Light concentration in the near-field of dielectric spheroidal particles with mesoscopic sizes.

This paper presents a numerical study of the light focusing properties of dielectric spheroids with sizes comparable to the illuminating wavelength. An analytical separation-of-variables method is used to determine the electric field distribution inside and in the near-field outside the particles. An optimization algorithm was implemented in the method to determine the particles' physical parameters that maximize the forward scattered light in the near-field region.

Lanthanide(III)/pyrimidine-4,6-dicarboxylate/oxalate extended frameworks: a detailed study based on the lanthanide contraction and temperature effects.

Detailed structural, magnetic, and luminescence studies of six different crystalline phases obtained in the lanthanide/pyrimidine-4,6-dicarboxylate/oxalate system have been afforded: {[Ln(μ-pmdc)(μ-ox)(0.5)(H(2)O)(2)]·3H(2)O}(n) (1-Ln), {[Ln(μ-pmdc)(μ-ox)(0.5)(H(2)O)(3)]·2H(2)O}(n) (2-Ln), {[Ln(μ(3)-pmdc)(μ-ox)(0.

Bis(1,10-phenanthroline-κN,N')bis-(thio-cyanato-κN)cadmium.

The title compound, [Cd(NCS)(2)(C(12)H(8)N(2))(2)], has been obtained from the decomposition reaction of dithio-oxamide in a dimethyl-formamide solution containing 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) and Cd(NO(3))(2)·4H(2)O. Its crystal structure is formed by monuclear Cd(II) entities in which the metal atom is sited on a twofold rotation axis. The Cd(II) atom is six-coordinated in the form of a distorted octa-hedron by two chelating phenanthroline mol-ecules and two thio-cyanate anions coordinated through their N atoms.

Open-framework copper adeninate compounds with three-dimensional microchannels tailored by aliphatic monocarboxylic acids.

A series of isostructural copper(II) coordination polymers containing the nucleobase adenine and different monocarboxylic acids as bridging ligands, [Cu(2)(μ(3)-ade)(2)(μ(2)-OOC(CH(2))(n)CH(3))(2)]·xH(2)O (n from 0 to 5), have been prepared. Single-crystal X-ray analysis of acetate (n = 0) and butanoate (n = 2) compounds shows a covalent three-dimensional network in which the copper(II) centers are bridged by μ-N3,N7,N9-adeninato and μ-O,O'-carboxylato ligands, with crystallization water molecules trapped in the pores, which are decorated by the Watson-Crick faces of the adenine. The tunable permanent porosity of guest-free compounds was confirmed by gas adsorption measurements.

Evaluation of care for at-risk newborns from the perspective of a public health policy.

The aim was to evaluate the care for at-risk newborns under follow-up in their first year of life by the Growing Happily Program, developed in a city in inner São Paulo state. It is a population-based epidemiological health program evaluation study, which was based on the national guidelines of the Agenda of Commitments to Children and Child Mortality Reduction for data analysis. Results showed the program's institutional vulnerability, caused by problems related to its structure and process, with implications for its outcomes.

Therapeutic drug monitoring of protease inhibitors and efavirenz in HIV-infected individuals with active substance-related disorders.

Background: Achieving targeted antiretroviral (ARV) plasma concentrations during long-term treatment in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with substance-related disorders (SRDs) may be challenging due to a number of factors, including medication adherence, coinfection with hepatitis B or C virus, medication intolerance, and drug interactions. One approach to investigate these factors is to conduct therapeutic drug monitoring to measure ARV exposure during treatment. The objective of this study was to utilize therapeutic drug monitoring to compare efavirenz (EFV) and protease inhibitor pharmacokinetics in patients with and without SRDs.

Biomarker responsiveness in different tissues of caged Ruditapes philippinarum and its use within an integrated sediment quality assessment.

Biomarkers comprising activities of biotransformation enzymes (ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase -EROD-, dibenzylfluorescein dealkylase -DBF-, glutathione S-transferase -GST), antioxidant enzymes (glutathione reductase -GR- and glutathione peroxidase -GPX), lipid peroxidation -LPO- and DNA strand breaks were analyzed in the clam Ruditapes philippinarum caged at Cádiz Bay, Santander Bay and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (LPGC) Port (Spain). Sediments were characterized. Digestive gland was the most sensitive tissue to sediment contamination.

Erratum: [Bis(2-pyrid-yl)amine-N,N'](nitrato-O,O')cobalt(II) nitrate. Corrigendum.

