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Anionic carbonate CO3− has been found in interstellar space and the Martian atmosphere, but its production mechanism is in debate so far. To mimic the irradiation-induced reactions on icy micrograins in the Martian atmosphere and the icy shell of interstellar dust, here we report a laboratory investigation on the dissociative electron attachments to the molecular clusters of CO2. We find that anionic species (CO2)n−1O− and (CO2)n− (n = 2, 3, 4) are produced in the concerted reaction and further stabilized by the evaporative cooling after the electron attachment. We further propose a dynamics model to elucidate their competitive productions: the (CO2)n− yields survive substantially in the molecular evaporative cooling at the lower electron attachment energy, while the reactions leading to (CO2)n−1O− are favored at the higher attachment energy. This work provides new insights into physicochemical processes in CO2-rich atmospheres and interstellar space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicinal food varieties developed according to the theory of medical and edible homologues are effective at preventing and treating chronic diseases and in health care. As of 2022, 110 types of traditional Chinese medicines from the same source of medicine and food have been published by the National Health Commission. Inflammation is the immune system's first response to injury, infection, and stress. Chronic inflammation is closely related to many diseases such as atherosclerosis and cancer. Therefore, timely intervention for inflammation is the mainstay treatment for other complex diseases. However, some traditional anti-inflammatory drugs on the market are commonly associated with a number of adverse effects, which seriously affect the health and safety of patients. Therefore, the in-depth development of new safe, harmless, and effective anti-inflammatory drugs has become a hot topic of research and an urgent clinical need. Polysaccharides, one of the main active ingredients of medical and edible homologous traditional Chinese medicines (MEHTCMs), have been confirmed by a large number of studies to exert anti-inflammatory effects through multiple targets and are considered potential natural anti-inflammatory drugs. In addition, the structure of medical and edible homologous traditional Chinese medicines' polysaccharides (MEHTCMPs) may be the key factor determining their anti-inflammatory activity, which makes the underlying the anti-inflammatory effects of polysaccharides and their structure–efficacy relationship hot topics of domestic and international research. However, due to the limitations of the current analytical techniques and tools, the structures have not been fully elucidated and the structure–efficacy relationship is relatively ambiguous, which are some of the difficulties in the process of developing and utilizing MEHTCMPs as novel anti-inflammatory drugs in the future. For this reason, this paper summarizes the potential anti-inflammatory mechanisms of MEHTCMPs, such as the regulation of the Toll-like receptor-related signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, JAK-STAT signaling pathway, NLRP3 signaling pathway, PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, PPAR-γ signaling pathway, Nrf2-HO-1 signaling pathway, and the regulation of intestinal flora, and it systematically analyzes and evaluates the relationships between the anti-inflammatory activity of MEHTCMPs and their structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A resonant system consisting of an excess electron and a closed-shell atom or molecule, as a temporary negative ion, is usually in doublet-spin states that are analogous to bright states of photoexcitation of the neutral. However, anionic higher-spin states, noted as dark states, are scarcely accessed. Here, we report the dissociation dynamics of CO− in dark quartet resonant states that are formed by electron attachments to electronically excited CO (a3Π). Among the dissociations to O−(2P) + C(3P), O−(2P) + C(1D), and O−(2P) + C(1S), the latter two are spin-forbidden in the quartet-spin resonant states of CO−, while the first process is preferred in 4Σ− and 4Π states. The present finding sheds new light on anionic dark states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, caffeic acid and its derivatives have received increasing attention due to their obvious physiological activities and wide distribution in nature. In this paper, to clarify the status of research on plant-derived caffeic acid and its derivatives, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy data and possible biosynthetic pathways of these compounds were collected from scientific databases (SciFinder, PubMed and China Knowledge). According to different types of substituents, 17 caffeic acid and its derivatives can be divided into the following classes: caffeoyl ester derivatives, caffeyltartaric acid, caffeic acid amide derivatives, caffeoyl shikimic acid, caffeoyl quinic acid, caffeoyl danshens and caffeoyl glycoside. Generalization of their 13C-NMR and 1H-NMR data revealed that acylation with caffeic acid to form esters involves acylation shifts, which increase the chemical shift values of the corresponding carbons and decrease the chemical shift values of the corresponding carbons of caffeoyl. Once the hydroxyl group is ester, the hydrogen signal connected to the same carbon shifts to the low field (1.1~1.6). The biosynthetic pathways were summarized, and it was found that caffeic acid and its derivatives are first synthesized in plants through the shikimic acid pathway, in which phenylalanine is deaminated to cinnamic acid and then transformed into caffeic acid and its derivatives. The purpose of this review is to provide a reference for further research on the rapid structural identification and biofabrication of caffeic acid and its derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships between "job involvement" and "school administrative effectiveness" as perceived by junior high school administration teachers. The findings are as follows. (1) The current status of "job involvement" and "school administrative effectiveness" as perceived by administration teachers is positive. (2) The perception of "job involvement" and "school administrative effectiveness" significantly differs with "age", "marital status", "educational background", "seniority of concurrent post", "concurrent post" and "school size". (3) "Job involvement" and "school administrative effectiveness" as perceived by administration teachers are significantly and positively related. (Contains 1 figure.)

