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A 36-year-old woman, who had a history of myomectomy, presented with lightheadedness after changing position from sitting to standing and effort-related shortness of breath. Echocardiography demonstrated a hyperechoic elongated mobile mass extending from the inferior caval vein to the right atrium. The mass was surgically removed, and histological examination established the diagnosis of intravenous leiomyomatosis. This case caught the attention of our cardiology group to consider the diagnosis when an inferior caval vein or right atrium mass is found in a patient with a history of uterine leiomyomatosis.

A rare example of a one-pot process that involves asymmetric triple relay catalysis is reported. The key step is an asymmetric [1,5] electrocyclic reaction of functionalized ketimines. The substrates for this process were obtained in situ in a two-step process that involved the hydrogenation of nitroarenes with a Pd/C catalyst to yield aryl amines and their subsequent coupling with isatin derivatives in a Bronsted acid catalyzed ketimine formation reaction. The electrocyclization was catalyzed by a bifunctional chiral Bronsted base/hydrogen bond donor catalyst. The one-pot process gave the desired products in good yields and with excellent enantioselectivity.

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of gabapentin in comparison with carbamazepine in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was performed. Two reviewers independently selected studies, assessed study quality, and extracted data. Sixteen randomized controlled trials that included 1,331 patients were assessed. The meta-analysis showed that the total effective rate of gabapentin therapy group was similar with carbamazepine therapy group (OR = 1.600, 95% CI 1.185, 2.161, P = 0.002). While the effective rate of gabapentin therapy for 4 weeks was higher than that of carbamazepine therapy (OR = 1.495, 95% CI 1.061, 2.107, P = 0.022, heterogeneity: x2 = 7.12, P = 0.625, I2 = 0.0%), the life satisfaction improvement is also better in the gabapentin therapy group after a 4-week treatment (SMD = 0.966, 95% CI 0.583, 1.348, P < 0.001). Furthermore, our meta-analysis suggested that the adverse reaction rate of gabapentin therapy group was significantly lower than that of carbamazepine therapy group (OR = 0.312, 95% CI 0.240, 0.407, P < 0.001). In conclusion, present trials comparing gabapentin with carbamazepine are all poor in terms of methodological quality. Based on the available evidence, it is not possible to draw conclusions regarding the efficacy and side effects of gabapentin being superior to carbamazepine.

Previous studies indicate that the Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway plays a neruo-protective role in glia cell, however, the mechanism was also elusive. This study aims to explore the inhibitive function of all-trans-retinoic (ATRA) on Nrf2-ARE pathway in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and investigate the mechanism. In this study, the femoral artery injection method was employed to establish ICH model. The model rats were randomly divided into four groups, including Sham group, ICH group, ATRA group and DMSO group. The neurological scores were evaluated for the four groups at different time points. Hematoxylin-Eosin staining was used to stain the CD11b positive glia cells. Double immunofluorescence staining method was utilized to observe the co-expression of HO-1, NF-κB, Nrf2 and TNF-α and CD11b marker in glia cells. Western blot assay was used to detect the Nrf2 protein (total and binding Nrf2), HO-1, NF-κB and TNF-α proteins in every group. The results indicated that neurologiclal scores were significantly decreased in ATRA group compared to ICH gorup (P < 0.05). The glia cells were significantly activated and accumulated in ICH rats. ATRA significantly decreased co-expression of Nrf2, HO-1 and CD11b, and increased co-expression of NF-κB, TNF-α and CD11b of glia cells. ATRA significantly decreased total Nrf2 expression and increased binding Nrf2 expression in ATRA group compared to ICH group (P < 0.05). ATRA decreased anti-oxygen protein Nrf2 and HO-1, and increases inflammatory factors NF-κB and TNF-α. In conclusion, the application of ATRA could inhibit the neuro-protective function effectively by blocking the Nrf2-ARE pathway in glia cells.

The catalytic nucleophilic substitution of tertiary alcohols using carbon or heteroatom based nucleophiles is a versatile methodology for the efficient, diverse and atom economical construction of fully substituted carbon centres, including both quaternary carbons and heteroatom substituted tetrasubstituted carbons, which only produces water as the by-product. This review summarizes the recent progress in this field, including the catalytic asymmetric studies and their application in the natural product synthesis, briefly discusses the reaction mechanism and challenges, and outlines synthetic opportunities that are still open.

A rare example of a one-pot process that involves asymmetric triple relay catalysis is reported. The key step is an asymmetric [1,5] electrocyclic reaction of functionalized ketimines. The substrates for this process were obtained in situ in a two-step process that involved the hydrogenation of nitroarenes with a Pd/C catalyst to yield aryl amines and their subsequent coupling with isatin derivatives in a Bronsted acid catalyzed ketimine formation reaction. The electrocyclization was catalyzed by a bifunctional chiral Bronsted base/hydrogen bond donor catalyst. The one-pot process gave the desired products in good yields and with excellent enantioselectivity.

