Ameliorative Effect of Ocimum forskolei Benth on Diabetic,Apoptotic, and Adipogenic Biomarkers of Diabetic Rats and 3T3-L1 Fibroblasts Assisted by In Silico Approach

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complicated condition that is accompanied by a plethora of metabolic symptoms, including disturbed serum glucose and lipid profiles. Several herbs are reputed as traditional medicine to improve DM. The current study was designed to explore the chemical composition and possible ameliorative effects of Ocimum forskolei on blood glucose and lipid profile in high-fat diet/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and in 3T3-L1 cell lines as a first report of its bioactivity. Histopathological study of pancreatic and adipose tissues was performed in control and treatment groups, along with quantification of glucose and lipid profiles and the assessment of NF-κB, cleaved caspase-3, BAX, and BCL2 markers in rat pancreatic tissue. Glucose uptake, adipogenic markers, DGAT1, CEBP/α, and PPARγ levels were evaluated in the 3T3-L1 cell line. Hesperidin was isolated from total methanol extract (TME). TME and hesperidin significantly controlled the glucose and lipid profile in DM rats. Glibenclamide was used as a positive control. Histopathological assessment showed that TME and hesperidin averted necrosis and infiltration in pancreatic tissues, and led to a substantial improvement in the cellular structure of adipose tissue. TME and hesperidin distinctly diminished the mRNA and protein expression of NF-κB, cleaved caspase-3, and BAX, and increased BCL2 expression (reflecting its protective and antiapoptotic actions). Interestingly, TME and hesperidin reduced glucose uptake and oxidative lipid accumulation in the 3T3-L1 cell line. TME and hesperidin reduced DGAT1, CEBP/α, and PPARγ mRNA and protein expression in 3T3-L1 cells. Moreover, docking studies supported the results via deep interaction of hesperidin with the tested biomarkers. Taken together, the current study demonstrates Ocimum forskolei and hesperidin as possible candidates for treating diabetes mellitus.     

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.     

缩合法合成磁性荧光高分子CdTe@Fe_3O_4/P(NIPAM-co-AA)复合微球及其表征

具有超顺磁性和荧光特性的CdTe@Fe_3O_4/P(NIPAM-co-AA)多功能复合微球是以P(NIPAMco-AA)为模板制备而成.首先,采用溶胀法使模板微球带有磁性;其次,辅助TEOS和APTES两种化学试剂实现对Fe_3O_4/P(NIPAM-co-AA)微球表面的氨基功能化;最后,携带氨基的磁性微球与巯基乙酸修饰的CdTe量子点通过酰胺缩合反应,将量子点键合到磁性微球表面上,最终获得单分散的磁性荧光高分子复合微球.分别采用扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜、倒置荧光显微成像系统、荧光分光光度计以及振动样品磁强计等方法对所获复合材料的结构与性能进行了表征.结果表明:复合微球单分散性良好,平均粒径约为30μm,饱和磁化强度可达5.4emu/g,具有良好的超顺磁性和较高的荧光发光效率.该材料将磁性、荧光结合到微米级高分子共聚物上,不仅解决了纳米粒子分离和处理的困难,而且奠定了多功能材料在生物标记、荧光成像等诸多领域潜在的应用基础.     

温度对铌酸锂电光相位调制特性的影响

利用折射率椭球基本理论对线性电光效应进行了分析,对单轴晶体铌酸锂电光相位调制器的温度特性进行了研究。通过计算机进行数值模拟计算,分析了加电场时光通过LiNbO3电光调制器后出射光的相位变化与温度间的关系,得出在横向和纵向调制中温度对相位改变的影响。研究发现,无论在横向还是在纵向调制下,入射光偏振方向不同但其各自受温度影响的相位变化趋势大体一致,即随着晶体中温度的增加而增大。计算结果表明,LiNbO3电光调制的最佳使用方案为：电场沿x主轴方向施加,入射光偏振方向为感应主轴x’方向,且LiNbO3电光调制器粟用横向相位调制方式。     

0.18μm工艺下p-n结电荷收集的三维TCAD模拟

采用三维TCAD模拟的手段,针对0.18μm工艺下的真实p-n结,研究了偏压、温度、衬底掺杂浓度和LET对辐射诱导的SET电流脉冲的影响. 研究结果表明,在1.62～1.98V的范围内,偏压对电流脉冲的形状有明显影响,而对2ns内的电荷收集总量几乎没有影响;电流脉冲峰值和2ns内的电荷收集总量均随着温度的增加而降低,但温度对电流脉冲峰值的影响更大,而对电荷收集总量的影响相对较小;在典型的现代工艺条件下,衬底掺杂浓度的起伏对单粒子加固性能的影响基本可以忽略;电流脉冲的峰值和电荷收集量二者均随着LET的增加而增加.     

