Sanyensin with an Unprecedented Architecture: An Effective Strategy from Discovery to Stereochemical Identification of Flexible Natural Products.

Under the guidance of genome mining combined with bioassay-coupled metabolomic analyses, an unprecedented macrodiolide sanyensin (1), with two flexible macrolides fused by the rigid oxabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane core, was isolated from the deep-sea-derived Streptomyces sp. OUCT16-30. The stereochemistry of 1 was established by NOEs (nuclear Overhauser effects), J-based configuration analysis, Marfey's analysis, and together with a newly introduced stereochemical study workflow, which greatly shortens the time to obtain correct conformations of flexible structures based on the NMR constraints, thus leading to reliable quantum chemical calculations to establish the absolute configurations. This workflow is expected to have broad applicability for elucidating the stereochemistry of flexible natural products. The macrodiolide framework of 1 is proposed to be formed through a biocatalytic cyclodimerization, followed by a series of nonenzymatic reactions. This work leads to new insights into the unexplored biosynthetic potential of deep-sea microbes and also provides a practical streamline for efficient mining of novel natural products, from discovery to stereochemical finalization.

Sustained intestinal epithelial monolayer wound closure after transient application of a FAK-activating small molecule.

M64HCl, which has drug-like properties, is a water-soluble Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) activator that promotes murine mucosal healing after ischemic or NSAID-induced injury. Since M64HCl has a short plasma half-life in vivo (less than two hours), it has been administered as a continuous infusion with osmotic minipumps in previous animal studies. However, the effects of more transient exposure to M64HCl on monolayer wound closure remained unclear. Herein, we compared the effects of shorter M64HCl treatment in vitro to continuous treatment for 24 hours on monolayer wound closure. We then investigated how long FAK activation and downstream ERK1/2 activation persist after two hours of M64HCl treatment in Caco-2 cells. M64HCl concentrations immediately after washing measured by mass spectrometry confirmed that M64HCl had been completely removed from the medium while intracellular concentrations had been reduced by 95%. Three-hour and four-hour M64HCl (100 nM) treatment promoted epithelial sheet migration over 24 hours similar to continuous 24-hour exposure. 100nM M64HCl did not increase cell number. Exposing cells twice with 2-hr exposures of M64HCl during a 24-hour period had a similar effect. Both FAK inhibitor PF-573228 (10 µM) and ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitor PD98059 (20 µM) reduced basal wound closure in the absence of M64HCl, and each completely prevented any stimulation of wound closure by M64HCl. Rho kinase inhibitor Y-27632 (20 µM) stimulated Caco-2 monolayer wound closure but no further increase was seen with M64HCl in the presence of Y-27632. M64HCl (100 nM) treatment for 3 hours stimulated Rho kinase activity. M64HCl decreased F-actin in Caco-2 cells. Furthermore, a two-hour treatment with M64HCl (100 nM) stimulated sustained FAK activation and ERK1/2 activation for up to 16 and hours 24 hours, respectively. These results suggest that transient M64HCl treatment promotes prolonged intestinal epithelial monolayer wound closure by stimulating sustained activation of the FAK/ERK1/2 pathway. Such molecules may be useful to promote gastrointestinal mucosal repair even with a relatively short half-life.

An Unexpected Degradation Pathway of N-Hydroxy-5-Methylfuran-2-Sulfonamide (BMS-986231), a pH Sensitive Prodrug of HNO, in a Prototype Formulation Solution.

