Base-mediated synthesis of aryl enol ethers from α-aryl allylic alcohols and arylsulfonium salts.

A concise synthesis of aryl enol ethers from allylic alcohols and arylsulfonium salts by simply using an inorganic base as a mediator is described. The reaction enabled the facile conversion of various α-aryl allylic alcohols into the corresponding aryl enol ethers in good yields with excellent selectivity. The results demonstrated that both symmetric triarylsulfonium triflate and 10-methyl-5-aryl-5,10-dihydrophenothiazin-5-ium salts were effective arylation reagents for the base-initiated selective O-arylation and isomerization of α-aryl allylic alcohols. This reaction represents the first use of arylsulfonium salts as arylation reagents to access aryl enol ethers directly from allylic alcohols.

Effect of a dynamic navigation device on the accuracy of implant placement in the completely edentulous mandible: An in vitro study.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: A less invasive and more convenient workflow is needed for dynamic navigation-guided implant surgery for the edentulous arch. PURPOSE: The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the accuracy of a novel dynamic navigation device developed for the completely edentulous mandible. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two temporary 1-piece mini-implants were placed in the anterior region of a completely edentulous mandibular model for fixation of the navigation device. A total of 40 implants were inserted in 10 completely edentulous mandibular models with the aid of the dynamic navigation device. The accuracy of placement was determined by overlapping the preoperative plan with the postoperative cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans. The difference in the accuracy at different implant positions was compared by MANOVA and Bonferroni-corrected ANOVAs. The difference in accuracy between implants #1-20 and #21-40 was assessed for learning progression. RESULTS: The deviation of the implants (mean ±standard deviation) was 1.14 ±0.50 mm at the entry point and 1.29 ±0.48 mm at the apex. The mean ±standard deviation angular deviation was 3.02 ±1.32 degrees. No significant difference was seen between the planned and the placed deviation among the 4 implant positions. After repeated placement with this dynamic approach, implant accuracy at the entry (P=.001) and apex (P=.017) improved significantly. CONCLUSIONS: The navigation device achieved acceptable implant placement accuracy in the edentulous mandible. Deviations between the planned and placed locations were not affected by different implant positions. After repeated operations with this dynamic approach, accuracy at the entry and apex improved significantly.

Implant placement in the pterygoid region with dynamically navigated surgery: A clinical report.

Implant placement in the pterygoid region is a reliable treatment for posterior maxillary tooth loss. However, the surgery is not widely applied because the implant placement region is hard to access and the direct visual access is limited. This clinical report describes the use of a dynamic navigation system to improve the pterygoid implant placement surgery. Real-time imaging of the surgery area and full-time guidance are provided by the system to alleviate the problem of lack of visibility and to reduce the complexity of placement.

[Effect of WRAP53 ß Targeted Co-Inhibitory Pathways Based on Comprehensive Bioinformatics Analysis in Treating Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck].

