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Sample records for age adjusted d-dimer

  1. Comparison of clinical probability-adjusted D-dimer and age-adjusted D-dimer interpretation to exclude venous thromboembolism.

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    Takach Lapner, Sarah; Julian, Jim A; Linkins, Lori-Ann; Bates, Shannon; Kearon, Clive

    2017-10-05

    Two new strategies for interpreting D-dimer results have been proposed: i) using a progressively higher D-dimer threshold with increasing age (age-adjusted strategy) and ii) using a D-dimer threshold in patients with low clinical probability that is twice the threshold used in patients with moderate clinical probability (clinical probability-adjusted strategy). Our objective was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of age-adjusted and clinical probability-adjusted D-dimer interpretation in patients with a low or moderate clinical probability of venous thromboembolism (VTE). We performed a retrospective analysis of clinical data and blood samples from two prospective studies. We compared the negative predictive value (NPV) for VTE, and the proportion of patients with a negative D-dimer result, using two D-dimer interpretation strategies: the age-adjusted strategy, which uses a progressively higher D-dimer threshold with increasing age over 50 years (age in years × 10 µg/L FEU); and the clinical probability-adjusted strategy which uses a D-dimer threshold of 1000 µg/L FEU in patients with low clinical probability and 500 µg/L FEU in patients with moderate clinical probability. A total of 1649 outpatients with low or moderate clinical probability for a first suspected deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism were included. The NPV of both the clinical probability-adjusted strategy (99.7 %) and the age-adjusted strategy (99.6 %) were similar. However, the proportion of patients with a negative result was greater with the clinical probability-adjusted strategy (56.1 % vs, 50.9 %; difference 5.2 %; 95 % CI 3.5 % to 6.8 %). These findings suggest that clinical probability-adjusted D-dimer interpretation is a better way of interpreting D-dimer results compared to age-adjusted interpretation.

  2. Age-Adjusted D-Dimer in the Prediction of Pulmonary Embolism: Does a Normal Age-Adjusted D-Dimer Rule Out PE?

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    Jacob Ortiz

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Risk assessment for pulmonary embolism (PE currently relies on physician judgment, clinical decision rules (CDR, and D-dimer testing. There is still controversy regarding the role of D-dimer testing in low or intermediate risk patients. The objective of the study was to define the role of clinical decision rules and D-dimer testing in patients suspected of having a PE. Records of 894 patients referred for computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA at a University medical center were analyzed. The clinical decision rules overall had an ROC of approximately 0.70, while signs of DVT had the highest ROC (0.80. A low probability CDR coupled with a negative age-adjusted D-dimer largely excluded PE. The negative predictive value (NPV of an intermediate CDR was 86–89%, while the addition of a negative D-dimer resulted in NPVs of 94%. Thus, in patients suspected of having a PE, a low or intermediate CDR does not exclude PE; however, in patients with an intermediate CDR, a normal age-adjusted D-dimer increases the NPV.

  3. Age-adjusted D-dimer cut-off in the diagnostic strategy for deep vein thrombosis

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    Nybo, Mads; Hvas, Anne-Mette

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Studies have indicated that use of an age-adjusted D-dimer cut-off value for patients above 50 years increases utility of the diagnostic strategy for pulmonary embolism. Evidence for the same approach regarding diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is, however, unclear. MATERIALS...... AND METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA Statement guideline to gather the existing knowledge on the use of an age-adjusted D-dimer cut-off in the diagnostic strategy for DVT. Studies were extracted from Medline and the Cochrane Library. The search period ended...

  4. Age Adjusted D-Dimer for exclusion of Pulmonary Embolism: a retrospective cohort study.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Monks, D

    2017-08-01

    D-Dimer (DD) will increase with age and recent studies have shown the upper limit of normal can be raised in those who are low risk and over 50. We studied age adjusted D-dimer (AADD) levels to assess whether pulmonary embolism (PE) could be safely excluded. This study analysed the Emergency Department (ED) Computed Tomographic Pulmonary Angiography (CTPA) requests. There were 756 requests. The parameters studied were; age, DD value, calculated AADD, CT result and Simplified Geneva Score (SGS). The primary outcome was the diagnostic performance of AADD. One hundred and eighty-five patients were included in the final cohort. Twenty-one patients had a negative DD after age adjustment. Of these one had a PE, corresponding to a failure rate of 4.76% (1 in 22). The sensitivity of AADD was 0.96 (95% CI 0.76 to 0.99) and its specificity was 0.12 (95% CI 0.08- 0.19). AADD demonstrated a reduction in false positives with one false negative, giving rise to a failure rate higher than that of other larger studies. Further study is indicated to accurately define the diagnostic characteristics for the Irish context.

  5. Global emergency medicine journal club: a social media discussion about the Age-Adjusted D-Dimer Cutoff Levels To Rule Out Pulmonary Embolism trial.

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    Rezaie, Salim R; Swaminathan, Anand; Chan, Teresa; Shaikh, Sam; Lin, Michelle

    2015-05-01

    Annals of Emergency Medicine collaborated with an educational Web site, Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM), to host an online discussion session featuring the 2014 Journal of the American Medical Association publication on the Age-Adjusted D-Dimer Cutoff Levels to Rule Out Pulmonary Embolism (ADJUST-PE) trial by Righini et al. The objective is to describe a 14-day (August 25 to September 7, 2014) worldwide academic dialogue among clinicians in regard to 4 preselected questions about the age-adjusted D-dimer cutoff to detect pulmonary embolism. Five online facilitators hosted the multimodal discussion on the ALiEM Web site, Twitter, and Google Hangout. Comments across the social media platforms were curated for this report, as framed by the 4 preselected questions, and engagement was tracked through various Web analytic tools. Blog and Twitter comments, as well as video expert commentary involving the ADJUST-PE trial, are summarized. The dialogue resulted in 1,169 page views from 391 cities in 52 countries on the ALiEM Web site, 502,485 Twitter impressions, and 159 views of the video interview with experts. A postdiscussion summary on the Journal Jam podcast resulted in 3,962 downloads in its first week of publication during September 16 to 23, 2014. Common themes that arose in the multimodal discussions included the heterogeneity of practices, D-dimer assays, provider knowledge about these assays, and prevalence rates in different areas of the world. This educational approach using social media technologies demonstrates a free, asynchronous means to engage a worldwide audience in scholarly discourse. Copyright © 2015 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Performance Evaluation of Different d-Dimer Cutoffs in Bedridden Hospitalized Elderly Patients.

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    Kassim, Nevine A; Farid, Tamer M; Pessar, Shaimaa Abdelmalik; Shawkat, Salma A

    2017-11-01

    A rapid and accurate diagnosis of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the elderly individuals represents a dilemma due to nonspecific clinical presentation, confusing laboratory results, and the hazards of radiological examination in this age-group. d-Dimer test is used mainly in combination with non-high clinical pretest probability (PTP) to exclude VTE. d-Dimer testing retains its sensitivity, however, its specificity decreases in the elderly individuals. Raising the cutoff level improves the specificity of the d-dimer test without compromising its sensitivity. The current study aimed to explore the reliability of higher d-dimer cutoff values for the diagnosis of asymptomatic VTE in a population of bedridden hospitalized elderly patients with non-high clinical PTP. This retrospective study included 252 bedridden hospitalized elderly patients (>65 years) who were admitted to the Ain shams University Specialized Hospital with non-high clinical probability and developed later reduced mobility; all underwent quantitation of d-dimer and Doppler examination. Considering the whole population (>65 years), the age-adjusted cutoff achieved the best performance in comparison with the conventional and receiver operating characteristic (ROC)-derived cutoffs. When stratified according to age, the age-adjusted cutoff showed the best performance in the age-group 65-70 and comparable performance with the ROC-derived cutoff in the age-group 71-80, however, its sensitivity compromised in those older than 80 years. In conclusion, it is recommended to use age-adjusted cutoff value of d-dimer together with the clinical probability score in elderly individuals (65-80 years).

  7. Accuracy of D-Dimers to Rule Out Venous Thromboembolism Events across Age Categories

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    G. Der Sahakian

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Strategies combining pretest clinical assessment and D-dimers measurement efficiently and safely rule out venous thromboembolism events (VTE in low- and intermediate-risk patients. Objectives. As process of ageing is associated with altered concentrations of coagulation markers including an increase in D-dimers levels, we investigated whether D-dimers could reliably rule out VTE across age categories. Method. We prospectively assessed the test performance in 1,004 patients visiting the emergency department during the 6-month period with low or intermediate risk of VTE who also received additional diagnostic procedures. Results. 67 patients had VTE with D-dimers levels above the threshold, and 3 patients displayed D-dimers levels below the threshold. We observed that specificity of D-dimers test decreased in an age-dependent manner. However, sensitivity and negative predictive value remained at very high level in each age category including older patients. Conclusion. We conclude that, even though D-dimers level could provide numerous false positive results in elderly patients, its high sensitivity could reliably help physicians to exclude the diagnosis of VTE in every low- and intermediate-risk patient.

  8. Evaluation of Serum D-dimer Levels in Children with Pneumonia

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    Nilgün Selçuk Duru

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of plasma D-dimer levels with duration of hospitalization and radiological and laboratory findings in patients with pneumonia. Methods: Forty-seven patients with pneumonia (31 boys and 16 girls, mean age: 4.2±4.7 years were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups according to duration of hospitalization and three groups according to radiological findings. D-dimer and other laboratory findings were compared between the groups. Results: The mean serum D-dimer level was 1333.5±1364.4 ng/L. There was no statistically significant difference in D-dimer, leukocyte, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR and C-reactive protein (CRP between the groups divided according to duration of hospitalization. In addition, there was no statistically difference in D-dimer levels between the groups divided according to radiological findings. Age, percentage of neutrophils, ESR and fibrinogen levels were higher in patients with lobar pneumonia when compared with the other groups and CRP level was higher in lobar pneumonia group when compared to interstitial pneumonia group. D-dimer levels were negatively correlated with age and positively correlated with ESR, CRP, and fibrinogen. Conclusion: In our study, D-dimer levels were high in patient with pneumonia. Further studies with a larger number of patients are necessary to determine the role of D-dimer levels as an acutephase reactant in patients with pneumonia

  9. Factors associated with D-dimer levels in HIV-infected individuals

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    Borges, Alvaro H; O'Connor, Jemma L; Phillips, Andrew N

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Higher plasma D-dimer levels are strong predictors of mortality in HIV+ individuals. The factors associated with D-dimer levels during HIV infection, however, remain poorly understood. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, participants in three randomized controlled trials...... with measured D-dimer levels were included (N = 9,848). Factors associated with D-dimer were identified by linear regression. Covariates investigated were: age, gender, race, body mass index, nadir and baseline CD4+ count, plasma HIV RNA levels, markers of inflammation (C-reactive protein [CRP], interleukin-6...... viruses, was positively correlated with D-dimer. Other factors independently associated with higher D-dimer levels were black race, higher plasma HIV RNA levels, being off ART at baseline, and increased levels of CRP, IL-6 and cystatin C. In contrast, higher baseline CD4+ counts and higher high...

  10. Serum Potassium Levels Inversely Correlate with D-Dimer In Patients with Acute-Onset Atrial Fibrillation

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    Cervellin, Gianfranco; Bonfanti, Laura; Picanza, Alessandra; Lippi, Giuseppe

    2015-01-01

    D-dimer values are frequently increased in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) compared to subjects in sinus rhythm. Hypokalemia plays a role in several cardiovascular diseases, but little is known about the association with AF. D-dimer values are frequently increased in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) compared with subjects in sinus rhythm. Hypokalemia plays a role in several cardiovascular diseases, but little is known about the association with AF. The aim of this study was to investigate correlations between D-dimer and serum potassium in acute-onset AF (AAF). To investigate the potential correlation between the values of serum potassium and D-dimer in patients with AAF, we retrospectively reviewed clinical and laboratory data of all emergency department visits for AAF in 2013. Among 271 consecutive AAF patients with D-dimer assessments, those with hypokalemia (n = 98) had significantly higher D-dimer values than normokalemic patients (139 versus 114 ng/mL, p = 0.004). The rate of patients with D-dimer values exceeding the diagnostic cut-off was higher in the group of patients with hypokalemia than in those with normal serum potassium (26.5% versus 16.2%; p = 0.029). An inverse and highly significant correlation was found between serum potassium and D-dimer (r = −0.21; p < 0.001), even after adjustments for age and sex (beta coefficient −94.8; p = 0.001). The relative risk for a positive D-dimer value attributed to hypokalemia was 1.64 (95% CI, 1.02 to 2.63; p = 0.040). The correlation remained statistically significant in patients free from antihypertensive drugs (r = −0.25; p = 0.018), but not in those taking angiotensin-receptor blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, or diuretics. The inverse correlation between values of potassium and D-dimer in patients with AAF provides important and complementary information about the thromboembolic risk of these patients

  11. Serum Potassium Levels Inversely Correlate with D-Dimer In Patients with Acute-Onset Atrial Fibrillation

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    Cervellin, Gianfranco, E-mail: gcervellin@ao.pr.it; Bonfanti, Laura; Picanza, Alessandra; Lippi, Giuseppe [1Academic Hospital of Parma (Italy)

    2015-03-15

    D-dimer values are frequently increased in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) compared to subjects in sinus rhythm. Hypokalemia plays a role in several cardiovascular diseases, but little is known about the association with AF. D-dimer values are frequently increased in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) compared with subjects in sinus rhythm. Hypokalemia plays a role in several cardiovascular diseases, but little is known about the association with AF. The aim of this study was to investigate correlations between D-dimer and serum potassium in acute-onset AF (AAF). To investigate the potential correlation between the values of serum potassium and D-dimer in patients with AAF, we retrospectively reviewed clinical and laboratory data of all emergency department visits for AAF in 2013. Among 271 consecutive AAF patients with D-dimer assessments, those with hypokalemia (n = 98) had significantly higher D-dimer values than normokalemic patients (139 versus 114 ng/mL, p = 0.004). The rate of patients with D-dimer values exceeding the diagnostic cut-off was higher in the group of patients with hypokalemia than in those with normal serum potassium (26.5% versus 16.2%; p = 0.029). An inverse and highly significant correlation was found between serum potassium and D-dimer (r = −0.21; p < 0.001), even after adjustments for age and sex (beta coefficient −94.8; p = 0.001). The relative risk for a positive D-dimer value attributed to hypokalemia was 1.64 (95% CI, 1.02 to 2.63; p = 0.040). The correlation remained statistically significant in patients free from antihypertensive drugs (r = −0.25; p = 0.018), but not in those taking angiotensin-receptor blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, or diuretics. The inverse correlation between values of potassium and D-dimer in patients with AAF provides important and complementary information about the thromboembolic risk of these patients.

  12. International survey on D-dimer test reporting: a call for standardization.

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    Lippi, Giuseppe; Tripodi, Armando; Simundic, Ana-Maria; Favaloro, Emmanuel J

    2015-04-01

    D-dimer is the biochemical gold standard for diagnosing a variety of thrombotic disorders, but result reporting is heterogeneous in clinical laboratories. A specific five-item questionnaire was developed to gain a clear picture of the current standardization of D-dimer test results. The questionnaire was opened online (December 24, 2014-February 10, 2015) on the platform "Google Drive (Google Inc., Mountain View; CA)," and widely disseminated worldwide by newsletters and alerts. A total of 409 responses were obtained during the period of data capture, the largest of which were from Italy (136; 33%), Australia (55; 22%), Croatia (29; 7%), Serbia (26; 6%), and the United States (21; 5%). Most respondents belonged to laboratories in general hospitals (208; 51%), followed by laboratories in university hospitals (104; 26%), and the private sector (94; 23%). The majority of respondents (i.e., 246; 60%) indicated the use of fibrinogen equivalent unit for expressing D-dimer results, with significant heterogeneities across countries and health care settings. The highest prevalence of laboratories indicated they were using "ng/mL" (139; 34%), followed by "mg/L" (136; 33%), and "µg/L" (73; 18%), with significant heterogeneity across countries but not among different health care settings. Expectedly, the vast majority of laboratories (379; 93%) declared to be using a fixed cutoff rather than an age-adjusted threshold, with no significant heterogeneity across countries and health care settings. The results of this survey attest that at least 28 different combinations of measurement units are currently used to report D-dimer results worldwide, and this evidence underscores the urgent need for more effective international joined efforts aimed to promote a worldwide standardization of D-dimer results reporting. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

  13. D-dimers (DD) in CVST.

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    Wang, Hui Fang; Pu, Chuan Qiang; Yin, Xi; Tian, Cheng Lin; Chen, Ting; Guo, Jun Hong; Shi, Qiang

    2017-06-01

    We were interested in further confirming whether D-dimers (DD) are indeed elevated in cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) as reported in those studies. CVST patients who had a plasma D-dimer test (139 cases) were included and divided into two groups: elevated D-dimer group (EDG) (>0.5 μg/mL; 65 cases) and normal D-dimer group (NDG) (≤0.5 μg/mL; 74 cases). The two groups were compared in terms of demographic data, clinical manifestation, laboratory and imaging data, using inferential statistical methods. The chi-squared and Fisher exact test showed that, compared to the NDG (74 cases), patients with elevated D-dimer levels were more likely to have a shorter symptom duration (SD) (30 ± 83.9 versus 90 ± 58.9 d, p = 0.003), more risk factors (75.4% versus 52.7%, p = 0.006), higher multiple venous sinus involvement (75.4% versus 59.5%, p = 0.037), increased fibrinogen (43.1% versus 18.9%, p = 0.037) and higher levels of blood glucose (18.3% versus 11%, p = 0.037). According to correlation analyses, D-dimer levels were positively correlated with number of venous sinuses involvement (NVS) (r = 0.321, p = 0.009) in the EDG. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that SD (OR, 0.025; 95% CI, 1.324-6.043; p = 0.000), NVS (OR, 1.573; 95% CI, 1.15-2.151; p = 0.005) and risk factors (OR, 3.321; 95% CI, 1.451-7.564; p = 0.004) were significantly different between the two groups. D-dimer is elevated in patients with acute/subacute CVST.

  14. Plasma D-dimer concentration in patients with systemic sclerosis

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    Montagnana Martina

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Systemic sclerosis (SSc is an autoimmune disorder of the connective tissue characterized by widespread vascular lesions and fibrosis. Little is known so far on the activation of the hemostatic and fibrinolytic systems in SSc, and most preliminary evidences are discordant. Methods To verify whether SSc patients might display a prothrombotic condition, plasma D-dimer was assessed in 28 consecutive SSc patients and in 33 control subjects, matched for age, sex and environmental habit. Results and discussion When compared to healthy controls, geometric mean and 95% confidence interval (IC95% of plasma D-dimer were significantly increased in SSc patients (362 ng/mL, IC 95%: 361–363 ng/mL vs 229 ng/mL, IC95%: 228–231 ng/mL, p = 0.005. After stratifying SSc patients according to disease subset, no significant differences were observed between those with limited cutaneous pattern and controls, whereas patients with diffuse cutaneous pattern displayed substantially increased values. No correlation was found between plasma D-dimer concentration and age, sex, autoantibody pattern, serum creatinine, erythrosedimentation rate, nailfold videocapillaroscopic pattern and pulmonary involvement. Conclusion We demonstrated that SSc patients with diffuse subset are characterized by increased plasma D-dimer values, reflecting a potential activation of both the hemostatic and fibrinolytic cascades, which might finally predispose these patients to thrombotic complications.

  15. D-dimer Test

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    ... 1997). Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary. F.A. Davis Company, Philadelphia, PA [18th Edition]. Pagana, Kathleen D. & Pagana, ... www.itxm.org . Titus, K. (2003 January). Identity crisis persists: which D-dimer? CAP Today , In the ...

  16. A new D-dimer cutoff in bedridden hospitalized elderly patients.

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    Granziera, Serena; Rechichi, Alfonsina; De Rui, Marina; De Carlo, Paola; Bertozzo, Giulia; Marigo, Lucia; Nante, Giovanni; Manzato, Enzo

    2013-03-01

    Asymptomatic deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism are leading causes of morbidity following the hospitalization of elderly people. The diagnosis of DVT is supported by the D-dimer laboratory assay. The concentration of D-dimer increases in patients with DVT, but may be high in other conditions too (i.e. cancer, infections and inflammation). Old age coincides with a physiological increase in D-dimer values, and that is why D-dimer assay in the elderly is characteristically highly sensitive but scarcely specific. The aim of our study was to explore the reliability of different D-dimer cutoffs for the diagnosis of asymptomatic DVT in a population of bedridden hospitalized elderly patients. We studied 199 patients who were a mean 86.3 ± 6.7 years old. All participants underwent lower limb Doppler ultrasound (DUS) and D-dimer venous blood sampling on admission. In our cohort, the usual cutoff proved highly sensitive (100%), but its specificity was very poor (20.1%). To find a higher cutoff that could improve the method's specificity, we analyzed our data using a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The resulting D-dimer cutoff of 492 μg/l enabled us to retain the same sensitivity while improving the test's specificity to 39.1%, with a consequent improvement in its positive predictive value and accuracy. In addition to improving the method's reliability, this result may be helpful in clinical practice, in both medical wards and nursing homes. By adopting a cutoff of 492 μg/l, clinicians could significantly increase the proportion of older patients in whom DVT can be safely ruled out, reducing referrals for DUS and administration of heparin, with consequent clinical, practical and economic advantages.

  17. Lifecourse social position and D-dimer; findings from the 1958 British birth cohort.

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    Tabassum, Faiza; Kumari, Meena; Rumley, Ann; Power, Chris; Strachan, David P; Lowe, Gordon

    2014-01-01

    The aim is to examine the association of lifecourse socioeconomic position (SEP) on circulating levels of D-dimer. Data from the 1958 British birth cohort were used, social class was determined at three stages of respondents' life: at birth, at 23 and at 42 years. A cumulative indicator score of SEP (CIS) was calculated ranging from 0 (always in the highest social class) to 9 (always in the lowest social class). In men and women, associations were observed between CIS and D-dimer (P<0.05). Thus, the respondents in more disadvantaged social classes had elevated levels of D-dimer compared to respondents in less disadvantaged social class. In multivariate analyses, the association of disadvantaged social position with D-dimer was largely explained by fibrinogen, C-reactive protein and von Willebrand Factor in women, and additionally by smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity in men. Socioeconomic circumstances across the lifecourse at various stages also contribute independently to raised levels of D-dimer in middle age in women only. Risk exposure related to SEP accumulates across life and contributes to raised levels of D-dimer. The association of haemostatic markers and social differences in health may be mediated by inflammatory and other markers.

  18. Predictive value of elevated D-dimer in patients undergoing primary angioplasty for ST elevation myocardial infarction.

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    Akgul, Ozgur; Uyarel, Huseyin; Pusuroglu, Hamdi; Gul, Mehmet; Isiksacan, Nilgun; Turen, Selahattin; Erturk, Mehmet; Surgit, Ozgur; Cetin, Mustafa; Bulut, Umit; Baycan, Omer F; Uslu, Nevzat

    2013-10-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of D-dimer in patients with STEMI undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The prognostic value of D-dimer has been documented in patients with acute coronary syndrome without ST-segment elevation. However, its value in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) remains unclear. We prospectively enrolled 453 consecutive STEMI patients (mean age 55.6 ± 12.4 years, 364 male, 89 female) undergoing primary PCI. The study population was divided into tertiles based on admission D-dimer values. The high D-dimer group (n = 151) was defined as a value in the third tertile [>0.72 ug/ml fibrinogen equivalent units (FEU)], and the low D-dimer group (n = 302) included those patients with a value in the lower two tertiles (≤0.72 ug/ml FEU). Clinical characteristics, in-hospital and 6-month outcomes of primary PCI were analyzed. The patients of the high D-dimer group were older (mean age 60.1 ± 13.5 versus 52.4 ± 10.6, P 0.72 ug/ml FEU) was found to be a powerful independent predictor of 6-month all-cause mortality (odds ratio: 10.1, 95% confidence interval: 1.24-42.73, P = 0.03). These results suggest that a high admission D-dimer, level was associated with increased in-hospital cardiovascular mortality and 6-month all-cause mortality in patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI.

  19. The follow-up of patients of sixty-five years of age and younger with acute ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attacks, and elevated D-dimer levels in plasma

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    Magnus Vrethem

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available D-dimer levels in plasma, a degradation product of fibrin, have been shown to correlate with the severity of ischemic stroke. In order to investigate the outcome of patients with elevated D-dimer we have carried out a follow-up study of patients of 65 years of age and younger with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attacks (TIA admitted to our stroke unit from 1991 to 1992. Twenty-two of the 57 patients had elevated D-dimer levels in the plasma. High levels were associated with cardioembolic stroke. On follow-up after a mean of 12 years, 15 patients had died and six patients had suffered another stroke or TIA (three of whom were dead. Ten patients had suffered other cardiovascular events and seven of them were dead. We concluded that high levels of D-dimer in acute ischemic stroke patients on admission were associated with cardioembolic stroke and might have prognostic value for the development of further cardio- or cerebrovascular events. Advanced age was found to be an independent risk factor.

  20. D-dimer in the diagnosis of thromboembolic disease after spinal surgery

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    Oyama, Motohiko; Saita, Kazuo; Iijima, Yuki; Ueda, Yusuke; Endo, Teruaki

    2010-01-01

    The plasma D-dimer levels of 136 patients (80 men and 56 women, mean age 63.9 years) who underwent spinal surgery in our hospital were measured on pod 3 and pod 7, as a method of screening for thromboembolic disease. A D-dimer cut off value of 10 μg/dl was used and only the patients with higher values were examined by CT. No patients had symptomatic thromboembolic disease. On pod 7 the D-dimer levels of 14 patients was above 10 μg/dl, but only 2 of them were detected in asymptomatic pulmonary embolism. Both of them had undergone anterior fusion surgery, and no deep venous thrombosis was detected in the lower extremities. Anticoagulation therapy with heparin and warfarin was started immediately, and the patients were discharged symptom-free. Another methods of thromboprophylaxis in addition to traditional mechanical thromboprophylaxis, such as by wearing compression stockings and foot pumps, may be necessary after anterior spinal surgery. (author)

  1. Fiber optic D dimer biosensor

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    Glass, Robert S.; Grant, Sheila A.

    1999-01-01

    A fiber optic sensor for D dimer (a fibrinolytic product) can be used in vivo (e.g., in catheter-based procedures) for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke-related conditions in humans. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. It has been estimated that strokes and stroke-related disorders cost Americans between $15-30 billion annually. Relatively recently, new medical procedures have been developed for the treatment of stroke. These endovascular procedures rely upon the use of microcatheters. These procedures could be facilitated with this sensor for D dimer integrated with a microcatheter for the diagnosis of clot type, and as an indicator of the effectiveness, or end-point of thrombolytic therapy.

  2. Relevance of Interleukin-6 and D-Dimer for Serious Non-AIDS Morbidity and Death among HIV-Positive Adults on Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grund, Birgit; Baker, Jason V; Deeks, Steven G

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Despite effective antiretroviral treatment (ART), HIV-positive individuals are at increased risk of serious non-AIDS conditions (cardiovascular, liver and renal disease, and cancers), perhaps due in part to ongoing inflammation and/or coagulation. To estimate the potential risk...... in 3 large cohorts. METHODS: In HIV-positive adults on suppressive ART, associations of IL-6, D-dimer, and hsCRP levels at study entry with serious non-AIDS conditions or death were studied using Cox regression. Hazard ratios (HR) adjusted for age, gender, study, and regression dilution bias (due...... biomarker model estimates a 37% reduction (95% CI: 28 to 46%) in the risk of serious non-AIDS conditions or death if the relationship is causal. CONCLUSIONS: Both IL-6 and D-dimer are independently associated with serious non-AIDS conditions or death among HIV-positive adults with suppressed virus...

  3. Relevance of Interleukin-6 and D-Dimer for Serious Non-AIDS Morbidity and Death among HIV-Positive Adults on Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Birgit Grund

    Full Text Available Despite effective antiretroviral treatment (ART, HIV-positive individuals are at increased risk of serious non-AIDS conditions (cardiovascular, liver and renal disease, and cancers, perhaps due in part to ongoing inflammation and/or coagulation. To estimate the potential risk reduction in serious non-AIDS conditions or death from any cause that might be achieved with treatments that reduce inflammation and/or coagulation, we examined associations of interleukin-6 (IL-6, D-dimer, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP levels with serious non-AIDS conditions or death in 3 large cohorts.In HIV-positive adults on suppressive ART, associations of IL-6, D-dimer, and hsCRP levels at study entry with serious non-AIDS conditions or death were studied using Cox regression. Hazard ratios (HR adjusted for age, gender, study, and regression dilution bias (due to within-person biomarker variability were used to predict risk reductions in serious non-AIDS conditions or death associated with lower "usual" levels of IL-6 and D-dimer.Over 4.9 years of mean follow-up, 260 of the 3766 participants experienced serious non-AIDS conditions or death. IL-6, D-dimer and hsCRP were each individually associated with risk of serious non-AIDS conditions or death, HR = 1.45 (95% CI: 1.30 to 1.63, 1.28 (95% CI: 1.14 to 1.44, and 1.17 (95% CI: 1.09 to 1.26 per 2x higher biomarker levels, respectively. In joint models, IL-6 and D-dimer were independently associated with serious non-AIDS conditions or death, with consistent results across the 3 cohorts and across serious non-AIDS event types. The association of IL-6 and D-dimer with serious non-AIDS conditions or death was graded and persisted throughout follow-up. For 25% lower "usual" IL-6 and D-dimer levels, the joint biomarker model estimates a 37% reduction (95% CI: 28 to 46% in the risk of serious non-AIDS conditions or death if the relationship is causal.Both IL-6 and D-dimer are independently associated with

  4. D-dimer to guide the intensity of anticoagulation in Chinese patients after mechanical heart valve replacement: a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, L; Zheng, X; Long, Y; Wu, M; Chen, Y; Yang, J; Liu, Z; Zhang, Z

    2017-10-01

    Essentials Low anticoagulation intensity reduces bleeding but increases thrombosis during warfarin therapy. Elevated D-dimer level is associated with increased thrombosis events. D-dimer can be used to find potential thrombosis in those receiving low intensity therapy. D-dimer-guided therapy may be the optimal strategy for those with mechanical heart valve replacement. Background Controversies remain regarding the optimal anticoagulation intensity for Chinese patients after mechanical heart valve replacement despite guidelines having recommended a standard anticoagulation intensity. Objectives To investigate whether D-dimer could be used to determine the optimal anticoagulation intensity in Chinese patients after mechanical heart valve replacement. Patients/Methods This was a prospective, randomized controlled clinical study. A total of 748 patients following mechanical heart valve replacement in Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital were randomized to three groups at a ratio of 1 : 1 : 1. Patients in two control groups received warfarin therapy based on constant standard intensity (international normalized ratio [INR], 2.5-3.5; n = 250) and low intensity (INR, 1.8-2.6; n = 248), respectively. In the experimental group (n = 250), warfarin therapy was initiated at low intensity, then those with elevated D-dimer levels were adjusted to standard intensity. All patients were followed-up for 24 months until the occurrence of endpoints, including bleeding events, thrombotic events and all-cause mortality. Results A total of 718 patients were included in the analysis. Fifty-three events occurred during follow-up. There was less hemorrhage (3/240 vs. 16/241; hazard ratio [HR], 0.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.07-0.45) and all-cause mortality (4/240 vs. 12/241; HR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.12-0.87) observed in the D-dimer-guided group than in the standard-intensity group. A lower incidence of thrombotic events was also observed in the D-dimer-guided group when compared with the

  5. Changes in fibrin D-dimer, fibrinogen, and protein S during pregnancy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Anette Tarp; Andreasen, Birgitte Horst; Salvig, Jannie Dalby

    2010-01-01

    Background. Pregnancy is a hypercoagulable state with a 5- to 10- fold higher risk of venous thromboembolism. Existing reference intervals for fibrin D-dimer (D-dimer), functional fibrinogen (fibrinogen) and protein S, free antigen (protein S) are based on non-pregnant patients and reference...... intervals for pregnant patients are warranted. Objectives. The aim of the present study was to contribute to the establishment of reference intervals for D-dimer, fibrinogen and protein S during pregnancy and to discuss the use of the analyses during pregnancy. Methods. We included 55 healthy pregnant women...... in gestational week 11–17, with normal current pregnancy. Blood samples were collected in gestational weeks 11–17, 21–27 and 34–37. The three plasma parameters D-dimer, fibrinogen and protein S were analysed by STA-R Evolution®. Results. A significant rise in D-dimer was found from first to second trimester (p...

  6. D-dimer: a useful tool in gauging optimal duration of oral anticoagulant therapy?

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    M. Silingardi

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY Optimal duration of oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT in idiopathic venous thromboembolism (VTE is unknown. Indefinite OAT carries an unacceptable risk of major bleeding and prospective studies have demonstrated that OAT is no longer protective after its withdrawal. How to identify the patients at risk for recurrence? D-dimer is a marker of thrombin activity. Early prospective studies showed that elevated D-dimer levels after anticoagulation had a highly predictive value for a recurrent episode. Does D-dimer assay have a role in gauging the appropriate duration of anticoagulant therapy? The PROLONG study tries to answer this question. METHOD D-dimer assay was performed one month after stopping anticoagulation. Patiens with normal D-dimer levels did not resume anticoagulation while patients with elevated D-dimer levels were randomized to discontinue or resume anticoagulation. Study end-points was the composite of recurrent VTE and major bleeding during an average follow-up of 1.4 years. RESULTS The rate of recurrence is significantly higher in patients with elevated D-dimer levels who discontinued anticoagulation. Resuming anticoagulation in this cohort of patients markedly reduces recurrent events without increasing major bleeding. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS PROLONG study is provocative, because D-dimer assay is simple, thus not requiring dedicated laboratory facilities. D-dimer test has otherwise high sensitivity but low specificity in VTE diagnosis. Aspecifically elevated D-dimer levels are available in the elderly and the majority of patients included in the study were > 65 years old, thus introducing a possible selection bias. Nonetheless the results of the study are useful for the clinician. Prolongation of vitamin K antagonists in patients with elevated D-dimer levels one month after discontinuation of OAT for a first unprovoked episode of VTE results in a favourable risk-benefit relationship. Probably this

  7. D-dimer as marker for microcirculatory failure: correlation with LOD and APACHE II scores.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angstwurm, Matthias W A; Reininger, Armin J; Spannagl, Michael

    2004-01-01

    The relevance of plasma d-dimer levels as marker for morbidity and organ dysfunction in severely ill patients is largely unknown. In a prospective study we determined d-dimer plasma levels of 800 unselected patients at admission to our intensive care unit. In 91% of the patients' samples d-dimer levels were elevated, in some patients up to several hundredfold as compared to normal values. The highest mean d-dimer values were present in the patient group with thromboembolic diseases, and particularly in non-survivors of pulmonary embolism. In patients with circulatory impairment (r=0.794) and in patients with infections (r=0.487) a statistically significant correlation was present between d-dimer levels and the APACHE II score (P<0.001). The logistic organ dysfunction score (LOD, P<0.001) correlated with d-dimer levels only in patients with circulatory impairment (r=0.474). On the contrary, patients without circulatory impairment demonstrated no correlation of d-dimer levels to the APACHE II or LOD score. Taking all patients together, no correlations of d-dimer levels with single organ failure or with indicators of infection could be detected. In conclusion, d-dimer plasma levels strongly correlated with the severity of the disease and organ dysfunction in patients with circulatory impairment or infections suggesting that elevated d-dimer levels may reflect the extent of microcirculatory failure. Thus, a therapeutic strategy to improve the microcirculation in such patients may be monitored using d-dimer plasma levels.

  8. C-reactive protein level in coronary artery disease and its correlation with serum d-dimer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gul, C.; Marwat, Z.I.; Israr, M.; Hanif, R.; Arshad, M.

    2017-01-01

    C-reactive protein concentration has continuous associations with risk of coronary artery disease, ischemic stroke and death from several cancers. In addition, several studies have shown that CRP could be used to predict first ever myocardial infarction and stroke in healthy subjects, as well as outcome in acute setting. High levels of another biomarker, D-dimer, have been found to be independently associated with occurrence of coronary events. Methods: This correlational study was carried out at the Department of Cardiology, Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad, in collaboration with the department of Biochemistry Postgraduate Medical Institute Lahore from 15th July 2013 to 15th May 2014. Patients aged 30 years or more of either gender having coronary artery disease was included in the study. Their serum D-dimer levels and C-reactive protein levels were measured for correlation with coronary artery disease. Results: A total of 50 patients of CAD were included in this study. Out of these 30 (60 percent) were males and 20 (40 percent) were females. Elevated CRP levels and D-dimer levels were noted in all of these patients. Pearson correlation coefficient test was performed on both CRP and D-dimer levels. Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to be r= -0.1522 and when a p value was calculated, it was found to be 0.292 which implied that the results were not significant. Conclusion: This study showed that there is no correlation between CRP levels and D-dimer levels in patients with Coronary Artery Disease. (author)

  9. Circulating fibrinogen but not D-dimer level is associated with vital exhaustion in school teachers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kudielka, Brigitte M; Bellingrath, Silja; von Känel, Roland

    2008-07-01

    Meta-analyses have established elevated fibrinogen and D-dimer levels in the circulation as biological risk factors for the development and progression of coronary artery disease (CAD). Here, we investigated whether vital exhaustion (VE), a known psychosocial risk factor for CAD, is associated with fibrinogen and D-dimer levels in a sample of apparently healthy school teachers. The teaching profession has been proposed as a potentially high stressful occupation due to enhanced psychosocial stress at the workplace. Plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer levels were measured in 150 middle-aged male and female teachers derived from the first year of the Trier-Teacher-Stress-Study. Log-transformed levels were analyzed using linear regression. Results yielded a significant association between VE and fibrinogen (p = 0.02) but not D-dimer controlling for relevant covariates. Further investigation of possible interaction effects resulted in a significant association between fibrinogen and the interaction term "VE x gender" (p = 0.05). In a secondary analysis, we reran linear regression models for males and females separately. Gender-specific results revealed that the association between fibrinogen and VE remained significant in males but not females. In sum, the present data support the notion that fibrinogen levels are positively related to VE. Elevated fibrinogen might be one biological pathway by which chronic work stress may impact on teachers' cardiovascular health in the long run.

  10. Values of the Wells and Revised Geneva Scores Combined with D-dimer in Diagnosing Elderly Pulmonary Embolism Patients

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    Dan-Jie Guo

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE can be difficult to diagnose in elderly patients because of the coexistent diseases and the combination of drugs that they have taken. We aimed to compare the clinical diagnostic values of the Wells score, the revised Geneva score and each of them combined with D-dimer for suspected PE in elderly patients. Methods: Three hundred and thirty-six patients who were admitted for suspected PE were enrolled retrospectively and divided into two groups based on age (≥65 or <65 years old. The Wells and revised Geneva scores were applied to evaluate the clinical probability of PE, and the positive predictive values of both scores were calculated using computed tomography pulmonary arteriography as a gold standard; overall accuracy was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC of receiver operator characteristic curve; the negative predictive values of D-dimer, the Wells score combined with D-dimer, and the revised Geneva score combined with D-dimer were calculated. Results: Ninety-six cases (28.6% were definitely diagnosed as PE among 336 cases, among them 56 cases (58.3% were ≥65 years old. The positive predictive values of Wells and revised Geneva scores were 65.8% and 32.4%, respectively (P < 0.05 in the elderly patients; the AUC for the Wells score and the revised Geneva score in elderly was 0.682 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.612-0.746 and 0.655 (95% CI: 0.584-0.722, respectively (P = 0.389. The negative predictive values of D-dimer, the Wells score combined with D-dimer, and the revised Geneva score combined with D-dimer were 93.7%, 100%, and 100% in the elderly, respectively. Conclusions: The diagnostic value of the Wells score was higher than the revised Geneva score for the elderly cases with suspected PE. The combination of either the Wells score or the revised Geneva score with a normal D-dimer concentration is a safe strategy to rule out PE.

  11. Fibrin d-dimer concentration, deep vein thrombosis symptom duration, and venous thrombus volume.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurklinsky, Andrew K; Kalsi, Henna; Wysokinski, Waldemar E; Mauck, Karen F; Bhagra, Anjali; Havyer, Rachel D; Thompson, Carrie A; Hayes, Sharonne N; McBane, Robert D

    2011-04-01

    To determine the relationship between fibrin D-dimer levels, symptom duration, and thrombus volume, consecutive patients with incident deep venous thrombosis (DVT) were evaluated. In a cross-sectional study design, patient symptom onset was determined by careful patient questioning. Venous thrombosis was confirmed by compression duplex ultrasonography. Thrombus volume was estimated based on patient's femur length using a forensic anthropology method. Fibrin D-dimer was measured by latex immunoassay. 72 consecutive patients with confirmed leg DVT agreed to participate. The median symptom duration at the time of diagnosis was 10 days. The median D-dimer concentration was 1050 ng/dL. The median thrombus volume was 12.92 cm(3). D-Dimer levels correlated with estimated thrombus volume (P venous thrombosis and correlates with thrombus volume.

  12. D-dimer assay for deep vein thrombosis: its role with colour Doppler sonography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bradley, M.; Bladon, J.; Barker, H

    2000-07-01

    AIM: To evaluate the role of a negative D-dimer assay in the initial management of patients with clinically suspected deep venous thrombosis (DVT), using colour Doppler ultrasound as the primary diagnostic technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A double-blind prospective trial was performed on 143 patients with clinically suspected DVT. All patients underwent a D-dimer assay prior to anticoagulant therapy. DVT was confirmed or excluded by diagnostic colour Doppler ultrasound within 24 h of presentation. RESULTS: In nearly one-third of the cases (31.8%), Doppler ultrasound was positive. The D-dimer assay demonstrated a sensitivity of 97.7% with only one false-negative, but the specificity was low at 48.9% with 45 false-positive results. The positive predictive value for D-dimer assay was 48.8%, whilst the important negative predictive value was 98%. CONCLUSION: If D-dimer was used to screen for DVT, and patients with negative results were not imaged, then the imaging workload could be reduced by 35%. In this study one small calf vein thrombus would have been missed by adopting this practice. Bradley, M. (2000)

  13. Predictive values of D-dimer assay, GRACE scores and TIMI scores for adverse outcome in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Satilmisoglu, Muhammet Hulusi; Ozyilmaz, Sinem Ozbay; Gul, Mehmet; Ak Yildirim, Hayriye; Kayapinar, Osman; Gokturk, Kadir; Aksu, Huseyin; Erkanli, Korhan; Eksik, Abdurrahman

    2017-01-01

    Purpose To determine the predictive values of D-dimer assay, Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) and Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) risk scores for adverse outcome in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). Patients and methods A total of 234 patients (mean age: 57.2±11.7 years, 75.2% were males) hospitalized with NSTEMI were included. Data on D-dimer assay, GRACE and TIMI risk scores were recorded. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the risk factors predicting increased mortality. Results Median D-dimer levels were 349.5 (48.0–7,210.0) ng/mL, the average TIMI score was 3.2±1.2 and the GRACE score was 90.4±27.6 with high GRACE scores (>118) in 17.5% of patients. The GRACE score was correlated positively with both the D-dimer assay (r=0.215, P=0.01) and TIMI scores (r=0.504, P=0.000). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that higher creatinine levels (odds ratio =18.465, 95% confidence interval: 1.059–322.084, P=0.046) constituted the only significant predictor of increased mortality risk with no predictive values for age, D-dimer assay, ejection fraction, glucose, hemoglobin A1c, sodium, albumin or total cholesterol levels for mortality. Conclusion Serum creatinine levels constituted the sole independent determinant of mortality risk, with no significant values for D-dimer assay, GRACE or TIMI scores for predicting the risk of mortality in NSTEMI patients. PMID:28408834

  14. Periodic table of 3d-metal dimers and their ions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutsev, G L; Mochena, M D; Jena, P; Bauschlicher, C W; Partridge, H

    2004-10-08

    The ground states of the mixed 3d-metal dimers TiV, TiCr, TiMn, TiFe, TiCo, TiNi, TiCu, TiZn, VCr, VMn, VFe, VCo, VNi, VCu, VZn, CrMn, CrFe, CrCo, CrNi, CrCu, CrZn, MnFe, MnCo, MnNi, MnCu, MnZn, FeCo, FeNi, FeCu, FeZn, CoNi, CoCu, CoZn, NiCu, NiZn, and CuZn along with their singly negatively and positively charged ions are assigned based on the results of computations using density functional theory with generalized gradient approximation for the exchange-correlation functional. Except for TiCo and CrMn, our assignment agrees with experiment. Computed spectroscopic constants (r(e),omega(e),D(o)) are in fair agreement with experiment. The ground-state spin multiplicities of all the ions are found to differ from the spin multiplicities of the corresponding neutral parents by +/-1. Except for TiV, MnFe, and MnCu, the number of unpaired electrons, N, in a neutral ground-state dimer is either N(1)+N(2) or mid R:N(1)-N(2)mid R:, where N(1) and N(2) are the numbers of unpaired 3d electrons in the 3d(n)4s(1) occupation of the constituent atoms. Combining the present and previous results obtained at the same level of theory for homonuclear 3d-metal and ScX (X=Ti-Zn) dimers allows one to construct "periodic" tables of all 3d-metal dimers along with their singly charged ions.

