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- ArticleMondal M, Wheeler KA, Kerrigan NJ.Org Lett. 2016 08 19;18(16):4108-11.A new asymmetric synthesis of bicyclic pyrazolidinones through an alkaloid-catalyzed formal [3 + 2] cycloaddition of in situ generated ketenes and azomethine imines is described. The products were formed in good to excellent yields (52-99% for 17 examples), with good to excellent diastereoselectivity (dr 5:1 to 27:1 for 11 examples), and with excellent enantioselectivity in all cases (≥96% ee). This method represents the first unambiguous example of an enantioselective reaction between ketenes and a 1,3-dipole.
- ArticleHolzapfel BM, Wagner F, Loessner D, Holzapfel NP, Thibaudeau L, Crawford R, Ling MT, Clements JA, Russell PJ, Hutmacher DW.Biomaterials. 2014 Apr;35(13):4108-15.The development of effective therapeutic strategies against prostate cancer bone metastases has been impeded by the lack of adequate animal models that are able to recapitulate the biology of the disease in humans. Bioengineered approaches allow researchers to create sophisticated experimentally and physiologically relevant in vivo models to study interactions between cancer cells and their microenvironment under reproducible conditions. The aim of this study was to engineer a morphologically and functionally intact humanized organ bone which can serve as a homing site for human prostate cancer cells. Transplantation of biodegradable tubular composite scaffolds seeded with human mesenchymal progenitor cells and loaded with rhBMP-7 resulted in the development of a chimeric bone construct including a large number of human mesenchymal cells which were shown to be metabolically active and capable of producing extracellular matrix components. Micro-CT analysis demonstrated that the newly formed ossicle recapitulated the morphological features of a physiological organ bone with a trabecular network surrounded by a cortex-like outer structure. This microenvironment was supportive of the lodgement and maintenance of murine haematopoietic cell clusters, thus mimicking a functional organ bone. Bioluminescence imaging demonstrated that luciferase-transduced human PC3 cells reproducibly homed to the humanized tissue engineered bone constructs, proliferated, and developed macro-metastases. This model allows the analysis of interactions between human prostate cancer cells and a functional humanized bone organ within an immuno-incompetent murine host. The system can serve as a reproducible platform to study effects of therapeutics against prostate cancer bone metastases within a humanized microenvironment.
- ArticleLi J, Feng Z, Chen L, Wang X, Deng H.Mol Med Rep. 2016 May;13(5):4108-12.Diabetic osteoporosis represents a serious health condition with increasing incidence. Previous studies have shown that microRNA (miR)-335-5p is highly expressed in MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts and promotes their differentiation via downregulating the expression of dickkopf‑1 (DKK1). The present study investigated the effects of miR‑335‑5p on apoptosis of osteoblasts induced by high glucose (HG), as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms. MC3T3‑E1 osteoblasts were transfected with miR‑335‑5p mimics or control miR and cultured under HG conditions for seven days. Reverse‑transcription PCR and showed that, compared with the control group, the expression levels of miR‑335‑5p were significantly downregulated in the HG group. However, no significant differences were observed in the mRNA expression levels of DKK1 between these groups. Furthermore, flow cytometric analysis showed that the apoptotic rate was increased by >2‑fold in the HG group compared with that in the control group, while miR‑335‑5p overexpression significantly decreased the apoptotic rate in these model cells by ~40%. In addition, western blot analysis revealed that the protein expression levels of DKK1 and caspase‑3 were significantly elevated in the HG group, which was significantly inhibited by overexpression of miR‑335‑5p. These results may indicate that miR‑335‑5p overexpression inhibited HG‑induced apoptosis of MC3T3‑E1 osteoblasts through decreasing the protein expression levels of DKK1. The results of the present study suggested that miR‑335‑5p may represent a potential target for the treatment of diabetic osteoporosis.
