Chronic alcohol use primes bronchial cells for altered inflammatory response and barrier dysfunction during SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a significant public health concern and people with AUD are more likely to develop severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in response to respiratory infections. To examine whether AUD was a risk factor for more severe outcome in response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, we examined early responses to infection using cultured differentiated bronchial epithelial cells derived from brushings obtained from people with AUD or without AUD. RNA-seq analysis of uninfected cells determined that AUD cells were enriched for expression of epidermal genes as compared with non-AUD cells.

Avoidance of the use of tryptophan in buried chromosomal proteins as a mechanism for reducing photo/oxidative damage to genomes.

In cells that are exposed to terrestrial sunlight, the indole moiety in the side chain of tryptophan (Trp) can suffer photo/oxidative damage (POD) by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and/or ultraviolet light (UV-B). Trp is oxidized to produce N-formylkynurenine (NFK), a UV-A-responsive photosensitizer that further degenerates into photosensitizers capable of generating ROS through exposure to visible light. Thus, Trp-containing proteins function as both victims, and perpetrators, of POD if they are not rapidly replaced through protein turnover.

Transcriptome data analysis of primary cardiomyopathies reveals perturbations in arachidonic acid metabolism.

Introduction: Cardiomyopathies are complex heart diseases with significant prevalence around the world. Among these, primary forms are the major contributors to heart failure and sudden cardiac death. As a high-energy demanding engine, the heart utilizes fatty acids, glucose, amino acid, lactate and ketone bodies for energy to meet its requirement.

Dynamic multiscaling in stochastically forced Burgers turbulence.

We carry out a detailed study of dynamic multiscaling in the turbulent nonequilibrium, but statistically steady, state of the stochastically forced one-dimensional Burgers equation. We introduce the concept of interval collapse time, which we define as the time taken for a spatial interval, demarcated by a pair of Lagrangian tracers, to collapse at a shock. By calculating the dynamic scaling exponents of the moments of various orders of these interval collapse times, we show that (a) there is not one but an infinity of characteristic time scales and (b) the probability distribution function of the interval collapse times is non-Gaussian and has a power-law tail.

Measurement of Sequential ϒ Suppression in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV with the STAR Experiment.

We report on measurements of sequential ϒ suppression in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV with the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) through both the dielectron and dimuon decay channels. In the 0%-60% centrality class, the nuclear modification factors (R_{AA}), which quantify the level of yield suppression in heavy-ion collisions compared to p+p collisions, for ϒ(1S) and ϒ(2S) are 0.40±0.

Study of pnictides for photovoltaic applications.

For the transition into a sustainable mode of energy usage, it is important to develop photovoltaic materials that exhibit better solar-to-electricity conversion efficiencies, a direct optimal band gap, and are made of non-toxic, earth abundant elements compared to the state-of-the-art silicon photovoltaics. Here, we explore the non-redox-active pnictide chemical space, including binary AB, ternary AA'B, and quaternary AA'A''B compounds (A, A', A'' = Ca, Sr, or Zn; B = N or P), as candidate beyond-Si photovoltaics using density functional theory calculations. Specifically, we evaluate the ground state configurations, band gaps, and 0 K thermodynamic stability for all 20 pnictide compositions considered, besides computing the formation energy of cation vacancies, anion vacancies, and cation anti-sites in a subset of candidate compounds.

Assembly and disassembly dynamics of nonmuscle myosin II control endosomal fission.

Endocytic vesicular trafficking requires merging of two lipid bilayers, but how the two lipid bilayers can come close together during fusion and fission in endocytic trafficking is not well explored. Here, we establish that knocking down nonmuscle myosin IIs (NM IIs) by small interfering RNA (siRNA) or inhibition of their activities by (-) blebbistatin causes the formation of a ring-like assembly of early endosomes (raEE). Inhibition of NM II assembly by an inhibitor of regulatory light-chain (RLC) kinase results in the formation of raEE, whereas inhibition of NM II disassembly by inhibitors of heavy chain kinases, protein kinase C (PKC) and casein kinase 2 (CK2), causes the dispersion of early endosomes.

Coupled Mutual Inhibition and Mutual Activation Motifs as Tools for Cell-Fate Control.

Multistability is central to biological systems. It plays a crucial role in adaptation, evolvability, and differentiation. The presence of positive feedback loops can enable multistability.

Enhancing spatial resolution of GRACE-derived groundwater storage anomalies in Urmia catchment using machine learning downscaling methods.

The Urmia lake in north-west Iran has dried up to perilously low levels in the past two decades. In this study, we investigate the drivers behind the decline in lake water level with the help of in-situ and remote sensing data. We use total water storage (TWS) changes from the gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE) satellite mission.

Inhibition of sPLA enzyme activity by cell-permeable antioxidant EUK-8 and downregulation of p38, Akt, and p65 signals induced by sPLA in inflammatory mouse paw edema model.

The arachidonic acid (AA) metabolic pathway, plays a vital role in the production of eicosanoids by the action of pro-inflammatory secretory phospholipase A (PLA ). Release of eicosanoids is known to be involved in many inflammatory diseases. Identification of the inhibitory molecules of this AA pathway enzyme along with the regulation of intracellular signaling cascades may be a finer choice to develop as a powerful anti-inflammatory drug.

Phosphine-Mediated Redox Cyclization of 1-(2-Nitroaryl)prop-2-ynones to 3-Hydroxyquinolin-4-ones: Formal Intramolecular Oxyamination of α,β-Ynones.

3-Hydroxyquinoline-4(1)-ones (3HQs) are privileged structural motifs. The current methods for their synthesis necessitate strongly acidic or basic conditions, which hamper the generality and practicality. Here, we describe phosphine-mediated redox transformation of easily accessible 1-(2-nitroaryl)prop-2-ynones to 3HQs.

