Al(OH)(3) facilitated synthesis of water-soluble, magnetic, radiolabelled and fluorescent hydroxyapatite nanoparticles

Magnetic and fluorescent hydroxyapatite nanoparticles were synthesised using Al(OH)3-stabilised MnFe2O4 or Fe3O4 nanoparticles as precursors. They were readily and efficiently radiolabelled with 18F. Bisphosphonate polyethylene glycol polymers were utilised to endow the nanoparticles with excellent colloidal stability in water and to incorporate cyclam for high affinity labelling with 64Cu

Patchy, not patchy, or how much patchy? Classification of spatial patterns appearing in a model of biological invasion

Good understanding of spatiotemporal patterns of species spread during biological invasion is needed for efficient monitoring and control of harmful alien pests. Various growth-dispersal-type models of population dynamics predict that invasive species spread can follow two qualitatively different scenarios such as the propagation of a continuous population front and the “no-front” patchy invasion. Distinguishing between these two patterns of spread is important, in particular because the patchy invasion poses a much greater challenge for monitoring and control. However, a mathematical theory of the patchy invasion is missing and it remains unclear what are the restrictions on parameter values and how much different this dynamical regime is from the continuous front propagation. In this paper, we address these issues in terms of a biologically meaningful mathematical model consisting of two coupled integral-difference equations. We show that the relevant domain of the parameter space has a complex intermittent structure. We also suggest a criterion that can be used to distinguish between the patchy invasion and the continuous front propagation: the patchy-invasion spatial pattern is shown to be much more sensitive to the cutoff at low densities

Vortex Fluidic Device-Intensified Aqueous Two Phase Extraction of C‑Phycocyanin from <i>Spirulina maxima</i>

A vortex fluidic device (VFD) is effective for downstream processing of C-phycocyanin (C-PC) from blue-green microalga <i>Spirulina maxima</i> using an aqueous two phase system (ATPS): polyethylene glycol (PEG) and aqueous potassium phosphate. The VFD-intensified ATPS continuous flow processing (VFD-ATPS) has spontaneous phase separation of the liquid exiting the 20 mm diameter tube inclined at 45° and rotating at 6550 rpm, for a 0.2 mL/min flow rate. This processing results in at least a 9.3-fold increase in phase demixing efficiency, 1.18-fold increase in C-PC purity, and 22% increase in yield compared to conventional ATPS methods. Multistage counter current distribution (CCD) using VFD-ATPS followed by removal of PEG and salt increased C-PC purity by 6-fold compared to the crude extract, with triple TOF mass spectrometry showing more than 95% sequence coverage for both subunits. This work establishes the utility of using VFD-intensified ATPS processing for protein purification and its potential as an effective new tool for rapid processing of biologically active and intact proteins

Genetic polymorphism of APOB is associated with diabetes mellitus in sickle cell disease

Environmental variations have strong influences in the etiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this study, we investigated the genetic basis of diabetes in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), a Mendelian disorder accompanied by distinct physiological conditions of hypoxia and hyperactive erythropoiesis. Compared to the general African-American population, the prevalence of diabetes as assessed in two SCD cohorts of 856 adults was low, but it markedly increased with older age and overweight. Meta-analyses of over 5 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the two SCD cohorts identified a SNP, rs59014890, the C allele of which associated with diabetes risk at P= 3.2×10-8 and, surprisingly, associated with decreased APOB expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The risk allele of the APOB polymorphism was associated with overweight in 181 SCD adolescents, with diabetes risk in 592 overweight, non-SCD African Americans ≥45 years of age, and with elevated plasma lipid concentrations in general populations. In addition, lower expression level of APOB in PBMCs was associated with higher values for percent hemoglobin A1C and serum total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in patients with Chuvash polycythemia, a congenital disease with elevated hypoxic responses and increased erythropoiesis at normoxia. Our study reveals a novel, environment-specific genetic polymorphism that may affect key metabolic pathways contributing to diabetes in SCD

Three indel variants in chicken <i>Lpin1</i> exon 6/flanking region and the association with performance traits

