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Surra is a wasting disease triggered by infection with Trypanosoma evansi, a protozoan blood parasite that causes mortality and morbidity in a broad spectrum of wild and domestic animals and occasionally humans. Trypanosoma evansi has the widest geographical spread among all pathogenic trypanosomes, inflicting significant worldwide economic problems due to its adverse effects on meat and milk production. For diagnosis, most endemic countries continue to rely on traditional parasitological and serological techniques, such as the analysis of blood smears by microscopy and the Card Agglutination Test for T. evansi (CATT/T. evansi). Although these techniques suffer from a limited positive predictive value (PPV), resource constraints in endemic countries often hinder the adoption of more advanced diagnostic tools such as PCR. This paper addresses diverse diagnostic approaches for identifying T. evansi and assesses their viability in field settings. Moreover, it underscores the urgency of transitioning towards molecular diagnostic techniques such as Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) and Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) for dependable high-PPV point-of-care (POC) diagnostics. Finally, this review delves into strategies to enhance and refine next-generation diagnostics for Surra as part of a One Health approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural products are treasure houses for modern drug discovery. Diphyllin is a natural arylnaphthalene lignan lactone isolated from the leaf of Astilboides tabularis. Studies have found that it possesses plenty of bioactivity characteristics. In this paper, we reviewed the structure, bioactivity, and mechanism of action of diphyllin and its derivatives. The references were obtained from PubMed, Web of Science, and Science Direct databases up to August 2023. Papers without a bio-evaluation were excluded. Diphyllin and its derivatives have demonstrated V-ATPase inhibition, anti-tumor, anti-virus, anti-biofilm, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant activities. The most studied activities of diphyllin and its derivatives are V-ATPase inhibition, anti-tumor activities, and anti-virus activities. Furthermore, V-ATPase inhibition activity is the mechanism of many bioactivities, including anti-tumor, anti-virus, and anti-inflammatory activities. We also found that the galactosylated modification of diphyllin is a common phenomenon in plants, and therefore, galactosylated modification is applied by researchers in the laboratory to obtain more excellent diphyllin derivatives. This review will provide useful information for the development of diphyllin-based anti-tumor and anti-virus compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the multi-target-directed ligands (MTDLs) approach, two series of tryptanthrin derivatives with benzenesulfonamide substituents were evaluated as multifunctional agents for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In vitro biological assays indicated most of the derivatives had good cholinesterase inhibitory activity and neuroprotective properties. Among them, the target compound 4h was considered as a mixed reversible dual inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (AChE, IC50 = 0.13 ± 0.04 μM) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE, IC50 = 6.11 ± 0.15 μM). And it could also potentially prevent the generation of amyloid plaques by inhibiting self-induced Aβ aggregation (63.16 ± 2.33%). Molecular docking studies were used to explore the interactions of AChE, BuChE, and Aβ. Furthermore, possessing significant anti-neuroinflammatory potency (NO, IL-1β, TNF-α; IC50 = 0.62 ± 0.07 μM, 1.78 ± 0.21 μM, 1.31 ± 0.28 μM, respectively) reduced ROS production, and chelated biometals were also found in compound 4h. Further studies showed that 4h had proper blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability and suitable in vitro metabolic stability. In in vivo study, 4h effectively ameliorated the learning and memory impairment of the scopolamine-induced AD mice model. These findings suggested that 4h may be a promising compound for further development as a multifunctional agent for the treatment of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the pursuit of China's dual carbon goals, identifying spatio-temporal changes in industrial carbon emission efficiency and their influencing factors in cities at different stages of development is the key to effective formulation of countermeasures to promote the low-carbon transformation of Chinese national industry and achieve high-quality economic development. In this study, we used balanced panel data of 270 Chinese cities from 2005 to 2020 as a research object: (1) to show spatio-temporal evolution patterns in urban industrial carbon emission efficiency; (2) to analyze the aggregation characteristics of industrial carbon emission efficiency in Chinese cities using Global Moran's I statistics; and (3) to use the hierarchical regression model for panel data to assess the non-linear impact of the digital economy on the industrial carbon emission efficiency of cities. The results show the following: (1) the industrial carbon emission efficiency of Chinese cities exhibited an upward trend from 2005 to 2020, with a spatial distribution pattern of high in the south and low in the north; (2) China's urban industrial carbon emission efficiency is characterized by significant spatial autocorrelation, with increasing and stabilizing correlation, and a relatively