- ArticleReyes-Reveles J, Sedaghat-Herati R, Gilley DR, Schaeffer AM, Ghosh KC, Greene TD, Gann HE, Dowler WA, Kramer S, Dean JM, Delong RK.Biomacromolecules. 2013 Nov 11;14(11):4108-15.Dendrimer chemistries have virtually exploded in recent years with increasing interest in this class of polymers as gene delivery vehicles. An effective nucleic acid delivery vehicle must efficiently bind its cargo and form physically stable complexes. Most importantly, the nucleic acid must be protected in biological fluids and tissues, as RNA is extremely susceptible to nuclease degradation. Here, we characterized the association of nucleic acids with generation 4 PEGylated poly(amidoamine) dendrimer (mPEG-PAMAM-G4). We investigated the formation, size, and stability over time of the nanoplexes at various N/P ratios by gel shift and dynamic light scatter spectroscopy (DLS). Further characterization of the mPEG-PAMAM-G4/nucleic acid association was provided by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and by circular dichroism (CD). Importantly, mPEG-PAMAM-G4 complexation protected RNA from treatment with RNase A, degradation in serum, and various tissue homogenates. mPEG-PAMAM-G4 complexation also significantly enhanced the functional delivery of RNA in a novel engineered human melanoma cell line with splice-switching oligonucleotides (SSOs) targeting a recombinant luciferase transcript. mPEG-PAMAM-G4 triconjugates formed between gold nanoparticle (GNP) and particularly manganese oxide (MnO) nanorods, poly IC, an anticancer RNA, showed enhanced cancer-killing activity by an MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) cell viability assay.
- ArticleYan X, Li Y, Du F, Zhu K, Zhang Y, Su A, Chen G, Wei Y.Nanoscale. 2014 Apr 21;6(8):4108-16.A facile microwave solvothermal process is developed to prepare an anatase TiO2 anode material that maintains multiple properties including high surface area, high crystallinity, uniform mesoporous, perfect microspheres and uniform particle size. Using this fine anatase TiO₂ product, a TiO₂/RGO (RGO: reduced graphene oxide) hybrid material is prepared under UV-light irradiation. Incorporation of RGO improves the electrochemical kinetics of the TiO₂ microspheres, which results in superior electrochemical performance in terms of specific capacity, rate capability and cycle stability. The material shows a discharge capacity of 155.8 mA h g(-1) at the 5 C rate. Even at the 60 C rate, a high discharge capacity of 83.6 mA h g(-1) is still obtained which is two times higher than that of pristine mesoporous TiO₂.
- ArticleJones IM, Koptur S.Ecol Evol. 2015 Sep;5(18):4108-14.Extrafloral nectar (EFN) mediates food-for-protection mutualisms between plants and insects and provides plants with a form of indirect defense against herbivory. Understanding sources of variation in EFN production is important because such variations affect the number and identity of insect visitors and the effectiveness of plant defense. Light represents a potentially crucial tool for regulating resource allocation to defense, as it not only contributes energy but may help plants to anticipate future conditions. Low red/far-red (R/FR) light ratios can act as a signal of the proximity of competing plants. Exposure to such light ratios has been shown to promote competitive behaviors that coincide with reduced resource allocation to direct chemical defenses. Little is known, however, about how such informational light signals might affect indirect defenses such as EFN, and the interactions that they mediate. Through controlled glasshouse experiments, we investigated the effects of light intensity, and R/FR light ratios, on EFN production in Senna mexicana var. chapmanii. Plants in light-limited conditions produced significantly less EFN, and leaf damage elicited increased EFN production regardless of light conditions. Ratios of R/FR light, however, did not appear to affect EFN production in either damaged or undamaged plants. Understanding the effects of light on indirect defenses is of particular importance for plants in the threatened pine rockland habitats of south Florida, where light conditions are changing in predictable ways following extensive fragmentation and subsequent mismanagement. Around 27% of species in these habitats produce EFN and may rely on insect communities for defense.
