Synthesis and antitumor activities of aquayamycin and analogues of derhodinosylurdamycin A.

Total syntheses of aquayamycin (3) and a number of analogues of angucycline antitumor antibiotic derhodinosylurdamycin A bearing various 2-deoxy sugar subunits (4-7) have been achieved. These molecules (3-7) were synthesized based on a convergent strategy for the synthesis of derhodinosylurdamycin A (2) previously reported from our group. In particular, our recently developed mild cationic gold-catalyzed glycosylation with S-but-3-ynyl thioglycoside donors was employed for the synthesis of analogues (6 and 7) bearing disaccharide subunits containing α-l-olivoside and α-l-olioside moiety, respectively.

The Role of TEE in Diagnosing Hepatopulmonary Syndrome and Cryptogenic Cirrhosis.

In the vast majority of cases, ongoing hypoxemia in a cirrhotic patient is usually hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) until proven otherwise; in this case, HPS was suspected prior to any known diagnosis of cirrhosis. This is the first reported case in the literature whereby HPS and cirrhosis were diagnosed after the fact, rather than with the preexisting knowledge of liver cirrhosis.

Intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy for treatment of adult parapneumonic effusions and empyemas: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The purpose of our study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials to date comparing fibrinolytics with placebo to clarify their current role in the management of parapneumonic effusions and empyemas.

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PapersFirst, and the Cochrane Collaboration and the Cochrane Register of controlled trials were searched. All searches were inclusive as of October 2011.

Diagnostic accuracy of echocardiography for pulmonary hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Context: Right heart catheterisation is the gold standard for the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension. However, echocardiography is frequently used to screen for this disease and monitor progression over time because it is non-invasive, widely available and relatively inexpensive.

Objective: To perform a systematic review and quantitative meta-analysis to determine the correlation of pulmonary pressures obtained by echocardiography versus right heart catheterisation and to determine the diagnostic accuracy of echocardiography for pulmonary hypertension.