fixed pattern of spatial agglomeration; (3) there is a significant inverted-U-shaped relationship between the digital economy and the industrial carbon emission efficiency of cities. The digital economy increases carbon emissions and inhibits industrial carbon emission efficiency in the early stages of development but inhibits carbon emissions and promotes industrial carbon emission efficiency in mature developmental stages. Therefore, cities at all levels should reduce pollution and carbon emissions from high-energy-consuming and high-polluting enterprises, gradually reduce carbon-intensive industries, and accelerate the digital transformation and upgrading of enterprises. Western, central, and eastern regions especially should seek to promote the sharing of innovation resources, strengthen exchanges and interactions relating to scientific and technological innovation, and jointly explore coordinated development routes for the digital economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a long time, wind speed profile measurement has been the primary task of weather forecasting. Therefore, the detection of atmospheric wind speed is extremely important for studying the changes in atmospheric motion. In order to solve the problems of insufficient data collection, low resolution, and low accuracy in atmospheric wind field detection, this paper introduces the relevant theories of wind speed detection, completes the optical design of the system according to the research objectives, and determines the selection of optical devices. At the same time, a Doppler wind lidar system based on a quadrichannel Mach–Zehnder interferometer is designed and built to carry out ground-based observation experiments, collect echo signal data, and inverse the atmospheric radial wind speed. Furthermore, the wind measurement error is analyzed. Firstly, the paper introduces the basic principle of the wind measurement system, i.e., using the Doppler effect of light, and then analyzes the frequency discrimination device of the system in detail, and obtains the theoretical calculation method of atmospheric wind speed inversion. At the same time, the relevant datasets of wind measurement system are analyzed, including backscattering ratio, aerosol, and molecular extinction coefficient, and the emission mechanism of the large pulse laser is also studied in detail, which provides a theoretical basis for the model construction of Doppler lidar and the research on the enhancement of pulsed laser emission energy. Secondly, according to the research index of wind measurement, a Doppler wind measurement lidar system based on a quadrichannel Mach–Zehnder interferometer is designed, including the design of ab external light path transceiver system, internal light path interferometer, software and hardware, and algorithm. The calibration of the quadrichannel Mach–Zehnder interferometer is completed, with its maximum interference contrast reaching 0.869. Through the self-developed optical transceiver system and data acquisition system, the echo signal of lidar is received and detected. Lastly, the data of echo signals collected by the interferometer are analyzed, the radial atmospheric wind speed profile is inversed, and the signal-to-noise ratio and wind speed measurement error of the system are evaluated. The experimental results show that the maximum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the system can reach 1433 when the emission pulse energy of the large pulse laser is adjusted to 255 mJ, and the farthest wind speed detection distance is about 8 km. The high-precision wind speed detection range can reach 2 km, the actual wind measurement errors in this range are all within 1.593 m/s, and the minimum error is only 0.418 m/s. In addition, the backscattering coefficient and extinction coefficient of atmospheric molecules and aerosols in the range of 8 km and the atmospheric temperature in the range of 10 km are also measured. The measurement accuracy of the aerosol extinction coefficient is ±0.001 m−1, and the measurement error of atmospheric temperature within 10 km is within 2 K, achieving the expected goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paleoproterozoic banded iron formation (BIF) iron ore of the Zhengjiapo region of the Changyi metallogenic belt, Eastern Block of North China Craton contains abundant coexisting antiperthite and mesoperthite textures. The antiperthite and mesoperthite occur in felsic domains of the Zhengjiapo BIF ore and enable derivation of peak temperature metamorphic conditions. Thermodynamic phase modeling shows that equilibrium conditions of corresponding textures, considering the related mineral assemblage of Pl + Qz + Kfs + Mag + Opx + L, are in the range of 870–940 °C and 5.0–6.8 kbar. Ternary feldspar thermometry using reintegrated compositions of antiperthite and mesoperthite in the felsic domain of the studied BIF iron ore reveals even higher peak metamorphic temperatures of 1045–1080 °C. The ultra-high temperature–low pressure conditions of Precambrian BIF have not yet been reported from the North China Craton. The documented ultra-high temperature metamorphism of the Zhengjiapo BIF iron ore in the Changyi metallogenic belt indicates that the BIF was involved in the collision-related tectonic process during Paleoproterozoic to have occurred in the Jiao-Liao-Ji orogenic belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical properties of water-rich rocks in a subzero temperature environment are quite different from those at room temperature, which introduces many unexpected