Ubiquitous diffraction resonances in positronium formation from fullerenes

Due to the dominant electron capture by positrons from the molecular wall and the spatial dephasing across the wall-width, a powerful diffraction effect universally underlies the positronium (Ps) formation from fullerenes. This results into trains of resonances in the Ps formation cross section as a function of the positron beam energy, producing uniform structures in recoil momenta in analogy with classical single-slit diffraction fringes in the configuration space. The prediction opens a hitherto unknown avenue of Ps spectroscopy with nanomaterials.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitte

Synthesis, structure, spectral and electron-transfer properties of octahedral-[Co<SUP>III</SUP>(L)<SUB>2</SUB>]<SUP>+</SUP>/[Zn<SUP>II</SUP>(L)<SUB>2</SUB>] and square planar-[Cu<SUP>II</SUP>(L){OC(=O)CH<SUB>3</SUB>}] complexes incorporating anionic form of tridentate bis(8-quinolinyl)amine [N<SUP>1</SUP>C<SUB>9</SUB>H<SUB>6</SUB>-N<SUP>2</SUP>-C<SUB>9</SUB>H<SUB>6</SUB>N<SUP>3</SUP>, L<SUP>-</SUP>] ligand

The reaction of bis(8-quinolinyl)amine [N1C9H6-N2H-C9H6N3, LH] with CoII(ClO4)2 . 6H2O in methanol under aerobic conditions results in a new class of [CoIIIN6]+ (1+) chromophore incorporating an sp2-amido nitrogen center (N2) in the ligand frame. During the course of the reaction, the cobalt ion has been oxidized from its starting +2 oxidation state to +3 state in 1. The reaction of LH with the Cu-acetate yields monomeric square planar complex, [CuII(L){OC(=O)CH3}] (2). The same copper complex 2 is also obtained from Cu(ClO4) . 6H2O in presence of CH3COONa as base. On the other hand, the reaction of Zn(ClO4) . 6H2O with LH results in octahedral complex ZnII(L)2 (3). The Cu(II) complex 2 displays a four-line EPR spectrum at room temperature. Crystal structure of the free ligand (LH) shows that the amine proton [N(2)H] is hydrogen-bonded with the terminal quinoline nitrogen centers [N(1) and N(3)]. The crystal structure of 1 confirms the meridional geometry of the complex cation. The square planar geometry of copper complex 2 is confirmed by its crystal structure where the acetate function behaves as a monodentate ligand. The free ligand, LH, is found to be highly acidic in acetonitrile-water (1:1) medium and correspondingly the amine proton (NH) readily dissociates leading to its L- form even in absence of any external base. The pKb value of L- is determined to be 2.6. Both cobalt and copper complexes do not show any expected spin-allowed d-d transitions, possibly have masked by the intense charge-transfer transitions. However, in case of cobalt complex 1, one very weak unusual spin-forbidden 1A1g &#8594; 3T1g transition has been observed at 935 nm. The quasi-reversible cobalt (III)&#8596; cobalt(II) reduction of 1 is observed at E0, -1.0 V versus SCE. The reactions of bis(8-quinolinyl)amine [N1C9H6-N2H-C9H6N3, LH] with CoII(ClO4)2 . 6H2O, ZnII(ClO4)2 . 6H2O and CuII-acetate result in octahedral-[CoIII(L-)2]+ and [ZnII(L-)2] and square planar-[CuII(L-){-OC(=O)CH3}] complexes, respectively, incorporating an sp2-amido nitrogen center (N2) in the coordinated ligand frame of L. The structural, spectral and electrochemical aspects of the complexes have been described

Mesophase Separation and Probe Dynamics in Protein-Polyelectrolyte Coacervates

Protein–polyelectrolyte coacervates are self-assembling macroscopically monophasic biomacromolecular fluids whose unique properties arise from transient heterogeneities. The structures of coacervates formed at different conditions of pH and ionic strength from poly(dimethyldiallylammonium chloride) and bovine serum albumin (BSA), were probed using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching. Measurements of self-diffusion in coacervates were carried out using fluorescein-tagged BSA, and similarly tagged Ficoll, a non-interacting branched polysaccharide with the same size as BSA. The results are best explained by temporal and spatial heterogeneities, also inferred from static light scattering and cryo-TEM, which indicate heterogeneous scattering centers of several hundred nm. Taken together with previous dynamic light scattering and rheology studies, the results are consistent with the presence of extensive dilute domains in which are embedded partially interconnected 50–700 nm dense domains. At short length scales, protein mobility is unobstructed by these clusters. At intermediate length scales, proteins are slowed down due to tortuosity effects within the blind alleys of the dense domains, and to adsorption at dense/dilute domain interfaces. Finally, at long length scales, obstructed diffusion is alleviated by the break-up of dense domains. These findings are discussed in terms of previously suggested models for protein–polyelectrolyte coacervates. Possible explanations for the origin of mesophase separation are offered

