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Ying-Sheng Wen,1,2,* Ke-Xing Xi,3,* Ke-Xiang Xi,4 Ru-Si Zhang,1,2 Gong-Ming Wang,1,2 Zi-Rui Huang,1,2 Lan-Jun Zhang1,5 1State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou 510060, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Thoracic Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou 510060, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Obstetrics, Jieyang People’s Hospital (Jieyang Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University), Jieyang 522000, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Thoracic Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou 510060, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China *These authors have contributed equally to this work Objective: For the patients with pathologic T2 N0 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the extent of lymph node (LN) removal required for survival is controversial. We aimed to explore the prognostic significance of examined LNs and to identify how many nodes should be examined.Methods: We reviewed 549 patients who underwent pulmonary or pneumonectomy surgery or plus lymphadenectomy who were confirmed as T2 stage and LN negative by postoperative pathological diagnosis. According to Martingale residuals of the Cox model, the patients were classified into four groups by the number of examined LNs (1–2 LNs, 3–7 LNs, 8–11 LNs, and ≥12 LNs). Kaplan–Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis were used to evaluate the association between survival and the number of examined LNs.Result: Compared with the 1–2 LNs, 3–7 LNs, and 8–11 LNs groups, the survival was significantly better in the ≥12 LNs group. The 5-year cancer-specific survival rate was 60.5% for patients with 1–2 negative LNs, compared with 68.7%, 72.6%, and 78.4% for those with 3–7, 8–11, and >11 LNs examined, respectively. The 7-year cancer-specific survival rate was 52.9% for patients with 1–2 negative LNs, compared with 63.7%, 63.8%, and 70.8% for those with 3–7, 8–11, and >11 LNs examined, respectively (P=0.045). There was a significant drop in mortality risk with the examination of more LNs. The lowest mortality risk occurred in those with 32 or more LNs examined. Multivariate analysis showed that age and the number of examined LNs were strong independent predictors of survival.Conclusion: The number of examined LNs is a strong independent prognostic factor. Our study demonstrates that patients with T2 N0 NSCLC should have at least 12 LNs examined and that the results of this study may provide information for the optimal number of resected LNs in surgery. Keywords: number of resected lymph nodes, non-small cell lung cancer, survival outcome

Background: The movement behaviors of LGBTQA+ young people, who encounter specific health, and other, challenges are not well understood. This systematic review examines the 24-hour movement behaviors of LGBTQA+ young people compared with population estimates of meeting the 24-hour movement guidelines., Methods: Seven electronic databases were searched from inception to January 2024. Observational studies published in English and reporting quantitative data for physical activity, sedentary behavior, or sleep duration for LGBTQA+ individuals <24 years old were included. Data were narratively synthesized for children/adolescents (<18 years) and young adults (18-24 years), guided by the Cochrane Synthesis Without Meta-analysis guidelines., Results: Fifty-six studies were included; 46 were of "fair" quality and 37 were conducted in the United States. Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep outcomes were reported in 46, 11, and 14 studies, respectively. Ninety unique LGBTQA+ terms were identified. Based on outcomes reported in ≥1 study, and compared to population estimates, LGBTQA+ young people were less likely to meet aerobic physical activity and strength/resistance training guidelines. LGBTQA+ children/adolescents were less likely to meet the sleep guidelines. Young adults demonstrated similar adherence to sleep guidelines as population estimates., Conclusions: Overall, our results suggest that LGBTQA+ young people have suboptimal 24-hour movement behaviors; in some cases, worse than population estimates. Utilization of more robust measures of exposure and outcome variables is recommended, with a focus on sleep and sedentary behavior.

Three new compounds, including two glycosides, named gerbelavinsides E/G ( 1 / 2 ), and a flavone, named gerbelavin G ( 3 ), were isolated from 50% ethanol extract of Gerbera delavayi . Their structures were elucidated based on HR-ESI-MS, IR, UV and NMR spectral data, and the absolute configurations of 1 and 3 were determined by ECD spectra. Three compounds were tested for their inhibition effect against LPS-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 cells. They exhibited different degrees of inhibition activities with rates of 40.55 ± 1.65%, 70.13 ± 0.55%, 56.74 ± 1.15%, respectively.

A unique assembly of a two-electron superatom, [Ag 10 {S 2 P(O i Pr) 2 } 8 ], as a primary building unit in the construction of a supramolecule [Ag 10 {S 2 P(O i Pr) 2 } 8 ] 2 (μ-4,4'-bpy) through a 4,4'-bipyridine (4,4'-bpy) linker is reported. This approach is facilitated by an open site in the structure that allows for effective pairing. The assembled structure demonstrates a minimal solvatochromic shift across organic solvents with variable polarities, highlighting the influence of self-assembly on the photophysical properties of silver nanoclusters.

Background: Recently, with the advancement of medical technology, the postoperative morbidity of pelvic exenteration (PE) has gradually decreased, and it has become a curative treatment option for some patients with recurrent gynecological malignancies. However, more evidence is still needed to support its efficacy. This study aimed to explore the safety and long-term survival outcome of PE and the feasibility of umbilical single-port laparoscopic PE for gynecologic malignancies in a single medical center in China., Patients and Methods: PE for gynecological cancers except for ovarian cancer conducted by a single surgical team in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between July 2014 and December 2019 were included and the data were retrospectively analyzed., Results: Forty-one cases were included and median age at diagnosis was 53 years. Cervical cancer accounted for 87.8% of all cases, and most of them received prior treatment (95.1%). Sixteen procedures were performed in 2016 and before, and 25 after 2016. Three anterior PE were performed by umbilical single-site laparoscopy. The median operation time was 460 min, and the median estimated blood loss was 600 ml. There was no perioperative death. The years of the operations was significantly associated with the length of the operation time (P = 0.0018). The overall morbidity was 52.4%, while the severe complications rate was 19.0%. The most common complication was pelvic and abdominal infection. The years of surgery was also significantly associated with the occurrence of severe complication (P = 0.040). The median follow-up time was 55.8 months. The median disease-free survival (DFS) was 17.9 months, and the median overall survival (OS) was 25.3 months. The 5-year DFS was 28.5%, and the 5-year OS was 30.8%., Conclusion: PE is safe for patient who is selected by a multi-disciplinary treatment, and can be a curative treatment for some patients. PE demands a high level of experience from the surgical team. Umbilical single-port laparoscopy was a technically feasible approach for APE, meriting further investigation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Previous studies have shown that split-ring resonators (SRRs) can be utilized to achieve finely tuned nearest-neighbor coupling strengths in various one-dimensional hopping models. In our study, we present a systematic investigation of resonator coupling, providing a comprehensive quantitative description of the interaction between SRRs and complementary split-ring resonators (CSRRs) for any orientation combination. Our method includes an estimation of the coupling strength through a linear combination of periodic functions based on two orientation angles, with a sinusoidal expansion of up to the 3rd order, allowing for efficient and streamlined microwave structure design. Through our approach, we offer a satisfactory explanation of the band structure of SRR chains using a microwave-hopping model, which facilitates the exploration of exotic photonic band structures based on tight-binding theory.

