Ultrafast chiral peptides purification via surface plasmon enhanced spin selectivity.

By D-arginine and L-arginine chiral peptides induced spin selectivity and Au NPs enhanced spin polarization, chiral peptides purification has been effectively simplified and the purification performance has raised from a mixture system. The angular momentums of light are operated by the polarizer and wave plates. Au NPs decorated ZnO nanorods electrodes are utilized to modulate the polarization of spintronic. Seed growth methods are for synthesizing spherical Au NPs. UV light reduction methods are for urchin-liked Au NPs. Au NPs are decorated on ZnO nanorods electrodes for rising photon to electron conversion efficiency and enhancing spin polarization rates by surface plasmon effect. From our results, photon to the electron conversion efficiency of ZnO nanorods electrodes has effectively enhanced by urchin-liked Au NPs decorating. Ultrahigh localized plasmon conversion efficiency as high as 60% was also obtained. Besides, density functional theory (DFT) calculations simulated the force on spintronic. Since the D-arginine and L-arginine are on Au substrate, DFT results demonstrate different angular momentum and spin polarization coupling. Along with urchin-liked Au NPs rising chiral induced spin polarization by surface plasmon resonance, the sensitivity of chiral arginine has been raised around 5000% from bare ZnO nanorods electrodes. The purification and separation time of a specific chiral arginine only needs 5 min.

Physicians' very brief (30-sec) intervention for smoking cessation on 13 671 smokers in China: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Three to 10 minutes of smoking cessation advice by physicians is effective to increase quit rates, but is not routinely practised. We examined the effectiveness of physicians' very brief (approximately 30 sec) smoking cessation intervention on quit rates among Chinese outpatient smokers. DESIGN: A pragmatic, open-label, individually randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Seventy-two medical outpatient departments of hospitals and/or community health centers in Guangdong, China. PARTICIPANTS: Chinese adults who were daily cigarette smokers (n = 13 671, 99% males) were invited by their physician to participate during outpatient consultation. Smokers who were receiving smoking cessation treatment or were judged to need specialist treatment for cessation were excluded. INTERVENTIONS: The intervention group (n = 7015) received a 30-sec intervention including physician's very brief advice, a leaflet with graphic warnings and a card with contact information of available cessation services. The control group (n = 6656) received a very brief intervention on consuming vegetables and fruit. A total of 3466 participants in the intervention group were further randomized to receive a brief booster advice from trained study personnel via telephone 1 month following their doctor visit. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was self-reported 7-day point prevalence abstinence (PPA) in the intervention and control groups at the 12-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes included self-reported 30-day abstinence and biochemically validated abstinence at 12-month follow-up. FINDINGS: By intention-to-treat, the intervention (versus control) group had greater self-reported 7-day abstinence [9.1 versus 7.8%, odds ratio (OR) = 1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.03-1.26, P = 0.008] and 30-day abstinence (8.0 versus 6.9%, OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.03-1.27, P = 0.01) at 12-month follow-up. The effect size increased when only participants who received the intervention from compliant physicians were included (7-day PPA, OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.11-1.74). The group difference in biochemically validated abstinence was small (0.8 versus 0.8%, OR = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.71-1.42, P = 0.99). CONCLUSION: A 30-sec smoking cessation intervention increased self-reported abstinence among mainly male smokers in China at 12-month follow-up (risk difference = 1.3%), and should be feasible to provide in most settings and delivered by all health-care professionals.

ZLJ-6, a novel COX/5-LOX inhibitor, attenuates TNF-α-induced endothelial E-selectin, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression and monocyte-endothelial interactions via a COX/5-LOX-independent mechanism.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are previously found to possess prostaglandin and leukotriene-independent anti-inflammatory effect. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prostaglandin and leukotriene-independent anti-inflammatory effect of an imidazolone COX/5-LOX inhibitor ZLJ-6 and the underlying mechanism. Pretreatment human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with ZLJ-6 (3, 10 and 30 µM) concentration-dependently decreased TNF-α-induced monocyte-endothelial interactions in both static and dynamic conditions whereas no effect was found after pretreatment with the COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib (30 µM), 5-LOX inhibitor zileuton (30 µM) and the combination of them. ZLJ-6 also attenuated expression of E-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cytoadhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) on TNF-α-induced HUVECs. A further analysis indicated that ZLJ-6 attenuated TNF-α-induced nuclear translocation of NF-κB, IκB phosphorylation, IκB kinase ß (IKKß) activity, and subsequent NF-κB-DNA complex formation, suggesting that NF-κB pathway was involved in TNF-α-induced inflammation. However, ZLJ-6 did not affect TNF-α-induced extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2), c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) and p38 phosphorylation. Taken together, our results indicated that ZLJ-6 potently inhibited TNF-α-induced monocyte-endothelial interactions and adhesion molecule (E-selectin, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1) expression and these effects were mediated by NF-κB signaling pathway rather than its primary pharmacological target COX-2 or 5-LOX.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of nitric oxide-donating thalidomide analogues as anticancer agents.

In search of more potent anticancer agents, 15 nitric oxide (NO)-donating thalidomide analogues, 6a, 6b, 8a-8e, and 13a-13h, were designed and synthesized. Cytotoxicity of these compounds was evaluated in vitro against three human tumor cell lines (HepG2, A549, and PC-3). The results indicated that 13a-13d exhibited notable anticancer activities comparable to or stronger than that of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Structure-activity relationships were also discussed, based on the experimental data obtained. Generally, the cytotoxic activity of target compounds is closely related to the type of NO donors, and the length of the spacers connecting to NO donors also appears important for the bioactivities.

Synthesis and cytotoxic evaluation of novel dimethyl [1,1'-biphenyl]-2,2'-dicarboxylates bearing 1,3,4-thiadiazole moieties.

In search of novel anticancer agents, two series of dimethyl [1,1'-biphenyl]-2,2'-dicarboxylate derivatives, 8a-8k and 9a-9k, containing both methylenedioxy and 1,3,4-thiadiazole moieties were designed and synthesized. Cytotoxicity of these compounds was evaluated in vitro against five human tumor cell lines, i.e., HepG2, KB, A549, K562, and MCF-7. The results indicated that 8h, 8j, 8k, 9d, 9g, 9h, 9j, and 9k showed notable anticancer activities comparable to or stronger than that of 5-fluorouracil, a canonical anticancer drug. Structure-activity relationships were also discussed based on the experimental data obtained.