Preparation of black phosphorus@sodium alginate microspheres with bone matrix vesicle structure via electrospraying for bone regeneration.

Bone matrix vesicles are commonly acknowledged as the primary site of biomineralization in human skeletal tissue. Black phosphorus has exhibited favorable properties across various chemical and physical domains. In this investigation, a novel composite microsphere was synthesized through the amalgamation of sodium alginate (ALG) with black phosphorus nanosheets (BP) utilizing the electrospray (ES) technique. These microspheres were tailored to mimic the regulatory function of matrix vesicles (MV) upon exposure to a biomimetic mineralization fluid (SBF) during the biomineralization process. Results revealed that black phosphorus nanosheets facilitated the generation of hydroxyapatite (HA) on the microsphere surface. Live-dead assays and cell proliferation experiments showcased a cell survival rate exceeding 85 %. Moreover, wound healing assessments unveiled that M-ALG-BP microspheres exhibited superior migration capacity, with a migration rate surpassing 50 %. Furthermore, after 7 days of osteogenic induction, M-ALG-BP microspheres notably stimulated osteoblast differentiation. Particularly noteworthy, M-ALG-BP microspheres significantly enhanced osteogenic differentiation of osteoblasts and induced collagen production in vitro. Additionally, experiments involving microsphere implantation into mouse skeletal muscle demonstrated the potential for ectopic mineralization by ALG-BP microspheres. This investigation underscores the outstanding mineralization properties of ALG-BP microspheres and their promising clinical prospects in bone tissue engineering.

Scientific Evidence of Acupuncture for Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.

Background: Acupuncture may be effective to treat post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). We aimed to evaluate the reliability of the systematic reviews/meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) evidence regarding acupuncture treatment of PSCI. Methods: The methodological quality was appraised with Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR-2). We evaluated reporting quality with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and evidence quality with Grade of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system. Results: The inclusion criteria were met by fifteen reviews. All studies assessed by AMSTAR-2 had critically poor methodological quality due to the limitations on the lack of the provision of the list of excluded trails, screening of duplicate study, and protocol registration. For reporting quality, response rate of "yes" was less than 50% in Q5 (protocol and registration topic), Q8 (Search) and Q23 (Additional analysis). Evidence quality of outcome measures was low or worse with GRADE because when the data was qualitatively synthesized, low quality and small sample size trials provided the data. Conclusion: Acupuncture may be beneficial for PSCI. Because of limitations and inconsistent conclusions, further research is needed to provide higher evidence for acupuncture on PSCI.

Dietary Supplementation of Ancientino Ameliorates Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Colitis by Improving Intestinal Barrier Function and Reducing Inflammation and Oxidative Stress.

Ancientino, a complex dietary fiber supplement mimicking the ancient diet, has improved chronic heart failure, kidney function, and constipation. However, its effect on ulcerative colitis is unknown. This study explores the impact of Ancientino on colitis caused by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) and its mechanisms. Data analyses showed that Ancientino alleviated bodyweight loss, colon shortening and injury, and disease activity index (DAI) score, regulated levels of inflammatory factors (tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß), and interleukin 6 (IL-6)), reduced intestinal permeability (d-lactate and endotoxin), fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (FITC-dextran), and diamine oxidase (DAO), repaired colonic function (ZO-1 and occludin), and suppressed oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and malondialdehyde (MDA)) in vivo and in vitro. In short, this study demonstrated that Ancientino alleviates colitis and exerts an anticolitis effect by reducing inflammatory response, suppressing oxidative stress, and repairing intestinal barrier function. Thus, Ancientino may be an effective therapeutic dietary resource for ulcerative colitis.

Artificial intelligence in acupuncture: A bibliometric study.

