(±)-Talapyrones A-F (1-6), six pairs of dimeric polyketide enantiomers featuring unusual 6/6/6 and 6/6/6/5 ring systems, were isolated from the fungus Talaromyces adpressus. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis and HR-ESI-MS data, and their absolute configurations were elucidated using a modified Mosher's method and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. (±)-Talapyrones A-F (1-6) possess a 6/6/6 tricyclic skeleton, presumably formed through a Michael addition reaction between one molecule of α-pyrone derivative and one molecule of C₈ poly-β-keto chain. In addition, compounds 2/3 and 4/5 are two pairs of C-18 epimers, respectively. Putative biosynthetic pathways of 1-6 were discussed.
Polyketides/isolation & purification* ; Talaromyces/chemistry* ; Stereoisomerism ; Molecular Structure ; Circular Dichroism ; Pyrones/chemistry*

Objective: To explore the topological abnormality of brain metabolic network in patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) and compare it with the topology of brain metabolic network in patients with Parkinson′s disease (PD). Methods: The ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET brain images of 19 patients with iRBD diagnosed with polysomnography (PSG) (iRBD group; 15 males, 4 females, average age: 64.9 years), 19 patients with PD (PD group; 12 males, 7 females, average age: 62.2 years) and 19 gender and age-matched healthy controls (HC group; 15 males, 4 females, average age: 63.1 years) in Huashan Hospital from September 2014 to June 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the complex brain network method based on graph theory, the brain metabolic networks of each group was constructed and the network parameters (clustering coefficient, characteristic path length, local efficiency, global efficiency and small-world property, etc) were evaluated quantitatively. The 500 times non-parametric permutation test was used to determine the differences in network parameters between groups. Results: The brain metabolic networks of iRBD group and PD group both had abnormal topological structure, which showed that the characteristic path length (for example, when sparsity=34%, HC vs iRBD vs PD groups: 1.517 vs 1.552 vs 1.561) and local efficiency (for example, when sparsity=30%, HC vs iRBD vs PD groups: 0.802 vs 0.824 vs 0.831) were significantly increased (both P<0.05), the global efficiency (for example, when sparsity=36%, HC vs iRBD vs PD groups: 0.672 vs 0.658 vs 0.656) was significantly decreased (P<0.05). The topology was more aggravated in PD group compared with that in iRBD group. Conclusion The graph-based complex brain network analysis can reveal the abnormal topological structure of the brain metabolic network in which iRBD progresses to PD.

In aging society the development of non-invasive continuously blood pressure monitors which are suitable for homes, communities and nursing homes has a wide range of applications. This paper proposes a non-invasive continuously blood pressure monitoring based on wearable device which uses MSP430F5529 as the central processor. The design is divided into signal acquisition module, central control module, display module, power supply module and host computer module. The experimental results showed that DBP (375/390, 96.15%) and SBP estimation values (377/390, 96.67%) are in 95% confidence interval, which means our design passes Bland-Altman test with high accuracy and stability.
Blood Pressure ; Blood Pressure Determination ; Blood Pressure Monitors ; Electric Power Supplies ; Wearable Electronic Devices

Objective: To study the chemical constituents in the barks and leaves of Cinnamomum cassia.Methods: The crude extracts of the barks and leaves of Cinnamomum cassia were extracted by ethanol, the chemical constituents of the crude extracts were separated and purified by chromatographic methods and identified by spectroscopic analysis.Results: Five lignans were separated from the barks and two lignans were separated from the leaves of Cinnamomum cassia as follows: (7S,8R)-dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl alcohol 9'-O-β-D-apiofuranosyl-(1→6)-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), 1,2,3-propanetriol,1--3-methoxyphenyl-(1R,2R) (2), (6R,7R,8R)-7a-lyoniresinol (3), (6S,7R,8R)-7a-lyoniresinol (4), (6R,7S,8S)-7a-lyoniresinol (5),(+)-lariciresinol(6), (-)-4-epi-lyoniresinol (7).Conclusion: All the lignans are isolated from Cinnamomum cassia for the first time.