Effect of metal elements in coloring liquids used in the infiltration method on the physical properties of zirconia.

Objectives: This study aimed to clarify the effect of metal elements in the coloring liquids used in the infiltration method on the physical properties of zirconia.

Methods: Two types of zirconia discs 5Y-PSZ (SHOFU Disc ZR Lucent FA, SHOFU, Kyoto, Japan) were used: with monolayer shades from W2 to W3 (Pearl White) and 5Y-PSZ with multilayer shades from A3 to A4 (L). Five kinds of coloring liquid were used to infiltrate into semi-sintered Pearl White (T-glass [CT], A4 [CA], White-Opaque [CW], Gingiva 1 [CG], and Blue X [CB]).

Deep learning classification performance for diagnosing condylar osteoarthritis in patients with dentofacial deformities using panoramic temporomandibular joint projection images.

Objective: The present study aimed to assess the consistencies and performances of deep learning (DL) models in the diagnosis of condylar osteoarthritis (OA) among patients with dentofacial deformities using panoramic temporomandibular joint (TMJ) projection images.

Methods: A total of 68 TMJs with or without condylar OA in dentofacial deformity patients were tested to verify the consistencies and performances of DL models created using 252 TMJs with or without OA in TMJ disorder and dentofacial deformity patients; these models were used to diagnose OA on conventional panoramic (Con-Pa) images and open (Open-TMJ) and closed (Closed-TMJ) mouth TMJ projection images. The GoogLeNet and VGG-16 networks were used to create the DL models.

Quantitative lipid composition characterization of intact liposomes via P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Drug delivery systems (DDS) are important methods to maximize drug efficacy by enabling in vivo accumulation at the target site. Liposomes, which are nanoscale vesicles consisting of lipid bilayers, are widely used for clinical DDS. The lipid composition of an intact liposome is a significant factor that directly affects its characteristics and functions.

Self-recognition through Dectin-1 exacerbates liver inflammation.

Dectin-1 is a well-characterized C-type lectin receptor involved in anti-fungal immunity through the recognition of polysaccharides; however, molecular mechanisms and outcomes initiated through self-recognition have not been fully understood. Here, we purified a water-soluble fraction from mouse liver that acts as a Dectin-1 agonist. To address the physiological relevance of this recognition, we utilized sterile liver inflammation models.

Design of complicated all-α protein structures.

A wide range of de novo protein structure designs have been achieved, but the complexity of naturally occurring protein structures is still far beyond these designs. Here, to expand the diversity and complexity of de novo designed protein structures, we sought to develop a method for designing 'difficult-to-describe' α-helical protein structures composed of irregularly aligned α-helices like globins. Backbone structure libraries consisting of a myriad of α-helical structures with five or six helices were generated by combining 18 helix-loop-helix motifs and canonical α-helices, and five distinct topologies were selected for de novo design.

Protein-Ligand Interaction Analyses with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Enhanced by Dissolution Triplet Dynamic Nuclear Polarization.

Solution-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) is a powerful method for the analysis of intermolecular interactions within a biomolecular system. However, low sensitivity is one of the major obstacles of NMR. We improved the sensitivity of solution-state C NMR for the observation of intermolecular interactions between protein and ligand using hyperpolarized solution samples at room temperature.

Exploration of novel αβ-protein folds through de novo design.

A fundamental question in protein evolution is whether nature has exhaustively sampled nearly all possible protein folds throughout evolution, or whether a large fraction of the possible folds remains unexplored. To address this question, we defined a set of rules for β-sheet topology to predict novel αβ-folds and carried out a systematic de novo protein design exploration of the novel αβ-folds predicted by the rules. The designs for all eight of the predicted novel αβ-folds with a four-stranded β-sheet, including a knot-forming one, folded into structures close to the design models.

[Devising a Technique for Distal Anastomosis During Total Arch Replacement Using the Frozen Elephant Trunk Technique:Delayed Deployment Technique].

Frozen elephant trunk( FET) technique is an effective procedure used to repair aortic arch aneurysm and aortic dissection. We modified FET technique in order to reduce bleeding, which we named "delayed deployment technique." This procedure is performed in the following manner: 1.

