On the finite termination of an entropy function based smoothing Newton method for vertical linear complementarity problems

By using a smooth entropy function to approximate the non-smooth max-type function, a vertical linear complementarity problem (VLCP) can be treated as a family of parameterized smooth equations. A Newton-type method with a testing procedure is proposed to solve such a system. We show that the proposed algorithm finds an exact solution of VLCP in a finite number of iterations, under some conditions milder than those assumed in literature. Some computational results are included to illustrate the potential of this approach

(Sulfasalazinato-κO)bis­(triphenyl­phosphine-κP)copper(I)

The title mixed-ligand copper(I) complex, [Cu(C18H13N4O5S)(C18H15P)2], was synthesized via solvothermal reaction of [Cu(PPh3)2(MeCN)2]ClO4 and sulfasalazine [systematic name: 2-hydr­oxy-5-(2-{4-[(2-pyridylamino)sulfon­yl]phen­yl}diazen­yl)benzoic acid]. The mononuclear complex displays a trigonal coordination geometry for the Cu(I) atom, which is surrounded by two P-atom donors from two different PPh3 ligands and one O-atom donor from the monodentate carboxyl­ate group of the sulfasalazinate ligand. The latter ligand is found in a zwitterionic form, with a deprotonated amine N atom and a protonated pyridine N atom. Such a feature was previously described for free sulfasalazine. The crystal structure is stabilized by C—H⋯O, C—H⋯N, N—H⋯N and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

LrrA, a novel leucine-rich repeat protein involved in cytoskeleton remodeling, is required for multicellular morphogenesis in Dictyostelium discoideum

AbstractCell sorting by differential cell adhesion and movement is a fundamental process in multicellular morphogenesis. We have identified a Dictyostelium discoideum gene encoding a novel protein, LrrA, which composes almost entirely leucine-rich repeats (LRRs) including a putative leucine zipper motif. Transcription of lrrA appeared to be developmentally regulated with robust expression during vegetative growth and early development. lrrA null cells generated by homologous recombination aggregated to form loose mounds, but subsequent morphogenesis was blocked without formation of the apical tip. The cells adhered poorly to a substratum and did not form tight cell–cell agglomerates in suspension; in addition, they were unable to polarize and exhibit chemotactic movement in the submerged aggregation and Dunn chamber chemotaxis assays. Fluorescence-conjugated phalloidin staining revealed that both vegetative and aggregation competent lrrA− cells contained numerous F-actin-enriched microspikes around the periphery of cells. Quantitative analysis of the fluorescence-stained F-actin showed that lrrA− cells exhibited a dramatically increase in F-actin as compared to the wild-type cells. When developed together with wild-type cells, lrrA− cells were unable to move to the apical tip and sorted preferentially to the rear and lower cup regions. These results indicate that LrrA involves in cytoskeleton remodeling, which is needed for normal chemotactic aggregation and efficient cell sorting during multicellular morphogenesis, particularly in the formation of apical tip

2-Amino-4-(4-chloro­phen­yl)-6-ferro­cenylpyridine-3-carbonitrile

In the mol­ecule of the title compound, [Fe(C5H5)(C17H11ClN3)], the dihedral angles between the two five–membered rings and between the two six-membered rings are 3.28 (4) and 51.33 (4)°, respectively. In the crystal structure, inter­molecular N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into centrosymmetric dimers

Light absorption properties of brown carbon over the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

We present a study of the light-absorbing properties of water-soluble brown carbon (WS-BrC) and methanolsoluble brown carbon (MeS-BrC) at a remote site (Lulang, 3326 m above sea level) in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau during the period 2015-2016. The light absorption coefficients at 365 nm (b(abs365)) of WS-BrC and MeS-BrC were the highest during winter and the lowest during monsoon season. MeS-BrC absorbs about 1.5 times higher at 365 nm compared to WS-BrC. The absorption at 550 nm appears lower compared to that of 365 nm for WS-BrC and MeS-BrC, respectively. Higher average value of the absorption Angstrom exponent (AAE, 365-550 nm) was obtained for MeS-BrC (8.2) than that for WS-BrC (6.9). The values of the mass absorption cross section at 365 nm (MAC(365)) indicated that BrC in winter absorbs UV-visible light more efficiently than in monsoon. The results confirm the importance of BrC in contributing to light-absorbing aerosols in this region. The understanding of the light absorption properties of BrC is of great importance, especially in modeling studies for the climate effects and transport of BrC in the Tibetan Plateau. (c) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Inhibition of yes-associated protein suppresses brain metastasis of human lung adenocarcinoma in a murine model.

Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a main mediator of the Hippo pathway and promotes cancer development and progression in human lung cancer. We sought to determine whether inhibition of YAP suppresses metastasis of human lung adenocarcinoma in a murine model. We found that metastatic NSCLC cell lines H2030-BrM3(K-rasG12C mutation) and PC9-BrM3 (EGFRΔexon19 mutation) had a significantly decreased p-YAP(S127)/YAP ratio compared to parental H2030 (K-rasG12C mutation) and PC9 (EGFRΔexon19 mutation) cells (P < .05). H2030-BrM3 cells had significantly increased YAP mRNA and expression of Hippo downstream genes CTGF and CYR61 compared to parental H2030 cells (P < .05). Inhibition of YAP by short hairpin RNA (shRNA) and small interfering RNA (siRNA) significantly decreased mRNA expression in downstream genes CTGF and CYR61 in H2030-BrM3 cells (P < .05). In addition, inhibiting YAP by YAP shRNA significantly decreased migration and invasion abilities of H2030-BrM3 cells (P < .05). We are first to show that mice inoculated with YAP shRNA-transfected H2030-BrM3 cells had significantly decreased metastatic tumour burden and survived longer than control mice (P < .05). Collectively, our results suggest that YAP plays an important role in promoting lung adenocarcinoma brain metastasis and that direct inhibition of YAP by shRNA suppresses H2030-BrM3 cell brain metastasis in a murine model

Optimization of supercritical carbon dioxide extraction of flaxseed oil using response surface methodology

The optimal conditions for the supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction of flaxseed oil from flaxseed were determined using response surface methodology (RSM). A second-order regression for rotation-orthogonal composite design was used to study the effects of three independent variables: extraction pressure (MPa), extraction temperature (oC) and CO2 flow rate (L/h) on the yield of flaxseed oil. The independent variables were coded at five levels and their actual values selected on the basis of preliminary experiments. The results indicated that the yield of flaxseed oil was beyond 29% at a probability of 95% in the range of extraction pressure: 38.6-42.3 MPa, extraction temperature: 52.3-57.0 oC, and CO2 flow rate: 27.8-31.2 L/h. The optimal extraction conditions were extraction pressure of 41 MPa, extraction temperature of 56 oC and CO2 flow rate of 31 L/h according to the analysis of response surface. In this condition, the experimental yield of flaxseed oil was 29.96%, which was close to the predicted value of 30.52%