Chemical Composition of Bawei Longzuan Granule and Its Anti‐Arthritic Activity on Collagen‐Induced Arthritis in Rats by Inhibiting Inflammatory Responses

Bawei Longzuan granule (BLG) is a representative Zhuang medicine preparation. The present work aims to characterize the chemical constituents of BLG and evaluate its anti‐arthritic activity. The major chemical constituents of BLG were tentatively identified by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography‐quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (UPLC‐Q‐TOF/MS), which revealed the presence of some alkaloids (e. g., magnoflorine, sinomenine and nitidine) and flavonoids (e. g., hesperidin, diosmin and sinensetin) that may be partly responsible for the anti‐arthritic effect of BLG. In addition, the collagen‐induced arthritis (CIA) model in rats was induced by intradermal injection of bovine collagen‐II in complete Freund's adjuvant at the base of tail. The CIA rats received oral administration of BLG (1.25, 2.5 and 5 g/kg) for 30 days. Then, various indicators were determined to evaluate its anti‐arthritic activity, including paw swelling, arthritic score, body weight, knee joint pathology, thymus index and spleen index. Additionally, the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, interferon (IFN)‐γ, interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐4 and IL‐10 were measured to determine the underlying mechanisms. The results showed that BLG efficiently ameliorated the severity of arthritis in CIA rats by decreasing paw swelling and arthritis score and improving the histological lesions of knee joint. Moreover, the serum levels of several pro‐inflammatory cytokines (i. e., IL‐1β, TNF‐α, IL‐6 and IFN‐γ) were downregulated, whereas two anti‐inflammatory factors (i. e., IL‐4 and IL‐10) were upregulated after BLG administration. These results indicated that BLG possessed promising therapeutic effect on collagen‐induced arthritis by inhibiting inflammatory responses. BLG can be used as a complementary or alternative traditional medicine to treat rheumatoid arthritis.     

Aureonitols A and B,Two New C13‐Polyketides from Chaetomium globosum,an Endophytic Fungus in Salvia miltiorrhiza

Two new C₁₃‐polyketides, aureonitols A and B ( 1 and 2 ), along with five known compounds ( 3 – 7 ), were isolated from the solid fermentation culture of the plant endophytic fungus Chaetomium globosum from the aerial parts of Salvia miltiorrhiza. The structures and absolute configurations of 1 and 2 were determined by comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis and computed methods. Compound 5 was found to display the remarkable antimicrobial activities against four multidrug‐resistant bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis) with MIC values of 3.13–6.25 μg/mL (ciprofloxacin: 0.78–1.56 μg/mL), and also against all tested fungal strains with MIC values of 3.13–25 μg/mL (ketoconazole: 0.78–12.50 μg/mL).     

Intermediates Adsorption Engineering of CO2 Electroreduction Reaction in Highly Selective Heterostructure Cu‐Based Electrocatalysts for CO Production

The challenge in the artificial CO₂ reduction to fuel is achieving high selective electrocatalysts. Here, a highly selective Cu₂O/CuO heterostructure electrocatalyst is developed for CO₂ electroreduction. The Cu₂O/CuO nanowires modified by Ni nanoparticles exhibit superior catalytic performance with high faradic efficiency (95% for CO). Theoretical and experimental analyses show that the hybridization of Cu₂O/CuO nanowires and Ni nanoparticles can not only adjust the d‐band center of electrocatalysts to enhance the intrinsic catalytic activity but also improve the adsorption of COOH* intermediates and suppress the hydrogen evolution reaction to promote the CO conversion efficiency during CO₂ reduction reaction. An in situ Raman spectroscopic study further confirms the existence of COOH* species and the engineering intermediates adsorption. This work offers new insights for facile designing of nonprecious transition metal compound heterostructure for CO₂ reduction reaction through adjusting the reaction pathway.     

Conductive and Catalytic Triple‐Phase Interfaces Enabling Uniform Nucleation in High‐Rate Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Rechargeable lithium–sulfur batteries have attracted tremendous scientific attention owing to their superior energy density. However, the sulfur electrochemistry involves multielectron redox reactions and complicated phase transformations, while the final morphology of solid‐phase Li₂S precipitates largely dominate the battery's performance. Herein, a triple‐phase interface among electrolyte/CoSe₂/G is proposed to afford strong chemisorption, high electrical conductivity, and superb electrocatalysis of polysulfide redox reactions in a working lithium–sulfur battery. The triple‐phase interface effectively enhances the kinetic behaviors of soluble lithium polysulfides and regulates the uniform nucleation and controllable growth of solid Li₂S precipitates at large current density. Therefore, the cell with the CoSe₂/G functional separator delivers an ultrahigh rate cycle at 6.0 C with an initial capacity of 916 mAh g^?1 and a capacity retention of 459 mAh g^?1 after 500 cycles, and a stable operation of high sulfur loading electrode (2.69–4.35 mg cm^?2). This work opens up a new insight into the energy chemistry at interfaces to rationally regulate the electrochemical redox reactions, and also inspires the exploration of related energy storage and conversion systems based on multielectron redox reactions.     

