Inhibitory effects of Jasminum grandiflorum L. essential oil on lipopolysaccharide-induced microglia activation-integrated characteristic analysis of volatile compounds, network pharmacology, and BV-2 cell.

Neuroinflammation is considered to have a prominent role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Microglia are the resident macrophages of the central nervous system, and modulating microglia activation is a promising strategy to prevent AD. Essential oil of Jasminum grandiflorum L. flowers is commonly used in folk medicine for the relief of mental pressure and disorders, and analyzing the volatile compound profiles and evaluating the inhibitory effects of J. grandiflorum L. essential oil (JGEO) on the excessive activation of microglia are valuable for its application. This study aims to explore the potential active compounds in JGEO for treating AD by inhibiting microglia activation-integrated network pharmacology, molecular docking, and the microglia model. A headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry procedure was used to analyze the volatile characteristics of the compounds in J. grandiflorum L. flowers at 50°C, 70°C, 90°C, and 100°C for 50 min, respectively. A network pharmacological analysis and molecular docking were used to predict the key compounds, key targets, and binding energies based on the detected compounds in JGEO. In the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced BV-2 cell model, the cells were treated with 100 ng/mL of LPS and JGEO at 7.5, 15.0, and 30 µg/mL, and then, the morphological changes, the production of nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species, and the expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1ß, and ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 of BV-2 cells were analyzed. A total of 34 compounds with significantly different volatilities were identified. α-Hexylcinnamaldehyde, nerolidol, hexahydrofarnesyl acetone, dodecanal, and decanal were predicted as the top five key compounds, and SRC, EGFR, VEGFA, HSP90AA1, and ESR1 were the top five key targets. In addition, the binding energies between them were less than -3.9 kcal/mol. BV-2 cells were activated by LPS with morphological changes, and JGEO not only could clearly reverse the changes but also significantly inhibited the production of NO and reactive oxygen species and suppressed the expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1ß, and ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1. The findings indicate that JGEO could inhibit the overactivation of microglia characterized by decreasing the neuroinflammatory and oxidative stress responses through the multi-compound and multi-target action modes, which support the traditional use of JGEO in treating neuroinflammation-related disorders.

Proanthocyanidin A2 attenuates the activation of hepatic stellate cells by activating the PPAR-γ signalling pathway.

Liver fibrosis is the pathological process of chronic liver diseases induced by hepatic stellate cells. Proanthocyanidin A2 (PA2) has multiple pharmacological activities. In this study, we aimed to explore the effects of PA2 on hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation in liver fibrosis. LX-2 cells were treated with TGF-ß1 to establish a fibrosis cell model. Cell viability was evaluated using cell counting kit-8. The levels of fibrosis-related factors (collagen I, fibronectin, and α-SMA) were examined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, western blot, and immunofluorescence assay. The molecular mechanisms of PA2 were evaluated by RNA-seq, bioinformatic analysis, and western blot. The results showed that PA2 suppressed cell viability, and downregulated fibrosis-related factors induced by TGF-ß1, suggesting PA2 suppressed the activation of HSCs. PA2 treatment-induced differentially expressed mRNAs are predicted to be associated with the PPAR-γ pathway. PA2 reversed the downregulation of PPAR-γ and the upregulation of phosphorylated (p)-Smad2 and Smad3. A rescue experiment illustrated that the inactivation of the PPAR-γ pathway reversed the effects of PA2 on cell viability and HSC activation. In conclusion, PA2 inhibited TGF-ß1-induced activation of HSCs by activating the PPAR-γ/Smad pathway. The findings suggested that PA2 may be an effective treatment for liver fibrosis.

Spectral classification by generative adversarial linear discriminant analysis.

Generative adversarial linear discriminant analysis (GALDA) is formulated as a broadly applicable tool for increasing classification accuracy and reducing overfitting in spectrochemical analysis. Although inspired by the successes of generative adversarial neural networks (GANs) for minimizing overfitting artifacts in artificial neural networks, GALDA was built around an independent linear algebra framework distinct from those in GANs. In contrast to feature extraction and data reduction approaches for minimizing overfitting, GALDA performs data augmentation by identifying and adversarially excluding the regions in spectral space in which genuine data do not reside. Relative to non-adversarial analogs, loading plots for dimension reduction showed significant smoothing and more prominent features aligned with spectral peaks following generative adversarial optimization. Classification accuracy was evaluated for GALDA together with other commonly available supervised and unsupervised methods for dimension reduction in simulated spectra generated using an open-source Raman database (Romanian Database of Raman Spectroscopy, RDRS). Spectral analysis was then performed for microscopy measurements of microsphereroids of the blood thinner clopidogrel bisulfate and in THz Raman imaging of common constituents in aspirin tablets. From these collective results, the potential scope of use for GALDA is critically evaluated relative to alternative established spectral dimension reduction and classification methods.

