Pogostone Enhances the Antibacterial Activity of Colistin against MCR-1-Positive Bacteria by Inhibiting the Biological Function of MCR-1

The emergence of the plasmid-mediated colistin resistance gene mcr-1 has resulted in the loss of available treatments for certain severe infections. Here we identified a potential inhibitor of MCR-1 for the treatment of infections caused by MCR-1-positive drug-resistant bacteria, especially MCR-1-positive carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). A checkerboard minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test, a killing curve test, a growth curve test, bacterial live/dead assays, scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis, cytotoxicity tests, molecular dynamics simulation analysis, and animal studies were used to confirm the in vivo/in vitro synergistic effects of pogostone and colistin. The results showed that pogostone could restore the bactericidal activity of colistin against all tested MCR-1-positive bacterial strains or MCR-1 mutant–positive bacterial strains (FIC < 0.5). Pogostone does not inhibit the expression of MCR-1. Rather, it inhibits the binding of MCR-1 to substrates by binding to amino acids in the active region of MCR-1, thus inhibiting the biological activity of MCR-1 and its mutants (such as MCR-3). An in vivo mouse systemic infection model, pogostone in combination with colistin resulted in 80.0% (the survival rates after monotherapy with colistin or pogostone alone were 33.3% and 40.0%) survival at 72 h after infection of MCR-1-positve Escherichia coli (E. coli) ZJ487 (blaNDM-1-carrying), and pogostone in combination with colistin led to one or more order of magnitude decreases in the bacterial burdens in the liver, spleen and kidney compared with pogostone or colistin alone. Our results confirm that pogostone is a potential inhibitor of MCR-1 for use in combination with polymyxin for the treatment of severe infections caused by MCR-1-positive Enterobacteriaceae.     

Promising Chemotherapy for Malignant Pediatric Brain Tumor in Recent Biological Insights

Brain tumors are the most widespread malignancies in children around the world. Chemotherapy plays a critical role in the treatment of these tumors. Although the current chemotherapy process has a remarkable outcome for a certain subtype of brain tumor, improving patient survival is still a major challenge. Further intensive treatment with conventional non-specific chemotherapy could cause additional adverse reactions without significant advancement in survival. Recently, patient derived brain tumor, xenograft, and whole genome analysis using deep sequencing technology has made a significant contribution to our understanding of cancer treatment. This realization has changed the focus to new agents, targeting the molecular pathways that are critical to tumor survival or proliferation. Thus, many novel drugs targeting epigenetic regulators or tyrosine kinase have been developed. These selective drugs may have less toxicity in normal cells and are expected to be more effective than non-specific chemotherapeutics. This review will summarize the latest novel targets and corresponding candidate drugs, which are promising chemotherapy for brain tumors according to the biological insights.     

Rapid Detection of Five Estrogens Added Illegally to Dietary Supplements by Combining TLC with Raman Imaging Microscope

Estrogens added illegally to dietary supplements are hazardous to human health. Traditional detection and analysis methods have many limitations, and we have developed an assay that combines thin-layer chromatography with Raman imaging microscopy (TLC-RIM). The five estrogens (estrone, estradiol, estriol, ethinyl estradiol, and diethylstilbestrol) were initially separated by TLC, then detected by area scanning Raman imaging with a 532 nm laser under a microscope. Raman spectra were obtained for each estrogen, which were used for detecting estrogen illegally added to botanical dietary supplements. The LOD of each estrogen was 0.4, 1.0, 0.8, 0.2, and 0.2 mg/mL, respectively. The matrix in the real sample did not interfere with the detection of estrogens. The method was fast, sensitive, stable, specific, and reliable.     

非线性噪声放大器频谱畸变分析

本文研究了噪声放大器非线性特性造成的频谱畸变失真,讨论了随机过程通过非线性系统前后的二阶矩特性变化及其关系,导出了通用的非线性系统的输出随机过程相关函数及功率谱的求解公式,并结合具体例子计算了不同噪声强度情况下的输出功率谱,实测结果验证了理论分析的正确性,最后是文章的结论。     

美国米勒公民科学素养测评指标体系的形成与演变

美国学者J.D.米勒教授首创了公民科学素养测评指标体系,为科学评估公众科学素养水平提供了有效工具.本文论述了米勒公民科学素养测评指标体系的产生背景、形成过程与演变历程及其国际应用,并揭示了其对我国当前公民科学素质测评指标建设所具有的借鉴意义.     

