Effects of fasting on serial measurements of hyperpolarized [1-(13) C]pyruvate metabolism in tumors.

Imaging of the metabolism of hyperpolarized [1-(13) C]pyruvate has shown considerable promise in preclinical studies in oncology, particularly for the assessment of early treatment response. The repeatability of measurements of (13) C label exchange between pyruvate and lactate was determined in a murine lymphoma model in fasted and non-fasted animals. The fasted state showed lower intra-individual variability, although the [1-(13) C]lactate/[1-(13) C]pyruvate signal ratio was significantly greater in fasted than in non-fasted mice, which may be explained by the higher tumor lactate concentrations in fasted animals. These results indicate that the fasted state may be preferable for the measurement of (13) C label exchange between pyruvate and lactate, as it reduces the variability and therefore should make it easier to detect the effects of therapy. © 2016 The Authors. NMR in Biomedicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Cancer Research UK (Grant ID: 17242)This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via https://doi.org/10.1002/nbm.356

Phytochemicals in prostate cancer: From bioactive molecules to upcoming therapeutic agents

Prostate cancer is a heterogeneous disease, the second deadliest malignancy in men and the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men. Traditional plants have been applied to handle various diseases and to develop new drugs. Medicinal plants are potential sources of natural bioactive compounds that include alkaloids, phenolic compounds, terpenes, and steroids. Many of these naturally-occurring bioactive constituents possess promising chemopreventive properties. In this sense, the aim of the present review is to provide a detailed overview of the role of plant-derived phytochemicals in prostate cancers, including the contribution of plant extracts and its corresponding isolated compounds.This work was supported by CONICYT PIA/APOYO CCTE AFB170007. N. Martins would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT–Portugal) for the Strategic project ref. UID/BIM/04293/2013 and “NORTE2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte” (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012) and C. F. Rodrigues for the UID/EQU/00511/2019 Project—Laboratory of Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology, and Energy—LEPABE financed by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC)

Fructooligosaccharide production by Penicillium expansum

Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) production by Penicillium expansum was evaluated. In a first stage, the best conditions for P. expansum growth and sporulation were established with potato/dextrose/ agar being the most suitable medium at between 22 and 25°C, giving good growth and good sporulation. The inocula from this medium were used for FOS production using shake-flask cultures, and yielded 0.58 g FOS/g sucrose (3.25 g FOS/l.h), demonstrating the potential of this strain for sucrose conversion to FOS.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - SFRH/BPD/38212/200

(13) C magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements with hyperpolarized [1-(13) C] pyruvate can be used to detect the expression of transgenic pyruvate decarboxylase activity in vivo.

PURPOSE: Dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization can increase the sensitivity of the (13) C magnetic resonance spectroscopy experiment by at least four orders of magnitude and offers a novel approach to the development of MRI gene reporters based on enzymes that metabolize (13) C-labeled tracers. We describe here a gene reporter based on the enzyme pyruvate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.1), which catalyzes the decarboxylation of pyruvate to produce acetaldehyde and carbon dioxide. METHODS: Pyruvate decarboxylase from Zymomonas mobilis (zmPDC) and a mutant that lacked enzyme activity were expressed using an inducible promoter in human embryonic kidney (HEK293T) cells. Enzyme activity was measured in the cells and in xenografts derived from the cells using (13) C MRS measurements of the conversion of hyperpolarized [1-(13) C] pyruvate to H(13) CO3-. RESULTS: Induction of zmPDC expression in the cells and in the xenografts derived from them resulted in an approximately two-fold increase in the H(13) CO3-/[1-(13) C] pyruvate signal ratio following intravenous injection of hyperpolarized [1-(13) C] pyruvate. CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated the feasibility of using zmPDC as an in vivo reporter gene for use with hyperpolarized (13) C MRS. Magn Reson Med 76:391-401, 2016. © 2015 The Authors. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.PD was in receipt of a studentship funded by CRUK and S.-S.T. a Yousef Jameel studentship. TBR was in receipt of an Intra-European Marie Curie (FP7-PEOPLE- 2009-IEF, Imaging Lymphoma) and Long-term EMBO (EMBO-ALT-1145-2009) fellowships and E.M.S. and I.M.R were recipients of fellowships from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under the Marie Curie Initial Training Network METAFLUX (project number 264780). E.M.S. also acknowledges the educational support of Programme for Advanced Medical Education from Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Champalimaud Foundation, Ministerio de Saude and Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia, Portugal. The work was supported by a CRUK Programme Grant (17242) to KMB. The polarizer and related materials were provided by GE-Healthcare.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrm.2587

