OBJECTIVETo study the hazards of demulsifier production process.

METHODSThe air of production environment was monitored, and physical examinations were conducted on 52 exposure workers and 53 non-exposure workers (control), all the medical checks including clinical, electromyography and laboratory checks.

RESULTSThe air concentration of propylene oxide was 4.6 mg/m3, and the concentration of Ethylene oxide was 4.8 mg/m3. There was significant difference between exposure group and control group in terms of the incidence of neurasthenic syndromes, lachrymation, laryngopharyngeal ache, inappetence, tired and quadriplegia (P <0.01). The incidence of Achilles's tendon reflection, knee jerk slacking up, chronic pharyngitis, coryza, acne, hair lose and pneumonia were significantly higher in study group than that in control group (P <0.01). Peripheral nerve damage of impairment incidence rate was 40.4%, significantly higher than that in control group (9.4%). No significant difference was found between groups on IgG, IgA and IgM. And also did the rate of chromosome aberrance (CA), sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and micronuclie cell (MC) of peripheral blood (P >0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe production environment of demulisier could stimulate respiratory channel and affect peripheral nerve and central nerve, but no aberrance effects were found.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Epoxy Compounds ; toxicity ; Ethylene Oxide ; toxicity ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Exposure ; Young Adult

In this work, the surface activity of block copolymer nonionic surfactants (RPE) has been determined, i.e., critical micelle concentration (CMC), surface excess concentration (gamma), surface area demand per molecule (A), surface tension at CMC (gamma(CMC)). A linear decrease of ln[CMC] vs number of oxypropylene units in copolymer molecule was observed. The change in the work of cohesion per oxypropylene group when passing from molecular into micellar state, calculated from the Shinoda equation, was 0.43 kT for the studied compounds.
Colloids ; chemistry ; Epoxy Compounds ; chemistry ; Ethylene Oxide ; chemistry ; Materials Testing ; Micelles ; Molecular Structure ; Polymers ; chemistry ; Structure-Activity Relationship ; Surface Tension ; Surface-Active Agents ; chemistry

Triptolide has wide clinical applications due to its anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and immunosuppressive activities. In this study, we investigated the effect of blocking isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) translocation on the biosynthesis of triptolide by exogenously adding D,L-glyceraldehyde (DLG) to the suspension cells of Ttripterygium wilfordii at different stages (7 d, 14 d). Subsequently, the cell viability, biomass accumulation, triptolide contents, as well as the profiles of the key enzyme genes involved in the upstream pathway of triptolide biosynthesis, were analyzed. The results showed that IPP translocation is involved in the biosynthesis of triptolide. IPP is mainly translocated from the plastid (containing the MEP pathway) to the cytoplasm (containing the MVA pathway) in the early stage of the culture, but reversed in the late stage. Blocking the translocation of IPP affected the expression of key enzyme genes involved in the upstream pathway of triptolide, which in turn affected the accumulation of triptolide. Understanding the characteristics and mechanism of IPP translocation provides a theoretical basis for further promoting triptolide biosynthesis through synthetic biology.
Diterpenes ; Epoxy Compounds ; Hemiterpenes ; Organophosphorus Compounds ; Phenanthrenes

An esophageal foreign body has clinical significance because it may cause serious complications such as esophageal perforation, mediastinitis and/or aorto-esophageal fistula. A prompt attempt to remove an esophageal foreign body via flexible endoscopy should be made when the shape of the foreign body is especially sharp and long as it can easily lead to esophageal perforation. We report here on a case of endoscopic removal of an impacted esophageal foreign body, a fishhook, that hade been present in the esophagus for two months, and there were no serious complications from the procedure.
Endoscopy ; Epoxy Compounds ; Esophageal Perforation ; Esophagus ; Fistula ; Foreign Bodies ; Hydroxybenzoate Ethers ; Mediastinitis

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect and possible mechanism of low concentration of triptolide (TPL) combined with homoharringtonine (HHT) on the proliferation and apoptosis of KG-1α cells.

METHODSCCK-8 method was used to detect the antiproliferating effects of different concentrations of TPL and HHT single-use and combined use on KG-1α cells, and the combined index (CI) was calculated. The colony formation ability was also determined by methylcellulose colony formation assay, cell surface molecules, apoptosis rate and cell cycle changes were detected by flow cytometry. Westerrn blot was used to detect the expression of Akt signaling pathway related proteins before and after low dose TPL combined with HHT using.

RESULTSHigh expression of CD34 and CD123 were on KG-1a cells, which being lack expression of CD38. TPL and HHT dose-dependently inhibited the proliferation of KG-1α cells. Compared with low dosage TPL and HHT single-use groups, the cell proliferation and colony formation efficiency were lower, and the cell apoptosis rate was higher in the combined group. CI values also indicated that low concentration TPL combined with HHT possessed highly synergistic effect. After the combination of the 2 drugs, the expressions of P-Akt, P-Akt, BCL-2, PARP and survivin protein were down-regulated and the cleavage of PARP protein was increased.

CONCLUSIONLow concentration of TPL combined with HHT can synergistically inhibit KG-1α cell proliferation and induce its apoptosis through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and downstream protein.

