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  1. Dong Z, Morandini AC, Schiariti A, Wang L, Sun T
    PeerJ, 2019;7:e6191.
    PMID: 30643699 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6191
    Background: It has been suggested that aquaculture ponds on the Chinese coast could act as breeding grounds for scyphozoans. Here, we present the first record of the scyphomedusa Phyllorhiza sp. in an aquaculture pond on the coast of the southern Yellow Sea, based on a combination of morphological characteristics and mitochondrial 16S DNA sequence data.

    Methods: A field survey was performed on June 29, 2017 in a pond used for culturing the shrimp Penaeus japonicus, located in the southern Yellow Sea, China. Jellyfish specimens were collected for morphological and genetic analysis. The morphological characters of the jellyfish specimens were compared to taxonomic literature. Additionally, phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial 16S fragments of these specimens were also conducted.

    Results: These specimens had the following morphological characters: hemispherical umbrella without scapulets; J-shaped oral arms; a single larger terminal club on each arm; bluish colored with a slightly expanded white tip; and mouthlets present only in the lower half to one-third of each arm. These morphological features of the medusae indicated that the specimens found in the shrimp culture ponds belong to the genus Phyllorhiza Agassiz, 1862, but did not match with the description of any of the known species of the genus Phyllorhiza. Phylogenetic analyses of the mtDNA 16S regions revealed that these specimens, together with Phyllorhiza sp. from Malaysian coastal waters, belong to a sister group of Phyllorhiza punctata. Juveniles and ephyrae of Phyllorhiza sp. were observed in the aquaculture pond. The mean density of Phyllorhiza sp. medusa in the surface water within the pond was estimated to be 0.05 individuals/m2.

    Discussion: Based on our observations of the gross morphology and molecular data, we state that the specimens collected in the aquaculture pond can be identified as Phyllorhiza sp. This is the first record of Phyllorhiza sp. in Chinese seas. Large scale dispersal through ballast water or the expansion of jellyfish aquarium exhibitions are possible pathways of invasion, but this needs to be confirmed in further studies.

