Neutrophils-mediated bioinspired nanoagents for noninvasive monitoring of inflammatory recruitment dynamics and navigating phototherapy in rheumatoid arthritis.

Neutrophils play a crucial role in inflammatory immune responses, but their in vivo homing to inflammatory lesions remains unclear, hampering precise treatment options. In this study, we employed a biomineralization-inspired multimodal nanoagent to label neutrophils, enabling noninvasive monitoring of the dynamic process of inflammatory recruitment and guiding photothermal therapy in rheumatoid arthritis. Our nanoagents allowed visualization of neutrophil fate through magnetic resonance imaging, photoacoustic imaging, and fluorescence imaging in the first and second near-infrared windows. Histopathology and immunofluorescence analysis revealed pronounced inflammatory cell infiltration in rheumatoid arthritis compared to the normal limb. Furthermore, the recruitment quantity of neutrophils positively correlated with the inflammatory stage. Additionally, the inherent photothermal effect of the nanoagents efficiently ablated inflammatory cells during the optimal homing time and inflammatory phase. This neutrophil imaging-guided photothermal therapy precisely targeted inflammatory nuclei in rheumatoid arthritis and downregulated pro-inflammatory cytokines in serum. These results demonstrate that in vivo tracking of inflammatory immune response cells can significantly optimize the treatment of inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis.

Toxic Effects of Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. Essential Oil and Its Main Component on Culex pipiens pallens (Diptera: Culicidae).

Sustainable control of mosquitoes, vectors of many pathogens and parasites, is a critical challenge. Chemical insecticides are gradually losing their effectiveness because of development of resistance, and plant metabolites are increasingly being recognized as potential alternatives to chemical insecticides. This study aimed to analyze the main components of Perilla frutescens essential oil (PE-EO), investigate the specific activity of PE-EO as a botanical insecticide and mosquito repellent, and explore whether its main constituents are potential candidates for further research. The larvicidal activity assay showed that LC50 of PE-EO and 2-hexanoylfuran was 45 and 25 mg/L, respectively. In the ovicidal activity assay, both 120 mg/L PE-EO and 80 mg/L 2-hexanoylfuran could achieve 98% egg mortality. Moreover, PE-EO and 2-hexanoylfuran showed repellency and oviposition deterrence effects. Notably, 10% PE-EO maintained a high rate of protection for 360 min. Although PE-EO and its main component had certain toxic effects on zebrafish, no significant harmful effects were detected in human embryonic kidney cells. Therefore, perilla essential oil is an effective agent for mosquito control at several life stages and that its main component, 2-hexanoylfuran, is a potential candidate for developing novel plant biopesticides.

Effects of vegetation and terrain changes on spatial heterogeneity of soil C-N-P in the coastal zone protected forests at northern China.

Soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) are important indicators reflecting soil quality, and they can be used to effectively evaluate the effect of soil remediation. Many studies have evaluated the content of SOC, TN and TP in different ecosystems. However, after constructing protected forests for ecological restoration in the ecologically fragile coastal zone, the spatial distribution and influencing mechanism of SOC, TN and TP content is still uncertain. In this study, the spatial heterogeneity and influencing factors of SOC, TN and TP in surface (0-20 cm) soil were analyzed by traditional analysis and geostatistics. A total of 39 soil samples were collected under the coastal zone protected forest types including Quercus acutissima Carruth (QAC), Pinus thunbergii Parl (PTP), mixed PTP and QAC (QP) and Castanea mollissima BL (CMB) in the coastal zone protected forests in northern China. The results show that SOC, TN and TP content were defined as moderate variation, and they also show significant changes under different protected forest types (P < 0.05). The semivariance results indicate that SOC, TN and TP all exhibited strong spatial dependence class, with Range of 224 m, 229 m and 282 m respectively, which were more than the sampling scale of 200 m. The spatial prediction results showed that SOC, TN and TP content all appear in large areas of extremely low value in CMB, and its cross validation results showed that using vegetation and terrain factors as covariates in the spatial prediction of SOC, TN and TP can improve the prediction accuracy. The results of correlation analysis showed that the influencing factor for SOC and TN, and TP were NDVI and topographical changes, respectively. In general, vegetation and terrain factors as auxiliary factors can improved the accuracy of soil C-N-P spatial distribution prediction after afforestation in coastal zone.

