Synthesis and evaluation of novel amonafide-polyamine conjugates as anticancer agents.

With the aim of upregulating antitumor efficacy and downregulating adverse effects, the amino group in the three-position of amonafide aromatic ring was modified by coupling with different amine/polyamine motifs via two linkers. Two series of naphthalimide derivatives were designed and synthesized and evaluated for their antitumor properties in vitro and in vivo. The preliminary in vitro trials revealed that compounds with urea as the linker were not active, and the presence of aspirin elevated the potency of 6k against tumor cells, wound healing, and the protein expression of cyclic D1 and MMP9.

A Hexagonal Covalent Porphyrin Framework as an Efficient Support for Gold Nanoparticles toward Catalytic Reduction of 4-Nitrophenol.

A hexagonal porphyrin-based porous organic polymer, namely, CPF-1, was constructed by 3+2 ketoenamine condensation of the C -symmetric porphyrin diamine 5,15-bis(4-aminophenyl)-10,20-diphenylporphyrin and 1,3,5-triformylphloroglucinol. This material exhibits permanent porosity and excellent thermal and chemical stability. CPF-1 can be employed as a superior supporting substrate to immobilize Au nanoparticles (NPs) as a result of the strong interactions between Au NPs and the CPF support.

Enantiomers of tetrahedral metal-organic cages: a new class of highly efficient G-quadruplex ligands with potential anticancer activities.

Four pairs of enantiomers of water-stable tetrahedral metal-organic cages [Ni4L6](8+) were facilely synthesized. They efficiently stabilized antiparallel G-quadruplex DNA with moderate enantioselectivity, and displayed promising cytotoxicity against the human cancer cell lines HCT116, HepG2 and MCF-7. These results provide a new insight into the rational design of chiral G-quadruplex-based anticancer agents.

The potential adjuvanticity of quaternized chitosan hydrogel based microparticles for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus inactivated vaccine.

Infectious diseases possess a big threat to the livestock industry worldwide. Currently, inactivated veterinary vaccines have attracted much attention to prevent infection due to their safer profile compared to live attenuated vaccine. However, its intrinsic poor immunogenicity demands the incorporation of an adjuvant.

Protective effect of Xuebijing injection against acute lung injury induced by left ventricular ischemia/reperfusion in rabbits.

Xuebijing (XBJ) is a Chinese herbal preparation. Previous studies have demonstrated that XBJ injection is able to inhibit the uncontrolled release of endogenous inflammatory mediators, attenuate inflammation, and alleviate organ damage. However, there are no relevant reports on the protective effect of XBJ against left ventricular ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced acute lung injury (ALI).

A novel strategy for the preparation of porous microspheres and its application in peptide drug loading.

A new strategy is developed to prepare porous microspheres with narrow size distribution for peptides controlled release, involving a fabrication of porous microspheres without any porogens followed by a pore closing process. Amphiphilic polymers with different hydrophobic segments (poly(monomethoxypolyethylene glycol-co-d,l-lactide) (mPEG-PLA), poly(monomethoxypolyethylene glycol-co-d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (mPEG-PLGA)) are employed as microspheres matrix to prepare porous microspheres based on a double emulsion-premix membrane emulsification technique combined with a solvent evaporation method. Both microspheres possess narrow size distribution and porous surface, which are mainly caused by (a) hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG) segments absorbing water molecules followed by a water evaporation process and (b) local explosion of microspheres due to fast evaporation of dichloromethane (MC).

Iron(ii)-triazole core-shell nanocomposites: toward multistep spin crossover materials.

The first SCO@SCO core-shell nanomaterials have been synthesized by the step-by-step microemulsion method. The observed gyroscopic core-shell nanocomposites exhibit three-step spin crossover behaviour with thermal hysteresis at around room temperature. This offers an efficient and novel strategy for the development of multistable SCO materials.

Synthesis and biological properties of polyamine modified flavonoids as hepatocellular carcinoma inhibitors.

A series of polyamine conjugates of flavonoids with a naphthalene motif were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-hepatocellular carcinoma properties using in vitro and in vivo assays. Compound 8a displayed favorable selectivity between hepatocellular carcinoma cells and normal hepatocyte cells, and the combination of 8a with aspirin resulted in additive inhibition of in vitro tumor cell growth and migration. The 8a-aspirin combination also inhibited H22 liver tumor growth and pulmonary metastasis and improved body weight index in animal models.

