Detrimental Impacts of Pharmaceutical Excipient PEG400 on Gut Microbiota and Metabolome in Healthy Mice.

Polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG400) is a widely used pharmaceutical excipient in the field of medicine. It not only enhances the dispersion stability of the main drug but also facilitates the absorption of multiple drugs. Our previous study found that the long-term application of PEG400 as an adjuvant in traditional Chinese medicine preparations resulted in wasting and weight loss in animals, which aroused our concern. In this study, 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyze the diversity of gut microbiota, and LC-MS/MS Q-Exactive Orbtriap metabolomics technology was used to analyze the effect of PEG400 on the metabolome of healthy mice, combined with intestinal pathological analysis, aiming to investigate the effects of PEG400 on healthy mice. These results showed that PEG400 significantly altered the structure of gut microbiota, reduced the richness and diversity of intestinal flora, greatly increased the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila (A. muciniphila), increased the proportion of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes, and reduced the abundance of many beneficial bacteria. Moreover, PEG400 changed the characteristics of fecal metabolome in mice and induced disorders in lipid and energy metabolism, thus leading to diarrhea, weight loss, and intestinal inflammation in mice. Collectively, these findings provide new evidence for the potential effect of PEG400 ingestion on a healthy host.

Impact of media trust and personal epidemic experience on epidemic prevention behaviors in the context of COVID-19: A cross-sectional study based on protection motivation theory.

Objective: This study aimed to elucidate the impact of media trust on epidemic prevention motivation and behaviors based on the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and to evaluate the moderation effect of personal epidemic experience, which focused on the differences in two groups with or without epidemic experience. Methods: The exogenous constructs and PMT model and scale were constructed through literature analysis, and a web-based questionnaire survey was conducted among 428 individuals aged above 18 years in China. Statistical analysis and hypothesis testing were performed in SPSS 26 and SmartPLS 3. Results: Traditional media trust accounted for the largest weight in media trust (w = 0.492, p-value < 0.001), followed by social media (w = 0.463, p-value < 0.001), and interpersonal communication (w = 0.290, p-value < 0.001). Media trust was positively and significantly related to both threat appraisal (ß = 0.210, p-value < 0.001) and coping appraisal (ß = 0.260, p-value < 0.001). Threat appraisal (ß = 0.105, p-value < 0.05) and coping appraisal (ß = 0.545, p-value < 0.001) were positively and significantly related to epidemic prevention motivation, which positively and significantly related to epidemic prevention behaviors (ß = 0.492, p-value < 0.001). The R2 values of epidemic prevention motivation and behavior are 0.350 and 0.240, respectively, indicating an acceptable explanation. Multiple-group analysis revealed five significant differences in paths between the two groups, indicating personal epidemic experience acting as a slight moderator on these paths. Conclusion: Traditional media trust and social media trust were the important elements in COVID-19 prevention and control, and public health departments and governments should ensure the accuracy and reliability of information from traditional and social media. Simultaneously, the media should balance threat information and efficacy information in order to generate the public's prevention motivation and behaviors.

Effect of polyethylene glycol 400 on the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of baicalin by intravenous injection based on the enzyme activity of UGT1A8/1A9.

Baicalin (BG) is a bioactive flavonoid extracted from the dried root of the medicinal plant, Scutellaria radix (SR) (dicotyledonous family, Labiatae), and has several biological activities. Polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG400) has been used as a suitable solvent for several traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) and is often used as an excipient for the compound preparation of SR. However, the drug-excipient interactions between BG and PEG400 are still unknown. Herein, we evaluated the effect of a single intravenous PEG400 administration on the BG levels of rats using pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution studies. A liver microsome and recombinant enzyme incubation system were used to further confirm the interaction mechanism between PEG400 and UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) (UGT1A8 and UGT1A9). The pharmacokinetic study demonstrated that following the co-intravenous administration of PEG400 and BG, the total clearance (CLz) of BG in the rat plasma decreased by 101.60% (p < 0.05), whereas the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC)0-t and AUC0-inf increased by 144.59% (p < 0.05) and 140.05% (p < 0.05), respectively. Additionally, the tissue distribution study showed that the concentration of BG and baicalein-6-O-ß-D-glucuronide (B6G) in the tissues increased, whereas baicalein (B) in the tissues decreased, and the total amount of BG and its metabolites in tissues altered following the intravenous administration of PEG400. We further found that PEG400 induced the UGT1A8 and UGT1A9 enzyme activities by affecting the maximum enzymatic velocity (Vmax) and Michaelis-Menten constant (Km) values of UGT1A8 and UGT1A9. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that PEG400 interaction with UGTs altered the pharmacokinetic behaviors and tissue distribution characteristics of BG and its metabolites in rats.

