Exploration on the mechanism of Radix Astragali-Caulis Spatholobi by Qi-invigorating and blood-activating combination for the treatment of atherosclerosis based on network pharmacology

The objective of this study was to investigate the main active ingredients,potential targets,and possible mechanisms of action of the combination of Radix Astragali and Caulis Spatholobi for the treatment of atherosclerosis using network pharmacology.The study aimed to provide a reference basis for the development of new formulations and clinical use of Chinese medicine.The main components of Radix Astragali and Caulis Spatholobi were obtained from the TCMSP,BATMAN-TCM database,and literature reports.The targets corresponding to the main components were imported into the Uniprot database to standardize the names,and target information was supplemented with the Swiss Target Prediction database.Disease-related targets were obtained from DrugBank,OMIM,CTD,GeneCards,and DisGeNET online databases.Venn tools were used to obtain the potential targets of Radix Astragali and Caulis Spatholobi for the treatment of AS.The intersecting genes were imported into the STRING 11.5 database to construct protein-protein interaction network maps and analyze their interactions.Cytoscape 3.7.1 software was used to mine their core targets.GO function and KEGG signaling pathway enrichment analysis were performed using the DAVID v2023q1 database.The results were imported into the“Bioinformatics Cloud Platform”to generate enrichment bubble maps.Finally,the“component-target-pathway”diagram was constructed using Cytoscape 3.7.1 software.The study found that 78 major active ingredients and 527 potential targets were obtained from Radix Astragali and Caulis Spatholobi.The main active components of the two in combination for the treatment of AS are quercetin,stigmasterol,kaempferol,luteolin,formononetin,etc.The key targets involve CDKN1A,E2F1,CDK4,CDK2,CDK1,RB1,TP53,CDKN1B,IL6,JUN,etc.The main pathways involved the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications,cancer pathway,etc.The biological processes involved include positive regulation of gene expression,negative regulation of apoptotic process,etc.The study initially verified the feasibility of the combination of Radix Astragali-Caulis Spatholobi by Qi-invigorating(promoting human metabolic activity)and blood-activating for the treatment of AS.It demonstrated that the combination of Chinese medicine has multi-level,multi-target,and multi-pathway mechanisms of action to treat the disease,providing a reference basis for the development and utilization of new drugs.

异质结构Ni_(2)P/CoP/FeP_(4)纳米线网络催化剂的原位表面重构实现大电流密度下全水分解

利用可再生能源发电,并通过低温电解水技术生产氢气,被认为是一种环保且可持续的制氢途径,是未来氢能发展的重要方向之一.采用该方法生产的氢气因其环保特性而被称为“绿氢”.然而,目前绿氢高昂的生产成本限制了电解水制氢技术的大规模应用.因此,开发先进的非贵金属催化剂和电催化体系以降低电解水制氢成本具有重要意义.界面工程是一种提升非贵金属催化剂电解水性能的有效策略,但目前对其催化活性位点的识别及活性提升机制的研究仍然不足.本文采用简单的水热及低温磷化法制备了具有丰富异质界面的Ni_(2)P/CoP/FeP_(4)/IF催化剂,并研究了其在电解水过程中的催化活性位点及这些位点在提升催化能力方面的协同作用.采用扫描电镜(SEM)证明了Ni_(2)P/CoP/FeP_(4)/IF催化剂呈现纳米线网络结构,这种结构不仅有利于增加催化剂的电化学活性位点和加速反应动力学,而且促进了连续产生的气泡从活性位点逃逸,从而提高了催化剂的机械稳定性.电化学研究结果表明,所制备Ni_(2)P/CoP/FeP_(4)/IF催化剂在1.0 mol L^(‒1)KOH溶液中表现出较好的析氧反应(OER)和析氢反应(HER)活性,分别仅需218和127 mV的过电位,即可达到100 mA cm^(‒2)的电流密度.将Ni_(2)P/CoP/FeP_(4)/IF分别作为阴极和阳极构建双电极电解槽,该装置产生100和500 mA cm^(‒2)的电流密度分别仅需1.68和2.05 V的电压,这一性能优于大多数已报道的自支撑过渡金属磷化物催化剂.多步计时电位测试结果进一步证实了Ni_(2)P/CoP/FeP_(4)/IF作为阳极和阴极材料在水分解过程中具有较好的长期耐久性.X射线光电子能谱和差分电荷分析表明,电子从富电子的FeP_(4)向缺电子的Ni_(2)P和CoP转移,这促使Ni_(2)P和CoP上的电子积累和FeP_(4)上的空穴积累,有利于优化反应中间体的吸附和脱附自由能,提升OER和HER催化性能.结合X射线衍射、扫描电镜、透射电镜、X射线光电子能谱和原位拉曼光谱结果发现,催化剂重构后形成的特定(氧)氢氧化物结构,是OER反应真正的关键活性位点.原位拉曼光谱进一步证实了异质界面促进了OER过程中Ni_(2)P/CoP/FeP_(4)/IF的快速重构.此外,利用密度泛函理论分析了催化剂的HER反应机理.计算结果表明,H2O优先吸附在Fe位点并发生水解,随后产生的H*吸附在Ni位点上并发生解吸,从而促进了催化剂中Fe和Ni活性位点的高效利用.同时,CoP的引入提高了Ni_(2)P/CoP/FeP_(4)/IF催化剂的水吸附和解离能力,进一步提升了其HER活性.综上所述,本文通过简单的水热及低温磷化法制备了具有丰富异质界面的Ni_(2)P/CoP/FeP_(4)/IF过渡金属磷化物纳米线网络催化剂,并将其用于碱性水分解.通过多种表征技术及理论计算结果分析,识别了电解水过程中的关键催化活性位点,即催化剂重构后形成的特定(氧)氢氧化物结构,并揭示了其在OER和HER反应中的催化机制.本研究可为高性能碱性电解水催化剂的理性设计和开发提供参考.