engineering hazards. The dynamic compressive behaviors of frozen water-saturated sandstone are related to strain rate and temperature at different degrees. In this paper, quasi-static and dynamic tests were conducted on the saturated sandstone utilizing the MTS-816 apparatus and the modified split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) device with a freezing module, which are constrained at a temperature range of −1 °C~−20 °C and a strain rate range of 10−5 s−1~200 s−1. The coupling effect of strain rate and temperature on the mechanical characteristics of saturated sandstone is systematically investigated. It is found that the quasi-static compressive strength of frozen saturated sandstone increases with the applied temperature from −1 °C to −5 °C and decreases with that from −5 °C to −20 °C, while the dynamic compressive strength exhibits an opposite trend. Different from the primary shear failure under quasi-static tests, the failure pattern of the frozen specimens becomes tensile failure under dynamic tests with an evident sensitivity to the applied temperature. Furthermore, the dissipated energy can be positively correlated with strain rate, while the growth rate of dissipated energy decreases with the applied temperature from −1 °C to −5 °C and increases with that from −5 °C to −20 °C. A new water-ice phase transition mechanism was further introduced, which divided the freezing process of water-saturated rock into the intensive stage and the stable water-ice phase transition stage. The underlying mechanism of water-ice phase transition governing the dynamic mechanical behavior of frozen saturated sandstone was also revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ethanol precipitation method has been widely-used for Dendrobium officinale polysaccharides preparation. However, the alcohol-soluble fractions have always been ignored, which causes significant wastes of resources and energies. In this study, the extraction, physicochemical properties, and immune regulation activity of an edible D. officinale polysaccharide (DOPs) isolated from the supernatant after 75% ethanol precipitation were systematically investigated. The structural characteristics determination results showed that DOPs was mainly composed of glucose and mannose at a molar ratio of 1.00:5.78 with an average molecular weight of 4.56 × 103 Da, which was made up of α-(1,3)-Glcp as the main skeleton, and the α-(1,4)-Glcp and β-(1,4)-Manp as the branches. Subsequently, the cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced immunosuppressive mice model was established, and the results demonstrated that DOPs could dose-dependently protect the immune organs against CTX damage, improve the immune cells activities, and promote the immune-related cytokines (IL-2, IFN-γ and TNF-α) secretions. Furthermore, DOPs treatment also effectively enhanced the antioxidant enzymes levels (SOD, GSH-Px) in sera and livers, therefore weakening the oxidative damage of CTX-treated mice. Considering these above data, DOPs presented great potential to be explored as a natural antioxidant and supplement for functional foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB) is the main threatening factor for banana production worldwide. To explore bacterial biocontrol resources for FWB, the antagonistic effective strains were isolated from banana-producing areas in Yunnan Province, China. Two isolates (YN0904 and YN1419) displaying strong antagonism against Tropical Race 4 (TR4) were identified from a total of 813 strains of endophytic bacteria. TR4 inhibition rates of YN0904 and YN1419 were 79.6% and 81.3%, respectively. By looking at morphological, molecular, physiological and biochemical characteristics, YN0904 was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, while YN1419 was identified as B. subtillis. The control effects of YN0904 and YN1419 on TR4 in greenhouse experiments were 82.6% and 85.6%, respectively. Furthermore, YN0904 obviously promoted the growth of banana plantlets. In addition, biocontrol marker genes related to the biosynthesis of antibiotics synthesized and auxin key synthetase genes could be detected in YN0904. Surprisingly, the marker gene sboA could be exclusively detected in YN1419, while other marker genes were all absent. Molecular characterization results could provide a theoretical basis for expounding the biocontrol mechanisms of these two strains. We concluded that natively antagonistic strains derived from local banana plantations could provide new biological control resources for FWB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imaging connectomics based on graph theory has become an effective and unique methodological framework for studying functional connectivity patterns of the developing and aging brain. Normal brain development is characterized by continuous and significant network evolution through infancy, childhood, and adolescence, following specific maturational patterns. Normal aging is related to some resting state brain networks disruption, which are associated with certain cognitive decline. It is a big challenge to design an integral metric to track connectome evolution patterns across the lifespan, which is to understand the principles of network organization in the human brain. In this study, we first defined a brain network eigen-entropy (NEE) based on the energy probability (EP) of each brain node. Next, we used the NEE to characterize the lifespan orderness trajectory of the whole-brain functional connectivity of 173 healthy individuals ranging in age from 7 to 85 years. The results