Surficial engineering of active hydroxyls for ambient formaldehyde oxidation via enhanced Lewis acidity over Zr-doped cryptomelane materials.

Lewis acids of solid catalysts have been featured for a pivotal role in promoting various reactions. Regarding the oxidation protocol to remove formaldehyde, the inherent drawback of the best-studied MnO2 materials in acidic sites has eventually caused deficiency of active hydroxyls to sustain low-temperature activity. Herein, the cryptomelane-type MnO2 was targeted and it was tuned via incorporation of Zr metal, exhibiting great advances in not only the complete HCHO-to-CO2 degradation but also cycling performance. Zr species were existent in doping state in the MnO2 lattice, rendering lower crystallinity and breaking the regular growth of MnO2 crystallites, which thereby tripled surface area and created larger volume of smaller mesopores. Meantime, the local electronic properties of Mn atoms were also changed by Zr doping, i.e., more low-valence Mn species were formed due to the electron transfer from Zr to Mn. The results of infrared studies demonstrate the higher possession of Lewis acid sites on ZrMn, and this high degree of electrophilic agents favored the production of hydroxyl species. Furthermore, the reactivity of surface hydroxyls, as investigated by CO temperature programmed reduction and temperature programmed desorption of adsorbed O2, was obviously improved as well after Zr modification. It is speculated jointly with the characterizations of the post-reaction catalysts that the accelerated production of active hydroxyls helped rapidly convert formaldehyde into key intermediate-formate, which was then degraded into CO2, avoiding the side reaction path with undesired intermediate-hydrocarbonate-over the pristine MnO2, where active sites were blocked and formaldehyde oxidation was inhibited. Additionally, Zr decoration could stabilize Lewis acidity to be more resistant to heat degeneration, and this merit brought about advantageous thermal recyclability for cycled application.

[Authenticity and adulteration identification of Bubali Cornu based on DNA fingerprints].

Whether adulteration exists is a difficult problem in the identification of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM). Bubali Cornu is mainly available in the medicinal material market in the form of buffalo horn silk or buffalo horn powder but lacks obvious identification characteristics, so there is a risk of adulteration. However, the method of identification of adulteration in Bubali Cornu is lacking at present. In order to ensure authenticity and identify adulteration of TCM Bubali Cornu, control the quality of TCM Bubali Cornu, and ensure the authenticity of clinical use, the DNA fingerprints of 43 batches of samples from pharmaceutical companies and medicinal material markets were identified, and the amplification primers of fluorescent DNA fingerprints of Bubali Cornu and Bovis Grunniens Cornu were screened. The DNA fingerprints of Bubali Cornu were obtained by fluorescent capillary typing. The identification effect of fluorescent capillary typing on different adulteration ratios was also tested. Two pairs of fluorescent STR typing primers, namely 16Sa and CRc, which can distinguish Bubali Cornu and Bovis Grunniens Cornu, were screened out, and a DNA fingerprint identification method was established. The 16Sa migration peaks of Bovis Grunniens Cornu and Bubali Cornu were 223.4-223.9 bp and 225.5-226.1 bp. The CRc migration peaks of Bovis Grunniens Cornu and Bubali Cornu were 518.8-524.8 bp and 535.9-542.5 bp. The peak height of the migration peak could be used for preliminary quantification of the adulterants with an adulteration ratio below 50%, and the quantitative results were similar to the adulteration ratio. In this study, a simple and quick universal DNA fingerprint method was established for the identification of Bubali Cornu and its adulterants, which could realize the identification of TCM Bubali Cornu and the semi-quantitative identification of the adulterants.

[Site-specific PCR identification of animal species and formula particles of Scorpio].

