Sieb. et Zucc. is part of the genus
of the family
. Ripening and dry fruits (
) are recognized as an essential herb medicine in the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and have been widely used for ...over 2000 years. This review provides a comprehensive summary of
(CF), including the botany, phytochemistry, traditional use, and current pharmacological activities. According to the basic theory of TCM, CF usually participates in various Chinese medicinal formulae to exert the essential roles in replenishing liver and kidney, arresting seminal emission and sweat. Based on modern pharmacological studies, about 90 compounds have been isolated and identified from CF. In vivo and in vitro experimental studies indicate that CF exhibits extensive pharmacological activities including hypoglycemic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, and nephroprotective activities. However, only about 18% of chemical constituents in CF were tested. It means the potential pharmacological activities and clinical values of CF need to be further investigated.
Titanium matrix composites (TMCs) reinforced with in situ-formed TiC particles and TiB whiskers were prepared by reacting titanium and B4C via powder metallurgy and hot extrusion. The effect of the ...in situ-formed TiC–TiB hybrid reinforcements on the microstructure and mechanical behavior of the TMCs was investigated. TiB whiskers exhibited favorable alignment, orienting parallel to the deformation axis after hot extrusion, while TiC particles and TiB whiskers were distributed homogenously throughout the extruded composites. The synthesized TMCs with a 13.6% volume fraction of TiC–TiB hybrid reinforcements presented a σUTS of 1138MPa, representing a 74% improvement compared to pure titanium, and retained an acceptable elongation of 2.6%. The synergistic strengthening effect of TiC particles and TiB whiskers was investigated via in situ tensile observations based on the load-transfer mechanism between the titanium matrix and TiC–TiB reinforcements.
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•Titanium matrix composites reinforced with In situ-formed TiC-TiB hybrid reinforcements were fabricated by reacting of Ti-B4C by powder metallurgy.•The synergy strengthening effect of TiC-TiB hybrid reinforcements was studied via in situ tensile observation.•TiB whiskers are prone to rupture by obstructing the migration of matrix grain during plastic deformation, while TiC particles are unsusceptible.
Fine modeling and fast prediction of regional wind field in the middle and upper atmosphere has always been a difficult problem. We designed a neural operator method to solve this problem. We combine ...the idea of data assimilation with deep learning method to design a regional wind field operator suitable for near space. The annual Root mean square error of the zonal wind and meridional wind of the operator model at the height of 30 km are 0.903 and 0.881, respectively, which is three times that of ConvLSTM. Moreover, we validate the sparse spatio‐temporal modeling method of regional wind field operator at 20/30/40/50 km altitude. The result shows that the model is mesh‐free, and can get high‐precision modeling of different spatio‐temporal resolutions, multiple regions and arbitrary positions at one time, which lays an foundation for fine regional modeling and rapid utilization of near space.
Plain Language Summary
The complex variation mechanism of regional wind fields in near space leads to the difficulty of high‐precision modeling and fast prediction, which seriously affects the design and flight of near space vehicles. In this study, a regional wind field neural operator method has been proposed, which can achieve the fine modeling of the regional wind field in the middle and upper atmosphere. The new method is highly flexible, and can get high‐precision modeling and rapid prediction in different spatial‐temporal resolutions, multiple regions and arbitrary positions.
Key Points
The neural operator is first used to study high‐precision spatio‐temporal modeling and rapid prediction of regional wind fields in near space
The Root mean square error accuracy of regional wind field operator model is three times that of ConvLSTM
The novel method is suitable for sparse spatio‐temporal modeling at any location with different data resolutions
Sensor censoring has been introduced for reduced communication rate in a decentralized detection system where decisions made at peripheral nodes need to be communicated to a fusion center. In this ...letter, the fusion of decisions from censoring sensors transmitted over wireless fading channels is investigated. The knowledge of fading channels, either in the form of instantaneous channel envelopes or the fading statistics, is integrated in the optimum and suboptimum fusion rule design. The sensor censoring and the ensuing fusion rule design have two major advantages compared with the previous work. 1) Communication overhead is dramatically reduced. 2) It allows incoherent detection, hence, the phase information of transmission channels is no longer required. As such, it is particularly suitable for wireless sensor network applications with severe resource constraints.
Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) show great potential as efficient catalysts for Li-CO2 batteries. However, the basal plane engineering on TMDCs toward bifunctional catalysts ...for Li-CO2 batteries is still poorly understood. In this work, density functional theory calculations reveal that nucleophilic N dopants and electrophilic S vacancies in the ReS2 plane tailor the interactions with Li atoms and C/O atoms in intermediates, respectively. The electrophilic and nucleophilic dual centers show suitable adsorption with all intermediates during discharge and charge, resulting in a small energy barrier for the rate-determining step. Thus, an efficient bifunctional catalyst is produced toward Li-CO2 batteries. As a result, the optimal catalyst achieves an ultrasmall voltage gap of 0.66 V and an ultrahigh energy efficiency of 81.1% at 20 μA cm–2, which is superior to those of previous catalysts under similar conditions. The introduction of electrophilic and nucleophilic dual centers provides new avenues for designing excellent bifunctional catalysts for Li-CO2 batteries.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is significantly associated with diabetes, but how hyperglycemia induces or aggravates OA has not been shown. The synovium plays a critical role in cartilage metabolism and ...substance exchange. Herein, we intended to investigate whether and how hyperglycemia affects the occurrence and progression of OA by influencing the synovium. In patients with knee OA and diabetes (DM OA), we found a more severe inflammatory response, higher endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) levels, and more advanced glycosylation end products (AGEs) accumulation in the synovium than in patients without diabetes. Subsequently, we found similar results in the DM OA group in a rat model. In the in vitro cocultivation system, high glucose-stimulated AGEs accumulation, ERS, and inflammation in rat fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs), which resulted in chondrocyte degeneration due to inflammatory factors from FLSs. Furthermore, in the synovium of the DM OA group and FLSs treated with high glucose, the expression of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) and its regulatory factor hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α was increased significantly. Inhibitors of HIF-1α, GLUT1 or AGEs receptors attenuated the effect of high glucose on chondrocyte degradation in the FLS-chondrocyte coculture system. In summary, we demonstrated that hyperglycemia caused AGEs accumulation in FLSs via the HIF-1α-GLUT1 pathway, which increases the release of inflammatory factors from FLSs, subsequently inducing chondrocyte degradation and promoting OA progression.
Corynebacterium glutamicum is an important industrial metabolite producer that is difficult to genetically engineer. Although the Streptococcus pyogenes (Sp) CRISPR-Cas9 system has been adapted for ...genome editing of multiple bacteria, it cannot be introduced into C. glutamicum. Here we report a Francisella novicida (Fn) CRISPR-Cpf1-based genome-editing method for C. glutamicum. CRISPR-Cpf1, combined with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) recombineering, precisely introduces small changes into the bacterial genome at efficiencies of 86-100%. Large gene deletions and insertions are also obtained using an all-in-one plasmid consisting of FnCpf1, CRISPR RNA, and homologous arms. The two CRISPR-Cpf1-assisted systems enable N iterative rounds of genome editing in 3N+4 or 3N+2 days. A proof-of-concept, codon saturation mutagenesis at G149 of γ-glutamyl kinase relieves L-proline inhibition using Cpf1-assisted ssDNA recombineering. Thus, CRISPR-Cpf1-based genome editing provides a highly efficient tool for genetic engineering of Corynebacterium and other bacteria that cannot utilize the Sp CRISPR-Cas9 system.
