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A novel strategy for the organocatalytic asymmetric synthesis of spiro-δ-lactam oxindoles was developed via a [3 + 3] annulation of 3-carboxamide oxindoles and β,γ-unsaturated α-keto esters with excellent diastereoselectivities and enantioselectivities.

The shape of a foil undergoing a combined pitching heaving motion is critical to its design in applications that demand high efficiency and thrust. This study focuses on understanding of how the shape of a foil affects its propulsive performance. We perform two-dimensional numerical simulations of fluid flows around a flapping foil for different governing parameters in the range of biological swimmers and bio-inspired underwater vehicles. By varying the foil shape using a class-shape transformation method, we investigate a broad range of foil-like shapes. In the study, we also show consistent results with previous studies that a thicker leading-edge and sharper trailing-edge makes for a more efficient foil shape undergoing a flapping motion. In addition, we explain that the performance of the foil is highly sensitive to its shape, specifically the thickness of the foil between the 18th and 50th percent along the chord of the foil. Moreover, we elucidate the flow mechanisms behind variations in performance metrics, particularly focused on constructive interference between the vortices generated at the leading-edge with the trailing-edge vortex, as well as the pressure field differences that lead to higher power consumption in less efficient foil shapes.

Additional file 1: Figure S1. Characterizations of the specificity of BLA- and NAc- projecting neurons in mPFC. A Representative images showing the co-labeling of mPFC→BLA PNsand pyramidal neuronal marker-CaMKIIα. Scale bar: 100 μm. B Summary plots showing the ratio of CaMKIIα expressing cells in mPFC→BLA PNs. C Representative images showing the colabeling of mPFC→NAc PNsand CaMKIIα. Scale bar: 100 μm. D Summary plots showing the ratio of CaMKIIα expressing cells in mPFC→NAc PNs. Figure S2. CUS significantly induces anxiety-like behavior in mice. A Experimental procedures. B Representative activity tracking in EPMT. C, D Summary plots of time in open arms and open-arm entries during EPMT. E Representative activity tracking in center area OFT. F Summary plots of time in center area during OFT. G Summary plots of total distance travelled during OFT. H Summary plots of mean speed during OFT. Figure S3. CUS markedly decreases inhibitory synaptic transmission onto dmPFC→BLA PN in layer V. A Representative traces showing mEPSCs in dmPFC layer II/III. B, C Summary plots of averaged mEPSCs frequency and amplitude . D Representative traces showing mEPSCs in dmPFC layer V. E,F Summary plots of averaged mEPSCs frequency and amplitude . G Representative traces showing mIPSCs in dmPFC layer II/III. H, I Summary plots of averaged mIPSCs frequency and amplitude. J Representative traces showing mIPSCs in dmPFC layer V. K, L Summary plots of averaged mIPSCs frequency and amplitude. M Summary plots of I/E frequency ratio in dmPFC layer II/III. N Summary plots of I/E amplitude ratio in dmPFC layer II/III. O Summary plots of I/E frequency ratio in dmPFC layer V. P Summary plots of I/E amplitude ratio dmPFC layer V. Figure S4. CUS does not changes synaptic transmission onto both vmPFC→BLA or vmPFC→NAc PN. A Representative traces showing mEPSCs in vmPFC layer II/III. B, C Summary plots of averaged mEPSCs frequency and amplitude. D Representative traces showing mEPSCs in vmPFC layer V. E,F Summary plots of averaged mEPSCs frequency and amplitude. G Representative traces showing mIPSCs in vmPFC layer II/III. H, I Summary plots of averaged mIPSCs frequency and amplitude. J Representative traces showing mIPSCs in vmPFC layer V. K, L Summary plots of averaged mIPSCs frequency and amplitude. M Summary plots of I/E frequency ratio in vmPFC layer II/III. N Summary plots of I/E amplitude ratio in vmPFC layer II/III. O Summary plots of I/E frequency ratio in vmPFC layer V. P Summary plots of I/E amplitude ratio in vmPFC layer V.

