Stereoselective Discrimination and Quantification of Arginine and N-Blocked Arginine Enantiomers by Formation and Dissociation of Calcium-Mediated Diastereomeric Trimer Complexes with a Chiral Reference Compound Using Electrospray Ionization-Ion Trap Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Chiral resolution of arginine (Arg) and Arg derivatives is demonstrated using electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Calcium ion (CaII)-mediated trimeric clusters are generated, which incorporate the analyte of interest and an enantiomerically pure reference molecule of similar metal ion affinity. Two methods, one based on the measurement of a competitive-dissociation-based branching ratio (Rchir) by the kinetic method (KM) and one based on the measurement of a chiral recognition ratio (CR) by a similar method, are compared. Incorporating N-blocked Arg derivatives (Z-Arg and Boc-Arg) as chiral references provides chiral resolution greater than that previously reported for Arg enantiomers. In a reciprocal manner, pure Arg enantiomers can be used as references for discriminating enantiomers of these N-blocked Arg derivatives. Condensed-phase and gas-phase CaII ion affinity relative to Arg is also addressed qualitatively for other acidic, basic, and neutral amino acids. In some cases, when only one offspring ion is observed (insufficient for KM analysis), the CR method can be applied as an alternative to obtain a measurable stereoselectivity value for the system. The results of these experiments demonstrate the applicability of, and the difference between, the KM and the CR method for improved quantitative analysis of enantiomeric excess for Arg

Wissenskonstruktion mit Computeralgebrasystemen in der Linearen Algebra/Geometrie der Sekundarstufe II

In vorliegender Untersuchung wird der Einfluss eines computer-intensiven und epistemologisch orientierten Kurses in gymnasialer Linearer Algebra u.a. auf die Beliefsysteme von Lernenden studiert. Die sozialkonstruktivistische APOS-Lerntheorie (Dubinsky) dient dem Design und de Analyse der innerhalb des Computeralgebrasystems (CAS) MuPAD realisierten Lernarrangements, die unter Beachtung von acht Prinzipien (z.B. der virtuellen Erfahrungsverankerung) die Wissenskonstruktion gestalten. Dabei werden – in kritischer Betrachtung von Reformbemühungen in Frankreich und den USA – verständnisrelevante Barrieren speziell der Linearen Algebra identifiziert, diagnostiziert und einer CAS-Behandlung zugeführt. Die matrixorientierte CAS-intensive Kursstrategie orientiert sich an der Modellvorstellung von epistemologischen Wissens-Wachstumsringen längs des sich entfaltenden Problems des Lösens von linearen (insbesondere: überbestimmten) Gleichungssystemen. Ein fachdidaktischer Schwerpunkt ist dabei die facettenreiche Analyse, Rekonstruktion und Elementarisierung des Begriffs der [Moore-Penrose-]Pseudoinversen und deren geometrischer Deutung als Orthogonalprojektion. Die empirischen Untersuchungen und Befunde umfassen neben ausgewählten Unterrichtsepisoden insbesondere Längs-und Querschnittserhebungen zu den epistemologischen Überzeugungsstrukturen (Beliefs, Mathematikweltbilder) sowie Vorüberlegungen zu einem CAS-Weltbild der Schülerinnen und Schüler

Pharmacophore Elucidation and Molecular Docking Studies on 5-Phenyl-1-(3-pyridyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxylic Acid Derivatives as COX-2 Inhibitors

A set of 5-phenyl-1-(3-pyridyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxylic acid derivatives (16–32) showing anti-inflammatory activity was analyzed using a three-dimensional qualitative structure-selectivity relationship (3D QSSR) method. The CatalystHipHop approach was used to generate a pharmacophore model for cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors based on a training set of 15 active inhibitors (1–15). The degree of fitting of the test set compounds (16–32) to the generated hypothetical model revealed a qualitative measure of the more or less selective COX-2 inhibition of these compounds. The results indicate that most derivatives (16, 18, 20–25, and 30–32) are able to effectively satisfy the proposed pharmacophore geometry using energy accessible conformers (Econf < 20 kcal/mol). In addition, the triazole derivatives (16–32) were docked into COX-1 and COX-2 X-ray structures, using the program GOLD. Based on the docking results it is suggested that several of these novel triazole derivatives are active COX inhibitors with a significant preference for COX-2. In principle, this work presents an interesting, comprehensive approach to theoretically predict the mode of action of compounds that showed anti-inflammatory activity in an in vivo model

