Production of high purity Sc from proton irradiation of natural vanadium targets.

Background: Scandium-47 is the therapeutic counterpart to the diagnostic radionuclides, Sc and Sc. Together, these form elementally matched theranostic nuclide pairs, but their incorporation into radiopharmaceuticals requires developing production techniques leading to radioscandium isotopes with high chemical and radionuclidic purity. Previous Sc production methods involved expensive, enriched titanium targets that require additional procedures for target recovery.

Cross section measurements for the production of Cr and Sc from proton irradiation of natural vanadium up to 24 MeV.

Scandium-47 is a promising radionuclide for targeted radiotherapy and is also an elementally matched therapeutic partner to Sc and Sc, which are suitable for Positron Emission Tomography. The predominantly reported routes for the production of Sc employ expensive enriched titanium or calcium targets to achieve high radionuclidic purity. This study reports measurements of the excitation function of the V(p,x)Sc reaction at proton energies of 18-24 MeV to optimize bombardment parameters for the production of Sc using this promising approach.

Hypomethylating Agent Azacitidine Is Effective in Treating Brain Metastasis Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Through Regulation of DNA Methylation of Keratin 18 Gene.

Breast cancer patients presenting with symptomatic brain metastases have poor prognosis, and current chemotherapeutic agents are largely ineffective. In this study, we evaluated the hypomethylating agent azacitidine (AZA) for its potential as a novel therapeutic in preclinical models of brain metastasis of breast cancer. We used the parental triple-negative breast cancer MDA-MB-231 (231) cells and their brain colonizing counterpart (231Br) to ascertain phenotypic differences in response to AZA.

The Conserved Spore Coat Protein SpoVM Is Largely Dispensable in Spore Formation.

The spore-forming bacterial pathogen is a leading cause of health care-associated infections in the United States. In order for this obligate anaerobe to transmit infection, it must form metabolically dormant spores prior to exiting the host. A key step during this process is the assembly of a protective, multilayered proteinaceous coat around the spore.

Global analysis of the sporulation pathway of Clostridium difficile.

The Gram-positive, spore-forming pathogen Clostridium difficile is the leading definable cause of healthcare-associated diarrhea worldwide. C. difficile infections are difficult to treat because of their frequent recurrence, which can cause life-threatening complications such as pseudomembranous colitis.

Structural and functional analysis of the CspB protease required for Clostridium spore germination.

Spores are the major transmissive form of the nosocomial pathogen Clostridium difficile, a leading cause of healthcare-associated diarrhea worldwide. Successful transmission of C. difficile requires that its hardy, resistant spores germinate into vegetative cells in the gastrointestinal tract.

SpoIVA and SipL are Clostridium difficile spore morphogenetic proteins.

Clostridium difficile is a major nosocomial pathogen whose infections are difficult to treat because of their frequent recurrence. The spores of C. difficile are responsible for these clinical features, as they resist common disinfectants and antibiotic treatment.