Genome-wide identification of the pectate lyase(PEL)gene family members in Malvaceae,and their contribution to cotton fiber quality

Pectin is a major constituent of the plant cell wall.Pectate lyase(PEL,EC 4.2.2.2)uses anti-β-elimination chemistry to cleave theα-1,4 glycosidic linkage in the homogalacturonan region of pectin.However,limited information is available on the comprehensive and evolutionary analysis of PELs in the Malvaceae.In this study,we identified 597PEL genes from 10 Malvaceae species.Phylogenetic and motif analyses revealed that these PELs are classified into six subfamilies:Clades I,II,III,IV,Va,and Vb.The two largest subfamilies,Clades I and II,contained 237 and222 PEL members,respectively.The members of Clades Va and Vb only contained four or five motifs,far fewer than the other subfamilies.Gene duplication analysis showed that segmental duplication played a crucial role in the expansion of the PEL gene family in Gossypium species.The PELs from Clades I,IV,Va,and Vb were expressed during the fiber elongation stage,but nearly all PEL genes from Clades II and III showed no expression in any of the investigated fiber developmental stages.We further performed single-gene haplotype association analysis in 2,001G.hirsutum accessions and 229 G.barbadense accessions.Interestingly,14 PELs were significantly associated with fiber length and strength traits in G.barbadense with superior fiber quality,while only eight GhPEL genes were found to be significantly associated with fiber quality traits in G.hirsutum.Our findings provide important information for further evolutionary and functional research on the PEL gene family members and their potential use for fiber quality improvement in cotton.

Higher intakes of lysine,threonine and valine are inversely associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease risk:a community-based case-control study in the Chinese elderly

The associations of individual amino acid with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)risk remained unclear.The present study aimed to investigate the associations between the two in the Chinese elderly.Methods:A community-based health check-up program was conducted in Qingdao,China.NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasonography accompanied by epidemiological investigation.The dietary intakes of amino acids were investigated with 3-day,24-h dietary records and calculated by Nutrition Calculator software.Restricted cubic spline model was used to evaluate a nonlinear relationship between amino acid intake and NAFLD risk.Results:400 NAFLD subjects were identified,and 400 participants were randomly selected as controls and matched by gender and age(±3 years)Dose-response analysis showed that 1000 mg increment of aromatic amino acids(AAAs)was associated with reduced 16%risk of NAFLD.Dietary increments of 750 mg/d threonine,950 mg/d valine,or 1700 mg/d lysine were associated with a 20%reduction in the NAFLD risk(all P for linearity<0.05).Conclusion:The present study demonstrated that the dietary increases in milk,eggs and deep-sea fish,which are rich in the amino acids,might contribute to protecting against NAFLD in the elderly.

