Spectrum-Effect Relationship between HPLC Fingerprint and Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Activities of Chloranthus fortunei (A. Gray) Solms-Laub.

The predominant objective of the research is to establish the anti-inflammatory and analgesic spectrum-effect relationship of Chloranthus fortunei (A. Gray) Solms-Laub (CF), to reveal the pharmacodynamic basis of the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of CF. The fingerprints of ten batches of CF from various origins were established by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and evaluated for similarity, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and principal component analysis (PCA). The anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of CF were evaluated with the xylene-induced ear swelling in mice and the acetic acid torsion test, while the anti-inflammatory and analgesic spectrum-effect relationship of CF was evaluated by gray relational analysis (GRA) and partial least squares regression analysis (PLSR) to effectively elucidate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic substance basis of CF. The ten batches of CF HPLC fingerprints established in this work successfully identified a total of 13 common peaks that refer to 4 components, with peak 1 being neochlorogenic acid, peak 3 being chlorogenic acid, peak 5 being cryptochlorogenic acid, and peak 10 being rosmarinic acid. The HCA results presented that the ten batches of CF samples were clustered into 3 categories, which was consistent with the PCA results. Simultaneously, the results of the spectrum-effect relationship also indicated that neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, and rosmarinic acid were the possible anti-inflammatory and analgesic substances of CF. In order to better understand the anti-inflammatory and analgesic substance basis of CF, this experiment established the anti-inflammatory and analgesic spectrum-effect relationship of CF, which can provide a scientific foundation for the quality evaluation and further research as well as the usage of CF herbs.

Shape-memory responses compared between random and aligned electrospun fibrous mats.

Significant progress has been made in the design of smart fibers toward achieving improved efficacy in tissue regeneration. While electrospun fibers can be engineered with shape memory capability, both the fiber structure and applied shape-programming parameters are the determinants of final performance in applications. Herein, we report a comparison study on the shape memory responses compared between electrospun random and aligned fibers by varying the programming temperature T prog and the deforming strain ε deform . A PLLA-PHBV (6:4 mass ratio) polymer blend was first electrospun into random and aligned fibrous mat forms; thereafter, the effects of applying specific T prog (37°C and 46°C) and ε deform (30%, 50%, and 100%) on the morphological change, shape recovery efficiency, and switching temperature T sw of the two types of fibrous structures were examined under stress-free condition, while the maximum recovery stress σ max was determined under constrained recovery condition. It was identified that the applied T prog had less impact on fiber morphology, but increasing ε deform gave rise to attenuation in fiber diameters and bettering in fiber orientation, especially for random fibers. The efficiency of shape recovery was found to correlate with both the applied T prog and ε deform , with the aligned fibers exhibiting relatively higher recovery ability than the random counterpart. Moreover, T sw was found to be close to T prog , thereby revealing a temperature memory effect in the PLLA-PHBV fibers, with the aligned fibers showing more proximity, while the σ max generated was ε deform -dependent and 2.1-3.4 folds stronger for the aligned one in comparison with the random counterpart. Overall, the aligned fibers generally demonstrated better shape memory properties, which can be attributed to the macroscopic structural orderliness and increased molecular orientation and crystallinity imparted during the shape-programming process. Finally, the feasibility of using the shape memory effect to enable a mechanoactive fibrous substrate for regulating osteogenic differentiation of stem cells was demonstrated with the use of aligned fibers.

Genetic and physical interactions between Polη and Rev1 in response to UV-induced DNA damage in mammalian cells.

In response to UV irradiation, translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) utilizes specialized DNA polymerases to bypass replication-blocking lesions. In a well-established polymerase switch model, Polη is thought to be a preferred TLS polymerase to insert correct nucleotides across from the thymine dimer, and Rev1 plays a scaffold role through physical interaction with Polη and the Rev7 subunit of Polζ for continual DNA synthesis. Defective Polη causes a variant form of xeroderma pigmentosum (XPV), a disease with predisposition to sunlight-induced skin cancer. Previous studies revealed that expression of Rev1 alone is sufficient to confer enhanced UV damage tolerance in mammalian cells, which depends on its physical interaction with Polζ but is independent of Polη, a conclusion that appears to contradict current literature on the critical roles of Polη in TLS. To test a hypothesis that the Rev1 catalytic activity is required to backup Polη in TLS, we found that the Rev1 polymerase-dead mutation is synergistic with either Polη mutation or the Polη-interaction mutation in response to UV-induced DNA damage. On the other hand, functional complementation of polH cells by Polη relies on its physical interaction with Rev1. Hence, our studies reveal critical interactions between Rev1 and Polη in response to UV damage.

