Synthesis of polysubstituted benzothiophenes and sulfur-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds via samarium diiodide promoted three-component coupling reactions of thiophene-2-carboxylate.

By the promotion of samarium diiodide, thiophene-2-carboxylate reacted with 2 equiv of ketones at the C-4 and C-5 positions to give diols such as 2 and 9. Because the intermediary organosamarium species were oxophilic but not too basic, the double hydroxyalkylations with various ketone substrates, including alkyl aryl ketones, acetylthiophenes, cyclohexanone, alpha-tetralone, and alpha-phenylacetophenones, were realized without complication of side reactions. The diol products underwent an acid-catalyzed dehydration to give dienes such as 3 and 10, which were treated with DDQ to give either polysubstituted thiophenes (e.

Single nucleotide polymorphism mapping using genome-wide unique sequences.

As more and more genomic DNAs are sequenced to characterize human genetic variations, the demand for a very fast and accurate method to genomically position these DNA sequences is high. We have developed a new mapping method that does not require sequence alignment. In this method, we first identified DNA fragments of 15 bp in length that are unique in the human genome and then used them to position single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sequences.

Signal transduction of chemokine platelet factor 4 in human erythroleukemia cells.

Previous data have demonstrated that CXC-chemokine platelet factor 4 (PF4) inhibits the proliferation of the human erythroleukemia cell line (HEL). However, the mechanism of action is unclear at present. The signaling transduction induced by PF4 in the HEL was compared with that induced by transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1), which is also a potent inhibitor of HEL growth.

Arsenic trioxide as a novel anticancer agent against human transitional carcinoma--characterizing its apoptotic pathway.

Arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)) has been shown to be an active agent against acute promyelocytic leukemia. Little is known about its therapeutic efficacy in human transitional carcinomas. In this study, the arsenic-mediated apoptotic pathway in transitional carcinoma cells was investigated.

Curcumin enhances cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic agents in prostate cancer cells by inducing p21(WAF1/CIP1) and C/EBPbeta expressions and suppressing NF-kappaB activation.

Background: The modulatory effects and molecular mechanisms of curcumin (CCM) on the cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic agents to prostate cancer cells were explored.

Methods: The combined effects of CCM and chemotherapeutic agents were examined by three different administration schedules (one concurrent and two sequential treatments) in two androgen-independent prostate cancer (AIPC) cells (PC-3 and DU145). Alteration of cell cycle progression, protein levels, and transcriptional activation in PC-3 cells were assayed by flow cytometry, Western blotting, and gel shift assay, respectively.

Technique of combined pubovaginal sling and cystocele repair using a single piece of cadaveric dermal graft.

Objectives: To investigate the feasibility of using a single piece of cadaveric dermal allograft for the repair of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) with concurrent cystocele.

Methods: Nineteen patients with combined SUI and symptomatic grade III cystoceles were treated. Eleven of 19 patients had undergone prior repairs for SUI.

Cross-resistance and combined cytotoxic effects of paclitaxel and cisplatin in bladder cancer cells.

Purpose: We studied the cross-resistance and combined cytotoxic effects of cisplatin and paclitaxel in bladder cancer cells in vitro.

Materials And Methods: The cytotoxicity of the 2 agents alone or in combination were studied in the bladder cancer cell line NTUB1 and the 2 sublines NTUB1/P, which is cisplatin resistant, and NTUB1/T, which is paclitaxel resistant, using the microculture tetrazolium assay. Schedule dependence of the 2-drug combination was assayed using 3 treatment schedules, including 1 concurrent and 2 sequential exposures.

Placement matching: challenges and technical progress.

Although it is highly desirable, standardized placement matching for substance use disorders poses challenges due to variability in settings, services, and syndromes; multidimensionality of clinical problems; multiplicity of outcome constructs; and temporal phenomena in the course of recovery. Despite these obstacles, progress is being made in developing patient placement criteria that are comprehensive with adequate reliability, feasibility, and resolution. With these methodological advances, it has been possible to initiate controlled research with placement criteria.

Characterization of chemoresistance mechanisms in a series of cisplatin-resistant transitional carcinoma cell lines.

We explored the mechanisms of cisplatin resistance in a series of bladder transitional carcinoma cells that are either sensitive or progressively resistant to cisplatin. Resistant lines were raised by chronic exposure of the parental cells to progressively increased concentrations of cisplatin. The cisplatin IC50s of the sensitive and the three resistant cells were 4.

Mitochondrial DNA deletion of the human detrusor after partial bladder outlet obstruction-correlation with urodynamic analysis.

Objectives: To investigate mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations in human detrusor after partial bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) and correlate the findings with the results of urodynamic studies.

