Search

Absatract: Aromatic nitro compounds are widely used to synthesize medicine, dyes, spices, and other organic synthesis reagents for their wide sources and low cost. One of the most important uses is the synthesis of phenolic compounds. Moreover, the nitro group on the aromatic ring can be converted to hydroxyl after reduction, diazotization, and hydrolysis, which is a traditional method to get hydroxyl. This mini-review describes the methodologies and mechanisms of nitro- hydroxylation on aromatic rings and other unique transformation methods.

Five new glycosides including mimenghuasu A and B (1-2), isolinarin (3), cyclocitralosides A and B (4-5), along with forty-seven known compounds were isolated from the flower buds of Buddleja officinalis. These structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis (UV, IR, 1 D, 2 D NMR, and MS spectra). The anti-inflammatory activities of the isolated compounds were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) on the expression of TNF-α (LPS-activated RAW264.7 cells) and MTT experiment on LPS-induced HUVECs proliferation effects. Good suppressive effects on the expression of TNF-α were shown by 4 and 5 with IC50 values of 19.35 and 22.10 μM, respectively, compared to positive control indomethacin (IC50 16.40 μM). In addition to this, some isolated compounds exhibited excellent antioxidant activities including compounds 16, 18, 29, 39, and 47 (IC50 μM: 82.59, 72.94, 33.65, 46.67, and 20.81, respectively) with almost the same or stronger potency with reference to vitamin C as positive control (IC50 81.83 μM).

Nutritional Risk Screening index is a standard tool to assess nutritional risk, but epidemiological data are scarce on controlling nutritional status (CONUT) as a prognostic marker in acute haemorrhagic stroke (AHS). We aimed to explore whether the CONUT may predict a 3-month functional outcome in AHS. In total, 349 Chinese patients with incident AHS were consecutively recruited, and their malnutrition risks were determined using a high CONUT score of ≥ 2. The cohort patients were divided into high-CONUT (≥ 2) and low-CONUT (< 2) groups, and primary outcomes were a poor functional prognosis defined as the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of ≥ 3 at post-discharge for 3 months. Odds ratios (OR) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI) for the poor functional prognosis at post-discharge were estimated by using a logistic analysis with additional adjustments for unbalanced variables between the high-CONUT and low-CONUT groups. A total of 328 patients (60·38 ± 12·83 years; 66·77 % male) completed the mRS assessment at post-discharge for 3 months, with 172 patients at malnutrition risk at admission and 104 patients with a poor prognosis. The levels of total cholesterol and total lymphocyte counts were significantly lower in high-CONUT patients than low-CONUT patients (P = 0·012 and < 0·001, respectively). At 3-month post discharge, there was a greater risk for the poor outcome in the high-CONUT compared with the low-CONUT patients at admission (OR: 2·32, 95 % CI: 1·28, 4·17). High-CONUT scores independently predict a 3-month poor prognosis in AHS, which helps to identify those who need additional nutritional managements.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) fundamentally weakens societal foundations economically and in health care. The development of well-considered policies against AMR is important. However, in many places, AMR policy implementation remains elusive. This study aims to identify enablers and deterrents as well as processes and conditions in AMR policy advocacy. It also aims to identify AMR implementation conditions where AMR national policies are adopted and, to a certain extent, formulated and implemented. This study adopts qualitative research methodology and applies the Grounded Theory Framework to identify thematic findings from interviews conducted in China, Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States of America (US). It was identified that AMR policy protagonists are critical to filtering AMR issues and identifying policies “fit to prioritize” and “fit to implement”. They have helped move policy prioritization needles in the UK and the US and engaged in diplomatic efforts in the UK. In these cases, no clientelism was considered. In the US, protagonists who talked to the right decision-makers in the right office at the right time both moved AMR issues from individuals to institutional agenda and from social norms to policy agenda. To conclude, there are three thematic policy conditions that are significant to AMR policy advocacy and implementation: committed personal championship, institutionalization of policies, and social norms facilitate AMR policy advocacy and implementation.

