High- and low-social-anxiety individuals process the outcomes of ability comparisons differently: an event-related potential study.

Individuals engage in upward or downward comparisons with superiors or inferiors, respectively. Social comparison is associated with social anxiety. Utilizing event-related potentials, we investigated how individuals with high social anxiety (HSA) and low social anxiety (LSA) evaluate self- versus other-outcomes in upward and downward comparison contexts. We found significant valence effects of self- or other-outcomes on feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P300 for both groups, with loss inducing larger FRN and smaller P300 than gain. In the early stage, the valence effect of other-outcomes was significant when LSA participants gained money, but not when they lost money, revealing a social comparison effect on FRN. Conversely, this valence effect was significant whether HSA participants gained or lost money. At the late stage, the valence effect of other-outcomes was significant when HSA or LSA participants gained money but not when they lost, revealing social comparison effects on the P300. Notably, only the social comparison effect in the LSA group was further moderated by comparison direction. These findings suggest that LSA participants engaged in social comparison throughout all evaluation stages, whereas HSA participants started at the late stage. Moreover, LSA participants were more sensitive to different comparison directions in the late stage.

Evaluation of Glymphatic System Development in Neonatal Brain via Diffusion Analysis along the Perivascular Space Index.

OBJECTIVE: Glymphatic system is a recently discovered macroscopic waste clearance system associated with numerous neurological diseases. However, little is known about glymphatic system development in neonates. We sought to evaluate diffusion along the perivascular space (ALPS) index, a proxy for glymphatic system function, in neonates and investigate its potential associations with maturation, sex, and preterm birth. METHODS: Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data in 418 neonates, including 92 preterm neonates (57 males) and 326 term neonates (175 males), from the Developing Human Connectome Project were used for evaluating ALPS index. Linear regression modeling was performed to assess group differences in the ALPS index according to preterm birth and sex. Pearson's and partial correlation analysis were performed to assess the association between the ALPS index and gestational age (GA) as well as postmenstrual age (PMA) at MRI. Moderation analysis was performed to assess the moderation effect of preterm birth on the relationship between the ALPS index and PMA. RESULTS: Compared to term neonates, preterm neonates exhibited lower ALPS indices (p < 0.001). The ALPS index positively correlated with PMA (p = 0.004) and GA (p < 0.001). Preterm birth (p = 0.013) had a significant moderation effect on the relationship between the ALPS index and PMA. Sex had no significant direct effect (p = 0.639) or moderation effect (p = 0.333) on ALPS index. INTERPRETATION: Glymphatic system development is a dynamic process in neonates, which can be moderated by preterm birth, the ALPS index could serve as a sensitive biomarker for monitoring this process. ANN NEUROL 2024.

Investigating cortical complexity and connectivity in rats with schizophrenia.

Background: The above studies indicate that the SCZ animal model has abnormal gamma oscillations and abnormal functional coupling ability of brain regions at the cortical level. However, few researchers have focused on the correlation between brain complexity and connectivity at the cortical level. In order to provide a more accurate representation of brain activity, we studied the complexity of electrocorticogram (ECoG) signals and the information interaction between brain regions in schizophrenic rats, and explored the correlation between brain complexity and connectivity. Methods: We collected ECoG signal from SCZ rats. The frequency domain and time domain functional connectivity of SCZ rats were evaluated by magnitude square coherence and mutual information (MI). Permutation entropy (PE) and permutation Lempel-Ziv complexity (PLZC) were used to analyze the complexity of ECoG, and the relationship between them was evaluated. In addition, in order to further understand the causal structure of directional information flow among brain regions, we used phase transfer entropy (PTE) to analyze the effective connectivity of the brain. Results: Firstly, in the high gamma band, the complexity of brain regions in SCZ rats is higher than that in normal rats, and the neuronal activity is irregularity. Secondly, the information integration ability of SCZ rats decreased and the communication of brain network information was hindered at the cortical level. Finally, compared with normal rats, the causal relationship between brain regions of SCZ rats was closer, but the information interaction center was not clear. Conclusion: The above findings suggest that at the cortical level, complexity and connectivity are valid biomarkers for identifying SCZ. This bridges the gap between peak potentials and EEG. This may help to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms at the cortical level in schizophrenics.

