Morphometric studies of genus Placocheilus （Teleostei： Cypriniformes） from Red River, China

It is practically difficult to differentiate Placocheilus robustus and Placocheilus caudofasciatus from Red River drainage of China. Without stated reasons, P. robustus has been assumed as the synonyms of P. caudofasciatus. The present study aims to decipher the morphological differences between two species so as to provide reliable clues for their classification by multivariate morphometry. A total of 72 specimens of two species in genus Placocheilus were examined. Besides morphological character comparisons, 10 anatomic landmarks were utilized and 23 frame structures and 15 general characters measured. The scatter plot results of principal component analysis showed that all specimens were clustered together and could not be defined as two distinct species. No significant morphological differences existed in four diagnostic characters between P. robustus and P. caudofasciatus. Thus the results of the present study fail to support P. robustus as a valid and independent species.

A versatile AIE fluorogen with selective reactivity to primary amines for monitoring amination,protein labeling,and mitochondrial staining

Specific bioconjugation for native primary amines is highly valuable for both chemistry and biomedical research.Despite all the efforts,scientists lack a proper strategy to achieve high selectivity for primary amines,not to mention the requirement of fast response in real applications.Herein,we report a chromone-based aggregation-induced emission(AIE)fluorogen called CMVMN as a self-reporting bioconjugation reagent for selective primary amine identification,and its applications for monitoring bioprocesses of amination and protein labeling.CMVMN is AIE-active and capable of solid-state sensing.Thus,its electrospun films are manufactured for visualization of amine diffusion and leakage process.CMVMN also shows good biocompatibility and potential mitochondria-staining ability,which provides new insight for organelle-staining probe design.Combined with its facile synthesis and good reversibility,CMVMN would not only show wide potential applications in biology,but also offer new possibilities for molecular engineering.

Non-Camellia Tea in China: Traditional usage, phytochemistry, and pharmacology

Non-Camellia Tea, as an integral part of Chinese tea culture for several centuries, is important to prevent chronic metabolic diseases. However, it was not systematically studied until academician Pei-gen Xiao defined it. Hereby, Non-Camellia Tea was reviewed systematically in definition, classification, traditional functions, chemical compositions, and pharmacology.

Future development of Good Agricultural Practice in China under globalization of traditional herbal medicine trade

Traditional herbal medicine(THM)is an important part of the traditional Chinese medicine culture.Due to its high medicinal potential,it should not only serve for the Chinese people’s medical use,but also contribute to the world medicine,THM for the international market must be standardized and large-scale,and produced according to the"Good Agriculture Practice"(GAP).The quality of THM directly affects the patient’s treatment status and safety of use.Therefore,the quality assurance of THM runs through the entire process of research and development,production and clinical practice.The standardized production and cultivation of THM is the starting point of the THM industry chain and plays a decisive role in the economic development of the THM industry.This article summarizes the development history,limitations and future development of GAP,and clarifies the opportunities for THM in the rapid development of the international and domestic Chinese medicine industry.In addition,analyzing the deficiencies that were existing in the former GAP implementation process and by suggesting science-based quality measures,it is hoped to stipulate improved GAP guidelines in the future and to lay the foundation for a modern THM international trade.

Nanoporous Vesicular Membranes of Amphiphilic Polymers Containing Trans/Cis Isomers

Nanoporous membranes and vesicles are interesting systems with potential in applications offering channels for material exchange.Herein,nanoporous membranes and polymersomes are developed by self-assembly of trans-and cis-stereoisomers of amphiphilic polymers.Two polymers,PEG550-TPEChol and PEG550-SS-TPE-SS-Chol,containing a central tetraphenylethene(TPE),a cholesterol(Chol),and a poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG550)are studied.

Large-Size Honeycomb-Shaped and Iris-Like Liquid Crystal Elastomer Actuators

Nature is providing inspiration for researchers to mimic its functions or existing structures,which could remarkably promote the development of new materials.Here,a large-size honeycomb-shaped liquid crystal elastomer(LCE)actuator with LC orientation along the height of the honeycomb shape is built by combining magnetic field alignment and soft lithography technology.This homeotropic alignment allowed the height contraction of honeycomb and pore size expansion of hexagons in a reversible manner upon temperature variation.Therefore,this LCE actuator can be used as a structure for temperature-gated separation of particles.Another example is an iris-like LCE actuator,which has the capability of adjusting its aperture size with a temperature variation.Our approach provides a simple way to design customizable sophisticated LCE actuators for various potential applications.

