Inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) are widely used in combination with second controller medications in the management of asthma in adults and children. There lacks a systematic comparison between ...addition of leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs) and theophylline to ICS. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the difference of the efficacy and safety profile of adding either LTRAs or theophylline to ICS in adults and children with symptomatic asthma.
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published prior to November 2014 were acquired through systematically searching and selected based on the established inclusion criteria for publications. The data extracted from the included studies were further analyzed by a meta-analysis.
We included eight RCTs, of which six recruited adults and two recruited children aged 5 to 14 years. The primary outcomes were changes in lung function from baseline, including forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow (PEF). Overall, addition of LTRAs led to significantly better morning PEF {mean difference (MD) 16.94 95% confidence interval (CI): 11.49-22.39 L/min, P<0.01} and FEV1 MD 0.09 (95% CI: 0.03-0.15) L, P=0.005 as compared to addition of theophylline. There were no differences between the two treatments in terms of evening PEF, adverse events, rescue medication use and asthma exacerbation.
The combination of LTRA and ICS leads to modestly greater improvement in lung function than the combination of theophylline and ICS in the treatment of symptomatic asthma. Long-term trials are required to assess the efficacy and safety of these two therapies.
Curcuminoids are well known for their capabilities to combat risk factors that are associated with ageing and cellular senescence. Recent reports have demonstrated that curcuminoids can extend the ...lifespan of model organisms. However, the underlying mechanisms by which these polyphenic compounds exert these beneficial effects remain unknown. In this study, t-BHP-induced premature senescence model in human fibroblasts was chosen to explore the protective effects of a curcuminoid, bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC), on cellular senescence. The results demonstrated that BDMC attenuated oxidative stress-induced senescence-like features which include the induction of an enlarged cellular appearance, higher frequency of senescence-associated β-galactosidase staining activity, appearance of senescence-associated heterochromatic foci in nuclei, decrease in proliferation capability, and alteration in related molecules such as p16 and retinoblastoma protein. Notably, we found that BDMC treatment activated Sirt1/AMPK signaling pathway. Moreover, downregulating Sirt1 by the pharmacological inhibitor nicotianamine or small interfering RNA blocked BDMC-mediated protection against t-BHP-mediated decrease in proliferation. These results suggested that BDMC prevented t-BHP-induced cellular senescence, and BDMC-induced Sirt1 may be a mechanism mediating its beneficial effects.
JC virus (JCV)-associated nephropathy has been increasingly recognized as a cause of allograft dysfunction with graft loss in renal transplant recipients. Like many other opportunistic viral ...infections in transplant recipients, there are currently limited therapeutic options for this condition. Fusidic acid has previously been reported to exhibit antiviral activity against JCV in in vitro assays. We report the first in vivo study to document the rapid reduction of JC viruria and stabilization of allograft function by oral fusidic acid (fusidate sodium) in a deceased donor renal transplant recipient with JCV-associated nephropathy and acute allograft dysfunction which did not improve initially to surgical relief of hydronephrosis and reduction of immunosuppressants. Rapid reduction of JC viruria detected by quantitative PCR and stabilization of renal function were observed. Fusidic acid has several practical advantages in this clinical setting, including a low EC
50
against JCV, high plasma
C
max
, long half-life, availability of both oral and intravenous formulations, excellent oral bioavailability, good patient tolerability, and lack of serious drug interactions with other drugs taken by renal transplant recipients. Further mechanistic and clinical studies are necessary to evaluate this treatment option for JCV-associated nephropathy.
Chronic inflammation is thought to be the leading cause of colorectal cancer, and interleukin-10 (IL10) has been identified as a potent immunomodulatory cytokine that regulates inflammatory responses ...in the gastrointestinal tract. Although several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL10 have been associated with the risk of colorectal cancer, their prognostic significance has not been determined. Two hundred and eighty-two colorectal cancer patients were genotyped for two candidate cancer-associated SNPs in IL10. The associations of these SNPs with distant metastasis-free survival and overall survival were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression model. The minor homozygote GG genotype of IL10 rs3021094 was significantly associated with a 3.30-fold higher risk of death compared with the TT+TG genotypes (P=0.011). The patients with IL10 rs3021094 GG genotype also had a poorer overall survival in Kaplan-Meier analysis (log-rank P=0.007) and in multivariate Cox regression model (P=0.044) adjusting for age, gender, carcinoembryonic antigen levels, tumor differentiation, stage, lymphovascular invasion, and perineural invasion. In conclusion, our results suggest that IL10 rs3021094 might be a valuable prognostic biomarker for colorectal cancer patients.
A laboratory scale up-flow biological activated carbon (BAC) reactor was constructed for the advanced treatment of synthetic flotation wastewater. Biodegradation of a common collector (i.e., ethyl ...xanthate) for non-ferrous metallic ore flotation was evaluated. The results show that the two stages of domestication can improve microbial degradation ability. The BAC reactor obtains a chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction rate of 82.5% for ethyl xanthate and its effluent COD concentration lowers to below 20 mg/L. The kinetics equation of the BAC reactor proves that the activated carbon layers at the height of 0 mm to 70 mm play a key role in the removal of flotation reagents. Ultraviolet spectral analysis indicates that most of the ethyl xanthate are degraded by microorganisms after advanced treatment by the BAC reactor.