Combining blood pressure variability and heart rate variability to analyze the autonomic nervous function of rotenone induced Parkinson's rat model.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's patients have significant autonomic dysfunction, early detect the disorder is a major challenge. To assess the autonomic function in the rat model of rotenone induced Parkinson's disease (PD), Blood pressure and ECG signal acquisition are very important. NEW METHOD: We used telemetry to record the electrocardiogram and blood pressure signals from awake rats, with linear and nonlinear analysis techniques calculate the heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure variability (BPV). we applied nonlinear analysis methods like sample entropy and detrended fluctuation analysis to analyze blood pressure signals. Particularly, this is the first attempt to apply nonlinear analysis to the blood pressure evaluate in rotenone induced PD model rat. RESULTS: HRV in the time and frequency domains indicated sympathetic-parasympathetic imbalance in PD model rats. Linear BPV analysis didn't reflect changes in vascular function and blood pressure regulation in PD model rats. Nonlinear analysis revealed differences in BPV, with lower sample entropy results and increased detrended fluctuation analysis results in the PD group rats. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS AND CONCLUSIONS: our experiments demonstrate the ability to evaluate autonomic dysfunction in models of Parkinson's disease by combining the analysis of BPV with HRV, consistent with autonomic impairment in PD patients. Nonlinear analysis by blood pressure signal may help in early detection of the PD. It indicates that the fluctuation of blood pressure in the rats in the rotenone model group tends to be regular and predictable, contributes to understand the PD pathophysiological mechanisms and to find strategies for early diagnosis.

ESF1 and MIPEP proteins promote estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer proliferation and are associated with patient prognosis.

BACKGROUND: Estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer accounts for two-thirds of all breast cancers, and its early and late recurrences still threaten patients' long-term survival and quality of life. Finding candidate tumor antigens and potential therapeutic targets is critical to addressing these unmet needs. METHOD: The isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) proteomic analysis was employed to identify the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) between ER + breast cancer and corresponding adjacent normal tissue. Candidate DEPs were screened by bioinformatic analyses, and their expression was confirmed by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and western blot. A series of in vitro experiments, including wound healing assay, colony formation, and cell cycle assay, were performed to reveal the functions of selected DEPs. Additionally, their clinical significances were further analyzed. RESULT: A total of 369 DEPs (fold change ≥ 2.0 or ≤ 0.66, P < 0.05) were discovered. Compared with normal tissue, 358 proteins were up-regulated and 11 proteins were down-regulated in ER + breast cancer. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that DEPs were closely associated with RNA regulation and metabolic pathways. STRING analysis found ESF1 and MIPEP were the hub genes in breast cancer, whose increased expressions were verified by the IHC staining and western blot. Knocking down ESF1 and MIPEP inhibited colony formation and increased cell apoptosis. Besides, knocking down ESF1 inhibited wound healing but not MIPEP. In addition, ESF1 and MIPEP expression were negatively associated with patient prognosis. CONCLUSION: The upregulation of ESF1 and MIPEP promoted ER + breast cancer proliferation, which might provide novel targets for the development of new therapies.

Elderly Women Have a Higher Survival Rate of Grafted Donor Fat than Do Young Women Under the Influence of Low Estrogen Conditions.

BACKGROUND: Fat grafting is widely used in breast reconstruction and aesthetic plastic surgery. However, the success rate and effects of fat grafting, especially in elderly female donors, are observed. This study aimed to explore the difference in the survival rate of donor fat from elderly women and young women in fat grafting. METHODS: We collected adipose tissue samples from two healthy Chinese women: a young woman and an elderly woman. In addition, adipose tissue samples were collected from female nude mice in four experimental groups-CON-Y, CON-O, OVX-Y, and OVX-O-after fat transplantation. Grafts were harvested, weighed, and subjected to assessment of histology and angiogenesis. RESULTS: An ovariectomy model was successfully established to validate the effect of low estrogen levels on fat grafting results. Due to the influence of low estrogen levels, the graft survival rate of donor site fat was significantly higher in elderly women than in young women, accompanied by a lesser degree of angiogenesis. Low estrogen levels led to adipocyte hypertrophy, which may be related to decreased AQP-7 expression. CONCLUSIONS: AQP-7 downregulation due to low estrogen levels induces adipocyte hypertrophy, and donor fat from elderly women exhibits a higher survival rate after fat transplantation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Synaptotagmins family affect glucose transport in retinal pigment epithelial cells through their ubiquitination-mediated degradation and glucose transporter-1 regulation.

