Cost-effectiveness analysis of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab compared with sorafenib as first-line treatment in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in Singapore.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to explore the cost-effectiveness of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab against sorafenib for first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Singapore. METHODS: A partitioned survival model was developed from a healthcare system perspective, with a 10-year lifetime horizon. Clinical inputs and utilities were obtained from the IMbrave150 trial. Healthcare resource use costs were obtained from published local sources; drug costs reflected the most recent public hospital selling prices. Outcomes included life years, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the model's robustness. RESULTS: Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab offered an additional 1.42 life years and 1.09 QALYs, with an additional cost of S$111,847; the ICER was S$102,988/QALY. The World Health Organization considers interventions with ICERs <1 gross domestic product (GDP)/capita to be highly cost-effective. At a willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of S$114,165/QALY (Singapore's 2022 GDP/capita), atezolizumab plus bevacizumab is cost-effective compared with sorafenib. The ICER was most sensitive to variations in utilities, but all parameter variations had no significant impact on the model outcomes. CONCLUSION: At a WTP threshold of Singapore's GDP/capita, atezolizumab plus bevacizumab is cost-effective compared with sorafenib.

De Novo Assembly, Characterization, and Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Mature Male and Female Gonads of Rabbitfish (Siganus oramin) (Bloch & Schneider, 1801).

The rabbitfish, Siganus oramin, is a commercially important table fish in southeastern China. However, there have been few studies on its gonad development and reproduction regulation. Comparative transcriptome analysis was first performed on adult male and female gonads of S. oramin. In total, 47,070 unigenes were successfully assembled and 22,737 unigenes were successfully annotated. Through comparative transcriptome analysis of male and female gonads, a total of 6722 differentially expressed genes were successfully identified, with 3528 upregulated genes and 3154 downregulated genes in the testes. In addition, 39 differentially expressed reproduction-related genes were identified. Finally, quantitative real-time PCR was used to validate the expression levels of several differentially expressed genes. These results provide important data for further studying the function of reproduction-related genes and the molecular mechanism regulating gonad development and reproduction in S. oramin.

Umpolung Flow Chemistry for the Synthesis of a 3-Oxo-3H-spiro[benzofuran-2,4'-piperidine] Building Block.

An efficient and scalable route to tert-butyl 3-oxo-3H-spiro[benzofuran-2,4'-piperidine]-1'-carboxylate, a central prochiral intermediate in the synthesis of SHP2 inhibitor GDC-1971 (migoprotafib), was achieved. Preparation of the title compound from readily available 2-fluorobenzaldehyde included formation of a modified Katritzky benzotriazole hemiaminal, which, upon deprotonation by n-butyllithium, participated in umpolung reactivity via 1,2-addition to tert-butyl 4-oxopiperidine-1-carboxylate (N-Boc-4-piperidone). Most notably, this reaction was developed as a robust plug-flow process that could be executed on multiple kilograms without the need for pilot-scale reaction vessels operating at low cryogenic temperatures. Treatment of the resulting tetrahedral intermediate with oxalic acid resulted in collapse to the corresponding 4-(2-fluorobenzoyl)-4-hydroxypiperidine, which was isolated as a solid via crystallization. The synthesis concluded with an optimized intramolecular SNAr reaction and final crystallization to generate tert-butyl 3-oxo-3H-spiro[benzofuran-2,4'-piperidine]-1'-carboxylate as a stable, high-quality intermediate suitable for further functionalization toward GDC-1971.

