Electroacupuncture versus Escitalopram for mild to moderate Post-Stroke Depression: A randomized non-inferiority trial.

Objective: To explore the efficacy of electroacupuncture in treating post-stroke depression (PSD) by modulating the inflammatory response pathway. Methods: One hundred and fifty participants with mild or moderate PSD were randomly divided into 75 cases each in the electroacupuncture group (EA group) and escitalopram group (ESC group). In the EA group, 30 sessions of electroacupuncture were performed on the Baihui (GV 20), Yintang (GV 29), and the ipsilateral Taichong (LR 3) and Hegu (LI 4), simultaneous oral placebo for 40 days. The ESC group received oral escitalopram oxalate tablets 10mg to 20mg for 40 days, plus 30 sessions of sham electroacupuncture. The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated by the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-17), Self-Depression Scale (SDS), Modified Barthel Index Score (MBI), and the serum levels of IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and INF-γ. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the baseline data, HAMD-17, SDS, MBI scores, and serum IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and INF-γ levels between the two groups of participants before the intervention (P >0.05). After treatment, HAMD-17 and SDS scores continued to decrease and MBI scores continued to increase in both groups. The differences were statistically significant at the 6th week and baseline, the 10th week and baseline, and the 10th week and the 6th week (all P <0.001). The differences in HAMD-17, SDS, and MBI scores between the two groups at the 6th week were not statistically significant (P=0.110, 0.115, 0.516, respectively); HAMD-17 scores and SDS scores in the EA group were lower than those in the ESC group at the 10th week, and the differences were statistically significant (P=0.002,0.026, respectively). In the 6th week, the serum levels of pro-inflammatory factors such as IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, and INF-γ were significantly lower in both groups compared with the baseline, while the level of anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 was significantly higher. The difference between the pre-and post-intervention intra-group comparisons was statistically significant (P <0.001), and the difference between the inter-group comparisons was not statistically significant (P >0.05). No serious adverse events occurred throughout the trial. Both therapies could safely and effectively improve HAMD-17, SDS, and MBI scores and modulate neuroinflammatory responses in PSD participants. After the treatment was stopped, some parameters were better in the EA group than the ESC group in a short time. Conclusion: Electroacupuncture is an effective, alternative to escitalopram for the treatment of mild-to-moderate PSD. Clinical trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2300072576).

Formulating N-Doped Carbon Hollow Nanospheres with Highly Accessible Through-Pores to Isolate Fe Single-Atoms for Efficient Oxygen Reduction.

It is challenging yet promising to design highly accessible N-doped carbon skeletons to fully expose the active sites inside single-atom catalysts. Herein, mesoporous N-doped carbon hollow spheres with regulatable through-pore size can be formulated by a simple sequential synthesis procedure, in which the condensed SiO2 is acted as removable dual-templates to produce both hollow interiors and through-pores, meanwhile, the co-condensed polydopamine shell is served as N-doped carbon precursor. After that, Fe─N─C hollow spheres (HSs) with highly accessible active sites can be obtained after rationally implanting Fe single-atoms. Microstructural analysis and X-ray absorption fine structure analysis reveal that high-density Fe─N4 active sites together with tiny Fe clusters are uniformly distributed on the mesoporous carbon skeleton with abundant through-pores. Benefitted from the highly accessible Fe─N4 active sites arising from the unique through-pore architecture, the Fe─N─C HSs demonstrate excellent oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance in alkaline media with a half-wave potential up to 0.90 V versus RHE and remarkable stability, both exceeding the commercial Pt/C. When employing Fe─N─C HSs as the air-cathode catalysts, the assembled Zn-air batteries deliver a high peak power density of 204 mW cm-2 and stable discharging voltage plateau over 140 h.

Low-Potential Iodide Oxidation Enables Dual-Atom CoFe─N─C Catalysts for Ultra-Stable and High-Energy-Efficiency Zn-Air Batteries.