Sarcopenia is an emerging public health problem worldwide, but very limited information exits concerning the influence of lifestyle factors and inflammation on sarcopenia among community-dwelling older populations in Asia, including Malaysia. A total of 230 apparently healthy community-dwelling middle-aged and older Chinese adults were included in the study. Validated questionnaires were used to assess dietary and lifestyle practices, while pro-inflammatory cytokine status was assessed by blood interleukin-6 concentrations (IL-6). Sarcopenia risk was assessed by the newly revised diagnostic criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 12.5% with similar proportions of males and females. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that older age and higher concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokine levels of IL-6 were significantly associated with a greater risk of sarcopenia, after adjustments for potential known biological and body composition factors. The present findings indicate that older adults aged 70 years and above with higher inflammation levels had a significantly increased risk of sarcopenia. Hence, effective dietary and lifestyle intervention strategies should emphasize reducing the inflammation associated with aging to prevent the rapid loss of muscle mass and strength that can lead to sarcopenia., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Microbial infection is accompanied by remodeling of the host transcriptome. Involvement of A-to-I RNA editing has been reported during viral infection but remains to be elucidated during intracellular bacterial infections., Results: Herein we analyzed A-to-I RNA editing during intracellular bacterial infections based on 18 RNA-Seq datasets of 210 mouse samples involving 7 tissue types and 8 intracellular bacterial pathogens (IBPs), and identified a consensus signature of RNA editing for IBP infections, mainly involving neutrophil-mediated innate immunity and lipid metabolism. Further comparison of host RNA editing patterns revealed remarkable similarities between pneumonia caused by IBPs and single-strand RNA (ssRNA) viruses, such as altered editing enzyme expression, editing site numbers, and levels. In addition, functional enrichment analysis of genes with RNA editing highlighted that the Rab GTPase family played a common and vital role in the host immune response to IBP and ssRNA viral infections, which was indicated by the consistent up-regulated RNA editing of Ras-related protein Rab27a. Nevertheless, dramatic differences between IBP and viral infections were also observed, and clearly distinguished the two types of intracellular infections., Conclusion: Our study showed transcriptome-wide host A-to-I RNA editing alteration during IBP and ssRNA viral infections. By identifying and comparing consensus signatures of host A-to-I RNA editing, our analysis implicates the importance of host A-to-I RNA editing during these infections and provides new insights into the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Wei, Wang, Li, Wen, Gao, Xia, Li, Pan, Liu, Jin and Chen.)

Two silver-rich M 20 alloy nanoclusters (NCs), [Cu 3.5 Ag 16.5 {S 2 P(O n Pr) 2 } 12 ] ( 1 ) and [Cu 2.5 AuAg 16.5 {S 2 P(O n Pr) 2 } 12 ] ( 2 ), were synthesized and fully characterized by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography. Cluster 2 , the first structurally characterized trimetallic M 20 NC, was produced by doping one Au atom into a bimetallic M 20 NC. Structural analyses showed the preferred positions of Group 11 metals in the yielded M 20 NCs. Their antioxidation ability has been investigated, and the time-dependent UV-vis spectrum shows that the presence of Cu I atoms in structures 1 and 2 can improve the antioxidant ability.

Background: This study aimed to examine the effects of applying the negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) combined with intermittent instillation (NPWTi) in patients with cervical anastomotic leakage (AL) after esophageal cancer surgery., Methods: From July 2019 to June 2021, 64 patients undergoing AL after esophageal cancer surgery were selected from our Hospital's Thoracic Department, and randomly allocated to the conventional nursing group (20 patients), the hospital central NPWTi group (23 patients), and the portable NPWTi group (21 patients). The hospital central NPWTi group was treated with central negative pressure combined with intermittent instillation, and the portable NPWTi group was treated with portable negative pressure combined with intermittent instillation. Indicators of fistula healing, healing days, treatment costs, comfort, and nursing satisfaction were examined in each group., Results: The fistula healing rate, healing days, nursing satisfaction, and comfort level of the hospital central NPWTi group and the portable NPWTi group were better than those of the conventional nursing group (P<0.05). There was no difference in the fistula healing rates and healing days between the hospital central NPWTi group, and the portable NPWTi group (P>0.05). The treatment costs of the hospital central NPWTi group were lower than those of the portable NPWTi group (P<0.05)., Conclusions: Negative pressure treatment technology combined with the intermittent instillation of the neck anastomotic fistula improved the fistula microenvironment, strengthened the sterilization effect, drained the leachate effectively, shortened the fistula healing time, improved the fistula cure rate, and increased patients' satisfaction with nursing. In relation to the negative pressure source, there was no difference in the therapeutic effects of hospital central NPWTi compared to the portable negative pressure meter, but the hospital central NPWTi treatment costs were lower and patients' acceptance of NPWT instillation was higher. Thus, central NPWT instillation treatment is worthy of promotion., Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100052240., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://dx.doi.org/10.21037/jgo-21-605).The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2021 Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology. All rights reserved.)

Reactive force field (ReaxFF) is a powerful computational tool for exploring material properties. In this work, we proposed an enhanced reactive force field model, which uses message passing neural networks (MPNN) to compute the bond order and bond energies. MPNN are a variation of graph neural networks (GNN), which are derived from graph theory. In MPNN or GNN, molecular structures are treated as a graph and atoms and chemical bonds are represented by nodes and edges. The edge states correspond to the bond order in ReaxFF and are updated by message functions according to the message passing algorithms. The results are very encouraging; the investigation of the potential, such as the potential energy surface, reaction energies and equation of state, are greatly improved by this simple improvement. The new potential model, called reactive force field with message passing neural networks (ReaxFF-MPNN), is provided as an interface in an atomic simulation environment (ASE) with which the original ReaxFF and ReaxFF-MPNN potential models can do MD simulations and geometry optimizations within the ASE. Furthermore, machine learning, based on an active learning algorithm and gradient optimizer, is designed to train the model. We found that the active learning machine not only saves the manual work to collect the training data but is also much more effective than the general optimizer.

A decanuclear silver chalcogenide cluster, [Ag 10 (Se){Se 2 P(O i Pr) 2 } 8 ] ( 2 ) was isolated from a hydride-encapsulated silver diisopropyl diselenophosphates, [Ag 7 (H){Se 2 P(O i Pr) 2 } 6 ], under thermal condition. The time-dependent NMR spectroscopy showed that 2 was generated at the first three hours and the hydrido silver cluster was completely consumed after thirty-six hours. This method illustrated as cluster-to-cluster transformations can be applied to prepare selenide-centered decanuclear bimetallic clusters, [Cu x Ag 10-x (Se){Se 2 P(O i Pr) 2 } 8 ] (x = 0-7, 3 ), via heating [Cu x Ag 7-x (H){Se 2 P(O i Pr) 2 } 6 ] (x = 1-6) at 60 °C. Compositions of 3 were accurately confirmed by the ESI mass spectrometry. While the crystal 2 revealed two un-identical [Ag 10 (Se){Se 2 P(O i Pr) 2 } 8 ] structures in the asymmetric unit, a co-crystal of [Cu 3 Ag 7 (Se){Se 2 P(O i Pr) 2 } 8 ] 0.6 [Cu 4 Ag 6 (Se){Se 2 P(O i Pr) 2 } 8 ] 0.4 ([ 3a ] 0.6 [ 3b ] 0.4 ) was eventually characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Even though compositions of 2 , [ 3a ] 0.6 [ 3b ] 0.4 and the previous published [Ag 10 (Se){Se 2 P(OEt) 2 } 8 ] ( 1 ) are quite similar (10 metals, 1 Se 2- , 8 ligands), their metal core arrangements are completely different. These results show that different synthetic methods by using different starting reagents can affect the structure of the resulting products, leading to polymorphism.

Two hole-transporting materials (HTMs) based on carbohelicene cores, CH1 and CH2 , are developed and used in fabricating efficient and stable perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Owing to the rigid conformation of the helicene core, both compounds possess unique CH-π interactions in the crystalline packing pattern and good phase stability, which are distinct from the π-π intermolecular interactions of conventional planar and spiro-type molecules. PSCs based on CH1 and CH2 as HTMs deliver excellent device efficiencies of 19.36 and 18.71%, respectively, outperforming the control device fabricated with spiro-OMeTAD (18.45%). Furthermore, both PSCs exhibit better ambient stability, with 90% of initial performance retained after aging with a 50-60% relative humidity at 25 °C for 500 h. Due to the low production cost of both compounds, these newly designed carbohelicene-type HTMs have the potential for the future commercialization of PSCs.