宏观非平衡超分子自组装综合实验

为了使化学及相关专业本科生掌握水凝胶材料的基本特点及其在宏观非平衡超分子自组装领域的应用,介绍了一个研究型大学化学综合实验——宏观非平衡超分子自组装综合实验。本实验主要包括基于均相自由基聚合的聚电解质水凝胶的制备方法、基于尿素-脲酶计时反应的宏观非平衡超分子自组装体系的构建方法、组装体性能表征、非平衡组装及解组装的机制探究等内容。通过本实验的实践,可加深学生对超分子相互作用的理解;掌握相关的聚合物水凝胶的制备和表征方法;以及巩固一些常用仪器的使用方法。通过教学和实践相结合的方法,建立起教学和科研的桥梁,扩宽学生科学视野,激发研究兴趣,培养学生的创新能力以及科学思维。

新疆不同民族癫痫患儿HLA-B^(*)1502基因多态性与芳香族ASMs诱导的皮肤不良反应相关性研究

目的比较新疆维吾尔族、汉族、哈萨克族癫痫患儿HLA-B^(*)1502等位基因携带率和等位基因频率差异,评估HLA-B^(*)1502阳性患儿使用芳香环类抗癫痫药物(ASMs)诱发皮肤不良反应的风险。方法回顾性收集2019年1月—2022年8月在我院就诊并在初次使用ASMs前采用荧光染色原位杂交测序技术检测HLA-B^(*)1502TA和HLAB^(*)1502TB基因型及用药指导的患儿460例,分析其基因型与皮肤型药物不良反应发生情况。结果维、汉、哈族癫痫患儿的HLA-B^(*)1502基因突变率分别为47.41%,41.57%和54.84%。哈萨克族癫痫患儿的HLA-B^(*)1502杂合突变型基因显著高于汉族患儿(P<0.05)。维、汉、哈族癫痫患儿的HLA-B^(*)1502野生型基因组的体重指数均显著高于突变组患儿(P<0.05)。247例HLA-B^(*)1502野生型患儿继续服用芳香族ASMs后未发生皮肤不良反应,12例HLA-B^(*)1502纯合突变型患儿调整为其他作用机制的ASMs,201例HLA-B^(*)1502杂合突变型患儿中仍有56例继续使用芳香族ASMs,有5例患儿在用药3周内发生了斑丘疹、Stevens-Johnson综合征、中毒性表皮坏死松解症。结论临床初次使用芳香族ASMs控制和治疗患儿癫痫发作过程中,有必要进行HLA-B^(*)1502基因检测。

ST-SIGMA:Spatio-temporal semantics and interaction graph aggregation for multi-agent perception and trajectory forecasting

Scene perception and trajectory forecasting are two fundamental challenges that are crucial to a safe and reliable autonomous driving(AD)system.However,most proposed methods aim at addressing one of the two challenges mentioned above with a single model.To tackle this dilemma,this paper proposes spatio-temporal semantics and interaction graph aggregation for multi-agent perception and trajectory forecasting(STSIGMA),an efficient end-to-end method to jointly and accurately perceive the AD environment and forecast the trajectories of the surrounding traffic agents within a unified framework.ST-SIGMA adopts a trident encoder-decoder architecture to learn scene semantics and agent interaction information on bird’s-eye view(BEV)maps simultaneously.Specifically,an iterative aggregation network is first employed as the scene semantic encoder(SSE)to learn diverse scene information.To preserve dynamic interactions of traffic agents,ST-SIGMA further exploits a spatio-temporal graph network as the graph interaction encoder.Meanwhile,a simple yet efficient feature fusion method to fuse semantic and interaction features into a unified feature space as the input to a novel hierarchical aggregation decoder for downstream prediction tasks is designed.Extensive experiments on the nuScenes data set have demonstrated that the proposed ST-SIGMA achieves significant improvements compared to the state-of-theart(SOTA)methods in terms of scene perception and trajectory forecasting,respectively.Therefore,the proposed approach outperforms SOTA in terms of model generalisation and robustness and is therefore more feasible for deployment in realworld AD scenarios.

