Spherical Aromaticity of All-Metal [Bi@In8 Bi12 ]3-/5- Clusters.

The chemical bonding of Zintl clusters is still an evolving and hot topic in modern chemistry. In this paper we synthesized a novel [K([2.2.2]crypt)]4 [In8 Bi13 ] complex in a condensed phase. The quantum chemical calculations and X-ray data revealed that the compound consists of the 1:1 mixture of [Bi@In8 Bi12 ]3- and [Bi@In8 Bi12 ]5- clusters. To the date, those clusters are the largest binary clusters composed of In and Bi elements. Herein, we introduce a spherical aromatic description of chemical bonding for such clusters. We show through AdNDP, ELF, and induced magnetic field and quantitative NICS analyzes that both clusters are spherically aromatic which explains their high symmetry, stability, and peculiar magnetic properties. We believe that this work will help researchers in the further development and understanding of chemical bonding in Zintl clusters.

Evidence of Bariatric Surgery Benefits Cardiac Function in Non-HFpEF Patients with Obesity: a Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Nowadays, increasing clinical evidence on metabolic and weight-loss effects of bariatric surgery on improving cardiac structure in obese patients, but its application in improving the cardiac function of HF (heart failure) patients remains controversial. The objective of this meta-analysis was to assess the effects of BS on cardiac function by quantifying the changes of LVEF (left ventricular ejection fraction) and NYHA (New York Heart Association classification) after operations in non-HFpEF (heart failure and preserved ejection fraction) patients. METHODS: Articles were searched using PubMed and Embase from inception to December 9, 2022, and the Minors scale was used for quality assessments. The included patients should be non-HFpEF and clinically severely obese, and their pre-operative and post-operative values of LVEF or NYHA should be reported. RESULT: Nine studies involving 146 patients were eventually included with a final result showing that the cardiac functional parameters were improved in non-HFpEF patients. After a weighted mean follow-up time of 15.8 months, the mean NYHA decreased by 0.59 (I2 = 0; 95% CI 0.27 ~ 0.92; p = 0.003), and the mean LVEF increased by 7.49% (I2 = 0; 95% CI - 9.99 ~ - 4.99; p < 0.00001). CONCLUSION: Bariatric surgery offers beneficial cardiac effects on non-HFpEF patients with obesity but failed to show a significant improvement in the pooled analysis for the changes of cardiac parameters. The improving degree may be related to the baseline BMI, the extent of BMI loss, and the baseline age. Future studies should focus on finding out the influencing factors of effectivenesses and defining the suitable crowd.

MiR-200c-3p Regulates DUSP1/MAPK Pathway in the Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy.

Aim: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a health burden worldwide, which is closely related to obesity. The effect of sleeve gastrectomy (SG) on NAFLD is efficient, and the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Our study sought to investigate the mechanism of dual-specificity protein phosphatase 1 (DUSP1) expression regulation following the SG procedure in NAFLD patients and C57BL/6J mice via miR-200c-3p. Methods: The serum was extracted from NAFLD patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) and volunteers. Next, the correlation between miR-200c-3p and DUSP1 was identified in vitro. NAFLD mice were modelled by high-fat diets (HFD). The hepatic tissue expression levels of miR-200c-3p, DUSP1, phospho-extracellular regulated protein kinases1/2 (p-ERK1/2), phospho -p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (p-p38), and phospho-c-Jun N-terminal kinases (p-JNK) induced by SG procedure were evaluated. Results: The SG procedure contributed to significant weight loss, reduced lipids in NAFLD patients and mice. The increased expression level of miR-200c-3p and reduced expression of DUSP1 were observed in NAFLD patients and mice (p<0.05). The reduced expression levels of miR-200c-3p and increased expression of DUSP1 were observed in patients and mice with NAFLD who underwent SG procedure. DUSP1 is a potential target of miR-200c-3p. Conclusions: A novel mechanism was identified in which miR-200c-3p regulates the MAPK-dependent signals that are linked to the promotion of hepatosteatosis via DUSP1 after sleeve gastrectomy. The findings suggested that miR-200c-3p should be further explored as a potential target for the treatments of NAFLD.

Efficacy analysis of methylprednisolone plus adrenaline to treat wasp sting injury.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of methylprednisolone (MP) plus adrenaline to treat patients injured by wasp stings. METHODS: This study was carried out at The First College of Clinical Medical Science, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, Hubei Province, China, from June to November 2008. A total of 45 cases were divided into 2 groups. The MP was used alone in the control group, and MP plus adrenaline was used in the observation group. We compared the clinical effect between the 2 groups. RESULTS: The alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (64.05 +/- 59.31 versus 124.14 +/- 80.01 U/L), and creatine kinase isoenzyme (CKMB) (90.32 +/- 85.19 versus 216.68 +/- 277.58 umol/L) levels of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group. The length of hospital stay of the observation group was significantly shorter than that of the control group (7.23 +/- 2.93 versus 11.23 +/- 8.02), while complications from the wasp sting were fewer than those of the control group. In addition, the level of peripheral blood leukocytes was positively correlated with the number of stings (r=0.733, p=0.001), levels of ALT and CKMB (r=0.627, p=0.001, and r=0.705, p=0.001), and length of hospital stay (r=0.667, p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Allergic and inflammatory responses play an important role in addition to the direct effect of wasp venom on the human body. Compared with MP alone, early combination of adrenaline helps to further inhibit the diffusion of allergy and inflammatory cytokines, and therefore reduce the severity of injury.

[Determination of 2,6-di-tertbutyl-4-methylphenol in an aviation jet fuel by high performance liquid chromatography].

The content of antioxidant of 2,6-di-tertbutyl-4-methylphenol(BHT) in a new aviation jet fuel (HDF-1) was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. The influences of the volume ratio of methanol and acetate buffer and the flow rate for BHT separation from HDF-1 were studied and the best analysis conditions were obtained. The optimum volume ratio is 85:15 and the optimum flow rate is 1 mL/min. The relation of BHT mass fraction and its peak area has been analyzed and simulated. It was found that they had a good linear relationship.