Owing to the critical roles it plays for both structure and functionality, hydrogen bonding has high hopes for the orientated applications in hydrogen‐bonded organic frameworks (HOFs). Here in this ...work, a hydrogen‐bonding strategy is performed for adjusting the structure and functionality of a heme‐like ligand meso‐tetra(carboxy‐phenyl)‐porphyrin (TCPP) with co‐former 1,3‐di(4‐pyridyl) propane (1,3‐DPP). A 3D dynamic HOF TCPP‐1,3–DPP, with permanent porosity is obtained. For this HOF, the two components form novel robust 1D porous stripes, with the 1,3‐DPP molecules acting as the lining for the pores that are confined within the region between adjacent carboxyphenyl moieties of TCPP. This confinement has tuned the affinities of TCPP from hydrophobic into hydrophilic. Interestingly, the 1D stripes are further stacked by weak π…π interactions into a 3D framework, the latter is highly dynamic with 1D stripes sliding back and forth, upon pressurized and water adsorption in the solid‐state under ambient conditions, respectively. The activated TCPP‐1,3–DPP has a Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of 258 m2 g−1, and shows a maximum adsorption capacity about 9.8% for water during the adsorption–desorption cycles, demonstrating a promising candidate for the real‐world application in effective dehydration of industrial gases under ambient conditions.
A 3D dynamic hydrogen‐bonded organic framework TCPP‐1,3–DPP, which is composed of 1D porous stripes, shows permanent porosity and highly affinity to water. The activated species exhibit a maximum adsorption capacity about 9.8% for water during the adsorption–desorption cycles, demonstrating a promise for the real‐world application in effective dehydration of industrial gas under ambient condition.
Numerous bacteria are harbored in the animal digestive tract and are impacted by several factors. Intestinal microbiota homeostasis is critical for maintaining the health of an organism. However, how ...pathogen invasion affects the microbiota composition has not been fully clarified. The mechanisms for preventing invasion by pathogenic microorganisms are yet to be elucidated. Zebrafish is a useful model for developmental biology, and studies in this organism have gradually become focused on intestinal immunity. In this study, we analyzed the microbiota of normal cultivated and infected zebrafish intestines, the aquarium water and feed samples. We found that the predominant bacteria in the zebrafish intestine belonged to Gammaproteobacteria (67%) and that feed and environment merely influenced intestinal microbiota composition only partially. Intestinal microbiota changed after a pathogenic bacterial challenge. At the genus level, the abundance of some pathogenic intestinal bacteria increased, and these genera included Halomonas (50%), Pelagibacterium (3.6%), Aeromonas (2.6%), Nesterenkonia (1%), Chryseobacterium (3.4‰), Mesorhizobium (1.4‰), Vibrio (1‰), Mycoplasma (0.7‰) and Methylobacterium (0.6‰) in IAh group. However, the abundance of some beneficial intestinal bacteria decreased, and these genera included Nitratireductor (0.8‰), Enterococcus (0.8‰), Brevundimonas (0.7‰), Lactococcus (0.7‰) and Lactobacillus (0.4‰). Additionally, we investigated the innate immune responses after infection. ROS levels in intestine increased in the early stages after a challenge and recovered subsequently. The mRNA levels of antimicrobial peptide genes lectin, hepcidin and defensin1, were upregulated in the intestine after pathogen infection. These results suggested that the invasion of pathogen could change the intestinal microbiota composition and induce intestinal innate immune responses in zebrafish.
•Gammaproteobacteria had the highest abundance level of zebrafish intestine.•Aeromonas hydrophila challenge changed intestinal microbiota abundance.•Reactive oxygen species level of intestine increased after A. hydrophila infection.•Antimicrobial peptides participated in intestinal antibacterial response.
•Efficient methods for deproteinizing and decolorizing polysaccharides demonstrated.•Polyamide chromatography is the most efficient deproteinization method.•Resin S-8 is the most efficient ...decolorization method.•Salt-eluted polysaccharide has more significant immunostimulatory effects.•Polysaccharide fraction SPS-3 showed the most immunostimulatory activity.
In this study, crude American ginseng polysaccharide (AGPS) was extracted with hot water and preliminarily purified by using resin S-8 and Polyamide columns. Then, it was further purified and separated by DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B and Sepharose CL-6B chromatography, respectively. Five main fractions were obtained, named WPS-1, WPS-2, SPS-1, SPS-2 and SPS-3. Their homogeneities and structural characteristics were elucidated based on UV–vis spectroscopy, High Performance Gel Filtration Chromatography (HPGFC), Gas Chromatography (GC), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Infrared Spectrum (IR), and NMR Spectroscopy methods. Furthermore, the immunostimulatory effects of these fractions upon splenic lymphocyte proliferation, macrophage phagocytosis and nitric oxide (NO) production, were investigated in vitro. The results indicated that their stimulations could be ordered as SPS-3>SPS-1>CPS (crude polysaccharides)>WPS-1>WPS-2>SPS-2. Among them, SPS-3 showed more potent immunomodulatory activity and could be explored as a potential immunopotentiating agent for use in functional food or medicine.
