Palladium-catalyzed C-N cross coupling of sulfinamides and aryl halides.
The palladium-catalyzed C-N cross coupling of sulfinamides and aryl halides is reported. In the presence of Pd(2)(dba)(3), tBuXPhos, NaOH, and a small amount of water, the C-N cross coupling of chiral tert-butanesulfinamide and aryl halides was accomplished to give N-aryl tert-butanesulfinamide without racemization, and the coupling of racemic p-toluenesulfinamide smoothly afforded N-aryl p-toluenesulfinamides. 2-Bromopyridine was also suitable for the coupling. Addition of a small amount of water to the catalytic system was of importance to obtain high yields.

title: Preparation and evaluation of Zr-beta-FeOOH for efficient arsenic removal.
abstract: A Zr-beta-FeOOH adsorbent for both As(V) and As(III) removal was prepared by a chemical co-precipitation method. Compared with beta-FeOOH, the addition of Zr enhanced the adsorption capacities for As(V) and As(III), especially As(III). The maximum adsorption capacities for As(III) and As(V) were 120 and 60 mg/g respectively at pH 7.0, much higher than for many reported adsorbents. The adsorption data accorded with Freundlich isotherms. At neutral pH, for As(V), adsorption equilibrium was approached after 3 hr, while for As(III), adsorption equilibrium was approached after 5 hr. Kinetic data fitted well to the pseudo second-order reaction model. As(V) elimination was favored at acidic pH, whereas the adsorption of As(III) by Zr-beta-FeOOH was found to be effective over a wide pH range of 4-10. Competitive anions hindered the adsorption according to the sequence: phosphate > silicate > bicarbonate > sulfate > nitrate, while Ca2+ and Mg2+ increased the removal of As(III) and As(V) slightly. The high adsorption capability and good performance in other aspects make Zr-beta-FeOOH a potentially attractive adsorbent for the removal of both As(III) and As(V) from water.

title: Uterine deletion of Gp130 or Stat3 shows implantation failure with increased estrogenic responses.
abstract: Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a downstream target of estrogen, is essential for implantation in mice. LIF function is thought to be mediated by its binding to LIF receptor (LIFR) and recruitment of coreceptor GP130 (glycoprotein 130), and this receptor complex then activates signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)1/3. However, the importance of LIFR and GP130 acting via STAT3 in implantation remains uncertain, because constitutive inactivation of Lifr, Gp130, or Stat3 shows embryonic lethality in mice. To address this issue, we generated mice with conditional deletion of uterine Gp130 or Stat3 and show that both GP130 and STAT3 are critical for uterine receptivity and implantation. Implantation failure in these deleted mice is associated with higher uterine estrogenic responses prior to the time of implantation. These heightened estrogenic responses are not due to changes in ovarian hormone levels or expression of their nuclear receptors. In the deleted mice, estrogen-responsive gene, Lactoferrin (Ltf), and Mucin 1 protein, were up-regulated in the uterus. In addition, progesterone-responsive genes, Hoxa10 and Indian hedgehog (Ihh), were markedly down-regulated in STAT3-inactivated uteri. These changes in uteri of deleted mice were reflected by the failure of differentiation of the luminal epithelium, which is essential for blastocyst attachment.

title: Cannabinoid/Endocannabinoid signaling impact on early pregnancy events.
abstract: It has been known for decades that marijuana and its major psychoactive component Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) alter both male and female reproductive functions in humans and laboratory animals. The discovery of cannabinoid-like molecules (endocannabinoids), anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonylglycerol (2AG), as well as G-protein-coupled cannabinoid/endocannabinoid receptors CB₁ and CB₂, created an opportunity to study the adverse and beneficial effects of cannabinoids/endocannabinoids on fertility using molecular, physiological and genetic approaches. In fact, studies to explore the significance of cannabinoid/endocannabinoid signaling in reproduction have revealed some intriguing physiological roles in early pregnant events. This review summarizes some aspects of these signaling molecules in preimplantation and implantation biology utilizing genetically engineered mouse models.

