Microbial Distribution in a Hydrothermal Plume of the Southwest Indian Ridge

<p>Hydrothermal plumes are widely distributed throughout the global spreading ridges, yet few of them are microbiologically explored. The ultraslow-spreading ridges, recently recognized as a unique, new class of mid-ocean-ridge system, have provided surprises and new insights in hydrothermal system research. A suite of water column samples including both hydrothermal plume samples and ambient seawater were collected at different depths from the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) in 2010. We use molecular approaches such as clone libraries, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and quantitative PCR to determine microbial community compositions and their spatial variability within the hydrothermal plume and seawater. Phylogenetic analysis showed that plume samples were mainly dominated by members of <i>α-Proteobacteria</i> and <i>γ-Proteobacteria</i> and members of marine group I group within the <i>Crenarchaeota</i>. Within the hydrothermal plume, archaeal populations were spatially homogeneous, while bacterial compositions were heterogeneous and remarkably distinct at different depths. Moreover, several lineages, closely related to known Mn(II) oxidizers were found to be abundant and even predominant within the plume bacterial communities. DGGE band patterns showed that there was no significant difference in microbial compositions between the samples of hydrothermal plume and ambient seawater. Taken together, we inferred that microbial communities in the SWIR hydrothermal plumes were sourced from ambient seawater rather than from seafloor vent-derived niches. This is the first report on the characteristics of microbial community structures in hydrothermal plume and ambient seawater in the Southwest Indian Ridge.</p

Dipeptide-Based Chiral Tertiary Amine-Catalyzed Asymmetric Conjugate Addition Reactions of 5<i>H</i>‑Thiazol/Oxazol-4-Ones

Highly enantio- and chemo-selective 1,4-conjugate addition process of 5<i>H</i>-thiazol-4-ones with maleimides or 1,4-naphthoquinones, and 5<i>H</i>-oxazol-4-ones with maleimides were performed under a dipeptide-based tertiary amine (DP-UAA) catalyst. A series of valuable <i>N</i>,<i>S</i>- and <i>N</i>,<i>O</i>-containing heterocyclic compounds with excellent enantio- and disastereo-selectivities (up to >99% ee, > 20:1 dr) were attained

Conjugate Addition–Enantioselective Protonation of <i>N</i>‑Aryl Glycines to α‑Branched 2‑Vinylazaarenes via Cooperative Photoredox and Asymmetric Catalysis

An enantioselective protonation strategy has been successfully applied to the synthesis of chiral α-tertiary azaarenes. With a dual catalytic system involving a chiral phosphoric acid and a dicyanopyrazine-derived chromophore (DPZ) photosensitizer that is mediated by visible light, a variety of α-branched 2-vinylpyridines and 2-vinylquinolines with <i>N</i>-aryl glycines underwent a redox-neutral, radical conjugate addition–protonation process and provided valuable chiral 3-(2-pyridine/quinoline)-3-substituted amines in high yields with good to excellent enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee). An application of this methodology to a two-step synthesis of the enantiomerically pure medicinal compound pheniramine (Avil) is also presented

Controllable 1,3-Bis-Functionalization of 2‑Nitroglycals with High Regioselectivity and Stereoselectivity Enabled by a H‑Bond Catalyst

The selective modification of carbohydrates is significant for producing their unnatural analogues for drug discovery. C1-functionalization (glycosylation) and C1,C2-difunctionalization of carbohydrates have been well developed. In contrast, C3-functionalization or C1,C3-difunctionalization of carbohydrates remains rare. Herein, we report such processes that efficiently and stereoselectively modify carbohydrates. Specifically, we found that trifluoroethanol (TFE) could promote 1,3-bis-indolylation/pyrrolylation of 2-nitroglycals generated carbohydrate derivatives in up to 93% yield at room temperature; slightly reducing the temperature could install two different indoles at the C1- and C3-positions. Switching TFE to a bifunctional amino thiourea catalyst leads to the generation of C3 monosubstituted carbohydrates, which could also be used to construct 1,3-di-C-functionalized carbohydrates. This approach produced a range of challenging sugar derivatives (over 80 examples) with controllable and high stereoselectivity (single isomer for over 90% of the examples). The potential applications of the reaction were demonstrated by a set of transformations including the synthesis of bridged large-ring molecules and gram scale reactions. Biological activities evaluation demonstrated that three compounds exhibit a potent inhibitory effect on human cancer cells T24, HCT116, AGS, and MKN-45 with IC50 ranged from 0.695 to 3.548 μM