BACKGROUND: Synaptotagmins (SYTs) are a family of 17 membrane transporters that function as calcium ion sensors during the release of Ca2+-dependent neurotransmitters and hormones. However, few studies have reported whether members of the SYT family play a role in glucose uptake in diabetic retinopathy (DR) through Ca2+/glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1) and the possible regulatory mechanism of SYTs. AIM: To elucidate the role of the SYT family in the regulation of glucose transport in retinal pigment epithelial cells and explore its potential as a therapeutic target for the clinical management of DR. METHODS: DR was induced by streptozotocin in C57BL/6J mice and by high glucose medium in human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19). Bioinformatics analysis, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, flow cytometry, ELISA, HE staining, and TUNEL staining were used for analysis. RESULTS: Six differentially expressed proteins (SYT2, SYT3, SYT4, SYT7, SYT11, and SYT13) were found between the DR and control groups, and SYT4 was highly expressed. Hyperglycemia induces SYT4 overexpression, manipulates Ca2+ influx to induce GLUT1 fusion with the plasma membrane, promotes abnormal expression of the glucose transporter GLUT1 and excessive glucose uptake, induces ARPE-19 cell apoptosis, and promotes DR progression. Parkin deficiency inhibits the proteasomal degradation of SYT4 in DR, resulting in SYT4 accumulation and enhanced GLUT1 fusion with the plasma membrane, and these effects were blocked by oe-Parkin treatment. Moreover, dysregulation of the myelin transcription factor 1 (Myt1)-induced transcription of SYT4 in DR further activated the SYT4-mediated stimulus-secretion coupling process, and this process was inhibited in the oe-MYT1-treated group. CONCLUSION: Our study reveals the key role of SYT4 in regulating glucose transport in retinal pigment epithelial cells during the pathogenesis of DR and the underlying mechanism and suggests potential therapeutic targets for clinical DR.

Same allocation proposed by an individual or a group elicits distinct responses: Evidence from event-related potentials and neural oscillation.

People tend to perceive the same information differently depending on whether it is expressed in an individual or a group frame. It has also been found that the individual (vs. group) frame of expression tends to lead to more charitable giving and greater tolerance of wealth inequality. However, little is known about whether the same resource allocation in social interactions elicits distinct responses depending on proposer type. Using the second-party punishment task, this study examined whether the same allocation from different proposers (individual vs. group) leads to differences in recipient behavior and the neural mechanisms. Behavioral results showed that reaction times were longer in the unfair (vs. fair) condition, and this difference was more pronounced when the proposer was the individual (vs. group). Neural results showed that proposer type (individual vs. group) influenced early automatic processing (indicated by AN1, P2, and central alpha band), middle processing (indicated by MFN and right frontal theta band), and late elaborative processing (indicated by P3 and parietal alpha band) of fairness in resource allocation. These results revealed more attentional resources were captured by the group proposer in the early stage of fairness processing, and more cognitive resources were consumed by processing group-proposed unfair allocations in the late stage, possibly because group proposers are less identifiable than individual proposers. The findings provide behavioral and neural evidence for the effects of "individual/group" framing leading to cognitive differences. They also deliver insights into social governance issues, such as punishing individual and/or group violations.

Investigation on the near-field cutoff effect in a subwavelength plasma shell with near-zero permittivity.

Although the plasma-induced receiving and radiating near-field cutoff phenomena in the subwavelength regime are found of crucial importance in electromagnetic (EM) signal transmissions and plasma property studies, their mechanisms to a large extent remain unclear and undistinguished. In this paper, in the perspective of field and energy transfer, it is demonstrated that the cutoff in the near-field regime is completely different from that in the geometric optical regime. Results show that, for the receiving mode, epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) plasmas can be treated as a nearly ideal EM fluid, and thus, EM waves are restricted into the plasma channel. For the radiating mode, on the other hand, it is the destructive interference between the electric dipole fields of the antenna and the ENZ plasma that results in vanishing far-field radiation. As an important supplement to the existing cutoff theories, our results not only offer clearer physical insights into the near-field cutoff effect but also provide a helpful reference for cutoff-related practical applications in various frequency bands.

Maternal Variability of Amplitudes of Frequency Fluctuations Is Related to the Progressive Self-Other Transposition Group Intervention in Autistic Children.