title: Kruppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) is critical for conferring uterine receptivity to implantation
abstract: A blastocyst will implant only when the uterus becomes receptive. Following attachment, luminal epithelial cells undergo degeneration at the site of the blastocyst. Although many genes critical for uterine receptivity are primarily regulated by ovarian hormones, Kruppel-like factor 5 (KLF5), a zinc finger-containing transcription factor, is persistently expressed in epithelial cells independently of ovarian hormones. Loss of uterine Klf5 causes female infertility due to defective implantation. Cox2 is normally expressed in the luminal epithelium and stroma at the site of blastocyst attachment, but luminal epithelial COX2 expression is absent with loss of Klf5. This is associated with the retention of the epithelium around the implantation chamber with arrested embryonic growth. These results suggest that Klf5 is indispensable for normal implantation.

title: [Isolation of a metsulfuron-methyl-resistant bacteria and cloning and expression of the acetohydroxyacid synthase genes ilvlH].
abstract: Acetohydroxyacid synthase (EC 4.1.3.18) is the enzyme that catalyses the first step in the synthesis of the branched-chain amino acids valine, leucine and isoleucine in plant, fungi and bacteria, and also is target of the sulfonylurea, imidazolinone, triazolopyrimidine and other acetohydroxyacid synthase inhibitor herbicides.



The purpose of this study is to get the resistant gene, prepare a functional bacteria with acetohydroxyacid synthase, and investigate the relationship between the mutation sites of the acetohydroxyacid synthase and the herbicides-resistant.



A metsulfuron-methyl-resistant bacterium Lm10 was isolated from metsulfuron-methyl contaminated soil. Acetohydroxyacid synthase genes ilvIH was amplified from the genome DNA of strains Lm10 by PCR. The ilvI and ilvH were cloned into the bacterial expression vector pET29a(+) respectively.



Strain Lm10 was identified preliminarily as Pseudomonas sp.. It can endure 14000 micromol/L metsulfuron-methyl and showed cross resistance to diffenent acetohydroxyacid synthase inhibitor herbicids, such as chlorsulfuron, imazethapyr, flumetsulam and penoxsulam. The alignment result of the ilvIH amino acid sequence showed that ilvI of strains Lm10 differed from that of strain KT2440 by 6 sites, While the ilvH of the two strains were the same. The gene ilvI and ilvH were functional expressed in the Escherichia coli strain BL21(DE3) respectively. The expressed production pET-I displayed acetohydroxyacid synthase activity and showed resistance to high concentration of metsulfuron-methyl.



The ilvI displayed acetohydroxyacid synthase activity. The 6 different sites in ilvI of strains Lml0 probably led to herbicids resistance.

title: A methodological framework of preparing economic evidence for selection of medicines in the Chinese setting.
abstract: Medicines are becoming a major component of health expenditure in China. Selection of effective and cost-effective medicines represents an important effort to improve medicines use. A guideline on cost-effectiveness studies has been available in China. This guideline, however, fails to be a practical tool to prepare and critically appraise economic evidence. This article discusses, in the Chinese context, the approach to integrating economic component into the medicines selection, and elaborates the methods of producing economic evidence, including conducing economic reviews and primary economic studies.

title: Dual fluorescence self-assembled multilayers bearing a fluorescent internal standard for interfacial sensing.
abstract: A novel dual fluorescence film Quartz/PSS/AO/PSS/CS/CdTe sensor was constructed based on layer-layer electrostatic attraction using CdTe as a fluorescence probe. Acridine orange is shielded effectively by sodium poly(4-styrenesulfonate) and chitosan, thus its fluorescence intensity does not change in the presence of the analyte, thereby acting as a fluorescent internal standard providing a reference signal. The ratio of dual fluorescence intensities of the film sensor is not affected by the fluctuation of the external environment factors such as excitation intensity, detector voltage of photo multiplier tube and sensor position in the cell holder. Assays based on this dual fluorescence self-assembled multilayers sensor afforded an extremely high sensitivity for DNA with greatly accuracy.

title: Effect of conventional interferon-α in patients with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: Although a few studies have tested the effect of interferon-α on chronic hepatitis B, its treatment effect remains uncertain, and the association of treatment effect with intervention characteristics has not been thoroughly explored. This study examined the effect of IFN-α in patients with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B, and investigated the characteristics associated with treatment effect.



