Crown-Ether Coordination Compounds of Europium and 24-Crown-8.

Crown-ether coordination compounds of europium(II/III) and the crown ether (CHO) (24-crown-8, 24c8) are prepared, aiming at novel compounds, structures, and coordination modes as well as potential luminescence properties. By reacting EuCl, EuI, or EuCl with 24c8 or its derivatives in ionic liquids, the novel compounds [BuMeN][Eu(II)(NTf)] (), [BMIm][EuI] (), [EuCl(dibenzo-18c6)] (), [EuI(dibenzo-24c8)] (), [(Eu(III)Cl)(CHO)](24c8) (), and [Eu(III)Cl(24c8)]I () are obtained (BMIm: 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium; EMIm: 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium). Based on different reaction conditions, different coordinative modes including the absence of the crown ether in the product (, ), splitting of the crown ether (), and coordination of 24c8 via six of eight oxygen atoms () and, finally, via all oxygen atoms () are observed.

Avoiding N-nitrosodimethylamine formation in metformin pharmaceuticals by limiting dimethylamine and nitrite.

Since late 2019, concerns regarding trace levels of the probable human carcinogen N-dimethylnitrosamine (NDMA) in Metformin-containing pharmaceuticals have been an issue if they exceeded the maximum allowable intake of 96 ng/day for a medicine with long-term intake. Here, we report results from an extensive analysis of NDMA content along the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing process as well as two different drug product manufacturing processes. Our findings confirm that Metformin API is not a significant source of NDMA found in Metformin pharmaceuticals and that NDMA is created at those steps of the drug product manufacturing that introduce heat and nitrite.

CD28 Superagonist D665-mediated activation of mouse regulatory T cells maintains their phenotype without loss of suppressive quality.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) maintain immune homeostasis by regulating the activation of other immune cells. Preclinical studies show that the infusion of Tregs can promote immunological tolerance to allografts and prevent or cure multiple autoimmune diseases. However, Treg therapy is limited by high numbers of cells required to induce tolerance.

NDMA analytics in metformin products: Comparison of methods and pitfalls.

Background: For nearly three years, the concerns regarding trace levels of N-nitrosamines in pharmaceuticals and the associated cancer risk have significantly expanded and are a major issue facing the global pharmaceutical industry. N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) found in formulations of the popular anti-diabetic drug metformin is a prominent example. This has resulted in product recalls raising the profile within the media.

Luna stain: a simple and cost-effective diagnostic tool helps in detecting eosinophilic granules deposition of flame figures and aids in diagnosing eosinophilic cellulitis "Wells Syndrome".

We report a rare case of Wells syndrome in which a 61-year-old Caucasian male presented with three distinct skin lesions including a cutaneous bulla, an erythematous plaque, and a linear streak located on the patient's left anterior thigh, left dorsal wrist, and left anterior forearm, respectively. Histologic examination revealed diffuse and interstitial eosinophilic infiltrate admixed with lymphocytes and macrophages that predominantly involve the dermis. Nodular aggregates of eosinophils surrounding dermal collagen fibers suggestive of 'flame figures' were identified.

The NIH Open Citation Collection: A public access, broad coverage resource.

Citation data have remained hidden behind proprietary, restrictive licensing agreements, which raises barriers to entry for analysts wishing to use the data, increases the expense of performing large-scale analyses, and reduces the robustness and reproducibility of the conclusions. For the past several years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Portfolio Analysis (OPA) has been aggregating and enhancing citation data that can be shared publicly. Here, we describe the NIH Open Citation Collection (NIH-OCC), a public access database for biomedical research that is made freely available to the community.

Cyclosporine-induced Erythromelalgia.

Erythromelalgia is a neurovascular disorder which causes pain, swelling, erythema, and warmth of the distal extremities. Primary disease is due to a genetic mutation in the gene, but secondary erythromelalgia can be the consequence of a variety of underlying etiologies, including drug and toxin exposures. The disease is rare, occurring in only 1.

Bullous Pemphigoid: Use of C4d Immunofluorescent Staining in a Case With Repeated Negative Conventional Direct Immunofluorescence Studies.