Human rabies is a serious public health problem that can't be ignored. Rabies immune globulin (RIG) is an indispensable component of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). However, current PEP ...relies on RIG purified from pooled human or equine plasma, which are either in chronic shortage or associated with safety concerns. Monoclonal antibodies have become widely accepted as safer and more cost-effective alternatives to RIG products in recent years. Here, we assessed the neutralization breadth of human monoclonal antibody ormutivimab and its protective efficacy in PEP models. Ormutivimab was able to neutralize a broad panel of Chinese prevalent street RABVs with neutralizing potency form 198–1487.6 IU/mL. Furthermore, ormutivimab offered comparable protection to that with HRIG both at standard doses (20 IU/kg) and higher doses (100 IU/kg and 200 IU/kg). The interference of ormutivimab on vaccine potency was also analyzed and found slightly reduced neutralizing antibody titers similar to HRIG. The broad-spectrum neutralization activities, highly protective potency, and rapid onset of action make ormutivimab an effective candidate for human rabies PEP.
leaves are used as a kind of phytomedicine and the main ingredient in some traditional Chinese medicine products for the relief of colitis. To understand the bioactive constituents of
L., we did a ...phytochemistry study and investigated anti-Inflammatory effects of compounds and explored the underlying mechanisms.
We isolated compounds from ethanol extract of
L. leaf and detected the most effective compound by NO inhibition assay. We investigated anti-Inflammatory effects on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis mice and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. The disease activity index was determined by scores of body weight loss, diarrhea and rectal bleeding; histological damage was analyzed by H&E staining; macrophages change in the colon were analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC); myeloperoxidase activity was measured by myeloperoxidase assay kits; levels of proinflammatory cytokines were determined by qPCR and ELISA; protein production such as COX-2, iNOS, STAT3 and ERK1/2 were determined by western blotting.
We isolated uvaol from ethanol extract of
L. leaf and found uvaol has excellent potential of inhibiting NO production. We further found uvaol could attenuate disease activity index (DAI), colon shortening, colon injury, and colonic myeloperoxidase activity in DSS-induced colitis mice. Moreover, uvaol significantly reduces mRNA expression and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, and MCP-1) and infiltration of macrophages in colonic tissues of colitis mice. Studies on LPS challenged murine macrophage RAW246.7 cells also revealed that uvaol reduces mRNA expression and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and mediators. Mechanically, uvaol inhibits the pro-inflammatory ERK/STAT3 axis in both inflamed colonic tissues and macrophages.
leaf contains uvaol and uvaol has potent anti-inflammatory effects on DSS-induced experimental colitis and LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells. These results suggest uvaol is a prospective anti-inflammatory agent for colonic inflammation.
Background. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) lacks effective treatments and has a poor prognosis. Therefore it is needed to develop more effective drug targets. Kinesin family member 11 (KIF11) has ...been reported to affect the progression of several cancers, and its high expression associates with the prognosis of patients. However, the relevant mechanisms of KIF11 in HCC progression have not been studied. Method. Through the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) database and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of patients’ specimens, we determined that KIF11 was highly expressed in HCC tissues and associated with prognosis. We established a KIF11 stably depleted hepatoma cell line, through cell-cloning experiments and cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assays to detect the effects on proliferation in vitro. The role of KIF11 in promoting cell proliferation was verified in mice. Result. The expression of KIF11 was negatively correlated with the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) and positively correlated with tumor size of HCC patients. KIF11 depletion inhibits cell proliferation and tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion. KIF11 can be used as a positive correlation marker for HCC prognosis and served as a potential therapeutic target.
Rubber powdery mildew disease (
Oidium heveae)
is a serious threat to natural rubber production (
Hevea brasiliensis
) in some rubber developing regions of the world. Both phenological- and ...meteorological-related factors have been reported influencing the powdery mildew disease. However, few studies have investigated the effects of both phenological- and meteorological-related factors on the disease. The objective of this study is to quantify the contributions of phenological- and meteorological-related factors to affect the disease. We used the partial least squares (PLS) regression method to comprehensively quantify the effects of thirty-five phenological related factors and six meteorological factors on the infection level of powdery mildew of rubber trees over 9-year records (2003–2011). The relative contributions of significant factors were further investigated by the variation partition analysis. We found that the most influential variables were the mean temperature during winter and the duration of leaf development to maturation which explained 32 and 26% of the variations in the infection level. We found the controlling role of winter mean temperature, for the first time, on the infection level of powdery mildew. The controlling role of winter temperature may have directly increase the infection level when winter temperature is high and indirectly increase the infection level through prolonging the duration of leaf development to maturation, although the duration itself had smaller influences. We detected a warming trend of the winter temperatures from 2003 to 2011, which indicates that the infection level of powdery mildew will be increased if the winter warming continues.
Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution technology is recognized as a promising approach to relieving the growing energy crisis. Therefore, the development of a stable high‐performance photocatalyst has ...long been the focus of research. In this work, quaternary composite materials involving a snowflake‐like CdS nanocrystal wrapped by different amounts of polyoxometalate‐decorated g‐C3N4 and polypyrrole (GPP@CdS) have been synthesized as photocatalysts for hydrogen production under visible‐light irradiation. It has been revealed that the best composite (40 % GPP@CdS composite) exhibits hydrogen production activity of 1321 μmol, which exceeds that of CdS by a factor of more than two, and can be used in at least seven cycles with negligible loss of activity. The enhanced photocatalytic performance has been primarily attributed to the efficient synergy of CdS, g‐C3N4, polypyrrole (PPy), and the polyoxometalate Ni4(PW9)2. It should be noted that the introduction of PPy and g‐C3N4 into the title composite simultaneously promotes electron/hole pair separation and photocatalytic stability, whereas Ni4(PW9)2 serves as an efficient electron modulator and extra catalytic active site.
Synergy in action. A novel polyoxometalate‐decorated g‐C3N4‐wrapping snowflake‐like CdS nanocrystal photocatalyst, by virtue of the synergistic effect stemming from the integration of the individual advantages of CdS, g‐C3N4, polypyrrole, and the polyoxometalate Ni4(PW9)2, displays high‐performance hydrogen production activity and superior photocatalytic stability (see figure).
Intraspecific competition is a common phenomenon in agricultural production, and maize is one of the most sensitive grass species to intraspecific competition due to its low tillering ability. This ...study evaluated and analyzed intraspecific competition in maize, and screened competitive indices that could be used to evaluate intraspecific competition in a maize population. A 2-year field experiment was conducted using the maize hybrid Zhongdan 2 at 12 plant densities ranging from 1.5 to 18.0 plants (pl) m−2. The results showed that the response of single-plant grain yield and dry matter at harvest to increased plant density decreased exponentially and that the harvest index decreased linearly. The response of population-level grain yield to plant density was curvilinear, producing a maximum value at the optimum population density. However, the yielddensity equation agreed well with the Steinhart-Hart equation curves, but not with the quadratic equation curves reported by most previous studies. Competitive indices are used to evaluate competition in a plant population or plant species. The present results show that competitive intensity (CI) and absolute severity of competition (ASC) increased with increasing plant density; however, relative yield (RY) and relative reproductive efficiency (RReff) decreased. The different responses of these indices reflect different aspects of competition. According to the analysis of CI, ASC, RY, and RReff, higher CI and ASC values indicate higher intraspecific competition, whereas higher RY and RReff values indirectly reflect lower intraspecific competition. These competitive indices evaluate not only the intraspecific competitive intensity under different plant densities of the same cultivar but also those of different cultivars under the same plant density. However, some overlap exists in the calculations of ASC, CI, and RY, so one could simply select any one of these indices to evaluate intraspecific competition in a maize population. In conclusion, the present study provides a method to evaluate intraspecific competition in maize populations, which may be beneficial for breeding high-yield maize varieties in the future.
Spin dependent transport in one-dimensional four-terminal rings (FTRs) is investigated in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling (RSOC). In the absence of the RSOC, the conductances as a ...function of the electron wave vector show resonant behavior for symmetrical configurations. For asymmetrical configurations, the conductances show peculiar zero-conductance resonances, and two kinds of conductance zeros have been found. In the presence of the RSOC, the original conductance zeros disappear as new conductance zeros are generated. Moreover, two kinds of symmetry relations have been found in the conductances, the spin dependent conductances and the spin polarizations. For the FTRs with axial or central symmetry, the phase-locking effect has been found in terminal 2, where there is no spin polarization. Under a weak magnetic field, the Zeeman term is treated by a perturbation, and it is found that the Zeeman effect is obvious for weak RSOC.
•The transmission coefficients for the four-terminal rings (FTRs) are derived analytically.•Two kinds of conductance zeros have been found in the conductances.•The phase-locking effect has been found in terminal 2 for the FTRs with axial or central symmetry.•The results are extended to the case of a weak magnetic perturbation.
PDF