Two previously undescribed dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans, named sieverlignans D–E (1–2), as well as eight known ones (3–10), were isolated from the aerial parts of Artemisia sieversiana. Their structures were elucidated from extensive spectroscopic analysis, including HRMS, NMR and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) experiments. This study is the first to report dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans in the genus Artemisia and this plant. All the compounds were evaluated for their anti-neuroinflammatory activities on the lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced nitric oxide production in BV-2 murine microglial cells. Compounds 1 and 6 exhibited the moderate activities with their IC50 values of 47.7 and 21.9 μM, compared to a positive control quercetin with the IC50 value of 16.0 μM.

Summary Background and aims Malnutrition is prevalent among individuals with acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) and may worsen clinical outcomes. There is no consensus on the best tool for nutritional screening in this population. The present study compared four screening tools and one diagnostic tool in terms of their prognostic significance in predicting short-term and long-term outcomes in AIS patients. Methods We included patients admitted to five major hospitals in Wenzhou and diagnosed with a primary diagnosis of AIS from October 1 to December 31, 2018. The Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score, the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI), the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), the Nutritional Risk Screening Tool 2002 (NRS-2002) and the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism diagnostic criteria for malnutrition (ESPEN-DCM) were assessed at admission. The clinical outcomes were evaluated by the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and mortality at 3 months and 12 months after discharge. Results Five hundred and ninety-three patients were included in our prospective study. The mean age was 67.3 ± 12.0 years. Based on the mRS score, 125 patients exhibited poor functional recovery (an mRS ≥3) at 3 months after discharge. Seventeen patients died during the 3-month follow-up period, and the other 25 did not survive 12 months. Multivariate binary logistic regression revealed that inadequate nutritional status at admission, as determined by the CONUT, GNRI, MUST, NRS-2002 and ESPEN-DCM, were independently associated with poor outcomes in AIS patients 3 months after discharge. Both MUST ≥2 and NRS-2002 ≥ 3 showed significant associations with poor outcomes at 12-month post-discharge. Further analysis with the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve showed similar results, where all the tools predicted the poor outcomes at 3 months while only the NRS-2002 and MUST scores were significantly associated with the mRS at 12 months post-discharge. Moreover, the area under the curve (AUC) of MUST and NRS-2002 were significantly larger than those for the other tools. The optimal cut-off values of the MUST and NRS-2002 to predict poor outcomes were scores of ≥2 and ≥ 3 points, respectively. Conclusions Our data supported a deleterious effect of inadequate nutrition, as evidenced by the nutrition screening tools or ESPEN-DCM, on clinical outcomes during and beyond the acute phase of AIS. We recommended the use of the MUST and NRS-2002 in guiding nutritional support in AIS patients, as they have higher predictive power and can predict both short-term and long-term outcomes.

Urothelial cancer (UC) is a common malignancy and its development is associated with arsenic exposure. Around 25% of diagnosed UC cases are muscle invasive (MIUC) and are frequently associated with squamous differentiation. These patients commonly develop cisplatin (CIS) resistance and have poor prognosis. SOX2 expression is correlated to reduced overall and disease-free survival in UC. SOX2 drives malignant stemness and proliferation in UC cells and is associated with development of CIS resistance. Using quantitative proteomics, we identified that SOX2 was overexpressed in three arsenite (As3+)-transformed UROtsa cell lines. We hypothesized that inhibition of SOX2 would reduce stemness and increase sensitivity to CIS in the As3+-transformed cells. Pevonedistat (PVD) is a neddylation inhibitor and is a potent inhibitor of SOX2. We treated non-transformed parent and As3+-transformed cells with PVD, CIS, or in combination and monitored cell growth, sphere forming abilities, apoptosis, and gene/protein expression. PVD treatment alone caused morphological changes, reduced cell growth, attenuated sphere formation, induced apoptosis, and elevated the expression of terminal differentiation markers. However, the combined treatment of PVD with CIS significantly elevated the expression of terminal differentiation markers and eventually led to more cell death than either solo treatment. Aside from a reduced proliferation rate, these effects were not seen in the parent. Further research is needed to explore the potential use of PVD with CIS as a differentiation therapy or alternative treatment for MIUC tumors that may have become resistant to CIS.

