Labdane-type diterpenoids with cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities from the aerial parts of Hypoestes purpurea (L.) R. Br.

Two new ent-labdane diterpenoids, hypoestesins A-B (1-2) and five new labdane diterpenoids, hypopurolides H-L (3-7), were isolated from the aerial parts of Hypoestes purpurea. All of the structures were fully determined based on extensive analysis of 1H, 13C, 2D NMR, and HRESIMS data. The absolute configurations of 1-3 was established through comparing the experimental and calculated ECD curves and the structure of 5 was confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction experiment. Compounds 5-7 were unusual C23 labdane diterpenoids having a γ-acetonyl-α, ß-unsaturated γ-lactone unit and each assigned as C-15 epimeric mixture. Furthermore, cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities of 3-7 were evaluated. The results showed that 3 had remarkable cytotoxic activity against HL-60, A549, SMMC-7721, MDA-MB-231, and SW480 cancer cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 2.35 to 17.06 µM. Compound 4 showed moderate cytotoxic activity against HL-60 and SMMC-7721 cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 15.12 ± 0.53 and 12.92 ± 0.60 µM, respectively. Furthermore, compound 4 was also found to exhibit inhibitory activity against NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophages with IC50 values of 23.56 ± 0.99 µM, compared to the positive control L-NMMA with an IC50 value of 41.11 ± 1.34 µM.

[Cases Analysis of Hemoglobin H Disease Caused by HBA2:c.2T>C and HBA2:c.2delT Mutations].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate two cases of rare pathogenic genes, initiation codon mutations in HBA2 gene, combined with Southeast Asian deletion and their family members to understand the relationship of HBA2:c.2T>C and HBA2:c.2delT mutations with clinical phenotype. METHODS: The peripheral blood of family members was obtained for blood cell analysis and capillary electrophoresis hemoglobin analysis. Gap-PCR and reverse dot blotting (RDB) were used to detect common types of mutations in ɑ-thalassaemia gene. Sanger sequencing was used to analyze HBA1 and HBA2 gene sequence. RESULTS: Two proband genotypes were identified as --SEA/αα with HBA2:c.2T>C and --SEA/αα with HBA2:c.2delT. HBA2:c.2T>C/WT and HBA2:c.2delT/WT was detected in family members. They all presented with microcytic hypochromic anemia. CONCLUSION: When HBA2:c.2T>C and HBA2:c.2delT are heterozygous that can lead to static α-thalassemia phenotype, and when combined with mild α-thalassemia, they can lead to the clinical manifestations of hemoglobin H disease. This study provides a basis for genetic counseling.

Eudesmane-type sesquiterpenoids from the aerial parts of Artemisia lavandulaefolia and their anti-pancreatic cancer activities.

Five undescribed eudesmane sesquiterpenoids, artemilavanins A-E, and one undescribed rearranged eudesmane sesquiterpenoid, artemilavanin F, were isolated from the 95% ethanol extract of the aerial parts of Artemisia lavandulaefolia DC., along with ten known compounds. The structures and configurations of undescribed compounds were mainly elucidated by spectroscopic analyses and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Among all isolated compounds, artemilavanin F exhibited inhibitory activity on PANC-1 pancreatic cancer cells with IC50 of 9.69 ± 2.39 µM. Artemilavanin F inhibited PANC-1 cell proliferation by induction of G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis mediated by downregulation of cyclin-dependent kinases and accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Moreover, artemilavanin F inhibited the colony formation, cell migration and sphere formation of PANC-1 cells, indicating the suppression of stem-cell-like phenotype of PANC-1 cells. Further results confirmed that the expression of cancer stem cell markers such as Bmi1, CD44, CD133 were inhibited by artemilavanin F. Downregulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers such as N-cadherin and Oct-4 indicated the potential of artemilavanin F in prevention of metastasis.

Metasurface Enabled On-Chip Generation and Manipulation of Vector Beams from Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers.

