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Carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) is applied as a nanodelivery system carrier for sustained intracellular release of rose bengal (RB) and doxorubicin (DOX) to achieve combinational drug treatments. An integral analytical method was used to characterize the structure of CMCS-RB, the amount of RB and DOX, the average particle size, the zeta potential, and the morphology, including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), scanning electron microscope (SEM), laser particle size analyzer and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results revealed that the maximum encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity of DOX into the CMCS-RB-DOX nanoparticles was 13.38% and 53.18%, respectively. The content of RB in the CMCS-RB prodrug was 11.25%. The release of RB and DOX under different conditions was investigated through dynamic dialysis. CCK-8 assay were used to study the inhibitory effect on normal cells and Cal-27 oral cancer cells. The cytotoxicity results of CMCS-RB-DOX nanoparticles showed excellent photosensitizer properties and strong efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT).

Objective To investigate the preventive effect of hydration combined with reduced glutathione on contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) after coronary intervention therapy in elderly Chinese patients with diabetes. Methods Patients with diabetes aged ≥65 years, who received percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) between 1 August 2016 and 31 December 2018, were enrolled and randomized into two groups: patients treated with hydration combined with reduced glutathione (treatment group) and patients who received hydration alone (controls). Serum creatinine and creatinine clearance levels were measured in all patients before PCI and then daily for 3 days after PCI. Occurrence of CIN (the primary endpoint) was defined as serum creatinine value 25% or 44.2 mmol/l (0.5 mg/dl) above baseline at 72 h after an exposure to contrast medium. Results A total of 396 patients were included (treatment group, n = 204; and controls, n = 192). The CIN occurrence rate in the treatment and control group was 5.88% and 6.77%, respectively, with no statistically significant between-group difference. Conclusion In elderly patients with diabetes receiving PCI, the risk of CIN was not effectively lowered by hydration combined with reduced glutathione.

Essential thrombocythemia (ET) can cause arterial embolism. Patients with arterial thrombosis usually have additional risk factors, such as smoking and hypertension. We report a 70-year-old woman with ET who had no risk factors, except for age. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging showed fresh lacunar infarction in several lobes. Electrocardiography showed ST-segment elevation in leads II, III, and aVF. Coronary angioplasty and stenting were successfully performed. We checked the bone marrow and performed genetic testing. The Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) V617F gene mutation was found. This case was a rare initial presentation of previously undiagnosed ET with embolism of cardiovascular and cerebral vessels. Anti-platelet drugs and hydroxyurea were used to prevent further thrombosis in the coronary and cerebral arteries.

We present a 26-year-old woman with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in the 14th week of pregnancy. Coronary angiography revealed no abnormalities in the coronary arteries. She had no history of coronary risk factors such as smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or dyslipidemia. Although we do not have direct evidence of coronary spasm in this patient, several factors suggest that coronary spasm is the most likely cause of myocardial infarction. We suspect that hyperthyroidism may have played an important role in coronary spasm in this patient. Early use of coronary angiography is helpful to identify the types of coronary artery lesions.

Osthole, the main active constituents in traditional Chinese medicine fructus cnidii, has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities. Apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells is an important cause of cardiovascular disease. Inflammation and oxidative stress are two key factors in injury of endotheliocyte. In this study, we investigated the effect of osthole on Ang II-induced apoptosis of rat aortic endothelial cells (RAECs) and explored the underlying mechanisms. In the present study, the protective effects of osthole on RAECs induced by Ang II in vitro were tested. Additionally, molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were utilized to investigate the potential binding mode of osthole to NF-κB and Keap1. Our results showed osthole remarkably attenuates Ang II-induced apoptosis of RAECs via alleviating inflammation and oxidative stress. Molecular docking and MD simulations revealed the potential interaction of osthole bind to the P65 subunit of NF-κB and the Keap1 protein, an adaptor for the degradation of Nrf2. We further found that osthole decreased Ang II-induced inflammation and oxidative stress through respectively modulating NF-κB and Nrf2 pathways in RAECs. These studies provide evidence that osthole may represent a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of vascular injury.

In the past work, the shear resistance of pure poly(n-butyl acrylate) was low, even incorporation of inorganic filler, silica in the composition. It is well-known that the copolymerization of n-butyl acrylate (BA) with methyl methacrylate (MMA) will increase the glass transition temperature, and enhance the shear resistance of acrylic polymers. In the current work, the preparation of a series of acrylic water-borne pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) with the controlled composition and structure for the copolymerization of BA and acrylic acid (AA) with different MMA contents, poly(BA-co-MMA-co-AA) was reported and its effects on adhesive properties of the latices were investigated. The latices of poly(BA-co-MMA-co-AA) were prepared at a solid content of 50% by two-stage sequential emulsion polymerization, and this process consisted of a batch seed stage giving a particle diameter of 111 nm, which was then grown by the semicontinuous addition of monomers to final diameter of 303 nm. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) was used to monitor the particle diameters and proved that no new nucleation occurred during the growth stage. Copolymerization of BA with MMA raised the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the soft acrylic polymers, and had the effect of improving shear resistance, while the loop tack and peel adhesion kept relatively high. The relationship between pressure-sensitive properties and molecular parameters, such as gel content and molecular weight, was evaluated. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a T-cell-mediated chronic inflammatory oral disease of unknown aetiology. Imbalanced cytokine production by Th1 and Th2 probably contributes to the pathogenesis of OLP. Growing evidence has suggested that two Th1/Th2-specific transcription factors, T-bet and GATA-3, may play a critical role in the development of Th1 and Th2 immunity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mRNA expressions of T-bet and GATA-3 in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of OLP subjects, and their expression patterns in relation to several clinical features.Expressions of T-bet and GATA-3 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from twenty-eight OLP subjects and sixteen controls were detected by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.When OLP subjects were regarded as a whole group, T-bet mRNA level and the ratio of T-bet/GATA-3 mRNA in OLP subjects were significantly higher (P0.05) than those in controls. When the OLP subjects were divided according to different clinical forms, genders or age groups, T-bet, but not GATA-3, mRNA levels in reticular (P0.01), female (P0.05) and elder (age55, P0.05) OLP patients were significantly higher than those in control subjects. T-bet/GATA-3 mRNA ratio only in reticular (P0.05) OLP subjects was significantly higher than that in control subjects.The results implicate a predominant role of Th1-type immune response in pathogenesis of OLP. Different gene expressions of T-bet in different clinical features may indicate different immunoregulatory mechanisms of OLP.

A graph invariant I(G) of a connected graph G=(V,E) contributed by the weights of all edges is defined as I(G)=@?c"i"jx"i"j with the summation over all edges, c"i"j is the weight of edges connecting vertices of degree i and j, x"i"j is the number of edges of G connecting vertices of degree i and j. It generalizes Randic index, Zagreb index, sum-connectivity index, GA"1 index, ABC index etc. In this paper, we first give the expressions for computing this invariant I(G) of benzenoid systems and phenylenes, and a relation between this invariant of a phenylene and its corresponding hexagonal squeeze, and then determine the extremal values of I(G) and extremal graphs in catacondensed benzenoid systems and phenylenes, and a unified approach to the extremal values and extremal graphs of Randic index, the general Randic index, Zagreb index, sum-connectivity index, the general sum-connectivity index, GA"1 index and ABC index in benzenoid systems and phenylenes.