We searched MEDLINE,  Index, Current Content Connect, Cochrane Controlled Trial Register, and Chinese Biomedical Database, all up to 15 September 2009. We included randomized trials comparing IFN-α to placebo, no treatment, or standard care (SC) in patients with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B. Two reviewers assessed the risk of bias and extracted data, independently and in duplicate. We conducted meta-analyses of the included studies, and subgroup analyses to examine the association of pre-specified characteristics (eg, dose, treatment duration) with treatment effect.



A total of 31 randomized controlled trials, involving 2164 patients, were included. The risk of bias varied across studies. Compared with placebo, no treatment, or SC, IFN-α improved loss of HBeAg (OR 2.36, 95% CI 1.83 to 3.04), HBV DNA undetectability (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.28 to 3.32), HBeAg seroconversion (OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.26 to 2.62), ALT normalization (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.56), and loss of HBsAg (OR 2.45, 95% CI 1.22 to 4.91). Treatment effects differed in high versus low dose, and long versus short duration of IFN-α. The effect of high dose IFN-α (OR 3.28, 95% CI 2.31 to 4.66) is statistically larger than that of low dose IFN-α (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.28) on loss of HBeAg (interaction P = 0.017), and longer IFN-α treatment durations produce greater effects (OR 3.28, 95% CI 2.16 to 5.00) than do shorter durations (OR 1.94, 95% CI 0.42 to 2.66, interaction P = 0.038). High dose IFN-α had a significant effect on HBV DNA undetectability (OR 2.80, 95% CI 2.03 to 3.86), while low dose IFN-α did not (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.61 to 1.41, interaction P = 0.01); longer treatments significantly improved HBV DNA undetectability (OR 2.58, 95% CI 1.62 to 4.12), but shorter durations did not (OR 1.28, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.97, interaction P = 0.024).



IFN-α can improve serological, biomedical, and virological response. Higher doses and prolonged treatments appear to have larger treatment benefits than lower doses and shorter treatments. However, the increased adverse reactions and costs associated with higher doses and prolonged treatment warrant caution in applying these results.

title: Determination of tetracyclines in food samples by molecularly imprinted monolithic column coupling with high performance liquid chromatography.
abstract: A novel solid phase extraction (SPE) method for determination of tetracyclines (TCs) in milk and honey samples by molecularly imprinted monolithic column was developed. Using tetracycline (TC) as the template, methacrylic acid (MAA) as the functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the cross-linker, methanol as the solvent, cyclohexanol and dodecanol as the mixed porogenic solvents, a TC imprinted monolithic column was prepared by in situ molecular imprinting technique for the first time, and the optimal synthesis conditions and the selectivity of TC imprinted monolithic column were investigated. The interfering substances in food samples and TCs can be separated successfully on imprinted column. Molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction (MISPE) coupling with C18 column was used to determinate the TCs in milk and honey. The recoveries of this method for six tetracyclines antibiotics such as tetracycline (TC), oxytetracycline (OTC), minocycline (MINO), chlortetracycline (CTC), metacycline (MTC) and doxycycline (DTC) were investigated, and high recoveries of 73.3-90.6% from milk samples and 62.6-82.3% from honey samples were obtained. A method for determination of TCs at low concentration level in milk and honey samples was successfully developed by using the monolithic column as the precolumn for solid phase extraction of six TCs compounds.

title: Surface-emitting circular DFB, disk- and ring- Bragg resonator lasers with chirped gratings: a unified theory and comparative study.
abstract: We have developed a theory that unifies the analysis of the modal properties of surface-emitting chirped circular grating lasers. This theory is based on solving the resonance conditions which involve two types of reflectivities of chirped circular gratings. This approach is shown to be in agreement with previous derivations which use the characteristic equations. Utilizing this unified analysis, we obtain the modal properties of circular DFB, disk-, and ring- Bragg resonator lasers. We also compare the threshold gain, single mode range, quality factor, emission efficiency, and modal area of these types of circular grating lasers. It is demonstrated that, under similar conditions, disk Bragg resonator lasers have the highest quality factor, the highest emission efficiency, and the smallest modal area, indicating their suitability in low-threshold, high-efficiency, ultracompact laser design, while ring Bragg resonator lasers have a large single mode range, high emission efficiency, and large modal area, indicating their suitability for high-efficiency, large-area, high-power applications.