Effect of a polysaccharide from Poria cocos on humoral response in mice immunized by H1N1 influenza and HBsAg vaccines.

Poria cocos has a long history of medicinal use in China. Polysaccharides and their derivatives in the medicine exhibit many beneficial biological activities including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiviral activities. In this study, a new polysaccharide (PCP-II) was isolated from sclerotium of Poria cocos.

Dominance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea community induced by land use change from Masson pine to eucalypt plantation in subtropical China.

A considerable proportion of Masson pine forests have been converted into eucalypt plantations in the last 30 years in Guangdong Province, subtropical China, for economic reasons, which may affect the ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) community and the process of ammonia transformation. In order to determine the effects of forest conversion on AOA community, AOA communities in a Masson pine (Pinus massoniana) plantation and a eucalypt (Eucalyptus urophylla) plantation, which was converted from the Masson pine, were compared. Results showed that the land use change from the Masson pine to the eucalypt plantation decreased soil nutrient levels.

Preparation of Uniform-Sized and Dual Stimuli-Responsive Microspheres of Poly(-Isopropylacrylamide)/Poly(Acrylic acid) with Semi-IPN Structure by One-Step Method.

A novel strategy was developed to synthesize uniform semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) microspheres by premix membrane emulsification combined with one-step polymerization. Synthesized poly(acrylic acid) (PAAc) polymer chains were added prior to the inner water phase, which contained -isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) monomer, ,'-methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) cross-linker, and ammonium persulfate (APS) initiator. The mixtures were pressed through a microporous membrane to form a uniform water-in-oil emulsion.

The Effects of Different Methods of Anaesthesia for Laparoscopic Radical Gastrectomy with Monitoring of Entropy.

Aim: To investigate the effects of methods of total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) and combined intravenous and inhaled anaesthesia (CIIA) for laparoscopic radical gastrectomy under the same anaesthetic depth monitored by entropy indices.

Patients And Methods: One hundred patients undergoing laparoscopic radical gastrectomy were randomly distributed into group I (anaesthetized by TIVA) and group II (anaesthetized by CIIA), each group including 50 patients. TIVA was performed with propofol and remifentanil by means of target controlled infusion (TCI) for the patients in group I.

Determination of Saponin Content in Hang Maidong and Chuan Maidong via HPLC-ELSD Analysis.

Zhejiang and Sichuan are regarded as two genuine producing areas of Ophiopogonis radix in China. To study the difference in the quality of Ophiopogonis radix from these two places, the contents of three reported bioactive saponins, that is, ophiopogonins B, D, and D', in tubers and fibrous roots of Ophiopogon japonicus from Cixi city of Zhejiang and Santai county of Sichuan were quantified using HPLC-ELSD method and compared. Ophiopogonin B and ophiopogonin D' content in tubers of HMD were higher than those in radix of CMD, whereas ophiopogonin D in HMD was about twice lower than that of CMD.

Let-7a mimic attenuates CCL18 induced breast cancer cell metastasis through Lin 28 pathway.

Background: MicroRNAs are believed to influence breast cancer cell tumorgenicity by interacting with the production of tumor associated macrophages. At this stage, this hypothesis lacks sufficient empirical evidence. Our study is an investigation of the effects of let-7a on the function of human breast cancer cell lines that had undergone chemokine ligand 18 (CCL18) stimulation.

Up-regulation of ICAM-1mRNA and IL-1βmRNA in lung tissues of a rat model of COPD.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disease characterized by airflow obstruction that is usually progressive and not fully reversible. It is accompanied by the abnormal inflammatory response of lung to toxic particles or gas. Studies indicate that chronic inflammatory injuries of airway, pulmonary parenchyma and pulmonary vessels are the characteristic changes of COPD.

Isatis indigotica root polysaccharides as adjuvants for an inactivated rabies virus vaccine.

Adjuvants can enhance vaccine immunogenicity and induce long-term enhancement of immune responses. Thus, adjuvants are important for vaccine research. Polysaccharides isolated from select Chinese herbs have been demonstrated to possess various beneficial functions and excellent adjuvant abilities.

[Effect of luxS overexpression on biofilm formation by Streptococcus mutans].

