Preclinical testing of an oncolytic parvovirus in Ewing sarcoma : protoparvovirus H-1 induces apoptosis and lytic infection in vitro but fails to improve survival in vivo

About 70% of all Ewing sarcoma (EWS) patients are diagnosed under the age of 20 years. Over the last decades little progress has been made towards finding effective treatment approaches for primarily metastasized or refractory Ewing sarcoma in young patients. Here, in the context of the search for novel therapeutic options, the potential of oncolytic protoparvovirus H-1 (H-1PV) to treat Ewing sarcoma was evaluated, its safety having been proven previously tested in adult cancer patients and its oncolytic efficacy demonstrated on osteosarcoma cell cultures. The effects of viral infection were tested in vitro on four human Ewing sarcoma cell lines. Notably evaluated were effects of the virus on the cell cycle and its replication efficiency. Within 24 h after infection, the synthesis of viral proteins was induced. Efficient H-1PV replication was confirmed in all four Ewing sarcoma cell lines. The cytotoxicity of the virus was determined on the basis of cytopathic effects, cell viability, and cell lysis. These in vitro experiments revealed efficient killing of Ewing sarcoma cells by H-1PV at a multiplicity of infection between 0.1 and 5 plaque forming units (PFU)/cell. In two of the four tested cell lines, significant induction of apoptosis by H-1PV was observed. H-1PV thus meets all the in vitro criteria for a virus to be oncolytic towards Ewing sarcoma. In the first xenograft experiments, however, although an antiproliferative effect of intratumoral H-1PV injection was observed, no significant improvement of animal survival was noted. Future projects aiming to validate parvovirotherapy for the treatment of pediatric Ewing sarcoma should focus on combinatorial treatments and will require the use of patient-derived xenografts and immunocompetent syngeneic animal models

The German Music@Home: Validation of a questionnaire measuring at home musical exposure and interaction of young children.

The present study introduces the German version of the original version of the Music@Home questionnaire developed in the UK, which systematically evaluates musical engagement in the home environment of young children. Two versions are available, an Infant version for children aged three to 23 months and a Preschool version for children aged two to five and a half years. For the present study, the original Music@Home questionnaire was translated from English into German and 656 caregivers completed the questionnaire online. A confirmatory factor analysis showed moderate to high fit indices for both versions, confirming the factor structure of the original questionnaire. Also, the reliability coefficients for the subscales (Parental beliefs, Child engagement with music, Parent initiation of singing, Parent initiation of music-making for the Infant version and Parental beliefs, Child engagement with music, Parent initiation of music behavior and Breadth of musical exposure for the Preschool version) ranged from moderate to high fits. Furthermore, the test-retest analysis (N = 392) revealed high correlations for the general factor and all subscales confirming their internal reliability. Additionally, we included language questionnaires for children of two and three years of age. Results showed that higher scores on the Music@Home questionnaire were moderately associated with better language skills in two-year-olds (N = 118). In sum, the study presents the validated German Music@Home questionnaire, which shows good psychometric properties. The two versions of the questionnaire are available for use in order to assess home musical engagement of young children, which could be of interest in many areas of developmental research

La céramique d'art en Bretagne et en Provence

Dege F. La céramique d'art en Bretagne et en Provence. In: Norois, n°73, Janvier-Mars 1972. pp. 115-117

Crystal structure of 1-acetyl-3-(4-methylphenyl)-5-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazole

In the title compound, C18H18N2O, the whole molecule is not planar but the phenyl ring systems are planar individually. The central pyrazole ring system is twisted with puckering parameters Q = 0.1610(18) and phi = 82.2(6)A degrees. The crystallographic structure is stabilized by C-Ha <-N type intramolecular hydrogen bond, generating ring motif R(5)

Photophysical Properties and Single-Molecule Magnet Behavior in Heterobimetallic 3d4 f Schiff Base Complexes

International audienceThree new heterobimetallic Schiff base complexes of formula [(LZnCl)2Gd(H2O)](ZnCl4)0.5 (2), [(LZn(OH))(LZnCl)Sm(H2O)](ZnCl4)0.5 (3) and [(LZnCl0.5(OH)0.5)(LZnCl)Dy(H2O)](ZnCl4)0.5 (4) were designed from the reaction of the metallo-ligand ZnL (1) (H2L=N, N′-bis(3-methoxysalicylaldiimine)-1,3-propylene-2-ol) and lanthanide salt in a ratio 1 to 1. The crystallographic structures of 2–4 were resolved by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Light irradiation allowed the observation of a broad emission centered on the organic ligand which is exalted upon Zn(II) coordination. 1 is able to act as a metallo-organic chromophore for the sensitization of the Sm(III) luminescence. Finally the Dy(III) derivative displayed Single-Molecule Magnet (SMM) behavior with an opening of the hysteresis loop up to 5 K and a magnetic relaxation operating through Orbach, Raman and Quantum Tunneling of the Magnetization (QTM) at 0 Oe while under an applied magnetic field the QTM is efficiently cancelled. © 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH

Novel metal complexes containing 6-methylpyridine-2-carboxylic acid as potent α-glucosidase inhibitor: synthesis, crystal structures, DFT calculations, and molecular docking

PMID = 3196543

A novel series of mixed-ligand M(II) complexes containing 2,2'-bipyridyl as potent α-glucosidase inhibitor: synthesis, crystal structure, DFT calculations, and molecular docking

PMID = 3131726