Curcin and Curcin C, both of the ribosome-inactivating proteins of Jatropha curcas, have apparent inhibitory effects on the proliferation of osteosarcoma cell line U20S. However, the inhibitory effect of the latter is 13-fold higher than that of Curcin. The mechanism responsible for the difference has not been studied. This work aimed to understand and verify whether there are differences in entry efficiency and pathway between them using specific endocytosis inhibitors, gene silencing, and labeling techniques such as fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labeling. The study found that the internalization efficiency of Curcin C was twice that of Curcin for U2OS cells. More than one entering pathway was adopted by both of them. Curcin C can enter U2OS cells through clathrin-dependent endocytosis and macropinocytosis, but clathrin-dependent endocytosis was not an option for Curcin. The low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) was found to mediate clathrin-dependent endocytosis of Curcin C. After LRP1 silencing, there was no significant difference in the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) and endocytosis efficiency between Curcin and Curcin C on U2OS cells. These results indicate that LRP1-mediated endocytosis is specific to Curcin C, thus leading to higher U2OS endocytosis efficiency and cytotoxicity than Curcin.

Background The value of double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) in severe hypertriglyceridemia-induced pancreatitis (sHTGP) is controversial. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of DFPP on clinical results in patients with sHTGP and the costs associated with the procedure. Methods Patients who underwent DFPP after admission between January 2016 and December 2021 were recruited. Data on lipid profile, clinical results, and costs were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Results Fifty sHTGP patients who received DFPP were enrolled. All of the lipid profile were significantly reduced and maintained a downward trend. The APACHE II score on admission was higher and the reduction after DFPP was more obvious (P P

We report an efficient strategy that combines organic photoredox and hydrogen atom transfer to deliver

Different organs undergo distinct transcriptional, epigenetic and physiological alterations that guarantee their functional maturation after birth. However, the roles of epitranscriptomic machineries in these processes remain elusive. Here, we show that RNA methyltransferase enzymes Mettl3 and Mettl14 highly express in murine hepatocytes at embryonic and neonatal stages, and gradually decline during the postnatal development. Liver-specific Mettl3 deficiency causes hepatocyte hypertrophy, liver injury and growth retardation. Transcriptomic and N6-methyl-adenosine (m6A) profiling identify the neutral sphingomyelinase, Smpd3, as a target of Mettl3. Decreased decay of Smpd3 transcripts due to Mettl3 deficiency results in sphingolipid metabolism rewiring, characterized by toxic ceramide accumulation and excessive sphingomyelin hydrolysis, leading to mitochondrial damage and elevated ER stress. Pharmacological inhibition of Smpd3 ameliorates the abnormality of Mettl3-deficent liver. Our findings demonstrate that Mettl3/m6A fine-tunes sphingolipid metabolism, highlighting the pivotal role of an epitranscriptomic machinery in coordinating metabolic homeostasis and functional maturation during postnatal liver development.

BackgroundBoth venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) and percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy (PMT) are increasingly used to treat acute life-threatening pulmonary embolism (PE). However, there are little data regarding their effectiveness. This study aimed to present the short-term outcomes after managing nine patients with acute life-threatening massive or submassive PE by VA-ECMO with or without complemented PMT and propose a preliminary treatment algorithm.MethodsThis study was a single-center retrospective review of a prospectively maintained registry. It included nine consecutive patients with massive or submassive pulmonary embolism who underwent VA-ECMO for initial hemodynamic stabilization, with or without PMT, from August 2018 to November 2021.ResultsMean patient age was 54.7 years. Four of nine patients (44.4%) required cardiopulmonary resuscitation before or during VA-ECMO cannulation. All cannulations (100%) were successfully performed percutaneously. Overall survival was 88.9% (8 of 9 patients). One patient died from a hemorrhagic stroke. Of the survivors, the median ECMO duration was 8 days in patients treated with ECMO alone and 4 days in those treated with EMCO and PMT. Five of nine patients (55.6%) required concomitant PMT to address persistent right heart dysfunction, with the remaining survivors (44.4%) receiving VA-ECMO and anticoagulation alone. For survivors receiving VA-ECMO plus PMT, median hospital lengths of stay were 7 and 13 days, respectively.ConclusionsAn ECMO-first strategy complemented with PMT can be performed effectively and safely for acute life-threatening massive or submassive PE. VA-ECMO is feasible for initial stabilization, serving as a bridge to therapy primarily in inoperable patients with massive PE. Further evaluation in a larger cohort of patients is warranted to assess whether VA-ECMO plus PMT may offer an alternative or complementary therapy to thrombolysis or surgical thrombectomy.Type of ResearchSingle-center retrospective review of a prospectively maintained registry.

