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To investigate the the feasibility and diagnostic efficiencyvalue of different screening indexesmethods for screening primary aldosteronism (PA).The clinical data of 499 patients with PA and 479 patients with essential hypertension diagnosed from Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The diagnostic performance of different screening indexs was compared by plotting receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC).The area under the ROC curve (For the screening of PA, upright ARR seems to be the best single screening index, while AA2R (radioimmunoassay) is not recommended. The diagnostic efficacy of logistic regression model including upright PAC, PRA and lowest blood potassium is better than that of single upright ARR.

To summary the clinical diagnosis and treatment of primary aldosteronism (PA) in West China Hospital (WCH) of Sichuan University during 2009-2018.This study enrolled the patients diagnosed as PA and admitted in WCH of Sichuan University from January 2009 to December 2018. The information of the patients including epidemiological and clinical data, diagnosis and treatment as well as therapeutic outcomes were collected and analyzed.A total of 853 patients with 1 248 diagnostic cases were included in the analysis, and the diagnosis cases of PA increased year by year from 2009 to 2018. Most patients (74.33%) were confirmed the diagnosis in the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism and then admitted to the hospital. PA was more frequent in female than in male, with a ratio of female to male about 1.34∶1. Hypertension was the most common chief complaint, in contrast, the proportion of fatigue and/or numbness as the symptoms of hypokalemia was declining. More and more patients were diagnosed because of imaging examination founding adrenal incidentoma. After 2016, more and more patients were diagnosed by recumbent saline suppression test and captopril challenge test, and the number of adrenal venous sampling to classify PA subtypes was increasing to help choosing different treatment options. The proportion of surgical treatment decreased year by year, and more and more patients adopted medical treatment or transferred to surgery with combined treatment instead of simple operation.During the past 10 years, remarkable progress was made in the diagnosis and treatment of PA. Hypertension was the most important clinical manifestation of PA, so the screening of PA in hypertensive patients should be strengthened. Adrenal incidentaloma has become prevalent manifestation of PA with an increasing trend, which needs more attention in clinical practice.

To explore the electrolyte characteristics between different types of primary aldosteronism (PA), especially the value of serum potassium and the ratio of sodium to potassium after saline infusion test (SIT) in differential diagnosis of PA.The clinical data was collected from 135 patients who received screening for the causes of hypertension from Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2018 in West China Hospital. The patients were divided into two groups: essential hypertension group (EH group, 34 patients) and primary aldosteronism group (PA group, 101 patients). PA patients were divided into aldosterone-producing adenoma group (APA group, 60 patients) and idiopathic hyperaldosteronism group (IHA group, 41 patients). To analyze the value of serum potassium and the ratio of sodium to potassium after SIT in the differential diagnosis of PA with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Compared with EH group, the serum potassium level of APA group was lower either before or after SIT (The serum potassium and the ratio of sodium to potassium after SIT has limited diagnostic value for its low sensitivity in differential diagnosis of PA.

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most common cause of secondary hypertension. The diagnosis procedure of PA includes screening, confirmatory diagnosis and subtype classification. International and national guidelines recommended plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) to plasma renin activity (PRA) ratio (ARR) to detect possible cases of PA, and one or more tests (fludrocortisone suppression test, saline infusion test, oral sodium loading test, or captopril challenge test) to confirm ARR positive patients. Adrenal venous sampling (AVS) is also recommended as the best method to distinguish unilateral and bilateral adrenal disease when surgical treatment is feasible and desired by the patient. However, many studies find that each of the above diagnostic method has shortcomings. Recently, more and more studies are attempting to explore new methods with higher diagnostic efficiency and more conveniences, including new screening tests, new confirmatory diagnostic tests, new imaging and pathological histology methods. In our studies, the regression model, which included upright PAC, upright PRA, and lowest potassium, is superior to ARR for PA screening; the blood potassium and the ratio of blood potassium to blood sodium after the saline infusion test are not suitable for PA subtyping. This article will review the advances and progress in PA diagnosis.

BACKGROUND In a previous study we have demonstrated that insect 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) can be a potential selective insecticide target. Three series of inhibitors were designed on the basis of the difference in HMGR structures from Homo sapiens and Manduca sexta, with the aim of discovering potent selective insecticide candidates. RESULTS An in vitro bioassay showed that gem-difluoromethylenated statin analogues have potent effects on JH biosynthesis of M. sexta and high selectivity between H. sapiens and M. sexta. All series II compounds {1,3,5-trisubstituted [4-tert-butyl 2-(5,5-difluoro-2,2-dimethyl-6-vinyl-4-yl) acetate] pyrazoles} have some effect on JH biosynthesis, whereas most of them are inactive on human HMGR. In particular, the IC50 value of compound II-12 (37.8 nm) is lower than that of lovastatin (99.5 nm) and similar to that of rosuvastatin (24.2 nm). An in vivo bioassay showed that I-1, I-2, I-3 and II-12 are potential selective insecticides, especially for lepidopteran pest control. A predictable and statistically meaningful CoMFA model of 23 inhibitors (20 as training sets and three as test sets) was obtained with a value of q2 and r2 of 0.66 and 0.996 respectively. The final model suggested that a potent insect HMGR inhibitor should contain suitable small and non-electronegative groups in the ring part, and electronegative groups in the side chain. CONCLUSION Four analogues were discovered as potent selective lepidopteran HMGR inhibitors, which can specifically be used for lepidopteran pest control. The CoMFA model will be useful for the design of new selective insect HMGR inhibitors that are structurally related to the training set compounds. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry

A new Ti–V–Mo complex microalloyed hot-rolled high-strength steel sheet was developed by controlling a thermo-mechanical controlled processing (TMCP) schedule, in particular with variants in coiling temperature. The effects of coiling temperature (CT) on various hardening mechanisms and mechanical properties of Ti–V–Mo complex microalloyed high-strength low-alloy steels were investigated. The results revealed that the steels are mainly strengthened by a combined effect of ferrite grain refinement hardening and precipitation hardening. The variation in simulated coiling temperature causes a significant difference in strength, which is mainly attributed to different precipitation hardening increment contributions. When the CT is 600 °C, the experimental steel has the best mechanical properties: ultimate tensile strength (UTS) 1000 MPa, yield strength (YS) 955 MPa and elongation (EL) 17%. Moreover, about 82 wt% of the total precipitates are nano-sized carbide particles with diameter of 1–10 nm, which is randomly dispersed in the ferrite matrix. The nano-sized carbide particles led to a strong precipitation hardening increment up to 310 MPa.

In a previous study we have demonstrated that insect 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) can be a potential selective insecticide target. Three series of inhibitors were designed on the basis of the difference in HMGR structures from Homo sapiens and Manduca sexta, with the aim of discovering potent selective insecticide candidates.An in vitro bioassay showed that gem-difluoromethylenated statin analogues have potent effects on JH biosynthesis of M. sexta and high selectivity between H. sapiens and M. sexta. All series II compounds {1,3,5-trisubstituted [4-tert-butyl 2-(5,5-difluoro-2,2-dimethyl-6-vinyl-4-yl) acetate] pyrazoles} have some effect on JH biosynthesis, whereas most of them are inactive on human HMGR. In particular, the ICFour analogues were discovered as potent selective lepidopteran HMGR inhibitors, which can specifically be used for lepidopteran pest control. The CoMFA model will be useful for the design of new selective insect HMGR inhibitors that are structurally related to the training set compounds. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

The equation to determine the neutral axis of concrete filled steel tube(CFST) component with round section is presented in this paper. The geometric equation, physical equation and static equilibrium equation of CFST are analyzed to determine its section neutral axis. The compressed mechanical properties of CFST component are analyzed with the concrete material properties divided into tension and compression parts.Comparing the numerical results with the experimental results it can be verified that the equation to determine the neutral axis of CFST component with round section is useful to solve the problems that the tension and compression material properties of concrete are different.

Purpose: To undertake the biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using Shorea tumbuggaia bark extract and to study their in-vitro cytotoxicity in thyroid cancer (SW579) cell lines. Methods: AuNPs were prepared by adding 10 mL of Shorea tumbuggaia extract to 5 mL of 2 × 10 -3 M of chloroauric acid (HAuCl 4 ) and stirred at room temperature for about 20 min. The AuNPs were evaluated by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), ultraviolet-visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). They were also assessed for cytotoxicity against SW579 cells using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Results: The reaction of Shorea tumbuggaia extract with HAuCl 4 led to a change in the color of the reaction solution to ruby red after 20 min, indicating the formation of AuNPs. The results of various instrumental tests, including XRD, TEM, UV–vis spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy confirmed the formation of AuNPs. TEM images showed spherical NPs with a mean particle size of 20 nM. Further, in vitro cytotoxicity results indicated concentration-dependent cytotoxicity against SW579 cell lines. Conclusions: A simple, green and low-cost method for the preparation of AuNPs using Shorea tumbuggaia extract has been achieved. The AuNPs exert cytotoxic activity against SW579 cell lines. Keywords: Shorea tumbuggaia , Polyphenols, Gold nanoparticles, Cytotoxicity, Thyroid cancer cell

As a consequence of the negative impacts on the environment of some insecticides, discovery of eco-friendly insecticides and target has received global attention in recent years. Sequence alignment and structural comparison of the rate-limiting enzyme HMG-CoA reductase (HMGR) revealed differences between lepidopteran pests and other organisms, which suggested insect HMGR could be a selective insecticide target candidate. Inhibition of JH biosynthesisin vitroconfirmed that HMGR inhibitors showed a potent lethal effect on the lepidopteran pestManduca sexta, whereas there was little effect on JH biosynthesis inApis melliferaandDiploptera punctata. The pest control application of these inhibitors demonstrated that they can be insecticide candidates with potent ovicidal activity, larvicidal activity and insect growth regulatory effects. The present study has validated that Lepidopteran HMGR can be a potent selective insecticide target, and the HMGR inhibitors (especially type II statins) could be selective insecticide candidates and lead compounds. Furthermore, we demonstrated that sequence alignment, homology modeling and structural comparison may be useful for determining potential enzymes or receptors which can be eco-friendly pesticide targets.