Objective To investigate the optimal condition for transforming alkanna tinctoria pigment into shikonin. Methods Transformation rate of shikonin served as index. Transformation temperature, time, ratio of 2% NaOH to alkanna tinctoria pigment (v/w) was optimized. Results With ratio of 2% NaOH to alkanna tinctoria pigment being 4.5 mL·mg-1, temperature 35℃ and the reaction time 4 h, the transformation rate reached the highest, and the average transformation rate was 64.86%. Conclusion This method is easy and simple, and suitable for industrialized production.

Objective:To identify the method to reduce X-ray exposure during ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) by comparing the cryoballoon (CRYO) ablation and remote magnetic navigation (RMN) ablation.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 144 patients undergoing CRYO ablation (CRYO group) and 121 patients undergoing RMN ablation (RMN group) in our hospital. Entrance surface doses at reference points online, exposure time during procedure and outcomes were analyzed for different types of patients.Results:Compared with the RMN group, the procedure time for the CRYO group significantly decreased [(165.0±23.6), (97.8±18.4) min, t=26.05, P<0.001]. However, the entrance surface dose value [(232.3±130.7), (669.0±387.5) mGy, Z=-12.29, P<0.001] and X-ray exposure time [(8.1±3.1), (23.4±6.2) min, t=-24.57, P<0.001] increased significantly for the CRYO group. No significant difference was found between the two groups in the proportion of maintaining sinus rhythm during follow-up of patients (71.9%, 75.7%, P=0.618). Multiple regression analysis showed that obese patients, patients with non-paroxysmal AF and patients with variant pulmonary veins were associated with an increase in entrance surface dose values in the CRYO group ( t=5.47, 2.23, 3.39, P<0.05). The X-ray exposure time for the three types patients above in the CRYO group also increased ( t=2.87, 3.86, 3.25, P<0.05) in the CRYO group. However, only obese patients in the RMN group had an increase in entrance surface dose value ( Z=-4.15, P<0.001) and no increase in exposure time. For the three types of patients above, there was no significant difference in proportion of maintaining sinus rhythm between the CRYO group and the RMN group during follow-up ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Compared with RMN ablation, the radiation exposure of CRYO AF ablation significantly increased, especially in obese patients, patients with non-paroxysmal AF and patients with pulmonary veins variation. The use of RMN for these types of patients may reduce the radiation exposure without affecting the procedure outcomes.

Thyroid hormone resistance syndrome complicated with papillary thyroid cancer is clinically rare.Madelung's disease is a rare disorder of lipid metabolism.We analyzed the clinical data of a case of thyroid hormone resistance syndrome complicated with papillary thyroid carcinoma and Madelung's disease,performed whole-exon sequencing for the patient's peripheral blood samples,and retrospectively analyzed the relevant liter-ature.This review is expected to provide experience for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

OBJECTIVE： To prepare insoluble anti-tumor drug-loading polymer micelles， and to increase inhibitive effect of insoluble anti-tumor drug. METHODS： Chitosan （CSO） and stearic acid （SA） were used to prepare blank micelles （CSO-SA）， then modified with mPEG and folic acid （FA） to prepare PEG-CSO-SA and FA-PEG-CSO-SA. Characteristic functional groups of CSO-SA， PEG-CSO-SA and FA-PEG-CSO-SA were detected by infrared spectroscopy. The morphology of micelles was observed by transmission electron microscopy. The particle size and Zeta potential of micelles were measured by laser particle size analyzer. Osthole （OST） was used as the model drug and drug-loading micelles （FA-PEG-CSO-SA/OST） were prepared by dialysis. MTT assay was used to detect the inhibitory rate of FA-PEG-CSO-SA， OST solution and FA-PEG-CSO-SA/OST to human liver cancer cell HepG2. Half inhibitory concentration （IC50） was calculated. RESULTS： FA-PEG-CSO-SA was successfully prepared. CSO-SA， PEG-CSO-SA， FA-PEG-CSO-SA were oval in shape； particle sizes were （96.01±5.99）， （112.93±1.06）， （216.01±4.76） nm （n＝3） and Zeta potentials were （39.30±1.75）， （38.03±2.91）， （15.17±2.10） mV （n＝3）， respectively. Encapsulation efficiency and drug-loading amount of OST in FA-PEG-CSO-SA were （84.47±2.07）％ and （16.01±0.90）％ （n＝3）， respectively. The inhibition rates of FA-PEG-CSO-SA to HepG2 cells were＜20％. IC50 of OST solution and FA-PEG-CSO-SA/OST to HepG2 cells were （62.08±5.21）， （27.49±0.50） μg/mL （n＝3）， respectively. CONCLUSIONS： Prepared FA-PEG-CSO-SA can significantly increase inhibitive effect of insoluble drug OST to HepG2 cells， and it is expected to become a new anti-tumor drug carrier.