The reaction of Pd(OAc) 2 with free carbodicarbene (CDC) generates a Pd acetate trinuclear complex 1 via intramolecular C(sp 3 )-H bond activation at one of the CDC methyl side arms. The solid structure of 1 reveals the capability of CDC to facilitate a double dative bond with two palladium centers in geminal fashion. This is attributed to the chelating mode of CDC, which can frustrate π-conjugation within the CDC framework. Such effect maybe also amplified by ligand-ligand interaction. The formation of other gem-bimetallic Pd-Pd, Pd-Au, and Ni-Au provides further structural evidence for this proof-of-concept in selective installation. Structural analysis is supported by computational calculations based on state-of-the-art energy decomposition analysis (EDA) in conjunction with natural orbitals for chemical valence (NOCV) method., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Shenfu injection (SFI) is a well-known Chinese herbal medicine widely used in the treatment of septic shock in China., Aims: The aims of this study are to investigate the protective effects of SFI on sepsis-induced myocardial injury in mice and to identify the underlying mechanism of action., Materials and Methods: Seventy-two male C57/B6J mice (5-6 weeks old) were randomly divided into five groups: control (NC), sham sepsis (sham), sepsis (Lipopolysaccharide- LPS), sepsis treated with a low dose SFI, and sepsis treated with a high dose SFI. Sepsis was induced in mice by intraperitoneal injection of LPS. Myocardial tissue samples were collected from different groups at 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h post-LPS injection. Myocardial injury was examined using hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) and TUNEL staining. Western-blot analysis was performed to determine the protein expression of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), BH3 interacting-domain death agonist (Bid), truncated-Bid (t-Bid) and caspase-9 in all the groups. Moreover, the structural changes in the mitochondria of cardiomyocytes were also observed by transmission electron microscopy., Results: H&E staining revealed structural damage, local necrosis, interstitial edema, inflammatory cell infiltration and vacuolar changes in the myocardial tissue in the sepsis (LPS) group; almost intact myocardial tissue was observed in the high dose SFI group with improvements in interstitial edema and inflammatory cell infiltration. We observed that LPS-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis was significantly improved with high dose SFI as compared with sepsis (LPS) group (P ˂ 0.05). LPS was found to decrease the protein expression of Bcl-2 and increase the level of Bid, t-Bid and caspase-9. Treatment with SFI significantly increased the Bcl-2 protein expression (P ˂ 0.05) and decreased the protein expression of Bid, t-Bid and caspase-9 as compared with LPS group (P ˂ 0.05). Markedly swollen myocardial mitochondria with partial vacuolation were observed in LPS treated mice while SFI treatment was found to significantly improve the LPS-induced morphological damage of the mitochondria., Conclusion: In conclusion, we demonstrate that SFI protects against sepsis-induced myocardial injury in mice through the suppression of myocardial apoptosis. It upregulates the protein expression of Bcl-2 and downregulates the protein expression of Bid, t-Bid and caspase-9, and alleviates sepsis-induced mitochondrial damage., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background and Purpose : Oxidative stress is involved in the development of infections. However, whether oxidative stress indicators can be used as markers of stroke-associated infection (SAI) is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to test the predictive values of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels for SAI incidence. Methods : A total of 45 consecutive patients with ischemic stroke who were admitted to our hospital were enrolled. A prospective study was carried out to observe the occurrence of SAI during the first 7 days after stroke. Accordingly, the patients were divided into SAI and non-SAI groups. The relationship between SOD and MDA serum levels and SAI was analyzed. Results : The patients in the SAI group had significantly higher serum SOD levels than those in the non-SAI group (41.638 ± 3.428 U/ml vs. 36.542 ± 9.114 U/ml, p  = 0.033). However, there were no significant differences in MDA levels between the SAI and non-SAI group ( p  > 0.05). The discriminating ability of serum SOD level for SAI was measured using an ROC curve. Serum level of SOD >38.16 U/ml was useful in diagnosing SAI with a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 61%. Kaplan-Meier curves showed that the group with serum SOD level >38.16 U/ml had higher rates of SAI incidence ( χ 2 = 9.688, p  = 0.002; log rank test). Furthermore, Cox regression analysis indicated that a serum SOD level >38.16 U/ml was an independent risk factor for SAI (hazard ratio = 5.836; 95% CI, 1.298-26.244; p  = 0.021). Conclusions : Acute-phase serum SOD level could be a predictor of SAI.

A 'scorpionate' type precursor [bdtbpza = bis(3,5-di-t-butylpyrazol-1-yl)acetate] has been employed to synthesize two mononuclear Zn II and Co II derivatives, namely [Zn(bdtbpza) 2 (H 2 O) 2 ]·2.5CH 3 OH·2[(CH 3 ) 3 C-C 3 H 2 N 2 -C(CH 3 ) 3 ] (1) and [Co(bdtbpza) 2 (CH 3 OH) 4 ] (2) in good yield. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that in 1, the Zn II atom is tetrahedrally surrounded by a pair of O acetate atoms of two bis(pyrazol-1-yl)acetate units and two water molecules; while in 2, the Co II atom shows an octahedral environment coordinating a pair of O acetate atoms of two bis(pyrazol-1-yl)acetate units along with four methanol molecules. The EPR spectra of 2 recorded at 77 and 298 K confirmed the tetragonal symmetry of the high spin Co(II). The DFT (Density functional theory) computation is in good agreement with the geometry proposed for compounds 1 and 2. Both the compounds display a high antiproliferative activity against HCT116 (colorectal carcinoma) and A2780 (ovarian carcinoma) cell lines compared to human normal dermal fibroblasts. In the case of A2780 cells, compounds 1 and 2 exhibit IC 50 values that are similar to those described for cisplatin, a widely used chemotherapeutic drug. Exposure of A2780 cells to the IC 50 concentration of each compound led to an increase of the number of apoptotic and autophagic cells. In the case of compound 1, the accumulation of intracellular ROS (Reactive oxygen species) is responsible for triggering A2780 cell death., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: 4-1BB (CD137), a member of the inducible tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) family, is expressed on regulatory T (Treg) cells and regulates Treg cells to control allergic inflammation. Pam3CSK4, a synthetic TLR2 ligand that can expand CD8 + Treg function, is a promising adjuvant for allergen immunotherapy (IT). We examined whether Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Der p) IT and Pam3CSK4 could enhance CD8 +  CD25 +  CD137 + Treg suppressive function to decrease nasal nitric oxide (nNO) levels., Methods: Nasal symptom scores, nNO levels, PBMCs, and inferior turbinate biopsies were obtained from 40 mite-sensitive perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR) patients before and after one year of Der p IT and 30 non-allergic control subjects. CD137 expression on CD8 +  CD25 + T cells and suppressive function of CD8 +  CD25 +  CD137 + Tregs was measured using flow cytometry. Cytokine levels were analyzed by ELISA. Inducible nitric oxide synthase production by nasal epithelial cells after co-culturing with CD8 +  CD25 +  CD137 + T cells was analyzed by Western blotting., Results: Der p IT improved nasal symptom scores, decreased nNO levels, and increased CD137 expression on CD8 + T cells in PBMCs and nasal mucosa. Pam3CSK4 expanded the CD8 +  CD25 +  CD137 + population in PBMCs. Pam3CSK4-stimulated CD8 +  CD25 +  CD137 + Tregs induced IL-10 and TGF-β and suppressed CD4 +  CD25- T-cell proliferation mainly by cell contact inhibition. CD8 +  CD25 +  CD137 + Tregs cultured with nasal epithelial cells suppressed Der p 2-induced iNOS production. Silencing CD137 in sorted CD8 +  CD25 + T cells decreased Pam3CSK4-activated Foxp3 expression., Conclusion: Der p IT expanded CD8 +  CD25 +  CD137 + Tregs and decreased nNO levels. Induced CD137 expression on CD8 +  CD25 + Tregs by Pam3CSK4 stimulation may help suppress allergic inflammation during IT., (© 2019 EAACI and John Wiley and Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.)