N-hydroxy-5-methylfuran-2-sulfonamide (BMS-986231, Cimlanod) was being developed as a pH-sensitive prodrug of HNO (nitroxyl) for the treatment of acute decompensated heart failure. During a stressed study of Cimlanod in a prototype formulation solution (pH 4.5) at 40°C, a predominant unknown degradant along with three previously identified degradants were observed. The unknown degradant was isolated from the stressed solution via preparative HPLC but totally decomposed during freeze-drying. LC-HRMS analysis of the isolated unknown degradant, prior to freeze-drying, revealed an empirical formula equivalent to the adduct of Cimlanod with SO2 even though SO2 was not added in the prototype formulation solution. The unknown degradant was synthesized from Cimlanod and DABSO ((1,4-diazabiscyclo[2,2,2]octane bis(sulfur dioxide) adduct) and isolated as a crystalline DABCO (1,4-diazabiscyclo[2,2,2]octane) salt for single crystal X-ray structure elucidation. The degradation of Cimlanod increased when the solution was exposed to air, as compared to N2 atmosphere. A plausible mechanism was postulated for the unexpected degradation pathway of Cimlanod. This study provided in-depth stability knowledge of Cimlanod, which will be beneficial to the subsequent stability indicating method development and validation as well as the registrational applications on the content and qualification of impurities in new drug products.

Asymmetric Kinetic Resolution Polymerization of Racemic Lactide Mediated by Axial-Chiral Thiourea/Phosphazene Binary Organocatalyst.

Asymmetric kinetic resolution polymerization (AKRP) provides an ideal way to obtain highly isotactic polylactide (PLA) with superior thermal-mechanical properties from racemic lactide (rac-LA). However, the development of a new catalytic system with concurrent high activity and selectivity at ambient temperature remains a great callenge. Here, a series of simple and effective binary organocatalytic pairs containing axial-chiral thioureas and commercially available phosphazene bases were designed. These chiral binary organocatalytic pairs allow for both high polymerization activity and moderate enantioselectivity for AKRP of rac-LA at room temperature, yielding semi-crystalline and metal-free stereoblock PLA with a melting temperature as high as 186 °C. The highest kinetic resolution coefficient (krel) of 8.5 at 47 % conversion was obtained, and D-LA was preferentially polymerized via kinetic resolution with a maximum selectivity factor (kD/kL) of 18.1, indicating that an enantiomorphic site control mechanism (ESC) was involved.

A simulation-guided approach to the selection of RPLC columns for platform small molecule separations.

Simulations were conducted to evaluate the potential of several hundred reversed-phase columns to separate small molecules. By calculating the retention factor of compounds in randomly generated virtual mixtures via the HSM (hydrophobic subtraction model) and applying basic chromatography theory, the simulation can estimate the retention time and peak width of every virtual compound and calculate the resolution between every adjacent pair of compounds. A preferred column set based on the number of successful separations of randomly generated virtual mixtures was developed. The tandem-column liquid chromatography (TC-LC) approach can separate 53.2 % of the 16-compound samples using 20 tandem-column pairs, while a single-column approach can only separate 42.6 % of the 16-compound samples with 20 single columns. The preferred set of columns obtained from the simulation was almost the same as the empirical set of columns previously obtained. In screening applications, TC-LC can achieve a comparably successful separation factor (selectivity) with a smaller column inventory (nine 50-mm columns) compared to the larger inventory needed by single-column LC (twenty-one 100-mm columns).

Improved hydrophobic subtraction model of reversed-phase liquid chromatography selectivity based on a large dataset with a focus on isomer selectivity.

