Isoquinoline alkaloids, an important class of N‐based heterocyclic compounds, have attracted considerable attention from researchers worldwide since the early 19th century. Over the past 200 years, ...many compounds from this class were isolated, and most of them and their analogs possess various bioactivities. In this review, we survey the updated literature on bioactive alkaloids and highlight research achievements of this alkaloid class during the period of 2014–2018. We reviewed over 400 molecules with a broad range of bioactivities, including antitumor, antidiabetic and its complications, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antiparasitic, insecticidal, anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant, neuroprotective, and other activities. This review should provide new indications or directions for the discovery of new and better drugs from the original naturally occurring isoquinoline alkaloids.
Carbon-coated metal chalcogenide composites have been demonstrated as one type of promising anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). However, combining carbon materials with micronanoparticles ...of metal chalcogenide always involve complicated processes, such as polymer coating, carbonization, and sulfidation/selenization. To address this issue, herein, we reported a series of carbon-coated FexSey@CN (FexSey = FeSe2, Fe3Se4, Fe7Se8) composites prepared via the thermodynamic transformation of a crystalline organic hybrid iron selenide Fe(phen)2(Se4) (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline). By pyrolyzing the bulk crystals of Fe(phen)2(Se4) at different temperatures, FexSey microrods were formed in situ, where the nitrogen-doped carbon layers were coated on the surface of the microrods. Moreover, all the as-prepared FexSey@CN composites exhibited excellent sodium-ion storage capabilities as anode materials in SIBs. This work proves that crystalline organic hybrid metal chalcogenides can be used as a novel material system for the in situ formation of carbon-coated metal chalcogenide composites, which could have great potential in the application of electrochemical energy storage.
To follow‐up on our prior Part I review, this Part II review summarizes and provides updated literature on novel quinoline and quinazoline alkaloids isolated during the period of 2009‒2016, together ...with the biological activity and the mechanisms of action of these classes of natural products. Over 200 molecules with a broad range of biological activities, including antitumor, antiparasitic and insecticidal, antibacterial and antifungal, cardioprotective, antiviral, anti‐inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, anti‐asthma, antitussive, and other activities, are discussed. This survey should provide new clues or possibilities for the discovery of new and better drugs from the original naturally occurring quinoline and quinazoline alkaloids.
Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) have demonstrated great promise in artificial photosynthesis. However, the ultrasmall size hinders its controllable and effective interaction with cocatalysts. To improve ...the poor interparticle electronic communication between free QD and cocatalyst, we design here a self-assembled architecture of nanoparticles, QDs and Pt nanoparticles, simply jointed together by molecular polyacrylate to greatly enhance the rate and efficiency of interfacial electron transfer (ET). The enhanced interparticle electronic communication is confirmed by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy and X-ray transient absorption. Taking advantage of the enhanced interparticle ET with a time scale of ∼65 ps, 5.0 mL of assembled CdSe/CdS QDs/cocatalysts solution produces 94 ± 1.5 mL (4183 ± 67 μmol) of molecular H2 in 8 h, giving rise to an internal quantum yield of ∼65% in the first 30 min and a total turnover number of >1.64 × 107 per Pt nanoparticle. This study demonstrates that self-assembly is a promising way to improve the sluggish kinetics of the interparticle ET process, which is the key step for advanced H2 photosynthesis.
Summary Background A vaccine for enterovirus 71 (EV71) is needed to address the high burden of disease associated with infection. We assessed the efficacy, safety, immunogenicity, antibody ...persistence, and immunological correlates of an inactivated alum-adjuvant EV71 vaccine. Methods We did a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. Healthy children aged 6–35 months from four centres in China were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive vaccine or alum-adjuvant placebo at day 0 and 28, according to a randomisation list (block size 30) generated by an independent statistician. Investigators and participants and their guardians were masked to the assignment. Primary endpoints were EV71-associated hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) and EV71-associated disease during the surveillance period from day 56 to month 14, analysed in the per-protocol population. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT01508247. Findings 10 245 participants were enrolled and assigned: 5120 to vaccine versus 5125 to placebo. 4907 (with three cases of EV71-associated HFMD and eight cases of EV71-associated disease) versus 4939 (with 30 cases of EV71-associated HFMD and 41 cases of EV71-associated disease) were included in the primary efficacy analysis. Vaccine efficacy was 90·0% (95% CI 67·1–96·9) against EV71-associated HFMD (p=0·0001) and 80·4% (95% CI 58·2–90·8) against EV71-associated disease (p<0·0001). Serious adverse events were reported by 62 of 5117 (1·2%) participants in the vaccine group versus 75 of 5123 (1·5%) in the placebo group (p=0·27). Adverse events occurred in 3644 (71·2%) versus 3603 (70·3%; p=0·33). Interpretation EV71 vaccine provides high efficacy, satisfactory safety, and sustained immunogenicity. Funding China's 12–5 National Major Infectious Disease Program, Beijing Vigoo Biological.