revealed that during the lifespan, the whole-brain NEE exhibited a significant non-linear decrease and that the EP distribution shifted from concentration to wide dispersion, implying orderness enhancement of functional connectome over age. Furthermore, brain regions with significant EP changes from the flourishing (7-20 years) to the youth period (23-38 years) were mainly located in the right prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia, and were involved in emotion regulation and executive function in coordination with the action of the sensory system, implying that self-awareness and voluntary control performance significantly changed during neurodevelopment. However, the changes from the youth period to middle age (40-59 years) were located in the mesial temporal lobe and caudate, which are associated with long-term memory, implying that the memory of the human brain begins to decline with age during this period. Overall, the findings suggested that the human connectome shifted from a relatively anatomical driven state to an orderly organized state with lower entropy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the microstructure, the room-temperature and high-temperature tensile mechanical properties of monolithic TA15 alloy and TiB whisker-reinforced TA15 titanium matrix composites (TiBw/TA15) fabricated by vacuum hot-pressing sintering were investigated. The microstructure results showed that there were no obvious differences in the microstructure between monolithic TA15 alloy and TiBw/TA15 composites, except whether or not the grain boundaries contained TiBw. After sintering, the matrix microstructure presented a typical Widmanstätten structure and the size of primary β grain was consistent with the size of spherical TA15 titanium metallic powders. This result demonstrated that TiBw was not the only factor limiting grain coarsening of the primary β grain. Moreover, the grain coarsening of α colonies was obvious, and high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) were distributed within the primary β grain. In addition, TiBw played an important role in the microstructure evolution. In the composites, TiBw were randomly distributed in the matrix and surrounded by a large number of low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs). Globularization of α phase occurred prior, near the TiBw region, because TiBw provided the nucleation site for the equiaxed a phase. The room-temperature and high-temperature tensile results showed that TiBw distributed at the primary β grain boundaries can strengthen the grain boundary, but reduce the connectivity of the matrix. Therefore, compared to the monolithic TA15 alloy fabricated by the same process, the tensile strength of the composites increased, and the tensile elongation decreased. Moreover, with the addition of TiBw, the fracture mechanism was changed to a mixture of brittle fracture and ductile failure (composites) from ductile failure (monolithic TA15 alloy). The fracture surfaces of TiBw/TA15 composites were the grain boundaries of the primary β grain where the majority of TiB whiskers distributed, i.e., the surfaces of the spherical TA15 titanium metallic powders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The swim bladder of the croceine croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea) was believed to have good curative effects in various diseases, including amnesia, insomnia, dizziness, anepithymia, and weakness after giving birth, in traditional Chinese medicine. However, there is no research focusing on the antioxidant and anti-fatigue peptides from croceine croaker swim bladders at present. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the bioactivities of peptide fractions from the protein hydrolysate of croceine croaker related to antioxidant and anti-fatigue effects. In the study, swim bladder peptide fraction (SBP-III-3) was isolated from the protein hydrolysate of the croceine croaker, and its antioxidant and anti-fatigue activities were measured using in vitro and in vivo methods. The results indicated that SBP-III-3 exhibited good scavenging activities on hydroxyl radicals (HO•) (EC50 (the concentration where a sample caused a 50% decrease of the initial concentration of HO•) = 0.867 mg/mL), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals (DPPH•) (EC50 = 0.895 mg/mL), superoxide anion radical (O2-•) (EC50 = 0.871 mg/mL), and 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid radical (ABTS+•) (EC50 = 0.346 mg/mL). SBP-III-3 also showed protective effects on DNA damage in a concentration-effect manner and prolonged the swimming time to exhaustion of Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice by 57.9%-107.5% greater than that of the control. SBP-III-3 could increase the levels of muscle glucose (9.4%-115.2% increase) and liver glycogen (35.7%-157.3%), and decrease the levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), lactic acid (LA), and malondialdehyde (MDA) by 16.4%-22.4%, 13.9%-20.1%, and 28.0%-53.6%, respectively. SBP-III-3 also enhanced the activity of lactic dehydrogenase to scavenge excessive LA for slowing the development of fatigue. In addition, SBP-III-3 increased the activities superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase to reduce the reactive oxygen species (ROS) damage in mice. In conclusion, SBP-III-3 possessed good anti-fatigue capacities on mice by inhibiting the oxidative reactions and provided an important basis for developing the swim bladder peptide functional food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is