This study aimed to provide a panorama of artificial intelligence (AI) in acupuncture by characterizing and visualizing the knowledge structure, hotspots and trends in global scientific publications. Publications were extracted from the Web of Science. Analyses on the number of publications, countries, institutions, authors, co-authorship, co-citation and co-occurrence were conducted. The USA had the highest volume of publications. Harvard University had the most publications among institutions. Dey P was the most productive author, while lczkowski KA was the most referenced author. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine was the most active journal. The primary topics in this field concerned the use of AI in various aspects of acupuncture. "Machine learning" and "deep learning" were speculated to be potential hotspots in acupuncture-related AI research. In conclusion, research on AI in acupuncture has advanced significantly over the last two decades. The USA and China both contribute significantly to this field. Current research efforts are concentrated on the application of AI in acupuncture. Our findings imply that the use of deep learning and machine learning in acupuncture will remain a focus of research in the coming years.

Effects of different boiling processes on chemical compositions of Lilii Bulbus soup.

Lilii Bulbus, an edible Chinese herbal medicine, has a long history in medicine. However, research on effectively boiling Lilii Bulbus is rare. To make the more nutritious Lilii Bulbus soup, the optimized boiling process, using an alternate heating mode by decoction pot carrying a mixture of water and Chinese liquor at the ration of 9:1, was established in this study. Compared to the soup prepared by the daily process, the polysaccharide amount improved by 54%, and the total heavy metals decreased by 33.5% using the optimized boiling process. In addition, the total saponins at 34.3 µg/g were determined in the soup prepared by the optimized process. Meanwhile, the colchicine content in the boiled Lilii Bulbus soup was undetectable using the optimized process. This research performs an optimized boiling process for making Lilii Bulbus soup, and provides a reference for generating high commercial value from Lilii Bulbus soup in the future.

Correlation of Inpatients Suffering from Acute Acalculous Cholecystitis during ICU Treatment with Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II Score, Duration of Ventilator Use, and Time on Total Parenteral Nutrition.

Objective: To explore the correlation of inpatients suffering from acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) during ICU treatment with Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE-II) score, duration of ventilator use, and time on total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Methods: From March 2016 to March 2022, the clinical data of 47 patients with AAC who received ICU treatment in our hospital were retrospectively reviewed, and these patients were included in the AAC group. Another 36 patients treated in the ICU in the same period with age and gender matching with those in the AAC group were selected as the non-AAC group. Patients' various clinical data were recorded to analyze the correlation of AAC with APACHE-II score, duration of ventilator use, and time on TPN. Results: The shock time, duration of ventilator usage, and duration of sedative medicine use were all substantially longer in the AAC group than in the non-AAC group, according to the univariate analysis (P < 0.05); the amount of norepinephrine used, white blood cell count, C-reactive protein (CRP) amount, and APACHE-II score were significantly higher in the AAC group than in the non-AAC group (P < 0.05); between the two groups, the time on TPN and fasting time were different, but with no statistical significance (P > 0.05); after performing Spearman's correlation with the significantly between-group different indicators, the result showed that the amount of norepinephrine used, duration of ventilator use, white blood cell count, and CRP amount were significantly correlated with the occurrence of AAC, and the correlation was positive (P all <0.001). Conclusion: The APACHE-II score and time on TPN are not significantly correlated with the occurrence of AAC; and the amount of norepinephrine used, duration of ventilator use, white blood cell count, and serum CRP are positively correlated with the occurrence of AAC. Measuring the variations in the levels of various markers can signal the onset of AAC or reflect the state and prognosis, suggesting a possible application in clinic-based targeted prevention and treatment of AAC.

New insights on simultaneous nitrate and phosphorus removal in pyrite-involved mixotrophic denitrification biofilter for a long-term operation: Performance change and its underlying mechanism.

