Towards the synthesis and characterization of metallocarbohedrenes

Metallocarbohedrene, Ti8C12, has been synthesised in the solid state by resistive evaporation of Ti-covered graphite electrodes in a dynamic helium atmosphere. It forms along with other Ti-containing clusters, all of which are air sensitive. Exposure of the soot to electron-rich molecules increases air stability. The clusters are evaporated thermally yielding chemical ionization mass spectra. The ions do not fragment significantly upon collisional activation. Vacuum evaporation of the soot yields a Ti-containing film. The infrared spectrum of the soot shows characteristic peaks attributable to molecular compounds which change rapidly upon exposure to air

Macroscopic synthesis and characterization of giant fullerenes

Thermal treatment of carbon soot produced by arc evaporation of nickel-filled graphite rods in 500 Torr of helium gives giant fullerenes showing characteristic IR, Raman, NMR and powder XRD signatures. Transmission electron micrographs show faceted structures with pentagonal, hexagonal and spherical shapes. The simplicity and similarity of the IR spectrum with those of smaller fullerenes suggest that the material is a form of large fullerenes. Chemical treatment of the material gives carbon onions

Formulation Development and Characterization of Simvastatin Loaded Long Acting Microspheres

In this work only Physico-chemical characterization and in-vitro evaluation of Simvastatin with various class of polymers were performed. From the in-vitro and stability studies its concluded for a short‑term release requirement upto 16 hrs HPMC polymer loaded simvastatin microspheres can be recommended. For intermediate drug release over a period time of 24 hrs Ethyl cellulose loaded simvastatin microspheres can be recommended. For long term requirement of therapeutic need its promised with Carbopol 940 and PLGA microspheres (upto 48 hrs ).The controlled release behavior attained with the aid of sodium alginate which is incorporated to the formulation to provide the controlled release. The prepared formulation of microsphere is designed to administer via tablet by compression, capsule filling method and injectable formulation (with expected particle size). Based on the above mentioned reasons such microsphere drug delivery system is presently need for successful drug delivery in severe atherosclerotic /hyperlipidemic patients. Further studies can be performed to develop the product extreme consumption of commercial usage

Comparison of the accuracy of root ZX mini and Raypex 6 in detecting apical constriction in human permanent maxillary anterior teeth in the presence of various irrigants using Stereomicroscope: An In Vitro study

AIM OF THE STUDY: To compare the Accuracy of Root ZX mini (J.Morita Corp., Tokyo, Japan) and Raypex6 (VDW, Munich, Germany) apex locators in detecting the apical constriction in human permanent maxillary anterior teeth in the presence of 0.9% saline; 5% sodium hypochlorite; 2% chlorhexidine digluconate, as various intracanal irrigants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty extracted, straight, single rooted permanent human maxillary anterior teeth were randomly divided into two main groups according to the apex locators tested such as Group1 (n=30,Root ZX mini) Group 2 (n=30,Raypex6). Then each group is further divided into 3 subgroups according to the irrigants used such as Group 1A(n=10, Root ZX mini,0.9% normal saline), Group 1B(n=10,Root ZX mini,5% NaOCl),Group 1C(n=10,Root ZX mini,2% chlorhexidine digluconate), Group2A(n=10,Raypex6,0.9% normal saline), Group2B (n=10,Raypex6, 5% sodium hypochlorite), Group2C (n=10,Raypex6, 2% chlorhexidine digluconate). The teeth were decoronated at the level of cementoenamel junction and the actual length (AL) of each specimen was determined by introducing a size 10 or 15 K file into the canal until its tip emerged through the major apical foramen at ×10 magnification under a stereomicroscope. Each specimen was embedded in the gelatin model and the EALs were tested according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The Electronically measured canal length was recorded by using size 10 or 15 K file(EL). Then the K-files were fixed at the WL determined electronically with GIC. The apical 4 mm of the root was longitudinally sectioned and examined under Stereomicroscope with 30x magnification.The distance from the file tip to the minor diameter is calculated from the Stereomicroscopic images. Independent sample t test and Pearson Chi-Square test was used to statistically analyse the significance of irrigants on the accuracy of apex locators and to compare the accuracy of both apex locators. Significance was set at P<0.05. RESULTS: The overall accuracy of measurements within ±0.5 mm of AL by Root ZX mini was 93.33% and Raypex 6 was 90% respectively. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this in vitro study the two electronic apex locators, the Root ZX mini and the Raypex6 were found to have similar accuracy and the use of 5% NaOCl, 0.9% normal saline, or 2% Chlorhexidine as irrigation solutions did not affect the accuracy of the two apex locators in detecting the apical constriction

Lack of evidence for MHC-unrestricted (atypical) recognition of mucin by mucinous pancreatic tumour-reactive T-cells

