何首乌水提物及其活性成分大黄素通过调控胆固醇代谢抑制软骨细胞炎症缓解骨关节炎的研究

[目的]何首乌是一种被广泛应用的传统中草药,具有多种药理作用。经过炮制加工后具有不同的药理作用。然而,何首乌炮制前后的化学成分变化,以及其炮制品具补肝肾、强筋骨,进而是否具有治疗骨关节炎的功效作用尚不清楚。因此,本研究探索制首乌是否具有改善骨关节炎的药效作用,并研究制首乌中主要活性成分在防治骨关节炎作用中的分子机制。[方法]采用高效液相色谱法对炮制前后何首乌水提物进行对比分析。利用GEO数据库及R语言对骨关节炎疾病靶点进行KEGG和GO富集分析。通过GC-MS代谢组学技术测定经药物处理前后软骨细胞的代谢表征。[结果]结果显示何首乌炮制后具有改善骨关节炎的药效作用,且炮制后活性成分大黄素含量显著增加。GEO数据库分析进一步证明骨关节炎的发病进程与生物代谢途径存在较大关联。大黄素能够在一定程度上促进软骨细胞增殖,并显著抑制炎症因子的表达。代谢组学结果显示,大黄素通过调节5种代谢途径包括:氨基酸代谢、脂肪酸合成、胆固醇代谢等参与延缓软骨细胞退变,进而抑制骨关节炎的发生发展。[结论]本研究揭示了经过中药炮制后的制何首乌具有抑制骨关节炎的功效作用,并证实经过炮制后主要增量物质大黄素是产生抗炎药理活性,进而治疗骨关节炎的活性成分,本研究为制何首乌治疗骨关节炎提供了科学依据。

Gold Nanorods: Near-Infrared Plasmonic Photothermal Conversion and Surface Coating

In this paper, AuNRs colloids with SPRL located at ~810 nm and ~1100 nm were synthesized using an improved seed method. Based on the NIR lasers available, photothermal conversion of AuNRs were systematically studied compared with that of water. Under low power irradiation, the highest temperature is obtained when the SPRL wavelength of AuNRs is equal to the laser wavelength, and temperature of colloid increases from ~20°C to ~65°C. With increasing laser power (such as 6 W), the AuNRs colloid boils within a few minutes, and nanorods undergo a shape deformation from rod to spherical particle and even fusion, and the SPRL disappears. For further investigation, the obtained AuNRs were coated with SiO2 shell to form a core-shell nanostructure (Au@SiO2). The surface coating can be used not only in keeping the stability of AuNRs for further treatment, but also in increasing plasmonic property and biocompatibility. This work will be useful for designing plasmonic photothermal properties and further applications in nanomedicine.

Examining the Burden Reduction Policy for Primary and Secondary School Teachers in China:A Framework Analysis Centered on the Rational Selection of Institutional Doctrine

The“burden reduction”policy aims to reduce the workload of primary and secondary school teachers to alleviate their burdens.While it has improved the quality of teachers,implementation challenges still exist.This study utilizes rational choice institutionalism and Ostrom’s institutional analysis and development framework to examine the policy.By considering the preferences of the Ministry of Education,local governments,schools,and teachers,it explores interactions and outcomes,identifies challenges,and provides policy suggestions.

Direct comparison of culture-dependent and culture-independent molecular approaches reveal the diversity of fungal endophytic communities in stems of grapevine(Vitis vinifera)

Grapevines(Vitis vinifera)are colonized by ubiquitous microorganisms known as endophytes,which may have advantageous or neutral effects without causing disease symptoms.Certain endophytes are uncultivable,so culture-independent approaches such as next generation sequencing(NGS)can help for a better understanding of their ecology and distribution.To date,there are no studies which directly link NGS results with taxa derived from a culturing approach,integrating morphological and multi-gene phylogenetic analysis of endophytes.In this study,a culture-dependent and high-resolution culture-independent approach(next generation sequencing)were used to identify endophytes in grapevine stems.In the culture-dependent approach,a total of 94 isolates were recovered from 84 of 144 healthy grapevine stem fragments(colonization rate=58.3%).The study is unique as we used subsets of combined multi-gene regions to identify the endophytes to species level.Based on each multi-gene phylogenetic analysis,28 species belong to 19 genera(Acremonium,Alternaria,Arthrinium,Ascorhizoctonia,Aspergillus,Aureobasidium,Bipolaris,Botryosphaeria,Botrytis,Chaetomium,Cladosporium,Curvularia,Hypoxylon,Lasiodiplodia,Mycosphaerella,Nigrospora,Penicillium,Phoma,Scopulariopsis)were identified.A higher number of culturable fungi were obtained from 13 year-old vines,followed by eight and three yearold vines.In the culture-independent approach,a fungal richness of 59 operational taxonomic units(OTU)was detected,being highest in 13 year-old grapevines,followed by eight and three years.Even though the cultivation approach detected lower fungal richness,the results related to stem are consistent for fungal community composition and richness.Comparison of the fungal taxa identified by the two approaches resulted in an overlap of 53%of the fungal genera.Due to interspecific variability of the sequences from NGS,in many cases the OTUs(even with the highly abundant ones)were only assignable to order,family or genus level.Incorporating multi-gene phylogenies we successfully identified many of the NGS derived OTUs with poor taxonomic information in reference databases to the genus or species levels.Hence,this study signifies the importance of applying both culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches to study the fungal endophytic community composition in Vitis vinifera.This principle could also be applied to other host species and ecosystem level studies.