Simultaneous nitrate and phosphorus removal can be completed by pyrite- and influent organics-involved mixotrophic denitrification and chemical phosphorus removal via iron precipitation. However, so far, how their removal performances change with iron precipitation accumulation remains unclear. In this study, the differences in nitrate and phosphorus removal from municipal tailwater between volcanic and pyrite supported biofilters (V-BF, P-BF) for a long-term operation were investigated, as well as the underlying mechanism for these differences. The nitrate removal efficiencies (NREs) in P-BF were greater than those in V-BF due to the synergistic effect of influent organic and pyrite, as evidenced by comparable TOC consumption and Fe2+/SO42- production. The NREs in P-BF were gradually lower than in V-BF as a result of bacterial cell-iron encrustation observed in TEM images, which would deteriorate microbial activity. However, the phosphorus removal efficiencies (PREs) in P-BF remained consistently higher than in V-BF, resulting from chemical phosphorus removal which was confirmed that P, Fe and O elements dominated on the pyrite surface after use by SEM-EDS. The dominant denitrifying bacteria differed significantly, autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrifying microorganisms coexisted in P-BF. The relative abundances of the narG coding gene in P-BF were higher than that in V-BF, which was consistent with the total relative abundances of identified denitrifying bacteria. Besides, the mechanism of simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal in the pyrite-involved mixotrophic denitrification process has been deduced. This work has significant implications for the practical application of a pyrite-involved mixotrophic denitrification process for low C/N wastewater treatment.

Removal performance and mechanism of phosphorus by different Fe-based layered double hydroxides.

Phosphorus pollution has the potential to cause both aquatic eutrophication and global phosphorus scarcity. Fe-based layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have received much attention due to their high phosphorus adsorption and recovery. The composition of Fe-based LDHs is an important factor in determining their adsorption performance. However, the mechanism by which single component regulation of Fe-based LDHs affects phosphorus adsorption performance remains unknown. In this study, two typical types of Fe-based LDHs were prepared: Mg/Fe LDH and Zn/Fe LDH. Results showed that the equilibrium adsorption capacity of Zn/Fe LDH was much greater than that of Mg/Fe LDH, reaching 65.85 mg/g with a phosphorus concentration of 150 mg/L. Calcination facilitated a substantial increase of adsorption capacity for Mg/Fe LDH rather than Zn/Fe LDH. Meanwhile, the phosphorus removal efficiency of Fe-based LDHs both exceeded 90% with an initial pH of 3.0, but it decreased as pH increased, and pH inhibition was relatively weaker for Zn/Fe LDH than Mg/Fe LDH. The common coexisting anions caused a phosphorus adsorption loss, with SO42- possessing the most competition with phosphorus. Combined with FTIR, XRD, XPS, and BET analyses, a superior adsorption performance of Zn/Fe-LDH over Mg/Fe-LDH was probably attributed to a higher surface complexation and larger specific surface area. It was also concluded that Fe-based LDHs are a promising method for removing phosphorus from recirculating aquaculture wastewater.

Metabolomic Analysis Reveals Nutritional Diversity among Three Staple Crops and Three Fruits.

More than 2 billion people worldwide are under threat of nutritional deficiency. Thus, an in-depth comprehension of the nutritional composition of staple crops and popular fruits is essential for health. Herein, we performed LC-MS-based non-targeted and targeted metabolome analyses with crops (including wheat, rice, and corn) and fruits (including grape, banana, and mango). We detected a total of 2631 compounds by using non-targeted strategy and identified more than 260 nutrients. Our work discovered species-dependent accumulation of common present nutrients in crops and fruits. Although rice and wheat lack vitamins and amino acids, sweet corn was rich in most amino acids and vitamins. Among the three fruits, mango had more vitamins and amino acids than grape and banana. Grape and banana provided sufficient 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and vitamin B6, respectively. Moreover, rice and grape had a high content of flavonoids. In addition, the three crops contained more lipids than fruits. Furthermore, we also identified species-specific metabolites. The crops yielded 11 specific metabolites, including flavonoids, lipids, and others. Meanwhile, most fruit-specific nutrients were flavonoids. Our work discovered the complementary pattern of essential nutrients in crops and fruits, which provides metabolomic evidence for a healthy diet.

Marchantia polymorpha L. Flavonoids Protect Liver From CCl4-Induced Injury by Antioxidant and Gene-Regulatory Effects.

