Research progress of traditional Chinese medicine regulating intestinal flora in the treatment of hypertension.

Hypertension is a common disease; however, it is more prevalent in older adults, and its prevalence is increasing in younger populations. Numerous studies have revealed that hypertension and the composition and functionality of the intestinal flora are closely correlated. The balance of the intestinal flora, intestinal barrier integrity, and metabolite content of the intestinal flora play significant roles in the occurrence and progression of hypertension.

Construction of Polycarbonates with Pendant Multifunctional Groups via a One-Step CO/ Diepoxide Copolymerization Approach.

A "one-step" strategy has been demonstrated for the tunable synthesis of multifunctional aliphatic polycarbonates (APCs) with ethylene oxide (EO), ethylene carbonate (EC), and cyclohexene oxide (CHO) side groups by the copolymerization of 4-vinyl-1-cyclohexene diepoxide with carbon dioxide under an aminotriphenolate iron/PPNBz (PPN = bis(triphenylphosphine)-iminium, Bz = benzoate) binary catalyst. By adjusting the PPNBz-to-iron complex ratio and incorporating auxiliary solvents, the content of functional side groups can be tuned within the ranges of 53-75% for EO, 18-47% for EC, and <1-7% for CHO. The yield and molecular weight distribution of the resulting multifunctional APCs are affected by the viscosity of the polymerization system.

Temperature-controlled tunable emission of Bi-doped RbSnCl all-inorganic vacancy ordered lead-free perovskite for advanced anticounterfeiting.

At present, tuning the luminescence characteristics of phosphors by external physical stimuli such as temperature and pressure has attracted the interest of researchers. However, the emission-tunable luminescence processes by temperature or pressure in lead-free perovskite with ordered vacancy materials have not been systematically studied. In this study, Bi-doped RbSnCl crystals were successfully synthesized using a simple precipitation method, and these crystals demonstrated a remarkable enhancement of luminescence intensity compared with the unannealed ones at 140-200 °C, and with a red-shift in the emission peak from 450 to 500 nm.

Progress in research on gut microbiota in ethnic minorities in China and consideration of intervention strategies based on ethnic medicine: A review.

One of the variables affecting gut microbiota is ethnicity. There are 56 ethnic subgroups in China, and their intestinal flora differs. A wealth of medical resources has also been produced by the presence of numerous ethnic minorities.

Construction of Bio-Based Polyurethanes via Olefin Metathesis and Their Thermal Reversible Behavior.

With the increase in awareness of environmental protection and the shortage of oil resources, bio-based polyurethane has attracted increasing attention due to its ecological friendliness, low cost and easy degradation. In this paper, using Eugenol (Eug) derived from plant essential oils as the raw resource, syringyl ethanol (Syol) was prepared, and three monomers were obtained by the reaction of the Eug or Syol with Hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI)or 4,4'-methylene di (phenyl isocyanate) (MDI), respectively. Then, three novel bio-based polyurethanes, P(Eug-HDI), P(Syol-HDI) and P(Syol-MDI), were synthesized by olefin metathesis polymerization.

Mitochondria-Targeted Self-Assembly of Peptide-Based Nanomaterials.

Mitochondria are well known to serve as the powerhouse for cells and also the initiator for some vital signaling pathways. A variety of diseases are discovered to be associated with the abnormalities of mitochondria, including cancers. Thus, targeting mitochondria and their metabolisms are recognized to be promising for cancer therapy.

In Vivo Self-Assembly Induced Cell Membrane Phase Separation for Improved Peptide Drug Internalization.

Therapeutic peptides have been widely concerned, but their efficacy is limited by the inability to penetrate cell membranes, which is a key bottleneck in peptide drugs delivery. Herein, an in vivo self-assembly strategy is developed to induce phase separation of cell membrane that improves the peptide drugs internalization. A phosphopeptide KYp is synthesized, containing an anticancer peptide [KLAKLAK] (K) and a responsive moiety phosphorylated Y (Yp).

Construction of Mechanically Reinforced Thermoplastic Polyurethane from Carbon Dioxide-Based Poly(ether carbonate) Polyols via Coordination Cross-Linking.

