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The chemical investigation of branches of Cinnamomum camphora chvar. Borneol guided by mosquito larvicidal activity led to the isolation of fourteen known lignans (1–14). Their structures were elucidated unambiguously based on comprehensive spectroscopic analysis and comparison with the literature data. This is the first report of these compounds being isolated from branches of Cinnamomum camphora chvar. Borneol. Compounds 3–5 and 8–14 were isolated from this plant for the first time. All compounds isolated were subjected to anti-inflammatory, mosquito larvicidal activity and cytotoxic activity evaluation. Compounds (1–14) showed significant mosquito larvicidal activity against Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus with lethal mortality in 50% (LC50), with values ranging from 0.009 to 0.24 μg/mL. Among them, furofuran lignans(1–8) exhibited potent mosquito larvicidal activity against Cx. p. quinquefasciatus, with LC50 values of 0.009–0.021 μg/mL. From the perspective of a structure–activity relationship, compounds with a dioxolane group showed high mosquito larvicidal activity and have potential to be developed into a mosquitocide.

The chemical investigation of branches of Cinnamomum camphora chvar. Borneol guided by mosquito larvicidal activity led to the isolation of fourteen known lignans (1-14). Their structures were elucidated unambiguously based on comprehensive spectroscopic analysis and comparison with the literature data. This is the first report of these compounds being isolated from branches of Cinnamomum camphora chvar. Borneol. Compounds 3-5 and 8-14 were isolated from this plant for the first time. All compounds isolated were subjected to anti-inflammatory, mosquito larvicidal activity and cytotoxic activity evaluation. Compounds (1-14) showed significant mosquito larvicidal activity against Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus with lethal mortality in 50% (LC[sub.50]), with values ranging from 0.009 to 0.24 μg/mL. Among them, furofuran lignans(1-8) exhibited potent mosquito larvicidal activity against Cx. p. quinquefasciatus, with LC[sub.50] values of 0.009-0.021 μg/mL. From the perspective of a structure-activity relationship, compounds with a dioxolane group showed high mosquito larvicidal activity and have potential to be developed into a mosquitocide.

As a promising avenue to obtain a new extreme ultraviolet light source and detect electronic properties, high-harmonic generation (HHG) has been actively developed in both theory and experiment. In solids lacking inversion symmetry, when electrons undergo a nonadiabatic transition, a directional charge shift occurs and is characterized by a shift vector, which measures the real-space shift of the photoexcited electron and hole. For the first time, we reveal that the shift vector plays a prominent role in the real-space tunneling mechanism of the three-step model for electrons under strong laser fields. Since the shift vector is determined by the topological properties of related wave functions, we expect that the contribution of HHG can provide direct knowledge of the band topology in noncentrosymmetric topological insulators (TIs). In both the Kane-Mele model and the realistic material BiTeI, we find that the shift vector reverses when band inversion happens during the topological phase transition between the normal insulator and the TI. Under oscillating strong laser fields, the reversal of the shift vector leads to completely opposite radiation time of high-order harmonics. This makes HHG a feasible, all-optical, strong-field method to directly identify the band inversion in noncentrosymmetric TIs.

Switchgear is the critical equipment of the distribution network, and its status evaluation is of great significance to improve the reliability of the distribution network. Addressing the issues of high subjectivity and low accuracy in current methods of status evaluation, we propose an active alarm method for switchgear status based on K-means clustering and multi-dimensional feature quantities. We configure multiple sensors at different locations inside the switchgear to monitor and obtain multi-source data based on IoT sensing technology. We establish a multi-dimensional status dataset of the switchgear and analyze its fluctuation. We acquire the relationship between the number of clusters K and the sum of squares of errors by clustering the obtained multi-dimensional dataset of switchgear through the K-means clustering status evaluation algorithm. We also calculate the sum of squares of errors under different clusters and the optimal number of clustering levels. Finally, we combine a set of switchgear operation data to obtain the switchgear health status by cluster analysis, which verifies the effectiveness of the evaluation method.

Human skeletal muscle comprises myofibers formed by fusion of thousands of myoblasts. This process depends on tightly regulated, muscle-specific fusogens, but its genetic control remains poorly understood. Here, we identify CHAMP1 (Chromosome Alignment Maintaining Phosphoprotein 1) as essential for human myoblast fusion in vitro and in vivo. Genomic and protein-interaction assays reveal a noncanonical role for CHAMP1 as a MyoD cofactor that directly activates expression of the key muscle fusogen Myomaker . As established in prior clinical reports, CHAMP1 mutations in patients cause developmental delay, hypotonia, and muscle weakness. Consistently, patient-derived cells show fusion defects that can be fully rescued by restoring Myomaker expression. Structure and function analyses identify C2H2-type zinc-finger motifs on CHAMP1 protein that are both necessary and sufficient for MyoD interaction and Myomaker expression. These findings highlight a cell-autonomous role for CHAMP1 in muscle development and disease and point to therapeutic avenues for treating CHAMP1-related muscle development defects. Here, the authors investigate the molecular role of the CHAMP1 gene/protein in preclinical models of human muscle development and disease.