Prunella vulgaris L. (P. vulgaris , Labiatae) is a perennial medicinal and edible plant widely used in China, Korea, Japan and Europe. The reddish brown spica of P. vulgaris (Prunellae Spica), which is collected in summer, has been commonly used in traditional medicine and food industry, while it is also used with whole grass in Europe and Taiwan. To clarify the regulatory pathways and mechanism of quality formation in P. vulgaris , targeted metabolomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses of Prunellae Spica samples from five consecutive developmental stages were carried out. The results showed that terpenoids were mainly synthesized in the maturity stage of Prunellae Spica, with the key enzymes and coding genes in downstream pathways being mainly expressed during ripening, while related enzymes in the upstream pathway showed the opposite pattern. Flavonoids mainly accumulated before ripening, with highly expressed pathway enzymes and coding genes. The accumulation of phenylpropanoids was relatively active throughout the development process. Rosmarinic acid (RA) and its synthetic intermediate products mainly accumulated via more active pathway enzymes and coding genes before ripening. The regulatory factors and metabolites related to RA synthesis were mainly enriched in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, plant hormone signal transduction, plant pathogen interaction, oxidative phosphorylation, and endoplasmic reticulum protein processing pathways. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammation has been shown to trigger a wide range of chronic diseases, particularly inflammatory diseases. As a result, the focus of research has been on anti-inflammatory drugs and foods. In recent years, the field of medicinal and edible homology (MEH) has developed rapidly in both medical and food sciences, with 95% of MEH being associated with plants. Phenolic acids are a crucial group of natural bioactive substances found in medicinal and edible homologous plants (MEHPs). Their anti-inflammatory activity is significant as they play a vital role in treating several inflammatory diseases. These compounds possess enormous potential for developing anti-inflammatory drugs and functional foods. However, their development is far from satisfactory due to their diverse structure and intricate anti-inflammatory mechanisms. In this review, we summarize the various types, structures, and distribution of MEHP phenolic acids that have been identified as of 2023. We also analyze their anti-inflammatory activity and molecular mechanisms in inflammatory diseases through NF-κB, MAPK, NLRP3, Nrf2, TLRs, and IL-17 pathways. Additionally, we investigate their impact on regulating the composition of the gut microbiota and immune responses. This analysis lays the groundwork for further exploration of the anti-inflammatory structure-activity relationship of MEHP phenolic acids, aiming to inspire structural optimization and deepen our understanding of their mechanism, and provides valuable insights for future research and development in this field., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Xie, Xiong, Li, Xia, Li, Zhang, Shi, Peng, Li, Lin and Liao.)

Background: To investigate the effect and potential molecular mechanisms of Dipsacoside B (DB), an herb monomer extracted from Dipsacusasper or Lonicera macranthoides , on the migration and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and balloon-induced neointimal formation., Methods: In vivo , rat abdominal aorta balloon injury model was utilized to investigate the effect of DB on the neointimal formation. In vitro , cultured VSMCs were used to investigate the effect of DB on Angiotensin-II (Ang-II)-induced migration and proliferation of VSMCs. Western blot and immunofluorescence were used to measure PTEN expression., Results: As compared to vehicle control balloon-injury group, DB treatment significantly inhibited the neointimal formation together up-regulated the expression of phosphatase and tension homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN). Cell proliferations (MTT and Edu incorporation) assays and wound migration measurement further revealed that treatment with DB significantly blunted Ang-II-induced proliferation and migration potential of VSMCs. Western blot analysis exhibited that DB upregulated the expression of PTEN in vivo and in vitro ., Conclusions: DB treatment suppresses the proliferation and migration of VSMCs and reduces neointimal formation by the mechanisms involving regulating the phenotype switch of VSMCs via upregulating PTEN expression., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.)

Dissociative electron attachments via the lowest shape resonant state 2 Π u of CO 2 - , e - + CO 2 → O - + CO, are investigated with our high-resolution anion velocity map imaging apparatus. The production efficiency curve of O - obtained in this work is consistent with those reported previously. The forward-backward asymmetric distribution superimposed on the isotopic background is observed in the time-sliced velocity image of O - yield, implying that the dissociation of CO 2 - ( 2 Π u ) proceeds through a combinational motion of bond stretching and bending. Thereby, the coproduct CO is proposed to be in the rovibrational states. The long-standing arguments about the dissociation dynamics of CO 2 - ( 2 Π u ) are settled.