Realitäts-Check auf regionaler Ebene: Implikationen der CBD-COP15 für Sachsen

Um die Ziele des Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Frameworks zu erreichen, ist Engagement auf allen politischen Ebenen und in allen Sektoren nötig. Auch der Freistaat Sachsen muss seinen Beitrag leisten. Sachsen hat großes Potenzial, steht aber auch vor besonderen Herausforderungen. Fast die Hälfte der Landfläche wird landwirtschaftlich genutzt, hauptsächlich für Ackerbau. Doch nur etwa acht Prozent der Fläche wird ökologisch bewirtschaftet. Intensivierung und Monotonisierung der Landwirtschaft, sowie der Einsatz von Pestiziden und Düngemitteln, tragen erheblich zum Verlust der biologischen Vielfalt bei. Die Landwirtschaft spielt eine entscheidende Rolle als Lebensraum für Biodiversität. Es gilt, biodiversitätsfreundliche Nutzung zu fördern, den Anteil der Fläche mit ökologischem Landbau zu erhöhen und entsprechende Praktiken in der konventionellen Landwirtschaft zu etablieren. Sachsen ist auch als Erzeuger fossiler Energien, speziell durch das Lausitzer und das Mitteldeutsche Braunkohlerevier, stark von der Energiewende betroffen. Der Ausbau erneuerbarer Energien muss naturverträglich und im Einklang mit dem Biodiversitätsschutz erfolgen. Konzepte der multifunktionalen Landnutzung können hierbei unterstützen. Prof. Dr. Edeltraud Günther, Direktorin des UNU-FLORES, betont ebenfalls die Notwendigkeit, Biodiversität im Ressourcen-Nexus zu berücksichtigen. Sachsen hat gute Voraussetzungen, um diese Herausforderungen zu meistern. Mit dem Programm Sachsens Biologische Vielfalt 2030 verfügt es über eine Biodiversitätsstrategie, um die globalen Ziele zu erreichen. Darüber hinaus beherbergt Sachsen starke Forschungsinstitutionen, die sich intensiv dem Thema Biodiversität widmen. Forschung, Bildung und Wissenschaftskommunikation spielen hierbei eine zentrale Rolle. Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala, Rektor der UNU und Under-Secretary-General der UN, betonte in seiner Eröffnungsansprache der DNCi 2023 die Schlüsselrolle von Bildung: 'Bildung ist der Schlüssel, um unser Potenzial zu entfalten. Sie befähigt uns, Verwalter unserer Umwelt zu werden, indem sie uns eine tiefe Wertschätzung für die biologische Vielfalt vermittelt und zu nachhaltigen Praktiken in jedem Aspekt unseres Lebens inspiriert. Durch die Integration von transformierender Bildung auf internationaler, nationaler und lokaler Ebene können wir einen tiefgreifenden Wandel von Einstellungen, Wissen und Verhaltensweisen bewirken.“ Die Bedeutung von Bildung und Wissenschaftskommunikation zum Thema Biodiversität konnten die Teilnehmenden der DNCi 2023 dank einer Führung durch den Botanischen Garten praktisch erleben. Herzlichen Dank an Prof. Dr. Christoph Neinhuis, Direktor des Botanischen Gartens, und Dr. Barbara Dietsch, Wissenschaftliche Leitung des Botanischen Gartens, für diese wertvollen Einblicke. Im Rahmen der gemeinsam durch UNU-FLORES, dem IÖR und der TU Dresden organisierten DNCi 2023 ist es uns gelungen, unterschiedliche Akteure aus Wissenschaft, Regierung, Zivilgesellschaft und Privatwirtschaft zusammenzubringen und eine dynamische Plattform für Austausch und Zusammenarbeit zum Thema Biodiversität zu schaffen. Herzlicher Dank gilt allen Teilnehmenden für ihr Engagement im Rahmen der Veranstaltung und darüber hinaus dem Sächsischen Staatsministerium für Energie, Klimaschutz, Umwelt und Landwirtschaft für die Unterstützung der Veranstaltung im Rahmen seiner Kooperation mit UNU-FLORES.:VORWORT 5 Vorwort 6 Vorwort der Veranstalter:innen 8 EINLEITUNG 12 POLITIK IN SACHSEN 14 Handlungsempfehlungen für die Politik in Sachsen 16 WIRTSCHAFT IN SACHSEN 21 Handlungsempfehlungen für die Wirtschaft in Sachsen 22 LANDWIRTSCHAFT IN SACHSEN 26 Handlungsempfehlungen für die Landwirtschaft in Sachsen 28 BILDUNG IN SACHSEN 31 Handlungsempfehlungen für die Bildung in Sachsen 32 FAZIT 35 TEILNEHMENDE DER DNCi 2023 36 Thema Biodiversität