(Methanol-κO)bis­{2-meth­oxy-6-[(4-methyl­phen­yl)iminiometh­yl]phenolato-κ2 O,O′}tris­(nitrato-κ2 O,O′)lanthanum(III)

The asymmetric unit of title compound, [La(NO3)3(C15H15NO2)2(CH3OH)], consists of two Schiff base 2-meth­oxy-6-[(4-methyl­phen­yl)iminiometh­yl]phenolato (HL) ligands, three independent nitrate anions and one methanol mol­ecule coordinated to LaIII. The coordination environment of the LaIII ion is formed by eleven O atoms. Three bidentate nitrate anions coordinate to the LaIII ion, while two HL ligands chelate the metal center with O atoms from the phenolate and meth­oxy groups. The HL ligands are zwitterionic, with protonated imine N atoms. The coordination sphere is completed by one methanol mol­ecule. The protonated imine N atoms are involved in intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds with the phen­oxy groups and nitrate ligands. One O atom of one nitrate group is disordered over two sites of equal occupancy

A systemic administration of liposomal curcumin inhibits radiation pneumonitis and sensitizes lung carcinoma to radiation

Radiation pneumonitis (RP) is an important dose-limiting toxicity during thoracic radiotherapy. Previous investigations have shown that curcumin is used for the treatment of inflammatory conditions and cancer, suggesting that curcumin may prevent RP and sensitize cancer cells to irradiation. However, the clinical advancement of curcumin is limited by its poor water solubility and low bioavailability after oral administration. Here, a water-soluble liposomal curcumin system was developed to investigate its prevention and sensitizing effects by an intravenous administration manner in mice models. The results showed that liposomal curcumin inhibited nuclear factor-κB pathway and downregulated inflammatory factors including tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and transforming growth factor-β induced by thoracic irradiation. Furthermore, the combined treatment with liposomal curcumin and radiotherapy increased intratumoral apoptosis and microvessel responses to irradiation in vivo. The significantly enhanced inhibition of tumor growth also was observed in a murine lung carcinoma (LL/2) model. There were no obvious toxicities observed in mice. The current results indicate that liposomal curcumin can effectively mitigate RP, reduce the fibrosis of lung, and sensitize LL/2 cells to irradiation. This study also suggests that the systemic administration of liposomal curcumin is safe and deserves to be investigated for further clinical application

Timescales and contribution of heating and helicity effect in helicity-dependent all-optical switching

The heating and helicity effects induced by circularly polarized laser excitation are entangled in the helicity-dependent all-optical switching (HD-AOS), which hinders understanding the magnetization dynamics involved. Here, applying a dual-pump laser excitation, first with a linearly polarized (LP) laser pulse followed by a circularly polarized (CP) laser pulse, the timescales and contribution from heating and helicity effects in HD-AOS were identified with a Pt/Co/Pt triple-layer. When the LP laser pulses preheat the sample to a nearly fully demag-netized state, the CP laser pulses with a power reduced by 80% switch the sample's magnetization. By varying the time delay between the two pump pulses, the results show that the helicity effect, which gives rise to the deterministic helicity-induced switching, arises almost instantly within 200 fs close to the pulse width upon laser excitation. The results reveal that the transient magnetization state upon which CP laser pulses impinge is the key factor for achieving HD-AOS, and importantly, the tunability between heating and helicity effects with the unique dual-pump laser excitation approach will enable HD-AOS in a wide range of magnetic material systems having wide-ranging implications for potential ultrafast spintronics applications

Ab initio study on the influence of spin state upon bonding and interaction in Fe-CO

Four Fe-CO states with 3d(sigma)-4s and 3d(delta)-3d(delta) electrons spin-paired or spin-unpaired were examined to investigate the influences of pairing versus unpairing mechanisms upon the bonding and interaction in Fe-CO. The calculation results show that the Fe-CO bonding and interaction are determined by a balance between the bonding stabilization and the exchange stabilization with 3d(sigma)-4s electron spin-pairing or without it. The 3d(delta)-3d(delta) electron spin-pairing versus unpairing has a surprised effect on the Fe-CO bonding properties even though the 3d(delta) orbitals are usually considered as non bonding ones