DFT Investigations of Aun Nano-Clusters Supported on TiO2 Nanotubes: Structures and Electronic Properties

TiO₂ nanotubes (TiO₂NTs) are beneficial for photogenerated electron separation in photocatalysis. In order to improve the utilization rate of TiO₂NTs in the visible light region, an effective method is to use Au_n cluster deposition-modified TiO₂NTs. It is of great significance to investigate the mechanism of Au_n clusters supported on TiO₂NTs to strengthen its visible-light response. In this work, the structures, electronic properties, Mulliken atomic charge, density of states, band structure, and deformation density of Au_n (n = 1, 8, 13) clusters supported on TiO₂NTs were investigated by DMOL3. Based on published research results, the most stable adsorption configurations of Au_n (n = 1, 8, 13) clusters supported with TiO₂NTs were obtained. The adsorption energy increased as the number of Au adatoms increased linearly. The Au_n clusters supported on TiO₂NTs carry a negative charge. The band gaps of the three most stable structures of each adsorption system decreased compared to TiO₂NTs; the valence top and the conduction bottom of the Fermi level come mainly from the contribution of 5d and 6s-Au. The electronic properties of the 5d and 6s impurity orbitals cause valence widening and band gap narrowing.     

CeF3闪烁探测器对DD中子的相对灵敏度

用国内近年新研制的CeF3闪烁体和常用闪烁体ST401分别配特性相同的光电倍增管,构成两种闪烁体探测器,在强度不随时间变化的DD中子源场中测量了这两种闪烁探测器的相对灵敏度,测量结果表明：CeF3闪烁探测器对DD中子的灵敏度比同尺寸ST401的灵敏度低一个量级以上。     

创新导向减税与就业结构升级—基于研发费用加计扣除的检验

创新在中国经济社会发展中的作用愈发突出,如何促进高技能劳动力向创新主体部门集聚,值得深入探索。基于2018年企业所得税研发费用加计扣除比例提升冲击,利用A股上市公司2016−2019年数据,本文研究了创新导向减税对就业结构的影响。研究发现,加计扣除比例提升显著提高了企业雇佣劳动力中研究生所占比例,促进了企业创新人力资本积累。异质性分析显示,政策在非公有制企业、主板上市企业中效果更明显。对企业各层次雇佣规模的评估表明,雇佣总量及研究生、本科生雇佣数均有所提高,同时本科以下学历人员并未明显减少,这意味着政策未产生明显的挤出效应,高技能劳动力雇佣的增加并不以低技能劳动力的减少为代价。综合来看,政策不但能促进企业加大研发投入,还有助于提高全要素生产率和盈利水平。本文结论为通过实施结构性减税,推动创新驱动发展提供了经验支撑。     

Improved Synthesis and Structure of 3-Carboxy-2-pyrazinecarbohydroxamic Acid

3-Carboxy-2-pyrazinehydroxamic acid was prepared by a one pot reaction starting from pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylic anhydride with a high yield, and characterized by IR, Mass spectrum, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. It crystallizes in triclinic, space group Pī with a=4.8659(10), b=7.4233(15), c=11.602(2), α=96.904(2), β=92.422(3), γ=107.454(2)°, V=395.51(14)3 , Z=2, Dc=1.689g/cm3 , F(000)=208, μ(MoKα)=0.149 mm-1 , the final R=0.0473 and wR=0.1306 for 2853 observed reflections (I>2σ (I)). A three-dimensional framework was assembled through intermolecular hydrogen bonding between water and 3-carboxy-2-pyrazine-carbohydroxamic acid molecules.     

A validated HPLC‐PDA method for identification and quantification of two bioactive alkaloids,ephedrine and cryptolepine,in different Sida species

A simple, rapid, accurate and reproducible reverse‐phase HPLC method has been developed for the identification and quantification of two alkaloids ephedrine and cryptolepine in different extracts of Sida species using photodiode array detection. Baseline separation of the two alkaloids was achieved on a Waters RP‐18 X‐terra column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) using a solvent system consisting of a mixture of water containing 0.1% Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and acetonitrile in a gradient elution mode with detection at 210 and 280 nm for ephedrine and cryptolepine, respectively. The calibration curves were linear in a concentration range of 10–250 µg/mL for both the alkaloids with correlation coefficient values >0.99. The limits of detection and quantification for ephedrine and cryptolepine were 5 and 10 µg/mL and 2.5 and 5 µg/mL, respectively. Relative standard deviation values for intra‐day and inter‐day precision were 1.22 and 1.04% for ephedrine and 1.71 and 2.06% for cryptolepine, respectively. Analytical recovery ranged from 92.46 to 103.95%. The developed HPLC method was applied to identify and quantify ephedrine and cryptolepine in different extracts of Sida species. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.