The protective effect of quinoa on the gastric mucosal injury induced by absolute ethanol.

BACKGROUND: Gastric mucosal injury caused by ethanol is a common gastrointestinal disease. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), as a nutrient-rich grain, plays a significant role in preventing and treating gastric mucosal damage. The present study aimed to explore the protective effect of quinoa on alcohol-induced gastric mucosal damage and its possible mechanism. RESULTS: The ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury rat model was used for in vivo experiments and H2 O2 -induced GES-1 cells for in vitro experiments to elucidate the protective effect of quinoa. The results show that quinoa water extract can increase the superoxide dismutase level and decrease the malondialdehyde level in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, quinoa also reduced the bleeding point and bleeding area in rats with ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury and improved gastric histopathological changes. H2 O2 significantly increased the levels of inflammatory factors in GES-1 cells, which were markedly ameliorated by quinoa water extract. Likewise, quinoa water extract regulated the protein expression levels of Nrf2, Keap1, HO-1, p-IKK, and p-NF-κB through Nrf2 and nuclear factor-κB signaling pathways, reducing the production of oxidative stress and inflammation, thereby repairing the damaged gastric mucosa. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study demonstrated that quinoa shows protective effect against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury through its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. We propose that our research will provide a reference for quinoa as a functional food. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Photo-thermal Cooperative Carbonylation of Ethanol with CO2 on Cu2 O-SrTiCuO3-x.

Carbonylation of ethanol with CO2 as carbonyl source into value-added esters is of considerable significance and interest, while remains of great challenge due to the harsh conditions for activation of inert CO2 in that the harsh conditions result in undesired activation of α-C-H and even cleavage of C-C bond in ethanol to deteriorate the specific activation of O-H bond. Herein, we propose a photo-thermal cooperative strategy for carbonylation of ethanol with CO2 , in which CO2 is activated to reactive CO via photo-catalysis with the assistance of *H from thermally-catalyzed dissociation of alcoholic O-H bond. To achieve this proposal, an interfacial site and oxygen vacancy both abundant SrTiCuO3-x supported Cu2 O (Cu2 O-SrTiCuO3-x ) has been designed. A production of up to 320 µmol g-1 h-1 for ethyl formate with a selectivity of 85.6 % to targeted alcoholic O-H activation has been afforded in photo-thermal assisted gas-solid process under 3.29 W cm-1 of UV/Vis light irradiation (144 °C) and 0.2 MPa CO2 . In the photo-driven activation of CO2 and following carbonylation, CO2 activation energy decreases to 12.6 kJ mol-1 , and the cleavage of alcoholic α-C-H bond has been suppressed.

Characterization of chemical constituents in Shuanghuanglian oral dosage forms by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Shuanghuanglian is a common traditional Chinese medicine prescription. It is an herbal formula composed of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos, Scutellariae Radix, and Forsythiae Fructus. A comprehensive understanding of Shuanghuanglian oral dosage forms components was obtained using a method based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the separation and characterization of Shuanghuanglian oral liquids, granules, soft capsules, and effervescent tablets. A total of 358 components were chemically defined or tentatively identified, including flavonoids, caffeic acid derivatives, lignans, coumarins, iridoids, triterpenes, and anthraquinones. The results will provide a basis for the general study of Shuanghuanglian and be meaningful for the composition identification of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions.

Ferroptosis in Liver Disease: Natural Active Compounds and Therapeutic Implications.

Ferroptosis is an emerging type of regulated cell death usually accompanied by the accumulation of ferrous ions (Fe2+) and lipid peroxides. As the metabolic hub of the body, the liver is crucial for iron storage and lipid metabolism. The liver seems to be closely related to ferroptosis through iron and lipid metabolism. Liver disease greatly threatens host health, and exploring effective interventions is essential. Mounting studies have demonstrated that ferroptosis is one of the possible pathogenic mechanisms involved in liver disease. Targeting ferroptosis may provide a promising opportunity for treating liver disease. However, drugs targeting ferroptosis are extremely limited. Therefore, it is an urgent need to develop new and safe ferroptosis regulators. Natural active compounds (NAC), especially those derived from traditional Chinese medicine, have recently shown great therapeutic potential in liver disease via modulating ferroptosis-related genes or pathways. Here, we outline the molecular mechanism of ferroptosis and systematically summarize the regulatory function of NAC on ferroptosis in liver disease. Finally, we discuss the application prospects and potential problems concerning NAC as ferroptosis regulators for managing liver disease.

