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Cu(II) supported on 5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-pyrrole-3-carboxylic acid functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Cu(II)-OHPC-Fe3O4) as a new magnetic nanocatalyst was prepared and characterized by ICP-AES, FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TEM, TGA, XRD, VSM and EDX techniques. Prepared nanocatalyst (Cu(II)-OHPC-Fe3O4) is employed for Pechmann reactions between different substituted phenols and ethyl acetoacetate to obtain new products of coumarin derivatives in good to excellent yields. This green catalyst was easily removed, reused several times with no significant loss of its activity and provided clean synthesis with excellent yield and reduced time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Holotrichia parallela (Motschulsky, 1854) is an important pest for peanut, potato, and soybean in China, and it causes great economic losses. In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of H. parallela. This mitogenome was 16,975 bp long and encoded 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), and two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs). Gene order was conserved and identical to most other previously sequenced Scarabaeidae. Most PCGs of H. parallela have the conventional start codons ATN, with the exception of cox1 (AAC). Except for three genes (cox1, cox2, and cox3) end with the incomplete stop codon T−, all other PCGs terminated with the stop codon TAA or TAG. Phylogenetic analysis positioned H. parallela in a well-supported clade with Rhopaea magnicornis, Polyphylla gracilicornis, and Melolontha hippocastani. The relationships (Dynastinae+(Cetoniinae+(Melolonthinae+(Rutelinae + Scarabaeinae)))) were supported in Scarabaeidae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three symmetrical dithienylethenes bearing two electron-withdrawing aldehyde groups have been synthesized. And their structures were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and HRMS (ESI). Investigation on photochromic properties indicated that they had good photochromic behavior with excellent fatigue resistance upon irradiation with UV or visible light. And it was found that the aldehyde substituent position had a significant effect on their photochromic properties. The DFT calculations further validated those experimental results for their photochromic behavior. Furthermore, they may be used as versatile building blocks to construct novel photochromic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a vital cause of death and disability globally. The primary treatment for diminishing acute myocardial ischemic injury is myocardial reperfusion, which may induce cardiomyocyte death. Our aim is to unravel the mechanism of sevoflurane (Sev) in microRNA-219a (miR-219a)-mediated regulation of absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) and TLR4/MyD88 pathway during myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). The area of MI and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes of the developed mouse model were evaluated by TTC staining and TUNEL, respectively. After the determination of miR-219a as our target using microarray analysis, miR-219a atagomiR was used to treat the mouse model. The luciferase assay verified whether miR-219a targeted AIM2, and the miR-219a and AIM2 expression in myocardial tissues was detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot. miR-219a was significantly increased in myocardial tissues from mice treated with Sev, and the area of MI and cardiomyocyte apoptosis were decreased as a consequence. The miR-219a inhibitor reversed the action of Sev. Moreover, overexpression of AIM2 or induction of the TLR4 pathway aggravated myocardial I/R injury alleviated by miR-219a. All in all, the treatment of Sev upregulated miR-219a expression, which blocked the TLR4 pathway by targeting AIM2 and attenuated cardiomyocyte apoptosis in myocardial I/R mouse model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Densification behaviors and phase evolution of Mg-doped sialon with different compositions were investigated. The densification generally proceeded in three major stages. The first two stages were associated with the formation of the two lowest ternary oxide eutectics and wetting and solution of α-Si3N4. The third stage involved dissolution/melting of Mg-containing AlN polytypoid and dissolution of α-Si3N4/β-sialon and precipitation of α-sialon. The amount of liquid formed at each stage appeared to be influenced by the initial oxide composition. The third shrinkage was not discernable if the liquid was too little. Particle rearrangement, affected by the amount of available liquid, is considered to be the dominant process at each stage. Mg-containing AlN polytypoid, starting to form at 1400 °C or below, plays a crucial role in determining shrinkage behavior and final densification. The composition, type and stability of these AlN polytypoids were associated with the initial oxide composition and starting overall composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parathyroidectomy (PTx) and medical treatments are both recommended for reducing serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) and curing secondary hyperparathyroidism (sHPT) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but their therapeutic effects on long-term mortality are not well-known. Thus, we aim to assess such therapeutic effect of PTx. Electronic literatures published on Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials in any language until 27 November 2015 were systematically searched. All literatures that compared outcomes (survival rate or mortality rate) between PTx-treated and medically-treated CKD patients with sHPT were included. Finally, 13 cohort studies involving 22053 patients were included. Data were extracted from all included literatures in a standard form. The outcomes of all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities were assessed using DerSimonian and Laird’s random effects model. We find PTx-treated versus medically-treated patients had a 28% reduction in all-cause mortality and a 37% reduction in cardiovascular mortality. Thus, PTx versus medical treatments might reduce the risks of all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities in CKD patients with sHPT. Further studies with prospective and large-sample clinical trials are needed to find out the real effect of PTx and to assess whether mortality rates differ among patterns of PTx. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]