Marchantia polymorpha L. (MPL), a common type of liverwort, has been used as herbal medicine to improve liver function in China for many years. Although modern studies revealed that MPL contains various polyphenols, terpenoids, and bis[bibenzyls], its biological effects on liver function have never been systemically studied in any animal model. In this study, flavonoids were extracted from MPL and the components in the MPL flavonoids as well as the antioxidant capacity of MPL flavonoids were analysed. A rat model of liver injury was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 10% carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). MPL flavonoids were administered daily at a dose of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg body weight to the rats for 2 weeks prior to injection of CC14. Treatment with MPL flavonoids, especially at a dose of 200 mg/kg, attenuated CCl4-induced increases in alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, nitric oxide, malondialdehyde, tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1ß, and interleukin-6, as well as reductions in superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase. Microarray analyses showed that co-treatment with MPL flavonoids and CCl4 up-regulated many antioxidant and anti-apoptotic genes, but down-regulated several pro-inflammatory genes, compared to treatment with CCl4 alone. PCR and western blot assays further identified that MPL flavonoids increased GPX1, TMX1, TXN, and XIAP expression, but decreased IL-1 and IL1RAP expression and inhibited Jak/stat3 signalling. In conclusion, MPL flavonoids exerted hepatoprotective effects via antioxidant and gene regulatory mechanisms. (Altern Ther Health Med.

[Orofacial myofunctional therapy improves facial morphology of children with obstructive sleep apnea after adenotonsillectomy].

PURPOSE: This study investigated the effectiveness of orofacial myofunctional therapy(OMT) in improving facial morphology of children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) after adenotonsillectomy (AT). METHODS: Ten children aged from 4-7 years with persistent oral breathing for more than 1 month after adenotonsillectomy were chosen to receive orofacial myofunctional therapy. The patients were required to take photos before and after orofacial myofunctional therapy. In order to compare the soft changes before and after OMT treatment, twelve representative mark points were selected and used for proportion and angle measurements. Graphpad Prism 8 statistical software was used for statistical analysis, to compare the differences in facial morphology of patients before and after treatment. RESULTS: Compared with before OMT, a significant difference was found in the proportion of Sn-Ls/Sn-Stms(P=0.0002), Sn-Stms/Sn-Me'(P<0.05), as well as in the angle of Gs-Sn-Pos (P<0.05), nasolabial angle(P=0.0005), mentolabial angle (P=0.0026) after OMT treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Orofacial myofunctional therapy can be considered as an effective complementary treatment for OSA patients with oral breathing after adenotonsillectomy.

Characteristics of Clinical Trials relating to COVID-19 registered at ClinicalTrials.gov.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in China in December 2019, the epidemic has continued to spread globally. Despite continuous reports of clinical trials being launched, no studies have yet systematically summarized and analysed their characteristics. Our objective is to do this by reviewing trials registered at ClinicalTrials.gov. METHODS: We searched the ClinicalTrials.gov database and retrieved all clinical trials on COVID-19 registered up to and including 3 April 2020. We summarized the characteristics of the trials, presenting the results of all trials, all intervention trials and drug intervention (including vaccines and traditional Chinese medicine) trials. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: We identified 306 COVID-19-related clinical trials. Seven of the studies had been withdrawn, leaving 299 active trials. Of the trials, 28.8% were planned to be conducted in Asia, 26.8% in Europe and 18.7% in North America. Most (73.0%) proposed trials expected to recruit fewer than 500 people, and only 22.1% of the studies included children (aged <18 years). About two-thirds (67.2%) of the studies were funded by the own resources of medical or research institutions. Of intervention trials, 73.9% used random allocation, and 73.4% used parallel assignment. Only 36.7% of the intervention trials used blinding. In terms of drug trials, 147 trials were drug intervention studies, covering 80 conventional drugs and seven traditional Chinese medicine drugs. Antiviral drugs and antimalarial drugs were the most commonly studied drugs with 52 and 45 trials registered, respectively. Five registered clinical trials were on vaccines. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: A large number of COVID-19-related trials have been registered within the first 4 months since the first infection was reported. These involve a large number of different drugs, the most common being antiviral drugs and antimalarial drugs. More attention should be paid to adequate blinding in future trials.

Bioenergy generation and simultaneous nitrate and phosphorus removal in a pyrite-based constructed wetland-microbial fuel cell.

