A SIMPLE AND CONVENIENT ROUTE FOR PREPARATION OF OPTICALLY ACTIVE BICYCLOLACTONES

Optically active bicyclolactones 4 were prepared via a new simple route.

Recent insights into the characteristics and role of peritoneal macrophages from ascites of cirrhotic patients

Macrophages are a diverse myeloid cell population involved in innate and adaptive immune responses,embryonic development,wound repair,and regulation of tissue homeostasis.These cells link the innate and adaptive immunities and are crucial in the development and sustainment of various inflammatory diseases.Macrophages are tissue-resident cells in steady-state conditions;however,they are also recruited from blood monocytes after local pathogen invasion or tissue injury.Peritoneal macrophages vary based on their cell complexity,phenotype,and functional capabilities.These cells regulate inflammation and control bacterial infections in the ascites of decompensated cirrhotic patients.Our recent work reported several phenotypic and functional characteristics of these cells under both healthy and pathological conditions.A direct association between cell size,CD14/CD16 expression,intracellular level of GATA-6,and expression of CD206 and HLA-DR activation/maturation markers,indicate that the large peritoneal macrophage CD14^(high)CD16^(high)subset constitutes the mature phenotype of human resident peritoneal macrophages during homeostasis.Moreover,elevated expression of CD14/CD16 is related to the phagocytic capacity.The novel large CD14^(high)CD16^(high)peritoneal subpopulation is increased in the ascites of cirrhotic patients and is highly sensitive to lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced activation,thereby exhibiting features of inflammatory priming.Thus,phosphorylation of ERK1/2,PKB/Akt,and c-Jun is remarkably increased in response to LPS in vitro,whereas that of p38 MAPK is reduced compared with the monocyte-derived macrophages from the blood of healthy controls.Furthermore,in vitro activated monocyte-derived macrophages from ascites of cirrhotic patients secreted significantly higher levels of IL-6,IL-10,and TNF-αand lower amounts of IL-1βand IL-12 than the corresponding cells from healthy donor’s blood.Based on these results,other authors have recently reported that the surface expression level of CD206 can be used to identify mature,resident,inflammatory peritoneal macrophages in patients with cirrhosis.Soluble CD206 is released from activated large peritoneal macrophages,and increased concentrations in patients with cirrhosis and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis(SBP)indicate reduced odds of survival for 90 d.Hence,the level of soluble CD206 in ascites might be used to identify patients with SBP at risk of death.In conclusion,peritoneal macrophages present in ascites of cirrhotic patients display multiple phenotypic modifications characterized by reduced ratio of cells expressing several membrane markers,together with an increase in the ratios of complex and intermediate subpopulations and a decrease in the classiclike subset.These modifications may lead to the identification of novel pharmaceutical targets for prevention and treatment of hepatic damage.

A High-Speed Active Switch Routing Architecture

In this paper, combining with active networks, we design a new kind of programmable routing switch architecture to provide a common intelligent switch platform for multi-protocol switching and multi-service accessing. We elaborate how programmable switch and network intelligence are achieved, and how packets are classified, queued and scheduled. We point out that edge intelligence and network software are the tendency for the development of future networks.

Tuning the Microstructural and Magnetic Properties of ZnO Nanopowders through the Simultaneous Doping of Mn and Ni for Biomedical Applications

Undoped and Mn＋Ni doped ZnO nanopowders were synthesized using a simple soft chemical route by varying the Ni doping level （1, 3, 5 and 7 at.%） and keeping the Mn doping level （10 at.%） constant, X-ray diffraction studies reveal that the incorporated Ni^2＋ ions form a secondary phase of cubic NiO beyond the Ni doping level of 3 at.%, which is also confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The band gap of the nanopowders increases （from 3.32 to 3.44 eV） up to 3 at.% of Ni doping and decreases with further doping. ZnO：Mn：Ni nanopowders with 3 at.% of Ni concentration exhibit good antibacterial efficiency. The variation in the size of the nanoparticles, as observed from the TEM images and hydroxyl radicals as evidenced from the photoluminescence results, clearly substantiate the discussion on the antibacterial efficiency of the synthesized nanopowders. Magnetic properties of the synthesized nanopowders were studied using a vibrating sample magnetometer, and the results showed that the doping of Mn and Ni largely influences the magnetic properties of ZnO nanopowders.