catena-Poly[silver(I)-μ-acridine-9-carboxyl­ato-κ3 N:O,O′]

In the title coordination polymer, [Ag(C14H8NO2)]n, the AgI cation is coordinated by two O atoms and one N atom from two symmetry-related acridine-9-carboxyl­ate ligands in a distorted trigonal-planar geometry. The metal atoms are connected by the ligands to form chains running parallel to the b axis. π–π stacking inter­actions [centroid-to-centroid distances 3.757 (2)–3.820 (2) Å] and weak Ag⋯O inter­actions further link the chains to form a layer network parallel to the ab plane. The AgI cation is disordered over two positions, with refined site-occupancy factors of 0.73 (3):0.27 (3)

Poly[μ-aqua-diaqua(μ3-1H-benzimid­azole-5-carboxylato-κ3 N 3:O,O′)(μ2-1H-benzimidazole-5-carboxylato-κ3 N 3:O:O′)-μ5-sulfato-μ4-sulfato-tri­cadmium]

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Cd3(C8H5N2O2)2(SO4)2(H2O)3]n, contains three CdII ions, two sulfate anions, two 1H-benzimidazole-5-carboxyl­ate (H2bic) ligands and three coordinated water mol­ecules. One CdII ion is six-coordinated and exhibits a distorted octa­hedral geometry, while the other two CdII ions are seven-coordinated, displaying a distorted penta­gonal–bipyramidal geometry. The CdII ions are bridged by two types of sulfate anions, producing inorganic chains along [100]. These chains are further connected by the H2bic ligands, leading to a three-dimensional framework. N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and π–π inter­actions between the imidazole and benzene rings [centroid–centroid distances = 3.953 (2), 3.507 (2), 3.407 (2) and 3.561 (2) Å] further stabilize the crystal structure

Biological Properties of Acidic Cosmetic Water from Seawater

This current work was to investigate the biological effects of acidic cosmetic water (ACW) on various biological assays. ACW was isolated from seawater and demonstrated several bio-functions at various concentration ranges. ACW showed a satisfactory effect against Staphylococcus aureus, which reduced 90% of bacterial growth after a 5-second exposure. We used cultured human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to test the properties of ACW in inflammatory cytokine release, and it did not induce inflammatory cytokine release from un-stimulated, normal PBMCs. However, ACW was able to inhibit bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory cytokine TNF-α released from PBMCs, showing an anti-inflammation potential. Furthermore, ACW did not stimulate the rat basophilic leukemia cell (RBL-2H3) related allergy response on de-granulation. Our data presented ACW with a strong anti-oxidative ability in a superoxide anion radical scavenging assay. In mass spectrometry information, magnesium and zinc ions demonstrated bio-functional detections for anti-inflammation as well as other metal ions such as potassium and calcium were observed. ACW also had minor tyrosinase and melanin decreasing activities in human epidermal melanocytes (HEMn-MP) without apparent cytotoxicity. In addition, the cell proliferation assay illustrated anti-growth and anti-migration effects of ACW on human skin melanoma cells (A375.S2) indicating that it exerted the anti-cancer potential against skin cancer. The results obtained from biological assays showed that ACW possessed multiple bioactivities, including anti-microorganism, anti-inflammation, allergy-free, antioxidant, anti-melanin and anticancer properties. To our knowledge, this was the first report presenting these bioactivities on ACW

Current trends in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics.

Pharmacokinetics (PK) is the study of the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) processes of a drug. Understanding PK properties is essential for drug development and precision medication. In this review we provided an overview of recent research on PK with focus on the following aspects: (1) an update on drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters in the determination of PK, as well as advances in xenobiotic receptors and noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) in the modulation of PK, providing new understanding of the transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms that result in inter-individual variations in pharmacotherapy; (2) current status and trends in assessing drug-drug interactions, especially interactions between drugs and herbs, between drugs and therapeutic biologics, and microbiota-mediated interactions; (3) advances in understanding the effects of diseases on PK, particularly changes in metabolizing enzymes and transporters with disease progression; (4) trends in mathematical modeling including physiologically-based PK modeling and novel animal models such as CRISPR/Cas9-based animal models for DMPK studies; (5) emerging non-classical xenobiotic metabolic pathways and the involvement of novel metabolic enzymes, especially non-P450s. Existing challenges and perspectives on future directions are discussed, and may stimulate the development of new research models, technologies, and strategies towards the development of better drugs and improved clinical practice

Insight-HXMT observations of Swift J0243.6+6124 during its 2017-2018 outburst

The recently discovered neutron star transient Swift J0243.6+6124 has been monitored by {\it the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope} ({\it Insight-\rm HXMT). Based on the obtained data, we investigate the broadband spectrum of the source throughout the outburst. We estimate the broadband flux of the source and search for possible cyclotron line in the broadband spectrum. No evidence of line-like features is, however, found up to $\rm 150~keV$. In the absence of any cyclotron line in its energy spectrum, we estimate the magnetic field of the source based on the observed spin evolution of the neutron star by applying two accretion torque models. In both cases, we get consistent results with $B\rm \sim 10^{13}~G$, $D\rm \sim 6~kpc$ and peak luminosity of $\rm >10^{39}~erg~s^{-1}$ which makes the source the first Galactic ultraluminous X-ray source hosting a neutron star.Comment: publishe

Use of nanomaterials in the pretreatment of water samples for environmental analysis

The challenge of providing clean drinking water is of enormous relevance in today’s human civilization, being essential for human consumption, but also for agriculture, livestock and several industrial applications. In addition to remediation strategies, the accurate monitoring of pollutants in water sup-plies, which most of the times are present at low concentrations, is a critical challenge. The usual low concentration of target analytes, the presence of in-terferents and the incompatibility of the sample matrix with instrumental techniques and detectors are the main reasons that renders sample preparation a relevant part of environmental monitoring strategies. The discovery and ap-plication of new nanomaterials allowed improvements on the pretreatment of water samples, with benefits in terms of speed, reliability and sensitivity in analysis. In this chapter, the use of nanomaterials in solid-phase extraction (SPE) protocols for water samples pretreatment for environmental monitoring is addressed. The most used nanomaterials, including metallic nanoparticles, metal organic frameworks, molecularly imprinted polymers, carbon-based nanomaterials, silica-based nanoparticles and nanocomposites are described, and their applications and advantages overviewed. Main gaps are identified and new directions on the field are suggested.publishe