The self-to-other model of empathy (SOME) states that a key reason for the empathic deficiency in autistic individuals is the imbalance of the self-other switch. The existing interventions of theory of mind contain training of self-other transposition ability but combined with other cognitive trainings. The self-other distinction brain areas of autistic individuals have been revealed, but the brain areas of the self-other transposition ability and its intervention have not been investigated. There are normalized amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuations (mALFFs) within 0.01-0.1 Hz and many normalized amplitudes of frequency fluctuations (mAFFs) within 0-0.01, 0.01-0.05, 0.05-0.1, 0.1-0.15, 0.15-0.2, and 0.2-0.25 Hz. Therefore, the current study established a progressive self-other transposition group intervention to specifically and systematically improve autistic children's self-other transposition abilities. The transposition test with a three mountains test, an unexpected location test, and a deception test was used to directly measure autistic children's transposition abilities. The Interpersonal Responsiveness Index Empathy Questionnaire with perspective-taking and fantasy subscales (IRI-T) was used to indirectly measure autistic children's transposition abilities. The Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) was used to measure autistic children's autism symptoms. The experiment was designed with two (intervention: experimental group vs. control group) independent variables and two (test time: pretest vs. posttest or tracking test) × three (test: transposition test vs. IRI-T test vs. ATEC test) dependent variables. Furthermore, it used eyes-closed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate and compare the relevant maternal mALFFs and average energy rank and energy rank variability of mAFFs of autistic children's transposition abilities, autism symptoms, and intervention effects. The results showed the following: (1) There were many improvements (pretest vs. posttest or tracking test) greater than chance 0 in the experimental group, such as the three mountains, lie, transposition, PT, IRI-T, PT tracking, cognition, behavior, ATEC, language tracking, cognition tracking, behavior tracking, and ATEC tracking improvements. However, there was no improvement greater than chance 0 in the control group. (2) The maternal mALFFs and maternal average energy rank and energy rank variability of mAFFs could predict the autistic children's transposition abilities, autism symptoms, and intervention effects with some overlap and some difference in maternal self-other distinction, sensorimotor, visual, facial expression recognition, language, memory and emotion, and self-consciousness networks. These results indicated that the progressive self-other transposition group intervention successfully improved autistic children's transposition abilities and reduced their autism symptoms; the intervention effects could be applied to daily life and last up to a month. The maternal mALFFs, average energy rank, and energy rank variability of mAFFs were three effective neural indictors of autistic children's transposition abilities, autism symptoms, and intervention effects, and the average energy rank and energy rank variability of mAFFs were two new neural indictors established in the current study. The maternal neural markers of the progressive self-other transposition group intervention effects for autistic children were found in part.

Recombinant Klotho attenuates IFNγ receptor signaling and SAMHD1 expression through blocking NF-κB translocation in glomerular mesangial cells.

Interferon gamma (IFNγ) is a cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. SAM and HD domain-containing protein 1 (SAMHD1) is an IFNγ-inducible protein that modulates cellular dNTP levels. Mutations in the human SAMHD1 gene cause Aicardi-Goutières (AG) syndrome, an autoimmune disease sharing similar clinical features with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Klotho is an anti-inflammatory protein which suppresses aging through multiple mechanisms. Implication of Klotho in autoimmune response is identified in rheumatologic diseases such as SLE. Little information exists regarding the effect of Klotho in lupus nephritis, one of the prevalent symptoms of SLE. The present study verified the effect of IFNγ on SAMHD1 and Klotho expression in MES-13 glomerular mesangial cells, a special cell type in glomerulus that is critically involved in lupus nephritis. IFNγ upregulated SAMHD1 expression in MES-13 cells through the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (JAK-STAT1) and the nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) signaling pathways. IFNγ decreased Klotho protein expression in MES-13 cells. Treatment of MES-13 cells with recombinant Klotho protein inhibited SAMHD1 expression by blocking IFNγ-induced NFκB nuclear translocation, but showed no effect on JAK-STAT1 signaling. Collectively, our findings support the protective role of Klotho in attenuating lupus nephritis through the inhibition of IFNγ-induced SAMHD1 expression and IFNγ downstream signaling in MES-13 cells.