Furin Enzyme and pH Synergistically Triggered Aggregation of Gold Nanoparticles for Activated Photoacoustic Imaging and Photothermal Therapy of Tumors.

Specific and effective accumulation of nanoparticles within tumors is highly crucial for precise cancer diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, spatiotemporally manipulating the aggregation of small gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in a tumor microenvironment is of great significance for enhancing the diagnostic and therapeutic efficacy of tumors. Herein, we reported a novel furin enzyme/acidic pH synergistically triggered small AuNP aggregation strategy for activating the photoacoustic (PA) imaging and photothermal (PTT) functions of AuNPs in vivo. Smart gold nanoparticles decorated with furin-cleavable RVRR (Arg-Val-Arg-Arg) peptides (Au-RRVR) were rationally designed and fabricated. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that such Au-RRVR nanoparticles could be simultaneously induced by furin and acidic pH to form large aggregates within tumorous tissue resulting in improved tumor accumulation and retention, which can further activate the PA and PTT effect of AuNPs for sensitive imaging and efficient therapy of tumors. Thus, we believe that this dual-stimuli-responsive aggregation system may offer a universal platform for effective cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Dietary fatty acid intake, plasma fatty acid levels, and the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD): a dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

PURPOSE: Previous population studies on the associations between dietary fatty acids (FAs), plasma FAs levels, and the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have yielded inconclusive results. Herein, we conducted a dose-response meta-analysis to quantitatively evaluate the associations between specific type of dietary FAs, plasma FAs on early and advanced AMD risk. METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE were systematically searched for observational cohort studies published through May 2020. For highest versus lowest comparison and dose-response analyses, the relative risk (RR) estimates with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were analyzed using random effects model. RESULTS: 11 studies with 167,581 participants were included in the meta-analysis. During the follow-up periods (ranging from 3 to 28 years), 6,318 cases of AMD were recorded. Dietary intake of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosatetraenoic acid (EPA) combined (per 1 g/day increment) were found to be negatively associated with early AMD (RR: 0.67, 95% CI [0.51, 0.88]). Each 1 g/day increment of DHA (RR: 0.50, 95% CI [0.32, 0.78]) and EPA (RR: 0.40, 95% CI [0.18, 0.87]) was associated with a 50% and 60% reduction of early AMD risk, respectively. Plasma DHA (RR: 0.72, 95% CI [0.55, 0.95]) and EPA (RR: 0.57, 95% CI [0.40, 0.81]) indicated significant negative relationship with advanced AMD. CONCLUSION: Increasing dietary intake of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), specifically DHA and EPA, were associated with a reduced risk of early subtype of AMD, while other types of FAs did not present significant results. Further research is warranted to explore the potential association between dietary FA, plasma FA levels, and advanced subtype of AMD.

Nanomaterials with a photothermal effect for antibacterial activities: an overview.

Nanomaterials and nanotechnologies have been expected to provide innovative platforms for addressing antibacterial challenges, with potential to even deal with bacterial infections involving drug-resistance. The current review summarizes recent progress over the last 3 years in the field of antibacterial nanomaterials with a photothermal conversion effect. We classify these photothermal nanomaterials into four functional categories: carbon-based nanoconjugates of graphene derivatives or carbon nanotubes, noble metal nanomaterials mainly from gold and silver, metallic compound nanocomposites such as copper sulfide and molybdenum sulfide, and polymeric as well as other nanostructures. Different categories can be assembled with each other to enhance the photothermal effects and the antibacterial activities. The review describes their fabrication processes, unique properties, antibacterial modes, and potential healthcare applications.

Polyphenol-Assisted Exfoliation of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides into Nanosheets as Photothermal Nanocarriers for Enhanced Antibiofilm Activity.

Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) nanosheets have evoked enormous research enthusiasm and have shown increased potentials in the biomedical field. However, a great challenge lies in high-throughput, large-scale, and eco-friendly preparation of TMD nanosheet dispersions with high quality. Herein, we report a universal polyphenol-assisted strategy to facilely exfoliate various TMDs into monolayer or few-layer nanosheets. By optimizing the exfoliation condition of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), the yield and concentration of as-exfoliated nanosheets are up to 60.5% and 1.21 mg/mL, respectively. This is the most efficient aqueous exfoliation method at present and is versatile for the choices of polyphenols and TMD nanomaterials. The as-exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets possess superior biomedical stability as nanocarriers to load antibiotic drugs. They show a high photothermal conversion effect and thus induce a synergetic effect of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy to harvest enhanced antibiofilm activity under near-infrared (NIR) light. All these results offer an appealing strategy toward the synthesis and application of ultrathin TMD nanosheets, with great implications for their development.

DBZ is a putative PPARγ agonist that prevents high fat diet-induced obesity, insulin resistance and gut dysbiosis.

BACKGROUND: The nuclear receptor PPARγ is an effective pharmacological target for some types of metabolic syndrome, including obesity, diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular disease. However, the current PPARγ-targeting thiazolidinedione drugs have undesirable side effects. Danshensu Bingpian Zhi (DBZ), also known as tanshinol borneol ester derived from Salvia miltiorrhiza, is a synthetic derivative of natural compounds used in traditional Chinese medicine for its anti-inflammatory activity. METHODS: In vitro, investigations of DBZ using a luciferase reporter assay and molecular docking identified this compound as a novel promising PPARγ agonist. Ten-week-old C57BL/6J mice were fed either a normal chow diet (NCD) or a high-fat diet (HFD). The HFD-fed mice were gavaged daily with either vehicle or DBZ (50mg/kg or 100mg/kg) for 10weeks. The gut microbiota composition was assessed by analyzing the 16S rRNA gene V3+V4 regions via pyrosequencing. RESULTS: DBZ is an efficient natural PPARγ agonist that shows lower PPARγ-responsive luciferase reporter activity than thiazolidinediones, has excellent effects on the metabolic phenotype and exhibits no unwanted adverse effects in a HFD-induced obese mouse model. DBZ protects against HFD-induced body weight gain, insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis and inflammation in mice. DBZ not only stimulates brown adipose tissue (BAT) browning and maintains intestinal barrier integrity but also reverses HFD-induced intestinal microbiota dysbiosis. CONCLUSIONS: DBZ is a putative PPARγ agonist that prevents HFD-induced obesity-related metabolic syndrome and reverse gut dysbiosis. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: DBZ may be used as a beneficial probiotic agent to improve HFD-induced obesity-related metabolic syndrome in obese individuals.

An event-related potential study of maternal love in mothers.

Feeling is stable and implicit and can be explicated in concrete situations in the form of emotion. To map the time course of feeling processing, the present study explored electrophysiological responses relevant to inner feeling by creating situations to evoke the explicit response of feeling. Fourteen mothers were asked to listen to TS and NS. Although the early event-related potential components (P1, N1 and P2) elicited by story pictures were not affected by the emotional valence of stories, the pictures relevant to TS elicited larger P3 and late positive potential (LPP) components than did neutral story pictures, indicating that feeling processing occurred at the post-perceptual stage. Feeling-related positive potential was separated using the difference wave analysis technique, which consisted of two sub-components: FRBB1 and FRBB2 based on P3 and LPP modulations, respectively. These data provide new electrophysiological evidence for the time course of feeling processing related to maternal love.

Comparison of headspace solid-phase microextraction with conventional extraction for the analysis of the volatile components in Melia azedarach.

The volatile compositions of Melia azedarach were studied by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME). The result was compared with that obtained by soxhlet extraction (SE) and ultrasonic extraction (UAE). 79 compounds were identified in this study, among which 64 compounds were first reported. The experimental parameters including fiber type (PDMS, PDMS-DVB and CAR-PDMS), desorption time, extraction temperature and time were investigated. 37 compounds were obtained by HS-SPME, including curcumene (33.25%), α-cadinol (11.16%), α-muurolene (8.72%), copaene (5.04%), ß-bisabolene (3.41%), and α-selinene (2.97%). The result suggested that the HS-SPME method is a powerful analytic tool and complementary to traditional methods for the determination of the volatile compounds in Chinese herbs.