- ArticleShen C, Ding L, Mo H, Liu R, Xu Q, Tu K.J Cancer. 2021;12(13):4099-4108.Recent reports show that long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) FIRRE contributes to the proliferation, apoptosis resistance, and invasion of colorectal cancer and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. However, the biological function of FIRRE in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown. Here, we disclosed that the FIRRE level was frequently increased in HCC compared to nontumor tissues. Compared with normal liver cells, we also confirmed the upregulated level of FIRRE in HCC cells. Notably, the FIRRE high expression was related to malignant clinical features, including advanced TNM stage and tumor size ≥5 cm, and conferred to worse survival of HCC. Functionally, FIRRE knockdown repressed the proliferation and glycolysis of HCCLM3 cells. Overexpression of FIRRE strengthened Huh7 cell proliferation and glycolysis. Notably, FIRRE positively regulated the glycolic enzyme 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 4 (PFKFB4) expression in HCC cells. PFKFB4 was highly expressed and positively associated with FIRRE level in HCC tissues. The upregulated expression of PFKFB4 was associated with high tumor grade and advanced TNM stage. TCGA data revealed that the PFKFB4 high expression indicated a poor prognosis of HCC. Mechanistically, modulating FIRRE level did not affect the stability of PFKFB4 mRNA. FIRRE was mainly distributed in HCC cells' nucleus and promoted PFKFB4 transcription and expression via cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB). PFKFB4 could abolish the effects of FIRRE knockdown on HCC cell proliferation and glycolysis. To conclude, the highly expressed FIRRE facilitated HCC cell proliferation and glycolysis by enhancing CREB-mediated PFKFB4 transcription and expression.
- ArticleYang Y, Pushie MJ, Cooper DM, Doschak MR.Mol Pharm. 2015 Nov 02;12(11):4108-14.Samarium-153 ethylenediamine-N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(methylenephosphonic acid) ((153)Sm-EDTMP, or samarium lexidronam), also known by its registered trademark name Quadramet, is an approved therapeutic radiopharmaceutical used in the palliative treatment of painful bone metastases. Typically, patients with prostate, breast, or lung cancer are most likely to go on to require bone pain palliation treatment due to bone metastases. Sm(EDTMP) is a bone-seeking drug which accumulates on rapidly growing bone, thereby delivering a highly region-specific dose of radiation, chiefly through β particle emission. Even with its widespread clinical use, the structure of Sm(EDTMP) has not yet been characterized at atomic resolution, despite attempts to crystallize the complex. Herein, we prepared a 1:1 complex of the cold (stable isotope) of Sm(EDTMP) under alkaline conditions and then isolated and characterized the complex using conventional spectroscopic techniques, as well as with extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy and density functional structure calculations, using natural abundance Sm. We present the atomic resolution structure of [Sm(III)(EDTMP)-8H](5-) for the first time, supported by the EXAFS data and complementary spectroscopic techniques, which demonstrate that the samarium coordination environment in solution is in agreement with the structure that has long been conjectured.
- ArticleWani R.PeerJ. 2017;5:e4108.The latitudinal distributions in Devonian-Cretaceous ammonoids were analyzed at the genus level, and were compared with the hatchling sizes (i.e., ammonitella diameters) and the geological durations. The results show that (1) length of temporal ranges of ammonoids effected broader ranges of fossil distribution and paleobiogeography of ammonoids, and (2) the hatchling size was not related to the geographical range of fossil distribution of ammonoids. Reducing the influence of geological duration in this analysis implies that hatchling size was one of the controlling factors that determined the distribution of ammonoid habitats at any given period in time: ammonoids with smaller hatchling sizes tended to have broader ammonoid habitat ranges. These relationships were somewhat blurred in the Devonian, Carboniferous, Triassic, and Jurassic, which is possibly due to (1) the course of development of a reproductive strategy with smaller hatchling sizes in the Devonian and (2) the high origination rates after the mass extinction events.