Since the tumor protein p53 (TP53), a transcription factor, plays a crucial role in prostate cancer development and progression, we hypothesized that sequence variants in TP53 binding sites might ...affect clinical outcomes in patients with prostate cancer. We systematically evaluated 41 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within genome-wide predicted TP53 binding sites in a cohort of 1,024 prostate cancer patients. The associations of these SNPs with prostate cancer characteristics and clinical outcomes after radical prostatectomy for localized disease and after androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) for advanced disease were assessed by Kaplan–Meier analysis and Cox regression model.
ARAP2
rs1444377 and
TRPS1
rs722740 were associated with advanced stage prostate cancer.
FRK
rs171866 remained as a significant predictor for disease progression;
DAB2
rs268091 and
EXOC4
rs1149558 remained as significant predictors for prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM); and
EXOC4
rs1149558 remained as a significant predictor for all-cause mortality after ADT in multivariate models that included clinicopathologic predictors. In addition, the numbers of protective genotypes at
DAB2
rs268091 and
EXOC4
rs1149558 showed a cumulative effect on PCSM (
P
for trend = 0.002). Our results suggested that SNPs within TP53 binding sites might be valuable biomarkers for prostate cancer outcome prediction.
Recovery of ganoderic acids from Ganoderma lucidum mycelia by macroporous adsorption resins Li, Ying-bo, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China; Wang, Jia-le, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China; Zhong, Jian-jiang, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
Biotechnology and bioprocess engineering,
04/2012, Letnik:
17, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
In this work, the performance and adsorption characteristics of macroporous resins for the recovery and enrichment of ganoderic acid (GA)-Mk and GA-T from Ganoderma lucidum mycelia were ...systematically evaluated. ADS-8 resin displayed the best adsorption and desorption capacities among the tested resins based on batch experiments. The interaction between solute and ADS-8 resin at different temperatures was described in terms of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, and the equilibrium experimental data were well fitted to the two isotherms. Thermodynamic analysis indicated the exothermic and spontaneous nature of the adsorption process. The adsorption capacity of ADS-8 resin was found to depend strongly on the pH value of the initial solution. Dynamic adsorption and desorption tests were performed on an ADS-8 resin-packed column to obtain optimal parameters for recovering GA-Mk and GAT from G. lucidum extract. Under optimized conditions, a laboratory scale-up preparation of GA-Mk and GA-T was carried out. The contents of GA-Mk and GA-T were increased from 45 to 22 mg/g in the crude extract to 352 and 141 mg/g in the final product with recovery yields of 90.1 and 72.2%, respectively. These results demonstrated that ADS-8 resin chromatography could act as a useful approach for obtaining ganoderic acids from G. lucidum mycelia.
A selective and sensitive ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was employed to study the pharmacokinetics of ginsenoside Re (GRe) in rabbits after ...vaginal administration of Xiaomi suppository to evaluate the systemic exposure of the suppository for the local treatment.
Chromatographic separation was on an ACQUITY UPLC® BEH C18 column, and acetonitrile-0.1% formic acid was used as mobile phase in gradient elution. The plasma samples were deproteinized by acetonitrile, and the pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by Winnonlin 6.4.
Calibration curve of GRe showed a good linearity over the concentration range from 5 ng/mL to 500 ng/mL (r = 0.9999). The low limit of quantification of 5 ng/mL could satisfy the experimental requirement. The intra-day and inter-day precision of GRe at three concentrations were less than 1.96%, and the average recoveries of GRe were more than 64.0%. The pharmacokinetic parameters for vaginal administration were as follows: Tmax, 0.5 h; Cmax, 20.88 ng/mL; AUC0-t, 64.71 h · ng/mL and the residence time was 3.06 h. By using deconvolution calculation method, the cumulative absorption fraction of GRe was about 0.89%.
The systemic exposure of GRe was minimal after vaginal administration of Xiaomi suppository.
Two novel chalconoids, 3-3"bi-2-hydroxy-4,5,6-trimethoxydihydrochalcone (1) and 4,6-dimethoxy-2,5-quinodihydrochalcone (2), and twelve known compounds were isolated from the methanolic extract of ...Fissistigma latifolium (Dun.) Merr. The structures of all compounds were determined by spectroscopic methods. Of these, compounds 1, 2, and 2-hydroxy-4,5,6-trimethoxydihydrochalcone (10) belong to an uncommon group of chalconoids, the retrochalcones. Compound 1 is the first bis-retrochalcone to be reported, and compound 2 is a quinoretrochalcone. Furthermore, 2 showed activity against the MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell line with an IC50 value of 7.1 micromolar.
The bioleaching of djurleite was investigated using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. XRD and XPS were used to analyzes the bioleaching mechanism of djurleite. The results have shown copper extraction ...for djurleite under optimal conditions was 95.12%. During the bioleaching, Djurleite was firstly converted to CuS, then to Cu2+ and S0. Display omitted
► Bioleaching of djurleite using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans was investigated. ► A few Cu(II) exists in the lattice of djurleite. ► Djurleite was firstly converted to CuS, then to Cu2+ and S0.
The bioleaching of djurleite using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (LD-1) was investigated in this paper. Experiments were carried out in shake flasks at pH 2.0, 160r/min and 30°C. The leaching residues were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The total copper extraction of djurleite under optimal condition reached 95.12%. The XRD analysis indicated the residues mainly consisted of ammoniojarosites and S8. It was observed by the SEM image that the djurleite was heavily etched. The XPS results confirmed the intermediate product formed during djurleite leaching was CuS. The result indicates the reaction pathway is: Cu31S16→CuS→tCu2+ and S0.
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