N′-(Propan-2-yl­idene)nicotinohydrazide

Crystals of the title compound, C9H11N3O, were obtained from a condensation reaction of nicotinohydrazide and acetone. In the mol­ecular structure, the pyridine ring is oriented at a dihedral angle of 36.28 (10)° with respect to the amide plane. In the crystal structure, mol­ecules are linked via N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains

(E)-N′-(3,4-Dichloro­benzyl­idene)nicotino­hydrazide monohydrate

In the title compound, C13H9Cl2N3O·H2O, the 3,4-dichloro­benzene ring is nearly coplanar with the pyridine ring, making a dihedral angle of 4.78 (8)°. Inter­molecular O—H⋯O, O—H⋯N, N—H⋯O and weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonding is present in the crystal structure

N′-(3-Bromo-4-methoxy­benzyl­idene)nicotinohydrazide monohydrate

In the title compound, C14H12BrN3O2·H2O, the benzene ring is oriented at a dihedral angle of 39.66 (11)° with respect to the pyridine ring. The solvent water mol­ecule links with the organic compound via O—H⋯O, O—H⋯N and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonding

(E)-N′-(1,3-Benzodioxol-5-ylmethyl­ene)nicotinohydrazide monohydrate

In the title compound, C14H11N3O3·H2O, the planar [maximum deviation 0.135 (1) Å] 1,3-benzodioxole ring system is oriented at a dihedral angle of 13.93 (7)° with respect to the pyridine ring. Extensive inter­molecular N—H⋯O, O—H⋯O, O—H⋯N and weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonding is present in the crystal structure

Geometric bionics: Lotus effect helps polystyrene nanotube films get good blood compatibility

Various biomaterials have been widely used for manufacturing biomedical applications including artificial organs, medical devices and disposable clinical apparatus, such as vascular prostheses, blood pumps, artificial kidney, artificial hearts, dialyzers and plasma separators, which could be used in contact with blood^1^. However, the research tasks of improving hemocompatibility of biomaterials have been carrying out with the development of biomedical requirements^2^. Since the interactions that lead to surface-induced thrombosis occurring at the blood-biomaterial interface become a reason of familiar current complications with grafts therapy, improvement of the blood compatibility of artificial polymer surfaces is, therefore a major issue in biomaterials science^3^. After decades of focused research, various approaches of modifying biomaterial surfaces through chemical or biochemical methods to improve their hemocompatibility were obtained^1^. In this article, we report that polystyrene nanotube films with morphology similar to the papilla on lotus leaf can be used as blood-contacted biomaterials by virtue of Lotus effect^4^. Clearly, this idea, resulting from geometric bionics that mimicking the structure design of lotus leaf, is very novel technique for preparation of hemocompatible biomaterials

Increased MicroRNA-146a Levels in Plasma of Patients with Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs, are thought to serve as crucial regulators of gene expression. Dysregulated expression of miRNAs has been described in various diseases and may contribute to related pathologic processes. Our aim was to examine circulating miRNA-146a levels in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (new-T2DM) patients from a Chinese Han population. Methodology/Principal Findings Circulating miRNA-146a was extracted from plasma samples of 90 new-T2DM patients and 90 age- and sex-matched controls. Quantitative PCR assessment revealed that circulating miRNA-146a levels were significantly elevated in new-T2DM patients compared with controls. Participants in the highest tertile of circulating miRNA-146a levels showed a notably higher risk for new-T2DM (crude OR 4.333, 95% CI, 1.935 to 9.705, P = 0.001) than persons in the lowest tertile. Controlling for known risk factors and some biochemical indicators did not attenuate the aforementioned association. In addition, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves generated for miRNA-146a revealed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.725 (95% CI, 0.651 to 0.799, P < 0.001). Moreover, higher circulating miRNA-146a levels were significantly associated with higher plasma heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) concentrations (β coefficient = 0.131, P < 0.001) and lower HOMA-beta (β coefficient = -0.153, P = 0.015). Conclusions/Significance: We found that circulating miRNA-146a levels were significantly elevated in new-T2DM patients compared with healthy controls. Whether expression of circulating miRNA-146a holds predictive value for T2DM warrants further investigations

Influence of Reducing Agents on Biosafety and Biocompatibility of Gold Nanoparticles

Extensive biomedical applications of nanoparticles are mainly determined by their safety and compatibility in biological systems. The aim of this study was to compare the biosafety and biocompatibility of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) prepared with HEPES buffer, which is popular for cell culture, and sodium citrate, a frequent reducing agent. From experimental results on the body weight and organ coefficients of acute oral toxicity tests, it could be observed that HEPES-prepared GNPs are biologically safer than citric-prepared GNPs at the same dose of 500 μg/kg. The in vitro cell viability was higher for HEPES-prepared GNPs than citric-prepared GNPs at 5.0- and 10.0-ug/mL concentrations. More reactive oxygen species (ROS) were generated in the cell suspension when supplemented with citric-prepared GNPs than HEPES-prepared GNPs when their concentrations were higher than 20 μg/mL. The results stated that HEPES-prepared GNPs had better biosafety and biocompatibility than citric-prepared GNPs. This study not only revealed the influence of reducing agent on biosafety and biocompatibility of nanomaterials but also provided accumulative evidence for nanomaterials in biomedical applications. [Figure: see text

An investigation of the health value and self-care capabilities of the elderly in urban-rural fringe area nursing homes and the related influencing factors

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate the health value and self-care capabilities of the elderly living in urban-rural fringe area nursing homes and the factors that influence these variables.MethodsA cluster sampling method was used to select 280 elderly individuals from seven urban-rural fringe communities in Xianning to complete a survey regarding their health value and self-care capabilities.ResultsThe total health value and self-care capability scores of the elderly were 7.45 ± 1.45 and 100.25 ± 22.56, respectively. Both of these scores significantly differed by age, education level, marital status, and income (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Self-care capability was correlated with health value (r = 0.521). A multivariate linear regression analysis showed that health value, marital status, and age predicted self-care capability.ConclusionsElderly people living in the urban-rural fringe area with higher health values also had higher self-care capabilities. The self-care capabilities of the elderly can be enhanced by improving their health value using the “knowing-trusting-acting” model

Фазовий склад та магніторезистивні властивості плівкових системи Ni/Au/Ni

Магнітні багатошарові структури, які останніми роками інтенсивно досліджуються, важливі як з точки зору теоретичних досліджень, так і для практичного застосування. Прикладний інтерес викликаний їх здатністю поєднувати у собі властивості магнітом’яких і магнітотвердих матеріалів, які суттєво залежать від структури і фазового складуз разків.У даній роботі, в якості досліджуваних магнітних структур, було використано тришарові плівкові системи Ni(d) / Au(15 нм) / Ni(25 нм) отримані шляхом пошарової конденсації, де d – товщина верхнього шару Ni, яка змінювалась від 5 до 15 нм