- ArticleLi Q, Gan X, Zhang M, Zhang G, Li Y, Gao L.Sci Rep. 2024 02 19;14(1):4108.The objective of this study was to explore the positive influence and potential mechanism of Erianin on the recovery of brain cells following a traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI rat models were prepared and treated with Erianin injection via tail vein. The assessment included evaluating the rats' levels of oxidative stress, inflammation, neuronal damage, mitochondrial damage, neuronal regeneration, transformation of pro-inflammatory microglial cells, activation status of the ERK signal pathway, and the functionality of their learning and memory. After administering Erianin, there was a suppression of oxidative stress, inflammation, nerve cell damage, and mitochondrial damage in the TBI rats. Additionally, there was an increase in neuronal regeneration in the cortex and hippocampus, inhibition of pro-inflammatory microglial cell transformation in the cortex, improvement in learning and memory function in TBI rats, and simultaneous inhibition of the activation of the ERK1/c-Jun signal pathway. The findings suggest that Erianin has the potential to reduce oxidative stress and inflammatory reaction in rats with TBI, safeguard nerve cells against apoptosis, stimulate the growth of new neural cells, ultimately enhancing the cognitive abilities and memory function of the rats. The inhibition of the ERK signaling pathway could be closely associated with these effects.
- ArticleJiménez-Sánchez A, Santillan R.Analyst. 2016 Jun 20;141(13):4108-20.Non-classical protomerism of Schiff bases offers several advantages; for example, specific interactions in the -C[double bond, length as m-dash]N- linkage can be controlled and differentiated because the interactions are not governed by keto-enol tautomerism. Herein, the pH sensing properties of a new protomeric Schiff base probe () are reported. In particular, among several acids, the probe displays significant optical responses upon interaction with hydrochloric acid (HCl). X-ray structural analysis confirmed the existence of an intermolecular interaction with HCl through a -C[double bond, length as m-dash]NH-ClO- linkage. Moreover, an optical response via a second channel is manifested as photochromic fluorescence behavior. The properties of were investigated by UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy in a solution and the solid state. Its strong acidofluorochromic behavior was analyzed and its pKa and values were determined, which revealed a photobasic character. Positive solvatochromism that resulted from specific interactions taking place in was studied using four different solvent scales, namely, Lippert-Mataga, Kamlet-Taft, Catalán and the recently proposed scale of Laurence et al., which yielded consistent results. Finally, theoretical calculations were conducted to analyze the mechanism of the probe in terms of natural transition orbitals (NTOs) and the spatial extent of charge transfer excitations.
- ArticleCampoccia D, Baldassarri L, Pirini V, Ravaioli S, Montanaro L, Arciola CR.Biomaterials. 2008 Oct;29(30):4108-16.Staphylococcus aureus is a leading pathogen of implant-related infections. In the field of biomaterials a variety of alternative approaches are currently proposed for prophylaxis and treatment of implant infections, but little is known on the role of the different pathogenetic mechanisms and spreading strategies that lead selected S. aureus clones to prevail and become epidemic. This study aimed at identifying and characterizing the major clones in a collection of 200 S. aureus isolates from implant orthopaedic infections. Strain typing by automated ribotyping identified 98 distinct ribogroups. Ribogroups corresponded to specific accessory gene regulatory (agr) polymorphisms and possessed peculiar arrangements of toxins. The agr type II allele was more represented in epidemic clones, while agr type I in sporadic clones. A clear trend was observed, where epidemic clones resisted antibiotics more than sporadic ones. Conversely, the gene for lukD/lukE leukotoxin, found in 68% of the isolates, was unrelated to the level of clonal spreading. Surprisingly, the isolates of the most prevalent ribogroup were susceptible to almost all antibiotics and never possessed the lukD/lukE gene, thus suggesting the role of factors other than antibiotic resistance and the here investigated toxins in driving the major epidemic clone to the larger success.
