Azulene functionalization by iron-mediated addition to a cyclohexadiene scaffold

The functionalization of azulenes via reaction with cationic η5-iron carbonyl diene complexes under mild reaction conditions is demonstrated. A range of azulenes, including derivatives of naturally occurring guaiazulene, were investigated in reactions with three electrophilic iron complexes of varying electronic properties, affording the desired coupling products in 43−98% yield. The products were examined with UV− vis/fluorescence spectroscopy and showed interesting halochromic properties. Decomplexation and further derivatization of the products provide access to several different classes of 1-substituted azulenes, including a conjugated ketone and a fused tetracycle

A survey of deep-water coral and sponge habitats along the west coast of the US using a remotely operated vehicle: NOAA Fisheries Survey Vessel (FSV)'Bell M. Shimada', November 1-5, 2010

Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys were conducted from NOAA’s state-of-the-art Fisheries Survey Vessel (FSV) Bell M. Shimada during a six-day transit November 1-5, 2010 between San Diego, CA and Seattle, WA. The objective of this survey was to locate and characterize deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems at several recommended sites in support of NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program. Deep-sea corals and sponges were photographed and collected whenever possible using the Southwest Fisheries Science Center’s (SWFSC) Phantom ROV ‘Sebastes’ (Fig. 1). The surveyed sites were recommended by National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) scientists at Monterey Bay NMS, Gulf of the Farallones NMS, and Olympic Coast NMS (Fig. 2). The specific sites were: Sur Canyon, The Football, Coquille Bank, and Olympic Coast NMS. During each dive, the ROV collected digital still images, video, navigation, and along-track conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD), and optode data. Video and high-resolution photographs were used to quantify abundance of corals, sponges, and associated fishes and invertebrates to the lowest practicable taxonomic level, and also to classify the seabed by substrate type. A reference laser system was used to quantify area searched and estimate the density of benthic fauna

Mobile applications for obesity and weight management: current market characteristics

Mobile-Health (mHealth) is the fastest-developing eHealth sector, with over 100 000 health applications (apps) currently available. Overweight/obesity is a problem of wide public concern that is potentially treatable/preventable through mHealth. This study describes the current weight-management app-market. Five app stores (Apple, Google, Amazon, Windows and Blackberry) in UK, US, Russia, Japan and Germany, Italy, France, China, Australia and Canada were searched for keywords: 'weight', 'calorie', 'weight-loss', 'slimming', 'diet', 'dietitian' and 'overweight' in January/February 2016 using App-Annie software. The 10 most downloaded apps in the lifetime of an app were recorded. Developers' lists and the app descriptions were searched to identify any professional input with keywords 'professional', 'dietitian' and 'nutritionist'. A total of 28 905 relevant apps were identified as follows: Apple iTunes=8559 (4634, 54% paid), Google Play=1762 (597, 33.9% paid), Amazon App=13569 (4821, 35.5% paid), Windows=2419 (819, 17% paid) and Blackberry=2596 (940, 36% paid). The 28 905 identified apps focused mainly on physical activity (34%), diet (31%), and recording/monitoring of exercise, calorie intake and body weight (23%). Only 17 apps (0.05%) were developed with identifiable professional input. Apps on weight management are widely available and very popular but currently lack professional content expertise. Encouraging app development based on evidence-based online approaches would assure content quality, allowing healthcare professionals to recommend their use

The Cardiothoracic Anaesthetic Society of South Africa practice advisory for the perioperative management of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators in South Africa

Pacemakers (PM) and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are likely to be encountered by anaesthetists in South Africa in everyday practice because of increasing rates of implantation of these cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) for an expanding group of conditions that qualify for their use. These devices are becoming increasingly sophisticated and anaesthetic perioperative management is changing with these developments. Traditionally, PM functions have been changed preoperatively to asynchronous modes because of the fear that electromagnetic interference (EMI) from the electrosurgical unit (ESU or diathermy) may cause oversensing and loss of pacing in patients who are PM-dependent. ICDs have had their anti-tachyarrythmia modes deactivated preoperatively to prevent inadvertent shocks delivered as a result of the misinterpretation of EMI as ventricular tachycardia (v-tach) or ventricular fibrillation (v-fib). Programming these devices in this manner may result in patient harm due to R-on-T phenomenon in PM set in asynchronous mode and in ICDs, undiagnosed v-tach and v-fib going untreated in patients who have anti-tachyarrythmia therapies switched off. Depending on the site of surgery, PM-on and ICD-on strategies may be acceptable. Magnet use intraoperatively can be used safely to change PM and ICD settings with the advantage that reversal to normal settings can be achieved by removal of the magnet once EMI is no longer in use. Intraoperative magnet use mandates that the device is interrogated preoperatively and that the results of magnet application are known to the anaesthetist in advance. Where management protocols stated may be controversial, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) survey of an expert consultant panel as well as member anaesthetists is published, as well as the Cardiothoracic Anaesthetic Society of South Africa (CASSA) committee responses to these controversies.http://www.sajaa.co.za/index.php/sajaaAnaesthesiolog

Self-assembly and surface behaviour of pure and mixed zwitterionic amphiphiles in a deep eutectic solvent