Conjugate Addition–Enantioselective Protonation of <i>N</i>‑Aryl Glycines to α‑Branched 2‑Vinylazaarenes via Cooperative Photoredox and Asymmetric Catalysis

An enantioselective protonation strategy has been successfully applied to the synthesis of chiral α-tertiary azaarenes. With a dual catalytic system involving a chiral phosphoric acid and a dicyanopyrazine-derived chromophore (DPZ) photosensitizer that is mediated by visible light, a variety of α-branched 2-vinylpyridines and 2-vinylquinolines with <i>N</i>-aryl glycines underwent a redox-neutral, radical conjugate addition–protonation process and provided valuable chiral 3-(2-pyridine/quinoline)-3-substituted amines in high yields with good to excellent enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee). An application of this methodology to a two-step synthesis of the enantiomerically pure medicinal compound pheniramine (Avil) is also presented

DataSheet_1_Reduced serum calcium is associated with a higher risk of retinopathy in non-diabetic individuals: The Chinese Multi-provincial Cohort Study.docx

AimsAs a common micro-vascular disease, retinopathy can also present in non-diabetic individuals and increase the risk of clinical cardiovascular disease. Understanding the relationship between serum calcium and retinopathy would contribute to etiological study and disease prevention.MethodsA total of 1836 participants (aged 55–84 years and diabetes-free) from the Chinese Multi-Provincial Cohort Study-Beijing Project in 2012 were included for analyzing the relation between serum calcium level and retinopathy prevalence. Of these, 1407 non-diabetic participants with data on serum calcium in both the 2007 and 2012 surveys were included for analyzing the association of five-year changes in serum calcium with retinopathy risk. The retinopathy was determined from retinal images by ophthalmologists and a computer-aided system using convolutional neural network (CNN). The association between serum calcium and retinopathy risk was assessed by multivariate logistic regression.ResultsAmong the 1836 participants (male, 42.5%), 330 (18.0%) had retinopathy determined by CNN. After multivariate adjustment, the odds ratio (OR) comparing the lowest quartiles (serum calcium ConclusionsReduced serum calcium was independently associated with an increased risk of retinopathy in non-diabetic individuals. Moreover, reduction of serum calcium could further increase the risk of retinopathy even in the absence of hypertension, high glucose, or high cholesterol. This study suggested that maintaining a high level of serum calcium may be recommended for reducing the growing burden of retinopathy. Further large prospective studies will allow more detailed information.</p

Chiral Bicyclic Guanidine-Catalyzed Enantioselective Sulfenylation of Oxindoles and Benzofuran-2(3<i>H</i>)‑ones

A chiral bicyclic guanidine-catalyzed enantioselective sulfenylation of 3-substituted oxindoles to <i>N</i>-(sulfanyl)­succinimides has been developed. A series of unprecedented 3-sulfenylated oxindoles, such as 3-benzyl/alkyl-substituted 3-benzyl/alkyloxindoles, were obtained with high enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee). This methodology is also effective for the first asymmetric sulfenylation of benzofuran-2­(3<i>H</i>)-ones, providing 3-benzyl-3-benzylthio-substituted benzofuran-2­(3<i>H</i>)-ones with satisfactory results (up to 95% ee)

Length-Controllable Gold-Coated Silver Nanowire Probes for High AFM-TERS Scattering Activity

Tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) microscopy is an advanced technique for investigation at the nanoscale that provides topographic and chemical information simultaneously. The TERS probe plays a crucial role in the microscopic performance. In the recent past, the development of silver nanowire (AgNW) based TERS probes solved the main tip fabrication issues, such as low mechanical strength and reproducibility. However, this fabrication method still suffers from low control of the protruded length of the AgNW. In this work, a simple water–air interface electrocutting method is proposed to achieve wide controllability of the length. This water cutting method was combined with a succedent Au coating on the AgNW surface, and the probe achieved an up to 100× higher enhancement factor (EF) and a 2× smaller spatial resolution compared to pristine AgNW. Thanks to this excellent EF, the water-cut Au-coated AgNW probes were found to possess high TERS activity even in the nongap mode, enabling broad applications