an effective measure of atmospheric water demand of the land surface. In-depth investigations of the relationship between ETo and primary climatic factors can facilitate the adaptable agriculture and optimize water management, especially in the ecologically fragile Taihang Mountains (THM). This work assessed the spatiotemporal dynamics of ETo and its driving climatic factors from 1973 to 2016 in THM. Results showed: (1) Annual ETo slightly increased during 1973–2016; relative humidity (RH) decreased more slowly, the temperature increased more rapidly, and wind speed (WS) decreased more rapidly at higher elevation than those at lower elevations; (2) two breakpoints occurred in ETo series at 1990 and 1997, and an "evaporation paradox" existed in 1973–1990; (3) ETo at higher elevations had greater sensitivity to changes in RH and lower sensitivity to changes in Tmax and WS. Sensitivity of ETo to minimum air temperature (Tmin) at middle elevations was lowest among three elevation bands; (4) RH and sunshine duration (SD) were the dominant climatic factors of ETo for most periods and stations. This study helps us understand the impact of climate change on ETo in mountainous areas and confirms reference evapotranspiration in high-elevation areas is particularly sensitive to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we prepared new antioxidant active plastic bottle caps by incorporating butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) or butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and 2% (w/w) white masterbatch in high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry revealed that the antioxidants and HDPE were uniformly mixed with noncovalent bonding. In addition, the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) test revealed that the change in melting point and initial extrapolation temperature of the antioxidant active caps was not significant. Sensory evaluation and removal torque tests validated the suitability of the antioxidant active plastic bottle caps in industrial application. The antioxidant activity increased with a greater concentration of BHA and BHT incorporated in both antioxidant active caps (p < 0.05) and with more impact on the BHA cap compared to BHT cap in terms of antioxidant activity. Migration experiments for 10 days at 40 °C and 2 h at 70 °C showed that active antioxidants in the plastic bottle cap were more easily released into fatty foods and milk products that are highly sensitive to oxidation, and the migration of BHA and BHT did not exceed the maximum amount specified in (EC) No 1333/2008 (<200 mg/kg). As such, the antioxidant active plastic bottle caps inhibited oxidation, thereby ensuring higher food quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salivarian trypanosomes comprise a group of extracellular anthroponotic and zoonotic parasites. The only sustainable method for global control of these infection is through vaccination of livestock animals. Despite multiple reports describing promising laboratory results, no single field-applicable solution has been successful so far. Conventionally, vaccine research focusses mostly on exposed immunogenic antigens, or the structural molecular knowledge of surface exposed invariant immunogens. Unfortunately, extracellular parasites (or parasites with extracellular life stages) have devised efficient defense systems against host antibody attacks, so they can deal with the mammalian humoral immune response. In the case of trypanosomes, it appears that these mechanisms have been perfected, leading to vaccine failure in natural hosts. Here, we provide two examples of potential vaccine candidates that, despite being immunogenic and accessible to the immune system, failed to induce a functionally protective memory response. First, trypanosomal enolase was tested as a vaccine candidate, as it was recently characterized as a highly conserved enzyme that is readily recognized during infection by the host antibody response. Secondly, we re-addressed a vaccine approach towards the Invariant Surface Glycoprotein ISG75, and showed that despite being highly immunogenic, trypanosomes can avoid anti-ISG75 mediated parasitemia control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campylobacteriosis is the most common cause of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. Consumption of chicken meat is considered the main route for human infection with Campylobacter. This study aimed to determine the critical factors for Campylobacter cross-contamination in Chinese commercial kitchens during chicken handling. Five commercial kitchens were visited to detect Campylobacter occurrence from 2019 to 2020. Chicken samples (n = 363) and cotton balls from the kitchen surfaces (n = 479) were collected, and total bacterial counts and Campylobacter spp. were detected. Genotypic characterization of 57 Campylobacter jejuni isolates was performed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). In total, 77.41% of chicken carcass samples and 37.37% of kitchen surfaces showed Campylobacter spp. contamination. Before chicken preparation, Campylobacter spp. were already present in the kitchen environment; however, chicken handling significantly increased Campylobacter spp. prevalence (p < 0.05). After cleaning, boards, hands, and knives still showed high bacterial loads including Campylobacter spp., which related to poor sanitary conditions and ineffective handling practices. Poor sanitation conditions on kitchen surfaces offer greater opportunities for Campylobacter transmission. Molecular typing by MLST revealed