[Clinical study of the influence of daily sedation interruption on fluctuation of blood glucose level and mortality of critical patients with multiple trauma].

Objective: To assess the influence of a protocol of routine daily interruption of sedation on fluctuation of blood glucose level and mortality of critical patients with multiple trauma.

Methods: A prospective study involving 68 critical patients with multiple trauma admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) was performed. Finger blood glucose level was measured after the implementation of daily interruption of sedation, and the results were recorded every 2 hours during the first 24 hours.

Association of Toll-like receptor 2 polymorphisms with gout.

Gout is the most common autoinflammatory arthritis characterized by elevated serum urate and recurrent attacks of intra-articular crystal deposition of monosodium urate (MSU) in tissues. The pathogenesis of gout has not been fully determined, although certain genetic factors are involved in the development of gout. Accumulated data suggested that MSU crystal-induced inflammation is a paradigm of innate immunity.

[A comparative study on short-term effectiveness between cemented and uncemented total hip arthroplasty for osteonecrosis of femoral head after renal transplantation].

Objective: To compare the short-term effectiveness between primary cemented and uncemented total hip arthroplasty (THA) for osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) after renal transplantation.

Methods: The clinical data were retrospectively analyzed from 18 patients (21 hips) with ONFH after renal transplantation undergoing cemented THA in 11 cases (13 hips) (cemented group) and uncemented THA in 7 cases (8 hips) (uncemented group) between February 2005 and February 2012. There was no significant difference in gender, age, disease duration, ONFH stage, preoperative Harris score, and bone density between 2 groups (P > 0.

Microcystin-LR stabilizes c-myc protein by inhibiting protein phosphatase 2A in HEK293 cells.

Microcystin-LR is the most toxic and the most frequently encountered toxin produced by the cyanobacteria in the contaminated aquatic environment. Previous studies have demonstrated that Microcystin-LR is a potential carcinogen for animals and humans, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified Microcystin-LR as a possible human carcinogen. However, the precise molecular mechanisms of Microcystin-LR-induced carcinogenesis remain a mystery.

Enantioselective palladium-catalyzed insertion of α-aryl-α-diazoacetates into the O-H bonds of phenols.

A palladium-catalyzed asymmetric O-H insertion reaction was developed. Palladium complexes with chiral spiro bisoxazoline ligands promoted the insertion of α-aryl-α-diazoacetates into the O-H bond of phenols with high yield and excellent enantioselectivity under mild reaction conditions. This palladium-catalyzed asymmetric O-H insertion reaction provided an efficient and highly enantioselective method for the preparation of synthetically useful optically active α-aryl-α-aryloxyacetates.

Value of serum procalcitonin in evaluating the prognosis of sepsis in elderly patients with colorectal cancer undergoing emergency colorectal surgery.

Serum procalcitonin (PCT) levels may have predictive value in the prognosis of postoperative sepsis in elderly patients who have undergone colorectal surgery for colorectal cancer in intensive care units (ICUs). A prospective study involving 90 critically ill patients who underwent colorectal surgery for colorectal cancer in ICUs was performed. Twenty-eight patients were diagnosed with sepsis, in accordance with the American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine consensus criteria, and these patients were included in the sepsis group.

Dihydroartemisinin induces apoptosis of cervical cancer cells via upregulation of RKIP and downregulation of bcl-2.

Treatment of recurrent and metastatic cervical cancer remains a challenge, especially in developing countries, which lack efficient screening programs. In recent years, artemisinin and its derivatives, such as dihydroartemisinin (DHA), which were traditionally used as anti-malarial agent, have been shown to inhibit tumor growth with low toxicity to normal cells. In this study, we investigated mechanisms underlying the anti-tumor effect of DHA in cervical cancer.

[Overexpression of p-Stat3 and Mcl-1, and their correlation with differentiation and apoptotic resistance in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma].

Objective: To detect the expression of phosphorylated-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (p-Stat3) and myeloid leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) as well as their correlation, and to investigate the functional role of Stat3 and Mcl-1 in the pathogenesis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Methods: Stat3 activity in ESCC cells was inhibited with JAK/Stat3 inhibitors (AG490 or JSI-124). Specific siRNA was used to inhibit the Stat3 expression.

Noninvasive intratracheal intubation to study the pathology and physiology of mouse lung.

