Flowers: precious food and medicine resources

Flower plants are popular all over the world and important sources of ornamental plants,bioactive molecules and nutrients.Flowers have a wide range of biological activities and beneficial pharmacological effects.Flowers and their active ingredients are becoming more and more popular in the preparation of food,drugs and industrial products.This paper summarizes the active ingredients,pharmacological activities and applications in the pharmaceutical and food industries of flower plants in recent years.In addition,the possible molecular mechanism of pharmacological effects of flower plants were also discussed.302 active constituents from 55 species of flower plants were summarized,including flavonoids(115),terpenoids(90),phenylpropanoids(20),alkaloids(13),organic acids(27)and others(37).The pharmacological effects of flower plants are very extensive,mainly including antioxidant,anti-inflammatory,anti-tumor,anti-virus,and hypoglycemic.The mechanisms of anti-inflammatory,anti-tumor and hypoglycemic activities present the characteristics of multi-way and multi-target.Because of its rich nutrients,bioactive ingredients and plant essential oils,and its wide sources,flower plants are widely used in food,beverage,cosmetics and drug research.Flower plants also play an important role in pharmaceutical industry,food industry and other fields.

尾渣中砷的精细化学结构、赋存形态

本文以安徽某有色金属冶炼厂排放的尾渣为研究对象,利用扫描电镜(SEM)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)、X射线荧光光谱分析仪(XRF)和X射线光电子能谱仪(XPS)等方法对尾渣中As的精细结构进行分析,并结合Tessier提取法研究As在尾渣中的赋存形态。结果表明,尾渣中As主要与O共生以As(Ⅴ)-O金属砷酸盐形式存在,含砷矿物为砷酸铁FeAsO_(4)和拉砷铜石Cu(AsO_(4))_(2),伴有少量砷酸铝和硫化砷;总砷含量范围为0.11%—0.17%,赋存形态以残渣态为主,占90%—95%,不同形态As含量大小依次为残渣态>Fe-Mn氧化态>碳酸盐结合态>可交换态>有机结合态;pH是影响As迁移转化的重要因素之一,在环境中会积累一定水平的潜在As释放风险。

The new insights of hyperbaric oxygen therapy:focus on inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel diseases(IBD),with an increasing incidence,pose a significant health burden.Although there have been significant advances in the treatment of IBD,more progress is still needed.Hyperbaric oxygen therapy(HBOT)has been shown to treat a host of conditions such as carbon monoxide poisoning,decompression sickness,and gas gangrene.In the last few years,there has been an increase in research into the use of HBOT as an adjunct to conventional treatment for IBD.Related research has shown that HBOT may exert its therapeutic effects by decreasing oxidative stress,inhibiting mucosal inflammation,promoting ulcer healing,influencing gut microbes,and reducing the incidence of IBD complications.This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of experimental and clinical trials exploring HBOT as a supplement to IBD treatment strategies.

Chemical constituents and anticoagulant activity from Delphinium brunonianum Royle

Delphinium brunonianum Royle belongs to Ranunculaceae family and has the effects of dispelling wind to relieve itching and cooling blood to detoxify.It was found that the extracts of D.brunonianum had good anticoagulant activity which was extracted with 70%ethanol in our previous researches.Then,16 compounds were isolated and identified from the extract of D.brunonianum,among which compounds 5,7-10,12,14,15-16 were isolated from this genus for the first time,and compounds 2-4 were isolated from this plant for the first time.And the coagulation activity assay showed that compounds 10,14 and 15 had good anticoagulant activity by activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT),thrombin time(TT)and prothrombin time(PT)in vitro.

Blockade of Syk modulates neutrophil immune-responses via the mTOR/RUBCNL-dependent autophagy pathway to alleviate intestinal inflammation in ulcerative colitis

Background:Ulcerative colitis(UC)is a progressive chronic inflammatory disorder.Neutrophils play a critical role in regulating in-testinal mucosal homeostasis in UC.Spleen tyrosine kinase(Syk)is involved in several inflammatory diseases.Here,we evaluated the effects and underlying mechanisms of Syk on neutrophil immune-responses in UC.Methods:Syk expression in the colonic tissues of patients with UC was determined using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR),western blotting,and immunohistochemistry.Colonic biopsies from patients with UC were obtained for single-cell RNA-sequencing.Neutrophils isolated from peripheral blood were pre-treated with R788(a Syk inhibitor)and gene differences were determined using RNA sequencing.Neutrophil functions were analyzed using qRT-PCR,flow cytometry,and Transwell assay.R788 was administered daily to mice with dextran sulfate sodium(DSS)-induced colitis to verify the effects of Syk on intestinal inflammation.Results:Syk expression was increased in inflamed mucosa and neutrophils of patients with UC and positively correlated with dis-ease activity.Pharmacological inhibition of Syk in neutrophils decreased the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines,chemokines,neutrophil extracellular traps,reactive oxygen species,and myeloperoxidase.Apoptosis and migration of neutrophils were sup-pressed by Syk blockade.Syk blockade ameliorated mucosal inflammation in DSS-induced murine colitis by inhibiting neutrophil-associated immune responses.Mechanistically,Syk regulated neutrophil immune-responses via the mammalian target of rapamycin kinase/rubicon-like autophagy enhancer-dependent autophagy pathway.Conclusions:Our findings indicate that Syk facilitates specific neutrophil functional responses to mucosal inflammation in UC,and its inhibition ameliorates mucosal inflammation in DSS-induced murine colitis,suggesting its potential as a novel therapeutic target for UC treatment.