in der Politik 38 Thema Biodiversität in der Landwirtschaft 39 Thema Biodiversität in der lokalen Wirtschaft 40 Thema Biodiversität in der Bildung für Nachhaltige Entwicklung 41Reaching the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework requires commitment at all political levels and in all sectors. The State of Saxony also has to contribute its share. Saxony has a great potential, but also faces particular challenges. Almost half of the land area is used for agriculture, mainly for arable farming. However, only around eight percent of the land is farmed ecologically. Intensification and monotonization of agriculture, as well as the use of pesticides and fertilizers, significantly contribute to the loss of biodiversity. Agriculture plays a crucial role as a habitat for biodiversity. It is indispensable to promote biodiversity-friendly use, increase the proportion of land under organic farming, and establish corresponding methods in conventional agriculture. As a producer of fossil fuels, especially by the Lusatian and Central German lignite mining regions, Saxony is also strongly affected by the energy transition. The expansion of renewable energies needs to be nature-compatible and in harmony with the protection of biodiversity. Approaches to multifunctional landuse may provide support in this regard. Prof. Dr. Edeltraud Günther, Director of UNU-FLORES, emphasizes the need to consider biodiversity in the resource nexus. Saxony has good prerequisites to meet these challenges. With its Saxony Biodiversity 2030 Program, it has a revised biodiversity strategy to meet the global targets. In addition, Saxony is home to major research institutions that intensively focus on biodiversity. Research, education, and science communication play a central role in this context. Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala, Rector of UNU and Under-Secretary-General of the UN, emphasized the key role of education in his opening address of the DNCi 2023: 'Education is the key to unlock our potential. It empowers us to become stewards of our environment by providing us with a deep appreciation for biodiversity and inspiring sustainable practices in every aspect of our lives. By integrating transformative education at the international, national, and local levels, we can create profound change in attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors.' The DNCi 2023 participants had a hands-on experience of the importance of education and science communication on biodiversity thanks to a guided tour of the Botanical Garden. Many thanks to Prof. Dr. Christoph Neinhuis, Director of the Botanical Garden, and Dr. Barbara Dietsch, Scientific Director of the Botanical Garden, for these valuable insights. As part of the DNCi 2023, co-organized by UNU-FLORES, the IOER, and TU Dresden, we succeeded in bringing together different stakeholders from science, government, civil society, and the private sector to create a dynamic platform for exchange and collaboration on the topic of biodiversity. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all participants for their commitment during the event and beyond, and to the Saxon State Ministry of Energy, Climate Protection, Environment and Agriculture for supporting the event within the framework of its cooperation with UNU-FLORES.:VORWORT 5 Vorwort 6 Vorwort der Veranstalter:innen 8 EINLEITUNG 12 POLITIK IN SACHSEN 14 Handlungsempfehlungen für die Politik in Sachsen 16 WIRTSCHAFT IN SACHSEN 21 Handlungsempfehlungen für die Wirtschaft in Sachsen 22 LANDWIRTSCHAFT IN SACHSEN 26 Handlungsempfehlungen für die Landwirtschaft in Sachsen 28 BILDUNG IN SACHSEN 31 Handlungsempfehlungen für die Bildung in Sachsen 32 FAZIT 35 TEILNEHMENDE DER DNCi 2023 36 Thema Biodiversität in der Politik 38 Thema Biodiversität in der Landwirtschaft 39 Thema Biodiversität in der lokalen Wirtschaft 40 Thema Biodiversität in der Bildung für Nachhaltige Entwicklung 4

