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Objective: To study the correlation of serum vitamin C content with renal anemia, oxidative stress and microinflammatory state in patients with peritoneal dialysis. Methods: A total of 96 patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University between January 2016 and January 2017 were selected as the peritoneal dialysis group, and 50 healthy volunteers receiving physical examination in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University during the same period were selected as the normal control group. The contents of VitC as well as renal anemia, oxidative stress and microinflammation-related indexes in peripheral blood of two groups of subjects were detected, and Pearson test was used to evaluate the correlation of serum VitC content with renal anemia, oxidative stress and microinflammatory state in patients with peritoneal dialysis. Results: VitC content in peripheral blood of peritoneal dialysis group was lower than that of normal control group; renal anemia-related indexes Hb, RBC and TIBC levels in peripheral blood were lower than those of normal control group; oxidative stress indexes LHP, MPO and AOPPs contents in serum were higher than those of control group while SOD and GSH-Px contents were lower than those of control group; inflammatory factors CRP, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and IL-13 contents in serum were higher than those of normal control group. VitC content in serum of patients with peritoneal dialysis was positively correlated with Hb, RBC, TIBC, SOD and GSH-Px levels, and negatively correlated with LHP, MPO, AOPPs, CRP, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and IL-13 contents. Conclusion: Serum VitC content is lower in patients with peritoneal dialysis, and the specific content is directly correlated with the severity of renal anemia, oxidative stress and microinflammatory state.

Objective: Microangiopathy is common after a long duration in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Pregnancies with end-age vascular complications are a big challenge to multidisciplinary physicians. The objective of this study was to assess the risk of microangiopathy for adverse pregnancy outcome in T1DM. Materials and Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for relevant articles appearing in the literature up to October 1, 2017. Analysis of cohort studies were performed with Review Manager 5.3 and Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS) was chosen to evaluate the risk of bias. Results: A total of 10 studies involving 3239 pregnancies were retrieved and analyzed. Microangiopathy for diabetic nephropathy (DN), microalbuminuria and diabetic retinopathy (DR) significantly increased the risk of preeclampsia (PE) (OR of 7.19, [95%CI: 5.15, 10.03], 4.19, [95%CI: 2.78, 6.31] and 3.02, [95%CI: 2.24, 4.07], respectively). Significant association of the presence of DN with preterm delivery was demonstrated (OR = 4.14, 95%CI [2.84, 6.02]), with small for gestation age was demonstrated (OR = 6.23, 95%CI [2.75, 14.14]) and with large for gestation age was demonstrated (OR = 0.41, 95%CI [0.27, 0.62]). A mild association of the presence of DR with preterm delivery was demonstrated (OR = 1.57, 95%CI [1.08, 2.29]). Conclusion: The presence of microangiopathy before or in early pregnancy increased the risk of adverse pregnancy outcome in T1DM. We highlighted it was important that White's classification and a full assessment of vasculopathy should be carry out before pregnancy to ensure a well-planned pregnancy. Further work should be designed to establish risks model involving microangiopathy and find out whether early intervention with strict blood sugar control or medication such as low-dose aspirin will reduce the incidence of PE in T1DM. Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Type 1, Microangiopathy, Pregnancy outcome, Pre-eclampsia

Objectives To develop and evaluate the self-management scale for peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Methods The item pool was formulated based on literature reviews and in-depth interviews. An initial scale containing five factors and 44 items was constructed through two rounds of Delphi expert consultation and a preliminary test. A total of 313 PD patients from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai area were surveyed to test the reliability and validity of the scale. Results Five factors, namely solution bag replacement, troubleshooting during operation, diet management, complication monitoring, emotion management and return to social life, were extracted by exploratory factor analysis: the 28 items could explain 64.567% of the total variance; the content validity index was 0.963; the Cronbach's α coefficient and split-half coefficient were 0.926 and 0.960 respectively; and test-retest reliability was 0.937. Conclusion The scale has been proved to be a reliable and valid tool which allows PD nurses to evaluate the self-management ability of PD patients. The evaluation outcomes can serve as a basis for individualized nursing plans and interventions so as to provide highly effective nursing care.

An aminoethoxy-functionalized zirconium phosphonate (Zr(O3POCH2CH2NH2)2·3H2O), abbreviated as ZrRP (R=OCH2CH2NH2), with layered structure has been synthesized. This layered compound possesses the characteristic of inorganic–organic hybrid, due to the covalently linked aminoethoxy in the host layer. The anion exchanged property of this zirconium phosphonate is suitable for the direct intercalation of negatively charged DNA, which is different from these reported zirconium phosphates or zirconium phosphonates. As a precursor, this prepared zirconium phosphonate was utilized to fabricate a novel DNA/ZrRP binary hybrid via a delamination-reassembly procedure. The release behavior of DNA from the DNA/ZrRP composite was investigated at different medium pH, because the combination between zirconium phosphonate sheets and DNA was pH-dependent sensitively. Moreover, the helical conformation of DNA was almost retained after the intercalation and release process. These properties of the DNA/ZrRP composite suggested the potential application of layered zirconium phosphonate as a non-viral vector in gene delivery.