This study investigates the performance of a pyrite-based constructed wetland-microbial fuel cell (PCW-MFC) in chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrate (NO3--N), total inorganic nitrogen (TIN), and total phosphorus (TP) removal and bioelectricity generation, and explores the mechanisms involved. Four microcosms were used: a constructed wetland (CW), a pyrite-based constructed wetland (PCW), a constructed wetland-microbial fuel cell (CW-MFC), and a PCW-MFC. After 180 days' operation, the PCW-MFC exhibited enhanced simultaneous nitrate and phosphorus removal and bioelectricity output. The maximum COD, NO3--N, TIN, and TP removal efficiencies in the PCW-MFC were 71.9%, 70.1%, 63.2%, and 91.2%, respectively, for a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 6 h. The mean bioelectricity output of the PCW-MFC was 19.0-28.4% higher than that of the CW-MFC. The nitrate removal rate constant of the PCW-MFC was 1.04 d-1, which is significantly higher than those of the others. Geobacter and sulfate-reducing bacteria were enriched in the PCW-MFC.

Global Functional Network Connectivity Disturbances in Parkinson's Disease with Mild Cognitive Impairment by Resting-State Functional MRI.

Examining the spontaneous BOLD activity to understand the neural mechanism of Parkinson's disease (PD) with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a focus in resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) studies. This study aimed to investigate the alteration of brain functional connectivity in PD with MCI in a systematical way at two levels: functional connectivity analysis within resting state networks (RSNs) and functional network connectivity (FNC) analysis. Using group independent component analysis (ICA) on rs-fMRI data acquired from 30 participants (14 healthy controls and 16 PD patients with MCI), 16 RSNs were identified, and functional connectivity analysis within the RSNs and FNC analysis were carried out between groups. Compared to controls, patients with PD showed decreased functional connectivity within putamen network, thalamus network, cerebellar network, attention network, and self-referential network, and increased functional connectivity within execution network. Globally disturbed, mostly increased functional connectivity of FNC was observed in PD group, and insular network and execution network were the dominant network with extensively increased functional connectivity with other RSNs. Cerebellar network showed decreased functional connectivity with caudate network, insular network, and self-referential network. In general, decreased functional connectivity within RSNs and globally disturbed, mostly increased functional connectivity of FNC may be characteristics of PD. Increased functional connectivity within execution network may be an early marker of PD. The multi-perspective study based on RSNs may be a valuable means to assess functional changes corresponding to specific RSN, contributing to the understanding of the neural mechanism of PD.

BAOXIN Granules Protected Mouse Model With Elevated Afterload From Cardiac Hypertrophy by Suppressing Both Inflammatory Reaction and Collagen Deposition.

BAOXIN Pill was reported to be effective clinically for chronic heart failure based on the principles of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), invigorating qi and activating blood. The present study evaluated preclinically the effects of the improved dosage form, BAOXIN Granules, on cardiac hypertrophy. Transverse aortic constriction (TAC) was performed in mice to model cardiac hypertrophy by aortic stenosis for 4 weeks. The sham and TAC group were intragastrically administrated with saline as the controls. Two treatment groups were administrated orally with 10 mg/kg⋅d Enalapril (positive control) or 0.77 g/kg⋅d BAOXIN Granules for 4 weeks respectively. The effects were evaluated by echocardiography, morphology, and biological markers for cardiac function. The specific genes involved in inflammation and fibrosis were also examined for their expressions to investigate the pathways involved in early heart failure. Just as Enalapril, BAOXIN Granules administration markedly attenuated left ventricular hypertrophy and improved heart function as evidenced by echo cardiography, morphology. Accordingly, the biomarkers of the early stage heart failure, ANP, BNP and ß-MHC, were decreased in the two treatment groups. We also found that mRNA expressions of some inflammatory factors and fibrosis associated genes were down-regulated in the tissue of heart after treatment. BAOXIN Granules may protect the heart from myocardial hypertrophy caused by increasing left ventricular afterload. It can suppress both inflammatory reaction and collagen deposition during pressure overload. BAOXIN Granules is advised to be tested in clinical trials for heart failure in the future.

