Translation, cultural adaptation, and validation of the Chinese standardized outcomes in nephrology-hemodialysis fatigue (C-SONG-HD fatigue) scale: a study of Chinese patients undergoing hemodialysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the standardized outcomes in nephrology-hemodialysis fatigue (SONG-HD fatigue) scale and to assess the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the SONG-HD fatigue (C-SONG-HD fatigue) scale. METHODS: Forward and back translations were used to translate the SONG-HD fatigue scale into Chinese. We used the C-SONG-HD fatigue scale to survey Chinese patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) in China. We examined the distribution of responses and floor and ceiling effects. Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega coefficient, intraclass coefficients, and Spearman correlations were used to assess internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity, respectively. Responsiveness was also evaluated. RESULTS: In total, 489 participants across southeast China, northwest China, and central China completed the study. The C-SONG-HD fatigue scale had good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient 0.861, omega coefficient 0.916), test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.695), and convergent validity (Spearman correlation 0.691). The analysis of all first-time HD patients did not show notable responsiveness, and only patients with temporary vascular access had good responsiveness with an effect size (ES) of 0.54, a standardized response mean (SRM) of 0.85, and a standard error of measurement (SEM) of 0.77. CONCLUSION: The Chinese version of the SONG-HD fatigue scale showed satisfactory reliability and validity in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) in China. It could be used as a tool to measure the fatigue of Chinese HD patients.

Cytotoxic triterpenes from the acid hydrolyzate of Gynostemma pentaphyllum saponins.

One new dammarane-type triterpene, gypsapogenin A (1), was isolated from the acid hydrolyzate of total saponins from Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino, together with two known compounds, (20S,24S)-3ß,20,21ß,23ß,25-pentahydroxy-21,24-cyclodammarane (2) and (23S)-3ß-hydroxydammar-20,24-dien-21-oic acid 21,23-lactone (3). Its structural elucidations were accomplished mainly on the basis of the interpretation of spectroscopic data, such as IR, HR-TOF-MS, and NMR. The cytotoxic activities were evaluated against HepG2 and A549 human cancer cell lines.

Phytotoxic and antibacterial metabolites from Fusarium proliferatum ZS07 isolated from the gut of long-horned grasshoppers.

In the proceeding of screening new bioactive natural products, the ethyl acetate extract of the fermentation broth of Fusarium proliferatum ZS07, a fungus residing in the gut of long-horned grasshoppers (Tettigonia chinensis), was found possessing selective phytotoxic activity against the radicle growth of Amaranthus retroflexus L. Bioactivity-guided fractionation lead to the isolation of six fungal metabolites 1-6, including a new polyketide derivate O-methylated SMA93 (2) and five known compounds SMA93 (1), rhodolamprometrin (3), radicinin (4), dehydroallogibberic acid (5), and 3-methyl-6,8-dihydroxyisocoumarin (6). Their structures were identified on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and by comparison of the corresponding data to those reported in the literature previously. Phytotoxic effects of the four isolated compounds 1-4 on the radicle growth of A. retroflexus L. seeds were investigated under laboratory conditions, and compounds 2 and 4 showed good phytotoxic activity in the concentration of 100 µg/mL, with the inhibition rates of 83.0 and 65.2%, respectively. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity of compounds 1-5 were evaluated against selected bacteria. Compounds 1-3 were found to possess potent antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633), with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 3.13-12.50 µg/mL, while Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739) and Salmonella typhimurium [CMCC(B) 50115] were not susceptible. These results suggest that the new polyketide derivate 2 and known compounds 1, 3, and 4 have potential to be used as biocontrol agents in agriculture.

Synthesis, interaction with DNA and antiproliferative activities of two novel Cu(II) complexes with Schiff base of benzimidazole.

Two novel copper(II) complexes with Schiff base of benzimidazole [Cu(L)Cl]2·CH3OH have been synthesized. HL(1) (N-(benzimidazol-2-ymethyl)-5-chlorosalicylideneimine, C15H11ClN3O) and HL(2) (N-(benzimidazol-2-ymethyl)-salicylideneimine, C15H12N3O) are ligands of complex (1) and complex (2), respectively. The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV-Vis, TGA and X-ray diffraction. Within the complexes, Cu(II) ions were four coordinated by two nitrogen atom of azomethine and imine, one phenolic oxygen atom from HL and one chloride atom. A distorted quadrilateral structure was formed. Complex (1) crystallized in the triclinic crystal system. Results showed that π-π stacking effect occurred due to the existence of aromatic ring from Schiff base and hydrogen bonding between methanol and adjacent atoms. The DNA binding properties of the complexes were investigated by electronic absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra and viscosity measurements. Results indicated that complexes bound to DNA via partial intercalation mode. The DNA binding constants Kb/(L mol(-1)) were 1.81×10(4) (1), 1.37×10(4) (2), 6.27×10(3) (HL(1)) and 3.14×10(3) (HL(2)) at 298 K. The title complexes could quench the emission intensities of EB-DNA system significantly. The results of agarose gel electrophoresis indicated complex (1) could cleave supercoiled DNA through the oxidative mechanism. The inhibition ratios revealed that complex (1) and HL(1) had strong antiproliferative activities against human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) lines and human colorectal cancer cells (COLO205) lines in vitro. The antiproliferative activities of complex (1) against MCF-7 lines (IC50=16.9±1.5 µmol L(-1)) and against COLO205 lines (IC50=16.5±3.4 µmol L(-1)) is much stronger than that of HL(1), which had the potential to develop anti-cancer drug.

