Flavokawain B is an effective natural peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ-selective agonist with a strong glucose-lowering effect.

Rosiglitazone, a full PPARγ agonist and a classical insulin sensitizer, was once used as a powerful weapon in the treatment of T2DM. However, its applications have been restricted recently because of its multiple side effects. Here, a natural compound, flavokawain B (FKB), which was screened in our previous experiments, was investigated for its potential as a preferable insulin sensitizer because it has no or few side effects.

A modified mechanistic approach for predicting ribbon solid fraction at different roller compaction speeds.

This research investigates the modeling of the pharmaceutical roller compaction process, focusing on the application of the Johanson model and the impact of varying roll speeds from 1 to 15 RPM on predictive accuracy of ribbon solid fraction. The classical Johanson's model was integrated with a dwell time parameter leading to an expression of a floating correction factor as a function of roll speed. Through systematic analysis of the effect of different roll speeds on the solid fraction of ribbons composed of microcrystalline cellulose, lactose, and their blends, corrective adjustment to the Johanson model was found to depend on both roll speed and formulation composition.

Dynamic changes and the effects of key procedures on the characteristic aroma compounds of Lu'an Guapian green tea during the manufacturing process.

As a kind of green tea with unique multiple baking processes, the flavor code of Lu'an Guapian (LAGP) has recently been revealed. To improve and stabilize the quality of LAGP, further insight into the dynamic changes in odorants during the whole processing is required. In this study, 50 odorants were identified in processing tea leaves, 14 of which were selected for absolute quantification to profile the effect of processes.

Enhanced detection of ligand-PPARγ binding based on surface plasmon resonance through complexation with SRC1- or NCOR2-related polypeptide.

A previous study reported the use of a biosensing technique based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for the ligand binding detection of peroxisome proliferator activator receptor gamma (PPARγ). This detection was designed based on the structural properties of PPARγ. Because of cross-linked protein inactivation and the low molecular weight of conventional ligands, direct ligand binding detection based on SPR has low stability and repeatability.

Celastrol Stabilizes Glycolipid Metabolism in Hepatic Steatosis by Binding and Regulating the Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ Signaling Pathway.

The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been increasing. Obesity, insulin resistance, and lipid metabolic dysfunction are always accompanied by NAFLD. Celastrol modulates the Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α (C/EBPα) signaling pathways, thereby promoting lipolysis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

Dual-Function Precious-Metal-Free Metal-Organic Framework for Photocatalytic Conversion and Chemical Fixation of Carbon Dioxide.

Highly efficient transformation of carbon dioxide (CO) into value-added chemicals is considered a promising route for clean production and future energy sustainability, which is crucial for realizing a carbon-neutral economy. It remains a great challenge to develop highly stable and active catalysts with low-cost, environmentally friendly, and nontoxic materials for catalytic conversion of CO. Herein, a precious-metal-free and heterogeneous MOF (-) catalyst, composed of bis(terpyridine)iron(II) complexes and zirconium(IV) ions, was designed and prepared via a metalloligand approach.

Detection of Various Traditional Chinese Medicinal Metabolites as Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors: Molecular Docking, Activity Testing, and Surface Plasmon Resonance Approaches.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 1 (ACE1) is a peptide involved in fluid and blood pressure management. It regulates blood pressure by converting angiotensin I to angiotensin II, which has vasoconstrictive effects. Previous studies have shown that certain compounds of natural origin can inhibit the activity of angiotensin-converting enzymes and exert blood pressure-regulating effects.

[Treatment experience of neck tumor surgeries involving carotid artery].

To investigate surgical treatment of carotid artery diseases in neck tumor surgery. A retrospective analysis of the clinical data on carotid artery treatment was conducted in the five cases of neck tumor surgeries treated at Department of Surgical Oncology, the First Peoples Hospital of Lanzhou from March 2010 to May 2020. Surgical methods, including carotid artery resection and ligation, tumor-involved artery resection and vascular reconstruction, and tumor peeling and carotid rupture repairing were used, respectively.

Wearable Flexible Perspiration Biosensors Using Laser-Induced Graphene and Polymeric Tape Microfluidics.

Wearable biosensors promise real-time measurements of chemicals in human sweat, with the potential for dramatic improvements in medical diagnostics and athletic performance through continuous metabolite and electrolyte monitoring. However, sweat sensing is still in its infancy, and questions remain about whether sweat can be used for medical purposes. Wearable sensors are focused on proof-of-concept designs that are not scalable for multisubject trials, which could elucidate the utility of sweat sensing for health monitoring.

End-point determination of heterogeneous formulations using inline torque measurements for a high-shear wet granulation process.

