Optoelectronic materials as emerging photocatalysts: opportunities in sustainable organic synthesis.

To overcome the energy and environmental crisis, the development of efficient, sustainable photocatalysts to convert inexhaustible solar energy into chemical energy is of great significance. Due to their unique optoelectronic properties, organic electronic materials have been translated into the photocatalytic field. These emerging photocatalysts are attractive because of their metal-free nature, chemical stability, and structural diversity. However, as many small molecules fail to absorb visible light solely, incorporating them into crosslinked frameworks is found to be an effective strategy to extend the conjugation and enhance visible-light absorption. In addition, the photophysical properties of these heterogeneous materials can be adjusted through structural modification and linkage engineering. Finally, these insoluble photocatalysts exhibit good recyclability and reusability. As a representative illustration, this feature article describes recent examples of the use of two types of organic electronic materials including phenothiazine and truxene in heterogeneous photocatalytic organic transformations. The synthesis and key photophysical properties of both organic electronic material-based photocatalysts are discussed combined with specific synthetic applications. We anticipate this feature article will stimulate the implementation of more diverse organic electronic materials in the field of photocatalysis, which may lead to unprecedented synthetic applications.

CRIP1 Reshapes the Gastric Cancer Microenvironment to Facilitate Development of Lymphatic Metastasis.

Lymphangiogenesis in tumors provides an auxiliary route for cancer cell invasion to drainage lymph nodes, facilitating the development of lymphatic metastasis (LM). However, the mechanisms governing tumor lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic permeability in gastric cancer (GC) remain largely unknown. Here, the unprecedented role and mechanism of cysteine-rich intestinal protein-1 (CRIP1) in mediating the development of GC LM is uncovered. A series of assays are performed to identify downstream targets of CRIP1, and rescue experiments are performed to confirm the effects of this regulatory axis on LM. CRIP1 overexpression facilitates LM in GC by promoting lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic vessel permeability. CRIP1 promotes phosphorylation of cAMP responsive element binding protein 1(CREB1), which then mediates vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGFC) expression necessary for CRIP1-induced lymphangiogenesis and transcriptionally promotes C-C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) expression. CCL5 recruits macrophages to promote tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) secretion, eventually enhancing lymphatic permeability. The study highlights CRIP1 regulates the tumor microenvironment to promote lymphangiogenesis and LM in GC. Considering the current limited understanding of LM development in GC, these pathways provide potential targets for future therapeutics.

Synthesis of a Triazaisotruxene-Based Porous Organic Polymer and Its Application in Iodine Capture.

A new triazaisotruxene-based porous organic polymer (POP) was designed and successfully synthesized by a FeCl3-promoted crosslinking reaction. As a result of its porosity and good thermal stability, the designed POP can be utilized as a promising adsorbent for iodine, not only in the gaseous phase, but also in organic and aqueous solutions. Compared to its triazatruxene (TN) analogue, the ITN-based POP shows equal iodine uptake in the gaseous phase and in hexane solution, and better uptake in aqueous solution.

Unveiling the Synthetic Potential of 1,3,5-Tri(10H-phenothiazin-10-yl)benzene-Based Optoelectronic Material: A Metal-Free and Recyclable Photocatalyst for Sequential Functionalization of C(sp2)-H Bonds.

1,3,5-Tri(10H-phenothiazin-10-yl)benzene (3PTZ) is endowed with unique redox and photoresponsive characteristics and has been utilized as a p-type redox center for organic battery cathode material and a room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) material, respectively. Conversely, its exploration in other research fields, particularly organic synthesis, remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that 3PTZ-POP synthesized via cross-linking of 3PTZ is capable of harvesting visible-light photons and selectively converting solar energy to chemical energy. Specifically, 3PTZ-POP functions as a metal-free and recyclable photocatalyst to promote the sequential C(sp2)-H functionalizations of N-arylacrylamides with readily available trifluoromethylsulfonyl chloride as the radical precursor. An array of 3,3-disubstituted 2-oxindoles bearing a pharmaceutically important CF3 moiety are delivered in moderate to excellent yields under mild and sustainable conditions.

Descending colon cancer in a patient with situs inversus totalis: a case report and literature review.

Situs inversus totalis (SIT) is a congenital disorder of anatomical position, and the operation of patients with total visceral inversion often brings great challenges to surgeons. Although there have been previously documented on patients with SIT and colonic cancer, this is the first case report of descending colon cancer in patient with SIT. The current report presents a case of a 67-year-old female patient with descending colon cancer and SIT. After preoperative preparation and discussion, open left hemicolectomy was performed for the patient. The postoperative recovery of the patient was smooth; however, there was a mild lymphatic leakage in the patient, which was cured by conservative treatment for 5 days. The patient was discharged on postoperative Day 10. There was no tumor recurrence or other discomfort in 1 year follow-up period.