The low energy efficiency and limited cycling life of rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs) arising from the sluggish oxygen reduction/evolution reactions (ORR/OERs) severely hinder their commercial deployment. Herein, a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF)-derived strategy associated with subsequent thermal fixing treatment is proposed to fabricate dual-atom CoFe─N─C nanorods (Co1 Fe1 ─N─C NRs) containing atomically dispersed bimetallic Co/Fe sites, which can promote the energy efficiency and cyclability of ZABs simultaneously by introducing the low-potential oxidation redox reactions. Compared to the mono-metallic nanorods, Co1 Fe1 ─N─C NRs exhibit remarkable ORR performance including a positive half-wave potential of 0.933 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in alkaline electrolyte. Surprisingly, after introducing the potassium iodide (KI) additive, the oxidation overpotential of Co1 Fe1 ─N─C NRs to reach 10 mA cm-2 can be significantly reduced by 395 mV compared to the conventional destructive OER. Theoretical calculations show that the markedly decreased overpotential of iodide oxidation can be ascribed to the synergistic effects of neighboring Co─Fe diatomic sites as the unique adsorption sites. Overall, aqueous ZABs assembled with Co1 Fe1 ─N─C NRs and KI as the air-cathode catalyst and electrolyte additive, respectively, can deliver a low charging voltage of 1.76 V and ultralong cycling stability of over 230 h with a high energy efficiency of ≈68%.

Self-Sacrificing Template Synthesis of Carbon Nanosheets Assembled Hollow Spheres with Abundant Active Fe-N4 O1 Moieties for Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction.

Single-atom Fe-N-C (Fe1 -N-C) materials represent the benchmarked electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, single Fe atoms in the carbon skeletons cannot be fully utilized due to the mass transfer limitation, severely restricting their intrinsic ORR properties. Herein, a self-sacrificing template strategy is developed to fabricate ultrathin nanosheets assembled Fe1 -N-C hollow microspheres (denoted as Fe1 /N-HCMs) by rational carbonization of Fe3+ chelating polydopamine coated melamine cyanuric acid complex. The shell of Fe1 /N-HCMs is constructed by ultrathin nanosheets with thickness of only 2 nm, which is supposed to be an ideal platform to isolate and fully expose single metal atoms. Benefiting from unique hierarchical hollow architecture with highly open porous structure, 2 nm-thick ultrathin nanosheet subunits and abundant Fe-N4 O1 active sites revealed by X-ray absorption fine structure analysis, the Fe1 /N-HCMs exhibit high ORR performance with a positive half-wave potential of 0.88 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode and robust stability. When served as air-cathode catalysts with ultralow loading mass of 0.25 mg cm-2 , Fe1 /N-HCMs based Zn-air batteries present a maximum power density of 187 mW cm-2 and discharge specific capacity of 806 mA h gZn -1 in primary Zn-air batteries, all exceeding those of commercial Pt/C.

Acupuncture in treating cardiovascular disease complicated with depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Depression is a serious risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Improving depression can alleviate cardiac symptoms and improve quality of life. Studies have shown that acupuncture has a positive effect on depression and CVD. This systematic review and meta-analysis will evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of depression complicated with CVD. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and China Biomedical Literature databases. Randomized controlled trials of acupuncture vs. standard care or sham acupuncture or antidepressants were included. The retrieval time is from database construction to 07 April 2022. We used the "risk of bias" tool of Cochrane Collaboration, and the Review Manager (RevMan.) Version 5.4.1 for statistics analysis. Primary outcomes included Hamilton scale for depression (HAMD), self-rating depression scale (SDS), and the effective rate of depression. Secondary outcomes included frequency of angina pectoris and visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for angina pain. Results: A total of 2,366 studies were screened based on the search strategy. Twelve eligible studies with a total of 1,203 participants have been identified. The result showed that acupuncture reduced the HAMD score [weighted mean difference (WMD): -3.23; 95% confidence interval (CI): -5.38 to -1.09; P = 0.003] and the SDS score (WMD: -1.85; 95% CI: -2.14 to -1.56; P < 0.00001) in patients with depression complicated with CVD. Acupuncture also improved the effective rate of depression (risk ratio: 1.15; 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.29; P = 0.01). The result also showed that acupuncture reduced the attack frequency of angina pectoris (WMD: -4.54; 95% CI: -5.96 to -3.11; P < 0.00001) and the VAS score for angina pain (WMD: -0.72; 95% CI: -1.06 to -0.38; P < 0.0001). This article reviewed the significant advantages of acupuncture for depression and the superiority of acupuncture over no-intervention therapy, antidepressant therapy, and psychotherapy in reducing angina frequency and pain intensity in patients with CVD. Conclusion: This systematic review suggested that acupuncture was a good complementary and alternative therapy for CVD complicated with depression. Considering the limitations of the included research literature, it is still necessary to perform multi-center, large-sample, and double-blind high-quality studies to provide higher-level evidence in the later stage. Systematic review registration: [https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/], identifier [CRD42022304957].

