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Wide-bandgap (WBG) perovskite has demonstrated great potential in perovskite-based tandem solar cells. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of such devices has surpassed 34%, signifying a new era for renewable energy development. However, the ion migration reduces the stability and hinders the commercialization, which is yet to be resolved despite many attempts. A big step forward has now been achieved by the simulation method. The detailed thermodynamics and kinetics of the migration process have been revealed for the first time. The stability has been enhanced by more than 100% via the heterojunction layer on top of the WBG perovskite film, which provided extra bonding for kinetic protection. Hopefully, these discoveries will open a new gate for WBG perovskite research and accelerate the application of perovskite-based tandem solar cells.

Jieyu Pills (JYPs), a Chinese medicine consisting of 10 herbal elements, have displayed promising clinical effectiveness and low by-effects in the treatment of depression. Prior investigations mostly focused on elucidating the mechanism and therapeutic efficacy of JYPs. In our earlier study, we provided an analysis of the chemical composition, serum pharmacochemistry, and concentrations of the main bioactive chemicals found in JYPs. However, our precise understanding of the pharmacokinetics and metabolism remained vague. This study involved a comprehensive and meticulous examination of the pharmacokinetics of 13 bioactive compounds in JYPs. Using UPLC-Orbitrap Fusion MS, we analyzed the metabolic characteristics and established the pharmacokinetic parameters in both control rats and model rats with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) following oral administration of the drug. Before analysis, plasma samples that were collected at different time intervals after the administration underwent methanol pre-treatment with Puerarin used as the internal standard (IS) solution. Subsequently, the sample was chromatographed on a C18 column employing gradient elution. The mobile phase consisted of methanol solution containing 0.1% formic acid in water. The electrospray ionization source (ESI) was utilized for ionization, whereas the scanning mode employed was selected ion monitoring (SIM). The UPLC-Orbitrap Fusion MS method was subjected to a comprehensive validation process to assess its performance. The method demonstrated excellent linearity (r ≥ 0.9944), precise measurements (RSD < 8.78%), accurate results (RE: −7.88% to 8.98%), and appropriate extraction recoveries (87.83–102.23%). Additionally, the method exhibited minimal matrix effects (87.58–101.08%) and satisfactory stability (RSD: 1.52–12.42%). These results demonstrated adherence to the criteria for evaluating and determining biological material. The 13 bioactive compounds exhibited unique pharmacokinetic patterns in vivo. In control rats, all bioactive compounds except Ferulic acid exhibited linear pharmacokinetics within the dose ranges. In the ADHD model, the absorption rate and amount of most of the components were both observed to have increased. Essentially, this work is an important reference for examining the metabolism of JYPs and providing guidelines for clinical therapy.

Jinshui-Huanxian granules (JHGs), a Chinese herbal compound prescription, have shown a therapeutic effect in reducing lung tissue damage, improving the degree of pulmonary fibrosis, replenishing lungs and kidneys, relieving cough and asthma, reducing phlegm, and activating blood circulation. However, these active compounds’ pharmacokinetics and metabolic processes were unclear. This study aimed to compare the pharmacokinetics, reveal the metabolic dynamic changes, and obtain the basic pharmacokinetic parameters of 16 main bioactive compounds after intragastric administration of JHGs in control and pulmonary fibrosis (PF) model rats by using Orbitrap Fusion MS. After administration of JHGs, the rat plasma was collected at different times. Pretreating the plasma sample with methanol and internal standard (IS) solution carbamazepine (CBZ), and it was then applied to a C18 column by setting gradient elution with a mobile phase consisting of methanol 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution. Detection was performed on an electrospray ionization source (ESI), and the scanning mode was SIM. Pharmacokinetic parameters were analyzed according to the different analytes’ concentrations in plasma. The matrix effect was within the range of 79.01–110.90%, the extraction recovery rate was 80.37–102.72%, the intra-day and inter-day precision relative standard deviation (RSD) was less than 7.76%, and the stability was good, which met the requirements of biological sample testing. The method was validated (r ≥ 0.9955) and applied to compare the pharmacokinetic profiles of the control group and PF model group after intragastric administration of the JHGs. The 16 analytes exhibited different pharmacokinetic behaviors in vivo. In the pathological state of the PF model, most of the components were more favorable for metabolism and absorption, and it was more meaningful to study the pharmacokinetics. Above all, this study provided an essential reference for exploring the mechanism of action of JHGs and guided clinical medication as well.

Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) with high thermal stability and excellent electrolyte wettability attracted tremendous attention as a promising separator for the emerging sodium-ion batteries. The pore structure of the separator plays a vital role in electrochemical performance. CNF separators are assembled using the bottom-up approach in this study, and the pore structure is carefully controlled through film-forming techniques. The acid-treated separators prepared from the solvent exchange and freeze-drying demonstrated an optimal pore structure with a high electrolyte uptake rate (978.8%) and Na+ transference number (0.88). Consequently, the obtained separator showed a reversible specific capacity of 320 mAh/g and enhanced cycling performance at high rates compared to the commercial glass fiber separator (290 mAh/g). The results highlight that CNF separators with an optimized pore structure are advisable for sodium-ion batteries.

