Comparative Mitogenome Analyses of Fifteen Ramshorn Snails and Insights into the Phylogeny of Planorbidae (Gastropoda: Hygrophila).

Ramshorn snails from the family Planorbidae are important freshwater snails due to their low trophic level, and some of them act as intermediate hosts for zoonotic trematodes. There are about 250 species from 40 genera of Planorbidae, but only 14 species from 5 genera (Anisus, Biomphalaria, Bulinus, Gyraulus, and Planorbella) have sequenced complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes). In this study, we sequenced and assembled a high-quality mitogenome of a ramshorn snail, Polypylis sp. TS-2018, which represented the first mitogenome of the genus. The mitogenome of Polypylis sp. TS-2018 is 13,749 bp in length, which is shorter than that of most gastropods. It contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA). We compared mitogenome characteristics, selection pressure, and gene rearrangement among all of the available mitogenomes of ramshorn snails. We found that the nonsynonymous and synonymous substitution rates (Ka/Ks) of most PCGs indicated purifying and negative selection, except for atp8 of Anisus, Biomphalaria, and Gyraulus, which indicated positive selection. We observed that transpositions and reverse transpositions occurred on 10 tRNAs and rrnS, which resulted in six gene arrangement types. We reconstructed the phylogenetic trees using the sequences of PCGs and rRNAs and strongly supported the monophyly of each genus, as well as three tribes in Planorbidae. Both the gene rearrangement and phylogenetic results suggested that Polypylis had a close relationship with Anisus and Gyraulus, while Bulinus was the sister group to all of the other genera. Our results provide useful data for further investigation of species identification, population genetics, and phylogenetics among ramshorn snails.

Red ginseng polysaccharide exhibits anticancer activity through GPX4 downregulation-induced ferroptosis.

CONTEXT: Red ginseng polysaccharide (RGP) is an active component of the widely used medicinal plant Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (Araliaceae), which has displayed promising activities against cancer cells. However, the detailed molecular mechanism of RGP in ferroptosis is still unknown. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates the effects of RGP in cancer cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A549 and MDA-MB-231 cells were used. Cell proliferation was measured by CCK-8 assay after being treated with RGP at concentrations of 0, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1600 µg/mL at 0, 12, 24 and 48 h. Lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were assessed by C11-BODIPY assay. The control group was treated with PBS. RESULTS: RGP inhibited human A549 (IC50: 376.2 µg/mL) or MDA-MB-231(IC50: 311.3 µg/mL) proliferation and induced lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, promoted ferroptosis and suppressed the expression of GPX4. Moreover, the effects of RGP were enhanced by the ferroptosis inducer erastin, while abolished by ferroptosis inhibitor ferrostatin-1. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first to demonstrate (1) the anticancer activity of RGP in human lung cancer and breast cancer. (2) RGP presented the anti-ferroptosis effects in lung and breast cancer cells via targeting GPX4.

Extraction Optimization, Structural Characterization, and Anti-Hepatoma Activity of Acidic Polysaccharides From Scutellaria barbata D. Don.

The Chinese medicinal herb Scutellaria barbata D. Don has antitumour effects and is used to treat liver cancer in the clinic. S. barbata polysaccharide (SBP), one of the main active components extracted from S. barbata D. Don, exhibits antitumour activity. However, there is still a lack of research on the extraction optimization, structural characterization, and anti-hepatoma activity of acidic polysaccharides from S. barbata D. Don. In this study, the optimal extraction conditions for SBP were determined by response surface methodology (RSM): the material-liquid ratio was 1:25, the extraction time was 2 h, and the extraction temperature was 90°C. Under these conditions, the average extraction efficiency was 3.85 ± 0.13%. Two water-soluble polysaccharides were isolated from S. barbata D. Don, namely, SBP-1A and SBP-2A, these homogeneous acidic polysaccharide components with average molecular weights of 1.15 × 105 Da and 1.4 × 105 Da, respectively, were obtained at high purity. The results showed that the monosaccharide constituents of the two components were fucose, galactosamine hydrochloride, rhamnose, arabinose, glucosamine hydrochloride, galactose, glucose, xylose, and mannose; the molar ratio of these constituents in SBP-1A was 0.6:0.3:0.6:30.6:3.3:38.4:16.1:8:1.4, and that in SBP-2A was 0.6:0.5:0.8:36.3:4.4:42.7:9.2:3.6:0.7. In addition, SBP-1A and SBP-2A contained uronic acid and ß-glucan, and the residue on the polysaccharide was mainly pyranose. The in vitro results showed that the anti-hepatoma activity of SBP-2A was better than that of SBP-1A and SBP. In addition, SBP-2A significantly enhanced HepG2 cell death, as cell viability was decreased, and SBP-2A induced HepG2 cell apoptosis and blocked the G1 phase. This phenomenon was coupled with the upregulated expression of P53 and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, as well as the downregulated expression of the cell cycle-regulating protein cyclinD1, CDK4, and Bcl-2 in this study. Further analysis showed that 50 mg/kg SBP-2A inhibited the tumour growth in H22 tumour-bearing mice, with an average inhibition rate of 40.33%. Taken together, SBP-2A, isolated and purified from S. barbata showed good antitumour activity in vivo and in vitro, and SBP-2A may be a candidate drug for further evaluation in cancer prevention. This study provides insight for further research on the molecular mechanism of the anti-hepatoma activity of S. barbata polysaccharide.

