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Pan-Pan Wu,1–3 Hao He,1,3 W David Hong,1,3–5 Tong-Rong Wu,1,3 Gui-Ying Huang,2 Ying-Ying Zhong,2 Bo-Rong Tu,1,3 Min Gao,1,3 Jun Zhou,1,3 Su-Qing Zhao,1–3 Dong-Li Li,1,3 Xue-Tao Xu,1,3 Zhao-Jun Sheng,1,3 Stephen A Ward,4 Paul M O’Neill,5 Kun Zhang1–3 1Faculty of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Wuyi University, Jiangmen, China; 2Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China; 3International Healthcare Innovation Institute (Jiangmen), Jiangmen, China; 4Research Centre for Drugs and Diagnostics, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK; 5Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, UK Background: Fusidic acid (FA) (WU-FA-00) is the only commercially available antimicrobial from the fusidane family that has a narrow spectrum of activity against Gram-positive bacteria.Methods: Herein, the hydrogenation derivative (WU-FA-01) of FA was prepared and both compounds were examined against a panel of six bacterial strains. In addition, their anti-inflammatory properties were evaluated using a 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced mouse ear edema model.Results: The results of the antimicrobial assay revealed that both WU-FA-00 and WU-FA-01 displayed a high level of antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive strains. Moreover, killing kinetic studies were performed and the results were in accordance with the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration results. We also demonstrated that the topical application of WU-FA-00 and WU-FA-01 effectively decreased TPA-induced ear edema in a dose-dependent manner. This inhibitory effect was associated with the inhibition of TPA‑induced upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β, TNF-α, and COX-2. WU-FA-01 significantly suppressed the expression levels of p65, IκB-α, and p-IκB-α in the TPA-induced mouse ear model. Conclusion: Overall, our results showed that WU-FA-00 and WU-FA-01 not only had effective antimicrobial activities in vitro, especially to the Gram-positive bacteria, but also possessed strong anti-inflammatory effects in vivo. These results provide a scientific basis for developing FA derivatives as antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agents. Keywords: fusidic acid, derivative, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. Ballistic tests were performed on two types of polyethylene core sandwich structures (AA6082/LDPE/AA6082 and AA6082/UHMWPE/AA6082) to investigate their perforation resistance. Bulging and dishing deformation of layered plates were compared under low-velocity impact by hemispherical-nosed projectiles. Different impact failure mechanisms leading to perforation were revealed for laminates composed of a pair of aluminum alloy face sheets separated by a polyethylene interlayer. Using the finite element code Abaqus/Explicit, the perforation behavior and distribution of energy dissipation of each layer during penetration were simulated and analysed. The deformation resistance and anti-penetration properties of polyethylene core sandwich structures were compared with those of monolithic AA6082-T6 plates that had the same areal density. Although the polyethylene interlayer enlarged the plastic deformation zone of the back face, the polyethylene core sandwich structure was a little less effective than the monolithic Al alloy target at resisting hemispherical-nosed projectile impact.

Background: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a potentially fatal form of heart failure and the recognition of its risk factors is important for prevention and treatment.Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics and the risk factors for PPCM.Methods: Echocardiographic was used to examine the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Blood level of troponin I (cTNI), high sensitive C-reaction protein (hs-CRP), NT-proBNP was measured. All PPCM occurred within weeks following delivery.Results: Fifty-two PPCM patients and 52 normal delivery subjects (control group) were included in this study. Compared with the control group, PPCM patients were older, with a higher level of blood pressure, and a higher rate of suspected respiratory infection. The level of leucocytes, hs-CRP, cTNI and NT-proBNP in PPCM patients were higher than in the control. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that elevated plasma hs-CRP (OR =1.86, p