What are we measuring? A critique of range of motion methods currently in use for Dupuytren's disease and recommendations for practice

Background: Range of motion is the most frequently reported measure used in practice to evaluate outcomes. A goniometer is the most reliable tool to assess range of motion yet, the lack of consistency in reporting prevents comparison between studies. The aim of this study is to identify how range of motion is currently assessed and reported in Dupuytren’s disease literature. Following analysis recommendations for practice will be made to enable consistency in future studies for comparability. This paper highlights the variation in range of motion reporting in Dupuytren’s disease. Methods: A Participants, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes and Study design format was used for the search strategy and search terms. Surgery, needle fasciotomy or collagenase injection for primary or recurrent Dupuytren’s disease in adults were included if outcomes were monitored using range of motion to record change. A literature search was performed in May 2013 using subject heading and free-text terms to also capture electronic publications ahead of print. In total 638 publications were identified and following screening 90 articles met the inclusion criteria. Data was extracted and entered onto a spreadsheet for analysis. A thematic analysis was carried out to establish any duplication, resulting in the final range of motion measures identified. Results: Range of motion measurement lacked clarity, with goniometry reportedly used in only 43 of the 90 studies, 16 stated the use of a range of motion protocol. A total of 24 different descriptors were identified describing range of motion in the 90 studies. While some studies reported active range of motion, others reported passive or were unclear. Eight of the 24 categories were identified through thematic analysis as possibly describing the same measure, ‘lack of joint extension’ and accounted for the most frequently used. Conclusions: Published studies lacked clarity in reporting range of motion, preventing data comparison and meta-analysis. Percentage change lacks context and without access to raw data, does not allow direct comparison of baseline characteristics. A clear description of what is being measured within each study was required. It is recommended that range of motion measuring and reporting for Dupuytren’s disease requires consistency to address issues that fall into 3 main categories:- Definition of terms Protocol statement Outcome reportin

The Microscopic Origin of Residual Stress for Flat Self-Actuating Piezoelectric Cantilevers

In this study, flat piezoelectric microcantilevers were fabricated under low-stress Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) film conditions. They were analyzed using the Raman spectrum and wafer curvature methods. Based on the residual stress analysis, we found that a thickness of 1 μm was critical, since stress relaxation starts to occur at greater thicknesses, due to surface roughening. The (111) preferred orientation started to decrease when the film thickness was greater than 1 μm. The d33 value was closely related to the stress relaxation associated with the preferred orientation changes. We examined the harmonic response at different PZT cantilever lengths and obtained a 9.4-μm tip displacement at 3 Vp-p at 1 kHz. These analyses can provide a platform for the reliable operation of piezoelectric microdevices, potentially nanodevice when one needs to have simultaneous control of the residual stress and the piezoelectric properties

Depth-Sensing Indentation on REBa2Cu3O(7-\delta) Single Crystals obtained from Xenotime Mineral

A natural mixture of heavy rare earths oxides extracted from xenotime mineral have been used to prepare large single crystals of high-temperature REBa2Cu3O(7-\delta) superconductor grown using the CuO-BaO self-flux method. Its mechanical properties along the ab-plane were characterized using instrumented indentation. Hardness and elastic modulus were obtained by the Oliver and Pharr method and corresponds to 7.4 \pm 0.2 GPa and in range 135-175 GPa at small depths, respectively. Increasing the load promotes the nucleation of lateral cracks that causes a decrease in hardness and the measured elastic modulus by instrumented indentation at higher loads. The indentation fracture toughness was estimated by measuring the radial crack length from cube-corner indentations at various loads and was 0.8 \pm 0.2 MPa.m1/2. The observed slip systems of REBa2Cu3O(7-\delta) single crystals were [100](001) and [010](001), the same as for YBa2Cu3O(7-\delta) single crystals. The initial stages of deformation and fracture in the indentation process were investigated. The hardness and elastic modulus were not strongly modified by the crystallographic orientation in the ab-plane. This was interpreted in terms of the resolved shear stresses in the active slip systems. Evidence of cracking along the {100} and {110} planes on the ab-plane was observed. As a conclusion, the mechanical properties of REBa2Cu3O(7-\delta) single crystals prepared from xenotime are equivalent to those of YBa2Cu3O(7-\delta) single crystals produced by conventional rare earths oxides.Comment: The paper will appear in Volume 42 (2012) of the Brazilian Journal of Physic