In this study, the torque profiles of heterogeneous granulation formulations with varying powder properties in terms of particle size, solubility, deformability, and wettability, were studied, and the feasibility of identifying the end-point of the granulation process for each formulation based on the torque profiles was evaluated. Dynamic median particle size (d) and porosity were correlated to the torque measurements to understand the relationship between torque and granule properties, and to validate distinction between different granulation stages based on the torque profiles made in previous studies. Generally, the torque curves obtained from the different granulation runs in this experimental design could be categorized into two different types of torque profiles.

Mesoporous Mixed-Metal-Organic Framework Incorporating a [Ru(Phen)] Photosensitizer for Highly Efficient Aerobic Photocatalytic Oxidative Coupling of Amines.

[Ru(Phen)] (phen = phenanthroline) as a very classical photosensitizer possesses strong absorption in the visible range and facilitates photoinduced electron transfer, which plays a vital role in regulating photochemical reactions. However, it remains a significant challenge to utilize more adequately and exploit more efficiently the ruthenium-based materials due to the uniqueness, scarcity, and nonrenewal of the noble metal. Here, we integrate the intrinsic advantages of the ruthenium-based photosensitizer and mesoporous metal-organic frameworks (meso-MOFs) into a [Ru(Phen)] photosensitizer-embedded heterometallic Ni(II)/Ru(II) meso-MOF () via the metalloligand approach.

Coupling ZnInS Nanosheets with MoS Hollow Nanospheres as Visible-Light-Active Bifunctional Photocatalysts for Enhancing H Evolution and RhB Degradation.

In this study, Mo-glycerate was used as a precursor to create MoS hollow nanospheres (HNS), which were then used for the first time to modify ZnInS nanosheets to create MoS HNS/ZnInS photocatalysts. The findings demonstrate that MoS HNS/ZnInS heterojunctions exhibited remarkably boosted photocatalytic properties and excellent reusability for both RhB degradation and H evolution without the use of Pt as a co-catalyst. Among the heterojunctions, the RhB degradation and H evolution efficiencies of the optimized MoS HNS/ZnInS-3 wt % composite were almost 5 and 34 times higher than those of ZnInS, respectively.

HINT2 deficiency deteriorates oxidative stress in a mouse model of myocardial infarction.

Aims: Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the serious diseases with great mortality over the world. Myocardial mitochondrial oxidative stress has been implicated as a key player in MI. The histidine triad nucleotide-binding protein 2 (HINT2) is a nucleotide hydrolase and transferase located in mitochondria.

Synthesis and Study of Photothermal Properties of a Mixed-Valence Nanocluster Cu/Cu with Strong near-Infrared Optical Absorption Supported by 4--Butylcalix[4]arene Ligand.

The first mixed-valence nanocluster Cu/Cu with the highest percentage of Cu ions was synthesized by using 4--butylcalix[4]arene (Calix4), with the formula DMF⊂[(CO)@CuCu(Calix4)Cl(DMF)(HO)]•DMF (), as a photothermal nanocluster. Its structure was characterized using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction. In addition, the charge state and chemical composition of the nanocluster were determined using electrospray ionization spectrometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectrum.

Pregnancy Outcomes in Double Stimulation versus Two Consecutive Mild Stimulations for IVF in Poor Ovarian Responders.

To compare pregnancy outcomes between double stimulation (DouStim) and two consecutive mild stimulations in poor ovarian responders, this study retrospectively analyzed 281 patients diagnosed as having poor ovarian response (POR) who underwent oocytes retrieval for in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) from January 2018 to December 2020. They were divided into two groups: the DouStim group (n = 89) and the two consecutive mild stimulations group (n = 192). The results illustrated that there were no significant differences in the number of oocytes and 2PNs between the two groups.

Deep Learning-Based Medical Data Association Rules to Explore the Connectivity and Regulation Mechanism of miRNA-mRNA Network in Myocarditis.

Acute, chronic myocarditis as myocardial localized or diffuse inflammation lesions is usually involving cardiac function in patients with severe adverse outcomes such as heart failure, sudden death, and no unified, but its pathogenesis clinical is mainly composed of a number of factors including infection and autoimmune defects, such as physical and chemical factors; therefore, it is of great significance to explore the regulation mechanism of myocarditis-related miRNA network connectivity and temperament for in-depth understanding of the pathogenesis of myocarditis and the direction of targeted therapy. Based on this, this study explored the miRNA network related to the pathogenesis of myocarditis through deep learning medical data association rules and analyzed its specific mechanism. The results showed that 39 upregulated miRNAs, 88 downregulated miRNAs, 109 upregulated differentially expressed miRNAs, and 589 downregulated mRNAs were obtained by data association through GSE126677 and GSE4172 databases.