Sericic Acid Ameliorates DSS-induced Ulcerative Colitis in Mice by Modulating the NF-κB and Nrf2 Pathways.

BACKGROUND: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic non-specific inflammatory bowel disease. In previous studies, we found extracts from the roots of Rosa odorata Sweet var. gigantea (Coll.et Hemsl.) Rehd. et Wils have a therapeutic effect on UC. Furthermore, sericic acid (SA) is a pentacyclic triterpenoid isolated from this plant that is being used for the first time. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether SA has anti-inflammatory and therapeutic effects on UC and its underlying mechanisms. METHODS: In this study, we used a dextran sulfate-induced UC mouse model and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory cell model along with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to quantify the abundance of inflammatory factors and oxidative stress factors in tissues and cells. HE staining was used to analyze the therapeutic effect of the drugs on the UC mouse model. The expression levels of oxidative stress-related proteins were detected using immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry. The anti-inflammatory targets of SA were screened using protein chip arrays and verified by immunoblotting. RESULTS: We found that SA had anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in animal and cellular inflammation models. SA inhibited the levels of NO, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1ß, and MDA in tissues and cells and upregulated the expression level of SOD. Animal experiments showed that SA alleviated the shortening of colon length and colon pathological damage caused by DSS. The antiinflammatory targets of SA were screened using protein chip arrays, and SA was found to inhibit proteins related to the NF-κB signaling pathway. Finally, immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry showed that SA downregulated the expression of p-IKKα/ß and its downstream protein p-NF-κB, while promoting the expression of Nrf2 and its downstream protein HO-1. CONCLUSION: The above results indicated that SA alleviated DSS-induced colitis by inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway and activating Nrf2 pathway.

Krüppel-like Factor 7 inhibits proliferation and migration of pulmonary smooth muscle cells via p21 activation.

The aberrant proliferation and migration of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) are critical contributors to the pulmonary vascular remodeling that occurs during the development of Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Krüppel-like Factor 7 (KLF7) has been reported to be involved in the development of certain cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of KLF7 in PAH remains unknown. Here, we aimed to explore whether KLF7 mediates the proliferation and migration of PASMCs and its underlying mechanism. In this study, Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to 60 mg/kg monocrotaline (MCT) for 3 weeks to induce PAH and human PASMCs were stimulated with 20 ng/ml platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) for 24 h to induce proliferation and migration. The mRNA and protein expression of KLF7 were significantly down-regulated in MCT-induced PAH rats and PDGF-BB-treated PASMCs. Under normal conditions, KLF7 knockdown obviously promoted PASMCs proliferation and migration, whereas KLF7 overexpression exhibited the opposite effects. Furthermore, PDGF-BB promoted the PASMCs proliferation and migration, increased the cell proportion in S phase, which was significantly attenuated by overexpression of KLF7. Mechanistic investigation indicated that KLF7 through activation its target protein, the cell cycle inhibitor p21, which finally leading to the inhibition of PASMCs growth. Consistently, UC2288, a specific inhibitor of p21, partially reversed the PASMCs proliferation inhibited by KLF7 overexpression. Taken collectively, the data suggested that KLF7 inhibits PASMCs proliferation and migration via p21 pathway and it may be used as a new therapeutic target for the PAH.

Xuanfei Baidu Formula attenuates LPS-induced acute lung injury by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Acute lung injury (ALI) is a common manifestation of COVID-19. Xuanfei Baidu Formula(XFBD) is used in China to treat mild or common damp-toxin obstructive pulmonary syndrome in COVID-19 patients. However, the active ingredients of XFBD have not been extensively studied, and its mechanism of action in the treatment of ALI is not well understood. AIM OF THE STUDY: The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism of action of XFBD in treating ALI in rats, by evaluating its active components. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Firstly, the chemical composition of XFBD was identified using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The potential targets of XFBD for ALI treatment were predicted using network pharmacological analysis. Finally, the molecular mechanism of XFBD was validated using a RAW264.7 cell inflammation model and a mouse ALI model. RESULTS: A total of 113 compounds were identified in XFBD. Network pharmacology revealed 34 hub targets between the 113 compounds and ALI. The results of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and gene ontology analyses indicated that the NF-κB signaling pathway was the main pathway for XFBD in the treatment of ALI. We found that XFBD reduced proinflammatory factor levels in LPS-induced cellular models. By examining the lung wet/dry weight ratio and pathological sections in vivo, XFBD was found that XFBD could alleviate ALI. Immunohistochemistry results showed that XFBD inhibited ALI-induced increases in p-IKK, p-NF-κB p65, and iNOS proteins. In vitro experiments demonstrated that XFBD inhibited LPS-induced activation of the NF-κB pathway. CONCLUSION: This study identified the potential practical components of XFBD, combined with network pharmacology and experimental validation to demonstrate that XFBD can alleviate lung injury caused by ALI by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Biogenic Selenium Nanoparticles Synthesized with Alginate Oligosaccharides Alleviate Heat Stress-Induced Oxidative Damage to Organs in Broilers through Activating Nrf2-Mediated Anti-Oxidation and Anti-Ferroptosis Pathways.