Circ_0049447 acts as a tumor suppressor in gastric cancer through reducing proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

BACKGROUND: Although increasing abnormal expression of circular RNAs (circRNAs) has been revealed in various cancers, there were a small number of studies about circRNAs in gastric cancer (GC). Here, we explored the expression and function of a novel circRNA, circ_0049447, in GC. METHODS: A total of 80 GC tissues and non-tumorous tissues were collected from the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University. And all cells were cultured with 10% fetal bovine serum and incubated at 37°C and 5% CO2. The expression of circ_0049447 was quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The biological function of circ_0049447 on proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was evaluated by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation assay, transwell migration and invasion assay, and Western blotting. Luciferase report assay was used to verify the direct binding between circ_0049447 and predicted microRNA (miRNA). Furthermore, a xenograft mouse model was used to validate the function of circ_0049447 in vivo. RESULTS: We demonstrated that circ_0049447 was downregulated in GC (P < 0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve reached 0.838, while sensitivity was 82.3% and specificity was 77.2%. CCK-8 and colony formation assay showed that overexpression of circ_0049447 could inhibit the proliferation (P < 0.05). Transwell migration and invasion assay showed upregulated circ_0049447 could impede migration in GC cells (P < 0.05). In addition, overexpression of circ_0049447 could impede GC cell EMT. Upregulation of miR-324-5p in GC specimens and direct binding between miR-324-5p with circ_0049447 proven by luciferase reporter assay indicated that circ_0049447 may inhibit GC by sponging certain miRNA. CONCLUSION: Circ_0049447 acts as a tumor suppressor in GC through reducing proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT, and it is a promising biomarker for diagnosis.

The efficacy and safety of adding bevacizumab in neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced rectal cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) are more likely to suffer local recurrence and distant metastases, contributing to worse prognoses. Considering the provided dramatic reduction of local recurrences, neoadjuvant CRT (nCRT) followed by curative resection with total mesorectal excision (TME) and adjuvant chemotherapy has been established as standard therapy for LARC patients. However, the efficacy of adding bevacizumab in neoadjuvant therapy, especially in induction therapy-containing nCRT for LARC patients remains uncertain. MATERIALS: PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched to retrieve records on the application of bevacizumab in a neoadjuvant setting for LARC patients. The endpoints of interest were pCR and the rates of patients suffering Grade 3/4 bevacizumab-specific adverse events, namely bleeding, wound healing complications, and gastrointestinal perforation. RESULTS: 29 cohorts covering 1134 subjects were included in this systematic review. The pooled pCR rate for bevacizumab-relevant cohorts was 21% (95% confidence interval (95% CI), 17-25%; I2 = 61.8%), the pooled estimates of Grade 3/4 bleeding, Grade 3/4 wound healing complication, Grade 3/4 gastrointestinal perforation were 1% (95% CI, 0-3%; I2 = 0%), 2% (95% CI, 1-5%; I2 = 4.7%), and 2% (95% CI, 0-5%; I2 = 0%), respectively. CONCLUSION: The addition of bevacizumab in the nCRT, especially in the TNT, for LARC patients provides promising efficacy and acceptable safety. However, the results should be interpreted cautiously due to the small amount of relevant data and need further confirmation by future studies.