Objective: To investigate the association between WD40-encoding RNA antisense to p53 ( WRAP53 ß), a telomerase new core subunit, and the clinical, genomic and immune infiltration characteristics of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSC), and to explore for potential joint targeted therapy of HNSC. Methods: Tumor IMmune Estimation Resource (TIMER) online modules were adopted to predict the association between WRAP53 ß expression and the clinical features, oncogene, and immune infiltration of HNSC in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort. Tumor Immune Single-cell Hub (TISCH) was used to analyze WRAP53 ß expression at the single cell level. Analysis of the small molecule inhibitors potentially targeting WRAP53 ß was carried out by Computational Analysis of REsistance (CARE). In the in vitro verification experiment, recombinant lentiviral particles with the sh WRAP53 ß sequence were synthesized. Then, the oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line Cal27 (the sh WRAP53 ßgroup) stably expressing sh WRAP53 ß were constructed, and two control groups were set up (the shNC group consisting of Cal27 cells added with lentiviral particles containing non-specific control sequences and the Con group consisting of untreated Cal27 cells). MTT assay was done to examine the proliferation of cells in the three groups. Cellular immunofluorescence assay was done for further qualitative examination of the expression of P53 protein in the cells of the sh WRAP53 ß group and the shNC group. Western blot was done to measure the expression of WRAP53ß and γ-H2AX, a DNA damage protein, in the 18 th, 23 rd and 28 th passages of the sh WRAP53 ß group and the shNC group. Finally, specimens of 13 cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma and 7 cases of oral mucosal inflammation were collected, and the expression of WRAP53ß and γ-H2AX in the clinical specimens of oral squamous cell carcinoma was verified with immunohistochemistry. Resluts: TIMER analysis revealed that the expression level of WRAP53 ß in HNSC tissues was significantly higher than that in normal tissues. There was a significant positive correlation between WRAP53 ß expression and multiple genes in the p53 pathway, including CCNB1, CCNB2 and CDK1. Although no significant correlation between WRAP53 ß expression and infiltrating immune cells was found, WRAP53 ß was significantly positively correlated with the inflammatory factors IFN-γ and IL23A, and negatively correlated with IL-1A and IL-6 in HPV-positive carcinoma of the head and neck. TISCH single cell sequencing datasets also showed higher expression of WRAP53 ß in malignant cells, and very low or zero expression in immune cells. According to the CARE scores, the most potent WRAP53 ß co-inhibitory drugs were ATM, CDK1 and MDM4 targeted inhibitors. In vitro cell experiments showed that the proliferation ability of Cal27 cells decreased significantly in the sh WRAP53 ß group as compared with that of the control group between Day 5 and Day 7 ( P<0.05). Furthermore, the expression of P53 decreased significantly in the sh WRAP53 ß group. As compared with the control group, the expression of WRAP53ß in sh WRAP53 ß group significantly decreased in the 18 th, 23 rd and 28 th passages ( P<0.05), while γ-H2AX expression only decreased in the 18 th and 28 th passages ( P<0.05) according to the results of Western blot. Clinical specimens showed rather high positive expression rate of γ-H2AX in oral squamous cell carcinoma tissues (12/13), while the expression of WRAP53ß was not detected in oral mucositis samples (0/7). Conclusions: WRAP53 ß showed significantly higher expression level in HSNC, and was significantly associated with p53 pathway genes. ATM, CDK1 and MDM4 inhibitors may be potential WRAP53 ß co-inhibitory agents. RNA interference of WRAP53 ß expression may cause inhibition of DNA damage, thereby indicating therapeutic potential for HNSC.

The combination between NCSTN gene copy number variation and growth traits in Chinese cattle.

Copy number variation (CNV) has been used as an important source of phenotypic and genetic diversity in recent years. Nicastrin (NCSTN) gene is usually attached to human diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, and Acne inversa. However, there are no essays about the NCSTN gene combining with cattle breeds. In our study, we discovered different distributions of NCSTN gene copy number and associated it with phenotypic traits in four Chinese yellow cattle breeds (XN, PN, QC and YL). The result turned out that the CNV of the NCSTN gene was associated with several growth traits, such as cannon circumference, chest girth and rump length (p < 0.05). In general, we revealed the eminence over CNV of NCSTN gene and economic traits, suggesting that the CNV of the NCSTN gene can be considered to be a promising molecular breeding marker of Chinese beef cattle.

Comprehensive analysis of circRNA expression profiles and circRNA-associated competing endogenous RNA networks in the development of mouse thymus.

The thymus plays an irreplaceable role as a primary lymphoid organ. However, the complicate processes of its development and involution are incompletely understood. Accumulating evidence indicates that non-coding RNAs play key roles in the regulation of biological development. At present, the studies of the circRNA profiles and of circRNA-associated competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) in the thymus are still scarce. Here, deep-RNA sequencing was used to study the biological mechanisms underlying the development process (from 2-week-old to 6-week-old) and the recession process (from 6-week-old to 3-month-old) of the mouse thymus. It was found that 196 circRNAs, 233 miRNAs and 3807 mRNAs were significantly dysregulated. The circRNA-associated ceRNA networks were constructed in the mouse thymus, which were mainly involved in early embryonic development and the proliferation and division of T cells. Taken together, these results elucidated the regulatory roles of ceRNAs in the development and involution processes of the mouse thymus.

