Spirolones A-E, five spiroketals from a productive saline soil derived .

Background: In recent decades, spiroketals which features with two rings joined by a spiro atom, have stimulated a great deal of researches for their diverse significant biological activities. Fungi are proved to be key reservoirs of structurally unique chemical skeletons. Up to date, [6,6]-spiroketals from fungal strains are still sporadically reported.

Alkaloid diversity expansion of a talent fungus through OSMAC-based cultivation.

Introduction: Alkaloidal natural products are attractive for their broad spectrum of pharmaceutical bioactivities. In the present work, the highly productive saline soil derived fungus, , was subjected to the strategy of OSMAC (one strain many compounds) with changes of cultivation status. Then, the work-flow led to the expansion of the alkaloid chemical diversity and subsequently induced the accumulation of four undescribed alkaloids, named raistrimides A-D (), including three -carbolines (), one 2-quinolinone (), and one new natural product, 2-quinolinone (), along with five known alkaloid chemicals ().

Accurate observation of black and brown carbon in atmospheric fine particles via a versatile aerosol concentration enrichment system (VACES).

Carbonaceous aerosols (CAs) are major components of fine particulate matter (PM) that dramatically influence the energy budget of Earth. However, accurate assessment of the climatic impacts of CAs is still challenging due to the large uncertainties remaining in the measurement of their optical properties. In this respect, a modified versatile aerosol concentration enrichment system integrated into optical instruments (VACES-OPTS) was set up to increase particle concentration and amplify signal-noise ratio during optical measurement.

PM-Nitrite Heterogeneous Formation Demonstrated via a Modified Versatile Aerosol Concentration Enrichment System Coupled with Ion Chromatography.

Particulate nitrite is a critical source of hydroxyl radicals; however, it lacks high-resolution methods due to its low abundance and stability to explore its formation mechanism. In this study, a modified versatile aerosol concentration enrichment system (VACES) coupled with ion chromatography (IC) was used to measure particulate NO hourly online and achieve a lowered detection limit of 10 μg m. VACES-IC was used to observe a high- and low-concentration events of PM-NO in Shanghai, corresponding to the ambient-level concentrations of 0.

Iizukines C-E from a saline soil fungus Aspergillus iizukae.

Three new alkaloids, iizukines C-E (1-3), including two aspochalasins (1 and 2), and one brasiliamide derivative (3), along with two known aspochalasins, rosellichalasin (4) and cytochalasin Z17 (5), were isolated from the culture of Aspergillus iizukae. Compound 1 was the first aspochalasin uniquely featuring a 1,2,4-triazole functionality, and 3 showed a pair of NMR signals in CDCl with a ratio of about 2:1 due to the existence of conformational isomers. Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic analyses and single-crystal X-ray diffractions.

New Butenolides and Cyclopentenones from Saline Soil-Derived Fungus .

Three new -hydroxyl butenolides (-), a pair of new enantiomeric spiro-butenolides ( and ), a pair of enantiomeric cyclopentenones ( new and new natural), and six known compounds (-), were isolated from . Their structures were established by spectroscopic data and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. Two pairs of enantiomers [(+)/(-)- and (+)/(-)-] obtained from the reaction of with acetyl chloride (AcCl) confirmed that was a mixture of two pairs of enantiomers.

Improving photoelectrochemical response of ZnO nanowire arrays by coating with p-type ZnO-resembling metal-organic framework.

Coupling semiconducting metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with metal oxide (MO) semiconductor nanowires is an efficient solution to tune the photoelectric properties of both the parties. In this report, we demonstrate a facile surfactant-free growth strategy for modification of zinc oxide (ZnO) single-crystal nanowire arrays (NWAs) with the MOF zinc glycolate (noted as Zn-GA) that contains an embedded continuous 3D Zn-O network. Due to the structural resemblance of the Zn-O network between Zn-GA and ZnO, the prepared ZnO@Zn-GA nanowires present a tight contact at the core-shell interface in a partially epitaxial manner, and the loading amount of Zn-GA can be well controlled in the synthetic process.

Potential Antiviral Xanthones from a Coastal Saline Soil Fungus .

Five new (⁻) and two known xanthones ( and ), one of the latter () obtained for the first time as a natural product, together with three known anthraquinones, questin, penipurdin A, and questinol, were isolated from the coastal saline soil-derived by application of an OSMAC (one strain many compounds) approach. Their structures were determined by interpretation of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (HRESIMS) data, as well as comparison of these data with those of related known compounds. Antiviral activity of xanthones - was evaluated through the cytopathic effect (CPE) inhibition assay, and compound exhibited distinctly strong activity towards influenza virus (H1N1), herpes simplex virus types 1 (HSV-1) and 2 (HSV-2) with IC values of 44.

Raistrickiones A-E from a Highly Productive Strain of Generated through Thermo Change.

Three new diastereomers of polyketides (PKs), raistrickiones A−C (⁻), together with two new analogues, raistrickiones D and E ( and ), were isolated from a highly productive strain of , which was subjected to an experimental thermo-change strategy to tap its potential of producing new secondary metabolites. Metabolites and existed in a diastereomeric mixture in the crystal packing according to the X-ray data, and were laboriously separated by semi-preparative HPLC on a chiral column. The structures of ⁻ were determined on the basis of the detailed analyses of the spectroscopic data (UV, IR, HRESIMS, 1D, and 2D NMR), single-crystal X-ray diffractions, and comparison of the experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism spectra.

Pyran Rings Containing Polyketides from Penicillium raistrickii.

Five new pyran rings containing polyketides, penicipyrans A-E (-), together with the known pestapyrone A (), were isolated from the saline soil-derived . Their structures were determined by interpretation of NMR and HRESIMS data. The absolute configurations of compounds and were established by the modified Mosher's method and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, respectively.

The Clinical Implications of Transforming Growth Factor Beta in Pathological Grade and Prognosis of Glioma Patients: A Meta-Analysis.

The transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) pathway plays a key role in oncogenesis of advanced cancers. However, the effects of TGF-β pathway on gliomas are still controversial. So, it is essential to conduct a meta-analysis to determine their correlations.

The association of CXCR4 expression with prognosis and clinicopathological indicators in colorectal carcinoma patients: a meta-analysis.

Aims: The clinical relevance of expression of chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) remains controversial; our aim was to identify the precise relationship of CXCR4 to prognosis and clinicopathological features.

Methods And Results: A meta-analysis was performed. Original data included the hazard ratios (HRs) of recurrence-free survival (RFS), overall survival (OS) and odds ratio (OR) in CRC patients.

Prognostic and clinicopathological significance of survivin expression in bladder cancer patients: a meta-analysis.

Survivin has been widely reported to play a role in diagnosis and prognosis of bladder cancer patients. However, published data on this subject are heterogeneous. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to obtain a complete evaluation of the association between survivin and recurrence-free survival (RFS), disease-specific survival (DSS), overall survival (OS), and odds ratio (OR) in bladder cancer patients.

CrkL efficiently mediates cell proliferation, migration, and invasion induced by TGF-β pathway in glioblastoma.

Crk-like (CrkL) is an adapter protein that has crucial roles in cell proliferation, adhesion, and migration. However, the expression pattern and potential mechanism of CrkL protein in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) have not been fully elucidated. To determine roles of CrkL in cell signaling, proliferation, and migration, small interfering RNAs and plasmids transfection were used to suppress or overexpress CrkL in U87 and U251; soft-agar assay and wound-healing assay were used to observe cell invasiveness, migration, and proliferation.