Antifungal activities of metabolites produced by a termite-associated Streptomyces canus BYB02.

Two main antifungal metabolites resistomycin and tetracenomycin D were isolated and purified from a termite-associated Streptomyces canus BYB02 by column chromatography. The structures of isolated compounds were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis. Resistomycin possessed strong activities against mycelial growth of Valsa mali (IC(50) = 1.1 µg/mL) and Magnaporthe grisea (IC(50) = 3.8 µg/mL), which were comparable to those of referenced cycloheximide, with IC(50) values of 2.3 and 0.3 µg/mL, respectively. A further spore germination test showed that resistomycin exhibited potent reduction in spore germination for M. grisea , with an IC(50) value of 5.55 µg/mL. Finally, the in vivo antifungal activity experiment showed that resistomycin possessed significant preventive efficacy against rice blast, which was more potent than that of referenced carbendazim, with control efficacies of 66.8 and 58.7%, respectively. The present results suggest that resistomycin has potential to be used as a fungicide.

Synthesis, crystal structure, interaction with BSA and antibacterial activity of La(III) and Sm(III) complexes with enrofloxacin.

Two new La(III) and Sm(III) complexes with enrofloxacin (HER, 1-cyclopropyl-7-(4-ethyl-1-piperazinyl)-6-fluoro-1,4-dihydro-4-oxo-3-quinoline carboxylic acid, C(19)H(21)FN(3)O(3)), [La(2)(ER)(6)(H(2)O)(2)]·14H(2)O(1) and [Sm(2)(ER)(6)(H(2)O)(2)]·14H(2)O(2) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, TG-DTG and X-ray single crystal diffraction. Both of the complexes are triclinic system with space group Pi. The structure of the complexes show that each rare earth atom in both complexes was nine-coordinated. Two of the enrofloxacin ions acted as tridentate chelate and bridging ligands, while the others as bidentate chelate ligands. The binding reaction between the complexes and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was studied by UV-vis absorption spectra and fluorescence spectroscopy. The results indicated that the two complexes had a quite strong ability to quench the fluorescence from BSA and the binding reaction was mainly a static quenching process. The binding constants K ( A )/(L·mol(-1)) were 1.46 × 10(5)(1) and 8.59 × 10(6)(2) and one binding site was formed. The synchronous spectroscopy suggested that tryptophan residues were placed in BSA. It was also found that the two complexes exhibited greater antimicrobial activity than enrofloxacin at given concentrations.

Phytotoxic and antifungal metabolites from Curvularia sp. FH01 isolated from the gut of Atractomorpha sinensis.

Two main phytotoxic and antifungal phthalic acid butyl isobutyl ester (1) and radicinin (2) were isolated from the culture of Curvularia sp. FH01, a fungus residing in the Atractomorpha sinensis gut. The structures of isolated metabolites were established on the basis of spectral analysis. Metabolites 1 and 2 exhibited significant phytotoxic activity against the radical growth of Echinochloa crusgalli with their IC(50) values of 61.9 and 5.9 µg/mL, respectively, which were comparable to that 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2.0 µg/mL) used as a positive control. The antifungal test results showed that compound 2 possessed strong antifungal activity against Magnaporthe grisea (IC(50)=16.3 µg/mL) and Valsa mali (IC(50)=18.2 µg/mL). The findings of the present study suggest that bioactive properties of the fungus FH01 can be attributed to its major components, phthalic acid butyl isobutyl ester and radicinin, and both agents have a potential to be used as herbicide and fungicide.

Extraction optimisation, purification and major antioxidant component of red pigments extracted from Camellia japonica.

The optimised extraction conditions of red pigments (RP) from Camellia japonica obtained with an orthogonal design L9(34) were solid/liquid ratio, temperature, pH and extraction time as 1/10, 60°C, 1.5 and 4h, respectively. The RP were then purified by the macroporous resin method, which showed the resin LX-68 was appropriate for purifying the pigments from C. japonica. The antioxidant activities of these pigments were also investigated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radical in vitro model systems. The DPPH scavenging activity of pigment extract was comparable to that of standard butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). The IC50 values of the RP and BHA were 4.55 and 4.17µgml-1, respectively. The pigments showed higher hydroxyl radical-scavenging activities than that of mannitol at the same concentration. Following activity-oriented separation, (-)-epicatechin was isolated as an active principle, which exhibited excellent DPPH free radical scavenging activities with IC50 5.08µgml-1.

[Improved method of acute myocardial ischemic rat model].

OBJECTIVE: To improve the successful rate of operation and the livability in establishing acute myocardial ischemic rat model. METHODS: The successful rate of animal experiment is compared between traditional method and improved method. RESULTS: The successful rate of improved method was 90%, which was much higher than 30% in successful rate of traditional method. CONCLUSION: The improved method may reduce the difficulty of operation remarkably and cut down the experiment expenditure, which is superior to traditional method.