Using carbon dioxide-based poly(propylene ether carbonate) diol (PPCD), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), dimethylolbutyric acid (DMBA), ferric chloride (FeCl), and ethylene glycol (EG) as the main raw materials, a novel thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) is prepared through coordination of FeCl and DMBA to obtain TPU containing coordination enhancement directly. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, H NMR, gel permeation chromatography, UV-Vis spectroscopy, tensile testing, dynamic mechanical analysis, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis were explored to characterize chemical structures and mechanical properties of as-prepared TPU. With the increasing addition of FeCl, the tensile strength and modulus of TPU increase.

Structural Simplification of Marine Natural Products: Discovery of Hamacanthin Derivatives Containing Indole and Piperazinone as Novel Antiviral and Anti-phytopathogenic-fungus Agents.

With the increasing severity of plant diseases and the emergence of pathogen resistance, there is an urgent need for the development of new efficient and environment-friendly pesticides. Marine natural product (MNP) resources are rich and diverse. Structural simplification based on MNPs is an important strategy to find novel pesticide candidates.

Pityriacitrin marine alkaloids as novel antiviral and anti-phytopathogenic-fungus agents.

Background: Plant diseases have been gripping agricultural production, seriously affecting the growth and yields of crops. Marine natural products are an important source for novel drugs discovery. In this work, pityriacitrin marine alkaloids were selected as the parent structures.

Design and synthesis of potent PAR-1 antagonists based on vorapaxar.

A series of novel vorapaxar analogues with different amino substitutes at the C-7, C-9a and aromatic substitutes at the C-4 position were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their inhibitory activity to PAR-1. Several compounds showed good potency in antagonist activity based on the intracellular calcium mobilization assay and excellent pharmacokinetics profile in rats. Among these analogues, 3d exhibited excellent PAR-1 inhibitory activity (IC = 0.

Enzyme-sensitive cytotoxic peptide-dendrimer conjugates enhance cell apoptosis and deep tumor penetration.

Peptide nanodrugs have been developed as promising antitumor chemotherapeutics because they partially overcome the drawbacks of free peptide drugs, but insufficient tumor penetration and interference of peptide function limit their further application. In this work, we have developed multifunctional peptide conjugated dendrimers for improving tumor penetration, cancer cell-specific peptide delivery and anticancer ability. The cytotoxic peptide KLAK, cell-penetrating peptide TAT and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2)-sensitive peptide-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) were conjugated onto dendrimers by one-pot synthesis to gain PKT-S-PEG.

Self-Assembled ROS-Sensitive Polymer-Peptide Therapeutics Incorporating Built-in Reporters for Evaluation of Treatment Efficacy.

One of the major challenges in current cancer therapy is to maximize therapeutic effect and evaluate tumor progression under the scheduled treatment protocol. To address these challenges, we synthesized the cytotoxic peptide (KLAKLAK)2 (named KLAK) conjugated amphiphilic poly(β-thioester)s copolymers (H-P-K) composed of reactive oxygen species (ROS) sensitive backbones and hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG) side chains. H-P-K could self-assemble into micelle-like nanoparticles by hydrophobic interaction with copolymer backbones as cores and PEG and KLAK as shells.

pH-Sensitive polymer assisted self-aggregation of bis(pyrene) in living cells in situ with turn-on fluorescence.

Supramolecular self-assemblies with various nanostructures in organic and aqueous solutions have been prepared with desired functions. However, in situ construction of self-assembled superstructures in physiological conditions to achieve expected biological functions remains a challenge. Here, we report a supramolecular system to realize the in situ formation of nanoaggregates in living cells.

Synthesis of High Molecular Weight Cyclic Poly(ε-caprolactone)s of Variable Ring Size Based on a Light-Induced Ring-Closure Approach.

High molecular weight cyclic poly(ε-caprolactone)s (cPCLs) with variable ring size are synthesized via light-induced ring closure of α,ω-anthracene-terminated PCL (An-PCL-An). The ring size of cPCL is tunable simply by adjusting the polymer concentration from 10 to 100 mg mL(-1) in THF. The cyclo-addition via the bimolecular cyclization of An-PC-An is well characterized by a variety of analyses such as (1) H NMR and UV-vis spectroscopies, gel-permeation chromatography, and differential scanning calorimetry.