Assessment of the oral health behavior, knowledge and status among dental and medical undergraduate students: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: It is widely accepted that oral health plays an important role in overall health. Both dental and medical students are expected to possess good oral health awareness and work together for public oral health promotion especially in developing countries like China. The aim of this study was to assess the oral health knowledge, behavior and status of dental and medical undergraduate students in the first (fresh) and third year (before specialized courses) study. METHODS: A self-administered structured questionnaire with 13 questions was designed based on oral health knowledge, behavior and status and a cross-sectional study was conducted among the 1st, 3rd year dental students (1DS, 3DS) and medical students (1MS, 3MS) of Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, in the period of September-December 2017. The data was analyzed by chi-square test using IBM SPSS Statistics v. 21.0. RESULTS: The oral health behavior, consciousness and status of the 1st, 3rd year medical and dental students were not optimistic. Dental freshmen were slightly superior to the medical ones in terms of the brushing methods and the awareness of oral disease-systemic disease relationship. The junior dental students showed highly significant improvement than their counterparts, mainly in the items about frequency of brushing teeth, brushing methods of vertical scrub or Bass technique (66.3%), usage of floss or mouth wash (49.7%), causes of caries, periodontal diseases and system diseases (56.9-83.4%). The rates mentioned above were 36.1, 15.8%, 26.7-43.6% among 3MS, respectively. In terms of oral health status, significant differences were only observed in junior students. The prevalence rates of bad breath, gum bleeding, and tooth discoloration among 3DS were obviously lower than those of 3MS. However, only a total of 17.2% junior students had a good oral health, including 23.8% dental students and 11.4% medical students. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provided a new understanding of oral health knowledge, behavior and status among dental and medical students, which may help to promote the reform of oral health education and establish a model for clinicians and dentists to work together for improving oral health.

Bifunctional mesoporous HMUiO-66-NH2 nanoparticles for bone remodeling and ROS scavenging in periodontitis therapy.

Periodontal bone defects represent an irreversible consequence of periodontitis associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, indiscriminate removal of ROS proves to be counterproductive for tissue repair and insufficient for addressing existing bone defects. In the treatment of periodontitis, it is crucial to rationally alleviate local ROS while simultaneously promoting bone regeneration. In this study, Zr-based large-pore hierarchical mesoporous metal-organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles (NPs) HMUiO-66-NH2 were successfully proposed as bifunctional nanomaterials for bone regeneration and ROS scavenging in periodontitis therapy. HMUiO-66-NH2 NPs demonstrated outstanding biocompatibility both in vitro and in vivo. Significantly, these NPs enhanced the osteogenic differentiation of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) under normal and high ROS conditions, upregulating osteogenic gene expression and mitigating oxidative stress. Furthermore, in vivo imaging revealed a gradual degradation of HMUiO-66-NH2 NPs in periodontal tissues. Local injection of HMUiO-66-NH2 effectively reduced bone defects and ROS levels in periodontitis-induced C57BL/6 mice. RNA sequencing highlighted that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) are predominantly involved in bone tissue development, with notable upregulation in Wnt and TGF-ß signaling pathways. In conclusion, HMUiO-66-NH2 exhibits dual functionality in alleviating oxidative stress and promoting bone repair, positioning it as an effective strategy against bone resorption in oxidative stress-related periodontitis.

Pan-cancer characterization of cellular senescence reveals its inter-tumor heterogeneity associated with the tumor microenvironment and prognosis.