Reversed-phase (RP) liquid chromatography is an important tool for the characterization of materials and products in the pharmaceutical industry. Method development is still challenging in this application space, particularly when dealing with closely-related compounds. Models of chromatographic selectivity are useful for predicting which columns out of the hundreds that are available are likely to have very similar, or different, selectivity for the application at hand. The hydrophobic subtraction model (HSM1) has been widely employed for this purpose; the column database for this model currently stands at 750 columns. In previous work we explored a refinement of the original HSM1 (HSM2) and found that increasing the size of the dataset used to train the model dramatically reduced the number of gross errors in predictions of selectivity made using the model. In this paper we describe further work in this direction (HSM3), this time based on a much larger solute set (1014 solute/stationary phase combinations) containing selectivities for compounds covering a broader range of physicochemical properties compared to HSM1. The molecular weight range was doubled, and the range of the logarithm of the octanol/water partition coefficients was increased slightly. The number of active pharmaceutical ingredients and related synthetic intermediates and impurities was increased from four to 28, and ten pairs of closely related structures (e.g., geometric and cis-/trans- isomers) were included. The HSM3 model is based on retention measurements for 75 compounds using 13 RP stationary phases and a mobile phase of 40/60 acetonitrile/25 mM ammonium formate buffer at pH 3.2. This data-driven model produced predictions of ln α (chromatographic selectivity using ethylbenzene as the reference compound) with average absolute errors of approximately 0.033, which corresponds to errors in α of about 3 %. In some cases, the prediction of the trans-/cis- selectivities for positional and geometric isomers was relatively accurate, and the driving forces for the observed selectivity could be inferred by examination of the relative magnitudes of the terms in the HSM3 model. For some geometric isomer pairs the interactions mainly responsible for the observed selectivities could not be rationalized due to large uncertainties for particular terms in the model. This suggests that more work is needed in the future to explore other HSM-type models and continue expanding the training dataset in order to continue improving the predictive accuracy of these models. Additionally, we release with this paper a much larger data set (43,329 total retention measurements) at multiple mobile phase compositions, to enable other researchers to pursue their own lines of inquiry related to RP selectivity.

Associations between health-related fitness and patient-reported symptoms in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients experience symptoms that may affect their quality of life, treatment outcomes, and survival. Preventing and managing breast cancer-related symptoms soon after diagnosis is essential. The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between health-related fitness (HRF) and patient-reported symptoms in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. METHODS: This study utilized baseline data from the Alberta Moving Beyond Breast Cancer Cohort Study that were collected within 90 days of diagnosis. HRF measures included peak cardiopulmonary fitness (peak volume of oxygen consumption (VO2peak)), maximal muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition. Symptom measures included depression, sleep quality, and fatigue. Adjusted multivariable logistic regression was performed for analyses. RESULTS: Of 1458 participants, 51.5% reported poor sleep quality, 26.5% reported significant fatigue, and 10.4% reported moderate depression. In multivariable-adjusted models, lower relative VO2peak was independently associated with a greater likelihood of all symptom measures, including moderate depression (p < 0.001), poor sleep quality (p = 0.009), significant fatigue (p = 0.008), any symptom (p < 0.001), and multiple symptoms (p < 0.001). VO2peak demonstrated threshold associations with all symptom measures such that all 3 lower quartiles exhibited similar elevated risk compared to the highest quartile. The strength of the threshold associations varied by the symptom measure with odds ratios ranging from ∼1.5 for poor sleep quality to ∼3.0 for moderate depression and multiple symptoms. Moreover, lower relative upper body muscular endurance was also independently associated with fatigue in a dose-response manner (p = 0.001), and higher body weight was independently associated with poor sleep quality in an inverted U pattern (p = 0.021). CONCLUSION: Relative VO2peak appears to be a critical HRF component associated with multiple patient-reported symptoms in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Other HRF parameters may also be important for specific symptoms. Exercise interventions targeting different HRF components may help newly diagnosed breast cancer patients manage specific symptoms and improve outcomes.

Specific Discrimination Polymerization for Highly Isotactic Polyesters Synthesis.

Isotactic polymers have emerged with unique and excellent properties in material sciences. Specific discrimination polymerization provides an ideal pathway to achieve highly isotactic polymers from their racemic monomers, which is of great significance and a challenge in polymeric chemistry. Although an enantioselective catalyst-mediated asymmetric kinetic resolution polymerization (AKRP) process makes it possible, a general and well-defined strategy for catalyst design is still rarely reported. Here, based on a novel dual-ligand strategy, a new type of chiral (BisSalen)Al complex with high enantioselectivity has been described, in which perfect AKRP of racemic phenethylglycolide (Pegl) is achieved for the first time. The more confined asymmetric microenvironment formed by a dual ligand is the key to improve the enantioselectivity of the original catalyst. To illustrate the generality of this strategy, a series of (BisSalen)Al complexes with homo- or heterodual ligands were designed for the AKRP of Pegl.

