Burkholderia semiarida as Cause of Recurrent Pulmonary Infection in Immunocompetent Patient, China.

Burkholderia semiarida was previously identified solely as a plant pathogen within the Burkholderia cepacia complex. We present a case in China involving recurrent pneumonia attributed to B. semiarida infection. Of note, the infection manifested in an immunocompetent patient with no associated primary diseases and endured for >3 years.

MBD3 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition in gastric cancer cells by upregulating ACTG1 via the PI3K/AKT pathway.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) is a common malignancy and a leading cause of cancer-related death with high morbidity and mortality. Methyl-CpG binding domain protein 3 (MBD3), a key epigenetic regulator, is abnormally expressed in several cancers, participating in progression and metastasis. However, the role of MBD3 in GC remains unknown. METHODS: MBD3 expression was assessed via public databases and validated by western blotting and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The prognosis of MBD3 was analysed via bioinformatics based on the TCGA dataset. The migration, invasion and proliferation of GC cells were examined by transwell, wound healing, cell counting kit (CCK)-8, colony-formation and xenograft mouse models. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases/ protein Kinase B (PI3K/AKT) pathway markers were evaluated by Western blotting. RNA sequencing was used to identify the target of MBD3. RESULTS: MBD3 expression was higher in GC tissues and cells than in normal tissues and cells. Additionally, high MBD3 levels were associated with poor prognosis in GC patients. Subsequently, we proved that MBD3 enhanced the migration, invasion and proliferation abilities of GC cells. Moreover, western blot results showed that MBD3 promoted EMT and activated the PI3K/AKT pathway. RNA sequencing analysis showed that MBD3 may increase actin γ1 (ACTG1) expression to promote migration and proliferation in GC cells. CONCLUSION: MBD3 promoted migration, invasion, proliferation and EMT by upregulating ACTG1 via PI3K/AKT signaling activation in GC cells and may be a potential diagnostic and prognostic target.

Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Risk of Microvascular Complications Among Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE: Social disconnection has been associated with poor cardiometabolic health. This study sought to investigate the associations of social isolation and loneliness with diabetic microvascular complications (DMC) among individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and compare these associations to those related to traditional risk factors. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: A total of 24,297 UK Biobank participants with T2DM and no DMC at baseline. EXPOSURE: Social isolation and loneliness measured using self-reported questionnaires. OUTCOME: The incidence of DMC defined as a composite of diabetic kidney disease, diabetic retinopathy, or diabetic neuropathy. ANALYTICAL APPROACH: Multivariable cause-specific hazards regression. To compare the relative importance of social disconnection with other established factors, the R2 values of the Cox models were calculated. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 12.6 years, 5,530 patients were documented to develop DMC (3,458 with diabetic kidney disease, 2,255 with diabetic retinopathy, and 1,146 with diabetic neuropathy). The highest level of social isolation was associated with an increased risk of any DMC component (most vs. least: HR: 1.13; 95% CI: 1.05-1.22), especially diabetic kidney disease (HR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.04-1.25) and neuropathy (HR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.11-1.53). Any level of loneliness was associated with an increased risk of any DMC component (HR: 1.12; 95% CI: 1.02-1.23) and diabetic kidney disease (HR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.03-1.30). Social isolation and loneliness exhibited associations with DMC comparable to other conventional risk factors including smoking, blood pressure, and physical activity. LIMITATIONS: Limited generalizability related to the composition of participants in the UK Biobank Study. CONCLUSIONS: Social isolation and loneliness were independently associated with a higher risk of incident DMC among individuals with T2DM, with comparable importance to other traditional risk factors. These findings underscore social isolation and loneliness as novel and potentially modifiable risk factors for DMC.

LncRNA UCA1 promotes pancreatic cancer cell migration by regulating mitochondrial dynamics via the MAPK pathway.

