Visible-light promoted atom transfer radical addition-elimination (ATRE) reaction for the synthesis of fluoroalkylated alkenes using DMA as electron-donor

Here, we describe a mild, catalyst-free and operationally-simple strategy for the direct fluoroalkylation of olefins driven by the photochemical activity of an electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complex between DMA and fluoroalkyl iodides. The significant advantages of this photochemical transformation are high efficiency, excellent functional group tolerance, and synthetic simplicity, thus providing a facile route for further application in pharmaceuticals and life sciences

Construction of spirocarbocycles via gold-catalyzed intramolecular dearomatization of naphthols.

A highly efficient, gold-catalyzed intramolecular dearomatization reaction of naphthols via 5-endo-dig cyclization is described. This facile and direct approach furnishes spirocarbocycles in excellent yields under mild conditions

Ameliorative effect of Draba nemorosa extract on chronic heart failure in rats

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of Draba nemorosa extract (DNE) on oxidative stress and hemodynamics in rats with chronic congestive heart failure (CHF).Methods: Adriamycin was used to establish CHF in Sprague Dawley (SD) rat model. Six groups of SD rats were used in this study: control group, CHF group, captopril group (0.1 g/kg), as well as high-, medium- and low-dose DNE groups (5.2, 2.6 and 1.3 g/kg, respectively). Treatment for all groups lasted 4 weeks. Blood pressure and heart index were measured. In addition, serum creatine kinase (CK), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) were determined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits.Results: In the CHF group, arterial systolic pressure (SBP, 84.22 ± 16.23 mmHg); diastolic pressure (DBP, 77.36 ± 20.29 mmHg); mean arterial pressure (MAP, 78.45 ± 10.56 mmHg); heart rate (HR, 357.18 ± 37.34 beats/min) and left ventricular systolic peak (LVSP, 102.34 ± 16.37 mmHg) were significantly decreased (p < 0.05) when compared with the control group. However, left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP, 23.38 ± 1.78 mmHg); heart index (2.74 ± 0.16 mg/g); serum CK (0.87 ± 0.15 U/mL); MDA (19.34 ± 2.57 nmol/mL), NO (38.43 ± 3.32 umol/L) and NOS (42.65 ± 3.32 U/mL) were increased. Treatment with high-dose DNE significantly ameliorated hemodynamic function, and reduced MDA (9.13 ± 2.12 nmol/mL) and NO (22.37 ± 3.16 umol/L) levels (p < 0.05). High-dose DNE also led to significant decreases in CK (0.53 ± 0.35 U/mL) and NOS (24.27 ± 3.55U/mL) in the CHF rats (p < 0.05).Conclusion: DNE significantly improves hemodynamic function in CHF rats. Thus, it has a potential for development into a new drug for clinical treatment of CHF.Keywords: Draba nemorosa, Adriamycin, Chronic heart failure, Hemodynamic function, Oxidative stres

The role of EGFR mutation as a prognostic factor in survival after diagnosis of brain metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background The brain is a common site for metastasis in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study was designed to evaluate the relationship between the mutational of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and overall survival (OS) in NSCLC patients with brain metastases. Methods Searches were performed in PubMed, EmBase, and the Cochrane Library to identify studies evaluating the association of EGFR mutation with OS in NSCLC patients through September 2017. Results 4373 NSCLC patients with brain metastases in 18 studies were involved. Mutated EGFR associated with significantly improved OS compared with wild type. Subgroup analyses suggested that this relationship persisted in studies conducted in Eastern, with retrospective design, with sample size ≥500, mean age of patients ≥65.0 years, percentage male < 50.0%, percentage of patients receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitor ≥30.0%. Finally, although significant publication bias was observed using the Egger test, the results were not changed after adjustment using the trim and fill method. Conclusions This meta-analysis suggests that EGFR mutation is an important predictive factor linked to improved OS for NSCLC patients with brain metastases. It can serve as a useful index in the prognostic assessment of NSCLC patients with brain metastases

Research on the Development of Measurement Scale for The Synergy of College Technological and Creative Team

Based on the strictly scale development program and the sorting of existing literature, we used the methods of interview and open questionnaire to collect measurement items for the synergy of college technological and creative team. Next we preliminarily revised measurement items through expert interview, then explored and verified the presurvey scale by using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The results show that the measurement scale, consisted of 17 items with good reliability and validity, is constituted of member\u27s identification of team goals, information communication among members, commitment of cooperation, inter-behavior between members

Chinese Medicine Shenfu Injection for Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective. Heart failure (HF) is a global public health problem. Early literature studies manifested that Shenfu injection (SFI) is one of the most commonly used traditional Chinese patent medicine for HF in China. This article intended to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of SFI for HF. Methods. An extensive search was performed within 6 English and Chinese electronic database up to November 2011. Ninety-nine randomized controlled trails (RCTs) were collected, irrespective of languages. Two authors extracted data and assessed the trial quality independently. RevMan 5.0.2 was used for data analysis. Results. Compared with routine treatment and/or device support, SFI combined with routine treatment and/or device support showed better effect on clinical effect rate, mortality, heart rate, NT-proBNP and 6-minute walk distance. Results in ultrasonic cardiography also showed that SFI combined with routine treatment improved heart function of HF patients. There were no significant difference in blood pressure between SFI and routine treatment groups. Adverse events were reported in thirteen trails with thirteen specific symptoms, while no serious adverse effect was reported. Conclusion. SFI appear to be effective for treating HF. However, further rigorously designed RCTs are warranted because of insufficient methodological rigor in the majority of included trials

miR-638 is a new biomarker for outcome prediction of non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs, mediate gene expression by either cleaving target mRNAs or inhibiting their translation. They have key roles in the tumorigenesis of several cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of miR-638 in the evaluation of NSCLC patient prognosis in response to chemotherapy. First, we detected miR-638 expression levels in vitro in the culture supernatants of the NSCLC cell line SPC-A1 treated with cisplatin, as well as the apoptosis rates of SPC-A1. Second, serum miR-638 expression levels were detected in vivo by using nude mice xenograft models bearing SPC-A1 with and without cisplatin treatment. In the clinic, the serum miR-638 levels of 200 cases of NSCLC patients before and after chemotherapy were determined by quantitative real-time PCR, and the associations of clinicopathological features with miR-638 expression patterns after chemotherapy were analyzed. Our data helped in demonstrating that cisplatin induced apoptosis of the SPC-A1 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner accompanied by increased miR-638 expression levels in the culture supernatants. In vivo data further revealed that cisplatin induced miR-638 upregulation in the serum derived from mice xenograft models, and in NSCLC patient sera, miR-638 expression patterns after chemotherapy significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis. Moreover, survival analyses revealed that patients who had increased miR-638 levels after chemotherapy showed significantly longer survival time than those who had decreased miR-638 levels. Our findings suggest that serum miR-638 levels are associated with the survival of NSCLC patients and may be considered a potential independent predictor for NSCLC prognosis

Total Glucosides of Danggui Buxue Tang Attenuate BLM-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis via Regulating Oxidative Stress by Inhibiting NOX4

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a serious chronic lung disease with unknown pathogenesis. Researches have confirmed that oxidative stress which is regulated by NADPH oxidase-4 (NOX4), a main source of reactive oxygen species (ROS), is an important molecular mechanism underlying PF. Previous studies showed that total glucosides of Danggui Buxue Tang (DBTG), an extract from a classical traditional Chinese herbal formula, Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), attenuated bleomycin-induced PF in rats. However, the mechanisms of DBTG are still not clear. We hypothesize that DBTG attenuates PF through regulating the level of oxidative stress by inhibiting NOX4. And we found that fibrosis indexes hydroxyproline (HYP) and type I collagen (Col-I) were lower in DBTG groups compared with the model group. In addition, the expression of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and expression of alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) were also much more decreased than the model group. For oxidative stress indicators, DBTG blunted the decrease of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and the increase in malondialdehyde (MDA), 8-iso-prostaglandin in lung homogenates. Treatment with DBTG restrained the expression of NOX4 compared to the model group. Present study confirms that DBTG inhibits BLM-induced PF by modulating the level of oxidative stress via suppressing NOX4