Efficacy and Safety of Sacubitril/Valsartan Compared With ACEI/ARB on Health-Related Quality of Life in Heart Failure Patients: A Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Data on the effects of sacubitril/valsartan compared with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEI/ARB) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are limited. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the comparative effects between sacubitril/valsartan and ACEI/ARB on HRQoL, a systematic review and meta-analysis were performed. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched from inception to March 2, 2022 for randomized controlled trials that compared the HRQoL scores, including Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ), Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ), or Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form Health Survey 12 or 36 (SF-12/36), between sacubitril/valsartan and ACEI/ARB. After screening, studies that met the inclusion criteria were eventually included and analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 8 studies with 17 390 patients (8693 patients used sacubitril/valsartan, and 8697 patients used ACEI/ARB) were included in this study. Five of these studies used KCCQ, 1 used SF-12/36, 1 used MLHFQ, and 1 used both KCCQ and SF-12/36. The KCCQ overall summary score and its subscales were significantly higher in sacubitril/valsartan compared with ACEI/ARB in heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction, but were similar in heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction. Sacubitril/valsartan conferred similar HRQoL scores in MLHFQ and SF-12/36 to ACEI/ARB. The most frequently reported adverse event for sacubitril/valsartan is hypotension and the risk is higher than for ACEI/ARB. CONCLUSIONS: Sacubitril/valsartan may have the potential to improve HRQoL in heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction compared with ACEI/ARB. Hypotension is the most common adverse event with sacubitril/valsartan compared with ACEI/ARB. The results of this study may contribute to the rational use of sacubitril/valsartan.

Rationally designed carboxymethylcellulose-based sorbents crosslinked by targeted ions for static and dynamic capture of heavy metals: Easy recovery and affinity mechanism.

A separable spherical bio-adsorbent (CMC-Cr) was prepared for capturing heavy metal ions by simple coordination and cross-linking between targeted ions of Cr3+ and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). A simple alternation of the CMC incorporation allowed the interconnected networks within the microspheres of preformed solid CMC to be adjusted. The excellent network structure could achieve the maximum collision between the adsorbent and the heavy metal cations in the wastewater. Through investigations, CMC-Cr-2 beads were determined as the optimal adsorbent. The adsorption performance of novel materials was evaluated by examining their adsorption behavior on Pb(II) and Co(II) under both static and dynamic conditions. The results showed that the adsorption behavior of CMC-Cr-2 beads on both two heavy metal cations could be fully reflected by the Freundlich model. Under the theoretical conditions, the maximum adsorption capacities were 97.26 and 144.74 mg/g. The kinetic results for the adsorption of two heavy metal cations on CMC-Cr-2 beads were consistent with the Pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Moreover, the correlation coefficient of the Thomas model was significant in the dynamic adsorption performance tests. Five regeneration cycle studies were successfully carried out on CMC-Cr-2 beads to evaluate reusability and stability. The applicability of CMC-Cr-2 beads in authentic aqueous solutions (both the single and binary pollutant systems) was also studied, and the results indicated that CMC-Cr-2 beads had a high potential for practical implementation. Furthermore, by analyzing the surface interactions of two heavy metal cations with the CMC-Cr-2 beads based on FTIR and XPS characterization, a basic understanding of the interaction between bio-sorbents and pollutants in wastewater can be obtained.

Bi-layered hollow amphoteric composites: Rational construction and ultra-efficient sorption performance for anionic Cr(VI) and cationic Cu(II) ions.

Here, we have developed a novel bilayer hollow amphiphilic biosorbent (BHAB-3) with large adsorption capacity, rapid adsorption kinetics, and cost-effective for the removal of Cr(VI) and Cu(II) from aqueous solutions. The synthesis was based on the clever use of freeze-drying to fix the structure, secondary modification of the carboxymethyl cellulose microspheres with polyethyleneimine and cross-linking by glutaraldehyde. The consequences of pH, initial concentration, contact time and temperature on adsorption were investigated. The Langmuir model fits showed that the maximum adsorption capacities of the two target heavy metal ions reached 835.91 and 294.79 mg/g, respectively. Moreover, BHAB-3 was characterized by SEM, FT-IR, TGA, and XPS synergistically, showing that it exhibits a strong complexation ability for Cu(II) and a strong electrostatic effect for Cr(VI). Adsorption and desorption experiments showed only a slight decrease in the adsorption capacity of the BHAB-3 for Cr(VI) and Cu(II) ions after 5 and 26 cycles, respectively. Given the excellent properties of this adsorbent, it is a promising candidate for heavy metal ion removal.

Facile transformation of carboxymethyl cellulose beads into hollow composites for dye adsorption.

Novel millimeter hollow microspheres were fabricated from carboxymethyl cellulose microspheres and polyethyleneimine using glutaraldehyde as a crosslinking agent. The hollow microspheres prepared with different polyethyleneimine usages and different polyethyleneimine treatment time were investigated deeply and characterized via SEM-EDX, FT-IR, and BET surface area analysis. It was shown that polyethyleneimine could break the coordination bonds between the carboxyl and Al (III) in carboxymethyl cellulose microspheres, leading to the formation of hollow structures. Most importantly, the usage and treatment time of polyethyleneimine can distinctly tailor the structure of the carboxymethyl cellulose microspheres, resulting in the formation of different hollow microspheres with varied shell thickness and size. Most importantly, we found that the prepared hollow microspheres have excellent adsorption performance toward targeted methyl blue under testing conditions. By virtue of the large accessible amount of -NH2 groups and its unique hollow structure, this type of millimeter hollow microspheres have broad application prospects in the treatment of emerging contaminants in wastewater.

Effect of rifampicin on anticoagulation of warfarin: A case report.

BACKGROUND: The drug interaction between warfarin and rifampicin is widely known, but there are still some difficulties in managing the combination of the two drugs. CASE SUMMARY: A patient with brucellosis received strict monitoring from a Chinese pharmacist team during combination of warfarin and rifampicin. The dose of warfarin was increased to 350% in 3 mo before reaching the lower international normalized ratio treatment window. No obvious adverse reaction occurred during the drug-adjustment period. This is the first case report of long-term combined use of rifampicin and warfarin in patients with brucellosis and valve replacement in China based on the Chinese lower warfarin dose and international normalized ratio range. CONCLUSION: Anticoagulation for valve replacement in Chinese patients differs from that in other races. Establishment of a pharmacist clinic provides vital assistance in warfarin dose adjustment.

Carboxymethyl cellulose-based cryogels for efficient heavy metal capture: Aluminum-mediated assembly process and sorption mechanism.

Heavy metal ions pollution is a terrible issue that needs to be efficiently treated as a matter of priority to construct our sustainable society. However, the easy-to-handling of high-performance biomass-derived sorbents with fascinating features like high sorption capacity, favorable separation and recycling remain challenging. Herein, the development of a novel bead-like adsorbent with above features, that is, Al(III)-assembled carboxymethyl cellulose beads were used for the removal of Pb(II), Ni(II) and Co(II) from aqueous solution. Characterization methods like FT-IR, SEM, XPS and TGA were employed to confirm its physicochemical properties. Removal of the three heavy metal ions at different pH values, initial concentration and contact time were discussed at batch adsorption experiments. Meanwhile, regeneration was also discussed deeply. The results revealed that the adsorption capacity of the sorbents for three heavy metals increases with increasing pH and the initial concentration. The adsorption isotherm could be described well by the Freundlich model, and the maximum adsorption capacity for Pb(II), Ni(II) and Co(II) were 550, 620 and 760 mg/g, respectively. Kinetics study indicated that the Pseudo-second-order model described the best correlation with experimental data, this suggested that the complexation may participated in the adsorption process. More significantly, this type of bead-like adsorbents displayed excellent reusability after four sequential cycles.

Modifying alginate beads using polycarboxyl component for enhanced metal ions removal.

Designing desirable adsorbent for highly efficient removal of heavy metal ions is of practical significance, given the cost-effectiveness, environmental benign, natural abundance and easy-handling collection features. Herein, a bead-like adsorbent with high adsorption capacity was prepared by modifying alginate beads using polyacrylate with high density of carboxyl groups. The developed alginate/polyacrylate beads were collaboratively characterized by FT-IR, TGA, SEM, XPS, etc., and various adsorption conditions were tested including the pH of the solution, contact time and the initial concentration. The experimental data were fitted well by the Freundlich isotherm model, and the maximum adsorption capacity was obtained from the Langmuir model was 611.0 mg/g, and adsorption process followed the Pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The adsorption mechanisms conformed to multi-layer adsorption, and mainly dominated by chemical interactions. The bead-like adsorbent exhibited excellent reusability after eight sequential cycles and displayed higher adsorption capacity towards lead ions. This type of adsorbent might possess promising role in treating heavy metals from water by virtue of degradable, cost-effective component and high adsorption efficiency.

Corrigendum to "the studies of chlorogenic Acid antitumor mechanism by gene chip detection: the immune pathway gene expression".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2013/617243.].

A new ditopic ratiometric receptor for detecting zinc and fluoride ions in living cells.

The synthesis, characterization and ion binding properties of a new ditopic ratiometric receptor (1), based on 2-(4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenol and crown ether moieties, have been described. The ditopic ratiometric receptor has been studied in sensing both F(-) and Zn(2+) ions, exhibiting different fluorescent colour changes from cyan green to blue/black observable by the naked eye under UV-light. The addition of Zn(2+) to the solution of 1 induced the formation of a 2 : 2 ligand-metal complex 1-Zn(2+), which displays a remarkable blue shift of the emission maxima of 1 from 455 nm to 400 nm due to the inhibition of excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) mechanism. The sensing processes were monitored by fluorescence/absorption titrations, and further confirmed by Job's plot and (1)H NMR titrations. The crystal structure of 1-Zn(2+) reveals that 1 binds Zn(2+) in four-coordinated modes. Furthermore, 1 is cell permeable and may be applied to detect trace Zn(2+) and F(-) during the development of a living organism.

The studies of chlorogenic Acid antitumor mechanism by gene chip detection: the immune pathway gene expression.

Persistently increasing incident of cancer in human beings has served to emphasize the importance of studies on mechanism of antitumor substances. Chlorogenic acid (CA), extracted from folium cortex eucommiae, has been confirmed to have lots of biological activities encompassing inhibition of tumor. However, the anticancer mechanism of CA remains unclear. Here, we have utilized a whole mouse genome oligo microarray (4∗44K) to analyze gene expression level of female BALB/c mice (implanted with EMT-6 sarcoma cells) after treatment with low, medium, and high-dose CA (5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, and 20 mg/kg), docetaxel, interferon, and normal saline separately at 6 time points (3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th days after administration). Differentially expressed genes screened out by time-series analysis, GO analysis, and pathway analysis, and four immune-related genes were selected for further confirmation using RT-qPCR. The results demonstrated that CA is able to change gene expression and that the responsive genes (CaN, NFATC2, NFATC2ip, and NFATC3) involved in immune pathways had been significantly upregulated by CA. Expression of immune factors such as IL-2R and IFN- γ can be improved by CA to promote activation and proliferation of T cells, macrophages, and NK cells, thus enhancing their surveillance and killing abilities, further suppressing the growth rate of tumor cells.

Ratiometric and selective fluorescent sensor for Zn2+ as an "off-on-off" switch and logic gate.

A new chemosensor, 2,3,15,16-tetrakis(pyridin-2-yl)-7,8,10,11,20,21,23,24-octahydro[1,4,7,10,13,16]hexaoxacyclooctadecino[2,3-g:11,12-g']diquinoxaline (1), containing 2,3-bis(pyridin-2-yl)quinoxaline and crown ether moieties, has been designed and found to be a ratiometric and selective fluorescent detector of Zn(2+) over a wide range of tested metal ions. The addition of Zn(2+) to the solution of 1 in acetonitrile induced the formation of a 1:2 ligand-metal complex, 1-Zn(2+), which exhibits a remarkable enhanced fluorescent emission centered at 460 nm, with the disappearance of the fluorescent emission of 1 centered at 396 nm due to the mechanism of internal charge transfer. In contrast, the presence of K(+) results in the fluorescence quenching of 1 and 1-Zn(2+) through the photoinduced electron-transfer mechanism. These results demonstrate that 1 can perform as not only an INHIBIT logic gate but also an "off-on-off" molecular switch triggered by Zn(2+) and K(+). The structure of complex 1-Zn(2+) has been characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, mass spectrometry, and (1)H NMR titration experiments. Density functional theory calculation results on 1 and the 1-Zn(2+) complex are well consistent with the experimental results.

Rapid determination of pesticide residues in herbs using selective pressurized liquid extraction and fast gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.

A selective pressurized liquid extraction and gas chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometer method was developed for simultaneous determination of 52 pesticide residues in medicine and food dual-purpose herbs. The developed extraction method integrated extraction and cleanup processes for sample preparation. The sorbents, 5 g Florisil and 100 mg graphitized carbon black, were placed inside the extraction cell to remove matrix interferences. Optimized conditions of selective pressurized liquid extraction were ethyl acetate as extraction solvent, 120°C of extraction temperature, 6 min of static extraction time, 50% of flush volume extracted for two cycles. An ultra inert capillary GC-MS HP-5 UI column (20 m × 0.18 mm id, 0.18 µm) and column backflush system were used for the analysis. Multiple-reaction monitoring was employed for the quantitative analysis with electron ionization mode. All calibration curves showed good linearity (r(2) > 0.995) within the test ranges. The average recoveries of most pesticides were from 81 to 118%. The validated method was successfully applied for the determination of pesticide residues in four herbs. The results indicate that selective pressurized liquid extraction and GC-MS/MS is a sensitive and reliable analytical method for the simultaneous determination of multiple pesticide residues in herbs.

Systematic genetic analysis of the PITX3 gene in patients with Parkinson disease.

BACKGROUND: Paired-like homodomain transcription factor 3 has been found to be important for the differentiation and survival of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. METHODS: To determine whether genetic variation in the coding region of the paired-like homodomain transcription factor 3 gene plays a role in Parkinson's disease, genetic analysis was performed in 112 patients with Parkinson's disease. RESULTS: We did not identify any mutations except rs2281983, but when we extended the analysis of rs2281983 and 2 intron variants (rs4919621 and rs3758549) in 336 patients with Parkinson's disease and 244 controls, we found that rs2281983 and rs4919621 appeared to confer susceptibility to Parkinson's disease, especially in early-onset Parkinson's disease and familial Parkinson's disease.

[Advances of genetic research on the SPG4 gene].

The hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), also known as Strumpell-Lorrain familial spasmodic paraplegia, is a highlighted clinical and genetic heterogeneity disorder with the prevalence of (2-9.6)/100,000. This disorder is characterized by progressive, usually severe spasticity and pyramidal weakness, predominantly in the lower limbs. Inheritance of this disease has been reported to be autosomal dominant (AD), autosomal recessive (AR), or X-linked recessive (XR), with the AD forms of HSP (ADHSP) being the most common type. At least 40 HSP gene loci have been localized and 19 genes have been identified. Forty percent of HSP cases are caused by mutations in the spastin (spastic paraplegia-4, SPG4) gene. Genetic diagnosis, the gold standard for diagnosis of the disease, may contribute to early diagnosis, presymptomatic diagnosis and prenatal diagnosis. The study of animal models plays an important role in revealing the molecular pathological mechanism of HSP. The known genetic research advances of the SPG4 gene are reviewed in this article.