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Background: Total mesorectal resection (TME) has become the standard surgical procedure for resection of colorectal cancer tumors. We presented a systematic meta-analysis to evaluate the surgical o...

This study group consists of a total of 61 patients who underwent fibula flap and iliac flap surgeries to repair mandibular defects. The EORTC-QLQ-H&N and OHIP-14 have been adopted to investigate and compare the difference of patients’ QOL at 6 and 24 months after surgery. SPSS 20.0 statistical software was used to conduct statistical analysis on the base data of the two groups of patients. Independent sample t test was conducted for EORTC-QLQ-H&N and OHIP-14 scores at two time points in each group.The 61 cases of free flap all survived, with statistically significant difference in the location of the primary tumor between the two groups. The EORTC-QLQ-H&N showed that speech, diet, social contact, and teeth scored higher at 6 months after surgery, but decreased significantly at 24 months after surgery. The OHIP-14 showed that the functional limitation reduced significantly at 24 months after surgery, with statistical significance (p

Low detection accuracy and narrow detection range are observed when detecting weak guided wave signals with the Duffing oscillator as a result of a limited frequency band. In order to solve these problems, we proposed a detection method for detecting weak ultrasonic guided waves of arbitrary frequency based on a defect detection method using the Duffing oscillator scanned by a moving window and combined with variable scale and resampling. In this paper, the proposed method by examining the defect echo signals collected on steel pipe samples and detecting ultrasonic guided wave signals excited by arbitrary frequency was effectively validated. Experiment results show that the proposed approach can be used to detect guided wave signals of arbitrary frequency and arbitrary sampling step size with the fixed system. It is very important for expanding the range of defect detection in pipes with guided ultrasonic waves and improving the sensitivity for detecting small defects in engineering applications.

Radiolabeled prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) ligands have been rapidly adopted as part of patient care for prostate cancer. In this study, a new series of

Background Recently, gadolinium-intercalated carbon dots (Gd@C-dots) have demonstrated potential advantages over traditional high-Z nanoparticles (HZNPs) as radiosensitizers due to their high stability, minimal metal leakage, and remarkable efficacy. Results In this work, two Gd@C-dots formulations were fabricated which bore carboxylic acid (CA-Gd@C-dots) or amino group (pPD-Gd@C-dots), respectively, on the carbon shell. While it is critical to develop innovative nanomateirals for cancer therapy, determining their tumor accumulation and retention is equally important. Therefore, in vivo positron emission tomography (PET) was performed, which found that 64Cu-labeled pPD-Gd@C-dots demonstrated significantly improved tumor retention (up to 48 h post injection) compared with CA-Gd@C-dots. Indeed, cell uptake of 64Cu-pPD-Gd@C-dots reached close to 60% of total dose compared with ~ 5% of 64Cu-CA-Gd@C-dots. pPD-Gd@C-dots was therefore further evaluated as a new radiosensitizer for non-small cell lung cancer treatment. While single dose radiation plus intratumorally injected pPD-Gd@C-dots did lead to improved tumor suppression, the inhibition effect was further improved with two doses of radiation. The persistent retention of pPD-Gd@C-dots in tumor region eliminates the need of reinjecting radiosensitizer for the second radiation. Conclusions PET offers a simple and straightforward way to study nanoparticle retention in vivo, and the selected pPD-Gd@C-dots hold great potential as an effective radiosensitizer. Graphic abstract