Direct immunofluorescence (DIF) using frozen section material from a fresh/preserved perilesional biopsy is the gold standard for the immunopathologic diagnosis of bullous pemphigoid (BP). DIF in BP shows linear dermoepidermal junction (DEJ) staining for C3, with or without staining for IgG. In some situations, only a formalin-fixed lesional biopsy is obtained (with no fresh/preserved perilesional biopsy for DIF).

Incidence of secondary glaucoma after treatment of uveal melanoma with robotic radiosurgery versus brachytherapy.

Purpose: Different modalities of radiation therapy nowadays allow for effective treatment of uveal melanoma combined with the advantage of eye preservation. However, this advantage can secondarily be impaired by radiation-related side effects. After local recurrence, secondary glaucoma (SG) has been described as second most frequent complication leading to need of enucleation.

The Cardiomyocyte RNA-Binding Proteome: Links to Intermediary Metabolism and Heart Disease.

RNA functions through the dynamic formation of complexes with RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) in all clades of life. We determined the RBP repertoire of beating cardiomyocytic HL-1 cells by jointly employing two in vivo proteomic methods, mRNA interactome capture and RBDmap. Together, these yielded 1,148 RBPs, 391 of which are shared with all other available mammalian RBP repertoires, while 393 are thus far unique to cardiomyocytes.

Analytical evaluation of a real-time PCR-based DNA demethylation assay to assess the frequency of naturally occurring regulatory T cells in peripheral blood.

Objectives: Regulatory T cells (Tregs) which may indicate operational tolerance provide a promising biomarker for individualization of immunosuppression. Naturally thymus-derived Tregs (nTregs) represent the major suppressive phenotype and can be identified by their demethylation status in the Tregs Specific Demethylated Region (TSDR) of the Forkhead-Box-P3 (FOXP3) gene using quantitative PCR (qPCR).

Design And Methods: The analytical performance of a TSDR demethylation qPCR assay was assessed in whole blood of healthy individuals (HI) and kidney transplant recipients (KTR).

Identification of Maturation-Specific Proteins by Single-Cell Proteomics of Human Oocytes.

Oocytes undergo a range of complex processes via oogenesis, maturation, fertilization, and early embryonic development, eventually giving rise to a fully functioning organism. To understand proteome composition and diversity during maturation of human oocytes, here we have addressed crucial aspects of oocyte collection and proteome analysis, resulting in the first proteome and secretome maps of human oocytes. Starting from 100 oocytes collected via a novel serum-free hanging drop culture system, we identified 2,154 proteins, whose function indicate that oocytes are largely resting cells with a proteome that is tailored for homeostasis, cellular attachment, and interaction with its environment via secretory factors.

[Incidence of retinal vein occlusion during the football World Cup in 2014 : A database analysis].

Background: The association between cardiovascular events, such as acute coronary syndrome and emotional triggers, such as football world cups is well-known. Significant differences could sometimes be identified depending on the country of origin and design of the study. From an ophthalmological perspective the correlation between pre-existing cardiovascular diseases and retinal angiopathy is well-known.

Pregabalin in the treatment of red scrotum syndrome: a report of two cases.

Red scrotum syndrome is a poorly understood, chronic dysesthetic erythema primarily involving the anterior scrotum. Previous reports have indicated that red scrotum syndrome is occasionally responsive to oral doxycycline and oral gabapentin. Otherwise, few therapies have proven successful in treating the disorder.

Changing the habitat: the evolution of intercorrelated traits to escape from predators.

Burst escape speed is an effective and widely used behaviour for evading predators, with burst escape speed relying on several different morphological features. However, we know little about how behavioural and underlying morphological attributes change in concert as a response to changes in selective predation regime. We studied intercorrelated trait differentiation of body shape and burst-swim-mediating morphology in response to a habitat shift-related reduction in burst escape speed using larvae of the dragonfly genus Leucorrhinia.

Proteomic Analysis Reveals Branch-specific Regulation of the Unfolded Protein Response by Nonsense-mediated mRNA Decay.

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) has originally been described as a surveillance mechanism to inhibit the expression of mRNAs with truncated open reading frames (ORFs) and to contribute to the fidelity of gene expression. It is now recognized that NMD also controls the expression of physiological genes with "intact" mRNA. Stress can decrease NMD efficiency and thus increase the mRNA levels of physiological NMD targets.

