Cobalt/Salicylaldehyde-Enabled C-H Alkoxylation of Benzamides with Secondary Alcohols under Solvothermal Conditions.

C-O bond formation via C-H alkoxylation remains a challenge, especially coupling with a secondary alcohol, due to its low activity and sterically encumbered property. Here, we report a general and effective cobalt-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling of benzamides with secondary alcohols via C-H alkoxylation reaction under solvothermal conditions, enabled by a salicylaldehyde/cobalt complex. The protocol features easy operation without additives, broad substrate scope, and excellent functional tolerance. The applicability is proven by the gram-scale synthesis and modification of natural products.

Cevanine-type steroidal alkaloids from the bulbs of Fritillaria cirrhosa D. Don.

Eight previously undescribed cevanine-type steroidal alkaloids, cirrhosinones I-N and cirrhosinols A-B, along with five known analogs, were isolated from the bulbs of Fritillaria cirrhosa D. Don. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of comprehensive analysis of HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. All compounds revealed weak NO inhibitory activities in the LPS-stimulated NR8383 cells at the concentration of 20 µM, with inhibition ratios ranging from 5.1% to 14.3%.

Axillary lymph node metastasis in pure mucinous carcinoma of breast: clinicopathologic and ultrasonographic features.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this research is to study the sonographic and clinicopathologic characteristics that associate with axillary lymph node metastasis (ALNM) for pure mucinous carcinoma of breast (PMBC). METHODS: A total of 176 patients diagnosed as PMBC after surgery were included. According to the status of axillary lymph nodes, all patients were classified into ALNM group (n = 15) and non-ALNM group (n = 161). The clinical factors (patient age, tumor size, location), molecular biomarkers (ER, PR, HER2 and Ki-67) and sonographic features (shape, orientation, margin, echo pattern, posterior acoustic pattern and vascularity) between two groups were analyzed to unclose the clinicopathologic and ultrasonographic characteristics in PMBC with ALNM. RESULTS: The incidence of axillary lymph node metastasis was 8.5% in this study. Tumors located in the outer side of the breast (upper outer quadrant and lower outer quadrant) were more likely to have lymphatic metastasis, and the difference between the two group was significantly (86.7% vs. 60.3%, P = 0.043). ALNM not associated with age (P = 0.437). Although tumor size not associated with ALNM(P = 0.418), the tumor size in ALNM group (32.3 ± 32.7 mm) was bigger than non-ALNM group (25.2 ± 12.8 mm). All the tumors expressed progesterone receptor (PR) positively, and 90% of all expressed estrogen receptor (ER) positively, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) were positive in two cases of non-ALNM group. Ki-67 high expression was observed in 36 tumors in our study (20.5%), and it was higher in ALNM group than non-ALNM group (33.3% vs. 19.3%), but the difference wasn't significantly (P = 0.338). CONCLUSIONS: Tumor location is a significant factor for ALNM in PMBC. Outer side location is more easily for ALNM. With the bigger size and/or Ki-67 higher expression status, the lymphatic metastasis seems more likely to present.

Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Hydrolyzed Royal Jelly Peptide in Human Dermal Fibroblasts: Implications for Skin Health and Care Applications.

Hydrolyzed royal jelly peptide (RJP) has garnered attention for its health-promoting functions. However, the potential applications of RJP in skincare have not been fully explored. In this study, we prepared RJP through the enzymatic hydrolysis of royal jelly protein with trypsin and investigated its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties on primary human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs). Our results demonstrate that RJP effectively inhibits oxidative damage induced by H2O2 and lipid peroxidation triggered by AAPH and t-BuOOH in HDFs. This effect may be attributed to the ability of RJP to enhance the level of glutathione and the activities of catalase and glutathione peroxidase 4, as well as its excellent iron chelating capacity. Furthermore, RJP modulates the NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated inflammatory response in HDFs, suppressing the mRNA expressions of NLRP3 and IL-1ß in the primer stage induced by LPS and the release of mature IL-1ß induced by ATP, monosodium urate, or nigericin in the activation stage. RJP also represses the expressions of COX2 and iNOS induced by LPS. Finally, we reveal that RJP exhibits superior antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties over unhydrolyzed royal jelly protein. These findings suggest that RJP exerts protective effects on skin cells through antioxidative and anti-inflammatory mechanisms, indicating its promise for potential therapeutic avenues for managing oxidative stress and inflammation-related skin disorders.

