Long-circulating doxorubicin and Schizandrin A liposome with drug-resistant liver cancer activity: in vitro and in vivo evaluation.

Co-loading doxorubicin (DOX) and Schizandrin A (SchA) long-circulating liposome (SchA-DOX-Lip) have been confirmed to have good antitumor activity in vitro. However, in vivo pharmacodynamics, targeting, safety, and mechanism of action of SchA-DOX-Lip still need to be further verified. We investigated the tumor inhibition effect, targeting, safety evaluation, and regulation of tumor apoptosis-related proteins of the SchA-DOX-Lip. MTT assay was used to investigate the inhibitory effect of SchA-DOX-Lip on CBRH7919 cells. The drug uptake of CBRH7919 cells was observed by inverted fluorescence microscope. The tumor-bearing nude mice models of CBRH7919 were established, and the anti-tumor effect of SchA-DOX-Lip in vivo was evaluated by tumor biological observation, H&E staining, and TUNEL staining. The distribution and targeting of SchA-DOX-Lip in nude mice models were investigated by small animal imaging and tissue distribution experiment of CBRH7919. The biosafety of SchA-DOX-Lip was evaluated by blood routine parameters, biochemical indexes, and H&E staining. The expression of tumor-associated apoptotic proteins (Bcl-2, Bax, and Caspase-3) was detected by immunohistochemistry anvd western blotting. The results showed that SchA-DOX-Lip had cytotoxicity to CBRH7919 cells which effectively inhibited the proliferation of CBRH7919 cells, improved the uptake of drugs by CBRH7919 cells and the targeting effect of drugs on tumor site. H&E staining and biochemical detection results showed that SchA-DOX-Lip had high biosafety and did not cause serious damage to normal tissues. Western-blotting and TUNEL staining results showed that SchA-DOX-Lip could improve the regulatory effect of drugs on tumor apoptosis proteins. It was demonstrated that SchA-DOX-Lip had high safety and strong tumor inhibition effects, providing a new method for the clinical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Effects of ketogenic diet on weight loss parameters among obese or overweight patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trails.

Aim: To evaluate how effective a low carbohydrate ketogenic diet (KD) is for changing key physical measurements such as weight, waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), and fat mass (FM) in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who were obese or overweight. Methods: Several online databases, including PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science (WOS), were searched systematically to find relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) up until June 2023. The Q-test and I2 statistics were used to assess the level of heterogeneity among the included studies. The data were then combined using either a fixed or random effects model and presented as a weighted mean difference (WMD) along with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Of the 682 citations, 11 RCTs were included. The pooled results showed a significant decrease in the WMD of weight levels [WMD = -9.13 kg; 95% CI, -11.88, -6.39, P < 0.001; I2 = 87.23%] following KD. Moreover, KD significantly reduced BMI levels [WMD = -2.93 kg/m2; 95% CI, -3.65, -2.21, P < 0.001; I2 = 78.81%] compared to the controls. Patients with PCOS received KD demonstrated significant decrease in WC [WMD = -7.62 cm; 95% CI, -10.73, -4.50, P < 0.001; I2 = 89.17%] and FM [WMD = -5.32 kg; 95% CI, -7.29, -3.36, P < 0.001; I2 = 83.97%]. Conclusion: KD was associated with lower weight loss (WL) parameters, including weight, BMI, WC, and FM, in obese or overweight women with PCOS, highlighting the significance of physicians and nurses in taking care of the nutritional needs of overweight/obese patients with PCOS.

In Silico Genome-Wide Analysis of B3 Transcription Factors in Cannabis sativa L.

Introduction: The B3 transcription factor has been identified in Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, and Solanum lycopersicum, among other species. This family of transcription factors regulates seed growth, development, and stress. Cannabis is a valuable crop with numerous applications; however, no B3 transcription factors have been identified in this plant. Materials and Methods: The cannabis B3 gene family was identified and analyzed using bioinformatics analysis tools, such as the NCBI database, plantTFDB website, TBtools, and MEGA software. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) experiments were used to confirm its function. Results: The cannabis B3 family contains 65 members spread across 10 chromosomes. The isoelectric point ranged from 10.03 to 4.65, and the molecular weight ranged from 99,542.88 to 14,310.9 Da. Most of the members were found in the nucleus. The upstream promoter region of the gene contains a variety of cis-acting elements related to the stress response. RNA-seq data and qRT-PCR results showed that CsB3 genes were expressed differently in five organs of female Diku plants and in glandular hairs of nine distinct types of female cannabis inflorescences. Collinearity analysis revealed that there were more homologous genes between cannabis and dicotyledons than monocotyledonous plants, which was consistent with the evolutionary relationship. Conclusions: Hormones and external environmental factors might influence CsB3 expression. Furthermore, some genes such as CsB3-02, CsB3-07, CsB3-50, CsB3-62, and CsB3-65 may participate in cannabis growth and development and play a role in secondary metabolite synthesis. This study provides a solid foundation for further research into the gene function of the cannabis B3 family.

[Determination of micro amount of tellurium (IV) in crude selenium sample by kinetic-specatrophotometry].

A new indicator reaction based on the interaction of sodium sulfide reducing properties with methylene blue in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide pH 3.8 acetic acid buffer solution was put forward to determine micro amount of tellurium. The effect of concentration of reaction substances, acidity, interfering ions etc. on the analytical results was studied. The apparent activation energy is 68.94 kJ x mol(-1) and the constant of reaction rate is 1.63 x 10(-2) s(-1). Beer's law is obeyed for tellurium in the range of 20-220 ng x mL(-1). The regression equation is y = 0.003 8x + 0.219 1 and the correlation coefficient is r = 0.999 5. The limit of detection for Te is 3.04 ng x mL(-1). The method was applied to the determination of Te in crude selenium sample, and the relative standard deviation is 3.1% (n = 7). The recovery was between 98.4% and 100.4%.