Fluorescence-Detected Mid-Infrared Photothermal Microscopy.

We demonstrate instrumentation and methods to enable fluorescence-detected photothermal infrared (F-PTIR) microscopy and then demonstrate the utility of F-PTIR to characterize the composition within phase-separated domains of model amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) induced by water sorption. In F-PTIR, temperature-dependent changes in fluorescence quantum efficiency are shown to sensitively report on highly localized absorption of mid-infrared radiation. The spatial resolution with which infrared spectroscopy can be performed is dictated by fluorescence microscopy, rather than the infrared wavelength. Intrinsic ultraviolet autofluorescence of tryptophan and protein microparticles enabled label-free F-PTIR microscopy. Following proof of concept F-PTIR demonstration on model systems of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and silica gel, F-PTIR enabled the characterization of chemical composition within inhomogeneous ritonavir/polyvinylpyrrolidone-vinyl acetate (PVPVA) amorphous dispersions. Phase separation is implicated in the observation of critical behaviors in ASD dissolution kinetics, with the results of F-PTIR supporting the formation of phase-separated drug-rich domains upon water sorption in spin-cast films.

Synthesis of silver nanoplates on electrospun fibers via tollens reaction for SERS sensing of pesticide residues.

Silver nanoplates were for the first time synthesized on electrospun chitosan/polyethylene oxide (CS/PEO) fibers via tollens reaction. Ag nanoplates/CS/PEO fibers were used as the SERS-active substrates for quantitative evaluation of 2-naphthylthiol, with an enhancement factor (1.41 ± 0.07) × 106. The SERS-active substrates are flexible, stable, and easy for transportion and preservation, and act as the SERS platform for sensitive detection of the target. Thiram and thiabendazole as the representatives of pesticide residues were identified and detected by the Ag nanoplates/CS/PEO fibers, exhibiting linear response ranges from 10-11 to 10-7 M with a detection limit of 10-11 M. The Ag nanoplates/CS/PEO fibers meet the requirement of thiram detection in practical samples, such as apple, pear, tomato, and cucumber juices. The strategy revealed the feasibility of fabrication of Ag nanoplates on electrospun fibers via tollens reaction and SERS sensing of pesticides in real samples. Ag nanoplates/CS/PEO fibers were fabricated by tollens reaction and electrospinning for SERS sensing of pesticide residues with high sensitivity.

Combination of single-molecule magnet behaviour and luminescence properties in a new series of lanthanide complexes with tris(pyrazolyl)borate and oligo(ß-diketonate) ligands.

A series of tris(pyrazolyl)borate mono-, di- and trinuclear complexes, [Tp2Ln]nX (Ln = Eu, Tb, Gd, Dy, Xn- = various mono-, bis- and tris(ß-diketonates) has been prepared. The Tb3+ and Dy3+ complexes are luminescent single molecular magnets (SMM) and exhibit luminescence quantum efficiencies up to 73% for the Tb3+ and 4.4% for the Dy3+ compounds. Similar Eu3+ complexes display bright emission only at lower temperatures. The Dy3+ and Tb3+ complexes possess SMM behavior in a non-zero dc field at low temperatures, while the polynuclear Dy3+ complexes also show slow magnetic relaxation even in zero dc field up to 8 K. Ueff-values determined from dynamic magnetic measurements were up to 31 and 6 cm-1 for the Dy3+ and Tb3+ complexes, respectively. It was found that within a series of Dy3+ and Tb3+ compounds, Ueff and luminescence quantum yields decreased with increasing nuclearity of the compounds and a shortening of the intramolecular Ln-Ln distance. ΔOrbach-values estimated from low-temperature luminescence spectra were significantly higher than those obtained from ac magnetic data, which may be due to involvement of additional processes in the relaxation mechanism (quantum tunneling, Raman, direct) reducing the energy barrier. Some of the Tb3+-compounds also display metal-centred electroluminescence, giving them potential as emitting layers in LEDs.

Analysis of endophytic bacterial community diversity and metabolic correlation in Cinnamomum camphora.

The structure and diversity of microbial communities in the leaves of Cinnamomum camphora at different growth stages were studied by high-throughput sequencing. Moreover, the relationships between microbial communities and borneol content were analyzed in this paper. The results indicated that the community structure of endophytic bacteria in C. camphora exhibited temporal variations, with the microbial diversity presented as follows: T1 (low content period) > T3 (peak period) > T2 (small peak period). The population of endophytic bacteria and the ratio of primary metabolism in the leaves of C. camphora were T2 > T1 > T3, while the metabolic intensity of endophytic bacterial terpenoids and polyketides was T3 > T2 > T1, which had the same trend as borneol content in C. camphora. The metabolic ratio of terpenoids and polyketides in T3 was 7.44% higher than that in T1, while that in T2 was 4.10% higher than that in T1. The abundance and diversity of Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, Ochrobactrum, Escherichia-Shigella, Pseudomonas, and Massilia significantly promoted the content of terpenoids in C. camphora. Together, those results provide the first evidence that borneol content and potential metabolic intensity in leaves of C. camphora greatly depend on microbial communities composition and diversity.

