Efficient synthesis of lactic acid from cellulose through the synergistic effect of zinc chloride hydrate and metal salts.

The chemocatalystic conversion of cellulose, the main component of lignocellulosic biomass, to building-block chemicals in water under mild conditions, is an ideal but highly challenging process due to the robust crystal structure of cellulose. It is also the key to establishing a sustainable biomass-based chemical process. Here, we present a highly efficient and selective chemocatalytic hydrolysis of cellulose using ZnCl·3HO hydrate as the pretreatment reagent and water-compatible metal salts - ErCl as the catalyst, into lactic acid (LA), which is an important chemical building-block widely utilized in the food industry and in the production of chemicals and biodegradable plastic.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of N-salicyloyl tryptamine derivatives as multifunctional neuroprotectants for the treatment of ischemic stroke.

Ischemic stroke (IS) is a disease of high death and disability worldwide with few medications in clinical treatment. Neuroinflammation and oxidative stress are considered as crucial factors in the progression of IS. In our previous studies, N-salicyloyl tryptamine derivative (NST) L7 exhibited promising anti-inflammatory properties and is considered a potential clinical therapy for IS but had limited antioxidant capacity.

Isolation and genome-wide analysis of the novel Acinetobacter baumannii bacteriophage vB_AbaM_AB3P2.

A lytic Acinetobacter baumannii phage, isolate vB_AbaM_AB3P2, was isolated from a sewage treatment plant in China. A. baumannii phage vB_AbaM_AB3P2 has a dsDNA genome that is 44,824 bp in length with a G + C content of 37.

Hypersampsonone H attenuates ulcerative colitis via inhibition of PDE4 and regulation of cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling pathway.

Background And Objectives: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a recurrent intestinal inflammatory disease which poses a serious threat to the life of patients. However, there are no specific drugs for UC yet. Hypericum sampsonii Hance (HS) is a Chinese herbal medicine traditionally used to treat enteritis and dysentery.

Polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols from Hypericum sampsonii Hance and their anti-inflammatory activity.

Phytochemical investigation of Hypericum sampsonii Hance resulted in the isolation of thirty-five polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols including six new ones (1, 3, 5, and 15-17). Their structures were elucidated by UV, IR, NMR, HRESIMS, and calculated ECD analysis. Some compounds were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory effects in LPS-induced RAW264.

Neuroprotective Effects of an -Salicyloyl Tryptamine Derivative against Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury.

Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a key reason for the poor prognosis of ischemic stroke. As only a few neuroprotective medications for cerebral I/R injury have been applied in the clinic, it is necessary to design a new therapeutic strategy to treat cerebral I/R injury. The -salicyloyl tryptamine derivative LZWL02003, synthesized from melatonin and salicylic acid, exhibits a wide range of biological properties.

Co-occurrence of blaNDM-1, rmtC, and mcr-9 in multidrug-resistant Enterobacter kobei strain isolated from an infant with urinary tract infection.

Objectives: The co-emergence of mcr and carbapenem resistance genes in Gram-negative bacteria is a serious problem. This study aims to clarify the genetic characteristic of one novel multidrug-resistant Enterobacter kobei EC1382 with mcr-9 causing urinary tract inflammation in an infant.

Methods: Antimicrobial drug susceptibility testing was performed for this isolate using the broth microdilution method.

Regulating the Anion Redox and Suppressing the Structural Distortion of Cation-Disordered Rock-Salt Cathode Materials to Improve Cycling Durability through Chlorine Substitution.

Owing to the capacity boost from anion redox activities, cation-disordered rock-salt oxides are considered as potential candidates for the next-generation of high energy density Li-ion cathode materials. Unfortunately, the anion redox process that affords ultra-high specific capacity often triggers irreversible O release, which brings about structural degradation and rapid capacity decay. In this study, we present a partial chlorine (Cl) substitution strategy to synthesize a new cation-disordered rock-salt compound of LiTiMnOCl and investigate the impact of Cl substitution on the oxygen redox process and the structural stability of cation-disordered rock-salt cathodes.

Recent Advances in Phage-Based Therapeutics for Multi-Drug Resistant .

is an important opportunistic pathogen common in clinical infections. Phage therapy become a hot research field worldwide again after the post-antibiotic era. This review summarizes the important progress of phage treatments for in the last five years, and focus on the new interesting advances including the combination of phage and other substances (like photosensitizer), and the phage encapsulation (by microparticle, hydrogel) in delivery.

Protective effects of 4-geranyloxy-2,6-dihydroxybenzophenonel on DSS-induced ulcerative colitis in mice via regulation of cAMP/PKA/CREB and NF-κB signaling pathways.

Hypericum sampsonii Hance has traditionally been used to treat enteritis and diarrhea. As one of the main benzophenones isolated from H. sampsonii, 4-geranyloxy-2,6-dihydroxybenzophenonel (4-GDB) has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory effects.

Structural Stabilization of Cation-Disordered Rock-Salt Cathode Materials: Coupling between a High-Ratio Inactive Ti Cation and a Mn/Mn Two-Electron Redox Pair.

Cation-disordered rock-salt cathode materials are featured by their extraordinarily high specific capacities in lithium-ion batteries primarily contributed by anion redox reactions. Unfortunately, anion redox reactions can trigger oxygen release in this class of materials, leading to fast capacity fading and major safety concern. Despite the capability of absorbing structural distortions, high-ratio d transition-metal cations are considered to be unfavorable in design of a new cation-disordered rock-salt structure because of their electrochemically inactive nature.

