缓慢综合征的病原进行探究.同时基于18S rRNA基因序列分析该病原与其他地区及其他宿主来源微孢子虫的进化关系.结果显...