Aquation of Coordinated Chlorides in cis-ɑ & cis-β Dichloro(triethylenetetramine) Co(III) Chlorides

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Embryological studies in the compositæ. I. Launaea pinnatifida cass

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Doppler-free two-photon spectrum of the 000 band of the Ã1B1←X1A1 transition in difluorodiazirine, F2CN2

The Doppler-free two-photon excitation spectrum of the vibrationless Ã1B1←Image 1A1 transition of difluorodiazirine (F2CN2) has been recorded with a resolution of 15 MHz using a cw single-mode dye laser coupled to an external concentric resonator. The asymmetric rotor spectrum has been analysed and more than 350 lines randomly selected from all five branches were assigned in order to fit the ground- and excited-state rotational and quartic centrifugal distortion constants. From the rotational constants the rNN and rFF distances in the ground Image 1A1 and excited Ã1B1 state were determined. The geometry change upon excitation is found to be ΔrNN = 3.89(2) pm and ΔrFF = −4.09(2) pm. No perturbation in the rotational structure of the 000 band has been found. This points to a small singlet-triplet coupling matrix element in the small molecule limit

ADP-Ribosylation Factor 6 Expression and Activation Are Reduced in Myometrium in Complicated Pregnancies

ARF6 (ADP-ribosylation factor 6) small GTP binding protein plays critical roles in actin cytoskeleton rearrangements and membrane trafficking, including internalisation of G protein coupled receptors (GPCR). ARF6 operates by cycling between GDP-bound (inactive) and GTP-bound (active) forms and is a potential regulator of GPCR-mediated uterine activity during pregnancy and labour. ARF6 contains very low intrinsic GTP binding activity and depends on GEFs (guanine nucleotide exchange factors) such as CYTH3 (cytohesin 3) to bind GTP. ARF6 and CYTH3 were originally cloned from human placenta, but there is no information on their expression in other reproductive tissues.The expression of ARF6, ARF1, and CYTH1-4 was investigated by measuring mRNA (using RT-PCR) and protein levels (using immunoblotting) in samples of myometrium obtained from non-pregnant women, and women with normal pregnancies, before or after the spontaneous onset of labour. We also analysed myometrial samples from women with spontaneous preterm labour and from women with complicated pregnancies requiring emergency preterm delivery. The GST)-effector pull down assay was used to study the presence of active ARF6 and ARF1 in all myometrial extracts.ARF6, ARF1 and CYTH3 but not CYTH1, CYTH2 and CYTH4 were expressed in all samples and the levels did not change with pregnancy or labour. However, ARF6 and CYTH3 but not ARF1 levels were significantly reduced in complicated pregnancies. The alterations in the expression of ARF6 and its GEF in human myometrium indicate a potential involvement of this signalling system in modulating the response of myometrial smooth muscle in complicated pregnancies. The levels of ARF6-GTP or ARF1-GTP did not change with pregnancy or labour but ARF6-GTP levels were significantly decreased in women with severe complications of pregnancy.We have demonstrated a functional ARF6 system in human myometrium and a correlation between ARF6 level and activity in uterine and abnormal pregnancy

Mild and Highly Efficient Stereoselective Synthesis of 2,3-Unsaturated Glycopyranosides using La(NO3)3 · 6H2O as a Catalyst: Ferrier Rearrangement

A mild and highly efficient stereoselective reaction of 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-D-glucal with a variety of nucleophiles, viz. alcohols, phenols, thiols, thiophenols, and allyl trimethyl silane (TMS), in the presence of 5 mol% of lanthanum(III) nitrate hexahydrate under solvent-free conditions yielded the corresponding 2,3-unsaturated glycopyranosides (pseudoglycals) in excellent yields

Transient excited singlet state absorption in Rhodamine 6G

Transient excited singlet state absorption (ESSA) has been studied in Rhodamine 6G in ethanol using a nitrogen laser and nitrogen laser-pumped dye laser. Broad absorption with several submaxima and possible shoulders, which represent the vibrational structure, has been observed in Rhodamine 6G in the region, 4175-4640 Å . The position of the lowest vibrational level of the first excited singlet state S 1 has been determined from the crossing point of the long and short wavelength spectral wings of absorption and fluorescence respectively. The energy level scheme of the molecule has been obtained with the help of the absorption and fluorescence spectra recorded. The observed structure in ESSA has been tentatively interpreted to be due to transitions from the different vibrational levels of S 1 to one or more vibrational levels of the upper singlet electronic state S4