遗传算法误差反向传播人工神经网络预测阿立哌唑血药浓度

目的构建基于遗传算法误差反向传播(GA-BP)人工神经网络的阿立哌唑(APZ)及其代谢产物脱氢阿立哌唑(DAPZ)血药浓度预测模型,为需要调整APZ使用剂量或不能进行APZ血药浓度监测的患者提供浓度预测模型。方法回顾性收集在2021年7月—2022年8月新疆维吾尔自治区人民医院就诊且规律服用APZ的174例患者的血药浓度资料,提取相关变量,采用Matlab R2018a编程软件,结合深度学习网络构建GA-BP人工神经网络预测模型,预测APZ+DAPZ血药浓度。结果GA-BP人工神经网络预测模型验证结果显示,35例验证组样本的预测结果与实测结果相比,平均预测误差为-0.0926,平均绝对误差为0.6895,35个预测误差均小于15%,小于15%的概率为100%,血药浓度的预测值与实测值之间的相关系数为0.997,预测结果较理想。结论GA-BP人工神经网络预测模型预测APZ+DAPZ血药浓度,可用于APZ的个体化给药。

An intra-articular injectable phospholipids-based gel for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis(RA)is a chronic inflammatory and destructive arthropathy with a high deformity rate.Despite numerous studies and clinical trials,no curative treatment is available for large weight-bearing joints.Intra-articular(IA)injections could deliver high concentrations of drug to the afflicted joint and improve the drug efficacy while reducing systemic toxicity.However,free drugs are rapidly cleared from synovial fluid and do not significantly halt the progression of joint disease.Herein,a phospholipids-based controlledrelease gel was prepared for sustained IA delivery of celastrol(CEL)and the therapeutic efficiencywas evaluated in a rheumatoid arthritis rabbitmodel.The CEL-loaded gel(CEL-gel)contained up to 70%phospholipids yetwas easy to inject.After injecting into the joint cavity,CEL-gel achieved sol to gel phase transition without special stimuli and gelling agent.In vitro release and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies evidenced the stable and sustained release action of CEL-gel.A single IA injection of CEL-gel could maintain therapeutic efficiency for about 25 d and showed much better anti-arthritic efficacy compared to repeated injections of free drug solution(CEL-sol).Furthermore,the IA injection of CEL-gel greatly reduced the systemic toxicity of CEL.With good biocompatibility and biodegradability,CEL-gel might be a promising IA drug delivery system.

Adaptive Multi-Feature Fusion for Vehicle Micro-Motor Noise Recognition Considering Auditory Perception

The deployment of vehicle micro-motors has witnessed an expansion owing to the progression in electrification and intelligent technologies.However,some micro-motors may exhibit design deficiencies,component wear,assembly errors,and other imperfections that may arise during the design or manufacturing phases.Conse-quently,these micro-motors might generate anomalous noises during their operation,consequently exerting a substantial adverse influence on the overall comfort of drivers and passengers.Automobile micro-motors exhibit a diverse array of structural variations,consequently leading to the manifestation of a multitude of distinctive auditory irregularities.To address the identification of diverse forms of abnormal noise,this research presents a novel approach rooted in the utilization of vibro-acoustic fusion-convolutional neural network(VAF-CNN).This method entails the deployment of distinct network branches,each serving to capture disparate features from the multi-sensor data,all the while considering the auditory perception traits inherent in the human auditory sys-tem.The intermediary layer integrates the concept of adaptive weighting of multi-sensor features,thus affording a calibration mechanism for the features hailing from multiple sensors,thereby enabling a further refinement of features within the branch network.For optimal model efficacy,a feature fusion mechanism is implemented in the concluding layer.To substantiate the efficacy of the proposed approach,this paper initially employs an augmented data methodology inspired by modified SpecAugment,applied to the dataset of abnormal noise sam-ples,encompassing scenarios both with and without in-vehicle interior noise.This serves to mitigate the issue of limited sample availability.Subsequent comparative evaluations are executed,contrasting the performance of the model founded upon single-sensor data against other feature fusion models reliant on multi-sensor data.The experimental results substantiate that the suggested methodology yields heightened recognition accuracy and greater resilience against interference.Moreover,it holds notable practical significance in the engineering domain,as it furnishes valuable support for the targeted management of noise emanating from vehicle micro-motors.