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for maintaining health due to its ideal antioxidant properties. We previously prepared a new type of biogenic selenium nanoparticles based on alginate oligosaccharides (SeNPs-AOS), and this study aimed to investigate the protective effects of SeNPs-AOS (Se particle size = 80 nm, Se content = 8%) on organ health in broilers challenged with HS. A total of 192 21-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were randomly divided into four groups according to a 2 × 2 experimental design, including a thermoneutral zone group (TN, raised under 23 ± 1.5 °C); TN + SeNPs-AOS group (TN group supplemented 5 mg/kg SeNPS-AOS); HS group (HS, raised under 33 ± 2 °C for 10 h/day); and HS + SeNPs-AOS group (HS group supplemented 5 mg/kg SeNPS-AOS). There were six replicates in each group (eight broilers per replicate). The results showed that SeNPs-AOS improved the splenic histomorphology, enhanced the activity of catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) of the spleen, as well as upregulating the splenic mRNA expression of antioxidant-related genes in broilers under HS. In addition, SeNPs-AOS reversed the pathological changes in bursa caused by HS increased the activity of GST, GSH-Px, and CAT and upregulated the mRNA expression of Nrf2 and antioxidant-related genes in the bursa of heat-stressed broilers. In addition, dietary SeNPs-AOS improved the hepatic damage, increased the activity of GSH-Px in the liver, and upregulated the mRNA expression of antioxidant-related genes while downregulating the Keap1 gene expression of the liver in broilers during HS. Moreover, dietary SeNPs-AOS upregulated the anti-ferroptosis-related genes expression of liver in broilers under HS. In conclusion, dietary SeNPs-AOS could relieve HS-induced oxidative damage to the spleen, bursa of Fabricius and liver in broilers by upregulating the Nrf2-mediated antioxidant gene expression and SeNPs-AOS could also upregulate the expression of hepatic Nrf2-related anti-ferroptosis genes in heat-stressed broilers. These findings are beneficial for the development of new nano-antioxidants in broilers.

Untargeted and targeted mass spectrometry reveal the effects of theanine on the central and peripheral metabolomics of chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depression in juvenile rats.

l-theanine has been shown to have a therapeutic effect on depression. However, whether l-theanine has an excellent preventive effect on depression in children and adolescents and what its mechanism is have not been well explained. Given the complexity of the pathogenesis of depression, this study investigated the preventive effect and mechanism of l-theanine on depression in juvenile rats by combining serum and hippocampal metabolomic strategies. Behavioral tests, hippocampal tissue sections, and serum and hippocampal biochemical indexes were studied, and the results confirmed the preventive effect of l-theanine. Untargeted reversed-phase liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry and targeted hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry were developed to analyze the metabolism changes in the serum and hippocampus to screen for potential biomarkers related to l-theanine treatment. The results suggested that 28 abnormal metabolites in the serum and hippocampus that were considered as potential biomarkers returned to near-normal levels after l-theanine administration. These biomarkers were involved in various metabolic pathways, mainly including amino acid metabolism and lipid metabolism. The levels of amino acids and neurotransmitters in the phenylalanine, tryptophan, and glutamic acid pathways were significantly reduced after l-theanine administration compared with chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced rats. In summary, l-theanine had a significant preventive effect on depression and achieved its preventive results on depression by regulating various aspects of the body, such as amino acids, lipids, and inflammation. This research systematically analyzed the mechanism of l-theanine in preventing depression and laid the foundation for applying l-theanine to prevent depression in children and adolescents.

Mesoscale Mechanism of P-dopant Defects and Interface Synergy for Phenols Degradation.