Stage Shifting by Modifying the Determinants of Breast Cancer Stage at Diagnosis: A Simulation Study.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Canadian women; nearly 25% of women diagnosed with cancer have breast cancer. The early detection of breast cancer is a major challenge because tumours often grow without causing symptom. The diagnosis of breast cancer at an early stage (stages I and II) improves survival outcomes because treatments are more effective and better tolerated. To better inform the prevention of and screening for breast cancer, simulations using modifiable rather than non-modifiable risk factors may be helpful in shifting the stage at diagnosis downward. METHODS: Breast cancer stages were simulated using the data distributions from Alberta's Tomorrow Project participants who developed breast cancer. Using multivariable partial proportional odds regression models, modifiable lifestyle factors associated with the stage of cancer at diagnosis were evaluated. The proportions or mean levels of these lifestyle factors in the simulated population were systematically changed, then multiplied by their corresponding estimated odds ratios from the real data example. The effects of these changes were evaluated singly as well as cumulatively. RESULTS: Increasing total dietary protein (g/day) intake was the single most important lifestyle factor in shifting the breast cancer stage downwards followed by decreasing total dietary energy intake (kcal/day). Increasing the proportion of women who spend time in the sun between 11 am and 4 pm in the summer months, who have had a mammogram, who have been pregnant or reducing the proportion who are in stressful situations had much smaller effects. The percentage of Stage I diagnoses could be increased by approximately 12% with small modifications of these lifestyle factors. CONCLUSION: Shifting the breast cancer stage at diagnosis of a population may be achieved through changes to lifestyle factors. This proof of principle study that evaluated multiple factors associated with the stage at diagnosis in a population can be expanded to other cancers as well, providing opportunities for cancer prevention programs to target specific factors and identify populations at higher risk.

Mechanistic studies to understand peak tailing due to sulfinic acid- and carboxylic acid-silanophilic interactions in reversed-phase liquid chromatography.

Silanophilic interactions are a primary contributor to peak tailing of acidic pharmaceutical compounds, thus a thorough understanding is especially important for reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) method development. Herein, a sulfinic acid compound that exhibited severe peak tailing in RPLC with acidic mobile phases was carefully studied. Results indicated that the neutral protonated form of the sulfinic acid is involved in the strong interaction that leads to peak tailing, but that tailing can be mitigated with a blocking effect achieved through use of acetic acid modifier in the mobile phase. Peak tailing was also observed with other structurally-similar sulfinic acids and carboxylic acids but was, in general, less severe with the latter. The Hydrophobic Subtraction Model (HSM) was applied to six commercial C18 columns that exhibited different tailing behaviors for the sulfinic acid compound in attempts to identify key sites of interaction within the stationary phase. A combination of heated acid column wash experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that the differential interactions of the acids with vicinal silanol pairs in the stationary phase play a major role in peak tailing.

Degradation Product-Promoted Depolymerization Strategy for Chemical Recycling of Poly(bisphenol A carbonate).

The accumulation of waste plastics has a severe impact on the environment, and therefore, the development of efficient chemical recycling methods has become an extremely important task. In this regard, a new strategy of degradation product-promoted depolymerization process was proposed. Using N,N'-dimethyl-ethylenediamine (DMEDA) as a depolymerization reagent, an efficient chemical recycling of poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (BPA-PC or PC) material was achieved under mild conditions. The degradation product 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI) was proven to be a critical factor in facilitating the depolymerization process. This strategy does not require catalysts or auxiliary solvents, making it a truly green process. This method improves the recycling efficiency of PC and promotes the development of plastic reutilization.