This study aims to explore the mechanism of the signal transmission between oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and unpolarized stromal immune macrophages mediated by OSCC-derived exosomes (OSCC-Exo). Polarization of macrophages was found by detection of the level of protein markers or specific components for M1 subtype or M2 subtype macrophages, respectively. Exosomes extracted from two OSCC cell lines, which might have been transfected with micro-RNA (miR)-29a-3p inhibitor or mimic, were cocultured with macrophages to ensure the effect of exosome-enclosed miR-29a-3p on the polarization of macrophages. miR-29a-3p is highly expressed, suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) is low expressed and phosphorylated signal transduction and transcriptional activator 6 (p-STAT6) is highly expressed in OSCC tissues. Upregulation of miR-29a-3p is observed in OSCC-derived exosomes. When cocultured, OSCC-derived exosomes promote M2 subtype macrophage polarization and the medium of the coculture promotes the proliferation and invasion of SCC-9 and CAL-27 cells. After interfered silencing miR-29a-3p of OSCCs, SCC-9- and CAL-27 cell-derived exosomes inhibit M2 subtype macrophage polarization. On the other hand, cellular highly expressed miR-29a-3p of macrophages enhances M2 subtype macrophage polarization. Moreover, such macrophages promote the proliferation and invasion of SCC-9 and CAL-27. SOCS1 is a direct target for miR-29a-3p and could be negatively regulated by miR-29a-3p. Moreover, SOCS1 overexpression reverses the activity of SOCS1/STAT6 signals of macrophages and cell proliferation and invasion of OSCCs induced by miR-29a-3p overexpression. Also, overexpressed SOCS1 in macrophages counteracts the impact of OSCC-derived exosomes in M2 subtype macrophage polarization. Exosome-enclosed miR-29a-3p promotes tumor growth in nude mice with xenograft. OSCC-derived exosomes promote M2 subtype macrophage polarization mediated by exosome-enclosed miR-29a-3p, and the mechanism by miR-29a-3p is the activity of SOCS1/STAT6 signals in macrophages.

Purpose: To compare and analyze the incidence of postoperative reflux esophagitis (RE) in patients with early- and intermediate-stage proximal gastric cancer after proximal gastrectomy plus esophag...

BACKGROUND The greater omentum has played a unique biological role in regenerative surgery. The aim of our study was to alter the anterior sacral structure by filling the anterior sacral space with the greater omentum and evaluate its effect on the low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) after total mesorectal excision (TME) surgery for low rectal cancer. METHODS We retrospectively collected clinical data of patients with primary low rectal cancer who underwent TME and ileostomy closure in our hospital from March 2018 to March 2020. Spearman correlation analysis was conducted to analyze the correlation between postoperative mesorectal fascia (MRF) thickness and LARS score. Subsequently, we prospectively used a tipped greater omental flap graft to reconstruct the anterior rectal sacral structures (MRF reconstruction) in 17 patients and compared LARS scores and rectal compliance (RC) at week 12 after closure of the ileostomy in both groups. RESULTS There were 47 patients with No-MRF reconstruction (31 males, mean age 60.68 ± 9.21 years) and 17 with MRF reconstruction (10 males, mean age 49.82 ± 14.74 years). Correlation analysis indicated that MRF thickness and RC were negatively correlated with LARS severity (p

// Bin Qiao 1, * , Baoxia He 2, * , Jinghua Cai 1 , Alfred King-Yin Lam 3 and Wei He 1 1 Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, P.R. China 2 Department of Pharmacy, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, P.R. China 3 Cancer Molecular Pathology, School of Medicine and Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Bin Qiao, email: qiaobin@zzu.edu.cn Wei He, email: hewei1968@tom.com Keywords: oral carcinoma; selenium; oxidative stress; apoptosis; cell proliferation Received: September 08, 2017 Accepted: October 27, 2017 Published: November 29, 2017 ABSTRACT Oral carcinoma (OC) remains one of the most difficult malignancies to cure. selenium (Se) is an essential trace mineral for human and animals, but high concentrations of Se induce apoptosis and oxidative effects. Although cell apoptosis has been evidenced as a critical mechanism mediating the anticancer activity of Se, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. To explore the role of Se in rat OC, we examined the weather the oxidative stress-mediated apoptotic pathway induced by Se was involved in the development of OC. In this study, we successfully constructed the OC rat model by 4-Nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4-NQO) exposure which reflected from histopathological observations. Se-induced the productions of methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), which was accompanied by the inhibition of superoxide dismutase (SOD) both in vivo and vitro. The anti-apoptotic gene (Bcl-2) was down-regulated and pro-apoptosis members (Bax, Bak, Cyt-c, caspase9 and caspase3) were up-regulated by Se in OC cells. Meanwhile, we also found that Se could strongly inhibited the cell proliferation of OC lines in vitro . These results suggested that excessive Se could effectively cause oxidative stress and induce apoptosis in OC cells, as a result the OC was also inhibited to some extent. Therefore, the information presented in this study is believed to be helpful in supplementing data for further therapy of OC.

Fabrication of TiO 2 hollow microspheres (TiO 2 -HMSs) with complex structure is of great importance but remains a great challenge. In this paper, hierarchical TiO 2 hollow microspheres assembly from nanosheets (TiO 2 -HMSs-NSs) were prepared by hydrothermal treatment of TiO 2 -HMSs precursor in NaOH solution and followed by acid wash and calcination. The effect of hydrothermal reaction time on the structure and photoelectric conversion performances of TiO 2 -HMSs-NSs film solar cells was systematically studied. It was found that both the BET surface area and photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 -HMSs-NSs, in photocatalytic degradation of Brilliant Red X-3B dye, are positively related to the hydrothermal reaction time (from 0 to 3 h). The BET specific area of TiO 2 -HMSs-NSs steady increase from 21 m 2 g −1 of TiO 2 -HMSs precursor (H0) to 184 m 2 g −1 (H3), improved by a factor of 8.76, while the photocatalytic activity of H3 increased 7.50 times when compared with that of H0 sample. The highest photoelectric conversion efficiency (5.97%) of TiO 2 -HMSs-NSs film solar cell was obtained for H2 sample, exceeding that of TiO 2 -HMSs precursor (H0) based film solar cell (3.75%) with the same film thickness by a factor of 1.6. The improved photoelectric conversion efficiency of TiO 2 -HMSs-NSs based solar cell was attributed to the unique hierarchical hollow structure, which results in a good contact between TiO 2 and FTO glass, enlarged pore volume, enhanced adsorption to sensitizer and improved light scattering ability.

Oct4 and Sox2 are pluripotent stem cell factors but the interplay between them in tumorigenesis is unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the roles of Oct4 and Sox2 in the reprogramming of oral cancer stem cells. One or both Oct4 and Sox2 were overexpressed in immortalized oral epithelial (hTERT+-OME) cells by lentivirus transduction. In addition, Oct4 and Sox2 proteins in two oral squamous cell carcinoma cell (OSCC) lines (Cal27 and primary cultured OSCC from a T2N2M0 patient) were individually or combinedly knocked down by shRNA. The results showed that the doubly transduced (Oct4+Sox2+) cells could trigger neoplasms in immunodeficient mice after lentivirus transduction, but single transduced (Oct4+ or Sox2+) cells had no tumor formation ability. The knockdown Sox2low and knockdown Oct4lowSox2low cells resulted in decreased tumor size in the immunodeficient mice but the single knockdown Oct4low cancer cells acquired more aggressive xenografts. Our findings suggest that Oct4+Sox2+ cells may be reprogrammed cancer stem cells inducing oral carcinogenesis.

TiO2 hollow microspheres (TiO2-HMSs) have attracted much attention due to their low density, high photoreactivity and easy recovery. However, fabrication of TiO2-HMSs is time-consuming and costly. In this paper, effect of H2O2 on the formation of chain-like TiO2-HMSs was studied using (NH4)2TiF6 as titanium source and urea as neutralizer through a one-pot hydrothermal reaction strategy. The prepared TiO2-HMSs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The photocatalytic activity of TiO2-HMSs was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of an anionic dye X3B under UV irradiation. It was found that the presence of H2O2 not only influences the nucleation, but also enhances the hollowing process of TiO2-HMSs by accelerating the “inside-outside” mass transfer. TiO2-HMSs prepared in the presence of H2O2 showed enhanced photocatalytic activity due to the synergistic effects of well crystallization and hollow structures.

This study aimed to elucidate how microRNA27a-3p (miR-27a-3p) modulates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway to promote the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in oral squamous carcinoma stem cells (OSCSCs) by targeting secreted frizzled-related protein 1 (SFRP1). Flow cytometry was used to sort OSCSCs from the SCC-9 and Tca8113 cell lines. The OSCSCs were randomly assigned into the miR-27a-3p inhibitors group, the miR-27a-3p inhibitors-NC group, the si-SFRP1 group, the si-SFRP1 + miR-27a-3p inhibitors group and the blank group. A luciferase reporter, immunofluorescence and Transwell assays were performed to detect luciferase activity, SFRP1, and cell migration and invasion, respectively. The mRNA expression of miR-27a-3p, SFRP1 and EMT markers (E-cadherin, N-cadherin, vimentin and ZEB1) were detected using qRT-PCR. The protein expression of SFRP1, EMT markers and the proteins of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was detected by Western blotting. OSCSCs showed up-regulated miR-27a-3p, Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway-related proteins, vimentin, N-cadherin and ZEB1 and down-regulated SFRP1 and E-cadherin. MiR-27a-3p targeted SFRP1. Down-regulated miR-27a-3p resulted in increased E-cadherin and SFRP1 but decreased vimentin, N-cadherin, ZEB1, the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway-related proteins, and invasive and migratory cells. Silenced SFRP1 reversed this effect. We found that miR-27a-3p modulated the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway to promote EMT in OSCSCs by down-regulating SFRP1.