Chinese white truffles shape the ectomycorrhizal microbial communities of Corylus avellana

Here, we investigated the influence of Chinese white truffle (Tuber panzhihuanense) symbioses on the microbial communities associated with Corylus avellana during the early development stage of symbiosis. The microbial communities associated with ectomycorrhizae, and associated with roots without T. panzhihuanense colonization, were determined via high-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and fungal ITS genes. Microbial community diversity was higher in the communities associated with the ectomycorrhizae than in the control treatment. Further, bacterial and fungal community structures were different in samples containing T. panzhihuanense in association with C. avellana compared to the control samples. In particular, the bacterial genera Rhizobium, Pedomicrobium, and Herbiconiux were more abundant in the ectomycorrhizae, in addition to the fungal genus Monographella. Moreover, there were clear differences in some physicochemical properties among the rhizosphere soils of the two treatments. Statistical analyses indicated that soil properties including exchangeable magnesium and exchangeable calcium prominently influenced microbial community structure. Lastly, inference of bacterial metabolic functions indicated that sugar and protein metabolism functions were significantly more enriched in the communities associated with the ectomycorrhizae from C. avellana mycorrhized with T. panzhihuanense compared to communities from roots of cultivated C. avellana without T. panzhihuanense. Taken together, these results highlight the interactions among ectomycorrhizal fungi, soil properties, and microbial communities that are associated with host plants and further our understanding of the ecology and cultivation of the economically important T. panzhihuanense truffles.

     

Improved Methodology for Sensitive and Rapid Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Adult‐Derived Mouse Microglia: Application to a Novel In Vitro Mouse Microglial Cell Model

Microglia, as the resident brain immune cells, can exhibit a broad range of activation phenotypes, which have been implicated in a multitude of central nervous system disorders. Current widely studied microglial cell lines are mainly derived from neonatal rodent brain that can limit their relevance to homeostatic function and disease‐related neuroimmune responses in the adult brain. Recently, an adult mouse brain‐derived microglial cell line has been established; however, a comprehensive proteome dataset remains lacking. Here, an optimization method for sensitive and rapid quantitative proteomic analysis of microglia is described that involves suspension trapping (S‐Trap) for efficient and reproducible protein extraction from a limited number of microglial cells expected from an adult mouse brain (≈300 000). Using a 2‐h gradient on a 75‐cm UPLC column with a modified data dependent acquisition method on a hybrid quadrupole‐Orbitrap mass spectrometer, 4855 total proteins have been identified where 4698 of which are quantifiable by label‐free quantitation with a median and average coefficient of variation (CV) of 6.7% and 10.6%, respectively. This dataset highlights the high depth of proteome coverage and related quantitation precision of the adult‐derived microglial proteome including proteins associated with several key pathways related to immune response. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD012006.     

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.     

Same but different–Scale up and numbering up in electrobiotechnology and photobiotechnology

Facing energy problems, there is a strong demand for new technologies dealing with the replacement of fossil fuels. The emerging fields of biotechnology, photobiotechnology and electrobiotechnology, offer solutions for the production of fuels, energy, or chemicals using renewable energy sources (light or electrical current e.g. produced by wind or solar power) or organic (waste) substrates. From an engineering point of view both technologies have analogies and some similar challenges, since both light and electron transfer are primarily surface‐dependent. In contrast to that, bioproduction processes are typically volume dependent. To allow large scale and industrially relevant applications of photobiotechnology and electrobiotechnology, this opinion first gives an overview over the current scales reached in these areas. We then try to point out the challenges and possible methods for the scale up or numbering up of the reactors used. It is shown that the field of photobiotechnology is by now much more advanced than electrobiotechnology and has achieved industrial applications in some cases. We argue that transferring knowledge from photobiotechnology to electrobiotechnology can speed up the development of the emerging field of electrobiotechnology. We believe that a combination of scale up and numbering up, as it has been shown for several photobiotechnological reactors, may well lead to industrially relevant scales in electrobiotechnological processes allowing an industrial application of the technology in near future.     

