Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Complex Phenylpropanoid Derivatives by the Botrytis cinerea Secretome and Evaluation of Their Wnt Inhibition Activity

In this study, a series of complex phenylpropanoid derivatives were obtained by chemoenzymatic biotransformation of ferulic acid, caffeic acid, and a mixture of both acids using the enzymatic secretome of Botrytis cinerea. These substrates were incubated with fungal enzymes, and the reactions were monitored using state-of-the-art analytical methods. Under such conditions, a series of dimers, trimers, and tetramers were generated. The reactions were optimized and scaled up. The resulting mixtures were purified by high-resolution semi-preparative HPLC combined with dry load introduction. This approach generated a series of 23 phenylpropanoid derivatives, 11 of which are described here for the first time. These compounds are divided into 12 dimers, 9 trimers (including a completely new structural scaffold), and 2 tetramers. Elucidation of their structures was performed with classical spectroscopic methods such as NMR and HRESIMS analyses. The resulting compound series were analyzed for anti-Wnt activity in TNBC cells, with several derivatives demonstrating specific inhibition.

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State-of-the-Art Char Production with a Focus on Bark Feedstocks: Processes, Design, and Applications

Processes ◽

10.3390/pr9010087 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 87

Author(s):

Ali Umut Şen ◽

Helena Pereira

Keyword(s):

State Of The Art ◽

Lignocellulosic Materials ◽

Heating Rates ◽

Production Methods ◽

Slow Pyrolysis ◽

Production Studies ◽

Lignocellulosic Feedstocks ◽

Thermochemical Method ◽

Superior Surface ◽

First Time

In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in char production from lignocellulosic biomass due to the fact of char’s interesting technological properties. Global char production in 2019 reached 53.6 million tons. Barks are among the most important and understudied lignocellulosic feedstocks that have a large potential for exploitation, given bark global production which is estimated to be as high as 400 million cubic meters per year. Chars can be produced from barks; however, in order to obtain the desired char yields and for simulation of the pyrolysis process, it is important to understand the differences between barks and woods and other lignocellulosic materials in addition to selecting a proper thermochemical method for bark-based char production. In this state-of-the-art review, after analyzing the main char production methods, barks were characterized for their chemical composition and compared with other important lignocellulosic materials. Following these steps, previous bark-based char production studies were analyzed, and different barks and process types were evaluated for the first time to guide future char production process designs based on bark feedstock. The dry and wet pyrolysis and gasification results of barks revealed that application of different particle sizes, heating rates, and solid residence times resulted in highly variable char yields between the temperature range of 220 °C and 600 °C. Bark-based char production should be primarily performed via a slow pyrolysis route, considering the superior surface properties of slow pyrolysis chars.

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UV Inscription and Pressure Induced Long-Period Gratings through 3D Printed Amplitude Masks

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21061977 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (6) ◽

pp. 1977

Author(s):

Ricardo Oliveira ◽

Liliana M. Sousa ◽

Ana M. Rocha ◽

Rogério Nogueira ◽

Lúcia Bilro

Keyword(s):

State Of The Art ◽

Low Cost ◽

Resonance Wavelength ◽

Complex Structures ◽

Pressing Method ◽

Long Period ◽

Long Period Gratings ◽

3D Printed ◽

Mechanical Pressing ◽

First Time

In this work, we demonstrate for the first time the capability to inscribe long-period gratings (LPGs) with UV radiation using simple and low cost amplitude masks fabricated with a consumer grade 3D printer. The spectrum obtained for a grating with 690 µm period and 38 mm length presented good quality, showing sharp resonances (i.e., 3 dB bandwidth < 3 nm), low out-of-band loss (~0.2 dB), and dip losses up to 18 dB. Furthermore, the capability to select the resonance wavelength has been demonstrated using different amplitude mask periods. The customization of the masks makes it possible to fabricate gratings with complex structures. Additionally, the simplicity in 3D printing an amplitude mask solves the problem of the lack of amplitude masks on the market and avoids the use of high resolution motorized stages, as is the case of the point-by-point technique. Finally, the 3D printed masks were also used to induce LPGs using the mechanical pressing method. Due to the better resolution of these masks compared to ones described on the state of the art, we were able to induce gratings with higher quality, such as low out-of-band loss (0.6 dB), reduced spectral ripples, and narrow bandwidths (~3 nm).

