Fluorescence assisted capillary electrophoresis of glycans enabled by the negatively charged auxochromes in 1-Aminopyrenes

A compact and negatively charged acceptor group, N-(cyanamino)sulfonyl, is introduced for dye design and its influence on the absorption and emission spectra of the “push–pull” chromophores is demonstrated with 1,3,6-tris[(cyanamino)sulfonyl]-8-aminopyrene. The new sulfonamides, including O-phosphorylated (3-hydroxyazetidine)-N-sulfonyl, are negatively charged electron acceptors and auxochromes. 1-Aminopyrenes decorated with the new sulfonamides have three or six negative charges (pH ≥8), low m/z ratios, high mobilities in an electric field, and yellow to orange emission. We labeled maltodextrin oligomers by reductive amination, separated the products by electrophoresis, and demonstrated their high brightness in a commercial DNA analyzer and the distribution of the emission signal among the detection channels

Effect of Preexisting Neutralizing Antibodies on the Anti-tumor Immune Response Induced by Chimeric Human Papillomavirus Virus-like Particle Vaccines

AbstractChimeric human papillomavirus virus-like particles (HPV cVLPs) carrying HPV16 E7 protein are potent vaccines for inducing cell-mediated immunity (CMI) against HPV-induced tumors in animal models. We tested the hypothesis that virion-neutralizing antibodies generated during an initial vaccination might prevent effective boosting of CMI to the cVLPs. Mice with circulating HPV16-neutralizing antibodies, generated by direct immunization with wild-type VLPs or by passive transfer of hyperimmune anti-HPV16 VLP mouse sera, were subsequently vaccinated with HPV16 E7-containing cVLPs. Mice with preexisting neutralizing antibodies were not protected from HPV16 E7-positive TC-1 tumor challenge, compared to the protection seen in mice lacking these antibodies. Antibody-coated VLPs bound very inefficiently to receptor-positive cell lines, suggesting that one of the mechanisms of antibody interference is blocking of VLP binding to its receptor and thereby uptake of VLPs by antigen-presenting cells. Our results suggest that repetitive vaccination with a cVLP for induction of cellular immune responses to an incorporated antigen may be of limited effectiveness due to the presence of neutralizing antibodies against the capsid proteins induced after the first application. This limitation could potentially be overcome by boosting with cVLPs containing the same target antigen incorporated into other papillomavirus-type VLPs

Inflight Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Responses to Medications Commonly Used in Spaceflight

Researchers do not know if medications act the same in the spaceflight environment as they do on Earth. Aspects of the spaceflight environment (low gravity, radiation exposure, closed environment, stress) have been shown to alter human physiology. Some of these physiological changes could be expected to alter either pharmacokinetics (PK, how the body absorbs, distributes, metabolizes and excretes administered medications) or pharmacodynamics (PD, receptors or signaling systems that are the targets of medication action). Anecdotal data has suggested that, at least for certain medications or indications, inflight medication efficacy is poor. In order to prepare for exploration missions where speedy evacuation to Earth may not be a possibility, the likelihood of unexpected medication action must be determined

A Joint Venture of Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics, Coupled Cluster Electronic Structure Methods, and Liquid-State Theory to Compute Accurate Isotropic Hyperfine Constants of Nitroxide Probes in Water

The isotropic hyperfine coupling constant (HFCC, Aiso) of a pH-sensitive spin probe in a solution, HMI (2,2,3,4,5,5-hexamethylimidazolidin-1-oxyl, C9H19N2O) in water, is computed using an ensemble of state-of-the-art computational techniques and is gauged against X-band continuous wave electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurement spectra at room temperature. Fundamentally, the investigation aims to delineate the cutting edge of current first-principles-based calculations of EPR parameters in aqueous solutions based on using rigorous statistical mechanics combined with correlated electronic structure techniques. In particular, the impact of solvation is described by exploiting fully atomistic, RISM integral equation, and implicit solvation approaches as offered by ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) of the periodic bulk solution (using the spin-polarized revPBE0-D3 hybrid functional), embedded cluster reference interaction site model integral equation theory (EC-RISM), and polarizable continuum embedding (using CPCM) of microsolvated complexes, respectively. HFCCs are obtained from efficient coupled cluster calculations (using open-shell DLPNO-CCSD theory) as well as from hybrid density functional theory (using revPBE0-D3). Re-solvation of “vertically desolvated” spin probe configuration snapshots by EC-RISM embedding is shown to provide significantly improved results compared to CPCM since only the former captures the inherent structural heterogeneity of the solvent close to the spin probe. The average values of the Aiso parameter obtained based on configurational statistics using explicit water within AIMD and from EC-RISM solvation are found to be satisfactorily close. Using either such explicit or RISM solvation in conjunction with DLPNO-CCSD calculations of the HFCCs provides an average Aiso parameter for HMI in aqueous solution at 300 K and 1 bar that is in good agreement with the experimentally determined one. The developed computational strategy is general in the sense that it can be readily applied to other spin probes of similar molecular complexity, to aqueous solutions beyond ambient conditions, as well as to other solvents in the longer run