Development and optimisation of spironolactone nanoparticles for enhanced dissolution rates and stability

Stable solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) formulations to enhance the dissolution rates of poorly soluble drug spironolactone (SP) were being developed. Probe ultra-sonication method was used to prepare SLNs and NLCs. All NLCs contained stearic acid (solid lipid carrier) and oleic acid (liquid lipid content), whereas, SLNs were prepared and optimised by using the solid lipid only. The particles were characterised in terms of particle size analysis, thermal behaviour, morphology, stability and in vitro release. The zeta sizer data revealed that the increase in the concentration of oleic acid in the formulations reduced the mean particle size and the zeta potential. The increase in concentration of oleic acid from 0 to 30% (w/w) resulted in a higher entrapment efficiency. All nanoparticles were almost spherically shaped with an average particle size of about ∼170 nm. The DSC traces revealed that the presence of oleic acid in the NLC formulations resulted in a shift in the melting endotherms to a higher temperature. This could be attributed to a good long-term stability of the nanoparticles. The stability results showed that the particle size remained smaller in NLC compared to that of SLN formulations after 6 months at various temperatures. The dissolution study showed about a 5.1- to 7.2-fold increase in the release of the drug in 2 h compared to the raw drug. Comparing all nanoparticle formulations indicated that the NLC composition with a ratio of 70:30 (solid:liquid lipid) is the most suitable formulation with desired drug dissolution rates, entrapment efficiency and physical stability

Crystal growth, spectroscopic characterization, and laser performance of a new efficient laser material Nd:Ba-5(PO4)(3)F

High quality single crystals of neodymium doped barium fluorapatite have been grown by the Czochralski technique and evaluated as an optical gain medium. A product of the emission cross section and lifetime of Nd3+ luminescence of more than 1.8x10(-22) cm(2) s at 1055 nm, and laser performance with slope efficiency up to 65% have been obtained

Non-Conjugated Small Molecule FRET for Differentiating Monomers from Higher Molecular Weight Amyloid Beta Species

Background: Systematic differentiation of amyloid (Aβ) species could be important for diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In spite of significant progress, controversies remain regarding which species are the primary contributors to the AD pathology, and which species could be used as the best biomarkers for its diagnosis. These controversies are partially caused by the lack of reliable methods to differentiate the complicated subtypes of Aβ species. Particularly, differentiation of Aβ monomers from toxic higher molecular weight species (HrMW) would be beneficial for drug screening, diagnosis, and molecular mechanism studies. However, fast and cheap methods for these specific aims are still lacking. Principal Findings: We demonstrated the feasibility of a non-conjugated FRET (Förster resonance energy transfer) technique that utilized amyloid beta (Aβ) species as intrinsic platforms for the FRET pair assembly. Mixing two structurally similar curcumin derivatives that served as the small molecule FRET pair with Aβ40 aggregates resulted in a FRET signal, while no signal was detected when using Aβ40 monomer solution. Lastly, this FRET technique enabled us to quantify the concentrations of Aβ monomers and high molecular weight species in solution. Significance: We believe that this FRET technique could potentially be used as a tool for screening for inhibitors of Aβ aggregation. We also suggest that this concept could be generalized to other misfolded proteins/peptides implicated in various pathologies including amyloid in diabetes, prion in bovine spongiform encephalopathy, tau protein in AD, and α-synuclein in Parkinson disease.National Institute on Aging (K25AG036760

Influence of reaction time and synthesis temperature on the physical properties of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by the hydrothermal method

Influence of synthesis temperature and reaction time on the structural and optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by the hydrothermal method was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, and UV–visible and fluorescence spectroscopy. The XRD pattern and HR-TEM images confirmed the presence of crystalline hexagonal wurtzite ZnO nanoparticles with average crystallite size in the range 30–40 nm. Their energy gap determined by fluorescence was found to depend on the synthesis temperature and reaction time with values in the range 2.90–3.78 eV. Thermal analysis, thermogravimetric and the differential scanning calorimetry were used to study the thermal reactions and weight loss with heat of the prepared ZnO nanoparticles