The chemical name and formula in the paper by Castillo, Luque, De la Pinta & Román [Acta Cryst. (2001), E57, m384-m386] is corrected.[This corrects the article DOI: 10.

Expression of the vitamin K-dependent proteins GAS6 and protein S and the TAM receptor tyrosine kinases in human atherosclerotic carotid plaques.

The GAS6/ProS-TAM system is composed of two vitamin K-dependent ligands (GAS6 and protein S) and their three protein tyrosine kinase receptors TYRO3, AXL and MERTK, known as the TAM receptors. The system plays a prominent role in conditions of injury, inflammation and repair. In murine models of atherosclerotic plaque formation, mutations in its components affect atherosclerosis severity.

Sediment-quality assessment using the polychaete Arenicola marina: contamination, bioavailability, and toxicity.

The sediment quality of Cádiz Bay, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (LPGC) Port, Santander Bay, Algeciras Bay, and Huelva Estuary (Spain) was evaluated by analysing a battery of biochemical biomarkers-activities of biotranformation enzymes ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase [EROD], dibenzylflourescein dealkylase [DBF], and glutathione S-transferase [GST]; activity of antioxidant enzyme glutathione reductase [GR]; and lipid peroxidation [LPO]-in the polychaete Arenicola marina after laboratory sediment exposure. Huelva Estuary polychaetes showed significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced LPO, GST, and EROD activities compared with control lugworms related to metals and presumably polychlorinated biphenyls.

Built-in mechanical stress in viral shells.

Mechanical properties of biological molecular aggregates are essential to their function. A remarkable example are double-stranded DNA viruses such as the φ29 bacteriophage, that not only has to withstand pressures of tens of atmospheres exerted by the confined DNA, but also uses this stored elastic energy during DNA translocation into the host. Here we show that empty prolated φ29 bacteriophage proheads exhibit an intriguing anisotropic stiffness which behaves counterintuitively different from standard continuum elasticity predictions.

Agonist anti-CD137 mAb act on tumor endothelial cells to enhance recruitment of activated T lymphocytes.

Agonist monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to the immune costimulatory molecule CD137, also known as 4-1BB, are presently in clinical trials for cancer treatment on the basis of their costimulatory effects on primed T cells and perhaps other cells of the immune system. Here we provide evidence that CD137 is selectively expressed on the surface of tumor endothelial cells. Hypoxia upregulated CD137 on murine endothelial cells.

First Report of Sexual Reproduction by the Soybean Sudden Death Syndrome Pathogen Fusarium tucumaniae in Nature.

Of the four fusaria that have been shown to cause soybean sudden death syndrome (SDS), field surveys indicate that Fusarium tucumaniae is the most important and genetically diverse SDS pathogen in Argentina. Although none of the SDS fusaria have been shown to produce perithecia in nature, a heterothallic sexual cycle has been demonstrated for F. tucumaniae via laboratory crosses.

Influence of the synthetic conditions on the structural diversity of extended manganese-oxalato-1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene systems.

We report herein the synthesis and physicochemical characterization of eight new manganese-oxalato compounds with 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene (bpe): {(Hbpe)(2)[Mn(2)(μ-ox)(3)]·∼0.8(C(2)H(5)OH)·∼0.4(H(2)O)}(n) (1), {[Mn(μ-ox)(μ-bpe)]·xH(2)O}(n) (2), [Mn(2)(μ-ox)(2)(μ-bpe)(bpe)(2)](n) (3), [Mn(μ-ox)(μ-bpe)](n) (4a and 4b), and {[Mn(4)(μ-ox)(3)(μ-bpe)(4)(H(2)O)(4)]·(X)(2)·mY}(n) with X = NO(3)(-) (5a), Br(-) (5b), and ClO(4)(-) (5c) and Y = solvation molecules.

Cervicovaginal shedding of HIV type 1 is related to genital tract inflammation independent of changes in vaginal microbiota.

We examined the relationship of proinflammatory vaginal cytokines and secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) with genital HIV-1 shedding after controlling for genital coinfections. Fifty-seven HIV-1-infected women in Seattle, WA (n = 38) and Rochester, NY (n = 19) were followed every 3-4 months for a total of 391 visits. At each visit, plasma and cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) were tested for HIV-1 RNA using qPCR.

Prevalence of human papillomavirus genotypes in HIV-1-infected women in Seattle, USA and Nairobi, Kenya: results from the Women's HIV Interdisciplinary Network (WHIN).