Recent investigations have shown that deep eutectic solvents provide a suitable environment for self-organisation of biomolecules, in particular phospholipids and proteins. However, the solvation of complex lyophilic moieties by deep eutectic solvents still remains unclear. Here we explore the behaviour of zwitterionic surfactants in choline chloride:glycerol eutectic mixture. Dodecyl-2-(trimethylammonio)ethylphosphate and N-alkyl-N,N-dimethyl-3-ammonio-1-propanesulfonate (alkyl = dodecyl, tetradecyl) surfactants were investigated by means of surface tension, X-ray reflectivity and small-angle neutron scattering. These surfactants were found to remain surface active and form globular micelles in deep eutectic solvents. Still, the surface behaviour of these species was found to differ depending on the headgroup and tail structure. The morphology of the micelles also slightly varies between surfactants, demonstrating differences in the packing of individual monomers. The characteristics of mixtures of the dodecyl surfactants is also reported, showing a deviation from ideal mixing associated with attractive interactions between sulfobetaine and phosphocholine headgroups. Such non-ideality results in variation of the surface behaviour and self-assembly of these surfactant mixtures. The results presented here will potentially lead to the development of new alternatives for drug-delivery, protein solubilisation and biosensing through a better fundamental understanding of the behaviour of zwitterionic surfactants in deep eutectic solvents

Late Gadolinium Enhancement Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Assessment of Substrate for Ventricular Tachycardia With Hemodynamic Compromise.

Background: The majority of data regarding tissue substrate for post myocardial infarction (MI) VT has been collected during hemodynamically tolerated VT, which may be distinct from the substrate responsible for VT with hemodynamic compromise (VT-HC). This study aimed to characterize tissue at diastolic locations of VT-HC in a porcine model. Methods: Late Gadolinium Enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging was performed in eight pigs with healed antero-septal infarcts. Seven pigs underwent electrophysiology study with venous arterial-extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) support. Tissue thickness, scar and heterogeneous tissue (HT) transmurality were calculated at the location of the diastolic electrograms of mapped VT-HC. Results: Diastolic locations had median scar transmurality of 33.1% and a median HT transmurality 7.6%. Diastolic activation was found within areas of non-transmural scar in 80.1% of cases. Tissue activated during the diastolic component of VT circuits was thinner than healthy tissue (median thickness: 5.5 mm vs. 8.2 mm healthy tissue, p < 0.0001) and closer to HT (median distance diastolic tissue: 2.8 mm vs. 11.4 mm healthy tissue, p < 0.0001). Non-scarred regions with diastolic activation were closer to steep gradients in thickness than non-scarred locations with normal EGMs (diastolic locations distance = 1.19 mm vs. 9.67 mm for non-diastolic locations, p < 0.0001). Sites activated late in diastole were closest to steep gradients in tissue thickness. Conclusions: Non-transmural scar, mildly decreased tissue thickness, and steep gradients in tissue thickness represent the structural characteristics of the diastolic component of reentrant circuits in VT-HC in this porcine model and could form the basis for imaging criteria to define ablation targets in future trials

Multimodal Analgesic Effectiveness on Acute Postoperative Pain Management After Adult Cardiac Surgery

Background Many patients report moderate to severe pain in the acute postoperative period. Enhanced recovery protocols recommend multimodal analgesics, but the optimal combination of these is unknown. Purpose The aim of this study was to synthesize the best available evidence about effectiveness of multimodal analgesics on pain after adult cardiac surgery. Methods A systematic review to determine the effect of multimodal postoperative analgesics is proposed (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews Registration CRD42022355834). Multiple databases including the Cochrane Library, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, American Psychological Association, the Education Resources Information Centre, the Excerpta Medica database, the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, Scopus, Web of Science, and clinical trials databases will be searched. Screening in Covidence and quality assessment will be conducted by 2 authors. A grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluation summary of findings will be presented if meta-analysis is possible

The genome, transcriptome, and proteome of the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae: Evolutionary signatures of a pathogenic lifestyle

The entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae has been widely used for the biological control of insect pests. It shares a symbiotic relationship with the bacterium Xenorhabdus nematophila, and is emerging as a genetic model to study symbiosis and pathogenesis. We obtained a high-quality draft of the nematode’s genome comprising 84,613,633 bp in 347 scaffolds, with an N50 of 1.24 Mb. To improve annotation, we sequenced both short and long RNA and conducted shotgun proteomic analyses. S. carpocapsae shares orthologous genes with other parasitic nematodes that are absent in the free-living nematode C. elegans, it has ncRNA families that are enriched in parasites, and expresses proteins putatively associated with parasitism and pathogenesis, suggesting an active role for the nematode during the pathogenic process. Host and parasites might engage in a co-evolutionary arms-race dynamic with genes participating in their interaction showing signatures of positive selection. Our analyses indicate that the consequence of this arms race is better characterized by positive selection altering specific functions instead of just increasing the number of positively selected genes, adding a new perspective to these co-evolutionary theories. We identified a protein, ATAD-3, that suggests a relevant role for mitochondrial function in the evolution and mechanisms of nematode parasitism