A novel mediator-free biosensor was constructed by the co-intercalation of negatively charged DNA and positively charged hemoglobin (Hb) in the interlayer galleries of layered alpha-zirconium phosphate (alpha-ZrP) with the delamination-assembly procedure at pH 5.5. X-ray diffraction and field-emission scanning electron microscopy results revealed the featured layered structure for the re-assembled DNA/Hb/alpha-ZrP composite. Infrared spectroscopy and circular dichroism results confirmed the coexistence of Hb and DNA in the composite and the considerably retained protein conformation of intercalated Hb. The direct electron transfer of Hb was facilitated by the co-intercalation of DNA and Hb. Because of the synergistic effect of alpha-ZrP host and co-intercalated DNA guest, the DNA/Hb/alpha-ZrP modified electrode exhibited good electrocatalytic response to H(2)O(2) with higher sensitivity of 0.79 A M(-1) cm(-2) and lower detection of 4.28x10(-7) M in the linear range of 7.28x10(-7) to 9.71x10(-5) M. Furthermore, the electrocatalytic activity of Hb in the DNA/Hb/alpha-ZrP composite retained at high temperature (85 degrees C) or in the presence of organic solvent (CH(3)CN), which could be the protection of alpha-ZrP nanosheets.

Chromophores containing two parallel nonconjugated D-pi-A units are effective chromophores with high hyperpolarizability and good optical transparency. It provides a method for the design and synthesis of effective chromophores. The semiempirical method ZINDO was employed to study the relationship between enhancement of the static first hyperpolarizabilities (beta0) per D-pi-A unit and the number of parallel nonconjugated D-pi-A units in a chromophore. The results show that the chromophores containing two parallel nonconjugated D-pi-A units would exhibit higher beta0 values than two times the beta0 value of the corresponding reference chromophore containing a D-pi-A unit. The chromophore containing three parallel nonconjugated D-pi-A units exhibits the highest enhancement of beta0 per D-pi-A unit, which is 10.1 times the beta0 value of the corresponding reference chromophore. However, the beta0 value of the chromophore containing four parallel nonconjugated D-pi-A units is very small, and the enhancement of beta0 value per D-pi-A unit decreases sharply, from 10.1 to 0.3, with increasing the number of parallel D-pi-A units in a chromophore from 3 to 4. It could give a useful suggestion for designing chromophores containing parallel nonconjugated D-pi-A units.

Molecular recognition of biomolecules by synthetic receptors requires modular assembly of various components to complement the molecular characteristics (sizes, topologies, and functional groups) of the substrate. A number of receptors for biorelevant molecules containing oxoanions have been assembled from a bicyclic chiral guanidine subunit. Several receptors accelerate or catalyze reactions proceeding through anionic transition states. Among the structures recently prepared, a receptor incorporating a calix(6)arene subunit has been developed, showing high affhity for phosphocholine derivatives. Chains of tetraguanidinium sulfates form double helices in solution. These substances strongly induce formation of a-helical conformations in Asp rich peptides.

The title compound, 1,1′,8,8′-tetra­methoxy-9,9′-bianthracene-10,10′(9H,9′H)-dione, C32H26O6, was obtained by the reduction of 1,8-di­methoxy­anthra­quinone with sodium borohydride and tri­fluoro­acetic acid. In the anthrone dimers, the methoxy and carbonyl groups are attached to opposite sides of the anthracene rings. In the solid state, the mol­ecule has a crystallographically imposed centre of symmetry located at the mid-point of the C—C bond linking the two anthracene systems.

