TCMNPAS: a comprehensive analysis platform integrating network formulaology and network pharmacology for exploring traditional Chinese medicine

The application of network formulaology and network pharmacology has significantly advanced the scientific understanding of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment mechanisms in disease. The field of herbal biology is experiencing a surge in data generation. However, researchers are encountering challenges due to the fragmented nature of the data and the reliance on programming tools for data analysis. We have developed TCMNPAS, a comprehensive analysis platform that integrates network formularology and network pharmacology. This platform is designed to investigate in-depth the compatibility characteristics of TCM formulas and their potential molecular mechanisms. TCMNPAS incorporates multiple resources and offers a range of functions designed for automated analysis implementation, including prescription mining, molecular docking, network pharmacology analysis, and visualization. These functions enable researchers to analyze and obtain core herbs and core formulas from herbal prescription data through prescription mining. Additionally, TCMNPAS facilitates virtual screening of active compounds in TCM and its formulas through batch molecular docking, allowing for the rapid construction and analysis of networks associated with "herb-compound-target-pathway" and disease targets. Built upon the integrated analysis concept of network formulaology and network pharmacology, TCMNPAS enables quick point-and-click completion of network-based association analysis, spanning from core formula mining from clinical data to the exploration of therapeutic targets for disease treatment. TCMNPAS serves as a powerful platform for uncovering the combinatorial rules and mechanism of TCM formulas holistically. We distribute TCMNPAS within an open-source R package at GitHub ( https://github.com/yangpluszhu/tcmnpas ), and the project is freely available at http://54.223.75.62:3838/ .

High hydrostatic pressure shapes the development and production of secondary metabolites of Mariana Trench sediment fungi

The hadal biosphere is one of the least understood ecosystems on our planet. Recent studies have revealed diverse and active communities of prokaryotes in hadal sediment. However, there have been few studies on fungi in hadal sediment. Here we report the first isolation and cultivation of 8 fungi from the Mariana Trench sediment. The individual colonies were isolated and identified as Stemphylium sp., Cladosporium sp., Arthrinium sp., Fusarium sp., Alternaria sp., and Aspergillus sp. High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) test was carried out to identify the piezophily of these hadal fungi. Among them, 7 out of the 8 fungal isolates exhibited the ability of germination after incubation under 40 MPa for 7 days. Vegetative growth of the isolates was also affected by HHP. Characterization of secondary metabolites under different pressure conditions was also performed. The production of secondary metabolites was affected by the HHP treatment, improving the potential of discovering novel natural products from hadal fungi. The antibacterial assay revealed the potential of discovering novel natural products. Our results suggest that fungal growth pressure plays an important role in the development and production of secondary metabolites of these hadal fungi under the extreme environment in the Mariana Trench.

Effect of La2O3 on Microstructure and Thermal Conductivity of La2O3-Doped YSZ Coatings

Enhancing the properties of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) by doping with rare earth elements has been a hot topic for a while. La2O3 and Y2O3 co-doped ZrO2 (La-YSZ) TBCs and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) TBCs were deposited by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS), and the comprehensive effects of La3+ on the microstructure and property were investigated. The thermal conductivity and microstructure were investigated and were compared with YSZ. The recrystallized fraction components of all TBCs were quantified. It is clearly found that the component of "recrystallized" and "deformed" grains for La-YSZ TBCs is much higher than that for YSZ TBCs. This could be due to La3+ doping enlarging the lattice parameter of YSZ and thus increasing the melting index, which in turns leads to the smaller grain size of La-YSZ TBCs. As a result, the thermal conductivities of La-YSZ TBCs were distinctly lower than those of YSZ TBCs.