Pt,P-codoped carbon nitride nanoenzymes for fluorescence and colorimetric dual-mode detection of cholesterol.

Cholesterol is an important lipid compound found in a variety of foods, and its level in human blood is closely related to human health. Therefore, development of rapid and accurate POCT (point-of-care testing) methods for cholesterol detection is crucial for assessing food quality and early diagnosis of diseases, in particular, in a resource-limited environment. In this study, a smartphone-assisted colorimetric biosensor is constructed based on platinum,phosphorus-codoped carbon nitride (PtCNP2) for the rapid detection of cholesterol. Phosphorus-doped carbon nitride is prepared by thermal annealing of urea and NH4PF6, into which platinum is atomically dispersed by thermal refluxing. The obtained PtCNP2 exhibits an excellent peroxidase-like activity under physiological pH, whereby colorless o-phenylenediamine (OPD) is oxidized to colored 2,3-diaminophenazine (DAP) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which can be produced during the oxidation of cholesterol by cholesterol oxidase. A smartphone-assisted visual sensing system is then constructed based on the color recognition software, and rapid on-site detection of cholesterol is achieved by reading the RGB values. Meanwhile, the generated DAP shows an apparent fluorescence signal and can realize highly sensitive detection of cholesterol by the change of the fluorescence signal intensity. Such a cholesterol sensor exhibits a wide linear detection range of 0.5-600 µg mL-1 and a low detection limit of 59 ng mL-1. The practicality of the sensor is successfully demonstrated in the rapid detection of cholesterol in serum and food.

Mortality associated with the use of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants in cancer patients: Dabigatran versus rivaroxaban.

OBJECTIVE: This study assesses the mortality outcomes of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in cancer patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) and atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS: Medical records of cancer patients receiving NOACs for VTE or AF between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2016, were retrieved from Taiwan's National Health Institute Research Database. NOACs were compared using the inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) method. The primary outcome was cancer-related death. Secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality, major bleeding, and gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. RESULTS: Among 202,754 patients who received anticoagulants, 3591 patients (dabigatran: 907; rivaroxaban: 2684) with active cancers were studied. Patients who received dabigatran were associated with lower risks of cancer-related death at one year (HR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.54-0.93) and at the end of follow-ups (HR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.64-0.98) compared with rivaroxaban. Patients who received dabigatran were also associated with lower risks of all-cause mortality (HR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.67-0.97), major bleeding (HR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.47-0.88), and GI bleeding (HR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.39-0.84) at the end of follow-ups compared with rivaroxaban. CONCLUSION: Compared with rivaroxaban, the use of dabigatran may be associated with a lower risk of cancer-related death and all-cause mortality.

Comparison of clinical outcomes in peripartum cardiomyopathy and age-matched dilated cardiomyopathy: A 15-year nationwide population-based study in Asia.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM), often classified as a form of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), is the myocardial dysfunction that occurs in late pregnancy and through the first few postpartum months.The aim of this study is to investigate the differences in the clinical outcomes of PPCM and DCM.Electronic medical records from 1997 to 2011 were retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Patients with PPCM were compared with age- and clinical characteristics-matched patients with DCM. Primary outcomes were 1- and 3-year heart failure (HF) readmission, cardiac death, all-cause mortality, and major adverse cardiovascular events. Secondary outcomes were myocardial infarction, new onset of dialysis, heart transplant, and cerebrovascular accident. Follow-up period was divided into "within the first year" and "after the first year."A total of 527,979 patients (253,166 females) were hospitalized with a principal diagnosis of HF during 1997 to 2011 period. After excluding patients aged <18 and >50 years, patients with other forms of HF, and those with a history of cerebrovascular accidents or coronary artery disease, 797 patients with PPCM and 1267 patients with DCM were evaluated. Propensity score matching yielded 391 patients in each group. Patients with DCM had a significantly worse prognosis compared to those with PPCM for all primary and secondary outcomes at the 1- and 3-year follow-ups. After 1 year, the HF readmission rate did not significantly differ between the 2 diseases, suggesting that HF medications should be aggressively instituted in patients with PPCM.This is the first study to directly compare the clinical outcomes between age-matched patients with PPCM and DCM. Patients with PPCM had a significantly better prognosis across all cardiovascular endpoints compared to patients with DCM.

Effect of anaerobic reaction time on denitrifying phosphorus removal and N2O production.

Nitrous oxide (N(2)O) is a highly potent greenhouse gas; however, the characteristics of N(2)O production during denitrification using poly-ß-hydroxyalkanoates (PHA) as a carbon source are not well understood. In this study, effects of anaerobic reaction time (AnRT) on PHA formation, denitrifying phosphorus removal and N(2)O production were investigated using a laboratory-scale anaerobic/anoxic/oxic sequencing batch reactor (An/A/O SBR). The results showed that operation of the An/A/O SBR for 0.78 SRT (47 cycles) after the AnRT was shortened from 90 min to 60 min resulted in anaerobically synthesized PHA improving by 1.8 times. This improvement was accompanied by increased phosphorus removal efficiency and denitrification. Accordingly, the N(2)O-N production was reduced by 6.7 times. Parallel batch experiments were also conducted with AnRTs of 60, 90 and 120 min. All results indicated that in addition to the amount of anaerobically synthesized PHA, the kinetics of PHA degradation also regulated denitrifying phosphorus removal and N(2)O production.

[Chemical constituents from Lespedeza virgata].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the chemical constituents of Lespedeza virgata. METHOD: The constituents were isolated by column chromatography and their structures were elucidated by chemical properties and spectroscopic evideuce. RESULT: Seven components were isolated and identified as quercetin 3-O-[2"-O-( E'-6"-O-feruloyl)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-beta-D-galact opyranoside (1), kaempferol-7-O-L-rhamnopyranoside (2), 7-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyransyl-kaempeferol-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (3), quercetine (4), E-beta-hydroxycinnamic acid (5), protocatechuic acid (6), p-hydroxybenzoic (7). CONCLUSION: Seven components are isolated from L. virgata for the first time.