Covering: July 2012 to June 2015. Previous review:
Nat. Prod. Rep.
, 2013,
30
, 869-915
The structurally diverse imidazole-, oxazole-, and thiazole-containing secondary metabolites are widely ...distributed in terrestrial and marine environments, and exhibit extensive pharmacological activities. In this review the latest progress involving the isolation, biological activities, and chemical and biogenetic synthesis studies on these natural products has been summarized.
The structurally diverse imidazole-, oxazole-, and thiazole-containing secondary metabolites are widely distributed in terrestrial and marine environments, and exhibit extensive pharmacological activities.
Covering: July 2012 to June 2015. Previous review:
Nat. Prod. Rep.
, 2013,
30
, 849-868
The latest progress on the isolation, identification, biological activity and synthetic studies of the ...structurally diverse alkaloids from plants of family Amaryllidaceae has been summarized in this review. In addition, the structurally related alkaloids isolated from
Sceletium
species were discussed as well.
The latest progress on the isolation, identification, biological activity and synthetic studies of the structurally diverse alkaloids from plants of family Amaryllidaceae has been summarized in this review.
Covering: July 2015 to June 2017. Previous review: Nat. Prod. Rep., 2016, 33, 1318-1343 Recent progress on the isolation, identification, biological activity and synthetic studies of the structurally ...diverse alkaloids from plants of family Amaryllidaceae has been summarized in this review. In addition, the structurally related alkaloids isolated from Sceletium species are discussed.
It has been reported that the composition of human gut microbiota changes with age; however, few studies have used molecular techniques to investigate the long-term, sequential changes in gut ...microbiota composition. In this study, we investigated the sequential changes in gut microbiota composition in newborn to centenarian Japanese subjects.
Fecal samples from 367 healthy Japanese subjects between the ages of 0 and 104 years were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing of amplicons derived from the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Analysis based on bacterial co-abundance groups (CAGs) defined by Kendall correlations between genera revealed that certain transition types of microbiota were enriched in infants, adults, elderly individuals and both infant and elderly subjects. More positive correlations between the relative abundances of genera were observed in the elderly-associated CAGs compared with the infant- and adult-associated CAGs. Hierarchical Ward's linkage clustering based on the abundance of genera indicated five clusters, with median (interquartile range) ages of 3 (0-35), 33 (24-45), 42 (32-62), 77 (36-84) and 94 (86-98) years. Subjects were predominantly clustered with their matched age; however, some of them fell into mismatched age clusters. Furthermore, clustering based on the proportion of transporters predicted by phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states (PICRUSt) showed that subjects were divided into two age-related groups, the adult-enriched and infant/elderly-enriched clusters. Notably, all the drug transporters based on Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) Orthology groups were found in the infant/elderly-enriched cluster.
Our results indicate some patterns and transition points in the compositional changes in gut microbiota with age. In addition, the transporter property prediction results suggest that nutrients in the gut might play an important role in changing the gut microbiota composition with age.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
ABSTRACT
Members of Bifidobacterium are among the first microbes to colonise the human gut, and certain species are recognised as the natural resident of human gut microbiota. Their presence in the ...human gut has been associated with health-promoting benefits and reduced abundance of this genus is linked with several diseases. Bifidobacterial species are assumed to have coevolved with their hosts and include members that are naturally present in the human gut, thus recognised as Human-Residential Bifidobacteria (HRB). The physiological functions of these bacteria and the reasons why they occur in and how they adapt to the human gut are of immense significance. In this review, we provide an overview of the biology of bifidobacteria as members of the human gut microbiota and address factors that contribute to the preponderance of HRB in the human gut. We highlight some of the important genetic attributes and core physiological traits of these bacteria that may explain their adaptive advantages, ecological fitness, and competitiveness in the human gut. This review will help to widen our understanding of one of the most important human commensal bacteria and shed light on the practical consideration for selecting bifidobacterial strains as human probiotics.
Bifidobacterial species that ubiquitously encounter in the human host, collectively known as the Human-Residential Bifidobacteria (HRB), possess unique genetic elements and superior physiological functions that contribute to their ecological fitness and competitiveness, and they are thus more beneficial to humans.