Hypericumsampsonii attenuates inflammation in mice with ulcerative colitis via regulation of PDE4/PKA/CREB signaling pathway.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Hypericum sampsonii Hance (Yuanbaocao), a traditional herbal medicine with various pharmacological properties, is traditionally used to treat diarrhea and enteritis in China for hundreds of years. Investigations have uncovered its anti-inflammatory effects and corresponding bioactive constituents in H. sampsonii, however, the mechanisms of action for the treatment of enteritis are still unclear.

Rare cytochalasans isolated from the mangrove endophytic fungus Xylaria arbuscula.

Four new cytochalasans, arbuschalasins A-D (1-4), along with thirteen known analogues (5-17), were isolated from the solid rice medium of endophytic fungus Xylaria arbuscula. Arbuschalasins A-B feature a rare 5/6/6/6 fused ring system while arbuschalasin D was characterized as the first example of natural cytochalasans that possesses a 5/5/11 fused scaffold. The structures of 1-4 were assigned by spectroscopic data, with their absolute structures being determined by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations.

Ferroptosis: New Dawn for Overcoming the Cardio-Cerebrovascular Diseases.

The dynamic balance of cardiomyocytes and neurons is essential to maintain the normal physiological functions of heart and brain. If excessive cells die in tissues, serious Cardio-Cerebrovascular Diseases would occur, namely, hypertension, myocardial infarction, and ischemic stroke. The regulation of cell death plays a role in promoting or alleviating Cardio-Cerebrovascular Diseases.

Interleukin-6: A Novel Target for Cardio-Cerebrovascular Diseases.

Cardio-Cerebrovascular Disease is a collective term for cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease, being a serious threat to human health. A growing number of studies have proved that the content of inflammatory factors or mediators determines the stability of vascular plaque and the incidence of cardio-cerebrovascular event, and involves in the process of Cardio-Cerebrovascular Diseases. Interleukin-6 is a widely used cytokine that causes inflammation and oxidative stress, which would further result in cardiac and cerebral injury.

Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Cell Senescence Promotes the Proliferation of PASMCs by Paracrine IL-6 in Hypoxia-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a critical and dangerous disease in cardiovascular system. Pulmonary vascular remodeling is an important pathophysiological mechanism for the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell (PASMC) proliferation, hypertrophy, and enhancing secretory activity are the main causes of pulmonary vascular remodeling.

Therapeutic role of d-pinitol on experimental colitis via activating Nrf2/ARE and PPAR-γ/NF-κB signaling pathways.

Ulcerative colitis is a recrudescent intestinal inflammation coupled with diarrhea, weight loss, pus, and blood stool, which seriously impacts the quality of patient life. d-Pinitol, which can be a food supplement isolated from the food plant-like soybeans, Ceratonia siliqua Linn and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, has been proved to show anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the potential mechanism of d-pinitol still remains ill-defined contemporarily.

Direct conversion of cellulose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) using an efficient and inexpensive boehmite catalyst.

High efficiency conversion of cellulose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) remains a challenge today. A simple solid acid catalyst Boehmite (γ-AlOOH) with high hydrothermal stability was prepared and used as sole catalyst for the direct conversion of cellulose into HMF in mixed reaction solvents of ionic liquid 1-buthyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BmimCl) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). This was aimed at developing an efficient and inexpensive catalyst for the production of HMF.

One Step Conversion of Glucose into 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) via a Basic Catalyst in Mixed Solvent Systems of Ionic Liquid-Dimethyl Sulfoxide.

A simple solid base catalyst, ammonium aluminum carbonate hydroxide (AACH), was prepared and its structure was characterized by many technologies, including XRD, FT-IR, SEM, BET and Elemental Analysis. The prepared catalyst was used to catalyze the conversion of glucose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) mixtures. Various reaction conditions, including catalyst loading, reaction temperature, reaction duration and solvent, were investigated.

Consecutive one-/two-step relaxation transformations of single-molecule magnets via coupling dinuclear dysprosium compounds with chloride bridges.

The double chloride-bridged dimer of a dinuclear dysprosium(iii) single-molecule magnet (SMM) was successfully isolated by assembling centrosymmetric dinuclear Dy2 SMMs. Such structural transformation involves the generation and cleavage of chloride bridges and leads to consecutive transformations of one- and two-step slow relaxation of magnetization.

Hypolipidemic Activity of Peony Seed Oil Rich in α-Linolenic, is Mediated Through Inhibition of Lipogenesis and Upregulation of Fatty Acid β-Oxidation.

Peony seed oil (PSO) is a new resource food rich in α-Linolenic Acid(ALA) (38.66%). The objective of this study was to assess the modulatory effect of PSO on lipid metabolism.

Hypocholesterolaemic mechanism of bitter melon aqueous extracts via inhibition of pancreatic cholesterol esterase and reduction of cholesterol micellar solubility.

This study investigated the hypocholesterolaemic effects of bitter melon aqueous extracts (BMAE) in vitro, the inhibitory effects of BMAE on pancreatic cholesterol esterase (CEase) and incorporation of cholesterol into micelles were investigated. BMAE decreased the in vitro micellar solubility of cholesterol in a dose-dependent manner. The conformation of CEase was investigated by means of circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence.

Correction: Anti-diabetic activity of peony seed oil, a new resource food in STZ-induced diabetic mice.

Correction for 'Anti-diabetic activity of peony seed oil, a new resource food in STZ-induced diabetic mice' by Jianhui Su et al., Food Funct., 2015, 6, 2930-2938.