A novel design for the combination of electrochemical atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy in reflection mode for in situ study of battery materials.

The emergence of functional materials, especially energy materials made up of various structures with different properties, requires the development of complementary or integrated characterization technologies. The combination of atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy (AFM-Raman) offers a powerful technique for the in situ characterization of physical properties (AFM) and chemical composition (Raman) of materials simultaneously. To further extend the potential application in the battery's field, we here present an electrochemical AFM-Raman (EC-AFM-Raman) in the reflection mode, developed by designing a novel structure including water-immersion objective lens-based optics for high-sensitivity Raman excitation/collection, optical level detection for AFM imaging in the solution, and a dual-cell for electrochemical reaction. EC-AFM imaging and Raman measurement can be realized simultaneously. Dynamic morphologic evolution and phase transition of the LiMn2O4 particles during cyclic voltammetry measurement were successfully observed. This technique will provide the possibility of probing physicochemical phenomena of the battery materials and other surface/interface processes such as the formation of the solid electrolyte interphase layer.

Tracking Electrochemical-Cycle-Induced Surface Structure Evolutions of Cathode Material LiMn2O4 with Improved Operando Raman Spectroscopy.

Linking surface structure evolution to the capacity fading of cathode materials has been a problem in lithium ion batteries. Most of the strategies used to solve this problem are focused on the differences between the unaged and aged materials, leading to the loss of intermediate dynamic change information during cycling. Raman spectroscopy is a convenient, nondestructive, and highly sensitive tool for characterizing the surface/near-surface region structure. In this work, we improved an operando Raman system, which is able to record in situ and in real time a series of Raman spectra during charging/discharging cycles and is even able to record very weak Raman peaks without the use of SRES enhancement, which facilitates sample preparation. These series of Raman spectra revealed an inherent correlation between the electrode potential/Li content and the surface structure changes of the as-prepared pure LiMn2O4 film, including the biphase reaction, the evolution of the peroxo O-O bond, and the formation of the Mn3O4 surface phase. They were the first to show that the number of peroxo O-O bonds was decreased with an increasing number of cycles and that this decrease was accompanied by an increase in the Mn3O4 phase. With the help of the data measured by XPS, c-AFM, electrochemical testing equipment, and the calculation based on density functional theory, the causes of the capacity fading of the material are discussed. This work not only showed a direct correlation between the surface structure evolution and the capacity fading of the LiMn2O4 but also could provide an alternative operando Raman system that could be widely used for the in situ characterization of battery electrode materials.

Constructing an Adaptive Heterojunction as a Highly Active Catalyst for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Electrochemical water splitting is of prime importance to green energy technology. Particularly, the reaction at the anode side, namely the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), requires a high overpotential associated with OO bond formation, which dominates the energy-efficiency of the whole process. Activating the anionic redox chemistry of oxygen in metal oxides, which involves the formation of superoxo/peroxo-like (O2 )n - , commonly occurs in most highly active catalysts during the OER process. In this study, a highly active catalyst is designed: electrochemically delithiated LiNiO2 , which facilitates the formation of superoxo/peroxo-like (O2 )n - species, i.e., NiOO*, for enhancing OER activity. The OER-induced surface reconstruction builds an adaptive heterojunction, where NiOOH grows on delithiated LiNiO2 (delithiated-LiNiO2 /NiOOH). At this junction, the lithium vacancies within the delithiated LiNiO2 optimize the electronic structure of the surface NiOOH to form stable NiOO* species, which enables better OER activity. This finding provides new insight for designing highly active catalysts with stable superoxo-like/peroxo-like (O2 )n - for water oxidation.

Alkyl Thiourea Functionalised Silica for the Effective Removal of Heavy Metals from Acanthopanax senticosus Extract.

Acanthopanax senticosus extract with excessive standard of Pb, Cd, Hg, and Cu was used as the research object, and the alkyl thiourea functionalised silica was used as a new heavy metal removal scavenger. The heavy metal removal process was optimised by orthogonal experiment with dynamic and static adsorption modes. Meanwhile, the content of Acanthopanax B and Acanthopanax E, the solid content, and the HPLC fingerprint similarity were used as quality monitoring indicators of Acanthopanax senticosus heavy metal removal before and after. Then, the technical adaptability of heavy metal removal by alkyl thiourea functionalised silica was evaluated. Under the optimal dynamic adsorption conditions, the average removal rates of Pb, Cd, Hg, and Cu were 91.64%, 93.04%, 81.77%, and 83.11%, respectively. Under the optimal static adsorption conditions, the average removal rates of Pb, Cd, Hg, and Cu were 82.22%, 89.95%, 81.26%, and 82.97%, respectively. During Acanthopanax senticosus extract heavy metal removal before and after, the change percentage of Acanthopanax B and Acanthopanax E was less than 2.00%, the solid content loss rate was only 0.18%, and the fingerprint similarity was over 99.9%. The method can be used to satisfy the high efficiency of selective removal of harmful elements in Acanthopanax senticosus extract and the effective composition of almost no effect; the method is simple and easy, so it can be recommended for pretreatment of heavy metals in Traditional Chinese Medicine extracts, and this way provides a new thought and research technique to decrease the contents of heavy metals.

