RE^(III) 3-Furoate Complexes: Synthesis, Structure, and Corrosion Inhibiting Properties

In this study, two types of Rare Earth (RE) 3-furoate complexes were synthesized by metathesis reactions between RE chlorides or nitrates and preformed sodium 3-furoate. Two different structural motifs were identified as Type 1RE and Type 2RE. The Type 1RE monometallic complexes form 2D polymeric networks with the composition [RE(3fur)3(H2O)2]n (1RE = 1La, 1Ce, 1Pr, 1Nd, 1Gd, 1Dy, 1Ho, 1Y; 3furH = 3-furoic acid) while Type 2RE bimetallic complexes form 3D polymeric systems [NaRE(3fur)4]n (2RE = 2Ho, 2Y, 2Er, 2Yb, 2Lu). The stoichiometric mole ratio used (RE: Na(3fur) = 1:3 or 1:4) in the metathesis reaction determines whether 1RE or 2RE (RE = Ho or Y) is formed, but 2RE (RE = Er, Yb, Lu) were obtained regardless of the ratio. The corrosion inhibition behaviour of the compounds has been examined using immersion studies and electrochemical measurements on AS1020 mild steel surfaces by a 0.01 M NaCl medium. Immersion test results revealed that [Y(3fur)3(H2O)2]n has the highest corrosion inhibition capability with 90% resistance after 168 h of immersion. Potentiodynamic polarisation (PP) measurements also indicate the dominant behaviour of the 1Y compound, and the PP curves show that these rare earth carboxylate compounds act predominantly as anodic inhibitors

Identification of a novel mutation in the NTF4 gene that causes primary open-angle glaucoma in a Chinese population

Molecular Vision161640-1645MVEP

Multiple light scattering in nematic liquid crystals

We present a rigorous treatment of the diffusion approximation for multiple light scattering in anisotropic random media, and apply it to director fluctuations in a nematic liquid crystal. For a typical nematic material, 5CB, we give numerical values of the diffusion constants $D_{\|}$ and $D_{\perp}$. We also calculate the temporal autocorrelation function measured in Diffusing Wave Spectroscopy.Comment: 5 pages RevTeX, 1 postscript figure, to be published in Phys. Rev. E (Rapid Communication

SPARC Deficiency Results in Improved Surgical Survival in a Novel Mouse Model of Glaucoma Filtration Surgery

Glaucoma is a disease frequently associated with elevated intraocular pressure that can be alleviated by filtration surgery. However, the post-operative subconjunctival scarring response which blocks filtration efficiency is a major hurdle to the achievement of long-term surgical success. Current application of anti-proliferatives to modulate the scarring response is not ideal as these often give rise to sight-threatening complications. SPARC (secreted protein, acidic and rich in cysteine) is a matricellular protein involved in extracellular matrix (ECM) production and organization. In this study, we investigated post-operative surgical wound survival in an experimental glaucoma filtration model in SPARC-null mice. Loss of SPARC resulted in a marked (87.5%) surgical wound survival rate compared to 0% in wild-type (WT) counterparts. The larger SPARC-null wounds implied that aqueous filtration through the subconjunctival space was more efficient in comparison to WT wounds. The pronounced increase in both surgical survival and filtration efficiency was associated with a less collagenous ECM, smaller collagen fibril diameter, and a loosely-organized subconjunctival matrix in the SPARC-null wounds. In contrast, WT wounds exhibited a densely packed collagenous ECM with no evidence of filtration capacity. Immunolocalization assays confirmed the accumulation of ECM proteins in the WT but not in the SPARC-null wounds. The observations in vivo were corroborated by complementary data performed on WT and SPARC-null conjunctival fibroblasts in vitro. These findings indicate that depletion of SPARC bestows an inherent change in post-operative ECM remodeling to favor wound maintenance. The evidence presented in this report is strongly supportive for the targeting of SPARC to increase the success of glaucoma filtration surgery

