Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) causes 830000 deaths every year and is becoming the third malignant tumor worldwide. One of the primary reasons is the lack of effective drugs. Hernandezine (HER), a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid of Thalictrum simplex, has been confirmed to have antitumor activity. But there are few reports about its effect on HCC and the underlying mechanisms still remain unclear. Therefore, the antitumor effects and mechanisms of HER on HCC were evaluated in HepG2 and Hep3B cells. The in vitro experiments demonstrated that HER significantly induced G0/G1 phase arrest, inhibited the proliferation and promoted cell apoptosis in liver cancer cell lines. In the mechanisms, the antitumor effects of HER on liver cancer cells were mediated by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-protein kinase B (AKT) pathway and reactive oxygen species (ROS), simultaneously. In one way, HER inhibited the activities of PI3K-AKT pathway, which interrupt the dimer formation of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) and cyclin D1 (CCND1) and result to G0/G1 phase arrest. In another way, after HER treatment, ROS accumulated in liver cancer cells and caused mitochondria injury which further influenced the expression of apoptosis-related proteins and eventually resulted to HepG2 and Hep3B cell apoptosis. In addition, HER showed a tumor restrain function in HepG2 and Hep3B bearing nude mice. Overall, these findings indicated that HER is a promising antitumor drug, which may provide a new direction for clinical HCC treatment.

The factors affecting nursing job satisfaction and burnout have been widely studied, but the research results vary in nations with different cultures and organization schemes. The healthcare system of Macao is unique, which tends to be a combination of that of Chinese and Portuguese. This study aimed to assess the factors influencing job satisfaction and burnout and to investigate their associations with demographic characteristics. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 345 randomly selected nurses registered with the Health Bureau of Macao Special Administrative Region who agreed to participate in this study voluntarily. This study employed two questionnaires using eight subscales (28 items) and five subscales (49 items) to describe job satisfaction and burnout, respectively. The demographic variables of age, highest education level, monthly income, type of working organization, and role were associated with job satisfaction. Whereas marital status was the only demographic variable associated with burnout. Professional development opportunities and childcare support were the main reasons for job dissatisfaction and coping strategies was the major issue for burnout. No significant correlation was found between job satisfaction and burnout. Health organizations may provide solutions focusing on these factors to enhance the job satisfaction of nurses and reduce burnout.