Real-time monitoring of enzyme-catalyzed phosphoribosylation of anti-influenza prodrug favipiravir by time-lapse nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Favipiravir (brand name Avigan), a widely known anti-influenza prodrug, is metabolized by endogenous enzymes of host cells to generate the active form, which exerts inhibition of viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity; first, favipiravir is converted to its phosphoribosylated form, favipiravir-ribofuranosyl-5'-monophosphate (favipiravir-RMP), by hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT). Because this phosphoribosylation reaction is the rate-determining step in the generation of the active metabolite, quantitative and real-time monitoring of the HGPRT-catalyzed reaction is essential to understanding the pharmacokinetics of favipiravir. However, assay methods enabling such monitoring have not been established.

F chemical library and F-NMR for a weakly bound complex structure.

Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD), which involves small compounds <300 Da, has been recognized as one of the most powerful tools for drug discovery. In FBDD, the affinity of hit compounds tends to be low, and the analysis of protein-compound interactions becomes difficult. In an effort to overcome such difficulty, we developed a F-NMR screening method optimizing a F chemical library focusing on highly soluble monomeric molecules.

H, C, and N resonance assignments of human glutathione peroxidase 4.

Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4) behaves as an antioxidant enzyme capable of directly reducing peroxidized phospholipids within cell membranes. Recently, GPx4 has attracted attention as a target molecule for cancer therapy because it induces the immortalization of cancer cells suppressing ferroptosis. In this study, to analyze the function and structure of GPx4 by solution NMR, we performed resonance assignments of GPx4 and assigned almost all backbone H, C, and N resonances and most of the side chain H and C resonances.

A hybrid strategy combining solution NMR spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry to characterize protein-nanodisc interaction.

NMR is a powerful tool for characterizing intermolecular interactions at atomic resolution. However, the nature of the complex interactions of membrane-binding proteins makes it difficult to elucidate the interaction mechanisms. Here, we demonstrated that structural and thermodynamic analyses using solution NMR spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) can clearly detect a specific interaction between the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of ceramide transport protein (CERT) and phosphatidylinositol 4-monophosphate (PI4P) embedded in the lipid nanodisc, and distinguish the specific interaction from nonspecific interactions with the bulk surface of the lipid nanodisc.

Peptide Cyclization Mediated by Metal-Free S-Arylation: S-Protected Cysteine Sulfoxide as an Umpolung of the Cysteine Nucleophile.

Covalent linking of side chains provides a method to produce cyclic or stapled peptides that are important in developing peptide-based drugs. A variety of crosslinking formats contribute to fixing the active conformer and prolonging its biological activity under physiological conditions. One format uses the cysteine thiol to participate in crosslinking through nucleophilic thiolate anions or thiyl radicals to form thioether and disulfide bonds.

Polyphenol-solubility alters amyloid fibril formation of α-synuclein.

Amyloid fibril formation is associated with various amyloidoses, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Amyloid fibrils form above the solubility of amyloidogenic proteins or peptides upon breaking supersaturation, followed by a nucleation and elongation mechanism, which is similar to the crystallization of solutes. Many additives, including salts, detergents, and natural compounds, promote or inhibit amyloid formation.

Sensitivity enhancement by sequential data acquisition for C-direct detection NMR.

C-direct detection NMR has several advantages compared to proton detection, including a tendency to relax slower and wider chemical shift range. However, the sensitivity of C-direct detection is much lower than that of proton detection because of its lower gyromagnetic ratio. In addition, a virtual decoupling procedure is often performed to remove peak splitting in the C-direct detection axis, which further reduces the sensitivity to 1/√2.

Robust folding of a de novo designed ideal protein even with most of the core mutated to valine.

Protein design provides a stringent test for our understanding of protein folding. We previously described principles for designing ideal protein structures stabilized by consistent local and nonlocal interactions, based on a set of rules relating local backbone structures to tertiary packing motifs. The principles have made possible the design of protein structures having various topologies with high thermal stability.

[Treatment of Hemothorax with Bronchial Artery Embolization Combined with Video-assisted Thoracic Surgery Following Hemi-arch Replacement for Stanford Type A Acute Aortic Dissection].

