The Accuracy of Survival Time Prediction for Patients with Glioma Is Improved by Measuring Mitotic Spindle Checkpoint Gene Expression

Identification of gene expression changes that improve prediction of survival time across all glioma grades would be clinically useful. Four Affymetrix GeneChip datasets from the literature, containing data from 771 glioma samples representing all WHO grades and eight normal brain samples, were used in an ANOVA model to screen for transcript changes that correlated with grade. Observations were confirmed and extended using qPCR assays on RNA derived from 38 additional glioma samples and eight normal samples for which survival data were available. RNA levels of eight major mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) genes (BUB1, BUB1B, BUB3, CENPE, MAD1L1, MAD2L1, CDC20, TTK) significantly correlated with glioma grade and six also significantly correlated with survival time. In particular, the level of BUB1B expression was highly correlated with survival time (p<0.0001), and significantly outperformed all other measured parameters, including two standards; WHO grade and MIB-1 (Ki-67) labeling index. Measurement of the expression levels of a small set of SAC genes may complement histological grade and other clinical parameters for predicting survival time

The Physics of the B Factories

This work is on the Physics of the B Factories. Part A of this book contains a brief description of the SLAC and KEK B Factories as well as their detectors, BaBar and Belle, and data taking related issues. Part B discusses tools and methods used by the experiments in order to obtain results. The results themselves can be found in Part C

Brane effective actions, kappa-symmetry and applications

This is a review on brane effective actions, their symmetries and some of their applications. Its first part covers the Green–Schwarz formulation of single M- and D-brane effective actions focusing on kinematical aspects: the identification of their degrees of freedom, the importance of world volume diffeomorphisms and kappa symmetry to achieve manifest spacetime covariance and supersymmetry, and the explicit construction of such actions in arbitrary on-shell supergravity backgrounds. Its second part deals with applications. First, the use of kappa symmetry to determine supersymmetric world volume solitons. This includes their explicit construction in flat and curved backgrounds, their interpretation as Bogomol’nyi–Prasad–Sommerfield (BPS) states carrying (topological) charges in the supersymmetry algebra and the connection between supersymmetry and Hamiltonian BPS bounds. When available, I emphasise the use of these solitons as constituents in microscopic models of black holes. Second, the use of probe approximations to infer about the non-trivial dynamics of strongly-coupled gauge theories using the anti de Sitter/conformal field theory (AdS/CFT) correspondence. This includes expectation values of Wilson loop operators, spectrum information and the general use of D-brane probes to approximate the dynamics of systems with small number of degrees of freedom interacting with larger systems allowing a dual gravitational description. Its final part briefly discusses effective actions for N D-branes and M2-branes. This includes both Super-Yang-Mills theories, their higher-order corrections and partial results in covariantising these couplings to curved backgrounds, and the more recent supersymmetric Chern–Simons matter theories describing M2-branes using field theory, brane constructions and 3-algebra considerations

Antimicrobial materials properties based on ion-exchange 4A zeolite derivatives

Zeolites are nanoporous alumina silicates in a framework with cations, exhibiting ion-exchange properties with metal ions making them possible antimicrobial materials. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of ion-exchanged zeolites and the toxic potential of these materials. Zeolite-Co2+ and Li+ exhibited the most effective inhibition on Staphylococcus aureus growth than in other microorganisms (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeroginosa) in low concentrations. Zeolite-Cu2+ presented higher zone of inhibition when tested against Candida albicans, while Zeolite-Zn2+ showed similar effectiveness among all the microorganisms. When ion-exchanged zeolites were used in effective concentrations to achieve antimicrobial activity, no alterations against bioindicators organisms as Artemia sp. and L. sativa were found and, in addition, they have non-significant result in terms of DNA cleavage activity. Zeolites have advantage of releasing slowly the metals loaded and this characteristic can to be considered promising as potential antimicrobial materials in concentrations safe for use

Highly efficient synthetic iron-dependent nucleases activate both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic death pathways in leukemia cancer cells

The nuclease activity and the cytotoxicity toward human leukemia cancer cells of iron complexes, [Fe(HPClNOL) Cl-2]NO3 (1), [Cl(HPClNOL)Fe(mu-O)Fe(HPClNOL)Cl]Cl-2 center dot 2H(2)O (2), and [(SO4)(HPCINOL)Fe(mu-O)Fe(HPCINOL)(SO4)]center dot 6H(2)O (3) (HPCINOL = 1-(bis-pyridin-2-ylmethyl-amino)-3-chloropropan-2-ol), were investigated. Each complex was able to promote plasmid DNA cleavage and change the supercoiled form of the plasmid to circular and linear ones. Kinetic data revealed that (1), (2) and (3) increase the rate of DNA hydrolysis about 278, 192 and 339 million-fold, respectively. The activity of the complexes was inhibited by distamycin, indicating that they interact with the minor groove of the DNA. The cytotoxic activity of the complexes toward U937, HL-60, Jukart and THP-1 leukemia cancer cells was studied employing 3-(4,5-dimethythiazol-2-y1)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT), fluorescence and electronic transmission microscopies, flow cytometry and a cytochrome C release assay. Compound (2) has the highest activity toward cancer cells and is the least toxic for normal ones (i.e. peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)). In contrast, compound (1) is the least active toward cancer cells but displays the highest toxicity toward normal cells. Transmission electronic microscopy indicates that cell death shows features typical of apoptotic cells, which was confirmed using the annexin V-FITC/PI (fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide) assay. Furthermore, our data demonstrate that at an early stage during the treatment with complex (2) mitochondria lose their transmembrane potential, resulting in cytochrome C release. A quantification of caspases 3,9 (intrinsic apoptosis pathway) and caspase 8 (extrinsic apoptosis pathway) indicated that both the intrinsic (via mitochondria) and extrinsic (via death receptors) pathways are involved in the apoptotic stimuli. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Antimicrobial materials properties based on ion-exchange 4A zeolite derivatives

Zeolites are nanoporous alumina silicates in a framework with cations, exhibiting ion-exchange properties with metal ions making them possible antimicrobial materials. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of ion-exchanged zeolites and the toxic potential of these materials. Zeolite-Co2+ and Li+ exhibited the most effective inhibition on Staphylococcus aureus growth than in other microorganisms (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeroginosa) in low concentrations. Zeolite-Cu2+ presented higher zone of inhibition when tested against Candida albicans, while Zeolite-Zn2+ showed similar effectiveness among all the microorganisms. When ion-exchanged zeolites were used in effective concentrations to achieve antimicrobial activity, no alterations against bioindicators organisms as Artemia sp. and L. sativa were found and, in addition, they have non-significant result in terms of DNA cleavage activity. Zeolites have advantage of releasing slowly the metals loaded and this characteristic can to be considered promising as potential antimicrobial materials in concentrations safe for use

Heterodinuclear Fe(III)Zn(II)-Bioinspired Complex Supported on 3-Aminopropyl Silica. Efficient Hydrolysis of Phosphate Diester Bonds

Presented herein is the synthesis and characterization of a new Fe(III)Zn(II) complex containing a Fe(III)-bound phenolate with a carbonyl functional group, which was anchored to 3-aminopropylfunctionalized silica as the solid support. The catalytic efficiency of the immobilized catalyst in the hydrolysis of 2,4-bis (dinitrophenyl) phosphate is comparable to the homogeneous reaction, and the supported catalyst can be reused for subsequent diester hydrolysis reactions.CNPqConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)CAPESCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)INBEBINBEBFAPESCFAPESCINCT-cataliseINCT-Catalis