that Campylobacter cross-contamination occurred during chicken preparation. The most prevalent sequence types, ST693 and ST45, showed strong biofilm formation ability. Consequently, sanitary condition of surfaces and biofilm formation ability of isolates were the critical points contributing to spread of Campylobacter in kitchen environment. These results provide insight into potential targeted control strategies along the farm-to-plate chain and highlight the necessity for improvements in sanitary conditions. The implementation of more effective cleaning measures should be considered to decrease the campylobacteriosis risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trypanosoma evansi is a widely spread parasite that causes the debilitating disease "surra" in several types of ungulates. This severely challenges livestock rearing and heavily weighs on the socio-economic development in the affected areas, which include countries on five continents. Active case finding requires a sensitive and specific diagnostic test. In this paper, we describe the application of an unbiased immunization strategy to identify potential biomarkers for Nanobody (Nb)-based detection of T. evansi infections. Alpaca immunization with soluble lysates from different T. evansi strains followed by panning against T. evansi secretome resulted in the selection of a single Nb (Nb11). By combining Nb11-mediated immuno-capturing with mass spectrometry, the T. evansi target antigen was identified as the glycolytic enzyme enolase. Four additional anti-enolase binders were subsequently generated by immunizing another alpaca with the recombinant target enzyme. Together with Nb11, these binders were evaluated for their potential use in a heterologous sandwich detection format. Three Nb pairs were identified as candidates for the further development of an antigen-based assay for Nb-mediated diagnosis of T. evansi infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the nanofiber materials derived from natural polymers instead of petroleum-based polymers by electrospinning have aroused a great deal of interests. The lignocellulosic biomass could not be electrospun into nanofiber directly due to its poor solubility. Here, sugarcane bagasse (SCB) was subjected to the homogeneous esterification with different anhydrides, and the corresponding esterified products (SCB-A) were obtained. It was found that the bead-free and uniform nanofibers were obtained via electrospinning even when the mass fraction of acetylated SCB was 70%. According to the thermogravimetric analyses, the addition of SCB-A could improve the thermal stability of the electrospun composite nanofibers. More importantly, in contrast to the pure polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based carbon nanofiber, the SCB-A based carbon nanofibers had higher electrical conductivity and the surface N element content. In addition, the superfine carbon nanofiber mats with minimum average diameter of 117.0 ± 13.7 nm derived from SCB-A were obtained, which results in a larger Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area than pure PAN based carbon nanofiber. These results demonstrated that the combination of the homogeneous esterification and electrospinning could be a feasible and potential way to produce the bio-based carbon nanofibers directly from lignocellulosic without component separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop new anti-inflammatory agents, a series of 7-O-amide hesperetin derivatives was designed, synthesized and evaluated for anti-inflammatory activity using RAW264.7 cells. All compounds showed inhibitory effect on LPS-induced NO production. Among them, 7-O-(2-(Propylamino)-2-oxoethyl)hesperetin (4d) and 7-O-(2-(Cyclopentylamino)-2-oxoethyl)hesperetin (4k) with hydrophobic side chains exhibited the most potent NO inhibitory activity (IC50 = 19.32 and 16.63 μM, respectively), showing stronger inhibitory effect on the production of pro- inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) than indomethacin and celecoxib at 10 μM. The structure-activity relationships (SARs) suggested that the 7-O-amide unit was buried in a medium-sized hydrophobic cavity of the bound receptor. Furthermore, compound 4d could also significantly suppress the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase enzymes (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), through the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spectral unmixing extracts subpixel information by decomposing observed pixel spectra into a collection of constituent spectra signatures and their associated fractions. Considering the restriction of linear unmixing model, nonlinear unmixing algorithms find their applications in complex scenes. Kernel-based algorithms serve as important candidates for nonlinear unmixing as they do not require specific model assumption and have moderate computational complexity. In this paper we focus on the linear mixture and nonlinear fluctuation model. We propose a two-step kernel-based unmixing algorithm to address the case where a large spectral library is used as the candidate endmembers or the sparse mixture case. The sparsity-inducing regularization is introduced to perform the endmember selection and the candidate library is then pruned to provide more accurate results. Experimental results with synthetic and real data, particularly those laboratory-created labeled, show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm compared with state-of-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five new ergostanes, penicisteroids