Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. (AM) is a Chinese herbal medicine that is widely used for treating gastrointestinal diseases. However, little research has focused on it as a single medicine for ...treating gastric ulcers. Honey‐bran stir‐frying is a characteristic method of concocting AM, so we speculated that AM is more effective after this preparation process. Analysis by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography‐hybrid quadrupole‐Orbitrap high‐resolution mass spectrometry revealed changes in the chemical composition of raw Atractylodes (SG), bran‐fried Atractylodes (FG), and honey‐bran‐fried Atractylodes (MFG). MFG was superior to SG and FG in improving the pathological structure of gastric tissue in rats with acute gastric ulcers, reducing inflammatory cell infiltration in gastric tissue, and significantly reducing malondialdehyde while increasing superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, and reducing the damage caused by free radical accumulation in the gastric mucosa. In addition, MFG reduced the expression of matrix metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9), an inhibitor of metalloproteinase‐1 (TIMP‐1) and nuclear factor kappa‐B (NF‐κB)proteins, inhibited inflammatory response, and regulated the degradation and rebalancing of the extracellular matrix. Fecal microbiota analysis also revealed that MFG normalized the intestinal flora to some extent. Our study shows that AM had a protective effect on rats with alcohol‐induced acute gastric ulcers before and after processing, and AM‐processed products were more effective than raw ones. Compared with MF, MFG had a higher rate of ulcer inhibition and a stronger anti‐inflammatory effect, and its mechanism of action was related to the NF‐κB‐MMP‐9/TIMP‐1 signaling pathway.
PURPOSERadiotherapy is the major therapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, whether gut microbiota changes in HNSCC patients who received concurrent chemoradiotherapy remains ...unclear. This study aimed to investigate the dynamic change of gut microbiota composition, construct the first radiotherapy-related gut microbiota database in these patients and identify the potential value of the gut microbiota changing in the prediction of acute oral mucositis grade as well as patients' life quality.METHODSWe enrolled 47 HNSCC patients who scheduled with concurrent chemoradiotherapy. The field was irradiated with a total dose of 66-70 Gy in 33-35 fractions. All the patients received 2-3 cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy. After feces specimens collected, bacterial genomic DNA was isolated using magnetic beads and then analyzed by the Illumina MiSeq Sequencing System based on the V3-V4 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene.RESULTS194 genera which belonged to 27 phyla were found in 141 samples. Increased abundance of microbiota in diversity and richness was observed in mid-radiotherapy group. Bacteroides, Blautia, Phascolarctobacterium were three main genera in all three groups and the mid-radiotherapy group had the highest relative abundance of Phascolarctobacterium. What is more, most significantly altered bacteria shared the same variation pattern which was increased in mid-radiotherapy while decreased to the almost same level of as pre-radiotherapy in post-radiotherapy group. Further analysis indicated that Bacteroidetes showing an upward trend while Proteobacteria declining in higher grade of acute mucositis. Moreover, relatively low abundant Proteobacteria was significantly correlated with high-grade acute oral mucositis. As for the quality of life, Lactobacillales and Actinomycetales were specifically found in better life quality group. However, Clostridia_UCG_014, Eubacteriaceae, UCG_010 and Moraxellaceae were unique abundantly present in worse life quality group.CONCLUSIONChemoradiotherapy can affect the composition of the gut microbiota in HNSCC patients during the mid-term of treatment. Yet self-stabilized ability maintained the gut microbiota homeostasis. Dynamic change of specific species could help predict acute oral mucositis grade and characterize different quality of life group in these patients.
A compact saturable absorber mirror (SAM) based on multi-layered black phosphorus (BP) nanoplatelets was fabricated and successfully used as an efficient saturable absorber (SA) in a passively ...Q-switched Tm:YAP laser at 1.9 mum. With the BP SAM, Q-switched pulses with duration of 181 ns and average output power of 3.1 W were generated at a pulse repetition rate of 81 kHz, resulting in a pulse energy of 39.5 muJ, to the best of our knowledge, which is the record among the reports on BP SA-based Q-switched lasers. In addition, the simultaneous dual-wavelength Q-switched operation at both 1969 and 1979 nm has been observed. The results indicate the promising potential of multi-layered BP nanoplatelets as SAs for achieving efficient pulsed lasers at around 2 mum.