The potential adjunctive benefit of adding metformin to standard treatment in inoperable cancer patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Recently, there have been several randomized clinical trials (RCTs) conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of metformin plus standard treatment in inoperable cancer patients. Our meta-analysis aimed to assess the efficacy of metformin in combination with standard treatment in inoperable cancer patients. METHODS: PubMed and Embase databases were systematically searched for relevant RCTs investigating the efficacy of adding metformin to standard treatment for cancer patients. The pooled relative risk (RR) for tumor response and safety was calculated to assess the efficacy of combining metformin with standard treatment. Meta-analysis was subsequently performed to pool the hazard ratio (HR) for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). RESULTS: Ten RCTs comprising 1033 patients were included in our current meta-analysis. In patients with breast cancer, results of meta-analysis showed that the addition of metformin to standard treatment was beneficial to objective response rate (ORR) with 30.3% (33/109) in the metformin plus standard treatment group and 16.1% (18/112) in the placebo group (RR 1.92, 95% CI: 1.19-3.10, P=0.008). OS and PFS were not significantly improved in patients who received metformin plus standard treatment compared with those who received placebo plus standard treatment (OS: HR 1.02, 95% CI: 0.71-1.46, P=0.916; PFS: HR 1.14, 95% CI: 0.86-1.50, P=0.366). For lung cancer patients, meta-analysis results showed adding metformin to standard treatment could benefit ORR (metformin 65.3% vs. placebo 54.6%, RR 1.22, 95% CI: 1.03-1.43, P=0.018) with no significant survival benefit in the metformin group. For patients with pancreatic cancer, the pooled ORR was 17.6% (16/91) in metformin plus standard treatment group and 20% (18/90) in the placebo group, indicating metformin did not benefit ORR (RR 0.85, 95% CI: 0.49-1.49, P=0.576). Besides, the addition of metformin to standard treatment did not increase the incidence rate of adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that addition of metformin to standard treatment was beneficial to ORR in inoperable breast or lung cancer patients without increasing the incidence of adverse effects. However, adding metformin to standard treatment could not benefit OS and PFS.

Aspirin and Its Potential Preventive Role in Cancer: An Umbrella Review.

Background: Aspirin is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs worldwide and has been reported to possess anti-cancer properties in addition to antipyretic and analgesic effects. This umbrella review summarizes systematic reviews and meta-analyses that investigate the association between aspirin and cancer risk, aiming to help clinical and public health decision-makers interpret the results of these studies when re-positioning aspirin. Methods: An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Results: The associations that reached statistical significance (17 in total) indicated potential preventive effects of aspirin on certain cancers or precancerous lesions. We found that no association was supported by strong evidence. Only one association (aspirin and overall cancer risk) was supported by highly suggestive evidence. The evidence supporting the association between aspirin and the risk of breast cancer, non-cardia gastric cancer, or prostate cancer was considered to be highly suggestive. The remaining 23 associations were supported by weak (13) or not suggestive evidence (10). Conclusions: The association between aspirin and a reduced risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is supported by strong evidence, researchers and policy makers should pay more attention to the potential merit of repositioning aspirin to prevent esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Conversion Surgery for Stage IV Gastric Cancer.

The prognosis of stage IV gastric cancer (GC) is poor, with palliative chemotherapy remaining the main therapeutic option. Studies increasingly indicate that patients with unresectable stage IV GC, who undergo gastrectomy with radical intention after responding to several regimens of combined chemotherapy, can achieve good survival outcomes. Thus, surgery aiming at radical resection for unresectable stage IV GC after combined chemotherapy has received increasing attention in recent years. This novel therapeutic strategy was defined as conversion surgery in patients with unresectable stage IV GC and it can associate with significant improved survival when R0 resection can be achieved. Despite the recent advances in conversion surgery for patients with unresectable stage IV GC, selection criteria for combination chemotherapy regimens, indications for conversion surgery, optimal timing to surgery, and postoperative chemotherapy all remain controversial. This article reviews the current state of conversion surgery for unresectable stage IV GC.

Prognostic Biomarkers for Gastric Cancer: An Umbrella Review of the Evidence.

Introduction: Biomarkers are biological molecules entirely or partially participating in cancerous processes that function as measurable indicators of abnormal changes in the human body microenvironment. Aiming to provide an overview of associations between prognostic biomarkers and gastric cancer (GC), we performed this umbrella review analyzing currently available meta-analyses and grading the evidence depending on the credibility of their associations. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted by two independent investigators of the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Databases to identify meta-analyses investigating associations between prognostic biomarkers and GC. The strength of evidence for prognostic biomarkers for GC were categorized into four grades: strong, highly suggestive, suggestive, and weak. Results: Among 120 associations between prognostic biomarkers and GC survival outcomes, only one association, namely the association between platelet count and GC OS, was supported by strong evidence. Associations between FITC, CEA, NLR, foxp3+ Treg lymphocytes (both 1- and 3-year OS), CA 19-9, or VEGF and GC OS were supported by highly suggestive evidence. Four associations were considered suggestive and the remaining 108 associations were supported by weak or not suggestive evidence. Discussion: The association between platelet count and GC OS was supported by strong evidence. Associations between FITC, CEA, NLR, foxp3+ Treg lymphocytes (both 1- and 3-year OS), CA 19-9, or VEGF and GC OS were supported by highly suggestive evidence, however, the results should be interpreted cautiously due to inadequate methodological quality as deemed by AMSTAR 2.0.