Two-dimensional mineral hydrogel-derived single atoms-anchored heterostructures for ultrastable hydrogen evolution.

Hydrogen energy is critical for achieving carbon neutrality. Heterostructured materials with single metal-atom dispersion are desirable for hydrogen production. However, it remains a great challenge to achieve large-scale fabrication of single atom-anchored heterostructured catalysts with high stability, low cost, and convenience. Here, we report single iron (Fe) atom-dispersed heterostructured Mo-based nanosheets developed from a mineral hydrogel. These rationally designed nanosheets exhibit excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity and reliability in alkaline condition, manifesting an overpotential of 38.5 mV at 10 mA cm-2, and superior stability without performance deterioration over 600 h at current density up to 200 mA cm-2, superior to most previously reported non-noble-metal electrocatalysts. The experimental and density functional theory results reveal that the O-coordinated single Fe atom-dispersed heterostructures greatly facilitated H2O adsorption and enabled effective adsorbed hydrogen (H*) adsorption/desorption. The green, scalable production of single-atom-dispersed heterostructured HER electrocatalysts reported here is of great significance in promoting their large-scale implementation.

Isolating Fe Atoms in N-Doped Carbon Hollow Nanorods through a ZIF-Phase-Transition Strategy for Efficient Oxygen Reduction.

Transition metal-nitrogen-carbon (TM-N-C) catalysts have been intensely investigated to tackle the sluggish oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs), but insufficient accessibility of the active sites limits their performance. Here, by using solid ZIF-L nanorods as self-sacrifice templates, a ZIF-phase-transition strategy is developed to fabricate ZIF-8 hollow nanorods with open cavities, which can be subsequently converted to atomically dispersed Fe-N-C hollow nanorods (denoted as Fe1 -N-C HNRs) through rational carbonization and following fixation of iron atoms. The microstructure observation and X-ray absorption fine structure analysis confirm abundant Fe-N4 active sites are evenly distributed in the carbon skeleton. Thanks to the highly accessible Fe-N4 active sites provided by the highly porous and open carbon hollow architecture, the Fe1 -N-C HNRs exhibit superior ORR activity and stability in alkaline and acidic electrolytes with very positive half-wave potentials of 0.91 and 0.8 V versus RHE, respectively, both of which surpass those of commercial Pt/C. Remarkably, the dynamic current density (JK ) of Fe1 -N-C HNRs at 0.85 V versus RHE in alkaline media delivers a record value of 148 mA cm-2 , 21 times higher than that of Pt/C. The assembled Zn-air battery using Fe1 -N-C HNRs as cathode catalyst exhibits a high peak power density of 208 mW cm-2 .

Transition Metal (Co, Ni, Fe, Cu) Single-Atom Catalysts Anchored on 3D Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbon Nanosheets as Efficient Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts for Zn-Air Battery.

Exploring highly active and cost-efficient single-atom catalysts (SACs) for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is critical for the large-scale application of Zn-air battery. Herein, density functional theory (DFT) calculations predict that the intrinsic ORR activity of the active metal of SACs follows the trend of Co > Fe > Ni ≈ Cu, in which Co SACs possess the best ORR activity due to its optimized spin density. Guided by DFT calculations, four kinds of transition metal single atoms embedded in 3D porous nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets (MSAs@PNCN, M = Co, Ni, Fe, Cu) are synthesized via a facile NaCl-template assisted strategy. The resulting MSAs@PNCN displays ORR activity trend in lines with the theoretical predictions, and the Co SAs@PNCN exhibits the best ORR activity (E1/2  = 0.851 V), being comparable to that of Pt/C under alkaline conditions. X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectra verify the atomically dispersed Co-N4 sites are the catalytically active sites. The highly active CoN4 sites and the unique 3D porous structure contribute to the outstanding ORR performance of Co SAs@PNCN. Furthermore, the Co SAs@PNCN catalyst is employed as cathode in Zn-air battery, which can deliver a large power density of 220 mW cm-2 and maintain robust cycling stability over 530 cycles.