Oxidative stress induced by free fatty acid aggravates endothelial injury, which leads to diabetic cardiovascular complications. Reduction of intracellular oxidative stress may attenuate these pathogenic processes. The dietary polyphenol resveratrol reportedly exerts potential protective effects against endothelial injury. This study determined whether resveratrol can reduce the palmitic acid (PA)-induced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and further explored the underlying molecular mechanisms. We found that resveratrol significantly reduced the PA-induced endothelial ROS levels in human aortic endothelial cells. Resveratrol also induced endothelial cell autophagy, which mediated the effect of resveratrol on ROS reduction. Resveratrol stimulated autophagy via the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-mTOR pathway. Taken together, these data suggest that resveratrol prevents PA-induced intracellular ROS by autophagy regulation via the AMPK-mTOR pathway. Thus, the induction of autophagy by resveratrol may provide a novel therapeutic candidate for cardioprotection in metabolic syndrome.
AMP-Activated Protein Kinases ; metabolism ; Animals ; Antioxidants ; pharmacology ; Autophagy ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Endothelial Cells ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Resveratrol ; pharmacology ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDInsulin resistance (IR) plays an important pathophysiological role in the development of diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Moreover, IR can occur even in non-obese people without diabetes. However, direct detection of IR is complicated. In order to find a simple surrogate marker of IR early in non-obese people, we investigate the association of commonly-used biochemical markers (liver enzymes and lipid profiles) with IR in urban middle-aged and older non-obese Chinese without diabetes.

METHODSThis cross-sectional study included 1 987 subjects (1 473 women). Fasting blood samples were collected for measurement of glucose, insulin, liver enzymes, lipid profiles and creatinine. Subjects whose homeostasis model of assessment-IR (HOMA-IR) index values exceeded the 75th percentile (2.67 for women and 2.48 for men) of the population were considered to have IR. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to compare the power of potential markers in identifying IR.

RESULTSTriglycerides (TG) and ratio of TG to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) discriminated IR better than other indexes for both sexes; areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves (AUC) values were 0.770 (95% confidence interval 0.733-0.807) and 0.772 (0.736-0.809), respectively, for women and 0.754 (0.664-0.844) and 0.756 (0.672-0.840), respectively, for men. To identify IR, the optimal cut-offs for TG and TG/HDL-C ratio were 1.315 mmol/L (sensitivity 74.3%, specificity 71.0%) and 0.873 (sensitivity 70.1%, specificity 73.4%), respectively, for women, and 1.275 mmol/L (sensitivity 66.7%, specificity 74.4%) and 0.812 (sensitivity 75.8%, specificity 69.2%), respectively, for men.

CONCLUSIONTG and TG/HDL-C ratio could be used to identify IR in urban middle-aged and older non-obese Chinese without diabetes.

Aged ; Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Cholesterol, HDL ; blood ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; physiology ; Liver ; enzymology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Triglycerides ; blood