PURPOSE: Long non-coding RNA urothelial cancer associated 1 (UCA1) serves as an oncogene in various cancers. However, the mechanism underlying the role of UCA1 in pancreatic cancer remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the role of UCA1 in pancreatic cancer. METHODS: The expression and prognosis of UCA1 were analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases. The results were validated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and qRT-PCR. The biofunctions of UCA1 were analyzed using Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). The migration abilities and mitochondrial dynamics of PC cells were examined using the Transwell assay, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and fluorescence. The mitochondrial-related protein and MAPK/ERK pathway markers were evaluated using western blotting. RESULTS: UCA1 expression was significantly higher in pancreatic cancer tissues than in normal tissues. High UCA1 expression indicated poor clinical outcomes and was associated with clinical features in patients with pancreatic cancer. Additionally, high UCA1 expression is a potential independent marker for poor prognosis. Subsequently, we demonstrated that UCA1 enhanced the migration capability, increased MMP, enhanced mitochondrial fusion, and inhibited mitochondrial autophagy in pancreatic cancer cells via the MAPK/ERK pathway. CONCLUSION: UCA1 promotes the migration by regulating the mitochondrial dynamics of pancreatic cancer cells via the MAPK/ERK pathway. Our findings suggest that UCA1 may serve as a potential biomarker in pancreatic cancer prognosis.

Halogen Bonding in Haspin-Halogenated Tubercidin Complexes: Molecular Dynamics and Quantum Chemical Calculations.

Haspin, an atypical serine/threonine protein kinase, is a potential target for cancer therapy. 5-iodotubercidin (5-iTU), an adenosine derivative, has been identified as a potent Haspin inhibitor in vitro. In this paper, quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to identify and quantitatively confirm the presence of halogen bonding (XB), specifically halogen∙∙∙π (aromatic) interaction between halogenated tubercidin ligands with Haspin. Consistent with previous theoretical finding, the site specificity of the XB binding over the ortho-carbon is identified in all cases. A systematic increase of the interaction energy down Group 17, based on both quantum chemical and MD results, supports the important role of halogen bonding in this series of inhibitors. The observed trend is consistent with the experimental observation of the trend of activity within the halogenated tubercidin ligands (F < Cl < Br < I). Furthermore, non-covalent interaction (NCI) plots show that cooperative non-covalent interactions, namely, hydrogen and halogen bonds, contribute to the binding of tubercidin ligands toward Haspin. The understanding of the role of halogen bonding interaction in the ligand-protein complexes may shed light on rational design of potent ligands in the future.

Host miR-4301 promotes rotavirus replication via PPP1R3D in Caco-2 cells.

To investigate the role of miR-4301 in rotavirus (RV)-infected Caco-2 cells. In this experiment, RNAs of RV-infected Caco-2 cells were extracted, and the high-throughput second-generation sequencing was performed to detect the expression profiles of host microRNAs (miRNAs). Synthetic miRNA mimics and inhibitors were examined (quantitative polymerase chain reaction [qPCR], crystalline violet, immunofluorescence and electron microscopy) to evaluate the effect on RV replication. Target genes of miR-4301 were predicted by software analysis. The expression of target genes was evaluated by qPCR and Western blot after transfected with miRNA inhibitor/mimic, and crystalline violet and qPCR were used to detect the downregulation effects of target genes on RV replication. By transfecting miRNA inhibitors/mimics and detecting downstream target genes, the mechanism of miRNA affecting RV replication was analyzed. There were 78 known miRNAs with significant differential expression, including 39 upregulated miRNAs and 39 downregulated miRNAs. The results showed that miR-4301 exerted a key role in enhancing RV replication. PPP1R3D protein which can inhibit RV replication was predicted as the target gene of miR-4301 by software analysis. While upregulating miR-4301 by RV, the expression of PPP1R3D and glycogen synthase (GS) is suppressed. For the first time, the effect of miR-4301 on RV infection, and its influence on GS was investigated. Specifically, RV inhibits host cell glycogen synthesis to utilize the host intracellular glucose for promoting its own replication.

Synthesis of Pyrroles through the CuH-Catalyzed Coupling of Enynes and Nitriles.