Genetic analysis of patients with Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy in India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mutations in <it>COL8A2 </it>gene which encodes the collagen alpha-2 (VIII) chain have been identified in both familial and sporadic cases of Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD). Heterozygous mutations in the <it>SLC4A11 </it>gene are also known to cause late-onset FECD. Therefore we screened for <it>COL8A2</it>, <it>SLC4A11 </it>gene variants in Indian FECD patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Eighty patients with clinically diagnosed FECD and 100 age matched normal individuals were recruited. Genomic DNA was isolated from peripheral blood leukocytes. Mutations in <it>COL8A2</it>, <it>SLC4A11 </it>coding regions were screened using bi-directional sequencing. Fischer's exact test or Pearson's chi squared test were used to predict the statistical association of genotypes with the phenotype.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Screening of <it>COL8A2 </it>gene revealed 2 novel c.1610G>A, c.1643A>G and 3 reported variations c.112G>A, c.464G>A and c.1485G>A. In <it>SLC4A11 </it>gene, novel c.1659C>T, c.1974C>T and reported c.405G>A, c.481A>C and c.639G>A variants were identified. However all the variations in both the genes were also present in unaffected controls.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This is the first study analysing <it>COL8A2 </it>gene in Indian patients with FECD. No pathogenic mutations were identified in <it>COL8A2</it>. Merely silent changes, which showed statistically insignificant association with FECD, were identified in the screening of <it>SLC4A11 </it>gene. These results suggest that <it>COL8A2</it>, <it>SLC4A11 </it>genes may not be responsible for FECD in patients examined in this study.</p

Multiple light scattering in anisotropic random media

In the last decade Diffusing Wave Spectroscopy (DWS) has emerged as a powerful tool to study turbid media. In this article we develop the formalism to describe light diffusion in general anisotropic turbid media. We give explicit formulas to calculate the diffusion tensor and the dynamic absorption coefficient, measured in DWS experiments. We apply our theory to uniaxial systems, namely nematic liquid crystals, where light is scattered from thermal fluctuations of the local optical axis, called director. We perform a detailed analysis of the two essential diffusion constants, parallel and perpendicular to the director, in terms of Frank elastic constants, dielectric anisotropy, and applied magnetic field. We also point out the relevance of our results to different liquid crystalline systems, such as discotic nematics, smectic-A phases, and polymer liquid crystals. Finally, we show that the dynamic absorption coefficient is the angular average over the inverse viscosity, which governs the dynamics of director fluctuations.Comment: 23 pages, 12 ps figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Author Correction: Cross-ancestry genome-wide association analysis of corneal thickness strengthens link between complex and Mendelian eye diseases.

Emmanuelle Souzeau, who contributed to analysis of data, was inadvertently omitted from the author list in the originally published version of this Article. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article

Trans-ancestry genome-wide association study identifies 12 genetic loci influencing blood pressure and implicates a role for DNA methylation

10.1038/ng.3405Nature Genetics47111282-1293GUSTO (Growing up towards Healthy Outcomes

Replication of TCF4 through Association and Linkage Studies in Late-Onset Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy

Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) is a common, late-onset disorder of the corneal endothelium. Although progress has been made in understanding the genetic basis of FECD by studying large families in which the phenotype is transmitted in an autosomal dominant fashion, a recently reported genome-wide association study identified common alleles at a locus on chromosome 18 near TCF4 which confer susceptibility to FECD. Here, we report the findings of our independent validation study for TCF4 using the largest FECD dataset to date (450 FECD cases and 340 normal controls). Logistic regression with sex as a covariate was performed for three genetic models: dominant (DOM), additive (ADD), and recessive (REC). We found significant association with rs613872, the target marker reported by Baratz et al.(2010), for all three genetic models (DOM: P = 9.33×10−35; ADD: P = 7.48×10−30; REC: P = 5.27×10−6). To strengthen the association study, we also conducted a genome-wide linkage scan on 64 multiplex families, composed primarily of affected sibling pairs (ASPs), using both parametric and non-parametric two-point and multipoint analyses. The most significant linkage region localizes to chromosome 18 from 69.94cM to 85.29cM, with a peak multipoint HLOD = 2.5 at rs1145315 (75.58cM) under the DOM model, mapping 1.5 Mb proximal to rs613872. In summary, our study presents evidence to support the role of the intronic TCF4 single nucleotide polymorphism rs613872 in late-onset FECD through both association and linkage studies

A study assessing the association of glycated hemoglobin a1C (HbA1C) associated variants with HbA1C, chronic kidney disease and diabetic retinopathy in populations of asian ancestry

10.1371/journal.pone.0079767PLoS ONE811-POLN