The semiconductor based photocatalysis has become a hot spot of current research, and the key challenges are the construction of strong functional heterojunction photocatalysts, and insights on the working mechanism involved. In this work, we constructed a NiFe- LDHs/P-TCN heterojunction with P-dopant defects and interface synergy and elucidated its mesoscale mechanism among different constituent interfaces. The interface photoelectron transfer was detected by PAS, EPR and other methods, and the enhancing mechanism of the defect sites for interface electron transfer and photocatalytic activity was proposed. The interfacial electrons, photoelectric properties and photocatalytic activity are found to be positively correlated. The result is conducive for a better understanding on working mechanism of heterogeneous photocatalysts, which opened a broader research space for the rational design and construction of functional interfaces.

A sensitive HILIC-MS/MS method for quantification of theanine in rat plasma and tissues: Application to preclinical pharmacokinetic study.

Adolescent depression is a significant public health problem, with the major depressive disorder having been the leading risk factor for suicide and death amongst children and adolescents. For treating depression, antidepressants are used with minimal clinical evidence data and uncertain efficacy in children. L-theanine has anti-depression and other physiological functions. However, few reports are available on the pharmacokinetics of L-theanine, especially in children and adolescents. In this study, a rapid and sensitive hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was established and validated for the quantification of L-theanine in juvenile rat plasma and tissues. Chromatographic separation was conducted via an Agilent ZORBAX HILIC plus column in gradient elution mode. L-theanine and [2H5]-L-glutamic acid (internal standard) were determined under the multi-reaction monitoring mode transitions of m/z 175.0 â†’ 157.9 and m/z 153.0 â†’ 88.2 in positive ionisation mode, respectively, and completed methodology verification. In addition, 10 and 35 mg kg-1 of L-theanine were given by intragastric administration to determine the brain and plasma pharmacokinetic characteristics in healthy and chronic unpredictable mild stress rats, respectively. The distribution of tissues and the limbic system were measured at the same time. The results showed that juvenile and diseased rats have higher absorption than adult rats, and age, dosage and health status could affect the process of L-theanine in vivo. L-theanine also has a high degree of tissue distribution. This study lays a foundation for the clinical treatment of depression in children and adolescents.

Study on the mechanism of anti-acute lung injury of Shuanghuanglian oral liquid based on identification of transitional components in blood and network pharmacology.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a common clinical disease that seriously affects people's health and endangers their lives. Shuanghuanglian (SHL) oral liquid is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation that is often used clinically to treat respiratory infections. SHL oral liquid has good efficacy, but its mechanism is still unclear. A strategy combining the identification of transitional components in blood and network pharmacology was proposed and applied to explore the potential anti-ALI mechanism of SHL oral liquid. A UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap-MS method was first developed to characterize the metabolic profiling of rat serum after gavage administration of SHL oral liquid. Then, based on the identified compounds, network pharmacology was used to establish a component-target-pathway network to explore the molecular mechanism of SHL oral liquid in the treatment of ALI. As a result, 92 transitional components in blood after oral administration of SHL oral liquid were identified, including 28 prototype components and 64 metabolites, and the metabolic pathways were also estimated and analyzed. Based on network pharmacology, the key anti-ALI targets of SHL oral liquid were screened as ADORA1, PTGS2, EGFR, ALOX5 and TNF, and the key pathway was PI3K-Akt signal pathway. This study provided a basis and strategy for the follow-up study of the anti-ALI molecular mechanism of SHL oral liquid and revealing the mechanism of TCM.

Selective Photocatalytic Activation of Ethanol C-H and O-H Bonds over Multi-Au@SiO2/TiO2: Role of Catalyst Surface Structure and Reaction Kinetics.

The chemical bond diversity and flexible reactivity of biomass-derived ethanol make it a vital feedstock for the production of value-added chemicals but result in low conversion selectivity. Herein, composite catalysts comprising SiO2-coated single- or multiparticle Au cores hybridized with TiO2 nanoparticles (mono- or multi-Au@SiO2/TiO2, respectively) were fabricated via electrostatic self-assembly. The C-H and O-H bonds of ethanol were selectively activated (by SiO2 and TiO2, respectively) under irradiation to form CH3CH•(OH) or CH3CH2O• radicals, respectively. The formation and depletion kinetics of these radicals was analyzed by electron spin resonance to reveal marked differences between mono- and multi-Au@SiO2/TiO2. Consequently, the selectivity of these catalysts for 1,1-diethoxyethane after 6 h irradiation was determined as 81 and 99%, respectively, which was attributed to the more pronounced effect of localized surface plasmon resonance for multi-Au@SiO2/TiO2. Notably, only acetaldehyde was formed on a Au/TiO2 catalyst without a SiO2 shell. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy indicated that the C-H adsorption of ethanol was enhanced in the case of multi-Au@SiO2/TiO2, while NH3 temperature-programmed desorption and pyridine adsorption FTIR spectroscopy revealed that multi-Au@SiO2/TiO2 exhibited enhanced surface acidity. Collectively, the results of experimental and theoretical analyses indicated that the adsorption of acetaldehyde on multi-Au@SiO2/TiO2 was stronger than that on Au/TiO2, which resulted in the oxidative coupling of ethanol to afford 1,1-diethoxyethane on the former and the dehydrogenation of ethanol to acetaldehyde on the latter.