Luteolin alleviates ulcerative colitis by restoring the balance of NCR-ILC3/NCR+ILC3 to repairing impaired intestinal barrier.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a multifactorial, refractory chronic inflammatory disease. The primary factor leading to prolonged ulcerative colitis is the imbalance of the group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3) subgroup resulting in the delayed reconstruction of damaged intestinal barrier. Previous studies show that luteolin had efficacy on UC, however, the potency of luteolin on restoring the balance of NCR-ILC3/NCR+ILC3 to repairing impaired intestinal barrier remains unclear. In this study, to investigate the potential mechanism of luteolin on ILC3 subgroup, we first evidenced that luteolin could promote transformation NCR-MNK3 to NCR+MNK3 in vitro. Then, a UC model was established in C57BL/6J mice to assess the efficacy of luteolin in restoring ILC3 subgroup balance and repairing intestinal barrier in chronic UC. Finally, the experiments in vitro validated the potential mechanism of luteolin in regulating ILC3 plasticity. The results showed that luteolin significantly alleviated the symptoms of DSS-induced UC in mice, including preventing body weight loss and decreasing the disease activity index (DAI) and intestinal damages. Additionally, luteolin increased NCR+ILC3 levels, promoted the production of IL-22 and decreased the levels of IL-17a and INF-γ in the intestine, and encourage intestinal barrier function recovery in UC mice by promoting the expression of ZO-1 and Occludin. Experiments in vitro revealed that luteolin facilitated the transformation of NCR-MNK3 to NCR+MNK3 and promoted the secretion of IL-22, which was linked to the Notch pathway. All results revealed that luteolin restored the balance of NCR-ILC3/NCR+ILC3 and contributed to repair of injured intestinal epithelium to alleviate ulcerative colitis.

Achieving tunable Kerker-type invisibility for a radiation-enhanced electrically small antenna.

Low-temperature gaseous plasmas exhibit great potential in designing tunable and reconfigurable electromagnetic devices. In this paper, based on an overdense-underdense core-shell plasma structure, tunable Kerker-type invisibility for a radiation-enhanced electrically small antenna is achieved, where dominant scattering direction can be mutated between backward and forward while omnidirectional invisibility and signal enhancement are maintained. Moreover, by electromagnetic multipole decompositions, it is shown that the underdense outer plasma with a negative polarizability is able to weaken the strength and modulate the phase of the electric dipolar scattering component (a_{1}), while the magnetic dipolar term (b_{1}) nearly remains unchanged. Consequently, quasi-first and -second Kerker conditions are fulfilled near the cutoff band of a_{1}.

Study on the Regulation Effect of Optogenetic Technology on LFP of the Basal Ganglia Nucleus in Rotenone-Treated Rats.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurological degenerative disease that cannot be completely cured, although drugs can improve or alleviate its symptoms. Optogenetic technology, which stimulates or inhibits neurons with excellent spatial and temporal resolution, provides a new idea and approach for the precise treatment of Parkinson's disease. However, the neural mechanism of photogenetic regulation remains unclear. Objective: In this paper, we want to study the nonlinear features of EEG signals in the striatum and globus pallidus through optogenetic stimulation of the substantia nigra compact part. Methods: Rotenone was injected stereotactically into the substantia nigra compact area and ventral tegmental area of SD rats to construct rotenone-treated rats. Then, for the optogenetic manipulation, we injected adeno-associated virus expressing channelrhodopsin to stimulate the globus pallidus and the striatum with a 1 mW blue light and collected LFP signals before, during, and after light stimulation. Finally, the collected LFP signals were analyzed by using nonlinear dynamic algorithms. Results: After observing the behavior and brain morphology, 16 models were finally determined to be successful. LFP results showed that approximate entropy and fractal dimension of rats in the control group were significantly greater than those in the experimental group after light treatment (p < 0.05). The LFP nonlinear features in the globus pallidus and striatum of rotenone-treated rats showed significant statistical differences before and after light stimulation (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Optogenetic technology can regulate the characteristic value of LFP signals in rotenone-treated rats to a certain extent. Approximate entropy and fractal dimension algorithm can be used as an effective index to study LFP changes in rotenone-treated rats.

The effect of comprehensive rehabilitation program plus chemotherapy on quality of life in patients with postoperative non-small-cell lung cancer: study protocol of a multicenter randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Comprehensive rehabilitation therapy based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely applied in various cancer treatments in China. Thus far, Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been shown effective in reducing the adverse effects of chemotherapy and improving the quality of life (QoL) during chemotherapy. The purpose of the present study is to compare the effects of CHM plus Liu Zi Jue (LZJ) exercises with CHM plus rehabilitation education and with placebo plus rehabilitation education in patients who have undergone complete resection for nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) followed by postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS AND DESIGN: A multicenter, randomized clinical trial will be performed with 354 stage Ib-IIIa NSCLC patients in five centers in China. Patients satisfying the inclusion criteria will be randomly divided into three groups according to a 1:1:1 ratio: intervention group A (IGA), intervention group B (IGB), and control group (CG). Each group will receive adjuvant platinum-based doublet chemotherapy for a total of four cycles. IGA participants will receive chemotherapy combined with CHM and LZJ exercises, IGB participants will receive chemotherapy combined with CHM and rehabilitation education, and CG participants will receive chemotherapy combined with placebo and rehabilitation education. The herbal treatment patients will be given granules daily and LZJ exercises will be performed four times per week during chemotherapy. The primary outcome is QoL, which will be assessed with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)-QLQ-C43 scale in each cycle. The secondary outcomes include the 2-year disease-free survival rate, disease-free survival, TCM symptoms, tumor markers, safety, and adverse events. After treatment, the patients will be followed up every 3 months within 2 years and every 6 months after 2 years until disease recurrence and/or metastasis. DISCUSSION: Our previous study reported that CHM in combination with chemotherapy could lower the overall incidence of adverse events but increased digestive and gastrointestinal side effects compared with chemotherapy alone in postoperative NSCLC patients. This study will lay a foundation for the effectiveness of chemotherapy with or without a comprehensive rehabilitation program for QoL in patients with postoperative NSCLC. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03372694. Retrospectively registered on 17 December 2018.