// Bin Qiao 1, * , Jing-Hua Cai 1, * , Alfred King-Yin Lam 1, 2 and Bao-Xia He 3 1 Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, P.R. China 2 Cancer Molecular Pathology, School of Medicine and Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast 4222, Australia 3 Department of Pharmacy, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University/Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou 450003, P.R. China * These authors shared the co-first author Correspondence to: Bin Qiao, email: qiaobin@zzu.edu.cn Bao-Xia He, email: baoxia_he@163.com Keywords: oral squamous cell carcinoma stem-like cells, SCC-9 cell line, microRNA-542-3p, integrin-linked kinase, TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway Received: March 15, 2017 Accepted: July 19, 2017 Published: August 07, 2017 ABSTRACT In this study, we investigated the effects of microRNA-542-3p (miR-542-3p) on ILK/TGF-β1/Smad2/3 signaling and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) progression. Levels of miR-542-3p were lower in OSCC tissues (n=108) than adjacent normal tissues, whereas levels of ILK, TGF-β1 and Smad2/3 were higher. Patients with undifferentiated tumors, advanced TNM stage and lymph node metastasis showed low miR-542-3p levels. This was accompanied by high ILK expression and poor survival. Dual luciferase reporter assays of SCC-9 cells showed that miR-542-3p inhibited ILK gene expression by binding to its 3’UTR at 233-240 bp. SCC-9 cells transfected with miR-542-3p mimics exhibited elevated miR-542-3p and decreased ILK, TGF-β1 and Smad2/3 expression. They also showed reduced self-renewal (fewer CD44 + cells and tumor-spheres), invasiveness, migration, proliferation and survival. Conversely, miR-542-3p inhibitors promoted increased self-renewal (more CD44 + cells and tumor-spheres), invasiveness, migration, proliferation and survival. In xenograft experiments with nude mice, SCC-9 cells transfected with miR-542-3p mimics or siRNA-ILK yielded tumors with smaller volumes and weights than control tumors. These results demonstrate that miR-542-3p is a tumor suppressor that inhibits ILK/TGF-β1/Smad2/3 signaling, thereby inhibiting OSCC progression.

Anatase TiO2 hollow microspheres (TiO2-HMSs) have attracted great attention owing to their versatile applications including photocatalysis, sensing, lithium-ion batteries, drug-delivery carrier and solar energy conversion. However, the synthetic procedures for TiO2-HMSs are complex and/or time-consuming. In this paper, rapid synthesis of TiO2-HMSs in the presence of H2O2 (0–4.4 mol) was systematically studied by hydrothermal treatment of the mixed solution of (NH4)2TiF6 (6 mmol) and (NH4)2CO (40 mmol). It was found that the diameters of the obtained spherical TiO2 aggregates decreases with increase in the amount of H2O2, and H2O2 not only promotes the crystallization of primary anatase TiO2 nanocrystals, but also induces the hollowing process of TiO2 microspheres. The prepared TiO2-HMSs shows high photocatalytic activity in degradation of Brilliant Red X-3B, an anionic dye, under UV irradiation due to H2O2-mediated enhanced crystallization and improved adsorption. A proposed formation mechanism was put forward for the rapid formation of TiO2-HMSs based on H2O2-assisted nucleation, and followed by fluoride-induced self-transformation (FIST).

TiO2 nanocrystals with exposed high-energy (001) facets have been reported to show higher photocatalytic activity than those with exposed traditional (101) facets. However, they can only be excited by UV light. In this paper, visible-light responsive Ti3+-doped TiO2 nanosheets with exposed (001) facets were one-pot fabricated by hydrothermal treatment of a mixture solution of tetrabutyl titanate (80 mmol) and hydrofluoric acid (80 mmol) in the presence of Ti powder (0–12 mmol) at 200 °C for 24 h. The prepared Ti3+-doped TiO2 nanosheet photocatalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by a photoluminescence (PL) technique using coumarin as a probe molecule under visible-light irradiation. The experimental results show that the visible-light photocatalytic activity of the prepared photocatalyst increases first and then decreases with increasing amount of Ti powder. Ti3+–TiO2 nanosheets prepared in the presence of 4 mmol Ti powder show the highest visible-light photoactivity.

