Lipid-lowering effects of gefarnate in statin-treated patients with residual hypertriglyceridemia:a randomized controlled study

BACKGROUND The prevention of coronary artery disease(CAD)faces dual challenges:the aspirin-induced gastrointestinal injury,and the residual cardiovascular risk after statin treatment.Geraniol acetate(Gefarnate)is an anti-ulcer drug.It was reported that geraniol might participate in lipid metabolism through a variety of pathways.The aim of this study was to assess the lipid-lowering effects of gefarnate in statin-treated CAD patients with residual hypertriglyceridemia.METHODS In this prospective,open-label,randomized,controlled trial,69 statin-treated CAD patients with residual hypertriglyceridemia were randomly assigned to gefarnate group and control group,received gefarnate(100 mg/3 times a day)combined with statin and statin alone,respectively.At baseline and after one-month treatment,the levels of plasma triglyceride,high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)and total cholesterol were tested.RESULTS After one-month gefarnate treatment,triglyceride level was significantly lowered from 2.64 mmol/L to 2.12 mmol/L(P=0.0018),LDL-C level lowered from 2.7 mmol/L to 2.37 mmol/L(P=0.0004),HDL-C level increased from 0.97 mmol/L to 1.17mmol/L(P=0.0228).Based on statin therapy,gefarnate could significantly reduce the plasma triglyceride level(P=0.0148)and increase the plasma HDL-C level(P=0.0307).Although the LDL-C and total cholesterol levels tended to decrease,there was no statistically significant difference.CONCLUSIONS The addition of gefarnate to statin reduced triglyceride level and increased HDL-C level to a significant extent compared to statin alone in CAD patients with residual hypertriglyceridemia.This suggested that gefarnate might provide the dual benefits of preventing gastrointestinal injury and lipid lowering in CAD patients.

Linked color imaging vs Lugol chromoendoscopy for esophageal squamous cell cancer and precancerous lesion screening: A noninferiority study

BACKGROUND Lugol chromoendoscopy(LCE)has served as a standard screening technique in high-risk patients with esophageal cancer.Nevertheless,LCE is not suitable for general population screening given its side effects.Linked color imaging(LCI)is a novel image-enhanced endoscopic technique that can distinguish subtle differences in mucosal color.AIM To compare the diagnostic performance of LCI with LCE in detecting esophageal squamous cell cancer and precancerous lesions and to evaluate whether LCE can be replaced by LCI in detecting esophageal neoplastic lesions.METHODS In this prospective study,we enrolled 543 patients who underwent white light imaging(WLI),LCI and LCE successively.We compared the sensitivity and specificity of LCI and LCE in the detection of esophageal neoplastic lesions.Clinicopathological features and color analysis of lesions were assessed.RESULTS In total,43 patients(45 neoplastic lesions)were analyzed.Among them,36 patients(38 neoplastic lesions)were diagnosed with LCI,and 39 patients(41 neoplastic lesions)were diagnosed with LCE.The sensitivity of LCI was similar to that of LCE(83.7%vs 90.7%,P=0.520),whereas the specificity of LCI was greater than that of LCE(92.4%vs 87.0%,P=0.007).The LCI procedure time in the esophageal examination was significantly shorter than that of LCE[42(34,50)s vs 160(130,189)s,P<0.001].The color difference between the lesion and surrounding mucosa in LCI was significantly greater than that observed with WLI.However,the color difference in LCI was similar in different pathological types of esophageal squamous cell cancer.CONCLUSION LCI offers greater specificity than LCE in the detection of esophageal squamous cell cancer and precancerous lesions,and LCI represents a promising screening strategy for general populations.

Application of Hydrazine Hydrate in the Synthesis of Octa(aminophenyl)silsesquioxane (OAPS) Poss

Octa(aminophenyl)silsesquioxane (OAPS) was prepared from octaphenyl silsesquioxane (OPS) in two steps, first nitration to obtain Octa(nitrophenyl)silsesquioxane (ONPS) then reduction by using the stable, inexpensive, and readily available hydrazine hydrate as the reducing agent in the presence of Iron(III)Chloride catalyst with a yield of around 87%. Hydrazine is a two-electron reducing agent whereas nitro group is a four-electron reduction process. The activated carbon serves as an adsorbent and electrical conductor enabling the reaction to occur by acting as a mediator between a two-electron reagent and a four-electron process. Adsorption provides a reducing potential and a supply of electrons from many hydrazines making possible the initial four-electron process even though each individual hydrazine is a two-electron donor. The product was characterized by FTIR and 1H NMR. The time period for preparation of ONPS from octaphenyl silsesquioxane was considerably shortened to avoid double nitration of the aromatic rings.