Tunability in the Optical and Electronic Properties of ZnSe Microspheres via Ag and Mn Doping.

ZnSe microspheres with various Ag and Mn doping levels were prepared by the hydrothermal method using Zn(NO3)2·6H2O and Na2SeO3 as precursors and N2H4·H2O as the reducing agent. The effects of Ag and Mn doping on the phase composition, morphology, and optical and electrical properties of the final products were systematically investigated. A remarkable change in morphology from microspheres with a cubic sphalerite structure to rodlike structure was observed by Ag doping, while the pristine structure was nearly unchanged via Mn doping. Moreover, the band gap of ZnSe microspheres could be tunable in a broad range via controlling the Ag and Mn doping concentration, and ZnSe with high electrical properties could be obtained by doping with an appropriate concentration. The first-principle plane-wave method was carried out to explain the above mentioned experimental results.

A miniature multi-pulse series loading Hopkinson bar experimental device based on an electromagnetic launch.

Controlled multi-pulse loading has seldom been applied in classical split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) research. Therefore, a new technique is proposed to realize a controlled multi-pulse loading SHPB experiment, and a miniature multi-pulse series reluctance coil launcher is developed. The micro-multi-pulse series reluctance coil emitter consists of two single-stage reluctance coils and two impact bars. Two loading pulses with the same amplitude are produced by driving the two impact bars to successively impact the incident bar. The distance between the impact bars controls the delay of the second pulse relative to the first one. The delay can be controlled by adjusting the distance between the impact bars and the launch speed. This precise multi-pulse loading technique is easy to implement and can be used to measure and study the dynamic response of various materials in loading SHPB experiments.

Purification, characterization, antioxidant and moisture-preserving activities of polysaccharides from Rosa rugosa petals.

The present study, we prepared polysaccharides from Rosa rugosa petals (RRPS) using hot-water extraction and purified the polysaccharides by chromatography to obtain RRPS-1 and RRPS-2. Preliminary structural features of RRPS were characterized by different instrumental methods, such as HPGPC, FT-IR, and GC analysis. The average molecular weights of RRPS-1 and RRPS-2 were 8.8 kDa and 443.8 kDa, respectively. Then, antioxidant and moisture-preserving activities of RRPS were determined in vitro. The analysis of antioxidant activities suggested that RRPS-2 had good potential for scavenging activity of radicals. We also found that the RRPS-2 has strong moisture-preserving activity in vitro. These results clearly indicated that RRPS-2 might have a good potential to be utilized in pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industries.

Developing a Polypropylene Fabric, Silica Fume, and Redispersible Emulsion Powder Cementitious Composite for Dynamic Water Environment.

In the dynamic water environment, grouting requires a material with higher strength and anti-washout performance to prevent groundwater inrush. This study aims to develop a dynamic water slurry by mixing polypropylene fiber (PP fiber), silica fume (SF) and the polymer material of redispersible emulsion powder (REP) to the Portland cement. Towards this aim, a series of tests, including strength, gel time, bleeding rate, fluidity, and anti-washout, were conducted to evaluate the effects of SF, PP fiber, and REP on the slurry properties. The test results show that: (1) SF displays significant effects on strength, gel time, fluidity, and bleeding rate of cement slurry. Differently, PP fiber mainly affects the stress⁻strain behavior of the slurry and can improve the ductility significantly. (2) By mixing SF and fiber simultaneously, the slurry strength can increase by about 30%, and its strain can extend by more than 70%. Meanwhile, the composite slurry possesses great anti-washout properties at a low flow velocity (v ≤ 0.4 m/s), and the grouting retention rate (GRR) can reach up to 98.7%. However, the GRR decreases to a maximum value of 31.3% when v = 0.6 m/s. (3) By mixing the REP into the fiber-SF composite slurry, the GRR can further increase, reaching more than 60% even when v = 0.6 m/s. As a result, the developed fiber-SF cementitious composite slurry, which when mixed with REP, presents a favorable performance in the dynamic water environment.

An efficient ruthenium tris(bipyridine)-based luminescent chemosensor for recognition of Cu(II) and sulfide anion in water.

A novel efficient luminescent chemosensor based on a 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (cyclen)-tethered Ru(bpy)3(2+) derivative (Ru-cyclen) has been synthesized and characterized. It displays an ON-OFF-type luminescence change with excellent selectivity towards Cu(II) amongst 16 metal ions in 100% aqueous solution. The binding stoichiometry of Ru-cyclen with Cu(2+) was established by Job plot analysis and mass spectral evidence. Furthermore, the in situ generated Ru-cyclen-Cu ensemble recovered luminescence in the presence of S(2-), indicating an 'OFF-ON'-type sensing process. Similar phenomena were not observed with other common anions and biothiols, making it a high selective sulfide probe. Finally, the sensing mechanism is confirmed to be displacement approach by NMR, mass and emission spectrometry.