An 86-kDa homodimeric angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory protein designated as LTP was isolated from fruit bodies of the mushroom Leucopaxillus tricolor. The isolation procedure involved ultrafiltration through a membrane with a molecular weight cutoff of 10-kDa, ion exchange chromatography on Q-Sepharose, and finally fast protein liquid chromatography-gel filtration on Superdex 75. LTP exhibited an IC50 value of 1.64 mg∙mL−1 for its ACE inhibitory activity. The unique N-terminal amino acid sequence of LTP was disclosed by Edman degradation to be DGPTMHRQAVADFKQ. In addition, seven internal sequences of LTP were elucidated by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. Results of the Lineweaver-Burk plot suggested that LTP competitively inhibited ACE. Both LTP and the water extract of L. tricolor exhibited a clear antihypertensive effect on spontaneously hypertensive rats.

To date, only a few steroids have been isolated from the mushroom Stropharia rugosoannulata which can be cultivated. In this paper, a novel lectin (SRL) with a molecular weight of 38 kDa, and a unique IKSGVYRIVSWQGALGPEAR N-terminal sequence was isolated from S. rugosoannulata, which represents the first protein isolated from the mushroom. The purification methods included (NH4)2SO4 precipitation, ion exchange chromatography on CM-cellulose, Q-Sepharose, and SP-Sepharose, and gel- filtration on Superdex-75. The lectin was adsorbed on all three types of ion exchangers and was purified more than 450-fold. The lectin was stable below 70 °C (with half of the activity preserved at 80 °C), and in the presence of NaOH and HCl solutions up to a concentration of 12.5 mM and 25 mM, respectively. The hemagglutinating activity of SRL was inhibited by inulin. Cd2+ and Hg2+ ions strongly reduced the hemagglutinating activity at concentrations from 1.25 mM to 10 mM. SRL exhibited anti-proliferative activity toward both hepatoma Hep G2 cells and leukemia L1210 cells, with an IC50 of 7 μM and 19 μM, respectively. The activity of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase could also be inhibited by SRL, with an IC50 of 10 μM.

In this study, a 8.5-kDa antifungal peptide designated as BGAP was purified from the crude extract of the seeds of Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes by employing a protocol that comprised cation exchange chromatography on SP-Sepharose, cation exchange chromatography on Mono S and gel filtration chromatography on Superdex peptide. BGAP showed the highest amino acid sequence similarity to defensin peptides by mass spectrometric analysis. BGAP showed a broad spectrum of antifungal activity with a half maximal inhibitory concentration at 17.33 μg/mL, 12.37 μg/mL, 16.81 μg/mL, and 5.60 μg/mL toward Colletotrichum higginsianum, Exserohilum turcicum, Magnaporthe oryzae and Mycosphaerella arachidicola, respectively. The antifungal activity of BGAP remained stable (i) after heat treatment at 40–100 °C for 15 min; (ii) after exposure to solutions of pH 1–3 and 11–13 for 15 min; (iii) after incubation with solutions containing K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Mn2+ or Fe3+ ions at the concentrations of 20–150 mmol/L for 2 h; and (iv) following treatment with 10% methyl alcohol, 10% ethanol, 10% isopropanol or 10% chloroform for 2 h. Fluorescence staining experiments showed that BGAP brought about an increase in cell membrane permeability, a rise in reactive oxygen species production, a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, and an accumulation of chitin at the hyphal tips of Mycosphaerella arachidicola.

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) is the first key enzyme of the phenypropanoid pathway. A full-length cDNA of PAL gene was isolated from Juglans regia for the first time, and designated as JrPAL. The full-length cDNA of the JrPAL gene contained a 1935bp open reading frame encoding a 645-amino-acid protein with a calculated molecular weight of about 70.4 kD and isoelectric point (pI) of 6.7. The deduced JrPAL protein showed high identities with other plant PALs. Molecular modeling of JrPAL showed that the 3D model of JrPAL was similar to that of PAL protein from Petroselinum crispum (PcPAL), implying that JrPAL may have similar functions with PcPAL. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that JrPAL shared the same evolutionary ancestor of other PALs and had a closer relationship with other angiosperm species. Transcription analysis revealed that JrPAL was expressed in all tested tissues including roots, stems, and leaves, with the highest transcription level being found in roots. Expression profiling analyses by real-time PCR revealed that JrPAL expression was induced by a variety of abiotic and biotic stresses, including UV-B, wounding, cold, abscisic acid and salicylic acid.