Health-Related and Psychosocial Factors Associated with Prostate Cancer Stage at Diagnosis among Males Participating in Alberta's Tomorrow Project.

Prostate cancer (PCa) stage at diagnosis is an important predictor of cancer prognosis. In Canada, over one-quarter of males are diagnosed with advanced-stage PCa. Studies have identified several factors associated with PCa stage at diagnosis; however, evidence from Canada is limited. This study aimed to examine associations between sociodemographic characteristics, health history, health practices, and psychosocial factors and PCa stage at diagnosis among males participating in Alberta's Tomorrow Project (ATP), a prospective cohort in Alberta, Canada. The study included males aged 35-69 years who developed PCa until January 2018. Factors associated with PCa stage at diagnosis were examined using partial proportional odds (PPO) ordinal regression models. A total of 410 males were diagnosed with PCa over the study period. A higher number of lifetime prostate-specific antigen tests were associated with earlier-stage PCa (OR 0.91, p = 0.02, 95% CI 0.83-0.99), while higher abdominal circumference (OR 1.02, p = 0.05, 95% CI 1.00-1.03), lower social support (OR 2.34, p < 0.01, 95% CI 1.31-4.17), and having children (OR 2.67, p < 0.01, 95% CI 1.38-5.16) were associated with later-stage disease. This study identified factors previously found in the literature as well as novel factors associated with PCa stage at diagnosis, which can help inform targets for cancer prevention programs to improve PCa prognosis.

Upper Limb Morbidity in Newly Diagnosed Individuals After Unilateral Surgery for Breast Cancer: Baseline Results from the AMBER Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: We aimed to examine potential associations between post-surgical upper limb morbidity and demographic, medical, surgical, and health-related fitness variables in newly diagnosed individuals with breast cancer. METHODS: Participants were recruited between 2012 and 2019. Objective measures of health-related fitness, body composition, shoulder range of motion, axillary web syndrome, and lymphedema were performed within 3 months of breast cancer surgery, and prior to or at the start of adjuvant cancer treatment. RESULTS: Upper limb morbidity was identified in 54% of participants and was associated with poorer upper limb function and higher pain. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified mastectomy versus breast-conserving surgery (odds ratio [OR] 3.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.65-4.65), axillary lymph node dissection versus sentinel lymph node dissection (OR 2.67, 95% CI 1.73-4.10), earlier versus later time from surgery (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.15-2.18), and younger versus older age (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.03) as significantly associated with a higher odds of upper limb morbidity, while mastectomy (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.10-2.25), axillary lymph node dissection (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.34-3.60), lower muscular endurance (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01-1.16) and higher percentage body fat (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00-1.07) were significantly associated with higher odds of moderate or greater morbidity severity. CONCLUSIONS: Upper limb morbidity is common in individuals after breast cancer surgery prior to adjuvant cancer treatment. Health-related fitness variables were associated with severity of upper limb morbidity. Findings may facilitate prospective surveillance of individuals at higher risk of developing upper limb morbidity.

Changes in the cis-trans isomer selectivity of a reversed-phase liquid chromatography column during use with acidic mobile phase conditions.

Reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) is the analytical tool of choice for monitoring process-related organic impurities and degradants in pharmaceutical materials. Its popularity is due to its general ease-of-use, high performance, and reproducibility in most cases, all of which have improved as the technique has matured over the past few decades. Nevertheless, in our work we still occasionally observe situations where RPLC methods are not as robust as we would like them to be in practice due to variations in stationary phase chemistry between manufactured batches (i.e., lot-to-lot variability), and changes in stationary phase chemistry over time. Over the last three decades several models of RPLC selectivity have been developed and used to quantify and rationalize the effects of numerous parameters (e.g., effect of bonded phase density) on separation selectivity. The Hydrophobic Subtraction Model (HSM) of RPLC selectivity has been used extensively for these purposes; currently the publicly available database of column parameters contains data for 750 columns. In this work we explored the possibility that the HSM could be used to better understand the chemical basis of observed differences in stationary phase selectivity when they occur - for example, lot-to-lot variations or changes in selectivity during column use. We focused our attention on differences and changes in the observed selectivity for a pair of cis-trans isomers of a pharmaceutical intermediate. Although this is admittedly a challenging case, we find that the observed changes in selectivity are not strongly correlated with HSM column parameters, suggesting that there is a gap in the information provided by the HSM with respect to cis-trans isomer selectivity specifically. Further work with additional probe molecules showed that larger changes in cis-trans isomer selectivity were observed for pairs of molecules with greater molecular complexity, compared to the selectivity changes observed for simpler molecules. These results do not provide definitive answers to questions about the chemical basis of changes in stationary phase chemistry that lead to observed differences in cis-trans isomer selectivity. However, the results do provide important insights about the critical importance of molecular complexity when choosing probe compounds and indicate opportunities to develop improved selectivity models with increased sensitivity for cis-trans isomer selectivity.

Social-cognitive, demographic, clinical, and health-related correlates of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in newly diagnosed women with breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Identifying correlates of physical activity and sedentary behaviour allows for the identification of factors that may be targeted in future behaviour change interventions. This study sought to determine the social-cognitive, demographic, clinical, and health-related correlates of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in individuals recently diagnosed with breast cancer. METHODS: Data were collected from 1381 participants within 90 days of diagnosis in the Alberta Moving Beyond Breast Cancer (AMBER) Cohort Study. Physical activity and sedentary behaviour were measured with ActiGraph GT3X+® and activPALTM devices, respectively, for seven consecutive days. Correlates were collected via a self-reported questionnaire, medical record extraction, or measured by staff. RESULTS: Multivariable models were fitted for sedentary behaviour, light physical activity, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Greater sedentary behaviour was associated with higher body fat percentage (BF%) (ß=0.044; p<0.001) and being single (ß=0.542; p<0.002). Lower light physical activity was associated with higher BF% (ß=-0.044; p<0.001), higher body mass index (ß=-0.039; p<0.001), greater disease barrier influence (ß=-0.006; p<0.001), a HER2-positive diagnosis (ß=-0.278; p=0.001), and being single (ß=-0.385; p= 0.001). Lower moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was associated with higher BF% (ß =-0.011; p=0.001), greater disease barrier influence (ß=-0.002; p<0.001), and being of Asian (ß=-0.189; p=0.002) or Indian/South American (ß=-0.189; p=0.002) descent. Greater moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was associated with having greater intentions (ß=0.049; p=0.033) and planning (ß=0.026; p=0.015) towards physical activity. CONCLUSION: Tailoring interventions to increase physical activity for individuals recently diagnosed with breast cancer may improve long-term outcomes across the breast cancer continuum.

Development and External Validation of Partial Proportional Odds Risk Prediction Models for Cancer Stage at Diagnosis among Males and Females in Canada.

Risk prediction models for cancer stage at diagnosis may identify individuals at higher risk of late-stage cancer diagnoses. Partial proportional odds risk prediction models for cancer stage at diagnosis for males and females were developed using data from Alberta's Tomorrow Project (ATP). Prediction models were validated on the British Columbia Generations Project (BCGP) cohort using discrimination and calibration measures. Among ATP males, older age at diagnosis was associated with an earlier stage at diagnosis, while full- or part-time employment, prostate-specific antigen testing, and former/current smoking were associated with a later stage at diagnosis. Among ATP females, mammogram and sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy were associated with an earlier stage at diagnosis, while older age at diagnosis, number of pregnancies, and hysterectomy were associated with a later stage at diagnosis. On external validation, discrimination results were poor for both males and females while calibration results indicated that the models did not over- or under-fit to derivation data or over- or under-predict risk. Multiple factors associated with cancer stage at diagnosis were identified among ATP participants. While the prediction model calibration was acceptable, discrimination was poor when applied to BCGP data. Updating our models with additional predictors may help improve predictive performance.