光折变晶体中双光束耦合时间响应特性的研究

从描述双光束耦合规律的动态方程组出发．在考虑了光栅调制度变化后，给出了包含晶体固有参数、入射总光强、入射夹角、光强比等变量在内的写入响应时间解析表达式，实验结果与理论分析定性符合很好。     

Effect of biaxial strain and hydrostatic pressure on the magnetic properties of bilayer CrI3

Two-dimensional van der Waals magnetic materials are intriguing for applications in the future spintronics devices, so it is crucial to explore strategy to control the magnetic properties. Here, we carried out first-principles calculations and Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the effect of biaxial strain and hydrostatic pressure on the magnetic properties of the bilayer CrI₃. We found that the magnetic anisotropy, intralayer and interlayer exchange interactions, and Curie temperature can be tuned by biaxial strain and hydrostatic pressure. Large compressive biaxial strain may induce a ferromagneticto-antiferromagnetic transition of both CrI₃ layers. The hydrostatic pressure could enhance the intralayer exchange interaction significantly and hence largely boost the Curie temperature. The effect of the biaxial strain and hydrostatic pressure revealed in the bilayer CrI₃ may be generalized to other two-dimensional magnetic materials.     

空间太阳电池槽式聚光热电联供系统特性分析

建立了空间太阳电池的热电联供系统在槽式聚光条件下的热电性能模型, 并与实验进行了对比.理论计算与实验结果吻合较好, 最大误差在5.1%以内, 证明了该数学模型的正确性.通过此数学模型, 从聚光镜面的光学效率与焦线宽度、导热胶的导热系数、金属平板光照面的吸收率等内部特性参数及风速、太阳直辐射等外部特性参数出发, 对所设计制造的空间太阳电池槽式聚光热电联供系统进行分析.较为全面而系统地分析了这些参数的改变对其系统的热电效率、总效率及火用效率等性能指标的影响, 其中聚光镜面的光学效率影响最大, 光学效率从0.5增加至0.95, 系统的总效率和火用效率分别增加0.9倍和0.5倍, 其余参数对性能也有较强影响.研究结果为新一轮系统装置的制作提供了优化设计基础.     

Non-Invasive Detection of Anti-Inflammatory Bioactivity and Key Chemical Indicators of the Commercial Lanqin Oral Solution by Near Infrared Spectroscopy

Quality control methods of current traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation is time-consuming and difficult to assess in terms of overall efficiency of the drug. A non-destructive rapid near-infrared spectroscopy detection system for key chemical components and biological activity of Lanqin oral solution (LOS), one of the best-selling TCM formulations, was established for comprehensive quality evaluation. Near infrared spectral scanning was carried out on 101 batches of commercial LOS under the penetrated vial state and traditional state. RAW 264.7 cells were cultured to detect the anti-inflammatory ability of LOS, and the reference concentrations of epigoitrin, geniposide, and baicalin were obtained by HPLC. The quantitative models were optimized by three kinds of variable selection methods. The correlation coefficients of prediction value of the models were greater than 0.94. The system also passed the external validation. The performance of the non-invasive models was similar to the traditional models. The established non-destructive system can be applied to the rapid quality inspection of LOS to avoid unqualified drugs from entering the market and ensure drug effectiveness. The biological activity index of LOS was introduced and predicted by NIRs for the first time, which provides a new idea about the quality control of TCM formulations.     

Production, Characterization, and Application of an Organic Solvent-Tolerant Lipase Present in Active Inclusion Bodies

An organic solvent-tolerant lipase from Serratia marcescens ECU1010 (rSML) was overproduced in Escherichia coli in an insoluble form. High concentrations of both biomass (50 g cell wet weight/L culture broth) and inclusion bodies (10.5 g/L) were obtained by applying a high-cell-density cultivation procedure. Activity assays indicated that the enzymatic activity of rSML reached 600 U/L. After treatment with isopropyl ether for 12 h, the maximum lipase activity reached 6,000 U/L. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy revealed the activation mechanism of rSML in the presence of organic solvents. rSML was stable in broad ranges of temperatures and pH values, as well as in a series of organic solvents. Besides, rSML showed the best enantioselectivity for the kinetic resolution of (±)-trans-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)glycidic acid methyl ester. These features render the S. marcescens ECU1010 lipase attractive for biotechnological applications in the field of organic synthesis and pharmaceutical industry.