Synthesis of high-purity silver nanorods with tunable plasmonic properties and sensor behavior

Through anisotropic Ag overgrowth on the surface of Au nanobipyramids(Au NBPs), high-purity and sizecontrolled Ag nanorods(Au/Ag NRs) are obtained by a simplified purification process. The diameters of the Au/Ag NRs are determined by the size of the as-prepared Au NBPs, and the lengths of the Au/Ag NRs are tunable using different amounts of Ag precursor in the growth solution. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS) studies using Rhodamine-6G(R6G) as a test molecule indicate that the Au/Ag NRs have excellent sensing potential. The tunable optical properties and strong electromagnetic effect of the Au/Ag NRs, along with their superior SERS signal enhancement, show that Au/Ag NRs are promising for further applications in plasmon sensing and biomolecular detection.

Influence of the cathode position on beam current characteristics in the thermionic electron gun

Purpose The research focuses on the simulation of influence of cathode positions on beam current characteristics in the thermionic electron gun.Methods The electricfield distribution,bias voltage range and electron beam quality under different cathode positions were simulated by CST software.Results Changes in the cathode position can cause changes in the electricfield distributions under the cathode emission surface change,thereby changing the size of the effective emitting area and affecting the relationship between the bias voltage and beam current.Conclusions Only when the cathode is installed in the proper positions,the beam current and the bias voltage have an approximately linear proportional relationship.When the cathode is installed improperly,the electron beam emission is disordered,resulting in decreased electron beam quality.

Quality assessment of processed Eucommiae Cortex based on the color and tensile force

Eucommiae Cortex(EC),the dried stem bark of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv,has been traditionally used to strengthen the muscle and bone tissues and improve liver and kidney functions in East Asian countries,including China,Japan,and Korea.Salty-fried EC(SFEC)is made by using mixing EC and saline together based on the protocol of Chinese Materia Medica Processing(CMMP)for clinical use.However,the clinical effectiveness of SFEC is directly impacted by the frying temperature and time.But precise techniques for evaluating the caliber of SFEC have yet to be developed.Thus,this study aimed to establish a fast and accurate quality-check method for SFEC decoction pieces.According to the frying temperature and time,four different categories of SFEC had been got according to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia method as Raw(R),Under(U),Moderately(M),and Overly(O).The red(R),green(G),blue(B),and light(L)color values of the decoction pieces were quantitated using the Photoshop software to determine the standard value range of the L color(raw[104.44±15.06],under[67.28±8.20],moderately[39.94±6.40],and over[15.02±5.03]).Additionally,the tensile strengths and pinoresinol diglucoside(PDG)levels of EC gum-silks were measured using the mechanical tensile test and HPLC,respectively.We also conducted Pearson correlation analysis on the L color value,EC gum-silk tension(FbcN),and PDG level,and established the following muliple-linear regression equation:the decline in PDG level(w)=0.829-0.001×FbeN-0.009×I.In conclusion,the L color value and FbeN could be used for cluster analysis of four categories of SFEC.Additinally,based on the correlation among the L color value,gum-silk tensile test,and PDG level,a rapid and accurate quality-control method for SFEC decoction pieces with different frying temperatures and durations was estab-lished.This method facilitates the manufacturing of efficacious SFEC.

Roof greening in major Chinese cities possibly afford a large potential carbon sink

China is experiencing accelerated urbanisation,with a large number of people moving from rural to urban areas[1].It has resulted in large losses in the net primary production(NPP),biodiversity and carbon stocks and an increase in environmental pollution and CO_(2)emissions[2–4].In 2015,196 countries signed the Paris Agreement and committed to setting long-term goals to jointly manage climate change and reduce their individual emissions,aiming to control the increase in global average temperature from the pre-industrial level to below 2℃and to curtail the temperature rise within 1.5℃till the end of the 21st century[5].China is bolstering its efforts to achieve the climate change mitigation goals and has announced a plan for achieving carbon neutrality by 2060[6].The carbon neutrality goal poses a challenge to the current policies promoting rapid urbanisation across China.