Arca subcrenatais documented in the literature of marine Traditional Chinese Medicine. Polypeptide fraction fromA. subcrenata, coded as P2, was demonstrated to possess significant antitumor activity in our previous study. However, the underlying mechanism remains undefined. The present study was carried out to investigate the underlying antitumor mechanism of P2 in human cervical cancer HeLa cells by MTT, FCM, LSCM, and western blot assays. The results revealed that P2 significantly induced apoptosis of HeLa cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. High level of ROS was provoked by P2, which was in turn responsible for induction of apoptosis through activation of intrinsic mitochondrial pathway and JNK1/2, p38 MAPK pathways, as well as inhibition of ERK1/2 pathway, as evidenced by the abrogation of P2’s effect on HeLa cells preincubated with the ROS scavenger NAC. P2 also was observed to display significant effect on G2/M phase arrest by downregulating the expression of cyclin B1/cdc2 complex and upregulating the expression of p21. These findings demonstrate that P2 induces apoptosis and G2/M phase arrest in HeLa cells through ROS-mediated MAPKs pathways, suggesting that P2 would be worth investigating as a promising agent within the scope of marine drugs for treatment of cervical cancer.

Purpose We sought to investigate the clinical application of free fibula flap and individualized titanium mesh through the use of a virtual planning and guiding template to assist the reconstruction of maxilla and orbital floor defects. Patients and Methods Between 2015 and 2016, a total of 6 adult patients with maxillary and orbital floor defects were enrolled in this study. Preoperative virtual planning, including virtual maxillary resection and fibular reconstruction, was performed in all cases according to 3-dimensional radiographic and clinical findings. A 3-dimensionally printed resin model and prebent templates were used to guide the harvesting and positioning of the fibula flap during surgery. Then, an individualized titanium mesh was used to support the orbital floor and restore the maxillary contour. The results were confirmed by postoperative computed tomography scans and clinical follow-up. Results Preoperative virtual planning and prebent templates can be used to guide the harvesting and positioning of the fibula flap, as well as the forming and positioning of the individualized titanium mesh, with satisfactory results. All flaps survived, and symmetrical facial contours were achieved with normal lower jaw movement and proper vertical distance for dental implants in all patients. Conclusions Computer-aided techniques such as virtual planning, 3-dimensionally printed models, and prebent guide templates can be used to harvest and position a free fibula flap, form personalized titanium mesh, and ultimately improve the clinical efficacy of maxillary and orbital floor reconstruction.

This study is to detect the co-expression of embryonic stem cell-related markers (Oct4 and Sox2) in the carcinogenesis of oral mucosa. The expression profile of these markers was studied by immunohistochemistry assay in rat and human samples. The normal oral mucosa (20 cases) and the transforming oral mucosa (20 cases) were performed in rat samples. The precancerous lesions (20 cases), OSCCs in primary site (116 cases), corresponding epithelial non-cancer tissues adjacent to the OSCC (20 cases) and 46 paired metastatic OSCCs in lymph nodes were performed in human samples. The co-expression of the two markers was defined as both of them are positively detected in the same site of one case under one selected field of microscope. The results indicated that Oct4 and Sox2 were individually detected in normal oral mucosa, but they cannot be co-expressed in the same site of one case. The co-expression of Oct4 and Sox2 (Oct4+Sox2+) was frequently detected in the transforming oral mucosa of rat (16/20), precancerous lesions of human (12/20) and epithelial non-cancer tissues adjacent to the OSCC (18/20). Also, Oct4+Sox2+ profile was remarkable noted in the primary sites of OSCCs (38/116). In the 46 paired OSCCs (primary sites with lymph node metastasis), Oct4+Sox2+ profile (8/46) was less frequently detected than Oct4low/-Sox2low/- (14/46) profile in the metastatic sites. To conclude, this study suggests Oct4 and Sox2 are expressed in normal oral mucosa, premalignant diseases, primary sites of OSCCs and metastasis sites of OSCCs. Oct4+Sox2+ profile may contribute to the malignant transformation of oral mucosa.