Depression, happiness, and satisfaction with life in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer: Associations with device-measured physical activity and sedentary time.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined depression after a cancer diagnosis and before initiating adjuvant or neoadjuvant systemic treatments. In this study, we present baseline data on device-measured physical activity, sedentary behaviour, depression, happiness, and satisfaction with life in newly diagnosed breast cancer survivors. PURPOSE: To examine associations of accelerometer-assessed physical activity and sedentary time with depression symptoms and prevalence, happiness, and satisfaction with life. METHODS: Shortly after diagnosis, 1425 participants completed depression, happiness, and satisfaction with life measures and wore an ActiGraph® device on their hip to measure physical activity and the activPALTM inclinometer on their thigh for 7 days to measure sedentary time (sitting/lying) and steps (1384 completed both device measures). ActiGraph® data were analysed using a hybrid machine learning method (R Sojourn package, Soj3x), and activPALTM data using activPALTM algorithms (PAL Software version 8). We used linear and logistic regression to examine associations of physical activity and sedentary time with depression symptom severity (0-27) and depression prevalence, happiness (0-100), and satisfaction with life (0-35). For the logistic regression analysis, we compared participants with none-minimal depression (n = 895) to participants with some depression (that is, mild, moderate, moderately-severe, or severe depression [n = 530]). RESULTS: Participants reported a mean depression symptom severity score of 4.3 (SD = 4.1), a satisfaction with life score of 25.7 (SD = 7.2), and a happiness score of 70 (SD = 21.8). Higher moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was associated with reduced depression symptom severity scores (ß = -0.51, 95% CI: -0.87 to -0.14, p = 0.007). A 1 hour increase in MVPA was associated with a reduced odds of at least mild or worse depression by 24% (Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.62-0.94, p = 0.012). Higher daily step counts were associated with lower depression symptom severity scores (ß = -0.16, 95% CI: -0.24 to -0.10, p < 0.001). Perceptions of happiness was associated with higher MVPA (ß = 2.17, 95% CI: 0.17-4.17, p = 0.033). Sedentary time was not associated with depression severity, but higher sedentary time was associated with lower perceptions of happiness (ß = -0.80, 95% CI: -1.48 to -0.11, p = 0.023). CONCLUSIONS: Higher physical activity was associated with fewer depression symptom severity scores and reduced odds of mild or worse depression in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Higher physical activity and daily step counts were also associated with stronger perceptions of happiness and satisfaction with life, respectively. Sedentary time was not associated with depression symptom severity or odds of having depression, but was associated with stronger perceptions of happiness.

Trapping mode two-dimensional liquid chromatography for quantitative low-level impurity enrichment in pharmaceutical development.

Trapping mode two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC) has recently found applications in pharmaceutical analysis to clean, refocus, and enrich analytes. Given its enrichment capability, 2D-LC with multiple trappings is appealing for low-level impurity monitoring that cannot be solved by single dimensional LC (1D-LC) or unenriched 2D-LC analysis. However, the quantitative features of multi-trapping 2D-LC remain largely unknown at impurity levels from parts-per-million (ppm) to 0.15% (w/w). We present a simple heart-cutting trapping mode 2D-LC workflow using only common components and software found in typical off-the-shelf 1D-LC instruments. This robust, turn-key system's quantitative capabilities were evaluated using a variety of standard markers, demonstrating linear enrichment for up to 20 trapping cycles and achieving a recovery of over 97.0%. Next, the trapping system was applied to several real-world low-level impurity pharmaceutical case studies including (1) the identification of two unknown impurities at sub-ppm levels resulting in material discoloration, (2) the discovery of a new impurity at 0.05% (w/w) co-eluted with a known impurity, making the undesired summation above the target specification, and (3) the quantification of a potential mutagenic impurity at 10-ppm level in a poorly soluble substrate. The recovery in all studies was better than 97.0% with RSD lower than 3.0%, demonstrating accuracy and precision of the 2D-LC trapping workflow. As no specialized equipment or software is required, we envision that the system could be used to develop low-impurity monitoring methods suitable for validation and potential execution in quality-control laboratories.