Progress of engineered bacteria for tumour therapy.

Finding novel therapeutic modalities, improving drug delivery efficiency and targeting, and reducing the immune escape of tumor cells are currently hot topics in the field of tumor therapy. Bacterial therapeutics have proven highly effective in preventing tumor spread and recurrence, used alone or in combination with traditional therapies. In recent years, a growing number of researchers have significantly improved the targeting and penetration of bacteria by using genetic engineering technology, which has received widespread attention in the field of tumor therapy. In this paper, we provide an overview and assessment of the advancements made in the field of tumor therapy using genetically engineered bacteria. We cover three major aspects: the development of engineered bacteria, their integration with other therapeutic techniques, and the current state of clinical trials. Lastly, we discuss the limitations and challenges that are currently being faced in the utilization of engineered bacteria for tumor therapy.

Landscape and prognostic values of lymphocytes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing transarterial embolization.

Transarterial embolization, the first-line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma, does not always lead to promising outcomes in all patients. A better understanding of how the immune lymphocyte changes after transarterial embolization might be the key to improve the efficacy of transarterial embolization. However, there are few studies evaluating immune lymphocytes in transarterial embolization patients. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of transarterial embolization on lymphocyte subsets in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma to identify those that predict transarterial embolization prognosis. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 44 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma at the following time points: 1 d before the initial transarterial embolization, 3 d after the initial transarterial embolization, and 1 mo after the initial transarterial embolization and subjected to peripheral blood mononuclear cell isolation and flow cytometry. Dynamic changes in 75 lymphocyte subsets were recorded, and their absolute counts were calculated. Tumor assessments were made every 4 to 6 wk via computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. Our results revealed that almost all lymphocyte subsets fluctuated 3 d after transarterial embolization, but only Tfh and B cells decreased 1 mo after transarterial embolization. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression showed that high levels of Th2 and conventional killer Vδ2 cells were associated with longer progressive-free survival after transarterial embolization. Longer overall survival after transarterial embolization was associated with high levels of Th17 and viral infection-specific Vδ1 cells and low levels of immature natural killer cells. In conclusion, transarterial embolization has a dynamic influence on the status of lymphocytes. Accordingly, several lymphocyte subsets can be used as prognostic markers for transarterial embolization.

Effects of Hericium erinaceus polysaccharide in porcine IPEC-J2 intestinal epithelial cells against apoptosis induced by oxidative stress.

This study was intended to investigate whether Hericium erinaceus polysaccharides (HEP) prevent oxidative stress and apoptosis of intestinal porcine epithelial cells from jejunum (IPEC-J2 cells) induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Crude HEP were extracted and purified by chromatography. The ultraviolet and infrared spectra and monosaccharide composition of HEP were analyzed. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was quantified by flow cytometry method, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) production were determined by TBARS. Also, apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry method and the apoptosis-related regulatory molecules were determined by microplate or western blotting method. Our results showed that pretreatment of IPEC-J2 cells with HEP significantly scavenged ROS and reduced LDH and MDA production. HEP also reduced apoptosis and kept polarity of the mitochondrial membrane potential. Moreover, HEP increased the content of caspase-3 and PARP, and protein expression of Bcl-2, while inhibited Bax and Bad and reduced the content of caspase-9 and release of CytC. Meanwhile, HEP inhibited the protein expression of TNFR1, FAS, and FASL, and decreased the content of caspase-8. The results indicated that HEP had a protective effect against oxidative stress in IPEC-J2 cells and the underlying mechanism was reducing apoptosis via mitochondrial and death receptor pathways.