Design,Hydrodynamic Analysis,and Testing of a Bio-inspired Movable Bow Mechanism for the Hybrid-driven Underwater Glider

Hybrid-driven Underwater Glider(HUG)is a new type of underwater vehicle which integrates the functions of an Autonomous Underwater Glider(AUG)and an Autonomous Unmanned Vehicle(AUV).Although HUG has the characteristics of long endurance distance,its maneuverability still has room to be improved.This work introduces a new movement form of the neck of the underwater creature into HUG and proposes a parallel mechanism to adjust the attitude angle and displacement of the HUG’s bow,which can improve the steering maneuverability.Firstly,the influence of bow movement and rotation on the hydrodynamic force and flow field of the whole machine is analyzed by using the Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD)method.The degree of freedom,attitude control range and movement amount of the Movable Bow Mechanism(MBM)are obtained,and then the design of MBM is completed based on these constraints.Secondly,the kinematic and dynamic models of MBM are established based on the closed vector method and the Lagrange equation,respectively,which are fully verified by comparing the results of simulation in Matlab and Adams software,then a Radial Basis Function(RBF)neural network adaptive sliding mode controller is designed to improve the dynamic response effect of the output parameters of MBM.Finally,a prototype of MBM is manufactured and assembled.The kinematic,dynamics model and controller are verified by experiments,which provides a basis for applying MBM in HUGs.

Rosa chinensis as edible flowers:phytochemicals and biological effects

Rosa chinensis as edible flowers,is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine,which is rich in resources and is cultivated in most parts of China.Its phytochemicals mainly include flavonoids and their glycosides,phenolic acids,pentacyclic triterpenes and steroids.R.chinensis has many biological activities,including antioxidation,antibiosis,protection of pancreatic islet cells.The phytochemicals and biological activities of R.chinensis were summarized by databases such as Web of Science,SciFinder,Baidu Scholar,PubMed,ScienceDirect and SpringerLink.

Nitrogen-rich carbon spheres made by a continuous spraying process for high-performance supercapacitors

Supercapacitors have high power densities, high efficiencies, and long cycling lifetimes; however, to enable their wider use, their energy densities must be significantly improved. The design and synthesis of improved carbon materials with better capacitance, rate performance, and cycling stability has emerged as the main theme of supercapacitor research. Herein, we report a facile synthetic method to prepare nitrogen-rich carbon particles based on a continuous aerosol- spraying process. The method yields particles that have high surface areas, a uniform microporous structure, and are highly N-doped, resulting in a synergism that enables the construction of supercapacitors with high energy and power density for use in both aqueous and commercial organic electrolytes. Furthermore, we have used density functional theory calculations to show that the improved performance is due to the enhanced wettability and ion adsorption interactions at the carbon/electrolyte interface that result from nitrogen doping. These findings provide new insights into the role of heteroatom doping in the capacitance enhancement of carbon materials; in addition, our method offers an efficient route for large-scale production of doped carbon.

Recent advances in amino acid sensing and new challenges for protein nutrition in aquaculture

From the conventional knowledge of protein nutrition to the molecular nutrition of amino acids, our understanding of protein/amino acid nutrition is rapidly increasing. Amino acids control cell growth and metabolism through two amino acid-sensingpathways, i.e. target of rapamycin complex 1 (TORC1) and the general control nonderepressible 2 (GCN2) signaling pathway.In the amino acid-abundant status, TORC1 dominates intracellular signaling and increases protein synthesis and cell growth.In contrast, amino acid deprivation actives GCN2 resulting in repression of general protein synthesis but facilitates the aminoacid transport and synthesis process. By integrating and coordinating nutrition and hormone signaling, TORC1 and GCN2control the switch of the catabolism and anabolism phase in most eukaryotes. Now, we appreciate that the availability ofindividual amino acids is sensed by intracellular sensors. These cutting-edge findings expand our knowledge of amino acidnutrition. Although the TORC1 and GCN2 were discovered decades ago, the study of molecular amino acid nutrition inaquaculture animals is still at its infancy. The aquaculture industry is highly dependent on the supply of fishmeal, which isthe major protein source in aquacultural animal diets. Some concerted efforts were conducted to substitute for fishmeal dueto limited supply of it. However, the concomitant issues including the unbalanced amino acid profile of alternative proteinsources limited the utilization of those proteins. Continued study of the molecular nutrition of amino acid in aquacultureanimals may be expected in the immediate future to expand our knowledge on the utilization of alternative protein sources.

Modulation of Neuronal Activity and Saccades at Theta Rhythm During Visual Search in Non-human Primates

Active exploratory behaviors have often been associated with theta oscillations in rodents,while theta oscillations during active exploration in non-human primates are still not well understood.We recorded neural activities in the frontal eye field(FEF)and V4 simultaneously when monkeys performed a free-gaze visual search task.Saccades were strongly phase-locked to theta oscillations of V4 and FEF local field potentials,and the phase-locking was dependent on saccade direction.The spiking probability of V4 and FEF units was significantly modulated by the theta phase in addition to the time-locked modulation associated with the evoked response.V4 and FEF units showed significantly stronger responses following saccades initiated at their preferred phases.Granger causality and ridge regression analysis showed modulatory effects of theta oscillations on saccade timing.Together,our study suggests phase-locking of saccades to the theta modulation of neural activity in visual and oculomotor cortical areas,in addition to the theta phase locking caused by saccade-triggered responses.