Absolute Configuration Assignment of a Paraconic Acid Derivative via Vibrational Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy and Density Functional Theory Calculation

Density functional theory calculation of the vibrational circular dichroism spectrum was used to assign the absolute configuration of an all‐carbon quaternary β‐stereocenter of a γ‐butyrolactone recently synthesized through an asymmetric organocatalytic tandem aldol/lactonization sequence. Comparison with the experimental spectrum is satisfactory, on account of the fact that spectroscopic features are weak due to the presence of multiple conformers. As a result, the (R) absolute configuration was assigned to the (+) optical isomer. Chirality 28:110–115, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Congestive heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is associated with severely impaired dynamic Starling mechanism

Sedentary aging leads to increased cardiovascular stiffening, which can be ameliorated by sufficient amounts of lifelong exercise training. An even more extreme form of cardiovascular stiffening can be seen in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), which comprises ~40~50% of elderly patients diagnosed with congestive heart failure. There are two major interrelated hypotheses proposed to explain heart failure in these patients: 1) increased left ventricular (LV) diastolic stiffness and 2) increased arterial stiffening. The beat-to-beat dynamic Starling mechanism, which is impaired with healthy human aging, reflects the interaction between ventricular and arterial stiffness and thus may provide a link between these two mechanisms underlying HFpEF. Spectral transfer function analysis was applied between beat-to-beat changes in LV end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP; estimated from pulmonary artery diastolic pressure with a right heart catheter) and stroke volume (SV) index. The dynamic Starling mechanism (transfer function gain between LVEDP and the SV index) was impaired in HFpEF patients (n = 10) compared with healthy age-matched controls (n = 12) (HFpEF: 0.23 ± 0.10 ml·m?2·mmHg?1 and control: 0.37 ± 0.11 ml·m?2·mmHg?1, means ± SD, P = 0.008). There was also a markedly increased (3-fold) fluctuation of LV filling pressures (power spectral density of LVEDP) in HFpEF patients, which may predispose to pulmonary edema due to intermittent exposure to higher pulmonary capillary pressure (HFpEF: 12.2 ± 10.4 mmHg2 and control: 3.8 ± 2.9 mmHg2, P = 0.014). An impaired dynamic Starling mechanism, even more extreme than that observed with healthy aging, is associated with marked breath-by-breath LVEDP variability and may reflect advanced ventricular and arterial stiffness in HFpEF, possibly contributing to reduced forward output and pulmonary congestion.     

Future hotspots of terrestrial mammal loss

Current levels of endangerment and historical trends of species and habitats are the main criteria used to direct conservation efforts globally. Estimates of future declines, which might indicate different priorities than past declines, have been limited by the lack of appropriate data and models. Given that much of conservation is about anticipating and responding to future threats, our inability to look forward at a global scale has been a major constraint on effective action. Here, we assess the geography and extent of projected future changes in suitable habitat for terrestrial mammals within their present ranges. We used a global earth-system model, IMAGE, coupled with fine-scale habitat suitability models and parametrized according to four global scenarios of human development. We identified the most affected countries by 2050 for each scenario, assuming that no additional conservation actions other than those described in the scenarios take place. We found that, with some exceptions, most of the countries with the largest predicted losses of suitable habitat for mammals are in Africa and the Americas. African and North American countries were also predicted to host the most species with large proportional global declines. Most of the countries we identified as future hotspots of terrestrial mammal loss have little or no overlap with the present global conservation priorities, thus confirming the need for forward-looking analyses in conservation priority setting. The expected growth in human populations and consumption in hotspots of future mammal loss mean that local conservation actions such as protected areas might not be sufficient to mitigate losses. Other policies, directed towards the root causes of biodiversity loss, are required, both in Africa and other parts of the world.     

Risk Factors for Death from Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, State of S?o Paulo,Brazil, 2009

This case-control study aimed to assess the risk factors for death from influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 in patients with laboratory confirmation, who had severe acute respiratory illness-SARI and were hospitalized between June 28^th and August 29^th 2009, in the metropolitan regions of São Paulo and Campinas, Brazil. Medical charts of all the 193 patients who died (cases) and the 386 randomly selected patients who recovered (controls) were investigated in 177 hospitals. Household interviews were conducted with those who had survived and the closest relative of those who had died. 73.6% of cases and 38.1% of controls were at risk of developing influenza-related complications. The 18-to-59-year age group (OR = 2.31, 95%CI: 1.31–4.10 (reference up to 18 years of age)), presence of risk conditions for severity of influenza (OR = 1.99, 95%CI: 1.11–3.57, if one or OR = 6.05, 95%CI: 2.76–13.28, if more than one), obesity (OR = 2.73, 95%CI: 1.28–5.83), immunosuppression (OR = 3.43, 95%CI: 1.28–9.19), and search for previous care associated with the hospitalization (OR = 3.35, 95%CI: 1.75–6.40) were risk factors for death. Antiviral treatment performed within 72 hours of the onset of symptoms (OR = 0.17, 95%CI: 0.08–0.37, if within 48hours, and OR = 0.30, 95%CI: 0.11–0.81, if between 48 and 72 hours) was protective against death. The identification of high-risk patients and early treatment are important factors for reducing morbi-mortality from influenza.     

