Abstract The conversion of sesamin to asarinin is a promising route for the production of asarinin. This work reports the affection of acid type and strength of the catalyst on the conversion of sesamin to asarinin and the effect of various reaction conditions in anhydrous ethanol using phosphotungstic acid (HPW) as catalyst. The experimental results indicate that the activity of sesamin conversion is determined by strong B acids. L acids are not active for the reaction, and do not show synergy with B acids for the formation of asarinin. Reaction time, HPW dosage and temperature have significant effects on sesamin conversion. A maximum asarinin yield of 57.93% was achieved. The reaction kinetics in the temperature range 55-75 °C were studied. The kinetic curves can be successfully fitted with an opposing first-order reaction model. The activation energy (Ea) for this reaction is found to be 105.2 ± 0.4 kJ/mol.

Abstract Objectives: Isoflurane (ISO) is widely used in the clinic and research. The authors aimed to explore whether Neobaicalein (Neob) could protect neonatal mice from ISO-induced cognitive damage. Method: The open field test, Morris water maze test, and tail suspension test was performed to assess the cognitive function in mice. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to evaluate inflammatory-related protein concentrations. Immunohistochemistry was used to assess Ionized calcium-Binding Adapter molecule-1 (IBA-1) expression. Hippocampal neuron viability was detected using the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay. Double immunofluorescence staining was employed to confirm the interaction between proteins. Western blotting was used to assess protein expression levels. Results: Neob notably improved cognitive function and exhibited anti-inflammatory effects; moreover, under isotreatment, it exhibited neuroprotective effects. Furthermore, Neob suppressed interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-6 levels and upregulated interleukin-10 levels in ISO-treated mice. Neob significantly mitigated iso-induced increases in IBA-1 – positive cell numbers of the hippocampus in neonatal mice. Furthermore, it inhibited ISO-induced neuronal apoptosis. Mechanistically, Neob was observed to upregulate cAMP Response Element Binding protein (CREB1) phosphorylation and protected hippocampal neurons from ISO-mediated apoptosis. Moreover, it rescued ISO-induced abnormalities of synaptic protein. Conclusions: Neob prevented ISO anesthesia-induced cognitive impairment by suppressing apoptosis and inflammation through upregulating CREB1.

Abstract The safety problems related to the occurrence of benzo(a)pyrene in edible oil have been a major threat to human health, and now significant attention has been to remove benzo(a)pyrene. So in this work, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin biochars were prepared, and then were used to remove benzo(a)pyrene from contaminated oil. Based on the nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms and the scanning election micrographs, the modified biochars had a huge specific surface area of 983.50-1915.55 m2/g and a well-developed porous structure. The modified biochars showed higher removal rate for benzo(a)pyrene than unmodified biochars. The highest adsorption (95.79%) of benzo(a)pyrene was achieved using the modified lignin biochar, which was therefore selected for evaluation of adsorptive capacity. The ability of the modified lignin biochar to adsorb benzo(a)pyrene was consistent with the pseudo-second order kinetic equation indicating mainly chemisorption, and it fit the Freundlich isotherm (R2 > 0.999), thereby revealing the occurrence of multilayer adsorption. The effect of π-π conjugation interaction and pore-filling together promoted the high adsorption performance of the modified lignin biochar. This work demonstrates that the modified lignin biochar could be a promising adsorbent for the removal of benzo(a)pyrene from edible oils.

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) conditioned medium, azacytidine, panobinostat, and GSK126 on TGF-β-induced EMT in lung cancer. MSC were cultured in DMEM medium to make MSC conditioned medium. Our results showed that MSC conditioned medium, azacytidine, panobinostat and GSK126 reduced cell viability, invasion, expressions of N-cad, vimentin and α-SMA and increased E-cad expression in cells treated with TGF-β. MSC conditioned medium alleviated TGF-β-induced increases in cell viability and decrease in E-cad expression. In conclusion, MSC conditioned medium, azacytidine, panobinostat, and GSK126 could alleviate TGF-β-induced EMT in lung cancer.

Abstract Hibiscus Sabdariffa L. has important nutritional and medicinal value. Currently, a safe process extraction of reducing sugar from Hibiscus Sabdariffa L. calyx by biological complex enzyme system is seldom investigated. In this experiment, the pectinase and cellulase complex enzyme system was used to optimize the enzymatic hydrolysis of Hibiscus Sabdariffa L. and Box behnken was used to design the experiment. The results showed that there was significant difference in enzymolysis effect of Hibiscus Sabdariffa L under different conditions (p < 0.05). When the enzymolysis temperature was 45 °C, pH 4.5, and the mass volume ratio of material to liquid was 5g:100ml, the optimum conditions were obtained by response surface methodology: the addition amount of pectinase and cellulase complex enzyme was 0.011 g/kg, the ratio of mixed enzyme was 1.36:1, the enzymolysis time was 2.09 h, and the reducing sugar content of Hibiscus Sabdariffa L extract was 3.56 mg/ml. The experimental results of reducing sugar content of Hibiscus Sabdariffa L (3.54 ± 0.1mg / ml) were in good agreement with the predicted value of the equation fitted by response surface. The mixed enzyme system of pectinase and cellulase has the advantages of environmental protection and energy saving, which can provide guidance for industrial production.