This work describes the successful incorporation of a redox active linker, tris(4-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)phenyl)amine (TTPA) into Mn(ii)/Cu(ii) based coordination frameworks. Solution state in situ spectroelectrochemistry of EPR and UV/Vis/NIR of the TTPA ligand were measured to gain a deeper understanding of the charge delocalization of the triphenylamine backbone. The assignments of the absorption bands for the radical cations in UV/Vis/NIR spectroelectrochemistry were supported by DFT calculations. For Mn(ii)/Cu(ii) based coordination frameworks, solid state electrochemical and in situ spectroelectrochemical methods were applied to elucidate the accessible redox states and the optical properties of the frameworks. The findings provide a basic comprehension of the interconversion of different redox states and how an electroactive framework can be potentially used in applications of electrochromic and optical devices.

In order to evaluate the quality of Styrax more comprehensively,this study attempted to establish an HPLC wavelength switching method to simultaneously determine the content of seven compounds in Styrax,and chemometrics were used to analyze the quality difference between different sources of Styrax,and finally establish a characteristic chromatogram of Styrax. The column was Agilent ZORBAX Extend C18( 4. 6 mm×250 mm,5 μm) with phase a mixture of acetonitrile-0. 1% phosphoric acid aqueous solution as the mobile phase in a gradient elution procedure; the detection wavelength was set as follows: 0-13. 5 min,194 nm( benzoic acid);13. 5-20. 5 min,278 nm( cinnamic acid); 20. 5-32 min,194 nm( benzyl benzoate,benzyl cinnamate,cinnamyl cinnamate,dehydroabietic acid); 32-55 min,241 nm( abietic acid). The methodological verification results showed that when the injection masses of benzoic acid,cinnamic acid,benzyl benzoate,benzyl cinnamate,cinnamyl cinnamate,dehydroabietic acid and abietic acid were0. 006 948-0. 694 8,0. 001 426-0. 142 6,0. 013 16-0. 658 0,0. 006 148-0. 614 8,0. 008 035-0. 803 5,0. 002 121-0. 212 1,and0. 010 172-1. 017 2 μg,respectively,there were good linear relationship between injection mass and peak area. The average recovery rates of seven compounds were in the range from 94. 34% to 105. 8%,and all RSD were less than 3. 0%( n = 6). The methodological verification results showed that the developed HPLC wavelength switching method has good accuracy and repeatability. The results of the sample analysis showed that the quality of Styrax from different sources was quite different. The chromatogram of Styrax reference material( S1) was used as the reference chromatogram to calculate the fingerprint similarity of each batch of samples. The results showed that the similarities of samples S2-S10 were 0. 952,0. 949,0. 981,0. 351,0. 751,0. 969,0. 979,0. 992 and 0. 971,respectively.The similarity values of other batches samples were satisfactory,except for sample S5 and S6,indicating that the quality difference among these samples is small. The similarity values of S11-S20 were 0. 060,0. 055,0. 054,0. 285,0. 092,0. 002,0. 044,0. 044,0. 044,and 0. 040,respectively. The results showed that compared with the sample S1,there was a large quality difference among S11-S20. Based on the chromatograms of S1-S10,the HPLC characteristic chromatograms of Styrax was established and the purpose is to give reference to other pharmaceutical researchers. The newly developed HPLC wavelength switching method have the advantages of simplicity,reproducibility and specificity,and the developed HPLC characteristic chromatograms provided a reference method for the overall quality evaluation of Styrax.

Background: Nasal nitric oxide (nNO) could be a biomarker for nasal passage inflammation and sinus ostial patency. We have aimed to investigate the nNO concentration and the effect of antibiotic therapy in children with perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR) children with/without acute bacterial sinusitis., Methods: We enrolled a cohort of 90 and 31 children with PAR, without and with acute unilateral maxillary sinusitis, and 79 normal children. Acute bacterial maxillary sinusitis was diagnosed based on clinical signs and symptoms, radiographic examination and nasal fibroendoscopy. Rhinitis control assessment test (RCAT), rhinomanometry, nNO and fractional exhaled NO (FENO) measurements were performed before and 2 weeks after antibiotic therapy., Results: We found significantly higher mean nNO levels, FENO values, and total nasal resistance in children with PAR than in normal children ( p  ​< ​0.05). Acute unilateral maxillary sinusitis was associated with lower lesion-side nNO levels, higher FENO values, total nasal resistance, and poor RCAT scores ( p  ​< ​0.05). In multivariate analysis, age, IgE, and acute maxillary sinusitis were significant factors influencing nNO levels in children with PAR. The lesion-side nNO levels, FENO values, total nasal resistance, and RCAT scores were reversed after antibiotic therapy ( p  ​< ​0.05). The lesion-side nNO levels were significantly correlated to nasal obstructive scores ( r  ​= ​0.59, p  ​< ​0.05) and expiratory nasal resistance ( r  ​= ​-0.54, p  ​< ​0.05) in the acute maxillary sinusitis. A cut-off nNO value of 538 ​ppb showed 100% sensitivity and 94.9% specificity, to predict PAR from normal children. An nNO value of 462 ​ppb showed 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity to discriminate between the lesion-side and the unaffected sinus-side in PAR children with acute unilateral maxillary sinusitis., Conclusions: We conclude that the obstruction of NO from the sinus into the nasal passage is the likely explanation for the decreased lesion-side nNO levels in acute unilateral maxillary sinusitis. nNO is a non-invasive biomarker with high sensitivity to diagnose and monitor treatment responses of PAR patients with acute rhinosinusitis. Both nNO and FENO levels return to baseline following antibiotic therapy, supporting the "one airway one disease" concept.

The combined functionality of components in organic-inorganic hybrid nanomaterials render them efficient nanoreactors. However, the development in this field is limited due to a lack of synthetic avenues and systematic control of the growth kinetics of hybrid structures. In this work, we take advantage of an ionic switch for regio-control of Au-BINOL(1,1'-Bi-2-naphthol) hybrid nanostructures. Aromatic BINOL molecules assemble into nanospheres, concomitant with the growth of the Au nanocrystals. The morphological evolution of Au nanocrystals is solely controlled by the presence of halides in the synthetic system. Here we show that quaternary ammonium surfactants (CTAB or CTAC), not only bridging Au and BINOL, but also contributing to the formation of concentric or eccentric structures when their concentrations are tuned to the range of 10 -5 to 10 -3 M. This facile strategy offers the potential advantage of scalable production, with diverse functional organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposites being produced based on the specific archetype of Au-BINOL hybrid nanocomposites.

Two new barium borate carbonates, Ba 3 [B 6 O 10 (OH) 2 ](CO 3 ) (1) and Ba 6 [B 12 O 21 (OH) 2 ](CO 3 ) 2 (2), have been synthesized by high-temperature, high-pressure hydrothermal methods at 460 °C and 600 bar and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, TGA, IR, and MAS 11 B NMR spectroscopy. The descriptors of the fundamental building blocks (FBB) of both structures are 2Δ4□:⟨Δ2□⟩=⟨4□⟩=⟨Δ2□⟩. The FBB of 1 has a chair conformation, and the FBBs of 2 have both chair and boat conformations. Compound 1 adopts a noncentrosymmetric 2D layer structure with the Ba 2+ cations and CO 3 2- anions between the layers, whereas compound 2 has a centrosymmetric 3D framework structure containing 9- and 10-ring channels with the Ba 2+ cations and CO 3 2- anions at the center or on the edges of the channels. The two structures are two of the few examples where the carbonate groups are isolated and occupy their own independent sites.