  15. Cushing`s disease: Fibrinogen and D-dimer levels fail to normalize despite early postoperative remission - a prospective, controlled study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witek, Przemysław; Zieliński, Grzegorz; Szamotulska, Katarzyna; Witek, Joanna; Kamiński, Grzegorz

    2016-01-01

    Effective transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) for Cushing`s disease (CD) normalizes cortisol levels and reduces complications of hypercortisolism. However, there is evidence of increased cardiovascular morbidity even after successful surgery. A prospective, controlled study on the dynamics of fibrinogen and D-dimer levels with a six-month follow-up after an effective TSS for CD. Forty patients with CD and forty healthy age- and sex-matched subjects were included. We assessed ACTH, urinary and serum cortisol, and fibrinogen and D-dimer levels before TSS and during follow-up. Baseline BMI (P < 0.001), fibrinogen (P = 0.002), and D-dimer (P = 0.001) levels in CD patients were significantly higher than those in healthy controls. High fibrinogen levels in the CD group were independent of BMI, and were positively associated with hsCRP (rS = 0.61, P < 0.001) and arterial hypertension (P = 0.029). After the six-month follow-up we confirmed a sustained difference between the remission group and controls in fibrinogen and D-dimer levels (P = 0.001 and P = 0.017, respectively). Despite early biochemical remission of CD the levels of fibrinogen and D-dimer failed to decrease. This probably contributes to the high risk of thrombotic events and indicates the need for a close follow-up for signs of thromboembolic and cardiovascular complications in patients with early CD remission. (Endokrynol Pol 2016; 67 (3): 283-291).

  16. Serum Potassium Levels Inversely Correlate with D-Dimer In Patients with Acute-Onset Atrial Fibrillation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cervellin, Gianfranco; Bonfanti, Laura; Picanza, Alessandra; Lippi, Giuseppe

    2014-12-09

    Background: D-dimer values are frequently increased in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) compared to subjects in sinus rhythm. Hypokalemia plays a role in several cardiovascular diseases, but little is known about the association with AF. Objective: D-dimer values are frequently increased in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) compared with subjects in sinus rhythm. Hypokalemia plays a role in several cardiovascular diseases, but little is known about the association with AF. The aim of this study was to investigate correlations between D-dimer and serum potassium in acute-onset AF (AAF). Methods: To investigate the potential correlation between the values of serum potassium and D-dimer in patients with AAF, we retrospectively reviewed clinical and laboratory data of all emergency department visits for AAF in 2013. Results: Among 271 consecutive AAF patients with D-dimer assessments, those with hypokalemia (n = 98) had significantly higher D-dimer values than normokalemic patients (139 versus 114 ng/mL, p = 0.004). The rate of patients with D-dimer values exceeding the diagnostic cut-off was higher in the group of patients with hypokalemia than in those with normal serum potassium (26.5% versus 16.2%; p = 0.029). An inverse and highly significant correlation was found between serum potassium and D-dimer (r = -0.21; p enzima conversora de angiotensina e diuréticos. Conclusões: A correlação inversa existente entre os níveis séricos de potássio e D-dímero em pacientes com FAA fornece informações importantes sobre o risco de tromboembolismo nestes pacientes.

  17. Elevation in D-dimer concentrations is positively correlated with gestation in normal uncomplicated pregnancy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeremiah ZA

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Zaccheaus A Jeremiah,1 Teddy C Adias,2 Margaret Opiah,3 Siyeoforiye P George,4 Osaro Mgbere,5 Ekere J Essien61Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Nigeria; 2Bayelsa State College of Health Technology, Ogbia-Town, Nigeria; 3Department of Maternal and Child Health, Faculty of Nursing, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Nigeria; 4Postgraduate Hematology Unit, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, Nigeria; 5Houston Department of Health and Human Services, Houston, TX, USA; 6Institute of Community Health, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USABackground: D-dimer levels have been reported to increase progressively during pregnancy, but how this affects Nigerian women is not well known.Objective: This study aims to determine the D-dimer concentration and its relationship to other coagulation parameters among pregnant women in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.Method: In a cross-sectional observational study conducted in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, 120 pregnant women and 60 nonpregnant controls, drawn from a tertiary health institution in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, were assessed, using the standard procedures, for the following parameters: D-dimer concentration, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, platelet count, hemoglobin, and packed cell volume.Results: The median D-dimer concentration of 153.1 ng/mL in the pregnant group was found to be significantly elevated when compared with the control value of 118.5 ng/mL (t = 2.348, P = 0.021. Conversely, there was a marked depression in the platelet count among pregnant women (193.5 × 109/L when compared with 229.0 × 109/L in the control group (t = 3.424; P = 0.001. There was no statistically significant difference in the values for the prothrombin time and the activated partial thromboplastin time between pregnant and nonpregnant women. D-dimer values correlated positively and significantly with gestation (r = 0

  18. D-dimer as an applicable test for detection of posttraumatic deep vein thrombosis in lower limb fracture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakhshi, Hooman; Alavi-Moghaddam, Mostafa; Wu, Karin C; Imami, Mohammad; Banasiri, Mohammad

    2012-06-01

    Measuring the plasma levels of D-dimer is an accurate and easy modality to detect deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in nontraumatic settings. However, the diagnostic reliability of D-dimer assays in detecting posttraumatic DVT among patients with lower limb fracture undergoing orthopedic surgery is not validated. In this study, 141 patients with lower limb fracture admitted through the emergency department and undergoing orthopedic surgery were enrolled. Postoperative venous blood samples for D-dimer assay were taken on the 1st, 7th, and 28th postoperative days. Color Doppler sonography examination of both lower limbs was performed at the same time as a standard test. Eight out of the 141 patients (6%) had acute DVT based on Color Doppler sonography. Mean D-dimer was 2160 ng/mL in DVT positive patients and 864 in DVT negative patients. D-dimer levels greater than 1000 ng/mL were 100% sensitive and 71% specific for detecting postoperative DVT. D-dimer assay is a useful and sensitive test for detecting posttraumatic DVT.

  19. Predictive values of D-dimer assay, GRACE scores and TIMI scores for adverse outcome in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satilmisoglu MH

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Muhammet Hulusi Satilmisoglu,1 Sinem Ozbay Ozyilmaz,1 Mehmet Gul,1 Hayriye Ak Yildirim,2 Osman Kayapinar,3 Kadir Gokturk,4 Huseyin Aksu,1 Korhan Erkanli,5 Abdurrahman Eksik1 1Department of Cardiology, 2Department of Biochemistry, Mehmet Akif Ersoy Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, 3Department of Cardiology, Duzce University Faculty of Medicine, Duzce, 4Department of Infectious Diseases, 5Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Mehmet Akif Ersoy Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey Purpose: To determine the predictive values of D-dimer assay, Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE and Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI risk scores for adverse outcome in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI.Patients and methods: A total of 234 patients (mean age: 57.2±11.7 years, 75.2% were males hospitalized with NSTEMI were included. Data on D-dimer assay, GRACE and TIMI risk scores were recorded. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the risk factors predicting increased mortality.Results: Median D-dimer levels were 349.5 (48.0–7,210.0 ng/mL, the average TIMI score was 3.2±1.2 and the GRACE score was 90.4±27.6 with high GRACE scores (>118 in 17.5% of patients. The GRACE score was correlated positively with both the D-dimer assay (r=0.215, P=0.01 and TIMI scores (r=0.504, P=0.000. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that higher creatinine levels (odds ratio =18.465, 95% confidence interval: 1.059–322.084, P=0.046 constituted the only significant predictor of increased mortality risk with no predictive values for age, D-dimer assay, ejection fraction, glucose, hemoglobin A1c, sodium, albumin or total cholesterol levels for mortality.Conclusion: Serum creatinine levels constituted the sole independent determinant of mortality risk, with no significant values for D-dimer

  20. Embolus location affects the sensitivity of a rapid quantitative D-dimer assay in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Monyé, Wouter; Sanson, Bernd-Jan; Mac Gillavry, Melvin R.; Pattynama, Peter M. T.; Büller, Harry R.; van den Berg-Huysmans, Annette A.; Huisman, Menno V.

    2002-01-01

    D-dimer blood tests have been suggested to rule out pulmonary embolism. Despite evidence of the safety of withholding anticoagulant treatment in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism and a normal D-dimer assay result, clinicians remain reluctant to use a D-dimer assay as a sole diagnostic test.

  1. Relationship between Plasma D-Dimer Concentration and Three-Dimensional Ultrasound Placental Volume in Women at Risk for Placental Vascular Diseases: A Monocentric Prospective Study.

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    Cécile Fanget

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to correlate placental volumes deduced from three-dimensional ultrasound and virtual organ computer-aided analysis (VOCAL software with systemic concentrations of D-dimer and soluble endothelial protein C receptor (sEPCR.This was a monocentric experimental prospective study conducted from October 2008 to July 2009. Forty consecutive patients at risk of placental vascular pathology (PVP recurrence or occurrence were included. Placental volumes were systematically measured three times (11-14, 16-18 and 20-22 weeks of gestation (WG by two independent sonographers. D-dimers and sEPCR plasma concentrations were measured using ELISA kits (Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay.Eleven patients had a PVP. The plasma D-dimer level was positively correlated with placental volume (r = 0.45, p < 0.001. A smaller placental volume and placental quotient was evidenced in women who developed a PVP at the three gestational ages, and the difference was more pronounced during the third exam (20 WG. No obvious correlation could be demonstrated between the development of a PVP and the levels of D-dimer and sEPCR. There was no significant difference in the values of placental volumes measured by the two sonographers.The placenta growth could be a major determinant of the elevation of D-dimer during pregnancy. Consideration of placental volume could allow for modulation of the D-dimer concentrations for restoring their clinical interest.

  2. Elevation of serum CA 125 and D-dimer levels associated with rupture of ovarian endometrioma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uharcek, P; Mlyncek, M; Ravinger, J

    2007-01-01

    Patients with endometriosis rarely have a serum CA 125 concentration >100 IU/mL. A raised plasma level of D-dimer indicates active fibrinolysis, either secondary to clot formation or primarily activated. This condition is seldom diagnosed in patients with endometriosis. A 53-year-old woman was referred to our institution for acute abdominal pain. Laparoscopic surgery revealed a large ovarian cyst with rupture on the left side. Preoperative laboratory tests detected high serum CA 125 and D-dimer levels. Adnexectomy was performed, resulting in a sharp decrease in serum CA 125 and D-dimer concentration. We describe the clinical course of the patient. Rupture of a large ovarian endometrioma can lead to a high serum concentration of CA 125, a condition which, in addition to the detected pelvic mass, may mimic a malignant process. The increased D-dimer plasma level indicated that a ruptured endometriotic cyst can induce coagulation reactions.

  3. CT Findings of Disease with Elevated Serum D-Dimer Levels in an Emergency Room Setting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Ji Youn; Kwon, Woo Cheol; Kim, Young Ju

    2012-01-01

    Pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis are the leading causes of elevated serum D-dimer levels in the emergency room. Although D-dimer is a useful screening test because of its high sensitivity and negative predictive value, it has a low specificity. In addition, D-dimer can be elevated in various diseases. Therefore, information on the various diseases with elevated D-dimer levels and their radiologic findings may allow for accurate diagnosis and proper management. Herein, we report the CT findings of various diseases with elevated D-dimer levels in an emergency room setting, including an intravascular contrast filling defect with associated findings in a venous thromboembolism, fracture with soft tissue swelling and hematoma formation in a trauma patient, enlargement with contrast enhancement in the infected organ of a patient, coronary artery stenosis with a perfusion defect of the myocardium in a patient with acute myocardial infarction, high density of acute thrombus in a cerebral vessel with a low density of affected brain parenchyma in an acute cerebral infarction, intimal flap with two separated lumens in a case of aortic dissection, organ involvement of malignancy in a cancer patient, and atrophy of a liver with a dilated portal vein and associated findings.

  4. CT Findings of Disease with Elevated Serum D-Dimer Levels in an Emergency Room Setting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Ji Youn; Kwon, Woo Cheol; Kim, Young Ju [Dept. of Radiology, Wonju Christian Hospital, Yensei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-01-15

    Pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis are the leading causes of elevated serum D-dimer levels in the emergency room. Although D-dimer is a useful screening test because of its high sensitivity and negative predictive value, it has a low specificity. In addition, D-dimer can be elevated in various diseases. Therefore, information on the various diseases with elevated D-dimer levels and their radiologic findings may allow for accurate diagnosis and proper management. Herein, we report the CT findings of various diseases with elevated D-dimer levels in an emergency room setting, including an intravascular contrast filling defect with associated findings in a venous thromboembolism, fracture with soft tissue swelling and hematoma formation in a trauma patient, enlargement with contrast enhancement in the infected organ of a patient, coronary artery stenosis with a perfusion defect of the myocardium in a patient with acute myocardial infarction, high density of acute thrombus in a cerebral vessel with a low density of affected brain parenchyma in an acute cerebral infarction, intimal flap with two separated lumens in a case of aortic dissection, organ involvement of malignancy in a cancer patient, and atrophy of a liver with a dilated portal vein and associated findings.

  5. D-dimer levels and stroke progression in patients with acute ischemic stroke and atrial fibrillation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krarup, L-H; Sandset, E C; Sandset, P M

    2011-01-01

    Krarup L-H, Sandset EC, Sandset PM, Berge E. D-dimer levels and stroke progression in patients with acute ischemic stroke and atrial fibrillation. Acta Neurol Scand: 2011: 124: 40-44. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Background -  Patients with acute ischemic stroke and atrial fibrillation are at in......Krarup L-H, Sandset EC, Sandset PM, Berge E. D-dimer levels and stroke progression in patients with acute ischemic stroke and atrial fibrillation. Acta Neurol Scand: 2011: 124: 40-44. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Background -  Patients with acute ischemic stroke and atrial fibrillation.......96), and the combined endpoint of stroke progression, recurrent stroke, and death (D-dimer: 991 ng/ml vs 970 ng/ml, P = 0.91). Multivariable analyses did not alter the results. Conclusion -  D-dimer and other markers of hemostatic activation were not associated with stroke progression, recurrent stroke, or death...

  6. Effect of Tranexamic Acid on Blood Loss, D-Dimer, and Fibrinogen Kinetics in Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pong, Ryan P; Leveque, Jean-Christophe A; Edwards, Alicia; Yanamadala, Vijay; Wright, Anna K; Herodes, Megan; Sethi, Rajiv K

    2018-05-02

    Antifibrinolytics such as tranexamic acid reduce operative blood loss and blood product transfusion requirements in patients undergoing surgical correction of scoliosis. The factors involved in the unrelenting coagulopathy seen in scoliosis surgery are not well understood. One potential contributor is activation of the fibrinolytic system during a surgical procedure, likely related to clot dissolution and consumption of fibrinogen. The addition of tranexamic acid during a surgical procedure may mitigate the coagulopathy by impeding the derangement in D-dimer and fibrinogen kinetics. We retrospectively studied consecutive patients who had undergone surgical correction of adult spinal deformity between January 2010 and July 2016 at our institution. Intraoperative hemostatic data, surgical time, estimated blood loss, and transfusion records were analyzed for patients before and after the addition of tranexamic acid to our protocol. Each patient who received tranexamic acid and met inclusion criteria was cohort-matched with a patient who underwent a surgical procedure without tranexamic acid administration. There were 17 patients in the tranexamic acid cohort, with a mean age of 60.7 years, and 17 patients in the control cohort, with a mean age of 60.9 years. Estimated blood loss (932 ± 539 mL compared with 1,800 ± 1,029 mL; p = 0.005) and packed red blood-cell transfusions (1.5 ± 1.6 units compared with 4.0 ± 2.1 units; p = 0.001) were significantly lower in the tranexamic acid cohort. In all single-stage surgical procedures that met inclusion criteria, the rise of D-dimer was attenuated from 8.3 ± 5.0 μg/mL in the control cohort to 3.3 ± 3.2 μg/mL for the tranexamic acid cohort (p tranexamic acid cohort to 60.6 ± 35.1 mg/dL (p = 0.004). In patients undergoing spinal surgery, intravenous administration of tranexamic acid is effective at reducing intraoperative blood loss. Monitoring of D-dimer and fibrinogen during spinal surgery suggests that tranexamic acid

  7. The diagnostic value of ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy combined with plasma D-dimer assay in diagnosis of pulmonary embolism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Qian; Huang Lili; Qin Shuling; Yue Minggang; Wang Yu; Nie Yuxin; Liang Tiejun

    2005-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the clinical diagnostic value of ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy combined with plasma D-dimer assay in diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE). Methods: One hundred and four patients with clinically suspected PE underwent both pulmonary ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy and plasma D-dimer assay. According to the criteria of prospective investigation of the pulmonary embolism diagnosis (PIOPED), ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy was interpreted as normal, very low or low probability of PE, intermediate probability of PE and high probability of PE. High probability was considered as positive; normal and very low or low probability as negative and intermediate probability as non-diagnostic. Plasma D-dimer levels were measured using a quantitative immunoturbidimetric method, and a cut-off value of 500 mg/L was used in the diagnosis of PE. Clinical diagnostic value of ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy, D-dimer assay and combined use of ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy and D-dimer assay for diagnosing PE was evaluated, respectively, comparing with the final clinical diagnosis that was based on the clinical findings. Results: Among the 104 patients, 44 were diagnosed with PE and 60 were excluded. Ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy provided diagnostic interpretations for 86 (82.7%) patients, and non-diagnostic interpretations for 18 (17.3%) patients. For diagnosing PE, the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy was 84.1%, 75.0%, 78.8%, 71.2% and 86.5%, respectively, and with D-dimer assay was 93.2%, 60.0%, 74.0%, 63.1% and 92.3%, respectively. If a plasma D-dimer level of < 500 mg/L was taken as a criterion to exclude PE for those intermediate probability of ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy, the diagnostic specificity and accuracy would be raised to 85.0% and 84.6%, respectively. Conclusions: When a non-diagnostic interpretation was occurred on

  8. Computed Tomography Angiography in Patients Evaluated for Acute Pulmonary Embolism with Low Serum D-dimer Levels: A Prospective Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gimber, Lana Hirai; Travis, R Ing; Takahashi, Jayme M; Goodman, Torrey L; Yoon, Hyo-Chun

    2009-01-01

    Pulmonary computed tomography angiography (CTA) and the Wells criteria both have interobserver variability in the assessment of pulmonary embolism (PE). Quantitative D-dimer assay findings have been shown to have a high negative predictive value in patients with low pretest probability of PE. Evaluate roles for clinical probability and CTA in Emergency Department (ED) patients suspected of acute PE but having a low serum D-dimer level. Prospective observational study of ED patients with possible PE who underwent pulmonary CTA and had D-dimer levels tiebreaker. Pulmonary CTA findings positive for acute embolism should be viewed with caution, especially if the suspected PE is in a distal segmental or subsegmental artery in a patient with a serum D-dimer level of D-dimer levels because most will have low or intermediate clinical probability of PE.

  9. D-Dimer Levels before HIV Seroconversion Remain Elevated Even after Viral Suppression and Are Associated with an Increased Risk of Non-AIDS Events.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew S Freiberg

    Full Text Available The mechanism underlying the excess risk of non-AIDS diseases among HIV infected people is unclear. HIV associated inflammation/hypercoagulability likely plays a role. While antiretroviral therapy (ART may return this process to pre-HIV levels, this has not been directly demonstrated. We analyzed data/specimens on 249 HIV+ participants from the US Military HIV Natural History Study, a prospective, multicenter observational cohort of >5600 active duty military personnel and beneficiaries living with HIV. We used stored blood specimens to measure D-dimer and Interleukin-6 (IL-6 at three time points: pre-HIV seroconversion, ≥6 months post-HIV seroconversion but prior to ART initiation, and ≥6 months post-ART with documented HIV viral suppression on two successive evaluations. We evaluated the changes in biomarker levels between time points, and the association between these biomarker changes and future non-AIDS events. During a median follow-up of 3.7 years, there were 28 incident non-AIDS diseases. At ART initiation, the median CD4 count was 361cells/mm3; median duration of documented HIV infection 392 days; median time on ART was 354 days. Adjusted mean percent increase in D-dimer levels from pre-seroconversion to post-ART was 75.1% (95% confidence interval 24.6-148.0, p = 0.002. This increase in D-dimer was associated with a significant 22% increase risk of future non-AIDS events (p = 0.03. Changes in IL-6 levels across time points were small and not associated with future non-AIDS events. In conclusion, ART initiation and HIV viral suppression does not eliminate HIV associated elevation in D-dimer levels. This residual pathology is associated with an increased risk of future non-AIDS diseases.

  10. Therapeutic significance of a D-dimer cut-off level of >3 μg/ml in colorectal cancer patients treated with standard chemotherapy plus bevacizumab

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mochizuki, Satoshi; Yoshino, Takayuki; Kojima, Takashi

    2010-01-01

    The risk of venous thromboembolism has been reported to increase when receiving bevacizumab. Many cancer patients are reported to have elevated D-dimer levels. It is not clear what D-dimer level might indicate an increased risk of venous thromboembolism in the colorectal cancer patients treated with bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy. The D-dimer levels and any event concurrent with an elevated D-dimer level were evaluated in patients receiving bevacizumab. The D-dimer cut-off level was determined using the receiver-operating characteristic analysis. The selection criteria were as follows: histologically proven metastatic and unresectable colorectal adenocarcinoma; no prior chemotherapy containing bevacizumab; D-dimer test performed repetitively on the baseline and during bevacizumab administration; no venous thromboembolism identified at the baseline; and enhanced computed tomographic scan performed every 2 months. Sixty-nine patients were included. The chemotherapy regimens with bevacizumab included the regimen of 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX), the regimen of 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin and irinotecan (FOLFIRI), and leucovorin-modulated 5-fluorouracil. The median baseline D-dimer level was 1.2 μg/ml. The appropriate D-dimer cut-off level was 3 μg/ml with the negative predictive value of 98% and relative risk of 6.9. Twenty-one of 69 patients showed elevated D-dimer levels of >3 μg/ml, with 11 patients for unknown reasons, 6 with tumor progression, 3 with venous thromboembolism and 1 with sepsis. In the remaining 48 patients whose D-dimer levels were ≤3 μg/ml, only one patient developed a venous thromboembolism. A D-dimer cut-off level of 3 μg/ml might be a useful indicator level to exclude venous thromboembolism or show an increased risk for venous thromboembolism in colorectal cancer patients treated with bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy. (author)

  11. Thrombus Burden of Deep Vein Thrombosis and Its Association with Thromboprophylaxis and D-Dimer Measurement: Insights from the APEX Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chi, Gerald; Goldhaber, Samuel Z; Hull, Russell D; Hernandez, Adrian F; Kerneis, Mathieu; Al Khalfan, Fahad; Cohen, Alexander T; Harrington, Robert A; Gibson, C Michael

    2017-12-01

    Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of betrixaban on the occurrence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and also the extent of thrombus and to assess the association of baseline D-dimer with subsequent thrombus burden. Methods In the APEX trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01583218), 7,513 acutely ill hospitalized medical patients were randomly assigned to extended-duration betrixaban (35–42 days) or enoxaparin (10 ± 4 days). D-dimer concentration was measured at baseline, and mandatory lower-extremity compression ultrasonography (CUS) was performed at 35 to 42 days. The thrombus burden of DVT was assessed by the number of non-compressible vascular segments in six target proximal veins and compared between treatment groups and D-dimer categories (≥2 × upper limit of normal [ULN] versus thrombus burden (p = 0.012 for any-dose and p = 0.001 for full-dose). Elevated D-dimer at baseline was independently associated with a 2.12-fold increased risk of developing DVT (p thrombus burden was also observed in those with D-dimer ≥ 2 × ULN compared with venous segments with thrombosis at 35 to 42 days compared with enoxaparin. A positive D-dimer was associated with a greater extent of thrombus burden among acutely ill medical patients who developed DVT despite receiving thromboprophylaxis.

  12. ANP, BNP and D-dimer predict right ventricular dysfunction in patients with acute pulmonary embolism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borgwardt, Henrik Gutte; Mortensen, Jann; Jensen, Claus V

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this study was to predict right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) using plasma concentration of D-dimer, pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (pro-ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), endothelin-1 (ET-1) and cardiac troponin I (TNI) in patients with pulmonary embolism (PE).......The aim of this study was to predict right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) using plasma concentration of D-dimer, pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (pro-ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), endothelin-1 (ET-1) and cardiac troponin I (TNI) in patients with pulmonary embolism (PE)....

  13. Increased tissue factor, MMP-8, and D-dimer expression in diabetic patients with unstable advanced carotid atherosclerosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jerzy Krupinski

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Jerzy Krupinski1,2, Marta M Turu1,2, M Angels Font1, Nesser Ahmed3, Matthew Sullivan3, Ana Luque1,2, Francisco Rubio1, Lina Badimon2, Mark Slevin31Department of Neurology, Stroke Unit, University Hospital of Bellvitge (HUB, Fundacio IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain; 2Cardiovascular Research Centre, IIBB/CSIC-HSCSP-UAB, Barcelona, Spain; 3School of Biology, Chemistry and Health Science, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United KingdomAbstract: Advanced atherogenesis is characterized by the presence of markers of enhanced prothrombotic capacity, attenuated fibrinolysis, and by clinical conditions associated with defective coagulation. Diabetes may be associated with enhanced lesion instability and atherosclerotic plaque rupture. Plaques obtained from 206 patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy were divided into diabetic (type 2 and nondiabetic and analyzed by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry to detect tissue factor (TF, metalloproteinases (MMP-2, -8, -9, and fibrin/fibrinogen related antigens, and in situ zymography to detect MMP activity. Plasma samples were quantified for TF procoagulant activity, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and D-dimer. Diabetic and symptomatic patients with hypoechogenic plaques had increased plasma TF activity and D-dimer, compared with those with hyperechogenic plaques (p = 0.03, p = 0.007, respectively. Diabetic, symptomatic patients had higher plasma D-dimer levels than asymptomatic patients (p = 0.03. There was a significant correlation between intramural TF levels and D-dimer in diabetic patients with symptomatic disease (p = 0.001, r2 = 0.4. In diabetic patients, plasma fibrinogen levels were higher in patients with hypoechogenic plaques (p = 0.007. Diabetic patients with ulcerated plaques had higher plasma D-dimer and MMP-8 levels than those with fibrous plaques (p = 0.02, p = 0.01, respectively. This data suggests that currently available circulating markers may be clinically useful to select

  14. d-Dimer as a Screening Marker for Venous Thromboembolism After Surgery Among Patients Younger Than 50 With Lower Limb Fractures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yong; Zan, Pengfei; Gong, Jinpeng; Cai, Ming

    2017-01-01

    For the present study, the authors hypothesized that the d-dimer levels would be systematically raised in a postoperative population of patients younger than 50 with lower limb fractures and to define a feasible cutoff value for identification of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Doppler ultrasonography of lower limbs was performed pre- and postoperatively to evaluate for deep vein thrombosis in 150 patients who underwent open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF). Plasma d-dimer levels were assessed 2 days before surgery and on the 3rd, 7th, and 10th days after surgery. Statistical analysis was carried out to define a feasible threshold for the d-dimer levels. Plasma d-dimer levels were found to be systematically raised postoperatively, and they differed between patients with and without VTE significantly. On the third day after surgery, d-dimer levels of more than 3 mg/L indicated VTE with a sensitivity of 88.37% and a specificity of 96.96%, allowing for the definition of a feasible cutoff value. Duration of surgery, duration of tourniquet, ventilation time, and time of postoperative immobility of lower limbs were identified as highly significant risk factors for the development of VTE. Using a threshold of 3 mg/L, the d-dimer levels will screen out VTE with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity in younger patients who have undergone ORIF for lower limb fractures. © The Author(s) 2015.

  15. Theoretical analysis of the domain-swapped dimerization of cytochrome c: An MD and 3D-RISM approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshida, Norio; Higashi, Masahiro; Motoki, Hideyoshi; Hirota, Shun

    2018-01-01

    The structural stability of a cytochrome c domain-swapped dimer compared with that of the monomer was investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and by three-dimensional reference interaction site model (3D-RISM) theory. The structural fluctuation and structural energy of cytochrome c were treated by MD simulations, and the solvation thermodynamics was treated by 3D-RISM theory. The domain-swapped dimer state is slightly less stable than the monomer state, which is consistent with experimental observations; the total free energy difference is calculated as 25 kcal mol-1. The conformational change and translational/rotational entropy change contribute to the destabilization of the dimer, whereas the hydration and vibrational entropy contribute to the stabilization. Further analyses on the residues located at the hinge loop for swapping were conducted, and the results reveal details at the molecular level of the structural and interaction changes upon dimerization.

  16. Observer and biological variation of a rapid whole blood D-dimer test

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Turkstra, F.; van Beek, E. J.; Büller, H. R.

    1998-01-01

    In consecutive patients with suspected venous thromboembolism the interobserver variability of the SimpliRED D-dimer test was evaluated by two observers who independently scored one plate, the between assay variation was performed simultaneously by a third independent observer, who assessed a second

  17. Combined use of the National Early Warning Score and D-dimer levels to predict 30-day and 365-day mortality in medical patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nickel, Christian H; Kellett, John; Cooksley, Tim

    2016-01-01

    AIM: To investigate the combined use of NEWS and D-dimer levels to predict the 30-day and 365-day mortality rates of a cohort of Danish patients with complete follow-up. METHODS: Post-hoc retrospective observational study of acutely admitted medical patients aged 18 years or older who had D...... with a NEWS on admission levels below 0.50mgL(-1) appears to identify patients of low risk...

  18. Combined use of aortic dissection detection risk score and D-dimer in the diagnostic workup of suspected acute aortic dissection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nazerian, Peiman; Morello, Fulvio; Vanni, Simone; Bono, Alessia; Castelli, Matteo; Forno, Daniela; Gigli, Chiara; Soardo, Flavia; Carbone, Federica; Lupia, Enrico; Grifoni, Stefano

    2014-07-15

    Acute aortic dissection (AD) represents a diagnostic conundrum. Validated algorithms are particularly needed to identify patients where AD could be ruled out without aortic imaging. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of a strategy combining the aortic dissection detection (ADD) risk score with D-dimer, a sensitive biomarker of AD. Patients from two clinical centers with suspected AD were prospectively enrolled in a registry, from January 2008 to March 2013. The ADD risk score was calculated by retrospective blinded chart review. For D-dimer, a cutoff of 500 ng/ml was applied. AD was diagnosed in 233 of 1035 (22.5%) patients. The ADD risk score was 0 in 322 (31.1%), 1 in 508 (49.1%) and >1 in 205 (19.8%) patients. The sensitivity and the failure rate of D-dimer were 100% and 0% in patients with ADD score 0, versus 97.5% (95% CI 91.4-99.6%) and 4.2% (95% CI 0.7-12.5%) in patients with ADD risk score >1. In patients with ADD risk score ≤ 1, the sensitivity and the failure rate of D-dimer were 98.7% (95% CI 95.3-99.8%) and 0.8% (95% CI 0.1-2.6%). The diagnostic efficiency of D-dimer in patients with ADD risk score 0 and ≤ 1 was 8.9% (95% CI 7.2-10.7%) and 23.6% (95% CI 21.1-26.2%) respectively. In a large cohort of patients with suspected AD, the presence of ADD risk score 0 or ≤ 1 combined with a negative D-dimer accurately and efficiently ruled out AD. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. The use of a rapid D-dimer blood test in the diagnostic work-up for pulmonary embolism: a management study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Groot, M. R.; van Marwijk Kooy, M.; Pouwels, J. G.; Engelage, A. H.; Kuipers, B. F.; Büller, H. R.

    1999-01-01

    D-dimer assays have a potential to rule out pulmonary embolism in case of a normal test result. We studied the clinical utility of incorporating the SimpliRED D-dimer test result and clinical probability in the routine diagnostic work-up of patients with suspected acute pulmonary embolism. In a

  20. TREE AGE AS ADJUSTMENT FACTOR TO NDVI

    OpenAIRE

    Elias Fernando Berra; Denise Cybis Fontana; Tatiana Mora Kuplich

    2018-01-01

    ABSTRACT This study aimed to increase satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) sensitivity to biophysical parameters changes with aid of a forest age-based adjustment factor. This factor is defined as a ratio between stand age and age of rotation, which value multiplied by Landsat-5/TM-derived NDVI generated the so-called adjusted index NDVI_a. Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) was also calculated. The relationship between these vegetation indices (VI) with Eucalypt...

  1. Dimerized plasmin fragment D as a potential biomarker to predict successful catheter-directed thrombolysis therapy in acute deep vein thrombosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Chien-Ming; Wu, I-Hui; Chan, Chih-Yang; Chen, Yih-Sharng; Yang, Wei-Shiung; Wang, Shoei-Shen

    2015-10-01

    The value of dimerized plasmin fragment D in the clinical monitoring during the catheter-directed thrombolysis in patients with acute deep vein thrombosis is not known. Dimerized plasmin fragment D levels in 24 patients with acute deep vein thrombosis undergoing catheter-directed thrombolysis were prospectively evaluated. The plasma dimerized plasmin fragment D level was measured serially before and at every 12 h during catheter-directed thrombolysis for 24 h. Technical success was defined as restoration of patency and flow with less than 50% residual thrombus by surveillance rotational venography. Technical success was achieved in 79.2% (19 of 24) of the treated limbs after catheter-directed thrombolysis. In univariate analysis, there was significant elevation of the dimerized plasmin fragment D at 12th h after starting the catheter-directed thrombolysis (P fragment D to predict successful catheter-directed thrombolysis was determined as 18.4 µg/ml at the 12th h after starting the catheter-directed thrombolysis with sensitivity 0.8 and specificity 0.8 (P = 0.03). It was further validated in multivariate logistic regression analysis (odds ratio: 14.38; 95% CI: 1.22-169.20; P = 0.03). Catheter-directed thrombolysis is safe and effective for restoration of blood flow in patients with acute deep vein thrombosis. Dimerized plasmin fragment D value greater than 18.4 µg/ml at the 12th h after starting catheter-directed thrombolysis had a high predictive rate of greater than 50% lysis at the end of catheter-directed thrombolysis. © The Author(s) 2014.

  2. Validity of colour doppler ultrasonography with d-dimers in clinically suspected deep venous thrombosis of the lower limb

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Babar, T.H.; Nafees, M.N.; Sarwar, S.; Ashraf, N.

    2010-01-01

    Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the validity of colour Doppler ultrasonography with D-dimers in clinically suspected deep venous thrombosis of the lower limb. Study Design: Validation study Place and Duration of study: Radiology Department CMH/MH Rawalpindi Six months from 15 June 2006 to 31 December 2006. Subjects and Methods: Thirty cases of clinically suspected deep venous thrombosis of the lower limb were included in the study selected on non probability convenience sampling technique. Colour Doppler ultrasonography examination of the affected lower limb was carried out and results compared with D-dimers assays results. Results: Among 30 patients who underwent colour Doppler ultrasonography examination of the affected limb for diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis, 27 (90%) were diagnosed to have deep venous thrombosis, 3 (10%) were diagnosed not to have deep venous thrombosis. Amongst them 2 patients had raised D-dimers levels and repeat Doppler ultrasound advised. On revised ultrasound deep venous thrombosis in these patients was confirmed. This showed that colour Doppler ultrasonography examination has sensitivity of 93.1%, specificity 100%, positive predictive value 100%, negative predictive value 33.33% and overall accuracy of 93.33 %. Conclusion: Colour Doppler ultrasonography has a high diagnostic yield in cases of deep venous thrombosis of lower limb when used in conjunction with D-dimers assays. (author)

  3. 3D nanostar dimers with a sub-10-nm gap for single-/few-molecule surface-enhanced raman scattering

    KAUST Repository

    Chirumamilla, Manohar; Toma, Andrea; Gopalakrishnan, Anisha; Das, Gobind; Proietti Zaccaria, Remo; Krahne, Roman; Rondanina, Eliana; Leoncini, Marco; Liberale, Carlo; De Angelis, Francesco De; Di Fabrizio, Enzo M.

    2014-01-01

    Plasmonic nanostar-dimers, decoupled from the substrate, have been fabricated by combining electron-beam lithography and reactive-ion etching techniques. The 3D architecture, the sharp tips of the nanostars and the sub-10 nm gap size promote the formation of giant electric-field in highly localized hot-spots. The single/few molecule detection capability of the 3D nanostar-dimers has been demonstrated by Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. 3D nanostar dimers with a sub-10-nm gap for single-/few-molecule surface-enhanced raman scattering

    KAUST Repository

    Chirumamilla, Manohar

    2014-01-22

    Plasmonic nanostar-dimers, decoupled from the substrate, have been fabricated by combining electron-beam lithography and reactive-ion etching techniques. The 3D architecture, the sharp tips of the nanostars and the sub-10 nm gap size promote the formation of giant electric-field in highly localized hot-spots. The single/few molecule detection capability of the 3D nanostar-dimers has been demonstrated by Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. The two-state dimer receptor model: a general model for receptor dimers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franco, Rafael; Casadó, Vicent; Mallol, Josefa; Ferrada, Carla; Ferré, Sergi; Fuxe, Kjell; Cortés, Antoni; Ciruela, Francisco; Lluis, Carmen; Canela, Enric I

    2006-06-01

    Nonlinear Scatchard plots are often found for agonist binding to G-protein-coupled receptors. Because there is clear evidence of receptor dimerization, these nonlinear Scatchard plots can reflect cooperativity on agonist binding to the two binding sites in the dimer. According to this, the "two-state dimer receptor model" has been recently derived. In this article, the performance of the model has been analyzed in fitting data of agonist binding to A(1) adenosine receptors, which are an example of receptor displaying concave downward Scatchard plots. Analysis of agonist/antagonist competition data for dopamine D(1) receptors using the two-state dimer receptor model has also been performed. Although fitting to the two-state dimer receptor model was similar to the fitting to the "two-independent-site receptor model", the former is simpler, and a discrimination test selects the two-state dimer receptor model as the best. This model was also very robust in fitting data of estrogen binding to the estrogen receptor, for which Scatchard plots are concave upward. On the one hand, the model would predict the already demonstrated existence of estrogen receptor dimers. On the other hand, the model would predict that concave upward Scatchard plots reflect positive cooperativity, which can be neither predicted nor explained by assuming the existence of two different affinity states. In summary, the two-state dimer receptor model is good for fitting data of binding to dimeric receptors displaying either linear, concave upward, or concave downward Scatchard plots.

  6. Vitamin D, d-dimer, Interferon γ, and sCD14 Levels are Independently Associated with Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome: A Prospective, International Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura W. Musselwhite

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available To determine the immunological profile most important for IRIS prediction, we evaluated 20 baseline plasma biomarkers in Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS patients initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART. Patients were enrolled in a randomized, placebo-controlled ART initiation trial in South Africa and Mexico to test whether maraviroc could prevent IRIS. Participants were classified prospectively as having IRIS within 6 months of ART initiation. Twenty plasma biomarkers were measured at study enrollment for 267 participants. Biomarkers were tested for predicting IRIS with adjustment for covariates chosen through forward stepwise selection. Sixty-two participants developed IRIS and of these 19 were tuberculosis (TB-IRIS. Baseline levels of vitamin D and higher d-dimer, interferon gamma (IFNγ, and sCD14 were independently associated with risk of IRIS in multivariate analyses. TB-IRIS cases exhibited a distinct biosignature from IRIS related to other pathogens, with increased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP, sCD14, IFNγ, and lower levels of Hb that could be captured by a composite risk score. Elevated markers of Type 1 T helper (Th1 response, monocyte activation, coagulation and low vitamin D were independently associated with IRIS risk. Interventions that decrease immune activation and increase vitamin D levels warrant further study.

  7. Combined use of clinical pre-test probability and D-dimer test in the diagnosis of preoperative deep venous thrombosis in colorectal cancer patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stender, Mogens; Frøkjaer, Jens Brøndum; Hagedorn Nielsen, Tina Sandie

    2008-01-01

    The preoperative prevalence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in patients with colorectal cancer may be as high as 8%. In order to minimize the risk of pulmonary embolism, it is important to rule out preoperative DVT. A large study has confirmed that a negative D-dimer test in combination with a low...... preoperative DVT in colorectal cancer patients admitted for surgery. Preoperative D-dimer test and compression ultrasonography for DVT were performed in 193 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer. Diagnostic accuracy indices of the D-dimer test were assessed according to the PTP score...... in ruling out preoperative DVT in colorectal cancer patients admitted for surgery....

  8. Synthesis of dimeric arylβ-D-galactopyranosides for the evaluation of their interaction with the Erythrina cristagalli lectin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Figueiredo, Rute Cunha; Meyer, Nadia Burkowski; Prado, Maria Auxiliadora Fontes; Alves, Ricardo Jose; Rojo, Javier

    2009-01-01

    The synthesis of two new D-galactose-based dimers having a 1,4-butanediamine spacer is reported aiming at the evaluation of their interaction with the Erythrina cristagalli lectin. The title compounds were prepared in four and five steps from 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β-D-galactopyranoside bromide, in 20 % and 15 % overall yield, respectively, using the Doebner modification of the Koenavenagel reaction as the key sep. The lectin-carbohydrate interaction could be evaluated for only one dimer, due to solubility problems. A twofold enhancement of affinity was observed, compared to the corresponding monovalent ligand. (author)

  9. Serum D-dimer concentrations in nephrotic syndrome track with albuminuria, not estimated glomerular filtration rate.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Sexton, D J

    2012-01-01

    The nephrotic syndrome is associated with an increased risk of venous and arterial thrombosis. There are little published data on the distribution, interpretation or determinants of serum D-dimer levels in patients with the nephrotic syndrome. We aimed to describe this relationship.