Deep learning based ultrasound analysis facilitates precise distinction between parotid pleomorphic adenoma and Warthin tumor.

Background: Pleomorphic adenoma (PA), often with the benign-like imaging appearances similar to Warthin tumor (WT), however, is a potentially malignant tumor with a high recurrence rate. It is worse that pathological fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is difficult to distinguish PA and WT for inexperienced pathologists. This study employed deep learning (DL) technology, which effectively utilized ultrasound images, to provide a reliable approach for discriminating PA from WT. Methods: 488 surgically confirmed patients, including 266 with PA and 222 with WT, were enrolled in this study. Two experienced ultrasound physicians independently evaluated all images to differentiate between PA and WT. The diagnostic performance of preoperative FNAC was also evaluated. During the DL study, all ultrasound images were randomly divided into training (70%), validation (20%), and test (10%) sets. Furthermore, ultrasound images that could not be diagnosed by FNAC were also randomly allocated to training (60%), validation (20%), and test (20%) sets. Five DL models were developed to classify ultrasound images as PA or WT. The robustness of these models was assessed using five-fold cross-validation. The Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM) technique was employed to visualize the region of interest in the DL models. Results: In Grad-CAM analysis, the DL models accurately identified the mass as the region of interest. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of the two ultrasound physicians were 0.351 and 0.598, and FNAC achieved an AUROC of only 0.721. Meanwhile, for DL models, the AUROC value for discriminating between PA and WT in the test set was from 0.828 to 0.908. ResNet50 demonstrated the optimal performance with an AUROC of 0.908, an accuracy of 0.833, a sensitivity of 0.736, and a specificity of 0.904. In the test set of cases that FNAC failed to provide a diagnosis, DenseNet121 demonstrated the optimal performance with an AUROC of 0.897, an accuracy of 0.806, a sensitivity of 0.789, and a specificity of 0.824. Conclusion: For the discrimination of PA and WT, DL models are superior to ultrasound and FNAC, thereby facilitating surgeons in making informed decisions regarding the most appropriate surgical approach.

Precision therapy for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: A case report on adjuvant treatment in a recurrent patient after surgery and literature review.

A 37-year-old female patient was diagnosed with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), with the lesion located in the right lobe of the liver. Despite radical resection, postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and a combination of adjuvant chemotherapy and immunotherapy, the patient continued to experience multiple instances of intrahepatic tumor metastases. Furthermore, the patient exhibited significant adverse reactions to systemic chemotherapy and had poor treatment tolerance. Guidance from paraffin section fluorescence in situ hybridization gene sequencing was used to select a combination of immunotherapy and targeted therapy treatments with programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/PD-1 ligand 1 antibody durvalumab and the targeted drug pemigatinib. The patient tolerated the treatment and has continued to survive for 28 months. According to imaging evaluations, the lesions continued to decrease, with some disappearing completely. The tumor marker carbohydrate antigen 19-9 remained normal for >9 weeks during the treatment. This report described the patient's treatment process in detail and briefly reviewed relevant literature on the treatment progress of postoperative patients with ICC.

2023: A year of accomplishments for the 13 Science Citation Index Expanded- and Emerging Sources Citation Index-indexed Baishideng journals.

In 2023, Baishideng Publishing Group (Baishideng) routinely published 47 open-access journals, including 46 English-language journals and 1 Chinese-language journal. Our successes were accomplished through the collective dedicated efforts of Baishideng staffs, Editorial Board Members, and Peer Reviewers. Among these 47 Baishideng journals, 7 are included in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and 6 in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). With the support of Baishideng authors, company staffs, Editorial Board Members, and Peer Reviewers, the publication work of 2023 is about to be successfully completed. This editorial summarizes the 2023 activities and accomplishments of the 13 SCIE- and ESCI-indexed Baishideng journals, outlines the Baishideng publishing policy changes and additions made this year, and highlights the unique advantages of Baishideng journals.