Statin use and its potential therapeutic role in esophageal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: Statins, known as inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductases, are designed to treat lipid disorders, especially hypercholesterolemia. Apart from their role in preventing heart diseases in patients with high cholesterol, recent evidence suggests that statins have anti-tumor properties. However, studies assessing the association between statin use and esophageal cancer survival outcomes have provided controversial results. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis focusing on studies evaluating associations between statin use and survival outcomes for esophageal cancer patients. Results: A total of five cohort studies comprising 24,576 patients were included. Statin use associated with improved overall survival (OS: HR 0.84, 95% CI, 0.75-0.94) and disease-free survival (DFS: HR 0.84, 95% CI, 0.75-0.96) of esophageal cancer patients. The improved survival outcomes were consistent in the esophageal adenocarcinoma subgroup and the esophageal squamous cell cancer subgroup. Conclusion: A potential therapeutic role of statins in esophageal cancer has been demonstrated in our study, however, the results should be interpreted cautiously and need further confirmation by future studies.

The long noncoding RNA CTA-941F9.9 is frequently downregulated and may serve as a biomarker for carcinogenesis in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) participate in the carcinogenesis of many different cancers. This study aimed to detect expression of lncRNA CTA-941F9.9 in colorectal cancer tissues compared with matched nontumorous adjacent tissues (NATs). Moreover, we investigated whether this molecule is able to influence carcinogenesis in colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: Colorectal cancer tissues and NATs from two cohorts of patients were examined. Quantitative PCR was performed to quantify levels of CTA-941F9.9 expression in these samples. The association between CTA-941F9.9 expression and clinicopathological features, including receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, was also analyzed to evaluate the diagnostic value of CTA-941F9.9 in CRC. Potential effects of lncRNA CTA-941F9.9 on CRC cells were assessed via autophagy, transwell assay, CCK8 assays, and flow cytometry. RESULTS: Our experimental results showed lncRNA CTA-941F9.9 to be significantly downregulated in CRC tissues in both cohorts, with areas under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.802 and 0.876. However, no significant correlations between CTA-941F9.9 expression levels and clinicopathological characteristics or patient outcomes were observed. We also found that CTA-941F9.9 promotes autophagy in CRC cell lines but no significant function of CTA-941F9.9 in regulating cancer cell proliferation or migration. CONCLUSIONS: LncRNA CTA-941F9.9 is frequently downregulated in CRC compared with NATs and might play an important role in CRC carcinogenesis.

Triindolo-Truxene Derivatives: Design, Synthesis, and Fine-Tuning of Electronic Properties and Molecular Assembly through Molecular Engineering.

Triindolo-truxene, a C3 -symmetric molecule with a large π-conjugated plane, has six methylene carbon atoms and three aromatic carbon atoms that can be facilely functionalized. Herein, butyl, carbonyl, cyano, and/or malononitrile groups were introduced at six methylene carbon atoms (6-, 14-, 22- or 8-, 16-, 24-positions) and/or three aromatic carbon atoms (2-, 10-, and 18-positions) of triindolo-truxene to produce eight derivatives. Their photophysical properties, electrochemical properties, and molecular assembly can be effectively modulated by substituents and substitution patterns. Incorporation of electron-deficient groups led to redshifts in both the absorption and emission of these derivatives and also lowered their HOMO and LUMO levels. Different substitution patterns resulted in the different intramolecular donor-acceptor interactions. Electron-deficient substituents at the methylene carbon atoms in the 6-, 14-, and 22-positions led to intramolecular charge transfer from the fluorene arms to the truxene core, whereas the corresponding substitutions at the methylene carbon atoms in the 8-, 16-, and 24-positions resulted in intramolecular charge transfer from the truxene core to the fluorene arms. The molecular packing in single crystals and molecular aggregation in solution are also influenced by the substituents and substitution patterns. This work provides a straightforward strategy to alter the properties of triindolo-truxene.

Studies on chemical constituents from Serissa serissoides / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the chemical constituents of Serissa serissoides.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Chemical constituents were isolated with the column chromatographic methods including silica gel and sephadex LH -20, and their structures were elucidated on the basis of their spectral and chemical evidences.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Eight compounds were obtained and were identified as: palmitic acid (1), corosolic acid (2), daucosterol (3), urs-12-en-28-ol (4), oleanolic acid (5), uroslic acid (6), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acid (7), and 2,6-dimethoxy-p-benzoquinone (8).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Except compound 5, other seven compounds were found from the genus Serissa for the first time.</p>