Foshan University

About: Foshan University is a education organization based out in Foshan, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Catalysis & Adsorption. The organization has 3906 authors who have published 4171 publications receiving 40027 citations.

Chemical composition and pharmacological mechanism of ephedra-glycyrrhiza drug pair against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Abstract: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) had demonstrated effectiveness in the prevention and control of COVID-19. Statistics showed that Ephedra and Glycyrrhiza were frequently used in the treatment of COVID-19. We hypothesized that the Ephedra-Glycyrrhiza drug pair is a potential choice for the treatment of COVID-19. Here, 112 active compounds were identified from Ephedra-Glycyrrhiza via network pharmacology approach. Ephedra-Glycyrrhiza pair enrichment analysis demonstrated that these compounds might participate in the cAMP, PI3K-Akt, JAK-STAT and chemokine signaling pathways, which had a high correlation with respiratory, nervous, blood circulation and digestive system-related diseases. Pathway analysis between Ephedra-Glycyrrhiza and COVID-19 showed that the key targets were TNF-α, IL2, FOS, ALB, and PTGS2. They might control PI3K-Akt signaling pathway to exert immune regulation, organ protection and antiviral effects. Molecular docking results showed that the active compounds from the Ephedra-Glycyrrhiza pair bound well to COVID-19 related targets, including the main protease (Mpro, also called 3CLpro), the spike protein (S protein), and the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The Molecular dynamics simulation was analyzed for the stability and flexibility of the complex. In conclusion, our study elucidated the potential pharmacological mechanism of Ephedra-Glycyrrhiza in the treatment of COVID-19 through multiple targets and pathways.

High energy-storage performance of lead-free AgNbO3 antiferroelectric ceramics fabricated via a facile approach

Abstract: AgNbO3 lead free AFE ceramics are considered as one of the promising alternatives to energy storage applications. In the majority of studies concerning the preparation of AgNbO3 AFE ceramics, an oxygen atmosphere is required to achieve high performance, increasing the complexity of the fabrication process. Herein, a facile approach to preparing AgNbO3 ceramics in the ambient air was reported, in which the AgNbO3 ultrafine powder with stable perovskite structure was synthesized by hydrothermal method instead of the conventional ball milling process, leading to a lower temperature of phase formation and thus smaller grain size. The resulting ceramics sintered at 940 °C displayed high breakdown strength (216 kV/cm) and a recoverable energy density of 3.26 J/cm3 with efficiency of 53.5 %. Also, the high thermal stability of recoverable energy density (with minimal variation of ≤20 %) and efficiency (≤ 10 %) over 30–150℃, enables AgNbO3 ceramics achieved to be a promising candidate for energy storage applications.