[Effect of PEG400 on pharmacokinetics of baicalin and baicalein in gut microbiotadysbiosis rats].

The study aimed to establish an UPLC-MS/MS method for the determination of baicalin in rat plasma,in order to study the effect of PEG400 on pharmacokinetics of baicalin and baicalein in normal and gut microbiotadysbiosis rats. Plasma was precipitated with ethyl acetate and determined by UPLC-MS/MS method,with genistein as an internal standard. In terms of specificity,linearity,range,accuracy,precision and stability,the method was suitable for the determination of baicalin in plasma. The gut microbiotadysbiosis rat model was induced through the oral administration with lincomycin hydrochloride(5 g·kg-1·d-1) for one week. Samples of plasma of rats were obtained at different time points,after the rats were administrated with baicalin,baicalin and PEG400. Baicalin in rats were detected by UPLC-MS/MS method,and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by DAS 3. 2. 2 software. The results showed that the ß-glucosidase activity and the number of colonies in the feces of gut microbiotadysbiosis rats induced by lincomycin hydrochloride were significantly reduced. The Cmaxand AUC0-tof the baicalinand PEG400 group in the intestinal flora were significantly lower than those in the normal rat baicalin and PEG400 group. There was no significant difference in Cmaxand AUC0-tbetween the baicalin group and the baicalin+PEG400 group of gut microbiotadysbiosis rats. The Cmaxand AUC0-tof the normal rats baicalin group were significantly higher than those of the gut microbiotadysbiosis rats baicalin group and the baicalin + PEG400 group. There was no significant difference in Cmaxand AUC0-tbetween the normal rat baicalein and PEG400 group and the baicalein group. The Cmaxand AUC0-tof the baicalein group in the gut microbiotadysbiosis rats were lower than those in the normal baicalein group,but significantly higher than those in the baicalein and PEG400 group. PEG400 could increase the absorption of baicalin in normal rats,but is ineffective in gut microbiotadysbiosis rats,with no impact on the absorption of baicalein in rats.

Near-field probing the magnetic field vector of visible light with a silicon nanoparticle probe and nanopolarimetry.

Magnetic light-matter interaction plays a crucial role in nanophysics, such as in photonic topological insulators and metamaterials. Recent advances in all-dielectric nanophotonics especially demand vectorial mapping of magnetic light at visible wavelengths. Here, we report that a novel functional nanoprobe decorated with a silicon nanoparticle predominantly senses both the vertical and lateral magnetic field, that is, the magnetic field vector, complementary to a metal nanoparticle probe detecting the local electric field vector. As a proof-of-principle experiment, we demonstrate the mapping of magnetic field vectors in a transverse electric (TE) evanescent standing wave by this probe in a scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM) with nanopolarimetry. It is for the first time that the full magnetic field vector of visible light, whose frequency exceeds 550 THz, can be directly detected with deep subwavelength resolution. Such functional probe and nanopolarimetry may pave the way toward complete vectorial near-field characterization over the whole visible band for nano-optics and subwavelength optics.

[Transformation of baicalin and wogonoside through liquid fermentation with Bacillus natto].

This experiment aimed to explore and research the process of preparing baicalein and wogonin through liquid fermentation with Bacillus natto. Active enzymes of produced by B. natto was used for the biological transformation of baclin and wogonoside, in order to increase the content of the haicalein and wogonin in the scutellaria. With the content of the baicalein and wogonin as evaluating indexes, the effects of carbon source, nitrogen source, the types and suitable concentration of inorganic salt, medium pH, granularities of medical materials, liquid volume in flask, shaking speed, liquid-to-solid ratio, fermentation time on the fermentation process were studied. The optimal process conditions for liquid fermentation of scutellaria were 1.0% of peptone, 0.05% of NaCl, pH at 6, the granularities of medical materials of the scutellaria screened through 40-mesh sifter, 33% of liquid, shaker incubator speed at 200 r x min(-1), liquid-to-solid ratio of 5:1, temperature at 37 degrees C, fermentation for 6 days, baclin's conversion rate at 97.6% and wogonoside's conversion rate at 97% in the scutellaria. According to the verification test, the process was stable and feasible, and could provide data reference for the industrial production.