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Metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells is a hallmark of cancer, in which the polar metabolites involving aerobic glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and glutaminolysis play a crucial role in the occurrence and development of cancer. Therefore, targeted analysis of the polar metabolites in these pathways is of great value for understanding cancers, finding diagnostic biomarkers, and identifying therapeutic targets. However, it is still challenging to directly determine polar metabolites in these pathways without derivatization due to their diverse chemical properties, isomers, and strong polarity. Herein, a highly selective and sensitive HILIC-MS/MS method was developed for direct determination of the polar metabolites in aerobic glycolysis, PPP, TCA cycle, and glutaminolysis pathways. Without derivatization, 19 polar metabolites and their isomers with carbonyl, carboxyl, or phosphoryl groups in human plasma and cell extracts of prostate cancer (PC) were determined with strong retention and high resolution. This method has been widely verified by measuring linearity, precision, sensitivity, repeatability, matrix effect, and accuracy. The analysis of plasma samples by HILIC-MS/MS revealed distinct PC-specific metabolic signatures compared to a healthy control. In addition, this method could also be used to screen the targets of metabolic inhibitors at the cellular level. We conclude that the developed HILIC-MS/MS method provides a valuable means to study the cancer metabolic reprogramming or energy metabolism in living organisms., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no competing financial interest., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Increased urea is one of the common nitrogen forms polluting coastal waters and affecting nutrient dynamics. To investigate the effects of urea on sediment phosphorus (P) release, we carried out a 2-month mesocosm experiment with six targeted loadings of urea (0-0.6 mg N L -1 d -1 ). Results showed that: i) urea was rapidly transformed into ammonium and then nitrate (NO 3 - ). ii) When nitrogen occurred as urea or ammonium, minor P release was observed. iii) After urea were mostly converted to NO 3 - , P release became clearer. iv) NO 3 - had a dual effect by promoting P release through decreasing sediment pH and increasing alkaline phosphatase activity or by inhibiting P release through improving sediment oxidation. v) The overall effects of urea on P release depended on the ultimate NO 3 - concentrations, being prominent when NO 3 - ≥ 11 mg N L -1 . Our findings are of relevance when determining nitrogen reduction targets needed for combating eutrophication., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of standard-dose (SD) daptomycin with those of high-dose (HD) daptomycin in complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTIs) in an Asian population., Materials and Methods: Patients from three medical centers diagnosed with cSSTIs were screened in the clinical information system. Patients included in the analysis were divided into two groups: those who received daptomycin at doses ≥ 6 mg/kg (HD group) and those receiving 4 mg/kg (SD group). The demographics and clinical treatment information were analyzed., Results: Overall, 155 patients were recruited, including 108 patients in the SD group and 47 patients in the HD group. The rate of healthcare-associated infections was higher in the HD group (61.70% vs. 37.04%), demonstrating a statistically significant difference (P = 0.005). Compared with the SD group, the HD group had statistically significant early clinical stabilization (72.34% vs 52.78%, P = 0.023). The results of the multivariate analysis indicated that HD daptomycin was an independent effector for early clinical stabilization (HR=0.394, P < 0.001). The rate of drug-related adverse events was equally distributed in the HD and SD groups (36.17% vs. 26.85%, P = 0.243)., Conclusion: Compared with SD daptomycin, HD daptomycin increased the rate of early clinical stabilization in Asian patients with cSSTIs, whereas the incidence of adverse events did not increase., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Constituents of the fruit of Sinopodophyllum hexandrum (Royle) Ying (Sinopodophylli Fructus) were investigated. A new flavonoid, 8,2'-diprenylquercetin 3-methyl ether along with 9 known compounds were isolated and identified. Among them, the new compound 8,2'-diprenylquercetin 3-methyl ether exhibited cytotoxic activities against MDA-231 and T47D breast cancer cell lines, quercetin, kaempferol and rutin were isolated from Sinopodophylli Fructus for the first time., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)