Causes of Sudden Death Related to Sexual Activity : Results of a Medicolegal Postmortem Study from 2001 to 2005

Sexual activity (SA), combined with organic heart disease, may cause sudden death (SD). However, the causes of SD related to SA are not known well. The aim of this study was to assess the causes of SD related to SA. From August 2001 to November 2005, all autopsies (n=1,379) performed at Kyungpook National University were prospectively searched for SD cases related to SA. Fourteen cases (46±11 yr old, 9 males) of SD related to SA were found. All were heterosexual. The toxicologic study was negative in all. Ten cases were witnessed; during SA in 4 cases, just after SA in another 4 cases, 2 and 5 hr after in 1 each case. In 4 unwitnessed cases the victims were found dead less than 12 hr from the end of their SA. The partners were steady extramarital partners (n=8), prostitutes (n=2), marital partner (n=1) and unknown (n=3). The causes of the SD were as follows; coronary artery disease in 6, subarachnoid hemorrhage with ruptured berry aneurysm in 4, fibromuscular dysplasia of the atrioventricular nodal artery in 2, and unknown in 2. Coronary artery disease and subarachnoid hemorrhage with ruptured berry aneurysm were important as causes of SD related to SA

Dereplication-Guided Isolation of New Phenylpropanoid-Substituted Diglycosides from Cistanche salsa and Their Inhibitory Activity on NO Production in Macrophage

Dereplication allows for a rapid identification of known and unknown compounds in plant extracts. In this study, we performed liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS)- based dereplication using data from ESI+ QTOF-MS for the analysis of phenylpropanoid-substituted diglycosides, the major active constituents of Cistanche salsa (C. A. Mey.) Beck. Using TOF-MS alone, the substructures of these compounds could be unambiguously confirmed based on the characteristic fragmentation patterns of various product ions. HPLC-MS based profiling of C. salsa also allowed for the detection of new phenylpropanoid-substituted diglycosides from this plant. Of them, five new phenylpropanoid-substituted diglycosides, named cistansalsides A–E (5, 6, 12, 17 and 18), were isolated. Their structures were elucidated through spectroscopic methods including NMR and MS analysis. All the isolates were tested for their inhibitory activity against NO production in RAW 264.7 cells stimulated by LPS. Of the tested compounds, compounds 5, 11, 13 and 18 showed moderate inhibitory activity on inducible NO synthase. Compounds 11, 13 and 18 also inhibited the phosphorylation of NF-κB in macrophages. None of the compounds displayed significant cytotoxicity

Findings on In Vitro Transporter-Mediated Drug Interactions and Their Follow-Up Actions for Labeling: Analysis of Drugs Approved by US FDA between 2017 and 2021

Understanding possible follow-up actions on in vitro findings helps determine the necessity of labeling for drug interactions. We analyzed information for in vitro findings on transporter-mediated interactions of drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research for the last five years (i.e., 2017–2021) and their follow-up actions for labeling. Higher R values than the pre-defined cut-off were observed with 3.7–39.1% inhibitor drugs in a simple prediction. Among these drugs, 16–41.7% were labeled with their potential drug interactions, while results of supporting studies or scientific rationales were submitted for the other drugs leading to no interaction labeling. In vitro transporter substrates were reported with 1.7–67.6% of drugs. The interaction labels for these substrate drugs were observed in up to 40% of drugs, while the other drugs were not labeled on the drug interactions with claims for their low interaction potential, evidenced by clinical studies or scientific rationales. The systematic and comprehensive analysis in this study will provide insight into the management of in vitro findings for transporter substrate or inhibitor drugs

Furylhydroquinones and miscellaneous compounds from the roots of <i>Lithospermum erythrorhizon</i> and their anti-inflammatory effect in HaCaT cells

<p>One new furylhydroquinone derivative (<b>1</b>) and seven known compounds (<b>2</b>–<b>8</b>) were isolated from the roots of <i>Lithospermum erythrorhizon</i> Sieb. et Zucc (Boraginaceae). The structure of <b>1</b> was elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods using NMR and MS. The absolute configuration of shikonofuran J (<b>1</b>) was unambiguously determined by aid of comparison experimental ECD with predicted ECD spectra. All the isolates were tested for their inhibitory activities against IL-6 production in HaCaT cells stimulated by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. It was found that gracicleistanthoside (<b>5</b>) and uridine (<b>7</b>) remarkably down-regulated the TNF-α-induced synthesis of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a pro-inflammatory cytokine associated with cutaneous inflammation, in HaCaT cells.</p

Dilignans with a Chromanol Motif Discovered by Molecular Networking from the Stem Barks of Magnolia obovata and Their Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 Expression Inhibitory Activity

Natural products have been fundamental materials in drug discovery. Traditional strategies for observing natural products with novel structure and/or biological activity are challenging due to large cost and time consumption. Implementation of the MS/MS-based molecular networking strategy with the in silico annotation tool is expected to expedite the dereplication of secondary metabolites. In this study, using this tool, two new dilignans with a 2-phenyl-3-chromanol motif, obovatolins A (1) and B (2), were discovered from the stem barks of Magnolia obovata Thunb. along with six known compounds (3–8), expanding chemical diversity of lignan skeletons in this natural source. Their structures and configurations were elucidated using spectroscopic data. All isolates were evaluated for their PCSK9 mRNA expression inhibitory activity. Obovatolins A (1) and B (2), and magnolol (3) showed potent lipid controlling activities. To identify transcriptionally controlled genes by 1 along with downregulation of PCSK9, using small set of genes (42 genes) related to lipid metabolism selected from the database, focused bioinformatic analysis was carried out. As a result, it showed the correlations between gene expression under presence of 1, which led to detailed insight of the lipid metabolism caused by 1

A Wide Dynamic Range Multi-Sensor ROIC for Portable Environmental Monitoring Systems With Two-Step Self-Optimization Schemes

This article presents a wide-dynamic-range multi-sensor readout interface for portable environmental monitoring systems with two-step self-optimization schemes. It proposes two-step self-optimization methods of adaptive range detection and coarse self-cancelation (CSC) for current-type sensor interfaces, and range-based path control and current DAC-based correlated double sampling (CDS) for resistive sensing interfaces. Their digital conversions are provided by two kinds of high-resolution ADCs, namely, an incremental Delta Sigma current detector and a two-step SAR- Delta Sigma ADC. The proposed ROIC prototype is fabricated in a 180-nm CMOS process, achieving a dynamic range (DR) of 136.5 dB and 160.9 dB, and a maximum SNR of 109.8 dB and 108.6 dB for current and resistance detection, respectively. For system-level feasibility, an environmental monitoring system prototype based on the ROIC is also manufactured and functionally verified by integrating two kinds of in-house microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensor devices, the MCU, and the Bluetooth module, supporting wireless air quality and water pollution monitoring capabilities