Rosa rugosa flavonoids exhibited PPARα agonist-like effects on genetic severe hypertriglyceridemia of mice.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Rosa rugosa Thunb. is a traditional Chinese medicine that was used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and relative risk factors such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and inflammation. Rosa rugosa flavonoids (RRFs) are the main components in Rosa rugosa Thunb. Several studies have demonstrated that RRFs can regulate plasma lipid contents, but the related mechanism of which has not yet been elucidated clearly. AIM OF THE STUDY: The goal of this study was to clarify the effects of RRFs on triglyceride metabolism and its related mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: RRFs were obtained by ethanol extraction from Rosa rugosa Thunb.. Transgenic mice expressing human Apolipoprotein C3 (ApoC3) were used as a mouse model of hypertriglyceridemia. Fenofibrate (FNB), a PPARα agonist, was used as a positive control drug of decreasing high triglyceride. FNB (100 mg/kg) or RRFs (300 mg/kg) were given to the mice by gavage daily. Two weeks later, the changes of plasma lipid levels in the mice were measured by commercial kits, the clearance of triglyceride was evaluated by oral fat load test, and expression of the genes related to lipid ß-oxidation and synthesis was detected in the mice livers by real time PCR. RESULTS: RRFs, as well as FNB, were found to significantly reduce plasma triglyceride (TG) levels in ApoC3 transgenic mice after administration of the drug for two weeks. Plasma lipid clearance rate was increased and lipid content in the mice livers was reduced after administration of RRF. Treatment with RRFs up-regulated mRNA expression of PPARα and its downstream gene of ACOX, while down-regulated mRNA expression of the genes related to fatty acid synthesis (FASN, SREBP-1c, and ACC1). The expression of LPL was raised, while the expression of ApoC3 was decreased, and Foxo1 was inhibited by RRFs in the mice livers. CONCLUSION: RRFs can reduce plasma TG levels by repressing the expression of ApoC3 and inducing the expression of LPL in liver. RRFs could also reduce triglyceride in hepatocytes through increasing ß-oxidation and decreasing synthesis of the lipids. These findings show the potency of further clinical application of RRFs as a hypolipidemic drug for treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Gynurincola endophyticus gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel bacterium of the family Chitinophagaceae.

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped (0.2-0.4 µm×1.2-1.7 µm), endophytic bacterium, designated HBUM179779T, was isolated from the stem of a medicinal plant,Gynura bicolor, collected from Pixian county in Sichuan province, China. The strain did not produce endospores and its cells could secrete mucus. The predominant menaquinone was MK-7. The polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositolmannosides, two unknown aminolipids, two unknown glycolipids and an unknown phospholipid. Branched fatty acids (iso-) and hydroxy fatty acids were the main fatty acids, which mainly included iso-C15 : 0, iso-C15 : 1 G and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain HBUM179779T fell within the family Chitinophagaceae, and its closest neighbour was Pseudoflavitalea rhizosphaerae T16R-265T (94.46 %). However, strain HBUM179779T did not make a coherent clade with members of the recognized organisms. The average nucleotide identity value between strain HBUM179779T and Pseudoflavitalea rhizosphaerae T16R-265T was 67.1 %. On the basis of the phylogenetic and phenotypic characteristics of this bacterium, a novel genus and species, Gynurincola endophyticus gen. nov., sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is HBUM179779T (=CGMCC 1.15525T=NBRC 112424T).

Ce6-Modified Carbon Dots for Multimodal-Imaging-Guided and Single-NIR-Laser-Triggered Photothermal/Photodynamic Synergistic Cancer Therapy by Reduced Irradiation Power.