Elevated extracellular calcium ions accelerate the proliferation and migration of HepG2 cells and decrease cisplatin sensitivity

Hepatoblastoma is the most frequent liver malignancy in children.HepG2 has been discovered as a hepatoblastoma-derived cell line and tends to form clumps in culture.Intriguingly,we observed that the addition of calcium ions reduced cell clumping and disassociated HepG2 cells.The calcium signal is in connection with a series of processes critical in the tumorigenesis.Here,we demonstrated that extracellular calcium ions induced morphological changes and enhanced the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in HepG2 cells.Mechanistically,calcium ions promoted HepG2 proliferation and migration by up-regulating the phosphorylation levels of focal adhesion kinase(FAK),protein kinase B,and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase.The inhibitor of FAK or Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinaseⅡ(CaMKⅡ)reversed the Ca2+-induced effects on HepG2 cells,including cell proliferation and migration,epithelial-mesenchymal transition protein expression levels,and phosphorylation levels of FAK and protein kinase B.Moreover,calcium ions decreased HepG2 cells'sensitivity to cisplatin.Furthermore,we found that the expression levels of FAK and CaMKⅡwere increased in hepatoblastoma.The group with high expression levels of FAK and CaMKⅡexhibited significantly lower ImmunoScore as well as CD8+T and NK cells.The expression of CaMKⅡwas positively correlated with that of PDCD1 and LAG3.Correspondingly,the expression of FAK was negatively correlated with that of TNFSF9,TNFRSF4,and TNFRSF18.Collectively,extracellular calcium accelerates HepG2 cell proliferation and migration via FAK and CaMKⅡand enhances cisplatin resistance.FAK and CaMKⅡshape immune cell infiltration and responses in tumor microenvironments,thereby serving as potential targets for hepatoblastoma.

Assembly and phylogenomic analysis of cotton mitochondrial genomes provide insights into the history of cotton evolution

Cotton is a major crop that provides the most important renewable textile fibers in the world.Studies of the taxonomy and evolution of cotton species have received wide attentions,not only due to cotton’s economic value but also due to the fact that Gossypium is an ideal model system to study the origin,evolution,and cultivation of polyploid species.Previous studies suggested the involvement of mitochondrial genome editing sites and copy number as well as mitochondrial functions in cotton fiber elongation.Whereas,with only a few mitogenomes assembled in the cotton genus Gossypium,our knowledge about their roles in cotton evolution and speciation is still scarce.To close this gap,here we assembled 20 mitogenomes from 15 cotton species spanning all the cotton clades(A–G,K,and AD genomes)and 5 cotton relatives using short and long sequencing reads.Systematic analyses uncovered a high level of mitochondrial gene sequence conservation,abundant sequence repeats and many insertions of foreign sequences,as well as extensive structural variations in cotton mitogenomes.The sequence repeats and foreign sequences caused significant mitogenome size inflation in Gossypium and its close relative Kokia in general,while there is no significant difference between the lint and fuzz cotton mitogenomes in terms of gene content,RNA editing,and gene expression level.Interestingly,we further revealed the specific presence and expression of two novel mitochondrial open reading frames(ORFs)in lint-fiber cotton species.Finally,these structural features and novel ORFs help us gain valuable insights into the history of cotton evolution and polyploidization and the origin of species producing long lint fibers from a mitogenomic perspective.

Scavenger receptor A-mediated nanoparticles target M1 macrophages for acute liver injury

Acute liver injury(ALI)has an elevated fatality rate due to untimely and ineffective treatment.Although,schisandrin B(SchB)has been extensively used to treat diverse liver diseases,its therapeutic efficacy on ALI was limited due to its high hydrophobicity.Palmitic acid-modified serum albumin(PSA)is not only an effective carrier for hydrophobic drugs,but also has a superb targeting effect via scavenger receptor-A(SR-A)on the M1 macrophages,which are potential therapeutic targets for ALI.Compared with the common macrophage-targeted delivery systems,PSA enables site-specific drug delivery to reduce off-target toxicity.Herein,we prepared SchB-PSA nanoparticles and further assessed their therapeutic effect on ALI.In vitro,compared with human serum albumin encapsulated SchB nanoparticles(SchB-HSA NPs),the SchB-PSA NPs exhibited more potent cytotoxicity on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)stimulated Raw264.7(LAR)cells,and LAR cells took up PSA NPs 8.79 times more than HSA NPs.As expected,the PSA NPs also accumulated more in the liver.Moreover,SchB-PSA NPs dramatically reduced the activation of NF-κB signaling,and significantly relieved inflammatory response and hepatic necrosis.Notably,the high dose of SchB-PSA NPs improved the survival rate in 72 h of ALI mice to 75%.Hence,SchB-PSA NPs are promising to treat ALI.