A multimodal atlas of hepatocellular carcinoma reveals convergent evolutionary paths and 'bad apple' effect on clinical trajectory.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a highly fatal cancer characterized by high intra-tumor heterogeneity (ITH). A panoramic understanding of its tumor evolution, in relation to its clinical trajectory, may provide novel prognostic and treatment strategies. METHODS: Through the Asia-Pacific Hepatocellular Carcinoma (AHCC) trials group (NCT03267641), we recruited one of the largest prospective cohorts of HCC with over 600 whole genome and transcriptome samples from 123 treatment-naïve patients. RESULTS: Using a multi-region sampling approach, we revealed seven convergent genetic evolutionary paths governed by the early driver mutations, late copy number variations and viral integrations, which stratify patient clinical trajectories after surgical resection. Furthermore, such evolutionary paths shaped the molecular profiles, leading to distinct transcriptomic subtypes. Most significantly, although we found the coexistence of multiple transcriptomic subtypes within certain tumors, patient prognosis was best predicted by the most aggressive cell fraction of the tumor, rather than by overall degree of transcriptomic ITH level - a phenomenon we termed the 'bad apple' effect. Finally, we found that characteristics throughout early and late tumor evolution provide significant and complementary prognostic power in predicting patient survival. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our study generated a comprehensive landscape of evolutionary history for HCC and provided a rich multi-omics resource for understanding tumor heterogeneity and clinical trajectories. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: NCT03267641 (Observational cohort) IMPACT AND IMPLICATIONS: This prospective study, utilizing comprehensive multi-sector, multi-omics sequencing and clinical data from surgically resected HCC, reveals critical insights into the role of tumor evolution and intra-tumor heterogeneity (ITH) in determining the prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). These findings are invaluable for oncology researchers and clinicians, as they underscore the influence of distinct evolutionary paths and the 'bad apple' effect, where the most aggressive tumor fraction dictates disease progression. These insights not only enhance prognostic accuracy post-surgical resection but also pave the way for developing personalized therapies tailored to specific tumor evolutionary and transcriptomic profiles. The co-existence of multiple sub-types within the same tumor prompts a re-appraisal of the utilities of depending on single samples to represent the entire tumor and suggests the need for clinical molecular imaging. This research thus marks a significant step forward in the clinical understanding and management of HCC, underscoring the importance of integrating tumor evolutionary dynamics and multi-omics biomarkers into therapeutic decision-making.

No genetic causal association between periodontitis and ankylosing spondylitis: a bidirectional two-sample mendelian randomization analysis.

BACKGROUND: Observational studies that reveal an association between periodontitis (PD) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) exist. However, observational research is prone to reverse causality and confounding factors, which make it challenging to infer cause-and-effect relationships. We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study to examine the causal relationship between the genetic prediction of PD and AS. METHODS: In our study, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were defined as instrumental variables (IVs). The genetic association with PD came from the Gene-Lifestyle Interactions and Dental Endpoints (GLIDE) consortium, wherein 17353 cases of European ancestry and 28210 controls of European ancestry were included in this study. The genetic association with AS from the Neale Laboratory Consortium included 337,159 individuals from the United Kingdom, with 968 cases and 336,191 controls. MR analysis was mainly performed using the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method. In addition, the robustness of the study findings was assessed using sensitivity, pleiotropy, and heterogeneity analyses. RESULTS: Eighteen independent SNPs with P-values significantly smaller than 1 × 10- 5 were used as IV SNPs for PD, while 39 independent SNPs with P-values significantly smaller than 1 × 10- 5 were used as IV SNPs for AS. The results of the IVW method revealed no causal association between PD and AS (odds ratio = 1.00, 95% confidence interval: 0.99953 to 1.00067, P = 0.72). The MR-Egger method did not support the causal association between PD and AS. It is unlikely that horizontal pleiotropy distorts causal estimates based on sensitivity analysis. No significant heterogeneity was observed in the Q test. The ''leave-one-out'' analysis demonstrated that the robustness of our results was unaffected by eliminating any of the IVs. Likewise, no significant causative effect for AS on PD was observed in the inverse MR analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The study results do not support shared heritability or a causal association between PD and AS.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Current Drug Therapeutic Status, Advances and Challenges.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common form of liver cancer, accounting for ~90% of liver neoplasms. It is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths and the seventh most common cancer worldwide. Although there have been rapid developments in the treatment of HCC over the past decade, the incidence and mortality rates of HCC remain a challenge. With the widespread use of the hepatitis B vaccine and antiviral therapy, the etiology of HCC is shifting more toward metabolic-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Early-stage HCC can be treated with potentially curative strategies such as surgical resection, liver transplantation, and radiofrequency ablation, improving long-term survival. However, most HCC patients, when diagnosed, are already in the intermediate or advanced stages. Molecular targeted therapy, followed by immune checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy, has been a revolution in HCC systemic treatment. Systemic treatment of HCC especially for patients with compromised liver function is still a challenge due to a significant resistance to immune checkpoint blockade, tumor heterogeneity, lack of oncogenic addiction, and lack of effective predictive and therapeutic biomarkers.

