Novel Metabolites in Phenanthrene and Pyrene Transformation by Aspergillus-Niger

Fil: Sack, Ute. Institute of Microbiology. Friedrich Schiller University; GermanyFil: Heinze, Thomas M.. National Center for Toxicological Research, Food and Drug Administration. Arkansas; ArgentinaFil: Deck, Joanna. National Center for Toxicological Research, Food and Drug Administration. Arkansas; ArgentinaFil: Cerniglia, Carl E.. National Center for Toxicological Research, Food and Drug Administration. Arkansas; ArgentinaFil: Cazau, María Cecilia. Institute of Botany. University of La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Fritsche, Wolfgang. Institute of Microbiology. Friedrich Schiller University; German

Matrix Effects on Photoluminescence and Oxygen Sensitivity of a Molecular Ruby

The molecular ruby analogue [Cr(ddpd)2]3+ (ddpd=N,N’‐dimethyl‐N,N’‐dipyridine‐2‐ylpyridine‐2,6‐diamine) exhibits near infrared (NIR) emission with a high photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield ΦPL of 11 % and a lifetime of 898 μs in deaerated water at room temperature. While ligand‐based control of the photophysical properties has received much attention, influences of the counter anions and microenvironment are still underexplored. In this study, the luminescence properties of the molecular ruby were systematically examined for the counter anions Cl−, Br−, [BF4]−, [PF6]−, [BPh4]−, and [BArF24]− in acetonitrile (MeCN) solution, in crystals, and embedded into polystyrene nanoparticles (PSNP). Stern‐Volmer analyses of the oxygen quenching studies in the intensity and lifetime domain showed the highest oxygen sensitivity of the complexes with the counter anions of [BF4]− and [BArF24]−, which also revealed the longest luminescence lifetimes. Embedding [Cr(ddpd)2][PF6]3 in PSNPs and shielding with poly(vinyl alcohol) yields a strongly NIR‐emissive oxygen‐insensitive material with a record ΦPL of 15.2 % under ambient conditions

Near-IR to Near-IR Upconversion Luminescence in Molecular Chromium Ytterbium Salts

Upconversion photoluminescence in hetero-oligonuclear metal complex architectures featuring organic ligands is an interesting but still rarely observed phenomenon, despite its great potential from a basic research and application perspective. In this context, a new photonic material consisting of molecular chromium(III) and ytterbium(III) complex ions was developed that exhibits excitation-power density-dependent cooperative sensitization of the chromium-centered(2)E/(2)T(1)phosphorescence at approximately 775 nm after excitation of the ytterbium band(2)F(7/2)->(2)F(5/2)at approximately 980 nm in the solid state at ambient temperature. The upconversion process is insensitive to atmospheric oxygen and can be observed in the presence of water molecules in the crystal lattice

Ovarian cancer risk in Polish BRCA1 mutation carriers is not associated with the prohibitin 3' untranslated region polymorphism

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The variable penetrance of ovarian cancer in <it>BRCA1 </it>mutation carriers suggests that other genetic or environmental factors modify disease risk. The C to T transition in the 3' untranslated region of the prohibitin (<it>PHB</it>) gene alters mRNA function and has recently been shown to be associated with hereditary breast cancer risk in Polish women harbouring <it>BRCA1 </it>mutations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To investigate whether the <it>PHB </it>3'UTR polymorphism also modifies hereditary ovarian cancer risk, we performed a case-control study among Polish women carrying one of the three common founder mutations (5382insC, 300 T > G, 4154delA) including 127 ovarian cases and 127 unaffected controls who had both breasts and ovaries intact. Controls were matched to cases by year of birth and <it>BRCA1 </it>mutation. Genotyping analysis was performed using PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated using conditional and penalized univariable and multivariable logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A comparison of the genotype frequencies between cases and controls revealed no association of the <it>PHB </it>3'UTR _CT+TT genotypes with ovarian cancer risk (OR_adj1.34; 95% CI, 0.59–3.11).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data suggest that the <it>PHB </it>3'UTR polymorphism does not modify ovarian cancer risk in women carrying one of the three Polish <it>BRCA1 </it>founder mutations.</p

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Kollaboration und Kooperation mit Social Media in verteilten Forschungsnetzwerken

Das Internet ist aus dem wissenschaftlichen Alltag nicht mehr wegzudenken. Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler sind hier nicht nur in Form einer Institutionshomepage oder eines Online-Lebenslaufs präsent; sie nutzen Funktionalitäten des Web 2.0 auch, um zu arbeiten, ihre Forschung zu teilen und zu besprechen. Dieser Artikel möchte anhand einer Pilotstudie unter ausgewählten WissenschaftlerInnen aus der E-Learning-Community beleuchten, wie ForscherInnen, die das Web 2.0 und seine Anwendungen bereits in ihr Forschungsrepertoire aufgenommen haben, dieses zu Kollaboration, Kommunikation und für das wissenschaftliche Arbeiten nutzen. Es sollen Potenziale und Schwachpunkte bestehender Technologien aufgezeigt werden, um die Möglichkeiten des Web 2.0 in der Wissenschaft darzustellen. Abschließend wird darauf eingegangen, welche Charakteristiken diese Tools aufweisen müssen, um ForscherInnen in Zukunft einen größeren Mehrwert zu bieten. (DIPF/Orig.

Diagnostische Instrumente für die Erfassung mathematischer und naturwissenschaftlicher Kompetenzen und deren Adaption für die Analyse der Zusammenhänge zwischen allgemeinen und beruflichen Kompetenzen

Die Ergebnisse internationaler und nationaler Vergleichsstudien legen nahe, dass ein beträchtlicher Teil von Schülerinnen und Schülern die allgemeinbildende Schule mit unzureichenden mathematischen und naturwissenschaftlichen Kompetenzen verlässt. Empirisch ist bisher aber nur ungenügend geklärt, inwieweit allgemeinbildende Kompetenzen, wie sie in internationalen und nationalen Vergleichsstudien - zuletzt in der Überprüfung der Bildungsstandards für den Mittleren Schulabschluss in Mathematik und den Naturwissenschaften - erfasst werden, überhaupt prädiktiv für die berufliche Kompetenzentwicklung sind. Aufbauend auf einem Modell, dass zwischen allgemeinen, allgemeinen berufsfeldbezogenen und beruflichen Kompetenzen unterscheidet, wird in dem vorliegenden Beitrag ausgehend von den vorliegenden Instrumenten zur Erfassung allgemeinbildender mathematischer und naturwissenschaftlicher Kompetenzen diskutiert, inwieweit diese geeignet sind, die Kompetenzentwicklung im Verlauf der beruflichen Ausbildung abzubilden. Zudem werden mögliche Ansätze für eine breitere Erfassung der in der beruflichen Ausbildung vermittelten Kompetenzen identifiziert und beispielhaft illustriert. (DIPF/Orig.