Enantioselective Construction of Quaternary Stereocenters via Cooperative Photoredox/Fe/Chiral Primary Amine Triple Catalysis.

The catalytic and enantioselective construction of quaternary (all-carbon substituents) stereocenters poses a formidable challenge in organic synthesis due to the hindrance caused by steric factors. One conceptually viable and potentially versatile approach is the coupling of a C-C bond through an outer-sphere mechanism, accompanied by the realization of enantiocontrol through cooperative catalysis; however, examples of such processes are yet to be identified. Herein, we present such a method for creating different compounds with quaternary stereocenters by photoredox/Fe/chiral primary amine triple catalysis. This approach facilitates the connection of an unactivated alkyl source with a tertiary alkyl moiety, which is also rare. The scalable process exhibits mild conditions, does not necessitate the use of a base, and possesses a good functional-group tolerance. Preliminary investigations into the underlying mechanisms have provided valuable insights into the reaction pathway.

Efficiency and safety of laser-assisted hatching on vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfer cycles: a prospective control trial.

To clarify the efficiency and safety of laser-assisted hatching (LAH) application on vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfer (VBT) cycles, we designed the non-randomized concurrent control trial included 4039 VBT cycles in the Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, during the even days from November 2014 to December 2015. The VBT cycles were divided into LAH group (n = 1932) and non-LAH group (n = 2107) according to the date of blastocyst thawing. Laser-partial zona pellucida dissection was performed on all blastocysts thawed on that day every 4 days, and those blastocysts were assigned to the LAH group. There were a higher biochemical pregnancy rate (66.87% vs 63.69%; P = 0.034; rate ratio for LAH vs non-LAH group [RR], 1.050; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.004-1.098) and an increased live birth rate (48.81% vs 45.51%; P = 0.036; RR, 1.072; 95% CI, 1.005-1.145) with comparable ectopic pregnancy, twin or multiple pregnancies, spontaneous abortion and birth defect rates of the LAH group than those of the non-LAH group. Subgroup analysis showed that live birth rate, birth defect rate, and other pregnancy outcomes were comparable for patients younger than 35 years when blastocyst transfer, patients with endometrium thickness less than 0.9 cm during ovulation or the initiation of progesterone treatment, ICSI blastocysts, AC or BC blastocysts according to Gardner morphological criteria and day 5 blastocysts of the LAH group than it of non-LAH group. LAH could be performed selectively on vitrified-warmed blastocysts before transfer for better pregnancy outcomes. Trial registration number: ChiCTR2000032975. Date of registration: May 17, 2020. Retrospectively registered.

Construction of a Stable Expression Cell Line of Human Phospholamban. / 人源性受磷蛋白稳定表达细胞系的构建.

OBJECTIVES: To construct a cell line that can stably express human phospholamban(PLN) and initially explore its application in the study of myocardial toxicity mechanism. METHODS: FastCloning method was used to insert the open reading frame sequence of target gene PLN into eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA5/FRT/TO(hereinafter referred to as pDFT) to construct the pDFT-PLN-Flag plasmid. The Flp-InTM T-RExTM 293 cells were generated by cotransfection of the constructed plasmid and pOG44 plasmid to express the target gene. Successfully recombined monoclonal cell lines were screened by hygromycin B resistance. Western blot and indirect immunofluorescence (IFA) were used to examine the expression of the target protein in recombinant cells. After the cell line was exposed to aconitine, it was verified by Western blot to detect changes in PLN protein phosphorylation. RESULTS: After PCR amplification of the recombinant plasmid and DNA electrophoresis, the length of the amplified product is the same as the known PLN gene fragment, which is consistent with the open reading frame (ORF) sequence of the human PLN gene after sequencing. IFA and Western blot showed that the constructed proliferation cell line can stably express high levels of human PLN under induction and regulation. Preliminary results showed that the phosphorylation level of Thr17-PLN decreased after two hours of exposure to 1 µmol/L aconitine. CONCLUSIONS: This human cell line can stably express PLN and can be used to study the mechanism of action of aconitine on the cell at molecular level.

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection May Not Improve Clinical Outcomes Despite Its Positive Effect on Embryo Results: A Retrospective Analysis of 1130 Half-ICSI Treatments.

Objective: To explore the clinical application value of half-ICSI treatment for infertility in assisted reproductive technology. Method: A retrospective analysis of 1130 half-ICSI treatments was conducted at the Affiliated Reproductive Hospital of Shandong University from January 2011 to December 2015. Patients with low fertilization rates in previous cycles, primary infertility for >5 years with unexplained reason, or secondary infertility for >5 years without fallopian tube factor were involved in this study. The 2PN rate, high-quality embryo rate, oocyte utilization rate, and clinical outcomes were compared between IVF insemination group (IVF group) and ICSI insemination group (ICSI group). The clinical outcome of half-ICSI insemination treatment, grouped according primary and secondary infertility, was also analyzed. Results: Compared with IVF, ICSI resulted in a significantly higher 2PN rate (74.8% vs. 62.9%), high-quality embryo rate (54.6% vs. 51.7%), and oocyte utilization rate (35.9% vs. 32.8%; P<0.05). Among the 884 fresh-embryo transfer cycles, there were no notable differences in clinical pregnancy rate, live birth rate, or neonatal abnormality rate between the IVF and ICSI groups. Among the 792 primary infertility cycles, ICSI resulted in a significantly higher 2PN rate, high-quality embryo rate, and oocyte utilization rate compared with IVF (75.3% vs. 62.4%, 54.3% vs. 50.8%, 36.4% vs. 32.6%, P<0.05). For the 338 secondary infertility cycles, ICSI resulted in a significantly higher 2PN rate (73.6% vs. 63.9%, P<0.05) compared with IVF, but there were no notable differences in other laboratory results. Moreover, the biochemical pregnancy rate of the ICSI group was significantly lower than for IVF in secondary infertility cycles (49.3% vs. 65.6%; P<0.05). A total of 89 cycles (7.9%) with complete IVF fertilization failure showed a low second polar body (2PB) rate (33.6%) after a 5-h short-time fertilization period, including 34 cycles (3.0%) with no 2PB oocytes observed in the IVF group. Conclusion: ICSI insemination improved laboratory results compared with IVF insemination, however, fresh-embryo transfer of ICSI originated embryos did not improve clinical pregnancy and live birth rates. Rescue ICSI has been successfully applied in clinical IVF insemination to avoid fertilization failure. Therefore, as an extra intervention, it is suggested that ICSI be used judiciously.