Scorpio, a commonly used animal medicine in China, is derived from Buthus martensii as recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. China harbors rich species of Scorpionida and adulterants exist in the raw medicinal material and deep-processed products of Scorpio. The microscopic characteristics of the deep-processed products may be incomplete or lost during processing, which makes the identification difficult. In this study, the maximum likelihood(ML) tree was constructed based on the morphology and cytochrome C oxidase subunit I(COⅠ) to identify the species of Scorpio products. The results showed that the main adulterant of Scorpio was Lychas mucronatus. According to the specific SNP sites in the COⅠ sequence of B. martensii, the stable primers were designed for the identification of the medicinal material and formula granules of Scorpio. The polymerase chain reaction(PCR) at the annealing temperature of 61 ℃ and 30 cycles produced bright specific bands at about 150 bp for both B. martensii and its formula particles and no band for adulterants. The adaptability of the method was investigated, which showed that the bands at about 150 bp were produced for Scorpio medicinal material, lyophilized powder, and formula granules, and commercially available formula granules. The results showed that the established method could be used to identify the adulterants of Scorpio and its formula granules, which could help to improve the quality control system and ensure the safe clinical application of Scorpio formula granules.

[Research Progress of CD4+T Cells-mediated Regulation of Neuroinflammation Involved in Neurodegenerative Diseases].

Neurodegenerative diseases are associated with neuroinflammation,oxidative stress,and aging,which can lead to cognitive and motor dysfunctions.Recent studies suggest that the development of neurodegenerative diseases is related to adaptive immunity,in which CD4+T cells are involved as adaptive immune cells.Through different pathways,CD4+T cells differentiate into effector and regulatory subsets,which may have different effects on the progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease,Parkinson's disease,multiple sclerosis,and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Here,we review the role and research progress of CD4+T cells in neurodegenerative diseases.

A new species of Otostigmus (Chilopoda, Scolopendromorpha, Scolopendridae) from China, with remarks on the phylogenetic relationships of Otostigmuspolitus Karsch, 1881.

Through a combination of morphological and DNA data, a new scolopendrid centipede from southern and southwestern China was revealed: O.tricarinatussp. nov. The species belong to the politus group but has three sharp tergal keels. Validation of phylogenetic status was performed through molecular analysis of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), 16S rRNA, and 28S rRNA sequences from 16 Otostigmus species. Otostigmustricarinatussp. nov. was found to be two populations and varied in the number of spines on the ultimate prefemur, the sutures on a sternite, and a pore-free median longitudinal strip in the pore field. The Yunnan-Guizhou plateau population of O.tricarinatussp. nov. was sister to the clade O.polituspolitus + O.politusyunnanensis + Guangxi population of O.tricarinatussp. nov. with strong support from both BI (bayesian inference) and ML (maximum likelihood) analyses (PP = 1, BS = 97%).

Crizotinib and Doxorubicin Cooperatively Reduces Drug Resistance by Mitigating MDR1 to Increase Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells Death.

As the sixth most lethal cancers worldwide, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been treated with doxorubicin (Dox) for decades. However, chemotherapy resistance, especially for Dox is an even more prominent problem due to its high cardiotoxicity. To find a regimen to reduce Dox resistance, and identify the mechanisms behind it, we tried to identify combination of drugs that can overcome drug resistance by screening tyrosine kinase inhibitor(s) with Dox with various HCC cell lines in vitro and in vivo. We report here that combination of Crizo and Dox has a synergistic effect on inducing HCC cell death. Accordingly, Crizo plus Dox increases Dox accumulation in nucleus 3-16 times compared to Dox only; HCC cell death enhanced at least 50% in vitro and tumor weights reduced ranging from 35 to 65%. Combining these two drugs reduces multiple drug resistance 1 (MDR1) protein as a result of activation of protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK), which phosphorylates eIF2α, leading to protein translational repression. Additionally, PERK stimulation activates C-Jun terminal kinase (JNK), resulting in accumulation of unfused autophagosome to enhance autophagic cell death via Poly-ADP-ribosyltransferase (PARP-1) cleavage. When the activity of PERK or JNK is blocked, unfused autophagosome is diminished, cleaved PARP-1 is reduced, and cell death is abated. Therefore, Crizo plus Dox sensitize HCC drug resistance by engaging PERK-p- eIF2α-MDR1, and kill HCC cells by engaging PERK-JNK- autophagic cell death pathways. These newly discovered mechanisms of Crizo plus Dox not only provide a potential treatment for HCC but also point to an approach to overcome MDR1 related drug resistance in other cancers.