Bis(3-methyl­pyridinium) tetra­chlorido­cuprate(II)

The title compound, (C6H8N)2[CuCl4], is composed of two 3-methyl­pyridinium cation and one tetra­chloridocuprate(II) anion. The geometry around the copper(II) ion is that of a distorted tetra­hedron. In the crystal structure, the anions and cations are linked by three different N—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds. In addition, the crystal structure exhibits aromatic π–π inter­actions between the pyridinium rings of two discrete units [centroid–centroid distance = 3.704 (2) Å]

Calcified Carcinoma of the Gallbladder with Calcified Nodal Metastasis Presenting as a Porcelain Gallbladder: A Case Report

Porcelain gallbladder is regarded as a risk factor of gallbladder cancer. A porcelain gallbladder with calcified regional lymph nodes was found using computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a 43-year-old man who presented with nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. His cholecystectomy specimen showed diffuse wall thickening and contained small gallstones. Histological examination revealed diffuse infiltrative adenocarcinoma with extensive intratumoral calcification (calcified carcinoma). The majority of the calcified material was located within or replaced the tumor glands, and was not found in the stroma. A lymph node was totally replaced with a calcified metastatic adenocarcinoma. To the best of our knowledge, only one case of calcified lymph node metastasis from a calcified carcinoma of the gallbladder has been previously reported in the literature. We herein add a case of calcified carcinoma of the gallbladder with calcified lymph node metastasis, presenting as a porcelain gallbladder on CT and MRI

Toll-Like Receptor 4 Signaling is Involved in IgA-Stimulated Mesangial Cell Activation

PURPOSE: Deposition of polymeric IgA1 in the kidney mesangium is the hallmark of IgA nephropathy, but the molecular mechanisms of IgA-mediated mesangial responses and inflammatory injuries remain poorly understood. We hypothesize that Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is involved in IgA-induced mesangial cell activation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mouse mesangial cells were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (1 μg/mL), IgA (20 μg/mL), or both, and TLR4 expression was measured by real time RT-PCR and Western blot. Intracellular responses to LPS or IgA were assessed by Western blot for ERK1/2, JNK, p38 MAP kinases (MAPKs), Iκ-Bα degradation and fibronectin secretion. MCP-1 secretion was assessed by ELISA. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) of TLR4 was used to confirm that the effects were caused by TLR4 activity. RESULTS: LPS- or IgA-treatment upregulated the levels of TLR4 mRNA and protein in cultured MMC at 24 h. LPS and IgA induced rapid phosphorylation of MAPKs, but degradation of Iκ-Bα was observed only in LPS-treated MMC. LPS, but not IgA, induced increased secretion of MCP-1 and fibronectin at 24 h or 48 h. Combined LPS and IgA treatment did not cause additional increases in TLR4 mRNA and protein levels or Iκ-Bα degradation, and MCP-1 and fibronectin secretions were less than with LPS alone. LPS- or IgA-induced TLR4 protein levels and MAPK activation were inhibited by transfection with TLR4 siRNA. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the activation of MAPKs and MCP-1 secretion are mediated by TLR4, at least in part, in IgA-treated mesangial cells. TLR4 is involved in mesangial cell injury by induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines in IgA nephropathy.ope

The importance of critically short telomere in myelodysplastic syndrome

A few critically short telomeres trigger genomic instability regardless of average telomere length (TL). Recently, the telomere shortest length assay (TeSLA) was developed to detect critically short telomeres and measure absolute telomeres. Using TeSLA with the internally labeled biotin probe, we measured the TL of bone marrow (BM) aspirates from 52 patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). A percentage of shortest telomeres (< 1.0 kb (ShTL1.0)) were calculated. ShTL1.0 was correlated to IPSS-R risk (spearman’s rho = 0.35 and p = 0.0196), and ShTL1.0 and BM blast (2.61% in < 5% blast, 4.15% in 5–10% blast, and 6.80% in 10–20% blast, respectively, p = 0.0332). Interestingly, MDS patients with a shortest TL ≥ 0.787 kb at the time of diagnosis showed better overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) than patients with a shortest TL < 0.787 kb in the multivariate analyses (HR = 0.13 and 0.30, p = 0.011 and 0.048 for OS and PFS, respectively). Our results clearly show the presence and abundance of critically short telomeres in MDS patients. These pathologic telomeres are associated with IPSS-R which is a validated prognostic scoring system in MDS. Furthermore, they are independent prognostic factors for OS in MDS patients. Future prospective studies are needed to validate our results.Highlights Telomere length (TL) has been reported to be important in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).A novel TeSLA method demonstrated the presence and abundance of extremely short telomeres (<1.0kb) in MDS.Critically short TL rather than an average TL is associated with the IPSS-R and BM blast in MDS.The shortest TL is an independent prognostic factor for PFS and OS.Short TL should be incorporated into the risk scoring system in MDS in the future.This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT(MSIT) of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2020R1A3B3079653)

