Methyl and Ethyl Ethers of Glycerol as Potential Green Low-Melting Technical Fluids.

The study is dedicated to the consideration of lower alkyl ethers of glycerol as potential components of low-melting technical fluids (e.g., heat transfer fluids, hydraulic fluids, aircraft de-icing fluids, etc.

NOVAprep-miR-Cervix: New Method for Evaluation of Cervical Dysplasia Severity Based on Analysis of Six miRNAs.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common gynecological malignancies and it is preventable through the yearly diagnosis and management of pre-cancerous cervical disease. The profile of miRNA expression in cervical epithelium cells is altered with cervical dysplasia development and further progression. The NOVAprep-miR-CERVIX is a new approach for the assessment of cervical dysplasia through the analysis of six marker miRNAs.

Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer through the Multi-Ligand Binding of Prostate-Derived Extracellular Vesicles and miRNA Analysis.

Background: The development of new non-invasive markers for prostate cancer (PC) diagnosis, prognosis, and management is an important issue that needs to be addressed to decrease PC mortality. Small extracellular vesicles (SEVs) secreted by prostate gland or prostate cancer cells into the plasma are considered next-generation diagnostic tools because their chemical composition might reflect the PC development. The population of plasma vesicles is extremely heterogeneous.

Detection of Single Charge Trapping Defects in Semiconductor Particles by Evaluating Photon Antibunching in Delayed Photoluminescence.

Time-resolved analysis of photon cross-correlation function (τ) is applied to photoluminescence (PL) of individual submicrometer size MAPbI perovskite crystals. Surprisingly, an antibunching effect in the long-living tail of PL is observed, while the prompt PL obeys the photon statistics typical for a classical emitter. We propose that antibunched photons from the PL decay tail originate from radiative recombination of detrapped charge carriers which were initially captured by a very limited number (down to one) of shallow defect states.

In Situ-Generated, Dispersed Cu Catalysts for the Catalytic Hydrogenolysis of Glycerol.

The present study is dedicated to the experimental verification of a concept for the hydrogenolysis of glycerol over in situ-generated Cu dispersed particles (Cu-DP). The Cu-DP were generated by in situ reduction of a precursor salt (Cu(OAc), CuSO, CuCl) in the presence of KOH and were active in glycerol conversion under hydrogen (T = 200-220 °C, p(H) = 1-4 MPa), where 1,2-propylene glycol (PG) and lactic acid (LA) were detected to be the main products. The influence of the reaction conditions (temperature, hydrogen pressure, reaction time, catalyst-to-feed ratio and the KOH/Cu ratio) on the yields of the products is described.

Bio-Based Solvents and Gasoline Components From Renewable 2,3-Butanediol and 1,2-Propanediol: Synthesis and Characterization.

In this study approaches for chemical conversions of the renewable compounds 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PD) and 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BD) that yield the corresponding cyclic ketals and glycol ethers have been investigated experimentally. The characterization of the obtained products as potential green solvents and gasoline components is discussed. Cyclic ketals have been obtained by the direct reaction of the diols with lower aliphatic ketones (1,2-PD + acetone → 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-dioxolane (TMD) and 2,3-BD + butanone-2 → 2-ethyl-2,4,5-trimethyl-1,3-dioxolane (ETMD)), for which the Δ, Δ and Δ values have been estimated experimentally.

Contribution of electron-phonon coupling to the luminescence spectra of single colloidal quantum dots.

Luminescence spectroscopy experiments were realized for single colloidal quantum dots CdSe/ZnS in a broad temperature range above room temperature in a nitrogen atmosphere. Broadening and shifts of spectra due to the temperature change as well as due to spectral diffusion processes were detected and analyzed. A linear correlation between the positions of maxima and the squared linewidths of the spectra was found.

induces DNA damage in intestinal cells.

In their natural habitat of rotting fruit, the nematode feeds on the complex bacterial communities that thrive in this rich growth medium. Hundreds of diverse bacterial strains cultured from such rotting fruit allow growth and reproduction when tested individually. In screens for responses to single bacterial strains associated with nematodes in fruit, we found that causes a genome instability phenotype; we observed abnormally long or fragmented intestinal nuclei due to aberrant nuclear division, or defective karyokinesis.

[Isolation of extracellular micro-vesicles from cell culture medium: comparative evaluation of methods].

Extracellular vesicles (EV) are secreted by cells of multicellular organisms. EV mediate specific mode of intercellular communication by "horizontal" exchange of substances and information. This phenomenon seems to have an essential biological significance and became a subject of intensive research.

A vitamin-B2-sensing mechanism that regulates gut protease activity to impact animal's food behavior and growth.

To survive challenging environments, animals acquired the ability to evaluate food quality in the intestine and respond to nutrient deficiencies with changes in food-response behavior, metabolism and development. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying intestinal sensing of specific nutrients, especially micronutrients such as vitamins, and the connections to downstream physiological responses in animals remain underexplored. We have established a system to analyze the intestinal response to vitamin B (VB2) deficiency in , and demonstrated that VB2 level critically impacts food uptake and foraging behavior by regulating specific protease gene expression and intestinal protease activity.

A Lipid-TORC1 Pathway Promotes Neuronal Development and Foraging Behavior under Both Fed and Fasted Conditions in C. elegans.

Food deprivation suppresses animal growth and development but spares the systems essential for foraging. The mechanisms underlying this selective development, and potential roles of lipids in it, are unclear. When C.

Peroxisome protein transportation affects metabolism of branched-chain fatty acids that critically impact growth and development of C. elegans.

The impact of specific lipid molecules, including fatty acid variants, on cellular and developmental regulation is an important research subject that remains under studied. Monomethyl branched-chain fatty acids (mmBCFAs) are commonly present in multiple organisms including mammals, however our understanding of mmBCFA functions is very limited. C.

A novel sphingolipid-TORC1 pathway critically promotes postembryonic development in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Regulation of animal development in response to nutritional cues is an intensely studied problem related to disease and aging. While extensive studies indicated roles of the Target of Rapamycin (TOR) in sensing certain nutrients for controlling growth and metabolism, the roles of fatty acids and lipids in TOR-involved nutrient/food responses are obscure. Caenorhabditis elegans halts postembryonic growth and development shortly after hatching in response to monomethyl branched-chain fatty acid (mmBCFA) deficiency.

Fat chance for longevity.

The health benefits of specific fatty acids and physiological roles of fat metabolism are important subjects that are still poorly understood. In this issue of Genes & Development, O'Rourke and colleagues (pp. 429-440) uncovered a role for lipase-generated ω-6 fatty acids in promoting autophagy and, consequently, life span extension under both fed and fasting conditions.

Regulation of maternal phospholipid composition and IP(3)-dependent embryonic membrane dynamics by a specific fatty acid metabolic event in C. elegans.

Natural fatty acids (FAs) exhibit vast structural diversity, but the functional importance of FA variations and the mechanism by which they contribute to a healthy lipid composition in animals remain largely unexplored. A large family of acyl-CoA synthetases (ACSs) regulates FA metabolism by esterifying FA to coenyzme A. However, little is known about how particular FA-ACS combinations affect lipid composition and specific cellular functions.

The fatty acid synthase fasn-1 acts upstream of WNK and Ste20/GCK-VI kinases to modulate antimicrobial peptide expression in C. elegans epidermis.

An important part of the innate immune response of the nematode C. elegans to fungal infection is the rapid induction of antimicrobial peptide gene expression. One of these genes, nlp‑29, is expressed at a low level in adults under normal conditions.

A branched-chain fatty acid is involved in post-embryonic growth control in parallel to the insulin receptor pathway and its biosynthesis is feedback-regulated in C. elegans.

Growth and development of multicellular organisms are controlled by signaling systems that sense nutrition availability and metabolic status. We report a novel and surprising factor in Caenorhabditis elegans development, the monomethyl branched-chain fatty acid C17ISO, a product of leucine catabolism. We show here that C17ISO is an essential constituent in a novel mechanism that acts in parallel with the food-sensing DAF-2 (insulin receptor)/DAF-16 (FOXO) signaling pathway to promote post-embryonic development, and that the two pathways converge on a common target repressing cell cycle.

Monomethyl branched-chain fatty acids play an essential role in Caenorhabditis elegans development.

Monomethyl branched-chain fatty acids (mmBCFAs) are commonly found in many organisms from bacteria to mammals. In humans, they have been detected in skin, brain, blood, and cancer cells. Despite a broad distribution, mmBCFAs remain exotic in eukaryotes, where their origin and physiological roles are not understood.

Suppression of the ELO-2 FA elongation activity results in alterations of the fatty acid composition and multiple physiological defects, including abnormal ultradian rhythms, in Caenorhabditis elegans.

While the general steps of fatty acid (FA) biosynthesis are well understood, the individual enzymes involved in the elongation of long chain saturated and polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) are largely unknown. Recent research indicates that these enzymes might be of considerable physiological importance for human health. We use Caenorhabditis elegans to study FA elongation activities and associated abnormal phenotypes.

A 5-bp deletion in ELOVL4 is associated with two related forms of autosomal dominant macular dystrophy.

Stargardt-like macular dystrophy (STGD3, MIM 600110) and autosomal dominant macular dystrophy (adMD) are inherited forms of macular degeneration characterized by decreased visual acuity, macular atrophy and extensive fundus flecks. Genetic mapping data suggest that mutations in a single gene may be responsible for both conditions, already known to bear clinical resemblance. Here we limit the minimum genetic region for STGD3 and adMD to a 0.

A new locus for dominant drusen and macular degeneration maps to chromosome 6q14.

Purpose: To report the localization of a gene causing drusen and macular degeneration in a previously undescribed North American family.

Methods: Genetic mapping studies were performed using linkage analysis in a single family with drusen and atrophic macular degeneration.

Results: The clinical manifestations in this family ranged from fine macular drusen in asymptomatic middle-aged individuals to atrophic macular lesions in two children and two elderly patients.

A novel mutation in the ABCR gene in four patients with autosomal recessive Stargardt disease.

Purpose: To identify additional mutations in the ABCR gene and describe the clinical features of four affected siblings with autosomal recessive Stargardt disease.

Methods: A cohort of eight siblings was identified for study. Four of these individuals were diagnosed with Stargardt disease based on clinical evaluation and fluorescein angiography.

The ABCR gene in recessive and dominant Stargardt diseases: a genetic pathway in macular degeneration.

Stargardt disease (STGD) is a juvenile-onset macular dystrophy and can be inherited in an autosomal recessive or in an autosomal dominant manner. Genes involved in dominant STDG have been mapped to human chromosomes 13q (STGD2) and 6q (STGD3). Here, we identify a new kindred with dominant STGD and demonstrate genetic linkage to the STGD3 locus.

Clinical and genetic studies of an autosomal dominant cone-rod dystrophy with features of Stargardt disease.

Cone-rod dystrophy (CORD) and Stargardt disease (STGD) are two hereditary retinal dystrophies with similarities to age-related macular degeneration. Cone-rod dystrophies are a group of degenerative disorders resulting in decreased visual acuity and color vision, attenuated electroretinographic (ERG) responses, and atrophic macular lesions. Autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, and X-linked forms of cone-rod dystrophy have been reported.