Practical Phase Retrieval Using Double Deep Image Priors

Phase retrieval (PR) concerns the recovery of complex phases from complex magnitudes. We identify the connection between the difficulty level and the number and variety of symmetries in PR problems. We focus on the most difficult far-field PR (FFPR), and propose a novel method using double deep image priors. In realistic evaluation, our method outperforms all competing methods by large margins. As a single-instance method, our method requires no training data and minimal hyperparameter tuning, and hence enjoys good practicality

Triaqua(2-{[(E)-5-formyl-2-oxidobenzyl­idene]amino}ethanesulfonato)cobalt(II) dihydrate

The title compound, [Co(C10H9NO5S)(H2O)3]·2H2O, is a cobalt–Schiff base complex derived from taurine. There are two complex mol­ecules and four solvent water mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit. The central Co atom is six coordinated by two O atoms and one N atom of the ligand and three O atoms of water mol­ecules, forming a slightly distorted octa­hedral geometry. The crystal structure is stabilized by several O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Neolignans from Piper betle have synergistic activity against antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

A phytochemical investigation of an extract of the leaves of Piper betle, guided by a synergistic antibacterial screen, led to the isolation and structural elucidation of 10 new neolignans, Pibeneolignan A-J (1-10), together with 11 known compounds. The structures and absolute configurations of the new compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, and experimental and calculated ECD investigations. Compounds 1 and 2 are new naturally occurring neolignan skeletons, based on the cyclohept-2-ene-1,4-dione framework. We propose that these natural products are biosynthetically formed from bicyclic [3.2.1] neolignans by oxidative cleavage and ring opening at C-1′ and C-2′. Among these compounds, 9, 13, 15, and 16, in combination with norfloxacin against an effluxing S. aureus strain (SA1199B), exhibited significant synergistic activity with fractional inhibitory concentration indices (FICIs) of 0.078, 0.156, 0.125, and 0.25, respectively. Bacterial growth curves, ethidium bromide (EtBr) efflux, and qRt-PCR were further employed to verify their synergistic antibacterial mechanism. Furthermore, computational molecular modeling suggested the binding of compounds 14-17 and 19 to the active site of the modeled structure of the NorA efflux pump, which is the main efflux pump in SA1199B

Microtubule distribution in somatic cell nuclear transfer bovine embryos following control of nuclear remodeling type

This study was conducted to evaluate the microtubule distribution following control of nuclear remodeling by treatment of bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos with caffeine or roscovitine. Bovine somatic cells were fused to enucleated oocytes treated with either 5 mM caffeine or 150 µM roscovitine to control the type of nuclear remodeling. The proportion of embryos that underwent premature chromosome condensation (PCC) was increased by caffeine treatment but was reduced by roscovitine treatment (p < 0.05). The microtubule organization was examined by immunostaining β- and γ-tubulins at 15 min, 3 h, and 20 h of fusion using laser scanning confocal microscopy. The γ-tubulin foci inherited from the donor centrosome were observed in most of the SCNT embryos at 15 min of fusion (91.3%) and most of them did not disappear until 3 h after fusion, regardless of treatment (82.9-87.2%). A significantly high proportion of embryos showing an abnormal chromosome or microtubule distribution was observed in the roscovitine-treated group (40.0%, p < 0.05) compared to the caffeine-treated group (22.1%). In conclusion, PCC is a favorable condition for the normal organization of microtubules, and inhibition of PCC can cause abnormal mitotic division of bovine SCNT embryos by causing microtubule dysfunction

Generation of a Cell Culture-Adapted Hepatitis C Virus with Longer Half Life at Physiological Temperature