A novel photocatalytic method for the preparation of diarylmethyl silanes was reported through silyl radicals addition strategy to

Eliminating ghosting artifacts due to moving objects is a challenging problem in high dynamic range (HDR) imaging. In this letter, we present a hybrid model consisting of a convolutional encoder and a Transformer decoder to generate ghost-free HDR images. In the encoder, a context aggregation network and non-local attention block are adopted to optimize multi-scale features and capture both global and local dependencies of multiple low dynamic range (LDR) images. The decoder based on Swin Transformer is utilized to improve the reconstruction capability of the proposed model. Motivated by the phenomenal difference between the presence and absence of artifacts under the field of structure tensor (ST), we integrate the ST information of LDR images as auxiliary inputs of the network and use ST loss to further constrain artifacts. Different from previous approaches, our network is capable of processing an arbitrary number of input LDR images. Qualitative and quantitative experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method by comparing it with existing state-of-the-art HDR deghosting models. Codes are available at https://github.com/pandayuanyu/HSTHdr.

Capturing highly appreciated star field images is extremely challenging due to light pollution, the requirements of specialized hardware, and the high level of photographic skills needed. Deep learning-based techniques have achieved remarkable results in low-light image enhancement (LLIE) but have not been widely applied to star field image enhancement due to the lack of training data. To address this problem, we construct the first Star Field Image Enhancement Benchmark (SFIEB) that contains 355 real-shot and 854 semi-synthetic star field images, all having the corresponding reference images. Using the presented dataset, we propose the first star field image enhancement approach, namely StarDiffusion, based on conditional denoising diffusion probabilistic models (DDPM). We introduce dynamic stochastic corruptions to the inputs of conditional DDPM to improve the performance and generalization of the network on our small-scale dataset. Experiments show promising results of our method, which outperforms state-of-the-art low-light image enhancement algorithms. The dataset and codes will be open-sourced.

Maresin1 is a potent lipid mediator exhibiting potential anti-inflammatory activity in a variety of inflammatory diseases, however, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Excessive activation of NLRP3 inflammasome has been established in multiple inflammatory diseases. Here, we show that Maresin1 dose-dependently inhibited the NLRP3 inflammasome activation and subsequent caspase-1 activation and IL-1β secretion. This inhibitory effect could be reversed by KH7 and H89, the inhibitors of the cAMP-PKA signaling pathway. Activation of PKA kinase induced by Maresin1 led to the K63-linked ubiquitination of NLRP3 in macrophages. Maresin1 attenuated serum IL-1β secretion through inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome in vivo using Nlrp3-deficient mouse models of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis. Maresin1 also repressed MSU-induced peritonitis. This study suggests that Maresin1 is an inhibitor of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and can be used clinically in the treatment of NLRP3 inflammasome-driven inflammatory diseases.

One new spirocyclic lactone, terreinlactone C (1), and one new benzopyran derivative, 2,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxychroman-6-aldehyde (2), were discovered from the fungus Aspergillus terreus. The chemical structures of compounds 1 and 2 were elucidated by detailedly analyzing NMR and HRESIMS data. Compound 1 is the first natural product with a 1-oxaspiro[4.5]decan-2-one ring system and a possible biogenetic pathway is proposed. Two compounds were tested for their cytotoxic activities against five human cancer cell lines.[Formula: see text].

A highly regioselective approach to access amide enol carbamates and carbonates 5a-5c', 7a-7h, and 9 was developed through Cu(OTf)2-catalyzed reactions of ynamides 4 with t-butyl carbamates 2 and 8 and t-butyl carbonates 6. Moreover, this strategy was successfully applied to generate amide enol carbamates 11a-11s and 14a-14f from imides 10 and 13 with ynamides through an N-Boc cleavage-addition ring-opening process. A range of substituents was amenable to this transformation, and the desired amide enol carbamates and carbonates were obtained in moderate to good yields.