SAMHD1 controls innate immunity by regulating condensation of immunogenic self RNA.

Recognition of pathogen-derived foreign nucleic acids is central to innate immune defense. This requires discrimination between structurally highly similar self and nonself nucleic acids to avoid aberrant inflammatory responses as in the autoinflammatory disorder Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS). How vast amounts of self RNA are shielded from immune recognition to prevent autoinflammation is not fully understood.

Biomimetic Total Synthesis of (+)-Nocardioazine B and Analogs.

Nocardioazines A and B are prenylated, bioactive pyrroloindoline natural products, isolated from , with a desymmetrized -d-Trp-d-Trp DKP core. Based on our deeper biosynthetic understanding, a biomimetic total synthesis of (+)-nocardioazine B is accomplished in merely seven steps and 23.2% overall yield.

A clade C HIV-1 vaccine protects against heterologous SHIV infection by modulating IgG glycosylation and T helper response in macaques.

The rising global HIV-1 burden urgently requires vaccines capable of providing heterologous protection. Here, we developed a clade C HIV-1 vaccine consisting of priming with modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) and boosting with cyclically permuted trimeric gp120 (CycP-gp120) protein, delivered either orally using a needle-free injector or through parenteral injection. We tested protective efficacy of the vaccine against intrarectal challenges with a pathogenic heterologous clade C SHIV infection in rhesus macaques.

Gentamicin Augments the Quorum Quenching Potential of Cinnamaldehyde and Protects From Infection.

The quorum sensing (QS) circuitry of represents an attractive target to attenuate bacterial virulence and antibiotic resistance. In this context, phytochemicals harboring anti-virulent properties have emerged as an alternative medicine to combat pseudomonal infections. Hence, this study was undertaken to investigate the synergistic effects and quorum quenching (QQ) potential of cinnamaldehyde (CiNN) in combination with gentamicin (GeN) against .

Nonlinear Reconstruction of Images from Patterns Generated by Deterministic or Random Optical Masks-Concepts and Review of Research.

Indirect-imaging methods involve at least two steps, namely optical recording and computational reconstruction. The optical-recording process uses an optical modulator that transforms the light from the object into a typical intensity distribution. This distribution is numerically processed to reconstruct the object's image corresponding to different spatial and spectral dimensions.

Does an Enol Pathway Preclude High Stereoselectivity in Iron-Catalyzed Indole C-H Functionalization via Carbene Insertion?

C-H functionalization of indoles via Fe carbenoids presents an attractive strategy to obtain biologically important structural motifs. However, obtaining good stereoselectivity with Fe has been a significant challenge. It is unclear whether the low selectivity is due to a radical pathway or an ionic mechanism involving metal-free species.

How Reproducible are Surface Areas Calculated from the BET Equation?

Porosity and surface area analysis play a prominent role in modern materials science. At the heart of this sits the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) theory, which has been a remarkably successful contribution to the field of materials science. The BET method was developed in the 1930s for open surfaces but is now the most widely used metric for the estimation of surface areas of micro- and mesoporous materials.

Chemical synthesis of the pentasaccharide related to the anti-inflammatory oleanane type saponins isolated from medicinal plant Aster tataricus L. f.

Total synthesis of the pentasaccharide related to the saponin isolated from the medicinal plant Aster tataricus L. f. is reported in the form of its allyl glycoside.

Chiral Squaramide Catalyzed Asymmetric Spiroketalization toward Aromatic [6,5] Spiroketals.

Herein is disclosed an efficient enantio- and diastereoselective spiroketalization of aromatic ketone tethered to -homoformyl and enone moiety via enol formation using quinine derived squaramide organocatalyst to access aromatic [6,5] spiroketals with complete atom economy. Furthermore, aromatic spiroketals undergo Brønsted acid catalyzed Piancatelli type rearrangement to provide dihydronaphtho[1,2-]furans with retention of the enantioselectivities.

Aptamers for Viral Detection and Inhibition.

Recent times have experienced more than ever the impact of viral infections in humans. Viral infections are known to cause diseases not only in humans but also in plants and animals. Here, we have compiled the literature review of aptamers selected and used for detection and inhibition of viral infections in all three categories: humans, animals, and plants.

Molecular Mechanism of Dual Intercalation in Sac7d-DNA Complexation.

Sac7d belongs to the hyperthermophilc chromosomal protein family, and it is very stable with regard to heat and acidic environments. Unlike many other DNA-protein complexes, the present one is a nonspecific complexation where two amino acids (AA), VAL26 and MET29, are found to intercalate into the same base pair of DNA. Here, we have carried out multiple short molecular dynamic simulations to calculate the distribution of nonspecific protein-DNA aggregates to find the most probable state, which was subsequently used to construct the free energy landscape of protein intercalation into DNA.

Effect of IFN-Y +874 T/A polymorphism on clinical manifestations of dengue: a meta-analysis.

Dengue virus (DENV) is a mosquito-borne RNA virus, which infects nearly 3.97 billion people every year in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. DENV infections can range from unrecognizable illnesses to a spectrum of clinical manifestations such as dengue fever (DF), and more severe and potentially lethal dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF).

Investigation of the interaction mechanism of 3-allyl-2-hydantoin anti-cancer on the pristine and functionalized BCN nanotubes as an effective drug delivery nanocarriers.

One of the exciting aspects of different nanomaterials in biomedical applications is the delivery of a wide range of anti-cancer drugs to mitigate their negative side effects via precise targeting of the tumor cells. In the present study, the DFT B3LYP/6-31G (d, p) level of theory was used to evaluate the capabilities of raw BCN nanotubes (BCNNTs) and functionalized BCNNTs nanostructures as a carrier for an anti-cancer drug (i.e.