  2. Jayabal S, Pandikumar A, Lim HN, Ramaraj R, Sun T, Huang NM
    Analyst, 2015 Apr 21;140(8):2540-55.
    PMID: 25738185 DOI: 10.1039/c4an02330g
    Gold nanorods (Au NRs) are elongated nanoparticles with unique optical properties which depend on their shape anisometry. The Au NR-based longitudinal localized surface plasmon resonance (longitudinal LSPR) band is very sensitive to the surrounding local environment and upon the addition of target analytes, the interaction between the analytes and the surface of the Au NRs leads to a change in the longitudinal LSPR band. This makes it possible to devise Au NR probes with application potential to the detection of toxic metal ions with an improved limit of detection, response time, and selectivity for the fabrication of sensing devices. The effective surface modification of Au NRs helps in improving their selectivity and sensitivity toward the detection of toxic metal ions. In this review, we discuss different methods for the preparation of surface modified Au NRs for the detection of toxic metal ions based on the LSPR band of the Au NRs and the types of interactions between the surface of Au NRs and metal ions. We summarize the work that has been done on Au NR-based longitudinal LSPR detection of environmentally toxic metal ions, sensing mechanisms, and the current progress in various modified Au NR-based longitudinal LSPR sensors for toxic metal ions. Finally, we discuss the applications of Au NR-based longitudinal LSPR sensors to real sample analysis and some of the future challenges facing longitudinal LSPR-based sensors for the detection of toxic metal ions toward commercial devices.
  3. Chang HC, Sun T, Sultana N, Lim MM, Khan TH, Ismail AF
    Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl, 2016 Apr 1;61:396-410.
    PMID: 26838866 DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2015.12.074
    In the current study, electrospinning technique was used to fabricate composite membranes by blending of a synthetic polymer, polylactic acid (PLA) and a natural polymer, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate), PHBV. Conductive membranes were prepared by dipping PLA/PHBV electrospun membranes into poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (
  4. Sun T, Wang D, Mirkin MV, Cheng H, Zheng JC, Richards RM, et al.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2019 06 11;116(24):11618-11623.
    PMID: 31127040 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1821091116
    The catalytic activity of low-dimensional electrocatalysts is highly dependent on their local atomic structures, particularly those less-coordinated sites found at edges and corners; therefore, a direct probe of the electrocatalytic current at specified local sites with true nanoscopic resolution has become critically important. Despite the growing availability of operando imaging tools, to date it has not been possible to measure the electrocatalytic activities from individual material edges and directly correlate those with the local structural defects. Herein, we show the possibility of using feedback and generation/collection modes of operation of the scanning electrochemical microscope (SECM) to independently image the topography and local electrocatalytic activity with 15-nm spatial resolution. We employed this operando microscopy technique to map out the oxygen evolution activity of a semi-2D nickel oxide nanosheet. The improved resolution and sensitivity enables us to distinguish the higher activities of the materials' edges from that of the fully coordinated surfaces in operando The combination of spatially resolved electrochemical information with state-of-the-art electron tomography, that unravels the 3D complexity of the edges, and ab initio calculations allows us to reveal the intricate coordination dependent activity along individual edges of the semi-2D material that is not achievable by other methods. The comparison of the simulated line scans to the experimental data suggests that the catalytic current density at the nanosheet edge is ∼200 times higher than that at the NiO basal plane.
  5. Hong W, Wang Y, Chang Z, Yang Y, Pu J, Sun T, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2015;5:15328.
    PMID: 26471125 DOI: 10.1038/srep15328
    It is an urgent need to develop new drugs for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), and the enzyme, dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) is a recognised drug target. The crystal structures of methotrexate binding to mt- and h-DHFR separately indicate that the glycerol (GOL) binding site is likely to be critical for the function of mt-DHFR selective inhibitors. We have used in silico methods to screen NCI small molecule database and a group of related compounds were obtained that inhibit mt-DHFR activity and showed bactericidal effects against a test Mtb strain. The binding poses were then analysed and the influence of GOL binding site was studied by using molecular modelling. By comparing the chemical structures, 4 compounds that might be able to occupy the GOL binding site were identified. However, these compounds contain large hydrophobic side chains. As the GOL binding site is more hydrophilic, molecular modelling indicated that these compounds were failed to occupy the GOL site. The most potent inhibitor (compound 6) demonstrated limited selectivity for mt-DHFR, but did contain a novel central core (7H-pyrrolo[3,2-f]quinazoline-1,3-diamine), which may significantly expand the chemical space of novel mt-DHFR inhibitors. Collectively, these observations will inform future medicinal chemistry efforts to improve the selectivity of compounds against mt-DHFR.
  6. Sang C, Yan H, Chan WK, Zhu X, Sun T, Chang X, et al.
    Front Med (Lausanne), 2021;8:637652.
    PMID: 33708783 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2021.637652
    Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the main causes of fibrosis. Liver biopsy remains the gold standard for the confirmation of fibrosis in NAFLD patients. Effective and non-invasive diagnosis of advanced fibrosis is essential to disease surveillance and treatment decisions. Herein we used routine medical test markers and logistic regression to differentiate early and advanced fibrosis in NAFLD patients from China, Malaysia, and India (n1 = 540, n2 = 147, and n3 = 97) who were confirmed by liver biopsy. Nine parameters, including age, body mass index, fasting blood glucose, presence of diabetes or impaired fasting glycemia, alanine aminotransferase, γ-glutamyl transferase, triglyceride, and aspartate transaminase/platelet count ratio, were selected by stepwise logistic regression, receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), and hypothesis testing and were used for model construction. The area under the ROC curve (auROC) of the model was 0.82 for differentiating early and advanced fibrosis (sensitivity = 0.69, when specificity = 0.80) in the discovery set. Its diagnostic ability remained good in the two independent validation sets (auROC = 0.89 and 0.71) and was consistently superior to existing panels such as the FIB-4 and NAFLD fibrosis score. A web-based tool, LiveFbr, was developed for fast access to our model. The new model may serve as an attractive tool for fibrosis classification in NAFLD patients.
  7. Leung J, Lim C, Sun T, Vu G, McClure-Thomas C, Bao Y, et al.
    Int J Public Health, 2024;69:1606446.
    PMID: 39027013 DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2024.1606446
    OBJECTIVES: In addition to harms caused to individuals who smoke, second-hand smoke (SHS or passive smoke) is an important public health issue. We aim to estimate the extent of preventable deaths due to tobacco and SHS exposure in Southeast Asia.

    METHODS: Data were from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. We analysed data from Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Philippines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

    RESULTS: In 2019, there were 728,500 deaths attributable to tobacco in Southeast Asia, with 128,200 deaths attributed to SHS exposure. The leading causes of preventable deaths were ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus, lower respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer. Among deaths attributable to tobacco, females had higher proportions of deaths attributable to SHS exposure than males in Southeast Asia.

    CONCLUSION: The burden of preventable deaths in a year due to SHS exposure in Southeast Asia is substantial. The implementation and enforcement of smoke-free policies should be prioritized to reduce the disease burden attributed to passive smoking in Southeast Asia.

  8. Spence J, Devereaux PJ, Bashir S, Brady K, Sun T, Chan MTV, et al.
    Anesthesiology, 2025 Apr 01;142(4):716-725.
    PMID: 39786937 DOI: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000005368
    BACKGROUND: Delirium is an acute state of confusion associated with adverse postoperative outcomes. Delirium is diagnosed clinically using screening tools; most cases go undetected. Identifying a delirium biomarker would allow for accurate diagnosis, application of therapies, and insight into causal pathways. To agnostically discover novel biomarkers of delirium, a case-control substudy was conducted using the Vascular Events in Surgery Patients Cohort Evaluation (VISION) Cardiac Surgery Biobank. The objective was to identify candidate biomarkers to investigate in future studies.

