RESUMO
In the present work, Fe88Zr8-xSmxB4 (x = 2, 4) amorphous alloys (AAs) were successfully synthesized into the shape of 40-micrometer-thick ribbons and their magnetic properties were measured. The Fe88Zr8-xSmxB4 (x = 2, 4) AAs exhibited a rather high maximum magnetic entropy change (-ΔSmpeak): ~3.53 J/(K × kg) near 317 K for x = 2 and ~3.79 J/(K × kg) near 348 K for x = 4 under 5 T. The effects of a Sm substitution for Zr on the Curie temperature (Tc) and -ΔSmpeak were studied and compared to those of Nd and Pr substitutions, for the purpose of revealing the mechanism involved in more detail.
RESUMO
Ciwujia injection is commonly used to treat cerebrovascular and central nervous system diseases in clinical practice. It can significantly improve blood lipid levels and endothelial cell function in patients with acute cerebral infarction and promote the proliferation of neural stem cells in cerebral ischemic brain tissues. The injection has also been reported to have good curative effects on cerebrovascular diseases, such as hypertension and cerebral infarction. At present, the material basis of Ciwujia injection remains incompletely understood, and only two studies have reported dozens of components, which were determined using high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF MS). Unfortunately, the lack of research on this injection restricts the in-depth study of its therapeutic mechanism.In the present study, a qualitative method based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-electrostatic field orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q/Orbitrap HRMS) was developed to analyze the chemical components of Ciwujia injection. Separation was performed on a BEH Shield RP18 column (100 mm×2.1 mm, 1.7 µm) using 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution (A) and acetonitrile (B) as the mobile phases, and gradient elution was performed as follows: 0-2 min, 0%B; 2-4 min, 0%B-5%B; 4-15 min, 5%B-20%B; 15-15.1 min, 20%B-90%B; 15.1-17 min, 90%B. The flow rate and column temperature were set to 0.4 mL/min and 30 â respectively. MS1 and MS2 data were acquired in both positive- and negative-ion modes using a mass spectrometer equipped with an HESI source. For data post-processing, a self-built library including component names, molecular formulas, and chemical structures was established by collecting information on the isolated chemical compounds of Acanthopanax senticosus. The chemical components of the injection were identified by comparison with standard compounds or MS2 data in commercial databases or literature based on precise relative molecular mass and fragment ion information. The fragmentation patterns were also considered. For example, the MS2 data of 3-caffeoylquinic acid (chlorogenic acid), 4-caffeoylquinic acid (cryptochlorogenic acid), and 5-caffeoylquinic acid (neochlorogenic acid) were first analyzed. The results indicated that these compounds possessed similar fragmentation behaviors, yielding product ions at m/z 173 and m/z 179 simultaneously. However, the abundance of the product ion at m/z 173 was much higher in 4-caffeoylquinic acid than in 5-caffeoylquinic acid or 3-caffeoylquinic acid, and the fragment signal at m/z 179 was much stronger for 5-caffeoylquinic acid than for 3-caffeoylquinic acid. Four caffeoylquinic acids were identified using a combination of abundance information and retention times. MS2 data in commercial database and literature were also used to identify unknown constituents. For example, compound 88 was successfully identified as possessing a relative molecular mass and neutral losses similar to those of sinapaldehyde using the database, and compound 80 was identified as salvadoraside because its molecular and fragmentation behaviors were consistent with those reported in the literature. A total of 102 constituents, including 62 phenylpropanoids, 23 organic acids, 7 nucleosides, 1 iridoid, and 9 other compounds, were identified. The phenylpropanoids can be further classified as phenylpropionic acids, phenylpropanols, benzenepropanals, coumarins, and lignans. Among the detected compounds, 16 compounds were confirmed using reference compounds and 65 compounds were identified in Ciwujia injection for the first time. This study is the first to report the feasibility of using the UHPLC-Q/Orbitrap HRMS method to quickly and comprehensively analyze the chemical components of Ciwujia injection. The 27 newly discovered phenylpropanoids provide further material basis for the clinical treatment of neurological diseases and new research targets for the in-depth elucidation of the pharmacodynamic mechanism of Ciwujia injection and its related preparations.
Assuntos
Eleutherococcus , Humanos , Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Pressão , Ácido Clorogênico , Eletricidade EstáticaRESUMO
The functional role of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-3α in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not yet fully understood. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the association between HIF-3α expression and the clinicopathological features as well as prognosis of HCC patients. In addition, we investigated the association between HIF-3α expression and the expression of HIF-1α and HIF-2α in tumor tissues. The protein levels of HIF-3α were determined using immunohistochemical analysis of paraffin sections of 126 paired HCC and peritumoral tissues. PLC/PRF/5 cells, a human HCC cell line, were transfected with HIF-1α and HIF-2α vectors and HIF-3α mRNA and protein expression was detected using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis, respectively. The expression of HIF-3α was upregulated in 46.0% (58/126) and downregulated in 42.9% (54/126) of tumor tissues, respectively, when compared to peritumoral tissues. HIF-3α protein expression was not associated with peripheral blood vessel invasion, overall survival, or disease-free survival in HCC patients (P>0.05). In HCC tissues, the levels of HIF-3α protein were positively correlated with HIF-2α, but not with HIF-1α expression in HCC tissues. HIF-3α was upregulated in PLC/PRF/5 and Hep3B cells overexpressed with HIF-1α or HIF-2α. The hypoxic microenvironment of liver cancer did not lead to elevated HIF-3α protein expression, indicating that HIF-3α is regulated differently from HIF-1α in vivo. The correlation between HIF-3α and HIF-2α expression at the cellular and tissue levels indicated that HIF-3α may be a target gene of HIF-2α. The hypoxic microenvironment did not lead to elevation of HIF-3α protein expression in liver cancer; thus, HIF-3α may be a target gene of HIF-2α.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: This review is to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum GPC3 for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) due to conflicting results reported. METHODS: NCBI PubMed and Embase were comprehensively searched for studies that have used serum GPC3 level as a diagnostic index for HCC. The quality of the included studies was assessed. Subgroup analyses were conducted to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of GPC3 as a HCC marker. Statistical analysis was performed with the software STATA version 12.0. RESULTS: A total of 22 studies were included. The qualities of included studies were relatively poor. Among them, 18 studies have shown that serum GPC3 is a specific biomarker for HCC, and the pooled sensitivity and specificity of these studies were 69 and 93%, respectively. The other 4 studies have reported conflicting results, which were not caused by races, infection status of HBV and HCV, or assay reagents but due to one common experimental design of enrolling liver cirrhosis patients as control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis indicates that serum GPC3 is elevated in HCC patients compared with healthy individuals, but more studies are needed to evaluate its effectiveness to differentially diagnose HCC and liver cirrhosis.