Crystal Structure of the CTP1L Endolysin Reveals How Its Activity Is Regulated by a Secondary Translation Product.

Bacteriophages produce endolysins, which lyse the bacterial host cell to release newly produced virions. The timing of lysis is regulated and is thought to involve the activation of a molecular switch. We present a crystal structure of the activated endolysin CTP1L that targets Clostridium tyrobutyricum, consisting of a complex between the full-length protein and an N-terminally truncated C-terminal cell wall binding domain (CBD).

Quality of life in the follow-up of uveal melanoma patients after enucleation in comparison to CyberKnife treatment.

Purpose: To compare quality of life (QoL) in patients with uveal melanoma after enucleation and stereotactic radiosurgery to that in an age-matched patient collective.

Methods: QoL was assessed in a cross-sectional survey and compared among 32 uveal melanoma patients after enucleation, 48 patients after stereotactic radiosurgery (CyberKnife(®); Accuray(®) Incorporated, Sunnyvale, CA, USA), and an age-matched control group of 35 patients, using the SF-12 Health Survey. Statistical analysis was performed with Fisher's exact test, Student's t test, one-way ANOVA analysis, Wilcoxon rank-sum (Mann-Whitney test), and ordered logistic regression for multivariate analysis.

Amine Analysis Using AlexaFluor 488 Succinimidyl Ester and Capillary Electrophoresis with Laser-Induced Fluorescence.

Fluorescent probes enable detection of otherwise nonfluorescent species via highly sensitive laser-induced fluorescence. Organic amines are predominantly nonfluorescent and are of analytical interest in agricultural and food science, biomedical applications, and biowarfare detection. Alexa Fluor 488 N-hydroxysuccinimidyl ester (AF488 NHS-ester) is an amine-specific fluorescent probe.

Glatiramer acetate-induced lobular panniculitis and skin necrosis.

Glatiramer acetate (GA) is a drug that commonly is used for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Although it typically is known as a safe and effective therapy, a number of adverse effects associated with GA have been reported in the literature. Local injection-site reactions (LISRs) and mild systemic symptoms are among the most commonly described adverse effects.

5-azacytidine inhibits nonsense-mediated decay in a MYC-dependent fashion.

Nonsense-mediated RNA decay (NMD) is an RNA-based quality control mechanism that eliminates transcripts bearing premature translation termination codons (PTC). Approximately, one-third of all inherited disorders and some forms of cancer are caused by nonsense or frame shift mutations that introduce PTCs, and NMD can modulate the clinical phenotype of these diseases. 5-azacytidine is an analogue of the naturally occurring pyrimidine nucleoside cytidine, which is approved for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome and myeloid leukemia.

Microaneurysm turnover in diabetic retinopathy assessed by automated RetmarkerDR image analysis--potential role as biomarker of response to ranibizumab treatment.

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of a ranibizumab treatment on microaneurysm (MA) turnover in diabetic retinopathy.

Methods: Sixty-nine eyes were included in this retrospective study. We compared a group of 33 eyes with ranibizumab treatment for diabetic macular edema to 36 eyes with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy only.

Polyphyly and hidden species among Hawai'i's dominant mesophotic coral genera, Leptoseris and Pavona (Scleractinia: Agariciidae).

Widespread polyphyly in stony corals (order Scleractinia) has prompted efforts to revise their systematics through approaches that integrate molecular and micromorphological evidence. To date, these approaches have not been comprehensively applied to the dominant genera in mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) because several species in these genera occur primarily at depths that are poorly explored and from which sample collections are limited. This study is the first integrated morphological and molecular systematic analysis of the genera Leptoseris and Pavona to examine material both from shallow-water reefs (<30 m) and from mid- to lower-MCEs (>60 m).

Accuracy of the Heidelberg Spectralis in the alignment between near-infrared image and tomographic scan in a model eye: a multicenter study.

Purpose: To evaluate temporal changes and predictors of accuracy in the alignment between simultaneous near-infrared image and optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan on the Heidelberg Spectralis using a model eye.

Design: Laboratory investigation.

Methods: After calibrating the device, 6 sites performed weekly testing of the alignment for 12 weeks using a model eye.