An Integrative Genomic and Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Potential Targets Associated with Cell Proliferation in Uterine Leiomyomas

Background: Uterine Leiomyomas (ULs) are the most common benign tumours affecting women of reproductive age. ULs represent a major problem in public health, as they are the main indication for hysterectomy. Approximately 40-50% of ULs have non-random cytogenetic abnormalities, and half of ULs may have copy number alterations (CNAs). Gene expression microarrays studies have demonstrated that cell proliferation genes act in response to growth factors and steroids. However, only a few genes mapping to CNAs regions were found to be associated with ULs. Methodology: We applied an integrative analysis using genomic and transcriptomic data to identify the pathways and molecular markers associated with ULs. Fifty-one fresh frozen specimens were evaluated by array CGH (JISTIC) and gene expression microarrays (SAM). The CONEXIC algorithm was applied to integrate the data. Principal Findings: The integrated analysis identified the top 30 significant genes (P<0.01), which comprised genes associated with cancer, whereas the protein-protein interaction analysis indicated a strong association between FANCA and BRCA1. Functional in silico analysis revealed target molecules for drugs involved in cell proliferation, including FGFR1 and IGFBP5. Transcriptional and protein analyses showed that FGFR1 (P = 0.006 and P<0.01, respectively) and IGFBP5 (P = 0.0002 and P = 0.006, respectively) were up-regulated in the tumours when compared with the adjacent normal myometrium. Conclusions: The integrative genomic and transcriptomic approach indicated that FGFR1 and IGFBP5 amplification, as well as the consequent up-regulation of the protein products, plays an important role in the aetiology of ULs and thus provides data for potential drug therapies development to target genes associated with cellular proliferation in ULs. © 2013 Cirilo et al.

Direct in situ observation of the electron-driven synthesis of Ag filaments on α-Ag2 WO4 crystals

In this letter, we report, for the first time, the real-time in situ nucleation and growth of Ag filaments on α-Ag2 WO4 crystals driven by an accelerated electron beam from an electronic microscope under high vacuum. We employed several techniques to characterise the material in depth. By using these techniques combined with first-principles modelling based on density functional theory, a mechanism for the Ag filament formation followed by a subsequent growth process from the nano-to micro-scale was proposed. In general, we have shown that an accelerated electron beam from an electronic microscope under high vacuum enables in situ visualisation of Ag filaments with subnanometer resolution and offers great potential for addressing many fundamental issues in materials science, chemistry, physics and other fields of science.

Evaluation of the chemical interaction between carbon nanotubes functionalized with TGDDM tetrafunctional resin and hardener DDS

In this work, the chemical interaction between carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) functionalized with acyl chloride (SOCl2) and polymer chain tetrafuncional N,N,N′,N′-tetraglycidyl-4,4′- diaminodiphenylmethane (TGDDM) and hardener 4,4′diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS) has been monitored by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) with a attenuated total reflectance (ATR) coupled. MWCNT were obtained from the pyrolysis of a mixture of camphor and ferrocene into a oven. The functionalization process was done by oxidative treatment in order to incorporate carboxylic group over the walls of MWCNT, before to be used SOCl2. The functionalized carbon nanotubes were evaluated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Nanostructured composites were processed by using epoxy resin with MWCNT in varying percentages. In this work it was observed that different percentages of functionalized nanotubes modify the interaction between the composite matrix and curing agent, where can be observed that in specimens with content less than 1 wt% MWCNT the chemical bond occurs preferentially from the opening of the SO double bond of the hardener and when is used MWCNT content higher than 1 wt% there is little chemical interaction with the SO bond of the hardener and most MWCNT binds to amine. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Effects of high temperature plasma immersion ion implantation on wear resistance of Ti-Si-B sintered alloys

Although titanium and its alloys own good mechanical properties and excellent corrosion resistance, these materials present poor tribological properties for specific applications that require wear resistance. In order to produce wear-resistant surfaces, this work is aimed at achieving improvement of wear characteristics in Ti-Si-B alloys by means of high temperature nitrogen plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII). These alloys were produced by powder metallurgy using high energy ball milling and hot pressing. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction identified the presence of α-titanium, Ti6Si2B, Ti5Si3, TiB and Ti3Si phases. Wear tests were carried out with a ball-on-disk tribometer to evaluate the friction coefficient and wear rate in treated and untreated samples. The worn profiles were measured by visible light microscopy and examined by SEM in order to determine the wear rates and wear mechanisms. Ti-7.5Si-22.5B alloy presented the highest wear resistance amongst the untreated alloys produced in this work. High temperature PIII was effective to reduce the wear rate and friction coefficient of all the Ti-Si-B sintered alloys. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Improvements of plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) and deposition (PIII&D) processing for materials surface modification

Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) process is a three dimensional surface modification method that is quite mature and well known to the surface engineering community nowadays, especially to those working in the field of plasma-materials interaction, aiming at both industrial and academic applications. More recently, deposition methods have been added to PIII, the PIII&D, opening possibilities of broader range of applications of these techniques. So, PIII&D is becoming a routine method of surface modification, with the advantage of pushing up the retained dose levels limited by the sputtering due to ion implantation. Therefore, well adherent, thick, three-dimensional films without stress are possible to be achieved, at relatively low cost, using PIII&D. In this paper, we will discuss about a few PIII and PIII&D experiments that have been performed recently to achieve surface improvements in different materials: 1 - high temperature nitrogen PIII in Ti6Al4V alloy in which a deep nitrogen rich treated layer resulted in surface improvements as increase of hardness, corrosion resistance and resistance to wear of the Ti alloy; 2 - nanostructures in ZnO films, obtained by PIII&D of vaporized & ionized Zn source; 3 - combined implantation and deposition of calcium for biomaterial activity of Ti alloy (PIII&D), allowing the growth of hydroxyapatite in a body solution; 4 - magnetron sputtering deposition of Cr that was enhanced by the glow discharge Ar plasma to allow implantation and deposition of Cr on SAE 1070 steel (PIII&D) resulting in surfaces with high resistance to corrosion; and 5 - implantation of nitrogen by ordinary PIII into this Cr film, which improved resistance to corrosion, while keeping the tribological properties as good as for the SAE 1070 steel surface. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Evaluation of Estrogenic Potential of Flavonoids Using a Recombinant Yeast Strain and MCF7/BUS Cell Proliferation Assay

Phytoestrogens are of interest because of their reported beneficial effects on many human maladies including cancer, neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Furthermore, there is a search for compounds with estrogenic activity that can replace estrogen in hormone replacement therapy during menopause, without the undesirable effects of estrogen, such as the elevation of breast cancer occurrence. Thus, the principal objective of this study was to assess the estrogenic activity of flavonoids with different hydroxylation patterns: quercetin, kaempferol, luteolin, fisetin, chrysin, galangin, flavone, 3-hydroxyflavone, 5-hydroxyflavone and 7-hydroxyflavone via two different in vitro assays, the recombinant yeast assay (RYA) and the MCF-7 proliferation assay (E-screen), since the most potent phytoestrogens are members of the flavonoid family. In these assays, kaempferol was the only compound that showed ERα-dependent transcriptional activation activity by RYA, showing 6.74±1.7 nM EEQ, besides acting as a full agonist for the stimulation of proliferation of MCF-7/BUS cells. The other compounds did not show detectable levels of interaction with ER under the conditions used in the RYA. However, in the E-screen assay, compounds such as galangin, luteolin and fisetin also stimulated the proliferation of MCF-7/BUS cells, acting as partial agonists. In the evaluation of antiestrogenicity, the compounds quercetin, chrysin and 3-hydroxyflavone significantly inhibited the cell proliferation induced by 17-β-estradiol in the E-screen assay, indicating that these compounds may act as estrogen receptor antagonists. Overall, it became clear in the assay results that the estrogenic activity of flavonoids was affected by small structural differences such as the number of hydroxyl groups, especially those on the B ring of the flavonoid. © 2013 Resende et al.

Propriedades fotoluminescentes de complexos tetrakis (β-dicetonatos) de európio para aplicação como dispositivos conversores de luz

Pós-graduação em Química - IBILCE

Estudo do comportamento eletroquímico de alguns agentes antifúngicos utilizando polarografia de pulso diferencial e voltametria de redissolução catódica

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Investigação da atividade biólogica de complexos de Cobre (II) contendo ligantes nitrogenados

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Potenciais pseudo-newtonianos e a radiação escalar emitida por uma fonte girando ao redor de um objeto estelar