Metasurface polarization optics that consist of 2D array of birefringent nano-antennas have proven remarkable capabilities to generate and manipulate vectorial fields with subwavelength resolution and high efficiency. Integrating this new type of metasurface with the standard vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) platform enables an ultracompact and powerful solution to control both phase and polarization properties of the laser on a chip, which allows to structure a VCSEL into vector beams with on-demand wavefronts. Here, this concept is demonstrated by directly generating versatile vector beams from commercially available VCSELs through on-chip integration of high-index dielectric metasurfaces. Experimentally, the versatility of the approach for the development of vectorial VCSELs are validated by implementing a variety of functionalities, including directional emission of multibeam with specified polarizations, vectorial holographic display, and vector vortex beams generations. Notably, the proposed vectorial VCSELs integrated with a single layer of beam shaping metasurface bypass the requirements of multiple cascaded optical components, and thus have the potential to promote the advancements of ultracompact, lightweight, and scalable vector beams sources, enriching and expanding the applications of VCSELs in optical communications, laser manipulation and processing, information encryption, and quantum optics.

[Methodological Evaluation of Microarray in the Detection of α-Thalassemia].

OBJECTIVE: To proceed the clinical evaluation of DNA microarray for thalassemia gene detection. METHODS: Peripheral blood samples of 166 thalassemia gene test subjects were collected and tested for thalassemia genes by microarray chip method and Gap-PCR method combined with PCR-reverse dot blot hybridization method according to double-blind control test. The specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and total coincidence rate of the microarray chip method were evaluated. When the two methods were inconsistent, multiplex ligation dependent probe amplification (MLPA) was used to verify the deletional α-thalassemia. RESULTS: Compared with Gap-PCR method, specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, Youden index, and total coincidence rate of microarray chip method was 100% (70/70), 96.88% (93/96), 100% (93/93), 95.89% (70/73), 0.969, and 97.59% (162/166), respectively, while compared with PCR-reverse dot blot hybridization method was 100% (125/125), 100% (41/41), 100% (41/41), 100% (125/125), 1, and 100% (166/166), respectively. CONCLUSION: The microarray chip method for α-thalassemia gene detection shows the advantages of high specificity, sensitivity, and throughput.

[Application of DNA Microarray in Genetic Mutation Detection in Patients with Thalassemia].

OBJECTIVE: To perform dried blood spots thalassemia gene detection in patients with positive blood phenotypes by microarray technology, and evaluate its value in clinical detection. METHODS: DNA samples were extracted from dried blood spots of 410 patients. Microarray technology was used to detect 3 deletion and 3 non-deletion types of α-thalassemia and 19 ß-thalassemia point mutations which were common gene mutions in China. RESULTS: There were 357 positive cases in all the 410 tested samples with the positive rate 87.07%, among which 299 cases (72.93%) carried deletion or point mutations of α-thalassemia, 29 cases (7.07%) carried point mutations of ß-thalassemia and 29 cases (7.07%) carried gene mutations of complex αß-thalassemia syndrome. The mutations of α-thalassemia were involved with --SEA heterozygous deletion (177 cases, 59.2%), αCS heterozygote (60 cases, 20.07%) and several other genotypes. The common mutations of ß- thalassemia were involved with ßCD41-42 heterozygote (10 cases, 34.48%) and ßCD17 heterozygote (9 cases, 31.03%). The mutations of complex αß-thalassemia syndrome were mainly involved with --SEA/αα+ßCD17/ßN (7 cases, 24.14%), αCSα/αα + ßCD41-42/ßN (3 cases, 10.34%) and -α4.2/αα + ßCD17/ßN (3 cases, 10.34%). CONCLUSION: The most common genetic mutations are --SEA for α-thalassemia and CD41-42 for ß-thalassemia in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. A and ß-thalassemia can be detected at the same time by microarray chip technology in a high throughput manner.

The effect of Panax notoginseng saponins on oxidative stress induced by PCV2 infection in immune cells: in vitro and in vivo studies.