Associations between health-related fitness and quality of life in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.

PURPOSE: Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients face substantial stress and uncertainty that may undermine their quality of life (QoL). The purpose of the present study was to examine the associations between health-related fitness (HRF) and QoL in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients from the Alberta Moving Beyond Breast Cancer Study. METHODS: Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients with early-stage disease (n = 1458) were recruited between 2012 and 2019 in Edmonton and Calgary, Canada to complete baseline HRF and QoL assessments within 90 days of diagnosis. HRF assessments included cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2peak treadmill test), muscular fitness (upper and lower body strength and endurance tests), and body composition (dual x-ray absorptiometry). QoL was assessed by the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) version 2. We used logistic regression analyses to examine the associations between quartiles of HRF and poor/fair QoL (bottom 20%) after adjusting for key covariates. RESULTS: In multivariable analysis, the least fit groups compared to the most fit groups for relative upper body strength (OR = 3.19; 95% CI = 1.98-5.14), lean mass percentage (OR = 2.31; 95% CI = 1.37-3.89), and relative VO2peak (OR = 2.08; 95% CI = 1.21-3.57) were independently at a significantly higher risk of poor/fair physical QoL. No meaningful associations were found for mental QoL. CONCLUSIONS: The three main components of HRF (muscular fitness, cardiorespiratory fitness, and body composition) were independently associated with physical QoL in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Exercise interventions designed to improve these components of HRF may optimize physical QoL and help newly diagnosed breast cancer patients better prepare for treatments and recovery.

Development of tandem-column liquid chromatographic methods for pharmaceutical compounds using simulations based on hydrophobic subtraction model parameters.

The liquid chromatography (LC) analysis of small molecule pharmaceutical compounds and related impurities is crucial in the development of new drug substances, but developing these separations is usually challenging due to analyte structural similarities. Tandem-column LC (TC-LC) has emerged as a powerful approach to achieve alternative separation selectivity compared to conventional single column separations. However, one of the bottlenecks associated with use of tandem column approaches is time-consuming column pair screening and selection. Herein, we compared critical resolution (Rc) in single column vs. TC-LC separations for a given set of small molecule pharmaceutical compounds and developed a column selection workflow that uses separation simulations based on parameters from the hydrophobic subtraction model (HSM) of reversed-phase selectivity. In this study, HSM solute parameters were experimentally determined for a small molecule pharmaceutical (Linrodostat) and ten of its related impurities using multiple linear regression of their retentions on 16 selected RPLC columns against in-house determined HSM column parameters. Rc values were calculated based on HSM database column parameters for a pool of about 200 available stationary phases in both single-phase column (2.1 mm i.d. × 100 mm) or tandem column paired (two 2.1 mm i.d. × 50 mm) formats. Four column configurations (two single and two tandem) were predicted to achieve successful separations under isocratic HSM separation conditions, with a fifth tandem pair predicted to have a single co-elution. Of these five potential candidates, one tandem pair yielded compete baseline resolution of the 11-component mixture in an experimental separation. In this specific case, the tandem column pairs outperformed single-phase columns, with better predicted and experimental Rc values for the Linrodostat mixture under the HSM separation conditions. The results reported in this study demonstrated the enormous selectivity potential of TC-LC in pharmaceutical compound separations and are consistent with our previous study that examined the potential of tandem column approaches using purely computational means, though there is room for substantial improvement in the prediction accuracy. The proposed workflow can be used to prioritize a small number of column combinations by computational means before any experiments are conducted. This is highly attractive from the point of view of time and resource savings considering over 200,000 different tandem column pairings are possible using columns for which there are data in the HSM database.