    METHODS: The study gathered a convenience sample of 30 patients with delirium on postoperative day 1 matched to 30 controls by age, sex, ethnicity, center, and cardiopulmonary bypass time. The Olink Explore 3K platform was used to identify blood protein alterations on postoperative day 3. Protein concentrations were expressed as normalized protein expression units (log 2 fold scale). Protein expression was compared between cases and controls using a paired t test and identified significantly different biomarkers based on a false discovery rate-adjusted P value of less than 0.05.

    RESULTS: Of 2,865 unique serum proteins, 26 (0.9%) were significantly associated with delirium status; all were elevated in cases versus controls at a false discovery rate of less than 0.05. Pathway analysis identified calcium-release channel activity ( Padj = 0.02) and GTP-binding ( Padj = 0.005) functions as characteristic of proteins associated with delirium. The top three differentially expressed biomarkers were FKBP1B ( Padj = 0.003), C2CD2L ( Padj = 0.004), and RAB6B ( Padj = 0.004). The inflammatory biomarker interleukin-8 (CXCL8; mean difference = 2.36; P = 3.6 × 10- 4 ) was also associated with delirium.

    CONCLUSIONS: The study identified 26 biomarkers significantly associated with delirium; all are novel except for interleukin-8. An association between delirium and recognized neuroinflammatory proteins or markers of brain injury was not identifed, which supports using biomarkers to differentiate between delirium and other neurologic conditions. While exploratory, the study's findings support using biomarkers to diagnose postoperative delirium and validate using agnostic screens to identify potential delirium biomarkers.

  9. Passaro A, Wang J, Wang Y, Lee SH, Melosky B, Shih JY, et al.
    Ann Oncol, 2024 Jan;35(1):77-90.
    PMID: 37879444 DOI: 10.1016/j.annonc.2023.10.117
    BACKGROUND: Amivantamab plus carboplatin-pemetrexed (chemotherapy) with and without lazertinib demonstrated antitumor activity in patients with refractory epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in phase I studies. These combinations were evaluated in a global phase III trial.

    PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 657 patients with EGFR-mutated (exon 19 deletions or L858R) locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC after disease progression on osimertinib were randomized 2 : 2 : 1 to receive amivantamab-lazertinib-chemotherapy, chemotherapy, or amivantamab-chemotherapy. The dual primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) of amivantamab-chemotherapy and amivantamab-lazertinib-chemotherapy versus chemotherapy. During the study, hematologic toxicities observed in the amivantamab-lazertinib-chemotherapy arm necessitated a regimen change to start lazertinib after carboplatin completion.

    RESULTS: All baseline characteristics were well balanced across the three arms, including by history of brain metastases and prior brain radiation. PFS was significantly longer for amivantamab-chemotherapy and amivantamab-lazertinib-chemotherapy versus chemotherapy [hazard ratio (HR) for disease progression or death 0.48 and 0.44, respectively; P < 0.001 for both; median of 6.3 and 8.3 versus 4.2 months, respectively]. Consistent PFS results were seen by investigator assessment (HR for disease progression or death 0.41 and 0.38 for amivantamab-chemotherapy and amivantamab-lazertinib-chemotherapy, respectively; P < 0.001 for both; median of 8.2 and 8.3 versus 4.2 months, respectively). Objective response rate was significantly higher for amivantamab-chemotherapy and amivantamab-lazertinib-chemotherapy versus chemotherapy (64% and 63% versus 36%, respectively; P < 0.001 for both). Median intracranial PFS was 12.5 and 12.8 versus 8.3 months for amivantamab-chemotherapy and amivantamab-lazertinib-chemotherapy versus chemotherapy (HR for intracranial disease progression or death 0.55 and 0.58, respectively). Predominant adverse events (AEs) in the amivantamab-containing regimens were hematologic, EGFR-, and MET-related toxicities. Amivantamab-chemotherapy had lower rates of hematologic AEs than amivantamab-lazertinib-chemotherapy.

    CONCLUSIONS: Amivantamab-chemotherapy and amivantamab-lazertinib-chemotherapy improved PFS and intracranial PFS versus chemotherapy in a population with limited options after disease progression on osimertinib. Longer follow-up is needed for the modified amivantamab-lazertinib-chemotherapy regimen.

  10. Felip E, Cho BC, Gutiérrez V, Alip A, Besse B, Lu S, et al.
    Ann Oncol, 2024 Sep;35(9):805-816.
    PMID: 38942080 DOI: 10.1016/j.annonc.2024.05.541
    BACKGROUND: Amivantamab-lazertinib significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) versus osimertinib in patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant advanced non-small-cell lung cancer [NSCLC; hazard ratio (HR) 0.70; P < 0.001], including those with a history of brain metastases (HR 0.69). Patients with TP53 co-mutations, detectable circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), baseline liver metastases, and those without ctDNA clearance on treatment have poor prognoses. We evaluated outcomes in these high-risk subgroups.

    PATIENTS AND METHODS: This analysis included patients with treatment-naive, EGFR-mutant advanced NSCLC randomized to amivantamab-lazertinib (n = 429) or osimertinib (n = 429) in MARIPOSA. Pathogenic alterations were identified by next-generation sequencing (NGS) of baseline blood ctDNA with Guardant360 CDx. Ex19del and L858R ctDNA in blood was analyzed at baseline and cycle 3 day 1 (C3D1) with Biodesix droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR).

    RESULTS: Baseline ctDNA for NGS of pathogenic alterations was available for 636 patients (amivantamab-lazertinib, n = 320; osimertinib, n = 316). Amivantamab-lazertinib improved median PFS (mPFS) versus osimertinib for patients with TP53 co-mutations {18.2 versus 12.9 months; HR 0.65 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.48-0.87]; P = 0.003} and for patients with wild-type TP53 [22.1 versus 19.9 months; HR 0.75 (95% CI 0.52-1.07)]. In patients with EGFR-mutant, ddPCR-detectable baseline ctDNA, amivantamab-lazertinib significantly prolonged mPFS versus osimertinib [20.3 versus 14.8 months; HR 0.68 (95% CI 0.53-0.86); P = 0.002]. Amivantamab-lazertinib significantly improved mPFS versus osimertinib in patients without ctDNA clearance at C3D1 [16.5 versus 9.1 months; HR 0.49 (95% CI 0.27-0.87); P = 0.015] and with clearance [24.0 versus 16.5 months; HR 0.64 (95% CI 0.48-0.87); P = 0.004]. Amivantamab-lazertinib significantly prolonged mPFS versus osimertinib among randomized patients with [18.2 versus 11.0 months; HR 0.58 (95% CI 0.37-0.91); P = 0.017] and without baseline liver metastases [24.0 versus 18.3 months; HR 0.74 (95% CI 0.60-0.91); P = 0.004].

    CONCLUSIONS: Amivantamab-lazertinib effectively overcomes the effect of high-risk features and represents a promising new standard of care for patients with EGFR-mutant advanced NSCLC.

  11. Cho BC, Lu S, Felip E, Spira AI, Girard N, Lee JS, et al.
    N Engl J Med, 2024 Oct 24;391(16):1486-1498.
    PMID: 38924756 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2403614
    BACKGROUND: Amivantamab plus lazertinib (amivantamab-lazertinib) has shown clinically meaningful and durable antitumor activity in patients with previously untreated or osimertinib-pretreated EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor)-mutated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

    METHODS: In a phase 3, international, randomized trial, we assigned, in a 2:2:1 ratio, patients with previously untreated EGFR-mutated (exon 19 deletion or L858R), locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC to receive amivantamab-lazertinib (in an open-label fashion), osimertinib (in a blinded fashion), or lazertinib (in a blinded fashion, to assess the contribution of treatment components). The primary end point was progression-free survival in the amivantamab-lazertinib group as compared with the osimertinib group, as assessed by blinded independent central review.

    RESULTS: Overall, 1074 patients underwent randomization (429 to amivantamab-lazertinib, 429 to osimertinib, and 216 to lazertinib). The median progression-free survival was significantly longer in the amivantamab-lazertinib group than in the osimertinib group (23.7 vs. 16.6 months; hazard ratio for disease progression or death, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.58 to 0.85; P<0.001). An objective response was observed in 86% of the patients (95% CI, 83 to 89) in the amivantamab-lazertinib group and in 85% of those (95% CI, 81 to 88) in the osimertinib group; among patients with a confirmed response (336 in the amivantamab-lazertinib group and 314 in the osimertinib group), the median response duration was 25.8 months (95% CI, 20.1 to could not be estimated) and 16.8 months (95% CI, 14.8 to 18.5), respectively. In a planned interim overall survival analysis of amivantamab-lazertinib as compared with osimertinib, the hazard ratio for death was 0.80 (95% CI, 0.61 to 1.05). Predominant adverse events were EGFR-related toxic effects. The incidence of discontinuation of all agents due to treatment-related adverse events was 10% with amivantamab-lazertinib and 3% with osimertinib.

    CONCLUSIONS: Amivantamab-lazertinib showed superior efficacy to osimertinib as first-line treatment in EGFR-mutated advanced NSCLC. (Funded by Janssen Research and Development; MARIPOSA ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04487080.).

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