Virgin Camellia Seed Oil Improves Glycolipid Metabolism in the Kidney of High Fat-Fed Rats through AMPK-SREBP Pathway.

Camellia seed oil (CO) is used as edible oil in southern China because of its excellent fatty acid composition and abundant bioactive compounds. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most common chronic degenerative diseases in China, and active compounds in vegetable oil, like virgin olive oil, have been demonstrated to be efficacious in the management of CKD. In this study, virgin CO was refined using a standard process. The refining had minimal impact on the fatty acid composition, but significantly reduced the presence of bioactive compounds like polyphenols in CO. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats fed with high fat diet (Group G) were treated with either virgin (Group Z) or refined CO (Group R). The oral administration of CO alleviated lipid accumulation and decreased body and kidney weight gain. Furthermore, treatment with virgin CO increased the renal ATP content. The renal expression levels of AMPK and key enzymes involved in fatty acid oxidation (CPT-1 and ACOX1) and glycolysis (HK, PFK, PK and GAPDH) were up-regulated in Group Z, thereby enhancing the ATP production. Virgin CO treatment downregulated the expression level of SREBP2 and its downstream target genes, such as ACC, FAS, and HMGCR, which reduced lipid synthesis. These findings indicate that virgin CO improves glycolipid metabolism and restores energy homeostasis in the kidneys of rats fed with a high-fat diet by modulating the AMPK-SREBP-signaling pathway, suggesting the potential of active compounds in virgin CO for managing the renal failure associated with glycolipid dysmetabolism.

Cu-Embedded SnSe2 with a High Figure of Merit at Ecofriendly Temperature.

There are many studies concentrated on high-temperature performance of SnSe2, but few studies were conducted on low-temperature properties of embedded SnSe2. In this work, a series of SnCu x Se2 (x = 0, 0.01, 0.02, and 0.05) layered structures have been successfully synthesized by a melt quenching, mechanical milling process, and spark plasma sintering (SPS) method. Meanwhile, the thermal and electrical transport properties of all synthesized samples are measured. These results suggest that the embedding of Cu into SnSe2 results in a high carrier concentration (1019/cm3). In addition, the enhancement of defect and interfacial phonon scattering caused by Cu embedding as well as the weak van der Waals force between layers makes a low thermal conductivity (0.81 W/mK) for the SnCu0.01Se2 at 300 K. Moreover, the maximum ZT is acquired up to 0.75 for the SnCu0.01Se2 sample at 300 K, which is about 2 orders of magnitude higher than the pristine sample (0.009). These features indicate that Cu-embedded SnSe2 can be a promising thermoelectric material at gentle temperature.

Synthesis and spectroscopic properties of novel fluorescent compounds containing bis-pyrazole ring.

A series of pyrazoline derivatives containing pyrazole group were synthesized and characterized by means of (1)H NMR, FT-IR, MS and elemental analysis, and their UV-vis absorption behavior and fluorescent properties were also measured. Moreover, the influence of metal ions on spectral properties of synthetic products was examined with compound A5 as an example. It has been found that all synthetic pyrazoline derivatives show two remarkable absorption peaks at about 260 and 360 nm and the maximum emission peak at 445-467 nm. Especially, the joined of Co(2+) can quench the fluorescence of compound A5 obviously.

Synthesis of quinoline derivatives containing pyrazole group and investigation of their crystal structure and spectroscopic properties in relation to acidity and alkalinity of mediums.

Two series of quinoline derivatives containing pyrazole group were synthesized and characterized by means of (1)H NMR, FT-IR, MS, elemental analysis and X-ray single crystal diffraction, and their UV-vis absorption behavior and fluorescence properties were also measured. Moreover, the effects of acetic acid and triethylamine on the spectroscopic properties of synthesized products were examined with compounds 3a and 5a as examples. It has been found that all synthesized quinoline derivatives show maximum absorption peak at 303 nm and emission peaks around 445 nm. Besides, both acetic acid and triethylamine can change the acidity of the medium, thereby influencing the UV-vis absorption spectra and fluorescence spectra of synthesized products. Moreover, theoretical investigations indicate that the integration of H(+) and N atom of quinoline ring favors the formation of a new product in the presence of acetic acid, and the product obtained in this case shows a new UV-vis absorption peak at 400 nm.

Synthesis, spectroscopic properties and theoretical studies of bis-Schiff bases derived from polyamine and pyrazolones.

A series of novel bis-Schiff base were synthesized from 1-aryl-3-methyl-4-benzoyl-5-pyrazolones and diethylenetriamine (or triethylenetetramine) as the starting materials. All of these bis-Schiff bases were characterized by means of NMR, IR, and MS. The UV-vis absorption spectra and fluorescent spectra of these bis-Schiff bases were also measured. Moreover, the B3LYP/6-31G(d) method was used to optimize the ground state geometry of the bis-Schiff bases; and the UV-vis spectroscopic properties of the products were computed and compared with corresponding experimental data based on cc-pVDZ basis set of TD-B3LYP method. It has been found that all of these bis-Schiff bases show a remarkable absorption peak in a wavelength range of 270-340 nm; and their maximum emission peaks are around 348 nm.

Crystal structure characterization as well as theoretical study of spectroscopic properties of novel Schiff bases containing pyrazole group.

A series of novel Schiff bases containing pyrazole group were synthesized using 1-aryl-3-methyl-4-benzoyl-5-pyrazolone and phenylenediamine as the starting materials. All as-synthesized Schiff bases were characterized by means of NMR, FT-IR, and MS; and the molecular geometries of two Schiff bases as typical examples were determined by means of single crystal X-ray diffraction. In the meantime, the ultraviolet-visible light absorption spectra and fluorescent spectra of various as-synthesized products were also measured. Moreover, the B3LYP/6-1G(d,p) method was used for the optimization of the ground state geometry of the Schiff bases; and the spectroscopic properties of the products were computed and compared with corresponding experimental data based on cc-pVTZ basis set of TD-B3LYP method. It has been found that all as-synthesized Schiff bases show a remarkable absorption peak in a wavelength range of 270-370 nm; and their maximum emission peaks are around 344 nm and 332 nm, respectively.