Autophagy plays a major role in defending against oxidative stress in respiratory epithelial cells. The complement regulatory protein CD46 can enhance autophagy and decrease local complement activation at sites of inflammation. This study investigated the mechanism by which CD46 protects against oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis in respiratory epithelium in asthmatic patients. Nasal mucosa samples were obtained from 60 adults with mild asthma who received turbinectomy and 30 controls. A decreased expression of CD46 and increased apoptosis were noted in the damaged nasal epithelium from the asthmatic patients. Primary epithelial cells cultured with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus 2 showed decreased CD46 and increased cleaved CASPASE-3A expressions. Crosslinking CD46 mAb could induce the formation of autophagosomes and LC3-II expression in primary epithelial cells. CD46 engagement could induce autophagy against hydrogen peroxide-induced epithelial cell death, whereas the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine decreased this effect. In addition, CD46 engagement decreased the expressions of PRO-IL-1β and NLRP3, enhanced the expression of scaffold protein GOPC, and diminished hydrogen peroxide-induced 8-OHdG, IL-1β and IL-6 production. Silencing ATG5 in human lung epithelial A549 cells decreased CD46-activated autophagy with LC3-II. CD46 induced autophagy and decreased the oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis of respiratory epithelium, and this may offer a new therapeutic strategy to treat asthma.

Background: In this study, we aimed to assess the clinical utility of detection of plasma microRNAs (miRNAs) in the diagnosis of pulmonary nodules., Methods: Fifty-seven patients with pulmonary nodules who had undergone surgery were enrolled in our study from July 2016 to July 2017 at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. We measured the expression levels of 12 miRNAs (miRNA-17, -146a, -200b, -182, -155, -221, -205, -126, -7, -21, -145, and miRNA-210) in plasma samples of 57 patients, including 15 benign pulmonary nodules patients and 42 malignant pulmonary nodules patients. The levels of these miRNAs were detected by Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the diagnostic performance of plasma miRNAs for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)., Results: The expression levels of plasma miRNA-17, -146a, -200b, -182, -155, -221, -205, -126, -7, -21, -145, and miRNA-210 are not associated with gender, age, pTNM stage, differentiation grade. The levels of miRNA-17, -146a, -200b, -182, -221, -205, -7, -21, -145, and miRNA-210 in NSCLC patients are significantly higher than those in benign pulmonary nodules patients (P<0.05). However, there are no significant differences for the expression levels of miRNA-155 and miRNA-126. For diagnosing NSCLC, the sensitivity and specificity was 66.7% and 80.0% for miRNA-17, 54.8% and 86.7% for miRNA-146a, 64.3% and 86.7% for miRNA-200b, 83.3% and 73.3% for miRNA-182, 54.8% and 80.0% for miRNA-221, 73.8% and 80.0% for miRNA-205, 78.6% and 73.3% for miRNA-7, 78.6% and 60.0% for miRNA-21, 78.6% and 73.3% for miRNA-145, 76.2% and 73.3% for miRNA-210., Conclusions: Plasma miRNAs (miRNA-17, -146a, -200b, -182, -221, -205, -7, -21, -145, and miRNA-210) have relatively high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of NSCLC. These plasma miRNAs may be the potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of lung cancer., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Background: Hemothorax is most commonly resulted from a closed chest trauma, while a tube thoracostomy (TT) is usually the first procedure attempted to treat it. However, TT may lead to unexpected results and complications in some cases. The advantage of thoracic ultrasound (TUS) over a physical examination combined with chest radiograph (CXR) for diagnosing hemothorax 1 has been proposed previously. However, its benefits in terms of avoiding non-therapeutic TT have not yet been confirmed. Therefore, this study is aimed to evaluate the severity of hemothorax in blunt chest trauma patients by using TUS in order to avoid non-therapeutic TT in stable cases., Methods: The data from 46,036 consecutive patient visits to our trauma center over a four-year period were collected, and those with blunt chest trauma were identified. Patients who met any of the following criteria were excluded: transferred from another facility, with an abbreviated injury scale (AIS) score ≥ 2 for any region except the chest region, with a documented finding of tension pneumothorax or pneumothorax >10%, younger than 16 years old and with indications requiring any non-thoracic major operation. The decision to perform TT for those patients in the non-TUS group was made on the basis of CXR findings and clinical symptoms. The continuous data were analyzed by using the two-tailed Student's t test, and the discrete data were analyzed by Chi-square test., Results: A total of 84 patients met the criteria for inclusion in the final analysis, with TT having been performed on 42 (50%) of those patients. The mean volume of the drainage amount was 860 ml after TT. The TT drainage was less than 500 ml in 12 patients in the non-TUS group (40%), while none was less than 500 ml in the TUS group (p = 0.036, Fisher's exact test). In terms of the positive rate of subsequent effective TT, the sensitivity of TUS was 90% and the specificity was 100%. There were 3 patients with delayed hemothorax: 2 of the 58 (3.6%) in the non-TUS group and 1 of 26 (4.5%) in the TUS group (p > 0.05, Fisher's exact test). The hospital length of stay in the non-TUS group with non-therapeutic TT was significantly longer than in the TUS group without TT (8.2 vs. 5.4 days, p = 0.018). There were no other major complications or deaths in either group during the 90-day follow-up period., Conclusion: In the case of blunt trauma, TUS can rapidly and accurately evaluate hemothorax to avoid TT in patients who may not benefit much from it. As a result, the rate of non-therapeutic TT can be decreased, and the influence on shortening hospital length of stay may be further evaluated with prospective controlled study.

The polyfluorinated title compounds, [MBr 2 (C 18 H 16 F 8 N 2 O 2 )] or [4,4'-(HCF 2 CF 2 CH 2 OCH 2 ) 2 -2,2'-bpy]MBr 2 , (1) (M = Pd and bpy is bipyridine) and (2) (M = Pt), have -CH (α)2 OCH (β)2 CF 2 CF 2 H side chains with methylene H-atom donors at the α and β sites, and methine H-atom donors at the terminal sites, in addition to aromatic H-atom donors. In contrast to the original expectation of isomorphous structures, (1) crystallizes in the space group C2/c and (2) in P2 1 /n, with similar unit-cell volumes and Z = 4. The asymmetric unit of (1) is one half of the molecule, which resides on a crystallographic twofold axis. Both (1) and (2) display stacking of the molecules, indicating a planar (bpy)MBr 2 skeleton in each case. The structure of (1) exhibits columns with C-H (β) ...Br hydrogen bonds between consecutive layers which conforms to a static (β,β) linkage between layers. In the molecular plane, (1) shows double C-H (α) ...Br hydrogen bonds self-repeating along the b axis, the planar molecules being connected into infinite belts. Compound (2) has no crystallographic symmetry and forms π-dimer pairs as supermolecules, which then stack parallel to the a axis. The π-dimer-pair supermolecules exhibit (Pt-)Br...Br(-Pt) contacts [3.6937 (7) Å] to neighbouring π-dimer pairs crosslinking the columns. The structure of (2) reveals many C-H...F(-C) interactions between F atoms and aromatic C-H groups, in addition to those between F atoms and methylene C-H groups.

A series of organic-inorganic hybrid zinc phosphites with extra-large channels were synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. This is an unusual example of introducing 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate and/or biphenyl-4,4'-dicarboxylate ligands into the organically templated metal phosphite system to build extra-large-channel zeolite-related materials via hydro(solvo)thermal reactions. Those frameworks are composed of carboxylate linkers and inorganic tubes of zinc phosphites, translating their channel windows from a square shape (NTOU-1) to rhombus forms (NTOU-2 and NTOU-3) via the replacement of organic amines or ligands under synthesis conditions otherwise identical with those used to prepare NTOU-1. The synthesis, structural diversity, photoluminescence, and adsorption properties for dye molecules and lanthanide ions are also reported.

