Acquisition and Processing of Cerebral Blood Flow Data with a M;ultichannel Analyser and Microcomputer

The method of the determination of cerebral blood flow in dogs with radio-isotopes to evaluate ethrane as a new anaesthetic agent is described, as well as the use of a multichannel analyser and the programmes developed for the analysis of data in a conversational mode. Preliminary results of the use of the computer programme are presented

3α,4α-Ep­oxy-5α-androstan-17β-yl acetate

The title compound, C21H32O3, results from modifications of the A and D rings of the aromatase substrate androstenedione. Ring A adopts a conformation between 10β-sofa and 1α,10β half-chair. Rings B and C are in slightly flattened chair conformations. Ring D approaches a 13β-envelope conformation, probably due to the acet­oxy substituent, and shows a very short Csp 3—Csp 3 bond next to the epoxide ring, which is characteristic of 3–4 epoxides.

5α-Androst-3-en-17β-yl acetate

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C21H32O2, ring A is highly distorted, with a conformation inter­mediate between 10β-sofa and 1α,10β-half chair; rings B and C have slightly flattened chair conformations. Ring D assumes an unusual 13β-envelope conformation, probably induced by the acet­oxy substituent. Cohesion of the crystal structure is due only to weak van der Waals inter­actions

Androstane-3β,5α,6β,17β-tetrol tri­hydrate

The title hydrated tetrol, C19H32O4·3H2O, was synthesized by stereoselective reduction of the compound 3β,5α,6β-trihy­droxy­androstan-17-one. All rings are fused trans. The organic mol­ecules are connected head-to-tail along the c axis via O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. Layers of water mol­ecules in the ab plane inter­connect these chains. A quantum chemical ab initio Roothan Hartree–Fock calculation of the isolated mol­ecule gives values for the mol­ecular geometry close to experimentally determined ones, apart from the C—O bond lengths, whose calculated values are significantly smaller than the measured ones, probably a consequence of the involvement of the C—OH groups in the hydrogen-bonding network

5α,6α-Ep­oxy-7-norcholestan-3β-yl acetate

The title cholestan, C28H46O3, was prepared by epoxidation of 7-norcholest-5-en-3β-yl acetate and crystallized by slow evaporation from an ethano­lic solution. All rings are trans fused. The 3β-acetate and the 17β-cholestane side chain are in equatorial positions. The mol­ecule is highly twisted due to its B-nor characteristic. A quantum chemical ab-initio Roothaan Hartree–Fock calculation of the equilibrium geometry of the isolated mol­ecule gives values for bond lengths and valency angles in close agreement with the experimental ones

Reparameterization of RNA χ Torsion Parameters for the AMBER Force Field and Comparison to NMR Spectra for Cytidine and Uridine

A reparameterization of the torsional parameters for the glycosidic dihedral angle, χ, for the AMBER99 force field in RNA nucleosides is used to provide a modified force field, AMBER99χ. Molecular dynamics simulations of cytidine, uridine, adenosine, and guanosine in aqueous solution using the AMBER99 and AMBER99χ force fields are compared with NMR results. For each nucleoside and force field, 10 individual molecular dynamics simulations of 30 ns each were run. For cytidine with AMBER99χ force field, each molecular dynamics simulation time was extended to 120 ns for convergence purposes. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, including one-dimensional (1D) 1H, steady-state 1D 1H nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE), and transient 1D 1H NOE, was used to determine the sugar puckering and preferred base orientation with respect to the ribose of cytidine and uridine. The AMBER99 force field overestimates the population of syn conformations of the base orientation and of C2′-endo sugar puckering of the pyrimidines, while the AMBER99χ force field’s predictions are more consistent with NMR results. Moreover, the AMBER99 force field prefers high anti conformations with glycosidic dihedral angles around 310° for the base orientation of purines. The AMBER99χ force field prefers anti conformations around 185°, which is more consistent with the quantum mechanical calculations and known 3D structures of folded ribonucleic acids (RNAs). Evidently, the AMBER99χ force field predicts the structural characteristics of ribonucleosides better than the AMBER99 force field and should improve structural and thermodynamic predictions of RNA structures

Recent advances in the development and evaluation of molecular diagnostics for Ebola virus disease

The 2014-16 outbreak of ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa resulted in 11,308 deaths. During the outbreak only 60% of patients were laboratory confirmed and global health authorities have identified the need for accurate and readily deployable molecular diagnostics as an important component of the ideal response to future outbreaks, to quickly identify and isolate patients. Areas covered: Currently PCR-based techniques and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) that detect antigens specific to EVD infections dominate the diagnostic landscape, but recent advances in biosensor technologies have led to novel approaches for the development of EVD diagnostics. This review summarises the literature and available performance data of currently available molecular diagnostics for ebolavirus, identifies knowledge gaps and maps out future priorities for research in this field. Expert opinion: While there are now a plethora of diagnostic tests for EVD at various stages of development, there is an acute need for studies to compare their clinical performance, but the sporadic nature of EVD outbreaks makes this extremely challenging, demanding pragmatic new modalities of research funding and ethical/institutional approval, to enable responsive research in outbreak settings. Retrospective head-to-head diagnostic comparisons could also be implemented using biobanked specimens, providing this can be done safely

Characterizing Structural Transitions Using Localized Free Energy Landscape Analysis

Structural changes in molecules are frequently observed during biological processes like replication, transcription and translation. These structural changes can usually be traced to specific distortions in the backbones of the macromolecules involved. Quantitative energetic characterization of such distortions can greatly advance the atomic-level understanding of the dynamic character of these biological processes.Molecular dynamics simulations combined with a variation of the Weighted Histogram Analysis Method for potential of mean force determination are applied to characterize localized structural changes for the test case of cytosine (underlined) base flipping in a GTCAGCGCATGG DNA duplex. Free energy landscapes for backbone torsion and sugar pucker degrees of freedom in the DNA are used to understand their behavior in response to the base flipping perturbation. By simplifying the base flipping structural change into a two-state model, a free energy difference of upto 14 kcal/mol can be attributed to the flipped state relative to the stacked Watson-Crick base paired state. This two-state classification allows precise evaluation of the effect of base flipping on local backbone degrees of freedom.The calculated free energy landscapes of individual backbone and sugar degrees of freedom expectedly show the greatest change in the vicinity of the flipping base itself, but specific delocalized effects can be discerned upto four nucleotide positions away in both 5' and 3' directions. Free energy landscape analysis thus provides a quantitative method to pinpoint the determinants of structural change on the atomic scale and also delineate the extent of propagation of the perturbation along the molecule. In addition to nucleic acids, this methodology is anticipated to be useful for studying conformational changes in all macromolecules, including carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins