Iron-Based Binary Catalytic System for the Valorization of CO2 into Biobased Cyclic Carbonates

The atom economic conversion of epoxidized vegetable oils and fatty acid derivatives with CO2 into cyclic carbonates permits the synthesis of novel oleo compounds from renewable resources as well as the valorization of CO2 as a C1-building block. Organic phosphorus salts proved to be selective catalysts for this reaction. In a widespread screening 11 inexpensive and nontoxic iron salts were evaluated as cocatalysts to enhance the reaction rate. In the presence of 0.25 mol % iron chloride the selectivity and conversion were significantly improved. The reaction parameters were optimized under solvent-free conditions, and the scope and limitation were evaluated for 9 epoxidized fatty acid esters and 4 epoxidized vegetable oils. The biobased carbonates were isolated in excellent yields up to 95% and can be considered to be based on 100% CO2 in respect to carbon. This binary catalyst system features high efficiency and plain simplicity while valorizing CO2 into cyclic carbonates based on renewable feedstocks

Comprehensive Metabolomic and Lipidomic Profiling of Human Kidney Tissue: A Platform Comparison

Metabolite profiling of tissue samples is a promising approach for the characterization of cancer pathways and tumor classification based on metabolic features. Here, we present an analytical method for nontargeted metabolomics of kidney tissue. Capitalizing on different chemical properties of metabolites allowed us to extract a broad range of molecules covering small polar molecules and less polar lipid classes that were analyzed by LC-QTOF-MS after HILIC and RP chromatographic separation, respectively. More than 1000 features could be reproducibly extracted and analyzed (CV < 30%) in porcine and human kidney tissue, which were used as surrogate matrices for method development. To further assess assay performance, cross-validation of the nontargeted metabolomics platform to a targeted metabolomics approach was carried out. Strikingly, from 102 metabolites that could be detected on both platforms, the majority (>90%) revealed Spearman’s correlation coefficients ≥0.3, indicating that quantitative results from the nontargeted assay are largely comparable to data derived from classical targeted assays. Finally, as proof of concept, the method was applied to human kidney tissue where a clear differentiation between kidney cancer and nontumorous material could be demonstrated on the basis of unsupervised statistical analysis

Investigation of EscA as a chaperone for the Edwardsiella tarda type III secretion system putative translocon component EseC

10.1099/mic.0.021865-0Microbiology15541260-1271MROB

Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index in Patients Treated With First-Line Immune Combinations for Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma: Insights From the ARON-1 Study

Background: Systemic treatment with immune combinations is the gold standard for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) worldwide. The systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) is a prognostic marker for several types of malignant neoplasms, including mRCC, in the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment. Data regarding the prognostic value of the SII in patients with mRCC treated with immunotherapy are scarce and controversial. METHODS: We retrospectively collected the data of patients with mRCC from 56 centers in 18 countries. SII (Platelet × Neutrophil/Lymphocyte count) was calculated prior to the first systemic treatment and cut-off was defined by a survival receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The primary objective of our retrospective study was to assess the outcomes of patients treated with first-line immunotherapy. RESULTS: Data from 1034 mRCC patients was collected and included in this analysis. The SII cut-off value was 1265. After a follow-up of 26.7 months, and the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 39.8 and 15.7 months, respectively. According to SII (low vs. high), patients with low-SII had longer OS (55.7 vs. 22.2 months, P &lt; .001), better PFS (20.8 vs. 8.5 months, P &lt; .001), and higher overall response rate (52 vs. 37%, P = .033). Conclusion: A high SII is associated with poor oncological outcomes in patients with mRCC. SII could be an easily accessible prognostic indicator for use in clinical practice

Challenges in the Development of a Thiol-Based Broad-Spectrum Inhibitor for Metallo-β-Lactamases

Pathogens, expressing metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs), become resistant against most β-lactam antibiotics. Besides the dragging search for new antibiotics, development of MBL inhibitors would be an alternative weapon against resistant bacterial pathogens. Inhibition of resistance enzymes could restore the antibacterial activity of β-lactams. Various approaches to MBL inhibitors are described; among others, the promising motif of a zinc coordinating thiol moiety is very popular. Nevertheless, since the first report of a thiol-based MBL inhibitor (thiomandelic acid) in 2001, no steps in development of thiol based MBL inhibitors were reported that go beyond clinical isolate testing. In this study, we report on the synthesis and biochemical characterization of thiol-based MBL inhibitors and highlight the challenges behind the development of thiol-based compounds, which exhibit good <i>in vitro</i> activity toward a broad spectrum of MBLs, selectivity against human off-targets, and reasonable activity against clinical isolates

Lexical Access Speed and the Development of Phonological Recoding during Immediate Serial Recall

A recent Registered Replication Report (RRR) of the development of verbal rehearsal during serial recall revealed that children verbalized at younger ages than previously thought, but did not identify sources of individual differences. Here, we use mediation analysis to reanalyze data from the 934 children ranging from 5 to 10 years old from the RRR for that purpose. From ages 5 to 7, the time taken for a child to label pictures (i.e. isolated naming speed) predicted the child’s spontaneous use of labels during a visually presented serial reconstruction task, despite no need for spoken responses. For 6- and 7-year-olds, isolated naming speed also predicted recall. The degree to which verbalization mediated the relation between isolated naming speed and recall changed across development. All relations dissipated by age 10. The same general pattern was observed in an exploratory analysis of delayed recall for which greater demands are placed on rehearsal for item maintenance. Overall, our findings suggest that spontaneous phonological recoding during a standard short-term memory task emerges around age 5, increases in efficiency during the early elementary school years, and is sufficiently automatic by age 10 to support immediate serial recall in most children. Moreover, the findings highlight the need to distinguish between phonological recoding and rehearsal in developmental studies of short-term memory

Lexical Access Speed and the Development of Phonological Recoding during Immediate Serial Recall

A recent Registered Replication Report (RRR) of the development of verbal rehearsal during serial recall (Elliott et al., 2021) revealed that children verbalized at younger ages than previously thought (Flavell et al., 1966), but did not identify sources of individual differences.Here we use mediation analysis to reanalyze data from the 934 children ranging from 5 to 10 years old from the RRR for that purpose. From ages 5 to 7, the time taken for a child to label pictures (i.e. isolated naming speed) predicted the child’s spontaneous use of labels during a visually-presented serial reconstruction task, despite no need for spoken responses. For 6- and 7- year-olds, isolated naming speed also predicted recall. The degree to which verbalization mediated the relation between isolated naming speed and recall changed across development. All relations dissipated by age 10. The same general pattern was observed in an exploratory analysis of delayed recall for which greater demands are placed on rehearsal for item maintenance. Overall, our findings suggest that spontaneous phonological recoding during a standard short-term memory task emerges around age 5, increases in efficiency during the early elementary school years, and is sufficiently automatic by age 10 to support immediate serial recall in most children. Moreover, the findings highlight the need to distinguish between phonological recoding and rehearsal in developmental studies of short-term memory

EscC is a chaperone for the Edwardsiella tarda type III secretion system putative translocon components EseB and EseD

10.1099/mic.0.2006/004952-0Microbiology15361953-1962MROB