BACKGROUNDAdhesion G protein-coupled receptors (aGPCRs), a distinctive subset of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily, play crucial roles in various physiological and pathological ...processes, with implications in tumor development. Despite the global prevalence of breast cancer (BRCA), specific aGPCRs as potential drug targets or biomarkers remain underexplored.METHODSUALCAN, GEPIA, Kaplan-Meier Plotter, MethSurv, cBiopportal, String, GeneMANIA, DAVID, Timer, Metascape, and qPCR were applied in this work.RESULTSOur analysis revealed significantly increased transcriptional levels of ADGRB2, ADGRC1, ADGRC2, ADGRC3, ADGRE1, ADGRF2, ADGRF4, and ADGRL1 in BRCA primary tumors. Further analysis indicated a significant correlation between the expressions of certain aGPCRs and the pathological stage of BRCA. High expression of ADGRA1, ADGRF2, ADGRF4, ADGRG1, ADGRG2, ADGRG4, ADGRG6, and ADGRG7 was significantly correlated with poor overall survival (OS) in BRCA patients. Additionally, high expression of ADGRF2 and ADGRF4 indicated inferior recurrence-free survival (RFS) in BRCA patients. The RT-qPCR experiments also confirmed that the mRNA levels of ADGRF2 and ADGRF4 were higher in BRCA cells and tissues. Functional analysis highlighted the diverse roles of aGPCRs, encompassing GPCR signaling and metabolic energy reserves. Moreover, aGPCRs may exert influence or actively participate in the development of BRCA through their impact on immune status.CONCLUSIONaGPCRs, particularly ADGRF2 and ADGRF4, hold promise as immunotherapeutic targets and prognostic biomarkers in BRCA.
•The differential expression genes of industrial hemp were identified and analyzed under NaHCO3 stress.•The major pathways response to NaHCO3 stress were identified.•The hub genes response to NaHCO3 ...stress were identified.
This paper reports the gene expression profiling of industrial hemp exposed to NaHCO3 stress. In this study, RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) was used to investigate gene expression profiling of industrial hemp roots exposed to 100 mM NaHCO3 (for a period of 0, 1, 6, and 12 h). The results revealed that some pathways (plant hormone signal transduction and synthesis, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and metabolic pathways of starch, sucrose, nitrogen, and amino acids) may be related to the response of industrial hemp under NaHCO3 stress. Furthermore, the sixteen modules were identified by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), of which six were significantly associated with NaHCO3 stress. These six modules were basically enriched in pathways associated with endocytosis, starch and sucrose metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. And the hub genes of key pathways were associated with GTP-binding protein, glutamate synthase, trehalose-phosphate, glycosyltransferase, and lignin synthesis. The results elucidate the molecular mechanism of industrial hemp involved in response to NaHCO3 stress.
MiR408
is a conserved miRNA family in plants. Although
AtmiR408
is generally regarded as participating in stress responses, it still remains obscure whether
OsmiR408
modulates tolerance to ...environmental stress. In the current study, expression of
Pre-OsmiR408
and
OsmiR408
was found to be induced by cold stress, but repressed by drought stress in the rice cultivar “Kongyu 131”. By comparing the wild type and
OsmiR408
transgenic lines, we found that
OsmiR408
overexpression conferred enhanced cold tolerance at both the early seedling stage and the young seedling stage. On the other hand, the
OsmiR408
transgenic lines exhibited decreased drought tolerance, which is further verified by greater water loss. We also predicted the putative target genes of
OsmiR408
and verified the decreased expression of seven targets in
OsmiR408
transgenic lines, including four phytocyanins and three atypical target genes. Among them,
Os09g29390
, a phytocyanin gene, and
Os01g53880
, an auxin responsive Aux/IAA gene, were down-regulated by cold treatment, which is opposite to the cold-induced expression of
OsmiR408
. Taken together, our results suggest opposite roles of
OsmiR408
in plant responses to cold and drought stresses.