Four chromophores containing bromo substituents, a ployimide with bromo-containing chromophores, four reference functional polyimides, and fourteen reference chromophores were synthesized for studying effect of bromo substituents on nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of materials and chromophores. The results of hyper-Rayleigh scattering and UV-vis spectra show that static first molecular hyperpolarizability (beta(0)) values of bromo-containing chromophores are 1.24-5.75 times as beta(0) of the corresponding chloro-containing chromophores (Hammett constants sigma of chloro and bromo groups are same) without causing a visible shift of the absorption band to longer wavelength. UV-vis spectra and the results of Maker Fringe method show that the polyimide with chromophores containing bromo substituents exhibits a good optical transparency and a much higher macroscopic nonlinear optical coefficient (d(33) = 20.1 pm/V) than the reference polyimides containing nitro (d(33) = 9.6 pm/V) and cyano (d(33) = 8.9 pm/V) groups in spite of nitro and cyano groups being strong electron acceptors. d(33) of polyimide with chloro-containing chromophores is very small. Therefore, this paper suggests an effective strategy for improving the NLO properties of polymeric materials and chromophores without reducing optical transparency in designing NLO polymers and chromophores. On the basis of quantum chemistry calculations, the reasons of effect of bromo substituents on NLO properties of chromophores and materials were discussed.

von Willebrand factor (vWF) mediates the initial capture of platelets to vascular subendothelium and is essential for platelet aggregation under high fluid shear stress as in arterial stenosis. On release from endothelial cells, vWF is rapidly cleaved by ADAMTS13/vWF-cleaving protease (vWF-CP). We investigated the clinical significance of changes in plasma vWF and vWF-CP activities in chronic renal disease.Plasma vWF and vWF-CP activities were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and residual collagen binding assay respectively in patients with lupus nephritis (n = 31), primary nephritic syndrome (n = 25), diabetic nephropathy (n = 45), chronic glomerulonephritis (n = 38) and 40 normal controls. The relation of their levels with pathological and renal status was analyzed.In all diseased patients the levels of vWF were significantly higher and vWF-CP activity significantly lower than the controls (both P0.01). vWF in the four subgroups did not correlate with the stage of disease but correlated negatively with vWF-CP activity. vWF-CP activity was not changed two weeks after renal transplantation. Renal biopsy demonstrated that the vWF level in stage IV was higher than in stages II and III while vWF-CP activity was lower in patients with lupus nephritis. After eight-week treatment, the vWF level significantly decreased and the vWF-CP activity significantly increased in systemic lupus erythema, disease activity index9, but not with index = 9. Even though the vWF-CP activity was significantly lower in membranous nephropathy than in minimal change disease, mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis or IgA glomerulonephritis, the vWF level was not significantly different.The alterations of plasma vWF and vWF-CP activities were associated with different renal pathologies. Injury to endothelial cells and autoantibodies against vWF-CP activity may result in higher vWF level and lower vWF-CP activity in chronic renal disease and thus a mechanism for worsening of chronic renal disease and thrombosis.

A novel phosphodiester receptor 1-(2-guanidinoethyl)-4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1,4,7-triazacyclononane hydrochloride 1 was synthesized. DNA cleavage efficiency of 1 exhibits remarkable increases compared with its ZnII complex and corresponding nonguanidinium compound N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1,4,7-triazacyclononane and parent 1,4,7-triazacyclononane. Kinetic data of DNA cleavage promoted by 1 fit to a Michaelis−Menten-type equation with kmax of 0.160 h-1 giving 107-fold rate acceleration over uncatalyzed DNA. The acceleration is driven by the spatial proximity of the nucleophilic hydroxyl group and the electrophilic activation for the phosphodiester by the guanidinium group.

To measure plasma thrombospondin1 (TSP1) in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and other diseases such as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), myocardial infarction, brain infarction, and malignant tumor et al. and 8 patients after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) were also investigated. Then to study on the relationship between TSP1 and von Willebrand factor cleaving protease (ADAMTS13); and to identify the significance of plasma TSP1 in TTP.TSP1 was measured by a commercial kit and the activity of ADAMTS13 was evaluated by residue collagen binding assay.TSP1 in TTP plasma before plasma exchange or plasma infusion was 6.49 mg/L, and stepping up to 13.02 mg/L after therapy, but still significantly lower than 18.34 mg/L in normal control. While the decrease in different degree of ADAMTS13 activity was observed from 0%-52%, and there were 8 samples whose activity of ADAMTS13 were no more than 10%; the different extent of increase in those patients after therapy was demonstrated to be 2.9%-93.4%, only one patient's ADAMTS13 activity was below 10%. The activity of ADAMTS13 in some ITP and SLE patients were mildly decreased (63% +/- 16% and 70% +/- 14% respectively), TSP1 were also decreased (16 mg/L +/- 8 mg/L). TSP1 in patients of myocardial infarction and brain infarction were increased (24.0 mg/L +/- 2.9 mg/L), while ADAMTS13 activity had no significant change (72% +/- 16%). Same things happened in BMT patients.There was some concordance between the decrease of ADAMTS13 activity and TSP1 in plasma of TTP patients. And the change of TSP1 was restricted to TTP. TSP1 may contribute to the episode of TTP in a still unclear fashions.