  10. Identification of the Dimer Exchange Interface of the Bacterial DNA Damage Response Protein UmuD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murison, David A; Timson, Rebecca C; Koleva, Bilyana N; Ordazzo, Michael; Beuning, Penny J

    2017-09-12

    The Escherichia coli SOS response, an induced DNA damage response pathway, confers survival on bacterial cells by providing accurate repair mechanisms as well as the potentially mutagenic pathway translesion synthesis (TLS). The umuD gene products are upregulated after DNA damage and play roles in both nonmutagenic and mutagenic aspects of the SOS response. Full-length UmuD is expressed as a homodimer of 139-amino-acid subunits, which eventually cleaves its N-terminal 24 amino acids to form UmuD'. The cleavage product UmuD' and UmuC form the Y-family polymerase DNA Pol V (UmuD' 2 C) capable of performing TLS. UmuD and UmuD' exist as homodimers, but their subunits can readily exchange to form UmuDD' heterodimers preferentially. Heterodimer formation is an essential step in the degradation pathway of UmuD'. The recognition sequence for ClpXP protease is located within the first 24 amino acids of full-length UmuD, and the partner of full-length UmuD, whether UmuD or UmuD', is degraded by ClpXP. To better understand the mechanism by which UmuD subunits exchange, we measured the kinetics of exchange of a number of fluorescently labeled single-cysteine UmuD variants as detected by Förster resonance energy transfer. Labeling sites near the dimer interface correlate with increased rates of exchange, indicating that weakening the dimer interface facilitates exchange, whereas labeling sites on the exterior decrease the rate of exchange. In most but not all cases, homodimer and heterodimer exchange exhibit similar rates, indicating that somewhat different molecular surfaces mediate homodimer exchange and heterodimer formation.

  11. Structure of 1,5-Anhydro-D-Fructose: X-ray Analysis of Crystalline Acetylated Dimeric Forms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lundt, Inge; Andersen, Søren Møller; Marcussen, Jan

    1998-01-01

    Acetylation of 1,5-anhydro-D-fructose under acidic conditions gave two crystalline acetylated dimeric forms, which by X-ray analysis were shown to be diastereomeric spiroketals formed between C-2 and C-2´/C-3´. The structures of the compounds differed only at the configuration at C-2. Acetylation...... or benzoylation of 1,5-anhydro-D-fructose in pyridine yielded 3,6-di-O-acetyl-1,5-anhydro-4-deoxy-D-glycero-hex-3-enos-2-ulopyra -nose or crystalline 1,5-anhydro-3,6-di-O-benzoyl-4-deoxy-D-glycero-hex-3-enos-2-ulo-py ranose....

  12. Detection of cyclobutane thymine dimers in DNA of human cells with monoclonal antibodies raised against a thymine dimer-containing tetranucleotide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roza, L; Wulp, K.J.M. van der; MacFarlane, S J; Lohman, P H.M.; Baan, R A

    1988-11-01

    A hybrid cell line (hybridoma) has been isolated after fusion between mouse-plasmacytoma cells and spleen cells from mice immunized with a thymine dimer-containing tetranucleotide coupled to a carrier protein. Monoclonal antibodies produced by this hybridoma were characterized by testing the effect of various inhibitors in a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The antibodies have a high specificity for thymine dimers in single-stranded DNA or poly(dT), but do not bind UV-irradiated d(TpC)/sub 5/. Less binding is observed with short thymine dimer-containing sequences. In vitro treatment of UV-irradiated DNA with photoreactivating enzyme in the presence of light, or with Micrococcus luteus UV-endonuclease results in disappearance of antigenicity. Antibody-binding to DNA isolated from UV-irradiated human fibroblasts (at 254 nm) is linear with dose. Removal of thymine dimers in these cells during a post-irradiation incubation, as detected with the antibodies, is fast initially but the rate rapidly decreases (about 50% residual dimers at 20 h after 10 J/m/sup 2/). The induction of thymine dimers in human skin irradiated with low doses of UV-B, too, was demonstrated immunochemically, by ELISA as well as by quantitative immunofluorescence microscopy.

  13. Long-Lived Triplet Excited States of Bent-Shaped Pentacene Dimers by Intramolecular Singlet Fission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakuma, Takao; Sakai, Hayato; Araki, Yasuyuki; Mori, Tadashi; Wada, Takehiko; Tkachenko, Nikolai V; Hasobe, Taku

    2016-03-24

    Intramolecular singlet fission (ISF) is a promising photophysical process to construct more efficient light energy conversion systems as one excited singlet state converts into two excited triplet states. Herein we synthesized and evaluated bent-shaped pentacene dimers as a prototype of ISF to reveal intrinsic characters of triplet states (e.g., lifetimes of triplet excited states). In this study, meta-phenylene-bridged TIPS-pentacene dimer (PcD-3Ph) and 2,2'-bipheynyl bridged TIPS-pentacene dimer (PcD-Biph) were newly synthesized as bent-shaped dimers. In the steady-state spectroscopy, absorption and emission bands of these dimers were fully characterized, suggesting the appropriate degree of electronic coupling between pentacene moieties in these dimers. In addition, the electrochemical measurements were also performed to check the electronic interaction between two pentacene moieties. Whereas the successive two oxidation peaks owing to the delocalization were observed in a directly linked-pentacene dimer (PcD) by a single bond, the cyclic voltammograms in PcD-Biph and PcD-3Ph implied the weaker interaction compared to that of p-phenylene-bridged TIPS-pentacene dimer (PcD-4Ph) and PcD. The femtosecond and nanosecond transient absorption spectra clearly revealed the slower ISF process in bent-shaped pentacene dimers (PcD-Biph and PcD-3Ph), more notably, the slower relaxation of the excited triplet states in PcD-Biph and PcD-3Ph. Namely, the quantum yields of triplet states (ΦT) by ISF approximately remain constant (ca. 180-200%) in all dimer systems, whereas the lifetimes of the triplet excited states became much longer (up to 360 ns) in PcD-Biph as compared to PcD-4Ph (15 ns). Additionally, the lifetimes of the corresponding triplet states in PcD-Biph and PcD-3Ph were sufficiently affected by solvent viscosity. In particular, the lifetimes of PcD-Biph triplet state in THF/paraffin (1.0 μs) increased up to approximately three times as compared to that in THF

  14. D-dimer levels over time and the risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism: an update of the Vienna prediction model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eichinger, Sabine; Heinze, Georg; Kyrle, Paul A

    2014-01-02

    Patients with unprovoked venous thromboembolism (VTE) can be stratified according to their recurrence risk based on their sex, the VTE location, and D-dimer measured 3 weeks after anticoagulation by the Vienna Prediction Model. We aimed to expand the model to also assess the recurrence risk from later points on. Five hundred and fifty-three patients with a first VTE were followed for a median of 68 months. We excluded patients with VTE provoked by a transient risk factor or female hormone intake, with a natural inhibitor deficiency, the lupus anticoagulant, or cancer. The study end point was recurrent VTE, which occurred in 150 patients. D-dimer levels did not substantially increase over time. Subdistribution hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) dynamically changed from 2.43 (1.57 to 3.77) at 3 weeks to 2.27 (1.48 to 3.48), 1.98 (1.30 to 3.02) , and 1.73 (1.11 to 2.69) at 3, 9, and 15 months in men versus women, from 1.84 (1.00 to 3.43) to 1.68 (0.91 to 3.10), 1.49 (0.79 to 2.81) , and 1.44 (0.76 to 2.72) in patients with proximal deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism compared with calf vein thrombosis, and from 1.30 (1.07 to 1.58) to 1.27 (1.06 to 1.51), 1.20 (1.02 to 1.41), and 1.13 (0.95 to 1.36) per doubling D-dimer. Using a dynamic landmark competing risks regression approach, we generated nomograms and a web-based calculator to calculate risk scores and recurrence rates from multiple times after anticoagulation. Risk of recurrent VTE after discontinuation of anticoagulation can be predicted from multiple random time points by integrating the patient's sex, location of first VTE, and serial D-dimer measurements.

  15. Study of molybdenum(VI) dimerization equilibrium in strongly acidic medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Esbelin, E.

    2000-01-01

    Molybdenum (VI) was investigated spectro-photometrically in non complexing and strongly acidic medium for the first time by Krumenacker. Cationic species of molybdenum were identified by electrophoresis on cellulose paper in highly acidic solutions. From these early results using absorption spectrophotometry, Krumenacker postulated the condensation of molybdenum in this medium. He studied the polymeric species by measuring diffusion coefficients and identified the polymeric form as a dimer. He described the system by equations (1) and (2). Cruywagen later added two equations (3) and (4) to supplement the description of the system. The aim of this work was to re-examine the conditional dimerization equilibrium between the various species of molybdenum(VI) in strongly acid medium by focussing on the influence of the medium. All Mo solution concentrations were analyzed by ICP-AES. Absorbance of the solutions were measured with a VARIAN model CARY5 spectrophotometer in double beam mode with air as reference; blank solutions contained all reagents except molybdenum. The quartz cell path length was 1 mm. The dimerization of monomeric molybdenum(VI) was investigated spectro-photometrically at perchloric acid concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 3 M at 25 deg C. Two absorption bands at 215 and 245 nm were observed and attributed to monomeric and dimeric forms respectively. The variations in the conditional molar absorption coefficient of molybdenum with total molybdenum(VI) concentration is indicative of several molybdenum forms involved in the total absorbance. Dimerization equilibrium is defined by equation (5). By using the additivity of absorbance and mass conservation of molybdenum, a descriptive equation of the 'spectrochemical' system is developed. This equation is linearized into two forms (6) et (7). From them, two refinement methods were used to estimate the conditional dimerization constant K' d for various medium concentrations. This numerical procedure offers

  16. Adsorption of dimeric surfactants in lamellar silicates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Balcerzak, Mateusz; Pietralik, Zuzanna [Department of Macromolecular Physics, Faculty of Physics, A. Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 85, 61-614 Poznań (Poland); Domka, Ludwik [Department of Metalorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, A. Mickiewicz University, Grunwaldzka 6, 60-780 Poznań (Poland); Skrzypczak, Andrzej [Institute of Chemical Technology, Poznań University of Technology, Berdychowo 4, 60-965 Poznań (Poland); Kozak, Maciej, E-mail: mkozak@amu.edu.pl [Department of Macromolecular Physics, Faculty of Physics, A. Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 85, 61-614 Poznań (Poland)

    2015-12-01

    Highlights: • The intercalation of dimeric surfactants changed the morphology of MMT samples. • XRD indicated structures formed by surfactant molecules in interlayer space. • The four-step thermal decomposition of dimeric surfactant, confirms intercalation. - Abstract: The adsorption of different types of cationic surfactants in lamellar silicates changes their surface character from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. This study was undertaken to obtain lamellar silicates modified by a series of novel dimeric (gemini) surfactants of different length alkyl chains and to characterise these organophilised materials. Synthetic sodium montmorillonite SOMASIF® ME 100 (M) and enriched bentonite of natural origin (Nanoclay – hydrophilic bentonite®) were organophilised with dimeric (gemini) surfactants (1,1′-(1,4-butanediyl)bis(alkoxymethyl)imidazolium dichlorides). As a result of surfactant molecule adsorption in interlamellar space, the d-spacing (d{sub 001}) increased from 0.97 nm (for the anhydrous structure) to 2.04 nm. A Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis of the modified systems reveals bands assigned to the stretching vibrations of the CH{sub 2} and CH{sub 3} groups and the scissoring vibrations of the NH group from the structure of the dimeric surfactants. Thermogravimetric (TG) and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) studies imply a four-stage process of surfactant decomposition. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images provide information on the influence of dimeric surfactant intercalation into the silicate structures. Particles of the modified systems show a tendency toward the formation of irregularly shaped agglomerates.

  17. Normal D-dimer ved dyb venøs trombose i en overekstremitet hos to patienter med pacemaker

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Byrne, Christina; Abdulla, Jawdat; Christensen, Jan Kim

    2015-01-01

    D-dimer, DVT was verified by colour Doppler ultrasound in both cases. The guidelines of American College of Chest Physicians recommend initial evaluation using colour Doppler ultrasound as front-line examination. Accordingly, we suggest a similar revision of Danish guidelines incorporating upper...

  18. Changes of coagulation and fibrinolysis in middle-old aged patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Xi; Xie Ying; Zhang Weijun; Zhao Ruixiang; Peng Xinjie; Zhang Wen; Zhang Yan; Cheng Xiuqin; Wang Longhua; Guo Yonghe; Zhou Yujie; Wen Shaojun; Liu Jielin

    2008-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the changes of coagulation and fibrinolysis function in the middle-old aged patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Methods: The levels of D-Dimer and tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were detected in 92 middle-aged patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF group) and 60 patients with sinus rhythm (control group) by immune turbidimetry and enzyme linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA). Univariate analysis was used to determine the differences between two groups, and covariance analysis was used to determine the factors which might affect coagulation and fibrinolysis indexes. Results: 1)The plasma levels of D-Dimer [(0.16±0.10) mg·L -1 ] and t-PA [(42.58± 30.28) μg·L -1 ] and PAI-1 [(86.03 ± 21.43) μg·L -1 ] in AF group were significantly higher than those in the control group [(0.10 ± 0.08) mg·L -1 , (26.02±13.84) μg·L -1 , (64.94±24.35) μg·L -1 ] (P<0.05 or P <0.001). The ratio of PAI-1/t-PA in AF group was higher than that in control group slightly. 2) After adjustment of the factors which included sex, age and plasma creatinine, uric acid, blood sugar, triglyceride and cholesterol, the levels of D-Dimer (P=0.047), t-PA (P=0.264) and PAI-1 (P=0.001) in AF group were higher than those in the control group. Conclusion: The middle-old aged patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation lose their balance of coagulation and fibrinolysis in the state of hypercoagulated and hypofibrinolysis. (authors)

  19. Dual energy CT pulmonary blood volume assessment in acute pulmonary embolism - correlation with D-dimer level, right heart strain and clinical outcome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bauer, Ralf W.; Frellesen, Claudia; Schell, Boris; Lehnert, Thomas; Jacobi, Volkmar; Vogl, Thomas J.; Kerl, J.M.; Renker, Matthias; Ackermann, Hanns; Schoepf, U.J.

    2011-01-01

    To investigate the role of perfusion defect (PD) size on dual energy CT pulmonary blood volume assessment as predictor of right heart strain and patient outcome and its correlation with d-dimer levels in acute pulmonary embolism (PE). 53 patients with acute PE who underwent DECT pulmonary angiography were retrospectively analyzed. Pulmonary PD size caused by PE was measured on DE iodine maps and quantified absolutely (VolPD) and relatively to the total lung volume (RelPD). Signs of right heart strain (RHS) on CT were determined. Information on d-dimer levels and readmission for recurrent onset of PE and death was collected. D-dimer level was mildly (r = 0.43-0.47) correlated with PD size. Patients with RHS had significantly higher VolPD (215 vs. 73 ml) and RelPD (9.9 vs. 2.9%) than patients without RHS (p 5% RelPD, while no such events were found for patients with <5% RelPD. Pulmonary blood volume on DECT in acute PE correlates with RHS and appears to be a predictor of patient outcome in this pilot study. (orig.)

  20. Ancestry-Adjusted Vitamin D Metabolite Concentrations in Association With Cytochrome P450 3A Polymorphisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Robin Taylor; Masters, Loren D; Barnholtz-Sloan, Jill S; Salzberg, Anna C; Hartman, Terryl J

    2018-04-01

    We investigated the association between genetic polymorphisms in cytochrome P450 (CYP2R1, CYP24A1, and the CYP3A family) with nonsummer plasma concentrations of vitamin D metabolites (25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) and proportion 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (24,25(OH)2D3)) among healthy individuals of sub-Saharan African and European ancestry, matched on age (within 5 years; n = 188 in each ancestral group), in central suburban Pennsylvania (2006-2009). Vitamin D metabolites were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Paired multiple regression and adjusted least-squares mean analyses were used to test for associations between genotype and log-transformed metabolite concentrations, adjusted for age, sex, proportion of West-African genetic ancestry, body mass index, oral contraceptive (OC) use, tanning bed use, vitamin D intake, days from summer solstice, time of day of blood draw, and isoforms of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and vitamin D binding protein. Polymorphisms in CYP2R1, CYP3A43, vitamin D binding protein, and genetic ancestry proportion remained associated with plasma 25(OH)D3 after adjustment. Only CYP3A43 and VDR polymorphisms were associated with proportion 24,25(OH)2D3. Magnitudes of association with 25(OH)D3 were similar for CYP3A43, tanning bed use, and OC use. Significant least-squares mean interactions (CYP2R1/OC use (P = 0.030) and CYP3A43/VDR (P = 0.013)) were identified. A CYP3A43 genotype, previously implicated in cancer, is strongly associated with biomarkers of vitamin D metabolism. Interactive associations should be further investigated.

  1. Normal D-dimer ved dyb venøs trombose i en overekstremitet hos to patienter med pacemaker

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Byrne, Christina; Abdulla, Jawdat; Christensen, Jan Kim

    2015-01-01

    Danish guidelines recommend the use of D-dimer to exclude deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in the lower extremities. However, guidelines are lacking for DVT in the upper extremities. We describe two young women with transvenous pacemaker electrodes and symptomatic DVT in related veins. Despite a normal...

  2. D-dimer, factor VIII and von Willebrand factor predict a non-dipping pattern of blood pressure in hypertensive patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agorasti, Athanasia; Trivellas, Theodoros; Mourvati, Efthimia; Papadopoulos, Vasilios; Tsatalas, Konstantinos; Vargemezis, Vasilios; Passadakis, Ploumis

    2013-06-01

    The aim of this study is to assess whether the haemostatic markers D-dimer, factor VIII (FVIII) and von Willebrand factor (VWF) are predictive of non-dipping status in treated hypertensive patients; so, as easy available laboratory data can predict non-dipping pattern and help with the selection of the patients whom circadian blood pressure should be re-examined. Forty treated hypertensive patients with essential hypertension were included in the study. Twenty-four-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was performed in all patients. Daytime and nocturnal average systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressures were calculated. Patients were characterised as "non-dippers" on the basis of a less than 10 % decline in nocturnal blood pressure (BP); either systolic or diastolic or mean (MAP). D-dimer as marker of fibrinolytic function, FVIII activity and VWF antigen as marker of endothelial dysfunction were measured on plasma. The predictive efficiency was analysed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Youden index was used for the estimation of the cut-off points and the associated values for sensitivity and 1-specificity. Plasma levels of D-dimer, FVIII and VWF were significantly higher in non-dippers as compared with dippers, irrespective of the classification used (BP index); all P AUC(ROC) = 0.697, 0.715 and 0.774), FVIII (AUC(ROC) = 0.714, 0.692 and 0.755) and VWF (AUC(ROC) = 0.706, 0.740 and 0.708) in distinguishing non-dipping pattern (systolic, diastolic or mean) in the study population; all P 168 ng/ml (sensitivity/1-specificity for systolic BP non-dippers of 0.789/0.381, for diastolic BP non-dippers 0.923/0.444 and for MAP non-dippers 0.875/0.375). In conclusion, D-dimer has a good predictive value for non-dipping pattern and the decision for the 24-h ambulatory blood pressure re-monitoring among dippers could rely on its values.

  3. Study on the change and relationship between plasma D-dimer and homocysteine levels in patients with acute cerebral vascular accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu Ye; Pan Xiangtao; Yan Min

    2009-01-01

    Objective: To study the clinical significance of the changes and the relationships between plasma D-dimer (D-D) and Homocysteine (Hcy) expression in patients with acute cerebral infarction and acute cerebral hemorrhage. Methods: Plasma D-D (with ELISA) and Hcy (with CLIA) levels were measured in 397 patients with cerebral infarction, 122 patients with cerebral hemorrhage and 30 controls.Results 1) The mean level of the plasma D-D and Hcy in patients with acute cerebral infarction was 5.20±0.92μg/L and 21.23±13.54 μmol/L respectively, which was significant higher than that in controls and patients with acute cerebral hemorrhage. 2) Higher expressing of D-D and Hcy was found in 101 (25.4%) and 140 (35.3%) cases of acute cerebral infarction patients. The data in acute cerebral hemorrhage group was 17 (13.9%) and 27 (22.1%) respectively. There was significant difference between two groups, P<0.01. 3) There was not correlations with the expression level of D-D and Hcy in patients with acute cerebral infarction and patients with acute cerebral hemorrhage. 4) The expressing level of the Plasma D-D in acute cerebral infarction patients was not significant difference in both age and sex. The expressing level of Hcy in male was higher than that in female. There was not significant difference in the expressing level of Hcy in different age. Conclusion: The levels of plasma D-D and Hcy in patients with acute cerebral infarction significantly in creased, but there were not correlations between the levels of the two parameters. (authors)

  4. Cyclic Hexapeptide Dimers, Antatollamides A and B, from the Ascidian Didemnum molle. A Tryptophan-Derived Auxiliary for l- and d-Amino Acid Assignments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salib, Mariam N; Molinski, Tadeusz F

    2017-10-06

    Two dimerized cyclic hexapeptides, antatollamides A (1) and B (2), were isolated from the colonial ascidian Didemnum molle collected in Pohnpei. The amino acid compositions and sequences were determined by interpretation of MS and 1D and 2D NMR data. Raney Ni reduction of antatollamide A cleaved the dimer to the corresponding monomeric cyclic hexapeptide with replacement of Cys by Ala. The amino acid configuration of 1 was established, after total hydrolysis, by derivatization with a new chiral reagent, (5-fluoro-2,4-dinitrophenyl)-N α -l-tryptophanamide (FDTA), prepared from l-Trp, followed by LCMS analysis; all amino acids were found to be l-configured except for d-Ala.

  5. Dualism of Sensitivity and Selectivity of Porphyrin Dimers in Electroanalysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lisak, Grzegorz; Tamaki, Takashi; Ogawa, Takuji

    2017-04-04

    This work uncovers the application of porphyrin dimers for the use in electroanalysis, such as potentiometric determination of ions. It also puts in question a current perception of an occurrence of the super-Nernstian response, as a result of the possible dimerization of single porphyrins within an ion-selective membrane. To study that, four various porphyrin dimers were used as ionophores, namely, freebase-freebase, Zn-Zn, Zn-freebase, and freebase-Zn. Since the Zn-freebase and freebase-Zn porphyrin dimers carried both anion- and cation-sensitive porphyrin units, their application in ISEs was utilized in both anion- and cation-sensitive sensors. With respect to the lipophilic salt added, both porphyrins dimers were found anion- and cation-sensitive. This allowed using a single molecule as novel type of versatile ionophore (anion- and cation-selective), simply by varying the membrane composition. All anion-sensitive sensors were perchlorate-sensitive, while the cation-selective sensors were silver-sensitive. The selectivity of the sensors depended primarily on the porphyrin dimers in the ion-selective membrane. Furthermore, the selectivity of cation-sensitive dimer based sensors was found significantly superior to the ones measured for the single porphyrin unit based sensors (precursors of the porphyrin dimers). Thus, the dimerization of single porphyrins may actually be a factor to increase or modulate porphyrin selectivity. Moreover, in the case of cation-sensitive sensors, the selectivity vastly depended on the order of porphyrin units in the dimer. This opens a new approach of regulating and adjusting sensitivity and selectivity of the sensor through the application of complex porphyrin systems with more than one porphyrin units with mix sensitive porphyrins.

  6. Prothrombin Time, Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time, Fibrinogen, dan D-dimer Sebagai Prediktor Decompensated Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation Sisseminated pada Sepsis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fenny

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Sepsis is a systemic response to infection especially in pneumonia case. Sepsis can cause complications such as disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC which can be divided into compensated and decompensated DIC. The purpose of this study was to assess whether the value of prothrombin time (PT, activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT, fibrinogen, and D-dimer levels can be used as predictors of decompensated DIC in sepsis patients. This study was conducted at the Laboratory of Clinical Pathology Rumah Sakit Hasan Sadikin Bandung since September 2008 to June 2010. Subjects were patients with sepsis caused by pneumonia. PT and aPTT values, fibrinogen, and D-dimer levels was recorded from all sepsis patients then patients were observed until diagnosed decompensated or non-decompensated DIC, then the value of PT, aPTT, fibrinogen and D-dimer levels in the group of decompensated DIC and non-decompensated DIC were analysed. This study used cohort design. Subjects were 39 sepsis patients (58% with outcome decompensated DIC and 28 sepsis patients (42% with outcome non-decompensated DIC. From the hemostasis parameter test out, it was found that PT, aPTT, and fibrinogen were the predictor of decompensated DIC in patients with sepsis with relative risk 240.500, 7.157, and 6.421; respectively. Conclusions, prothrombin time, aPTT, fibrinogen are the test to know coagulation activation. Hemostasis parameter to predict decompensated DIC in sepsis patients are the shorten PT, aPTT, and the increased fibrinogen

  7. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and pre-clinical alterations in inflammatory and hemostatic markers: a cross sectional analysis in the 1958 British Birth Cohort.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elina Hyppönen

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Vitamin D deficiency has been suggested as a cardiovascular risk factor, but little is known about underlying mechanisms or associations with inflammatory or hemostatic markers. Our aim was to investigate the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OHD, a measure for vitamin D status] concentrations with pre-clinical variations in markers of inflammation and hemostasis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Serum concentrations of 25(OHD, C-reactive protein (CRP, fibrinogen, D-dimer, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA antigen, and von Willebrand factor (vWF were measured in a large population based study of British whites (aged 45 y. Participants for the current investigation were restricted to individuals free of drug treated cardiovascular disease (n = 6538. Adjusted for sex and month, 25(OHD was inversely associated with all outcomes (p or =75 nmol/l compared to < 25 nmol/l. D-dimer concentrations were lower for participants with 25(OHD 50-90 nmol/l compared to others (quadratic term p = 0.01. We also examined seasonal variation in hemostatic and inflammatory markers, and evaluated 25(OHD contribution to the observed patterns using mediation models. TPA concentrations varied by season (p = 0.02, and much of this pattern was related to fluctuations in 25(OHD concentrations (p < or =0.001. Some evidence of a seasonal variation was observed also for fibrinogen, D-dimer and vWF (p < 0.05 for all, with 25(OHD mediating some of the pattern for fibrinogen and D-dimer, but not vWF. CONCLUSIONS: Current vitamin D status was associated with tPA concentrations, and to a lesser degree with fibrinogen and D-dimer, suggesting that vitamin D status/intake may be important for maintaining antithrombotic homeostasis.

  8. Tautomerization and Dimerization of 6,13-Disubstituted Derivatives of Pentacene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia-Borràs, Marc; Konishi, Akihito; Waterloo, Andreas; Liang, Yong; Cao, Yang; Hetzer, Constantin; Lehnherr, Dan; Hampel, Frank; Houk, Kendall N; Tykwinski, Rik R

    2017-05-02

    Two new 6,13-disubstituted pentacene derivatives, 1 c and 1 d, with alkyl and triisopropylsilylethynyl substitution have been synthesized and characterized experimentally and computationally. The alkyl substituted 1 c and 1 d represent the first 6-alkyl-substituted pentacene derivative where the fully aromatic species dominates over the corresponding tautomer. Indeed, no tautomerization product is found for either 1 c or 1 d upon heating or in the presence of catalytic amounts of acid. On the other hand, an unexpected dimer (3 c) is formed from 1 c. A plausible mechanism for this new dimerization process of the 6-methyl-substituted pentacene derivative 1 c is proposed, which involves first a bimolecular hydrogen atom transfer followed by an intramolecular [4+2] Diels-Alder cycloaddition. In the case of 6-butyl substitution, neither tautomerization nor dimerization is observed. Computations support the proposed 1 c dehydrodimerization pathway, explain why 1 d does not dimerize, and show the importance of the nature of the group at C-13 in controlling the relative stability of 6-alkyl-substituted pentacene tautomers. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  9. Dual energy CT pulmonary blood volume assessment in acute pulmonary embolism - correlation with D-dimer level, right heart strain and clinical outcome

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bauer, Ralf W.; Frellesen, Claudia; Schell, Boris; Lehnert, Thomas; Jacobi, Volkmar; Vogl, Thomas J.; Kerl, J.M. [Clinic of the Goethe University, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Frankfurt (Germany); Renker, Matthias [Clinic of the Goethe University, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Frankfurt (Germany); Medical University of South Carolina, Heart and Vascular Center, Ashley River Tower, Charleston, SC (United States); Ackermann, Hanns [Clinic of the Goethe University, Department of Biostatistics and Mathematical Modelling, Frankfurt (Germany); Schoepf, U.J. [Medical University of South Carolina, Heart and Vascular Center, Ashley River Tower, Charleston, SC (United States)

    2011-09-15

    To investigate the role of perfusion defect (PD) size on dual energy CT pulmonary blood volume assessment as predictor of right heart strain and patient outcome and its correlation with d-dimer levels in acute pulmonary embolism (PE). 53 patients with acute PE who underwent DECT pulmonary angiography were retrospectively analyzed. Pulmonary PD size caused by PE was measured on DE iodine maps and quantified absolutely (VolPD) and relatively to the total lung volume (RelPD). Signs of right heart strain (RHS) on CT were determined. Information on d-dimer levels and readmission for recurrent onset of PE and death was collected. D-dimer level was mildly (r = 0.43-0.47) correlated with PD size. Patients with RHS had significantly higher VolPD (215 vs. 73 ml) and RelPD (9.9 vs. 2.9%) than patients without RHS (p < 0.003). There were 2 deaths and 1 readmission due of PE in 18 patients with >5% RelPD, while no such events were found for patients with <5% RelPD. Pulmonary blood volume on DECT in acute PE correlates with RHS and appears to be a predictor of patient outcome in this pilot study. (orig.)

  10. A prospective randomized trial of aspirin-clopidogrel combination therapy and dose-adjusted warfarin on indices of thrombogenesis and platelet activation in atrial fibrillation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamath, Sridhar; Blann, Andrew D; Chin, Bernard S P; Lip, Gregory Y H

    2002-08-07

    This study was designed to investigate whether or not combination aspirin-clopidogrel therapy would reduce markers of thrombogenesis and platelet activation in atrial fibrillation (AF), in a manner similar to warfarin. Dose-adjusted warfarin is beneficial as thromboprophylaxis in AF, but potentially serious side effects and regular monitoring leave room for alternative therapies. METHODS; We randomized 70 patients with nonvalvular AF who were not on any antithrombotic therapy to either dose-adjusted warfarin (international normalized ratio 2 to 3) (Group I) or combination therapy with aspirin 75 mg and clopidogrel 75 mg (Group II). Plasma indices of thrombogenesis (fibrin D-dimer, prothrombin fragment 1+2) and platelet activation (beta-thromboglobulin [TG] and soluble P-selectin) were quantified, along with platelet aggregation responses to standard agonists, at baseline (pretreatment) and at six weeks posttreatment. RESULTS; Pretreatment levels of fibrin D-dimer (p = 0.001), beta-TG (p = 0.01) and soluble P-selectin (p = 0.03) were raised in patients with AF, whereas plasma prothrombin fragment 1+2 levels and platelet aggregation were not significantly different compared with controls. Dose-adjusted warfarin reduced plasma levels of fibrin D-dimer, prothrombin fragment 1+2 and beta-thromboglobulin levels at six weeks (all p failed to reduce plasma indices of thrombogenesis and platelet activation in AF, although some aspects of ex vivo platelet aggregation were altered. Anticoagulation with warfarin may be superior to combination aspirin-clopidogrel therapy as thromboprophylaxis in AF.

  11. Structural insights into lipid-dependent reversible dimerization of human GLTP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samygina, Valeria R.; Ochoa-Lizarralde, Borja; Popov, Alexander N.; Cabo-Bilbao, Aintzane; Goni-de-Cerio, Felipe; Molotkovsky, Julian G.; Patel, Dinshaw J.; Brown, Rhoderick E.; Malinina, Lucy

    2013-01-01

    It is shown that dimerization is promoted by glycolipid binding to human GLTP. The importance of dimer flexibility in wild-type protein is manifested by point mutation that ‘locks’ the dimer while diversifying ligand/protein adaptations. Human glycolipid transfer protein (hsGLTP) forms the prototypical GLTP fold and is characterized by a broad transfer selectivity for glycosphingolipids (GSLs). The GLTP mutation D48V near the ‘portal entrance’ of the glycolipid binding site has recently been shown to enhance selectivity for sulfatides (SFs) containing a long acyl chain. Here, nine novel crystal structures of hsGLTP and the SF-selective mutant complexed with short-acyl-chain monoSF and diSF in different crystal forms are reported in order to elucidate the potential functional roles of lipid-mediated homodimerization. In all crystal forms, the hsGLTP–SF complexes displayed homodimeric structures supported by similarly organized intermolecular interactions. The dimerization interface always involved the lipid sphingosine chain, the protein C-terminus (C-end) and α-helices 6 and 2, but the D48V mutant displayed a ‘locked’ dimer conformation compared with the hinge-like flexibility of wild-type dimers. Differences in contact angles, areas and residues at the dimer interfaces in the ‘flexible’ and ‘locked’ dimers revealed a potentially important role of the dimeric structure in the C-end conformation of hsGLTP and in the precise positioning of the key residue of the glycolipid recognition centre, His140. ΔY207 and ΔC-end deletion mutants, in which the C-end is shifted or truncated, showed an almost complete loss of transfer activity. The new structural insights suggest that ligand-dependent reversible dimerization plays a role in the function of human GLTP

  12. Basic Evaluation of the Newly Developed "Lias Auto P-FDP" Assay and the Influence of Plasmin-α2 Plasmin Inhibitor Complex Values on Discrepancy in the Comparison with "Lias Auto D-Dimer Neo" Assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumano, Osamu; Ieko, Masahiro; Komiyama, Yutaka; Naito, Sumiyoshi; Yoshida, Mika; Takahashi, Nobuhiko; Ohmura, Kazumasa; Hayasaki, Junki; Hayakawa, Mineji

    2018-04-01

    Laboratory determination of fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products (FDP) levels, along with that of the D-dimer, is important for assessing the fibrinolytic situation. Recently, we developed a new FDP reagent "Lias Auto P-FDP", which can detect various FDP fragments. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the basic performance of the newly developed Lias Auto P-FDP and compare it with Lias Auto D-Dimer Neo assay. The within-run precision of Lias Auto P-FDP and Lias Auto D-Dimer was determined 20 times in low and high value controls. The between-day precision was evaluated five times a day for five days. The linearity study was performed by diluting high value samples for 2 - 10-fold and 2 - 8-fold. The comparative study was performed using 172 patient samples with elevated FDP values. For the discrepancy analysis, the samples were divided into three groups by the discrepancy percentage between the FDP and D-dimer values. The groups were defined as follows: lower discrepancy group, less than -20%; no discrepancy group, -20% to 20%; upper discrepancy group, more than 20%. The coefficient of variation % (CV%) in within-run and between-day precision were within 3.8% for both FDP and the D-dimer. The correlation coefficients were more than 0.999 and the linearity was high. In the comparative study, the values of FDP were higher than that of the D-dimer in all samples. The median FDP and D-dimer values of lower discrepancy, no discrepancy, and upper discrepancy groups were 11.8, 20.3, and 51.4, and 8.0, 11.3, and 13.1, respectively. FDP showed an increasing tendency but D-Dimer showed constant values. Thus, the possible cause of discrepancy between FDP and D-dimer values were the elevated FDP values. In addition, the values of plasmin-α2 plasmin inhibitor complex (PIC) in the upper discrepancy group were higher than that of the lower and no discrepancy groups, indicating progression of fibrinolysis. In this study, we evaluated the newly developed Lias Auto P

  13. Metal membrane with dimer slots as a universal polarizer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhukovsky, Sergej; Zalkovskij, Maksim; Malureanu, Radu; Kremers, Christian; Chigrin, Dmitry; Tang, Peter T.; Jepsen, Peter U.; Lavrinenko, Andrei V.

    2014-03-01

    In this work, we show theoretically and confirm experimentally that thin metal membranes patterned with an array of slot dimers (or their Babinet analogue with metal rods) can function as a versatile spectral and polarization filter. We present a detailed covariant multipole theory for the electromagnetic response of an arbitrary dimer based on the Green functions approach. The theory confirms that a great variety of polarization properties, such as birefringence, chirality and elliptical dichroism, can be achieved in a metal layer with such slot-dimer patterning (i.e. in a metasurface). Optical properties of the metasurface can be extensively tuned by varying the geometry (shape and dimensions) of the dimer, for example, by adjusting the sizes and mutual placement of the slots (e.g. inter-slot distance and alignment angle). Three basic shapes of dimers are analyzed: II-shaped (parallel slots), V-shaped, and T-shaped. These particular shapes of dimers are found to be sensitive to variations of the slots lengths and orientation of elements. Theoretical results are well supported by full-wave three-dimensional simulations. Our findings were verified experimentally on the metal membranes fabricated using UV lithography with subsequent Ni growth. Such metasurfaces were characterized using time-domain THz spectroscopy. The samples exhibit pronounced optical activity (500 degrees per wavelength) and high transmission: even though the slots cover only 4.3 % of the total membrane area the amplitude transmission reaches 0.67 at the resonance frequency 0.56 THz.

  14. Hydroxypropyl cyclic β-(1 → 2)-D-glucans and epichlorohydrin β-cyclodextrin dimers as effective carbohydrate-solubilizers for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Jae Min; Jeong, Daham; Piao, Jinglan; Kim, Kyoungtea; Nguyen, Andrew Bao Loc; Kwon, Nak-Jung; Lee, Mi-Kyung; Lee, Im Soon; Yu, Jae-Hyuk; Jung, Seunho

    2015-01-12

    The removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by soil washing using water is extremely difficult due to their intrinsic hydrophobic nature. In this study, the effective aqueous solubility enhancements of seven polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by chemically modified hydroxypropyl rhizobial cyclic β-(1 → 2)-D-glucans and epichlorohydrin β-cyclodextrin dimer have been investigated for the first time. In the presence of hydroxypropyl cyclic β-(1 → 2)-D-glucans, the solubility of benzo[a]pyrene is increased up to 38 fold of its native solubility. The solubility of pyrene and phenanthrene dramatically increased up to 160 and 359. Coronene, chrysene, perylene, and fluoranthene also show an increase of 11, 23, 23, and 97 fold, respectively, of enhanced solubility by complexation with synthetic epichlorohydrin β-cyclodextrin dimer. The physicochemical properties of the complex are characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectra and differential scanning calorimetry. Utilizing a scanning electron microscopy, the morphological structures of native benzo[a]pyrene, pyrene, phenanthrene, coronene, chrysene, perylene, fluoranthene and their complex with novel carbohydrate-solubilizers are studied. These results elucidate that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are able to form an efficient complex with hydroxypropyl cyclic β-(1 → 2)-D-glucans and β-cyclodextrin dimer, suggesting the potential usage of chemically modified novel carbohydrate-solubilizers. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Liquid crystal dimers

    CERN Document Server

    Kumar Pal, Santanu

    2017-01-01

    This book covers in-depth discussion of design principles, synthesis and thermal behavior of all types of liquid crystal (LC) dimers. The text presents recent advances in the field of LC dimers consisting of different mesogenic units such as calamitic, discotic and bent-core molecules. It starts with a chapter on the introduction of liquid crystal dimers, including their odd-even behavior, basic classification of dimers and common mesophases in dimers. The text shows how the molecular architectures are being used to develop new materials to study a range of interesting phenomena such as the biaxial nematic phase containing rod-like and disc-like mesogenic units. Finally, the text presents perspectives related to technological relevance of these dimers such as dopants in LC display mixtures exhibiting faster relaxation time, strong flexoelectric coupling and others to effect control over the properties of these materials.

  16. Evaluating the Use of a Negative D-Dimer and Modified Low Wells Score in Excluding above Knee Deep Venous Thrombosis in an Outpatient Population, Assessing Need for Diagnostic Ultrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahiminejad, Maryam; Rastogi, Anshul; Prabhudesai, Shirish; Mcclinton, David; MacCallum, Peter; Platton, Sean; Friedman, Emma

    2014-01-01

    Aims. Colour doppler ultrasonography (CDUS) is widely used in the diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis (DVT); however, the number of scans positive for above knee DVT is low. The present study evaluates the reliability of the D-dimer test combined with a clinical probability score (Wells score) in ruling out an above knee DVT and identifying patients who do not need a CDUS. Materials and Method. This study is a retrospective audit and reaudit of a total of 816 outpatients presenting with suspected lower limb DVT from March 2009 to March 2010 and from September 2011 to February 2012. Following the initial audit, a revised clinical diagnostic pathway was implemented. Results. In our initial audit, seven patients (4.9%) with a negative D-dimer and a low Wells score had a DVT. On review, all seven had a risk factor identified that was not included in the Wells score. No patient with negative D-dimer and low Wells score with no extra clinical risk factor had a DVT on CDUS (negative predictive value 100%). A reaudit confirmed adherence to our revised clinical diagnostic pathway. Conclusions. A negative D-dimer together with a low Wells score and no risk factors effectively excludes a lower limb DVT and an ultrasound is unnecessary in these patients

  17. Magnetic anisotropy of heteronuclear dimers in the gas phase and supported on graphene: relativistic density-functional calculations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Błoński, Piotr; Hafner, Jürgen

    2014-04-09

    The structural and magnetic properties of mixed PtCo, PtFe, and IrCo dimers in the gas phase and supported on a free-standing graphene layer have been calculated using density-functional theory, both in the scalar-relativistic limit and self-consistently including spin-orbit coupling. The influence of the strong magnetic moments of the 3d atoms on the spin and orbital moments of the 5d atoms, and the influence of the strong spin-orbit coupling contributed by the 5d atom on the orbital moments of the 3d atoms have been studied in detail. The magnetic anisotropy energy is found to depend very sensitively on the nature of the eigenstates in the vicinity of the Fermi level, as determined by band filling, exchange splitting and spin-orbit coupling. The large magnetic anisotropy energy of free PtCo and IrCo dimers relative to the easy direction parallel to the dimer axis is coupled to a strong anisotropy of the orbital magnetic moments of the Co atom for both dimers, and also on the Ir atom in IrCo. In contrast the PtFe dimer shows a weak perpendicular anisotropy and only small spin and orbital anisotropies of opposite sign on the two atoms. For dimers supported on graphene, the strong binding within the dimer and the stronger interaction of the 3d atom with the substrate stabilizes an upright geometry. Spin and orbital moments on the 3d atom are strongly quenched, but due to the weaker binding within the dimer the properties of the 5d atom are more free-atom-like with increased spin and orbital moments. The changes in the magnetic moment are reflected in the structure of the electronic eigenstates near the Fermi level, for all three dimers the easy magnetic direction is now parallel to the dimer axis and perpendicular to the graphene layer. The already very large magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) of IrCo is further enhanced by the interaction with the support, the MAE of PtFe changes sign, and that of the PtCo dimer is reduced. These changes are discussed in relation to

  18. Preoperative plasma D-dimer is a predictor of one-year survival in colorectal cancer patients: a prospective clinical cohort study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stender, Mogens; Larsen, Torben Bjerregaard; Frøkjær, J.B.

    cancer and absence of preoperative deep venous thrombosis, we measured the preoperative plasma D-dimer levels and performed compression ultrasonography for deep venous thrombosis prior to surgery, as well as one week, one month, and one year after surgery. RESULTS: The cumulative incidence of deep venous...

  19. Analytical expressions for the correlation function of a hard sphere dimer fluid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Soonho; Chang, Jaeeon; Kim, Hwayong

    A closed form expression is given for the correlation function of a hard sphere dimer fluid. A set of integral equations is obtained from Wertheim's multidensity Ornstein-Zernike integral equation theory with Percus-Yevick approximation. Applying the Laplace transformation method to the integral equations and then solving the resulting equations algebraically, the Laplace transforms of the individual correlation functions are obtained. By the inverse Laplace transformation, the radial distribution function (RDF) is obtained in closed form out to 3D (D is the segment diameter). The analytical expression for the RDF of the hard dimer should be useful in developing the perturbation theory of dimer fluids.

  20. Theory and simulations of adhesion receptor dimerization on membrane surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yinghao; Honig, Barry; Ben-Shaul, Avinoam

    2013-03-19

    The equilibrium constants of trans and cis dimerization of membrane bound (2D) and freely moving (3D) adhesion receptors are expressed and compared using elementary statistical-thermodynamics. Both processes are mediated by the binding of extracellular subdomains whose range of motion in the 2D environment is reduced upon dimerization, defining a thin reaction shell where dimer formation and dissociation take place. We show that the ratio between the 2D and 3D equilibrium constants can be expressed as a product of individual factors describing, respectively, the spatial ranges of motions of the adhesive domains, and their rotational freedom within the reaction shell. The results predicted by the theory are compared to those obtained from a novel, to our knowledge, dynamical simulations methodology, whereby pairs of receptors perform realistic translational, internal, and rotational motions in 2D and 3D. We use cadherins as our model system. The theory and simulations explain how the strength of cis and trans interactions of adhesive receptors are affected both by their presence in the constrained intermembrane space and by the 2D environment of membrane surfaces. Our work provides fundamental insights as to the mechanism of lateral clustering of adhesion receptors after cell-cell contact and, more generally, to the formation of lateral microclusters of proteins on cell surfaces. Copyright © 2013 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. D-Dimer and prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 in urine and plasma in patients with clinically suspected venous thromboembolism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wexels, Fredrik; Seljeflot, Ingebjørg; Pripp, Are H; Dahl, Ola E

    2016-06-01

    Increased levels of urine prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 was recently reported to be associated with imaging-verified venous thromboembolism. In this study we evaluated the relationship between plasma D-dimer and plasma and urine prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 in patients with suspected venous thromboembolism. Urine and blood samples were collected from patients with suspected pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis. The samples were analysed with commercially available ELISA kits. The diagnosis of venous thromboembolism was verified with contrast-enhanced computer tomography of the pulmonary arteries or lower extremity deep vein compression ultrasound and venography as appropriate. Venous thromboembolism was diagnosed in 150 of 720 patients. Significantly higher levels of plasma D-dimer and prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 in plasma and urine were found in those with imaging-confirmed venous thromboembolism versus those without (P fragment 1 + 2 in plasma. Further development of ELISA analyses for urine testing of prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 may improve its diagnostic accuracy.

  2. Interleukin 6 Is a Stronger Predictor of Clinical Events Than High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein or D-Dimer During HIV Infection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borges, Alvaro Humberto Diniz; O'Connor, Jemma L; Phillips, Andrew N

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Interleukin 6 (IL-6), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and D-dimer levels are linked to adverse outcomes in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, but the strength of their associations with different clinical end points warrants investigation. METHODS: Participants...

  3. Electronic structure and optical absorption spectra of Y2 and Zr2 dimers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gutsev, G.L.

    1989-01-01

    The electron structure, ionization potentials from valent levels and energies of optic transitions of Y 2 and Zr 2 dimers are calculated within the framework of discrete-variatin X α -method. It is shown that the symmetry state 1 Σ g + is the main state of Y 2 and Zr 2 dimers, and the atoms in dimers have high-spin 4d n+1 5s 1 configuration. The chemical binding in Y 2 has the dominating 5s-5s nature which is revealed in a considerable interatomic distance; binding of 4d-electrons brings about a significant decrease in the bond length in Zr 2 dimer. The theoretical spectrum of optical absorption of Zr 2 agrees well with the obtained experimental spectrum of this molecule isolated in the organ matrix

  4. Novel covalently linked insulin dimer engineered to investigate the function of insulin dimerization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vinther, Tine N.; Norrman, Mathias; Strauss, Holger M.

    2012-01-01

    An ingenious system evolved to facilitate insulin binding to the insulin receptor as a monomer and at the same time ensure sufficient stability of insulin during storage. Insulin dimer is the cornerstone of this system. Insulin dimer is relatively weak, which ensures dissociation into monomers...... in the circulation, and it is stabilized by hexamer formation in the presence of zinc ions during storage in the pancreatic ß-cell. Due to the transient nature of insulin dimer, direct investigation of this important form is inherently difficult. To address the relationship between insulin oligomerization...... and insulin stability and function, we engineered a covalently linked insulin dimer in which two monomers were linked by a disulfide bond. The structure of this covalent dimer was identical to the self-association dimer of human insulin. Importantly, this covalent dimer was capable of further oligomerization...

  5. Novel covalently linked insulin dimer engineered to investigate the function of insulin dimerization.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tine N Vinther

    Full Text Available An ingenious system evolved to facilitate insulin binding to the insulin receptor as a monomer and at the same time ensure sufficient stability of insulin during storage. Insulin dimer is the cornerstone of this system. Insulin dimer is relatively weak, which ensures dissociation into monomers in the circulation, and it is stabilized by hexamer formation in the presence of zinc ions during storage in the pancreatic β-cell. Due to the transient nature of insulin dimer, direct investigation of this important form is inherently difficult. To address the relationship between insulin oligomerization and insulin stability and function, we engineered a covalently linked insulin dimer in which two monomers were linked by a disulfide bond. The structure of this covalent dimer was identical to the self-association dimer of human insulin. Importantly, this covalent dimer was capable of further oligomerization to form the structural equivalent of the classical hexamer. The covalently linked dimer neither bound to the insulin receptor, nor induced a metabolic response in vitro. However, it was extremely thermodynamically stable and did not form amyloid fibrils when subjected to mechanical stress, underlining the importance of oligomerization for insulin stability.

  6. Structure of a rabbit muscle fructose-1, 6-bisphosphate aldolase A dimer variant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sherawat, Manashi [Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Boston University School of Medicine, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118-2394 (United States); Tolan, Dean R., E-mail: tolan@bu.edu [Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Street, Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Allen, Karen N., E-mail: tolan@bu.edu [Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Boston University School of Medicine, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118-2394 (United States)

    2008-05-01

    The X-ray crystallographic structure of a dimer variant of fructose-1, 6-bisphosphate aldolase demonstrates a stable oligomer that mirrors half of the native tetramer. The presence of product demonstrates that this is an active form. Fructose-1, 6-bisphosphate aldolase (aldolase) is an essential enzyme in glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. In addition to this primary function, aldolase is also known to bind to a variety of other proteins, a property that may allow it to perform ‘moonlighting’ roles in the cell. Although monomeric and dimeric aldolases possess full catalytic activity, the enzyme occurs as an unusually stable tetramer, suggesting a possible link between the oligomeric state and these noncatalytic cellular roles. Here, the first high-resolution X-ray crystal structure of rabbit muscle D128V aldolase, a dimeric form of aldolase mimicking the clinically important D128G mutation in humans associated with hemolytic anemia, is presented. The structure of the dimer was determined to 1.7 Å resolution with the product DHAP bound in the active site. The turnover of substrate to produce the product ligand demonstrates the retention of catalytic activity by the dimeric aldolase. The D128V mutation causes aldolase to lose intermolecular contacts with the neighboring subunit at one of the two interfaces of the tetramer. The tertiary structure of the dimer does not significantly differ from the structure of half of the tetramer. Analytical ultracentrifugation confirms the occurrence of the enzyme as a dimer in solution. The highly stable structure of aldolase with an independent active site is consistent with a model in which aldolase has evolved as a multimeric scaffold to perform other noncatalytic functions.

  7. n-Dopants Based on Dimers of Benzimidazoline Radicals: Structures and Mechanism of Redox Reactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Siyuan; Naab, Benjamin D; Jucov, Evgheni V; Parkin, Sean; Evans, Eric G B; Millhauser, Glenn L; Timofeeva, Tatiana V; Risko, Chad; Brédas, Jean-Luc; Bao, Zhenan; Barlow, Stephen; Marder, Seth R

    2015-07-20

    Dimers of 2-substituted N,N'-dimethylbenzimidazoline radicals, (2-Y-DMBI)2 (Y=cyclohexyl (Cyc), ferrocenyl (Fc), ruthenocenyl (Rc)), have recently been reported as n-dopants for organic semiconductors. Here their structural and energetic characteristics are reported, along with the mechanisms by which they react with acceptors, A (PCBM, TIPS-pentacene), in solution. X-ray data and DFT calculations both indicate a longer C-C bond for (2-Cyc-DMBI)2 than (2-Fc-DMBI)2 , yet DFT and ESR data show that the latter dissociates more readily due to stabilization of the radical by Fc. Depending on the energetics of dimer (D2 ) dissociation and of D2 -to-A electron transfer, D2 reacts with A to form D(+) and A(-) by either of two mechanisms, differing in whether the first step is endergonic dissociation or endergonic electron transfer. However, the D(+) /0.5 D2 redox potentials-the effective reducing strengths of the dimers-vary little within the series (ca. -1.9 V vs. FeCp2 (+/0) ) (Cp=cyclopentadienyl) due to cancelation of trends in the D(+/0) potential and D2 dissociation energy. The implications of these findings for use of these dimers as n-dopants, and for future dopant design, are discussed. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. n-Dopants Based on Dimers of Benzimidazoline Radicals: Structures and Mechanism of Redox Reactions

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Siyuan

    2015-06-18

    Dimers of 2-substituted N,N\\'-dimethylbenzimidazoline radicals, (2-Y-DMBI)2 (Y=cyclohexyl (Cyc), ferrocenyl (Fc), ruthenocenyl (Rc)), have recently been reported as n-dopants for organic semiconductors. Here their structural and energetic characteristics are reported, along with the mechanisms by which they react with acceptors, A (PCBM, TIPS-pentacene), in solution. X-ray data and DFT calculations both indicate a longer C-C bond for (2-Cyc-DMBI)2 than (2-Fc-DMBI)2, yet DFT and ESR data show that the latter dissociates more readily due to stabilization of the radical by Fc. Depending on the energetics of dimer (D2) dissociation and of D2-to-A electron transfer, D2 reacts with A to form D+ and A- by either of two mechanisms, differing in whether the first step is endergonic dissociation or endergonic electron transfer. However, the D+/0.5D2 redox potentials-the effective reducing strengths of the dimers-vary little within the series (ca. -1.9V vs. FeCp2+/0) (Cp=cyclopentadienyl) due to cancelation of trends in the D+/0 potential and D2 dissociation energy. The implications of these findings for use of these dimers as n-dopants, and for future dopant design, are discussed. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  9. n-Dopants Based on Dimers of Benzimidazoline Radicals: Structures and Mechanism of Redox Reactions

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Siyuan; Naab, Benjamin D.; Jucov, Evgheni V.; Parkin, Sean; Evans, Eric G B; Millhauser, Glenn L.; Timofeeva, Tatiana V.; Risko, Chad; Bredas, Jean-Luc; Bao, Zhenan; Barlow, Stephen; Marder, Seth R.

    2015-01-01

    Dimers of 2-substituted N,N'-dimethylbenzimidazoline radicals, (2-Y-DMBI)2 (Y=cyclohexyl (Cyc), ferrocenyl (Fc), ruthenocenyl (Rc)), have recently been reported as n-dopants for organic semiconductors. Here their structural and energetic characteristics are reported, along with the mechanisms by which they react with acceptors, A (PCBM, TIPS-pentacene), in solution. X-ray data and DFT calculations both indicate a longer C-C bond for (2-Cyc-DMBI)2 than (2-Fc-DMBI)2, yet DFT and ESR data show that the latter dissociates more readily due to stabilization of the radical by Fc. Depending on the energetics of dimer (D2) dissociation and of D2-to-A electron transfer, D2 reacts with A to form D+ and A- by either of two mechanisms, differing in whether the first step is endergonic dissociation or endergonic electron transfer. However, the D+/0.5D2 redox potentials-the effective reducing strengths of the dimers-vary little within the series (ca. -1.9V vs. FeCp2+/0) (Cp=cyclopentadienyl) due to cancelation of trends in the D+/0 potential and D2 dissociation energy. The implications of these findings for use of these dimers as n-dopants, and for future dopant design, are discussed. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Study of DNA Origami Dimerization and Dimer Dissociation Dynamics and of the Factors that Limit Dimerization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liber, Miran; Tomov, Toma E; Tsukanov, Roman; Berger, Yaron; Popov, Mary; Khara, Dinesh C; Nir, Eyal

    2018-06-01

    Organizing DNA origami building blocks into higher order structures is essential for fabrication of large structurally and functionally diverse devices and molecular machines. Unfortunately, the yields of origami building block attachment reactions are typically not sufficient to allow programed assembly of DNA devices made from more than a few origami building blocks. To investigate possible reasons for these low yields, a detailed single-molecule fluorescence study of the dynamics of rectangular origami dimerization and origami dimer dissociation reactions is conducted. Reactions kinetics and yields are investigated at different origami and ion concentrations, for different ion types, for different lengths of bridging strands, and for the "sticky end" and "weaving welding" attachment techniques. Dimerization yields are never higher than 86%, which is typical for such systems. Analysis of the dynamic data shows that the low yield cannot be explained by thermodynamic instability or structural imperfections of the origami constructs. Atomic force microscopy and gel electrophoresis evidence reveal self-dimerization of the origami monomers, likely via blunt-end interactions made possible by the presence of bridging strands. It is suggested that this mechanism is the major factor that inhibits correct dimerization and means to overcome it are discussed. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. Covariate-adjusted measures of discrimination for survival data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    White, Ian R; Rapsomaniki, Eleni; Frikke-Schmidt, Ruth

    2015-01-01

    by the study design (e.g. age and sex) influence discrimination and can make it difficult to compare model discrimination between studies. Although covariate adjustment is a standard procedure for quantifying disease-risk factor associations, there are no covariate adjustment methods for discrimination...... statistics in censored survival data. OBJECTIVE: To develop extensions of the C-index and D-index that describe the prognostic ability of a model adjusted for one or more covariate(s). METHOD: We define a covariate-adjusted C-index and D-index for censored survival data, propose several estimators......, and investigate their performance in simulation studies and in data from a large individual participant data meta-analysis, the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration. RESULTS: The proposed methods perform well in simulations. In the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration data, the age-adjusted C-index and D-index were...

  12. Synthesis of dimeric aryl{beta}-D-galactopyranosides for the evaluation of their interaction with the Erythrina cristagalli lectin; Sintese de {beta}-D-galactopiranosideos de arila dimericos para avaliacao de sua interacao com a lectina de Erythrina cristagalli

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Figueiredo, Rute Cunha; Meyer, Nadia Burkowski; Prado, Maria Auxiliadora Fontes; Alves, Ricardo Jose [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Faculdade de Farmacia. Dept. de Produtos Farmaceuticos], e-mail: ricardodylan@farmacia.ufmg.br; Rojo, Javier [Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Sevilla (Spain). Inst. de Investigaciones Quimicas. Grupo de Carbohidratos

    2009-07-01

    The synthesis of two new D-galactose-based dimers having a 1,4-butanediamine spacer is reported aiming at the evaluation of their interaction with the Erythrina cristagalli lectin. The title compounds were prepared in four and five steps from 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-{beta}-D-galactopyranoside bromide, in 20 % and 15 % overall yield, respectively, using the Doebner modification of the Koenavenagel reaction as the key sep. The lectin-carbohydrate interaction could be evaluated for only one dimer, due to solubility problems. A twofold enhancement of affinity was observed, compared to the corresponding monovalent ligand. (author)

  13. Reliability of D-Dimer test results in deciding the necessity of performing CTA in high risk population to establish the diagnosis of PE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saher Ebrahim Taman

    2016-06-01

    Conclusion: Negative D-Dimer test is a reliable diagnostic modality to rule out the need for CT Angiography in patients at high risk population of PE. However, positive test results cannot confirm the diagnosis and further testing is warranted.

  14. Dimer monomer transition and dimer re-formation play important role for ATM cellular function during DNA repair

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Du, Fengxia; Zhang, Minjie; Li, Xiaohua; Yang, Caiyun; Meng, Hao; Wang, Dong; Chang, Shuang; Xu, Ye; Price, Brendan; Sun, Yingli

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • ATM phosphorylates the opposite strand of the dimer in response to DNA damage. • The PETPVFRLT box of ATM plays a key role in its dimer dissociation in DNA repair. • The dephosphorylation of ATM is critical for dimer re-formation after DNA repair. - Abstract: The ATM protein kinase, is a serine/threonine protein kinase that is recruited and activated by DNA double-strand breaks, mediates responses to ionizing radiation in mammalian cells. Here we show that ATM is held inactive in unirradiated cells as a dimer and phosphorylates the opposite strand of the dimer in response to DNA damage. Cellular irradiation induces rapid intermolecular autophosphorylation of serine 1981 that causes dimer dissociation and initiates cellular ATM kinase activity. ATM cannot phosphorylate the substrates when it could not undergo dimer monomer transition. After DNA repair, the active monomer will undergo dephosphorylation to form dimer again and dephosphorylation is critical for dimer re-formation. Our work reveals novel function of ATM dimer monomer transition and explains why ATM dimer monomer transition plays such important role for ATM cellular activity during DNA repair

  15. Adjusting the weaning age of calves fed by automated feeders according to individual intakes of solid feed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Passillé, A M; Rushen, J

    2012-09-01

    When weaned at the ages typical of commercial dairy production, dairy calves usually show reduced growth rates, lowered energy intake, and increased behavioral signs of hunger, reflecting their difficulty in switching from a milk diet to solid feed. However, large differences exist between calves in their ability to adapt to solid feed, and automated feeders allow the age of weaning to be adjusted to an individual calf's intake of solid feed. We examined the effects of weaning according to solid feed intake on age at weaning, feed intake, and behavioral signs of hunger. In a 2×2 factorial design, 60 female Holstein calves in groups of 8 and fed milk, grain starter, and hay from automated feeders began to be weaned when their voluntary intake of grain starter was either 400 g/d (high start) or 200 g/d (low start), with weaning completed when their voluntary intakes of starter were either 1,600 g/d (high end) or 800 g/d (low end). Digestible energy intakes were calculated from milk, starter and hay intakes, corrected for body weights, calves were weighed, and the frequency of visits to the milk feeders were measured each day. The main effects and interactions between treatments were tested with ANOVA. Large differences were observed between calves in the age at which weaning was complete, with weaning completed earlier for low-end calves compared with high-end calves. No treatment effects (either of start amount or end amount) on intakes of milk, starter, or hay or on weight gains occurred. However, the calves that began weaning earlier had longer durations of weaning, greater growth rates from d 20 to 87, and were heavier on d 87, and had lower milk intakes, higher starter intakes, higher hay intakes, and a greater digestible energy intake, but showed more unrewarded visits to the milk feeder. Adjusting the age at which individual calves are weaned off milk according to their ability to eat solid feed can reduce the age at which weaning occurs while reducing the

  16. Age-adjusted cancer incidence rates by county and year, 1999-2009

    Data.gov (United States)

    California Environmental Health Tracking Program — This dataset contains age-adjusted incidence rates for 26 malignancy/age group/gender combinations for the years 1999-2009. These data are stratified by year and...

  17. The Rate of Vitamin A Dimerization in Lipofuscinogenesis, Fundus Autofluorescence, Retinal Senescence and Degeneration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washington, Ilyas; Saad, Leonide

    2016-01-01

    One of the earliest events preceding several forms of retinal degeneration is the formation and accumulation of vitamin A dimers in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and underlying Bruch's membrane (BM). Such degenerations include Stargardt disease, Best disease, forms of retinitis pigmentosa, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Since their discovery in the 1990's, dimers of vitamin A, have been postulated as chemical triggers driving retinal senescence and degeneration. There is evidence to suggest that the rate at which vitamin A dimerizes and the eye's response to the dimerization products may dictate the retina's lifespan. Here, we present outstanding questions, finding the answers to which may help to elucidate the role of vitamin A dimerization in retinal degeneration.

  18. 26 CFR 1.415(d)-1 - Cost-of-living adjustments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ...)(A) dollar limitation pursuant to section 611(a)(1)(A) of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief... adjustments. (a) Defined benefit plans—(1) Dollar limitation—(i) Determination of adjusted limit. Under section 415(d)(1)(A), the dollar limitation described in section 415(b)(1)(A) applicable to defined...

  19. Can Vitamin A be Improved to Prevent Blindness due to Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Stargardt Disease and Other Retinal Dystrophies?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saad, Leonide; Washington, Ilyas

    2016-01-01

    We discuss how an imperfect visual cycle results in the formation of vitamin A dimers, thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of various retinal diseases, and summarize how slowing vitamin A dimerization has been a therapeutic target of interest to prevent blindness. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of vitamin A dimerization, an alternative form of vitamin A, one that forms dimers more slowly yet maneuvers effortlessly through the visual cycle, was developed. Such a vitamin A, reinforced with deuterium (C20-D3-vitamin A), can be used as a non-disruptive tool to understand the contribution of vitamin A dimers to vision loss. Eventually, C20-D3-vitamin A could become a disease-modifying therapy to slow or stop vision loss associated with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Stargardt disease and retinal diseases marked by such vitamin A dimers. Human clinical trials of C20-D3-vitamin A (ALK-001) are underway.

  20. Viscosity and sedimentation behaviors of the magnetorheological suspensions with oleic acid/dimer acid as surfactants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Jianjian; Yan, Hua; Hu, Zhide; Ding, Ding

    2016-11-01

    This work deals with the role of polar interactions on the viscosity and sedimentation behaviors of magnetorheological suspensions with micro-sized magnetic particles dispersed in oil carriers. The oleic acid and dimer acid were employed to make an adjustment of the hydrophobicity of iron particles, in the interest of performing a comparative evaluation of the contributions of the surface polarity. The viscosity tests show that the adsorbed surfactant layer may impose a hindrance to the movement of iron particles in the oil medium. The polar attractions between dimer acid covered particles gave rise to a considerable increase in viscosity, indicating flocculation structure developed in the suspensions. The observed plateau-like region in the vicinity of 0.1 s{sup −1} for MRF containing dimer acid is possibly due to the flocculation provoked by the carboxylic polar attraction, in which the structure is stable against fragmentation. Moreover, a quick recovery of the viscosity and a higher viscosity-temperature index also suggest the existence of particle-particle polar interaction in the suspensions containing dimer acid. The sedimentation measurements reveal that the steric repulsion of oleic acid plays a limited role in the stability of suspensions only if a large quantity of surfactant was used. The sedimentation results observed in the dimer acid covered particles confirm that loose and open flocculation was formed and enhanced sedimentation stability. - Highlights: • Surfactants were employed to make adjustments of the hydrophobicity of particles. • Polar attractions between particles increased the viscosity considerably. • Loose and open flocculation was formed in CI/DA suspension. • The steric repulsion of oleic acid played a limited role in the stability.

  1. Relationship between serum anti-Mullerian hormone with vitamin D and metabolic syndrome risk factors in late reproductive-age women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sunmie; Kim, Jin Ju; Kim, Min-Jeong; Han, Kyung Hee; Lee, Jung Ryeol; Suh, Chang Suk; Choi, Young Min; Kim, Seok Hyun

    2018-04-01

    The relationship between serum anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) with vitamin D (25OH-D) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk was evaluated in healthy, late reproductive-age (35-49 years) women with regular menstrual cycles. Among the 291 participants (mean age = 42.5 years), most (76.6%, n = 223) were serum vitamin D insufficient (D were 2.04 ng/mL and 15.9 ng/mL, respectively. There was no correlation between AMH and 25OH-D after adjustment for age (r = -0.093, p = 0.113). Subjects with higher MetS score, higher waist circumference, and higher diastolic blood pressure had significantly higher serum AMH levels when adjusted for age, but the association attenuated when BMI was included. There was no significant correlation between MetS risk components with serum level of AMH or vitamin D. In conclusion, there was no association between AMH with serum 25OH-D or MetS risk factors in this population.

  2. Scaling of the Surface Plasmon Resonance in Gold and Silver Dimers Probed by EELS

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kadkhodazadeh, Shima; de Lasson, Jakob Rosenkrantz; Beleggia, Marco

    2014-01-01

    The dependence of surface plasmon coupling on the distance between two nanoparticles (dimer) is the basis of nanometrology tools such as plasmon rulers. Application of these nanometric rulers requires an accurate description of the scaling of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) wavelength...... with distance. Here, we have applied electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) imaging to investigate the relationship between the SPR wavelength of gold and silver nanosphere dimers (radius R) and interparticle distance (d) in the range 0.1R .... Instead, within the range 0.1R gold and silver dimers. Despite this common power dependence, consistently larger SPR wavelength shifts are registered for silver for a given change in d, implying...

  3. Sigma- versus Pi-Dimerization Modes of Triangulene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mou, Zhongyu; Kertesz, Miklos

    2018-04-20

    We show that the diradicaloid triangulene, a graphene nano-flake molecule, can aggregate in a variety of dimerization modes. We found by density functional theory modeling a number of triangulene dimers including six doubly bonded σ-dimers in addition to the previously reported six pancake bonded π-dimer isomers. The σ-dimers display a wide range of stabilities: the interaction energy of the most stable σ-dimer is -25.17 kcal mol -1 . Besides the doubly bonded σ-dimers with closed shell ground states, we also found an open-shell singly σ-bonded diradicaloid dimer. We found an interesting isomerization route between a doubly bonded σ-dimer, a singly bonded σ-dimer with a low-lying triplet state and two π-bonded dimers with low-lying quintet states. Derivatives of triangulene, trioxo-triangulenes (TOTs) have been previously characterized experimentally. Here, we show the reasons why so far only the π-dimer but not the σ-dimer was experimentally observed for all TOTs. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. Rational Organization of Lanthanide-Based SMM Dimers into Three-Dimensional Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Xiaohui; Calvez, Guillaume; Daiguebonne, Carole; Guillou, Olivier; Bernot, Kevin

    2015-06-01

    Optimization of the reaction of [Ln(hfac)3]·2H2O and pyridine-N-oxide (PyNO), which is known to afford double-bridged dimers, leads to triple-bridged dimers of formula [(Ln(hfac)3)2(PyNO)3] (Ln = Gd (1), Dy (2)) from which the Dy derivative (2) behaves as a single-molecule magnet (SMM). The pseudo threefold axis symmetry of this zero-dimensional building block makes possible its extension into a tridimensional network. By changing PyNO for 4,4'-bipyridine N,N'-dioxide (4,4'BipyNO) a tridimensional compound of formula {[Ln(hfac)3]2(4,4'BipyNO)2]} (Ln = Eu (3), Gd (4), and Dy (5)) is then rationally obtained. This covalent three-dimensional (3D) network has a remarkably high cell volume (V = 24 419 A(3)) and is an arrangement of interpenetrated 3D subnetworks whose triple-bridged dimers still behave as SMMs.

  5. 2-Ethynylpyridine dimers: IR spectroscopic and computational study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakarić, Danijela; Spanget-Larsen, Jens

    2018-04-01

    2-ethynylpyridine (2-EP) presents a multifunctional system capable of participation in hydrogen-bonded complexes utilizing hydrogen bond donating (tbnd Csbnd H, Aryl-H) and hydrogen bond accepting functions (N-atom, Ctbnd C and pyridine π-systems). In this work, IR spectroscopy and theoretical calculations are used to study possible 2-EP dimer structures as well as their distribution in an inert solvent such as tetrachloroethene. Experimentally, the tbnd Csbnd H stretching vibration of the 2-EP monomer absorbs close to 3300 cm-1, whereas a broad band with maximum around 3215 cm-1 emerges as the concentration rises, indicating the formation of hydrogen-bonded complexes involving the tbnd Csbnd H moiety. The Ctbnd C stretching vibration of monomer 2-EP close to 2120 cm-1 is, using derivative spectroscopy, resolved from the signals of the dimer complexes with maximum around 2112 cm-1. Quantum chemical calculations using the B3LYP + D3 model with counterpoise correction predict that the two most stable dimers are of the π-stacked variety, closely followed by dimers with intermolecular tbnd Csbnd H⋯N hydrogen bonding; the predicted red shifts of the tbnd Csbnd H stretching wavenumbers due to hydrogen bonding are in the range 54-120 cm-1. No species with obvious hydrogen bonding involving the Ctbnd C or pyridine π-systems as acceptors are predicted. Dimerization constant at 25 °C is estimated to be K2 = 0.13 ± 0.01 mol-1 dm3.

  6. In the eyes of older adults: Self-reported age and adjustment in African and European older adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sofia von Humbold

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available To explore older adults’ perceptions of subjective age and adjustment to ageing and to analyse the correlational structure of the pre-categories in our study: subjective age, indicators of adjustment to ageing and of personal age perception. An exploratory, descriptive mixed-methods design was utilised. A purposive sampling method was used to select 154 older adults aged between 75 and 99 years from three different nationalities. Semi-structured interviews were performed, addressing two core areas: subjective age and adjustment to ageing. Data was subjected to content analysis. Representation of the correlational structure of the precategories in our study (subjective age and indicators of adjustment to ageing were analysed by a Multiple Correspondence Analysis. Standardised instruments measured regular cognitive abilities. Five categories derived from interviews for subjective age: ‘adapted’, ‘disconnected’, ‘old’, ‘youthful’ and ‘tolerant’. A total of seven categories emerged as indicators of adjustment to ageing: ‘social networking’, ‘health’, ‘time perspective’, ‘spirituality’, ‘financial autonomy’, ‘professional activities’ and ‘fulfilment and leisure’. These results supported a model for each pre-category. Subjective age was explained by a two-factor model: ‘age-conscientious’ and ‘youthful’. A three-dimensional model formed by ‘reconciled’, ‘satisficers’ and ‘maximisers’ was indicated as a best-fit solution for adjustment to ageing. A three-dimensional overall model for PAP was formed by ‘age-cognisant’, ‘fulfilled’ and ‘satisficers’. The findings highlighted the underdeveloped potential of subjective age, adjustment to ageing and a personal age perception overall model for this population. Enhancing subjective age and adjustment to ageing might be an important target to improve older adults’ interventions’ outcomes.

  7. Core-to-core dimers forming switchable mesophase

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Horčic, M.; Svoboda, J.; Novotná, Vladimíra; Pociecha, D.; Gorecka, E.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 53, č. 18 (2017), s. 2721-2724 ISSN 1359-7345 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-02843S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : liquid crystals * bent- core mesogens * dimers Subject RIV: JJ - Other Materials OBOR OECD: Nano-materials (production and properties) Impact factor: 6.319, year: 2016

  8. 2-Ethynylpyridine dimers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bakarić, Danijela; Spanget-Larsen, Jens

    2018-01-01

    are used to study possible 2-EP dimer structures as well as their distribution in an inert solvent such as tetrachloroethene. Experimentally, the ≡C–H stretching vibration of the 2-EPmonomer absorbs close to 3300 cm−1, whereas a broad band withmaximum around 3215 cm−1 emerges as the concentration rises...... model with counterpoise correction predict that the two most stable dimers are of the pi-stacked variety, closely followed by dimers with intermolecular ≡C–H···N hydrogen bonding; the predicted red shifts of the ≡C–H stretching wavenumbers due to hydrogen bonding are in the range 54 – 120 cm–1...

  9. Cdx-2 polymorphism in Vitamin D Receptor gene was associated with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, bone mineral density and fracture in middle-aged and elderly Chinese women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling, Yan; Lin, Huandong; Aleteng, Qiqige; Ma, Hui; Pan, Baishen; Gao, Jian; Gao, Xin

    2016-05-15

    The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between Cdx-2 polymorphism in the promoter region of the VDR gene and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels, bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture in Chinese population. This was a cross-sectional study, which included 738 individuals (428 women and 310 men) aged 45 years or older. In women, the association of Cdx-2 polymorphism with serum 25(OH)D levels was significant adjusting for age, BMI, estimated glomerular filtration rate, menopausal status and season of blood collection (P = 0.002). Cdx-2 polymorphism was associated with lumbar spine BMD adjusted for age, BMI, menopausal status and serum 25(OH)D in women (P = 0.005). But it was not associated with femoral neck BMD or total hip BMD in women. In women, Cdx-2 polymorphism was also associated with fracture adjusted for age, BMI, menopausal status, serum 25(OH)D and total hip BMD (P = 0.03). Carriers of AA and AG genotypes was associated with a higher odds of fracture compared with the carriers of GG genotype (OR = 2.14, 95% CI 1.04-4.42 and OR = 1.90, 95% CI 1.03-3.51). In men, Cdx-2 polymorphism was not associated with serum 25(OH)D levels, BMD or fracture. Our results indicate that the association of Cdx-2 polymorphism in the VDR gene with serum 25(OH)D levels, BMD and fracture may have sex differences. Cdx-2 polymorphism in the VDR gene may affect the serum 25(OH)D concentrations and the risk of osteoporosis and fracture in middle-aged and elderly Chinese women. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Laccase-mediated dimerization of the flavonolignan silybin

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Gažák, Radek; Sedmera, Petr; Marzorati, M.; Riva, S.; Křen, Vladimír

    2008-01-01

    Roč. 50, 2-4 (2008), s. 87-92 ISSN 1381-1177 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KJB400200701; GA MŠk OC D25.001; GA MŠk(CZ) LC06010; GA MŠk OC 170; GA MŠk ME 922 Grant - others:CZ(CZ) Bilateral Czech-Italian inter-academic projec Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50200510 Keywords : silybin * silymarin * dimer formation Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 2.015, year: 2008

  11. Simultaneous determination of CRP and D-dimer in human blood plasma samples with White Light Reflectance Spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koukouvinos, Georgios; Petrou, Panagiota; Misiakos, Konstantinos; Drygiannakis, Dimitris; Raptis, Ioannis; Stefanitsis, Gerasimos; Martini, Spyridoula; Nikita, Dimitra; Goustouridis, Dimitrios; Moser, Isabella; Jobst, Gerhard; Kakabakos, Sotirios

    2016-10-15

    A dual-analyte assay for the simultaneous determination of C-reactive protein (CRP) and D-dimer in human blood plasma based on a white light interference spectroscopy sensing platform is presented. Measurement is accomplished in real-time by scanning the sensing surface, on which distinct antibody areas have been created, with a reflection probe used both for illumination of the surface and collection of the reflected interference spectrum. The composition of the transducer, the sensing surface chemical activation and biofunctionalization procedures were optimized with respect to signal magnitude and repeatability. The assay format involved direct detection of CRP whereas for D-dimer a two-site immunoassay employing a biotinylated reporter antibody and reaction with streptavidin was selected. The assays were sensitive with detection limits of 25ng/mL for both analytes, precise with intra- and inter-assay CV values ranging from 3.6% to 7.7%, and from 4.8% to 9.5%, respectively, for both assays, and accurate with recovery values ranging from 88.5% to 108% for both analytes. Moreover, the values determined for the two analytes in 35 human plasma samples were in excellent agreement with those received for the same samples by standard diagnostic laboratory instrumentation employing commercial kits. The excellent agreement of the results supported the validity of the proposed system for clinical application for the detection of multiple analytes since it was demonstrated that up to seven antibody areas can be created on the sensing surface and successfully interrogated with the developed optical set-up. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  12. On the photophysics and photochemistry of the water dimer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Segarra-Marti, Javier; Merchan, Manuela [Instituto de Ciencia Molecular, Universitat de Valencia, P.O. Box 22085, 46071 Valencia (Spain); Roca-Sanjuan, Daniel; Lindh, Roland [Department of Chemistry - Angstroem, Theoretical Chemistry Program, Uppsala University, Box 518, 75120 Uppsala (Sweden)

    2012-12-28

    The photochemistry of the water dimer irradiated by UV light is studied by means of the complete active space perturbation theory//complete active space self-consistent field (CASPT2//CASSCF) method and accurate computational approaches like as minimum energy paths. Both electronic structure computations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations are carried out. The results obtained show small shifts relative to a single water molecule on the vertical excitation energies of the dimer due to the hydrogen bond placed between the water donor (W{sub D}) and the water acceptor (W{sub A}). A red-shift and a blue-shift are predicted for the W{sub D} and W{sub A}, respectively, supporting previous theoretical and experimental results. The photoinduced chemistry of the water dimer is described as a process occurring between two single water molecules in which the effect of the hydrogen bond plays a minor role. Thus, the photoinduced decay routes correspond to two photodissociation processes, one for each water molecule. The proposed mechanism for the decay channels of the lowest-lying excited states of the system is established as the photochemical production of a hydrogen-bonded H{sub 2}O Horizontal-Ellipsis HO species plus a hydrogen H atom.

  13. Acylphenols and dimeric acylphenols from Myristica maxima Warb.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Othman, Muhamad Aqmal; Sivasothy, Yasodha; Looi, Chung Yeng; Ablat, Abdulwali; Mohamad, Jamaludin; Litaudon, Marc; Awang, Khalijah

    2016-06-01

    Giganteone E (1), a new dimeric acylphenol was isolated as a minor constituent from the bark of Myristica maxima Warb. The structure of 1 was established on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR techniques and LCMS-IT-TOF analysis. Malabaricones A-C (2-4), giganteones A and C (5 and 6), maingayones A and B (7 and 8), maingayic acid B (9) and β-sitosteryl oleate (10) were also characterized in this plant for the first time. Compound 10 was identified for the first time in the Myristicaceae. Compounds 2 and 5 were active against human prostate cancer cell-lines, thus making this the first report on the prostate cancer inhibiting potential of acylphenols and dimeric acylphenols. Compounds 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8 exhibited potent DPPH free radical scavenging activity. This is the first report on their free radical scavenging capacity. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  14. Forensic differentiation between peripheral and menstrual blood in cases of alleged sexual assault-validating an immunochromatographic multiplex assay for simultaneous detection of human hemoglobin and D-dimer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holtkötter, Hannah; Dias Filho, Claudemir Rodrigues; Schwender, Kristina; Stadler, Christian; Vennemann, Marielle; Pacheco, Ana Claudia; Roca, Gabriela

    2018-05-01

    Sexual assault is a serious offense and identification of body fluids originating from sexual activity has been a crucial aspect of forensic investigations for a long time. While reliable tests for the detection of semen and saliva have been successfully implemented into forensic laboratories, the detection of other body fluids, such as vaginal or menstrual fluid, is more challenging. Especially, the discrimination between peripheral and menstrual blood can be highly relevant for police investigations because it provides potential evidence regarding the issue of consent. We report the forensic validation of an immunochromatographic test that allows for such discrimination in forensic stains, the SERATEC PMB test, and its performance on real casework samples. The PMB test is a duplex test combining human hemoglobin and D-dimer detection and was developed for the identification of blood and menstrual fluid, both at the crime scene and in the laboratory. The results of this study showed that the duplex D-dimer/hemoglobin assay reliably detects the presence of human hemoglobin and identifies samples containing menstrual fluid by detecting the presence of D-dimers. The method distinguished between menstrual and peripheral blood in a swab from a historical artifact and in real casework samples of alleged sexual assaults. Results show that the development of the new duplex test is a substantial progress towards analyzing and interpreting evidence from sexual assault cases.

  15. Dimerization of nitrophorin 4 at low pH and comparison to the K1A mutant of nitrophorin 1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, Robert E; Yang, Fei; Shokhireva, Tatiana K; Amoia, Angela M; Garrett, Sarah A; Goren, Allena M; Korte, Stephanie R; Zhang, Hongjun; Weichsel, Andrzej; Montfort, William R; Walker, F Ann

    2015-01-20

    Nitrophorin 4, one of the four NO-carrying heme proteins from the salivary glands of Rhodnius prolixus, forms a homodimer at pH 5.0 with a Kd of ∼8 μM. This dimer begins to dissociate at pH 5.5 and is completely dissociated to monomer at pH 7.3, even at 3.7 mM. The dimer is significantly stabilized by binding NO to the heme and at pH 7.3 would require dilution to well below 0.2 mM to completely dissociate the NP4-NO homodimer. The primary techniques used for investigating the homodimer and the monomer-dimer equilibrium were size-exclusion fast protein liquid chromatography at pH 5.0 and (1)H{(15)N} heteronuclear single-quantum coherence spectroscopy as a function of pH and concentration. Preparation of site-directed mutants of NP4 (A1K, D30A, D30N, V36A/D129A/L130A, K38A, R39A, K125A, K125E, D132A, L133V, and K38Q/R39Q/K125Q) showed that the N-terminus, D30, D129, D132, at least one heme propionate, and, by association, likely also E32 and D35 are involved in the dimerization. The "closed loop" form of the A-B and G-H flexible loops of monomeric NP4, which predominates in crystal structures of the monomeric protein reported at pH 5.6 but not at pH 7.5 and which involves all of the residues listed above except D132, is required for dimer formation. Wild-type NP1 does not form a homodimer, but NP1(K1A) and native N-terminal NP1 form dimers in the presence of NO. The homodimer of NP1, however, is considerably less stable than that of NP4 in the absence of NO. This suggests that additional aspartate or glutamate residues present in the C-terminal region of NP4, but not NP1, are also involved in stabilizing the dimer.

  16. Adjustment disorder with anxiety in old age: comparing prevalence and clinical management in primary care and mental health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arbus, C; Hergueta, T; Duburcq, A; Saleh, A; Le Guern, M-E; Robert, P; Camus, V

    2014-05-01

    Adjustment disorder with anxiety (AjD-A) is a common cause of severe anxiety symptoms, but little is known about its prevalence in old age. This cross-sectional study examined the prevalence of AjD-A in outpatients over the age of 60 who consecutively consulted 34 general practitioners and 22 psychiatrists during a 2-week period. The diagnosis of AjD-A was obtained using the optional module for diagnostic of adjustment disorder of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). The study procedure also explored comorbid psychiatric conditions and documented recent past stressful life events, as well as social disability and current pharmacological and non-pharmacological management. Overall, 3651 consecutive subjects were screened (2937 in primary care and 714 in mental health care). The prevalence rate of AjD-A was 3.7% (n=136). Up to 39% (n=53) of AjD-A subjects had a comorbid psychiatric condition, mostly of the anxious type. The most frequently stressful life event reported to be associated with the onset of AjD-A was personal illness or health problem (29%). More than 50% of the AjD-A patients were markedly to extremely disabled by their symptoms. Compared to patients who consulted psychiatrists, patients who were seen by primary care physicians were older, had obtained lower scores at the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, benefited less frequently from non-pharmacological management and received benzodiazepines more frequently. AjD-A appears to be a significantly disabling cause of anxiety symptoms in community dwelling elderly persons, in particular those presenting personal health related problems. Improvement of early diagnosis and non-pharmacological management of AjD-A would contribute to limit risks of benzodiazepine overuse, particularly in primary care settings. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  17. Rubidium dimers in paraffin-coated cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Acosta, V M; Windes, D; Corsini, E; Ledbetter, M P; Karaulanov, T; Budker, D; Jarmola, A; Auzinsh, M; Rangwala, S A; Jackson Kimball, D F

    2010-01-01

    Measurements were made to determine the density of rubidium dimer vapor in paraffin-coated cells. The number density of dimers and atoms in similar paraffin-coated and uncoated cells was measured by optical spectroscopy. Due to the relatively low melting point of paraffin, a limited temperature range of 43-80 0 C was explored, with the lower end corresponding to a dimer density of less than 10 7 cm -3 . With 1 min integration time, a sensitivity to dimer number density of better than 10 6 cm -3 was achieved. No significant difference in dimer density between the cells was observed.