In this work, direct numerical simulation (DNS) is used to investigate how airfoil shape affects wake structure and performance during a pitching-heaving motion. First, a class-shape transformation (CST) method is used to generate airfoil shapes. CST coefficients are then varied in a parametric study to create geometries that are simulated in a pitching and heaving motion via an immersed boundary method-based numerical solver. The results show that most coefficients have little effect on the propulsive efficiency, but the second coefficient does have a very large effect. Looking at the CST basis functions shows that the effect of this coefficient is concentrated near the 25% mark of the foils chord length. By observing the thrust force and hydrodynamic power through a period of motion it is shown that the effect of the foil shape change is realized near the middle of each flapping motion. Through further inspection of the wake structures, we conclude that this is due to the leading-edge vortex attaching better to the foil shapes with a larger thickness around 25% of the chord length. This is verified by the pressure contours, which show a lower pressure along the leading edge of the better performing foils. The more favorable pressure gradient generated allows for higher efficiency motion.

2D organic molecular crystals (2DOMCs) are promising materials for the fabrication of high-performance optoelectronic devices. However, the growth of organic molecules into 2DOMCs remains a challenge because of the difficulties in controlling their self-assembly with a preferential orientation in solution-process crystallization. Herein, fullerene is chosen as a model molecule to develop a supramolecular gel crystallization approach to grow large-area 2DOMCs by controlling the perfect arrangement on the {220} crystal plane with the assistance of a gelated solvent. In this case, the gel networks provide tuneable confined spaces to control the crystallization kinetics toward the growth of dominant crystal faces by their inhibiting motions of solvent or solute molecules to enable the growth of perfect crystals at appropriate nucleation rates. As a result, a large-area fullerene 2DOMC is produced successfully and its corresponding device on a flexible substrate exhibits excellent bendable properties and ultra-high weak light detection ability (2.9 × 10

Background: Total percutaneous closure of a femoral artery access site using Perclose ProGlide has become prevalent after percutaneous endovascular aortic repair and veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of total percutaneous closure of the femoral artery access site after veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation compared with that after endovascular aortic repair. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study conducted over an almost 4-year period and included 88patients who underwent endovascular aortic repair (64 patients) and veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (24 patients). The femoral artery puncture sites of the patients were closed percutaneously using Perclose ProGlide devices. Technical success was defined as successful arterial closure of the common femoral artery, without additional surgical or endovascular procedures. Access site complications, such as major bleeding requiring transfusion or surgical intervention, minor bleeding, groin infection, pseudoaneurysm, and lymphocele, were recorded 24 h and 30 days after arterial closure. Results: Each group's technical success rates were 95.8% (veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and 92.2% endovascular aortic repair, respectively. There were no differences in the periprocedural complications of major bleeding, pseudoaneurysm, minor bleeding, acute limb ischemia, and groin infection. Furthermore, no arterial thrombosis, dissection, stenosis, arteriovenous fistula, hematoma, groin infection, or lymphocele was observed at the patients' access site who underwent follow-up ultrasound examination. There was no significant difference in the technical success rate of percutaneous closure by the Perclose ProGlide device in the endovascular aortic repair and veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation groups. Also, no periprocedural or 30-day complications were observed at the access site of the endovascular aortic repair and veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients.

Studying the airflows and the resultant aerodynamic pressure/force in the pharyngeal airway is critical for understanding the pathophysiology of snoring and sleep apnea. In this work, an experiment-driven computational study was conducted to examine the aerodynamics in human pharyngeal airway. An anatomically accurate pharynx model associated with different uvula kinematics was reconstructed from human magnetic resonance image (MRI) and high-speed photography. An immersed-boundary-method (IBM)-based direct numerical simulation (DNS) flow solver was adopted to simulate the corresponding unsteady flows in all their complexity. Analyses were performed on vortex dynamics and pressure fluctuations in the pharyngeal airway and force oscillations on the pharyngeal wall under the influence of varying airway obstructions, uvula flapping mode, and uvula flapping frequencies. It was found the vortex formation, aerodynamic pressure, and pharyngeal wall force were significantly affected by the width of the pharyngeal airway. By contrast, the influences from the uvula flapping mode were insignificant when other parameters were similar. Fast Fourier transformation (FFT) and continuous wavelet transform (CWT) analysis of the pressure time history revealed the existence of higher order harmonics of base frequency with significant pressure amplitudes and energy intensities. It was also found the airway pressure and pharyngeal wall force oscillate more dramatically at higher uvula flapping frequencies, which tends to promote the collapse of pharyngeal wall and initiates sleep apnea.