Cellular senescence (CS) is characterized by the irreversible cell cycle arrest and plays a key role in aging and diseases, such as cancer. Recent years have witnessed the burgeoning exploration of the intricate relationship between CS and cancer, with CS recognized as either a suppressing or promoting factor and officially acknowledged as one of the 14 cancer hallmarks. However, a comprehensive characterization remains absent from elucidating the divergences of this relationship across different cancer types and its involvement in the multi-facets of tumor development. Here we systematically assessed the cellular senescence of over 10,000 tumor samples from 33 cancer types, starting by defining a set of cancer-associated CS signatures and deriving a quantitative metric representing the CS status, called CS score. We then investigated the CS heterogeneity and its intricate relationship with the prognosis, immune infiltration, and therapeutic responses across different cancers. As a result, cellular senescence demonstrated two distinct prognostic groups: the protective group with eleven cancers, such as LIHC, and the risky group with four cancers, including STAD. Subsequent in-depth investigations between these two groups unveiled the potential molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the distinct effects of cellular senescence, involving the divergent activation of specific pathways and variances in immune cell infiltrations. These results were further supported by the disparate associations of CS status with the responses to immuno- and chemo-therapies observed between the two groups. Overall, our study offers a deeper understanding of inter-tumor heterogeneity of cellular senescence associated with the tumor microenvironment and cancer prognosis.

Hypoglycemic effects of white hyacinth bean polysaccharide on type 2 diabetes mellitus rats involvement with entero-insular axis and GLP-1 via metabolomics study.

The present study aimed to investigate the potential effects of white hyacinth bean polysaccharide (WHBP) against type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM) which was established by high-glucose/high-fat for 8 weeks, combined with a low-dose streptozotocin (STZ) injection. Our results showed that WHBP behaved the hypoglycemic effect by attenuating fasting blood glucose in vivo. WHBP-mediated anti-diabetic effects associated with the attenuation of insulin resistance and pancreatic impairment, as evidenced by the mitigation of pathological changes, inflammatory response and oxidative stress in the pancreas of T2DM rats. Meanwhile, gut protection was also shown during WHBP-mediated anti-diabetic effects, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a mediator of the entero-insular axis, was observed to be elevated in both gut and pancreas of WHBP groups when compared to DM group, suggesting that hypoglycemic effects of WHBP were implicated in gut-pancreas interaction. Subsequently, untargeted metabolomics analysis performed by UPLC-QTOF/MS and showed that WHBP administration significantly adjusted the levels of 40 metabolites when compared to DM group. Further data concerning pathway analysis showed that WHBP administration significantly regulated the phenylalanine metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, arginine and proline, isoleucine metabolism, and glycerophospholipid metabolism in T2DM rats. Together, our results suggested that WHBP performed hypoglycemic effects and pancreatic protection linked to entero-insular axis involvement with GLP-1 and reversed metabolic disturbances in T2DM rats.

Micronuclei in 2-cell embryos show higher blastocyst formation rates on human embryonic development.

OBJECTIVE: Multinucleated blastomeres at the two-cell stage (2MNB) represent a frequently observed nuclear abnormality in early human embryos. This abnormality has been reported to significantly impact on the embryo's developmental potential to reach the blastocyst stage. However, our understanding of the embryo's developmental potential and the morphokinetics of 2MNB remains limited. This study investigates the influence of 2MNB and its subtypes on the blastocyst formation. STUDY DESIGN: A non-interventional retrospective study was performed in the Reproductive Medical Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, using a time-lapse incubator. The study involved the evaluation of 4416 embryos, including 628 multinucleated embryos, from 1521 intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles conducted between October 2019 and October 2021. The morphokinetic characteristics of multinucleated embryos were analyzed. RESULTS: The results show multinucleation was the most common abnormal mitotic event during embryo development (14.22 %) in 4416 embryos. A control group of 3210 developmentally normal embryos was used in the study. The multinucleated blastomeres caused a lower blastocyst rate (52.48 % VS 64.02 %) compared to the control group. Whereas, 2MNBcause a higher blastocyst rate thanthemat the 4-cell stage (4MNB) (58.89 % VS 43.64 %). 2MNB can be further be further divided into 2MNB1/2cell and 2MNB2/2cell based on one multinucleated blastomere or two multinucleated blastomere appeared. Time to pronuclei fading (tPNf) is significantly longer in 2MNB2/2cell compared to 2MNB1/2cell. Furthermore, the 2MNB1/2cell embryos were divided into four subgroups (Bi-: two nuclei with almost the same size, Micro-: two nuclei with varying sizes, Poly-: more than two nuclei with almost the same size, and Cluster-: more than two nuclei with varying sizes) based on the number of nuclei and relative size. The results show that the Bi- and Micro- groups had a significantly increased blastocyst rate. The Cluster-, and Poly- groups showed significantly delayed embryonic development compared to normal controls. Bi-group has significant delays at t3, t5, and t8 and the Micro-group had a significant delay only at t8. CONCLUSION: 2MNB cause higher blastocyst rate than them at 4MNB. 2MNB1/2cell shows shorter tPNf compared to 2MNB2/2cell. Moreover, the Micro-, Bi- groups had a significantly increased blastocyst rate and different kinetic parameters compared to Cluster-, Poly-groups, suggesting that it is necessary to distinguish the nucleus status within 2MNB to increase the blastocyst rate. When selecting embryos for transformation from the 2MNB1/2cell, Micro- is the best choice.

