Dexmedetomidine promotes the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma through hepatic stellate cell activation

Dexmedetomidine (DEX) is an anesthetic that is widely used in the clinic, and it has been reported to exhibit paradoxical effects in the progression of multiple solid tumors. In this study, we sought to explore the mechanism by which DEX regulates hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression underlying liver fibrosis. We determined the effects of DEX on tumor progression in an orthotopic HCC mouse model of fibrotic liver. A coculture system and a subcutaneous xenograft model involving coimplantation of mouse hepatoma cells (H22) and primary activated hepatic stellate cells (aHSCs) were used to study the effects of DEX on HCC progression. We found that in the preclinical mouse model of liver fibrosis, DEX treatment significantly shortened median survival time and promoted tumor growth, intrahepatic metastasis and pulmonary metastasis. The DEX receptor (ADRA2A) was mainly expressed in aHSCs but was barely detected in HCC cells. DEX dramatically reinforced HCC malignant behaviors in the presence of aHSCs in both the coculture system and the coimplantation mouse model, but DEX alone exerted no significant effects on the malignancy of HCC. Mechanistically, DEX induced IL-6 secretion from aHSCs and promoted HCC progression via STAT3 activation. Our findings provide evidence that the clinical application of DEX may cause undesirable side effects in HCC patients with liver fibrosis.Subject terms: Cancer microenvironment, Cell growth     

Electric-field-induced patterns in thin polymer films: weakly nonlinear and fully nonlinear evolution

A thin polymer melt on a substrate can be unstable to an electric field normal to the interface, a phenomenon that can be harnessed as a patterning technique with a range of potential applications. Motivated by the variety of patterns observed in experiments for polymers under both unpatterned and patterned masks, we describe here, from theoretical and numerical analyses, how nonlinear effects govern the growth of the instability and determine the final patterns. In particular, we discuss the nonlinear growth in terms of interactions among different Fourier modes and show that the second- and third-order nonlinearities favor the growth of hexagonal patterns under a featureless mask, in agreement with experimental observations. Also, numerical simulations based on the fully nonlinear model validate the prediction of the weakly nonlinear analysis: hexagonal patterns do emerge under an unpatterned mask. Furthermore, in one-dimensional simulations, we demonstrate the energetic evolution of this patterning process and reveal several "kinetically stable structures" along the path to the thermodynamically stable state. Two-dimensional simulations allow us to study the effects of both mask patterns and the initial film thickness. Generally, patterns on the mask guide the growth such that the pattern conforms to the geometric shapes. Interestingly, a small cylindrical protrusion at the center of the mask can produce exactly the same pattern as a large, flat, circular protrusion. The initial film thickness or the thickness ratio of the polymer layer to the air gap plays an important role in determining the final pattern formed. Finally, we demonstrate, by two simple examples, that the simulations can provide insights on "smart" mask designs for producing large areas of well-ordered patterns.     

五氯化磷辅助下氨基酸的自组装成肽反应研究

L-α-氨基酸和D-α-氨基酸可与五氯化磷直接发生磷酰化反应，随后自组装成多肽，但β-氨基酸不能成肽，DL-α-氨基酸成肽困难；在SOCl2存在下，α-氨基酸也不能成肽，用电喷雾质谱研究了氨基酸的自组装反应，反应过程中有五元环状的氨基酸五配位磷中间体生成，使用硅烷基保护的氨基酸，在^31PNMR中可观察到五配位磷中间体。     

One-step Beckmann Rearrangement from Ketones and Hydroxylamine in Dry Media under Microwave Irradiation

TheBeckInannrearrangement,theacid-mediatedisomerizationofoximestoamides,wasfirstdiscoveredinl886l.Asoneoftheoldestandmostfamiliartransformationsinorganicchemistry,ithasbeenwidelystudiedandagreatvarietyofmethodstoconductthistfansformationhavebeenreported'.However,mostofthesemethodswerecarriedoutbyusingalargeamountofsolventswithlongreactiontime.Whatismore,thepriorpreparationofthecorrespondingketoximesisusuallyrequired,whichmakestheseprocessesinconvenientandlessattractive.Bytakingadvantageofboth…     

Study on the Interaction between Gatifloxacin Mesylate and Salmon Sperm DNA by Fluorescence Method

The interaction between gatifloxacin mesylate (GM) and salmon sperm DNA was studied by fluorescence spectrometry and ultra‐violet (UV) spectrometry. Additions of salmon sperm DNA to GM solution resulted in its strong fluorescence quenching and UV absorbance decrease due to the strong interaction between GM and salmon sperm DNA. Both the maximum fluorescence emission wavelength and the maximum UV absorbance wavelength of GM did not change with the increasing concentration of salmon sperm DNA, indicating no intercalative binding existed between them. The Stern‐Volmer plot indicated that the fluorescence‐quenching constant at different temperatures or different salmon sperm DNA concentration ranges was different. Effects of ionic strength and I^? on the fluorescence quenching of GM by salmon sperm DNA indicated that electrostatic interaction and groove binding coexisted between them.     

高稳定性CaO-ZrO2固体碱催化剂的表征和催化性能

用共沉淀法经高温焙烧制备了CaO摩尔分数从10%至50%的CaO-ZrO₂系列催化剂, 将其应用于碳酸丙烯酯和甲醇酯交换合成碳酸二甲酯过程, 并通过XRD, FT-IR, BET, ICP, CO₂-TPD, XPS等表征手段研究了催化剂的物性及其催化性能随组成变化的的规律. 结果表明, 当CaO摩尔分数高于30%时, 表面出现游离的CaO, 虽然具有强碱性和高活性, 但是稳定性差; 而当CaO摩尔分数低于30%时, Ca^2＋进入ZrO₂晶格, CaO与ZrO₂形成连续固溶体, 并且随着CaO含量的增加, 晶格氧的电荷密度增加, 催化剂的碱性增强, 使得CaO-ZrO₂催化剂在碳酸丙烯酯和甲醇酯交换合成碳酸二甲酯过程中获得了高活性和高稳定性.     

铁轴草中Teucvidin的衍生物研究

从唇形科植物铁轴草中分离得去甲克罗烷二萜化合物Ｔｅｕｃｖｉｄｉｎ，通过催化氢化、酯交换、水解等反应合成了８个衍生物，用＾１ＨＮＭＲ、ＭＳ和ＩＲ确定了其结构，初步生物活性测定结果表明，化合物Ⅱ和Ⅳａ的拒食作用显著。     

Sesquiterpene esters from the fruits of Celastrus orbiculatus

Three new beta-dihydroagarofuran sesquiterpene esters, 6 alpha-acetoxy-9 beta-benzoyloxy-1 beta-cinnamoyloxy-8 beta-butanoyloxy-beta-dihydroagarofuran (1), 6 alpha-acetoxy-9 beta-benzoyloxy-1 beta-cinnamoyloxy-8 beta-(2-methylbutanoyloxy)-beta-dihydroagarofuran (2), and 6 alpha-acetoxy-1 beta,8 beta-dibenzoyloxy-9 beta-hydroxy-beta-dihydroagarofuran (6), together with three known compounds (3-5) were isolated from the fruits of Celastrus orbiculatus THUNB. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods. Compound 4 showed moderate activity in inhibiting LPS-induced nitric oxide production in murine macrophage RAW264.7 cells with an IC(50) value of 43.7 microM.     

Selective Determination of Trace Mercury (II) after Preconcentration with 4-(2-Pyridylazo)-Resorcinol-Modified Nanometer-Sized SiO2 Particles from Sample Solutions

A rapid, selective method that utilize 4-(2-Pyridylazo)-resorcinol (PAR)-modified nanometer SiO₂ (nanometer SiO₂–PAR) as a new solid-phase extractant for preconcentration of trace mercury (II) has been developed. The adsorption property of nanometer SiO₂–PAR for metal ions was studied by selectively extracting different metal ions from aqueous solutions. The results revealed an excellent affinity of the nanometer SiO₂–PAR for mercury (II) in presence of interfering metal ions at pH 4. The main parameters of solid-phase extraction such as shaking time, elution and sample dilution effect were studied. The extractant shows rapid kinetic sorption, and the adsorption equilibrium of mercury (II) on nanometer SiO₂–PAR was achieved in less than 2 min. The adsorbed mercury (II) was easily eluted by 4 mL of 6 mol L⁻¹ HCl. The maximum preconcentration factor was 50. The maximum static adsorption capacity was 276 μmol g⁻¹ at pH 4. The detection limit (3σ) was 0.43 μg L⁻¹ for cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS), and the relative standard deviation of the eight replicate determinations was 2.4% for the determination of 2.0 μg of Hg(II) in 100 mL water sample. The method was applied to the determination of trace mercury (II) in sample solutions with satisfactory results.     

N—乙基—α—甲基—间（三氟甲基）苯乙胺的合成

本文报道了一种新的简便的合成Ｎ－乙基α－甲基－间苯乙胺的方法。方法以三氟甲苯为原料，经氯甲基化，Ｇｉｇｎａｒｄ及Ｌｅｕｃｋａｒｔ反应后得目标物，具有原料价廉易得，毒性较小，反应条件温和，工艺流程较短等特点。