Carbohydrate-appended photocytotoxic (imidazophenanthroline)-oxovanadium(IV) complexes for cellular targeting and imaging

Oxovanadium(IV) complexes VO(aip)(L)](ClO4)(2) (L = phtpy, 1; stpy, 2) and VO(pyip)(L)](ClO4)(2) (L = phtpy, 3; stpy, 4), where aip is 2-(9-anthryl)-1H-imidazo4,5-f]1,10] phenanthroline, pyip is 2-(1-pyrenyl)-1Himidazo4,5-f]1,10] phenanthroline, phtpy is (4'-phenyl)-2,2': 6',2 `'-terpyridine and stpy is (2,2': 6', 2 `'-terpyridin-4'-oxy) ethyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside, were prepared, characterized and their DNA binding and photocleavage activity, cellular uptake and photocytotoxicity in visible light were studied. The complexes are avid binders to calf thymus DNA (K-b similar to 10(5) mol(-1)). They efficiently cleave pUC19 DNA in red light of 705 nm via the formation of HO center dot species. The glucose appended complexes 2 and 4 showed higher photocytotoxicity in HeLa and Hep G2 cells over the normal HEK 293T cells. No such preference was observed for the phtpy complexes 1 and 3. No significant difference in IC50 values was observed for the HEK 293T cells. Cell cycle analysis showed that the glucose appended complexes 2 and 4 are more photocytotoxic in cancer cells than in normal cells. Fluorescence microscopy was done to study the cellular localization of complex 4 having a pendant pyrenyl group.

Tripodal Bile Acid Architectures Based on a Triarylphosphine Oxide Core Obtained by Copper-Catalysed 1,3]-Dipolar Cycloaddition: Synthesis and Preliminary Aggregation Studies

We report the synthesis and aggregation behaviour of new water-soluble, bile acid derived tripodal architectures based on a core derived from triphenylphosphine oxide. We employed the well-established copper-catalysed 1,3]-dipolar cycloaddition (CuAAC) for the construction of these tripodal molecules. The aggregation behaviour of these molecules in aqueous media was studied by different analytical methods such as dye solubilisation, dynamic light scattering, NMR and AFM. These molecular architectures also offer an additional advantage in aiding understanding of the influence of the nature of the bile acid backbone and of the configuration at the steroid C-3 position in these architectures; to the best of our knowledge this has not been reported in the literature. The unique gelation properties of the -derivatives were explained through molecular modelling studies and the mechanical behaviour of these gels was studied by rheology experiments.

Iodo( trisyl) sulfane: Reactivity of a Stable Alkanesulfenyl Iodide towards Antithyroid Drugs

Iodination of tris(trimethylsilyl)methanethiol (trisylthiol, TsiSH) in tetrahydrofuran provides the new thermally stable alkanesulfenyl iodide iodo(trisyl)sulfane, TsiSI] as a violet solid. Iodo(trisyl)sulfane exhibits iodine-iodine contacts between pairs of TsiSI molecules in the solid state. Properties of TsiSI were studied by vibrational spectroscopy and with the help of density functional calculations. TsiSI reacts in the presence of triethylamine with the antithyroid drugs 6-n-propyl- and 6-methylthiouracil (PTU, MTU) and with N-methylmethimazole (MMI) to form unsymmetric disulfides that were investigated by means of X-ray crystallography. In the solid state, the PTU and MTU derivatives exist as hydrogen-bonded centrosymmetric dimers, whereas the MMI-derived disulfide is an unsymmetric monomer.

From Workstations to Workbenches: Towards Predicting Physicochemically Viable Protein-Protein Interactions Across a Host and a Pathogen

The understanding of protein-protein interactions is indispensable in comprehending most of the biological processes in a cell. Small-scale experiments as well as large-scale high-throughput techniques over the past few decades have facilitated identification and analysis of protein-protein interactions which form the basis of much of our knowledge on functional and regulatory aspects of proteins. However, such rich catalog of interaction data should be used with caution when establishing protein-protein interactions in silico, as the high-throughput datasets are prone to false positives. Numerous computational means developed to pursue genome-wide studies on protein-protein interactions at times overlook the mechanistic and molecular details, thus questioning the reliability of predicted protein-protein interactions. We review the development, advantages, and shortcomings of varied approaches and demonstrate that by providing a structural viewpoint in terms of shape complementarity and interaction energies at protein-protein interfaces coupled with information on expression and localization of proteins homologous to an interacting pair, it is possible to assess the credibility of predicted interactions in biological context. With a focus on human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, we show that such scrupulous use of details at the molecular level can predict physicochemically viable protein-protein interactions across host and pathogen. Such predicted interactions have the potential to provide molecular basis of probable mechanisms of pathogenesis and hence open up ways to explore their usefulness as targets in the light of drug discovery. (c) 2014 IUBMB Life, 66(11):759-774, 2014

On flame-turbulence interaction in constant-pressure expanding flames

In this paper we present one of the first high-speed particle image velocimetry measurements to quantify flame-turbulence interaction in centrally-ignited constant-pressure premixed flames expanding in nearisotropic turbulence. Measurements of mean flow velocity and rms of fluctuating flow velocity are provided over a range of conditions both in the presence and absence of the flame. The distributions of stretch rate contributions from different terms such as tangential straining, normal straining and curvature are also provided. It is found that the normal straining displays non-Gaussian pdf tails whereas the tangential straining shows near Gaussian behavior. We have further tracked the motion of the edge points that reside and co-move with the edge of the flame kernel during its evolution in time, and found that within the measurement conditions, on average the persistence time scales of stretch due to pure curvature exceed that due to tangential straining by at least a factor of two. (C) 2014 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

圆柱绕流局部冲刷机制的实验研究

采用粒子图像测速技术和粒子图像识别技术研究了冲刷坑的演化过程及局部冲刷的流体动力机制.首先研究了动床条件下圆柱周围的床面演化过程,给出垂直对称面输沙率随时间变化以及圆柱下游垂直对称面的沙颗粒浓度和泥沙分布规律;其次针对典型冲刷坑形状固定底床,测量了圆柱下游的瞬时流场,并给出平均流场.结果表明尾流区平均剪应力较低,但垂向涡量和湍流强度较高.分析指出平均剪应力较低的尾流区域,局部冲刷的主要动力机制是尾涡和湍流的综合作用.

Estudio epidemiológico de la prevalencia de brucelosis equina en el municipio de San Pedro de Lóvago, departamento de Chontales

El presente trabajo se realizó con el objetivo del Estudio epidemiológico de la Prevalencia de brucelosis equina en el Municipio de San Pedro de Lóvago Departamento de Chontales. El municipio de San Pedro de Lóvago está limitado al norte con los municipios de La Libertad y Santo Domingo, al sur con los Municipios de Sto. Tomas y Acoyapa, al Este con el Municipio de Sto. Tomas y al Oeste con el Municipio de Juigalpa. La Zona donde se encuentra ubicado posee un clima semihumedo conocido como de Sabana Tropical, predominando la producción pecuaria con carácter ganadero y donde la tenencia de la tierra está orientada hacia haciendas de ganadería extensiva. El trabajo experimental cubrió 19 comarcas, durante los meses de Abril y Octubre del 2005, donde se tomaron muestras serológicas de todos los equinos en edad reproductiva que se encontraron en las fincas pertenecientes a las cooperativas San Pedro y Manantial. Se usaron como variables de estudio la edad, sexo, comarcas y categorías. Los resultados que se obtuvieron, indicaron que en el municipio existe una Prevalencia del 0% de brucelosis equina, de un total de 511 animales muestreados por lo tanto no existe diferencia significativa entre las variables estudiadas, considerándose al Municipio de San Pedro de Lóvago libre de brucelosis equina durante el periodo estudiado.

