Identification of the Inhibition Effects of Some Natural Antiproliferative Agents on CA-I, CA-II, and AChE Activities Isolated from Human Erythrocytes by Kinetic and Molecular Docking Studies

Nowadays the determination of inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase isoenzymes (CAs) have become one of the main goals of drug design studies, and inhibitors of CAs have taken their place in clinical applications to be used in the treatment and diagnosis of many diseases from glaucoma to cancer. On the other hand, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors are also the main target molecules for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. However, the unwanted side effects of existing CA and AChE inhibitors necessitate the identification of new and selective inhibitors of these enzymes. In this study, we examined the inhibition effects of some natural antiproliferative agents on CA-I, CA-II, and AChE activities isolated from human erythrocytes. Betulinic acid (I) had the strongest inhibitory effect on esterase activity of hCA-I (IC50 29.16 mu M) and hCA-II (IC50 31.82 mu M). On the other hand, sanguinarine chloride (VI) had the strongest inhibitory effect (IC50: 19.44 mu M) on hAChE activity. Molecular modeling studies were also carried out to elucidate the inhibition mechanism of betulinic acid on hCA-I and hCA-II isoenzymes and sanguinarine chloride on the hAChE enzyme. We believe that the results we obtained in this study will contribute to the design of new and natural CA and AChE inhibitors

Tuning the electronic properties at the surface of BaBiO3 thin films

The presence of 2D electron gases at surfaces or interfaces in oxide thin films remains a hot topic in condensed matter physics. In particular, BaBiO3 appears as  a very interesting system as it was theoretically proposed that its (001) surface should become metallic if a Bi-termination is achieved (Vildosola et al., PRL 110, 206805 (2013)). Here we report on the preparation by pulsed laser depositionand characterization of BaBiO3 thin films on silicon. We show that the texture of the films can be tuned by controlling the growth conditions, being possible to stabilize strongly (100)-textured films. We find significant differences on the spec- troscopic and transport properties between (100)-textured and non-textured films.We rationalize these experimental results by performing first principles calcula- tions, which indicate the existence of electron doping at the (100) surface. This stabilizes Bi ions in a 3+ state, shortens Bi-O bonds and reduces the electronic band gap, increasing the surface conductivity. Our results emphasize the importance of surface effects on the electronic properties of perovskites, and provide strategies to design novel oxide heterostructures with potential interface-related 2D electron gases. C 2016 Author(s). All article content, except where other- wise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licenseFil: Ferreyra, Cristian Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigaciones y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes); ArgentinaFil: Güller, Francisco. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigaciones y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes); Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Marchini, Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Lüders, U.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Albornoz, C.. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigaciones y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes); ArgentinaFil: Leyva, Adelma Graciela. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigaciones y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes); ArgentinaFil: Williams, Federico José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Llois, Ana Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigaciones y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes); ArgentinaFil: Vildosola, Veronica Laura. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigaciones y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes); Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Rubi, Diego. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigaciones y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes); Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología; Argentin

Discrete Improvement in Racial Disparity in Survival among Patients with Stage IV Colorectal Cancer: a 21-Year Population-Based Analysis

Purpose: Recently, multiple clinical trials have demonstrated improved outcomes in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. This study investigated if the improved survival is race dependent. Patients and Methods: Overall and cancer-specific survival of 77,490 White and Black patients with metastatic colorectal cancer from the 1988-2008 Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results registry were compared using unadjusted and multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazard regression as well as competing risk analyses. Results: Median age was 69years, 47.4% were female and 86.0% White. Median survival was 11months overall, with an overall increase from 8 to 14months between 1988 and 2008. Overall survival increased from 8 to 14months for White, and from 6 to 13months for Black patients. After multivariable adjustment, the following parameters were associated with better survival: White, female, younger, better educated and married patients, patients with higher income and living in urban areas, patients with rectosigmoid junction and rectal cancer, undergoing cancer-directed surgery, having well/moderately differentiated, and N0 tumors (p < 0.05 for all covariates). Discrepancies in overall survival based on race did not change significantly over time; however, there was a significant decrease of cancer-specific survival discrepancies over time between White and Black patients with a hazard ratio of 0.995 (95% confidence interval 0.991-1.000) per year (p = 0.03). Conclusion: A clinically relevant overall survival increase was found from 1988 to 2008 in this population-based analysis for both White and Black patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Although both White and Black patients benefitted from this improvement, a slight discrepancy between the two groups remained