Dihydroagarofuran Derivatives from the Dried Roots of <i>Tripterygium wilfordii</i>

Five new sesquiterpene derivatives, including dihydroagarofuran pyridine macrolides <b>1</b>–<b>4</b> and dihydroagarofuran ester <b>18</b>, and 13 known dihydroagarofuran derivatives were isolated from the aqueous EtOH extract of the dried roots of <i>Tripterygium wilfordii</i>. An in vitro antiherpetic activity assay indicated that compounds <b>11</b> and <b>17</b> displayed weak and moderate inhibition against herpes simplex virus type II, respectively

Comparison of Fe/surfactant improved montmorillonite: adsorbing and in situ decomposing methylene blue and recycling use

<p>Montmorillonite (MMt) was intercalated by polymeric Fe, or by N-ethyl dodecyl nicotinate bromide (EDNB), or by both. The improved MMt designated as Fe/MMt, EDNB/MMt, and EDNB/MMt/Fe, respectively. A comparison was performed on the improved MMt in the uptake and in the degradation of methylene blue (MB) as well as in the recycling use. The results showed that EDNB/MMt adsorbed more MB than the other two; however, Fe/MMt and EDNB/MMt/Fe acted faster than the former. The adsorption of MB on the three adsorbents followed Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetics. In addition, MB adsorbing on EDNB/MMt was also well described by intraparticle diffusion model. MB removal by EDNB/MMt experienced an endothermic and entropy driving process, but an exothermic and entropy declining process by the other two. pH of the solution affected MB removal. When pH of the solution is high than 10, MB uptake diminished on Fe/MMt and EDNB/MMt/Fe; however, it slightly increased on EDNB/MMt. MB could be decomposed by Fenton reagent on the improved MMt, and the adsorbents could be reused. By coupling the adsorption and degradation <i>in situ</i> by H₂O₂/Fe²⁺ or Fe³⁺, MB removal by Fe/MMt and EDNB/MMt/Fe was almost maintained in the ten cycles. So, present work deepens the understanding of modified MMt in the application of dye wastewater treatment.</p

Self-Assembly and Anticorrosive Property of <i>N</i>‑Alkyl-4-[2-(methoxycarbonyl)vinyl]pyridinium Bromides on X70 Steel in an Acid Medium: an Experimental and Theoretical Probe

A new type of self-assembly inhibitors, <i>N</i>-alkyl-4-[2-(methoxycarbonyl)­vinyl]­pyridinium bromide surfactants (designated as PPA-<i>n</i>, <i>n</i> = 8, 10, 12, and 14), has been synthesized and characterized by various spectrum methodologies. The anticorrosive performance of PPA-<i>n</i> on X70 steel in 5 M HCl was evaluated via weight loss and electrochemical methods as well as theoretical calculation. Scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy evidenced that PPA-<i>n</i> molecules self-assembled and formed a compact monolayer on the X70 surface, which blocked the active sites and elevated the energy barrier of the corrosion reaction of X70 steel. The inhibitory efficiency of PPA-<i>n</i> was up to 98% at 75 μM PPA-14. The inhibition capacity as well as resistance to corrosion at higher temperature increased with prolonged alkyl chain in PPA-<i>n</i>. Density functional theory calculation suggested that the ester group and pyridinium ring might be the most active sites for PPA-<i>n</i> adsorbing on the X70 steel surface via the π* orbital of the pyridinium accepting the 4s electrons of iron and empty 3d orbital of iron taking up the nonpair electrons of the O atom in PPA-<i>n</i>. The energy gap of the frontier orbitals of PPA-<i>n</i> are in the order of PPA-8 > PPA-10 > PPA-12 > PPA-14, inferring a contrary order in the inhibition efficiency

Transcriptome Analysis of Liangshan Pig Muscle Development at the Growth Curve Inflection Point and Asymptotic Stages Using Digital Gene Expression Profiling

<div><p>Animal growth curves can provide essential information for animal breeders to optimize feeding and management strategies. However, the genetic mechanism underlying the phenotypic differentiation between the inflection point and asymptotic stages of the growth curve is not well characterized. Here, we employed Liangshan pigs in stages of growth at the inflection point (under inflection point: UIP) and the two asymptotic stages (before the inflection point: BIP, after the inflection point: AIP) as models to survey global gene expression in the <i>longissimus dorsi</i> muscle using digital gene expression (DGE) tag profiling. We found Liangshan pigs reached maximum growth rate (UIP) at 163.6 days of age and a weight of 134.6 kg. The DGE libraries generated 117 million reads of 5.89 gigabases in length. 21,331, 20,996 and 20,139 expressed transcripts were identified BIP, UIP and AIP, respectively. Among them, we identified 757 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between BIP and UIP, and 271 DEGs between AIP and UIP. An enrichment analysis of DEGs proved the immune system was strengthened in the AIP stage. Energy metabolism rate, global transcriptional activity and bone development intensity were highest UIP. Meat from Liangshan pigs had the highest intramuscular fat content and most favorable fatty acid composition in the AIP. Three hundred eighty (27.70%) specific expression genes were highly enriched in QTL regions for growth and meat quality traits. This study completed a comprehensive analysis of diverse genetic mechanisms underlying the inflection point and asymptotic stages of growth. Our findings will serve as an important resource in the understanding of animal growth and development in indigenous pig breeds.</p></div

The reliability and reproducibility of DGE.

<p>(A-F) The correlation between DGE and Q-PCR. <i>LMCD1</i>: LIM and cysteine-rich domains 1, <i>HSP 70</i>: heat shock protein 70, <i>TXNIP</i>: thioredoxin interacting protein, <i>CYTB</i>: cytochrome b, <i>POLR2F</i>: polymerase (RNA) II (DNA directed) polypeptide F, <i>GPI</i>: glucose-6-phosphate isomerase. The Pearson correlation coefficient (r) and the corresponding significance value (P) were shown above the histogram. (H-J): Hierarchical clustering analysis for biological reproducibility. BIP: before inflection point, UIP: under inflection point, AIP: after inflection point.</p

Specific expression genes distribution in chromosome and QTLs region.

<p>The statistical significance was calculated by the <i>χ</i>²-test (**: <i>P</i> < 10⁻⁴). MT: mitochondria.</p><p>Specific expression genes distribution in chromosome and QTLs region.</p

Gene Ontology (GO) categories enriched for DEGs between BIP and UIP.

<p>UP: genes higher expressed in BIP, Down: genes higher expressed in UIP. The EASE score, which indicated the significance of the comparison, was calculated by Benjamini-corrected modified Fisher’s exact test. BP, biological process; MF, molecular function.“Gene number” was the number of genes that significantly enriched in each Go term.</p

Analysis of genes involved in intramuscular fat and fatty acid synthesis.

<p>(A) Intramuscular fat synthesis related genes expression. (B) Fatty acid synthesis related genes expression. Data are means ± SD. Statistical significance was calculated by one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (n = 3 per individual).* <i>p</i> < 0.05, ** <i>p</i> < 0.01.</p

Analysis of genes involved in transcriptional activity among the three development stages.

<p>(A) The relative mitochondrial DNA copy number. (B) The mitochondrial genes expression. (C) The proportion of change of global gene expression. ‘UIP v BIP’ means the all DEGs between UIP and BIP, ‘UP’ is the proportion of high expressed in UIP of all DEGs. (D) The expression of general initiation transcription factors and translation initiation factor.</p

Growth curves of Liangshan pigs.

<p>Growth curves of Liangshan pigs.</p