Efficacy and Safety of Cell-based Immunotherapy in The Treatment of Recurrent or Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma - A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Recurrent/Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (RM-NPC) remains difficult to treat and contributes to considerable mortality. The first-line treatment for RM-NPC is Gemcitabine and Cisplatin and second-line treatment options differ. The endemic variant of NPC is associated with Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV). Therefore, Cell-based Immunotherapy (CBI) targeting EBV-specific RM-NPC may be effective. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library for randomised or observational studies investigating the efficacy and safety of CBI in the treatment of RM-NPC. We performed all meta-analyses using the random-effects model. Studies were further stratified by endemicity, nature of disease and drug type to investigate for potential between-study heterogeneity and additional pre-specified tests were employed to assess for publication bias. RESULTS: We screened 1,671 studies and included 13 studies with 403 participants in the systematic review, of which nine studies were eligible for meta-analysis. The use of CBI monotherapy as second or subsequent line treatment for EBV-positive RM-NPC revealed an ORR of 10 % (95 %CI = 3 %-29 %), median PFS of 2.37 months (95 %CI = 1.23-3.51) and median OS of 10.16 months (95 %CI = 0.67-19.65). For EBV-specific Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte monotherapy, the pooled PD rate was 54 % (95 %CI = 9 %-93 %), SD rate was 22 % (95 %CI = 2 %-75 %) and incidence rate of any grade adverse events was 45 %. For Dendritic Cell monotherapy, a PD rate of 80 % (95 % CI = 29 %-98 %), SD rate of 11 % (95 % CI = 0 %-82 %) and incidence rate of any grade adverse events of 29 % was achieved. CONCLUSION: CBI monotherapy demonstrates some activity in pre-treated RM-NPC. More trials are needed to better understand how to integrate CBI into RM-NPC care.

Pneumonitis Risk After Chemoradiotherapy With and Without Immunotherapy in Patients With Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PURPOSE: Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is the standard of care for patients with unresectable and locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer. This study aimed to determine whether the addition of ICIs to CRT is associated with an increased risk of pneumonitis. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched for eligible studies published between January 1, 2015, and July 31, 2023. The outcome of interest was the incidence rate of pneumonitis. A random-effects model was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 185 studies with 24,527 patients were included. The pooled rate of grade ≥2 pneumonitis for CRT plus ICIs was significantly higher than that for CRT alone (29.6%; 95% CI, 25.7%-33.6% vs 20.2%; 95% CI, 17.7%-22.8%; P < .0001) but not that of grade ≥3 (5.7%; 95% CI, 4.8%-6.6% vs 5.6%; 95% CI, 4.7%-6.5%; P = .64) or grade 5 (0.1%; 95% CI, 0.0%-0.2% vs 0.3%; 95% CI, 0.1%-0.4%; P = .68). The results from the subgroup analyses of prospective studies, retrospective studies, Asian and non-Asian studies, concurrent CRT (cCRT), and durvalumab consolidation were comparable to the overall results. However, CRT or cCRT plus PD-1 inhibitors not only significantly increased the incidence of grade ≥2 but also that of grade ≥3 pneumonitis compared to CRT alone or cCRT plus PD-L1 inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with CRT alone, durvalumab consolidation after CRT appears to be associated with a higher incidence of moderate pneumonitis and CRT plus PD-1 inhibitors with an increased risk of severe pneumonitis. Nevertheless, these findings are based on observational studies and need to be validated in future large head-to-head studies.

Multiple Tissues Transcriptome of Zig-Zag Eel (Mastacembelus armatus) with Different Growth Rates.

In order to explore the main regulatory genes and related pathways of growth traits, transcriptome sequencing was first performed on the brain, liver, and muscle tissues of 3-month-old M. armatus with different growth rates. By comparative transcriptome analysis of fast-growing and slow-growing groups of M. armatus, a total of 2887 DEGs were screened, of which 59 up-regulated genes and 105 down-regulated genes were detected in the brain, 146 up-regulated genes and 202 down-regulated genes were detected in the liver, and 529 up-regulated genes and 1846 down-regulated genes were detected in muscle, including insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1a (IGFBP1A), insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1b (IGFBP1B), myosin, light chain 1 (MYL1), and myoglobin (MB). Through Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, we identified a total of 288 significantly enriched GO entries and 68 significantly enriched KEGG pathways related to growth, such as skeletal muscle tissue development, insulin-like growth factor binding, and the mitotic cell cycle. These key genes and signaling pathways may play a key role in regulating the growth of M. armatus. Digging into the regulatory mechanisms of these key genes will provide a theoretical basis for further exploration of the molecular mechanisms related to the growth and development of M. armatus, and help to breed new varieties of M. armatus with rapid growth.