  18. Dimers in nucleating vapors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lushnikov, A. A.; Kulmala, M.

    1998-09-01

    The dimer stage of nucleation may affect considerably the rate of the nucleation process at high supersaturation of the nucleating vapor. Assuming that the dimer formation limits the nucleation rate, the kinetics of the particle formation-growth process is studied starting with the definition of dimers as bound states of two associating molecules. The partition function of dimer states is calculated by summing the Boltzmann factor over all classical bound states, and the equilibrium population of dimers is found for two types of intermolecular forces: the Lennard-Jones (LJ) and rectangular well+hard core (RW) potentials. The principle of detailed balance is used for calculating the evaporation rate of dimers. The kinetics of the particle formation-growth process is then investigated under the assumption that the trimers are stable with respect to evaporation and that the condensation rate is a power function of the particle mass. If the power exponent λ=n/(n+1) (n is a non-negative integer), the kinetics of the process is described by a finite set of moments of particle mass distribution. When the characteristic time of the particle formation by nucleation is much shorter than that of the condensational growth, n+2 universal functions of a nondimensional time define the kinetic process. These functions are calculated for λ=2/3 (gas-to-particle conversion in the free molecular regime) and λ=1/2 (formation of islands on surfaces).

  19. Morphological and physiological retinal degeneration induced by intravenous delivery of vitamin A dimers in rabbits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jackie Penn

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The eye uses vitamin A as a cofactor to sense light and, during this process, some vitamin A molecules dimerize, forming vitamin A dimers. A striking chemical signature of retinas undergoing degeneration in major eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD and Stargardt disease is the accumulation of these dimers in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE and Bruch’s membrane (BM. However, it is not known whether dimers of vitamin A are secondary symptoms or primary insults that drive degeneration. Here, we present a chromatography-free method to prepare gram quantities of the vitamin A dimer, A2E, and show that intravenous administration of A2E to the rabbit results in retinal degeneration. A2E-damaged photoreceptors and RPE cells triggered inflammation, induced remolding of the choroidal vasculature and triggered a decline in the retina’s response to light. Data suggest that vitamin A dimers are not bystanders, but can be primary drivers of retinal degeneration. Thus, preventing dimer formation could be a preemptive strategy to address serious forms of blindness.

  20. Shizukaol D, a Dimeric Sesquiterpene Isolated from Chloranthus serratus, Represses the Growth of Human Liver Cancer Cells by Modulating Wnt Signalling Pathway.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisha Tang

    Full Text Available Natural products have become sources of developing new drugs for the treatment of cancer. To seek candidate compounds that inhibit the growth of liver cancer, components of Chloranthus serratus were tested. Here, we report that shizukaol D, a dimeric sesquiterpene from Chloranthus serratus, exerted a growth inhibition effect on liver cancer cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. We demonstrated that shizukaol D induced cells to undergo apoptosis. More importantly, shizukaol D attenuated Wnt signalling and reduced the expression of endogenous Wnt target genes, which resulted in decreased expression of β-catenin. Collectively, this study demonstrated that shizukaol D inhibited the growth of liver cancer cells by modulating Wnt pathway.

  1. Collisional properties of weakly bound heteronuclear dimers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marcelis, B.; Kokkelmans, S.J.J.M.F.; Shlyapnikov, G.V.; Petrov, D.S.

    2008-01-01

    We consider collisional properties of weakly bound heteronuclear molecules (dimers) formed in a two-species mixture of atoms with a large mass difference. We focus on dimers containing light fermionic atoms as they manifest collisional stability due to an effective dimer-dimer repulsion originating

  2. Mixed dimers, ch. 7

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deursen, A.P.J. van; Reuss, J.

    1976-01-01

    An attempt has been made to detect mixed dimers in nozzle beams of mixtures; NeAr and HeNe dimers were observed with sufficient intensity to determine the total collision cross section. A similar attempt for H 2 Ar was partially hampered by the circumstance that the corresponding HAr + ion must be detected on the wing of the thousand times larger Ar + peak. The search for H 2 He, H 2 Ne and HeAr dimers was not successful, due to masking ion peaks, H 5 + for HHe + , 21 Ne + for H 20 Ne + , and CO 2 + for HeAr + . (Auth.)

  3. Hetero-metallic trigonal cage-shaped dimeric Ni3K core complex of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    K(I) complex has a dimeric structure with nine coordinated potassium atoms and six coordinated nickel atoms. ... S Nagasubramanian et al. ..... Arnold L R, Kenneth D K and Rokita S E 2006 Inorg. ... Cremer D and Pople J A 1975 J. Am. Chem.

  4. Spin quantum tunneling via entangled states in a dimer of exchange coupled single-molecule magnets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiron, R.; Wernsdorfer, W.; Aliaga-Alcalde, N.; Foguet-Albiol, D.; Christou, G.

    2004-03-01

    A new family of supramolecular, antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled dimers of single-molecule magnets (SMMs) has recently been reported [W. Wernsdorfer, N. Aliaga-Alcalde, D.N. Hendrickson, and G. Christou, Nature 416, 406 (2002)]. Each SMM acts as a bias on its neighbor, shifting the quantum tunneling resonances of the individual SMMs. Hysteresis loop measurements on a single crystal of SMM-dimers have now established quantum tunneling of the magnetization via entangled states of the dimer. This shows that the dimer really does behave as a quantum-mechanically coupled dimer. The transitions are well separated, suggesting long coherence times compared to the time scale of the energy splitting. This result is of great importance if such systems are to be used for quantum computing. It also allows the measurement of the longitudinal and transverse superexchange coupling constants [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 227203 (2003)].

  5. Dimers of fluorinated methanes with carbonyl sulfide: the rotational spectrum and structure of difluoromethane-OCS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serafin, Michal M; Peebles, Sean A

    2008-12-11

    The pure rotational spectra of four isotopologues of the difluoromethane-carbonyl sulfide dimer have been measured in the 5-15 GHz region with use of pulsed-nozzle Fourier-transform microwave spectroscopy. The complex was determined to possess an ab plane of symmetry with a center of mass separation of 3.41(2) A and dipole moment components mu(a) = 1.1386(18) D, mu(b) = 0.4840(63) D, mu(total) = 1.2372(41) D. Experimental planar moments indicate that the two fluorine atoms straddle the symmetry plane while one of the C-H bonds of the difluoromethane monomer is aligned to interact with the oxygen atom of the OCS molecule. The assignment of the rotational spectrum for this dimer completes the experimental studies of the series of dimers involving fluorinated methanes (HCF(3), H(2)CF(2), and H(3)CF) complexed with OCS and makes possible a comparison of properties within this series.

  6. Is it acceptable to use coagulation plasma samples stored at room temperature and 4°C for 24 hours for additional prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen, antithrombin, and D-dimer testing?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rimac, V; Coen Herak, D

    2017-10-01

    Coagulation laboratories are faced on daily basis with requests for additional testing in already analyzed fresh plasma samples. This prompted us to examine whether plasma samples stored at room temperature (RT), and 4°C for 24 hours can be accepted for additional prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), fibrinogen (Fbg), antithrombin (AT), and D-dimer testing. We measured PT, aPTT, Fbg in 50 and AT in 30 plasma samples with normal and pathological values, within 4 hours of blood collection (baseline results) and after 24-hours storage at RT (primary tubes), and 4°C (aliquots). D-dimer stability was investigated in 20 samples stored in primary tubes at 4°C. No statistically significant difference between baseline results and results in samples stored at RT and 4°C was observed for PT (P=.938), aPTT (P=.186), Fbg (P=.962), AT (P=.713), and D-dimers (P=.169). The highest median percentage changes were found for aPTT, being more pronounced for samples stored at 4°C (13.0%) than at RT (8.7%). Plasma samples stored both at RT and 4°C for 24 hours are acceptable for additional PT, Fbg, and AT testing. Plasma samples stored 24 hours in primary tubes at 4°C are suitable for D-dimer testing. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Age effects on voluntary and automatic adjustments in anti-pointing tasks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verneau, M.; Kamp, J. van der; Looze, M.P. de; Savelsbergh, G.J.P.

    2016-01-01

    We examined the effects of age on automatic and voluntary motor adjustments in pointing tasks. To this end, young (20–25 years) and middle-aged adults (48–62 years) were instructed to point at a target that could unexpectedly change its location (to the left or right) or its color (to green or red)

  8. Theoretical Research on the Mechanism of the Dimerization Reactions of Alkyl Ketene

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhiguo Zhang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A quantum chemical method was employed to investigate the mechanism of dimerization reactions of alkyl ketene. All the geometric configurations of the stationary points on the reactions path were optimized with Gaussian03 employing density functional theory at the B3LYP/6-311G++(d, p level by energy gradient technique. The transition states were also investigated through synchronous transit method, and its reasonability was confirmed by using frequency analysis and intrinsic reaction coordinate analysis. The results can be summed up as follows: according to the frontier orbital theory, the dimerization reaction (3 to generate four-membered carbon cyclic product P3 is forbidden. Two different dimerization processes of alkyl ketene are all concerted but nonsynchronous, taking place through twisted four-membered cyclic transition states. The activation energies were calculated to be 34.54 and 61.73 kJ/mol, respectively for the two ketene dimerization processes. Calculation results satisfactorily explained the experimental facts.

  9. Dimers at Ge/Si(001) surfaces: Ge coverage dependent quenching, reactivation of flip-flop motion, and interaction with dimer vacancy lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirayama, H.; Mizuno, H.; Yoshida, R.

    2002-01-01

    We studied Ge coverage (θ Ge ) dependent quenching, reactivation of the flip-flop motion, and interaction with dimer vacancy lines (DVLs) of dimers on Ge/Si(001) surfaces using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) combined with a molecular beam epitaxy apparatus. Deposition of ∼0.3 ML (monolayer) Ge quenched the flip-flop motion, making all dimers asymmetric. Further deposition introduced DVLs at θ Ge ≥∼0.5 ML, and symmetric dimer domains appeared again locally at θ≥1.5 ML. High-resolution STM images indicated that asymmetric dimer rows always invert their phase in alternation with buckled dimer's up-end at the DVLs. Low-temperature STM images indicated that the symmetric dimer domains were due to flip-flopping of asymmetric dimers activated by large θ Ge at room temperature. The symmetric dimer domains extended along the dimer rows over the DVLs due to the phase correlation

  10. Exclusion and diagnosis of pulmonary embolism by a rapid ELISA D-dimer test and noninvasive imaging techniques within the context of a clinical model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michiels, J J; Pattynama, P M

    2000-01-01

    A negative rapid ELISA D-dimer test alone in out-patients with a low to moderate clinical probability (CP) on pulmonary embolism (PE) is predicted to safely exclude pulmonary embolism. The combination of a negative rapid ELISA D-dimer test and a low to moderate CP on PE followed by compression ultrasonography (CUS) for the detection of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is safe and cost-effective as it reduces the need for noninvasive imaging techniques to about 50% to 60% of outpatients with suspected PE. A high probability ventilation-perfusion (VP) scan or a positive spiral CT consistent with PE and the detection of DVT by CUS are currently considered to be clear indications for anticoagulant treatment. Subsequent pulmonary angiography (PA) is the gold standard diagnostic strategy to exclude or diagnose PE in suspected outpatients with a negative CUS, a positive rapid ELISA D-dimer test, and a nondiagnostic VP scan or negative spiral CT to prevent overtreatment with anticoagulants. However, the willingness of clinicians and the availability of resources to perform PA is restricted, a fact that has provided an impetus for clinical investigators to search for alternative noninvasive strategies to exclude or detect venous thromboembolism (VTE). Serial CUS testing for the detection of DVT in patients with a low to moderate CP on PE and a nondiagnostic VP scan or negative spiral CT is predicted to be safe and will reduce the need for PA to less than 10% or even less than 5%. This noninvasive serial CUS strategy restricts the need for invasive PA to a minor group of patients (spiral CT and a high CP on PE. Prospective evaluations are warranted to implement and to validate the advantages and the disadvantages of the various combinations of noninvasive strategies and to compare serial CUS testing versus PA in randomized clinical management studies of outpatients with suspected pulmonary embolism.

  11. Formic acid dimers in a nitrogen matrix

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopes, Susy; Fausto, Rui; Khriachtchev, Leonid

    2018-01-01

    Formic acid (HCOOH) dimers are studied by infrared spectroscopy in a nitrogen matrix and by ab initio calculations. We benefit from the use of a nitrogen matrix where the lifetime of the higher-energy (cis) conformer is very long (˜11 h vs. 7 min in an argon matrix). As a result, in a nitrogen matrix, a large proportion of the cis conformer can be produced by vibrational excitation of the lower-energy (trans) conformer. Three trans-trans, four trans-cis, and three cis-cis dimers are found in the experiments. The spectroscopic information on most of these dimers is enriched compared to the previous studies in an argon matrix. The cis-cis dimers of ordinary formic acid (without deuteration) are reported here for the first time. Several conformational processes are obtained using selective excitation by infrared light, some of them also for the first time. In particular, we report on the formation of cis-cis dimers upon vibrational excitation of trans-cis dimers. Tunneling decays of several dimers have been detected in the dark. The tunneling decay of cis-cis dimers of formic acid as well as the stabilization of cis units in cis-cis dimers is also observed for the first time.

  12. Viscosity and sedimentation behaviors of the magnetorheological suspensions with oleic acid/dimer acid as surfactants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jianjian; Yan, Hua; Hu, Zhide; Ding, Ding

    2016-11-01

    This work deals with the role of polar interactions on the viscosity and sedimentation behaviors of magnetorheological suspensions with micro-sized magnetic particles dispersed in oil carriers. The oleic acid and dimer acid were employed to make an adjustment of the hydrophobicity of iron particles, in the interest of performing a comparative evaluation of the contributions of the surface polarity. The viscosity tests show that the adsorbed surfactant layer may impose a hindrance to the movement of iron particles in the oil medium. The polar attractions between dimer acid covered particles gave rise to a considerable increase in viscosity, indicating flocculation structure developed in the suspensions. The observed plateau-like region in the vicinity of 0.1 s-1 for MRF containing dimer acid is possibly due to the flocculation provoked by the carboxylic polar attraction, in which the structure is stable against fragmentation. Moreover, a quick recovery of the viscosity and a higher viscosity-temperature index also suggest the existence of particle-particle polar interaction in the suspensions containing dimer acid. The sedimentation measurements reveal that the steric repulsion of oleic acid plays a limited role in the stability of suspensions only if a large quantity of surfactant was used. The sedimentation results observed in the dimer acid covered particles confirm that loose and open flocculation was formed and enhanced sedimentation stability.

  13. Communication: The highest frequency hydrogen bond vibration and an experimental value for the dissociation energy of formic acid dimer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kollipost, F.; Larsen, René Wugt; Domanskaya, A.V.

    2012-01-01

    The highest frequency hydrogen bond fundamental of formic acid dimer, ν24 (Bu), is experimentally located at 264 cm−1. FTIR spectra of this in-plane bending mode of (HCOOH)2 and band centers of its symmetric D isotopologues (isotopomers) recorded in a supersonic slit jet expansion are presented...... thermodynamics treatment of the dimerization process up to room temperature. We obtain D0 = 59.5(5) kJ/mol as the best experimental estimate for the dimer dissociation energy at 0 K. Further improvements have to wait for a more consistent determination of the room temperature equilibrium constant....

  14. 3D Spin-Liquid State in an Organic Hyperkagome Lattice of Mott Dimers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mizuno, Asato; Shuku, Yoshiaki; Matsushita, Michio M.; Tsuchiizu, Masahisa; Hara, Yuuki; Wada, Nobuo; Shimizu, Yasuhiro; Awaga, Kunio

    2017-08-01

    We report the first 3D spin liquid state of isotropic organic spins. Structural analysis, and magnetic and heat-capacity measurements were carried out for a chiral organic radical salt, (TBA) 1.5[(-)-NDI -Δ ] (TBA denotes tetrabutylammonium and NDI denotes naphthalene diimide), in which (-)-NDI -Δ forms a K4 structure due to its triangular molecular structure and an intermolecular π -π overlap between the NDI moieties. This lattice was identical to the hyperkagome lattice of S =1 /2 Mott dimers, and should exhibit 3D spin frustration. In fact, even though the high-temperature magnetic susceptibility followed the Curie-Weiss law with a negative Weiss constant of θ =-15 K , the low-temperature magnetic measurements revealed no long-range magnetic ordering down to 70 mK, and suggested the presence of a spin liquid state with a large residual paramagnetism χ0 of 8.5 ×10-6 emu g-1 at the absolute zero temperature. This was supported by the N 14 NMR measurements down to 0.38 K. Further, the low-temperature heat capacities cp down to 68 mK clearly indicated the presence of cp for the spin liquid state, which can be fitted to the power law of T0.62 in the wide temperature range 0.07-4.5 K.

  15. Palmitoylated APP Forms Dimers, Cleaved by BACE1.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raja Bhattacharyya

    Full Text Available A major rate-limiting step for Aβ generation and deposition in Alzheimer's disease brains is BACE1-mediated cleavage (β-cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP. We previously reported that APP undergoes palmitoylation at two cysteine residues (Cys186 and Cys187 in the E1-ectodomain. 8-10% of total APP is palmitoylated in vitro and in vivo. Palmitoylated APP (palAPP shows greater preference for β-cleavage than total APP in detergent resistant lipid rafts. Protein palmitoylation is known to promote protein dimerization. Since dimerization of APP at its E1-ectodomain results in elevated BACE1-mediated cleavage of APP, we have now investigated whether palmitoylation of APP affects its dimerization and whether this leads to elevated β-cleavage of the protein. Here we report that over 90% of palAPP is dimerized while only ~20% of total APP forms dimers. PalAPP-dimers are predominantly cis-oriented while total APP dimerizes in both cis- and trans-orientation. PalAPP forms dimers 4.5-times more efficiently than total APP. Overexpression of the palmitoylating enzymes DHHC7 and DHHC21 that increase palAPP levels and Aβ release, also increased APP dimerization in cells. Conversely, inhibition of APP palmitoylation by pharmacological inhibitors reduced APP-dimerization in coimmunoprecipitation and FLIM/FRET assays. Finally, in vitro BACE1-activity assays demonstrate that palmitoylation-dependent dimerization of APP promotes β-cleavage of APP in lipid-rich detergent resistant cell membranes (DRMs, when compared to total APP. Most importantly, generation of sAPPβ-sAPPβ dimers is dependent on APP-palmitoylation while total sAPPβ generation is not. Since BACE1 shows preference for palAPP dimers over total APP, palAPP dimers may serve as novel targets for effective β-cleavage inhibitors of APP as opposed to BACE1 inhibitors.

  16. Calix[4]arene supported clusters: a dimer of [Mn(III)Mn(II)] dimers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Taylor, Stephanie M; McIntosh, Ruaraidh D; Beavers, Christine M

    2011-01-01

    Phosphinate ligands allow for the transformation of a calix[4]arene supported [Mn(III)(2)Mn(II)(2)] tetramer cluster motif into an unusual [Mn(III)Mn(II)](2) dimer of dimers; the clusters self-assemble in the crystal to form bi-layer arrays reminiscent of the typical packing of calixarene solvates....

  17. Cord serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D is not associated with cranial anthropometrics in infants up to 6 months of age. An Odense Child Cohort study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Egge, Sissil; Christensen, Nikolas; Lykkedegn, Sine

    2018-01-01

    Skull changes are poorly described in vitamin D insufficiency [serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (s-25(OH)D) 25–50 nmol/L]. We aimed to investigate factors associated with cranial anthropometrics in infants, especially s-25(OH)D. In infants 2.5–6 months old from the Odense Child Cohort, associations......)D and any cranial measure by univariate or adjusted analysis. Among significant, independent associations in multivariate analysis, fontanel area was associated inversely with gestational age (GA); HC was associated directly with GA, maternal pre-pregnancy overweight and caesarean section and inversely...... with smoking; and asymmetrical head shape showed a novel association with male sex: adjusted OR = 1.54 (95% CI 1.25; 1.89), p associations with asymmetrical head shape included parity 3+, gestational age and maternal age 30+ years (all protective). In conclusion, neither pregnancy nor cord s-25...

  18. Longitudinal Associations Between Vitamin D Metabolites and Sarcopenia in Older Australian men: The Concord Health and Aging in Men Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirani, Vasant; Cumming, Robert G; Naganathan, Vasi; Blyth, Fiona; Le Couteur, David G; Hsu, Benjumin; Handelsman, David J; Waite, Louise M; Seibel, Markus J

    2017-12-12

    To explore the associations between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25D) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25D) levels at baseline and incidence of sarcopenia over time in older Australian community-dwelling older men. Of the 1,705 men aged ≥70 years (2005-2007) participating in the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project, those without sarcopenia at baseline (n = 1,312 for 25D and n = 1,231 for 1,25D), 2 years (n = 1,024 for 25D and n = 956 for 1,25D), and 5-year follow-up (n = 709 for 25D and n = 663 for 1,25D) were included in the study. The main outcome measurement was the incidence of sarcopenia defined as appendicular lean mass adjusted for body mass index sarcopenia was 3.9% in men at the 2-year follow-up and 8.6% at the 5-year follow-up. In adjusted analysis, men with vitamin D levels in the lowest quartiles (25D sarcopenia compared to those with vitamin D levels in the highest quartiles over 5 years. [25D: odds ratio (OR) 2.53 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14, 5.64) p = .02; 1,25D: OR 2.67 (95% CI 1.28, 5.60) p = .01]. After further adjustments for the respective other serum vitamin D measure, (either 25D or 1,25D), the association remained significant [25D: OR 2.40 (95% CI 1.02, 5.64) p = .04; 1,25D: OR 2.23 (95% CI 1.04, 4.80) p = .04]. Low serum 1,25D and 25D concentrations at baseline are independently associated with the incidence of sarcopenia over the subsequent 5 years. Although our data do not prove any causal relationship, it is conceivable that maintaining vitamin D sufficiency may reduce the incidence of sarcopenia in ageing men. © Crown copyright 2017

  19. Investigation of the hydrated 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin dimer by combined IR/UV spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stamm, A.; Schwing, K.; Gerhards, M.

    2014-01-01

    The first molecular beam investigations on a coumarin dimer and clusters of a coumarin dimer with water both in the neutral (S 0 ) and cationic (D 0 ) electronic ground state are performed. The structure and structural changes due to ionization of the isolated 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin dimer (7H4MC) 2 as well as its mono- and dihydrate (7H4MC) 2 (H 2 O) 1-2 are analyzed by applying combined IR/UV spectroscopy compared with density functional theory calculations. In case of the neutral dimer of 7H4MC a doubly hydrogen-bonded structure is formed. This doubly hydrogen-bonded arrangement opens to a singly hydrogen-bonded structure in the ion presenting a rearrangement reaction within an isolated dimer. By attaching one or two water molecules to the neutral 7H4MC dimer water is inserted into the hydrogen bonds. In contrast to the non-hydrated species this general binding motif with water in a bridging function does not change via ionization but especially for the dihydrate the spatial arrangement of the two 7H4MC units changes strengthening the interaction between the aromatic chromophores. The presented analyses illustrate the strong dependence of binding motifs as a function of successive hydration and charge including a rearrangement reaction

  20. Interaction with the 5D3 monoclonal antibody is regulated by intramolecular rearrangements but not by covalent dimer formation of the human ABCG2 multidrug transporter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Özvegy-Laczka, Csilla; Laczkó, Rozália; Hegedűs, Csilla

    2008-01-01

    D3 monoclonal antibody shows a function-dependent reactivity to an extracellular epitope of the ABCG2 transporter. In the current experiments we have further characterized the 5D3-ABCG2 interaction. The effect of chemical cross-linking and the modulation of extracellular S-S bridges...... on the transporter function and 5D3 reactivity of ABCG2 were investigated in depth. We found that several protein cross-linkers greatly increased 5D3 labeling in ABCG2 expressing HEK cells; however, there was no correlation between covalent dimer formation, the inhibition of transport activity, and the increase in 5...

  1. Stochastic optimization-based study of dimerization kinetics

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    To this end, we study dimerization kinetics of protein as a model system. We follow the dimerization kinetics using a stochastic simulation algorithm and ... optimization; dimerization kinetics; sensitivity analysis; stochastic simulation ... tion in large molecules and clusters, or the design ..... An unbiased strategy of allocating.

  2. Retroviral RNA Dimerization: From Structure to Functions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noé Dubois

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The genome of the retroviruses is a dimer composed by two homologous copies of genomic RNA (gRNA molecules of positive polarity. The dimerization process allows two gRNA molecules to be non-covalently linked together through intermolecular base-pairing. This step is critical for the viral life cycle and is highly conserved among retroviruses with the exception of spumaretroviruses. Furthermore, packaging of two gRNA copies into viral particles presents an important evolutionary advantage for immune system evasion and drug resistance. Recent studies reported RNA switches models regulating not only gRNA dimerization, but also translation and packaging, and a spatio-temporal characterization of viral gRNA dimerization within cells are now at hand. This review summarizes our current understanding on the structural features of the dimerization signals for a variety of retroviruses (HIVs, MLV, RSV, BLV, MMTV, MPMV…, the mechanisms of RNA dimer formation and functional implications in the retroviral cycle.

  3. Effects of gold based dimers on structural and electronic properties of MoS{sub 2}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kadioglu, Yelda [Department of Physics, Adnan Menderes University, 09100 Aydın (Turkey); Gökoğlu, Gökhan [Department of Physics, Karabük University, 78050 Karabük (Turkey); Aktürk, Olcay Üzengi, E-mail: ouzengi@adu.edu.tr [Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Adnan Menderes University, 09100 Aydın (Turkey); Nanotechnology Application and Research Center, Adnan Menderes University, 09100 Aydın (Turkey)

    2017-02-28

    Highlights: • Semiconductor MoS{sub 2} shows metallic character by AuPt and AuPd adsorption. • MoS{sub 2} maintains its semiconductor characteristics with a decrease in the band gap values after AuAg, AuCu, and AuAl adsorption. • AuPt adsorbed system is the most stable structure energetically. • AuAl exhibits the weakest adsorption to MoS{sub 2} among the considered dimers. - Abstract: In view of first principles calculations, we investigate the electronic structure redecoration of monolayer MoS{sub 2} upon adsorptions of AuAg, AuPt, AuPd, AuCu, and AuAl bimetallic dimers. Geometrical structure, band structures, electronic density of states, charge density differences of dimer adsorbed MoS{sub 2} systems are presented and discussed. All the systems studied have non-magnetic ground states. Charge transfers occur from dimer to surface except for AuPt adsorption. Our results indicate that the semiconductor MoS{sub 2} maintains its semiconductor character with decreased band gaps upon AuAg, AuCu, and AuAl adsorptions. However, MoS{sub 2} shows metallic behaviour by AuPt and AuPd adsorptions, so Pt-d and Pd-d states cross Fermi level yielding metallic character. AuPt adsorbed system has the highest E{sub ads} value of 3.15 eV indicating the most stable structure energetically among the dimer adsorbed MoS{sub 2} systems considered.

  4. Solution-dispersible Au nanocube dimers with greatly enhanced two-photon luminescence and SERS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiao-Li; Liang, Shan; Nan, Fan; Yang, Zhong-Jian; Yu, Xue-Feng; Zhou, Li; Hao, Zhong-Hua; Wang, Qu-Quan

    2013-05-01

    We report the synthesis of 43-nm diameter Au nanocube dimers by using Ag+ ions as competitive ligands to freeze l-cysteine-induced assembly process of the nanocubes to a desirable stage. Ascribed to the resonant interparticle coupling with an newly arising plasmon band at 710 nm and local field enhancement, the two-photon luminescence intensity of the Au nanocube dimers in solution was over 20 times stronger than that of the monomers in the wavelength range 555-620 nm. Furthermore, by coupling Raman tags onto the nanocube surface, a solution-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of the nanocube dimers had an enhancement factor of over 10 times compared to the isolated nanocubes. To sum up, with high stability in solution and attractive optical properties, the Au nanocube dimers have potential applications in in vivo bio-imaging and solution-based SERS.We report the synthesis of 43-nm diameter Au nanocube dimers by using Ag+ ions as competitive ligands to freeze l-cysteine-induced assembly process of the nanocubes to a desirable stage. Ascribed to the resonant interparticle coupling with an newly arising plasmon band at 710 nm and local field enhancement, the two-photon luminescence intensity of the Au nanocube dimers in solution was over 20 times stronger than that of the monomers in the wavelength range 555-620 nm. Furthermore, by coupling Raman tags onto the nanocube surface, a solution-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of the nanocube dimers had an enhancement factor of over 10 times compared to the isolated nanocubes. To sum up, with high stability in solution and attractive optical properties, the Au nanocube dimers have potential applications in in vivo bio-imaging and solution-based SERS. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr01170d

  5. Statistical transmutation in doped quantum dimer models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamas, C A; Ralko, A; Cabra, D C; Poilblanc, D; Pujol, P

    2012-07-06

    We prove a "statistical transmutation" symmetry of doped quantum dimer models on the square, triangular, and kagome lattices: the energy spectrum is invariant under a simultaneous change of statistics (i.e., bosonic into fermionic or vice versa) of the holes and of the signs of all the dimer resonance loops. This exact transformation enables us to define the duality equivalence between doped quantum dimer Hamiltonians and provides the analytic framework to analyze dynamical statistical transmutations. We investigate numerically the doping of the triangular quantum dimer model with special focus on the topological Z(2) dimer liquid. Doping leads to four (instead of two for the square lattice) inequivalent families of Hamiltonians. Competition between phase separation, superfluidity, supersolidity, and fermionic phases is investigated in the four families.

  6. Strain mediated interaction of adatom dimers

    OpenAIRE

    Kappus, Wolfgang

    2013-01-01

    An earlier model for substrate strain mediated interactions between monomer adatoms is extended to the interaction of monomers with dimers and the interaction of dimers. While monomers (sitting on high symmetric sites) are supposed to create isotropic stress on the substrate, dimers would create anisotropic stress caused by stretching their bond. Resulting interactions are strongly angle dependent and also reflect the elastic anisotropy of the substrate. The applicability of a continuum elast...

  7. Umbilical Cord Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations and Relation to Birthweight, Head Circumference and Infant Length at Age 14 Days

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalgård, Christine; Petersen, Maria Skaalum; Steuerwald, Ulrike

    2016-01-01

    infants. In the third trimester, the pregnant women completed questionnaires, and clinical examination included birthweight, head circumference, and infant length at age 14 days. RESULTS: Fifty-three percent of the newborn population had UC 25(OH)D ... linear regression models with adjustment for pre-pregnancy BMI, sex, parity, gestational age, or infant age at examination, season of birth, smoking, gestational diabetes, examiner, and cohort identity, we found no relationship between birthweight or head circumference and UC 25(OH)D. However, infants...

  8. Epidemiology of perforated peptic ulcer: Age- and gender-adjusted analysis of incidence and mortality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thorsen, Kenneth; Søreide, Jon Arne; Kvaløy, Jan Terje; Glomsaker, Tom; Søreide, Kjetil

    2013-01-01

    AIM: To investigate the epidemiological trends in incidence and mortality of perforated peptic ulcer (PPU) in a well-defined Norwegian population. METHODS: A retrospective, population-based, single-center, consecutive cohort study of all patients diagnosed with benign perforated peptic ulcer. Included were both gastric and duodenal ulcer patients admitted to Stavanger University Hospital between January 2001 and December 2010. Ulcers with a malignant neoplasia diagnosis, verified by histology after biopsy or resection, were excluded. Patients were identified from the hospitals administrative electronic database using pertinent ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes (K25.1, K25.2, K25.5, K25.6, K26.1, K26.2, K26.5, K26.6). Additional searches using appropriate codes for relevant laparoscopic and open surgical procedures (e.g., JDA 60, JDA 61, JDH 70 and JDH 71) were performed to enable a complete identification of all patients. Patient demographics, presentation patterns and clinical data were retrieved from hospital records and surgical notes. Crude and adjusted incidence and mortality rates were estimated by using national population demographics data. RESULTS: In the study period, a total of 172 patients with PPU were identified. The adjusted incidence rate for the overall 10-year period was 6.5 per 100 000 per year (95%CI: 5.6-7.6) and the adjusted mortality rate for the overall 10-year period was 1.1 per 100 000 per year (95%CI: 0.7-1.6). A non-significant decline in adjusted incidence rate from 9.7 to 5.6 occurred during the decade. The standardized mortality ratio for the whole study period was 5.7 (95%CI: 3.9-8.2), while the total 30-d mortality was 16.3%. No difference in incidence or mortality was found between genders. However, for patients ≥ 60 years, the incidence increased over 10-fold, and mortality more than 50-fold, compared to younger ages. The admission rates outside office hours were high with almost two out of three (63%) admissions seen at evening

  9. Microwave measurements of the tropolone–formic acid doubly hydrogen bonded dimer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pejlovas, Aaron M.; Kukolich, Stephen G. [Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 (United States); Serrato, Agapito; Lin, Wei [Department of Chemistry, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Brownsville, Texas 78520 (United States)

    2016-01-28

    The microwave spectrum was measured for the doubly hydrogen bonded dimer formed between tropolone and formic acid. The predicted symmetry of this dimer was C{sub 2v}(M), and it was expected that the concerted proton tunneling motion would be observed. After measuring 25 a- and b-type rotational transitions, no splittings which could be associated with a concerted double proton tunneling motion were observed. The calculated barrier to the proton tunneling motion is near 15 000 cm{sup −1}, which would likely make the tunneling frequencies too small to observe in the microwave spectra. The rotational and centrifugal distortion constants determined from the measured transitions were A = 2180.7186(98) MHz, B = 470.873 90(25) MHz, C = 387.689 84(22) MHz, D{sub J} = 0.0100(14) kHz, D{sub JK} = 0.102(28) kHz, and D{sub K} = 13.2(81) kHz. The B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ calculated rotational constants were within 1% of the experimentally determined values.

  10. Using VS30 to Estimate Station ML Adjustments (dML)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yong, A.; Herrick, J.; Cochran, E. S.; Andrews, J. R.; Yu, E.

    2017-12-01

    Currently, new seismic stations added to a regional seismic network cannot be used to calculate local or Richter magnitude (ML) until a revised region-wide amplitude decay function is developed. The new station must record a minimum number of local and regional events that meet specific amplitude requirements prior to re-calibration of the amplitude decay function. Therefore, there can be significant delay between when a new station starts contributing real-time waveform packets and when the data can be included in magnitude estimation. The station component adjustments (dML; Uhrhammer et al., 2011) are calculated after first inverting for a new regional amplitude decay function, constrained by the sum of dML for long-running stations. Here, we propose a method to calculate an initial dML using known or proxy values of seismic site conditions. For site conditions, we use the time-averaged shear-wave velocity (VS) of the upper 30 m (VS30). We solve for dML as described in Equation (1) by Uhrhammer et al. (2011): ML = log (A) - log A0 (r) + dML, where A is the maximum Wood and Anderson (1925) trace amplitude (mm), r is the distance (km), and dML is the station adjustment. Measured VS30 and estimated dML data are comprised of records from 887 horizontal components (east-west and north-south orientations) from 93 seismic monitoring stations in the California Integrated Seismic Network. VS30 values range from 202 m/s to 1464 m/s and dML range from -1.10 to 0.39. VS30 and dML exhibit a positive correlation coefficient (R = 0.72), indicating that as VS30 increases, dML increases. This implies that greater site amplification (i.e., lower VS30) results in smaller ML. When we restrict VS30 regional network ML estimates immediately without the need to wait until a minimum set of earthquake data has been recorded.

  11. Vitamin D status is associated with executive function a decade later: Data from the Women's Healthy Ageing Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodwill, Alicia M; Campbell, Stephen; Simpson, Steven; Bisignano, Maria; Chiang, Cherie; Dennerstein, Lorraine; Szoeke, Cassandra

    2018-01-01

    Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with cognitive decline and dementia in older adults. However, there is a paucity of studies assessing whether this association manifests from midlife. Given the long prodromal stage of dementia, we investigated the association between midlife vitamin D and cognition 10 years later. 252 participants (aged 55-67 years) from the Women's Healthy Ageing Project had baseline (2002) vitamin D and neuropsychological measures assessed. Of these, 170 (aged 65-77 years) had follow-up neuropsychological testing (2012). Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) was measured using an automated chemiluminescence system. The neuropsychological tests used were: Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD), California Verbal Learning Test Second Edition (CVLT-II), verbal fluency and Trail Making Test-B (TMT-B). Composite scores for verbal episodic memory (CERAD and CVLT-II) and executive function (verbal fluency and TMT-B) were obtained by summating standardized scores for each test. Analyses were adjusted for age, education and body mass index (BMI). Further adjustment for physical activity, depression, vascular risk factors, supplementation and APOE4-genotype did not materially change the results. At baseline, those with vitamin D>25nmol/L performed better on verbal fluency (β=2.46, 95%CI=0.53,4.40) and TMT-B time (β=-18.23, 95%CI=-32.86,-3.61), with higher executive function (β=1.40, 95%CI=0.44,2.37). These relationships persisted 10 years later for TMT-B (β=-15.38, 95%CI=-30.82,0.07) and executive function (β=1.05, 95%CI=0.14,1.95). There were no associations with tests of verbal episodic memory. Midlife vitamin D>25nmol/L is associated with improved aspects of executive function in ageing. Findings highlight a potential therapeutic age window where midlife vitamin D repletion could be neuroprotective against cognitive decline. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  12. Base Pair Opening in a Deoxynucleotide Duplex Containing a cis-syn Thymine Cyclobutane Dimer Lesion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wenke, Belinda B.; Huiting, Leah N.; Frankel, Elisa B.; Lane, Benjamin F.; Núñez, Megan E.

    2014-01-01

    The cis-syn thymine cyclobutane dimer is a DNA photoproduct implicated in skin cancer. We compared the stability of individual base pairs in thymine dimer-containing duplexes to undamaged parent 10-mer duplexes. UV melting thermodynamic measurements, CD spectroscopy, and 2D NOESY NMR spectroscopy confirm that the thymine dimer lesion is locally and moderately destabilizing within an overall B-form duplex conformation. We measured the rates of exchange of individual imino protons by NMR using magnetization transfer from water and determined the equilibrium constant for the opening of each base pair Kop. In the normal duplex Kop decreases from the frayed ends of the duplex toward the center, such that the central TA pair is the most stable with a Kop of 8×10−7. In contrast, base pair opening at the 5’T of the thymine dimer is facile. The 5’T of the dimer has the largest equilibrium constant (Kop =3×10−4) in its duplex, considerably larger than even the frayed penultimate base pairs. Notably, base pairing by the 3’T of the dimer is much more stable than by the 5’T, indicating that the predominant opening mechanism for the thymine dimer lesion is not likely to be flipping out into solution as a single unit. The dimer asymmetrically affects the stability of the duplex in its vicinity, destabilizing base pairing on its 5’ side more than on the 3’ side. The striking differences in base pair opening between parent and dimer duplexes occur independently of the duplex-single strand melting transitions. PMID:24328089

  13. Selective amine catalysed steroidal dimerization

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    of cholesterol is the formation of a green colour in concentrated sulphuric acid, and this was shown to be due to a polyenyl steroidal dimer carbocation.7–9 Many dimeric and oligomeric steroids exhibit interesting micellular, detergent and liquid crystal behaviour.10,11. Most of the steroidal dimmers are also well-known.

  14. Measurement of fractionated plasma metanephrines for exclusion of pheochromocytoma: Can specificity be improved by adjustment for age?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gafni Amiram

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Biochemical testing for pheochromocytoma by measurement of fractionated plasma metanephrines is limited by false positive rates of up to 18% in people without known genetic predisposition to the disease. The plasma normetanephrine fraction is responsible for most false positives and plasma normetanephrine increases with age. The objective of this study was to determine if we could improve the specificity of fractionated plasma measurements, by statistically adjusting for age. Methods An age-adjusted metanephrine score was derived using logistic regression from 343 subjects (including 33 people with pheochromocytoma who underwent fractionated plasma metanephrine measurements as part of investigations for suspected pheochromocytoma at Mayo Clinic Rochester (derivation set. The performance of the age-adjusted score was validated in a dataset of 158 subjects (including patients 23 with pheochromocytoma that underwent measurements of fractionated plasma metanephrines at Mayo Clinic the following year (validation dataset. None of the participants in the validation dataset had known genetic predisposition to pheochromocytoma. Results The sensitivity of the age-adjusted metanephrine score was the same as that of traditional interpretation of fractionated plasma metanephrine measurements, yielding a sensitivity of 100% (23/23, 95% confidence interval [CI] 85.7%, 100%. However, the false positive rate with traditional interpretation of fractionated plasma metanephrine measurements was 16.3% (22/135, 95% CI, 11.0%, 23.4% and that of the age-adjusted score was significantly lower at 3.0% (4/135, 95% CI, 1.2%, 7.4% (p Conclusion An adjustment for age in the interpretation of results of fractionated plasma metanephrines may significantly decrease false positives when using this test to exclude sporadic pheochromocytoma. Such improvements in false positive rate may result in savings of expenditures related to confirmatory imaging.

  15. Photoionization of helium dimers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Havermeier, Tilo

    2010-01-01

    The helium dimer is one of the most weakly bound systems in the universe. This makes it an interesting quantum mechanical object for investigation. These Van der Waals Clusters can be produced in an expansion of a cryogenic gas jet through a small nozzle into vacuum. In the present experiment we examine the interaction of He dimers with synchrotron radiation at an energy range from 64 to 78 eV. We observed different pathways leading to single ionization of both He atoms of the dimer compound. This two close standing ions begin now to dissociate in cause of their coulomb potential. All charged fragments were detected in coincidence with a COLTRIMS system. Especially Interatomic Coulombic Decay (ICD) and the two step process (TS1) were clearly identified. Furthermore a distribution of the internuclear distance was obtained from the measured Kinetic Energy Release (KER). (orig.)

  16. Pyrimidine dimer formation and repair in human skin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sutherland, B.M.; Harber, L.C.; Kochevar, I.E.

    1980-01-01

    Cyclobutyl pyrimidine dimers have been detected in the DNA of human skin following in vivo irradiation with suberythermal doses of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from FS-20 sun lamp fluorescent tubes. Dimers were assayed by treatment of extracted DNA with Micrococus luteus UV-specific endonuclease, alkaline agarose electrophoresis, and ethidum bromide staining. This technique, in contrast to conventional dimer assays, can be used with nonradioactive DNA and is optimal at low UV light doses. These data suggest that some dimer disappearance by excision repair occurs within 20 min of UV irradiation and that photoreactivation of dimers can make a contribution to the total repair process

  17. Adventures in holographic dimer models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kachru, Shamit; Karch, Andreas; Yaida, Sho

    2011-01-01

    We abstract the essential features of holographic dimer models, and develop several new applications of these models. Firstly, semi-holographically coupling free band fermions to holographic dimers, we uncover novel phase transitions between conventional Fermi liquids and non-Fermi liquids, accompanied by a change in the structure of the Fermi surface. Secondly, we make dimer vibrations propagate through the whole crystal by way of double trace deformations, obtaining nontrivial band structure. In a simple toy model, the topology of the band structure experiences an interesting reorganization as we vary the strength of the double trace deformations. Finally, we develop tools that would allow one to build, in a bottom-up fashion, a holographic avatar of the Hubbard model.