The use of a model that mimics the condition of lung diseases in humans is critical for studying the pathophysiology and/or etiology of a particular disease and for developing therapeutic intervention. With the increasing availability of knockout and transgenic derivatives, together with a vast amount of genetic information, mice provide one of the best models to study the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathology and physiology of lung diseases. Inhalation, intranasal instillation, intratracheal instillation, and intratracheal intubation are the most widely used techniques by a number of investigators to administer materials of interest to mouse lungs.

Intermedin inhibits macrophage foam-cell formation via tristetraprolin-mediated decay of CD36 mRNA.

Aims: CD36-mediated uptake of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) plays a pivotal role in macrophage foam-cell formation and atherogenesis. Previously we reported on intermedin (IMD), a novel member of the calcitonin gene-related peptide family, in atherosclerotic plaque reducing atherogenesis in apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE(-/-)) mice. Here, we studied the role of IMD in CD36-mediated macrophage foam-cell formation.

Preclinical evaluation of human secretoglobin 3A2 in mouse models of lung development and fibrosis.

Secretoglobin (SCGB) 3A2 is a member of the SCGB gene superfamily of small secreted proteins, predominantly expressed in lung airways. We hypothesize that human SCGB3A2 may exhibit anti-inflammatory, growth factor, and antifibrotic activities and be of clinical utility. Recombinant human SCGB3A2 was expressed, purified, and biochemically characterized as a first step to its development as a therapeutic agent in clinical settings.

Coverage and parental perceptions of influenza vaccination among parents of children aged 6 to 23 months in Hong Kong.

Background: The impact of influenza on young children can be severe and even fatal. Influenza vaccination (IV) has been shown to be effective in reducing complications of influenza among children. This study investigated the prevalence and factors of IV among children aged 6-23 months in Hong Kong.

Role of Myc in hepatocellular proliferation and hepatocarcinogenesis.

Background & Aims: Myc is involved in cell growth, proliferation, apoptosis, energy metabolism, and differentiation. Whether it is essential for hepatocellular proliferation and carcinogenesis is unclear due to a lack of an efficient hepatocyte-specific Myc disruption model. This study used a novel genetic model to investigate the involvement of Myc in hepatocellular proliferation and hepatocarcinogenesis in mice.

[Effects of long-term rotation on the nutritional quality of wheat grain protein on dryland of Loess Plateau, Northwest China].

A long-term experiment was conducted on the dryland of Loess Plateau to study the effects of three typical rotation systems, including wheat-sainfoin rotation, wheat-pea rotation, and wheat-maize rotation, on the nutritional quality of wheat grain protein. Rotation system and the cropping years of rotated plants affected the nutritional quality of wheat grain protein in varying degrees. As compared with continuous wheat cropping, wheat-sainfoin rotation made the nutritional quality of wheat grain protein relatively stable, and the essential amino acid content, amino acid score, amino acid ratio coefficient, chemical score, and amino acid index of the protein all relatively high, being able to be adopted as a cropping system to product high quality protein wheat in Loess Plateau.

Improved analysis of oligosaccharides for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry using aminopyrazine as a derivatization reagent and a co-matrix.

Analysis of oligosaccharides by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is often limited by their low ionization efficiency and inadequate fragmentation information. Derivatizations of oligosaccharides to enhance their ionization in MS are widely used, but most of these methods require tedious cleanup steps that may cause sample losses. Here, aminopyrazine is developed as the derivatization reagent as well as the co-matrix to improve the detection of oligosaccharides by MALDI-TOF MS.

ROS generated by CYP450, especially CYP2E1, mediate mitochondrial dysfunction induced by tetrandrine in rat hepatocytes.

Aim: Tetrandrine, an alkaloid with a remarkable pharmacological profile, induces oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in hepatocytes; however, mitochondria are not the direct target of tetrandrine, which prompts us to elucidate the role of oxidative stress in tetrandrine-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and the sources of oxidative stress.

Methods: Rat primary hepatocytes were isolated by two-step collagenase perfusion. Mitochondrial function was evaluated by analyzing ATP content, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and the mitochondrial permeability transition.

Combined C-H functionalization/O-H insertion reaction to form tertiary β-alkoxy substituted β-aminophosphonates catalyzed by [Cu(MeCN)4]PF6.