Photomediated cancer therapy, mainly including photothermal (PT) therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT), has attracted tremendous attention in recent years thanks to its noninvasive and stimuli-responsive features. The single mode of PTT or PDT, however, has obvious drawbacks, either requiring high-power laser irradiation to generate enough heat or only providing limited efficacy due to the hypoxia nature inside tumors. In addition, the reported synergistic PTT/PDT generally utilized two excitation sources to separately activate PTT and PDT, and the problem of high-power laser irradiation for PTT was still not well solved. Herein, a new concept, loading a small amount of photosensitizers onto a PTT agent (both of them can be triggered by a single-near-infrared (NIR) laser), was proposed to evade the shortcomings of PTT and PDT. To validate this idea, minute quantities of photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6) (0.56% of mass) were anchored onto amino-rich red emissive carbon dots (RCDs) that possess superior photothermal (PT) character under 671 nm NIR laser (PT conversion efficiency to be 46%), and meanwhile the PDT of Ce6 can be activated by this laser irradiation as well. The findings demonstrate that Ce6-modified RCDs (named Ce6-RCDs) offer much higher cancer therapy efficacy under a reduced laser power density (i.e., 0.50 W cm-2 at 671 nm) in vitro and in vivo than the equivalent RCDs or Ce6 under the same irradiation conditions. Besides, the Ce6-RCDs also exhibit multimodal imaging capabilities (i.e., fluorescence (FL), photoacoustic (PA), and PT), which can be employed for guidance of the phototherapy process. This study suggests not only a strategy to enhance cancer phototherapy efficacy but also a promising candidate (i.e., Ce6-RCDs) for multimodal FL/PA/PT imaging-guided and single-NIR-laser-triggered synergistic PTT/PDT for cancers by a reduced irradiation power.

[Prokaryotic expression and in vitro enzyme activity analysis of flavonol synthase in Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. 'Hangju'].

We cloned flavonol synthase gene (named as CmFLS) by RACE from Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. 'Hangju' based on transcriptome database. Sequencing results showed that 1 235 bp sequence was acquired with the largest open reading frame (ORF) of 1 008 bp, which encoded 335 amino acids. The predicted CmFLS encoded protein had an isoelectric point (pI) of 5.41. The phylogenetic tree analysis indicated that CmFLS was highly homologous to other FLSs, which identified from the species of Compositae. The recombinant fusion protein, with a molecular mass of 43 kDa, was successfully expressed by prokaryotic expression system. Meanwhile, Ni-NTA resin was used to purify the recombinant fusion protein, and the Ni-Native Buffer containing 250 mmol·L⁻¹ imidazole was most favorable for elution. The purified recombinant fusion protein was subjected to in vitro catalytic reaction, and then the products were extracted and analyzed by HPLC. The results showed that the recombinant fusion protein CmFLS was able to catalyze the production of quercetin by dihydroquercetin under specific buffer and reaction conditions, which indicated that the functional protein encoded by CmFLS had dioxygenase activity in the biosynthetic pathway of flavonoids biosynthesis in Ch. morifolium cv. 'Hangju'. The above results laid the foundation for further studying on CmFLS, and provided new ideas for the regulation of flavonoids metabolism from the molecular level and the catalytic synthesis of flavonols in vitro.

Patchouli alcohol protects against ischemia/reperfusion-induced brain injury via inhibiting neuroinflammation in normal and obese mice.

Almost all of the candidate drugs for ischemic stroke failed to be translated from bench to beside. One important reason is that animals used in experimental studies cannot mimic ischemic patients due to lack of comorbidities like hypertension, diabetes and obesity. Therefore, it is better to test candidate drugs not only in normal animals but also in animals with comorbidities. Patchouli alcohol (PA), a natural tricyclic sesquiterpene in the traditional Chinese herb Pogostemonisherba, is well recognized for its anti-inflammation function in various inflammatory diseases. And as inflammation plays a very important role in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury process and determines the ultimate brain damage, we hypothesized that PA could protect against cerebral I/R injury through its anti-inflammation ability. In this study, the effects of PA on cerebral I/R injury were evaluated in normal mice and obese mice. In normal mice with cerebral I/R injury, PA treatment reduced the infarct volume and neurological deficits in a dose- and time-dependent manner. PA treatment alleviated BBB dysfunction, inhibited mRNA and protein levels of TNF-α and IL-1ß and modulated the activation of MAPKs signaling pathways. Moreover, PA also reduced infarct volume, alleviated the BBB dysfunction and inhibited inflammation in ob/ob mice with cerebral I/R injury. In conclusion, we demonstrated for the first time that PA could protect against cerebral I/R injury not only in normal mice but also in obese mice via inhibiting inflammation, suggesting that PA can be a potential drug for clinical treatment of ischemic stroke.