Planococcus versutus sp. nov., isolated from soil

A taxonomic study was performed on a novel Gram-stain-positive, coccus-shaped, orange-pigmented motile bacterium, designated as strain L10.15T. The organism was isolated from a soil sample collected in Lagoon Island (close to Adelaide Island, western Antarctic Peninsula) using a quorum-quenching enrichment medium. Growth occurred at 4–30 °C, pH 6–11 and at moderately high salinity (0–15 %, w/v, NaCl), with optimal growth at 26 °C, at pH 7–8 and with 6 % (w/v) NaCl. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that strain L10.15T belonged to the genus Planococcus and was closely related to Planococcus halocryophilus Or1T (99.3 % similarity), Planococcus donghaensis JH1T (99.0 %), Planococcus antarcticus DSM 14505T (98.3 %), Planococcus plakortidis AS/ASP6 (II)T (97.6 %), Planococcus maritimus TF-9T (97.5 %), Planococcus salinarum ISL-6T (97.5 %) and Planococcus kocurii NCIMB 629T (97.5 %). However, the average nucleotide identity-MUMmer analysis showed low genomic relatedness values of 71.1–81.7 % to the type strains of these closely related species of the genus Planococcus . The principal fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0, C16 : 1ω7c and anteiso-C17 :  0, and the major menaquinones of strain L10.15T were MK-5 (48 %), MK-6 (6 %) and MK-7 (44 %). Polar lipid analysis revealed the presence of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol and aminophospholipid. The DNA G+C content was 39.4 mol%. The phenotypic and genotypic data indicate that strain L10.15T represents a novel species of the genus Planococcus , for which the name Planococcus versutus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is L10.15T (=DSM 101994T=KACC 18918T)

Steatocystoma Multiplex Confined to the Scalp with Concurrent Alopecia

Steatocystoma multiplex (SM) is an uncommon disorder of the pilosebaceous unit characterized by the development of numerous sebum-containing dermal cysts which rarely involves the scalp. Here, we report a case of a 50-year-old man with multiple cystic nodules and alopecic patches on his scalp. On histopathological examination, the folded cyst was found to be lined by stratified squamous epithelium, while flattened sebaceous gland cells were identified in the cystic wall. Pigment casts were present in the hair papillae and perifollicular regions, suggesting trichotillomania as a possible cause of the observed alopecia. This case appears to represent an unusual clinical manifestation of SM

Giant thermal hysteresis in Verwey transition of single domain Fe3O4 nanoparticles

Most interesting phenomena of condensed matter physics originate from interactions among different degrees of freedom, making it a very intriguing yet challenging question how certain ground states emerge from only a limited number of atoms in assembly. This is especially the case for strongly correlated electron systems with overwhelming complexity. The Verwey transition of Fe3O4 is a classic example of this category, of which the origin is still elusive 80 years after the first report. Here we report, for the first time, that the Verwey transition of Fe3O4 nanoparticles exhibits size-dependent thermal hysteresis in magnetization, 57Fe NMR, and XRD measurements. The hysteresis width passes a maximum of 11 K when the size is 120 nm while dropping to only 1 K for the bulk sample. This behavior is very similar to that of magnetic coercivity and the critical sizes of the hysteresis and the magnetic single domain are identical. We interpret it as a manifestation of charge ordering and spin ordering correlation in a single domain. This work paves a new way of undertaking researches in the vibrant field of strongly correlated electron physics combined with nanoscience.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure