Asymmetric Total Synthesis of Illisimonin A.

The discovery of illisimonin A in 2017 extended the structural repertoire of the Illicium sesquiterpenoids─a class of natural products known for their high oxidation levels and neurotrophic properties─with a new carbon backbone combining the strained trans-pentalene and norbornane substructures. We report an asymmetric total synthesis of (-)-illisimonin A that traces its tricyclic carbon framework back to a spirocyclic precursor, generated by a tandem-Nazarov/ene cyclization. As crucial link between the spirocyclic key intermediate and illisimonin A, a novel approach for the synthesis of tricyclo[5.2.1.01,5]decanes via radical cyclization was explored. This approach was applied in a two-stage strategy consisting of Ti(III)-mediated cyclization and semipinacol rearrangement to access the natural product's carbon backbone. These key steps were combined with carefully orchestrated C-H oxidations to establish the dense oxidation pattern.

Myofascial trigger points alter the modular control during the execution of a reaching task: a pilot study.

Myofascial trigger points (TP) constitute a conundrum in research and clinical practice as their etiopathogenesis is debated. Several studies investigating one or few muscles have shown that both active and latent TP causes an increased muscle activity, however the influence of TP on modular motor control during a reaching task is still unclear. Electromyographic signals, recorded from the muscles of the shoulder girdle and upper arm during a reaching task, were decomposed with Non-Negative Matrix Factorization algorithm. The extracted matrices of motor modules and activation signals were used to label the muscles condition as dominant or non-dominant. The presence of latent and active TP was detected in each muscle with manual examination. Despite a similar muscle activity was observed, we found that muscles with active TP had increased weighting coefficients when labeled in the dominant condition. No influences were found when muscles were in the non-dominant condition. These findings suggest that TP altered the motor control without co-contraction patterns. As a preliminary evidence, the present results suggest that the increased weighting coefficients in presence of TPs are associated with an alteration of the modular motor control without affecting the dimensionality of motor modules for each individual and reciprocal inhibition.

A validation study of a new instrument for low cost bite force measurement.

Quantitative assessment of force in masticatory muscles is not a routine clinical test, probably due to the lack of an "easy-to-use" device. Aim of this study is (1) to present a low cost bite force instrument located in a custom-made housing, designed to guarantee a comfortable and effective bite action, (2) to evaluate its mechanical characteristics, in order to implement it in clinical settings and in experimental setups. Linearity, repeatability and adaptation over time were assessed on a set of four different sensors in bare and housed condition. Application of the housing to the transducer may appreciably alter the transducer's response. Calibration of the housed transducer is thus necessary in order to correctly record real bite force. This solution may represent a low cost and reliable option for biting force measurement and objective assessment of individual force control in the scientific and clinical setting.

Inflammatory markers and suicidal attempts in depressed patients: A review.

Major depressive disorder is a chronic and invalidating psychiatric illness and is associated with a greater risk of suicidal behaviors. In recent decades many data have supported a biological link between depressive states and inflammation. Pro-inflammatory cytokines have been found to rise, first of all TNF-α and IL-6. Suicidal behaviors have been consistently associated with increased levels of IL-6 and decreased levels of IL-2. The aim of this review is to investigate the relationship between inflammatory markers in depressed patients with or without suicidal attempts compared to healthy controls.

Metastatic extra-abdominal presentation of gastrointestinal stromal tumors in a young Hispanic male: a case presentation and literature review.

This article presents the medical history and management of a 44-year-old Hispanic male with metastatic extra-abdominal gastrointestinal stromal tumor including a literature review on this rare clinical presentation.

Chemosensitivity of nonleukemic clonogenic precursors in AML patients in complete remission: association with CD34(+) mobilization and with disease-free survival.

A high number of CD34(+) cells in the peripheral blood during mobilization in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in complete remission (CR) is associated with a high relapse rate. The variability in chemoresistance of normal bone marrow precursors has been hypothesized as explanation for the variable CD34 mobilization in AML. In 37 patients with AML in CR, we determined the chemosensitivity of bone marrow clonogenic precursors to maphosphamide and etoposide, which was then correlated with the degree of CD34(+) mobilization. In an enlarged set of 49 patients, we also studied the importance of chemosensitivity of marrow precursors for disease-free survival and relapse incidence. Significant correlations were demonstrated between the peak number of CD34(+) cells and residual growth of colony-forming unit granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) after maphosphamide (R = 0.550; p = 0.0003) and after etoposide (R = 0.793; p = 0.0003). It was possible to identify three groups of AML patients based on chemosensitivity. The mean CD34(+) peak was 33 × 10(6)/L in the hyperchemosensitive group, 141 × 10(6)/L in the normochemosensitive (p = 0.03), and 379 × 10(6)/L in the chemoresistant group (p = 0.002). Failed CD34(+) mobilization was observed in 72% of the hyperchemosensitive group, 23% of the normochemosensitive group, and 0% of the chemoresistant group (p = 0.001). Hyperchemosensitivity of CFU-GM, together with a low platelet count, were independent factors important in the failure of CD34(+) cell mobilization. A disease-free survival significantly inferior to that of all other patients was associated with chemoresistance of CFU-GM (log rank, p = 0.030) and with chemoresistance of burst-forming unit erythroid (BFU-E) (log rank, p = 0.033). Chemoresistance of CFU-GM (p = 0.048) and BFU-E (p = 0.017) was also associated with increase relapse incidence. Nonleukemic nature of these precursors was demonstrated studying minimal residual disease from single colony cells. In conclusion, we found that hyperchemosensitivity of normal nonleukemic CFU-GM is associated with a high risk of CD34(+) cell mobilization failure, while a chemoresistant pattern in CFU-GM and BFU-E is associated with poor disease-free survival and increased cumulative incidence of relapse.