Background: HIV-infected women have a high prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and are more likely to be infected with HPV genotypes that are considered high-risk and have the potential for progressing to cervical cancer. The currently available HPV vaccines protect against specific HPV genotypes that may not be the most important causes of dysplasia and potentially of cervical cancer in HIV-1-infected women. African women have been underrepresented in the studies of global prevalence of HPV genotypes.

The structure of elongated viral capsids.

There are many viruses whose genetic material is protected by a closed elongated protein shell. Unlike spherical viruses, the structure and construction principles of these elongated capsids are not fully known. In this article, we have developed a general geometrical model to describe the structure of prolate or bacilliform capsids.

Health reform in Massachusetts cut the uninsurance rate among children in half.

Massachusetts' 2006 health reform cut the uninsurance rate for children approximately in half in the first two years following implementation. The state now has the lowest rate of uninsurance among children in the nation. More children became enrolled in MassHealth, the state's Medicaid program, and in employer-sponsored insurance.

A prospective study of the efficacy of clinical application of a new carrier-bound fibrin sealant after liver resection.

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of fibrin sealants as supportive treatment to improve hemostasis and decrease the incidence of bile leakage and intra-abdominal collections.

Design: Prospective, controlled, quasiexperimental study.

Setting: Tertiary referral center, University Hospital Reina Sofía.

Immunodetection and subcellular localization of Mal de Río Cuarto virus P9-1 protein in infected plant and insect host cells.

Mal de Río Cuarto virus (MRCV), a member of the genus Fijivirus, family Reoviridae, has a genome consisting of 10 dsRNA segments. The segment 9 (S9) possesses two non-overlapping open reading frames (ORF-1 and ORF-2) encoding two putative proteins, MRCV P9-1 and MRCV P9-2, both of unknown function. The MRCV S9 ORF-1 was RT-PCR amplified, expressed in pET-15b vector, and the recombinant protein produced was used to raise an antiserum in rabbit.

The intermediate band solar cell: progress toward the realization of an attractive concept.

The intermediate band (IB) solar cell has been proposed to increase the current of solar cells while at the same time preserving the output voltage in order to produce an efficiency that ideally is above the limit established by Shockley and Queisser in 1961. The concept is described and the present realizations and acquired understanding are explained. Quantum dots are used to make the cells but the efficiencies that have been achieved so far are not yet satisfactory.

Optimal architectures of elongated viruses.

Many viruses protect their genetic material by a closed elongated protein shell. Unlike spherical viruses, the structure of these prolates is not yet well understood, and only a few of them have been fully characterized. We present the results of a simple phenomenological model, which describes the remarkable structures of prolate or bacilliform viral shells.

Anchorage of VEGF to the extracellular matrix conveys differential signaling responses to endothelial cells.

VEGF can be secreted in multiple isoforms with variable affinity for extracellular proteins and different abilities to induce vascular morphogenesis, but the molecular mechanisms behind these effects remain unclear. Here, we show molecular distinctions between signaling initiated from soluble versus matrix-bound VEGF, which mediates a sustained level of VEGFR2 internalization and clustering. Exposure of endothelial cells to matrix-bound VEGF elicits prolonged activation of VEGFR2 with differential phosphorylation of Y1214, and extended activation kinetics of p38.

ILK mediates LPS-induced vascular adhesion receptor expression and subsequent leucocyte trans-endothelial migration.

Aims: The inflammatory response to injurious agents is tightly regulated to avoid adverse consequences of inappropriate leucocyte accumulation or failed resolution. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated endothelium recruits leucocytes to the inflamed tissue through controlled expression of membrane-associated adhesion molecules. LPS responses in macrophages are known to be regulated by integrin-linked kinase (ILK); in this study, we investigated the role of ILK in the regulation of the LPS-elicited inflammatory response in endothelium.

Beta1 integrin establishes endothelial cell polarity and arteriolar lumen formation via a Par3-dependent mechanism.

Maintenance of single-layered endothelium, squamous endothelial cell shape, and formation of a patent vascular lumen all require defined endothelial cell polarity. Loss of beta1 integrin (Itgb1) in nascent endothelium leads to disruption of arterial endothelial cell polarity and lumen formation. The loss of polarity is manifested as cuboidal-shaped endothelial cells with dysregulated levels and mislocalization of normally polarized cell-cell adhesion molecules, as well as decreased expression of the polarity gene Par3 (pard3).