- ArticleKadam S, Kumari K, Manivannan V, Dutta S, Mitra MK, Padinhateeri R.Nat Commun. 2023 07 11;14(1):4108.Simulating chromatin is crucial for predicting genome organization and dynamics. Although coarse-grained bead-spring polymer models are commonly used to describe chromatin, the relevant bead dimensions, elastic properties, and the nature of inter-bead potentials are unknown. Using nucleosome-resolution contact probability (Micro-C) data, we systematically coarse-grain chromatin and predict quantities essential for polymer representation of chromatin. We compute size distributions of chromatin beads for different coarse-graining scales, quantify fluctuations and distributions of bond lengths between neighboring regions, and derive effective spring constant values. Unlike the prevalent notion, our findings argue that coarse-grained chromatin beads must be considered as soft particles that can overlap, and we derive an effective inter-bead soft potential and quantify an overlap parameter. We also compute angle distributions giving insights into intrinsic folding and local bendability of chromatin. While the nucleosome-linker DNA bond angle naturally emerges from our work, we show two populations of local structural states. The bead sizes, bond lengths, and bond angles show different mean behavior at Topologically Associating Domain (TAD) boundaries and TAD interiors. We integrate our findings into a coarse-grained polymer model and provide quantitative estimates of all model parameters, which can serve as a foundational basis for all future coarse-grained chromatin simulations.
- ArticleBaşkan S, Erim FB.Electrophoresis. 2007 Nov;28(22):4108-13.An NACE method was developed for the quantitative determination of acrylamide in processed food. The method is premised on the modification of the aqueous acid-base character of acrylamide in an organic solution. Acrylamide, which is a polar molecule in aqueous solution, in a low-pH environment in ACN acquires a proton, and thereby migrates under its own electrophoretic mobility in CE. Thus, nonaqueous separation of acrylamide was achieved by employing 30 mmol/L HClO(4) in ACN as the running electrolyte. The detection limit of the method for acrylamide was found as 0.041 mg/L using UV detection at 200 nm. The run-to-run and day-to-day precisions for the corrected peak areas were calculated as 1.65 and 3.90%, respectively. The applicability of the method has been demonstrated by analyzing acrylamide in the samples of potato chips and French fries. The method is simple, rapid, inexpensive, and widely applicable for the determination of acrylamide in food samples.
- ArticleYang N, Liu J, Sun Y, Zhu Y.Nanoscale. 2019 03 07;11(9):4108-4109.Correction for 'Au@PdOx with a PdOx-rich shell and Au-rich core embedded in Co3O4 nanorods for catalytic combustion of methane' by Yan Zhu et al., Nanoscale, 2017, 9, 2123-2128.
- ArticleGeelen D, Löffler W.Opt Lett. 2013 Oct 15;38(20):4108-11.Orthogonal sets of 2D transverse modes are key to controlling the spatial degree of freedom of light in a classical or quantum context. In contrast to the azimuthal part, which is easily accessible using orbital angular momentum modes, control of the radial part is more difficult. We show here that simple sets of orthogonal binary sequences, the Walsh functions, provide a workable solution for exploration of the radial space with phase-only spatial light modulation. We demonstrate this by measuring "sequency" quantum correlations between different radial Walsh modes of spatially entangled photon pairs and for numerically optimized versions thereof.
- ArticleZhong C, Nesbø CL, von Gunten K, Zhang Y, Shao X, Jin R, Konhauser KO, Goss GG, Martin JW, He Y, Qian PY, Lanoil BD, Alessi DS.Environ Microbiol. 2022 09;24(9):4108-4123.The consequences of soils exposed to hydraulic fracturing (HF) return fluid, often collectively termed flowback and produced water (FPW), are poorly understood, even though soils are a common receptor of FPW spills. Here, we investigate the impacts on soil microbiota exposed to FPW collected from the Montney Formation of western Canada. We measured soil respiration, microbial community structure and functional potentials under FPW exposure across a range of concentrations, exposure time and soil types (luvisol and chernozem). We find that soil type governs microbial community response upon FPW exposure. Within each soil, FPW exposure led to reduced biotic soil respiration, and shifted microbial community structure and functional potentials. We detect substantially higher species richness and more unique functional genes in FPW-exposed soils than in FPW-unexposed soils, with metagenome-assembled genomes (e.g. Marinobacter persicus) from luvisol soil exposed to concentrated FPW being most similar to genomes from HF/FPW sites. Our data demonstrate the complex impacts of microbial communities following FPW exposure and highlight the site-specific effects in evaluation of spills and agricultural reuse of FPW on the normal soil functions.
- ArticlePrabhakar A, Murphey T.Nat Commun. 2022 07 15;13(1):4108.Intelligence involves processing sensory experiences into representations useful for prediction. Understanding sensory experiences and building these contextual representations without prior knowledge of sensor models and environment is a challenging unsupervised learning problem. Current machine learning methods process new sensory data using prior knowledge defined by either domain knowledge or datasets. When datasets are not available, data acquisition is needed, though automating exploration in support of learning is still an unsolved problem. Here we develop a method that enables agents to efficiently collect data for learning a predictive sensor model-without requiring domain knowledge, human input, or previously existing data-using ergodicity to specify the data acquisition process. This approach is based entirely on data-driven sensor characteristics rather than predefined knowledge of the sensor model and its physical characteristics. We learn higher quality models with lower energy expenditure during exploration for data acquisition compared to competing approaches, including both random sampling and information maximization. In addition to applications in autonomy, our approach provides a potential model of how animals use their motor control to develop high quality models of their sensors (sight, sound, touch) before having knowledge of their sensor capabilities or their surrounding environment.
- ArticleYeung HL, Wong WY, Wong CY, Kwong HL.Inorg Chem. 2009 May 04;48(9):4108-17.A series of single-stranded helical Re(I) complexes, of formula [Re(2)(L)Br(2)(CO)(6)], were prepared by reacting [Re(CO)(5)Br] with chiral quaterpyridines L1-4. By (1)H and (13)C NMR analysis, all the crude complexes consisted of a pair of stereoisomers. Sterically more demanding ligand L4 induced a higher ratio (80:20) than L1-3 (about 56:44). Stereochemically pure complexes could be obtained by recrystallization in CH(2)Cl(2). X-ray crystallographic analysis of single crystals from purified complexes showed a single-stranded helical structure with a bridging ligand wrapped around two distorted octahedral rhenium metals, both of which possessed one bromide ligand and three carbonyl ligands in a fac coordination. The helical core is established by extensive noncovalent electrostatic interactions and chiral information is transmitted from the ligand to the helix through these interactions. Solution behavior was studied by CD spectroscopy, and the strong Cotton effect confirms the integrity of the helical structure in solution. The diastereoselectivity of helicates is proposed to be induced by steric interaction between the bromine atom and the substituent of the bridging ligand.
- ArticleYoung MJ, Fefferman NH.Sci Rep. 2022 03 08;12(1):4108.The modern world involves both increasingly frequent introduction of novel invasive animals into new habitat ranges and novel epidemic-causing pathogens into new host populations. Both of these phenomena have been well studied. Less well explored, however, is how the success of species invasions may themselves be affected by the pathogens they bring with them. In this paper, we construct a simple, modified Susceptible-Infected-Recovered model for a vector-borne pathogen affecting two annually reproducing hosts. We consider an invasion scenario in which a susceptible native host species is invaded by a disease-resistant species carrying a vector-borne infection. We assume the presence of abundant, but previously disease-free, competent vectors. We find that the success of invasion is critically sensitive to the infectivity of the pathogen. The more the pathogen is able to spread, the more fit the invasive host is in competition with the more vulnerable native species; the pathogen acts as a 'wingman pathogen,' enhancing the probability of invader establishment. While not surprising, we provide a quantitative predictive framework for the long-term outcomes from these important coupled dynamics in a world in which compound invasions of hosts and pathogens are increasingly likely.