"More than fruits and vegetables ": Community garden experiences from the Global North to foster green development of informal areas in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Urban gardening contributes to society in various ways such as by enhancing communities, ensuring food security, improving health, providing places for recreation as well as by raising environmental awareness. Although urban gardening initiatives have been spreading, the challenge remains to include vulnerable communities, especially in developing countries, which face manifold infrastructural, environmental and social pressures, thereby helping achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 (Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable) and foster urban inclusiveness. The study evaluated the performance of urban community gardens in order to verify their potential for implementation in the slums of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Significant assets and drawbacks were analyzed from existing studies and categorized into social, spatial, economic and environmental factors. Additionally, qualitative interviews on societal and motivational issues were conducted with contributors to a community garden in Dresden, Germany. The results highlight the potential of urban gardening to counteract spatial pressures in informal areas by creating green spaces, improving food quality, raising environmental awareness and, in general, ensuring a higher quality of life. On the other hand, some obstacles remain to be overcome, such as soil pollution, the high probability of further contamination as well as a lack of basic infrastructure. A top-down implementation of urban gardens within slums is considered feasible if the projects are designed in partnership with the community, and a long-term adaptive management model is applied. Under these conditions, urban gardening will make a significant contribution to ‘inclusive urbanism'

Urea-Mediated Cross-Presentation of Soluble Epstein-Barr Virus BZLF1 Protein

Soluble extracellular proteins usually do not enter the endogenous human leukocyte antigen (HLA) I–dependent presentation pathway of antigen-presenting cells, strictly impeding their applicability for the re-stimulation of protein-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). Here we present for the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) BZLF1 a novel strategy that facilitates protein translocation into antigen-presenting cells by its solubilisation in high molar urea and subsequent pulsing of cells in presence of low molar urea. Stimulation of PBMC from HLA-matched EBV-seropositive individuals with urea-treated BZLF1 but not untreated BZLF1 induces an efficient reactivation of BZLF1-specific CTL. Urea-treated BZLF1 (uBZLF1) enters antigen-presenting cells in a temperature-dependent manner by clathrin-mediated endocytosis and is processed by the proteasome into peptides that are bound to nascent HLA I molecules. Dendritic cells and monocytes but also B cells can cross-present uBZLF1 in vitro. The strategy described here has potential for use in the development of improved technologies for the monitoring of protein-specific CTL

Effect of different immobilization strategies on chiral recognition properties of Cinchonaâ based anion exchangers

In the enantiomeric separation of highly polar compounds, a traditionally challenging task for highâ performance liquid chromatography, ionâ exchange chiral stationary phases have found the main field of application. In this contribution, we present a series of novel anionâ exchangeâ type chiral stationary phases for enantiomer separation of protected amino phosphonates and Nâ protected amino acids. Two of the prepared selectors possessed a double and triple bond within a single molecule. Thus, they were immobilized onto silica support employing either a thiolâ ene (radical) or an azideâ yne (copper(I)â catalyzed) click reaction. We evaluated the selectivity and the effect of immobilization proceeding either by the double bond of the Cinchona alkaloid or a triple bond of the carbamoyl moiety on the chromatographic performance of the chiral stationary phases using analytes with protecting groups of different size, flexibility, and Ï â acidity. The previously observed preference toward protecting groups possessing Ï â acidic units, which is a typical feature of Cinchonaâ based chiral stationary phases, was preserved. In addition, increasing the bulkiness of the selectorsâ carbamoyl units leads to significantly reduced retention times, while very high selectivity toward the tested analytes is retained.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142972/1/jssc5912_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142972/2/jssc5912.pd

Приготовление суспензий нанопорошка ZnO в растворе глицина

The focus of the work was to make an attempt to prepare an aggregative-stable suspension of ZnO nanopowder with average particle size of 20-40 nm, which was prepared by plasma method in aminoacetic acid. The infrared spectrums of the solution before and after exposure to nanopowder in 2 M glycine solution was used to check the effectiveness of glycine sorption on the particle surface. It was experimentally revealed that the centrifugate, separated from the nanoparticles after incubation in 2M nanopowder surfactant solution with a particle concentration of 2, 10 and 20 wt.% during a week, had a peak height decrease from 11.1 (initial 2M glycine solution) to 9.45 ... 5.3 ... 4.5 units on the IR spectrum at a wavelength of 1250 cm{-1}, and the percentage of adsorbed glycine 15, 52 and 59.4 %, respectively. Selected surfactant has been efficiently adsorbed on the surface of ZnO particles and can be used to stabilize the nanoparticles in aqueous aggregative-stable suspensions

Extracorporeal Cardiac Shock Wave Therapy Ameliorates Clinical Symptoms and Improves Regional Myocardial Blood Flow in a Patient with Severe Coronary Artery Disease and Refractory Angina

Different therapeutic options are being used for chronic coronary artery disease (CAD). We report about a 51-year-old female with CAD and refractory angina pectoris despite maximally tolerated medical therapy and after both percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The patient received cardiac shock wave therapy (CSWT) over a period of 6 month. There was no arrhythmia during or after treatment; enzyme levels were normal at all times. PET imaging showed a substantial improvement of myocardial stress perfusion. Since the patient reported that she now was fully capable to deal with her everyday life, further treatment options were postponed. Our case report suggests that ultrasound-guided CSWT is able to improve symptoms and perfusion in ischemic myocardium