The catalytic nucleophilic substitution of tertiary alcohols using carbon or heteroatom based nucleophiles is a versatile methodology for the efficient, diverse and atom economical construction of fully substituted carbon centres, including both quaternary carbons and heteroatom substituted tetrasubstituted carbons, which only produces water as the by-product. This review summarizes the recent progress in this field, including the catalytic asymmetric studies and their application in the natural product synthesis, briefly discusses the reaction mechanism and challenges, and outlines synthetic opportunities that are still open.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a very common neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system, characterized by dementia, cognitive impairment, and memory loss, and the global prevalence is increasing. Many epidemiologic studies have considered the association between uric acid and AD, yet the relationship remains elusive. The objective of this study was to validate whether or not uric acid is indeed associated with AD. We compared different prospective studies and ultimately found that it is also a controversial issue. Further higher quality prospective evidence on the relationship between uric acid and AD in different age stage are needed to determine the causal association and its exact pathogenetic mechanisms.

To improve and simplify the prediction model of carotenoid content of cucumber leaves, genetic algorithm (GA) combined with Metropolis acceptance criterion of simulated annealing algorithm (SAA) as well as interval partial least square (iPLS) were proposed and used to establish the calibration models of carotenoid content against cucumber leaves spectra. The cucumber leaves spectra data were divided into 40 intervals, among which 7 subsets, i. e. No. 3, 4, 14, 18, 21, 32 and 33, were selected by SAA-GA-iPLS. The comparison was made between SAA-GA-iPLS and traditional genetic algorithm interval partial least square (GA-iPLS), and the result of this study shows that SAA-GA-iPLS was better than traditional genetic algorithm interval partial least square (GA-iPLS).

A retrospective study was carried out to analyze 3 cases of renal echinococcosis confirmed by surgery and pathology in the hospital during 1999-2008. The patients were examined by 64-CT plain scan and multiple period enhancement scan. Among them, 2 were multi-daughter-cyst hydatid disease, and 1 appeared as solitary one. Two cases were once misdiagnosed as renal cyst and renal hamartoma, and the other was diagnosed correctly before operation. CT sign scanning combined with epidemiological information can make an accurate diagnosis for renal echinococcosis.

To investigate the protective effects of Xiaoyan Lidan Pian extract (XLP) on restraint stress induced liver injury in mice.Liver injury mouse model was established by restraint stress. Sixty mice were equally divided into 6 groups, the normal control group, the model group, the Thiopronin group, and the three XLP groups treated with low (125 mg/kg), moderate (250 mg/kg) and high dose (500 mg/kg) XLP respectively. Effect of various treatments was evaluated by assessing alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in plasma; malondialdehyde (MDA) content in liver by thiobarbituric acid method; content of nitric oxide (NO) by Griess chemical method; hepatic antioxidant capacity index (ORAC) by fluorescent enzyme immunoassay; glutathione (GSH) content by HPLC; activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPX-Px) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) by colorimetry; activity of hepatic mitochondrial respiratory chain complex enzyme (MRCCE) by ultraviolet spectrophotometry; and contents of cytochrome a, b, c, and c1 by the redox differential spectra.As compared with the model group, in the XLP groups, level of plasma ALT activity, liver content of MDA and NO, and contents of cytochromes were lower, while levels of ORAC index, GSH, GPX-Px and GST in liver, and MRCCE activity were higher.XLP has definite protective effects on stressive liver injury in mice, which may be related to its action in alleviating the oxidative stress condition in mice.

Xiao-ping Yin,1,2 Zhi-ying Chen,2 Jun Zhou,1 Dan Wu,1,3 Bing Bao2 1Department of Neurology, TheSecond Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiujiang University, Jiujiang, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Neurology, The Sixth Hospital of Wuhan, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China Background: It has been found that nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/antioxidant response element (Nrf2–ARE) signaling pathway plays a role in antioxidative response, anti-inflammatory response, and neuron-protection in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). The aim of this study is to explore mechanisms underlying the perifocal neuroprotective effect of the Nrf2–ARE signaling pathway after ICH.Methods: There were a total of 90 rats with basal ganglia hemorrhage, which were randomly divided into the following four groups: ICH (Sprague–Dawley rats with autologous femoral arterial blood injection into the basal ganglia), sulforaphane (SFN) (SFN was intraperitoneally administered into rats), retinoic acid (RA) (RA was intraperitoneally administered into rats), and dimethyl sulfoxide (the rats were treated with dimethyl sulfoxide). We observed the neurological score of the rats in the different groups, and collected brain tissues for immunofluorescence, Western blot, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to detect expression of Nrf2, heme oxygenase (HO-1), nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α).Results: The results indicated that neurological dysfunction of rats was significantly improved in the SFN group, and the expressions of Nrf2 and HO-1 in tissues surrounding the hemorrhage were increased. Also, the level of NF-κB and TNF-α were reduced compared to the ICH group. The RA group exhibited more severe neurological dysfunction and lower levels of Nrf2 and HO-1 than the SFN and ICH groups. Compared to the ICH group, the NF-κB and TNF-α expression in the RA groups was increased. In conclusion, RA inhibits Nrf2 dissociation and translocation into nucleus, thereby suppressing the anti-inflammatory effect of Nrf2–ARE signaling pathway. The activation of Nrf2–ARE signaling pathway by SFN can elevate expression of antioxidant enzyme HO-1, reduce perifocal inflammatory response after ICH, and thus may play a neuroprotective role.Conclusion: The results suggest that Nrf2–ARE signaling pathway may serve as a new target for treatment of perifocal inflammatory injury caused by ICH. Keywords: cerebral hemorrhage, injuries, NF-E2-related factor 2, antioxidant response elements