Is total neoadjuvant treatment beneficial for locally advanced rectal cancer? a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) is a new strategy combining neoadjuvant therapy and chemotherapy to enhance tumor shrinkage and systemic control. Its effectiveness remains debated. OBJECTIVES: This study conducts a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess TNT's impact and provide high-quality evidence for rectal cancer treatment decisions. METHOD: We searched China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP Database, Wanfang Database, China biomedical literature database, PubMed database, Embase database, and The Cochrane Library for RCTs comparing TNT with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer. The included trials were screened and assessed for quality based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. RESULTS: A total of 11 RCTs reported in 14 articles, with 1624 cases in the TNT group and 1541 cases in the CRT group. The results of the meta-analysis showed that compared with the CRT group, the TNT group had a higher pathological complete response rate (RR=1.65, 95% CI [1.40, 1.94], P<0.00001), higher T0 downstaging rate (RR=1.51, 95% CI [1.29, 1.77], P<0.00001), higher 3-year overall survival (HR=0.81, 95% CI [0.67, 0.98], P=0.03), and higher 3-year disease-free survival (HR=0.82, 95% CI [0.70, 0.95], P=0.008). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of R0 resection rate (RR=1.02, 95% CI [0.99, 1.05], P=0.14), sphincter preservation rate (RR=0.94, 95% CI [0.88, 1.01], P=0.12), anastomotic leakage rate (RR=1.42, 95% CI [0.85, 2.38], P=0.18), and grade 3 or higher adverse events (RR=1.21, 95% CI [0.95, 1.54], P=0.13). CONCLUSIONS: In the treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer, TNT offers greater survival benefits compared to neoadjuvant CRT and does not significantly increase the incidence of adverse events. However, further data and studies with long-term outcomes are still required.

A Fully Integrated RFID Reader SoC.

The traditional RFID reader module relies on a discrete original design. This design integrates a microcontroller, high-frequency RFID reader IC and other multiple chips onto a PCB board, leading to bottlenecks in cost, power consumption, stability and reliability. To align with the trend towards high integration, miniaturization and low power consumption in RFID reader, this paper introduces a fully integrated RFID Reader SoC. The SoC employs the open-source Cortex-M0 core to integrate the RF transceiver, analog circuits, baseband protocol processing, memory and interface circuits into one chip. It's compatible with ISO/IEC 14443 A-type and B-type and ISO/IEC 15693 transmission protocols and rates. Manufactured using a 0.18 µm process, the chip is compatible with multiple standards. The optimized design of the digital baseband control circuit results in a chip area of only 11.95 mm2 offering clear advantages in both area and integration compared to similar work.

Artificial intelligence in breast imaging: potentials and challenges.

Breast cancer, which is the most common type of malignant tumor among humans, is a leading cause of death in females. Standard treatment strategies, including neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgery, postoperative chemotherapy, targeted therapy, endocrine therapy, and radiotherapy, are tailored for individual patients. Such personalized therapies have tremendously reduced the threat of breast cancer in females. Furthermore, early imaging screening plays an important role in reducing the treatment cycle and improving breast cancer prognosis. The recent innovative revolution in artificial intelligence (AI) has aided radiologists in the early and accurate diagnosis of breast cancer. In this review, we introduce the necessity of incorporating AI into breast imaging and the applications of AI in mammography, ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography/computed tomography based on published articles since 1994. Moreover, the challenges of AI in breast imaging are discussed.

Astragaloside IV alleviates cytarabine-induced intestinal mucositis by remodeling macrophage polarization through AKT signaling.