Accelerated Growth Plate Mineralization and Foreshortened Proximal Limb Bones in Fetuin-A Knockout Mice

PMCID: PMC3473050This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

ExoDS: a versatile exosome-based drug delivery platform to target cancer cells and cancer stem cells

Chemotherapy drugs like doxorubicin (Dox) are widely used in middle-income countries around the world to treat various types of cancers, including breast cancer. Although they are toxic, they are still widely used to treat cancer. Delivering chemotherapy drugs directly to cancer cells to reduce side effects remains a challenge. Moreover, modern research gave rise to cancer stem cell theory, which implicated cancer stem cells in tumor initiation, progression, and relapse. This makes it imperative to target cancer stem cells to achieve complete remission. Our work highlights the development of an exosome-based targeted drug delivery vehicle. These exosomes were isolated from mature dendritic cells (mDCs) and encapsulated with doxorubicin (ExoDS). Our results showed that ExoDS specifically targeted breast cancer cells and breast cancer stem cells. Further analysis revealed that ExoDS did not induce any significant apoptosis in healthy mammary cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from healthy individuals and breast cancer patients. ExoDS was also found to target circulating tumor cells (CTCs) isolated from patient blood. ExoDS also showed equal efficiency compared to free doxorubicin in vivo. We also observed that ExoDS reduced the expression of cancer stem cell markers in murine tumor tissues. Altogether, this work provides novel insights into how mDC-derived exosomes can be used to specifically target cancer cells and cancer stem cells

Synechococcus elongatus UTEX 2973, a fast growing cyanobacterial chassis for biosynthesis using light and CO2

Photosynthetic microbes are of emerging interest as production organisms in biotechnology because they can grow autotrophically using sunlight, an abundant energy source, and CO(2), a greenhouse gas. Important traits for such microbes are fast growth and amenability to genetic manipulation. Here we describe Synechococcus elongatus UTEX 2973, a unicellular cyanobacterium capable of rapid autotrophic growth, comparable to heterotrophic industrial hosts such as yeast. Synechococcus UTEX 2973 can be readily transformed for facile generation of desired knockout and knock-in mutations. Genome sequencing coupled with global proteomics studies revealed that Synechococcus UTEX 2973 is a close relative of the widely studied cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, an organism that grows more than two times slower. A small number of nucleotide changes are the only significant differences between the genomes of these two cyanobacterial strains. Thus, our study has unraveled genetic determinants necessary for rapid growth of cyanobacterial strains of significant industrial potential

Systems model of T cell receptor proximal signaling reveals emergent ultrasensitivity

Receptor phosphorylation is thought to be tightly regulated because phosphorylated receptors initiate signaling cascades leading to cellular activation. The T cell antigen receptor (TCR) on the surface of T cells is phosphorylated by the kinase Lck and dephosphorylated by the phosphatase CD45 on multiple immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs (ITAMs). Intriguingly, Lck sequentially phosphorylates ITAMs and ZAP-70, a cytosolic kinase, binds to phosphorylated ITAMs with differential affinities. The purpose of multiple ITAMs, their sequential phosphorylation, and the differential ZAP-70 affinities are unknown. Here, we use a systems model to show that this signaling architecture produces emergent ultrasensitivity resulting in switch-like responses at the scale of individual TCRs. Importantly, this switch-like response is an emergent property, so that removal of multiple ITAMs, sequential phosphorylation, or differential affinities abolishes the switch. We propose that highly regulated TCR phosphorylation is achieved by an emergent switch-like response and use the systems model to design novel chimeric antigen receptors for therapy

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Not AvailableResearch in genetics is based almost exclusively on experimental investigations, different facts of genetics using different techniques. the interpretations of and conclusion drawn from these experiments often based on statistical analysis of some sort.this implies in turn that the design of such experiment is based implicitly or explicitly, on statistical consideration in order to obtained data that are relevant to the experimenters question in the sense that if analyzed appropriately they will answers the question.Not Availabl

Strongly resolved diffraction resonances in positronium formation from C60_{60} in forward direction

International audiencePositronium formation by capturing from various levels of C$_{60}$ within 10 degrees around the incoming positron direction is calculated. Results indicate dominant strength of the Ps signal and higher resolution of the diffraction resonances, predicted earlier [P.A. Hervieux, A.R. Chakraborty, H.S. Chakraborty, Phys. Rev. A 95, 020701(R) (2017)], in the forward direction. This raises the possibility of experimental deter-mination of the resonances in angle differential measurements. We further analyze our results by comparing the positron scattering versus positron-electron pairing components of the amplitude for better insights