Evaluation of the anti-neuraminidase activity of the traditional Chinese medicines and determination of the anti-influenza A virus effects of the neuraminidase inhibitory TCMs in vitro and in vivo.

UNLABELLED: ETNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors are currently the most effective drugs to treat influenza A viruses infection. Many traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have been used in the clinics to treat influenza. The anti-viral mechanisms of these TCMs and their inhibitory effects towards NA need to be systematically tested. AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate the anti-NA activity of the TCMs and the anti-influenza A virus effects of the NA inhibitory TCMs in vitro and in vivo. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We tested the inhibitory activity of water extracts from 439 TCMs towards NA. The in vitro anti-influenza virus activities of the 5 TCMs were evaluated using the strain A/California/7/2009 (H1N1) NYMC X-179A of influenza A virus. A randomly selected TCM with NA inhibitory activity, Melia toosendan extract, was further evaluated using a mouse model infected with influenza A virus. RESULTS: Five TCMs, Duchesnea indica (Andr.) Focke [Fragaria indica Andr.], Liquidambar formosana Hance., Lithospermum erythrorhizon Sieb. et Zucc., Melia toosendan Sieb. et Zucc., and Prunella vulgaris L., exerted potent inhibitory activity towards NA. These TCMs in the range of 25-250 µg/mL had the ability to reduce virus-induced cytopathic effect (CPE) and the virus yield in MDCK cells. Melia toosendan significantly reduced death rate and prolonged mean day to death (MDD) of the viral infected mice. CONCLUSIONS: This study describes five TCMs exerted strong inhibitory activities towards NA, and exhibited antiviral effect against influenza A virus by reducing viral reproduction and reduced CPE of the viral infected cells. Melia toosendan, significantly reduced death rate and prolonged survival of the H1N1 viral infected mice.

18Beta-glycyrrhetinic acid ameliorates acute Propionibacterium acnes-induced liver injury through inhibition of macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha.

18Beta-glycyrrhetinic acid (GA), the major bioactive component of licorice root extract, has a protective effect on hepatic injury and exhibits antiinflammatory activity. Here, we investigate the effect of GA in Propionibacterium acnes-induced acute inflammatory liver injury. C57BL/6 mice were primed with P. acnes followed by lipopolysaccharide challenge to induce fulminant hepatitis. GA (75 mg/kg) or vehicle control was administered intraperitoneally daily 1 day after P. acnes priming, and GA significantly improved mouse mortality. Then, to investigate the underlying mechanisms of GA in this acute inflammatory liver injury model, we primed C57BL/6 mice with P. acnes only. We propose that GA ameliorates acute P. acnes-induced liver injury through reduced macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha expression in Kupffer cells by down-regulating MyD88 expression and inhibiting NF-kappaB activation. Reduced MIP-1alpha expression lowered the recruitment of CD11c(+)B220(-) dendritic cell precursors into the liver. Consequently, GA treatment inhibits the activation and proliferation of liver-infiltrating CD4(+) T cells and reduces the production of serum alanine aminotransferase and proinflammatory cytokines such as interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Moreover, anti-MIP-1alpha treatment in P. acnes-primed mice inhibits the recruitment of dendritic cell precursors into the liver and suppresses mouse mortality as GA does. Taken together, our results suggest that GA exhibits antiinflammatory effects through inhibition of MIP-1alpha in a mouse model of acute P. acnes-induced inflammatory liver injury.

Discrimination of herbal medicines by molecular spectroscopy and chemical pattern recognition.

The molecular spectroscopy (including near infrared diffuse reflection spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy) with OPUS/Ident software was applied to clustering ginsengs according to species and processing methods. The results demonstrate that molecular spectroscopic analysis could provide a rapid, nondestructive and reliable method for identification of Chinese traditional medicine. It's found that the result of Raman spectroscopic analysis was the best one among these three methods. Comparing with traditional methods, which are laborious and time consuming, the molecular spectroscopic analysis is more effective.