BACKGROUND: Intestinal mucositis (IM) is one of the common side effects of chemotherapy with Cytarabine (Ara-C) and contributes to the major dose-limiting factor of chemotherapy, while the effective drug for IM is little. Astragalus, one of the main active components extrated from the roots of Astragalus membranaceus (AS-IV), is a common Chinese herbal medicine used in gastrointestinal diseases. However, the effect and mechanism of AS-IV on IM is unclear. Accumulating evidence suggests that M1 macrophages play a pivotal role in IM progression. PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to explore the protection of AS-IV and its potential molecular mechanism on intestinal mucositis injury induced by Ara-C. METHOD: The protective effect of AS-IV was investigated in LPS-induced macrophages and Ara-C-induced intestinal mucositis mouse model. H&E, immunofluorescence and western blotting were used to evaluate the damage in different doses of Ara-C. Silencing AKT targeted by siRNA was performed to explore the potential mechanisms regulating macrophage polarization effect of Ara-C, which was investigated by CCK-8, immunofluorescence and western blotting. Flow cytometry, immunofluorescence and Western blotting were used to detect macrophage surface marker proteins and inflammatory genes to explore the potential molecular mechanism of AS-IV regulating macrophage polarization. RESULTS: The Cytarabine intervention at dose of 100mg/kg significantly induced IM in mice, with the ileum the most obvious site of injury, accompanied by decreased intestinal barrier, intestinal macrophage polarization to M1 and inflammation response. The administration of AS-IV improved weight loss, food intake, ileal morphological damage, intestinal barrier destruction and inflammatory factor release in mice induced by Ara-c, and also suppressed macrophage polarization to M1, regulating in phenotypic changes in macrophages. In vitro, the expression of M1 macrophage surface marker protein was markedly decreased in LPS-induced macrophages after silencing AKT. Similarly, the western blotting of intestinal tissues and molecular docking indicated that the key mechanisms of AS-IV were remodel AKT signaling, and finally regulating M1 macrophages and decrease inflammation response. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights that AS-IV exerts protective effect in Ara-C-induced IM through inhibit polarization to M1 macrophages based on AKT, and AS-IV may serve as a novel AKT inhibitor to counteract the intestinal adverse effects of chemotherapeutic agents.

Complementary water and nutrient utilization of perianth structural units help maintain long floral lifespan in Dendrobium.

Most orchids have high ornamental value with long-lived flowers. However, the mechanisms by which orchids maintain floral longevity are poorly understood. Here, we hypothesized that floral longevity in Dendrobium is maintained by high resource investment and complementary water and nutrient utilization in different structural units of the perianth. To test this hypothesis, we determined which water- and nutrient-related traits are correlated with flower longevity in 23 Dendrobium species or cultivars, and examined variations of the related traits during flower development of one long-lived cultivar. We found that floral longevity was correlated with dry mass per unit area of perianths and total flower biomass, which indicates that maintaining floral longevity requires increased resource investment. During development of long-lived flowers, labella showed a high capacity for water storage and nutrient reutilization, which could partly remedy high water demand and biomass investment. Sepals and petals, in contrast, had stronger desiccation avoidance and higher metabolic activity with lower biomass investment. These findings indicate that Dendrobium flowers maintain longevity by complementary water and nutrient utilization strategies in the sepals, petals and labella, with labella consuming more water and nutrients to extend flower display, and sepals and petals using a more conservative strategy.

Solar X-ray and EUV imager on board the FY-3E satellite.

The solar X-ray and Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (X-EUVI), developed by the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CIOMP), is the first space-based solar X-ray and Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) imager of China loaded on the Fengyun-3E (FY-3E) satellite supported by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) for solar observation. Since started work on July 11, 2021, X-EUVI has obtained many solar images. The instrument employs an innovative dual-band design to monitor a much larger temperature range on the Sun, which covers 0.6-8.0 nm in the X-ray region with six channels and 19.5 nm in the EUV region. X-EUVI has a field of view of 42', an angular resolution of 2.5″ per pixel in the EUV band and an angular resolution of 4.1″ per pixel in the X-ray band. The instrument also includes an X-ray and EUV irradiance sensor (X-EUVS) with the same bands as its imaging optics, which measures the solar irradiance and regularly calibrates the solar images. The radiometric calibration of X-EUVS on the ground has been completed, with a calibration accuracy of 12%. X-EUVI is loaded on the FY-3E satellite and rotates relative to the Sun at a uniform rate. Flat-field calibration is conducted by utilizing successive rotation solar images. The agreement between preliminarily processed X-EUVI images and SDO/AIA and Hinode/XRT images indicates that X-EUVI and the data processing algorithm operate properly and that the data from X-EUVI can be applied to the space weather forecast system of CMA and scientific investigations on solar activity.