Highly Stable Lithium Metal Batteries Enabled by Tuning the Molecular Polarity of Diluents in Localized High-Concentration Electrolytes.

Electrolyte plays a crucial role in ensuring stable operation of lithium metal batteries (LMBs). Localized high-concentration electrolytes (LHCEs) have the potential to form a robust solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) and mitigate Li dendrite growth, making them a highly promising electrolyte option. However, the principles governing the selection of diluents, a crucial component in LHCE, have not been clearly determined, hampering the advancement of such a type of electrolyte systems. Herein, the diluents from the perspective of molecular polarity are rationally designed and developed. A moderately fluorinated solvent, 1-(1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethoxy)propane (TNE), is employed as a diluent to create a novel LHCE. The unique molecular structure of TNE enhances the intrinsic dipole moment, thereby altering solvent interactions and the coordination environment of Li-ions in LHCE. The achieved solvation structure not only enhances the bulk properties of LHCE, but also facilitates the formation of more stable anion-derived SEIs featured with a higher proportion of inorganic species. Consequently, the corresponding full cells of both Li||LiFePO4 and Li||LiNi0.8 Co0.1 Mn0.1 O2 cells utilizing Li thin-film anodes exhibit extended long-term stability with significantly improved average Coulombic efficiency. This work offers new insights into the functions of diluents in LHCEs and provides direction for further optimizing the LHCEs for LMBs.

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of nine toll like receptor (TLR) genes in Scortum barcoo under Streptococcus agalactiae infection.

Toll like receptors (TLRs) are important pattern recognition receptors participating in innate immune system. Up to now, no TLR has been identified in Jade perch (Scortum barcoo). In this study, we successfully identified 9 members of TLRs from the Jade perch. Amino acid sequence alignment analysis showed that the whole sequences of these TLRs were highly conserved among different fish species, especially in LRR, TM and TIR domains. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that each SbTLR was successfully grouped into corresponding gene family of teleosts. Expression analysis showed that most SbTLRs mainly expressed in liver, spleen, muscle and skin, while expressed less in brain and stomach. After Streptococcus agalactiae infection, expression of SbTLR2, SbTLR5S and SbTLR22 were significantly upregulated, while SbTLR3, SbTLR5M, SbTLR9, SbTLR13, and SbTLR14 were significantly downregulated. In all, this research first reported molecular characterization and expression profiles of 9 TLRs in Jade perch. These data will make a contribution for better understanding the antibacterial mechanism of TLRs in teleosts.

The Prognostic Value of CD39 as a Marker of Tumor-Specific T Cells in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in Asian Women.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has a poor prognosis with limited therapeutic options available for affected patients. Efforts are ongoing to identify surrogate markers for tumor-specific CD8+ T cells that can predict the response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapies, such as programmed cell death protein 1 or programmed cell death ligand-1 blockade. We have previously identified tumor-specific CD39+CD8+ T cells in non-small cell lung cancer that might help predict patient responses to programmed cell death protein 1 or programmed cell death ligand-1 blockade. Based on this finding, we conducted a comparative interrogation of TNBC in an Asian cohort to evaluate the potential of CD39 as a surrogate marker of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells. Using ICI-treated TNBC mouse models (n = 24), flow cytometric analyses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes revealed that >99% of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells also expressed CD39. To investigate the relationship between CD39+CD8+ T-cell density and CD39 expression with disease prognosis, we performed multiplex immunohistochemistry staining on treatment-naive human TNBC tissues (n = 315). We saw that the proportion of CD39+CD8+ T cells in human TNBC tumors correlated with improved overall survival, as did the densities of other CD39+ immune cell infiltrates, such as CD39+CD68+ macrophages. Finally, increased CD39 expression on CD8+ T cells was also found to predict the response to ICI therapy (pembrolizumab) in a separate cohort of 11 TNBC patients. These findings support the potential of CD39+CD8+ T-cell density as a prognostic factor in Asian TNBC patients.

Autumn and spring observations of PM2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in China and Japan.