The polyfluorinated title compounds, [MCl 2 (C 16 H 16 F 4 N 2 O 2 )] or [4,4'-(HCF 2 CH 2 OCH 2 ) 2 -2,2'-bpy]MCl 2 [M = Pd, (1), and M = Pt, (2)], have -C(H α ) 2 OC(H β ) 2 CF 2 H side chains with H-atom donors at the α and β sites. The structures of (1) and (2) are isomorphous, with the nearly planar (bpy)MCl 2 molecules stacked in columns. Within one column, π-dimer pairs alternate between a π-dimer pair reinforced with C-H...Cl hydrogen bonds (α,α) and a π-dimer pair reinforced with C-H β ...F(-C) interactions (abbreviated as C-H β ...F-C,C-H β ...F-C). The compounds [4,4'-(CF 3 CH 2 OCH 2 ) 2 -2,2'-bpy]MCl 2 [M = Pd, (3), and M = Pt, (4)] have been reported to be isomorphous [Lu et al. (2012). J. Fluorine Chem. 137, 54-56], yet with disorder in the fluorous regions. The molecules of (3) [or (4)] also form similar stacks, but with alternating π-dimer pairs between the (α,β; α,β) and (β,β) forms. Through (C-)H...Cl hydrogen-bond interactions, one molecule of (1) [or (2)] is expanded into an aggregate of two inversion-related π-dimer pairs, one pair in the (α,α) form and the other pair in the (C-H β ...F-C,C-H β ...F-C) form, with the plane normals making an interplanar angle of 58.24 (3)°. Due to the demands of maintaining a high coordination number around the metal-bound Cl atoms in molecule (1) [or (2)], the ponytails of molecule (1) [or (2)] bend outward; in contrast, the ponytails of molecule (3) [or (4)] bend inward.

Background: In recent years, the tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) has been considered to a new and independent predictive variable for the prognosis of some kinds of neoplasms. The objective of this study was to assess the prognostic significance of the TSR in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)., Methods: A cohort of 261 NSCLC patients who underwent radical surgery of lung cancer were included in the present study. Two independent observers visually estimated the TSR on hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) stained tissue pathological slices. According to the proportion of stroma ≥50% or <50%, We separate the patients into two groups: those with stroma-poor and those with stroma-rich tumors., Results: Both univariate and multivariate analyses disclosed that the TSR was associated with overall survival (OS) [hazard ratio (HR), 1.741; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 1.040-2.913 and HR, 1.904; 95% CI, 1.132-3.202, respectively]. The HR values for disease-free survival (DFS) were 1.795 (95% CI, 1.073-3.005) and 2.034 (95% CI, 1.210-3.420). The OS and DFS of patients with stroma-poor tumors were better than those with stroma-rich tumors., Conclusions: These results demonstrated that the TSR is a new prognostic factor for NSCLC. Stroma-poor tumors were associated with longer disease-free period and better prognosis than were stroma-rich tumors in NSCLC patients. The TSR may contribute to the development of individualized treatment for NSCLC in the future., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

An investigation of carbodicarbenes, the less explored member of the carbenic complex/ligand family has yielded unexpected electronic features and concomitant reactivity. Observed 1,2-addition of E-H bonds (E = B, C, Si) across the carbone central carbon and that of the flanking N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) fragment, combined with single-crystal X-ray studies of a model Pd complex strongly suggests a significant level of π-accepting ability at the central carbon of the NHC moiety. This feature is atypical of classic NHCs, which are strong σ-donors, with only nominal π-accepting ability. The unanticipated π-acidity is critical for engendering carbodicarbenes with reactivity more commonly observed with frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) rather than the more closely related NHCs and cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbenes (CAACs).

To enable a comparison between a C-H...X hydrogen bond and a halogen bond, the structures of two fluorous-substituted pyridinium iodide salts have been determined. 4-[(2,2-Difluoroethoxy)methyl]pyridinium iodide, C 8 H 10 F 2 NO + ·I - , (1), has a -CH 2 OCH 2 CF 2 H substituent at the para position of the pyridinium ring and 4-[(3-chloro-2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropoxy)methyl]pyridinium iodide, C 9 H 9 ClF 4 NO + ·I - , (2), has a -CH 2 OCH 2 CF 2 CF 2 Cl substituent at the para position of the pyridinium ring. In salt (1), the iodide anion is involved in one N-H...I and three C-H...I hydrogen bonds, which, together with C-H...F hydrogen bonds, link the cations and anions into a three-dimensional network. For salt (2), the iodide anion is involved in one N-H...I hydrogen bond, two C-H...I hydrogen bonds and one C-Cl...I halogen bond; additional C-H...F and C-F...F interactions link the cations and anions into a three-dimensional arrangement.

The salts 3-[(2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropoxy)methyl]pyridinium saccharinate, C 9 H 10 F 4 NO + ·C 7 H 4 NO 3 S - , (1), and 3-[(2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropoxy)methyl]pyridinium saccharinate, C 9 H 9 F 5 NO + ·C 7 H 4 NO 3 S - , (2), i.e. saccharinate (or 1,1-dioxo-1λ 6 ,2-benzothiazol-3-olate) salts of pyridinium with -CH 2 OCH 2 CF 2 CF 2 H and -CH 2 OCH 2 CF 2 CF 3 meta substituents, respectively, were investigated crystallographically in order to compare their fluorine-related weak interactions in the solid state. Both salts demonstrate a stable synthon formed by the pyridinium cation and the saccharinate anion, in which a seven-membered ring reveals a double hydrogen-bonding pattern. The twist between the pyridinium plane and the saccharinate plane in (2) is 21.26 (8)° and that in (1) is 8.03 (6)°. Both salts also show stacks of alternating cation-anion π-interactions. The layer distances, calculated from the centroid of the saccharinate plane to the neighbouring pyridinium planes, above and below, are 3.406 (2) and 3.517 (2) Å in (1), and 3.409 (3) and 3.458 (3) Å in (2).

Two new polymorphs of a zinc phosphate incorporating the terephthalate organic ligand 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate (BDC), (H 2 DA)Zn 2 (cis-BDC)(HPO 4 ) 2 (1) and (H 2 DA)Zn 2 (trans-BDC)(HPO 4 ) 2 (2), where DA = 1,7-diaminoheptane, were synthesized via a hydro(solvo)thermal method at different reaction temperatures and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Interestingly, the BDC ligands, which adopt the bis-monodentate coordination model with a unusual cis type for compound 1 and with a trans linkage for compound 2, bridge the Zn atoms of the inorganic layers in the generation of two polymorphs with structural diversities (one kind of arrangement of the layered zincophosphate layer in 1; the flat and zigzag sheets of inorganic networks in 2). A simple method for tuning the optical luminescence of the title compound from blue, red, green, yellow, and pink to white emission by stirring powdered samples in lanthanide-cation-containing aqueous ethanol solutions at room temperature for 1-2 h is also presented.

Neutralization of 4-[(2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropoxy)methyl]pyridine with hydrohalo acids HX (X = Cl and Br) yielded the pyridinium salts 4-[(2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropoxy)methyl]pyridinium chloride, C 9 H 10 F 4 NO + ·Cl - , (1), and 4-[(2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropoxy)methyl]pyridinium bromide, C 9 H 10 F 4 NO + ·Br - , (2), both carrying a fluorous side chain at the para position of the pyridinium ring. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques revealed that (1) and (2) are isomorphous. The halide anions accept four hydrogen bonds from N-H, ortho-C-H and CF 2 -H groups. Two cations and two anions form a centrosymmetric dimeric building block, utilizing complimentary N-H...X...H-Csp 3 connections. These dimers are further crosslinked, utilizing another complimentary Csp 2 -H...X...H-Csp 2 connection. The pyridinium rings are π-stacked, forming columns running parallel to the a axis that make angles of ca 44-45° with the normal to the pyridinium plane. There are also supramolecular C-H...F-C interactions, namely bifurcated C-H...F and bifurcated C-F...H interactions; additionally, one type II C-F...F-C halogen bond has been observed.