Several new octadecylsilyl and polar-modified phases were synthesized. Chromatographic evaluations of these columns were performed using the Dolan and Engelhardt test mixtures. The applicability of ...these new phases was also evaluated with a mixture of acids, bases or neutral compounds. The distinct differences in the chromatographic behavior between the two groups as well as a high degree of variability within each group were observed. The polar-endcapped phases exhibit similar hydrophobic selectivity, higher hydrogen bonding capacities and silanol activity with reference to C18 columns. The polar-embedded phases display a greatly reduced hydrophobic nature and a significantly reduced silanol activity compared to the C18 phases.
Biochar stability determines the effectiveness of biochar's functions such as carbon sequestration, soil structure improvement, soil fertility enhancement and soil pollution remediation. However, a ...fast method for accurately predicting biochar long-term stability in soil remains elusive. Here, firstly, an incubation experiment was conducted on mineralization dynamics of different 13C-labelled biochars over 368 days to explore their actual mineralization in soils and establish their mineralization model. Thereafter, ten treatments of fast chemical oxidation methods using K2Cr2O7 (0.1 M) with different H+ concentrations and oxidation times were applied to the biochars to reveal which method best matches the mineralization of biochar in soils. Results showed that the percentage of biochar‑carbon oxidized by the solution containing 0.1 M K2Cr2O7 and 0.2 M H+ at 100 °C for 2 h was in accordance with the one that potentially would be mineralized in soils at a 100-year scale (R2 > 0.99; REMS = 2.53; RD = 15.3). The results provided a chemical oxidation method that was robust, effective, low cost and highly available for measuring the long-term stability of biochar in soils.
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•The fraction of biochar-carbon oxidized by a solution with 0.1 M K2Cr2O7 and 0.2 M H+ at 100 °C for 2 hours, was very closely correlated (R2> 0.99) with the one that potentially would be mineralized in soils at a 100-year scale.•H/C and O/C were not accurate for predicting stability of biochar in soil.•Mineralization rate of biochar was more sensitive to inherent stability of biochar than to soil type, especially for biochars produced at above 300 °C.
A novel illite with β-nucleation ability toward iPP has been prepared through decoration the pristine illite with CaHA, i.e. CaHA-illite. The crystallization behavior and mechanical property of the ...iPP/CaHA-illite composite were studied. For comparison, the composites were also made simply by adding different components simultaneously into iPP matrix during mixing in a mini-extruder. The results show that, due to the opposite nucleation ability of illite and CaHA, the illite inhibits the β crystallization whereas the CaHA promotes the β crystallization of iPP. The CaHA-illite is very efficient for inducing the β crystallization of iPP. Its efficiency is higher than any of the other samples. Due to the high crystallinity and β iPP crystal fraction, the iPP/CaHA-illite exhibits the best mechanical properties with an increase of 36% in tensile modulus, 163% in maximum strain, and 69% in non-notched impact strength. Meanwhile, the tensile strength of pure iPP has been well maintained.
The development of high catalytic activity, earth-abundant, low-cost, and long-term stability electrocatalysts is highly desirable. In this study, oxygen surface treated Ni2P nanosheets as ...bifunctional catalysts for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is proposed based on density functional theory calculations. The mechanism of the enhanced electrocatalytic performance was investigated by considering oxygen adsorption and substitution of surface phosphorus on the Ni2P nanosheets surface. The results show that six O adsorption and six O substitution Ni2P exhibit excellent electrocatalytic performance because of their tuned Gibbs free energy and overpotential for hydrogen/oxygen evolution reaction being just −0.21 eV/0.27 V and − 0.15 eV/0.45 V, respectively. Additionally, due to the reducing of total potential, the catalysts can present better OER performance in alkaline media. The bicatalytic activities of O adsorption and O substitution can be well-explained by an amendatory p band-center model, which is also suitable for a broad class of surface engineering systems. This theoretical study not only provides vital insights into the enhanced mechanism of the bifunctional activities of water splitting but also helps to prescribe the principles for designing high performance multifunctional electrocatalysts.
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•Oxygen surface treated Ni2P for HER and OER were investigated by DFT calculation•Both O adsorption and O substitution Ni2P exhibit excellent electrocatalytic performance•The activities of Oxygen surface treated Ni2P can be well explained by an amendatory p band-center model.
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