Structural Insights on Two Hypothetical Secretion Chaperones from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xanthomonas axonopodis</Emphasis> pv<Emphasis Type="Italic">. citri</Emphasis>

Several Gram-negative bacterial pathogens have developed type III secretion systems (T3SSs) to deliver virulence proteins directly into eukaryotic cells in a process essential for many diseases. The type III secretion processes require customized chaperones with high specificity for binding partners, thus providing the secretion to occur. Due to the very low sequence similarities among secretion chaperones, annotation and discrimination of a great majority of them is extremely difficult and a task with low scores even if genes are encountered that codify for small (<20 kDa) proteins with low pI and a tendency to dimerise. Concerning about this, herein, we present structural features on two hypothetical T3SSs chaperones belonging to plant pathogen Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri and suggest how low resolution models based on Small Angle X-ray Scattering patterns can provide new structural insights that could be very helpful in their analysis and posterior classification.     

Drug-induced expansion and differentiation of V gamma 9V delta 2 T cells in vivo: the role of exogenous IL-2

Human Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cells recognize nonpeptidic Ags generated by the 1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate (many eubacteria, algae, plants, and Apicomplexa) and mevalonate (eukaryotes, archaebacteria, and certain eubacteria) pathways of isoprenoid synthesis. The potent Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cell reactivity 1) against certain cancer cells or 2) induced by infectious agents indicates that therapeutic augmentations of Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cell activities may be clinically beneficial. The functional characteristics of Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cells from Macaca fascicularis (cynomolgus monkey) are very similar to those from Homo sapiens. We have found that the i.v. administration of nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate or pyrophosphomonoester drugs into cynomolgus monkeys combined with s.c. low-dose (6 x 10(5) U/animal) IL-2 induces a large pool of CD27+ and CD27- effector/memory T cells in the peripheral blood of treated animals. The administration of these drugs in the absence of IL-2 is substantially less effective, indicating the importance of additional exogenous costimuli. Shortly after the costimulatory IL-2 treatment, only gammadelta (but not alphabeta) T cells expressed the CD69 activation marker, indicating that Vgamma9Vdelta2 T lymphocytes are more responsive to low-dose IL-2 than alphabeta T cells. Up to 100-fold increases in the numbers of peripheral blood Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cells were observed in animals receiving the gammadelta stimulatory drug plus IL-2. Moreover, the expanded Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cells were potent Th1 effectors capable of releasing large amounts of IFN-gamma. These results may be relevant for designing novel (or modifying current) immunotherapeutic trials with nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate or pyrophosphomonoester drugs.     

Proteomics and transcriptomics investigation on longissimus muscles in Large White and Casertana pig breeds

Consumer complaints against the blandness of modern lean meat and the frequent reference to the more strongly flavored meat that was available years ago have prompted reconsideration of high fat-depositing typical pig breeds. Casertana and Large White pig breeds are characterized by a different tendency toward fat accumulation as they exhibit opposite genetic and physiological traits with respect to the energy metabolism. These physiological differences were investigated in longissimus lumborum muscles through proteomics (2-DE, MS/MS) and microarray approaches. Data were analyzed for pathway and network analyses, as well as GO term enrichment of biological functions. As a result, Casertana showed a greater amount of proteins involved in glycolitic metabolism and mainly rely on fast-mobilizable energy sources. Large White overexpressed cell cycle and skeletal muscle growth related genes. Metabolic behavior and other implications are discussed.     

Selection of thrombin-binding aptamers by using computational approach for aptasensor application

The possibility of introducing a computationally assisted method to study aptamer-protein interaction was evaluated with the aim of streamlining the screening and selection of new aptamers. Starting from information on the 15-mer (5'-GGTTGGTGTGGTTGG-3') thrombin binding aptamer (TBA), a library of mutated DNA sequences (994 elements) was generated and screened using shapegauss a shape-based scoring function from openeye software to generate computationally derived binding scores. The TBA and three other mutated oligonucleotides, selected on the basis of their binding score (best, medium, worst), were incorporated into surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors. By reducing the ionic strength (binding buffer, 50 mM TrisHCl pH 7.4, 140 mM NaCl, 1mM MgCl?, diluted 1:50) in order to match the simulated condition, the analytical performances of the four oligonucleotide sequences were compared using signal amplitude, sensitivity (slope), linearity (R2) and reproducibility (CVav %). The experimental results were in agreement with the simulation findings.     

Systemic administration of high-molecular weight hyaluronan stimulates wound healing in genetically diabetic mice

Hyaluronic acid (HA), an essential component of the extracellular matrix, is an efficient space filler that maintains hydration, serves as a substrate for assembly of proteoglycans and is involved in wound healing. Although numerous pieces of evidence demonstrate beneficial effects in promoting wound healing in diabetes, a systemic approach has never been tested. We used an incisional wound healing model in genetically diabetic mice to test the effects of systemic injection of HA. Diabetic (n = 56) and normoglycemic (n = 56) mice were subjected to incision and randomized (8 groups of 7 animals each) to receive HA at different doses, 7.5, 15 and 30 mg/kg/i.p., or vehicle (0.9% NaCl solution) for 12 days. At the end of the experiment animals were sacrificed and skin wounds were excised for histological, biochemical and molecular analysis. Histology revealed that the most effective dose to improve wound repair and angiogenesis in diabetic mice was 30 mg/kg. Furthermore HA injection (30 mg/kg) improved the altered healing pattern in diabetic animals, increased skin remodeling proteins TGF-β and transglutaminase-II and restored the altered expression of cyclin B1/Cdc2 complex. Evaluation of skin from diabetic animals injected with HA revealed also an increase in HA content, suggesting that systemic injection may be able to restore the reduced intracellular HA pool of diabetic mice. Finally HA markedly improved skin mechanical properties. These promising results, if confirmed in a clinical setting, may improve the care and management of diabetic patients.