D−H (1−5), were isolated from the liquid culture of the deep-sea-derived fungus Penicillium granulatum MCCC 3A00475, along with 27 known compounds. The structures of the new steroids were established mainly on the basis of extensive analysis of 1D and 2D NMR as well as HRESIMS data. Moreover, the absolute configurations of 1 were confirmed unambiguously by the single-crystal X-ray crystallography. Compounds 2 and 4–7 showed moderate antiproliferative effects selectively against 12 different cancer cell lines with IC50 values of around 5 μM. Compounds 2 and 6, potent RXRα binders with Kd values of 13.8 and 12.9 μM, respectively, could induce apoptosis by a Retinoid X Receptor (RXR)-α-dependent mechanism by regulating RXRα transcriptional expression and promoting the poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) cleavage. Moreover, they could inhibit proliferation by cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the complexity of the energy system and its complex relationship with socio-economic factors, this study adopts the Long-range Energy Alternative Planning (LEAP) model, a technology-based, bottom-up approach, scenario-based analysis, to develop a systematic analysis of the current and future energy consumption, supply and associated Green House Gas (GHG) emissions from 2015 to 2050. The impact of various energy policies on the energy system in Hebei Province was analysed by considering four scenarios: a Reference Scenario (REF), Industrial Structure Optimization Scenario (ISO), Terminal Consumption Structure Optimization Scenario (TOS) and Low-carbon Development Scenario (LCD). By designing strategic policies from the perspective of industrial adjustment, aggressive energy structure policies and measures, such as the ISO and the TOS, and even more aggressive options, such as the LCD, where the percentage of cleaner alternative energy sources has been further increased, it has been indicated that energy consumption will have increased from 321.618 million tonnes of coal equivalent (Mtce) in 2015 to 784.88 Mtce in 2050 in the REF, with a corresponding increase in GHG emissions from 920.56 million metric tonnes (Mt) to 2262.81 Mt. In contrast, the more aggressive policies and strategies involved in the LCD, which combines the ISO with the policy-oriented TOS, can lower energy consumption by 50.82% and CO2 emissions by 64.26%. The results shed light on whether and how these scenarios can shape the energy-carbon emission reduction trajectories and develop the low-carbon pathways in Hebei Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the effect of Ru (Rut) on angiogenesis, and the underlying regulation mechanism of signal transduction. 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, adhesion inhibition experiment, migration inhibition experiment, and chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assays were performed on models of angiogenesis. The potential targets of rutaecarpine (Ru) were reverse screened with Discovery Studio 2017. The interaction between the compound and target were detected by surface plasmon resonance (SPR), enzyme-activity experiment, and Western blot assay. The obtained results confirmed that Ru exhibited modest inhibitory activity against human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) (IC50 =16.54 ± 2.4 μM) and remarkable inhibitive effect against the migration and adhesion of HUVECs, as well as significant anti-angiogenesis activities in the CAM assay. The possible targets of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) were identified by computer-aided simulation. Results showed a good binding relationship between the ligand and target through molecular docking, and this relationship was confirmed by SPR analysis. Furthermore, enzyme-activity experiment and western blot assay showed that Ru remarkably inhibited the activity of VEGFR2 and blocked the VEGFR2-mediated Akt/ (mTOR)/p70s6k signaling pathway in vitro. Ru can be a potential drug candidate for cancer prevention and cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five new ergostanes, penicisteroids D-H ( 1 - 5 ), were isolated from the liquid culture of the deep-sea-derived fungus Penicillium granulatum MCCC 3A00475, along with 27 known compounds. The structures of the new steroids were established mainly on the basis of extensive analysis of 1D and 2D NMR as well as HRESIMS data. Moreover, the absolute configurations of 1 were confirmed unambiguously by the single-crystal X-ray crystallography. Compounds 2 and 4 ⁻ 7 showed moderate antiproliferative effects selectively against 12 different cancer cell lines with IC 50 values of around 5 μM. Compounds 2 and 6 , potent RXRα binders with Kd values of 13.8 and 12.9 μM, respectively, could induce apoptosis by a Retinoid X Receptor ( RXR )- α -dependent mechanism by regulating RXRα transcriptional expression and promoting the poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) cleavage. Moreover, they could inhibit proliferation by cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of Ru (Rut) on angiogenesis, and the underlying regulation mechanism of signal transduction. 