A new sulfated triterpene glycoside from the sea cucumber Colochirus quadrangularis, and evaluation of its antifungal, antitumor and immunomodulatory activities.

Our continuing search for marine bioactive secondary metabolites led to the screening of crude extracts of sea cucumbers by the model of Pyricularia oryzae. A new sulfated triterpene glycoside, coloquadranoside A (1), together with four known triterpene glycosides, philinopside A, B, E and pentactaside B (2-5) were isolated from the sea cucumber Colochirus quadrangularis, and their structures were elucidated using extensive spectroscope analysis (ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR) and chemical methods. Coloquadranoside A possesses a 16-acetyloxy group in the holostane-type triterpene aglycone with a 7(8)-double bond, a double bond (25,26) at its side chain, and two ß-d-xylose in the carbohydrate chain. Coloquadranoside A exhibits in vitro some antifungus, considerable cytotoxicity (IC50 of 0.46-2.03 µM) against eight human tumor cell lines, in vivo antitumor, and immunomodulatory activity.

Characteristics and Transformation Mechanism of Nonmetallic Inclusions in 304 Stainless Steel during Heat Treatment at 1250 °C.

Evolutions of two typical types of nonmetallic inclusions, i.e., inclusions based on CaO-SiO2-Al2O3 and MnO-SiO2-Al2O3 of 304 stainless steel were investigated in laboratory-scale experiments under isothermal heat treatment at 1250 °C for 0, 30, 60 and 120 min. Results show inclusion population density increases at the first stage and then decreases while their average size decreases and then increases. Moreover, almost no Cr2O3 content within the inclusion before the heat treatment, but Cr2O3 content increases gradually along with increasing heat treatment time. Furthermore, the increasing of Cr2O3 content in the inclusions would increase their melting points and reduce their plasticities. The experimental results and thermodynamic analysis indicate that there are three steps for inclusion evolution during the heat treatment process, in which Ostwald ripening plays an important role in inclusion evolution, i.e., inclusions grow by absorbing the newly formed small-size MnO-Cr2O3 inclusions.

Postoperative benefits of dexmedetomidine combined with flurbiprofen axetil after thyroid surgery.

The present study determined the effect of dexmedetomidine (Dex) combined with flurbiprofen axetil (FA) on analgesia, immune response, and preservation of cognitive function in patients subjected to general anesthesia. We recruited 100 patients with thyroid surgery and randomly divided them into four groups: Dex (D), FA (F), Dex combined with FA (DF), and saline control (C). The extubation and recovery times for Groups D and DF were significantly longer than for Groups F and C. After extubation, the heart rate and mean arterial pressure for Groups F, D, and DF were significantly lower than for Group C, and data for Group DF was significantly lower than for Group F. The visual analog scale and Riker sedation agitation scores were significantly lower in Group DF than for the other three groups. T- and B-lymphocytes were significantly higher in Group DF than in the other three groups. Compared with Groups F and C, the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in Group DF were significantly reduced, while IL-2 markedly increased. The combined use of Dex and FA significantly improved pain after general anesthesia thyroid surgery, reduced restlessness and postoperative cognitive dysfunction, enhanced immune function, and promoted wound repair.