  18. Dynamic interplay between adhesive and lateral E-cadherin dimers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Klingelhöfer, Jörg; Laur, Oscar Y; Troyanovsky, Regina B

    2002-01-01

    M. The disappearance of adhesive dimers was counterbalanced by an increase in Trp156-dependent lateral dimers. Increasing the calcium concentration to a normal level rapidly restored the original balance between adhesive and lateral dimers. We also present evidence that E-cadherin dimers in vivo have a short lifetime...

  19. Replication termination and chromosome dimer resolution in the archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duggin, Iain G; Dubarry, Nelly; Bell, Stephen D

    2011-01-05

    Archaea of the genus Sulfolobus have a single-circular chromosome with three replication origins. All three origins fire in every cell in every cell cycle. Thus, three pairs of replication forks converge and terminate in each replication cycle. Here, we report 2D gel analyses of the replication fork fusion zones located between origins. These indicate that replication termination involves stochastic fork collision. In bacteria, replication termination is linked to chromosome dimer resolution, a process that requires the XerC and D recombinases, FtsK and the chromosomal dif site. Sulfolobus encodes a single-Xer homologue and its deletion gave rise to cells with aberrant DNA contents and increased volumes. Identification of the chromosomal dif site that binds Xer in vivo, and biochemical characterization of Xer/dif recombination revealed that, in contrast to bacteria, dif is located outside the fork fusion zones. Therefore, it appears that replication termination and dimer resolution are temporally and spatially distinct processes in Sulfolobus.

  20. Plasmonic nanospherical dimers for color pixels

    KAUST Repository

    Alrasheed, Salma

    2018-04-20

    Display technologies are evolving more toward higher resolution and miniaturization. Plasmonic color pixels can offer solutions to realize such technologies due to their sharp resonances and selective scattering and absorption at particular wavelengths. Metal nanosphere dimers are capable of supporting plasmon resonances that can be tuned to span the entire visible spectrum. In this article, we demonstrate numerically bright color pixels that are highly polarized and broadly tuned using periodic arrays of metal nanosphere dimers on a glass substrate. We show that it is possible to obtain RGB pixels in the reflection mode. The longitudinal plasmon resonance of nanosphere dimers along the axis of the dimer is the main contributor to the color of the pixel, while far-field diffractive coupling further enhances and tunes the plasmon resonance. The computational method used is the finite-difference time-domain method. The advantages of this approach include simplicity of the design, bright coloration, and highly polarized function. In addition, we show that it is possible to obtain different colors by varying the angle of incidence, the periodicity, the size of the dimer, the gap, and the substrate thickness.

  1. Adjustment to Aging, Subjective Age and Age Representation: Assessing a Nationally-Diverse Population of Older Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sofia von Humboldt

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Aim: This research sought to analyse older adults’ conceptualization of adjustment to aging (AtA, subjective age (SA and age representation (AR, adding a cross-national comparative perspective to aging well. Method: Questionnaires were completed, assessing participants’ background information. Semi-structured interviews were performed, addressing three core areas: SA, AtA and AR. Complete information on 231 older adults aged between 74-102 years (M = 83.1; SD = 6.692 from four different nationalities, was available. Data was subjected to content analysis. Results: Seven categories were identified to contribute to AtA: ‘accomplishment, personal fulfilment and future projects’, ‘occupation, profession, autonomy and leisure’, ‘health status, physical and intellectual functioning’, ‘valorisation of time and age’, ‘family, social and interpersonal attachment’, ‘stability, quality and financial situation’, and ‘sense of limit and existential issues’. Five categories were identified for SA: ‘with congruence’, ‘without concern’, ‘with apprehension’, ‘young-at-heart’ and ‘good enough’. For AR, eight emergent categories were found: ‘future investment’, ‘reconciliation with life’, ‘present challenge’, ‘regret about the past’, ‘dynamic life’, ‘with contentment’, ‘as an opportunity’ and ‘with dissatisfaction’. Conclusion: This research contributes for a better understanding of what defines AtA, SA and AR in older adults. Moreover, interventions and communication approaches in clinical practice and program development in health care context should focus on shared perceptions of aging well.

  2. Dissociative electron attachment and anion-induced dimerization in pyruvic acid

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Zawadzki, Mateusz; Ranković, Miloš; Kočišek, Jaroslav; Fedor, Juraj

    2018-01-01

    Roč. 20, č. 10 (2018), s. 6838-6844 ISSN 1463-9076 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA17-04844S; GA ČR GJ16-10995Y Institutional support: RVO:61388955 Keywords : pyruvic acid * electron attachment * dimerization Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry OBOR OECD: Physical chemistry Impact factor: 4.123, year: 2016

  3. Electric-dipole-coupled H2O@C60 dimer: Translation-rotation eigenstates from twelve-dimensional quantum calculations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Felker, Peter M; Bačić, Zlatko

    2017-02-28

    We report on variational solutions to the twelve-dimensional (12D) Schrödinger equation appertaining to the translation-rotation (TR) eigenstates of H 2 O@C 60 dimer, associated with the quantized "rattling" motions of the two encapsulated H 2 O molecules. Both H 2 O and C 60 moieties are treated as rigid and the cage-cage geometry is taken to be fixed. We consider the TR eigenstates of H 2 O@C 60 monomers in the dimer to be coupled by the electric dipole-dipole interaction between water moieties and develop expressions for computing the matrix elements of that interaction in a dimer basis composed of products of monomer 6D TR eigenstates reported by us recently [P. M. Felker and Z. Bačić, J. Chem. Phys. 144, 201101 (2016)]. We use these expressions to compute TR Hamiltonian matrices of H 2 O@C 60 dimer for two values of the water dipole moment and for various dimer geometries. 12D TR eigenstates of the dimer are then obtained by filter diagonalization. The results reveal two classes of eigenstates, distinguished by the leading order (first or second) at which dipole-dipole coupling contributes to them. The two types of eigenstates differ in the general magnitude of their dipole-induced energy shifts and in the dependence of those shifts on the value of the water dipole moment and on the distance between the H 2 O@C 60 monomers. The dimer results are also found to be markedly insensitive to any change in the orientations of the C 60 cages. Finally, the results lend some support for the interpretation that electric dipole-dipole coupling is at least partially responsible for the apparent reduced-symmetry environment experienced by H 2 O in the powder samples of H 2 O@C 60 [K. S. K. Goh et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 16, 21330 (2014)], but only if the water dipole is taken to have a magnitude close to that of free water. The methodology developed in the paper is transferable directly to the calculation of TR eigenstates of larger H 2 O@C 60 assemblies, that will

  4. Radiation-induced tetramer-to-dimer transition of Esterichia coli lactose repressor

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Goffinont, S.; Davídková, Marie; Spotheim-Maurizot, M.

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 386, č. 2 (2009), s. 300-304 ISSN 0006-291X R&D Projects: GA MŠk OC09012 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10480505 Keywords : protein * DNA * radiation * oxidation * tetramer * dimer * lactose repressor Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 2.548, year: 2009

  5. Predictors of 30-day mortality and the risk of recurrent systemic thromboembolism in cancer patients suffering acute ischemic stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nam, Ki-Woong; Kim, Chi Kyung; Kim, Tae Jung; An, Sang Joon; Oh, Kyungmi; Mo, Heejung; Kang, Min Kyoung; Han, Moon-Ku; Demchuk, Andrew M; Ko, Sang-Bae; Yoon, Byung-Woo

    2017-01-01

    Stroke in cancer patients is not rare but is a devastating event with high mortality. However, the predictors of mortality in stroke patients with cancer have not been well addressed. D-dimer could be a useful predictor because it can reflect both thromboembolic events and advanced stages of cancer. In this study, we evaluate the possibility of D-dimer as a predictor of 30-day mortality in stroke patients with active cancer. We included 210 ischemic stroke patients with active cancer. The 30-day mortality data were collected by reviewing medical records. We also collected follow-up D-dimer levels in 106 (50%) participants to evaluate the effects of treatment response on D-dimer levels. Of the 210 participants, 30-day mortality occurred in 28 (13%) patients. Higher initial NIHSS scores, D-dimer levels, and CRP levels as well as frequent cryptogenic mechanism, systemic metastasis, multiple vascular territory lesion, hemorrhagic transformation, and larger infarct volume were related to 30-day mortality. In the multivariate analysis, D-dimer [adjusted OR (aOR) = 2.19; 95% CI, 1.46-3.28, P mortality after adjusting for confounders. The initial NIHSS score (aOR = 1.07; 95% CI, 1.00-1.14, P = 0.043) and hemorrhagic transformation (aOR = 3.02; 95% CI, 1.10-8.29, P = 0.032) were also significant independent of D-dimer levels. In the analysis of D-dimer changes after treatment, the mortality group showed no significant decrease in D-dimer levels, despite treatment, while the survivor group showed the opposite response. D-dimer levels may predict 30-day mortality in acute ischemic stroke patients with active cancer.

  6. Peptides Interfering 3A Protein Dimerization Decrease FMDV Multiplication.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mónica González-Magaldi

    Full Text Available Nonstructural protein 3A is involved in relevant functions in foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV replication. FMDV 3A can form homodimers and preservation of the two hydrophobic α-helices (α1 and α2 that stabilize the dimer interface is essential for virus replication. In this work, small peptides mimicking residues involved in the dimer interface were used to interfere with dimerization and thus gain insight on its biological function. The dimer interface peptides α1, α2 and that spanning the two hydrophobic α-helices, α12, impaired in vitro dimer formation of a peptide containing the two α-helices, this effect being higher with peptide α12. To assess the effect of dimer inhibition in cultured cells, the interfering peptides were N-terminally fused to a heptaarginine (R7 sequence to favor their intracellular translocation. Thus, when fused to R7, interference peptides (100 μM were able to inhibit dimerization of transiently expressed 3A, the higher inhibitions being found with peptides α1 and α12. The 3A dimerization impairment exerted by the peptides correlated with significant, specific reductions in the viral yield recovered from peptide-treated FMDV infected cells. In this case, α2 was the only peptide producing significant reductions at concentrations lower than 100 μM. Thus, dimer interface peptides constitute a tool to understand the structure-function relationship of this viral protein and point to 3A dimerization as a potential antiviral target.

  7. Mutation of Asn28 Disrupts the Dimerization and Enzymatic Activity of SARS 3CL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barrila, J.; Gabelli, S; Bacha, U; Amzel, M; Freire, E

    2010-01-01

    Coronaviruses are responsible for a significant proportion of annual respiratory and enteric infections in humans and other mammals. The most prominent of these viruses is the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) which causes acute respiratory and gastrointestinal infection in humans. The coronavirus main protease, 3CL{sup pro}, is a key target for broad-spectrum antiviral development because of its critical role in viral maturation and high degree of structural conservation among coronaviruses. Dimerization is an indispensable requirement for the function of SARS 3CL{sup pro} and is regulated through mechanisms involving both direct and long-range interactions in the enzyme. While many of the binding interactions at the dimerization interface have been extensively studied, those that are important for long-range control are not well-understood. Characterization of these dimerization mechanisms is important for the structure-based design of new treatments targeting coronavirus-based infections. Here we report that Asn28, a residue 11 {angstrom} from the closest residue in the opposing monomer, is essential for the enzymatic activity and dimerization of SARS 3CLpro. Mutation of this residue to alanine almost completely inactivates the enzyme and results in a 19.2-fold decrease in the dimerization K{sub d}. The crystallographic structure of the N28A mutant determined at 2.35 {angstrom} resolution reveals the critical role of Asn28 in maintaining the structural integrity of the active site and in orienting key residues involved in binding at the dimer interface and substrate catalysis. These findings provide deeper insight into complex mechanisms regulating the activity and dimerization of SARS 3CL{sup pro}.

  8. Different β-alanine dimeric forms in trifluoromethanesulfonic acid salts. XRD and vibrational studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wołoszyn, Łukasz; Ilczyszyn, Maria M.

    2018-03-01

    Two new crystalline salts: β-alaninium trifluoromethanesulfonate (β-AlaOTf) and bis(β-alanine) trifluoromethanesulfonate (β-2AlaOTf) were obtained. The former one contains diprotonated β-alanine dimer, the latter one monoprotonated β-alanine dimer. Both compounds were studied by single crystal XRD, vibrational (IR and Raman) spectroscopy and calorimetric method. The quantum-mechanical calculations (DFT/B3LYP/6-311 ++G(2d,2p)) for the diprotonated dimer were carried out. The β-AlaOTf salt crystallizes in the P 1 bar space group of triclinic system (Z = 2), the β-2AlaOTf in the P21/m space group of monoclinic system (Z = 2). The vibrational data for the studied compounds are discussed in relation to their crystal structure, and provide insight into the character of hydrogen bonds and β-alanine protonation. The studied crystals do not exhibit phase transitions in the solid state.

  9. Neurodevelopmental Expression Profile of Dimeric and Monomeric Group 1 mGluRs: Relevance to Schizophrenia Pathogenesis and Treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lum, Jeremy S; Fernandez, Francesca; Matosin, Natalie; Andrews, Jessica L; Huang, Xu-Feng; Ooi, Lezanne; Newell, Kelly A

    2016-10-10

    Group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR1/mGluR5) play an integral role in neurodevelopment and are implicated in psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia. mGluR1 and mGluR5 are expressed as homodimers, which is important for their functionality and pharmacology. We examined the protein expression of dimeric and monomeric mGluR1α and mGluR5 in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus throughout development (juvenile/adolescence/adulthood) and in the perinatal phencyclidine (PCP) model of schizophrenia. Under control conditions, mGluR1α dimer expression increased between juvenile and adolescence (209-328%), while monomeric levels remained consistent. Dimeric mGluR5 was steadily expressed across all time points; monomeric mGluR5 was present in juveniles, dramatically declining at adolescence and adulthood (-97-99%). The mGluR regulators, Homer 1b/c and Norbin, significantly increased with age in the PFC and hippocampus. Perinatal PCP treatment significantly increased juvenile dimeric mGluR5 levels in the PFC and hippocampus (37-50%) but decreased hippocampal mGluR1α (-50-56%). Perinatal PCP treatment also reduced mGluR1α dimer levels in the PFC at adulthood (-31%). These results suggest that Group 1 mGluRs have distinct dimeric and monomeric neurodevelopmental patterns, which may impact their pharmacological profiles at specific ages. Perinatal PCP treatment disrupted the early expression of Group 1 mGluRs which may underlie neurodevelopmental alterations observed in this model.

  10. Adjustment problems and residential care environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Sebastian Novotný

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Problem: Residential care environment represents a specific social space that is associated with a number of negative consequences, covering most aspects of children and youth functioning. The paper analyzes of the presence of adjustment problems among adolescents from institutional care environment and compares this results with a population of adolescents who grew up in a family. Methods: The sample consisted of two groups of adolescents. The first group included 285 adolescents currently growing up in an residential care environment, aged 13 to 21 (M = 16.23, SD = 1.643. The second group consisted of 214 adolescents growing up in a family, aged 15 to 20 (M = 17.07, SD = 1.070. We used a questionnaire Youth Self Report. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and MANOVA. Results: Results showed that adolescents in residential care exhibit higher average values in all adjustment problems. Also, in the context of diagnostic categories are the residential care adolescents more frequently in non-normal range (borderline and clinical, primarily in the border range. The greatest differences were reflected in the Thought problems and Rule-breaking behavior. MANOVA showed a significant multivariate effect between groups of adolescents, Hotelling's T = .803, F(8, 490 = 49.202, p <.001, d = .445 (large effect. Univariate analysis further showed a significant effect for Withdrawn/depressed (p = .044, d = .089, small effect, Somatic complaints (p = .002, d = .139, medium effect, Social problems (p = 004, d = .127, a small effect, Thought problems (p <.001, d = .633, strong effect, Attention problems (p <.001, d = .320,strong effect, Rule-breaking behavior (p <.001 , d = .383, strong effect, and Aggressive behavior (p = 015, d = .110, small effect. Results for the dimension of Anxious/depressed were not significant (p = .159. Discussion: The results didn’t confirmed the assumption that more than 30% of residential care adolescents have adjustment

  11. Determination of Age-Dependent Reference Ranges for Coagulation Tests Performed Using Destiny Plus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arslan, Fatma Demet; Serdar, Muhittin; Merve Ari, Elif; Onur Oztan, Mustafa; Hikmet Kozcu, Sureyya; Tarhan, Huseyin; Cakmak, Ozgur; Zeytinli, Merve; Yasar Ellidag, Hamit

    2016-06-01

    In order to apply the right treatment for hemostatic disorders in pediatric patients, laboratory data should be interpreted with age-appropriate reference ranges. The purpose of this study was to determining age-dependent reference range values for prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), fibrinogen tests, and D-dimer tests. A total of 320 volunteers were included in the study with the following ages: 1 month - 1 year (n = 52), 2 - 5 years (n = 50), 6 - 10 years (n = 48), 11 - 17 years (n = 38), and 18 - 65 years (n = 132). Each volunteer completed a survey to exclude hemostatic system disorder. Using a nonparametric method, the lower and upper limits, including 95% distribution and 90% confidence intervals, were calculated. No statistically significant differences were found between PT and aPTT values in the groups consisting of children. Thus, the reference ranges were separated into child and adult age groups. PT and aPTT values were significantly higher in the children than in the adults. Fibrinogen values in the 6 - 10 age group and the adult age group were significantly higher than in the other groups. D-dimer levels were significantly lower in those aged 2 - 17; thus, a separate reference range was established. These results support other findings related to developmental hemostasis, confirming that adult and pediatric age groups should be evaluated using different reference ranges.

  12. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Age-Adjusted Prevalence Data (2011 to present)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — 2011 to present. BRFSS combined land line and cell phone age-adjusted prevalence data. The BRFSS is a continuous, state-based surveillance system that collects...

  13. Even-odd alternation of the formation of dimer isomers in irradiated polycrystalline alkanes: evidence from product analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baudson, T.; Tilquin, B.

    1984-01-01

    Recent ESR studies on n-alkanes from n-C 11 to n-C 25 have shown that a prominent chain end (-CH 2 -CH 2 ) alkyl radical is formed in odd members of the series. In this preliminary discussion of our study, we shall report the capillary chromatogram in the dimer isomers range for n-alkanes ranging from n-C 11 to n-C 17 irradiated at 80 kGy. Dimer isomers, produced in part by the combination of chain end radicals, are eluted at the end chromatogram. The combination of two chain end radicals gives the dimer (D 11 ) isomer eluted at the last place. It is shown that dimers produced by the combination of chain end alkyl radicals are more important for the odd members of the series than for the even members. (author)

  14. Comparison of PCT, CRP, D-Dimer, Lactate, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and lL-10 in Development of Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and Sepsis on Patients with Isolated Head Trauma and Polytrauma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emine Dağlı

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective: In this study, it was aimed to compare the relationship between Glasgow Coma Scale (GKS, ISS values, PCT, CRP, D-Dimer, laktat, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10 in patients with polytrauma and isolated head trauma in conjunction with SIRS and sepsis. Material and Method: Total of 68 patients (32 polytrauma, 36 isolated head trauma aged between 18-65 years were enrolled in the study. For 7 days of follow up, the biochemical parameters were analysed on the days 0, 1, 3, 5, 7 and the ISS, GCS score and growth rates of SIRS and sepsis were recorded. Results: It was demonstrated that for patients with isolated head trauma, SIRS (80.6%, sepsis (38.9% and mortality values (71.4% were higher and there is a statistically important linear and inverse relationship between ISS and GCS values (p<0.05. During sepsis and SIRS phases, CRP elevated in both groups, whereas PCT only in the polytrauma group. D-Dimer values were investigated high in both groups, but atypically decreased on day 3 in isolated head trauma group. Lactate, TNF-α and, IL-1β were within reference values, IL-6 and IL-10 values were elevated in both groups but were higher in the polytrauma group. Conclusion: Although multiple variations were detected in serum markers of pro-inflamatory and acute phase proteins, we thought that these are inadequate in predicting mortality and complications such as SIRS and sepsis.

  15. Mahler Measure, Eisenstein Series and Dimers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stienstra, J.

    2007-01-01

    This note reveals a mysterious link between the partition function of certain dimer models on 2-dimensional tori and the L-function of their spectral curves. It also relates the partition function in certain families of dimer models to Eisenstein series. http://www.arxiv.org/abs/math.NT/0502197

  16. Effects of Dimers on Cooperation in the Spatial Prisoner's Dilemma Game

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Haihong; Cheng Hongyan; Dai Qionglin; Ju Ping; Yang Junzhong; Zhang Mei

    2011-01-01

    We investigate the evolutionary prisoner's dilemma game in structured populations by introducing dimers, which are defined as that two players in each dimer always hold a same strategy. We find that influences of dimers on cooperation depend on the type of dimers and the population structure. For those dimers in which players interact with each other, the cooperation level increases with the number of dimers though the cooperation improvement level depends on the type of network structures. On the other hand, the dimers, in which there are not mutual interactions, will not do any good to the cooperation level in a single community, but interestingly, will improve the cooperation level in a population with two communities. We explore the relationship between dimers and self-interactions and find that the effects of dimers are similar to that of self-interactions. Also, we find that the dimers, which are established over two communities in a multi-community network, act as one type of interaction through which information between communities is communicated by the requirement that two players in a dimer hold a same strategy. (general)

  17. Gender Identity and Adjustment in Black, Hispanic, and White Preadolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corby, Brooke C.; Hodges, Ernest V. E.; Perry, David G.

    2007-01-01

    The generality of S. K. Egan and D. G. Perry's (2001) model of gender identity and adjustment was evaluated by examining associations between gender identity (felt gender typicality, felt gender contentedness, and felt pressure for gender conformity) and social adjustment in 863 White, Black, and Hispanic 5th graders (mean age = 11.1 years).…

  18. Structural insights into the intertwined dimer of fyn SH2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huculeci, Radu; Garcia-Pino, Abel; Buts, Lieven; Lenaerts, Tom; van Nuland, Nico

    2015-12-01

    Src homology 2 domains are interaction modules dedicated to the recognition of phosphotyrosine sites incorporated in numerous proteins found in intracellular signaling pathways. Here we provide for the first time structural insight into the dimerization of Fyn SH2 both in solution and in crystalline conditions, providing novel crystal structures of both the dimer and peptide-bound structures of Fyn SH2. Using nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shift analysis, we show how the peptide is able to eradicate the dimerization, leading to monomeric SH2 in its bound state. Furthermore, we show that Fyn SH2's dimer form differs from other SH2 dimers reported earlier. Interestingly, the Fyn dimer can be used to construct a completed dimer model of Fyn without any steric clashes. Together these results extend our understanding of SH2 dimerization, giving structural details, on one hand, and suggesting a possible physiological relevance of such behavior, on the other hand. © 2015 The Protein Society.

  19. Kinetics of DNA tile dimerization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Shuoxing; Yan, Hao; Liu, Yan

    2014-06-24

    Investigating how individual molecular components interact with one another within DNA nanoarchitectures, both in terms of their spatial and temporal interactions, is fundamentally important for a better understanding of their physical behaviors. This will provide researchers with valuable insight for designing more complex higher-order structures that can be assembled more efficiently. In this report, we examined several spatial factors that affect the kinetics of bivalent, double-helical (DH) tile dimerization, including the orientation and number of sticky ends (SEs), the flexibility of the double helical domains, and the size of the tiles. The rate constants we obtained confirm our hypothesis that increased nucleation opportunities and well-aligned SEs accelerate tile-tile dimerization. Increased flexibility in the tiles causes slower dimerization rates, an effect that can be reversed by introducing restrictions to the tile flexibility. The higher dimerization rates of more rigid tiles results from the opposing effects of higher activation energies and higher pre-exponential factors from the Arrhenius equation, where the pre-exponential factor dominates. We believe that the results presented here will assist in improved implementation of DNA tile based algorithmic self-assembly, DNA based molecular robotics, and other specific nucleic acid systems, and will provide guidance to design and assembly processes to improve overall yield and efficiency.

  20. Dimers in Piecewise Temperleyan Domains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russkikh, Marianna

    2018-03-01

    We study the large-scale behavior of the height function in the dimer model on the square lattice. Richard Kenyon has shown that the fluctuations of the height function on Temperleyan discretizations of a planar domain converge in the scaling limit (as the mesh size tends to zero) to the Gaussian Free Field with Dirichlet boundary conditions. We extend Kenyon's result to a more general class of discretizations. Moreover, we introduce a new factorization of the coupling function of the double-dimer model into two discrete holomorphic functions, which are similar to discrete fermions defined in Smirnov (Proceedings of the international congress of mathematicians (ICM), Madrid, Spain, 2006; Ann Math (2) 172:1435-1467, 2010). For Temperleyan discretizations with appropriate boundary modifications, the results of Kenyon imply that the expectation of the double-dimer height function converges to a harmonic function in the scaling limit. We use the above factorization to extend this result to the class of all polygonal discretizations, that are not necessarily Temperleyan. Furthermore, we show that, quite surprisingly, the expectation of the double-dimer height function in the Temperleyan case is exactly discrete harmonic (for an appropriate choice of Laplacian) even before taking the scaling limit.

  1. Predictors of 30-day mortality and the risk of recurrent systemic thromboembolism in cancer patients suffering acute ischemic stroke.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ki-Woong Nam

    Full Text Available Stroke in cancer patients is not rare but is a devastating event with high mortality. However, the predictors of mortality in stroke patients with cancer have not been well addressed. D-dimer could be a useful predictor because it can reflect both thromboembolic events and advanced stages of cancer.In this study, we evaluate the possibility of D-dimer as a predictor of 30-day mortality in stroke patients with active cancer.We included 210 ischemic stroke patients with active cancer. The 30-day mortality data were collected by reviewing medical records. We also collected follow-up D-dimer levels in 106 (50% participants to evaluate the effects of treatment response on D-dimer levels.Of the 210 participants, 30-day mortality occurred in 28 (13% patients. Higher initial NIHSS scores, D-dimer levels, and CRP levels as well as frequent cryptogenic mechanism, systemic metastasis, multiple vascular territory lesion, hemorrhagic transformation, and larger infarct volume were related to 30-day mortality. In the multivariate analysis, D-dimer [adjusted OR (aOR = 2.19; 95% CI, 1.46-3.28, P < 0.001] predicted 30-day mortality after adjusting for confounders. The initial NIHSS score (aOR = 1.07; 95% CI, 1.00-1.14, P = 0.043 and hemorrhagic transformation (aOR = 3.02; 95% CI, 1.10-8.29, P = 0.032 were also significant independent of D-dimer levels. In the analysis of D-dimer changes after treatment, the mortality group showed no significant decrease in D-dimer levels, despite treatment, while the survivor group showed the opposite response.D-dimer levels may predict 30-day mortality in acute ischemic stroke patients with active cancer.

  2. Optimal Vitamin D Status in a Middle-Aged and Elderly Population Residing in Shanghai, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aleteng, Qiqige; Zhao, Lin; Lin, Huandong; Xia, Mingfeng; Ma, Hui; Gao, Jian; Pan, Baishen; Gao, Xin

    2017-12-19

    BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the optimal vitamin D status in the middle-aged and elderly population residing in Shanghai, China. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 1,829 males and postmenopausal females older than 45 years of age in the Changfeng community of Shanghai were included in this study. The optimal vitamin D level was determined according to the suppression of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and the highest bone mineral density (BMD). Locally weighted scatter plot smoothing (LOWESS) was performed to study the correlations of 25(OH)D with PTH and BMD in the lumbar spine and total hip, adjusting for gender, age, weight, use of calcium and vitamin D supplements, eGFR, smoking status, and alcohol consumption. RESULTS The mean serum 25(OH)D concentration was 48.0±19.2 nmol/L for the whole study population. The circulating PTH was maximally suppressed by the serum 25(OH)D of 55 nmol/L in the total population (60 nmol/L for males and 50 nmol/L for females). The 25(OH)D concentrations corresponding to the highest BMD at lumbar spine (L1-L4) and total hip were 53 nmol/L and 75 nmol/L, respectively, for the whole population. These values were also higher in males than females. CONCLUSIONS The optimal 25(OH)D concentration of 55 nmol/L is sufficient to maintain the bone health and metabolic status in middle-aged and elderly individuals living in Shanghai. Males probably need higher vitamin D concentration than females. There are differences between vitamin D status based on lumbar spine BMD and total hip BMD.

  3. Dimer-based model for heptaspanning membrane receptors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franco, Rafael; Casadó, Vicent; Mallol, Josefa; Ferré, Sergi; Fuxe, Kjell; Cortés, Antonio; Ciruela, Francisco; Lluis, Carmen; Canela, Enric I

    2005-07-01

    The existence of intramembrane receptor-receptor interactions for heptaspanning membrane receptors is now fully accepted, but a model considering dimers as the basic unit that binds to two ligand molecules is lacking. Here, we propose a two-state-dimer model in which the ligand-induced conformational changes from one component of the dimer are communicated to the other. Our model predicts cooperativity in binding, which is relevant because the other current models fail to address this phenomenon satisfactorily. Our two-state-dimer model also predicts the variety of responses elicited by full or partial agonists, neutral antagonists and inverse agonists. This model can aid our understanding of the operation of heptaspanning receptors and receptor channels, and, potentially, be important for improving the treatment of cardiovascular, neurological and neuropsychyatric diseases.

  4. Different β-alanine dimeric forms in trifluoromethanesulfonic acid salts. XRD and vibrational studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wołoszyn, Łukasz; Ilczyszyn, Maria M

    2018-03-15

    Two new crystalline salts: β-alaninium trifluoromethanesulfonate (β-AlaOTf) and bis(β-alanine) trifluoromethanesulfonate (β-2AlaOTf) were obtained. The former one contains diprotonated β-alanine dimer, the latter one monoprotonated β-alanine dimer. Both compounds were studied by single crystal XRD, vibrational (IR and Raman) spectroscopy and calorimetric method. The quantum-mechanical calculations (DFT/B3LYP/6-311++G(2d,2p)) for the diprotonated dimer were carried out. The β-AlaOTf salt crystallizes in the P1¯ space group of triclinic system (Z=2), the β-2AlaOTf in the P2 1 /m space group of monoclinic system (Z=2). The vibrational data for the studied compounds are discussed in relation to their crystal structure, and provide insight into the character of hydrogen bonds and β-alanine protonation. The studied crystals do not exhibit phase transitions in the solid state. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Exposure to violence and psychosocial adjustment among urban school-aged children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purugganan, Oscar H; Stein, Ruth E K; Silver, Ellen Johnson; Benenson, Blanch S

    2003-12-01

    This study determines the relationship between psychosocial adjustment in school-aged children and one aspect of exposure to violence, the proximity of exposure, in terms of (1) "physical" proximity and (2) "emotional" proximity to the victims of violence. A convenience sample of 175 children aged 9 to 12 years from a primary care clinic of a large urban hospital were interviewed about their exposure to violence using the Children's Report of Exposure to Violence. Psychosocial adjustment was measured through maternal reports using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Personal Adjustment and Role Skills Scale (PARS III). Children were categorized into three groups according to their closest proximity to exposure to violence ("victim" > "witness" > exposure through other people's "report") and two groups according to emotional proximity (victim was a "familiar person" or "stranger"). All children (23/175) who scored above the CBCL clinical cutoff (T score > 63) were witnesses or victims of violence. The CBCL total T scores (higher score = more maladjustment) showed that the "victims" group (mean 52.4) scored significantly higher than the "witness" group (mean 50.0) and "report" group (mean 47.4). The PARS III total scores (lower scores = more maladjustment) showed that the "victims" group (mean 87.5) scored significantly lower than the "witness" group (mean 93.1) and "report" group (mean 98.2). The relationship of the child to the victim was not associated with significantly different CBCL and PARS III scores. Children exposed to more proximal forms of violence as victims or witnesses exhibited more psychosocial maladjustment.

  6. Effect of boron dimers on the superconducting critical temperature inboron-doped diamond

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šopík, Břetislav; Lipavský, P.

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 21, č. 1 (2012), 77-82 ISSN 0925-9635 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP204/10/0212 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100521 Keywords : boron * superconductivity * disorder * correlations * dimers Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.709, year: 2012

  7. Magnetostructural relationship for μ2-phenoxido bridged ferric dimers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Fei; Cao, Zi-Heng; Ge, Jing-Yuan; Sun, Yi-Chen; Ouyang, Zhong-Wen; Zuo, Jing-Lin; Wang, Zhenxing; Kurmoo, Mohamedally

    2017-03-27

    Three Fe(iii) dimers, [Fe 2 (L-H) 2 ]·2CH 3 CN (1), [Fe 2 (L-OCH 3 ) 2 ] (2) and [Fe 2 (L-OC 2 H 5 ) 2 ]·2CH 3 CN (3), containing the pentadentate O,N,N,O,O-donor Schiff-base ligands with variable size pendants, were synthesized and structurally characterized. The three ligands were generated in situ from 2-(iminomethyl)phenol, 2-methoxy-6-(iminomethyl)phenol and 2-ethoxy-6-(iminomethyl)phenol, respectively. All three crystal structures contain centrosymmetric dimers of edge-sharing octahedra of Fe(iii) ions through a pair of μ 2 -phenoxido bridges. The exchange coupling is ferromagnetic for 1 (J = +0.47(1) cm -1 , ∠Fe-O-Fe = 98.02°) and 2 (J = +0.86(1) cm -1 , ∠Fe-O-Fe = 97.17°), but antiferromagnetic for 3 (J = -0.72(1) cm -1 , ∠Fe-O-Fe = 98.53°), which are correlated by high-field electron paramagnetic resonance revealing moderate magneto-anisotropy of D = -0.24(3) cm -1 , E = 0.08(1) cm -1 for 1, D = -0.38(1) cm -1 , E = 0.11(1) cm -1 for 2, and D = 0.30(3) cm -1 , E = 0.02(1) cm -1 for 3. The exchange couplings were further estimated by DFT calculations, which gave the finest Fe-O-Fe angle of 97.83° for the ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic crossover.

  8. Forensic age estimation based on magnetic resonance imaging of third molars: converting 2D staging into 3D staging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Tobel, Jannick; Hillewig, Elke; Verstraete, Koenraad

    2017-03-01

    Established methods to stage development of third molars for forensic age estimation are based on the evaluation of radiographs, which show a 2D projection. It has not been investigated whether these methods require any adjustments in order to apply them to stage third molars on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which shows 3D information. To prospectively study root stage assessment of third molars in age estimation using 3 Tesla MRI and to compare this with panoramic radiographs, in order to provide considerations for converting 2D staging into 3D staging and to determine the decisive root. All third molars were evaluated in 52 healthy participants aged 14-26 years using MRI in three planes. Three staging methods were investigated by two observers. In sixteen of the participants, MRI findings were compared with findings on panoramic radiographs. Decisive roots were palatal in upper third molars and distal in lower third molars. Fifty-seven per cent of upper third molars were not assessable on the radiograph, while 96.9% were on MRI. Upper third molars were more difficult to evaluate on radiographs than on MRI (p third molars were equally assessable on both imaging techniques (93.8% MRI, 98.4% radiograph), with no difference in level of difficulty (p = .375). Inter- and intra-observer agreement for evaluation was higher in MRI than in radiographs. In both imaging techniques lower third molars showed greater inter- and intra-observer agreement compared to upper third molars. MR images in the sagittal plane proved to be essential for staging. In age estimation, 3T MRI of third molars could be valuable. Some considerations are, however, necessary to transfer known staging methods to this 3D technique.

  9. Hydrodynamic Torques and Rotations of Superparamagnetic Bead Dimers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pease, Christopher; Etheridge, J.; Wijesinghe, H. S.; Pierce, C. J.; Prikockis, M. V.; Sooryakumar, R.

    Chains of micro-magnetic particles are often rotated with external magnetic fields for many lab-on-a-chip technologies such as transporting beads or mixing fluids. These applications benefit from faster responses of the actuated particles. In a rotating magnetic field, the magnetization of superparamagnetic beads, created from embedded magnetic nano-particles within a polymer matrix, is largely characterized by induced dipoles mip along the direction of the field. In addition there is often a weak dipole mop that orients out-of-phase with the external rotating field. On a two-bead dimer, the simplest chain of beads, mop contributes a torque Γm in addition to the torque from mip. For dimers with beads unbound to each other, mop rotates individual beads which generate an additional hydrodynamic torque on the dimer. Whereas, mop directly torques bound dimers. Our results show that Γm significantly alters the average frequency-dependent dimer rotation rate for both bound and unbound monomers and, when mop exceeds a critical value, increases the maximum dimer rotation frequency. Models that include magnetic and hydrodynamics torques provide good agreement with the experimental findings over a range of field frequencies.

  10. In situ detection of estrogen receptor dimers in breast carcinoma cells in archival materials using proximity ligation assay (PLA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwabuchi, Erina; Miki, Yasuhiro; Ono, Katsuhiko; Onodera, Yoshiaki; Suzuki, Takashi; Hirakawa, Hisashi; Ishida, Takanori; Ohuchi, Noriaki; Sasano, Hironobu

    2017-01-01

    Estrogen receptor (ER) is required for carcinoma cell proliferation in the great majority of breast cancer and also functions as a dimer. ER dimeric proteins have been largely identified by BRET/FRET analyses but their in situ visualization have not yet been reported. Recently, in situ Proximity Ligation Assay (PLA) has been developed as the methods detecting protein interactions in situ. Therefore, in this study we firstly demonstrated the dimerization of ERα in breast carcinoma cell lines and tissues using PLA. The human breast carcinoma cell lines MCF-7, T-47D and MDA-MB-231 were used in this study. Cells were treated with ER agonist or antagonist and fixed in 4% PFA, and ER dimers were subsequently detected using PLA. The evaluation of ER dimers in breast carcinoma cell lines were quantified by measuring the area of dots localized in the nuclei using image analysis. We also firstly demonstrated the visualization of ER dimer patterns in 10% formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues of breast cancer using PLA technique. Estradiol (E2) administration induced ERα homodimers in the nuclei of MCF-7 and T-47D but not in ER-negative MDA-MB-231. 4-OH tamoxifen also induced ERα homodimers but the subcellular localization of these ERα homodimers was predominant in cytoplasm instead of the nuclei induced by E2 treatment. ICI182,780 treatment did decrease the number of formation of ERα homodimers in MCF-7. In breast cancer patients, ERα PLA score was significantly correlated positively with ERα- or PgR (progesterone receptor) immunohistochemical scores and inversely with Ki-67-labeling index, respectively. We also demonstrated the ERα/β heterodimer as well as ERα homodimers in both breast carcinoma cell lines and surgical pathology specimens. In summary, we did firstly succeed in the visualization of ER dimeric proteins using PLA method. The evaluation of ER dimer patterns could provide pivotal information as to the prediction of response to endocrine therapy of

  11. Nitrobenzene anti-parallel dimer formation in non-polar solvents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Toshiyuki Shikata

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available We investigated the dielectric and depolarized Rayleigh scattering behaviors of nitrobenzene (NO2-Bz, which is a benzene mono-substituted with a planar molecular frame bearing the large electric dipole moment 4.0 D, in non-polar solvents solutions, such as tetrachloromethane and benzene, at up to 3 THz for the dielectric measurements and 8 THz for the scattering experiments at 20 °C. The dielectric relaxation strength of the system was substantially smaller than the proportionality to the concentration in a concentrated regime and showed a Kirkwood correlation factor markedly lower than unity; gK ∼ 0.65. This observation revealed that NO2-Bz has a tendency to form dimers, (NO2-Bz2, in anti-parallel configurations for the dipole moment with increasing concentration of the two solvents. Both the dielectric and scattering data exhibited fast and slow Debye-type relaxation modes with the characteristic time constants ∼7 and ∼50 ps in a concentrated regime (∼15 and ∼30 ps in a dilute regime, respectively. The fast mode was simply attributed to the rotational motion of the (monomeric NO2-Bz. However, the magnitude of the slow mode was proportional to the square of the concentration in the dilute regime; thus, the mode was assigned to the anti-parallel dimer, (NO2-Bz2, dissociation process, and the slow relaxation time was attributed to the anti-parallel dimer lifetime. The concentration dependencies of both the dielectric and scattering data show that the NO2-Bz molecular processes are controlled through a chemical equilibrium between monomers and anti-parallel dimers, 2NO2-Bz ↔ (NO2-Bz2, due to a strong dipole-dipole interaction between nitro groups.

  12. Intelligent Adjustment of Printhead Driving Waveform Parameters for 3D Electronic Printing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin Na

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In practical applications of 3D electronic printing, a major challenge is to adjust the printhead for a high print resolution and accuracy. However, an exhausting manual selective process inevitably wastes a lot of time. Therefore, in this paper, we proposed a new intelligent adjustment method, which adopts artificial bee colony algorithm to optimize the printhead driving waveform parameters for getting the desired printhead state. Experimental results show that this method can quickly and accuracy find out the suitable combination of driving waveform parameters to meet the needs of applications.

  13. Learned Helplessness and Psychological Adjustment: Effects of Age, Gender and Academic Achievement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valas, Harald

    2001-01-01

    Studied the relationships among academic achievement, learned helplessness, and psychological adjustment (self-esteem and depression), controlled for gender and age, for 1,580 students with data collected in grades 3 and 4, 6 and 7, and 8 and 9. Results show that academic achievement is directly and indirectly related to the pattern of…

  14. Electronic structure and chemical bond in technetium dimer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klyagina, A.P.; Fursova, V.D.; Levin, A.A.; Gutsev, G.L.

    1987-01-01

    DV-X α method is used to study electron structure and peculiarities of chemical bond in Tc 2 and Tc 2 2+ dimers. Electron state characteristics are calculated in the basis of numerical Hartree-Fock functions for d 6 s 1 - and d 5 s 2 -configurations of Tc atom and for Tc 2 2+ ion d 5 s 1 -configuration. Disposition order for valence MO in Tc and Tc 2 2+ calculated for the given configurations is presented. It is shown that quinary bond with π u 4 dσ g 2 σ g 4 sσ g 2 δ u 2 configuration corresponds to the ground state of Tc 2 molecule. In Tc 2 some weakening of binding for π- and δ-orbitals and strengthening of total σ-binding in comparison with Mo 2 takes place. In Tc + and Tc 2+ MO composition is slightly changed, but a shift of 2σ-MO relatively MO consisting of d-AO is occured

  15. Vitamin D prenatal programming of childhood metabolomics profiles at age 3 y.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blighe, Kevin; Chawes, Bo L; Kelly, Rachel S; Mirzakhani, Hooman; McGeachie, Michael; Litonjua, Augusto A; Weiss, Scott T; Lasky-Su, Jessica A

    2017-10-01

    Background: Vitamin D deficiency is implicated in a range of common complex diseases that may be prevented by gestational vitamin D repletion. Understanding the metabolic mechanisms related to in utero vitamin D exposure may therefore shed light on complex disease susceptibility. Objective: The goal was to analyze the programming role of in utero vitamin D exposure on children's metabolomics profiles. Design: First, unsupervised clustering was done with plasma metabolomics profiles from a case-control subset of 245 children aged 3 y with and without asthma from the Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial (VDAART), in which pregnant women were randomly assigned to vitamin D supplementation or placebo. Thereafter, we analyzed the influence of maternal pre- and postsupplement vitamin D concentrations on cluster membership. Finally, we used the metabolites driving the clustering of children to identify the dominant metabolic pathways that were influential in each cluster. Results: We identified 3 clusters of children characterized by 1 ) high concentrations of fatty acids and amines and low maternal postsupplement vitamin D (mean ± SD; 27.5 ± 11.0 ng/mL), 2 ) high concentrations of amines, moderate concentrations of fatty acids, and normal maternal postsupplement vitamin D (34.0 ± 14.1 ng/mL), and 3 ) low concentrations of fatty acids, amines, and normal maternal postsupplement vitamin D (35.2 ± 15.9 ng/mL). Adjusting for sample storage time, maternal age and education, and both child asthma and vitamin D concentration at age 3 y did not modify the association between maternal postsupplement vitamin D and cluster membership ( P = 0.0014). Maternal presupplement vitamin D did not influence cluster membership, whereas the combination of pre- and postsupplement concentrations did ( P = 0.03). Conclusions: Young children can be clustered into distinct biologically meaningful groups by their metabolomics profiles. The clusters differed in concentrations of

  16. Molecular mechanics calculations on cobalt phthalocyanine dimers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heuts, J.P.A.; Schipper, E.T.W.M.; Piet, P.; German, A.L.

    1995-01-01

    In order to obtain insight into the structure of cobalt phthalocyanine dimers, molecular mechanics calculations were performed on dimeric cobalt phthalocyanine species. Molecular mechanics calculations are first presented on monomeric cobalt(II) phthalocyanine. Using the Tripos force field for the

  17. Explicit correlation treatment of the potential energy surface of CO{sub 2} dimer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kalugina, Yulia N., E-mail: kalugina@phys.tsu.ru [Tomsk State University, 36 Lenin Ave., Tomsk 634050 (Russian Federation); Buryak, Ilya A. [Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation); Chemistry Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation); Ajili, Yosra [Université Paris-Est, Laboratoire Modélisation et Simulation Multi Echelle, MSME UMR 8208 CNRS, 5 Bd Descartes, 77454 Marne-La-Vallée (France); Laboratoire de Spectroscopie Atomique, Moléculaire et Applications - LSAMA Université de Tunis El Manar (Tunisia); Vigasin, Andrei A. [Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation); Jaidane, Nejm Eddine [Laboratoire de Spectroscopie Atomique, Moléculaire et Applications - LSAMA Université de Tunis El Manar (Tunisia); Hochlaf, Majdi [Université Paris-Est, Laboratoire Modélisation et Simulation Multi Echelle, MSME UMR 8208 CNRS, 5 Bd Descartes, 77454 Marne-La-Vallée (France)

    2014-06-21

    We present an extensive study of the four-dimensional potential energy surface (4D-PES) of the carbon dioxide dimer, (CO{sub 2}){sub 2}. This PES is developed over the set of intermolecular coordinates. The electronic computations are carried out at the explicitly correlated coupled cluster method with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)-F12] level of theory in connection with the augmented correlation-consistent aug-cc-pVTZ basis set. An analytic representation of the 4D-PES is derived. Our extensive calculations confirm that “Slipped Parallel” is the most stable form and that the T-shaped structure corresponds to a transition state. Later on, this PES is employed for the calculations of the vibrational energy levels of the dimer. Moreover, the temperature dependence of the dimer second virial coefficient and of the first spectral moment of rototranslational collision-induced absorption spectrum is derived. For both quantities, a good agreement is found between our values and the experimental data for a wide range of temperatures. This attests to the high quality of our PES. Generally, our PES and results can be used for modeling CO{sub 2} supercritical fluidity and examination of its role in planetary atmospheres. It can be also incorporated into dynamical computations of CO{sub 2} capture and sequestration. This allows deep understanding, at the microscopic level, of these processes.

  18. Revealing the Dimeric Crystal and Solution Structure of β-Lactoglobulin at pH 4 and Its pH and Salt Dependent Monomer–Dimer Equilibrium

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Khan, Sanaullah; Ipsen, Richard; Almdal, Kristoffer

    2018-01-01

    The dimeric structure of bovine β-lactoglobulin A (BLGA) at pH 4.0 was solved to 2.0 Å resolution. Fitting the BLGA pH 4.0 structure to SAXS data at low ionic strength (goodness of fit R-factor = 3.6%) verified the dimeric state in solution. Analysis of the monomer–dimer equilibrium at varying pH...... and ionic strength by SAXS and scattering modeling showed that BLGA is dimeric at pH 3.0 and 4.0, shifting toward a monomer at pH 2.2, 2.6, and 7.0 yielding monomer/dimer ratios of 80/20%, 50/50%, and 25/75%, respectively. BLGA remained a dimer at pH 3.0 and 4.0 in 50–150 mM NaCl, whereas the electrostatic...... shielding raised the dimer content at pH 2.2, 2.6, and 7.0, i.e., below and above the pI. Overall, the findings provide new insights into the molecular characteristics of BLGA relevant for dairy product formulations and for various biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications....

  19. Age-adjusted high-sensitivity troponin T cut-off value for risk stratification of pulmonary embolism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaeberich, Anja; Seeber, Valerie; Jiménez, David; Kostrubiec, Maciej; Dellas, Claudia; Hasenfuß, Gerd; Giannitsis, Evangelos; Pruszczyk, Piotr; Konstantinides, Stavros; Lankeit, Mareike

    2015-05-01

    High-sensitivity troponin T (hsTnT) helps in identifying pulmonary embolism patients at low risk of an adverse outcome. In 682 normotensive pulmonary embolism patients we investigate whether an optimised hsTnT cut-off value and adjustment for age improve the identification of patients at elevated risk. Overall, 25 (3.7%) patients had an adverse 30-day outcome. The established hsTnT cut-off value of 14 pg·mL(-1) retained its high prognostic value (OR (95% CI) 16.64 (2.24-123.74); p=0.006) compared with the cut-off value of 33 pg·mL(-1) calculated by receiver operating characteristic analysis (7.14 (2.64-19.26); pvalue of 45 pg·mL(-1) but not the established cut-off value of 14 pg·mL(-1) predicted an adverse outcome. An age-adjusted hsTnT cut-off value (≥14 pg·mL(-1) for patients aged risk (12.4% adverse outcome). Risk assessment of normotensive pulmonary embolism patients was improved by the introduction of an age-adjusted hsTnT cut-off value. A three-step approach helped identify patients at higher risk of an adverse outcome who might benefit from advanced therapy. Copyright ©ERS 2015.

  20. L-Cysteine halogenides: A new family of salts with an L-cysteine⋯L-cysteinium dimeric cation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghazaryan, V. V.; Minkov, V. S.; Boldyreva, E. V.; Petrosyan, A. M.

    2016-10-01

    Two L-cysteinium-halogenides with (L-cysteine···L-cysteinium) dimeric cations have been obtained, (L-Cys⋯L-Cys+)·Cl-, and (L-Cys⋯L-Cys+)·Br-. Both salts crystallize in monoclinic space group P21. Although these salts have the same dimeric cations and isotypical halogen anions, crystal packing is different. The main difference between the two salts rests in the conformation of (L-Cys⋯L-Cys+) dimeric cation, which also differs from that of the dimeric cation in the previously reported compound L-Cys+(L-Cys⋯L-Cys+)·F-·(F-⋯HF). The dimeric cation is formed by a very short O-H⋯O hydrogen bond with d(O···O) of 2.449(2) Å and 2.435(11) Å in the chloride and bromide, respectively. In addition to crystal structure analysis, Infrared and Raman spectra have been registered and discussed with a particular focus on intermolecular interactions. The L-Cys+·Br-·H2O salt with a simple L-cysteinium cation was also obtained and the crystal structure solved. It resembles its chloride analogue, L-Cys+·Cl-·H2O.

  1. Using monomer vibrational wavefunctions to compute numerically exact (12D) rovibrational levels of water dimer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiao-Gang; Carrington, Tucker

    2018-02-01

    We compute numerically exact rovibrational levels of water dimer, with 12 vibrational coordinates, on the accurate CCpol-8sf ab initio flexible monomer potential energy surface [C. Leforestier et al., J. Chem. Phys. 137, 014305 (2012)]. It does not have a sum-of-products or multimode form and therefore quadrature in some form must be used. To do the calculation, it is necessary to use an efficient basis set and to develop computational tools, for evaluating the matrix-vector products required to calculate the spectrum, that obviate the need to store the potential on a 12D quadrature grid. The basis functions we use are products of monomer vibrational wavefunctions and standard rigid-monomer basis functions (which involve products of three Wigner functions). Potential matrix-vector products are evaluated using the F matrix idea previously used to compute rovibrational levels of 5-atom and 6-atom molecules. When the coupling between inter- and intra-monomer coordinates is weak, this crude adiabatic type basis is efficient (only a few monomer vibrational wavefunctions are necessary), although the calculation of matrix elements is straightforward. It is much easier to use than an adiabatic basis. The product structure of the basis is compatible with the product structure of the kinetic energy operator and this facilitates computation of matrix-vector products. Compared with the results obtained using a [6 + 6]D adiabatic approach, we find good agreement for the inter-molecular levels and larger differences for the intra-molecular water bend levels.

  2. Non-additive non-interacting kinetic energy of rare gas dimers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Kaili; Nafziger, Jonathan; Wasserman, Adam

    2018-03-01

    Approximations of the non-additive non-interacting kinetic energy (NAKE) as an explicit functional of the density are the basis of several electronic structure methods that provide improved computational efficiency over standard Kohn-Sham calculations. However, within most fragment-based formalisms, there is no unique exact NAKE, making it difficult to develop general, robust approximations for it. When adjustments are made to the embedding formalisms to guarantee uniqueness, approximate functionals may be more meaningfully compared to the exact unique NAKE. We use numerically accurate inversions to study the exact NAKE of several rare-gas dimers within partition density functional theory, a method that provides the uniqueness for the exact NAKE. We find that the NAKE decreases nearly exponentially with atomic separation for the rare-gas dimers. We compute the logarithmic derivative of the NAKE with respect to the bond length for our numerically accurate inversions as well as for several approximate NAKE functionals. We show that standard approximate NAKE functionals do not reproduce the correct behavior for this logarithmic derivative and propose two new NAKE functionals that do. The first of these is based on a re-parametrization of a conjoint Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) functional. The second is a simple, physically motivated non-decomposable NAKE functional that matches the asymptotic decay constant without fitting.

  3. Dynamics of the water dimer + nitric oxide collision

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ree, Jong Baik [Dept. of Chemistry Education, Chonnam National University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Yoo Hang [Dept. of Chemistry, Inha University, Incheon (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Hyung Kyu [Dept. of Chemistry, University of Nevada, Nevada (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-02-15

    Collision-induced intermolecular energy transfer and intramolecular vibrational redistribution in the collision of a water dimer and nitric oxide are studied by use of quasiclassical procedures. Intermolecular energy flow is shown to occur mainly through a direct-mode mechanism transferring relatively large amounts in strong collisions. About a quarter of the energy initially deposited in the dimer transfers to the ground state NO, while the rest redistributes among internal motions of the collision system. The main portion of initial energy deposited in the dimer redistributes in the stretches of the donor monomer through the 1:1 resonance followed by in the bend through the 1:2 resonance. Energy transfer from the excited NO to the ground-state dimer is equally efficient, transferring more than half the initial excitation to the donor monomer, the efficiency that is attributed to the internal modes operating as energy reservoirs. The hydrogen bond shares about 15% of the initial excitation stored in both dimer-to-NO and NO-to-dimer processes as a result of strong coupling of the hydrogen bond with the proton-donor OH bond of the monomer. A small fraction of collisions proceeds through a complex-mode mechanism and lead to NO dissociation, the dissociated O atom showing a propensity to form a new hydrogen bond.

  4. BALANOCARPOL AND HEIMIOL A, TWO RESVERATROLS DIMER FROM STEM BARK Hopea mengarawan (Dipterocarpaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sri Atun

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Isolation and structure elucidation of two resveratrols dimer, namely balanocarpol (1 and heimiol A (2 from stem bark of Hopea mengarawan had been done. The isolation of those compounds was carried out by chromatographic method and structure elucidation was performed by interpretation of spectroscopic data, including UV, IR,  1H and 13C NMR 1D and 2D, and FABMS.   Keywords: Balanocarpol; Heimiol A; Dipterocarpaceae

  5. Determination of the Tetramer-Dimer Equilibrium Constant of Rabbit ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Hemoglobin is a tetrameric protein which is able to dissociate into dimers. The dimers can in turn dissociate into tetramers. It has been found that dimers are more reactive than tetramers. The difference in the reactivity of these two species has been used to determine the tetramerdimer dissociation constant of various ...

  6. Accurate determination of the binding energy of the formic acid dimer: The importance of geometry relaxation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalescky, Robert; Kraka, Elfi; Cremer, Dieter

    2014-02-01

    The formic acid dimer in its C2h-symmetrical cyclic form is stabilized by two equivalent H-bonds. The currently accepted interaction energy is 18.75 kcal/mol whereas the experimental binding energy D0 value is only 14.22 ±0.12 kcal/mol [F. Kollipost, R. W. Larsen, A. V. Domanskaya, M. Nörenberg, and M. A. Suhm, J. Chem. Phys. 136, 151101 (2012)]. Calculation of the binding energies De and D0 at the CCSD(T) (Coupled Cluster with Single and Double excitations and perturbative Triple excitations)/CBS (Complete Basis Set) level of theory, utilizing CCSD(T)/CBS geometries and the frequencies of the dimer and monomer, reveals that there is a 3.2 kcal/mol difference between interaction energy and binding energy De, which results from (i) not relaxing the geometry of the monomers upon dissociation of the dimer and (ii) approximating CCSD(T) correlation effects with MP2. The most accurate CCSD(T)/CBS values obtained in this work are De = 15.55 and D0 = 14.32 kcal/mol where the latter binding energy differs from the experimental value by 0.1 kcal/mol. The necessity of employing augmented VQZ and VPZ calculations and relaxing monomer geometries of H-bonded complexes upon dissociation to obtain reliable binding energies is emphasized.

  7. Psychological adjustment of Yoruba adolescents as influenced by family type: a research note.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oyefeso, A O; Adegoke, A R

    1992-05-01

    This research examines the influence of family type on the psychological adjustment of Yoruba adolescents. Using a sample of 116 adolescents, 69 males and 47 females, with mean age of 17.8 years of age (S.D. = 1.72), the results reveal that male adolescents from monogamous families experience better psychological adjustment than their polygynous counterparts, whereas no such difference exists in the levels of psychological adjustment of female adolescents from both family types. These findings suggest that (i) sex-role prescription influences psychological adjustment of adolescents in Yoruba societies, and (ii) female children enjoy more protective upbringing in polygynous families than their male counterparts.

  8. Biogenesis of Triterpene Dimers from Orthoquinones Related to Quinonemethides: Theoretical Study on the Reaction Mechanism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Quesadas-Rojas

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The biogenetic origin of triterpene dimers from the Celastraceae family has been proposed as assisted hetero-Diels-Alder reaction (HDA. In this work, computational calculation of HDA between natural quinonemethides (tingenone and isopristimerol and hypothetical orthoquinones has been performed at the M06-2X/6-31G(d level of theory. We have located all the HDA transition states supporting the biogenetic route via HDA cycloadditions. We found that all reactions take place through a concerted inverse electron demand and asynchronous mechanism. The enzymatic assistance for dimer formation was analyzed in terms of the calculated transition state energy barrier.

  9. Mechanism for Controlling the Dimer-Monomer Switch and Coupling Dimerization to Catalysis of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 3C-Like Protease

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shi,J.; Sivaraman, J.; Song, J.

    2008-01-01

    Unlike 3C protease, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) 3C-like protease (3CLpro) is only enzymatically active as a homodimer and its catalysis is under extensive regulation by the unique extra domain. Despite intense studies, two puzzles still remain: (i) how the dimer-monomer switch is controlled and (ii) why dimerization is absolutely required for catalysis. Here we report the monomeric crystal structure of the SARS-CoV 3CLpro mutant R298A at a resolution of 1.75 Angstroms . Detailed analysis reveals that Arg298 serves as a key component for maintaining dimerization, and consequently, its mutation will trigger a cooperative switch from a dimer to a monomer. The monomeric enzyme is irreversibly inactivated because its catalytic machinery is frozen in the collapsed state, characteristic of the formation of a short 310-helix from an active-site loop. Remarkably, dimerization appears to be coupled to catalysis in 3CLpro through the use of overlapped residues for two networks, one for dimerization and another for the catalysis.

  10. Single-molecule surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy from a molecularly-bridged silver nanoparticle dimer

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Vlčková, B.; Moskovits, M.; Pavel, I.; Šišková, Karolína; Sládková, M.; Šlouf, Miroslav

    2008-01-01

    Roč. 455, 4-6 (2008), s. 131-134 ISSN 0009-2614 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA203/07/0717 Grant - others:NSF(US) OISE-0406665; Institute of Collaborative Biotechnologies(US) DAAD19-03-D-0004; GA MŠk(CZ) 1P0MO750 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40500505 Keywords : SM-SERS * nanoparticle dimer * silver nanoparticles Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 2.169, year: 2008

  11. Non-equivalent Role of Inter- and Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonds in the Insulin Dimer Interface

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Antolíková, Emília; Žáková, Lenka; Turkenburg, J. P.; Watson, C. J.; Hančlová, Ivona; Šanda, Miloslav; Cooper, A.; Kraus, Tomáš; Brzozowski, A. M.; Jiráček, Jiří

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 286, č. 42 (2011), s. 36968-36977 ISSN 0021-9258 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC06077 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40550506 Keywords : insulin * dimer * analog Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry Impact factor: 4.773, year: 2011

  12. Effect of Age on the Hemostatic Function in Patients with Degenerative Diseases of the Large Joints

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor L. Shlykov, PhD¹, ScD¹

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: Aging is associated with an increased hypercoagulable state. Degenerative diseases of the large joints are also accompanied by increased coagulation activity. We investigated the effect of age on the hemostatic function in patients with osteoarthritis. Material and Methods: The study included 192 patients with osteoarthritis admitted to the clinic for primary hip or knee arthroplasty. The patients were categorized into 5 age groups: the age group under 40 years, the 41–to-50 -year age group, the 51–to-60-year age group, the 61-to-70- year age group, and the age group over 70 years. The general blood clotting tests, platelet number, fibrinogen, antithrombin, protein C, TAT, D-dimer, vonWillebrand factor (vWF, PAI-1, ß-thromboglobulin were determined. Results: Among patients with osteoarthritis, the antithrombin III level significantly decreased by the age of 50; however, above the age of 60 there was a distinct decrease in platelet count, and over the age of 70 the activity of the extrinsic coagulation pathway and the plasminogen level dropped significantly. TAT and D-dimer levels were elevated in most of the patients. Conclusion: The decrease in platelet count coupled with the activity of the extrinsic coagulation pathway in elderly osteoarthritic patients may increase blood loss during total arthroplasty; also, the drop in the anticoagulant and fibrinolytic potential may play a negative role in strengthening the prothrombotic state during the postoperative period.

  13. PERSONAL COMPETENCIES, SOCIAL RESOURCES, AND PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT OF PRIMIPAROUS WOMEN OF ADVANCED MATERNAL AGE AND THEIR PARTNERS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guedes, Maryse; Canavarro, Maria Cristina

    2015-01-01

    The present study aimed to (a) characterize the personal competencies, the social resources, and the psychosocial adjustment (psychological distress, quality of life, and parenting self-perceptions) during the early postpartum period of primiparous women of advanced age (≥35 years at the time of delivery) and their partners (older parents) compared with that of younger first-time mothers (20-34 years) and their partners (younger parents); and (b) explore the role of personal competencies and social resources in couples' psychosocial adjustment, depending on the age group. Older (n = 74) and younger parents (n = 71) completed self-report measures to assess personal competencies and social resources (third trimester of pregnancy), psychological distress, and quality of life (third trimester of pregnancy and 1-month' postpartum) and parenting self-perceptions (1-month' postpartum). Older parents were more similar than different from younger parents regarding personal competencies, social resources, and psychosocial adjustment during the first postnatal month. Regardless of the age group, higher personal competencies and social resources predicted lower anxiety and more positive parenting self-perceptions in women. Beyond higher personal competencies, older maternal age also predicted higher quality of life. In men, higher personal competencies were protective against anxiety, but only at older maternal age. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  14. Association of atoms into universal dimers using an oscillating magnetic field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langmack, Christian; Smith, D Hudson; Braaten, Eric

    2015-03-13

    In a system of ultracold atoms near a Feshbach resonance, pairs of atoms can be associated into universal dimers by an oscillating magnetic field with a frequency near that determined by the dimer binding energy. We present a simple expression for the transition rate that takes into account many-body effects through a transition matrix element of the contact. In a thermal gas, the width of the peak in the transition rate as a function of the frequency is determined by the temperature. In a dilute Bose-Einstein condensate of atoms, the width is determined by the inelastic scattering rates of a dimer with zero-energy atoms. Near an atom-dimer resonance, there is a dramatic increase in the width from inelastic atom-dimer scattering and from atom-atom-dimer recombination. The recombination contribution provides a signature for universal tetramers that are Efimov states consisting of two atoms and a dimer.

  15. Multiple regions of Harvey sarcoma virus RNA can dimerize in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Y X; Fu, W; Winter, A J; Levin, J G; Rein, A

    1995-04-01

    Retroviruses contain a dimeric RNA consisting of two identical molecules of plus-strand genomic RNA. The structure of the linkage between the two monomers is not known, but they are believed to be joined near their 5' ends. Darlix and coworkers have reported that transcripts of retroviral RNA sequences can dimerize spontaneously in vitro (see, for example, E. Bieth, C. Gabus, and J. L. Darlix, Nucleic Acids Res. 18:119-127, 1990). As one approach to identification of sequences which might participate in the linkage, we have mapped sequences derived from the 5' 378 bases of Harvey sarcoma virus (HaSV) RNA which can dimerize in vitro. We found that at least three distinct regions, consisting of nucleotides 37 to 229, 205 to 272, and 271 to 378, can form these dimers. Two of these regions contain nucleotides 205 to 226; computer analysis suggests that this region can form a stem-loop with an inverted repeat in the loop. We propose that this hypothetical structure is involved in dimer formation by these two transcripts. We also compared the thermal stabilities of each of these dimers with that of HaSV viral RNA. Dimers of nucleotides 37 to 229 and 205 to 272 both exhibited melting temperatures near that of viral RNA, while dimers of nucleotides 271 to 378 are quite unstable. We also found that dimers of nucleotides 37 to 378 formed at 37 degrees C are less thermostable than dimers of the same RNA formed at 55 degrees C. It seems possible that bases from all of these regions participate in the dimer linkage present in viral RNA.

  16. Kinetics of thymine dimer excision in ultraviolet-irradiated human cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ehmann, U.K.; Cook, K.H.; Friedberg, E.C.

    1978-01-01

    We have investigated the kinetics of the loss of thymine dimers from the acid-insoluble fraction of several ultraviolet (uv)-irradiated cultured human cell lines. Our results show that uv fluences between 10 and 40 J/m 2 produce an average of 21 to 85 x 10 5 thymine dimers per cell and an eventual maximal loss per cell of 12 to 20 x 10 5 thymine dimers. The time for half-maximal loss of dimers ranged from 12 to 22 h after uv irradiation. In contrast, the time for half-maximal repair synthesis of DNA measured by autoradiography was 4.5 h. This figure agrees well with reported half-maximal repair synthesis times, which range from 0.5 to 3.6 h based on our analysis. The discrepancy in the kinetics of the loss of thymine dimers from DNA and repair synthesis is discussed in terms of possible molecular mechanisms of thymine dimer excision in vivo and in terms of possible experimental artifacts

  17. Role of cyclobutane dimers in UV-denaturation of DNA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zavil'gel'skij, G.B.; Zuev, A.V.

    1978-01-01

    UV irradiation of double-stranded DNA produces local denatured regions. The evidence presented indicates that these single-stranded regions arise from photoproducts other than pyrimidine dimers. The irradiation of T2 DNA at 8x10 4 erg/mm 2 (254 nm) produces 6-8% thymine dimers, amd Tsub(mel) drops by 12-14 deg C, accompanied by a significant broadening of the transition profile. The kinetics of denatured region formation and lowering Tsub(mel) corresponds to that of formation of crosslinkages and differs markedly from the kinetics of formation of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers. Treatment of UV-irradiated DNA with light in the presence of yeast photoreactivating enzyme monomerizes almost all thymine dimers but does not change the Tsub(mel). Local denatured regions are detected in UV-irradiated DNA and are absent from AcPhM-sensibilized DNA, which contains 20-25% thymine dimers, as determined by the accridine orange fluorescence technique. S1 nuclease from Aspergillis oryzae produces single-strand breaks in UV-irradiated DNA of phage PM2 but is not active on AcPhM-treated PM2 DNA, which contains about 50 thymine dimers. It is supposed that the formation of a cyclobutane dimer only weakens the hydrogen bonds in the AT base pair rather than breaks them. Local denatured regions are thought to arise from the accumulation in UV-irradiated DNA (254 nm) of the sufficient number of photoproducts with impaired ability to base pairing

  18. Family C 7TM receptor dimerization and activation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bonde, Marie Mi; Sheikh, Søren P; Hansen, Jakob Lerche

    2006-01-01

    The family C seven transmembrane (7TM) receptors constitutes a small and especially well characterized subfamily of the large 7TM receptor superfamily. Approximately 50% of current prescription drugs target 7TM receptors, this biologically important family represents the largest class of drug...... to be fully defined. This review presents the biochemical support for family C 7TM receptor dimerization and discusses its importance for receptor biosynthesis, surface expression, ligand binding and activation, since lessons learnt here may well be applicable to the whole superfamily of 7TM receptors.......-targets today. It is well established that family C 7TM receptors form homo- or hetero-dimers on the cell surface of living cells. The large extra-cellular domains (ECD) have been crystallized as a dimer in the presence and absence of agonist. Upon agonist binding, the dimeric ECD undergoes large conformational...

  19. Imaging of 99Tcm-labeled new cyclic RGDfK Dimer in nude mice bearing U87MG human glioma xenografts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin Xiao'an; Shi Jiyun; Liu Yan; Zhu Zhaohui; Jia Bing; Liu Zhaofei; Shi Ximin; Wang Fan; Li Fang

    2010-01-01

    Objective: (1) To evaluate the effect of insertion of two 15-amino-4, 7, 10, 13-tetraoxapentadecanoic (2 PEG 4 ) linkers into cyclic Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) Dimer E [c(RGDfK)] 2 on receptor binding in vitro, (2) to assess its biodistribution in vivo and (3) to investigate the value of 99 Tc m labeled 2PEG 4 -Dimer for integrin α v β 3 -positive tumors imaging. Methods: The expression of U87 human glioma cells and integrin α v β 3 was determined by immunofluorescence staining. The half-inhibition concentrations (IC 50 ) for 125 I-cyclo (Arg-Gly-Asp-D-Tyr-Lys) (c(RGDyK)) of c (RGDyK), hydrazinonictinamide (HYNIC)-Dimer and HYNIC-2PEG 4 -Dimer binding to integrin α v β 3 were measured. 99 Tc m -HYNIC-Dimer and 99 Tc m -HYNIC-2PEG 4 -Dimer were synthesized using non-SnCl 2 formulation. Biodistribution and imaging studies were performed in nude mice bearing human glioma xenografts. The unpaired t test was used for statistical analysis. Results: The labeling yield of the two radiotracers was more than 95%, and the radiochemical purity was more than 99% through Sep-Pek C18 cartridge. HYNIC-2PEG 4 -Dimer had significantly higher binding affinity of integrin α v β 3 than c(RGDyK) and HYNIC-Dimer (IC 50 =0.8 nmol/L, 27 nmol/L and 2.4 nmol/L, respectively). Biodistribution study showed that 99 Tc m -HYNIC-2PEG 4 -Dimer was mainly excreted via the kidney. The tumor uptake of 99 Tc m -HYNIC-2PEG 4 -Dimer was higher than that of 99 Tc m -HYNIC-Dimer at 2 h post injection ((5.71±0.96) and (2.10±0.50) % ID/g, t =4.80, P 99 Tc m -HYNIC-2PEG 4 -Dimer is a promising radiotracer for integrin α v β 3 -positive tumor imaging. (authors)

  20. Characterization of oxygen dimer-enriched silicon detectors

    CERN Document Server

    Boisvert, V; Moll, M; Murin, L I; Pintilie, I

    2005-01-01

    Various types of silicon material and silicon p+n diodes have been treated to increase the concentration of the oxygen dimer (O2i) defect. This was done by exposing the bulk material and the diodes to 6 MeV electrons at a temperature of about 350 °C. FTIR spectroscopy has been performed on the processed material confirming the formation of oxygen dimer defects in Czochralski silicon pieces. We also show results from TSC characterization on processed diodes. Finally, we investigated the influence of the dimer enrichment process on the depletion voltage of silicon diodes and performed 24 GeV/c proton irradiations to study the evolution of the macroscopic diode characteristics as a function of fluence.

  1. Dimeric Surfactants: Promising Ingredients of Cosmetics and Toiletries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naveen Kumar

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Surfactants are an essential ingredient for cosmetic, toiletries and personal care products for enhancing their performance. Dimeric surfactants demonstrate superiority compared to conventional surfactants in all areas of application. Dimeric surfactants are extremely promising for utilization in various cosmetic formulations viz. shampoo, lotions, creams, conditioners etc. These surfactants possess extremely unique surface properties viz. lower surface tension, unique micellization, low critical micelle concentration (CMC and antimicrobial activity, higher solubilization etc. Dimerics enhance the performances of cosmetics in an extraordinary manner and provide eco-friendly preparations for human epidermis.

  2. Adjustments of the TaD electron density reconstruction model with GNSS-TEC parameters for operational application purposes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Belehaki Anna

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Validation results on the latest version of TaD model (TaDv2 show realistic reconstruction of the electron density profiles (EDPs with an average error of 3 TECU, similar to the error obtained from GNSS-TEC calculated paremeters. The work presented here has the aim to further improve the accuracy of the TaD topside reconstruction, adjusting the TEC parameter calculated from TaD model with the TEC parameter calculated by GNSS transmitting RINEX files provided by receivers co-located with the Digisondes. The performance of the new version is tested during a storm period demonstrating further improvements in respect to the previous version. Statistical comparison of modeled and observed TEC confirms the validity of the proposed adjustment. A significant benefit of the proposed upgrade is that it facilitates the real-time implementation of TaD. The model needs a reliable measure of the scale height at the peak height, which is supposed to be provided by Digisondes. Oftenly, the automatic scaling software fails to correctly calculate the scale height at the peak, Hm, due to interferences in the receiving signal. Consequently the model estimated topside scale height is wrongly calculated leading to unrealistic results for the modeled EDP. The proposed TEC adjustment forces the model to correctly reproduce the topside scale height, despite the inaccurate values of Hm. This adjustment is very important for the application of TaD in an operational environment.

  3. Two Populations Mean-Field Monomer-Dimer Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alberici, Diego; Mingione, Emanuele

    2018-04-01

    A two populations mean-field monomer-dimer model including both hard-core and attractive interactions between dimers is considered. The pressure density in the thermodynamic limit is proved to satisfy a variational principle. A detailed analysis is made in the limit of one population is much smaller than the other and a ferromagnetic mean-field phase transition is found.

  4. A Computational Tool for Testing Dose-related Trend Using an Age-adjusted Bootstrap-based Poly-k Test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hojin Moon

    2006-08-01

    Full Text Available A computational tool for testing for a dose-related trend and/or a pairwise difference in the incidence of an occult tumor via an age-adjusted bootstrap-based poly-k test and the original poly-k test is presented in this paper. The poly-k test (Bailer and Portier 1988 is a survival-adjusted Cochran-Armitage test, which achieves robustness to effects of differential mortality across dose groups. The original poly-k test is asymptotically standard normal under the null hypothesis. However, the asymptotic normality is not valid if there is a deviation from the tumor onset distribution that is assumed in this test. Our age-adjusted bootstrap-based poly-k test assesses the significance of assumed asymptotic normal tests and investigates an empirical distribution of the original poly-k test statistic using an age-adjusted bootstrap method. A tumor of interest is an occult tumor for which the time to onset is not directly observable. Since most of the animal carcinogenicity studies are designed with a single terminal sacrifice, the present tool is applicable to rodent tumorigenicity assays that have a single terminal sacrifice. The present tool takes input information simply from a user screen and reports testing results back to the screen through a user-interface. The computational tool is implemented in C/C++ and is applied to analyze a real data set as an example. Our tool enables the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry to implement a statistical analysis of tumorigenicity data from animal bioassays via our age-adjusted bootstrap-based poly-k test and the original poly-k test which has been adopted by the National Toxicology Program as its standard statistical test.

  5. Electron transfer reactions induced by the triplet state of thiacarbocyanine dimers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chibisov, Alexander K.; Slavnova, Tatyana D.; Goerner, Helmut

    2004-01-01

    The photoinduced electron transfer between either cationic 5,5 ' -dichloro-3,3 ' ,9-triethylthiacarbocyanine (1) or a structurally similar anionic dye (2) and appropriate donors, e.g. ascorbic acid, and acceptors, e.g. methyl viologen, was studied by ns-laser photolysis. In aqueous solution the dyes in the ground state are present as an equilibrated mixture of dimers and monomers, whereas the triplet state is mainly populated from dimers. The triplet states of both dimers and monomers are quenched by electron donors or acceptors and the rate constant for quenching is generally 2-4 times higher for dimers than for monomers. The kinetics of triplet decay and radical formation and decay as a result of primary and secondary electron transfer were analyzed. While the one-electron reduced dimer decays due to back reactions, the one-electron oxidized dimer rapidly dissociates into the monomer and the monomeric dye radical. For the dimeric dye/donor/acceptor systems the primary photoinduced electron transfer occurs either from the donor or to the acceptor yielding the dimeric dye radicals. The one-electron reduced dimer can be efficiently oxidized by acceptors, e.g. the rate constant for reaction of the dimeric dye radical of 1 with methyl viologen (photoreductive pathway of sensitization) is 1.6x10 9 M -1 s -1 . The photooxidative pathway of sensitization is more complicated; after dissociation of the dimeric dye radical, the monomeric dye radical is reduced in a secondary electron transfer from ascorbic acid, e.g. with a rate constant of 1x10 9 M -1 s -1 for 2, yielding the monomer. On increasing the donor concentration the photooxidative pathway of sensitization is switched to a photoreductive one

  6. Structure of the cold-shock domain protein from Neisseria meningitidis reveals a strand-exchanged dimer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ren, Jingshan [The Oxford Protein Production Facility, Henry Wellcome Building for Genomic Medicine, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7BN (United Kingdom); Division of Structural Biology, Henry Wellcome Building for Genomic Medicine, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7BN (United Kingdom); Nettleship, Joanne E.; Sainsbury, Sarah [The Oxford Protein Production Facility, Henry Wellcome Building for Genomic Medicine, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7BN (United Kingdom); Saunders, Nigel J. [Bacterial Pathogenesis and Functional Genomics Group, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RE (United Kingdom); Owens, Raymond J., E-mail: ray@strubi.ox.ac.uk [The Oxford Protein Production Facility, Henry Wellcome Building for Genomic Medicine, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7BN (United Kingdom)

    2008-04-01

    The X-ray crystal structure of the cold-shock domain protein from N. meningitidis reveals a strand-exchanged dimer. The structure of the cold-shock domain protein from Neisseria meningitidis has been solved to 2.6 Å resolution and shown to comprise a dimer formed by the exchange of two β-strands between protein monomers. The overall fold of the monomer closely resembles those of other bacterial cold-shock proteins. The neisserial protein behaved as a monomer in solution and was shown to bind to a hexathymidine oligonucleotide with a stoichiometry of 1:1 and a K{sub d} of 1.25 µM.

  7. Cytotoxic cassaine diterpenoid-diterpenoid amide dimers and diterpenoid amides from the leaves of Erythrophleum fordii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Dan; Qu, Jing; Wang, Jia-Ming; Yu, Shi-Shan; Chen, Xiao-Guang; Xu, Song; Ma, Shuang-Gang; Li, Yong; Ding, Guang-Zhi; Fang, Lei

    2010-10-01

    Detailed phytochemical investigation from the leaves of Erythrophleum fordii resulted in the isolation of 13 compounds, including three cassaine diterpenoid-diterpenoid amide dimers (1, 3 and 5), and seven cassaine diterpenoid amides (6 and 8-13), together with three previously reported ones, erythrophlesins D (2), C (4) and 3beta-hydroxynorerythrosuamide (7). Compounds 1, 3 and 5 are further additions to the small group of cassaine diterpenoid dimers represented by erythrophlesins A-D. Their structures were determined by analysis of extensive one- and two-dimensional NMR experiments and ESIMS methods. Cytotoxic activities of the isolated compounds were tested against HCT-8, Bel-7402, BGC-823, A549 and A2780 human cancer cell lines in the MTT test. Results showed that compounds 1 and 3-5 exhibited significantly selective cytotoxic activities (IC(50)<10 microM) against these cells, respectively. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance via molecular π orbitals of Pb dimers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schöneberg, Johannes; Ferriani, Paolo; Heinze, Stefan; Weismann, Alexander; Berndt, Richard

    2018-01-01

    Pb dimers on a ferromagnetic surface are shown to exhibit large tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR) due to molecular π orbitals. Dimers oriented differently with respect to the magnetization directions of a ferromagnetic Fe double layer on W(110) were made with a scanning tunneling microscope. Depending on the dimer orientations, TAMR is absent or as large as 20% at the Fermi level. General arguments and first-principles calculations show that mixing of molecular orbitals due to spin-orbit coupling, which leads to TAMR, is maximal when the magnetization is oriented parallel to the dimer axis.

  9. Electron Transfer Triggers Fast Dimer/Monomer Switching of Pyridinium and Quinolinium Cations

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Teplý, Filip; Čížková, Martina; Slavíček, P.; Kolivoška, Viliam; Tarábek, Ján; Hromadová, Magdaléna; Pospíšil, Lubomír

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 116, č. 5 (2012), s. 3779-3786 ISSN 1932-7447 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA203/09/0705; GA ČR GA203/09/1614 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40550506; CEZ:AV0Z40400503 Keywords : electrochemical reduction * dimerization * radicals * mechanism * N-heteroaromatic cations Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 4.814, year: 2012

  10. Asymetric functioning of dimeric metabotropic glutamate receptors disclosed by positive allosteric modulators

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Goudet, C.; Kniazeff, J.; Hlaváčková, Veronika; Malhaire, F.; Maurel, D.; Acher, F.; Blahoš, Jaroslav; Prézeau, L.; Pin, J.-P.

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 280, č. 26 (2005), s. 24380-24385 ISSN 0021-9258 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA301/03/1183; GA AV ČR KJB5039402; GA ČR(CZ) GD309/03/H095 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50390512 Keywords : GPCR dimer Subject RIV: FR - Pharmacology ; Medidal Chemistry Impact factor: 5.854, year: 2005

  11. VUV spectroscopy of rare gas van der Waals dimers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dehmer, P.M.; Pratt, S.T.

    1982-01-01

    We have undertaken a systematic study of the photoionization spectra of the homonuclear and heteronuclear rare gas dimers in order to better understand the nature of the bonding in the Rydberg states adnd ions of these molecules. We have obtained results for Ar 2 , Kr 2 , Xe 2 , NeAr, NeKr, NeXe, ArKr, ArXe, and KrXe. Of the remaining dimer species (Ne 2 and the Herare gas dimers), only Ne 2 has been studied using photoionization mass spectrometry. The results of the present series of experiments provide information both on the excited states of the neutral dimers and on the ground and excited states of the dimer ions. Using the data obtained in these measurements, we are able to compile for the first time a nearly complete list of ground state dissociation energies for the homonuclear and heteronuclear rare gas dimer ions. Somewhat less complete results are obtained for the excited states of these species. The observed trends in binding energy provide an excellent example of the systematic changes that occur as a result of changes in atomic orbital energies, polarizability, and internuclear distance, and these trends can be explained qualitatively in terms of simple molecular orbital theory

  12. Drugs prescribed by general practitioners according to age, gender and socioeconomic status after adjustment for multimorbidity level

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skoog, Jessica; Midlöv, Patrik; Beckman, Anders

    2014-01-01

    of prescription drugs among patients, issued in primary health care, according to age, gender and socioeconomic status after adjustment for multimorbidity level.MethodData were collected on all individuals above 20 years of age in Östergötland county with about 400 000 inhabitants in year 2006. The John Hopkins...... ACG Case-mix was used as a proxy for multimorbidity level. Odds ratio (OR) of having prescription drugs issued in primary health care in the population and rates of prescription drug use among patients in primary health care, stated as incidence rate ratio (IRR), according to age, gender......BackgroundAge, gender and socioeconomic status have been shown to be associated with the use of prescription drugs, even after adjustment for multimorbidity. General practitioners have a holistic and patient-centred perspective and our hypothesis is that this may reflect on the prescription...

  13. Pair Interaction of Catalytical Sphere Dimers in Chemically Active Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing-Min Shi

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available We study the pair dynamics of two self-propelled sphere dimers in the chemically active medium in which a cubic autocatalytic chemical reaction takes place. Concentration gradient around the dimer, created by reactions occurring on the catalytic sphere surface and responsible for the self-propulsion, is greatly influenced by the chemical activities of the environment. Consequently, the pair dynamics of two dimers mediated by the concentration field are affected. In the particle-based mesoscopic simulation, we combine molecular dynamics (MD for potential interactions and reactive multiparticle collision dynamics (RMPC for solvent flow and bulk reactions. Our results indicate three different configurations between a pair of dimers after the collision, i.e., two possible scenarios of bound dimer pairs and one unbound dimer pair. A phase diagram is sketched as a function of the rate coefficients of the environment reactions. Since the pair interactions are the basic elements of larger scale systems, we believe the results may shed light on the understanding of the collective dynamics.

  14. Associations Between Vitamin D Intake and Progression to Incident Advanced Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merle, Bénédicte M J; Silver, Rachel E; Rosner, Bernard; Seddon, Johanna M

    2017-09-01

    There is growing evidence of the importance of nutrition in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), but no prospective studies have explored the impact of vitamin D. We evaluated the association between vitamin D intake and progression to advanced AMD. Among 2146 participants (3965 eyes), 541 (777 eyes) progressed from early or intermediate AMD to advanced disease (mean follow-up: 9.4 years) based on ocular imaging. Nutrients were log transformed and calorie adjusted. Survival analysis was used to assess associations between incident advanced disease and vitamin D intake. Neovascular disease (NV) and geographic atrophy (GA) were evaluated separately. Combined effects of dietary vitamin D and calcium were assessed based on high or low consumption of each nutrient. There was a lower risk of progression to advanced AMD in the highest versus lowest quintile of dietary vitamin D intake after adjustment for demographic, behavioral, ocular, and nutritional factors (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.43-0.83; P trend = 0.0007). Similar results were observed for NV (HR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.39-0.89; P trend = 0.005) but not GA (HR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.53-1.30; P trend = 0.35). A protective effect was observed for advanced AMD among participants with high vitamin D and low calcium compared to the group with low levels for each nutrient (HR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.50-0.88; P = 0.005). When supplement use was considered, the effect was in the protective direction but was not significant. A diet rich in vitamin D may prevent or delay progression to advanced AMD, especially NV. Additional exploration is needed to elucidate the potential protective role of vitamin D and its contribution to reducing visual loss.

  15. Subsurface dimerization in III-V semiconductor (001) surfaces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kumpf, C.; Marks, L.D.; Ellis, D.