Cytotoxic T-cells generated against heterologous, mucinous pancreatic tumour cells were shown to recognize mucin in a major histocombatibility complex (MHC)-unrestricted fashion. In contrast, the present study demonstrates a typical allogeneic response of heterologous cytotoxic T-cells established against mucin-expressing pancreatic tumour cells. Heterologous cytotoxic T cells lysed targets that were used as stimulators and other targets that shared human leucocyte antigen (HLA) with the stimulator. These cytotoxic T-cells lysed mucin-expressing stimulator cells but not autologous tumour cells in spite of expressing mucin on their surface. Likewise, tumour-infiltrating CD4+T-cells proliferated against its own tumour cell target, while such T-cells did not respond to heterologous, mucin-expressing pancreatic tumour cells. Culturing heterologous tumour-specific cytotoxic T-cells with purified pancreatic tumour cell-mucin rendered them unresponsive to their target cells. Furthermore, purified mucin did not produce a mucin-specific response in mucinous pancreatic tumour patients' primary T-cells even in the presence of antigen-presenting cells. Our study finds no evidence for MHC-unrestricted recognition of mucin by pancreatic cancer patients' T-cells. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

The Impact of HPV Vaccine Narratives on Social Media: Testing Narrative Engagement Theory with a Diverse Sample of Young Adults

Rates of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection are highest in young adults, who can be vaccinated against HPV if they were not vaccinated as adolescents. Since young adults increasingly access health information on social media, we tested the impact of a social media campaign with narrative-based health information on intentions related to HPV vaccination. We also aimed to understand which ads resonated most with young adults and led to higher survey completion rates. We created social media posts featuring videos promoting HPV vaccination. We launched a sponsored ad campaign on Facebook to reach young women, ages 18–26, across the country. Participants were randomly assigned one of 6 videos and then completed a brief survey about video engagement and intentions to: talk with a health care professional, talk with friends or family, and vaccinate against HPV. A descriptive correlational design and a test for moderation were used to explore hypothesized relationships. Across all ads, 1332 link clicks led to 991 completed surveys that were reduced to 607 surveys (95 % ages 18–26, 63 % non-Caucasian; 58 % sexually active). Higher video engagement was associated with stronger intentions to talk with a health care professional (r = 0.44, p =.01), talk with friends/family (r = 0.52, p =.01), and vaccinate against HPV (r = 0.43, p =.01). Young adults were receptive to watching narrative-based health information videos on social media. When promoting HPV vaccination, more engaging information leads to greater intentions to talk about the vaccine and get vaccinated

O-GlcNAcase Fragment Discovery with Fluorescence Polarimetry

The attachment of the sugar N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) to specific serine and threonine residues on proteins is referred to as protein O-GlcNAcylation. O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) is the enzyme responsible for carrying out the modification, while O-GlcNAcase (OGA) reverses it. Protein O-GlcNAcylation has been implicated in a wide range of cellular processes including transcription, proteostasis, and stress response. Dysregulation of O-GlcNAc has been linked to diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative and cardiovascular disease. OGA has been proposed to be a drug target for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease given that increased O-GlcNAc levels appear to exert a protective effect. The search for specific, potent, and drug-like OGA inhibitors with bioavailability in the brain is therefore a field of active research, requiring orthogonal high-throughput assay platforms. Here, we describe the synthesis of a novel probe for use in a fluorescence polarization based assay for the discovery of inhibitors of OGA. We show that the probe is suitable for use with both human OGA, as well as the orthologous bacterial counterpart from <i>Clostridium perfringens</i>, <i>Cp</i>OGA, and the lysosomal hexosaminidases HexA/B. We structurally characterize <i>Cp</i>OGA in complex with a ligand identified from a fragment library screen using this assay. The versatile synthesis procedure could be adapted for making fluorescent probes for the assay of other glycoside hydrolases

Derivation of Conditions for the Normal Gain Behavior of Conical Horns

Monotonically increasing gain-versus-frequency pattern is in general expected to be a characteristic of aperture antennas that include the smooth-wall conical horn. While optimum gain conical horns do naturally exhibit this behavior, nonoptimum horns need to meet certain criterion: a minimum axial length for given aperture diameter, or, alternatively, a maximum aperture diameter for the given axial length. In this paper, approximate expressions are derived to determine these parameters

The impact of HPV vaccine narratives on social media: Testing narrative engagement theory with a diverse sample of young adults.

Rates of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection are highest in young adults, who can be vaccinated against HPV if they were not vaccinated as adolescents. Since young adults increasingly access health information on social media, we tested the impact of a social media campaign with narrative-based health information on intentions related to HPV vaccination. We also aimed to understand which ads resonated most with young adults and led to higher survey completion rates. We created social media posts featuring videos promoting HPV vaccination. We launched a sponsored ad campaign on Facebook to reach young women, ages 18-26, across the country. Participants were randomly assigned one of 6 videos and then completed a brief survey about video engagement and intentions to: talk with a health care professional, talk with friends or family, and vaccinate against HPV. A descriptive correlational design and a test for moderation were used to explore hypothesized relationships. Across all ads, 1332 link clicks led to 991 completed surveys that were reduced to 607 surveys (95 % ages 18-26, 63 % non-Caucasian; 58 % sexually active). Higher video engagement was associated with stronger intentions to talk with a health care professional (r = 0.44, p =.01), talk with friends/family (r = 0.52, p =.01), and vaccinate against HPV (r = 0.43, p =.01). Young adults were receptive to watching narrative-based health information videos on social media. When promoting HPV vaccination, more engaging information leads to greater intentions to talk about the vaccine and get vaccinated