Recently, it was demonstrated in an inviscid flow that burst-and-coast or intermittent swimming can save energy when compared with continuous swimming and that the energy savings are maximized for ...

Numerical studies are presented on the propulsive performance and vortex dynamics of multiple hydrofoils pitching in an in-line configuration. The study is motivated by the quest to understand the hydrodynamics of multiple fin–fin interactions in fish swimming. Using the flow conditions (Strouhal and Reynolds numbers) obtained from a solitary pitching foil of zero net thrust, the effect of phase differences between neighboring foils on the hydrodynamic performance is examined both in position-fixed two- and three-foil systems at Reynolds number R e = 500 . It is found that the three-foil system achieves a thrust enhancement up to 118% and an efficiency enhancement up to 115% compared to the two-foil system. Correspondingly, the leading-edge vortex (LEV) and the trailing-edge vortex (TEV) of the hindmost foil combine to form a ‘2P’ wake structure behind the three-foil system with the optimal phase differences instead of a ‘2S’ wake, a coherent wake pattern observed behind the optimal two-foil system. The finding suggests that a position-fixed three-foil system can generate a ‘2P’ wake to achieve the maximum thrust production and propulsive efficiency simultaneously by deliberately choosing the undulatory phase for each foil. When increasing Reynolds number to 1000, though the maximum thrust and propulsive efficiency are not achieved simultaneously, the most efficient case still produces more thrust than most of the other cases. Besides, the study on the effects of three-dimensionality shows that when the foils have a larger aspect ratio, the three-foil system has a better hydrodynamic performance, and it follows a similar trend as the two-dimensional (2D) foil system. This work aids in the future design of high-performance underwater vehicles with multiple controlled propulsion elements.

In the present study, an immerse-boundary-method-based in-house numerical solver is employed to investigate the effects of school pattern on energetics in fish-like swimming. Following Weihsys theory, two-dimensional diamond schools are formed for numerical simulations. The effects of the lateral distance and the longitudinal distance have been investigated to reveal the energetic saving mechanism in a fish school. It is found that the energetic performance in a narrow diamond school (2dy = 0.4) is very different from that in a wide school. In the wide school, the beneficial effect will decay gradually with the increase of longitudinal distance; however, in the narrow school, the variation of the effect is needed to divide into three phases. When the longitudinal spacing is small (2dx = 0.4 ∼ 2), the variation of power efficiency is complex. It increases sharply when 2dx changes from 0.4 to 1.2, then decrease. When the longitudinal distance is larger than two, the variation of energetics in a narrow diamond school has the same trend as that in a wide school. It is because, in the narrow school, the channeling effect is harmful to the energetics of individuals and plays an important role when the longitudinal distance is small. However, the detrimental effect will decay quickly with the increase of the longitudinal distance. Besides, when the longitudinal distance is large (2dx > 3.4), the narrow school shows a better power efficiency than the wide school. It is because, at this time, the fishes at the rear of school are still located at the instructive vortex wake produced by fishes in the front. These findings will give insight on how to form a power-efficient robotic school under water.

Snoring is a common breathing disorder during sleep. It is hypothesized that head posture during sleep could change the bending angle and the cross-sectional area of the airway, which could cause changes in airflow and aerodynamic pressure during sleep. In this work, an experiment-driven computational study was conducted to examine the aerodynamics and pressure behavior in human upper airway during snoring. An anatomically accurate human upper airway model associated with a dynamic uvula was reconstructed from human magnetic resonance image (MRI) and high-speed photography. The airway bending at different head posture and the corresponding change in airway cross-sectional area are modeled based on measurements from literature. An immersed-boundary-method (IBM)-based direct numerical simulation (DNS) flow solver was adopted to simulate the corresponding unsteady flows of the bent airway model in all their complexity. Analyses were performed on vortex dynamics and pressure fluctuations in the pharyngeal airway. It was found that the vortex formation and aerodynamic pressure were significantly affected by the airway bending. A head-neck junction extension posture tends to facilitate the airflow through the upper human airway. Fast Fourier transformation (FFT) analysis of the pressure time history revealed the existence of higher order harmonics of base frequency with significant pressure amplitudes and energy intensities. The results of this study help better understand the pathology of snoring under the influence of head posture from an aerodynamic perspective.

