Janus faced fluorocyclohexanes for supramolecular assembly : synthesis and solid state structures of equatorial mono-, di- and tri alkylated cyclohexanes and with tri-axial C–F bonds to impart polarity

We thank the EPSRC for a studentship (TJP) through the CRITICAT Doctoral Training Centre. FAPESP is also gratefully acknowledged for a studentship (BAP, #2021/09716-5) and a Young Researcher Award (RAC, #2018/03910-1).Concise and general synthesis protocols are reported to generate all-syn mono-, di- and tri-alkylated cyclohexanes where a single fluorine is located on the remaining carbons of the ring. The alkyl groups are positioned to lie equatorially and to have triaxial C–F bonds imparting polarity to these ring systems. Intermolecular electrostatic interactions in the solid-state structure of the trialkylated systems are explored and the resultant supramolecular order opens up prospects for design in soft materials.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Experimental Schmallenberg virus infection of pigs.

&lt;p&gt;Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is a newly emerged virus responsible for an acute non-specific syndrome in adult cattle including high fever, decrease in milk production and severe diarrhea. It also causes reproductive problems in cattle, sheep and goat including abortions, stillbirths and malformations. The role of pigs in the epidemiology of SBV has not yet been evaluated while this could be interesting seen their suggested role in the epidemiology of the closely related Akabane virus. To address this issue, four 12 week old seronegative piglets were subcutaneously infected with 1 ml of SBV infectious serum (FLI) and kept into contact with four non-infected piglets to examine direct virus transmission. Throughout the experiment blood, swabs and feces samples were collected and upon euthanasia at 28 dpi different organs (cerebrum, cerebellum, brain stem, lung, liver, iliac lymph nodes, kidney and spleen) were sampled. No clinical impact was observed and all collected samples tested negative for SBV in rRT-PCR. Despite the absence of viremia and virus transmission, low and short lasting amounts of neutralizing antibodies were found in 2 out of 4 infected piglets. The limited impact of SBV infection in pigs was further supported by the absence of neutralizing anti-SBV antibodies in field collected sera from indoor housed domestic pigs (n=106). In conclusion, SBV infection of pigs can induce seroconversion but is ineffective in terms of virus replication and transmission indicating that pigs have no obvious role in the SBV epidemiology.&lt;/p&gt;</p

Ex Vivo Confocal Spectroscopy of Autofluorescence in Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

PURPOSEWe investigated the autofluorescence (AF) signature of the microscopic features of retina with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) using 488 nm excitation.METHODSThe globes of four donors with AMD and four age-matched controls were embedded in paraffin and sectioned through the macula. Sections were excited using a 488 nm argon laser, and the AF emission was captured using a laser scanning confocal microscope (496-610 nm, 6 nm resolution). The data cubes were then analyzed to compare peak emission spectra between the AMD and the controls. Microscopic features, including individual lipofuscin and melanolipofuscin granules, Bruch's Membrane, as well macroscopic features, were considered.RESULTSOverall, the AMD eyes showed a trend of blue-shifted emission peaks compared with the controls. These differences were statistically significant when considering the emission of the combined RPE/Bruch's Membrane across all the tissue cross-sections (p = 0.02).CONCLUSIONSThe AF signatures of ex vivo AMD RPE/BrM show blue-shifted emission spectra (488 nm excitation) compared with the control tissue. The magnitude of these differences is small (~4 nm) and highlights the potential challenges of detecting these subtle spectral differences in vivo

Experimental Infection of Sheep at 45 and 60 Days of Gestation with Schmallenberg Virus Readily Led to Placental Colonization without Causing Congenital Malformations.

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;BACKGROUND: &lt;/b&gt;Main impact of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) on livestock consists in reproductive disorders, with teratogenic effects, abortions and stillbirths. SBV pathogenesis and viral placental crossing remain currently poorly understood. Therefore, we implemented an experimental infection of ewes, inoculated with SBV at 45 or 60 days of gestation (dg).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;METHODOLOGY: &lt;/b&gt;&quot;Mourerous&quot; breed ewes were randomly separated in three groups: eight and nine ewes were subcutaneously inoculated with 1 ml of SBV infectious serum at 45 and 60 dg, respectively (G45 and G60). Six other ewes were inoculated subcutaneously with sterile phosphate buffer saline as control group. All SBV inoculated ewes showed RNAemia consistent with previously published studies, they seroconverted and no clinical sign was reported. Lambs were born at term via caesarian-section, and right after birth they were blood sampled and clinically examined. Then both lambs and ewes were euthanatized and necropsied.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;PRINCIPAL FINDINGS/SIGNIFICANCE: &lt;/b&gt;No lambs showed any malformation suggestive of SBV infection and none of them had RNAemia or anti-SBV antibodies prior to colostrum uptake. Positive SBV RNA detection in organs was rare in both G45 and G60 lambs (2/11 and 1/10, respectively). Nevertheless most of the lambs in G45 (9/11) and G60 (9/10) had at least one extraembryonic structure SBV positive by RTqPCR. The number of positive extraembryonic structures was significantly higher in G60 lambs. Time of inoculation (45 or 60 dg) had no impact on the placental colonization success rate but affected the frequency of detecting the virus in the offspring extraembryonic structures by the time of lambing. SBV readily colonized the placenta when ewes were infected at 45 or 60 dg but infection of the fetuses was limited and did not lead to congenital malformations.&lt;/p&gt;</p

Genetically stable infectious Schmallenberg virus persists in foetal envelopes of pregnant ewes

&lt;p&gt;Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is a recently emerged vector-borne virus, inducing congenital defects in bovines, ovines and caprines. Here we have shown that infectious SBV is capable of persisting until the moment of birth in the foetal envelopes of ewes infected with SBV-infectious serum at day 45 (1/5 positive) and 60 (4/6 positive) of gestation. This persistence of at least 100 days is a new aspect of the SBV pathogenesis that could help to explain how SBV overwinters the cold season in temperate climate zones. Furthermore, sequencing of the M segment shows that the persisting virus in the foetal envelopes is genetically stable since only a few mutations compared to the inoculum were found. This supports the hypothesis that persisting virus could start the infection of new hosts. Finally, neutralization tests showed that infectious SBV present in the foetal envelopes at birth can be neutralized by the humoral immunity present in the infected ewes.&lt;/p&gt;</p