Shape Memory and Osteogenesis Capabilities of the Electrospun Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate-co-3-Hydroxyvalerate) Modified Poly(l-Lactide) Fibrous Mats.

Poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) as one of the most well-known biodegradable polyesters has been studied extensively for bone tissue engineering. If being properly programmed, scaffolds from PLLA can also be endowed with the capability of shape memory. However, several noted issues, for example, mechanical brittleness, high glass transition temperature Tg, and relatively poor shape retention and recovery properties, necessitate modification of the PLLA to improve its application efficacy in physiological conditions. This study is proposed to modify PLLA by having the biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) incorporated to form ultrafine composite fibers (i.e., PLLA-PHBV) through electrospinning. Different pairs of PLLA-PHBV at the varying mass ratios of 10:0, 9:1, 8:2, 7:3, 6:4, and 0:10 can be successfully electrospun into fibrous form with the fineness of 2-3 µm. Incorporation of PHBV enables to give rise to desired Tg decreases and also, interestingly, increases in the Young's modulus of the PLLA-PHBV blends, while gradually increasing the PHBV mass ratios up to 30%. The PLLA-PHBV (7:3) formulation is identified to present excellent shape memory properties with high shape fixing ratio (>98%) and shape recovery ratio (>96%) compared to the unmodified PLLA fiber counterpart. Moreover, the PLLA-PHBV (7:3) fibers also show enhanced osteogenesis-inducing ability in the mouse bone mesenchymal stem cells, even under nonosteoinductive conditions. Collectively, for the first time this study demonstrates the enhanced shape memory and osteogenesis capabilities of the electrospun PLLA-PHBV composite fibers, and the researched PLLA-PHBV (7:3) fiber system could be potentially applied as a multifunctional scaffolding material for applications in bone tissue repair and regeneration. Impact statement By first converting the poly(l-lactide) (PLLA)-poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) hybrids into fibrous form at varied mass ratios followed by a thorough characterization, we reasonably demonstrated that incorporation of an appropriate amount of PHBV (i.e., 30%) into the PLLA fibers could give rise to significant improvement on the shape memory capability of the PLLA, along with the desired decreases in the transition temperature (Tg). Moreover, the fibrous PLLA-PHBV (7:3) scaffold was also found to significantly promote the osteogenic commitment in bone mesenchymal stem cells with osteoinductive factors in a synergistic manner. Our biomimicking and shape memory enabled fibrous scaffold of PLLA-PHBV could be used to construct multifunctional three-dimensional scaffold with shape memory effect for bone regeneration.

High Azole Resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus Isolates from Strawberry Fields, China, 2018.

In 2018, we conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate azole resistance in environmental Aspergillus fumigatus isolates obtained from different agricultural fields in China. Using 63 soil cores, we cultured for azole-resistant A. fumigatus and characterized isolates by their cyp51A gene type, short tandem repeat genotype, and mating type. Of 206 A. fumigatus isolates, 21 (10.2%) were azole resistant. Nineteen of 21 had mutations in their cyp51A gene (5 TR34/L98H, 8 TR34/L98H/S297T/F495I, 6 TR46/Y121F/T289A). Eighteen were cultured from soil samples acquired from strawberry fields, suggesting this soil type is a potential hotspot for azole resistance selection. Twenty resistant isolates were mating type MAT1-1, suggesting asexual sporulation contributed to their evolution. Prochloraz, difenoconazole, and tebuconazole were the most frequently detected fungicides in soil samples with azole-resistant fungus. Our study results suggest that managing the fungicides used in agriculture will help contain the problem of antifungal drug resistance in clinics.

Comparison of Two Typing Methods for Characterization of Azole Resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus from Potting Soil Samples in a Chinese Hospital.

To understand the characterizations of azole resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus from potting soil samples in the hospital, a total of 58 samples were collected. Among 106 A. fumigatus samples obtained, 5 isolates from 4 soil samples located in the gerontology department were identified as azole-resistant A. fumigatus (ARAF). Four ARAF isolates harbored the TR34/L98H allele, and the other one had no mutation in the cyp51A gene. Among 174 A. fumigatus samples selected for genotyping, TRESPERG typing obtained a close discriminatory power (Simpson's index of diversity [DI], 0.9941; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.9913 to 0.9968) compared with the short tandem repeat (STR) typing (DI, 0.9997; 95% CI, 0.9976 to 1.0000). Genotyping showed that the TR34/L98H isolates in the hospital had a close genetic relationship with ARAF isolates from China and many other countries. In conclusion, this study indicated the presence of ARAF in potting soil samples from the hospital, which might pose a risk of causing ARAF infection in patients.