Three Undescribed Protoilludane-Type Sesquiterpene Aryl Esters from Armillaria gallica.

Three previously undescribed protoilludane-type sesquiterpene aryl esters, armillanals A-C (1-3), along with seven known ones (4-10) were obtained from Armillaria gallica Marxm. & Romagn. Compounds 1 and 2 were a rare class of sesquiterpenes featuring the Δ2(3) and Δ12(13)-protoilludane skeleton. Their structures were established by extensive spectroscopic methods. Based on electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations, the absolute configurations of three new compounds (1-3) were determined. The anti-inflammatory activity of compounds 1-10 was screened and compound 3 could dose-dependently decrease the level of lactate dehydrogenase, showing IC50 value of 4.525 µM.

An Improved Theory for Designing and Numerically Calibrating Circular Touch Mode Capacitive Pressure Sensors.

The design, especially the numerical calibration, of a circular touch mode capacitive pressure sensor is highly dependent on the accuracy of the analytical solution of the contact problem between the circular conductive membrane and the rigid plate of the sensor. In this paper, the plate/membrane contact problem is reformulated using a more accurate in-plane equilibrium equation, and a new and more accurate analytical solution is presented. On this basis, the design and numerical calibration theory for circular touch mode capacitive pressure sensors has been greatly improved and perfected. The analytical relationships of pressure and capacitance are numerically calculated using the new and previous analytical solutions, and the gradually increasing difference between the two numerical calculation results with the gradual increase in the applied pressure is graphically shown. How to use analytical solutions and analytical relationships to design and numerically calibrate a circular touch mode capacitive pressure sensor with a specified pressure detecting range is illustrated in detail. The effect of changing design parameters on capacitance-pressure analytical relationships is comprehensively investigated; thus, the direction of changing design parameters to meet the required or desired range of pressure or capacitance is clarified.

Prediction of an impaired myocardial work using infarct size in acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between myocardial infarct size (MIS) on late gadolinium-enhanced cardiac MRI (LGE MRI) and myocardial work (MW) indices assessed with MW echocardiography (MWE) has not been well characterized. This study aimed to determine an impaired MW using MIS in patients with acute myocardial infarction. METHODS: Left ventricular (LV) two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography, MWE, and LGE MRI were performed in 33 patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and in 30 age- and sex-comparable controls. LV global longitudinal strain (GLS), global work index (GWI), global constructive work (GCW), global wasted work (GWW), and global work efficiency (GWE) and MIS were acquired, respectively. RESULTS: MIS was negatively correlated with GWI (r = -0.60, P  = 0.005), GCW (r =- 0.66, P  = 0.002) and GWE (r = -0.71, P  = 0.0004), but positively correlated with GLS (r = 0.68, P  = 0.001). With the receiver operating characteristic curve, the cutoff value of MIS for the prediction of an impaired GLS was 16.5% [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.867)], an impaired GWI was 19.2% (AUC = 0.727), an impaired GCW was 19.2% (AUC = 0.725), an increased GWW was 15.8% (AUC = 0.656), an impaired GWE was 15.8% (AUC = 0.880). CONCLUSION: MIS is a strong predictor of impaired MW. Timely reduction of infarct size is essential to improve myocardial function.