Pt1 enhanced C-H activation synergistic with Ptn catalysis for glycerol cascade oxidation to glyceric acid.

The selective oxidation of glycerol to glyceric acid, an important value-added reaction from polyols, is a typical cascade catalytic process. It is still of great challenge to simultaneously achieve high glycerol activity and glyceric acid selectivity, suffering from either deep oxidation and C-C cleavage or poor oxidation efficiency from glyceraldehyde to glyceric acid. Herein, this work, inspired by nature, proposes a cascade synergistic catalysis strategy by atomic and low-coordinated cluster Pt on well-defined Cu-CuZrOx, which involves enhanced C-H activation on atomic Pt1 and O-H activation on cluster Ptn in the oxidation of glycerol to glyceraldehyde, and cluster Ptn for C=O activation followed by O-H insertion and atomic Pt1 for C-H activation in the tandem oxidation of glyceraldehyde to glyceric acid. The enhanced C-H activation in the cascade process by atomic Pt1 is revealed to be essential for the high glycerol activity (90.0±0.1%) and the glyceric acid selectivity (80.2±0.2%).

Atomic cerium modulated palladium nanoclusters exsolved ferrite catalysts for lean methane conversion.

The active and stable palladium (Pd) based catalysts for CH4 conversion are of great environmental and industrial significance. Herein, we employed N2 as an optimal activation agent to develop a Pd nanocluster exsolved Ce-incorporated perovskite ferrite catalyst toward lean methane oxidation. Replacing the traditional initiator of H2, the N2 was found as an effective driving force to selectively touch off the surface exsolution of Pd nanocluster from perovskite framework without deteriorating the overall material robustness. The catalyst showed an outstanding T50 (temperature of 50% conversion) plummeting down to 350°C, outperforming the pristine and H2-activated counterparts. Further, the combined theoretical and experimental results also deciphered the crucial role that the atomically dispersed Ce ions played in both construction of active sites and CH4 conversion. The isolated Ce located at the A-site of perovskite framework facilitated the thermodynamic and kinetics of the Pd exsolution process, lowering its formation temperature and promoting its quantity. Moreover, the incorporation of Ce lowered the energy barrier for cleavage of C─H bond, and was dedicated to the preservation of highly reactive PdOx moieties during stability measurement. This work successfully ventures uncharted territory of in situ exsolution to provide a new design thinking for a highly performed catalytic interface.

A retrospective study of orthodontic treatment on anterior tooth displacement caused by periodontal disease.

ABSTRACT: This retrospective study aimed to explore the effect of orthodontic treatment (ODT) on anterior tooth displacement (ATD) caused by periodontal disease (PD).A total of 72 patients were selected and were divided into a control group (n = 36) and an experimental group (n = 36). Patients in both groups received conventional periodontal treatment. In addition, patients in the experimental group also received ODT. Outcomes include probing depth, percentage of bleeding sites, clinical attachment loss, clinical crown length, tooth root length, and periodontal tissue of the affected tooth (alveolar bone height, periodontal pocket depth, bleeding index).After treatment, the patients in the experimental group achieved more improvements in probing depth (P < .01), percentage of bleeding sites (P < .01), clinical attachment loss (P < .01), clinical crown length (P = .04), and periodontal tissue of the affected tooth (periodontal pocket depth (P < .01), and bleeding index (P < .01)), than those of patients in the control group.This study suggests that ODT is beneficial for ATD caused by PD. Future studies are still needed to verify the findings of this study.

Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Algae-Derived Polysaccharides on Morphology, Tight Junctions, Antioxidant Capacity and Immune Response of Duodenum in Broilers under Heat Stress.

