Assessment of ecotoxicity of spent fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) refinery catalysts on Raphidocelis subcapitata and predictive models for toxicity.

The 17 spent fluid catalytic cracking refinery catalysts (SFCCCs) from different petroleum refineries were collected and the leachates of SFCCCs were prepared. The ecotoxicity of SFCCC leachates to Raphidocelis subcapitata was assayed. The results showed that the toxicity of the 17 SFCCCs differ greatly. Ji SFCCC was the most toxic to R. subcapitata with a 96 h EC50 value of 1.38%, while Ha SFCCC was the least toxic, with the EC50 value was >100%. The relationships between the toxicity of SFCCCs and the metal concentrations in leachates were analyzed. The concentration of Ni (p = 0.001), La (p = 0.001), Mn (p = 0.014), Ce (p = 0.017), Co (p = 0.018), and Ca (p = 0.031) in leachates showed significant correlation with EC50 values. The predictive model for the ecotoxicity of SFCCCs were established with the concentrations of Ni and La in leachates as: ln(EC50) = 0.817 + exp(1.356 - 1.736 × CNi - 0.262 × CLa) (R2 = 0.926). The main toxic ingredients of SFCCC to microalgae were identified for the first time in this work. The results and predictive model of this study are significance for toxicity determination and management of SFCCCs.

[Expert consensus on Tongsaimai Tablets/Capsules in treatment of peripheral vascular diseases in clinical practice].

Tongsaimai Tablets/Capsules are composed of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix, Codonopsis Radix, Dendrobii Caulis, Astragali Radix, Scrophulariae Radix, and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, and are effective in promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis, supplementing Qi, and nourishing Yin. It is widely used in the treatment of peripheral vascular diseases. With 40 years of clinical application, it has accumulated substantial research data and application experience. Its good clinical efficacy and pharmacoeconomic benefits in improving the clinical symptoms of peripheral vascular diseases have been confirmed by relevant research. Meanwhile, this drug has also been recommended by many expert consensus, guidelines, and teaching materials, serving as one of the most commonly used Chinese patent medicines in clinical practice. To further improve the understanding of the drug among clinicians and properly guide its clinical medication, the China Association of Chinese Medicine took the lead and organized experts to jointly formulate this expert consensus. Based on the questionnaire survey of clinicians and the systematic review of research literature on Tongsaimai Tablets/Capsules with clinical problems in the PICO framework, the consensus, combined with expert experience, concludes recommendations or consensus suggestions by GRADE system with the optimal evidence available through the nominal group technique. This consensus defines the indications, usage, dosage, course of treatment, medication time, combined medication, and precautions of Tongsaimai Tablets/Capsules in the treatment of peripheral vascular diseases, and explains the safety of its clinical application. It is recommended for clinicians and pharmacists in the peripheral vascular department(vascular surgery), traditional Chinese medicine surgery(general surgery), and endocrinology department of hospitals at all levels in China.

Tea consumption is associated with cognitive impairment in older Chinese adults.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between tea consumption and cognitive impairment (CoI). METHODS: 4579 adults (≥60 years) from the Weitang Geratric Diseases Study were assessed for characteristics of tea consumption and cognitive function by administering questionnaires and the Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT), respectively. We divided the subjects into normal cognitive function group (AMT score ≥8) and CoI group (AMT score ≤7).   The association between tea consumption and risk of CoI was determined by logistic regression models. RESULTS: The least-squared means of the AMT scores for the subjects who seldom consumed tea were less favorable than those who habitually consumed tea. An inverse association was found between tea consumption (of any type) and prevalence of CoI (odds ratio = 0.74, 95% confidence interval = 0.57-0.98, P = 0.032). Interestingly, the protective correlation of tea was more obvious in never smokers (odds ratio = 0.63), but vanished in current/former smokers (odds ratio = 1.10). In never smokers, frequency of tea consumption was significantly associated with CoI (P for trend = 0.010). CONCLUSION: Habitual tea consumption is suggested to be associated with a decreased risk of CoI among elders in Suzhou, and a higher frequency of tea consumption was associated with a lower prevalence of CoI among never smokers.

New Iridoid Glycosides with Antidepressant Activity Isolated from Cyperus rotundus.

Based on bioactive screening results, two new iridoid glycosides, named rotunduside G (1) and rotunduside H (2), were isolated from the rhizomes of Cyperus rotundus, together with four known ones, negundoside (3), nishindaside (4), isooleuropein (5) and neonuezhenide (6). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods and from literature values. In mice models of despair, 1 and 2 showed significant antidepressant activity.

Fearful thinking predicts hypervigilance towards pain-related stimuli in patients with chronic pain.

Cognitive impairment plays a role in the development and maintenance of chronic pain. Patients with painful disorders are reported to show attentional biases toward pain-related information. However, these findings are controversial, and rarely has any study examined whether chronic pain patients have attentional biases to pain-related conditioned stimuli (CS). In this study, twenty-one patients diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) were recruited from the neurosurgical department of a large urban general hospital. Sixteen family members and twenty-one pain-free volunteers were included as two separate control groups. Pain ratings, pain-related anxiety, general anxiety, and depression were measured in all subjects using questionnaires. Two dot probe tests were performed, one that used pictures of painful versus neutral faces as cues, and another that presented three types of CS as cues that predicted certain, uncertain, or no pain. Our results demonstrate that the TN patients showed attentional biases towards painful faces and the CSs that signaled uncertain pain. Moreover, the ratings of negative emotion about their pain conditions correlated significantly with the presence of attentional biases. The patients' close family members, however, displayed biases towards uncertain-pain CS. This study demonstrates that patients with chronic pain have increased attention towards pain-related information, and the fearful thinking about pain was positively correlated with this phenomenon.

N'-[(1E)-1-(3,5-Dichloro-2-hy-droxy-phen-yl)propyl-idene]-4-meth-oxy-benzohydrazide monohydrate.

The title compound, C(17)H(16)Cl(2)N(2)O(3)·H(2)O, displays a trans conformation with respect to the C=N double bond. The dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 30.77 (5)° and there is one intra-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bond. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by hydrogen bonding to the water molecules of crystallization, which acts as both an acceptor and a donor, into a three-dimensional network.

N'-[(E)-1-(3,5-Dichloro-2-hy-droxy-phen-yl)ethyl-idene]-4-meth-oxy-benzo-hydrazide monohydrate.

The title compound, C(16)H(14)Cl(2)N(2)O(3)·H(2)O, displays a trans conformation with respect to the C=N double bond. The dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 4.98 (12)°. Intra-molecular O-H⋯N and O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds occur. The crystal structure is stabilized by inter-molecular O-H⋯O and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds. In addition, there are π-π inter-actions between the chemically distinct benzene rings of inversion-related mol-ecules [centroid-centroid separation = 3.715 (1) Å].