Objective: To evaluate the effect of quorum sensing luxS gene on biofilm formation through construction of a luxS overexpression strain by Streptococcus mutans (Sm).

Methods: In order to construct pIB-luxS plasmid, the luxS gene fragment amplified by PCR was inserted into the shuttle plasmid pIB169 by corresponding double digests. The pIB-luxS plasmid was linearized electro-transformed into Sm cell and the overexpression strain was selected on chloramphenicol plate and testified by electrophoresis and western blot.

White Coat Adherence in Pediatric Patients With Type 1 Diabetes Who Use Insulin Pumps.

Background: The purpose was to assess the occurrence of white coat adherence, defined as an increase in adherence to treatment regimens prior to a clinic appointment, in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) who use insulin pumps.

Methods: Blood glucose monitoring (BGM) data, carbohydrate inputs, and insulin boluses delivered were downloaded from the insulin pumps of children and adolescents, aged 7-19 years with T1D, at 2 consecutive routine diabetes clinic visits. Linear mixed models were used to analyze patterns of BGM, carbohydrate inputs, and insulin boluses delivered in patients who had ≥28 days of data stored in their insulin pumps.

Evaluation of water quality in surface water and shallow groundwater: a case study of a rare earth mining area in southern Jiangxi Province, China.

This study was conducted to evaluate the quality of surface water and shallow groundwater near a rare earth mining area in southern Jiangxi Province, China. Water samples from paddy fields, ponds, streams, wells, and springs were collected and analyzed. The results showed that water bodies were characterized by low pH and high concentrations of total nitrogen (total N), ammonium nitrogen (NH4 (+)-N), manganese (Mn), and rare earth elements (REEs), which was likely due to residual chemicals in the soil after mining activity.

Cytoplasm estrogen receptor β5 as an improved prognostic factor in thymoma and thymic carcinoma progression.

A number of previous studies have reported that sex steroid hormones, including estrogens, are involved in the regulation of the thymic function. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of estrogen receptor β5 (ERβ5) in thymic tumors and the correlation between ERβ5 expression and thymoma biological characteristics. The expression levels of ERβ5 in thymic epithelial tumors was evaluated in 103 patents using immunohistochemical staining and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

Aqueous arsenite removal by simultaneous ultraviolet photocatalytic oxidation-coagulation of titanium sulfate.

This study explored the efficacy and efficiency of a simultaneous UV-catalyzed oxidation-coagulation process of titanium sulfate (UV/Ti(SO4)2) for efficient removal of As(III) from water. It revealed that, As(III) could be oxidized to As(V) during the UV catalyzed coagulation of Ti(SO4)2 with highly efficient As(III) removal in the pH range 4-6. The UV catalyzed oxidation-coagulation showed surprisingly effective oxidation of As(III) to As(V) within a short time.

Aging effect on Mandarin Chinese vowel and tone identification.

Mandarin Chinese speech sounds (vowels × tones) were presented to younger and older Chinese-native speakers with normal hearing. For the identification of vowel-plus-tone, vowel-only, and tone-only, younger listeners significantly outperformed older listeners. The tone 3 identification scores correlated significantly with the age of older listeners.

[Construction of luxS gene knockout mutant of Enterococcus faecalis].

Puppose: To construct quorum sensing luxS knockout mutants of Enterococcus faecalis through homologous recombination.

Methods: The upstream and downstream flank DNA fragments of E. faecalis luxS gene (up, dn) and erythromycin resistance gene (erm) were amplified by PCR.

Stanniocalcin 2 promotes cell proliferation and cisplatin resistance in cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common carcinomas in the female reproductive system. Treatment of cervical cancer involves surgical removal and chemotherapy. Resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy drugs including cisplatin has increasingly become an important problem in the treatment of cervical cancer patients.

TP53 mutations are associated with higher rates of pathologic complete response to anthracycline/cyclophosphamide-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy in operable primary breast cancer.

The role of TP53 mutations in predicting response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer remains controversial. The aims of this study were to investigate whether TP53 mutations were associated with response and survival in breast cancer patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Therefore, we identified TP53 mutations in the core-needle biopsy tumor samples obtained before the neoadjuvant chemotherapy from 351 operable primary breast cancer patients who either received anthracycline/cyclophosphamide-based (n = 252) or paclitaxel (n = 99) neoadjuvant chemotherapy.