A new lignan, named sieverlignan C (1), as well as nine known compounds (2–10), were isolated from the leaves and stems of Artemisia sieversiana. The structure of the new lignan was elucidated from detailed spectroscopic analysis, including HR-MS, NMR, and circular dichroism experiments. All the compounds were isolated from the A. sieversiana plant for the first time.

Background Primary hyperoxaluria(PH)is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disease that contains three subtypes (PH1, PH2 and PH3). Approximately 80% of PH patients has been reported as subtype PH1, this subtype of PH has been related to a higher risk of renal failure at any age. Several genetic studies indicate that the variants in gene AGXT are responsible for the occurrence of PH1. However, the population heterogeneity of the variants in AGXT makes the genetic diagnosis of PH1 more challenging as it is hard to locate each specific variant. It is valuable to have a complete spectrum of AGXT variants from different population for early diagnosis and clinical treatments of PH1. Case presentation In this study, We performed high-throughput sequencing and genetic analysis of a 6-year-old male PH1 patient from a Chinese family. Two variants (c.346G > A: p.Gly116Arg; c.864G > A: p.Trp288X) of the gene AGXT were identified. We found a nonsense variant (c.864G > A: p.Trp288X) that comes from the proband’s mother and has never been reported previously. The other missense variant (c.346G > A: p.Gly116Arg) was inherited from his father and has been found previously in a domain of aminotransferase, which plays an important role in the function of AGT protein. Furthermore, we searched 110 pathogenic variants of AGXT that have been reported worldwide in healthy local Chinese population, none of these pathogenic variants was detected in the local genomes. Conclusions Our research provides an important diagnosis basis for PH1 on the genetic level by updating the genotype of PH1 and also develops a better understanding of the variants in AGXT by broadening the variation database of AGXT according to the Chinese reference genome.

Two new A-ring contracted triterpenoids, madengaisu A and madengaisu B, and one undescribed

Gastric cancer (GC) is a malignant tumor originated from gastric mucosa epithelium. It is the third leading cause of cancer mortality in China. The early symptoms are not obvious. When it is discovered, it has developed to the advanced stage, and the prognosis is poor. In order to screen for potential genes for GC development, this study obtained GSE118916 and GSE109476 from the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database for bioinformatics analysis.First, GEO2R was used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEG) and the functional annotation of DEGs was performed by gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis. The Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) tool was used to construct protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and the most important modules and hub genes were mined. Real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay was performed to verify the expression level of hub genes.A total of 139 DEGs were identified. The functional changes of DEGs are mainly concentrated in the cytoskeleton, extracellular matrix and collagen synthesis. Eleven genes were identified as core genes. Bioinformatics analysis shows that the core genes are mainly enriched in many processes related to cell adhesion and collagen.In summary, the DEGs and hub genes found in this study may be potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets.

Leptographium panxianense and L. puerense are proposed as new taxa based on sequence data and morphological characters. The phylogenetic analyses based on ITS2-partial LSU rDNA region, β-tubulin and elongation factor 1-α genes showed that L. panxianense and L. puerense formed well-supported clades and were closely related to L. yunnanense, L. wushanense and L. conjunctum, and then nested within the L. lundbergii complex. The two species differ in their conidial size and shape. The conidia of L. panxianense are larger than those of L. puerense while the conidial shape of L. puerense is more ovovoid. The optimal growth temperature of both L. panxianense and L. puerense is at 20 °C, which is different from those of L. yunnanense, L. wushanense and L. conjunctum. Comparison of sequence data and morphological characters confirmed the placement of the two undescribed taxa in the genus of Leptographium.

In this paper, finite element model of reactive powder concrete (RPC) pole was established by using finite element analysis software ABAQUS, and the strength of RPC pole was checked. The results of finite element analysis and theoretical calculation are compared to provide a basis for determining the parameters used in finite element modeling and revising the theoretical calculation formula.