Efecto de diferentes proporciones de caña de azucar (Saccharum officinarum), pasto Taiwan (Pennisetum purpureum) y melaza sobre la composicion quimica del ensilaje de marango (Moringa oleifera)

El presente estudio se realizó en la finca “Santa Rosa” propiedad de la Universidad Nacional Agraria, localizada geográficamente a los 12°08’15’’ latitud Norte y a los 86°09’36’’ longitud Este, en el departamento de Managua. El objetivo fue evaluar el efecto de diferentes proporciones de caña de azúcar (Sacharum officinarum), pasto Taiwán (Pennisetum purpureum) y melaza sobre la composición química y microbiológica del ensilaje de Marango (Moringa oleífera). Se utilizaron 14 tratamientos con tres repeticiones cada uno para un total de 42 microsilos distribuidos en un Diseño Completamente al Azar, donde se evaluó Marango en proporciones de 31.66, 33.00, 33.33, 63.33, 66.00, 66.66, 95.00 y 99.00%, Taiwán en las mismas proporciones, Caña de azúcar en proporciones de 33.33, 66.33 y 100%, y la melaza en proporción de 1 y 5%. Las variables evaluadas fueron: Composición química (Materia seca, Proteína cruda, Cenizas, FDN, FDA, Hemicelulosa, contenido de azucares), Perfil de fermentación (pH, Acido láctico, Acido acético) y Composición microbiana (Lactobacilos, Clostridios y Enterobacterias). Se realizó Análisis de Varianza y comparaciones de medias con la Prueba de Tukey 5% utilizando MINITAB, versión 12.0. Los resultados de los análisis de varianza (P<0,05) mostraron que el mayor contenido de MS lo obtuvo el T2 (T95Mz5) con 26.89%, de PC el T7 (M99Mz1) con 15.04%, de CEN el T2 (T95Mz5) con 2.83%, de FDN el T13 (T66C34) con 77.55%, de FDA el T4 (M32T63Mz5) con 45.18%, de Hemicelulosa el T13 (T66C34) con 40.08%, el menor contenido de pH el T6 (M64T32Mz5) con 3.49 y los mayores contenidos de Acido Láctico el T8 (M95Mz5) con 51.60 mg/kg de MS, de Acido Acético el T7 (M99Mz1) con 31.10 mg/kg de MS, de Lactobacilos el T13 (T66C34) con 6.49 log UFC/g de MS y de Clostridios el T14 (T34C66) con 4.41 log UFC/g de MS. En conclusión todos los ensilados donde se incluyó Marango presentaron resultados similares en la mayoría de los parámetros químicos, sin embargo los tratamientos 7 y 8 presentaron las mejores características nutritivas, siendo una opción nutricional viable para el productor.

The effects of introducing ester linking groups on the flexoelectro-optic properties of symmetric bimesogens

In the chiral nematic phase, flexoelectricity can give rise to an interesting electrooptic switching effect, known as flexoelectro-optic switching. Flexoelectro-optic switching gives a fast v-shaped switching regime. Previous studies show that symmetric bimesogens are particularly suited for flexoelectro-optic switching. By introducing two ester linking groups into the molecular structure of a symmetric bimesogen, it was hypothesised that the flexoelectric properties will be enhanced significantly because of the resulting increase in the dipole moment of the molecules. This was found to be the correct; however, the inclusion of ester linking groups reduced the liquid crystallinity of the material.

Should Fiscal Policy be different in a Non-Competitive Framework?

Published as an article in: Journal of Monetary Economics, 2003, vol. 50, issue 6, pages 1311-1331.

The Okhotsk Sea and Oyashio Region

This is a final report(1993)of PICES Working Group 1. The objective of the report was to present a review of the importance of the Okhotsk Sea and Oyashio Region on the Ventilation of the North Pacific Ocean, such as the formation of the North Pacific intermediate water. (PDF contains 235 pages)