Measurement and correlation study of silymarin solubility in supercritical carbon dioxide with and without a cosolvent using semi-empirical models and back-propagation artificial neural networks

The solubility data of compounds in supercritical fluids and the correlation between the experimental solubility data and predicted solubility data are crucial to the development of supercritical technologies. In the present work, the solubility data of silymarin(SM) in both pure supercritical carbon dioxide(SCCO2) and SCCO2 with added cosolvent was measured at temperatures ranging from 308 to 338 K and pressures from 8 to 22 MPa. The experimental data were fit with three semi-empirical density-based models(Chrastil, Bartle and Mendez-Santiago and Teja models) and a back-propagation artificial neural networks(BPANN) model. Interaction parameters for the models were obtained and the percentage of average absolute relative deviation(AARD%) in each calculation was determined. The correlation results were in good agreement with the experimental data. A comparison among the four models revealed that the experimental solubility data were more fit with the BPANN model with AARDs ranging from 1.14% to 2.15% for silymarin in pure SCCO2 and with added cosolvent. The results provide fundamental data for designing the extraction of SM or the preparation of its particle using SCCO2 techniques.

Chinese Society of Cardiology guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of adult fulminant myocarditis

Fulminant myocarditis is an acute diffuse inflammatory disease of myocardium.It is characterized by acute onset,rapid progress and high risk of death.Its pathogenesis involves excessive immune activation of the innate immune system and formation of inflammatory storm.According to China’s practical experience,the adoption of the“life support-based comprehensive treatment regimen”(with mechanical circulation support and immunomodulation therapy as the core)can significantly improve the survival rate and long-term prognosis.Special emphasis is placed on very early identification,very early diagnosis,very early prediction and very early treatment.

The Arabidopsis catalase triple mutant reveals important roles of catalases and peroxisome-derived signaling in plant development

Hydrogen peroxide （H2O2） is generated in many metabolic processes. As a signaling molecule, H2O2 plays important roles in plant growth and development, as well as environmental stress response. In Arabidopsis, there are three catalase genes, CAT1, CAT2, and CAT3. The encoded catalases are predominately peroxisomal pro- teins and are critical for scavenging H2O2. Since CAT1 and CAT3 are linked on chromosome 1, it has been almost impossible to generate cat1/3 and cats1/2/3 mutants by traditional genetic tools. In this study, we constructed cat1/3 double mutants and cat1/22/3 triple mutants by CRISPR/Cas9 to investigate the role of catalases. The cat1/ 2/3 triple mutants displayed severe redox disturbance and growth defects under physiological conditionscompared with wild-type and the cat2/3 double mutants. Transcriptome analysis showed a more profound tran- scriptional response in the cat1/2/3 triple mutants compared to the cat2/3 mutants. These differentially expressed genes are involved in plant growth regulation as well as abiotic and biotic stress responses. In addition, expression of OXI1 （OXIDATIVE SIGNAL INDUCIBLE 1） and several MAPK cascade genes were changed dramatically in the catalase triple mutant, suggesting that H2O2 produced in peroxisomes could serve as a peroxisomal retrograde signal.

Characterization and mapping of the multi-component release kinetics of a Traditional Chinese Medicine dosage form using a modified LC/MS/MS method and chemomic release kinetic theory

It is essential to develop effective methods for the quality control of the traditional medicine with multiple components.However,few researches on the quality control have been conducted to interpret the holistic characteristics of the traditional medicine in terms of dissolution/release.In this study,the multi-component release kinetics of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)dosage forms was characterized and mapped by multivariate analysis techniques in the field of‘‘-omics’’.The Liuweidihuang pill was used as a model formulation.The multi-component release kinetics of the concentrated and water-honeyed Liuweidihuang pills at rotation speeds of 50 and 100 rpm were analyzed by chemomic release kinetic theory and modified LC/MS/MS method.Mass features of 103(concentrated pills)and 101(water-honeyed pills)were selected with a linear correlation coefficient Z0.99 between mass responses and concentrations.To compose the chemomic standard spectrum,the relative abundance of both mass features was no less than 1%as compared with an internal standard.The correlation coefficients between six samples of various solutions were in line with analytical requirements of precision(rZ0.985).The score plots of principal component analysis showed that the concentrated Liuweidihuang pills presented better chemomic release reproducibility than the water-honeyed pills.Conversely,the impact of rotation speed on the chemomic release was less obvious.The heat maps of hierarchical clustering analysis did not show significant changes in individual clusters of mass features along different time intervals,reflecting the release integrity of the mass features.Therefore,both multivariate analysis methods,the principal component analysis and the hierarchical clustering analysis,seemed to be effective techniques to demonstrate the multiple component release performance of TCM.The research provided the basis of a new strategy for the quality control procedures of the dissolution/release for the traditional medicine and multi-component natural products to address increasing regulatory requirements and scrutiny across the world.