Enhanced mass transfer of pulsed vacuum pressure pickling and changes in quality of sour bamboo shoots.

Sour bamboo shoot is a traditional Chinese fermented vegetable food. The traditional pickling method of sour bamboo shoots has the disadvantages of being time-consuming, inhomogeneous, and difficult to control. Pulsed vacuum pressure pickling (PVPP) technology uses pulsed vacuum pressure to enhance the pickling efficiency significantly. To demonstrate the effects of salt content and PVPP technical parameters on the fermentation of bamboo shoots, the sample salinity, pH value, color, crunchiness and chewiness, nitrite content, and lactic acid bacteria content during the pickling process were investigated. The salt content inside the bamboo shoots gradually increased to the equilibrium point during the pickling process. The pickling efficiency of bamboo shoots under PVPP technology increased by 34.1% compared to the traditional control groups. Meanwhile, the uniform salt distribution under PVPP technology also obtained better performance in comparison with the traditional groups. The pH value declined slowly from 5.96 to 3.70 with the extension of pickling time and sour flavor accumulated progressively. No significant differences were found in the color values (L *, a *, and b *) and the crunchiness of the bamboo shoot under different salt solution concentrations, vacuum pressure, and pulsation frequency ratio conditions. Colony-forming unit of lactic acid bacteria (CFU of LAB) decreased, to begin with, and then increased until the 6th day, followed by a declining trend in volatility. The nitrate content of bamboo shoots samples under PVPP treatments did not exceed the safety standard (<20 mg/kg) during the whole fermentation process, which proves the safety of PVPP technology. In conclusion, PVPP technology can safely replace the traditional method with better quality performance. The optimal PVPP processing conditions (vacuum pressure 60 kPa, 10 min vacuum pressure time vs. 4 min atmospheric pressure time, salt solution concentration 6%) have been recommended for pickling bamboo shoots with high product quality.

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome with small intestinal malignancy and cervical carcinoma.

We report a case of 30-year-old woman with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS). Because of small intestinal obstruction, she received the small intestinal polypectomy in 2001, and the pathological diagnosis was Peutz-Jeghers polyp canceration (mucinous adenocarcinoma, infiltrating full-thickness of the intestine). The patient did not feel uncomfortable after 6 mo of chemotherapy and other management. We kept a follow-up study on her and found that she suffered from cervical cancer in 2007, with a pathological diagnosis of cervical adenosquamous carcinoma.The patient presented with typical features of PJS, but without a family history. The PJS accompanied with both small intestinal and cervical malignancies has not been reported so far in the world.

Successful treatment of auricular pseudocyst using a surgical bolster: a case report and review of the literature.

Auricular pseudocysts are a benign condition characterized by the asymptomatic, usually unilateral swelling of the helix or antihelix. The condition is often difficult to treat because recurrences and subsequent auricular deformities are common. We successfully treated a patient with an auricular pseudocyst of the left ear using needle aspiration followed by application of a surgical bolster. In this article, we discuss the features of auricular pseudocysts and propose a simple, first-line approach to the management of this disease.

Three-dimensional AlZnO/Al2O3/AlZnO nanocapacitor arrays on Si substrate for energy storage.

High density three-dimensional AZO/Al2O3/AZO nanocapacitor arrays have been fabricated for energy storage applications. Using atomic layer deposition technique, the stack of AZO/Al2O3/AZO has been grown in the porous anodic alumina template which is directly formed on the Si substrate. The fabricated capacitor shows a high capacitance density of 15.3 fF/µm2 at 100 kHz, which is nearly 2.5 times over the planar capacitor under identical conditions in theory. Further, the charge-discharge characteristics of the capacitor are characterized, indicating that the resistance-capacitance time constants are equal to 300 ns for the charging and discharging processes, and have no dependence on the voltage supply. This reflects good power characteristics of the electrostatic capacitor.

[Expression of the proteins associated with transforming growth factor-beta/Smad signaling pathway in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To detect the expression of important proteins associated with transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta)/Smad signaling pathway in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) and investigate the correlation of these proteins to LKB1 gene expression. METHODS: The expression and localization of LKB1, TGFbeta1 and pSmad2 proteins in 20 PJS polyp samples and normal intestinal mucosal tissues were detected with immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: The expressions of LKB1, TGFbeta1 and pSmad2 were lower in PJS polyps than in normal mucosa, and the differences in LKB1 and TGFbeta1 proteins were significantly different between them (P<0.05). In PJS polyps, positive correlations were found between LKB1 and TGFbeta1 and between TGFbeta1 and pSmad2 expressions. CONCLUSION: TGFbeta/Smad pathway is probably subjected to the regulation by LKB1 and may play a role in the occurrence of PJS.