Childhood-onset Refractory Hypertension Results from Neurofibromatosis type 1 Caused by a Splicing NF1 mutation

Background: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1) is caused by mutations in the NF1 gene that encodes neurofibromin, a negative regulator of RAS proto-oncogene. Approximately one-third of the reported pathogenic mutations in NF1 are splicing mutations, but most consequences are unclear. The objective of this study was to identify the pathogenicity of splicing mutation in a Chinese family with NF-1 and determine the effects of the pre-mRNA splicing mutation by in vitro functional analysis. Methods: Next-generation sequencing was used to screen candidate mutations. We performed a minigene splicing assay to determine the effect of the splicing mutation on NF1 expression and three-dimensional structure models of neurofibromin were generated using SWISS-MODEL and PROCHECK method, respectively. Results: A pathogenic splicing mutation c.479+1G>C in NF1 was found in the proband characterized by childhood-onset refractory hypertension. In vitro analysis demonstrated that c.479+1G>C mutation caused skipping of exon 4, leading to a Glutamine to Valine substitution at position 97 in neurofibromin and an open reading frame shift terminating at codon 108. Protein modelling showed that several major domains were missing in the truncated neurofibromin protein. Conclusion: The splicing mutation c.479+1G>C identified in a Chinese patient with NF-1 and childhood-onset refractory hypertension caused skipping of exon 4 and a truncated protein. Our findings offered new evidence for the molecular diagnosis of NF-1

Clearance of Free Silica in Rat Lungs by Spraying with Chinese Herbal Kombucha

The effects of spraying with kombucha and Chinese herbal kombucha were compared with treatments with tetrandrine in a rat silicosis model. Silica dust (50 mg) was injected into the lungs of rats, which were then treated with one of the experimental treatments for a month. The rats were then killed, and the effects of the treatments were evaluated by examining the extent and severity of the histopathological lesions in the animals’ lungs, measuring their organ coefficients and lung collagen contents, determining the dry and wet weights of their lungs, and measuring the free silica content of the dried lungs. In addition, lavage was performed on whole lungs taken from selected rats, and the numbers and types of cells in the lavage fluid were counted. The most effective treatment in terms of the ability to reduce lung collagen content and minimize the formation of pulmonary histopathological lesions was tetrandrine treatment, followed by Chinese herbal kombucha and non‐Chinese herbal kombucha. However, the lavage fluid cell counts indicated that tetrandrine treatment had severe adverse effects on macrophage viability. This effect was much less pronounced for the kombucha and Chinese herbal kombucha treatments. Moreover, the free silica levels in the lungs of animals treated with Chinese herbal kombucha were significantly lower than those for any other silica‐exposed group. These preliminary results indicate that spraying with Chinese herbal kombucha preparations can effectively promote the discharge of silica dust from lung tissues. Chinese herbal kombucha inhalation may thus be a useful new treatment for silicosis and other pneumoconiosis diseases

Superconductivity at 41.0 K in the F-doped LaFeAsO1-xFx

Here we report the superconductivity in the LaFeAsO1-xFx system prepared by high pressure synthesis. The highest onset superconducting transition temperature (Tc) in this La-based system is 41.0 K with the nominal composition of LaFeAsO1-xFx (x = 0.6), which is higher than that reported previously by ambient pressure synthesis. The increase of Tc can be attributed to the further shrinkage of crystal lattice that causes the stronger chemical pressure on the Fe-As plane, which is induced by the increased F-doping level under high pressure synthesis

Genome-wide microRNA profiling in human fetal nervous tissues by oligonucleotide microarray

OBJECTS: Our objective was to develop an oligonucleotide DNA microarray (OMA) for genome-wide microRNA profiling and use this method to find miRNAs, which control organic development especially for nervous system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighteen organic samples included cerebrum and spinal cord samples from two aborted human fetuses. One was 12 gestational weeks old (G12w) and the other was 24 gestational weeks old (G24w). Global miRNA expression patterns of different organs were investigated using OMA and Northern blot. CONCLUSION: The OMA revealed that 72–83% of miRNAs were expressed in human fetal organs. A series of microRNAs were found specifically and higher-expressed in the human fetal nervous system and confirmed consistently by Northern blot, which may play a critical role in nervous system development