Polyphenol (-)-Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) mitigated kidney injury by regulating metabolic homeostasis and mitochondrial dynamics involvement with Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fission in mice.

The study aimed to examine effects of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on energy metabolism and mitochondrial dynamics in mouse model of renal injury caused by doxorubicin (DOX). Here, mice were divided into Control group, EGCG-only treated group, DOX group, and three doses of EGCG plus DOX groups. Our results showed that EGCG behaved beneficial effects against kidney injury via attenuation of pathological changes in kidney tissue, which was confirmed by reducing serum creatinine (SCr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and apoptosis. Subsequently, changes in reactive oxygen species generation, malondialdehyde content, and activities of antioxidant enzymes were considerably ameliorated in EGCG + DOX groups when compared to DOX group. Furthermore, EGCG-evoked renal protection was associated with increases of mitochondrial membrane potential and decreases of mitochondrial fission protein Dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1). Moreover, changing glycolysis into mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation was observed, evidenced by controlling activities of malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and hexokinase (HK) in EGCG + DOX groups when compared to DOX group, indicating that reprogramming energy metabolism was linked to EGCG-induced renal protection in mice. Therefore, EGCG was demonstrated to have a protective effect against kidney injury by reducing oxidative damage, metabolic disorders, and mitochondrial dysfunction, suggesting that EGCG has potential as a feasible strategy to prevent kidney injury.

Single-cell transcriptome profiling implicates the psychological stress-induced disruption of spermatogenesis.

Male infertility has emerged as a global issue, partly attributed to psychological stress. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the adverse effects of psychological stress on male reproductive function remain elusive. We created a psychologically stressed model using terrified-sound and profiled the testes from stressed and control rats using single-cell RNA sequencing. Comparative and comprehensive transcriptome analyses of 11,744 testicular cells depicted the cellular landscape of spermatogenesis and revealed significant molecular alterations of spermatogenesis suffering from psychological stress. At the cellular level, stressed rats exhibited delayed spermatogenesis at the spermatogonia and pachytene phases, resulting in reduced sperm production. Additionally, psychological stress rewired cellular interactions among germ cells, negatively impacting reproductive development. Molecularly, we observed the down-regulation of anti-oxidation-related genes and up-regulation of genes promoting reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in the stress group. These alterations led to elevated ROS levels in testes, affecting the expression of key regulators such as ATF2 and STAR, which caused reproductive damage through apoptosis or inhibition of testosterone synthesis. Overall, our study aimed to uncover the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which psychological stress disrupts spermatogenesis, offering insights into the mechanisms of psychological stress-induced male infertility in other species and promises in potential therapeutic targets.

Greatly Improved the Tunable Amplitude of Ferromagnetism Based on Interface Effect of Flexible Pt/YIG Heterojunctions.