Apoptosis ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Diterpenes ; Epoxy Compounds ; Harringtonines ; Homoharringtonine ; Humans ; Phenanthrenes ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cisplatin (CP) is a widely used agent for chemotherapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma but some tumor cell shows resistance to CP. Accordingly, it is necessary to seek a method to increase the sensitivity of tumor cell to CP. This study was conducted to investigate whether Triptolide (TP) is effective in the inhibition of proliferating head and neck cancer cell and sensitizes cancer cells to CP. MATERIALS AND METHOD: To assess how the combination of TP and CP influence apoptosis of head and neck cancer cell, AMC-HN4 cells were treated with different concentrations of TP and/or CP. Then, their growth was analyzed by XTT assay and the degree of apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The combination of TP and CP increased suppression of the growth of tumor cells more significantly and enhanced apoptosis more than that of TP or CP alone, and suppressed expression of anti-apoptotic protein. CONCLUSION: This study showed that TP alone had antitumor activity in AMC-HN4 cells, and the combination of TP or CP also might sensitize head and neck cancer cell to CP by suppressing the expression of antiapoptotic protein.
Apoptosis ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cisplatin ; Diterpenes ; Epoxy Compounds ; Flow Cytometry ; Head ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; Neck ; Phenanthrenes

OBJECTIVETo establish a method of determining the residual epoxyethane in medical instruments.

METHODAn HP-5 capillary column (30 m x 0.32 mm x 0.25 microm), an FID detecter and an oven were used in the determination. The oven temperature was kept at 120 degrees C for 8 minutes, the example inlet temperature was kept at 200 degrees C, while the detecter temperature was kept at 250 degrees C.

RESULTThe method has a linear range between 5.1920-51.920 microg, (r = 0.997, n = 6). The average rate of recovery of the injecter is 103.3%. The average rate of recovery of the infusion devices is 81.04%.

CONCLUSIONThe method has been proved to be convenient, sensitive and accurate. It is suitable for the determination of residual organic solvents in medical instruments.

Chromatography, Gas ; methods ; Disposable Equipment ; Epoxy Compounds ; analysis ; Ethane ; analysis ; Solvents ; analysis

Overtaking lung cancer,breast cancer is now the most commonly diagnosed cancer seriously threatening people's health and life. As the main effective component of Tripterygium wilfordii,triptolide( TP) has attracted increasing attention due to its multitarget and multi-pathway anti-tumor activity. Recent studies have revealed that breast cancer-sensitive TP enables the inactivation of breast cancer cells by inducing tumor cell apoptosis and autophagy,interfering in tumor cell metastasis,resisting drug resistance,arresting tumor cell cycle,and influencing tumor microenvironment. It has been recognized as a promising clinical antitumor agent by virtue of its widely accepted therapeutic efficacy. This paper reviewed the anti-breast cancer action and its molecular mechanisms of TP on the basis of the relevant literature in the past ten years,and proposed application strategies in view of the inadequacy of TP to provide a reference for further research on the application of TP in the treatment of breast cancer.
Breast Neoplasms/genetics* ; Diterpenes/pharmacology* ; Epoxy Compounds ; Female ; Humans ; Phenanthrenes ; Tumor Microenvironment

Triptolide(TP), the main active and toxic component of Tripterygium wilfordii, has the limitations of low bioavailability, poor absorption, low concentration in plasma, and small lethal dose. Microneedle(MN), the hybrid of hypodermic needle and transdermal patch, is a physical penetration-enhancing system. Dissolving microneedles(DMNs) can be tailored to specific needs of degradation rate. In this study, the TP-loaded DMNs(DMNs-TP) were prepared with the two-step centrifugation method. The optimal ratio of PVA to PVP K30, water content in matrix solution, demoulding method, and plasticizer for preparing DMNs were investigated with the indexes of formability and mechanical strength. The drug loading capacity was determined by HPLC and morphological characteristics were observed under an optical microscope. The mechanical properties were investigated by H&E staining and Franz diffusion cell was used to detect the in vitro skin permeation characteristics. Through the experiment, we confirmed that the optimal backing material should be PVA and PVP K30(3∶1) and the optimal ratio of matrix material to water should be 3∶4. The prepared DMNs-TP were pyramidal with smooth surface and length of approximately 550 μm. Each patch(2.75 cm~2) had the drug loading capacity of(153.41±2.29) μg, and TP was located in the upper part of the needle. The results of in vitro skin permeation assay demonstrated that the cumulative penetration of TP in DMNs-TP reached 80% in 24 h, while little TP solution penetrated the skin, which proved that DMNs promoted the transdermal delivery of TP.
Administration, Cutaneous ; Diterpenes ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Epoxy Compounds ; Needles ; Phenanthrenes ; Skin

Nowadays,the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) for treatment of tumors are increasingly prominent.Triptolide shows wide-spectrum and highly effective anti-tumor activity. Moreover,nano-carrier-based triptolide drug delivery system is more powerful in improving water solubility and pharmacokinetic behavior of the drug,but it is easy to cause toxic and side effects that should not be neglected on human body. Because of tumor vascular heterogeneity and PEGylation dilemma,nanoparticulate drug delivery systems need to overcome multiple physiological and pathological barriers from drug administration to functioning. It is difficult for traditional triptolide nanoparticulate drug delivery systems to achieve active accumulation of nano-drug in tumor tissues and specific drug release in tumor target site solely relying on enhanced permeability and retention effect of solid tumor,limiting their application and clinical transformation in treatment of tumors. Based on the traditional nano-preparation system,the new functionalized nano-drug delivery system further enhances the nano-drug enrichment,penetration and controlled release at the tumor sites,which is of great significance in improving bioavailability,anti-tumor efficacy and reducing the side effects of drugs. In this paper,we summarized and analyzed the researches on new triptolide functionalized nano-drug delivery system from four perspectives,including tumor active targeting,tumor microenvironment response,polymer-drug conjugates,and multidrug co-delivery for tumor treatment,expecting to provide ideas for in-depth research and clinical application of triptolide and some other active anti-tumor TCM ingredients.
Diterpenes/chemistry* ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Epoxy Compounds/chemistry* ; Humans ; Nanoparticles ; Phenanthrenes/chemistry*