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Electro-Quasistatic Animal Body Communication for Untethered Rodent Biopotential Recording

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-81108-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Shreeya Sriram ◽

Shitij Avlani ◽

Matthew P. Ward ◽

Shreyas Sen

Keyword(s):

Lower Energy ◽

Sensor Node ◽

State Of The Art ◽

The Body ◽

Animal Body ◽

Current State ◽

Communication Modalities ◽

First Time ◽

Biopotential Recording

AbstractContinuous multi-channel monitoring of biopotential signals is vital in understanding the body as a whole, facilitating accurate models and predictions in neural research. The current state of the art in wireless technologies for untethered biopotential recordings rely on radiative electromagnetic (EM) fields. In such transmissions, only a small fraction of this energy is received since the EM fields are widely radiated resulting in lossy inefficient systems. Using the body as a communication medium (similar to a ’wire’) allows for the containment of the energy within the body, yielding order(s) of magnitude lower energy than radiative EM communication. In this work, we introduce Animal Body Communication (ABC), which utilizes the concept of using the body as a medium into the domain of untethered animal biopotential recording. This work, for the first time, develops the theory and models for animal body communication circuitry and channel loss. Using this theoretical model, a sub-inch$$^3$$ 3 [1″ × 1″ × 0.4″], custom-designed sensor node is built using off the shelf components which is capable of sensing and transmitting biopotential signals, through the body of the rat at significantly lower powers compared to traditional wireless transmissions. In-vivo experimental analysis proves that ABC successfully transmits acquired electrocardiogram (EKG) signals through the body with correlation $$>99\%$$ > 99 % when compared to traditional wireless communication modalities, with a 50$$\times$$ × reduction in power consumption.

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Thermoelectric Sensor Coupled Yagi–Uda Nanoantenna for Infrared Detection

Electronics ◽

10.3390/electronics10050527 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 527

Author(s):

Waleed Tariq Sethi ◽

Olivier De Sagazan ◽

Mohamed Himdi ◽

Hamsakutty Vettikalladi ◽

Saleh A. Alshebeili

Keyword(s):

State Of The Art ◽

Infrared Detection ◽

Single Element ◽

Center Wavelength ◽

Resonance Response ◽

Thermal Measurements ◽

Radiation Induced ◽

Thermoelectric Sensor ◽

Junction Array ◽

First Time

We present an experimental demonstration of a thermoelectric sensor coupled with a nanoantenna as an alternative option for detecting infrared energy. Two nanoantenna design (single element and an array) variations based on Yagi-Uda technology and one separate nano-thermoelectric junction array were fabricated and tested. The nanoantennas were tuned to operate and respond at a center wavelength of 1550 nm (193.5 THz) optical C-band window, but they also exhibited a resonance response when excited by lasers of various wavelengths (650 nm and 940 nm). The radiation-induced electric currents in the nanoantennas, coupled with a nano-thermoelectric sensor, produced a potential difference as per the Seebeck effect. With respect to the uniform thermal measurements of the reference nanoantenna, the experiments confirmed the detection properties of the proposed nanoantennas; the single element detected a peak percentage voltage hike of 28%, whereas the array detected a peak percentage voltage hike of 80% at the center wavelength. Compared to state-of-the-art thermoelectric designs, this was the first time that such peak percentage voltages were experimentally reported following a planar design based on the Seebeck principle.

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Domain Adaptation Using a Three-Way Decision Improves the Identification of Autism Patients from Multisite fMRI Data

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11050603 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 603

Author(s):

Chunlei Shi ◽

Xianwei Xin ◽

Jiacai Zhang

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Domain Adaptation ◽

Recognition Accuracy ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Fmri Data ◽

Target Domain ◽

Sample Distribution ◽

Machine Learning Methods ◽

First Time

Machine learning methods are widely used in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Due to the lack of labelled ASD data, multisite data are often pooled together to expand the sample size. However, the heterogeneity that exists among different sites leads to the degeneration of machine learning models. Herein, the three-way decision theory was introduced into unsupervised domain adaptation in the first time, and applied to optimize the pseudolabel of the target domain/site from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) features related to ASD patients. The experimental results using multisite fMRI data show that our method not only narrows the gap of the sample distribution among domains but is also superior to the state-of-the-art domain adaptation methods in ASD recognition. Specifically, the ASD recognition accuracy of the proposed method is improved on all the six tasks, by 70.80%, 75.41%, 69.91%, 72.13%, 71.01% and 68.85%, respectively, compared with the existing methods.

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A hierarchical oxygen vacancy-rich WO3 with “nanowire-array-on-nanosheet-array” structure for highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Journal of Materials Chemistry A ◽

10.1039/c9ta01044k ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (12) ◽

pp. 6730-6739 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Jinxiang Diao ◽

Wenyu Yuan ◽

Yu Qiu ◽

Laifei Cheng ◽

Xiaohui Guo

Keyword(s):

Oxygen Vacancy ◽

Oxygen Evolution Reaction ◽

Oxygen Vacancies ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Nanowire Array ◽

Nanowire Arrays ◽

Nanosheet Array ◽

Nanosheet Arrays ◽

Array Structure ◽

First Time

Hierarchical vertical WO3 nanowire arrays on vertical WO3 nanosheet arrays with rich oxygen vacancies were synthesized via a simple and facile method, and the outstanding OER performance which is superior to that of most reported state-of-the-art catalysts was reported for the first time.