One new spirocyclic lactone, terreinlactone C (

A highly regioselective approach to access amide enol carbamates and carbonates

Significant differences in alveolar size exist in humans of different ages, gender, health, and among different species. The effects of alveolar sizes, as well as the accompanying breathing frequencies, on regional and local dosimetry of inhaled nanoparticles have not been sufficiently studied. Despite a well-accepted qualitative understanding of the advection-diffusion-sedimentation mechanism in the acinar region, a quantitative picture of the interactions among these factors remains inchoate. The objective of this study is to quantify the effects of alveolar size on the regional and local deposition of inhaled nanoparticles in alveolar models of varying complexities and to understand the dynamic interactions among different deposition mechanisms. Three different models were considered that retained 1, 4, and 45 alveoli, respectively. For each model, the baseline geometry was scaled by ¼, ½, 2, 4, and 8 times by volume. Temporal evolution and spatial distribution of particle deposition were tracked using a discrete-phase Lagrangian model. Lower retentions of inhaled nanoparticles were observed in the larger alveoli under the same respiration frequency, while similar retentions were found among different geometrical scales if breathing frequencies allometrically matched the alveolar size. Dimensional analysis reveals a manifold deposition mechanism with tantamount contributions from advection, diffusion, and gravitational sedimentation, each of which can become dominant depending on the location in the alveoli. Results of this study indicate that empirical correlations obtained from one sub-population cannot be directly applied to others, nor can they be simply scaled as a function of the alveolar size or respiration frequency due to the regime-transiting deposition mechanism that is both localized and dynamic.

Unsteady uvula motions and the resultant pressure oscillations within the pharyngeal airway are critical for the pathology of snoring and sleeping apnea. In this paper, an immersed-boundary-method based direct numerical simulation flow solver was adopted to simulate the unsteady flows in an anatomically accurate pharynx model reconstructed from human magnetic resonance images (MRI) with prescribed uvula oscillation and airway obstruction. In order to study the influence of uvula length on the aerodynamics of pharyngeal airflow, simulations were conducted using various uvula models with scaled uvula lengths at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of the original length, respectively. Analyses of vortex dynamics, pressure oscillations, and the aerodynamic force of uvula were conducted. It was found the length of uvula had significant impacts on vortex development as well as aerodynamic pressure/force. Shorter uvula induced weaker pressure oscillations and fewer vortices in the airway. Further fast Fourier transform analysis of pressures from different pressure probes showed higher-order harmonic waves other than the base frequency of uvula motion. This study is expected to bring understanding of snoring and sleep apnea and provide guidance for surgery.

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of total percutaneous closure of the femoral artery access site after veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) with the Perclose ProGlide device. This retrospective observational study during an almost 2-year period included 21 patients who underwent VA-ECMO in whom the femoral artery puncture site was closed percutaneously with Perclose ProGlide devices. Technical success was defined as successful arterial closure of the common femoral artery, without the need for additional surgical or endovascular procedures. Access site complications were recorded at 24 hours and 30 days after arterial closure, such as major bleeding requiring transfusion or surgical intervention, minor bleeding, groin infection, pseudoaneurysm, and lymphocele. Technical success was achieved in 20 patients (95.2%). One patient required surgical repair for an access site pseudoaneurysm. Eighteen femoral arteries were closed with 2 devices each, while 3 patients required the use of a third device for femoral artery access site closure to achieve adequate hemostasis. No arterial thrombosis, arterial dissection, arterial stenosis, groin infection, or arteriovenous fistula occurred during the periprocedural period (within 24 hours of arterial closure) or during 30-day follow-up. Percutaneous closure with the Perclose ProGlide device is a feasible procedure for closing femoral arterial access sites after VA-ECMO, with a low incidence of access site complications.

