N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and adverse outcomes in Chinese patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Although numerous studies have suggested that elevated N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is positively correlated with cardiovascular events, especially the heart failure and heart failure-related death (HFRD), evidence of the association between NT-proBNP and the adverse outcomes of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is still relatively limited. The present study was performed to evaluate the relationship between NT-proBNP and outcomes in patients with HCM. METHODS: Observational cohort methodology was used in the present study, and a total of 227 patients were included. And the patients were followed for 44.97 ± 16.37 months. Patients were categorized into three groups according to these NT-proBNP tertiles: first tertile (≤910 pg/ml, n=68), second tertile (913-2141 pg/ml, n=68), and third tertile (≥2151 pg/ml, n=69). The adverse outcomes of the present study were all-cause death (ACD) and cardiac death (CD). RESULTS: According to the risk category of NT-proBNP, the incidence of ACD (P=0.005) and CD (P=0.032) among the three groups showed significant differences. Multivariate Cox regression analysis suggested that the ACD and CD in the third tertile have 7.022 folds (hazard risk [HR] = 7.022 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.397-35.282], P=0.018) and 7.129 folds (HR = 7.129 [95% CI: 1.329-38.237], P=0.022) increased risks as compared with those in the first tertile. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses showed that the cumulative risks of ACD and CD in patients with HCM tended to increase. CONCLUSION: The present study indicated NT-proBNP was a novel biomarker suitable for predicting adverse prognosis in patients with HCM, which may be used for early recognition and risk stratification.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel steroidal[17,16-d][1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines.

The preparation of steroidal[17,16-d][1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines and their biological evaluation as potential anticancer agents are herein reported. These novel heterosteroids (2, 4) were prepared through the condensation reaction of 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole with 16-arylidene-17-ketosteroids (1, 3). All the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their anticancer activity in vitro against PC-3 (human prostatic carcinoma), MCF-7 (human breast carcinoma) and EC9706 (human esophageal carcinoma) cell lines. Among the screened compounds, 2i, 2n and 4f showed significant inhibitory activity against all the three human cell lines.

Synthesis of novel D-ring fused 7'-aryl-androstano[17,16-d][1,2,4] triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines.

The preparation of novel steroidal heterocycles containing the 7-aryl-substituted 1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine moiety fused to the 16,17-positions of the steroid nucleus is described. The Aldol reaction of 4-aza-androst-3,17-dione (1a) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA, 1b) with aromatic aldehydes was catalyzed by KF/Al(2)O(3) to give the corresponding 3-oxo-4-aza-5α- and 3ß-hydroxy-5-en-16-arylidene-17-ketosteroids (2a-r). Subsequently, the intermediates 2a-r reacted with dinucleophilic 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole in presence of t-BuOK to afford the title compounds (3a-r). All the synthesized heterosteroids are new and are currently being evaluated for their biological activities.

[Effects of particle-sizes, pH and organic matter on adsorption and desorption of mercury to sediments in the Songhua River].

The present study aims to further reveal the environmental behavior of mercury on sediments surface. Effects of particle-sizes, pH and concentrations of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on mercury adsorption and desorption to the surface of sediments in the Songhua River were investigated by simulation experiments. A distinct variety of absorption ability among sediments with different particle-sizes was observed. Under this experimental condition, the absorption ability increased inversely with particle-size of sediments. In all absorption systems, mercury adsorption was enhanced when pH increased from 3.5 to 4.5, while mercury adsorption was inhibited significantly with the increasing of pH when pH values were above 4.5. With the increasing of pH values, the desorption of mercury presented a decreasing-increasing trend, the minimum desorption occurred at pH 5. Citric acid inhibited the mercury adsorption, and the intensity was correlated with mercury concentrations. Effects of citric acid on desorption of mercury were also apparently. With the increasing of citric acid concentrations, its effect on desorption presented a trend as enhanced-inhibited-steadied. Therefore, the above factors affected the mercury adsorption and desorption obviously, and it was necessary to take these factors into consideration in conducting the rivers' mercury control and dealing with a sudden pollution incident.