MnBa2(HPO4)2(H2PO4)2

Crystals of manganese(II) dibarium bis­(hydrogenphosphate) bis­(dihydrogenphosphate), MnBa2(HPO4)2(H2PO4)2, were obtained by hydro­thermal synthesis. The title compound is isotypic with its CdII and CaII analogues. The structure is built up of an infinite {[Mn(HPO4)2(H2PO4)2]4−}n chain running along [100], which consists of alternate MnO6 octa­hedra and [PO4] tetra­hedra, in which the centrosymmetric MnO6 octa­hedra share their four equatorial O-atom corners with tetra­hedral [PO3(OH)] groups and their two axial apices with tetra­hedral [PO2(OH)2] groups. These chains are held together by BaO9 coordination polyhedra, developing into a three-dimensional structure. The O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds additionally stabilize the structural set-up. Due to the ionic radius of Mn2+ being much smaller than those of Ca2+ and Cd2+, this may imply that their adopted structure type has a great tolerance for incorporating various ions and the exploitation of more diverse compounds in the future is encouraged

Cerium(III) dihydroxidohexa­oxidotetra­borate chloride

The crystal structure of the title compound, Ce[B4O6(OH)2]Cl, is built from polyborate sheets parallel to the (001) plane. These sheets stack along the [001] direction and are linked by Ce atoms exhibiting an CeO8Cl2 coordination sphere. O—H⋯O and O—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds additionally stabilize the structural set-up. The polyborate sheet is made up of zigzag borate chains running along the [10] direction. These zigzag chains are inter­connected by shared O-vertices, resulting in a two-dimensional layer with nine-membered rings. All B and O atoms (except for the terminal OH atoms) lie in the nearly planar sheets of polyborates, leading to their isotropic atomic displacement parameters being significantly smaller than usual. This may be attributed to the fact that the atomic displacement parameters correlate not only with their atomic masses but with their coordination environments also

Redetermination of Ce[B5O8(OH)(H2O)]NO3·2H2O

The crystal structure of Ce[B5O8(OH)(H2O)]NO3·2H2O, cerium(III) aqua­hydroxidoocta­oxidopenta­borate nitrate dihydrate, has been redetermined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. In contrast to the previous determination [Li et al. (2003 ▶). Chem. Mater. 15, 2253–2260], the present study reveals the location of all H atoms, slightly different fundamental building blocks (FBBs) of the polyborate anions, more reasonable displacement ellipsoids for all non-H atoms, as well as a model without disorder of the nitrate anion. The crystal structure is built from corrugated polyborate layers parallel to (010). These layers, consisting of [B5O8(OH)(H2O)]2− anions as FBBs, stack along [010] and are linked by Ce3+ ions, which exhibit a distorted CeO10 coordination sphere. The layers are additionally stabilized via O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds between water mol­ecules and nitrate anions, located at the inter­layer space. The [BO3(H2O)]-group shows a [3 + 1] coordination and is considerably distorted from a tetra­hedral configuration. Bond-valence-sum calculation shows that the valence sum of boron is only 2.63 valence units (v.u.) when the contribution of the water mol­ecule (0.49 v.u.) is neglected

Enhanced energy density with a wide thermal stability in epitaxial Pb0.92La0.08Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 thin films

High-quality epitaxial Pb0.92La0.08Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PLZT) films of thickness of 880 nm were fabricated using pulsed laser deposition on (001) Nb doped SrTiO3 (Nb:STO) substrates. Besides a confirmation of the epitaxial relationship [100]PLZT//[100]Nb:STO and (001)PLZT//(001)Nb:STO using X-ray diffraction, a transmission electron microscopy study has revealed a columnar structure across the film thickness. The recoverable energy density (Wrec) of the epitaxial PLZT thin film capacitors increases linearly with the applied electric field and the best value of 31 J/cm3 observed at 2.27 MV/cm is considerably higher by 41% than that of the polycrystalline PLZT film of a comparable thickness. In addition to the high Wrec value, an excellent thermal stability as illustrated in a negligible temperature dependence of the Wrec in the temperature range from room temperature to 180 C is achieved. The enhanced Wrec and the thermal stability are attributed to the reduced defects and grain boundaries in epitaxial PLZT thin films, making them promising for energy storage applications that require both high energy density, power density, and wide operation temperatures