BACKGROUND: Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) are bioactive substances extracted from P. notoginseng that are widely used to treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and interstitial diseases. PNS have the functions of scavenging free radicals, anti-inflammation, improving blood supply for tissue and so on. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of PNS on the oxidative stress of immune cells induced by porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) infection in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: Using an oxidative stress model of PCV2 infection in a porcine lung cell line (3D4/2 cells) and mice, the levels of nitric oxide (NO), reactive oxygen species (ROS), total glutathione (T-GSH), reduced glutathione (GSH), and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and the activities of xanthine oxidase (XOD), myeloperoxidase (MPO) and inducible nitric oxide synthetase (iNOS) were determined to evaluate the regulatory effects of PNS on oxidative stress. RESULTS: PNS treatment significantly reduced the levels of NO and ROS, the content of GSSG and the activities of XOD, MPO, and iNOS (p < 0.05), while significantly increasing GSH and the ratio of GSH/GSSG in infected 3D4/2 cells (p < 0.05).Similarly, in the in vivo study, PNS treatment significantly decreased the level of ROS in spleen lymphocytes of infected mice (p < 0.05), increased the levels of GSH and T-GSH (p < 0.05), significantly decreased the GSSG level (p < 0.05), and decreased the activities of XOD, MPO, and iNOS. CONCLUSIONS: PNS could regulate the oxidative stress of immune cells induced by PCV2 infection in vitro and in vivo.

Metasurface-integrated vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers for programmable directional lasing emissions.

Vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) have made indispensable contributions to the development of modern optoelectronic technologies. However, arbitrary beam shaping of VCSELs within a compact system has remained inaccessible until now. The emerging ultra-thin flat optical structures, namely metasurfaces, offer a powerful technique to manipulate electromagnetic fields with subwavelength spatial resolution. Here, we show that the monolithic integration of dielectric metasurfaces with VCSELs enables remarkable arbitrary control of the laser beam profiles, including self-collimation, Bessel and Vortex lasers, with high efficiency. Such wafer-level integration of metasurface through VCSEL-compatible technology simplifies the assembling process and preserves the high performance of the VCSELs. We envision that our approach can be implemented in various wide-field applications, such as optical fibre communications, laser printing, smartphones, optical sensing, face recognition, directional displays and ultra-compact light detection and ranging (LiDAR).

Three zinc iodide complexes based on phosphane ligands: syntheses, structures, optical properties and TD-DFT calculations.

Three zinc iodide complexes based on phosphane ligands, namely diiodidobis(triphenylphosphane-κP)zinc(II), [ZnI2(C18H15P2)2], (1), diiodidobis[tris(4-methylphenyl)phosphane-κP]zinc(II), [ZnI2(C21H21P2)2], (2), and [bis(diphenylphosphoryl)methane-κ2O,O']zinc(II) tetraiodidozinc(II), [Zn(C25H22O2P2)3][ZnI4], (3), have been synthesized and characterized. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction revealed that the structures of (1) and (2) are both mononuclear four-coordinated ZnI2 complexes containing two monodentate phosphane ligands, respectively. Surprisingly, (2) spontaneously forms an acentric structure, suggesting it might be a potential second-order NLO material. The crystal structure of complex (3) is composed of two parts, namely a [Zn(dppmO2)3]2+ cation [dppmO2 is bis(diphenylphosphoryl)methane] and a [ZnI4]2- anion. The UV-Vis absorption spectra, thermal stabilities and photoluminescence spectra of the title complexes have also been studied. Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations reveal that the low-energy UV absorption and the corresponding light emission both result from halide-ligand charge-transfer (XLCT) excited states.

Methods for the detection and determination of nitrite and nitrate: A review.

Various techniques for the determination of nitrite and/or nitrate developed during the past 15 years were reviewed in this article. 169 references were covered. The detection principles and analytical parameters such as matrix, detection limits and detection range of each method were tabulated. The advantages and disadvantages of various methods were evaluated. In comparison to other methods, spectrofluorimetric methods have become more attractive due to its facility availability, high sensitivity and selectivity, low limits of detection and low-cost.

[Evaluating fire behavior simulators in southwestern China forest area]. / 西南林区森林火灾火行为模拟模型评价.