Lipases are the most widely employed enzymes in commercial industries. The catalytic mechanism of most lipases involves a step called “interfacial activation”. As interfacial activation can lead to a significant increase in catalytic activity, it is of profound importance in developing lipase immobilization methods. To obtain a potential biocatalyst for industrial biodiesel production, an effective strategy for enhancement of catalytic activity and stability of immobilized lipase was developed. This was performed through the combination of interfacial activation with hybrid magnetic cross-linked lipase aggregates. This biocatalyst was investigated for the immobilization of lipase from Rhizomucor miehei (RML). Under the optimal conditions, the activity recovery of the surfactant-activated magnetic RML cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) was as high as 2058%, with a 20-fold improvement over the free RML. Moreover, the immobilized RML showed excellent catalytic performance for the biodiesel reaction at a yield of 93%, and more importantly, could be easily separated from the reaction mixture by simple magnetic decantation, and retained more than 84% of its initial activities after five instances of reuse. This study provides a new and versatile approach for designing and fabricating immobilized lipase with high activation and stability.

The utilization of renewable biomass resources to produce high-value chemicals by enzymatic processes is beneficial for alternative energy production, due to the accelerating depletion of fossil fuels. As immobilization techniques can improve enzyme stability and reusability, a novel magnetic cross-linked cellulase aggregate has been developed and applied for biomass bioconversion. The crosslinked aggregates could purify and immobilize enzymes in a single operation, and could then be combined with magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), which provides easy separation of the materials. The immobilized cellulase showed a better activity at a wider temperature range and pH values than that of the free cellulase. After six cycles of consecutive reuse, the immobilized cellulase performed successful magnetic separation and retained 74% of its initial activity when carboxylmethyl cellulose (CMC) was used as the model substrate. Furthermore, the structure and morphology of the immobilized cellulase were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, the immobilized cellulase was shown to hydrolyze bamboo biomass with a yield of 21%, and was re-used in biomass conversion up to four cycles with 38% activity retention, which indicated that the immobilized enzyme has good potential for biomass applications.

Ginkgolides and bilobalide, collectively termed terpene trilactones (TTLs), are terpenoids that form the main active substance of Ginkgo biloba. Terpenoids in the mevalonate (MVA) biosynthetic pathway include acetyl-CoA C-acetyltransferase (AACT) and mevalonate kinase (MVK) as core enzymes. In this study, two full-length (cDNAs) encoding AACT (GbAACT, GenBank Accession No. KX904942) and MVK (GbMVK, GenBank Accession No. KX904944) were cloned from G. biloba. The deduced GbAACT and GbMVK proteins contain 404 and 396 amino acids with the corresponding open-reading frame (ORF) sizes of 1215 bp and 1194 bp, respectively. Tissue expression pattern analysis revealed that GbAACT was highly expressed in ginkgo fruits and leaves, and GbMVK was highly expressed in leaves and roots. The functional complementation of GbAACT in AACT-deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain Δerg10 and GbMVK in MVK-deficient strain Δerg12 confirmed that GbAACT mediated the conversion of mevalonate acetyl-CoA to acetoacetyl-CoA and GbMVK mediated the conversion of mevalonate to mevalonate phosphate. This observation indicated that GbAACT and GbMVK are functional genes in the cytosolic mevalonate (MVA) biosynthesis pathway. After G. biloba seedlings were treated with methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid, the expression levels of GbAACT and GbMVK increased, and TTL production was enhanced. The cloning, characterization, expression and functional analysis of GbAACT and GbMVK will be helpful to understand more about the role of these two genes involved in TTL biosynthesis.

Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile L.) is renowned for its production of essential oils, which major components are sesquiterpenoids. As the important enzyme in the sesquiterpenoid biosynthesis pathway, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A synthase (HMGS) catalyze the crucial step in the mevalonate pathway in plants. To isolate and identify the functional genes involved in the sesquiterpene biosynthesis of C. nobile L., a HMGS gene designated as CnHMGS (GenBank Accession No. KU529969) was cloned from C. nobile. The cDNA sequence of CnHMGS contained a 1377 bp open reading frame encoding a 458-amino-acid protein. The sequence of the CnHMGS protein was highly homologous to those of HMGS proteins from other plant species. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that CnHMGS clustered with the HMGS of Asteraceae in the dicotyledon clade. Further functional complementation of CnHMGS in the mutant yeast strain YSC6274 lacking HMGS activity demonstrated that the cloned CnHMGS cDNA encodes a functional HMGS. Transcript profile analysis indicated that CnHMGS was preferentially expressed in flowers and roots of C. nobile. The expression of CnHMGS could be upregulated by exogenous elicitors, including methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid, suggesting that CnHMGS was elicitor-responsive. The characterization and expression analysis of CnHMGS is helpful to understand the biosynthesis of sesquiterpenoid in C. nobile at the molecular level and also provides molecular wealth for the biotechnological improvement of this important medicinal plant.