Herein, we describe an efficient method to prepare polysubstituted pyrroles via a copper hydride (CuH)-catalyzed enyne-nitrile coupling reaction. This protocol accommodates both aromatic and aliphatic substituents and a broad range of functional groups, providing a variety of N-H pyrroles in good yields and with high regioselectivity. We propose that the Cu-based catalyst promotes both the initial reductive coupling and subsequent cyclization steps. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to elucidate the reaction mechanism.

Enantioselective Allylation Using Allene, a Petroleum Cracking Byproduct.

Allene (C3H4) gas is produced and separated on million-metric-ton scale per year during petroleum refining but is rarely employed in organic synthesis. Meanwhile, the addition of an allyl group (C3H5) to ketones is among the most common and prototypical reactions in synthetic chemistry. Herein, we report that the combination of allene gas with inexpensive and environmentally benign hydrosilanes, such as PMHS, can serve as a replacement for stoichiometric quantities of allylmetal reagents, which are required in most enantioselective ketone allylation reactions. This process is catalyzed by copper salts and commercially available ligands, operates without specialized equipment or pressurization, and tolerates a broad range of functional groups. Furthermore, the exceptional chemoselectivity of this catalyst system enables industrially relevant C3 hydrocarbon mixtures of allene with methylacetylene and propylene to be applied directly.

Automatic Lumbar MRI Detection and Identification Based on Deep Learning.

The aim of this research is to automatically detect lumbar vertebras in MRI images with bounding boxes and their classes, which can assist clinicians with diagnoses based on large amounts of MRI slices. Vertebras are highly semblable in appearance, leading to a challenging automatic recognition. A novel detection algorithm is proposed in this paper based on deep learning. We apply a similarity function to train the convolutional network for lumbar spine detection. Instead of distinguishing vertebras using annotated lumbar images, our method compares similarities between vertebras using a beforehand lumbar image. In the convolutional neural network, a contrast object will not update during frames, which allows a fast speed and saves memory. Due to its distinctive shape, S1 is firstly detected and a rough region around it is extracted for searching for L1-L5. The results are evaluated with accuracy, precision, mean, and standard deviation (STD). Finally, our detection algorithm achieves the accuracy of 98.6% and the precision of 98.9%. Most failed results are involved with wrong S1 locations or missed L5. The study demonstrates that a lumbar detection network supported by deep learning can be trained successfully without annotated MRI images. It can be believed that our detection method will assist clinicians to raise working efficiency.

CuH-Catalyzed Asymmetric Reduction of α,ß-Unsaturated Carboxylic Acids to ß-Chiral Aldehydes.

The copper hydride (CuH)-catalyzed enantioselective reduction of α,ß-unsaturated carboxylic acids to saturated aldehydes is reported. This protocol provides a new method to access a variety of ß-chiral aldehydes in good yields, with high levels of enantioselectivity and broad functional group tolerance. A reaction pathway involving a ketene intermediate is proposed based on preliminary mechanistic studies and density functional theory calculations.

CuH-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydroamidation of Vinylarenes.

A CuH-catalyzed enantioselective hydroamidation reaction of vinylarenes has been developed using readily accessible 1,4,2-dioxazol-5-ones as electrophilic amidating reagents. This method provides a straightforward and efficient approach to synthesize chiral amides in good yields with high levels of enantiopurity under mild conditions. Moreover, this transformation tolerates substrates bearing a broad range of functional groups.

Enantioselective CuH-Catalyzed Hydroacylation Employing Unsaturated Carboxylic Acids as Aldehyde Surrogates.

The direct asymmetric copper hydride (CuH)-catalyzed coupling of α,ß-unsaturated carboxylic acids to aryl alkenes to access chiral α-aryl dialkyl ketones is reported. A variety of substrate substitution patterns, sensitive functional groups, and heterocycles are tolerated in this reaction, which significantly expands the range of accessible products compared with existing hydroacylation methodology. Although mechanistic studies are ongoing, we propose that CuH-catalyzed silylation of unsaturated acids occurs to access a uniquely effective acyl electrophilic coupling partner.