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, adhesion inhibition experiment, migration inhibition experiment, and chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assays were performed on models of angiogenesis. The potential targets of rutaecarpine (Ru) were reverse screened with Discovery Studio 2017. The interaction between the compound and target were detected by surface plasmon resonance (SPR), enzyme-activity experiment, and Western blot assay. The obtained results confirmed that Ru exhibited modest inhibitory activity against human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) (IC 50 =16.54 ± 2.4 μM) and remarkable inhibitive effect against the migration and adhesion of HUVECs, as well as significant anti-angiogenesis activities in the CAM assay. The possible targets of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) were identified by computer-aided simulation. Results showed a good binding relationship between the ligand and target through molecular docking, and this relationship was confirmed by SPR analysis. Furthermore, enzyme-activity experiment and western blot assay showed that Ru remarkably inhibited the activity of VEGFR2 and blocked the VEGFR2-mediated Akt/ (mTOR)/p70s6k signaling pathway in vitro. Ru can be a potential drug candidate for cancer prevention and cancer therapy., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Epidemiological studies conducted around the world have reported that the under-five mortality rate (U5MR) is closely associated with income and educational attainment. However, geographic elements should also remain a major concern in further improving child health issues, since they often play an important role in the survival environment. This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the U5MR, geographic, and socioeconomic factors, and to explore the associated spatial variance of the relationship in China using the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. The results indicate that the space pattern of a high U5MR had been narrowed notably during the period from 2001 to 2010. Nighttime lights (NL) and the digital elevation model (DEM) both have obvious influences on the U5MR, with the NL having a negative impact and DEM having a positive impact. Additionally, the relationship between the NL and DEM varied over space in China. Moreover, the relevance between U5MR and DEM was narrowed in 2010 compared to 2001, which indicates that the development of economic and medical standards can overcome geographical limits., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

In this study we designed and synthesized a series of new hesperetin derivatives on the basis of the structural characteristics of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) dual-site inhibitors. The activity of the novel derivatives was also evaluated. Results showed that the synthesized hesperetin derivatives displayed stronger inhibitory activity against AChE and higher selectivity than butyrylcholine esterase (BuChE) (selectivity index values from 68 to 305). The Lineweaver-Burk plot and molecular docking study showed that these compounds targeted both the peripheral anionic site (PAS) and catalytic active site (CAS) of AChE. The derivatives also showed a potent self-induced β-amyloid (Aβ) aggregation inhibition and a peroxyl radical absorbance activity. Moreover, compound 4f significantly protected PC12 neurons against H₂O₂-induced cell death at low concentrations. Cytotoxicity assay showed that the low concentration of the derivatives does not affect the viability of the SH-SY5Y neurons. Thus, these hesperetin derivatives are potential multifunctional agents for further development for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Carrier recombination behavior in c-plane GaN-based laser diodes (LDs) is numerically investigated by using the commercial software LASTIP. It is found that efficiency droop phenomenon does exist in GaN-based LDs before lasing, which is confirmed by experimental results. However, the current density corresponding to the peak efficiency of GaN-based LDs before lasing, J max , is nearly 40 A/cm², which is much lower than that reported by other studies. The reported J max , measured from the cavity facet side is modulated by the absorption of quantum wells, which shifts the J max to a higher value. In addition, the currents due to various recombinations are calculated. It is found that Auger recombination affects the threshold current greatly, but it only plays a small role at high current injection levels.

This study designed and synthesized a series of new graveoline analogs on the basis of the structural characteristics of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) dual-site inhibitors. The activity of these analogs was also evaluated. Results showed that the synthesized graveoline analogs displayed stronger inhibitory activity against AChE and higher selectivity than butyrylcholine esterase (BuChE) (Selectivity Index from 45 to 486). When the two sites in the graveoline parent ring substituting phenyl and amino terminal had six chemical bonds (n = 3) and the terminal amino was piperidine, compound 5c showed the best activity. Furthermore, the mechanism of action and binding mode were explored by enzyme kinetic simulation, molecular docking, and thioflavin T-based fluorometric assay. Cytotoxicity assay showed that the low concentration of the analogs did not affect the viability of the neurocyte SH-SY5Y.

A series of 2,4-disubstituted quinazoline derivatives were designed and synthesized. The biological results showed that most of quinazoline derivatives exhibited potent antiproliferative activities against a panel of three tumor cell lines and a good inhibitory effect against the adhesion and migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Among these compounds, 11d was the most potent agent, that also exhibited the highest anti-angiogenesis activities in the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay.