The synthesis of water-soluble CDM-AM copolymer by irradiation and its solubilization effect on hydrophobic drugs.

The ß-cyclodextrin-acrylamide (CDM-AM) copolymer was prepared from acrylamide and ß-CD maleate (CDM) using 60Co γ-ray irradiation method. The optimized preparation conditions for the CDM-AM copolymer are as follows: CDM:AM mass ratio of 1:1; irradiation dose of 4 kGy; and using 20 mL of DMF water solution. The yield rate of CDM-AM was 75% in grams using these synthetic conditions. The effects of the CDM-AM copolymer on the solubility and fungicidal activity of natamycin (NM) and carbendazim (MBC) were investigated. The stability constant of NM·CDM-AM and MBC·CDM-AM complexes at 303 K were of 13,446.06 M-1 and 2595.3 M-1, respectively. The complexes were characterized using phase solubility diagrams, NMR spectra and FT-IR spectra. The analysis of the biological activities of these two complexes indicated that they possessed enhancing fungicidal activities compared to NM and MBC alone.

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-negative microscopic polyangiitis: A case report and literature review.

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-negative microscopic polyangiitis (MPA). We described the case of a patient with ANCA-negative MPA and conducted analyses and a review of the relevant literature. Based on the collected data, the epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of ANCA-negative MPA were discussed. The patient, a 69-year-old male, was initially diagnosed with pneumonia and interstitial lung disease (ILD) based on his clinical symptoms. The patient was ANCA-negative. The follow-up and consultations with the relevant departments after the ANCA testing led to a diagnosis of MPA being considered. The administration of glucocorticoids and immunosuppressant drugs was found to improve the symptoms of the patient. The clinical symptoms of MPA are unspecific. The majority of MPA cases are ANCA-positive, but misdiagnosis should be considered as a possibility in ANCA-negative cases. When patients are suspected to have MPA, therefore, ANCA tests should be immediately performed. Test results should be analyzed for the early diagnosis of MPA in order to enable the provision of immediate treatment, improve patient prognosis and reduce mortality rate.

Expression variations of connective tissue growth factor in pulmonary arteries from smokers with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Cigarette smoking contributes to the development of pulmonary hypertension (PH) complicated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and the pulmonary vascular remodeling, the structural basis of PH, could be attributed to abnormal proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs).In this study, morphometrical analysis showed that the pulmonary vessel wall thickness in smoker group and COPD group was significantly greater than in nonsmokers. In addition, we determined the expression patterns of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and cyclin D1 in PASMCs harvested from smokers with normal lung function or mild to moderate COPD, finding that the expression levels of CTGF and cyclin D1 were significantly increased in smoker group and COPD group. In vitro experiment showed that the expression of CTGF, cyclin D1 and E2F were significantly increased in human PASMCs (HPASMCs) treated with 2% cigarette smoke extract (CSE), and two CTGF siRNAs with different mRNA hits successfully attenuated the upregulated cyclin D1 and E2F, and significantly restored the CSE-induced proliferation of HPASMCs by causing cell cycle arrest in G0. These findings suggest that CTGF may contribute to the pathogenesis of abnormal proliferation of HPASMCs by promoting the expression of its downstream effectors in smokers with or without COPD.