It is possible that fluorous compounds could be utilized as directing forces in crystal engineering for applications in materials chemistry or catalysis. Although numerous fluorous compounds have been used for various applications, their structures in the solid state remains a lively matter for debate. The reaction of 4-[(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)methyl]pyridine with HX (X = I or Cl) yielded new fluorous ponytailed pyridinium halide salts, namely 4-[(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)methyl]pyridinium iodide, C 8 H 9 F 3 NO + ·I - , (1), and 4-[(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)methyl]pyridinium chloride, C 8 H 9 F 3 NO + ·Cl - , (2), which were characterized by IR spectroscopy, multinuclei ( 1 H, 13 C and 19 F) NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Structure analysis showed that there are two types of hydrogen bonds, namely N-H...X and C-H...X. The iodide anion in salt (1) is hydrogen bonded to three 4-[(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)methyl]pyridinium cations in the crystal packing, while the chloride ion in salt (2) is involved in six hydrogen bonds to five 4-[(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)methyl]pyridinium cations, which is attributed to the smaller size and reduced polarizability of the chloride ion compared to the iodide ion. In the IR spectra, the pyridinium N-H stretching band for salt (1) exhibited a blue shift compared with that of salt (2).

New heterocyclic quinoid-based hole transporting materials (HTMs) with a rigid quinoid core [3,6-di(2H-imidazol-2-ylidene)cyclohexa-1,4-diene] have been synthesized. The new HTMs have good hole mobility (>10 -4  cm 2  V -1  s -1 ) and very intense absorption in the near-infrared region extending to >800 nm. High performance perovskite solar cells can be fabricated using these HTMs without dopant. The best cell efficiency under simulated AM 1.5 G illumination reaches 12.22 %, which is comparable with that (12.58 %) using doped 2,2',7,7'-tetrakis-(N,N-di-4-methoxyphenylamino)-9,9'-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD) as the HTM., (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

We report a microwave-assisted intramolecular anomeric protection (iMAP) of glucosamine, which facilitates concise transformation of 1,6-anhydroglucosamine into 1,6-anhydrogalactosamine and 1,6-anhydroallosamine. The iMAP simultaneously obviates both the O1 and O6 protection, and the differentiation between O3 and O4 can be well-controlled by the N2 functionality because of the hydrogen bonding between N2 and O4. Epimerization of O4 afforded the galactosamine derivative and that of O3 yielded allosamine.

Background: This study investigated surgery-related medical disputes and analyzed disease etiologies and the main causes of disputes in order to identify key points for the purpose of improving the quality of surgical patient care in Taiwan., Methods: Reports on all surgery-related cases appraised by the Taiwan Witness Examiner Committee of the Department of Health between 2004 and 2008 were reviewed retrospectively by three senior physicians from the emergency department who specialize in both trauma and emergency general surgery. The causes of the various medical disputes were categorized under the following descriptions: operation- or procedure-related complication, anesthesia complication, inappropriate management or decision, delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis, and unsatisfactory result., Results: A total of 154 cases were reviewed, of which 39 were trauma-related and 115 were disease-related. The two leading causes of disputes in this review were found to be operation- or procedure-related complications (35.7%) and unsatisfactory results (31.8%), followed by delayed diagnoses or misdiagnoses, inappropriate management, and anesthesia complications. Among these, 74 cases (48.1%) required the care of an acute care surgeon and 40 cases (26.0%) required emergency general surgery intervention., Conclusion: Surgery- or procedure-related complications and unsatisfactory treatment results constituted the major causes of medical disputes in Taiwan. The majority of these cases involved acute care surgery; thus, the establishment of an acute care surgery system should be considered to improve patient care. The management of hemorrhagic shock and incarcerated hernia should be reinforced in future medical training., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC.)

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, the impact of MetS on survival has not been evaluated. A retrospective review was performed on 596 consecutive Chinese patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who received surgery between January 2005 and October 2007. The clinical data and pretreatment information related to MetS were reviewed. The impact of MetS on overall survival (OS) was estimated by Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards analyses. MetS was a significant and independent predictor for better survival in patients with resectable ESCC. The 3-year OS and 5-year OS for patients with and without MetS were 75.0% versus 57.8% and 65.1% versus 44.6%, respectively (P = 0.005 in the univariate analysis, P = 0.010 in multivariate analysis). However, there was no apparent influence of any single component of MetS on OS. The other independent prognostic factors identified in the univariate analysis included the following: gender, smoking status, alcohol use, the extent of radical surgical resection, T and N stage, and tumor differentiation. The results of the multivariate analysis included the extent of radical surgery resection, T and N stage, and tumor differentiation. MetS was also associated with greater tumor cell differentiation (P = 0.036). There was no association found between MetS status and postoperative complications. MetS is an independent prognostic factor for OS in patients with ESCC and is associated with better tumor cell differentiation., (© 2015 International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus.)

The prognosis of patients with lymph node-positive esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) who primarily receive radical esophagectomy remains poor. In this study, we aimed to retrospectively investigate the role of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel- or paclitaxel-based regimens in these patients. A total of 434 consecutive patients were included in this study who underwent radical esophagectomy and were pathologically confirmed to have lymph node-positive ESCC from January 2005 to December 2010 in our institution. Among these patients, 113 patients received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (Group SC), and 321 patients underwent surgery alone (Group S). Propensity score matching and multivariate analyses were used to compensate for differences in some baseline characteristics. After matching, Group SC had significantly longer median disease-free survival (DFS) than that in Group S (23.63 months vs. 16.70 months; p = 0.006); further subset analysis revealed that a benefit regarding DFS was only associated with patients with N1 stage and with tumor length <4.5 cm. The median overall survival (OS) was similar between the two groups (38.57 months for Group SC vs. 25.27 months for Group S; p = 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that postoperative chemotherapy, length of the tumor, T status, and N category were significantly independent predictive factors of tumor recurrence (p < 0.05). Our data suggested that adjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel- or paclitaxel-based regimens could significantly improve DFS for patients with N1 stage and tumor length <4.5 cm ESCC and that it could potentially prolong OS for patients with lymph node-positive ESCC after surgery, compared with surgery alone. These results warrant further confirmation in prospective, randomized trials.

Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), a serine/threonine kinase and an oncogene, is crucial in regulating cell cycle progression. PLK1 also has been demonstrated as a potential target of osteosarcoma (OS) by using short hairpin RNA libraries in lentiviral vectors for screening of protein kinase. In preclinical studies, GSK461364, a potent and selective ATP-competitive PLK1 inhibitor, showed antiproliferative activity against multiple tumor cell lines. In the present study, we evaluated the expression level of PLK1 in OS and explored the cytotoxic mechanism of GSK461364 against OS. PLK1 was significantly overexpressed in OS compared with normal osteoblasts and other types of sarcoma. GSK461364 inhibited PLK1 and caused mitotic arrest by inducing G2/M arrest in OS cells. Moreover, GSK461364 exerted a cytotoxic effect by inducing apoptosis in OS, and induced cellular senescence in OS cell lines, as indicated by an increased senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity and enhanced DcR2 and interleukin-1α expression. In addition, we demonstrated a synergistic cytotoxic effect of GSK461364 and paclitaxel, possibly resulting from combined mitotic arrest. In conclusion, the present study revealed that PLK1 was overexpressed in OS and that GSK461364 exerted its cytotoxic effect on OS by inducing mitotic arrest and subsequent apoptosis and induced cellular senescence; therefore, senescence-associated markers can be used as treatment biomarkers, and a combination of GSK461364 and paclitaxel can potentially treat OS.

Introduction: The aim of this work was to present the contribution of the endoscopy in the management of esophageal dilatation for caustic esophageal stenosis (CES)., Methods: This was a descriptive and prospective study in the thoracic surgery department at the Hospital of Mali. A total of 46 cases of CES is recorded and divided into 4 groups according to the topography of the esophageal lesions. For the different methods of dilatation the number of performed endoscopic support was determined to understand the contribution of endoscopic means in the success of dilatation for CES. The outcome, complications and mortality in the two methods were compared., Results: Fibroscopy was used in 41.30% of patients with Savary Guillard dilators and in 47.82% of patients with Lerut dilators. Video laryngoscopy was used in 58.69% of patients who underwent dilatation with Lerut dilators. The passage of the guide wire was performed in 39.13% under video laryngoscopy and 58.68% under fibroscopy. In comparison of the two methods, there is a significant difference in the occurrence of complications (p=0.04075), general anesthesia (p=0.02287), accessibility (p=0.04805) and mortality (p=0.00402)., Conclusion: The CES is a serious disease and under evaluated in Mali. The endoscopies contribute significantly to the success of esophageal dilatation for caustic stenosis in the different methods we used.