A 51-year-old male arrived at our hospital by ambulance, presenting with a sudden onset of chest pain. Computed tomography (CT) revealed Stanford type A acute aortic dissection. Although emergency hemi-arch replacement was successfully performed, the blood pressure decreased and anemia acutely progressed.

In-cell NMR as a sensitive tool to monitor physiological condition of Escherichia coli.

The in-cell NMR technique offers significant insights into the structure and function of heterologous proteins in the physiological intracellular environment at an atomic resolution. Escherichia coli (E. coli) is one of the most widely used host cells for heterologous protein expression in structural biological studies as well as for in-cell NMR studies to investigate fundamental structural characteristics and the physiochemistry of certain proteins and their intermolecular interactions under physiological conditions.

Diverse Structural Conversion and Aggregation Pathways of Alzheimer's Amyloid-β (1-40).

Complex amyloid aggregation of amyloid-β (1-40) (Aβ) in terms of monomer structures has not been fully understood. Herein, we report the microscopic mechanism and pathways of Aβ aggregation with macroscopic viewpoints through tuning its initial structure and solubility. Partial helical structures of Aβ induced by low solvent polarity accelerated cytotoxic Aβ amyloid fibrillation, while predominantly helical folds did not aggregate.

Structural instability of lamin A tail domain modulates its assembly and higher order function in Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy.

The C-terminal Ig-domain of lamin A plays critical roles in cell function via interaction with proteins, DNA, and chromatin. Mutations in this domain are known to cause various diseases including Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD) and familial partial lipodystrophy (FPLD). Here we examined the biophysical and biochemical properties of mutant Ig-domains identified in patients with EDMD and FPLD.

Transient antibody-antigen interactions mediate the strain-specific recognition of a conserved malaria epitope.

Transient interactions in which binding partners retain substantial conformational disorder play an essential role in regulating biological networks, challenging the expectation that specificity demands structurally defined and unambiguous molecular interactions. The monoclonal antibody 6D8 recognises a completely conserved continuous nine-residue epitope within the intrinsically disordered malaria antigen, MSP2, yet it has different affinities for the two allelic forms of this antigen. NMR chemical shift perturbations, relaxation rates and paramagnetic relaxation enhancements reveal the presence of transient interactions involving polymorphic residues immediately C-terminal to the structurally defined epitope.

Amino Acid Selective C Labeling and C Scrambling Profile Analysis of Protein α and Side-Chain Carbons in Escherichia coli Utilized for Protein Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.

Amino acid selective isotope labeling is an important nuclear magnetic resonance technique, especially for larger proteins, providing strong bases for the unambiguous resonance assignments and information concerning the structure, dynamics, and intermolecular interactions. Amino acid selective N labeling suffers from isotope dilution caused by metabolic interconversion of the amino acids, resulting in isotope scrambling within the target protein. Carbonyl C atoms experience less isotope scrambling than the main-chain N atoms do.

Phosphoinositide binding by the PH domain in ceramide transfer protein (CERT) is inhibited by hyperphosphorylation of an adjacent serine-repeat motif.

Sphingolipids such as ceramide are important constituents of cell membranes. The ceramide transfer protein (CERT) moves ceramide from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus in a nonvesicular manner. Hyperphosphorylation of the serine-repeat motif (SRM) adjacent to the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of CERT down-regulates the inter-organelle ceramide transport function of CERT.

Impact of membrane curvature on amyloid aggregation.

The misfolding, amyloid aggregation, and fibril formation of intrinsically disordered proteins/peptides (or amyloid proteins) have been shown to cause a number of disorders. The underlying mechanisms of amyloid fibrillation and structural properties of amyloidogenic precursors, intermediates, and amyloid fibrils have been elucidated in detail; however, in-depth examinations on physiologically relevant contributing factors that induce amyloidogenesis and lead to cell death remain challenging. A large number of studies have attempted to characterize the roles of biomembranes on protein aggregation and membrane-mediated cell death by designing various membrane components, such as gangliosides, cholesterol, and other lipid compositions, and by using various membrane mimetics, including liposomes, bicelles, and different types of lipid-nanodiscs.