Three new compounds of 2-mercaptophenolate (mp 2- ), trinuclear (Et 4 N)[V 3 (mp) 6 ] or (Ph 4 P)[V 3 (mp) 6 ] (1b), dimeric (Et 4 N) 2 [Co(mp)(Hmp)] 2 (2), and binuclear (Et 4 N) 2 [Ni 2 (Hmp) 2 ] (3), were synthesized and their structures determined. Compound 1b crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1. Compound 2 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2 1 /c. Compound 3 crystallizes in the monoclinic space groupe P2 1 /n

A novel hierarchical anatase TiO2 hollow microsphere (TiO2-HMS) assembly synthesised from TiO2 hollow nanoparticles (TiO2-HNP), denoted TiO2-HMS-HNP, was rapidly fabricated by a simple hydrothermal route in a Ti(SO4)2–NH4F–H2O2 mixed solution at 180 °C for only 3 h. The influence of NH4F and H2O2 on the formation of TiO2-HMS-HNP was studied. A novel mechanism for the formation of TiO2-HMS-HNP based on a H2O2-assisted fluoride-induced self-transformation (FIST) process is proposed. The prepared TiO2-HMS-HNP showed much higher photocatalytic activity than TiO2-HMS, when the activity was evaluated both by the photocatalytic degradation rate of brilliant red X-3B (an anionic azo dye) and by the rate of formation of photo-induced hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) under UV irradiation.

Dicubane cluster compounds (Et4N)4[Mo2Fe7S8(SR)12] (2A) (R=Ph,a;o-tolyl,b;m-tolyl,c;p-tolyl,d) were made by reaction of (Et4N)2[Fe4(SR)10] (1) with (Et4N)2MoS4 in MeCN at room temperature. The structure,1Hn.m.r.,57Fe Mossbauer spectrum, magnetic susceptibility and cyclic voltammogram are described. (Et4N)3[Mo2Fe6S8Cl6(SR)3] (3) (R=Ph,a;m-tolyl,b) was obtained from the reaction of (2Aa) or (2Ac) with acetyl chloride in MeCN. This is the first time that compound of structural type (2) is transformed into that of structural type (3) by chemical conversion. Compound (2Aa) crystallizes in the triclinic space group P $$\bar 1$$ with Z=1 and unit cell dimensionsa=12.775(4),b=13.076(3), andc=20.576(4) A; the structure was refined to R=7.7% using 4031 unique data with I>3ϖ(Io). Compound (2Ac) 2THF crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/n with Z=2 and unit cell dimensionsa=18.022(2),b=18.375(2) andc=22.254(3) A; the structure was refined to R=6.4% using 5173 unique data with I>3ϖ(Io). Compound (3b) crystallizes in the hexagonal space groupP63/m with Z=2 and unit cell dimensionsa=b=16.827(3) andc=15.951(16) A; the structure was refined to R=4.9% using 1296 unique data with I>3ϖ(Io). Its characteristics are discussed and compared with those of known compounds. The ratios of core volumes S4/M4 are within the 2.34–2.40 range for core oxidation level [MoFe3S4]3+ indicating that distortion of the cubane core is a general phenomenon. Different thiolato ligands induce significant changes of structural parameters only at the Fe(SR)6 region for compound (2A) while terminal chlorides induce changes over the whole molecule of (3b) with the latter structure more comparable to [Mo2Fe6S8(SPh)9]5− (3f) with [MoFe3S4]2+ core than to [Mo2Fe6S8(SPh)9]3− (3d). The isotropic shifts of (2A) originate mainly from π-contact interaction. Both1H n.m.r. spectra and magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate practically no magnetic interaction among the three magnetic centres,i.e. a Fe(SR)6 bridge and two [MoFe3S4(SR)3] units. CV studies showed that the reduction of cubane unit having aromatic thiolates is easier than that having aliphatic thiolates as the aliphatic group is electron-donating. In addition, the very similar differences of Ep,c for first and second cubane units in compounds (2A) and in (3d) and (3e) imply that the effect of the first reduced unit [MoFe3S4]2+ upon the second unit [MoFe3S4]3+ is very similar in the two types of dicubane cluster compounds. Synergism in Mo−Fe−S cluster compounds is thus proposed to play an important role in their structural correlation with reactivities and must function in nitrogenase.