Enzymatic Laser-Induced Graphene Biosensor for Electrochemical Sensing of the Herbicide Glyphosate.

Glyphosate is a globally applied herbicide yet it has been relatively undetectable in-field samples outside of gold-standard techniques. Its presumed nontoxicity toward humans has been contested by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, while it has been detected in farmers' urine, surface waters and crop residues. Rapid, on-site detection of glyphosate is hindered by lack of field-deployable and easy-to-use sensors that circumvent sample transportation to limited laboratories that possess the equipment needed for detection.

Enhanced Interfacial Affinity of the Supercapacitor Electrode with a Hydrogel Electrolyte by a Preadsorbed Polyzwitterion Layer.

Polymer hydrogel-based solid-state supercapacitors exhibit great potential applications in flexible devices. Nevertheless, the poor electrode-electrolyte interfacial properties restrict their advances. Herein, by taking the well-developed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/HSO gel electrolyte and the graphene film electrode as the prototype, a very simple strategy is demonstrated to improve the interfacial affinity between the electrode and the hydrogel electrolyte by a preadsorbed highly hydrophilic polyzwitterion layer of poly(propylsulfonate dimethylammonium propylmethacrylamide) (PPDP) on the electrode surface.

Construction of eight mixed-valence pentanuclear CuI4Cu clusters using ligands with inhomogeneous electron density distribution: synthesis, characterization and photothermal properties.

To enhance light absorption in the visible region for the utilization of sunlight, eight mixed-valence polynuclear Cu/Cu clusters have been synthesized for evaluating their photothermal conversion performance. They are fabricated considering the ligand's electron density distribution inhomogeneity using 1,2,3-triazole (3N) or tetrazole (4N) and different mono-phosphine ligands. We report here the synthesis, crystal structure, characterization, optical properties, and photothermal conversion performance of these clusters.

Hydrophobic laser-induced graphene potentiometric ion-selective electrodes for nitrate sensing.

Current solid-contact ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) suffer from signal-to-noise drift and short lifespans partly due to water uptake and the development of an aqueous layer between the transducer and ion-selective membrane. To address these challenges, we report on a nitrate ISE based on hydrophobic laser-induced graphene (LIG) coated with a poly(vinyl) chloride-based nitrate selective membrane. The hydrophobic LIG was created using a polyimide substrate and a double lasing process under ambient conditions (air at 23.

A Discrete 3d-4f Metallacage as an Efficient Catalytic Nanoreactor for a Three-Component Aza-Darzens Reaction.

The exploration and development of coordination nanocages can provide an approach to control chemical reactions beyond the bounds of the flask, which has aroused great interest due to their significant applications in the field of molecular recognition, supramolecular catalysis, and molecular self-assembly. Herein, we take the advantage of a semirigid and nonsymmetric bridging ligand (H) with rich metal-chelating sites to construct an unusual and discrete 3d-4f metallacage, [ZnEr(H)(NO)Cl(HO)]·NO·CHOH·HO (). The 3d-4f cage possesses a quadruple-stranded structure, and all of the ligands wrap around an open spherical cavity within the core.

Prediction of entire tablet formulations from pure powder components' spectra via a two-step non-linear optimization methodology.

Process analytical technology in the pharmaceutical industry requires the monitoring of critical quality attributes (CQA) through calibrated models. However, the development, implementation, and maintenance of these quantitative models are both resource and time-intensive. This study proposes the implementation of a non-linear iterative optimization technology (IOT) to study the magnitude of analytical errors when the calibration tablet used to extract the λ vector deviates physically and chemically from the test samples.

The Deep Eutectic Solvent Precipitation Synthesis of Metastable ZnVO.

A precipitation method involving a deep eutectic solvent (DES)─a mixture of hydrogen bond donor and acceptor─is used to synthesize a ternary metal oxide. Without toxic reagents, precipitates consisting of Zn(OH)VO·HO and Zn(OH)(CO) are obtained by simply introducing deionized HO to the DES solution containing dissolved ZnO and VO. Manipulation of the synthetic conditions demonstrates high tunability in the size/morphology of the two-dimensional nanosheets precipitated during the dynamic equilibrium process.

Studies on Thiol Etching of Gold by Using QCM-D Sensor as the Sacrificial Probe.

There is still a lack of deep understanding on the reaction kinetics and mechanism of thiol etching of gold. Herein, by using the sensor of quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) as the sacrificial probe, the etching reaction of gold has been studied by employing cysteamine (CS) as a typical thiol etchant. The etching reaction is verified as diffusion-controlled and shows a half-order reaction kinetics.