Effect of Deposition Temperature on Zn Interstitials and Oxygen Vacancies in RF-Sputtered ZnO Thin Films and Thin Film-Transistors.

ZnO thin films were deposited using RF sputtering by varying the argon:oxygen gas flow rates and substrate temperatures. Structural, optical and electrical characterization of ZnO thin films were systematically carried out using X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-visible spectroscopy, X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Hall measurements. Film deposited at room temperature and annealed at 300 °C exhibited low O incorporation with localized defects and a high percentage of Zn interstitials.

Galectin-4 Antimicrobial Activity Primarily Occurs Through its C-Terminal Domain.

Although immune tolerance evolved to reduce reactivity with self, it creates a gap in the adaptive immune response against microbes that decorate themselves in self-like antigens. This is particularly apparent with carbohydrate-based blood group antigens, wherein microbes can envelope themselves in blood group structures similar to human cells. In this study, we demonstrate that the innate immune lectin, galectin-4 (Gal-4), exhibits strain-specific binding and killing behavior towards microbes that display blood group-like antigens.

Metabolic Isolation, Stereochemical Determination, and Total Synthesis of Predominant Native Cholesteryl Phosphatidyl-α-glucoside from Carcinogenic .

We report the isolation and stereochemical determination of the predominant native cholesteryl 6--phosphatidyl α-glucoside (CPG) from via an integrated biological and chemical strategy. The strategy employed (i) the metabolic isolation of a CPG analogue and (ii) the enzymatic degradation of the analogue to obtain the native lactobacillic acid for the stereochemical determination. The absolute stereochemistry of the acid was found to be 11 and 12.

Enhanced enzymatic production of cholesteryl 6'-acylglucoside impairs lysosomal degradation for the intracellular survival of Helicobacter pylori.

Background: During autophagy defense against invading microbes, certain lipid types are indispensable for generating specialized membrane-bound organelles. The lipid composition of autophagosomes remains obscure, as does the issue of how specific lipids and lipid-associated enzymes participate in autophagosome formation and maturation. Helicobacter pylori is auxotrophic for cholesterol and converts cholesterol to cholesteryl glucoside derivatives, including cholesteryl 6'-O-acyl-α-D-glucoside (CAG).

Cholesteryl α-D-glucoside 6-acyltransferase enhances the adhesion of Helicobacter pylori to gastric epithelium.

Helicobacter pylori, the most common etiologic agent of gastric diseases including gastric cancer, is auxotrophic for cholesterol and has to hijack it from gastric epithelia. Upon uptake, the bacteria convert cholesterol to cholesteryl 6'-O-acyl-α-D-glucopyranoside (CAG) to promote lipid raft clustering in the host cell membranes. However, how CAG appears in the host to exert the pathogenesis still remains ambiguous.

Knockdown of PINCH-1 protein sensitizes the estrogen positive breast cancer cells to chemotherapy induced apoptosis.

Introduction: PINCH-1 is a ubiquitously expressed protein belonging to the focal adhesion protein group which has a role in cell survival, spreading, adhesion and migration. It has been implicated in pathogenesis of several cancers. In the present study we aimed to investigate the role of this protein in estrogen positive and negative breast cancer subtypes.

Do Platelets Inhibit the Effect of Aspirin on Cancer Cells?

Both platelets and cancer cells display an intimate reciprocal crosstalk resulting in alteration of each other's properties. Although many past studies have tried to demonstrate effect of platelets on tumour cells, exact role of platelets in carcinogenesis is still not clear. In the above study, we explored the effect of different concentrations of platelet rich plasma (PRP) on viability, proliferation and adhesion of HeLa cells in culture conditions.

Piscidin-1, an antimicrobial peptide from fish (hybrid striped bass morone saxatilis x M. chrysops), induces apoptotic and necrotic activity in HT1080 cells.

Piscidin-1, a 22-residue cationic peptide isolated from mast cells of a hybrid striped bass, has potent antimicrobial activities against both gram-positive and -negative bacteria. To date, there is no report of its antitumor activity on any tumor cell lines. In this study, we examined the antitumor activity of a synthetic piscidin-1 peptide against several human cancer cell lines using an MTS assay and soft-agar colony-formation assay.