Effect of Zn doping on phase transition and electronic structures of Heusler-type Pd2Cr-based alloys: from normal to all-d-metal Heusler

Based on first-principles calculations, for Heusler alloys Pd₂CrZ (Z = Al, Ga, In, Tl, Si, Sn, P, As, Sb, Bi, Se, Te, Zn), the effect of Zn doping on their phase transition and electronic structure has been studied in this work. These alloys can be divided into two classes: (i) all-d-metal Heusler Pd₂CrZn and (ii) other normal Heusler alloys Pd₂CrZ (Z = Al, Ga, In, Tl, Si, Sn, P, As, Sb, Bi, Se, Te). For all-d-metal Heusler alloy Pd₂CrZn, transition metal element Zn behaves like a main group element due to its full 3d occupied state, and therefore the Zn atoms tend to occupy Wyckoff sites D (0.75, 0.75, 0.75) instead of replacing Pd atoms at A sites (0, 0, 0). The stable tetragonal L1₀ state is obtained via tetragonal deformation and the L1₀ stable state can be tuned by the uniform strain. The stability of the tetragonal state is analyzed and proved via calculation of the density of states (DOSs) and the phonon spectrum. For the series of normal Heusler alloys Pd₂CrZ, doping with Zn atoms can induce or strengthen the martensitic transformation, or regulate the large c/a ratios to a more reasonable range. It is hoped that this work can provide some guidance for further studies of the relationship between all-d-metal and normal Heusler alloys in the future.

By first-principles calculations, for Heusler alloys Pd₂CrZ (Z = Al, Ga, In, Tl, Si, Sn, P, As, Sb, Bi, Se, Te, Zn), the effect of Zn doping on their phase transition and electronic structure has been studied in this work.     

耻骨上辅助经脐单孔腹腔镜上尿路全切除术（附8例报告）

目的：探讨耻骨上辅助经脐单孔腹腔镜（SA—LESS）上尿路全切除术的可行性、有效性和技术要点。方法：对2例肾盂癌,2例输尿管癌,1例肾盂癌合并输尿管癌,2例肾结核,1例巨输尿管症并积脓、肾萎缩患者施行SA—LESS上尿路全切除术。患者全麻,取健侧70°卧位,于脐缘内侧置人两个Trocar,自患侧耻骨联合上方置人一个Trocar,分别置入远端可弯曲腹腔镜及操作器械。先游离患侧输尿管下段,予Hem—0—lok夹闭;向上游离肾脏并离断。肾动静脉,切除肾脏;向下行袖套状切除输尿管末端周围膀胱壁,缝合膀胱切口;标本装袋,延长耻骨上切口取出。结果：8例手术均顺利完成。中位手术时间165（115～220）min,术中中位失血量140（50～200）ml。均未输血,术中未出现肠管、实质性器官和大血管损伤等并发症。均于术后第1天下床活动,第2～3天拔除腹腔和盆腔引流管,第6～7天拔除导尿管（肿瘤患者行膀胱灌注后）,第8天出院。结论：SA-LESS上尿路全切除术安全可行,术后恢复快,住院时间短,美容优势明显,值得临床应用。     

Experiences and complications in endovascular treatment of paraclinoid aneurysms

Endovascular treatment is a promising therapeutic alternative for paraclinoid aneurysms. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and results of endovascular treatment for these lesions. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data, results and complications of endovascular treatment of a series of 47 consecutive patients with paraclinoid aneurysms. Nineteen of these patients presented with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage, and 28 patients were treated for unruptured aneurysms. Endovascular treatment was performed for 50 aneurysms in 47 patients including stent-assisted coiling (19), balloon-assisted coiling (five), coiling without adjunctive techniques (25) and stent alone (one). Technical failures occurred in two patients (one stent deployment failure due to unsuccessful distal access across the aneurysm neck and one coiling failure due to unsuccessful microcatheter navigation through the stent). Periprocedural complications were observed in six patients (12.8%), with permanent morbidity in one patient resulting from a thromboembolic event. Immediate complete occlusion was achieved in 36 aneurysms (72%). During follow up, enlargement of a partially occluded giant aneurysm was observed in one patient, which was treated with parent artery occlusion. No delayed hemorrhagic complications were seen in the remaining patients. Endovascular treatment is technically feasible and safe in most patients with paraclinoid aneurysm, with a low rate of procedural complications.     

