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Background The distant metastasis (DM) mode and treatment efficacies in the advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC) were obscure, and a credible evaluation is urgently needed. Method A total of 6348 advanced BTC patients (ICC, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, n = 1762; PHCC, perihilar cholangiocarcinoma, n = 1103; GBC, gallbladder cancer, n = 2580; DCC, distal cholangiocarcinoma, n = 538; AVC, carcinoma of Vater ampulla, n = 365) were enrolled from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Propensity score matching (PSM) process was carried out for less bias. Result The proportion of M1 patients in each subtype at first diagnosis was 26.4% (ICC), 37.2% (PHCC), 41. 0% (GBC), 24.5% (DCC), and 12.7% (AVC), and the constitution of DM sites in different subtypes varied apparently. Moreover, the survival of metastasis sites was different (P, Using a large population, we provided a detailed landscape about the DM mode of the advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC), found the survival differences among DM sites, and revealed the different chemotherapy efficacies in the BTC subtypes. The constitution and the survival of the DM sites varied significantly in different subtypes, and the chemotherapy efficacies manifested different among the subtypes.

Background Gallbladder cancer (GC) is a malignant disease characterized with highly cellular heterogeneity and poor prognosis. Determining the intratumoral heterogeneity and microenvironment (TME) can provide novel therapeutic strategies for GC. Methods We performed the single‐cell RNA sequencing on the primary and lymph node metastatic gallbladder tumors and the adjacent normal tissues of five patients. The transcriptomic atlas and ligand–receptor‐based intercellular communication networks of the single cells were characterized. Results The transcriptomic landscape of 24,887 single cells was obtained and characterized as 10 cellular clusters, including epithelial, neuroendocrine tumor cells, T&NK cells, B cells, RGS5+ fibroblasts, POSTN+ fibroblasts, PDGFRA+ fibroblasts, endothelial, myeloid cells, and mast cells. Different types of GC harbored distinct epithelial tumor subpopulations, and squamous cell carcinoma could be differentiated from adenocarcinoma cells. Abundant immune cells infiltrated into adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, rather than neuroendocrine neoplasms, which showed significant enrichment of stromal cells. CD4+/FOXP3+ T‐reg and CD4+/CXCL13+ T helper cells with higher exhausting biomarkers, as well as a dynamic lineage transition of tumor‐associated macrophages from CCL20hi/CD163lo, CCL20lo/CD163hi to APOE+, were identified in GC tissues, suggesting the immunosuppressive and tumor‐promoting status of immune cells in TME. Two distinct endothelial cells (KDR+ and ACKR1+), which were involved in angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, showed remarkable ligand–receptor interactions with primary GC cells and macrophages in gallbladder tumors. Conclusions This study reveals a widespread reprogramming across multiple cell populations in GC progression, dissects the cellular heterogeneity and interactions in gallbladder TME, and provides potential therapeutic targets for GC., Abundant immune cells in adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma while stromal cells in neuroendocrine neoplasms were enriched.Immunosuppressive microenvironment characterized as exhausted T cells and APOE+ macrophages.Endothelial cells (KDR+ and ACKR1+) indicated that angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis were involved in GC.There were remarkable ligand–receptor interactions between endothelial, primary GC cells, and macrophages.

Accumulating evidence has indicated that long noncoding RNA NEAT1 exerts critical roles in cancers. So far, the detailed biological role and mechanisms of NEAT1, which are responsible for human gastric cancer (GC), are still largely unknown. Here, we observed that NEAT1 and STAT3 expressions were significantly upregulated in human GC cells including BGC823, SGC-7901, AGS, MGC803, and MKN28 cells compared with normal gastric epithelial cells GES-1, while miR-506 was downregulated. We inhibited NEAT1 and observed that NEAT1 inhibition was able to repress the growth, migration, and invasion of GC cells. Conversely, overexpression of NEAT1 exhibited an increased ability of GC progression in BGC823 and SGC-7901 cells. Bioinformatics analysis, dual luciferase reporter assays, RIP assays, and RNA pull-down tests validated the negative binding correlation between NEAT1 and miR-506. In addition, it was found that miR-506 can modulate the expression of NEAT1 in vitro. STAT3 was predicted as a messenger RNA (mRNA) target of miR-506, and miR-506 mimics can suppress STAT3 mRNA expression. Subsequently, it was observed that downregulation of NEAT1 can restrain GC development by decreasing STAT3, which can be reversed by miR-506 inhibitors. Therefore, it was hypothesized in our study that NEAT1 can be recognized as a competing endogenous RNA to modulate STAT3 by sponging miR-506 in GC. In conclusion, we implied that NEAT1 can serve as an important biomarker in GC diagnosis and treatment.