Protective effect of shikonin in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats by inhibition of autophagy through the Hippo pathway.

Shikonin is widely acknowledged as a bioactive substance extracted from the root of lithospermum erythrorhizon with multifunction. It alleviates ischemic/reperfusion (I/R) injury in liver and brain. Due to the similar pathogenesis of I/R and hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-stimulated injury, we aimed to explore the potential pharmacological effects of Shikonin on the myocardial injury. The rats with myocardial I/R injury and the primary cardiomyocytes with H/R-stimulated injury were taken as in vivo and in vitro models. 2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining and ELISA kits were used for detection of myocardial infarction and cardiac injury. Hematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemistry staining were used to analyze the effect of Shikonin on autophagy histology. Western blot was performed to detect the proteins related to autophagy and Hippo pathway. The results showed that SHK reduces the size of myocardial infarction, improved cardiac function, suppressed the expression of autophagy-related proteins, and reduced the amount of autophagosomes. The underlying mechanism is to activate Hippo pathway. In vitro assay also suggested that SHK enhanced the cell viability, reduced the apoptotic rates in rat primary cardiomyocytes. Collectively, our results demonstrated that SHK protects against myocardial I/R injury by inhibiting autophagy, of which the underlying molecular mechanism is to activate the Hippo signaling pathway.

Encapsulating atomic molybdenum into hierarchical nitrogen-doped carbon nanoboxes for efficient oxygen reduction.

Construction of single-atom catalysts (SACs) with maximally exposed active sites remains a challenging task mainly because of the lack of suitable host matrices. In this study, hierarchical N-doped carbon nanoboxes composed of ultrathin nanosheets with dispersed atomic Mo (denoted as hierarchical SA-Mo-C nanoboxes) were fabricated via a template-engaged multistep synthesis process. Comprehensive characterizations, including X-ray absorption fine structure analysis, reveal the formation of Mo-N4 atomic sites uniformly anchored on the hierarchical carbon nanoboxes. The prepared catalysts offer structural and morphological advantages, including ultrathin nanosheet units, unique hollow structures and abundant active Mo-N4 species, that result in excellent activity with a half-wave potential of 0.86 V vs. RHE and superb stability for the oxygen reduction reaction in 0.1 M KOH; thus, the catalysts are promising air-cathode catalysts for Zn-air batteries with a high peak power density of 157.6 mW cm-2.

[Acupoint injection combined with Vitalstim electrical stimulation for post-stroke dysphagia:a randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of acupoint injection combined with Vitalstim electrical stimulation for post-stroke dysphagia. METHODS: A total of 98 patients with dysphagia after first stroke were randomized into an acupoint injection group (35 cases, 2 cases dropped off), an electrical stimulation group (31 cases, 3 cases dropped off) and a combination group (32 cases, 3 cases dropped off). Injection of mecobalamin into Tunyan point, Vitalstim electrical stimulation and the combination of injection of mecobalamin into Tunyan point and Vitalstim electrical stimulation were applied respectively in the 3 groups, once a day, 10 times as one course, 2 courses were required. Before and after treatment, the tongue muscle thickness and video fluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) score were observed in the 3 groups. RESULTS: After treatment, the tongue muscle thickness was decreased (P<0.05), the VFSS scores were increased (P<0.05) compared with before treatment in the 3 groups, and the variation of tongue muscle thickness and VFSS score in the combination group was greater than the acupoint injection group and the electrical stimulation group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Both acupoint injection of mecobalamin and Vitalstim electrical stimulation have therapeutic effect on dysphagia after stroke, and the two have synergistic effect.

Chitosan oligosaccharide alleviates the growth inhibition caused by physcion and synergistically enhances resilience in maize seedlings.