BACKGROUND: We previously reported infectious HCV clones that contain the convenient reporters, green fluorescent protein (GFP) and Renilla luciferase (Rluc), in the NS5a-coding sequence. Although these viruses were useful in monitoring viral proliferation and screening of anti-HCV drugs, the infectivity and yield of the viruses were low. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In order to obtain a highly efficient HCV cultivation system, we transfected Huh7.5.1 cells [1] with JFH 5a-GFP RNA and then cultivated cells for 20 days. We found a highly infectious HCV clone containing two cell culture-adapted mutations. Two cell culture-adapted mutations which were responsible for the increased viral infectivity were located in E2 and p7 protein coding regions. The viral titer of the variant was ∼100-fold higher than that of the parental virus. The mutation in the E2 protein increased the viability of virus at 37°C by acquiring prolonged interaction capability with a HCV receptor CD81. The wild-type and p7-mutated virus had a half-life of ∼2.5 to 3 hours at 37°C. In contrast, the half-life of viruses, which contained E2 mutation singly and combination with the p7 mutation, was 5 to 6 hours at 37°C. The mutation in the p7 protein, either singly or in combination with the E2 mutation, enhanced infectious virus production about 10-50-fold by facilitating an early step of virion production. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The mutation in the E2 protein generated by the culture system increases virion viability at 37°C. The adaptive mutation in the p7 protein facilitates an earlier stage of virus production, such as virus assembly and/or morphogenesis. These reporter-containing HCV viruses harboring adaptive mutations are useful in investigations of the viral life cycle and for developing anti-viral agents against HCV

Thermal Conductivity of Carbon Nanotubes and their Polymer Nanocomposites: A Review

Thermally conductive polymer composites offer new possibilities for replacing metal parts in several applications, including power electronics, electric motors and generators, heat exchangers, etc., thanks to the polymer advantages such as light weight, corrosion resistance and ease of processing. Current interest to improve the thermal conductivity of polymers is focused on the selective addition of nanofillers with high thermal conductivity. Unusually high thermal conductivity makes carbon nanotube (CNT) the best promising candidate material for thermally conductive composites. However, the thermal conductivities of polymer/CNT nanocomposites are relatively low compared with expectations from the intrinsic thermal conductivity of CNTs. The challenge primarily comes from the large interfacial thermal resistance between the CNT and the surrounding polymer matrix, which hinders the transfer of phonon dominating heat conduction in polymer and CNT. This article reviews the status of worldwide research in the thermal conductivity of CNTs and their polymer nanocomposites. The dependence of thermal conductivity of nanotubes on the atomic structure, the tube size, the morphology, the defect and the purification is reviewed. The roles of particle/polymer and particle/particle interfaces on the thermal conductivity of polymer/CNT nanocomposites are discussed in detail, as well as the relationship between the thermal conductivity and the micro- and nano-structure of the composite

Smoking and COX-2 Functional Polymorphisms Interact to Increase the Risk of Gastric Cardia Adenocarcinoma in Chinese Population

BACKGROUND: Over-expression and increased activity of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 induced by smoking has been implicated in the development of cancer. This study aimed to explore the interaction between smoking and functional polymorphisms of COX-2 in modulation of gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA) risk. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Three COX-2 polymorphisms, including -1195G>A (rs689466), -765G>C (rs20417), and 587Gly>Arg (rs3218625), were genotyped in 357 GCA patients and 985 controls. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, we found that the -1195AA, -765GC, and 587Arg/Arg genotypes were associated with increased risk of GCA (OR = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.05-2.13; OR = 2.06, 95% CI = 1.29-3.29 and OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.04-2.66, respectively). Haplotype association analysis showed that compared with G(-1195)-G(-765)- G(Gly587Arg), the A(-1195)-C(-765)-A(Gly587Arg) conferred an increased risk of GCA (OR = 2.49, 95% CI = 1.54-4.01). Moreover, significant multiplicative interactions were observed between smoking and these three polymorphisms of -1195G>A, -765G>C, and 587Gly>Arg, even after correction by false discovery rate (FDR) method for multiple comparisons (FDR-P(interaction) = 0.006, 5.239×10(-4) and 0.017, respectively). Similarly, haplotypes incorporating these three polymorphisms also showed significant interaction with smoking in the development of GCA (P for multiplicative interaction = 2.65×10(-6)). CONCLUSION: These findings indicated that the functional polymorphisms of COX-2, in interaction with smoking, may play a substantial role in the development of GCA