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.

Lipid metabolism improves salt tolerance of Salicornia europaea.

Background And Aims: Salicornia europaea L., a succulent euhalophyte plant, has been found to exhibit optimal reproductive capabilities under appropriate salinity concentrations. However, the underlying metabolic changes are not yet fully understood.

Nitric oxide mitigates the phytotoxicity of imidazolium-based ionic liquids in Arabidopsis.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have many beneficial properties that are extensively used in various fields. Despite their utility, the phytotoxic aspects of ILs are poorly known. This is especially true at the transcriptomic level and the role of nitric oxide (NO) in this process.

Curcumin: An innovative approach for postharvest control of Alternaria alternata induced black rot in cherry tomatoes.

Curcumin, a natural bioactive compound derived from Curcuma longa, has been widely recognized for its antifungal properties. In this study, we investigated the effects of curcumin on the phytopathogenic fungus Alternaria alternata and its pathogenicity in cherry tomato fruit. The results demonstrated that curcumin treatment significantly inhibited mycelial growth and spore germination of A.

Development and External Validation of a Gait Test Based Diagnostic Model for Detecting Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Objective: To address the lack of large-scale screening tools for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), this study aimed to assess the discriminatory ability of several gait tests for MCI and develop a screening tool based on gait test for MCI.

Design: A diagnostic case-control test.

Setting: The general community.

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 ().

Spatio-temporal divergence and influencing factors of agritourism integration development in Xinjiang, China.

Exploring the coupling and coordination relationship between agriculture and tourism industry plays an important role in formulating differentiated integration development policies and promoting regional economic development. We adopt 14 prefectures and cities in Xinjiang, China as examples, and use a coupling coordination model and generalized method of moments estimation to explore the spatial differentiation characteristics and influencing factors between agriculture and tourism industries in various prefectures and cities in Xinjiang from 2009 to 2018. The results indicate: (1) The combined development levels of agriculture and tourism in Xinjiang exhibited a similar development trend over the period, and despite fluctuations in individual years, the overall trend is still increasing.

Differences in the influence of daily behavior on health among older adults in urban and rural areas: evidence from China.

Background: As the population of older adult in China keeps growing, the degree of aging is becoming increasingly serious and the health of older adults is a growing concern. Comparing the personal characteristics and health levels of urban and rural older adults and determining the relationship between these factors are of great significance in maintaining their health. In addition, exploring how these relationships differ between urban and rural areas is important.

Genome-wide characterization of gene family in potato () and expression analyses under salt and hormone stress.

Salt Overly Sensitive 1 (SOS1) is one of the members of the Salt Overly Sensitive (SOS) signaling pathway and plays critical salt tolerance determinant in plants, while the characterization of the family in potato () is lacking. In this study, 37 were identified and found to be unevenly distributed across 10 chromosomes, with most of them located on the plasma membrane. Promoter analysis revealed that the majority of these genes contain abundant -elements involved in various abiotic stress responses.

A Sensitive Ultra-performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometric Method for Determination of Secalonic Acid F in Rat Plasma and Its Application to Pharmacokinetic Study.

Secalonic acid F (SAF) is a fungal secondary metabolite exhibited interesting pharmacological effect. In this study, a simple and sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of SAF in rat plasma. Emodin was selected as the internal standard (IS), and plasma samples were prepared by liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate.

Structural characterization and partial properties of dextran produced by RSG7 from pepino.

Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) produced by lactic acid bacteria possess various bioactivities and potential attractions for scientific exploration and commercial development. An EPS-producing bacterial strain, RSG7, was previously isolated from the pepino and identified as . Based on the analyses of high-performance size exclusion chromatography, high-performance ion chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and methylation, the RSG7 EPS was identified as a dextran with a molecular weight of 5.

Characteristics of starch from rice seeds modified by T-DNA insertion of ascorbate peroxidase 2.

Starch is the main storage carbohydrate in rice seed. The amylose and amylopectin content differ among varieties. A transgenic rice line was obtained by T-DNA insertion of ascorbate peroxidase 2 (apx2), resulting in decrease of thousand kernel weight.

Polyarginine-Mediated siRNA Delivery: A Mechanistic Study of Intracellular Trafficking of PCL-R15/siRNA Nanoplexes.

As a cell-penetrating peptide, polyarginine is widely used in drug delivery systems based on its membrane permeation ability. Previously, we developed the mPEG-PLA--polyarginine(R15) triblock copolymer, which exhibited a high siRNA delivery efficiency both and . As a continued effort, here the amphiphilic diblock polymer PCL-R15 was synthesized as a simplified model to further elucidate the structure-activity relationship of arginine-based amphiphilic polymers as siRNA delivery systems, and the cellular trafficking mechanisms of the PCL-R15/siRNA nanoplexes were investigated to understand the interaction patterns between the nanoplexes and cells.

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.

Analysis of Comparative Proteomic and Potent Targets of Peniciketal A in Human Acute Monocytic Leukemia.

Background: Peniciketal A (Pe-A), a spiroketal compound, shows potent anticancer activities in human acute monocytic leukemia. However, the detailed mechanisms and potent targets of Pe-A remain largely unexplored. Here, we investigated the differentially expressed proteins between the Pe-A-treated group and the control group on human acute monocytic leukemia cell line THP-1.

Effects of a spiroketal compound Peniciketal A and its molecular mechanisms on growth inhibition in human leukemia.

Peniciketal A (Pe-A), a spiroketal compound, is isolated from the saline soil-derived fungus Penicillium raistrickii. However, the underlying molecular mechanistic basis for the effects of Pe-A on leukemia is poorly understood. Here, we investigated that Pe-A reduced cell proliferation in three leukemia cell lines (THP-1, K562 and HL60).

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.

Peniciketal A, A Novel Spiroketal Compound, Exerts Anticancer Effects by Inhibiting Cell Proliferation, Migration and Invasion of A549 Lung Cancer Cells.

Background: Peniciketal A (Pe-A) is a spiroketal compound isolated from saline soil-derived fungus Penicillium raistrickii. However, its role for biological processes has not been clarified. In this study, we for the first time investigated the anticancer effects and the underlying mechanisms of Pe-A in A549 lung cancer cells.

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.

Systemic delivery of siRNA by T7 peptide modified core-shell nanoparticles for targeted therapy of breast cancer.

Systemic delivery of siRNA is the most challenging step to transfer RNAi to clinical application for breast cancer therapy. In this study, the tumor targeted, T7 peptide modified core-shell nanoparticles (named as T7-LPC/siRNA NPs) were constructed to achieve effective systemic delivery of siRNA. The core-shell structure of T7-LPC/siRNA NPs enables them to encapsulate siRNA in the core and protect it from RNase degradation during circulation.

[Secondary Metabolites from Penicillium raistrickii].

Objective: To investigate the secondary metabolites from Penicillium raistrickii.

Methods: Compounds were isolated and purified by normal and reverse phase silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 gel column chromatography and RP-HPLC. Their structures were established by means of spectral techniques and physicochemical properties.

Diphenyl derivatives from coastal saline soil fungus Aspergillus iizukae.

Two new diphenyl derivatives, named iizukines A (1) and B (2), along with nine known compounds were isolated from coastal saline soil derived fungus Aspergillus iizukae. The structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis. Their cytotoxicities were preliminarily evaluated on HL-60, BEL-7402 and A-549 cell lines by the MTT assay.