The use of biopesticides has gradually become essential to ensure food security and sustainable agricultural production. Nevertheless, the use of single biopesticides is frequently suboptimal in agricultural production given the diversity of biotic and abiotic stresses. The present study investigated the effects of two biopesticides, physcion and chitosan-oligosaccharide (COS), alone and in combination, on growth regulation and antioxidant potential of maize seedlings by seed coating. As suggested from the results, physcion significantly inhibited the growth of the shoots of maize seedlings due to the elevated respiration rate. However, COS significantly reduced the growth inhibition induced by physcion in maize seedlings by lowering the respiration rate and increasing the content of photosynthetic pigments and root vigor, which accounted for lower consumption of photosynthesis products, a higher photosynthetic rate and a greater nutrient absorption rate. Thus, an improved growth was identified. As indicated from the in-depth research, the application of physcion and COS combination is more effective in down-regulated the malondialdehyde (MDA) content by facilitating the activities of the antioxidative enzymes (i.e., superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and guaiacol peroxidase (G-POD)). Such results indicated that the combined use of physcion and COS neither affected the normal growth of maize seedlings, but also synergistically improved the antioxidant potential of the maize plants, resulting in plants with high stress resistance. Thus, the combined use of physcion and COS by seed coating in maize production has great potential to ensure yield and sustainable production of maize.

Toward Practical High-Areal-Capacity Aqueous Zinc-Metal Batteries: Quantifying Hydrogen Evolution and a Solid-Ion Conductor for Stable Zinc Anodes.

The hydrogen evolution in Zn metal battery is accurately quantified by in situ battery-gas chromatography-mass analysis. The hydrogen fluxes reach 3.76 mmol h-1 cm-2 in a Zn//Zn symmetric cell in each segment, and 7.70 mmol h-1 cm-2 in a Zn//MnO2 full cell. Then, a highly electronically insulating (0.11 mS cm-1 ) but highly Zn2+ ion conductive (80.2 mS cm-1 ) ZnF2 solid ion conductor with high Zn2+ transfer number (0.65) is constructed to isolate Zn metal from liquid electrolyte, which not only prohibits over 99.2% parasitic hydrogen evolution but also guides uniform Zn electrodeposition. Precisely quantitated, the Zn@ZnF2 //Zn@ZnF2 cell only produces 0.02 mmol h-1 cm-2 of hydrogen (0.53% of the Zn//Zn cell). Encouragingly, a high-areal-capacity Zn@ZnF2 //MnO2 (≈3.2 mAh cm-2 ) full cell only produces maximum hydrogen flux of 0.06 mmol h-1 cm-2 (0.78% of the Zn//Zn cell) at the fully charging state. Meanwhile, Zn@ZnF2 //Zn@ZnF2 symmetric cell exhibits excellent stability under ultrahigh current density and areal capacity (10 mA cm-2 , 10 mAh cm-2 ) over 590 h (285 cycles), which far outperforms all reported Zn metal anodes in aqueous systems. In light of the superior Zn@ZnF2 anode, the high-areal-capacity aqueous Zn@ZnF2 //MnO2 batteries (≈3.2 mAh cm-2 ) shows remarkable cycling stability over 1000 cycles with 93.63% capacity retained at ≈100% Coulombic efficiency.

Co, Fe codoped holey carbon nanosheets as bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts for rechargeable Zn-air batteries.

Unique Co, Fe codoped holey carbon nanosheets with high surface area and abundant bimetal single atoms (CoFe@HNSs) exhibited remarkable bifunctional oxygen electrocatalytic activity (0.704 V) with very positive half-wave potential (0.897 V) for the ORR and small potential (1.601 V) to drive 10 mA cm-2 for the OER, outperforming commercial Pt/C and IrO2, respectively. Furthermore, as the air-cathode for rechargeable Zn-air batteries, the CoFe@HNS based device exhibits a high-power density of 131.3 mW cm-2 and long-term stability over 140 h, indicating the attractive potential of CoFe@HNSs applied in energy storage and conversion.

Systematic profiling of the effective ingredients and mechanism of Scabiosa comosa and S. tschilliensis against hepatic fibrosis combined with network pharmacology.