Selenium Stimulates Cadmium Detoxification in Caenorhabditis elegans through Thiols-Mediated Nanoparticles Formation and Secretion.

Antagonism between heavy metal and selenium (Se) could significantly affect their biotoxicity, but little is known about the mechanisms underlying such microbial-mediated antagonistic processes as well as the formed products. In this work, we examined the cadmium (Cd)-Se interactions and their fates in Caenorhabditis elegans through in vivo and in vitro analysis and elucidated the machinery of Se-stimulated Cd detoxification. Although the Se introduction induced up to 3-fold higher bioaccumulation of Cd in C. elegans than the Cd-only group, the nematode viability remained at a similar level to the Cd-only group. The relatively lower level of reactive oxygen species in the Se & Cd group confirms a significantly enhanced Cd detoxification by Se. The Cd-Se interaction, mediated by multiple thiols, including glutathione and phytochelatin, resulted in the formation of less toxic cadmium selenide (CdSe)/cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles. The CdSe/CdS nanoparticles were mainly distributed in the pharynx and intestine of the nematodes, and continuously excreted from the body, which also benefitted the C. elegans survival. Our findings shed new light on the microbial-mediated Cd-Se interactions and may facilitate an improved understanding and control of Cd biotoxicity in complicated coexposure environments.

An investigation of Li2TiO3-coke composite anode material for Li-ion batteries.

Anode material Li2TiO3-coke was prepared and tested for lithium-ion batteries. The as-prepared material exhibits excellent cycling stability and outstanding rate performance. Charge/discharge capacities of 266 mA h g-1 at 0.100 A g-1 and 200 mA h g-1 at 1.000 A g-1 are reached for Li2TiO3-coke. A cycling life-time test shows that Li2TiO3-coke gives a specific capacity of 264 mA h g-1 at 0.300 A g-1 and a capacity retention of 92% after 1000 cycles of charge/discharge.

Mesoporous TiO2-SiO2 adsorbent for ultra-deep desulfurization of organic-S at room temperature and atmospheric pressure.

Ultra-deep desulfurization is a major requirement for upgrading the quality of fuel and power sources for fuel-cells. A series of mesoporous TiO2-SiO2 adsorbents were prepared and investigated for ultra-deep adsorption of benzothiophene (BT) and dibenzothiophene (DBT) from model fuel at ambient conditions. The adsorbents were characterized via SEM, XRD, N2-BET, FT-IR and NH3-TPD techniques. The results revealed that the adsorbent containing 40 wt% silica achieved the desulfurization efficiency higher than 99% when the initial sulfur concentration in the model fuel was 550 ppm. The high desulfurization performance of the adsorbent was attributed to its large specific surface and surface acidity. It also achieved a high sulfur adsorption capacity of 7.1 mg g-1 in a fixed-bed test, while its static saturated sulfur capacity was 13.7 mg g-1. The order of selectivity towards the adsorption of different organic sulfurs was DBT > BT&DBT > BT. The kinetics of the adsorption of organic sulfur was studied and the results indicated that the pseudo-second order model appropriately fitted the kinetics data. Furthermore, the used adsorbent can be easily regenerated and the desulphurization efficiency of the recovered adsorbent after five regeneration cycles was still maintained at 94.5%.

Novel CeMo x O y -clay hybrid catalysts with layered structure for selective catalytic reduction of NO x by NH3.

A facile method is to prepare novel CeMo x O y -clay hybrid catalysts with layered structures by using organic cation modified clay as support. During the preparation process, cerium cations and molybdate anions are easily adsorbed and impregnated into the interlamellar space of the organoclay, and after calcination they undergo transformation to highly dispersed CeMo x O y nanoparticles within the interlamellar space of the clay. As expected, the prepared CeMo0.15O x -OC-T catalysts with layered structures had high selective catalytic reduction (SCR) activity such as high NO x conversion of >90% in the wide temperature range of 220-420 °C. Meanwhile, they also exhibit high stability and tolerance to water vapor (5 vol%) and SO2 (200 ppm), demonstrating that these novel catalysts could serve as a good alternative for NH3-SCR in practical application.

[A data interface based on USB bus technology for full auto patch-clamp system].

A USB bus based data interface technology for full auto Patch-Clamp system is discussed in the article. The main controller is CY2131QC (Cypress) and the logic controller is EPM3256A (Altera). Optocouplers are used to get rid of the noise from the interface. It makes the installation of the Patch-Clamp system easier by using the USB bus, and is suitable for the new generation of the Patch-Clamp system with a high speed of 1M bytes/s.