The copper-catalyzed C-H functionalization/O-H insertion reaction of α-diazophosphonates with alcohols has been developed with iodine as an additive. In order to understand this reaction, we present here a possible mechanism for the combined reaction. This process provides straightforward access to tertiary β-alkoxy substituted β-aminophosphonate derivatives with moderate to good yields.

Identification and expression profiles of IL-8 in bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis) in response to microcystin-LR.

Microcystin-LR (MCLR) is a widespread cyanotoxin and has immunotoxicity to animals, including fish. Chemokines are considered to play important roles in inflammatory response induced by MCLR. In this study, we cloned the full-length cDNA of interleukin-8 (IL-8) from bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis) for the first time.

[The effects of real-time continuous glucose monitoring on oxidative stress and mortality in critically ill patients].

Objective: To evaluate the effects of real-time continuous glucose monitoring (RT-CGM) system on oxidative stress and mortality in critically ill patients and to explore the correlation between glucose index, oxidative stress and mortality.

Methods: Selected 123 cases of critically ill patients were enrolled in this prospective randomized controlled study. They were randomly divided into the RT-CGM group (n = 61) and blood glucose meter group (GM group, n = 62).

[Prediction of soil nutrients spatial distribution based on neural network model combined with goestatistics].

In this study, a radial basis function neural network model combined with ordinary kriging (RBFNN_OK) was adopted to predict the spatial distribution of soil nutrients (organic matter and total N) in a typical hilly region of Sichuan Basin, Southwest China, and the performance of this method was compared with that of ordinary kriging (OK) and regression kriging (RK). All the three methods produced the similar soil nutrient maps. However, as compared with those obtained by multiple linear regression model, the correlation coefficients between the measured values and the predicted values of soil organic matter and total N obtained by neural network model increased by 12.

Noninvasive monitoring of pulmonary fibrosis by targeting matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs).

While idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a devastating lung disease, the management of PF including effective monitoring of disease progression remains a challenge. Herein, we introduce a novel, fast, and ultrasensitive metalloproteinase (MMP) activatable optical probe, named MMP-P12, to noninvasively monitor PF progression and response to PF treatment. A bleomycin (BLM)-induced mouse PF model was subjected noninvasively to optical imaging at various time points after BLM treatment.

High diastereoselective vinylogous Mannich reaction induced by O-pivaloylated D-galactosylamine as the chiral auxiliary: stereoselective synthesis of 8-arylazocan-2-one.

The diastereospecific formation of β-N-glycosidically linked α,β-unsaturated δ-amino aldehyde derivatives has been achieved with high yield via a vinylogous Mannich reaction. The reaction was performed by using a O-pivaloylated galactosyl amine as a chiral template and AlCl3 as a promoter in THF. (S)-8-(p-Nitrophenyl) azocan-2-one can be stereoselective synthesized from (S) ethyl 7-galactosylamino-7-(p-nitrophenyl)hepta-2,4-dienoate by sequential hydrogenation of the double bond, cyclic lactam formation, and removal of the N-glycosidic auxiliary under basic conditions.

Diastereo- and enantioselective nitro-Mannich reaction of α-substituted nitroacetates to N-phosphoryl imines catalyzed by cinchona alkaloid thiourea organocatalysts.

The asymmetric nitro-Mannich reaction of N-phosphoryl imines with α-substituted nitroacetates was performed by using cinchona alkaloid thioureas as organocatalysts in toluene at -20 °C. The present method was highly tolerable to functionalized N-phosphoryl imines and provided a reliable synthetic route to obtain the corresponding β-nitro ethylphosphoramidates with adjacent quaternary and tertiary chiral centers in high yield (up to 86%) and high enantiostereoselectivity (up to 99% ee) and diastereoselectivity (up to 99 : 1, anti-selectivity).

Air-clad silicon pedestal structures for broadband mid-infrared microphotonics.

Toward mid-infrared (mid-IR) silicon microphotonic circuits, we demonstrate broadband on-chip silicon structures, such as: (i) straight and bent waveguides and (ii) beam splitters, utilizing an air-clad pedestal configuration which eliminates the need for typical mid-IR-lossy oxide cladding. We illustrate a sophisticated fabrication process that can create high-quality pedestal structures in crystalline silicon, while preserving its mid-IR transparency. A fundamental waveguide mode is observed between λ=2.