Scabiosa comosa and S. tschilliensis (SCST) are traditionally used for liver diseases in Mongolian medicine. However, their active ingredients and molecular mechanisms are unknown. The present study employed network pharmacology and experimental verification approaches to decipher the common pharmacological mechanisms of SCST on liver fibrosis, which is the key step in liver diseases. We predicted the targets of all available SCST ingredients with the SWISS and SuperPred servers and clustered the targets related to liver fibrosis from DrugBank, the OMIM database and the literature. We further evaluated the links between the herbal ingredients and pharmacological actions to explore the potential mechanism of action of SCST. We found that the PPARG signalling pathway could be regulated by SCST for liver fibrosis through enrichment analysis. The key targets included 8 co-targets, including HSP90AA1, PPARG, HSP90AB1, STAT1, etc., which play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis. Additionally, the top 15 key compounds included flavonoids and phenylpropanoids. Central to the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis is trans-differentiation or activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Therefore, LX2 cells, an immortalized human HSC line, were studied. Here, a total 37 components were isolated and identified from the inflorescences of SCST, including the new compound tschilliensisin, and the first separated components, ß-sitosterol and luteolin, and these compounds were assessed against anti-hepatic fibrosis. An MTT assay and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting analyses demonstrated that the flavonoids of SCST revealed anti-hepatic fibrosis effects via anti-proliferation and increases in the Stat1, Pparg, Hsp90aa1 genes and STAT1 and PPARG proteins in LX-2 cells. In conclusion, these results indicate that SCST has multi-targeted and multi-component synergistic anti-hepatic fibrosis effects.

The Interventional Effects of Tubson-2 Decoction on Ovariectomized Rats as Determined by a Combination of Network Pharmacology and Metabolomics.

Post-menopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) is associated with estrogen deficiency and worldwide, is becoming increasingly more prevalent in aging women. Various anti-PMOP drugs have been developed to reduce the burden of PMOP; generally, these drugs are efficacious, but with some adverse side effects. Tubson-2 decoction (TBD), a popular traditional Mongolian medicine, has been used to treat PMOP for centuries. However, the precise mechanisms underlying the action of TBD on PMOP have yet to be fully elucidated. Herein, we combined network pharmacology with untargeted metabolomics to identify the key targets and metabolic pathways associated with the interventional effects of TBD on ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Furthermore, we investigated the bone histomorphometry of eight different groups of rats to evaluate the therapeutic effect of TBD. First, we established a TBD-target/PMOP network via network pharmacology; this network identified three key protein targets-vitamin D receptor (VDR), cytochrome P450 19A1 (CYP19A1), and 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSD11B1). Morphological analysis showed that severe impairment of the bone micro-architecture in OVX rats could be improved by TBD administration. The TBD-treated rats had a significantly lower bone surface-to-tissue volume (BS/TV) and a significantly smaller trabecular separation (Tb·Sp.) (P<0.05) than the OVX rats; in contrast, bone volume fraction (BVF), trabecular thickness (Tb·Th.), trabecular number (Tb·N.), and bone mineral density (BMD) were significantly higher in the TBD-treated rats (P<0.05). Multivariate and univariate analysis showed that OVX resulted in significant alterations in the concentrations of 105 metabolites and 11 metabolic pathways (P<0.05); in addition, 26 potential biomarkers were identified to investigate the progression of PMOP. Network pharmacology showed that major alterations in vitamin B6 metabolism were associated with the VDR target. Next, we validated the three crucial targets (VDR [P<0.01], HSD11B1 [P<0.01], and CYP19A1 [P<0.05]) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and demonstrated that the levels of these targets were elevated in the OVX group but reduced in the TBD-treatment group. Collectively, our results suggest that the interventional effects of TBD on OVX rats are likely to be associated with the down regulation of VDR. Our findings enhance our molecular understanding of the interventional effects of TBD on PMOP and will allow us to develop further TBD studies.

Design of Fe,N co-doped multi-walled carbon nanotubes for efficient oxygen reduction.

Unique Fe and N co-doped multi-walled carbon nanotubes are designed to efficiently catalyze the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The preparation processes involve surface functionalization, subsequent wet impregnation and final thermal fixation of Fe-Nx species. The catalyst achieved outstanding alkaline ORR performance with a very positive half-wave potential (∼0.91 V). Theoretical calculations show that the carbon layer below the active Fe-Nx sites is beneficial to the ORR.