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Phenolic Constituents of Knautia arvensis Aerial Parts

Natural Product Communications ◽

10.1177/1934578x1100601117 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 6 (11) ◽

pp. 1934578X1100601 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jaroslaw Moldoch ◽

Barbara Szajwaj ◽

Milena Masullo ◽

Lukasz Pecio ◽

Wieslaw Oleszek ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chlorogenic Acid ◽

2D Nmr ◽

Spectroscopic Methods ◽

Flavone Glycoside ◽

Aerial Parts ◽

Dicaffeoylquinic Acid ◽

Phenolic Constituents ◽

First Time

A new C-6 flavone glycoside (6), together with seven known compounds, cryptochlorogenic acid (1), chlorogenic acid (2), 2- O- trans-caffeoylhydrocitric acid (3), isovitexin 7-β-D-glucopyranoside (4), 7,4′-dihydroxy-5-methoxyflavone-6- C-β-D-glucopyranoside (5), 3,5- O-dicaffeoylquinic acid (7) and 4,5- O-dicaffeoylquinic acid (8), were isolated from the aerial parts of Knautia arvensis. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods including 1D- (1H, 13C and TOCSY) and 2D-NMR (DQF-COSY, HSQC, HMBC) experiments, as well as ESIMS analysis. Compounds 1, 3-5 and 8 are reported for the first time in Knautia arvensis.

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Flavon- and Flavonolglycosides from Achillea pannonica Scheele

Zeitschrift für Naturforschung C ◽

10.1515/znc-2001-7-808 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 56 (7-8) ◽

pp. 521-525 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Denata Kasaj ◽

Liselotte Krenn ◽

Sonja Prinz ◽

Antje Hüfner ◽

Shi Shan Yuc ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Methanolic Extract ◽

2D Nmr ◽

Flavonoid Glycosides ◽

Spectroscopic Methods ◽

Esi Ms ◽

Aerial Parts ◽

Nmr Techniques ◽

Chemotaxonomic Study ◽

First Time ◽

C Nmr

The detailed investigation of a methanolic extract of aerial parts of Achillea pannonica SCHEELE. within a chemotaxonomic study led to the isolation of 6 flavonoid glycosides. Besides rutin, apigenin-7-O-glucopyranoside, luteolin-7-O-glucopyranoside, apigenin-7-O-rutinoside and acacetin-7-O-rutinoside, an unusual flavondiglucoside was isolated. Its structure was established by UV, 1HNMR and 13C NMR spectroscopic methods including 2D-NMR techniques and ESI-MS as luteolin-7,4′-O-β-diglucoside. This substance is reported for the first time in the genus Achillea. Chemotaxonomic aspects are discussed briefly

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Chemical components of the rhizomes of Drynaria fortunei (KUNZE) J. Sm. (polypodiaceae) in Vietnam

Collection of Czechoslovak Chemical Communications ◽

10.1135/cccc2010098 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 76 (9) ◽

pp. 1133-1139 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Pham Thi Nhat Trinh ◽

Nguyen Cong Hao ◽

Phan Thanh Thao ◽

Le Tien Dung

Keyword(s):

Data Analysis ◽

Spectral Data ◽

Phenolic Acid ◽

Ethanol Extract ◽

Chemical Components ◽

Spectroscopic Methods ◽

Phenylpropanoid Glycoside ◽

Spectral Data Analysis ◽

First Time

From the ethanol extract of Drynaria fortunei (KUNZE) J. Sm., a new phenylpropanoid glycoside, fortunamide (1), was isolated and characterized by spectroscopic methods. Together with a new glycoside, 9 known compounds, including three curcuminoids (2–4), two isoprenylated flavonoids (5, 6), two flavonoids (7, 8), one monoterpenoid (9) and one phenolic acid (10) were isolated and identified by spectral data analysis from the rhizomes of Drynaria fortunei (KUNZE) J. Sm. Eight of them were isolated from Drynaria fortunei (KUNZE) J. Sm. for the first time.

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Resolved Stellar Populations of the interacting galaxies of the M81 group

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s1743921316011108 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (S321) ◽

pp. 22-24

Author(s):

Sakurako Okamoto ◽

Nobuo Arimoto ◽

Annette M.N. Ferguson ◽

Edouard J. Bernard ◽

Mike J. Irwin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Main Sequence ◽

Field Survey ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Young Stars ◽

Interacting Galaxies ◽

Wide Field ◽

Red Giant ◽

Tidal Streams ◽

Stellar Associations ◽

First Time

AbstractWe present the results from the state-of-the-art wide-field survey of the M81 galaxy group that we are conducting with Hyper Suprime-Cam on Subaru Telescope. Our photometry reaches about 2 mag below the tip of the red giant branch (RGB) and reveals the spatial distribution of both old and young stars over an area of 5°2around the M81. The young main-sequence (MS) stars closely follow the HI distribution and can be found in a stellar stream between M81 and NGC 3077 and in numerous outlying stellar associations. Our survey also reveals for the first time the very extended (>2 × R25) halos of RGB stars around M81, M82, and NGC 3077, as well as faint tidal streams that link these systems. The gravitational interactions between M81, M82 and NGC 3077 galaxies induced star formation in tidally stripped gas, and also significantly perturbed the older stellar components leading to disturbed halo morphologies.

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