A photoacoustic approach for monitoring the drug release of pH-sensitive poly(β-amino ester)s.

Drug delivery systems are capable of delivering medications to target sites and controlled releasing payloads to circumvent common problems associated with traditional drugs such as low bioavailability and undesired side-effects. Real-time and spatio-temporal monitoring of the drug release kinetics is crucial for evaluating treatment efficacy. The photoacoustic tomography (PAT) imaging technique has become an emerging tool for non-invasively studying the drug release behaviour of drug-loaded nanocarriers under physiological conditions.

Meta-analysis of the MDM2 T309G polymorphism and gastric cancer risk.

Background: Mdm2 binds to the amino-terminus of p53 to induce its degradation and a single nucleotide polymorphism in the MDM2 promoter region (T309G) has been reported to increase the risk of several carcinomas, such as gastric cancer. However, the results of published studies to analyze the association between MDM2 T309G and gastric cancer havve often conflicted.

Methods: To better illustrate the filiation between MDM2 T309G and gastric cancer, we performed a meta-analysis.

Anti-bacterial and in vivo tumor treatment by reactive oxygen species generated by magnetic nanoparticles.

Photodynamic therapy is widely used in clinics and for anti-bacterial applications. The major challenge is the limited depth of tissue penetration of light and poor targetability. In this study, magnetite nanoparticles were used as a highly sensitive T-weighted MR imaging contrast agents to target the tumor and mimic horseradish peroxidase (HRP), which could catalyze the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) to inhibit the tumor in vivo.

(E)-2-Bromo-4-[(1,5-dimethyl-3-oxo-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)imino-meth-yl]-6-meth-oxy-phenyl 4-methyl-benzene-sulfonate.

In the title compound, C(26)H(24)BrN(3)O(5)S, the central benzene ring makes dihedral angles of 6.27 (6), 33.63 (6) and 69.

(E)-4-[(1,5-Dimethyl-3-oxo-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)imino-meth-yl]-2-meth-oxy-phenyl 4-bromo-benzene-sulfonate.

In the title compound, C(25)H(22)BrN(3)O(5)S, the central benzene ring makes dihedral angles of 4.41 (10), 67.09 (9) and 62.

4-Meth-oxy-3-(4-nitro-benz-yloxy)benzaldehyde.

In the title compound, C(15)H(13)NO(5), the two benzene rings make a dihedral angle of 3.98 (7)°. The crystal packing is stabilized by weak non-classical inter-molecular C-H⋯O inter-actions that link mol-ecules into centrosymmetric tetra-mers.

Synthesis of vinyl sulfides by copper-catalyzed decarboxylative C-S cross-coupling.

A novel method for the synthesis of vinyl sulfides by the decarboxylative cross-coupling of arylpropiolic acids with thiols using copper(I) salts as catalysts has been developed. In the presence of CuI and Cs(2)CO(3), a variety of thiols reacted with arylpropiolic acids to afford the corresponding vinyl sulfides in good to excellent yields with high stereoselectivity for Z-isomers.

Nanocontact-induced catalytic activation in palladium nanoparticles.

We report the synthesis and catalytic studies of novel palladium nanostructures assembled from small nanoparticles by a surfactant-templated method. These one-dimensional nanomaterials comprise high-density nanocontacts of approximately 1 nm in contact length at the particle-particle interface. In contrast to dispersed Pd nanoparticles ( approximately 5 nm), the polycrystalline palladium nanowires exhibit enhanced ( approximately 200 times) catalytic reactivity towards carbon-carbon cross-couplings under mild conditions.

One-pot synthesis of amine-substituted aryl sulfides and benzo[b]thiophene derivatives.

A series of amine-substituted aryl sulfides have been synthesized from nitroaryl halides via a simple one-pot procedure involving metal-free C-S cross-coupling and in situ nitro group reduction. Various nitroaryl halides were reacted with thiols in recyclable poly(ethylene glycol) to afford the amine-substituted aryl sulfides in high yield. Additionally, the cross-coupling reactions of nitro- and aldehyde-substituted aryl halides with benzyl thiols under the same reaction conditions were demonstrated to afford benzothiazole and phenylbenzo[b]thiophene derivatives.