As a two-dimensional (2D) material, molybdenum disulfide (MoS
2
) exhibits unique electronic and optical properties useful for a variety of optoelectronic applications including light harvesting. In ...this article, we review recent progress in the synthesis, properties and applications of MoS
2
and related heterostructures. Heterostructured materials are developed to add more functionality or flexibility compared to single component materials. Our focus is on their novel properties and functionalities as well as emerging applications, especially in the areas of light energy harvesting or conversion. We highlight the correlation between structural properties and other properties including electronic, optical, and dynamic. Whenever appropriate, we also try to provide fundamental insight gained from experimental as well as theoretical studies. Finally, we discuss some current challenges and opportunities in technological applications of MoS
2
.
As a two-dimensional (2D) material, molybdenum disulfide (MoS
2
) exhibits unique electronic and optical properties useful for a variety of optoelectronic applications including light harvesting.
It has previously been shown that the consumption of probiotics may have beneficial effects not only on peripheral tissues but also on the central nervous system and behavior via the ...microbiota-gut-brain axis, raising the possibility that treatment with probiotics could be an effective therapeutic strategy for managing neurodegenerative disorders. In this study, we investigated the effects of oral administration of Bifidobacterium breve strain A1 (B. breve A1) on behavior and physiological processes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) model mice. We found that administration of B. breve A1 to AD mice reversed the impairment of alternation behavior in a Y maze test and the reduced latency time in a passive avoidance test, indicating that it prevented cognitive dysfunction. We also demonstrated that non-viable components of the bacterium or its metabolite acetate partially ameliorated the cognitive decline observed in AD mice. Gene profiling analysis revealed that the consumption of B. breve A1 suppressed the hippocampal expressions of inflammation and immune-reactive genes that are induced by amyloid-β. Together, these findings suggest that B. breve A1 has therapeutic potential for preventing cognitive impairment in AD.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
An extremely stable hydrogen-bonded organic framework, HOF-8, was fabricated. HOF-8 is not only thermally stable but also stable in water and common organic solvents. More interestingly, desolvated ...HOF-8 exhibits high CO2 adsorption as well as highly selective CO2 and C6H6 adsorption at ambient temperature.
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Available for:
IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
The chemical transformation of carbon dioxide (CO2) has been considered as a promising strategy to utilize and further upgrade it to value‐added chemicals, aiming at alleviating global warming. In ...this regard, sustainable driving forces (i.e., electricity and sunlight) have been introduced to convert CO2 into various chemical feedstocks. Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) can generate carbonaceous molecules (e.g., formate, CO, hydrocarbons, and alcohols) via multiple‐electron transfer. With the assistance of extra light energy, photoelectrocatalysis effectively improve the kinetics of CO2 conversion, which not only decreases the overpotentials for CO2RR but also enhances the lifespan of photo‐induced carriers for the consecutive catalytic process. Recently, rational‐designed catalysts and advanced characterization techniques have emerged in these fields, which make CO2‐to‐chemicals conversion in a clean and highly‐efficient manner. Herein, this review timely and thoroughly discusses the recent advancements in the practical conversion of CO2 through electro‐ and photoelectrocatalytic technologies in the past 5 years. Furthermore, the recent studies of operando analysis and theoretical calculations are highlighted to gain systematic insights into CO2RR. Finally, the challenges and perspectives in the fields of CO2 (photo)electrocatalysis are outlined for their further development.
CO2‐to‐fuel conversion is considered as a promising strategy for decreasing CO2 concentration and further upgrading to chemical feedstocks. Accordingly, this review compares the catalytic technologies and summarizes the recent development of advanced catalysts for highly‐efficient CO2 conversion through electrocatalysis and photothermocatalysis during the past 5 years. In addition, the catalytic mechanisms, challenges, and perspectives of these technologies are emphasized.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Biomedical applications of plasmonic metal nanostructures represent new and exciting directions of research and development. For instance, photothermal ablation therapy (PTA) based on metal ...nanomaterials has been actively explored for treating cancer with encouraging success. PTA relies on heat generated from light for destroying cancer cells and thus requires strong optical absorption and high efficiency of photothermal conversion. Desired metal nanostructures for PTA should have strong and tunable SPR, low toxicity, ease of delivery, and convenience for bioconjugation for actively targeting cancer cells. Nanostructures of noble metals, for example, gold and silver, show great promise for PTA applications, including nanoparticles, nanorods, nanoshells, nanocages, and hollow nanospheres. Among these structures, hollow gold nanospheres exhibit a unique combination of small size, spherical shape, and strong, narrow, and tunable SPR. This Perspective highlights the importance of shape control in determining the optical and photothermal properties of metal nanostructures for PTA applications.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
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