Ethnopharmacological Investigation and Rapid Authentication of Mongolian Patent Medicines Digeda

Objective To investigate Mongolian medicinal plants called Digeda and the prescriptions in Inner Mongolia region and to establish a molecular method for authentication of Digeda Mongolian patent medicines （MPMs）. Methods A field investigation was conducted on traditional uses of Digeda. After interviewed traditional healers in Mongolian, ethnopharmacological information of Digeda prescriptions was recorded in detail, including names, compositions, and traditional uses. And the total DNA from 10 MPMs has been amplified by three pairs of specific primers. Specific PCR products were further identified by sequence alignment with the known sequences already submitted in GenBank or own sequences. Results Fifteen Digeda plants and 29 Digeda prescriptions with their ethnopharmacological knowledge were collected. Ten MPM samples containing Lomatogonium rotatum, Viola philippica, and Corydalis bungeana were successfully evidenced by PCR with specific bands as raw materials. Conclusion Digeda should be further investigated in ethnopharmacology, which is a fundamental step toward developing efficacious natural drugs for various diseases. PCR amplification of specific allele is an easy and economical method, which can be used to identify highly processed MPMs and will assist in monitoring their qualities and legalities.

Flavonoids in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury: Therapeutic effects and mechanisms

Ischemic heart diseases are one of the major causes of death worldwide. Effective restoration of blood flow can significantly improve patients’ quality of life and reduce mortality. However, reperfusion injury cannot be ignored. Flavonoids possess well-established antioxidant properties;They also have other benefits that may be relevant for ameliorating myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury(MIRI). In this review,we focus on flavonoids with cardiovascular-protection function and emphasize their pharmacological effects. The main mechanisms of flavonoid pharmacological activities against MIRI involve the following aspects: a) antioxidant, b) anti-inflammatory, c) anti-platelet aggregation, d) anti-apoptosis, and e)myocardial-function regulation activities. We also summarized the effectiveness of flavonoids for MIRI.

Synthesis and self-assembly of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(N-3-(methylthio)propyl glycine)and their oxidation-sensitive polymersomes

Amphiphilic block copolymers poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(N-3-(methylthio)propyl glycine)(PEGb-PMeSPG)were synthesized via ring-opening polymerization of N-3-(methylthio)propyl glycine Nthiocarboxyanhydride(MeSPG-NTA)initiated by amino-terminated PEG.The self-assemblies of three PEG-b-PMeSPG copolymers with different PMeSPG block lengths were first prepared by nanoprecipitation method using THF and DMF,respectively,as the organic solvent,and their morphologies were studied by Cryo-EM and DLS.To prepare polymersomes loaded with glucose oxidase(GOx),double emulsion method followed by extrusion treatment was employed.The oxidation-responsive disruption of polymersomes was achieved upon the introduction of glucose because of the oxidants generated insitu by GOx/glucose.

Recent Progress in Fluorescent Vesicles with Aggregation-induced Emission

Fluorescent vesicles have recently attracted increasing attention because of their potential applications in bioimaging,diagnostics, and theranostics, for example, in vivo study of the delivery and the distribution of active substances. However, fluorescent vesicles containing conventional organic dyes often suffer from the problem of aggregation-caused quenching(ACQ) of fluorescence.Fluorescent vesicles working with aggregation-induced emission(AIE) offer an extraordinary tool to tackle the ACQ issue, showing advantages such as high emission efficiency, superior photophysical stability, low background interference, and high sensitivity. AIE fluorescent vesicles represent a new type of fluorescent and functional nanomaterials. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in the development of AIE fluorescent vesicles. The review is organized according to the chemical structures and architectures of the amphiphilic molecules that constitute the AIE vesicles, i.e., small-molecule amphiphiles, amphiphilic polymers, and amphiphilic supramolecules and supramacromolecules. The studies on the applications of these AIE vesicles as stimuli-responsive vesicles,fluorescence-guided drug release carriers, cell imaging tools, and fluorescent materials based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer(FRET) are also discussed.

Tunable UCST thermoresponsive copolymers based on natural glycyrrhetinic acid

Water-soluble thermoresponsive polymers present either upper critical solution temperature(UCST) or lower critical solution tempe rature(LCST) depending on the location of their miscibility range with water at high temperatures or at low temperatures.Compared with LCST polymers,the water-soluble UCST polymers are still less explored until now.In this work three copolymers of P(AAm-co-GAA) were synthesized by copolymerizing two acrylamide monomers,acrylamide(AAm) and acrylamide functionalized with natural glycyrrhetinic acid(GAA),using reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer(RAFT) polymerization.These copolymers exhibited the typical UCST thermoresponsive behavior,and their phase transition temperatures could be easily tuned to around 37℃ for potential biological applications.Moreover,the UCST of P(AAm-co-GAA) can be adjusted not only by the content of glycyrrhetinic acid(GA) and polymer concentrations,but also by the host-guest interactions between GA and cyclodextrins(β-and γ-CD).The suitable value of UCST and the biocompatible nature of GA and CDs may endow these copolymers with practical applications in biomedical chemistry.