Flexible quantum spin electronic devices based on ferromagnetic insulators have attracted wide attention due to their outstanding advantages of low-power dissipation and noncontact sensing. However, ferromagnetic insulators, such as monocrystalline yttrium iron garnet (Y3Fe5O12, YIG), hve weak stress effects with a small magnetostrictive coefficient (λ110, 10 ppm), making it difficult to achieve a large magnetic tunable amplitude. In this paper, large-scale (with a diameter of 40 mm), flexible Pt/YIG heterojunctions were obtained by double-cavity magnetron sputtering technology, indicating typical soft magnetism and good bending fatigue characteristics. Here, the 3 nm thickness of the Pt layer triggers an obvious magnetic proximity effect, in which the in-plane ferromagnetic resonance field is decreased by 70 Oe compared to flexible Cu/YIG heterojunctions. Meanwhile, it shows a wide tunable amplitude of 110 Oe under the flexible bending stresses, which is induced by the sensitive interface effect of Pt (3 nm)/YIG heterojunctions. The saturation magnetization of Pt/YIG heterojunctions is negatively correlated with Pt thickness rather than the relative stability of Cu/YIG heterojunctions, depending on the magnetic proximity effect. It brings greater application possibilities for flexible stress-sensitive magnetic oxides in spin logic electronic devices.

SARS-CoV-2 infection negatively impacts on the quality of embryos by delaying early embryonic development.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented health crisis that has affected in vitro fertilization practices globally. Previous studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 impacts the quality of embryos by inducing an immunological response in infertile patients. In this study, the early embryonic development of SARS-CoV-2-infected infertile patients was investigated. METHODS: Sixty-five SARS-CoV-2 infected infertile patients and 258 controls were involved in this study. The major outcome parameters for the cycle were analyzed, including the number of oocytes, maturation oocytes, available embryos per cycle, and embryo morpho kinetic characteristics. RESULTS: From SARS-CoV-2 infection until oocyte retrieval, it took an average of 6.63 days. The results revealed that the number of oocytes and high-quality embryos on day 3 dramatically reduced in SARS-CoV-2-infected infertile patients. SARS-CoV-2 was detected in the follicular fluid of three infertile patients. SARS-CoV-2 infection had negatively impacted the number of oocytes in multivariate linear regression models. The early embryonic development in the SARS-CoV-2 infection group had a noticeable delay from the six-cell stage to blastocyst stage. CONCLUSIONS: SARS-CoV-2 infection reduced the number of oocytes and high-quality embryos on day 3. It delays the early embryonic development from the six-cell stage to blastocyst stage and has a negative impact on the quality of embryos.

Remarkable flexibility in freestanding single-crystalline antiferroelectric PbZrO3 membranes.

The ultrahigh flexibility and elasticity achieved in freestanding single-crystalline ferroelectric oxide membranes have attracted much attention recently. However, for antiferroelectric oxides, the flexibility limit and fundamental mechanism in their freestanding membranes are still not explored clearly. Here, we successfully fabricate freestanding single-crystalline PbZrO3 membranes by a water-soluble sacrificial layer technique. They exhibit good antiferroelectricity and have a commensurate/incommensurate modulated microstructure. Moreover, they also have good shape recoverability when bending with a small radius of curvature (about 2.4 µm for the thickness of 120 nm), corresponding to a bending strain of 2.5%. They could tolerate a maximum bending strain as large as 3.5%, far beyond their bulk counterpart. Our atomistic simulations reveal that this remarkable flexibility originates from the antiferroelectric-ferroelectric phase transition with the aid of polarization rotation. This study not only suggests the mechanism of antiferroelectric oxides to achieve high flexibility but also paves the way for potential applications in flexible electronics.

Polysaccharides as antioxidants and prooxidants in managing the double-edged sword of reactive oxygen species.

Polysaccharides, a class of naturally occurring carbohydrates, were widely presented in animals, plants, and microorganisms. Recently, health benefits of polysaccharides have attracted much attention due to their unique characteristics in reactive oxygen species (ROS) management. ROS, by-products of aerobic metabolism linked to food consumption, exhibited a dual role in protecting cells and fostering pathogenesis collectively termed double-edged sword. Some interesting studies reported that polysaccharides could behave as prooxidants under certain conditions, besides antioxidant capacities. Potentiation of the bright side of ROS could contribute to the host defense that was vitally important for the polysaccharides acting as biological response modifiers. Correspondingly, disease prevention of polysaccharides linked to the management of ROS production was systematically described and discussed in this review. Furthermore, major challenges and future prospects were presented, aiming to provide new insight into applying polysaccharides as functional food ingredients and medicine.