Cleavage of Cdc6 by caspase-3 promotes ATM/ATR kinase–mediated apoptosis of HeLa cells

We show that caspase-3 cleaves Cdc6 at D290/S and D442/G sites, producing p32-tCdc6 (truncated Cdc6) and p49-tCdc6, respectively, during etoposide- or tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α–induced apoptosis. The expression of these tCdc6 proteins, p32- and p49-tCdc6, promotes etoposide-induced apoptosis. The expression of tCdc6 perturbs the loading of Mcm2 but not Orc2 onto chromatin and activates ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and ATM and Rad-3 related (ATR) kinase activities with kinetics similar to that of the phosphorylation of Chk1/2. The activation kinetics are consistent with elevated cellular levels of p53 and mitochondrial levels of Bax. The tCdc6-induced effects are all suppressed to control levels by expressing a Cdc6 mutant that cannot be cleaved by caspase-3 (Cdc6-UM). Cdc6-UM expression attenuates the TNF-α–induced activation of ATM and caspase-3 activities. When ATM or ATR is down-expressed by using the small interfering RNA technique, the TNF-α– or tCdc6-induced activation of caspase-3 activities is suppressed in the cells. These results suggest that tCdc6 proteins act as dominant-negative inhibitors of replication initiation and that they disrupt chromatin structure and/or induce DNA damage, leading to the activation of ATM/ATR kinase activation and p53–Bax-mediated apoptosis

A Case of Successful Selective Abortion Using Radio-frequency Ablation in Twin Pregnancy Suffering from Severe Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome

Twin to twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is one of the major complication of monochorionic twin pregnancy which is mainly understood by placental vascular anastomosis. Perinatal mortality and morbidity is high as 80-100% if untreated and even higher if the disease is developed at early stage. Variety of methods of isolating or intercepting placental vascular anastomosis are introduced, but they are only available in centers where all the required equipments are prepared. We report here a case of TTTS complicated with severe polyhydroamnios during the second trimester. The blood supply to donor twin was interrupted successfully at 19+2 weeks of gestation by minimally invasive radio-frequency cord ablation, under ultrasound guidance. The normal recipient twin was delivered successfully at 35 weeks of gestation and had no eventful neonatal course

Scutellaria baicalensis

Antimycin A (AMA) damages mitochondria by inhibiting mitochondrial electron transport and can produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS formation, aging, and reduction of mitochondrial biogenesis contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction. The present study sought to investigate extracts of Scutellaria baicalensis and its flavonoids (baicalin, baicalein, and wogonin), whether they could protect mitochondria against oxidative damage. The viability of L6 cells treated with AMA increased in the presence of flavonoids and extracts of S. baicalensis. ATP production decreased in the AMA treated group, but increased by 50% in cells treated with flavonoids (except wogonin) and extracts of S. baicalensis compared to AMA-treated group. AMA treatment caused a significant reduction (depolarized) in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), whereas flavonoid treatment induced a significant increase in MMP. Mitochondrial superoxide levels increased in AMA treated cells, whereas its levels decreased when cells were treated with flavonoids or extracts of S. baicalensis. L6 cells treated with flavonoids and extracts of S. baicalensis increased their levels of protein expression compared with AMA-treated cells, especially water extracts performed the highest levels of protein expression. These results suggest that the S. baicalensis extracts and flavonoids protect against AMA-induced mitochondrial dysfunction by increasing ATP production, upregulating MMP, and enhancing mitochondrial function

A single gene of a commensal microbe affects host susceptibility to enteric infection

Indigenous microbes inside the host intestine maintain a complex self-regulating community. The mechanisms by which gut microbes interact with intestinal pathogens remain largely unknown. Here we identify a commensal Escherichia coli strain whose expansion predisposes mice to infection by Vibrio cholerae, a human pathogen. We refer to this strain as 'atypical' E. coli (atEc) because of its inability to ferment lactose. The atEc strain is resistant to reactive oxygen species (ROS) and proliferates extensively in antibiotic-treated adult mice. V. cholerae infection is more severe in neonatal mice transplanted with atEc compared with those transplanted with a typical E. coli strain. Intestinal ROS levels are decreased in atEc-transplanted mice, favouring proliferation of ROS-sensitive V. cholerae. An atEc mutant defective in ROS degradation fails to facilitate V. cholerae infection when transplanted, suggesting that host infection susceptibility can be regulated by a single gene product of one particular commensal species.