分泌性中耳炎患者外周血Th1Th2细胞及T淋巴细胞亚群水平的表达及临床意义

目的:探讨分泌性中耳炎(SOM)患者外周血T辅助细胞1(Th1)、T辅助细胞2(Th2)细胞因子及T淋巴细胞亚群水平的表达及其临床意义。方法:选取我院于2015年1月至2018年1月期间收治的SOM患者135例记为SOM组,根据病程将患者分为急性组(病程14d,49例)、亚急性组(病程14-30d,53例)、慢性组(病程30d,33例)。另外选择同期于我院进行体检的100例健康者为对照组。分别对比SOM组和对照组受试者、不同病程SOM患者外周血Th1细胞因子[干扰素(INF-γ)、白细胞介素-2(IL-2)]、Th2细胞因子[白细胞介素-4(IL-4)、白细胞介素-10(IL-10)]以及T淋巴细胞亚群[CD3~+、CD4~+、CD8~+、CD4~+/CD8~+]水平。采用Pearson相关性分析INF-γ、IL-2、IL-4、IL-10与CD3~+、CD4~+、CD8~+、CD4~+/CD8~+的相关性。结果:SOM组患者外周血INF-γ、IL-2、IL-4、IL-10水平高于对照组(P0.05);急性组患者外周血INF-γ、IL-2、IL-4、IL-10水平低于亚急性组、慢性组,亚急性组患者外周血INF-γ、IL-2、IL-4、IL-10水平低于慢性组(P0.05)。SOM组患者外周血CD3~+、CD4~+、CD4~+/CD8~+水平低于对照组,CD8~+水平高于对照组(P0.05);急性组患者外周血CD3~+、CD4~+、CD4~+/CD8~+水平高于亚急性组、慢性组,CD8~+水平低于亚急性组、慢性组,亚急性组患者外周血CD3~+、CD4~+、CD4~+/CD8~+水平高于慢性组,CD8~+水平低于慢性组(P0.05)。Pearson相关性分析结果显示,SOM患者外周血INF-γ、IL-4与CD8~+呈正相关(P0.05),IL-4与CD3~+、CD4~+呈负相关(P0.05)。结论:SOM患者外周血Th1Th2细胞因子、T淋巴细胞亚群水平均表现异常,且其水平与疾病发生和发展存在一定联系,通过监测Th1Th2细胞因子、T淋巴细胞亚群有助于评估SOM患者病情。     

血清降钙素原用于烧伤脓毒症早期诊断的临床研究

目的:分析特重度烧伤患者血清降钙素原(PCT)水平,探讨其在烧伤脓毒症早期诊断中的应用价值。方法:回顾性分析2014年1月至2018年1月解放军总医院第一附属医院烧伤整形科收治的259例特重度烧伤患者的病例资料,根据患者烧伤ICU住院期间是否发生脓毒症分为脓毒症组(86例,359个检测时间点)与非脓毒症组(173例,1591个检测时间点),收集患者年龄、性别、烧伤面积、烧伤深度、合并有吸入性损伤情况等一般资料,记录每个检测时间点的血常规、肝肾功、血气分析及血清PCT值等实验室检查结果。比较两组患者基线情况及各项脓毒症相关生物学指标,分析各项生物学指标脓毒症诊断能力及不同PCT截断值的诊断效能,并绘制受试者工作特征(ROC)曲线,评估各项生物学指标烧伤脓毒症的诊断效能。结果:两组体温、心率、呼吸频率、血小板计数、胆碱酯酶、脑钠肽差异无统计学意义(P0.05),脓毒症组血清PCT水平[4.52(2.35~8.83) vs 1.33(0.74~3.24)]、白细胞计数[24.28 (17.48~33.09) vs 20.11 (16.01~25.4)]、血糖[13.12 (9.66~17.28) vs 10.45 (8.31~13.13)]、肌酐[71.60 (57.94~89.62) vs 61.48(48.87~73.48)]、总胆红素差[30.07(22.63~38.69) vs 21.04(15.53~28.4)]显著高于非脓毒症组,差异有统计学意义(P0.05),其区分脓毒症与非脓毒症的ROC曲线下面积分别为0.801 (95%CI为0.776~0.824,P0.01)、0.617 (95%CI为0.581~0.652,P0.01)、0.658(95%CI为0.624~0.691,P0.01)、0.671(95%CI为0.640~0.702,P0.01)、0.722(95%CI为0.694~0.691,P0.01)。PCT的有效截断值为2.0 ng/mL(敏感度84.4%、特异度62.1%)、3.0 ng/m L(敏感度70.8%、特异度71.8%)、4.0 ng/m L(敏感度58.1%、特异度81.2%)。结论:PCT可作为烧伤脓毒症早期诊断的有效生物学指标。