Deuteration of Arylthianthren-5-ium Salts in CD3OD.

Deuteration of arylthianthren-5-ium triflates with CD3OD or CD3OD/CD3COCD3 in the presence of Cs2CO3 by palladium catalysis or photoirradiation allowed the convenient synthesis of deuterated arenes in good yields. The Pd-catalyzed reaction generally gave better yields than the photoinduced deuteration, but exceptions also exist. They could complement each other in some cases. These reactions featured eco-friendly conditions, simplicity, inexpensive deuterium sources, good functional group tolerance, and a range of substrates. Since arylthianthren-5-ium salts could be readily synthesized from arenes and thianthrene 5-oxide, this protocol provided a formal aromatic C-H deuteration with high selectivity, enabling efficient deuterium labeling of multifunctionalized arenes and drug molecules.

Locating Method for Electrical Tree Degradation in XLPE Cable Insulation Based on Broadband Impedance Spectrum.

Electrical treeing is one of the main causes of crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) cable failure. The current methods for locating electrical trees are mainly based on the partial discharge (PD) signal. However, PD signals are easily attenuated in the long cable and the PD test voltage may cause damage to the insulation. This work proposes an improved broadband impedance spectrum (BIS) method to locate electrical trees in XLPE cable. A mathematical model of a long cable containing local electrical tree degradation is established. The Gaussian signal is chosen as the simulated incident signal to reduce the spectral leakage. The location spectrum is obtained by multiplying the frequency domain function of the single-ended reflection coefficient and the Gaussian pulse. It has been found that the location spectrum of the local capacitance change can be characterized as a typical double-peak waveform and the spectrum of the local conductance change can be regarded as a typical single-peak waveform. Electrical tree experiments at different temperatures were carried out to initiate different types of electrical trees. A vector network analyzer (VNA) was used to test the high frequency capacitance characteristics in the treeing process. The location spectra of the 20 m long cable containing different types of electrical trees was calculated by the improved location algorithm. The results show that the location error of local electrical tree degradation is less than 3%. The capacitance of the sliced sample decreases with treeing time. The effect of the bush-pine tree on capacitance parameters is greater than that of the branch-pine tree. A typical double-peak is found in the bush-pine tree location spectrum and a single-peak is found in the branch-pine tree spectrum.

Ganoderma atrum polysaccharide modulates the M1/M2 polarization of macrophages linked to the Notch signaling pathway.

Macrophages could be polarized into two major sub-populations including classically activated (M1) and alternatively activated (M2) macrophages. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of Ganoderma atrum polysaccharide (PSG-1) on the regulation of macrophage polarization and further explored the associated molecular mechanisms. In this work, a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) plus IFN-γ and IL-4 were used to establish an in vitro model of two extreme states, namely pro-inflammatory M1 and anti-inflammatory M2. The results showed that PSG-1 had effects on the behavior modification of macrophage polarization by reducing CD80 expression in LPS plus IFN-γ-induced M1 macrophages, and attenuating CD23 expression in IL-4-induced M2 macrophages. Further study revealed that PSG-1-modulated M1 and M2 macrophage polarization was associated with controlling phagocytosis, reactive oxygen species generation, NO and cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-6 and IL-10). Subsequently, the treatment of M1 macrophages with a combination of PSG-1 and a Notch-response inhibitor (DAPT) did not alter CD80 expression compared with DAPT alone, while several pro-inflammatory parameters were considerably decreased, suggesting that the Notch signaling pathway partly mediated the effects of PSG-1 on modulating macrophage polarization. Together, our findings suggested that PSG-1 could repair the chaos in the polarization of M1/M2 macrophages and the molecular mechanism linked to the Notch signaling pathway.