Neste trabalho usamos os potenciais pseudo-newtonianos propostos por Paczynski e Wiita, Nowak e Wagoner e Artemova et al. para calcular a radiação escalar emitida por uma fonte em movimento circular e uniforme ao redor de um objeto estelar. Comparamos os resultados obtidos nessa abordagem com os resultados encontrados via teoria quântica de campos no espaço-tempo de Schwarzschild. Obtemos que, do infinito até a órbita circular marginalmente estável (R = 6M) o potencial que melhor reproduz os resultados de Schwarzschild é o de Nowak e Wagoner. Já entre esta órbita e a última órbita circular instável (R = 3M) nenhum dos potenciais pseudo-newtonianos produz resultados satisfatórios, e o potencial newtoniano mostra-se como a melhor aproximação. O potencial de Paczynski e Wiita, o mais utilizado na literatura para analisar discos de acre ção, gerou os resultados menos satisfatórios em nossa análise.

Preparação de dispersões sólidas de praziquantel com polivinilpirrolidona pelo processo do fluido supercrítico

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Ab Initio correlated all electron Dirac-Fock calculations for eka-francium fluoride (E119F)

Resultados obtidos por cálculos Dirac-Fock correlacionados de 4 componentes para o fluoreto do elemento E119 (Eka-Frâncio) com base estável e precisa, livre de prolapso variacional, são reportados neste trabalho. No nível CCSD(T), a distância de equilíbrio R_e, frequência harmônica ω_e e energia de dissociação D_e são 2,432 Å, 354,97 cm_-1 e 116,92 kcal mol_-1, respectivamente. Também são reportados base livre de prolapso variacional de 4 componentes para o elemento 119, uma curva analítica de energia potencial precisa e o espectro vibracional a partir dos dados obtidos no nível CCSD(T). Nossos resultados sugerem que a molécula E119F deva ser menos iônica que seus fluoretos alcalinos homólogos mais leves, em contraste com o senso químico comum baseado nas propriedades periódicas - era de se esperar nesta molécula a ligação química mais iônica possível. Também encontramos que a correção do tipo modelo de carga para negligenciar as integrais do tipo SS resulta em erros insignificantes e acelera os cálculos cerca de 3 vezes no nível CCSD(T) e cerca de 4 vezes no nível DFT/B3LYP.

Concreto com utilização de agregado graúdo sintético produzido a partir da lama vermelha: estudos de dosagem, propriedades e microestrutura

Atualmente questões relacionadas à sustentabilidade tem ganhado destaque no cenário mundial nos mais variados setores da sociedade. Diversos pesquisadores (LIMA, 2006; HILDEBRANDO, 1998; SOUZA, J., 2010; ROSSI, 2009, etc.) têm tentado propor uma interação entre a indústria da construção civil e aquelas que desenvolvem atividades de beneficiamento e produção mineral, como por exemplo,as de beneficiamento de bauxita. Neste contexto, encontrar uma viabilidade para o aproveitamento de um resíduo gerado em grandes quantidades e sem nenhuma utilidade seria contribuir com a preservação do meio ambiente, na medida em que se reduziria o consumo de recursos provenientes de fontes naturais e aumentaria a oferta de insumos no mercado da construção. Neste trabalho será abordada a viabilidade de produção de um concreto, que apresente características que o torne próprio ao uso como insumo na indústria da construção civil, por meio da utilização de um agregado sintético obtido a partir da lama vermelha (resíduo do beneficiamento da bauxita). De acordo com o programa experimental executado, os agregados, bem como, os concretos produzidos tiveram suas propriedades analisadas, objetivando estudar o processo de produção e dosagem respectivamente. Nos agregados foram realizadas análises de: porosidade aparente, absorção de água, massa específica aparente e abrasão Los Ángeles e nos concretos, trabalhabilidade, massa específica no estado fresco e no endurecido, resistência à compressão axial, resistência à tração por compressão diametral, tração na flexão, absorção de água e módulo de elasticidade. Ressalta-se que foi dada significativa importância à zona de transição pasta/agregado, por meio de análise da microestrutura dos concretos produzidos. Análise esta realizada por meio dos ensaios de: Porosimetria por Intrusão de Mercúrio (PIM) e Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (MEV). Os resultados das análises dos agregados sintéticos e dos concretos produzidos apresentaram resultados satisfatórios, demonstrando que estes apresentam potencial para uso na indústria da construção civil.

Síntese e caracterização de espécies supramoleculares de níquel(II) contendo pirazóis e pseudo-haletos com possíveis aplicações magnéticas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estudo eletroquímico e termoanalítico dos sistemas Ir/Hg e Pt - (30%) Ir/Hg

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)