A new lignan, arborlignan A, along with five known substances, neoechinulin A, 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde, 3,3′-dimethoxy-4,4′-dihydroxystilbene, β-hydroxypropiovanillone, and coniferyl aldehyde, are isolated from Schefflera arboricola. Their structures are elucidated by mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy experiments and by comparison with literature data. These compounds are isolated from the genus Schefflera for the first time.

Background Plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) can affect the structures and functions of soil microbiomes. However, the core bacteria associated with PSMs, and their corresponding functions have not been explored extensively. In this study, soil physicochemical properties, tea saponin contents, microbial community compositions, and microbial community functions of different-age Camellia oleifera plantation soils from representative regions were analyzed. We evaluated the effects of plantation age increase on PSM accumulation, and the subsequent consequences on the structures and functions of soil microbiomes. Results Plantation ages increase positively corresponded with accumulated tea saponin contents, with negative effects on soil physicochemical properties, and soil microbiome structures and functions. Older plantation soil microbiomes exhibited simpler structures, lower diversity, and relatively looser putative interactions based on network analysis. Clearly, the core functions of soil microbiomes transitioned to those associated with PSM metabolisms, while microbial pathways involved in cellulose degradation were inhibited. Degradation experiments further confirmed that older plantation soils exhibited the higher capacity on tea saponin degradation but poorer on furfural. Conclusions This study systematically explored the influences of PSMs on soil microbiomes via the investigation of key bacterial populations and their functional pathways. With the increase of planting years, increased tea saponin content simplified the soil microbiomes diversity, inhibited the degradation of organic matter, and enriched the genes related to the degradation of tea saponin. These findings significantly advance our understanding on PSMs-microbiome interactions and could provide fundamental and important data for sustainable management of Camellia plantations.

The pathogenesis of brain injury caused by carbon monoxide poisoning (COP) is very complex, and there is no exact and reliable treatment in clinic. In the present study, we screened the therapeutic target and related signal pathway of Salvia Miltiorrhiza for acute COP brain injury, and clarified the pharmacological mechanism of multicomponent, multitarget, and multisignal pathway in Salvia Miltiorrhiza by network pharmacology. To further verify the therapeutic effect of Salvia Miltiorrhiza on acute brain injury based on the results of network analysis, a total of 216 male healthy Sprague Dawley rats were collected in the present study and randomly assigned to a normal control group, a COP group and a Tanshinone IIA sulfonate treatment group (72 rats in each group). The rat model of acute severe COP was established by the secondary inhalation in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. We found that Salvia Miltiorrhiza had multiple active components, and played a role in treating acute brain injury induced by COP through multiple targets and multiple pathways, among them, MAPK/ERK1/2 signaling pathway was one of the most important. COP can start apoptosis process, activate the MAPK/ERK1/2 signaling pathway, and promote the expression of VEGF-A protein and the formation of brain edema. Tanshinone IIA can effectively inhibit apoptosis, up-regulate the expressions of VEGF-A, P-MEK1/2 and P-ERK1/2 proteins, thereby protect endothelial cells, promote angiogenesis and microcirculation, and finally alleviate brain edema.

Five new glycosides including mimenghuasu A and B (

Two new ditetrahydrofuran lignans, named sieverlignans A and B (1 and 2), together with six known ones (3–8), were isolated from the aerial parts of Artemisia sieversiana. Their structures ...

Leptographium wushanense sp. nov., which is associated with Tomicus armandii, is described based on molecular sequence data and morphological characters. The phylogenetic analyses based on ITS2-partial LSU rDNA region, β-tubulin and elongation factor 1-α genes showed that L. wushanense formed a well-supported clade and was closely related to L. conjunctum and L. yunnanense, and then nested within L. lundbergii complex. The species is characterized that its conidiophores were longer than those of L. yunnanense and shorter than those of L. conjunctum, while its conidia were larger than those of L. conjunctum and smaller than those of L. yunnanense. Furthermore, the colonial growth of L. wushanense is faster than those of L. conjunctum and L. yunnanense at 25 °C on 2% MEA. Both molecular data and morphological comparison confirmed the placement of the new species in genus of Leptographium.

