Chemical constituents from the leaves and branches of Wikstroemia chamaedaphne with their activation of latent HIV activities.

A new compound, named coniferin B (1), and fourteen known compounds were purified and identified from the leaves and branches of Wikstroemia chamaedaphne Meisn. Their chemical structures were elucidated through analyzing spectroscopic and HRESIMS data. Compounds 2, 3, 5, 7-9, 11, and 13 were isolated from this plant for the first time. All compounds were assayed for cytotoxicity and activation of latent HIV activity on NH2 cells. The results showed that all compounds did not produce cytotoxicity at 10.0 µM and compounds 1, 9-11 showed weak activating activity with activation folds of 4.88, 7.14, 5.3, and 6.97, respectively.

Autophagy participates in the protection role of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in acute myocardial infarction via PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with acute myocardial infarction (AMI); thus we aimed to explore improvement effects of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD3) on the AMI and its potential mechanism. AMI models were constructed using male C57/BL6J mice and randomly treated with normal saline or VD3, using sham rats as control. Heart functions, myocardial damage, apoptosis, and inflammation were evaluated. Cardiomyocytes isolated from 3-day-old suckling mice were used for in vitro verification. After VD3 treatment, AMI-induced cardiac dysfunction was reversed with better cardiac function parameters. VD3 treatment reduced inflammatory cell infiltration and myocardial infarction area accompanied by the reduction of inflammatory factors and myocardial infarction markers compared with the AMI group. VD3 treatment obviously alleviated AMI-induced myocardial apoptosis, along with Bcl-2 upregulation and downregulation of caspase-3, caspase-9, and Bax. Both in vivo and in vitro experiments revealed that VD3 enhanced the expression of LC3II and Beclin-1 and decreased soluble p62. Furthermore, VD3 enhanced the AMI-caused inhibition of PI3K, p-AKT, and p-mTOR expression, which was conversely reversed by the addition of 3-methyladenine in vitro. The study highlights the improvement effects of VD3 on cardiac functions. We proposed a potential mechanism that VD3 protects against myocardial damage, inflammation, and apoptosis by promoting autophagy through PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

Enhanced ammonia nitrogen removal using consistent ammonium exchange of modified zeolite and biological regeneration in a sequencing batch reactor process.

Utilizing preferential ion exchange of the modified zeolite, the zeo-sequencing batch reactor (SBR) is recommended for a new nitrogen removal process. In this study, natural zeolite was modified by sodium chloride to enhance sorption capacity for ammoniacal nitrogen. The untreated and treated zeolite was characterized by XPS and XRD techniques. The sorption isotherm tests showed that equilibrium sorption data were better represented by the Langmuir model than by the Freundlich model. Treatment of natural zeolite by sodium chloride increased the sorption capacity for ammoniacal nitrogen removal from aqueous solutions. As a result of the continuous bioregeneration of ammonium saturated zeolite-floc in the SBR, the nitrogen removal efficiency of the zeo-SBR was relatively ideal. Scanning electron microscopy results showed that microbes were abundant in the zeo-SBR process.

Novel Core-Shell Hybrid Nanosphere towards the Mechanical Enhancement and Fire Retardance of Polycarbonate.

It is a huge challenge to achieve highly efficient fire retardance with no mechanical damage to polymers. In our current research, a novel core-shell titanium dioxide@diphenylphosphinic (TiO2@DPP) nanosphere was first synthesized through a hydrothermal reacting process, and applied in simultaneously enhancing the fire retardance and mechanical properties of polycarbonate (PC). The well-designed TiO2@DPP exhibited a significant effect on combustion performance and mechanical reinforcement of PC. At only 0.10 wt % of TiO2@DPP, PC/TiO2@DPP passed the UL-94 V-0 rating, and its oxygen index value rose to 29.3%. Moreover, the peak value of the heat release rate was remarkably decreased by 34.1% in the combustion test, accompanied by the formation of more compacted char layer and the release of more incombustible gas. Equally important another aspect is that the PC containing only 0.10 wt % of TiO2@DPP possessed higher elongation at break and higher tensile strength than pure PC, correspondingly increased by 27.7 and 14.7%. The analysis of the flame-retardant mechanism revealed that the improved fire retardance of PC is primarily ascribed to the barrier action of a cross-linking network containing phosphorus and titanium, the dilution of nonflammable gases such as H2O, and the quenching effect of free radicals which are from the phosphorous group in the gas phase. All these experimental results demonstrate that the core-shell hybrid TiO2@DPP may achieve a simultaneous significant improvement in fire retardance and mechanical properties of PC.