5种马鞭草科药用植物的抗补体活性

采用细胞溶血法考察了千解草(Pygmaeopremna herbacea)、白花灯笼(Clerodendrum fortunatum L.)、尖尾枫[Callicarpa longissima(Hemsl.)Merr.]、赪桐[Clerodendrum japonicum(Thunb.)Sweet]及臭茉莉(Clerodendrum philippinum Schauer var.simplex Moldenke)等5种马鞭草科药用植物提取物经典途径和旁路途径的抗补体活性。结果表明:千解草水提取物、白花灯笼水提取物和醇提取物、尖尾枫水提取物和醇提取物、赪桐醇提取物及臭茉莉醇提取物有较强的经典途径抗补体活性,对经典途径的抗补体活性(CH50)分别为0.092±0.008,0.074±0.008,0.088±0.006,0.134±0.017,0.123±0.010,0.380±0.080及0.200±0.015 g/L;仅千解草和尖尾枫水提取物及白花灯笼醇提取物具有旁路途径抗补体活性,对旁路途径的抗补体活性(AP50)分别为0.533±0.033,0.758±0.031和0.362±0.029 g/L。因此,5种植物均具有不同程度的抗补体活性,其中白花灯笼醇提取物抗补体活性最强。     

Isoflavones and Prostate Cancer: A Review of Some Critical Issues

Objective:

The purpose of this review is to discuss some critical issues of isoflavones protective against the development of prostate cancer (PCa).

Data Sources:

Data cited in this review were obtained primarily from PubMed and Embase from 1975 to 2015.

Study Selection:

Articles were selected with the search terms “isoflavone”, “Phytoestrogen”, “soy”, “genistin”, and “PCa”.

Results:

Isoflavones do not play an important role on prostate-specific antigen levels reduction in PCa patients or healthy men. The effect of isoflavones on sex hormone levels and PCa risk may be determined by equol converting bacteria in the intestine, specific polymorphic variation and concentrations of isoflavones. The intake of various types of phytoestrogens with lower concentrations in the daily diet may produce synergistic effects against PCa. Moreover, prostate tissue may concentrate isoflavones to potentially anti-carcinogenic levels. In addition, it is noteworthy that isoflavones may act as an agonist in PCa.

Conclusions:

Isoflavones play a protective role against the development of PCa. However, careful consideration should be given when isoflavones are used in the prevention and treatment of PCa.     

Hepatitis B Immunoprophylactic Failure and Characteristics of the Hepatitis B Virus Gene in Mother-Infant Pairs in Parts of China

Objective To determine the hepatitis B immunoprophylactic failure rate in infants born to hepatitis B virus(HBV) infected mothers and to characterize HBV genes. Methods HBV-serological testing was conducted for pregnant women and infants. The complete genomes of 30 HBV isolates were sequenced, and genetic characteristics were analyzed using MEGA 5 software. Results The immunoprophylactic failure rate for infants who had completed the scheduled hepatitis B vaccination program was 5.76%(32/556). High sequence homology(99.8%-100%) was observed in 8 of the 10 mother-infant pairs. We identified 19 subgenotype C2 strains, 9 subgenotype B2 strains, and 2 subgenotype C1 strains. Three serotypes were detected: adr(19/30), adw(9/30), and ayw(2/30). The frequency of amino acid mutation of the ‘a' determinant region was 16.67%(5/30), including that of Q129 H, F134 Y, S136 Y, and G145 E. We detected 67 amino acid mutations in the basal core promoter, precore, and core regions of the genome. Conclusion The immunoprophylactic failure rate in infants born to HBV-infected mothers is low in the regions of China examined during this study. Moreover, HBV mutation in the ‘a' determinant region could not account for immunoprophylactic failure for all infants.     

RhPDCD5 combined with dexamethasone increases antitumor activity in multiple myeloma partially via inhibiting the Wnt signalling pathway

Multiple myeloma (MM) is one of the most common hematological malignancies and characterized by the clonal accumulation of malignant plasma cells. Significant progress has been made in MM treatment recently, while MM still remains incurable. Our previous studies showed that the recombined human programmed cell death 5 (rhPDCD5) can promote MM apoptosis induced by dexamethasone (Dex). Here, we expanded the findings by showing that the rhPDCD5 alone could not induce an obvious growth inhibition of U266 cells (a MM cell line). Of note, with the combination of dexamethasone (Dex), the growth of MM cells was significantly inhibited and accompanied with the cell cycle arrest in G0/G1. For mechanism study, we found that the combination treatment of rhPDCD5 plus Dex downregulated the mRNA and protein expressions of Wnt effectors including β‐catenin, β‐catenin (Ser675), TCF4, survivin and c‐Myc when compared to Dex only. Moreover, the activation of WNT pathway induced by LiCl can also be inhibited by this combination treatment. Taken together, our study demonstrated that the combination of rhPDCD5 and Dex can suppress the proliferation of multiple myeloma cells partially via inhibiting the WNT signalling pathway.     

GC测定非诺贝特制剂中十二烷基硫酸钠含量

目的 建立非诺贝特制剂中十二烷基硫酸钠的GC测定方法。方法 采用HP-5（30 m×0.53 mm,2.65 μm）毛细管柱,以氮气为载气,氢火焰离子化检测器,程序升温,直接进样,以十二烷醇为对照品外标法测定十二烷基硫酸钠的含量。结果 十二烷醇在0.165~1.32 mg·mL^-1内具有良好的线性关系,相关系数为0.999 5。国内企业产品的十二烷基硫酸钠用量远低于安全用量,但部分国内企业可能存在过量添加和非法添加的问题。结论 本方法准确,专属性强,可作为非诺贝特制剂中十二烷基硫酸钠的检测方法。