Ooids have been considered the most intriguing component of carbonate rocks, but the formation mechanism of carbonate ooids remains a matter of intense discussion. The lower Cambrian Qingxudong Formation in the southeastern Sichuan Basin contains abundant ooidal-muddy laminites. Petrographic and sedimentological analyses revealed that these laminites formed in a shallow-marine environment (preferably along the windward side of the reef-shoal). Changing energy conditions caused variable supplies of grainy and muddy accumulation. A wide variety of ooids developed in grainy intervals. The normal ooids ( 2 mm in diameter) in the upper portion of the laminites developed in a deepening and moderate-energy subtidal environment but were influenced by episodic hydrodynamic events. Petrographic and geochemical analyses suggest that microbes played an important role in ooid formation. High carbonate-supersaturated and alkaline conditions that were mediated by microbial activity (e.g., bacterial sulfate reduction and photosynthesis) and agitated seawater conditions were the most important factors that mediated the formation of the Qingxudong ooids. This study provides new insights into paleooceanographic conditions during the Early Cambrian and offers a perspective on the formation of ancient normal and giant ooids.

A novel one pot, metal-free, three-component domino reaction for the formation of furan derivatives has been developed from 3-phenylpropiolaldehyde, 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds and aromatic amine or aliphatic acid. This transformation provided a general and facile access to the construction of C–O and C–N bonds to prepare various bioactive furans in good yields.

A novel copper-catalyzed regioselective double carbonylation of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines with N,N-disubstituted acetamide or acetone using molecular oxygen has been described. It has provided a new approach to synthesize 1,2-carbonyl imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines, which are important substrates and intermediates in preparation of fine chemicals. The product shares a skeleton similar to that of Zolpidem, one of the most prescribed drugs in the world. (18)O-labeling experiments unambiguously established that the oxygen source of products originated from O2 rather than H2O.

Palladium is a member of the platinum group of metals and can be used in the electronics industry for applications such as preparing precision resistors. It is also utilized for catalysis in organic chemistry to achieve faster reaction speeds and lower costs of production in industry. Overexposure to Pd is harmful to the environment and to human health because it can be conveyed quickly to the liver, kidney, spleen, adrenal glands, lungs, and bones. Herein, a fluorescent probe that contains an alkynyl group for specific reaction with PdII ions, and a naphthalimide group as a fluorophore was designed. This probe has high specificity and selectivity for PdII ions relative to many other metal ions. HPLC analysis was carried out to verify the mechanism of the detection. There is a distinct color change during the detection process. The influence of pH values shows that the probe is suitable to detect PdII ions in the range pH 6–9.

There is rapid population growth in coastal environments. Development and competing demands for resources and natural hazards offer an additional threat to coastal communities. Remote sensing provides a means of monitoring the intra- and inter-annual variability both natural and human impacts cause. In this article, we review the application of satellite-borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to the coastal zone and provide two examples, seasonal inundation mapping on coastal floodplains at the regional scale in eastern North Carolina, USA, and shoreline delineation and change in estuary of Pamlico Peninsula, Dare County, North Carolina. The results SAR data provide are reliable and repeatable, and can potentially be used to identify critical areas in coastal environments where there is a need to respond to the pressures caused by population growth, land use and land cover change, natural hazards and sea level rise that may be brought about by global climate change.

Background Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) rats are characterized by hypersensitivity to cholinergic stimuli and have been extensively used for studying depressive disorders. A link between depression and peptic ulcers has long been established; however, there is a lack of data from animal models. Methods We studied the physiology of acid secretion in FSL and Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) rats in vivo and in vitro. We also examined the susceptibility of Flinders rats to water immersion restraint stress (WIRS) or NSAID-induced gastric damage and explored the effect of an anticholinergic agent, atropine, in reversing this effect. Key Results Basal acid output was more than twofold greater in FSL compared with FRL rats in vivo, 213.5 and 92.8 μEq/3 h/100 g (P = 0.02), respectively. Carbachol was a more potent secretagog in vitro, and somatostatin was a less potent inhibitory agent, while paradoxically stimulating acid secretion over and above the carbachol response in gastric glands from FSL rats. The FSL rats were more susceptible to indomethacin and WIRS-induced gastric mucosal damage compared with FRL rats. Atropine reduced acid output, which resulted in a reduction in indomethacin and stress-induced gastric damage in FSL rats. Conclusions & Inferences Our study, for the first time, demonstrates that the altered vagally mediated physiology of acid secretion in depression-prone FSL rats contributes to gastric hypersecretion and, consequently, results in exacerbated stress and NSAID-induced gastric damage. Flinders rats may be a useful animal model for studying acid-related and also gastrointestinal functional disorders in depression.