Water-Soluble and Degradable Gelatin/Polyaniline Assemblies with a High Photothermal Conversion Efficiency for pH-Switchable Precise Photothermal Therapy.

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is regarded as one of the potential techniques to replace surgery in the treatment of tumors. Polyaniline (PANI) shows better biocompatibility than inorganic reagents, which has been widely used in tumor photoacoustic (PA) imaging and PTT. However, the poor water solubility and nonspecific aggregation of PANI nanoparticles severely restricted their biomedical application. In addition, it is difficult to control the photothermal effect just on cancer cells. Herein, we develop tumor pH-responsive PANI-Gel/Cu assemblies, which can achieve targeted and precise ablation of tumors. Due to the high hydrophilicity of gelatin, the PANI-Gel/Cu assemblies show excellent dispersion in physiological solutions and long-term stability. By taking advantage of the self-doping effect between the carboxyl groups in gelatin and the imine part of the PANI skeleton, the photothermal characteristics of PANI-Gel/Cu assemblies can be promoted effectively by the acid tumor microenvironment, and the PA imaging of PANI-Gel/Cu assemblies can also be activated by tumor pH. Consequently, both the PTT enhancement and PA signal amplification can be triggered under a tumor microenvironment, and PANI-Gel/Cu assemblies can be targeted to cancer cells with the RGD sequences in their gelatin skeleton. In vivo imaging-guided PTT to A549 cancer shows precise treatment with little harm to normal cells, and PANI-Gel/Cu assemblies can disassemble into tiny particles (<15 nm) under laser irradiation. This work overcomes the intrinsic limitation of PANI materials, i.e., poor water solubility and nonspecific aggregation, meanwhile providing a pH-active PANI-based platform for precise and effective ablation of cancer.

Anti-Hyperglycemic Agents in the Adjuvant Treatment of Sepsis: Improving Intestinal Barrier Function.

Intestinal barrier injury and hyperglycemia are common in patients with sepsis. Bacteria translocation and systemic inflammatory response caused by intestinal barrier injury play a significant role in sepsis occurrence and deterioration, while hyperglycemia is linked to adverse outcomes in sepsis. Previous studies have shown that hyperglycemia is an independent risk factor for intestinal barrier injury. Concurrently, increasing evidence has indicated that some anti-hyperglycemic agents not only improve intestinal barrier function but are also beneficial in managing sepsis-induced organ dysfunction. Therefore, we assume that these agents can block or reduce the severity of sepsis by improving intestinal barrier function. Accordingly, we explicated the connection between sepsis, intestinal barrier, and hyperglycemia, overviewed the evidence on improving intestinal barrier function and alleviating sepsis-induced organ dysfunction by anti-hyperglycemic agents (eg, metformin, peroxisome proliferators activated receptor-γ agonists, berberine, and curcumin), and summarized some common characteristics of these agents to provide a new perspective in the adjuvant treatment of sepsis.

Ru(II)-catalyzed P(III)-assisted C8-alkylation of naphthphosphines.

We report a phosphine-directed ruthenium-catalyzed C8-selective alkylation of naphthalenes with alkenes. This protocol provides straightforward access to a large library of electron-rich C8-alkyl substituent 1-naphthphosphines, which outperformed common commercial phosphines and their precursors in the Pd-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of aryl bromides with alkylboronic acid.