Affinity-Engineered Flexible Scaffold toward Energy-Dense, Highly Reversible Na Metal Batteries

The practical deployment of metallic anodes in the energy-dense batteries is impeded by the thermodynamically unstable interphase in contact with the aprotic electrolyte,structural collapse of the substrates as well as their insufficient affinity toward the metallic deposits.Herein,the mechanical flexible,lightweight(1.2 mg cm^(−2))carbon nanofiber scaffold with the monodispersed,ultrafine Sn_(4)P_(3) nanoparticles encapsulation(Sn_(4)P_(3)NPs@CNF)is proposed as the deposition substrate toward the high-areal-capacity sodium loadings up to 4 mAh cm^(−2).First-principles calculations manifest that the alloy intermediates,namely the Na_(15)Sn_(4) and Na_(3)P matrix,exhibit the intimate Na affinity as the“sodiophilic”sites.Meanwhile,the porous CNF regulates the heterogeneous alloying process and confines the deposit propagation along the nanofiber orientation.With the precise control of pairing mode with the NaVPO4F cathode(8.7 mg cm^(−2)),the practical feasibility of the Sn_(4)P_(3) NPs@CNF anode(1^(*)Na excess)is demonstrated in 2 mAh single-layer pouch cell prototype,which achieves the 95.7%capacity retention for 150 cycles at various mechanical flexing states as well as balanced energy/power densities.

Protective Effect of Ethanol Extract from Sweet Potato Leaves on CCL_(4)-Induced Liver Injury in Mice

[Objectives]To investigate the protective effect of ethanol extract from sweet potato leaves on liver injury induced by CCl_(4)in mice.[Methods]25 ICR mice were randomly divided into blank group,model group,high-dose extract group(200 mg/kg),low-dose extract group(100 mg/kg)and positive control group(2 mg/kg colchicine),with 5 mice in each group.All groups except the blank group were given intraperitoneal injection of 20%CCl 4 olive oil solution(2 mL/kg),and the blank group was given the same dose of olive oil solution three times a week.After 4 weeks,each administration group was given the corresponding dose of drugs(10 mL/kg),and the blank group and model group were given the corresponding amount of normal saline for 2 weeks.After the last intragastric administration,fasting was required,but water was allowed,blood was taken from eyeballs,and upper serum was taken by static centrifugation.Serum AST,ALT,CRP,IL-6 and SOD levels were detected by the kit.[Results]Compared with the blank group,the serum AST and ALT levels in the model group were significantly increased;compared with the model group,the ethanol extract of sweet potato leaves could decrease the levels of ALT,AST,CRP,IL-6 and increase the level of SOD in serum.[Conclusions]The ethanol extract of sweet potato leaves had protective effect on the mice with liver injury induced by CCl_(4),and its mechanism may be to protect the liver by lowering enzymes,inhibiting inflammation and antioxidant stress.

Electronic modulation of sprout-shaped NiCoP nanoarrays by N and Ce doping for efficient overall water splitting

Bifunctional catalysts for hydrogen/oxygen evolution reactions(HER/OER)are urgently needed given the bright future of water splitting hydrogen production technology.Here,the self-supporting N and Ce dual-doped NiCoP nanoarrays(denoted N,Ce-NiCoP/NF)grown on Ni foam are successfully constructed.When the N,Ce-NiCoP/NF simultaneously acts as the HER and OER electrodes,the voltages of 1.54 and 2.14 V are obtained for driving 10 and 500 mA·cm^(-2)with a robust durability,and demonstrate its significant potential for practical water electrolysis.According to both experiments and calculations,the electronic structure of NiCoP may be significantly altered by strategically incorporating N and Ce into the lattice,which in turn optimizes the Gibbs free energy of HER/OER intermediates and speeds up the water splitting kinetics.Moreover,the sprout-shaped morphology significantly increases the exposure of active sites and facilitates charge/mass transfer,thereby augmenting catalyst performance.This study offers a potentially effective approach involving the regulation of anion and cation double doping,as well as architectural engineering,for the purpose of designing and optimizing innovative electrocatalysts.