Methods: Sixty-two male patients with and without BOO were recruited and assessed by the International Prostate Symptom Score, a quality-of-life assessment index, and sonography. The severity of partial BOO was determined by pressure-flow study with an International Continence Society (ICS) nomogram.

Mifepristone regulation of leukemia inhibitory factor and uterine receptivity in rabbits.

The effects of mifepristone on production of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and uterine receptivity in rabbits was studied. In ovariectomized rabbits, LIF protein was at an undetectable level in control (score = 0), and upregulated by progesterone alone (score = 4). Estrogen had no additive effect, and may even have had a slightly negative effect when the rabbits were treated with both estrogen and progesterone (score = 3).

Morphological and morphometric analysis of human detrusor mitochondria with urodynamic correlation after partial bladder outlet obstruction.

Purpose: We correlated ultrastructural changes in mitochondria in the human detrusor with the severity of partial bladder outlet obstruction on urodynamics.

Materials And Methods: We recruited into the study 52 men with and without bladder outlet obstruction symptoms. The severity of partial bladder outlet obstruction was determined by pressure flow study.

Megestrol acetate antagonizes cisplatin cytotoxicity.

Megestrol acetate (MGA) is being widely used for the improvement of appetite and performance status in patients receiving chemotherapy, especially cisplatin-containing therapy. However, little is known about whether MGA has an effect on cisplatin cytotoxicity. We have investigated this using two transitional carcinoma cell lines, i.

Economic reforms and the acute inpatient care of patients with schizophrenia: the Chinese experience.

Objective: This study compared insured and uninsured schizophrenic inpatients in China and examined changes in the acute inpatient care of schizophrenic patients during China's economic reform era.

Method: Detailed chart reviews of 50 randomly selected inpatients discharged from a hospital in central China each year from 1984 through 1993 identified 321 patients with schizophrenia. Demographic, insurance, treatment, and cost data of these patients were collected from the charts.

Non-small cell lung cancer with testicular metastasis: a case report.

A 51-year-old man was diagnosed to have non-small cell lung cancer, right middle lobe, with multiple bony metastasis. Systemic chemotherapy with the regimens of cisplatin plus etoposide was administered. A 2 x 2.

p53 mutations in esophageal tumors from high-incidence areas of China.

Carcinomas of the upper digestive tract (squamous-cell carcinoma of the esophagus, adenocarcinoma of the cardia) from 24 patients residing in Linxian (China) and near-by high-incidence areas were analyzed for mutations in exons 5-8 of the p53 tumor-suppressor gene. Mutations were identified by polymerase chain reaction amplification and direct sequencing in 50% of the specimens. Eleven tumors harbored a single base-pair substitution leading to either an amino-acid substitution (8 tumors) or a chain-termination signal (3 tumors), and one tumor revealed a 15-bp deletion in exon 7 with a silent base substitution adjacent to the deletion site.

Volatile N-nitrosamines and their precursors in Chinese salted fish--a possible etological factor for NPC in china.

Epidemiological studies show that the consumption of Chinese salted fish is a causative factor for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in southern China. In the present study, N-nitrosamines and their precursors were analyzed in 145 samples of cooked, salted fish collected from various areas in China. The results show that N-dimethylnitrosamine (NDMA), N-diethylnitrosamine (NDEA), N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR) and N-nitrosopiperidine (NPIP) were present in the salted fish.

Altered expression of the cyclin D1 and retinoblastoma genes in human esophageal cancer.

We have examined DNA from four human esophageal carcinoma cell lines and 50 primary esophageal carcinomas obtained from China, Italy, and France for amplification of the cyclin D1 gene. We also examined 36 of these 50 carcinomas for expression of the cyclin D1 and retinoblastoma (RB) proteins by immunohistochemistry. We found a 3- to 10-fold amplification of the cyclin D1 gene in 16 of the 50 (32%) tumors and in two of the four cell lines.

Inhibitory effect of interferon and tumor necrosis factor on human luteal function in vitro.

Objective: To investigate whether immunological mechanisms may be involved in human luteal function.

Design: The effects of the cytokines, interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) on steroidogenesis by human luteal cells were examined in vitro. The dispersed human luteal cells, obtained from a total of 17 women at laparotomy, were cultured separately in the presence or absence of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and IFNs/TNF-alpha with the medium being replaced at 48 hours.

Amplification and expression of the human cyclin D gene in esophageal cancer.

Amplification of the hst-1 and int-2 genes on chromosome 11q13 has previously been found in over 20% of human primary esophageal cancers. However, these two genes do not appear to be transcribed in appreciable amounts. Recently, the human cyclin D gene (also referred to as prad1) has been mapped to the 11q13 locus.