1,5-Bis[1-(2,4-dihy­droxy­phen­yl)ethyl­idene]carbonohydrazide dimethyl­formamide disolvate

In the title compound, C17H18N4O5·2C3H7NO, two solvent mol­ecules are linked to the main mol­ecule via N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a hydrogen-bonded trimer. Intra­molecular O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds influence the mol­ecular conformation of the main mol­ecule, and the two benzene rings form a dihedral angle of 10.55 (18)°. In the crystal, inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link hydrogen-bonded trimers into ribbons extending along the b axis

1-Acetyl-5-isobutyl-2-sulfanylidene­imidazolidin-4-one

There are two independent mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit of the title compound, C9H14N2O2S. In the crystal, the mol­ecules are linked by N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a chain along the a axis

Membrane expression and significance of TRAIL death receptors DR4 and DR5 in Pancreatic cancer

Introduction: Tumor necrosis factor related-apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a powerful and selective activator of apoptosis in many cancer cells. We aim to investigate the expression and significance of TRAIL death receptor DR4 and DR5 in pancreatic cancer (PC) tissues. Method: Twenty-eight histologically verified samples of PC tissue were collected between 2018 and 2019. TRAIL death receptor expression profiles were determined by immunohistochemistry. Result: Death receptor DR4 and DR5 were expressed in the PC tissue and the adjacent non-cancerous pancreatic tissues, the expression of DR4 and DR5 in the PC tissue was significantly higher than that of the adjacent non-cancerous pancreatic tissues (p<0.05). Additionally, in both the tissue group, the expression of DR4 was significantly stronger than the DR5 (p<0.05). To assess the relationship between DR4 and DR5 expression, differentiation, and tumor staging of PC, the result reveals that the expression of DR4 and DR5 was significantly higher in stage I tumors than the stage II, III, IV tumors (p<0.05). In contrast, the expression of DR4 and DR5 was decreased with a decrease in the degree of differentiation of tumors. However, the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The membrane expression of TRAIL death receptor DR4 and DR5 is greater in PC than in the adjacent non-cancerous pancreatic tissues. Furthermore, increased membrane expression of TRAIL death receptor DR4 and DR5 in stage I PC and well-differentiated PC may predict the prognosis and feasibility of using TRAIL gene therapy as a treatment option for early PC.&nbsp

3,6-Di-4-pyridyl-1,4-dihydro-1,2,4,5-tetra­zine

The mol­ecule of the title compound, C12H10N6, which is V-shaped due to the boat conformation of the dihydro­tetra­zine ring, has crystallographic C 2 symmetry. The dihedral angle between the planes of the two pyridine rings is 31.57 (3)°. Mol­ecules are linked by weak N—H⋯N and C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming a two-dimensional polymeric structure

Cholesteryl ester transfer protein TaqIB polymorphism and its association with serum lipid levels and longevity in Chinese Bama Zhuang population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Taq</it>IB polymorphism in the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene has been reported to be associated with serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and longevity in several populations, but controversial results also arose probably due to racial/ethnic diversity. Bama is a remote and mountainous county located in the northwest of Guangxi, People's Republic of China, which has been well known for its longevity for centuries. The current study was to investigate the possible association of CETP <it>Taq</it>IB polymorphism with serum lipid levels and longevity in the Bama Zhuang population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The CETP <it>Taq</it>IB genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism in 523 long-lived inhabitants (long-lived group, LG; aged 90-107 years) and 498 healthy controls without longevity family history (non-long-lived group, non-LG; aged 40-69 years) residing in Bama County.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The levels of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were higher but TG, HDL-C/LDL-C ratio and the prevalence of dyslipidemia were lower in LG than in non-LG (<it>P </it>< 0.001 for all). There were no differences in the allelic and genotypic frequencies between the two groups (<it>P </it>> 0.05). Serum HDL-C levels and HDL-C/LDL-C ratio in LG were different among the genotypes (<it>P </it>< 0.01 for each), the subjects with B2B2 and B1B2 genotyes had higher HDL-C levels and HDL-C/LDL-C ratio than the subjects with B1B1genotye, whereas the levels of TC and HDL-C in non-LG were different among/between the genotypes (<it>P </it>< 0.01 for each), the B2 allele carriers had lower TC and higher HDL-C levels than the B2 allele noncarriers. Serum TG and HDL-C levels and HDL-C/LDL-C ratio were correlated with genotypes in LG, whereas serum TC and HDL-C levels were associated with genotypes in non-LG (<it>P </it>< 0.05-0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The association of CETP <it>Taq</it>IB polymorphism and serum lipid profiles is different between LG and non-LG in the Chinese Bama Zhuang population. CETP <it>Taq</it>IB polymorphism might be one of the longevity-related genetic factors in this population.</p

Association of obesity with headache among US children and adolescents: Evidence from NHANES 1999-2004