The transboundary transport of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitro-PAHs (NPAHs) aggravated by the East Asian winter monsoon is a major atmospheric environmental issue in East Asia. To thoroughly elucidate the role of the East Asian monsoon on regional PAH and NPAH pollution in East Asia, PM2.5-bound PAHs and NPAHs were investigated concurrently at five sites in Beijing and Shenyang in China and Tsukuba, Kanazawa, and Wajima in Japan in autumn (November 2018) and spring (March 2019). During both autumn and spring sampling periods, the concentrations of PM2.5, PAHs, and NPAHs at sites in China were 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than those at sites in Japan, and showed an opposite temporal variation, with higher concentrations during the autumn sampling period due to intensive emissions and unfavourable weather conditions. During the sampling periods, PAHs at the Beijing and Shenyang sites had mixed sources of traffic emissions and coal and biomass combustion, while those at the Tsukuba, Kanazawa, and Wajima sites were mainly characterized by domestic traffic emissions. In addition, NPAHs at the five sites were jointly affected by primary combustion sources and atmospheric generation, with a greater contribution of atmospheric generation to the Beijing and Shenyang sites. Based on backwards trajectory clustering and concentration-weighted trajectory analysis, external contributions to PM2.5, PAHs, and NPAHs at each site were relatively stable during the two sampling periods, and potential source areas were mainly distributed in domestic cities and nearby sea areas. Therefore, the apparent temporal differences in the characteristics and sources of pollutants between sites in the two countries indicate that transboundary pollution dominated by the East Asian winter monsoon was unobvious in autumn and spring. The results of the study provide a time-specific solution for the effective management of regional air pollution during the East Asian winter monsoon.

Unveiling the effect of O2 on the photochemical reaction of NO2 with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The photochemical reaction of NO2 with organics may be a source of atmospheric HONO during the daytime. Here, the conversion of NO2 to HONO on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) under solar irradiation under aerobic and anaerobic conditions was investigated using a flow tube reactor coupled to a NOx analyzer. O2 played an inhibition role in NO2 uptake and HONO formation on PAHs, as shown by 7%-45% and 15%-52% decrease in NO2 uptake coefficient (γ) and HONO yield (YHONO), respectively. The negative effect of O2 on the reaction between NO2 and PAHs should be attributed to three reasons. First, O2 could compete with NO2 for the available sites on PAHs. Second, the quenching of the triple excited state of PAHs (3PAHs*) by O2 inhibited the NO2 uptake. Third, NO3- formed under aerobic conditions reduced the conversion efficiency of NO2 to HONO. The environmental implications suggested that the NO2 uptake on PAHs could contribute to a HONO source strength of 10-120 ppt h-1 in the atmosphere.

Deciphering genetic causality between inflammatory bowel disease and periodontitis through bi-directional two-sample Mendelian randomization.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and periodontitis are reported to be closely associated; however, whether there is a causal association between them remains unclear. To explore the existence of this causality, this study applied a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR). The genetic variants were obtained from the summary statistics of genome-wide association studies of IBD, including its subtypes CD and UC, and periodontitis. 175, 148, 113, and six single-nucleotide polymorphisms were selected as instrumental variables for IBD, CD, UC, and periodontitis, respectively. In MR analysis, random-effects inverse-variance weighted was used as the primary method, and weighted median and MR Egger regression were applied as the complementary method. A series of sensitivity analyses were also conducted to ensure the reliability of the results. None of these analyses found a significant effect of genetically proxied IBD and its subtypes on periodontitis, and vice versa. Subsequent sensitivity analyses did not detect any horizontal pleiotropy and heterogeneity. Caution should be exerted when it comes to clinical relevance and further studies are needed to clarify the relationship between IBD and periodontitis.

Pathogenesis and therapeutic implications of EBV-associated epithelial cancers.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), one of the most common human viruses, has been associated with both lymphoid and epithelial cancers. Undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), EBV associated gastric cancer (EBVaGC) and lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) are amongst the few common epithelial cancers that EBV has been associated with. The pathogenesis of EBV-associated NPC has been well described, however, the same cannot be said for primary pulmonary LELC (PPLELC) owing to the rarity of the cancer. In this review, we outline the pathogenesis of EBV-associated NPC and EBVaGCs and their recent advances. By drawing on similarities between NPC and PPLELC, we then also postulated the pathogenesis of PPLELC. A deeper understanding about the pathogenesis of EBV enables us to postulate the pathogenesis of other EBV associated cancers such as PPLELC.