As an important technical reference for efficient prevention and fighting against forest fire, forest fire behavior parameters are mainly obtained from fire behavior simulators in some deve-loped countries. This study selected two simulators, the Farsite from USA and the Prometheus from Canada, which were both widely used in local area. Through comparing simulated results and relative data of the '3·29 Fire' occurred in Anning City, Southwestern China, we tried to evaluate accuracy of the simulators in a quantitative way. The results indicated that, in the simulation of peri-meter, the precision of Farsite under Scott fuel model was the highest, while Prometheus was the lowest, but the difference was not significant. The difference in simulative perimeter between Farsite and Prometheus mainly concentrated in the distribution area of Pinus yunnanensis. In the simulation of rate of spread (ROS), the mean ROS results of Farsite under both fuel models were close to the actual situation, while the results of Prometheus were far away from the actual situation. The diffe-rent simulative area of ROS between Farsite and Prometheus mainly concentrated in the distribution area of P. yunnanensis. In the simulation of fireline intensity (FLI), the mean FLI results of Farsite under both fuel models were similar, and Prometheus obtained significantly different FLI results from Farsite, while the different simulative area of FLI between Farsite and Prometheus mainly concentrated in the distribution area of Quercus.

[Effects of salvianolic acid B on cerebral energy charge and activity of ATPase in mice with cerebral ischemia].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of salvianolic acid B (SalB) on high energy phosphate and activity of ATPase of cerebral ischemia in mice, and to study the role of SalB on hydrocephalus further. METHOD: NIH mice were divided into four groups randomly: Sham-operated group, cerebral ischemia group, SalB-treated group and Nimodipine (Nim)-collated group. In Sal B-treated group, mice were injected with SalB (22.5 mg x kg(-1)) in vena caudalis at 30 min before the experiment. In Nim-collated group, Nim (0.03 mg x kg(-1)) was injected into tail vein at the same time, while the mice in Sham-operated group and cerebral ischemia group were injected the same volume normal saline. The acute cerebral ischemia model was established by ligating bilateral common carotid arteries for 30 min in mice, then the mice were killed and the content of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), adenosine monophosphate (AMP), phosphocreatine (PCr) were observed, and the cerebral energy charge (EC) was computed. At the same time, activity of Na(+) -K(+) -ATPase and Ca2(+) -ATPase, content of water in brain tissue were measured. RESULT: Compared with cerebral ischemia group, EC and content of ATP, ADP, PCr in SalB-treated group heightened evidently (P < 0.01). Moreover, activity of Na(+)-K+ ATPase and Ca2+ ATPase in SalB-treated group had a remarkable increase (P < 0.01). But the content of water in brain tissue decreased markedly (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The mechanism that SalB can relieve content of water in brain tissue of cerebral ischemia in mice, may be associated with improving the content of high-energy phosphoric acid compounds and enhancing the activity of ATPase.

[Effects of naoreqing on secretive function of vaso-endothelial cells in rabbits with endotoxic fever].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the antifebrile effect of Naoreqing (NRQ) oral liquid on secretive function of vaso-endothelial cells in rabbits with endotoxic fever. METHODS: Endotoxic fever rabbit model was duplicated to observe the effects of NRQ on body temperature, blood levels of thromboxane B2 (TXB2), 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha (6-keto-PGF1alpha) and endothelin (ET) using radioimmunoassay, as well as activity of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) in plasma by chromophoric substrate assay. RESULTS: Comparisons of various indexes between the two groups showed significantly difference, i.e. the maximal increment of body temperature: 0.69 +/- 0.07 degrees C vs 1.31 +/- 0.13 degrees C (the NRQ treated group vs the untreated model group, the same hereafter); 2h thermal response index TRI2 4.85 +/- 0.57 vs 8.44 +/- 0.98; plasma ET content 197.96 +/- 39.11 ng/L vs 250.80 +/- 40.99 ng/L; TXB2 content 177.35 +/- 77.30 ng/L vs 279.64 +/- 83.74 ng/L; activity of PAI 0.84 +/- 0.01AU/ml vs 0.86 +/- 0.01 AU/ml; plasma 6-keto-PGF1alpha content 986.70 +/- 327.36 ng/L vs 507.81 +/- 170.01 ng/L; activity of t-PA 0.25 +/- 0.02 IU/ml vs 0.21 +/- 0.02 IU/ml (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: NRQ may improve secretive function of vaso-endothelial cells to dilate blood vessel and quicken heat dissipation through body surface, so as to play an integral antipyretic effect in rabbits with endotoxic fever.