A New Platinum Complex With Tryptophan: Synthesis, Structural Characterization, Dft Studies And Biological Assays In Vitro Over Human Tumorigenic Cells.

A new platinum(II) complex with the amino acid L-tryptophan (trp), named Pt-trp, was synthesized and characterized. Elemental, thermogravimetric and ESI-QTOF mass spectrometric analyses led to the composition [Pt(C11H11N2O2)2]⋅6H2O. Infrared spectroscopic data indicate the coordination of trp to Pt(II) through the oxygen of the carboxylate group and also through the nitrogen atom of the amino group. The (13)C CP/MAS NMR spectroscopic data confirm coordination through the oxygen atom of the carboxylate group, while the (15)N CP/MAS NMR data confirm coordination of the nitrogen of the NH2 group to the metal. Density functional theory (DFT) studies were applied to evaluate the cis and trans coordination modes of trp to platinum(II). The trans isomer was shown to be energetically more stable than the cis one. The Pt-trp complex was evaluated as a cytotoxic agent against SK-Mel 103 (human melanoma) and Panc-1 (human pancreatic carcinoma) cell lines. The complex was shown to be cytotoxic over the considered cells.

New Loci Of Lychnophora Ericoides And Transferability To Lychnophora Pinaster, Endangered Medicinal Species From Brazil.

Lychnophora ericoides and Lychnophora pinaster are species used in popular medicine as analgesic or anti-inflammatory agents to treat contusions, rheumatism, and insect bites. In this study, 21 simple sequence repeat loci of L. ericoides were developed and transferred to L. pinaster. Three populations of L. ericoides and 2 populations of L. pinaster were evaluated; they were collected in the State of Minas Gerais. Population parameters were estimated, and the mean values of observed and expected heterozygosity were 0.297 and 0.408 (L. ericoides) and 0.228 and 0.310 (L. pinaster), respectively. Greater genetic variability was observed within populations than between populations of L. ericoides (62 and 37%) and L. pinaster (97 and 2.8%). These results provide information for genetic conservation and taxonomic studies of these endangered species.

Urothelial Carcinogen Resistance Driven By Stronger Toll-like Receptor 2 (tlr2) And Uroplakin Iii (up Iii) Defense Mechanisms: A New Model.

The objective of the study was to illustrate the applicability and significance of the novel Lewis urothelial cancer model compared to the classic Fisher 344. Fischer 344 and Lewis females rats, 7 weeks old, were intravesical instilled N-methyl-N-nitrosourea 1.5 mg/kg every other week for a total of four doses. After 15 weeks, animals were sacrificed and bladders analyzed: histopathology (tumor grade and stage), immunohistochemistry (apoptotic and proliferative indices) and blotting (Toll-like receptor 2-TLR2, Uroplakin III-UP III and C-Myc). Control groups received placebo. There were macroscopic neoplastic lesions in 20 % of Lewis strain and 70 % of Fischer 344 strain. Lewis showed hyperplasia in 50 % of animals, normal bladders in 50 %. All Fischer 344 had lesions, 20 % papillary hyperplasia, 30 % dysplasia, 40 % neoplasia and 10 % squamous metaplasia. Proliferative and apoptotic indices were significantly lower in the Lewis strain (p < 0.01). The TLR2 and UP III protein levels were significantly higher in Lewis compared to Fischer 344 strain (70.8 and 46.5 % vs. 49.5 and 16.9 %, respectively). In contrast, C-Myc protein levels were significantly higher in Fischer 344 (22.5 %) compared to Lewis strain (13.7 %). The innovative Lewis carcinogen resistance urothelial model represents a new strategy for translational research. Preservation of TLR2 and UP III defense mechanisms might drive diverse urothelial phenotypes during carcinogenesis in differently susceptible individuals.

Laser Printer Attribution: Exploring New Features And Beyond.

With a huge amount of printed documents nowadays, identifying their source is useful for criminal investigations and also to authenticate digital copies of a document. In this paper, we propose novel techniques for laser printer attribution. Our solutions do not need very high resolution scanning of the investigated document and explore the multidirectional, multiscale and low-level gradient texture patterns yielded by printing devices. The main contributions of this work are: (1) the description of printed areas using multidirectional and multiscale co-occurring texture patterns; (2) description of texture on low-level gradient areas by a convolution texture gradient filter that emphasizes textures in specific transition areas and (3) the analysis of printer patterns in segments of interest, which we call frames, instead of whole documents or only printed letters. We show by experiments in a well documented dataset that the proposed methods outperform techniques described in the literature and present near-perfect classification accuracy being very promising for deployment in real-world forensic investigations.

Triboelectric Effect As A New Strategy For Sealing And Controlling The Flow In Paper-based Devices.

We reported here for the first time that triboelectric charges on PET sheets can be used to seal and control the flow rate in paper-based devices. The proposed method exhibits simplicity and low cost, provides reversible sealing and minimizes the effect of sample evaporation.