To evaluate the ameliorative effect of algae-derived polysaccharide (ADP) supplementation on duodenal injury caused by heat stress (HS) in broilers, a total of 144 male yellow-feathered broilers (56-day-old) were randomly allocated into three groups: The TN group (thermoneutral zone, broilers were raised at 23.6 ± 1.8 °C); HS group (heat stress, broilers were exposed to 33.2 ± 1.5 °C 10 h/day, 8:00 a.m.-18:00 p.m., the temperature in the remaining period was consistent with the TN group); HSA group (heat-stressed broilers were fed with ADP supplemented diet at 1000 mg/kg). There were six replications in each treatment, and eight broilers in each replication. The feeding trial lasted four weeks. The results showed that dietary ADP supplementation tended to increase the villus height (p = 0.077) and villus width (p = 0.062), and decrease the apoptosis rate (p = 0.081) in the duodenum of broilers under HS. Furthermore, dietary ADP increased the relative mRNA and protein (based on immunofluorescence) expression levels of occludin and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) in the duodenum of broilers under HS (p < 0.05). In addition, dietary ADP enhanced the total antioxidation capacity (T-AOC) and activity of glutathione-S transferase (GST), while reducing the malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration of the duodenum in broilers under HS (p < 0.05). Moreover, dietary ADP supplementation upregulated the duodenal nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx1) and glutathione S-transferase theta 1 (GSTT1) mRNA expression levels in heat-stressed broilers (p < 0.05). Furthermore, compared with the HS group, broilers fed with an ADP supplemented diet had a higher relative mRNA expression of inhibitor kappa B alpha (IκBα) (p < 0.05) and a lower relative mRNA expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) in the duodenum (p < 0.05). In summary, dietary ADP supplementation had an ameliorative effect on HS-induced impairment of tight junctions, antioxidant capacity and the immune response of the duodenum in broilers. These beneficial effects might be related to the modulation of Nrf2 and NF-κB signaling pathways.

Interfacial Sites in Ag Supported Layered Double Oxide for Dehydrogenation Coupling of Ethanol to n-Butanol.

Upgrading of ethanol to n-butanol through dehydrogenation coupling has received increasing attention due to the wide application of n-butanol. But the enhancement of ethanol dehydrogenation and followed coupling to produce high selectivity to n-butanol is still highly desired. Our previous work has reported an acid-base-Ag synergistic catalysis, with Ag particles supported on Mg and Al-containing layered double oxides (Ag/MgAl-LDO). Here, Ag-LDO interfaces have been manipulated for dehydrogenation coupling of ethanol to n-butanol by tailoring the size of Ag particles and the interactions between Ag and LDO. It has been revealed that increasing the population of surface Ag sites at Ag-LDO interfaces promotes not only the dehydrogenation of ethanol to acetaldehyde but also the subsequent aldol condensation of generated acetaldehyde. A selectivity of up to 76 % to n-butanol with an ethanol conversion of 44 % has been achieved on Ag/LDO with abundant interfacial Ag sites, much superior to the state-of-the-art catalysts.

A novel probe based on rhodamine 101 spirolactam and 2-(2'-hydroxy-5'-methylphenyl)benzothiazole moieties for three-in-one detection of paramagnetic Cu2+, Co2+ and Ni2.

A novel probe based on rhodamine 101 spirolactam and 2-(2'-hydroxy-5'-methylphenyl)benzothiazole moieties (probe 1) was developed as a three-in-one platform for detection of paramagnetic Cu2+, Co2+ and Ni2+ through different processes. Ratiometric changes in emission intensities at 565 nm and 460 nm for 1 (λex = 350 nm) were observed in presence of Co2+, Cu2+ and Ni2+ respectively. This probe displayed ratiometric colorimetric responses and 'turn-on' fluorescence responses (λex = 540 nm) toward Cu2+ and Co2+. Whereas probe 1 exhibited very weak absorption around 480 nm, no 'turn-on' emission (λex = 540 nm) in presence of Ni2+. The detection limits were 0.11 µM and 0.17 µM for Cu2+ and Co2+ ions respectively from ratiometric colorimetric measurements and 26 nM, 54 nM and 101 nM for Cu2+, Co2+ and Ni2+ respectively from ratiometric fluorometric measurements. The excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT)-prohibited coupled ring-open process for 1-Cu2+ (1-Co2+) and ESIPT-prohibited irreversible process for 1-Ni2+ were proposed according to the spectral results. Furthermore, probe 1 was utilized to determine Cu2+ and Co2+ in real-life samples with good recoveries.