Palladium-Catalyzed Synthesis of Indoles and Isoquinolines with in Situ Generated Phosphinimine.

A palladium-catalyzed synthesis of polysubstituted indoles and isoquinolines through the coupling of aryl bromides with 2-alkynyl arylazides or 2-alkynyl benzylazides has been developed. This method provides straightforward access to indoles and isoquinolines with high efficiency and excellent functional group compatibility. In this transformation, the iminophosphorane in situ generated from azides is served as the nucleophile that attacks the alkyne moiety in the cyclization process.

Pulsed electromagnetic field at different stages of knee osteoarthritis in rats induced by low-dose monosodium iodoacetate: Effect on subchondral trabecular bone microarchitecture and cartilage degradation.

The aim of the study was to investigate the efficacy of pre-emptive, early, and delayed pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) treatment on cartilage and subchondral trabecular bone in knee osteoarthritis (OA) rats induced by low-dose monosodium iodoacetate (MIA). Seventy-five 12-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to five groups: OA (n = 30), pre-emptive PEMF (n = 10), early PEMF (n = 10), delayed PEMF (n = 10), and control (n = 15). Osteoarthritis was induced by injecting 0.2 mg MIA in rat's right knee joint. Control rats received a single sterile saline injection in the right knee. Male rats received pre-emptive (n = 10, day 0-end of week 4), early (n = 10, end of week 4-end of week 8), or delayed (n = 10, end of week 8-end of week 12) PEMF treatment (75 Hz, 1.6 mT). After 4, 8, and 12 weeks, rats were sacrificed at each time point and right knees were harvested. After sacrifice, micro-computed tomography, histology, and biomarker analyses were performed. We found pre-emptive PEMF treatment preserved subchondral trabecular bone microarchitecture and prevented subchondral bone loss in MIA-induced OA rat model. Early and delayed PEMF treatment maintained subchondral trabeculae. PEMF treatment increased bone and cartilage formation, and decreased bone and cartilage resorption. Pre-emptive and early PEMF treatment had moderate effects on cartilage degradation. Time point of treatment initiation is crucial for treating OA. PEMF might become a potential biophysical treatment modality for osteoarthritis. Bioelectromagnetics. 38:227-238, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Recent advances in transition-metal-catalyzed synthesis of conjugated enynes.

Conjugated enynes are of great importance in organic synthesis, biochemistry and materials sciences. The most commonly used synthetic methods include cross coupling reactions and dimerization reactions of alkynes. Despite many robust strategies being established, the improvement of reaction efficiency and development of novel transformations have still been actively pursued in the past decade. This review covers recent advances in transition-metal-catalyzed reactions in these fields.

Geminal difunctionalization of α-diazo arylmethylphosphonates: synthesis of fluorinated phosphonates.

A general approach towards diverse fluorinated phosphonates via geminal difunctionalization reactions of α-diazo arylmethylphosphonates is described. The diazo functionality (RR'C[double bond, length as m-dash]N2) is successfully converted to RR'CF2, RR'CHF, RR'CFBr or RR'CFNR''2 groups by employing different fluorination reagents. A variety of fluorinated organophosphorus compounds were readily accessed in good to excellent yields from a common type of precursor.

Effects of whole body vibration on pulmonary function, functional exercise capacity and quality of life in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of whole-body vibration in enhancing pulmonary function, functional exercise capacity and quality of life in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and examine its safety. METHOD: Randomized controlled trials examining the effects of whole body vibration among people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were identified by two independent researchers. Articles were excluded if they were studies on people with other primary diagnosis, abstracts published in the conferences or books. PEDro scale was used to assess the methodological quality of the selected studies. We evaluated the level of evidence by using the GRADE approach. The results were extracted by two researchers and confirmed by the third researcher if disagreement existed. DATA SOURCE: Sources included Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, PEDro, AMED, PsycINFO, ClinicalTrials.gov, Current Controlled Trials and reference lists of all relevant articles. RESULT: Four studies involving 206 participants were included in this systematic review. Methodological quality was rated as good for two studies. No great benefits on pulmonary function were found in whole body vibration treatment group. Two studies showed that quality of life was improved in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Whole body vibration led to significant improvements in functional exercise capacity measured with six minutes walking test. Nearly no adverse events were observed. CONCLUSION: Whole body vibration may improve functional exercise capacity and quality of life in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. There was insufficient evidence to prove the effects of whole body vibration on pulmonary function.

Effects of Whole Body Vibration Exercise associated with Quadriceps Resistance Exercise on functioning and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine effects of Whole Body Vibration Exercise (WBVE) associated with quadriceps resistance exercises (QRE) versus QRE only on pain, physical function, biomarkers in serum and urine, activities of daily living (ADL), and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthitis (OA). DESIGN: Randomized-controlled trial . SETTING: Rehabilitation medicine outpatient department of West China Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China. SUBJECTS: Forty-nine patients were assigned to WBVE+QRE and 50 to QRE . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcomes included pain assessed with visual analogue scale (VAS), Timed up & go test (TUG), 6-min walk distance test (6MWD), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Secondary outcomes comprised range of motion, muscular strength, serum COMP and urinary CTX-II, Lequesne Index (LI), and SF-36. All outcomes were analyzed with mixed effects regression. RESULTS: Compared with QRE, WBVE+QRE showed significantly greater improvement in VAS at 4weeks ( p=0.03), in VAS ( p<0.01), 6MWD ( p=0.01), WOMAC pain ( p=0.01), and WOMAC physical function ( p=0.02) at 16 weeks, and in all primary outcomes at 24 weeks (all p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Over a six months period, WBVE in combination with QRE was superior to QRE in most outcomes.

Sex-dependent alterations in resting-state cerebral blood flow, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and their coupling relationship in schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate sex-dependent alterations in resting-state relative cerebral blood flow, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and relative cerebral blood flow-amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations coupling in patients with schizophrenia. METHOD: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and three-dimensional pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling imaging were performed to obtain resting-state amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and relative cerebral blood flow in 95 schizophrenia patients and 99 healthy controls. Sex differences in relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations were compared in both groups. Diagnostic group differences in relative cerebral blood flow, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and relative cerebral blood flow-amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations coupling were compared in male and female subjects, respectively. RESULTS: In both healthy controls and schizophrenia patients, the males had higher relative cerebral blood flow in anterior brain regions and lower relative cerebral blood flow in posterior brain regions than did the females. Compared with multiple regions exhibiting sex differences in relative cerebral blood flow, only the left middle frontal gyrus had a significant sex difference in amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations. In the females, schizophrenia patients exhibited increased relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in the basal ganglia, thalamus and hippocampus and reduced relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in the frontal, parietal and occipital regions compared with those of healthy controls. However, there were fewer brain regions with diagnostic group differences in the males than in the females. Brain regions with diagnostic group differences in relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations only partially overlapped. Only the female patients exhibited increased relative cerebral blood flow-amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations couplings compared with those of healthy females. CONCLUSION: The alterations in the relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in schizophrenia are sex-specific, which should be considered in future neuroimaging studies. The relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations have different sensitivity in detecting changes in neuronal activity in schizophrenia and can provide complementary information.

Synthesis of Alkenylphosphonates through Palladium-Catalyzed Coupling of α-Diazo Phosphonates with Benzyl or Allyl Halides.

An efficient method for the synthesis of organophosphonates through palladium-catalyzed coupling of α-diazo phosphonates with benzyl or allyl halides has been developed. Trisubstituted alkenylphosphonates bearing versatile functional groups can be easily accessed in good yields and with excellent stereoselectivity through this method. Moreover, with similar strategy α-substituted vinylphosphonates can also be attained by the palladium-catalyzed coupling reaction of N-tosylhydrazones and aryl bromides. Migratory insertion of palladium carbene is proposed as the key step in this reaction.