Objectives: We aimed to clarify the correlation between clinic-pathological characteristics and the distribution of recurrence probability during follow-up of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients with complete resection analysis by hazard function, and to try to provide evidence-based data for optimal timing for adjuvant therapy., Methods: A single-institution, retrospective study was conducted on 553 Chinese patients with OSCC who underwent R0 resection between January 2005 and October 2007. Survival curves were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and hazard function was used to analyse the annual recurrence hazard., Results: The median recurrence-free survival time of these patients was 3.4 years. In univariate analysis, the favourable prognostic factors were gender, smoking status, a tumour length of ≤4.0 cm, tumour invasion thickness, normal level of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) antigen, pathological T category and pathological N category. In multivariate analysis, pathological T category and pathological N category were independent prognostic factors. Overall, the recurrence hazard curve for the entire cohort showed that the first major recurrence surge began to increase from the first year at 22.97% and peaked at 1.3 years at 27.4% during follow-up. The second recurrence surge peaked during the seventh year at 13.0%. A lower recurrence risk was observed in patients with the following clinic-pathological characteristics: gender, smoking status and N0., Conclusions: We identify the presence of two peaks for recurrence risk in Chinese patients with resectable OSCC, which might contribute to choosing the optimal timing for adjuvant therapy after an operation to decrease or delay the recurrence hazard for patients with resectable OSCC., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.)

Anxiety and depression are common among patients with cancer, and are often treated with psychological interventions including mindfulness-based therapy.The aim of the study was to perform a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for improving anxiety and depression in patients with cancer.Medline, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Google Scholar were searched. The randomized controlled trials designed for patients diagnosed with cancer were included. Mindfulness-based interventions were provided.The outcomes assessed were the changes in anxiety and depression scores from before to after the intervention. The treatment response was determined by calculating the standardized mean difference (SMD) for individual studies and for pooled study results. Subgroup analyses by cancer type, type of therapy, and length of follow-up were performed.Seven studies, involving 469 participants who received mindfulness-based interventions and 419 participants in a control group, were included in the meta-analysis. Mindfulness-based stress reduction and art therapy were the most common interventions (5/7 studies). All studies reported anxiety and depression scores. The pooled SMD of the change in anxiety significantly favored mindfulness-based therapy over control treatment (-0.75, 95% confidence interval -1.28, -0.22, P = 0.005). Likewise, the pooled SMD of the change in depression also significantly favored mindfulness-based therapy over control (-0.90, 95% confidence interval -1.53, -0.26, P = 0.006). During the length of follow-ups less than 12 weeks, mindfulness-based therapy significantly improved anxiety for follow-up ≤12 weeks after the start of therapy, but not >12 weeks after the start of therapy.There was a lack of consistency between the studies in the type of mindfulness-based/control intervention implemented. Patients had different forms of cancer. Subgroup analyses included a relatively small number of studies and did not account for factors such as the severity of anxiety and/or depression, the time since diagnosis, and cancer stage.Mindfulness-based interventions effectively relieved anxiety and depression among patients with cancer. However, additional research is still warranted to determine how long the beneficial effects of mindfulness-based therapy persist.

In this study, we screened compounds with skin whitening properties and favorable safety profiles from a series of marine related natural products, which were isolated from Formosan soft coral Cladiella australis. Our results indicated that 4-(phenylsulfanyl)butan-2-one could successfully inhibit pigment generation processes in mushroom tyrosinase platform assay, probably through the suppression of tyrosinase activity to be a non-competitive inhibitor of tyrosinase. In cell-based viability examinations, it demonstrated low cytotoxicity on melanoma cells and other normal human cells. It exhibited stronger inhibitions of melanin production and tyrosinase activity than arbutin or 1-phenyl-2-thiourea (PTU). Also, we discovered that 4-(phenylsulfanyl)butan-2-one reduces the protein expressions of melanin synthesis-related proteins, including the microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), tyrosinase-related protein-1 (Trp-1), dopachrome tautomerase (DCT, Trp-2), and glycoprotein 100 (GP100). In an in vivo zebrafish model, it presented a remarkable suppression in melanogenesis after 48 h. In summary, our in vitro and in vivo biological assays showed that 4-(phenylsulfanyl)butan-2-one possesses anti-melanogenic properties that are significant in medical cosmetology.

Olfactory neuroblastoma is rare. We conducted a retrospective study to review our experience with minimally invasive resection of olfactory neuroblastomas via a transnasal endoscopic technique, including an analysis of surgical outcomes. Our series included 5 patients-3 men and 2 women, aged 29 to 75 years (mean: 48). Surgical outcomes were evaluated on the basis of each patient's preoperative Dulguerov classification and postoperative evaluation on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. One patient was treated with surgery alone, 3 with surgery plus radiotherapy, and 1 with surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. During follow-up of 18 to 115 months, all 5 patients remained alive and disease-free. We found that endoscopic resection of olfactory neuroblastoma is a feasible and effective procedure, even in patients with more aggressive stages of disease. We also believe that the Dulguerov classification is more useful than other classifications for clinical management and surgical planning. Long-term follow-up is necessary to look for late recurrence.

Purpose: To explore the influence of self-efficacy and demographic, disease-related, and psychological factors on symptom distress among Chinese colorectal cancer patients receiving postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy., Methods: Two-hundred and fifty-two colorectal cancer patients who had undergone postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy completed Chinese versions of M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI-GI), Stanford Inventory of Cancer Patient Adjustment (SICPA), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Associations between patients' self-efficacy and demographic, disease-related, psychological factors and symptom distress were examined., Results: Patients' overall symptom distress level was mild; MDASI median subscale scores showed mild symptom severity and symptom interference. Anxiety and depression were positively associated with symptom distress. Multivariable analysis showed that more severe symptoms were associated with age ≥60 years, female gender, suburban residence, body mass index <18.5, and stage III cancer. Age ≥60 years, female gender, marital status of single or divorced, and suburban residence were associated with greater symptom interference with daily activities. Greater self-efficacy was associated with milder symptoms severity and less symptom interference with daily life. After adjusting for confounders, patients with higher SICPA scores had less symptom distress., Conclusions: Self-efficacy is strongly associated with reduced symptom severity and symptom interference with daily life in CRC patients. Symptom severity is associated with age >60 years, female gender, body mass index <18.5, suburban residence and stage III disease. Nurse-administered self-efficacy interventions may help to improve self-efficacy and reduce symptom distress., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Previous studies have indicated that clustering of components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) increases the risk for the development of several cancers such as colon, prostate, and breast cancer. However, the prognostic role of MetS in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been well defined. We reviewed the clinical data and pre-treatment information of MetS of 545 patients with NSCLC who underwent radical surgery and were pathologically diagnosed as stage IB of NSCLC. The influence of MetS and/or its components on survival outcome was examined using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards analyses. The patients with MetS showed no difference in survival outcome regarding overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) compared with patients without MetS in univariate, multivariate, and stratification analyses. However, in univariate analysis, a high high density lipoprotein level was a good prediction factor for DFS (median DFS with vs. without MetS: 124.3 vs. 115.1 months P = 0.036). Other single MetS components showed no association with OS and DFS in early-stage NSCLC. For other clinical characteristic, the age and adjuvant therapy were the independent prognostic factors of OS in univariate and multivariate analyses. MetS and/or its components do not have significant prognostic value in early-stage NSCLC.