Adjuvant Chemotherapy with Chinese Herbal Medicine Formulas Versus Placebo in Patients with Lung Adenocarcinoma after Radical Surgery: a Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: The toxicity and side effects caused by adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) after radical surgery for lung adenocarcinoma (LAC) lead to early termination frequently. This study was conducted to provide an objective basis for the effect of Chinese herbal medicine formulas (CHMFs) combined with chemotherapy in reducing toxicity and enhancing efficacy of ACT. METHOD: From February 17th, 2012 to March 20th, 2015, 233 patients from 7 hospitals diagnosed with LAC in IB~IIIA stage were randomly assigned into ACT + CHMF group (116 patients) and ACT + placebo group (117 patients). CHMF was taken orally until the end of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy-related toxic, side effects were investigated as the primary outcome. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were used as the secondary outcome. RESULTS: At one week following chemotherapy, the incidence of dry mouth, diarrhea and thrombocytopenia significantly decreased in CHMF group (P = 0.017, P = 0.033, P = 0.019, respectively). At two weeks following chemotherapy, fatigue and diarrhea were more obvious in the placebo group (P = 0.028, P = 0.025, respectively). In addition, patients in the CHMF group showed an increase in median DFS from 37.1 to 51.5 months compared with placebo group although there was no statistical significance (P = 0.16). In the stage IB subgroup, the CHMF group had a significantly better DFS (HR (95% CI) = 0.53 (0.28-0.99), P = 0.046). There was no significant difference in OS between the groups (P = 0.72). CONCLUSION: For patients with LAC, ACT combined with CHMF after radical surgery can prolong the DFS time especially in the early stage, and reduces the chemotherapy-related toxic and side effects. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01441752. Registered 14 July, 2011.

Total Synthesis of (-)-Gardmultimine A.

The first total synthesis of Gardneria oxindole alkaloid (-)-gardmultimine A has been achieved in 19 steps from d-tryptophan in a fully stereocontrolled manner. This synthesis features (1) an Ir-catalyzed regioselective C-H borylation/oxidation sequence to introduce the C12 methoxyl group, (2) a stereocontrolled oxidative rearrangement of indole to construct the spirooxindole motif, and (3) an Au(I)-catalyzed transannular Conia-ene-type 6-exo-dig cyclization to establish the azabicyclo[2.2.2]octane skeleton and the exocyclic E-alkene with exclusive stereoselectivity.

Total Synthesis of (-)-Pepluanol†B: Conformational Control of the Eight-Membered-Ring System.

The first total synthesis of the Euphorbia diterpenoid pepluanol B in both racemic and enantioenriched form involves 20 steps from a known bicyclic diol. This synthesis features an unprecedented bromo-epoxidation to control the eight-membered-ring conformation. In addition, salient reactions for the construction of the tetracyclic backbone include a sterically challenging aldol reaction to establish the quaternary center, a ring closing metathesis (RCM) to forge the eight-membered ring, and a diastereoselective cyclopropanation to assemble the embedded cyclopropane motif.

A Strategy to Construct cis-Hydrocarbazole via Nickel/Lewis Acid Dual-Catalyzed Arylcyanation.

A strategy for the synthesis of cis-hydrocarbazole with a C3 quaternary carbon center has been developed through nickel/Lewis acid dual-catalyzed arylcyanation. A wide array of cis-hydrocarbazoles was accessed with high diastereoselectivities and atom economies in a good yield. The rich chemistry of the installed nitrile group was demonstrated in the preparation of tryptamine- and tryptophol-derived cis-hydrocarbazoles.