Pharmacokinetics study of 16 active ingredients from Tabson-2 decoction in normal and d-galactose induced osteoporosis rats by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Tabson-2 decoction is the traditional Mongolian formula for anti-osteoporosis, and the ambiguous of active ingredient is an important factor in restricting its modernization and globalization. Although pharmacokinetic profiles research is a viable approach to find the components being responsible for formula efficacy, the pharmacokinetics study of Tabson-2 decoction has not been elucidated yet. Owing to the existence of isomers, low bioavailability of some small molecule and interference of endogenous, the pharmacokinetics study of Tabson-2 decoction are more difficult than that of chemical drugs. In our experiment, a specific and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of 16 active ingredients in Tabson-2 decoction, which could fulfill the requirements of multi-compounds pharmacokinetic study of Tabson-2 decoction. Additionally, the ingredients with significant distributions in rats were gentianic acid, chlorogenic acid, and aucubin, which could be the main potential active components in Tabson-2 decoction. The components with a significant bioavailability difference between normal and d-galactose induced osteoporosis rats were achieved as well. These data offer useful information for screening the active ingredients in Tabson-2 decoction, and assessing the bioavailability of these active ingredients in different physiological status, which might provide a possible mechanism of anti-osteoporosis efficacy of Tabson-2 decoction.

Metabolomics profiling reveals Echinops latifolius Tausch improves the trabecular micro-architecture of ovariectomized rats mainly via intervening amino acids and glycerophospholipids metabolism.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Echinops latifolius Tausch (ELT) is traditional Mongolian medicine in China, and often used to against osteoporosis, strengthen tendons and bones, clear bones heat. AIM OF THE STUDY: To study efficacy of ELT on ovariectomized (OVX) rats and underly metabolic pathways related to trabecular micro-architecture changing of OVX. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three-month-old female Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 6) including normal group (without surgery), sham group (bilateral laparotomy), OVX group (bilateral ovariectomy), and ELT-treated groups (ELT-treated after bilateral ovariectomy). The effects of ELT on trabecular micro-architecture and biochemical markers of OVX rat were investigated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry machine and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. Untargeted metabolomics strategy was applied to discover the potential biomarkers and related metabolic pathways involving the progression of OVX-induced osteoporosis. RESULTS: The trabecular micro-architecture and biochemical markers of OVX rats were improved by ELT. We found 36 potential biomarkers and 21 related metabolic pathways were involved in progression of OVX-induced osteoporosis. Amino acids metabolism and glycerophospholipids metabolism were mainly intervened in ELT treatment on ovariectomized rats. The disordered amino acids and glycerophospholipids metabolism closely related to the imbalance between bone resorption and formation were reversed by administration of ELT, indicating that the influences of ELT on OVX rats' trabecular micro-architecture may possible be associated with intervening amino acids and glycerophospholipids metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: This approach may provide the metabolomic perspective to link metabolic alterations and anti-osteoporosis action of ELT, to further explain how ELT works in postmenopausal patients with bone loss.

Dense Alkyne Arrays of a Zr(IV) Metal-Organic Framework Absorb Co2(CO)8 for Functionalization.

Finely dispersed Co(0) and CoO species were efficiently loaded into a stable metal-organic framework to impart catalytic activities to the porous solid. The metalation of the MOF host is facilitated by the dense arrays of accessible alkyne units that boost the alkyne-Co2(CO)8 interaction. The tetrakis(4-carboxylphenylethynyl)pyrene linker, with eight symmetrically backfolded alkyne side arms, features strong fluorescence and a dendritic Sierpinski shape. The resultant Zr(IV)-MOF features NU-901 topology (scu net, with rhombus channels) and breathing properties (e.g., the contracted (porous) phase reverts to the as-made phase upon contact with DMF (dimethylformamide)). The inserted Co2(CO)8 guests quickly react with air to form atomically dispersed CoO species (nondiffracting), and subsequent thermal treatment at 600 °C of the CoO-loaded solid generates an electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER).