Anti-Hyperglycemic Effect of the Brown Slime Cap Mushroom Chroogomphus rutilus (Agaricomycetes) Crude Polysaccharide In Vitro and In Vivo.

The prevalence of diabetes is increasing worldwide, and it is very important to study new hypoglycemic active substances. In this study, we investigated the hypoglycemic effect of Chroogomphus rutilus crude polysaccharide (CRCP) in HepG2 cells and streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. A glucose consumption experiment conducted in HepG2 cells demonstrated the in vitro hypoglycemic activity of CRCP. Furthermore, CRCP exhibited significant hypoglycemic effects and effectively ameliorated insulin resistance in insulin resistant HepG2 cells. In high-fat diet and streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice, after 4 weeks of CRCP administration, fasting blood glucose, fasting serum insulin, triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, glutamate transaminase, alanine transaminase, and insulin resistance index significantly decreased, while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and insulin sensitivity index (ISI) were markedly increased. Moreover, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and immunofluorescence labeling of tissue sections indicated that CRCP attenuated the pathological damage of liver and pancreas in diabetic mice. These results indicate that CRCP is a potential hypoglycemic agent.

Multi-dimensional safety risk assessment on coal mines under the profitability dilemma.

China is a major coal producer, with huge differences in coal production and safety situations between the South and the North. Taking province A as an example, its coal enterprises have low output, poor efficiency, backward equipment, and low-quality personnel. The output accounts for 0.08% of the country, and the number of deaths accounts for 2.2% of the country, the safety situation of coal enterprises in province A is severe. In order to study the safety risk situation of coal mines under difficult conditions, this paper screens 98 factor indexes including multiple subjects such as enterprise managers, front-line workers, government supervisors, external environment, work quality, stress factors, economic factors, and other dimensions. For different data, the indicator weights were calculated using triangular fuzzy number, entropy weight method, CRITIC method, and three rough set methods in a total of six methods. The comprehensive weights of the indicators were obtained using the proposed new comprehensive weight method. The current situation of safety work of four coal mining enterprises and three levels of government supervision departments was evaluated, and the evaluation results were compared with other existing data to verify the reliability of the evaluation system. The horizontal comparison of the evaluation results indicates the main problems of each subject; the longitudinal comparison points out the problems that need to be solved with the assistance of higher-level enterprises and the central government, and corresponding suggestions for coal mining enterprises and government departments are put forward to reduce the safety risks of troubled coal mining enterprises.

Benzoyl-xanthone derivative induces apoptosis in MCF-7 cells by binding TRAF6.

TNF receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) has been reported to be associated with the development of cancer. Nevertheless, the exact role of TRAF6 in cancer remains unclear. The purpose of the present study was to explore the mechanism of 2-benzoyl-3-hydroxy-4-methyl-9H-xanthen-9-one leading to the inhibition of the activation of AKT and TGF-ß-activated kinase 1 (TAK1), and to the apoptosis of MCF-7 cells. Using a computational docking program and examination of AKT and TAK1 level changes, a new small molecule was identified, 2-benzoyl-3-hydroxy-4-methyl-9H-xanthen-9-one, which competitively bound to TRAF6. Next, the effect of this new compound on MCF-7 cells' biological behavior was studied in vitro. MTT assays were used to investigate cell viability; flow cytometry and invasion assays were performed to detect early apoptosis and invasion in MCF-7 cells, respectively. Immunoprecipitation, western blotting and caspase-3/9 activity assays were carried out to explore changes in protein expression. Briefly, the present data indicated that 2-benzoyl-3-hydroxy-4-methyl-9H-xanthen-9-one could suppress proliferation, induce early apoptosis and inhibit invasion in MCF-7 cells by suppressing the expression of Bcl-2 and promoting the expression of Bax, caspase-9, and caspase-3. These findings indicated that 2-benzoyl-3-hydroxy-4-methyl-9H-xanthen-9-one could induce apoptosis by inhibiting the activation of AKT and TAK1, and affecting the Bcl-2/Bax-caspase-9-caspase-3 pathway by competitively binding with TRAF6.

Ultrasound-mediated synthesis of 4-substituted 1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarboxylates catalyzed by 1-carboxymethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate under solvent free condition.

4-Substituted 1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarboxylates (4) have been synthesized by the solvent-free reaction of aldehyde, methyl propiolate and ammonium carbonate catalyzed by ionic liquid 1-carboxymethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate under ultrasonic irradiation. The effects of changes in the ultrasonic power, temperature, catalysts and reactants on the synthesis of 4-substituted 1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarboxylates (4) are discussed. With the optimized reaction conditions, various aldehydes were used to synthesize 1,4-dihydropyridines (4) under the influence of ultrasound irradiation. Compared with the conventional thermal methods, the remarkable advantages of this method are the simple experimental procedure, shorter reaction time (2-10min) and high yield of product (76-95%). Furthermore, the green catalytic system can be recycled specific times without significantly decreasing the yields and reaction rates.

1-[4-(Iodo-meth-yl)cyclo-hex-yl]-4-methyl-benzene.

In the title compound, C(14)H(19)I, the cyclo-hexane ring adopts a chair conformation and the substituents are in equatorial sites. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the cyclo-hexane and benzene rings is 67.23 (13)°.