<div><p></p><p>1. LPIN1 is a Mg²⁺-dependent phosphatidic acid phosphatase. Variation in chicken <i>Lpin1</i> exon 6 and its flanking regions were identified and three indel variants in 6 breeds and their associations with performance traits were studied.</p><p>2. Seven variants were detected from 6 breeds, which contained a synonymous tri-allelic variant (c.924A/T/C) and three indels. The exon 6 variants detected from chicken breeds were conservative among bird species. The indel variation frequency presented clear differences among breeds.</p><p>3. Two coding indels (c.1014-1018del3 and c.1125-1138del12) were multiples of 3 nucleotides and maintained the open reading frames of LPIN1 proteins. However, they were predicted to result in the clear change of the RNA secondary structure of chicken <i>Lpin1</i> exon 6 and LPIN1 protein conformation.</p><p>4. The association analysis showed that c.871-15-22del6 variation had a significant effect on body weight at hatch (BW0) and 2 weeks (BW2); c. 1014-1018del3 variation had a significant effect on BW4, BW6, caecum length and gizzard weight (GW) traits; c.1125-1138del12 variation had a significant effect on BW12, shank length at 4 weeks (SL4), carcass weight, lactate dehydrogenase traits (LDH), glucose (GLU) and albumin (ALB) traits. The genotype combination for c.1014-1018del3 and c.1125-1138del12 also presented significant effects on SL4, SL8, GW, leg muscle weight, ALB, GLU and LDH.</p><p>5. The study demonstrated that chicken <i>Lpin1</i> has an important effect on chicken hatch weight, serum GLU and ALB level.</p></div

Sodium iminoquinolates with cubic and hexagonal prismatic motifs: synthesis, characterization and their catalytic behavior toward the ROP of rac-lactide

A series of sodium 2-arylimino-8-quinolates, C1–C8, differing in both the nature of the aryl and quinolate substituents, was prepared and characterized by 1H/13C NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Their X-ray structures reveal multimetallic assemblies adopting a variety of structural cores all based on Na–O repeat units: cubic and tetrametallic for C1, C2 and C4, hexagonal prismatic and hexametallic for C3 and C5, and for tetrametallic C7′ a core resembling a cyclooctatetraene-type tub-shape. In the presence of BnOH, C1–C8 exhibit good activities towards the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of rac-lactide, affording amorphous polylactides with broad molecular weight distributions. Furthermore, the substituent variation within the ligand frame of C1–C8 affects the catalytic activities of the ROP with the least sterically hindered system, C1, yielding the highest conversion. The international collaboration between Professor Wen-Hua Sun at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Dr Gregory A. Solan at the University of Leicester, UK started in 2014 through a combination of shared scientific interests and common research goals. To strengthen this collaboration Dr Solan was awarded a CAS President's International Fellowship for Visiting Scientists in 2015. This scheme supports highly-qualified international scientists to carry out cooperative projects at CAS-affiliated institutions for 1–12 months and covers daily living expenses and international travel costs. The fellowship also aims to strengthen partnerships between CAS host institutions and the recipients’ home institution. Dr Solan, having first visited the Institute of Chemistry, CAS in Beijing in 2012, has been able to make a more extended 3 month stay during his sabbatical leave in 2016 working in Professor Sun's laboratory for synthesizing a range of important polymeric materials including polyethylenes and polyesters

Romosozumab treatment in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

<p><b>Aim:</b> To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of romosozumab in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.</p> <p><b>Method:</b> A comprehensive literature review was performed of PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Controlled Trials Registry, and Web of Science for RCTs. Outcome measures were changes in lumbar spine, total hip and femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD), incidence of fractures and adverse events. Six trials were finally included.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Romosozumab resulted in a significantly lower risk of new vertebral fracture (relative risk (RR) 0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.18–0.77, <i>p</i> = 0.005, <i>n</i> = 5371), non-vertebral fracture (RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.66–0.92, <i>p</i> < 0.0001, <i>n</i> = 5635) and hip fracture (RR 0.59, 95% CI 0.44–0.79, <i>p</i> = 0.0004, <i>n</i> = 5635) compared with other therapies. The BMD was significantly increased at the lumbar spine (weighted mean difference (WMD) 13.33, 95% CI 11.41–15.25, <i>p</i> < 0.00001, <i>n</i> = 198), total hip (WMD 5.09, 95% CI 3.81–6.38, <i>p</i> < 0.00001, <i>n</i> = 184) and femoral neck (WMD 4.70, 95% CI 3.50–5.90, <i>p</i> < 0.00001, <i>n</i> = 175) compared with placebo. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events in patients with romosozumab compared to other therapies (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.98–1.02).</p> <p><b>Conclusion:</b> In postmenopausal women with osteoporosis who were at high risk for fracture, romosozumab treatment resulted in a significantly lower risk of fracture. Romosozumab 210 mg monthly showed the largest gains in BMD, and was generally well tolerated.</p

Additional file 1: of Risk prediction model for knee pain in the Nottingham community: a Bayesian modelling approach

Appendix S1. KL grading of OAI participants. (DOCX 15 kb

Media 2: Optically rewritable 3D liquid crystal displays

Originally published in Optics Letters on 01 November 2014 (ol-39-21-6209