Phenotypic Characteristics and Fatty Acid Composition of Seeds from Different Herbaceous Peony Species Native to China

Herbaceous peony has been widely cultivated in China due to its substantial ornamental and medicinal value. In the present study, the phenotypic characteristics, total fatty acid (FA) content, and nine FA compositions of herbaceous peony seeds from 14 populations belonging to six species and one subspecies were determined by normal test and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The results showed that the phenotypic characteristics of seeds varied dramatically among species. The concentrations of five major FAs in seed oils were as follows: linoleic acid (173.95–236.51 μg/mg), linolenic acid (227.82–302.71 μg/mg), oleic acid (135.32–208.81 μg/mg), stearic acid (6.52–11.7 μg/mg), and palmitic acid (30.67–47.64 μg/mg). Correlation analysis demonstrated that oleic acid had the highest partial correlation coefficient with total FAs and might be applied to develop a model of phenotypic characteristics. FAs were significantly influenced by the following environmental factors: latitude, elevation, and annual average temperature. Based on the FA levels in the seed oils, clustering analysis divided 14 populations into two clusters. It was found that the average contents of oleic acid, linoleic acid, and total FAs in cluster I (147.16 μg/mg, 200.31 μg/mg, and 671.24 μg/mg, respectively) were significantly lower than those in cluster II (196.65 μg/mg, 220.16 μg/mg, and 741.78 μg/mg, respectively). Cluster I was perfectly consistent with subsect. Foliolatae, while cluster II was in good agreement with subsect. Dissectifoliae. Therefore, the FA composition of wild herbaceous peony seed oil might be used as a chemotaxonomic marker.     

Synergistic Engineering of Defects and Architecture in Binary Metal Chalcogenide toward Fast and Reliable Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries have great promise to support the next‐generation energy storage if their sluggish redox kinetics and polysulfide shuttling can be addressed. The rational design of sulfur electrodes plays key roles in tacking these problems and achieving high‐efficiency sulfur electrochemistry. Herein, a synergetic defect and architecture engineering strategy to design highly disordered spinel Ni–Co oxide double‐shelled microspheres (NCO‐HS), which consist of defective spinel NiCo₂O_4–x (x = 0.9 if all nickel is Ni²⁺ and cobalt is Co^2.13+), as the multifunctional sulfur host material is reported. The in situ constructed cation and anion defects endow the NCO‐HS with significantly enhanced electronic conductivity and superior polysulfide adsorbability. Meanwhile, the delicate nanoconstruction offers abundant active interfaces and reduced ion diffusion pathways for efficient Li–S chemistry. Attributed to these synergistic features, the sulfur composite electrode achieves excellent rate performance up to 5 C, remarkable cycling stability over 800 cycles and good areal capacity of 6.3 mAh cm^?2 under high sulfur loading. This proposed strategy based on synergy engineering could also inform material engineering in related energy storage and conversion fields.     

Flexible Na/K‐Ion Full Batteries from the Renewable Cotton Cloth–Derived Stable,Low‐Cost,and Binder‐Free Anode and Cathode

Flexible Na/K‐ion batteries (NIBs/KIBs) exhibit great potential applications and have drawn much attention due to the continuous development of flexible electronics. However, there are still many huge challenges, mainly the design and construction of flexible electrodes (cathode and anode) with outstanding electrochemical properties. In this work, a unique approach to prepare flexible electrode is proposed by utilizing the commercially available cotton cloth–derived carbon cloth (CC) as a flexible anode and the substrate of a cathode. The binder‐free, self‐supporting, and flexible cathodes (FCC@N/KPB) are prepared by growing Prussian blue microcubes on the flexible CC (FCC). Na/K‐ion full batteries (FCC//FCC@N/KPB) are assembled by using FCC and FCC@N/KPB as anode and cathode, respectively. Electrochemical performance, mechanical flexibility, and practicability of FCC//FCC@N/KPB Na/K‐ion full batteries are evaluated in both coin cells and flexible pouch cells, demonstrating their superior energy‐storage properties (excellent rate performance and cycling stability) and remarkable flexibility (they can work under different bending states). This work provides a new and profound strategy to design flexible electrodes, promoting the development of flexible NIBs/KIBs to be practical and sustainable.     