We report the first case of pulmonary scedosporiosis detected by next-generation sequencing (NGS) from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in a 67-year-old male with bronchiectasis and hematopoietic failure. Scedosporium apiospermum is a ubiquitous organism present in the environment with intrinsic resistance to many antifungal agents. The patient developed respiratory failure, pulmonary consolidation, and septic shock shortly thereafter, and responded poorly to antifungal therapy. This case highlights the combined application of NGS and traditional fungal culture in the clinical diagnosis of pulmonary invasive fungal disease. NGS is proposed as an important adjunctive diagnostic approach for uncommon pathogens. Keywords: Scedosporium apiospermum, Pulmonary scedosporiosis, Next-generation sequencing

A simple and efficient strategy has been established for the synthesis of δ-lactam fused oxindoles via the Michael/N-hemiketalization cascade reaction of 3-carboxamide oxindoles and α,β-unsaturated trifluoromethyl ketones. A wide range of structurally novel CF3-containing spiro-δ-lactam oxindoles featuring acyl at the ortho-position of spiro carbon atoms were obtained in moderate to good yields with excellent diastereoselectivities under mild conditions. This work represents the first example of a systematic study of 3-carboxamide oxindoles as 1,3-C,N bisnucleophiles.

An efficient method for asymmetric synthesis of epohelmins A (3), B (4) and their isomer 24 is detailed in this report. The key feature in this divergent synthesis includes the SmI2-induced cross-coupling of N-tert-butanesulfinyl imine 10 with chiral aldehyde 9 derived from d -malic acid. A cascade cyclization to the pyrrolizidine skeleton is achieved in our synthetic route for epohelmins. In addition, an interesting intramolecular oxa-Michael addition was observed for epohelmin A (3).

A convenient method for diastereoselective synthesis of the key intermediate 5 from triheterocyclic fragment and polyketide 6 for hoiamides A (1) and B (2) was developed. The main feature is the successive construction of four stereogenic centers from C33 to C36 for hoiamides A (1) through the well-established Oppolzer’s anti-aldol and Paterson’s anti-aldol methodology. Furthermore, asymmetric allylation was also utilized as a key step to form the stereogenic center at C32 for hoiamides A (1).

An efficient asymmetric approach to access functionalized pyrido- and pyrrolo[1,2- c][1,3]oxazin-1-ones has been developed through a nucleophilic addition-cyclization process of N, O-acetal with ynamides. A number of substituted ynamides 8a-8o and 3-silyloxypyrrolidine or piperidine N, O-acetals 6a, 7 were amenable to this transformation, and the desired products 9a-9o, 10a-10m were obtained with excellent regioselectivities and outstanding diastereoselectivities. Moreover, chiral ynamides 14a-14f could also experience this addition-cyclization process to afford products 15a-15f in excellent yields.

High performance mordenite membranes were successfully prepared in a short synthesis time from fluoride-containing dilute solution without organic template under microwave-assisted heating. The effects of crystallization temperature, fluoride ion and aluminum source on the membrane morphology and separation performance for dehydration of acetic acid by pervaporation were systematically investigated. High performance mordenite membranes with a thickness about 5 µm could be prepared from dilute solution with composition of SiO 2 : 0.06Al 2 O 3 :0.24Na 2 O:0.3NaF:120H 2 O at 165 °C for 4 h using various aluminum sources. These mordenite membranes exhibited high fluxes of 0.87±0.06 kg m −2 h −1 and excellent selectivities, that is only pure water was detected in the permeate side for dehydration of 90 wt% acetic acid aqueous mixtures at 75 °C. The reproducibility of mordenite membranes was high, using the fluoride-containing dilute solution under microwave-assisted heating, which forebodes a promising prospect for industrial applications in preferential separation of water from acetic acid aqueous solutions.

Three-dimensional beehive-like hierarchical porous carbons (HPCs) have been prepared by a facile carbonization of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) core-shell polymer particle followed by KOH activation. The all-organic porogenic core-shell precursor was synthesized by a simple and green surfactant-free emulsion polymerization. The as-obtained HPCs show favorable features for electrochemical energy storage such as high specific surface area of up to 2085 m 2 g −1 , high volume of pores up to 1.89 cm 3 g −1 , hierarchical porosity consisting of micro, meso, and macropores, turbostratic carbon structure, uniform pore size and rich oxygen-doping (21.20%). The supercapacitor performance of HPCs exhibit a high specific capacitance 314 F g −1 at a current density of 0.5 A g −1 and 237 F g −1 at a current density of 20 A g −1 , ultra-high rate capability with 83% retention rate from 1 to 20 A g −1 and outstanding cycling stability with 96% capacitance retention after 2000 cycles. The facile, efficient and green synthesis strategy for novel HPCs from polymer sources could find use in supercapacitors, lithium ion batteries, fuel cells and sorbents.