Programming Supramolecular Hydrogels by Constructing a Multibranch Selection Structure

Developing chemical systems capable of executing multipath nonequilibrium processes provides valuable insights into the study of multistage dissipative structures in living systems.Here,we report a nonequilibrium multipath evolution in a three-state supramolecular system,which is clarified by associating it with a multibranch selection structure.This system is constructed by synergistically combining an assembly-induced sol-gel transition with the color change of an acid-base indicator.Depending on the initial condition and chemical fuel composition,this system can execute five distinct nonequilibrium processes.In addition,the set of structured programming can be replayed by repeatedly introducing the chemical fuel.It is further utilized to explore the applications of information encryption and establish its universality.These findings offer novel avenues for future transient material design and may make significant contributions to systems chemistry.

Genomic-wide analysis of lymphatic metastasis-associated genes in human hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM： To identify the genes related to lymph node metastasis in human hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC）, 32 HCC patients with or without lymph node metastasis were investigated by high-throughput microarray comprising 886 genes. METHODS： The samples of cancerous and noncancerous paired tissue were taken from 32 patients with HCC who underwent hepatectomy with lymph node dissection. Total RNA was extracted from the cells obtained by means of laser microdissection （LCM） and was amplified by the T7-based amplification system. Then, the amplified samples were applied in the cDNA microarray comprising of 886 genes. RESULTS： The results demonstrated that 25 upregulated genes such as cell membrane receptor, intraceliular signaling and cell adhesion related genes, and 48 down-regulated genes such as intracellular signaling and cell cycle regulator-related genes, were correlated with lymph node metastasis in HCC. Amongst them were included some interesting genes, such as MET, EPHA2, CCND1, MMP2, MMP13, CASP3, CDH1, and PTPN2. Expression of 16 genes （MET, CCND1, CCIVD2, VEGF, KRT18, RFC4, BIRC5, CDC6, MMP2, BCL2A1, CDH1, VIM, PDGFRA, PTPN2, SLC25A5 and DSP） were further confirmed by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptional polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR）. CONCLUSION： Tumor metastasis is an important biological characteristic, which involves multiple genetic changes and cumulation. This genome-wide information contributes to an improved understanding of molecular alterations during lymph node metastasis in HCC. It may help clinicians to predict metastasis of lymph nodes and assist researchers in identifying novel therapeutic targets for metastatic HCC patients.

Exploration and research progress on ion-adsorption type REE deposit in South China

Since 2011,certain advances have been made through the resource investigation,metallogenesis research,mining supervision and environmental protection of ion-adsorption type rare earth element (REE) deposit in South China.Firstly,some progress has been made in REE prospecting in Jiangxi,Guangdong,Guangxi and Yunnan.REE deposits are not only found within the weathering crusts of granites and felsic volcanic rocks,but also within the weathering crusts of epimetamorphic rocks and basic magmatic rocks.Secondly,the methods of exploration,delineating ore bodies and calculation of reserves have been improved,which intuitively reflect the thickness,REE composition and value of weathering crust.Thirdly,the relationship between REEs and weathering degree and the rule of distribution,migration and enrichment of REEs in the weathering profile was summarized through the analysis of big data,which can predict the metallogenetic horizon of REEs.Fourthly,a method for quick,accurate and dynamic investigation of the REE deposit has been established by using high resolution remote sensing technology.Finally,the relation between the production status of REE mines and water pollution has been revealed based on long-term hydrochemical monitoring data of rivers and wells in mines and surrounding areas.

Comparative pharmacokinetics of chlorogenic acid after oral administration in rats

The present study was aimed at the comparison of the pharmacokinetics of pure chlorogenic acid and extract of Solanum lyratum Thunb. The animals were allocated to two groups, and were administered chlorogenic acid or extract of S. lyratum Thunb. at a dose of 50.0 mg/kg orally. Blood samples were collected up to 8 h post-dosing. Plasma chlorogenic acid analyses were performed using an HPLC method with UV detector. The pharmacokinetic parameters were evaluated using non-compartmental assessment. Significant differences existed in the two groups for AUCo-t, AUCo-∞ and CLz/F. The reliable HPLC method was successfully applied to the determination of chlorogenic acid in rat plasma at dosting of 50.0 mg/kz.