Abstract Chinese quince fruits are rich in proanthocyanidins (PAs), which have antioxidant properties. This work describes a method to isolate PAs from Chinese quince fruits by a combination of ball-milling and enzyme hydrolysis pretreatments. The yield, total PA and total phenolic contents, structural characteristics, antioxidant activity, and α-amylase inhibitory activity of different pretreated PA samples were determined and analyzed. Among them, the ball-milling combined with multi-enzyme (cellulase, xylanase, and pectinase) hydrolysis pretreated sample (BEP-4) was the most outstanding. The yield of BEP-4 could be improved up to 7.72%, which was 2.51 times higher than that of the conventional organic solvent extraction method (3.02%). It had the highest total phenols and PAs content of 750.98 ± 6.95 and 948.72 ± 3.50 mg/g extract, respectively. The thermal stability and molecular weight (9610 Da) of BEP-4 were lower than other fractions. BEP-4 contained a high proportion of PC structure (98.35%) and flavan-3-ol content (87.88%). It also had the highest antioxidant capacity with IC50 values of 131.45 ± 0.97, 22.66 ± 0.32, 134.05 ± 0.71, and 182.07 ± 0.28 μg/mL for DPPH, ABTS, hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity, and α-amylase inhibiting capacity, respectively. These investigations provide a new, efficient way to isolate PAs from Chinese quince fruits, and reveal that Chinese quince fruits may be a good source of antioxidants, worthy of further development.

Abstract For different populations, the association studies between the beta-2 adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) Arg16Gly mutation and asthma are conflict. This study was designated to evaluate ADRB2 Arg16Gly polymorphism and asthma in Chinese population. Systemic assessment was performed based on the data from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) up to January 2019. Odds ratios (ORs) with their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated using STATA software. This meta-analysis included 6143 asthma patients and 5919 healthy persons from 34 studies. Overall, ADRB2 Arg16Gly polymorphism showed no significant influence on asthma in China. However, subgroup analyses according to geographic areas, age group and HWE in controls, only found a borderline significant effect for southern Chinese under the homozygotes genetic model (OR = 0.82, 95%CI = 0.68-1.00, P = 0.046). This meta-analysis suggests that ADRB2 Arg16Gly polymorphism is not be related to the development of asthma in China.

Abstract Background: Hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with autoimmune diseases such as ankylosing spondylitis (AS), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Current findings regarding plasma/serum homocysteine (HCY) levels in AS patients are inconsistent. This study aims to systematically evaluate the association between circulating HCY levels and AS. Methods: Online electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, ScienceDirect, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang data) were used to retrieve all relevant articles published up to May 7, 2020. The pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated using the random-effect model, Stata16 software. Results: Nine articles containing 778 AS patients and 522 controls were included in this meta-analysis. No significant differences in HCY levels were found between AS and control groups (pooled SMD = 0.46, 95% CI = − 0.30 to 1.23, P = 0.23). However, subgroup analysis suggested that HCY levels were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the AS group treated with methotrexate (MTX) compared with the control group. In contrast, HCY levels were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in the AS group receiving anti-TNF-α treatment compared with the control group. No significant differences were detected between HCY levels and disease activity scores (Bath AS disease activity index, BASDAI), and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T genotype. Conclusion: This meta-analysis indicates that HCY levels are similar between AS and controls, and do not correlate with disease activity. However, different medical treatments cause fluctuations of circulating HCY levels in AS patients. Further and larger-scale studies are needed to confirm these findings. Trial registration: This study was registered at international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO), registration number: CRD42020184426.

Claisen condensation of ethyl isonicotinate with different acetophenones gave the corresponding pyridyl-ß-diketones, while the treatment with hydrazine hydrate yielded 3,5-disubstituted-1H-pyrazoles, which then converted 1,3,5-trisubstituted-pyrazole derivatives containing a pyridyl moiety by N-acylation with acyl chloride. The structures of all newly synthesized compounds are established by FTIR, ¹H NMR, mass spectroscopy and elemental analysis, and in the case of compound 2e, analyzed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction further. The anti-microbial activities of the title compounds have been tested by disc diffusion method against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pyricularia oryzae and Rhizoctnia solani. The results showed that compounds 3c and 4c exhibited good inhibitory activity against all the tested organisms.

Normalmente, para túneis, o projeto do alinhamento e das seções transversais e a marcação do tempo são usadas para a modelagem tridimensional. No entanto, esse procedimento pode não refletir algumas qualidades do processo ou em alguns casos especiais, como deslizamento de terra. Portanto, neste artigo, propõe-se um modelo dinâmico de um túnel baseado em dados espaço-temporais a partir de levantamentos de seções transversais. Esse modelo pode não só reproduzir o processo de escavação, mas também refletir qualidades que um projeto normalmente não atende. Assim, introduz-se um novo modelo conceitual para a modelagem dinâmica 3D da topografia de túneis. São propostas algumas soluções específicas: o uso da tecnologia de chave de correspondência para transformar coordenadas de uma seção transversal de coordenadas lineares locais para coordenadas de uma projeção global; estrutura de dados de arquivos e banco de dados, e modelamento 3D dinâmico. Um modelo de túnel TIN 3D foi proposto usando o algoritmo do ângulo de mínima direção otimizado. A última seção implementa a construção da coleta e aquisição de dados de campo e de sistemas de simulação dinâmica, que verificam a viabilidade e praticidade desse método de modelamento.

Currently, for tunnels, the design centerline and design cross-section with time stamps are used for dynamic three-dimensional (3D) modeling. However, this approach cannot correctly reflect some qualities of tunneling or some special cases, such as landslips. Therefore, a dynamic 3D model of a tunnel based on spatiotemporal data from survey cross-sections is proposed in this paper. This model can not only playback the excavation process but also reflect qualities of a project typically missed. In this paper, a new conceptual model for dynamic 3D modeling of tunneling survey data is introduced. Some specific solutions are proposed using key corresponding technologies for coordinate transformation of cross-sections from linear engineering coordinates to global projection coordinates, data structure of files and database, and dynamic 3D modeling. A 3D tunnel TIN model was proposed using the optimized minimum direction angle algorithm. The last section implements the construction of a survey data collection, acquisition, and dynamic simulation system, which verifies the feasibility and practicality of this modeling method.