Bis[4-amino-N-(pyrimidin-2-yl-κN)benzene­sulfonamidato-κN](4,4′-di­methyl-2,2′-bipyridine-κ2 N,N′)cadmium dimethyl­formamide disolvate

In the title compound, [Cd(C10H9N4O2S)2(C12H12N2)]·2C3H7NO, the CdII ion lies on a twofold rotation axis, is six-coordinated by N atoms, and displays a trigonal–prismatic geometry arising from the two sulfadiazinate ligands and one 4,4′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine ligand. Both ligands are bidentate and coordinate via their N atoms. The O and carbonyl C atoms of the dimethyl­formamide mol­ecule show disorder and were modelled with two different orientations and with site occupancies of 0.584 (10):0.416 (10). The geometry around the sulfadiazine S atom is distorted tetra­hedral. The crystal structure involves N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds which link mol­ecules into a three-dimensional network. Weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds are also observed

The Effect of Advanced Traveller Information Systems (ATIS) on public transport demand and its uncertainty

Advanced Traveller Information Systems (ATISs) include a broad range of advanced computer and communication technologies. These systems are designed to provide transit riders pre-trip and real-time information, to make better informed decisions regarding their mode of travel, planned routes and travel times. ATISs include in-vehicle displays, terminal or wayside based information centres, information by phone or mobile and internet. In this article, a Stated Preference survey has been carried out in order to know the preferences of public transport\u2019s customers related to different ATISs and their willingness to pay in Palermo. An ordered probit demand model has been calibrated to determine the potential additional share of demand attracted by the adoption of ATISs. Finally, Monte Carlo simulation has been carried out to appraise the uncertainty on some parameters of the calibrated demand model. The results show that respondents give more importance to the type of information and its cost, whereas they are less interested in the system that provides the information

DNA-Powered Stimuli-Responsive Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Junctions

Reconfigurable stimuli-responsive molecular materials play an important role in the fabrication of nanoscale systems and devices. Here, we report a bottom-up strategy for the reversible assembly of single-walled carbon nanotube linear junctions in solution. The assembly/disassembly of the nanotubes can be controlled via the intrinsic responsiveness to different stimuli of sequence-specific deoxyribonucleic acid linkers forming the junctions

Topotecan-vincristine-doxorubicin in stage 4 high risk neuroblastoma patients failing to achieve a complete metastatic response to rapid COJEC : a SIOPEN study

Purpose : Metastatic response to induction therapy for high-risk neuroblastoma is a prognostic factor. In the International Society of Paediatric Oncology Europe Neuroblastoma (SIOPEN) HR-NBL-1 protocol, only patients with metastatic complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) with <= three abnormal skeletal areas on iodine 123-metaiodobenzylguanidine ([I-123] mIBG) scintigraphy and no bone marrow disease proceed to high dose therapy (HDT). In this study, topotecan-vincristine-doxorubicin (TVD) was evaluated in patients failing to achieve these criteria, with the aim of improving the metastatic response rate. Materials and Methods : Patients with metastatic high-risk neuroblastoma who had not achieved the SIOPEN criteria for HDT after induction received two courses of topotecan 1.5 mg/m(2)/day for 5 days, followed by a 48-hour infusion of vincristine, 2 mg/m(2), and doxorubicin, 45 mg/m(2). Results : Sixty-three patients were eligible and evaluable. Following two courses of TVD, four (6.4%) patients had an overall CR, while 28 (44.4%) had a PR with a combined response rate of 50.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 37.9 to 63.6). Of these, 23 patients achieved a metastatic CR or a PR with <= 3 mIBG skeletal areas and no bone marrow disease (36.5%; 95% CI, 24.7 to 49.6) and were eligible to receive HDT. Toxicity was mostly haematological, affecting 106 of the 126 courses (84.1%; 95% CI, 76.5 to 90.0), and dose reduction was necessary in six patients. Stomatitis was the second most common nonhematological toxicity, occurring in 20 patients (31.7%). Conclusion : TVD was effective in improving the response rate of high-risk neuroblastoma patients after induction with COJEC enabling them to proceed to HDT. However, the long-term benefits of TVD needs to be determined in randomized clinical trials

DNA-Driven Dynamic Assembly of MoS2 Nanosheets

Controlling the assembly of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) layers into static and dynamic superstructures can impact on their use in optoelectronics, energy, and drug delivery. Toward this goal, we present a strategy to drive the assembly of MoS2 layers via the hybridization of complementary DNA linkers. By functionalizing the MoS2 surface with thiolated DNA, MoS2 nanosheets were assembled into mulitlayered superstructures, and the complementary DNA strands were used as linkers. A disassembly process was triggered by the formation of an intramolecular i-motif structure at a cystosine-rich sequence in the DNA linker at acidic pH values. We tested the versatility of our approach by driving the disassembly of the MoS2 superstructures through a different DNA-based mechanism, namely strand displacement. This study demonstrates how DNA can be employed to drive the static and dynamic assembly of MoS2 nanosheets in aqueous solution

Transcriptomic and genomic analysis provides new insights in molecular and genetic processes involved in zucchini ZYMV tolerance

Cucurbita pepo is highly susceptible to Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) and the resistance found in several wild species cannot be considered as complete or broad-spectrum resistance. In this study, a source of tolerance introgressed in C. pepo (381e) from C. moschata, in True French (TF) background, was investigated 12&nbsp;days post-inoculation (DPI) at transcriptomic and genomic levels

A model to explain angular distributions of J/ψJ/\psi and ψ(2S)\psi(2S) decays into ΛΛ‾\Lambda\overline{\Lambda} and Σ0Σ‾0\Sigma^0\overline{\Sigma}^0

BESIII data show a particular angular distribution for the decay of the $J/\psi$ and $\psi(2S)$ mesons into the hyperons $\Lambda\overline{\Lambda}$ and $\Sigma^0\overline{\Sigma}^0$. More in details the angular distribution of the decay $\psi(2S) \to \Sigma^0\overline{\Sigma}^0$ exhibits an opposite trend with respect to that of the other three channels: $J/\psi \to \Lambda\overline{\Lambda}$, $J/\psi \to \Sigma^0\overline{\Sigma}^0$ and $\psi(2S) \to \Lambda\overline{\Lambda}$. We define a model to explain the origin of this phenomenon.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, to be published in Chinese Physics

Antiviral Property of the Fungal Metabolite 3-O-Methylfunicone in Bovine Herpesvirus 1 Infection

Bovine herpesvirus type-1 (BoHV-1) is a widespread pathogen that provokes infectious rhinotracheitis and polymicrobial infections in cattle, resulting in serious economic losses to the farm animal industry and trade restrictions. To date, non-toxic active drugs against BoHV-1 are not available. The exploitation of bioactive properties of microbial products is of great pharmaceutical interest. In fact, fungi are a promising source of novel drugs with a broad spectrum of activities and functions, including antiviral properties. Hence, the potential antiviral properties of 3-O-methylfunicone (OMF), a secondary metabolite produced by Talaromyces pinophilus, were evaluated on BoHV-1. In this study, during BoHV-1 infection in bovine cells (MDBK), the non-toxic concentration of 5 µM OMF considerably reduced signs of cell death and increased cell proliferation. Furthermore, OMF significantly decreased the virus titer as well as the cytopathic effect and strongly inhibited the expression of bICP0, the major regulatory protein in the BoHV-1 lytic cycle. These findings were accompanied by a considerable up-regulation in the expression of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a multifunctional transcription factor also linked to the host’s response to a herpesvirus infection. Overall, our results suggest that by involving AhR, OMF shows potential against a BoHV-1 infection