Background Immediate and long-term functional outcomes after percutaneous treatment of small vessel disease (SVD) with drug-coated balloon (DCB) versus drug-eluting stent (DES) remain unknown. The study sought to investigate whether treatment of de novo SVD with DCB yields similar functional results compared with DES, as judged with angiography-based quantitative flow ratio (QFR). Methods and results QFR was measured at pre-procedural, post-procedural and 9-month angiography in all available subjects from the non-inferiority RESTORE SVD China trial, in which patients were randomized to Restore DCB (n = 116) or Resolute DES (n = 114) study arms. Primary outcome of this analysis was 9-month QFR. Pre-procedural, post-procedural and 9-month QFR was performed in 84.8% (195/230), 83.0% (191/230) and 93.8% (181/193) cases, respectively. At 9 months, the QFR of DCB showed no significant difference to DES (0.88 ± 0.23 vs. 0.92 ± 0.12, p = 0.12). Both 9-month QFR and the QFR difference between post-procedure and 9-month follow-up were correlated with angiographic percentage of diameter stenosis and late loss, and predictive of 2-year clinical outcome. Conclusions Treatment of coronary SVD with DCB resulted in similar 9-month functional results compared with DES.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/pepstatin-a.html  This study provides evidences to the value of QFR as a mean of evaluating device performance after coronary revascularization. Clinical trial registration URL https//www.clinicaltrials.gov; ClinicalTrial.gov Identifier NCT02946307.Chitosan (CS) was modified using hydroxyapatite (HA) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) followed by crosslinking with glutaraldehyde (GA). The obtained products were characterized and investigated with thermal analysis. The modified CS suffered a slight weight loss % up to 240 °C then extensive weight loss (EWL)% up to 420 °C and a slight weight loss again until the end of measurement at 700 °C. The treatment showed more thermal stability of modified CS over the blank CS. The 20% HA modified CS showed the highest thermal stability among CS/HA composites while adding CNT to the matrix in CS/HA/CNT composites enhances their thermal stability. Ability of the modified CS to uptake metal ions was investigated by using Cu(NO3)2 where CS/HA/CNT/GA showed higher metal ion uptake than CS/HA/GA. Modified CS was preliminary checked for controlled release of 5-fluorouracil (FU), as an antitumor model drug, in aqueous media where the maximum release of FU was obtained after 48 h. This is concluding the ease of release of FU from the investigated matrices which can be arranged in the order of P111F > P121F > P211F > P311F > P221F > P321F.Increased expression of Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in the tumor microenvironment, mainly due to tumor growth, plays a major role in the growth of cancer. Tumor cells induce the expression of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) and its product, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), through overexpression of HIF-1α. It has been shown that ligation of PGE2 with its receptor, EP4, robustly promotes cancer progression. HIF-1α/COX2/PGE2/EP4 signaling pathways appear to play an important role in tumor growth. Therefore, we decided to block the expansion of cancer cells by blocking the initiator (HIF-1α) and end (EP4) of this pathway. In this study, we used hyaluronate (HA), and trimethyl chitosan (TMC) recoated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) loaded with HIF-1α-silencing siRNA and the EP4 antagonist (E7046) to treat cancer cells and assessed the effect of combination therapy on cancer progression. The results showed that optimum physicochemical characteristics of NPs (size 126.9 nm, zeta potential 27 mV, PDI less then 0.2) and linkage of HA with CD44 molecules overexpressed on cancer cells could deliver siRNAs to cancer cells and significantly suppress the HIF-1α in them. Combination therapy of cancer cells by using HIF-1α siRNA-loaded SPION-TMC-HA NPs and E7046 also prevent proliferation, migration, invasion, angiogenesis, and colony formation of the cancer cells, remarkably.A novel fibrinolytic enzyme, ACase was isolated from fruiting bodies of a mushroom, Agrocybe aegerita. ACase was purified by using ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration, ion exchange and hydrophobic chromatographies to 237.12 fold with a specific activity of 1716.77 U/mg. ACase was found to be a heterodimer with molecular mass of 31.4 and 21.2 kDa by SDS-PAGE and appeared as a single band on Native-PAGE and fibrin-zymogram. The N-terminal sequence of the two subunits of ACase was AIVTQTNAPWGL (subunit 1) and SNADGNGHGTHV (subunit 2). ACase had maximal activity at 47 °C and pH 7.6. It's activity was improved by Cu2+, Na+, Fe3+, Zn2+, Ba2+, K+ and Mn2+, but inhibited by Fe2+, Mg2+ and Ca2+. PMSF, SBTI, aprotinine and Lys inhibited the enzyme activity, which suggested that ACase was a serine protease. ACase could degrade all three chains (α, β and γ) of fibrinogen. Moreover, the enzyme acted as both, a plasmin-like fibrinolytic enzyme and a plasminogen activator. It could hydrolyze human thrombin slightly, which indicated that the ACase could inhibit the activity of thrombin and acted as an anticoagulant to prevent thrombosis. Based on these results, ACase might act as a therapeutic agent for treating thrombosis, or as a functional food. Further investigation of the enzyme is underway.To develop an efficient vector for mitochondria-targeted drug delivery, we synthesized triphenylphosphonium (TPP)-modified glycol chitosan polymeric microspheres that had a unique chemical structure with both lipophilic phenyl groups and cationic phosphonium. Notably, TPP can easily pass through the phospholipid bilayer of mitochondria, thereby resulting in specific accumulation of a combined drug molecule in the mitochondria due to the membrane potential between TPP and its membrane. Therefore, TPP has been widely used as a mitochondria-targeting moiety. Triphenylphosphonium-glycol chitosan derivatives (GC-TPP and GME-TPP) with two different degrees of substitution (11% and 36%) were prepared by amidation and Michael addition. The chemical structures of GC-TPP and GME-TPP were characterized by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and their sizes were measured via field emission scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Cellular uptake through flow cytometric analysis and confocal microscopy confirmed that both GC-TPP and GME-TPP were well introduced into cells, targeting the mitochondria.