生长抑素联合双歧杆菌四联活菌治疗急性胰腺炎的效果及对肠粘膜屏障功能的影响

目的:探究生长抑素联合双歧杆菌四联活菌治疗急性胰腺炎的效果及对肠粘膜屏障功能的影响。方法:选取2015年8月～2018年8月我院收治的急性胰腺炎患者98例,根据患者入院先后顺序分为两组。对照组患者给予生长抑素治疗,观察组在对照组的基础上联合双歧杆菌四联活菌片治疗。比较两组患者的临床治疗效果,临床症状和指标的恢复时间及胃肠动力的恢复情况,治疗前后D-乳酸、二胺氧化酶(DAO)和尿乳果糖和甘露醇的比值(L/M)水平的变化。结果:治疗后,观察组患者的总有效率显著高于对照组(P0.05),腹痛、腹胀、腹膜刺激征、血淀粉酶和尿淀粉酶恢复正常时间均显著短于对照组(P0.05)。治疗后,两组患者的血清D-乳酸、DAO和L/M水平均较治疗前显著下降,且观察组以上指标均显著低于对照组(P0.05)。此外,观察组患者的腹内压显著低于对照组,肠鸣音恢复时间显著短于对照组,胃肠减压引流量显著低于对照组(P0.05)。结论:与单用生长抑素相比,生长抑素联合双歧杆菌四联活菌可更迅速缓解急性胰腺炎患者的临床症状及指标,恢复胃肠动力,并显著改善患者的肠粘膜屏障功能,利于患者的康复。     

血小板衍生生长因子对面部凹陷自体脂肪移植成活率的影响

目的:探讨血小板衍生生长因子(PDGF)对面部凹陷自体脂肪移植成活率的影响。方法:选取我院自2016年3月-2017年11月收治的62例面部凹陷患者,根据治疗方案的不同分为观察组和对照组,对照组30例患者仅采用自体脂肪颗粒移植治疗,观察组32例患者在对照组基础上加用血小板衍生生长因子治疗,比较两组患者治疗的优良率和并发症的发生情况。结果:治疗后,观察组患者的优良率为93.75%,明显高于对照组(73.33%,P0.05)。观察组患者治疗后3个月、6个月时身体脂肪吸收率明显高于术后1个月时(P0.05),且与对照组同时点比较,观察组患者治疗后3个月、6个月时的身体脂肪吸收率显著升高(P0.05)。观察组患者对治疗满意度为87.55%,显著高于对照组(70.0%,P0.05)。结论:血小板衍生生长因子应用于治疗面部凹陷能够有效提高自体脂肪移植的成活率。     

Determination of oxytetracycline hydrochloride in milk and egg white samples using Ru(bipy)32+–Ce(SO4)2 chemiluminescence

A novel, rapid and sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) method for the determination of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTCH) is described in this paper. The presented method was based on the fact that OTCH could immensely enhance the CL of the reaction of cerium sulfate and tris(2,2‐bipyridyl) ruthenium (II) in acidic medium. Under optimal experimental conditions, CL intensity was favorably linear for OTCH in the range 5.0 × 10^?7 to 5.0 × 10^?5 g/ml, with a detection limit of 1.5 × 10^?7 g/ml (S/N = 3). The relative standard detection was 4.76% for 5.0 × 10^?6 g/ml (n = 11). This method was successfully applied to the analysis of OTCH in milk and egg white samples. According to the results of the kinetic curves for OTCH in the Ru(bipy)₃²⁺–Ce(SO₄)₂ CL system, together with CL and ultraviolet (UV)–visible spectra, the possible mechanism of the CL reaction is discussed briefly.     