Fluorescence imaging in the second near‐infrared window (NIR‐II) is a new technique that permits visualization of deep anatomical features with unprecedented spatial resolution. Although attractive, ...effectively suppressing the interference signal of the background is still an enormous challenge for obtaining target‐specific NIR‐II imaging in the complex and dynamic physiological environment. Herein, dual‐pathological‐parameter cooperatively activatable NIR‐II fluorescence nanoprobes (HISSNPs) are developed whereby hyaluronic acid chains and disulfide bonds act as the “double locks” to lock the fluorescence‐quenched aggregation state of the NIR‐II fluorescence dyes for performing ultrahigh specific imaging of tumors in vivo. The fluorescence can be lit up only when the “double locks” are opened by reacting with the “dual smart keys” (overexpressed hyaluronidase and thiols in tumor) simultaneously. In vivo NIR‐II imaging shows that they reduce nonspecific activitation and achieve ultralow background fluorescence, which is 10.6‐fold lower than single‐parameter activatable probes (HINPs) in the liver at 15 h postinjection. Consequently, these “dual lock‐and‐key”‐controlled HISSNPs exhibit fivefold higher tumor‐to‐normal tissue ratio than “single lock‐and‐key”‐controlled HINPs at 24 h postinjection, attractively realizing ultrahigh specificity of tumor imaging. This is thought to be the first attempt at implementing ultralow background interference with the participation of multiple pathological parameters in NIR‐II fluorescence imaging.
Dual‐pathological‐parameter cooperatively activatable nanoprobes, using a “dual lock‐and‐key” strategy, are constructed to adjust their aggregation degree for ultrahigh specific fluorescence imaging in the second near‐infrared window (NIR‐II). These nanoprobes based on self‐assembled NIR‐II dye‐pendent hyaluronans require the simultaneous presence of dual pathogens (hyaluronidase/thiols) to activate NIR‐II fluorescence. Thus, they significantly suppress the background signal, causing the ultrahigh specificity of tumor imaging.
The polysaccharides of
have received extensive study and attention, but there have been few reports on the extraction of these polysaccharides using cold water (4 °C). In this study, we fractionated ...a novel cold-water-soluble polysaccharide (cAMPs-1A) from
with a 92.00% carbohydrate content using a DEAE-cellulose 52 anion exchange column and a Sephadex G-100 column. Our UV, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), high-performance gel permeation chromatography, and ion chromatography analysis results indicated the monosaccharide composition of cAMPs-1A with 1.23 × 10⁴ Da molecular weight to be fucose, arabinose, galactose, glucose, and xylose, with molar ratios of 0.01:0.06:0.20:1.00:0.06, respectively. The UV spectroscopy detected no protein and nucleic acid in cAMPs-1A. We used FTIR analysis to characterize the α-d-pyranoid configuration in cAMPs-1A. In addition, we performed animal experiments in vivo to evaluate the antitumor and immunomodulatory effects of cAMPs-1A. The results suggested that cAMPs-1A oral administration could significantly inhibit tumor growth with the inhibitory rate of 20.53%, 36.50% and 44.49%, respectively, at the dosage of 75,150, and 300 mg/kg. Moreover, cAMPs-1A treatment could also effectively protect the immune organs, promote macrophage pinocytosis, and improve the percentages of lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood of tumor-bearing mice. These findings demonstrate that the polysaccharide cAMPs-1A has an underlying application as natural antitumor agents.
Although the electrochemical catalytic conversion process is effective in increasing the reversible capacity of lithium‐ion batteries, the low contact efficiency between metal catalyst and substrate ...and pulverization of the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) film without protection are not beneficial for the electrochemical reactions. Herein, Fe7S8 nanoparticles are confined by both reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and in‐situ‐formed amorphous carbon (C) to form dual‐carbon‐confined Fe7S8 as a lithium‐ion anode. The dual‐carbon‐confined structure provides a confined space to prevent pulverization of the SEI film and increases the local concentration of intermediate phases, which could be electrocatalytically decomposed by Fe nanoparticles formed in situ to increase the reversibility of the electrochemical reactions and gain high reversible capacity. In addition, the dual‐carbon‐confined structure ensures fast transfer of electrons and boosts transport of lithium ions due to the highly conductive dual‐carbon shell. Thus, the Fe7S8/C/RGO anode delivers an excellent rate performance and long cycling stability. At current densities of 2000 and 5000 mA g−1, the reversible capacities are 520 mA h g−1 over 1500 cycles and 294 mA h g−1 over 2000 cycles, respectively.
Dual confinement: Fe7S8 nanoparticles dually confined by both reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and in‐situ‐formed amorphous carbon (C) were fabricated as Li‐ion battery anodes (see figure). The dual‐carbon‐confined structure prevents pulverization of the solid electrolyte interface film, increases the local concentration of intermediate phases, makes the electrochemical catalytic conversion reaction occur easily, and ensures fast transfer of electrons and increased transport of lithium ions.
Semiconducting quantum dots (QDs) have recently triggered a huge interest in constructing efficient hydrogen production systems. It is well established that a large fraction of surface atoms of QDs ...need ligands to stabilize and avoid them from aggregating. However, the influence of the surface property of QDs on photocatalysis is rather elusive. Here, the surface regulation of CdSe QDs is investigated by surface sulfide ions (S2−) for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Structural and spectroscopic study shows that with gradual addition of S2−, S2− first grows into the lattice and later works as ligands on the surface of CdSe QDs. In‐depth transient spectroscopy reveals that the initial lattice S2− accelerates electron transfer from QDs to cocatalyst, and the following ligand S2− mainly facilitates hole transfer from QDs to the sacrificial agent. As a result, a turnover frequency (TOF) of 7950 h−1 can be achieved by the S2− modified CdSe QDs, fourfold higher than that of original mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) capped CdSe QDs. Clearly, the simple surface S2− modification of QDs greatly increases the photocatalytic efficiency, which provides subtle methods to design new QD material for advanced photocatalysis.
To unravel how surface sulfide ions (S2−)regulate photocatalytic hydrogen evolution of CdSe quantum dots (QDs), the different roles of introduced S2− on QDs are revealed. The results show that S2− at an earlier stage grows into the lattice and accelerates electron transfer, while afterward the S2− works as ligands and promotes hole transfer, and thus greatly improves the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution efficiency.
The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has raised concerns regarding its potential impact on male reproductive health. However, the impact of COVID-19 on sperm quality remains uncertain. ...This retrospective study aimed to investigate the short-term and relatively long-term effects of COVID-19 infection on sperm quality.
A total of 85 males with fertility requirements, who underwent semen evaluation at Guilin People's Hospital between June 2022 and July 2023, were included in the study. Changes in semen parameters were analyzed across three specific timeframes: within 6 months before COVID-19 infection, within 3 months after COVID-19 infection, and 3-6 months after COVID-19 recovery.
The results revealed that the sperm concentration and total sperm number were significantly lower after infection compared to before, while in the recovery period, the sperm concentration, total sperm count, progressive motility, and normal morphology significantly increased. Comparing the three periods, the most significant difference was observed in sperm concentration, which exhibited a significant decrease after infection but returned to normal levels after recovery from COVID-19.
These findings suggest that COVID-19 may exert some impact on sperm quality, particularly evidenced by decreased sperm concentration post-infection. Fortunately, these effects on semen parameters appear to be temporary, with gradual restoration of semen parameters within 3-6 months after recovery. However, further research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms and long-term implications of these observed changes in semen parameters.
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