BackgroundChildren and adolescents increasingly commonly suffer from obesity and headache. It has been confirmed that there is an association between obesity and headache in adults; however, evidence of such an association in paediatric populations is still controversial. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between obesity and headache among children and adolescents in the US.MethodsThe cross-sectional data of 3948 participants were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2004. Weighted logistic regression models were applied to investigate the association between obesity and headache. Subgroup analysis stratified by sex and age was performed to explore the potential difference in the association of paediatric obesity with headache. The performance of paediatric obesity on headache was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.ResultsThe present study involved 3948 participants, of whom 713 (18.1%) had headache. Compared to those without headache, participants with headache tended to be girls and adolescents, have less calcium intake, and have higher levels of body mass index (BMI), C-reactive protein (CRP), serum ferritin and triglycerides (TGs) (all P &lt; 0.05). After fully adjusting for potential confounders, the ORs with 95% CIs for headache were 1.03 (0.58–1.54) and 1.25 (0.68–2.30) for overweight and obese participants in comparison with normal-weight controls, respectively, implying no association of paediatric obesity with headache independent of other potential confounding factors. In addition, although higher odds of headache were noted in girls and adolescents (aged 10–17 years), no statistically significant difference was found across any subgroups. The area under the ROC (AUC) of paediatric obesity on headache was 0.634.ConclusionsIn summary, our study indicated that obesity is not associated with headache among US children and adolescents. Further prospective studies with larger sample size are needed to validate our findings

Phase transformation-induced improvement in hardness and high-temperature wear resistance of plasma-sprayed and remelted NiCrBSi/WC coatings

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. The remelting method is introduced to improve the properties of the as-sprayed NiCrBSi coatings. In this work, tungsten carbide (WC) was selected as reinforcement and the as-sprayed and remelted NiCrBSi/WC composite coatings were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, hardness test and tribology test. After spraying, WC particles are evenly distributed in the coating. The remelting process induced the decarburizing reaction of WC, resulting in the formation of dispersed W2 C. The dispersed W2 C particles play an important role in the dispersion strengthening. Meanwhile, the pores and lamellar structures are eliminated in the remelted NiCrBSi/WC composite coating. Due to these two advantages, the hardness and the high-temperature wear resistance of the remelted NiCrBSi/WC composite coating are significantly improved compared with those with an as-sprayed NiCrBSi coating; the as-sprayed NiCrBSi coating, as-sprayed NiCrBSi/WC composite coating and remelted NiCrBSi/WC composite coating have average hardness of 673.82 HV, 785.14 HV, 1061.23 HV, and their friction coefficients are 0.3418, 0.3261, 0.2431, respectively. The wear volume of the remelted NiCrBSi/WC composite coating is only one-third of that of the as-sprayed NiCrBSi coating

Mechanical homeostasis imbalance in hepatic stellate cells activation and hepatic fibrosis

Chronic liver disease or repeated damage to hepatocytes can give rise to hepatic fibrosis. Hepatic fibrosis (HF) is a pathological process of excessive sedimentation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins such as collagens, glycoproteins, and proteoglycans (PGs) in the hepatic parenchyma. Changes in the composition of the ECM lead to the stiffness of the matrix that destroys its inherent mechanical homeostasis, and a mechanical homeostasis imbalance activates hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) into myofibroblasts, which can overproliferate and secrete large amounts of ECM proteins. Excessive ECM proteins are gradually deposited in the Disse gap, and matrix regeneration fails, which further leads to changes in ECM components and an increase in stiffness, forming a vicious cycle. These processes promote the occurrence and development of hepatic fibrosis. In this review, the dynamic process of ECM remodeling of HF and the activation of HSCs into mechanotransduction signaling pathways for myofibroblasts to participate in HF are discussed. These mechanotransduction signaling pathways may have potential therapeutic targets for repairing or reversing fibrosis

Direct Visualization of Irreducible Ferrielectricity in Crystals

In solids, charge polarity can one-to-one correspond to spin polarity phenomenologically, e.g. ferroelectricity/ferromagnetism, antiferroelectricity/antiferromagnetism, and even dipole-vortex/magnetic-vortex, but ferrielectricity/ferrimagnetism kept telling a disparate story in microscopic level. Since the definition of a charge dipole involves more than one ion, there may be multiple choices for a dipole unit, which makes most ferrielectric orders equivalent to ferroelectric ones, i.e. this ferrielectricity is not necessary to be a real independent branch of polarity. In this work, by using the spherical aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope, we visualize a nontrivial ferrielectric structural evolution in BaFe2Se3, in which the development of two polar sub-lattices is out-of-sync, for which we term it as irreducible ferrielectricity. Such irreducible ferrielectricity leads to a non-monotonic behavior for the temperature-dependent polarization, and even a compensation point in the ordered state. Our finding unambiguously distinguishes ferrielectrics from ferroelectrics in solids.Comment: 15 figure