Generation and characterization of Megf6 null and Cre knock‐in alleles

Megf6, a member of MEGF (multiple EGF‐like domains) protein family, is a conserved high molecular weight protein with 30 EGF‐like domains. Although many members of the MEGF protein family are essential for embryonic development and homeostasis, the role of Megf6 in development and physiology is still unknown. Here, we generated Megf6‐deficient mice using CRISPR‐Cas9 technique and showed that Megf6 is dispensable for embryonic development. We also constructed the Megf6^Cre allele to study Megf6‐expressing cell lineages. Our results showed that Megf6‐expressing cells contribute to the periotic mesenchyme and its derivatives, skin epidermis, certain cells in brain and ribs. Therefore, the Megf6^Cre allele can be a useful tool for conditional deletion in these tissues, in particular for periotic mesenchyme deletion.     

Picroside II attenuates hyperhomocysteinemia‐induced endothelial injury by reducing inflammation,oxidative stress and cell apoptosis

Picroside II (P‐II), one of the main active components of scrophularia extract, which have anti‐oxidative, anti‐inflammatory effects, but its effect on hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) induced endothelial injury remains to be determined. Here, we test whether P‐II protects HHcy‐induced endothelial dysfunction against oxidative stress, inflammation and cell apoptosis. In vitro study using HUVECs, and in hyperhomocysteinemia mouse models, we found that HHcy decreased endothelial SIRT1 expression and increased LOX‐1 expression, subsequently causing reactive oxygen species generation, up‐regulation of NADPH oxidase activity and NF‐κB activation, thereby promoting pro‐inflammatory response and cell apoptosis. Blockade of Sirt1 with Ex527 or siRNASIRT1 increased LOX‐1 expression, whereas overexpression of SIRT1 decreased LOX‐1 expression markedly. P‐II treatment significantly increased SIRT1 expression and reduced LOX‐1 expression, and protected against endothelial cells from Hcy‐induced oxidative injury, inflammation and apoptosis. However, blockade of SIRT1 or overexpression of LOX‐1 attenuated the therapeutic effects of P‐II. In conclusion, our results suggest that P‐II prevents the Hcy induced endothelial damage probably through regulating the SIRT1/LOX‐1 signaling pathway.     

Simvastatin preparations promote PDGF‐BB secretion to repair LPS‐induced endothelial injury through the PDGFRβ/PI3K/Akt/IQGAP1 signalling pathway

Endothelial barrier dysfunction is a critical pathophysiological process of sepsis. Impaired endothelial cell migration is one of the main reasons for endothelial dysfunction. Statins may have a protective effect on endothelial barrier function. However, the effect and mechanism of statins on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced endothelial barrier dysfunction remain unclear. Simvastatin (SV) was loaded in nanostructured lipid carriers to produce SV nanoparticles (SV‐NPs). Normal SV and SV‐NPs were used to treat human umbilical vein vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) injured by LPS. Barrier function was evaluated by monitoring cell monolayer permeability and transendothelial electrical resistance, and cell migration ability was measured by a wound healing assay. LY294002 and imatinib were used to inhibit the activity of PI3K/Akt and platelet‐derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) β. IQ‐GTPase‐activating protein 1 (IQGAP1) siRNA was used to knockdown endogenous IQGAP1, which was used to verify the role of the PDGFRβ/PI3K/Akt/IQGAP1 pathway in SV/SV‐NPs‐mediated barrier protection in HUVECs injured by LPS. The results show that SV/SV‐NPs promoted the migration and decreased the permeability of HUVECs treated with LPS, and the efficacy of the SV‐NPs exceeded that of SV significantly. LY294002, imatinib and IQGAP1 siRNA all suppressed the barrier protection of SV/SV‐NPs. SV/SV‐NPs promoted the secretion of platelet‐derived growth factor‐BB (PDGF‐BB) and activated the PDGFRβ/PI3K/Akt/IQGAP1 pathway. SV preparations restored endothelial barrier function by restoring endothelial cell migration, which is involved in the regulation of the PDGFRβ/PI3K/Akt/IQGAP1 pathway and PDGF‐BB secretion. As an appropriate formulation for restoring endothelial dysfunction, SV‐NPs may be more effective than SV.