De-novo malignancies after kidney transplantation: A long-term observational study

Background: De-novo malignancies after kidney transplantation represent one major cause for mortality after transplantation. However, most of the studies are limited due to small sample size, short follow-up or lack of information about cancer specific mortality. Methods: This long-term retrospective analysis included all adult patients with complete follow-up that underwent kidney transplantation between 1995 and 2016 at our centre. All patients with diagnosis of malignancy excluding non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) were identified and a matched control group was assigned to the kidney transplant recipients with post-transplant malignancies. Results: 1417 patients matched the inclusion criteria. 179 malignancies posttransplant were diagnosed in 154 patients (n = 21 with two, n = 2 patients with three different malignancies). Mean age at cancer diagnosis was 60.3±13.3 years. Overall incidence of de-novo malignancies except NMSC was 1% per year posttransplant. Renal cell carcinoma was the most common entity (n = 49, incidence 4.20 per 1000 patient years; cancer specific mortality 12%), followed by cancer of the gastro-intestinal tract (n = 30, 2.57; 50%), urinary system (n = 24, 2.06; 13%), respiratory system (n = 18, 1.54; 89%), female reproductive system (n = 15, 1.29; 13%), posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders and haematological tumours (n = 14, 1.20; 21%), cancers of unknown primary (n = 7, 0.60 100%) and others (n = 22, 1.89; 27%). Male sex, re-transplantation and time on dialysis were associated with de-novo malignancies after transplantation. Conclusion: De-novo malignancies continue to be a serious problem after kidney transplantation. To improve long-term outcome after Kidney transplantation, prevention and cancer screening should be more tailored and intensified

Resonance Effects in the Nonadiabatic Nonlinear Quantum Dimer

The quantum nonlinear dimer consisting of an electron shuttling between the two sites and in weak interaction with vibrations, is studied numerically under the application of a DC electric field. A field-induced resonance phenomenon between the vibrations and the electronic oscillations is found to influence the electronic transport greatly. For initially delocalization of the electron, the resonance has the effect of a dramatic increase in the transport. Nonlinear frequency mixing is identified as the main mechanism that influences transport. A characterization of the frequency spectrum is also presented.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

International comparability of reference unit costs of education services: when harmonizing methodology is not enough (PECUNIA project)

Background: Health problems can lead to costs in the education sector. However, these costs are rarely incorporated in health economic evaluations due to the lack of reference unit costs (RUCs), cost per unit of service, of education services and of validated methods to obtain them. In this study, a standardized unit cost calculation tool developed in the PECUNIA project, the PECUNIA RUC Template for services, was applied to calculate the RUCs of selected education services in five European countries. Methods: The RUCs of special education services and of educational therapy were calculated using the information collected via an exploratory gray literature search and contact with service providers. Results: The RUCs of special education services ranged from €55 to €189 per school day. The RUCs of educational therapy ranged from €6 to €25 per contact and from €5 to €35 per day. Variation was observed in the type of input data and measurement unit, among other. Discussion: The tool helped reduce variability in the RUCs related to costing methodology and gain insights into other aspects that contribute to the variability (e.g. data availability). Further research and efforts to generate high quality input data are required to reduce the variability of the RUCs

Parameters influencing the size of chitosan-TPP nano- and microparticles

Chitosan nanoparticles, produced by ionic gelation, are among the most intensely studied nanosystems for drug delivery. However, a lack of inter-laboratory reproducibility and a poor physicochemical understanding of the process of particle formation have been slowing their potential market applications. To address these shortcomings, the current study presents a systematic analysis of the main polymer factors affecting the nanoparticle formation driven by an initial screening using systematic statistical Design of Experiments (DoE). In summary, we found that for a given chitosan to TPP molar ratio, the average hydrodynamic diameter of the particles formed is strongly dependent on the initial chitosan concentration. The degree of acetylation of the chitosan was found to be the second most important factor involved in the system's ability to form particles. Interestingly, viscosimetry studies indicated that the particle formation and the average hydrodynamic diameter of the particles formed were highly dependent on the presence or absence of salts in the medium. In conclusion, we found that by controlling two simple factors of the polymer solution, namely its initial concentration and its solvent environment, it is feasible to control in a reproducible manner the production and characteristics of chitosan particles ranging in size from nano- to micrometres