Background Public toilets are a common transmission vector of infectious diseases due to environmental contamination. Research on Chinese people’s hygiene practices in public lavatories are lacking. This study examined Chinese people’s hygiene practices in public lavatories in Hong Kong. Methods We conducted qualitative interviews and a self-administered questionnaire survey with local residents from June 2016 to April 2018. Four focus group discussions and three individual interviews informed the design of the questionnaire. We recruited interviewees and survey respondents via social service centers. The interviews and questionnaire focused on the public’s daily practices and hygiene behaviors in public toilets. Content analysis of qualitative data was conducted. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to examine the association between age and toilet hygiene behaviors. Results Our qualitative component revealed a range of handwashing practices, from not washing at all, washing without soap, to washing for a longer time than instructions. Other toilet use practices were identified, such as not covering toilet lid before flushing and stepping on toilet seats due to dirtiness, and spitting into toilet bowls or hand basin. Totally, 300 respondents completed the questionnaire. Among them, 212 (70.9%) were female and 246 (86.1%) were aged 65 or below. More than two thirds always washed hands with soap (68.7%) and dried hands with paper towels (68.4%). Up to 16.2% reported stepping on toilet seats and 43.9% never covered the toilet lid before flushing. Over one fourth (26.4%) spit into squat toilets/ toilet bowl. Regression analyses showed that the elderly group were less likely to report stepping on toilet seats (adjusted odds ratio, AOR = 0.17, 95%CI 0.03–0.88), flushing with the toilet lid closed (AOR = 0.40, 0.16–0.96), but more likely to spit into squat toilets/ toilet bowl (AOR = 4.20, 1.50–11.74). Conclusions Hong Kong Chinese’s compliance to hygiene practices in public toilets is suboptimal. Stepping on toilet seat is a unique Chinese practice due to the dirtiness of toilet seats. Spitting practices may increase the risk of airborne infectious diseases and need improvement. Measures are needed to improve toilet hygiene behaviors, including public education campaigns and keeping toilet environment clean.

Stem/progenitor cells are involved in the regeneration of the renal tubules after damage due to a toxic insult. However, the mechanism involved in the regeneration of the tubules by the stem cells is not well understood due to the lack of immortal cell lines that represent the stem/progenitor cells of the kidney. A previous study from our laboratory has shown that the immortalized cell line RPTEC/TERT1 contains two populations of cells, one co-expressing CD24 and CD133, the other expressing CD24 only. The goal of the present study was to determine if both these populations could be sorted into separate independent cultures and if so, determine their characteristic features and response to the nephrotoxicant cadmium. The results of our study show that both the populations of cells could grow as independent cultures and maintain their phenotype after extended sub-culture. The CD133+/CD24+ co-expressing cells formed multicellular spheroids (nephrospheres), a characteristic feature of stem/progenitor cells, and formed branched tubule-like structures when grown on the surface of matrigel, whereas the CD133-/CD24+ cells were unable to form these structures. The CD133+/CD24+ cells were able to grow and undergo neurogenic, adipogenic, osteogenic, and tubulogenic differentiation, whereas the CD133-/CD24+ cells expressed some of the differentiation markers but were unable to grow in some of the specialized growth media. The CD133+/ CD24+ co-expressing cells had a shorter doubling time compared to the cells that expressed only CD24, and were more resistant to the toxic effects of the heavy metal, cadmium. In conclusion, the isolation and characterization of these two cell populations form the RPTEC/TERT1 cell line will facilitate the development of studies that determine the mechanisms involved in tubular damage and regeneration particularly after a toxic insult.