Astragalus membranaceus is a traditional Chinese medicine derived from the roots of Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge., which has the same medicinal and edible uses in China. It is also widely ...used in daily food, and its pharmacological effects mainly include antioxidant effects, vascular softening effects, etc. Currently, it is increasingly widely used in the prevention of hypertension, cerebral ischemia, and stroke in China. Formononetin and its glucopyranoside (ononin) are both important components of Astragalus membranaceuss and may play important roles in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This study conducted metabolic studies using formononectin and its glucopyranoside (ononin), including a combination of the in vitro metabolism of Formonetin using rat liver S9 and the in vivo metabolism of ononin administered orally to rats. Five metabolites (Sm2, 7, 9, 10, and 12) were obtained from the solution incubated with formononetin and rat hepatic S9 fraction using chromatographic methods. The structures of the five metabolites were elucidated as (Sm2)6,7,4′-trihydroxy-isoflavonoid; (Sm7)7,4′-dihydroxy-isoflavonoid; (Sm9)7,8,4′-trihydroxy-isoflavonoid; (Sm10)7,8,-dihydroxy-4′-methoxy-isoflavonoid; and (Sm12)6,7-dihydroxy-4′-methoxy- isoflavonoid on the basis of UV, NMR, and MS data. Totally, 14 metabolites were identified via HPLC-DAD-ESI-IT-TOF-MSn analysis, from which the formononetin was incubated with rat hepatic S9 fraction, and the main metabolic pathways were hydroxylation, demethylation, and glycosylation. Then, 21 metabolites were identified via HPLC-DAD-ESI-IT-TOF-MSn analysis from the urine samples from SD rats to which ononin was orally administered, and the main metabolic pathways were glucuronidation, hydroxylation, demethylation, and sulfonation. The main difference between the in vitro metabolism of formononetin and the in vivo metabolism of ononin is that ononin undergoes deglycemic transformation into Formonetin in the rat intestine, while Formonetin is absorbed into the bloodstream for metabolism, and the metabolic products also produce combined metabolites during in vivo metabolism. The six metabolites obtained from the aforementioned separation indicate the primary forms of formononetin metabolism, and due to their higher contents of similar isoflavone metabolites, they are considered the main active compounds that are responsible for pharmacological effects. To investigate the metabolites of the active ingredients of formononetin in the rat liver S9 system, network pharmacology was used to evaluate the cardiovascular disease (CVD) activities of the six primary metabolites that were structurally identified. Additionally, the macromolecular docking results of six main components and two core targets (HSP90AA1 and SRC) related to CVD showed that formononetin and its main metabolites, Sm10 and Sm12, may have roles in CVD treatment due to their strong binding activities with the HSP90AA1 receptor, while the Sm7 metabolite may have a role in CVD treatment due to its strong binding activity with the SRC receptor.
The fresh or dried stems of many Dendrobium species are well known as one of the most expensive tonics in traditional Chinese medicine. Documented as a “superior grade” herbal medicine in the ancient ...text “Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic”, Dendrobium has been used for thousands of years and is now a popular health food worldwide. The main chemical components of Dendrobium are alkaloids, aromatic compounds, sesquiterpenoids and polysaccharides, with multiple biological activities, including immunomodulatory, neuroprotective and anti-tumor effects, etc. Various qualitative and quantitative methods have been developed for the quality evaluation of Dendrobium. In this review, the research progress since the 1930s relating to the chemistry, bioactivity and quality control of Dendrobium is summarized, existing problems and prospects are also discussed.
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•A well-regulated, stable and incessant nanonization method was demonstrated.•The critical conditions of SC-CO2 were consistent and resulting in desired yields.•Altered physical state ...of lonidamine resulted in the solubility improvement.•Improved solubility enhanced the anti-tumor effects of lonidamine after nanonization.
Despite the significant advancements in the pharmaceutical manufacturing process, the aqueous solubility of most of the potent drugs has remained as an unresolved problem during the formulation development and drug delivery processes. To address this critical issue, we modified the continuous-rapid expansion of supercritical solution (RESS-C) process, which is incessant, stable and well-regulated. Initially, the solubility of lonidamine (LND) in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) was tested using a static analytical method at altered critical conditions (T: 308.15-328.15K, P: 10.0-30.0MPa). Under optimized conditions (LND conc.- 0.5% (w/v), flow rate- 1.0mL/min, T- 328.15K, P- 20.0MPa and CO2 flow rate- 30.0g/min), the modified RESS-C process resulted in nano-sized spheres with a smooth surface and a narrow particle size distribution. Further, the crystal properties of the samples and their molecular interactions were elucidated. The altered physical state of RESS-C processed LND from crystalline to amorphous resulted in the solubility improvement and also enhanced the in vitro antiproliferative effects compared to the unprocessed LND, demonstrating the potential of the modified RESS-C process in improving the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs.
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