MAE-Based Self-Supervised Pretraining Algorithm for Heart Rate Estimation of Radar Signals.

Noncontact heart rate monitoring techniques based on millimeter-wave radar have advantages in unique medical scenarios. However, the accuracy of the existing noncontact heart rate estimation methods is still limited by interference, such as DC offsets, respiratory harmonics, and environmental noise. Additionally, these methods still require longer observation times. Most deep learning methods related to heart rate estimation still need to collect more heart rate marker data for training. To address the above problems, this paper introduces a radar signal-based heart rate estimation network named the "masked phase autoencoders with a vision transformer network" (MVN). This network is grounded on masked autoencoders (MAEs) for self-supervised pretraining and a vision transformer (ViT) for transfer learning. During the phase preprocessing stage, phase differencing and interpolation smoothing are performed on the input phase signal. In the self-supervised pretraining step, masked self-supervised training is performed on the phase signal using the MAE network. In the transfer learning stage, the encoder segment of the MAE network is integrated with the ViT network to enable transfer learning using labeled heart rate data. The innovative MVN offers a dual advantage-it not only reduces the cost associated with heart rate data acquisition but also adeptly addresses the issue of respiratory harmonic interference, which is an improvement over conventional signal processing methods. The experimental results show that the process in this paper improves the accuracy of heart rate estimation while reducing the requisite observation time.

Synthesis of 3-Functionalized 4-Quinolones from Readily Available Anthranilic Acids.

We report herein an efficient synthesis of 3-functionalized 4-quinolones, a class of privileged pharmacophores found in numerous biologically and pharmaceutically active compounds. Our synthetic strategy features a telescoped two-step sequence starting from readily available anthranilic acids and functionalized methane derivatives bearing an electron-withdrawing group, such as methyl sulfones, methyl ketones, and acetonitrile. The method delivers good to excellent yields for a variety of structurally diverse substrates, showing good functional group tolerability. We believe that the disclosed method offers a highly efficient and practical entry to functionalized 4-quinolones under mild conditions that is amenable to preparative-scale synthesis.

Genome-wide identification, evolution and expression of TGF-ß signaling pathway members in mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi).

Members of the transforming growth factor ß (TGF-ß) signaling pathway regulate diverse cellular biological processes in embryonic and tissue development. We took mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi) as the research object to identify all members of the TGF-ß signaling pathway, measure their expression pattern in the key period post hatching, and further explore their possible role in the process of sex regulation. Herein, we identified eighty-three TGF-ß signaling pathway members and located them on chromosomes based on the genome of mandarin fish. TGF-ß signaling pathway members were highly conserved since each TGF-ß subfamily clustered with orthologs from other species. Transcriptome analysis, qRT-PCR and in situ hybridization demonstrated that most mandarin fish TGF-ß signaling pathway members presented stage-specific and/or sex-dimorphic expression during gonadal development, and different members of the TGF-ß signaling pathway participated in different stages of gonadal development. Taken together, our results provide new insight into the role of TGF-ß signaling pathway members in the sex regulation of mandarin fish.

Highly efficient removal of ozone by amorphous manganese oxides synthesized with a simple hydrothermal method.

Amorphous manganese oxides (MnOx) were synthesized by facile hydrothermal reactions between potassium permanganate and manganese acetate. Synthesis parameters, including hydrothermal time and temperature and molar ratio of precursors, significantly affected the ozone removal performance and structure property of MnOx. Amorphous MnOx-1.5, which was prepared at the Mn2+/Mn7+ molar ratio of 1.5 under hydrothermal conditions of 120°C and 2 hr, showed the highest ozone removal rate of 93% after 480 min at the room temperature, RH (relative humidity) = 80% and WHSV (weight hourly space velocity) = 600 L/(g·hr). The morphology, composition and structure of catalysts were investigated with X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Raman spectra, N2 physisorption, field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), H2 temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), O2 temperature-programmed desorption (O2-TPD) and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (in situ DRIFTS). It was confirmed that high catalytic activity of amorphous MnOx for ozone removal was mainly ascribed to its abundant oxygen vacancies, high oxygen mobility and large specific surface area.