Oxidative stress has been considered as an important cause of neurocyte damage induced by carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning; however, the precise mechanisms are not fully understood. The study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanism and the neuroprotective effect of targeted regulatory nuclear factor erythroid2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) gene on acute brain injury in CO poisoning rats. An acute CO poisoning rat model was established by CO inhalation in hyperbaric oxygen chamber and followed by the administration of Nrf2 gene-loaded lentivirus. Mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨM), the levels of Nrf2, glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and cell apoptosis were determined in brain tissue in rats. We found that CO poisoning could decrease ΔΨm of cells, slightly increase the expressions of Nrf2 and GCLC at mRNA and protein levels, reduce CAT and GSH-Px, and thus initiate apoptosis process. The Nrf2 gene treatment could obviously enhance the expressions of Nrf2 at mRNA and protein levels, and increase the concentrations of CAT and GSH-Px, maintain the ΔΨm of cells in brain tissue, significantly inhibit cell apoptosis as compared with the CO poisoning group (p < .05). These findings suggest that CO poisoning could induce oxidative stress and impair mitochondrial function of cells in brain tissue. The administration of Nrf2 gene could notably strengthen the antioxidant capacity of cells through regulating the downstream genes of Nrf2/antioxidant responsive element signal pathway, and positively protect cells against brain injury induced by acute severe CO poisoning.

Two previously undescribed dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans, named sieverlignans D-E (1-2), as well as eight known ones (3-10), were isolated from the aerial parts of Artemisia sieversiana. Their structures were elucidated from extensive spectroscopic analysis, including HRMS, NMR and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) experiments. This study is the first to report dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans in the genus Artemisia and this plant. All the compounds were evaluated for their anti-neuroinflammatory activities on the lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced nitric oxide production in BV-2 murine microglial cells. Compounds 1 and 6 exhibited the moderate activities with their IC

The adaptability of herbivorous insects to toxic plant defense compounds is partly related to the structure of the gut microbiome. To overcome plant resistance, the insect gut microbiome should respond to a wide range of allelochemicals derived from dietary niches. Nevertheless, for sibling herbivorous insect species, whether the gut microbiome contributes to success in food niche competition is unclear. Based on 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing, the gut microbiomes of two Apriona species that share the same food niche were investigated in this study to determine whether the gut microbiome contributes to insect success in food-niche competition. Our observations indicated that the gut microbiome tended to play a part in host niche competition between the two Apriona species. The gut microbiome of Apriona swainsoni had many enriched pathways that can help degrade plant toxic secondary compounds, including xenobiotic biodegradation and metabolism, terpenoid and polyketide metabolism, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis. Meanwhile, A. swainsoni hosted a much greater variety of microorganisms and had more viable bacteria than A. germari. We conclude that gut microbes may influence the coevolution of herbivores and host plants. Gut bacteria may not only serve to boost nutritional relationships, but may also play an important role in insect food niche competition.

To reconstruct the deposition rate of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in different historical periods and to examine the temporal and spatial trend of PCBs pollution, we analyzed the changes of PCBs concentration and deposition rate in peat cores and lake sediments, and evaluated the suitability of peat cores and lake sediments for studying PCBs deposition trend. Through the dating analysis of all samples, we found that peat bog could well record the historical sedimentation of PCBs. PCBs did not degrade in peat, and it was thus feasible to use peatland to examine the settlement of PCBs. In this study, the reconstruction time of ∑为了重建不同历史时期多氯联苯(PCBs)的沉降速率以研究其污染的时空变化趋势,本研究分析了PCBs在泥炭芯和湖泊沉积柱芯中浓度和沉降速率的变化规律,并评估了泥炭芯和湖泊沉积柱芯用于PCBs沉降变化研究的适用性。对采集柱芯进行定年分析发现,泥炭沼泽可以很好地记录PCBs历史沉降变化,并且泥炭中的PCBs没有出现降解情况,因此采用泥炭地研究PCBs沉降变化是可行的。本研究中泥炭地11种多氯联苯同系物(∑

Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) Score is useful for the nutritional screening. We aimed to explore whether the CONUT score may predict a 3-month functional outcome in hemorrhagic stroke (AHS). Totally, 349 patients with incident AHS were consecutively recruited, and their malnutrition risks were determined using a high CONUT score of ≥ 2. Poor functional outcomes were defined as the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of ≥ 3 at 3 months. A total of 328 patients (mean age, 60.4 ± 12.83 years; 66.8% male) were included, 172 (52.40%) patients at malnutrition risk and 104 (31.7%) patients with a poor prognosis. High-CONUT patients had lower total lymphocyte counts and total cholesterol levels than low-CONUT patients (p < 0.001 and p = 0.012). At 3-month post discharge, patients with malnutrition risk had higher hospitalization costs (p = 0.021), lower Barthel Index (p = 0.001), and more infectious complications (p = 0.002) than those without, and there was a greater risk for poor functional outcomes in the high-CONUT compared with the low-CONUT patients at admission (adjusted odds ratio: 2.32, 95% confidence interval: 1.28-4.17). High-CONUT scores predict a 3-month poor prognosis in AHS, which may help identify the AHS patients who need additional nutritional managements.

Environmental exposure to arsenite (As3+) has a strong association with the development of human urothelial cancer (UC) and is the 5th most common cancer in men and the 12th most common cancer in women. Muscle invasive urothelial cancer (MIUC) are grouped into basal or luminal molecular subtypes based on their gene expression profile. The basal subtype is more aggressive and can be associated with squamous differentiation, characterized by high expression of keratins (KRT1, 5, 6, 14, and 16) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) within the tumors. The luminal subtype is less aggressive and is predominately characterized by elevated gene expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor- gamma (PPARγ) and forkhead box protein A1 (FOXA1). We have previously shown that As3+-transformed urothelial cells (As-T) exhibit a basal subtype of UC expressing genes associated with squamous differentiation. We hypothesized that the molecular subtype of the As-T cells could be altered by inducing the expression of PPARγ and/or inhibiting the proliferation of the cells. Non-transformed and As-T cells were treated with Troglitazone (TG, PPARG agonist, 10 μM), PD153035 (PD, an EGFR inhibitor, 1 μM) or a combination of TG and PD for 3 days. The results obtained demonstrate that treatment of the As-T cells with TG upregulated the expression of PPARγ and FOXA1 whereas treatment with PD decreased the expression of some of the basal keratins. However, a combined treatment of TG and PD resulted in a consistent decrease of several proteins associated with the basal subtype of bladder cancers (KRT1, KRT14, KRT16, P63, and TFAP2A). Our data suggests that activation of PPARγ while inhibiting cell proliferation facilitates the regulation of genes involved in maintaining the luminal subtype of UC. In vivo animal studies are needed to address the efficacy of using PPARγ agonists and/or proliferation inhibitors to reduce tumor grade/stage of MIUC.

Cadmium (Cd2+) is an environmental toxicant and a human carcinogen. Several studies show an association of Cd2+ exposure to the development of breast cancer. Previously, we have transformed the immortalized non-tumorigenic cell line MCF-10A with Cd2+ and have demonstrated that the transformed cells have anchorage independent growth. In a separate study, we showed that transformation of the immortalized urothelial cells with the environmental carcinogen arsenite (As3+) results in an increase in expression of genes associated with the basal subtype of bladder cancer. In this study, we determined if transformation of the MCF-10A cells with Cd2+ would have a similar effect on the expression of basal genes. The results of our study indicate that there is a decrease in expression of genes associated with keratinization and cornification and this gene signature includes the genes associated with the basal subtype of breast cancer. An analysis of human breast cancer databases indicates an increased expression of this gene signature is associated with a positive correlation to patient survival whereas a reduced expression/absence of this gene signature is associated with poor patient survival. Thus, our study suggests that transformation of the MCF-10A cells with Cd2+ produces a decreased basal gene expression profile that correlates to patient outcome.

Two previously undescribed dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans, named sieverlignans D–E (1-2), as well as eight known ones (3-10), were isolated from the aerial parts of Artemisia sieversiana. Their structures were elucidated from extensive spectroscopic analysis, including HRMS, NMR and circular dichroism experiments. This study is the first to report dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans in the genus Artemisia and this plant. All the compounds were evaluated for their anti-neuroinflammatory effects on the lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced nitric oxide production in BV-2 murine microglial cells. Compounds 1 and 6 exhibited the moderate activity with their IC50 values of 47.7 and 21.9 μM, compared to a positive control quercetin with the IC50 value of 16.0 μM.