Bipolaris fujianensis is a novel pathogenic species causing Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) shoot blight (CFSB), first discovered in Nanping City, Fujian Province. However, its molecular pathogenic mechanisms remain largely unknown. Elucidating theses mechanisms has the potential of aiding future developments in disease management and resistance breeding in Chinese fir. In this regard, we examined the expression pattern of B. fujianensis grown on PDA (BGPDA), and during infection of Chinese fir at 24 h (BGCF-E), 48 h (BGCF-M), and 5 d (BGCF-L) post inoculation. Comparative transcriptome analysis identified 4133 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 1778 upregulated and 2355 downregulated in BGCF compared with BGPDA. During the infection process, Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis indicated that transporters and hydrolases in the molecular function categories play essential roles. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analyses showed glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, carbon metabolism, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis were the major enriched pathways. Furthermore, this pathogen could produce diterpenoid toxin ophiobolin F, with cytochrome P450 and MFS transport proteins likely involved in its biosynthesis and transport predicted by RT-qPCR.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are metabolites of normal cells in organisms, and normal levels of ROS in cells are essential for maintaining cell signaling and other intracellular functions. However, excessive inflammation and ischemia-reperfusion can cause an imbalance of tissue redox balance, and oxidative stress occurs in a tissue, resulting in a large amount of ROS, causing direct tissue damage. The production of many diseases is associated with excess ROS, such as stroke, sepsis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. With the rapid development of nanomedicine, nanomaterials have been widely used to effectively treat various inflammatory diseases due to their superior physical and chemical properties. In this review, we summarize the application of some representative metal-based nanozymes in inflammatory diseases. In addition, we discuss the application of various novel nanomaterials for different therapies and the prospects of using nanoparticles (NPs) as biomedical materials.

To effectively obtain the downforce of the gauge wheels in real time, mechanical models of the interaction among the ground, gauge wheels, gauge wheel arms, and depth adjustment lever were constructed. A measuring method was proposed for monitoring the downforce through a two-dimensional radial sensing device, and a corresponding prototype was designed. Through simulation analysis of the sensing device with ANSYS, a 45° angle was determined to exist between the strain gauge axis and the sensing device axis, and the Wheatstone bridging circuit of R1+R3−R5−R7 (R stands for resistance strain gauge, different figures represent the strain gauge number) and R2+R4−R6−R8 was adopted. According to performance and calibration tests for the sensing device, the maximum interaction effect between the X and Y axes was 2.52%, and the output signal was stable and consistent. The standard error of the slope of the fitting equation of the downforce calculation model is 0.008. According to the field test, the average downforce of the gauge wheels was 1148, 1017, 843, and 713 N, at different sowing speeds of 6, 8, 10, and 12 km/h, respectively. The coefficients of variation were 0.40, 0.41, 0.62, and 0.71, respectively. The results indicate that the downforce fluctuation of the gauge wheels became more severe with increasing planting speed. Both the strain simulation analysis and field test verified that the measurement method is accurate and reliable, the performance of the sensing device is stable, the measurement method and sensing device meet the application requirements and lay a foundation for the research of accurate and stable control of downforce of no-till planter.

Optimizing battery swapping station (BSS) configuration is essential to enhance BSS’s energy savings and economic feasibility, thereby facilitating energy refueling efficiency of electric taxis (ETs). This study proposes a novel modular battery swapping mode (BSM) that allows ET drivers to choose the number of battery blocks to rent according to their driving range requirements and habits, improving BSS’s economic profitability and operational flexibility. We further develop a data-driven approach to optimizing the configuration of modular BSS considering the scheduling of battery charging at the operating stage under a scenario of time-of-use (ToU) price. We use the travel patterns of taxis extracted from the GPS trajectory data on 12,643 actual taxis in Beijing, China. Finally, we test the effectiveness and performance of our data-driven model and modular BSM in a numerical experiment with traditional BSM as the benchmark. Results show that the BSS with modular BSM can save 38% on the investment cost of purchasing ET battery blocks and is better able to respond to the ToU price than to the benchmark. The results of the sensitivity analysis suggest that when the peak electricity price is too high, additional battery blocks must be purchased to avoid charging during those peak periods.

Significant advances have been made in recent years for the utilization of natural enzymes with antioxidant properties to treat acute kidney injury (AKI). However, these enzymes have been of limited clinical utility because of their limited cellular uptake, poor pharmacokinetic properties, and suboptimal stability. We employed a novel biomimetic mineralization approach to encapsulate catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in a zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8). Next, this SOD@CAT@ZIF-8 complex was anchored with MPEG 2000 -COOH to yield an MPEG 2000 -SOD@CAT@ZIF-8 (PSCZ) composite. The composite was then used as a stable tool with antioxidant properties for the integrated cascade-based treatment of AKI, remarkably improved intracellular enzyme delivery. This dual-enzyme-embedded metal-organic framework could effectively scavenge reactive oxygen species. In conclusion, the ZIF-8-based “armor plating” represents an effective means of shielding enzymes with improved therapeutic utility to guide the precision medicine-based treatment of AKI.