    2001-01-01

    We present the atomic structure of the c(8 X 2) reconstructions of InSb-, InAs-, and GaAs-(001) surfaces as determined by surface x-ray diffraction using direct methods. Contrary to common belief, group III dimers are not prominent on the surface, instead subsurface dimerization of group m atoms ...... takes place in the second bilayer, accompanied by a major rearrangement of the surface atoms above the dimers to form linear arrays. By varying the occupancies of four surface sites the (001)-c(8 X 2) reconstructions of III-V semiconductors can be described in a unified model....

  16. The water dimer II: Theoretical investigations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mukhopadhyay, Anamika; Xantheas, Sotiris S.; Saykally, Richard J.

    2018-03-29

    As the archetype of hydrogen bonding between water molecules, the water dimer has been extensively studied by both theory and experiment for nearly seven decades. In this article, we present a detailed chronological review of the theoretical advances using electronic structure methods pertaining to the structure, hydrogen bonding and vibrational spectroscopy of the water dimer as well as the role of its potential energy surface in the development of classical force fields to describe intermolecular interaction in clusters and liquid water.

  17. In Situ Structural Characterization of Ferric Iron Dimers in Aqueous Solutions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhu, Mengqiang; Puls, Brendan W.; Frandsen, Cathrine

    2013-01-01

    The structure of ferric iron (Fe3+) dimers in aqueous solutions has long been debated. In this work, we have determined the dimer structure in situ in aqueous solutions using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. An Fe K-edge EXAFS analysis of 0.2 M ferric nitrate solutions...... at pH 1.28–1.81 identified a Fe–Fe distance at ∼3.6 Å, strongly indicating that the dimers take the μ-oxo form. The EXAFS analysis also indicates two short Fe–O bonds at ∼1.80 Å and ten long Fe–O bonds at ∼2.08 Å, consistent with the μ-oxo dimer structure. The scattering from the Fe–Fe paths interferes...... confirmed by Mössbauer analyses of analogous quick frozen solutions. This work also explores the electronic structure and the relative stability of the μ-oxo dimer in a comparison to the dihydroxo dimer using density function theory (DFT) calculations. The identification of such dimers in aqueous solutions...

  18. Aging effect on step adjustments and stability control in visually perturbed gait initiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Ruopeng; Cui, Chuyi; Shea, John B

    2017-10-01

    Gait adaptability is essential for fall avoidance during locomotion. It requires the ability to rapidly inhibit original motor planning, select and execute alternative motor commands, while also maintaining the stability of locomotion. This study investigated the aging effect on gait adaptability and dynamic stability control during a visually perturbed gait initiation task. A novel approach was used such that the anticipatory postural adjustment (APA) during gait initiation were used to trigger the unpredictable relocation of a foot-size stepping target. Participants (10 young adults and 10 older adults) completed visually perturbed gait initiation in three adjustment timing conditions (early, intermediate, late; all extracted from the stereotypical APA pattern) and two adjustment direction conditions (medial, lateral). Stepping accuracy, foot rotation at landing, and Margin of Dynamic Stability (MDS) were analyzed and compared across test conditions and groups using a linear mixed model. Stepping accuracy decreased as a function of adjustment timing as well as stepping direction, with older subjects exhibited a significantly greater undershoot in foot placement to late lateral stepping. Late adjustment also elicited a reaching-like movement (i.e. foot rotation prior to landing in order to step on the target), regardless of stepping direction. MDS measures in the medial-lateral and anterior-posterior direction revealed both young and older adults exhibited reduced stability in the adjustment step and subsequent steps. However, young adults returned to stable gait faster than older adults. These findings could be useful for future study of screening deficits in gait adaptability and preventing falls. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Extracting dimer structures from simulations of organic-based materials using QM/MM methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pérez-Jiménez, A.J., E-mail: aj.perez@ua.es; Sancho-García, J.C., E-mail: jc.sancho@ua.es

    2015-09-28

    Highlights: • DFT geometries of isolated dimers in organic crystals differ from experimental ones. • This can be corrected using QM/MM geometry optimizations. • The QM = B3LYP–D3(ZD)/cc-pVDZ and MM = GAFF combination works reasonably well. - Abstract: The functionality of weakly bound organic materials, either in Nanoelectronics or in Materials Science, is known to be strongly affected by their morphology. Theoretical predictions of the underlying structure–property relationships are frequently based on calculations performed on isolated dimers, but the optimized structure of the latter may significantly differ from experimental data even when dispersion-corrected methods are used for it. Here, we address this problem on two organic crystals, namely coronene and 5,6,11,12-tetrachlorotetracene, concluding that it is caused by the absence of the surrounding monomers present in the crystal, and that it can be efficiently cured when the dimer is embedded into a general Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics (QM/MM) geometry optimization scheme. We also investigate how the size of the MM region affects the results. These findings may be helpful for the simulation of the morphology of active materials in crystalline or glassy samples.

  20. Adjustment of the thermohydraulic NUCIRC 2.0 code to the present aging conditions of the Embalse nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rabiti, Arnaldo; Coutsiers, Ernesto; Schivo, Miguel; Mazanttini, Oscar

    2003-01-01

    This work gives a description of the adjustment process of NUCIRC code to the actual aging conditions of Embalse nuclear power plant. For this adjustment the flow of the fuel channels of the primary heat transport system (PHTS) is calculated using the channel heat balance flow (CHBF) methodology. Then roughness and the localized loss of charge are modified in NUCIRC code for different groups of channels. These adjustments are done in way to fit by regions the channels flows calculated with NUCIRC to the CHBF flows. The fitting results in a discrepancy by regions of less than 0,1% and an average quadratic error of 5% approximately. These values indicate that the code NUCIRC is right adjusted for critical channel power calculations and aging tracking of PHTS. (author)

  1. (±)-Uncarilins A and B, Dimeric Isoechinulin-Type Alkaloids from Uncaria rhynchophylla.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geng, Chang-An; Huang, Xiao-Yan; Ma, Yun-Bao; Hou, Bo; Li, Tian-Ze; Zhang, Xue-Mei; Chen, Ji-Jun

    2017-04-28

    (±)-Uncarilins A and B (1a/1b and 2a/2b), two pairs of unusual dimeric isoechinulin-type enantiomers with a symmetric four-membered core, were isolated from Uncaria rhynchophylla driven by LCMS-IT-TOF analyses. Their structures were elucidated by extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectra, X-ray diffraction, and ECD spectroscopic data. (-)-Uncarilin B (2a) showed activities on MT 1 and MT 2 receptors with agonistic rates of 11.26% and 52.44% at a concentration of 0.25 mM.

  2. Heterologous Secretory Expression and Characterization of Dimerized Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 in Bacillus subtilis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Umair Hanif

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Recombinant human Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 (rhBMP2 has important applications in the spine fusion and ortho/maxillofacial surgeries. Here we first report the secretory expression of biological active dimerized rhBMP2 from Bacillus subtilis system. The mature domain of BMP2 gene was amplified from pTz57R/BMP2 plasmid. By using pHT43 expression vector two constructs, pHT43-BMP2-M (single BMP2 gene and pHT43-BMP2-D (two BMP2 genes coupled with a linker to produce a dimer, were designed. After primary cloning (DH5α strain and sequence analysis, constructs were transformed into Bacillus subtilis for secretory expression. Expression conditions like media (2xYT and temperature (30°C were optimized. Maximum 35% and 25% secretory expression of monomer (~13 kDa and dimer (~25 kDa, respectively, were observed on SDS-PAGE in SCK6 strain. The expression and dimeric nature of rhBMP2 were confirmed by western blot and native PAGE analysis. For rhBMP2 purification, 200 ml culture supernatant was freeze dried to 10 ml and dialyzed (Tris-Cl, pH 8.5 and Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography (6 ml, Resource Q column was performed. The rhBMP2 monomer and dimer were eluted at 0.9 M and 0.6 M NaCl, respectively. The alkaline phosphatase assay of rhBMP2 (0, 50, 100, 200, and 400 ng/ml was analyzed on C2C12 cells and maximum 200 ng/ml activity was observed in dose dependent manner.

  3. SOXE transcription factors form selective dimers on non-compact DNA motifs through multifaceted interactions between dimerization and high-mobility group domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yong-Heng; Jankowski, Aleksander; Cheah, Kathryn S E; Prabhakar, Shyam; Jauch, Ralf

    2015-05-27

    The SOXE transcription factors SOX8, SOX9 and SOX10 are master regulators of mammalian development directing sex determination, gliogenesis, pancreas specification and neural crest development. We identified a set of palindromic SOX binding sites specifically enriched in regulatory regions of melanoma cells. SOXE proteins homodimerize on these sequences with high cooperativity. In contrast to other transcription factor dimers, which are typically rigidly spaced, SOXE group proteins can bind cooperatively at a wide range of dimer spacings. Using truncated forms of SOXE proteins, we show that a single dimerization (DIM) domain, that precedes the DNA binding high mobility group (HMG) domain, is sufficient for dimer formation, suggesting that DIM : HMG rather than DIM:DIM interactions mediate the dimerization. All SOXE members can also heterodimerize in this fashion, whereas SOXE heterodimers with SOX2, SOX4, SOX6 and SOX18 are not supported. We propose a structural model where SOXE-specific intramolecular DIM:HMG interactions are allosterically communicated to the HMG of juxtaposed molecules. Collectively, SOXE factors evolved a unique mode to combinatorially regulate their target genes that relies on a multifaceted interplay between the HMG and DIM domains. This property potentially extends further the diversity of target genes and cell-specific functions that are regulated by SOXE proteins.

  4. SOXE transcription factors form selective dimers on non-compact DNA motifs through multifaceted interactions between dimerization and high-mobility group domains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yong-Heng; Jankowski, Aleksander; Cheah, Kathryn S. E.; Prabhakar, Shyam; Jauch, Ralf

    2015-01-01

    The SOXE transcription factors SOX8, SOX9 and SOX10 are master regulators of mammalian development directing sex determination, gliogenesis, pancreas specification and neural crest development. We identified a set of palindromic SOX binding sites specifically enriched in regulatory regions of melanoma cells. SOXE proteins homodimerize on these sequences with high cooperativity. In contrast to other transcription factor dimers, which are typically rigidly spaced, SOXE group proteins can bind cooperatively at a wide range of dimer spacings. Using truncated forms of SOXE proteins, we show that a single dimerization (DIM) domain, that precedes the DNA binding high mobility group (HMG) domain, is sufficient for dimer formation, suggesting that DIM : HMG rather than DIM:DIM interactions mediate the dimerization. All SOXE members can also heterodimerize in this fashion, whereas SOXE heterodimers with SOX2, SOX4, SOX6 and SOX18 are not supported. We propose a structural model where SOXE-specific intramolecular DIM:HMG interactions are allosterically communicated to the HMG of juxtaposed molecules. Collectively, SOXE factors evolved a unique mode to combinatorially regulate their target genes that relies on a multifaceted interplay between the HMG and DIM domains. This property potentially extends further the diversity of target genes and cell-specific functions that are regulated by SOXE proteins. PMID:26013289

  5. Structure and Inhibitor Specificity of L,D-Transpeptidase (LdtMt2) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Antibiotic Resistance: Calcium Binding Promotes Dimer Formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gokulan, Kuppan; Khare, Sangeeta; Cerniglia, Carl E; Foley, Steven L; Varughese, Kottayil I

    2018-03-09

    The final step of peptidoglycan (PG) synthesis in all bacteria is the formation of cross-linkage between PG-stems. The cross-linking between amino acids in different PG chains gives the peptidoglycan cell wall a 3-dimensional structure and adds strength and rigidity to it. There are two distinct types of cross-linkages in bacterial cell walls. D,D-transpeptidase (D,D-TPs) generate the classical 4➔3 cross-linkages and the L,D-transpeptidase (L,D-TPs) generate the 3➔3 non-classical peptide cross-linkages. The present study is aimed at understanding the nature of drug resistance associated with L,D-TP and gaining insights for designing novel antibiotics against multi-drug resistant bacteria. Penicillin and cephalosporin classes of β-lactams cannot inhibit L,D-TP function; however, carbapenems inactivate its function. We analyzed the structure of L,D-TP of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the apo form and in complex with meropenem and imipenem. The periplasmic region of L,D-TP folds into three domains. The catalytic residues are situated in the C-terminal domain. The acylation reaction occurs between carbapenem antibiotics and the catalytic Cys-354 forming a covalent complex. This adduct formation mimics the acylation of L,D-TP with the donor PG-stem. A novel aspect of this study is that in the crystal structures of the apo and the carbapenem complexes, the N-terminal domain has a muropeptide unit non-covalently bound to it. Another interesting observation is that the calcium complex crystallized as a dimer through head and tail interactions between the monomers.

  6. Asymmetric monometallic nanorod nanoparticle dimer and related compositions and methods

    KAUST Repository

    Han, Yu

    2016-03-31

    The fabrication of asymmetric monometallic nanocrystals with novel properties for plasmonics, nanophotonics and nanoelectronics. Asymmetric monometallic plasmonic nanocrystals are of both fundamental synthetic challenge and practical significance. In an example, a thiol-ligand mediated growth strategy that enables the synthesis of unprecedented Au Nanorod-Au Nanoparticle (AuNR-AuNP) dimers from pre-synthesized AuNR seeds. Using high-resolution electron microscopy and tomography, crystal structure and three-dimensional morphology of the dimer, as well as the growth pathway of the AuNP on the AuNR seed, was investigated for this example. The dimer exhibits an extraordinary broadband optical extinction spectrum spanning the UV, visible, and near infrared regions (300 - 1300 nm). This unexpected property makes the AuNR-AuNP dimer example useful for many nanophotonic applications. In two experiments, the dimer example was tested as a surface- enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate and a solar light harvester for photothermal conversion, in comparison with the mixture of AuNR and AuNP. In the SERS experiment, the dimer example showed an enhancement factor about 10 times higher than that of the mixture, when the excitation wavelength (660 nm) was off the two surface plasmon resonance (SPR) bands of the mixture. In the photothermal conversion experiment under simulated sunlight illumination, the dimer example exhibited an energy conversion efficiency about 1.4 times as high as that of the mixture.

  7. Radiation chemistry of aromatic dimer radical cations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okamoto, Kazumasa; Tagawa, Seiichi

    2009-01-01

    π-π Interactions of aromatic molecules are paid attention much in many fields, especially biology, chemistry, and applied physics, represented as protein, DNA, electron donor-accepter complexes, charge transfers, and self assembly molecules. Aromatic molecules including benzene rings are the simplest case to study the π-π interactions. To interpret the charge resonance (CR) structure in the dimer radical cations, spectroscopic and ESR methods have been carried out. The spectroscopic study on the dimer radical ion of molecules with two chromophores would be profitable to identify the electronic and configurational properties. In this article, dynamics of the dimer radical cation of benzenes, polystyrenes, and resist polymers is described on the basis of direct observation of CR band by the nanosecond pulse radiolysis and low temperature γ-radiolysis methods. (author)

  8. Analysis of hepatitis C virus RNA dimerization and core–RNA interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanyi-Nagy, Roland; Kanevsky, Igor; Gabus, Caroline; Lavergne, Jean-Pierre; Ficheux, Damien; Penin, François; Fossé, Philippe; Darlix, Jean-Luc

    2006-01-01

    The core protein of hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been shown previously to act as a potent nucleic acid chaperone in vitro, promoting the dimerization of the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) of the HCV genomic RNA, a process probably mediated by a small, highly conserved palindromic RNA motif, named DLS (dimer linkage sequence) [G. Cristofari, R. Ivanyi-Nagy, C. Gabus, S. Boulant, J. P. Lavergne, F. Penin and J. L. Darlix (2004) Nucleic Acids Res., 32, 2623–2631]. To investigate in depth HCV RNA dimerization, we generated a series of point mutations in the DLS region. We find that both the plus-strand 3′-UTR and the complementary minus-strand RNA can dimerize in the presence of core protein, while mutations in the DLS (among them a single point mutation that abolished RNA replication in a HCV subgenomic replicon system) completely abrogate dimerization. Structural probing of plus- and minus-strand RNAs, in their monomeric and dimeric forms, indicate that the DLS is the major if not the sole determinant of UTR RNA dimerization. Furthermore, the N-terminal basic amino acid clusters of core protein were found to be sufficient to induce dimerization, suggesting that they retain full RNA chaperone activity. These findings may have important consequences for understanding the HCV replicative cycle and the genetic variability of the virus. PMID:16707664

  9. Analysis of hepatitis C virus RNA dimerization and core-RNA interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanyi-Nagy, Roland; Kanevsky, Igor; Gabus, Caroline; Lavergne, Jean-Pierre; Ficheux, Damien; Penin, François; Fossé, Philippe; Darlix, Jean-Luc

    2006-01-01

    The core protein of hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been shown previously to act as a potent nucleic acid chaperone in vitro, promoting the dimerization of the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of the HCV genomic RNA, a process probably mediated by a small, highly conserved palindromic RNA motif, named DLS (dimer linkage sequence) [G. Cristofari, R. Ivanyi-Nagy, C. Gabus, S. Boulant, J. P. Lavergne, F. Penin and J. L. Darlix (2004) Nucleic Acids Res., 32, 2623-2631]. To investigate in depth HCV RNA dimerization, we generated a series of point mutations in the DLS region. We find that both the plus-strand 3'-UTR and the complementary minus-strand RNA can dimerize in the presence of core protein, while mutations in the DLS (among them a single point mutation that abolished RNA replication in a HCV subgenomic replicon system) completely abrogate dimerization. Structural probing of plus- and minus-strand RNAs, in their monomeric and dimeric forms, indicate that the DLS is the major if not the sole determinant of UTR RNA dimerization. Furthermore, the N-terminal basic amino acid clusters of core protein were found to be sufficient to induce dimerization, suggesting that they retain full RNA chaperone activity. These findings may have important consequences for understanding the HCV replicative cycle and the genetic variability of the virus.

  10. Myristoylation drives dimerization of matrix protein from mouse mammary tumor virus

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Doležal, Michal; Zábranský, Aleš; Dostál, Jiří; Vaněk, O.; Brynda, Jiří; Lepšík, Martin; Hadravová, Romana; Pichová, Iva

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 13, Jan 5 (2016), č. článku 2. ISSN 1742-4690 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LO1302; GA MŠk(CZ) LO1304; GA ČR GBP208/12/G016 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : dimerization * matrix protein * MMTV * molecular dynamics * mouse mammary tumor virus * myristoylation Subject RIV: CE - Biochemistry Impact factor: 3.867, year: 2016 http://retrovirology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12977-015-0235-8

  11. Magnetic and superconducting competition within the Hubbard dimer. Exact solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matlak, M.; Slomska, T.; Grabiec, B.

    2005-01-01

    We express the Hubbard dimer Hamiltonian H d =Σ 16 α=1 E α vertical stroke E α right angle left angle E α vertical stroke in the second quantization with the use of the Hubbard and spin operators. We consider the case of positive and negative U. We decompose the resulting Hamiltonian into several parts collecting all the terms belonging to the same energy level. Such a decomposition visualizes explicitly all intrinsic interactions competing together and deeply hidden in the original form of the dimer Hamiltonian. Among them are competitive ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions. There are also hopping terms present which describe Cooper pairs hopping between sites 1 and 2 with positive and negative coupling constants (similar as in Kulik-Pedan, Penson-Kolb models). We show that the competition between intrinsic interactions strongly depends on the model parameters and the averaged occupation number of electrons n element of [0, 4] resulting in different regimes of the model (as e.g. t-J model regime, etc.). (copyright 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  12. Quantum dissipative dynamics and decoherence of dimers on helium droplets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schlesinger, Martin

    2011-01-01

    In this thesis, quantum dynamical simulations are performed in order to describe the vibrational motion of diatomic molecules in a highly quantum environment, so-called helium droplets. We aim to reproduce and explain experimental findings which were obtained from dimers on helium droplets. Nanometer-sized helium droplets contain several thousands of 4 He atoms. They serve as a host for embedded atoms or molecules and provide an ultracold ''refrigerator'' for them. Spectroscopy of molecules in or on these droplets reveals information on both the molecule and the helium environment. The droplets are known to be in the superfluid He II phase. Superfluidity in nanoscale systems is a steadily growing field of research. Spectra obtained from full quantum simulations for the unperturbed dimer show deviations from measurements with dimers on helium droplets. These deviations result from the influence of the helium environment on the dimer dynamics. In this work, a well-established quantum optical master equation is used in order to describe the dimer dynamics effectively. The master equation allows to describe damping fully quantum mechanically. By employing that equation in the quantum dynamical simulation, one can study the role of dissipation and decoherence in dimers on helium droplets. The effective description allows to explain experiments with Rb 2 dimers on helium droplets. Here, we identify vibrational damping and associated decoherence as the main explanation for the experimental results. The relation between decoherence and dissipation in Morse-like systems at zero temperature is studied in more detail. The dissipative model is also used to investigate experiments with K 2 dimers on helium droplets. However, by comparing numerical simulations with experimental data, one finds that further mechanisms are active. Here, a good agreement is obtained through accounting for rapid desorption of dimers. We find that decoherence occurs in the electronic manifold of the

  13. Photon Propagation through Linearly Active Dimers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Delfino Huerta Morales

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available We provide an analytic propagator for non-Hermitian dimers showing linear gain or losses in the quantum regime. In particular, we focus on experimentally feasible realizations of the PT -symmetric dimer and provide their mean photon number and second order two-point correlation. We study the propagation of vacuum, single photon spatially-separable, and two-photon spatially-entangled states. We show that each configuration produces a particular signature that might signal their possible uses as photon switches, semi-classical intensity-tunable sources, or spatially entangled sources to mention a few possible applications.

  14. -CH2- lengthening of the internucleotide linkage in the ApA dimer can improve its conformational compatibility with its natural polynucleotide counterpart

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanu, J.; Barvík, I.; Ruszová-Chmelová, K.; ŠtÆpánek, J.; Turpin, P.-Y.; Bok, J.; Rosenberg, I.; Petrová-Endová, M.

    2001-01-01

    The complete family of ApA phosphonate analogues with the internucleotide linkage elongated by insertion of a -CH2- group was prepared and the hybridisation and structural properties of its members in interaction with polyuridylic acid were investigated using an original 2D Raman approach. Except for the conformationally restricted ACHpA(2′3′endo-5′) modification, all of the isopolar, non-isosteric analogues form triplex-like complexes with poly(rU) at room temperature, in which two polymer strands are bound by Watson–Crick and Hoogsteen bonds to a central pseudostrand consisting of a ‘chain’ of A-dimers. For all of these dimers, the overall conformation of the triplexes was found to be similar according to their extracted Raman spectra. A simple semi-empirical model was introduced to explain the observed dependency of the efficiency of triplex formation on the adenine concentration. Apparently, for most of the modifications studied, the creation of a stable complex at room temperature requires the formation of a central pseudostrand, consisting of several adenine dimers. Molecular dynamics calculations were finally performed to interpret the differences in ‘cooperative’ behaviour between the different dimers studied. The results indicate that the exceptional properties of the ApCH2A(3′-5′) dimer could be caused by the 3D conformational compatibility of this modified linkage with the second (Hoogsteen) poly(rU) strand. PMID:11812852

  15. Electron-nuclear corellations for photoinduced dynamics in molecular dimers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilin, Dmitri S.; Pereversev, Yuryi V.; Prezhdo, Oleg V.

    2003-03-01

    Ultrafast photoinduced dynamics of electronic excitation in molecular dimers is drastically affected by dynamic reorganization of of inter- and intra- molecular nuclear configuration modelled by quantized nuclear degree of freedom [1]. The dynamics of the electronic population and nuclear coherence is analyzed with help of both numerical solution of the chain of coupled differential equations for mean coordinate, population inversion, electronic-vibrational correlation etc.[2] and by propagating the Gaussian wavepackets in relevant adiabatic potentials. Intriguing results were obtained in the approximation of small energy difference and small change of nuclear equilibrium configuration for excited electronic states. In the limiting case of resonance between electronic states energy difference and frequency of the nuclear mode these results have been justified by comparison to exactly solvable Jaynes-Cummings model. It has been found that the photoinduced processes in dimer are arranged according to their time scales:(i) fast scale of nuclear motion,(ii) intermediate scale of dynamical redistribution of electronic population between excited states as well as growth and dynamics of electronic -nuclear correlation,(iii) slow scale of electronic population approaching to the quasiequilibrium distribution, decay of electronic-nuclear correlation, and diminishing the amplitude of mean coordinate oscillations, accompanied by essential growth of the nuclear coordinate dispersion associated with the overall nuclear wavepacket width. Demonstrated quantum-relaxational features of photoinduced vibronic dinamical processess in molecular dimers are obtained by simple method, applicable to large biological systems with many degrees of freedom. [1] J. A. Cina, D. S. Kilin, T. S. Humble, J. Chem. Phys. (2003) in press. [2] O. V. Prezhdo, J. Chem. Phys. 117, 2995 (2002).

  16. Low vitamin D and the risk of developing chronic widespread pain: results from the European male ageing study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCabe, Paul S; Pye, Stephen R; Beth, John Mc; Lee, David M; Tajar, Abdelouahid; Bartfai, Gyorgy; Boonen, Steven; Bouillon, Roger; Casanueva, Felipe; Finn, Joseph D; Forti, Gianni; Giwercman, Aleksander; Huhtaniemi, Ilpo T; Kula, Krzysztof; Pendleton, Neil; Punab, Margus; Vanderschueren, Dirk; Wu, Frederick C; O'Neill, Terence W

    2016-01-16

    The association between low levels of vitamin D and the occurrence of chronic widespread pain (CWP) remains unclear. The aim of our analysis was to determine the relationship between low vitamin D levels and the risk of developing CWP in a population sample of middle age and elderly men. Three thousand three hundred sixty nine men aged 40-79 were recruited from 8 European centres for a longitudinal study of male ageing, the European Male Ageing Study. At baseline participants underwent assessment of lifestyle, health factors, physical characteristics and gave a fasting blood sample. The occurrence of pain was assessed at baseline and follow up (a mean of 4.3 years later) by shading painful sites on a body manikin. The presence of CWP was determined using the ACR criteria for fibromyalgia. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-(OH) D) was assessed by radioimmunoassay. Logistic regression was used to determine the relationship between baseline vitamin D levels and the new occurrence of CWP. Two thousand three hundred thirteen men, mean age 58.8 years (SD = 10.6), had complete pain and vitamin data available and contributed to this analysis. 151 (6.5%) developed new CWP at follow up and 577 (24.9%) were pain free at both time points, the comparator group. After adjustment for age and centre, physical performance and number of comorbidities, compared to those in upper quintile of 25-(OH) D ( ≥36.3 ng/mL), those in the lowest quintile (BMI (OR = 1.67; 95% CI = 0.93-3.02) or depression (OR = 1.77; 95% CI = 0.98-3.21), however rendered the association non-significant. Low vitamin D is linked with the new occurrence of CWP, although this may be explained by underlying adverse health factors, particularly obesity and depression.

  17. Investigation of the antiferromagnetic - ferromagnetic dimer chain compound BaCu{sub 2}V{sub 2}O{sub 8} at zero and finite temperatures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klyushina, Ekaterina; Lake, Bella [Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin fuer Materialien und Energie (Germany); Institut fuer Festkoerperphysik, Technische Universitaet Berlin (Germany); Tiegel, Alexander; Manmana, Salvatore [Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen (Germany); Islam, Nazmul; Klemke, Bastian [Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin fuer Materialien und Energie (Germany); Park, Jitae [Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum, TU Muenchen, Garching (Germany); Honecker, Andreas [Universite de Cergy-Pontoise (France)

    2016-07-01

    Highly dimerized quantum magnets have attracted a great deal of attention in the recently due to the unconventional temperature behavior of their magnetic excitations. Here we present our investigations of the highly dimerized antiferromagnet-ferromagnetic 1D chain BaCu{sub 2}V{sub 2}O{sub 8} both at base and at finite temperatures. The single crystal inelastic neutron scattering measurements at base temperature reveal that there are two excitation branches which disperse along the L direction over the energy range of 36-46 meV. The comparison with DMRG simulations indicates that the antiferromagnetic dimers are coupled ferromagnetically along the c axis. The line shape of the excitations at the dispersion minima was found to become asymmetry with increasing temperature. Thus unconventional thermal behavior also exists in dimer compounds with ferromagnetic interdimer coupling.

  18. Mutability of bacteriophage M13 by ultraviolet light: role of pyrimidine dimers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaaper, R.M.; Glickman, B.W.

    1982-01-01

    The role of pyrimidine dimers in mutagenesis by ultraviolet light was examined by measuring the UV-induced reversion of six different bacteriophage M13 amber mutants for which the neighboring DNA sequences are known. The mutational response at amber (TAG) codons preceded by a guanine or adenine (where no pyrimidine dimer can be formed) were compared with those preceded by thymine or cytosine (where dimer formation is possible). Equivalent levels of UV-induced mutagenesis were observed at both kinds of sites. This observation demonstrates that there is no requirement for a pyrimidine dimer directly at the site of UV-induced mutation in this single-stranded DNA phage. UV irradiation of the phage was also performed in the presence of Ag + ions, which specifically sensitize the DNA to dimer formation. The two methods of irradiation, when compared at equal survival levels (and presumably equal dimer frequencies), produced equivalent frequencies of reversion of the amber phage. We believe these results indicate that while the presence of pyrimidine dimers may be a prerequisite for UV mutagenesis, the actual mutagenic event can occur at a site some distance removed from a dimer. (orig.)

  19. Singlet fission in pentacene dimers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zirzlmeier, Johannes; Lehnherr, Dan; Coto, Pedro B.; Chernick, Erin T.; Casillas, Rubén; Basel, Bettina S.; Thoss, Michael; Tykwinski, Rik R.; Guldi, Dirk M.

    2015-01-01

    Singlet fission (SF) has the potential to supersede the traditional solar energy conversion scheme by means of boosting the photon-to-current conversion efficiencies beyond the 30% Shockley–Queisser limit. Here, we show unambiguous and compelling evidence for unprecedented intramolecular SF within regioisomeric pentacene dimers in room-temperature solutions, with observed triplet quantum yields reaching as high as 156 ± 5%. Whereas previous studies have shown that the collision of a photoexcited chromophore with a ground-state chromophore can give rise to SF, here we demonstrate that the proximity and sufficient coupling through bond or space in pentacene dimers is enough to induce intramolecular SF where two triplets are generated on one molecule. PMID:25858954

  20. Optical properties of electrically connected plasmonic nanoantenna dimer arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmerman, Darin T.; Borst, Benjamin D.; Carrick, Cassandra J.; Lent, Joseph M.; Wambold, Raymond A.; Weisel, Gary J.; Willis, Brian G.

    2018-02-01

    We fabricate electrically connected gold nanoantenna arrays of homodimers and heterodimers on silica substrates and present a systematic study of their optical properties. Electrically connected arrays of plasmonic nanoantennas make possible the realization of novel photonic devices, including optical sensors and rectifiers. Although the plasmonic response of unconnected arrays has been studied extensively, the present study shows that the inclusion of nanowire connections modifies the device response significantly. After presenting experimental measurements of optical extinction for unconnected dimer arrays, we compare these to measurements of dimers that are interconnected by gold nanowire "busbars." The connected devices show the familiar dipole response associated with the unconnected dimers but also show a second localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) that we refer to as the "coupled-busbar mode." Our experimental study also demonstrates that the placement of the nanowire along the antenna modifies the LSPR. Using finite-difference time-domain simulations, we confirm the experimental results and investigate the variation of dimer gap and spacing. Changing the dimer gap in connected devices has a significantly smaller effect on the dipole response than it does in unconnected devices. On the other hand, both LSPR modes respond strongly to changing the spacing between devices in the direction along the interconnecting wires. We also give results for the variation of E-field strength in the dimer gap, which will be important for any working sensor or rectenna device.

  1. Simple and Environmentally Friendly Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Alkyl Ketene Dimer Coated MALDI Concentration Plates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romson, Joakim; Jacksén, Johan; Emmer, Åsa

    2017-08-01

    Here we present a method to manufacture peptide-concentrating MALDI-plates with alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) as a new superhydrophobic coating. The fabrication of the hydrophobic plates included application of AKD by airbrush, and negative contact printing to generate the concentration sites. Deposited sample droplets were contained within the prestructured sites, and self-adjusted onto the site if slightly misplaced. No AKD contamination was observed, and the plates could easily be cleaned and regenerated. The S/N values for four model peptides was about twice as high compared with a standard steel plate and a commercial concentration plate. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

  2. Simple and Environmentally Friendly Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Alkyl Ketene Dimer Coated MALDI Concentration Plates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romson, Joakim; Jacksén, Johan; Emmer, Åsa

    2017-08-01

    Here we present a method to manufacture peptide-concentrating MALDI-plates with alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) as a new superhydrophobic coating. The fabrication of the hydrophobic plates included application of AKD by airbrush, and negative contact printing to generate the concentration sites. Deposited sample droplets were contained within the prestructured sites, and self-adjusted onto the site if slightly misplaced. No AKD contamination was observed, and the plates could easily be cleaned and regenerated. The S/N values for four model peptides was about twice as high compared with a standard steel plate and a commercial concentration plate.

  3. Aberrant phenotypes of transgenic mice expressing dimeric human erythropoietin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yun Seong-Jo

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Dimeric human erythropoietin (dHuEPO peptides are reported to exhibit significantly higher biological activity than the monomeric form of recombinant EPO. The objective of this study was to produce transgenic (tg mice expressing dHuEPO and to investigate the characteristics of these mice. Methods A dHuEPO-expressing vector under the control of the goat beta-casein promoter, which produced a dimer of human EPO molecules linked by a 2-amino acid peptide linker (Asp-Ile, was constructed and injected into 1-cell fertilized embryos by microinjection. Mice were screened using genomic DNA samples obtained from tail biopsies. Blood samples were obtained by heart puncture using heparinized tubes, and hematologic parameters were assessed. Using the microarray analysis tool, we analyzed differences in gene expression in the spleens of tg and control mice. Results A high rate of spontaneous abortion or death of the offspring was observed in the recipients of dHuEPO embryos. We obtained 3 founder lines (#4, #11, and #47 of tg mice expressing the dHuEPO gene. However, only one founder line showed stable germline integration and transmission, subsequently establishing the only transgenic line (#11. We obtained 2 F1 mice and 3 F2 mice from line #11. The dHuEPO protein could not be obtained because of repeated spontaneous abortions in the tg mice. Tg mice exhibited symptoms such as short lifespan and abnormal blood composition. The red blood cell count, white blood cell count, and hematocrit levels in the tg mice were remarkably higher than those in the control mice. The spleens of the tg mice (F1 and F2 females were 11- and -21-fold larger than those of the control mice. Microarray analysis revealed 2,672 spleen-derived candidate genes; more genes were downregulated than upregulated (849/764. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR were used for validating the results of the microarray

  4. D-galactose-induced brain ageing model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sadigh-Eteghad, Saeed; Majdi, Alireza; McCann, Sarah K.

    2017-01-01

    Animal models are commonly used in brain ageing research. Amongst these, models where rodents are exposed to d-galactose are held to recapitulate a number of features of ageing including neurobehavioral and neurochemical changes. However, results from animal studies are often inconsistent...

  5. Low-valent low-coordinated manganese(I) ion dimer: a temperature dependent W-band EPR study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sorace, Lorenzo; Golze, Christian; Gatteschi, Dante; Bencini, Alessandro; Roesky, Herbert W; Chai, Jianfang; Stückl, A Claudia

    2006-01-09

    W-Band EPR spectra of [[HC(CMeNAr)(2)]Mn](2) (Ar = 2,6-(i)Pr(2)C(6)H(3)) have been measured at different temperatures. The spectra show a behavior which is typical for an antiferromagnetically coupled dimer with excited states populating upon increasing temperature. By following the intensity variation of the different features of the spectra with temperature, we attributed different groups of resonances to the S = 1, 2, and 3 states of the dimer. Their corresponding spin Hamiltonian parameters were derived from simulations. The zero-field-splitting parameters measured in this way were D(S=1) = 1.57 cm(-1) and E(S=1) = 0.064 cm(-1), D(S=2) = 0.266 cm(-1) and E(S=2) = 0.0045 cm(-1), and D(S=3) = 0.075 cm(-1) and E(S=3) = 0. On the basis of the molecular structure of the system, we could estimate that zero-field splitting (ZFS) is the result of anisotropic exchange and single-ion anisotropic contributions of similar magnitude (|D| approximately 0.2 cm(-1)). These results allow a deeper insight into the electronic structure of the Mn(I) centers in low-coordination environments, further supporting the electronic structure of Mn(I) to be 4s(1)3d(5), as previously indicated by DFT calculations.

  6. Workflow of CAD / CAM Scoliosis Brace Adjustment in Preparation Using 3D Printing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiss, Hans-Rudolf; Tournavitis, Nicos; Nan, Xiaofeng; Borysov, Maksym; Paul, Lothar

    2017-01-01

    High correction bracing is the most effective conservative treatment for patients with scoliosis during growth. Still today braces for the treatment of scoliosis are made by casting patients while computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacturing (CAM) is available with all possibilities to standardize pattern specific brace treatment and improve wearing comfort. CAD / CAM brace production mainly relies on carving a polyurethane foam model which is the basis for vacuuming a polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) brace. Purpose of this short communication is to describe the workflow currently used and to outline future requirements with respect to 3D printing technology. Description of the steps of virtual brace adjustment as available today are content of this paper as well as an outline of the great potential there is for the future 3D printing technology. For 3D printing of scoliosis braces it is necessary to establish easy to use software plug-ins in order to allow adding 3D printing technology to the current workflow of virtual CAD / CAM brace adjustment. Textures and structures can be added to the brace models at certain well defined locations offering the potential of more wearing comfort without losing in-brace correction. Advances have to be made in the field of CAD / CAM software tools with respect to design and generation of individually structured brace models based on currently well established and standardized scoliosis brace libraries.

  7. Analytical study of avian reticuloendotheliosis virus dimeric RNA generated in vivo and in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darlix, J L; Gabus, C; Allain, B

    1992-12-01

    The retroviral genome consists of two identical RNA molecules associated at their 5' ends by a stable structure called the dimer linkage structure. The dimer linkage structure, while maintaining the dimer state of the retroviral genome, might also be involved in packaging and reverse transcription, as well as recombination during proviral DNA synthesis. To study the dimer structure of the retroviral genome and the mechanism of dimerization, we analyzed features of the dimeric genome of reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) type A and identified elements required for its dimerization. Here we report that the REV dimeric genome extracted from virions and infected cells, as well as that synthesized in vitro, is more resistant to heat denaturation than avian sarcoma and leukemia virus, murine leukemia virus, or human immunodeficiency virus type 1 dimeric RNA. The minimal domain required to form a stable REV RNA dimer in vitro was found to map between positions 268 and 452 (KpnI and SalI sites), thus corresponding to the E encapsidation sequence (J. E. Embretson and H. M. Temin, J. Virol. 61:2675-2683, 1987). In addition, both the 5' and 3' halves of E are necessary in cis for RNA dimerization and the extent of RNA dimerization is influenced by viral sequences flanking E. Rapid and efficient dimerization of REV RNA containing gag sequences in addition to the E sequences and annealing of replication primer tRNA(Pro) to the primer-binding site necessitate the nucleocapsid protein.

  8. Vectorial transcytosis of dimeric IgA by the Calu-3 human lung epithelial cell line: upregulation by IFN-gamma

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loman, S.; Radl, J.; Jansen, H. M.; Out, T. A.; Lutter, R.

    1997-01-01

    We have developed an in vitro airway epithelial cell model for dimeric immunoglobulin (Ig) A (dIgA) transcytosis that allows the assessment of polymeric Ig receptor (pIgR) gene expression and actual dIgA transport. Tight monolayers of human lung-derived Calu-3 adenocarcinoma cells grown on permeable

  9. Dimerization of human immunodeficiency virus (type 1) RNA: stimulation by cations and possible mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marquet, R; Baudin, F; Gabus, C; Darlix, J L; Mougel, M; Ehresmann, C; Ehresmann, B

    1991-05-11

    The retroviral genome consists of two identical RNA molecules joined close to their 5' ends by the dimer linkage structure. Recent findings indicated that retroviral RNA dimerization and encapsidation are probably related events during virion assembly. We studied the cation-induced dimerization of HIV-1 RNA and results indicate that all in vitro generated HIV-1 RNAs containing a 100 nucleotide domain downstream from the 5' splice site are able to dimerize. RNA dimerization depends on the concentration of RNA, mono- and multivalent cations, the size of the monovalent cation, temperature, and pH. Up to 75% of HIV-1 RNA is dimeric in the presence of spermidine. HIV-1 RNA dimer is fairly resistant to denaturing agents and unaffected by intercalating drugs. Antisense HIV-1 RNA does not dimerize but heterodimers can be formed between HIV-1 RNA and either MoMuLV or RSV RNA. Therefore retroviral RNA dimerization probably does not simply proceed through mechanisms involving Watson-Crick base-pairing. Neither adenine and cytosine protonation, nor quartets containing only guanines appear to determine the stability of the HIV-1 RNA dimer, while quartets involving both adenine(s) and guanine(s) could account for our results. A consensus sequence PuGGAPuA found in the putative dimerization-encapsidation region of all retroviral genomes examined may participate in the dimerization process.

  10. A Model for Dimerization of the SOX Group E Transcription Factor Family.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah N Ramsook

    Full Text Available Group E members of the SOX transcription factor family include SOX8, SOX9, and SOX10. Preceding the high mobility group (HMG domain in each of these proteins is a thirty-eight amino acid region that supports the formation of dimers on promoters containing tandemly inverted sites. The purpose of this study was to obtain new structural insights into how the dimerization region functions with the HMG domain. From a mutagenic scan of the dimerization region, the most essential amino acids of the dimerization region were clustered on the hydrophobic face of a single, predicted amphipathic helix. Consistent with our hypothesis that the dimerization region directly contacts the HMG domain, a peptide corresponding to the dimerization region bound a preassembled HMG-DNA complex. Sequence conservation among Group E members served as a basis to identify two surface exposed amino acids in the HMG domain of SOX9 that were necessary for dimerization. These data were combined to make a molecular model that places the dimerization region of one SOX9 protein onto the HMG domain of another SOX9 protein situated at the opposing site of a tandem promoter. The model provides a detailed foundation for assessing the impact of mutations on SOX Group E transcription factors.

  11. Excitonic Behavior of Rhodamine Dimers: A Single-Molecule Study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hernando Campos, J.; van der Schaaf, Martijn; van Dijk, E.M.H.P.; Sauer, Markus; Garcia Parajo, M.F.; van Hulst, N.F.

    2003-01-01

    The optical behavior of a dimer of tetramethylrhodamine-5-isothiocyanate has been investigated by means of single-molecule measurements. Bulk absorption and fluorescence spectra show the existence of two populations of the dimer molecule that exhibit distinct excitonic interactions (strong and weak

  12. Photoionization of helium dimers; Photoionisation von Heliumdimeren

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Havermeier, Tilo

    2010-06-09

    The helium dimer is one of the most weakly bound systems in the universe. This makes it an interesting quantum mechanical object for investigation. These Van der Waals Clusters can be produced in an expansion of a cryogenic gas jet through a small nozzle into vacuum. In the present experiment we examine the interaction of He dimers with synchrotron radiation at an energy range from 64 to 78 eV. We observed different pathways leading to single ionization of both He atoms of the dimer compound. This two close standing ions begin now to dissociate in cause of their coulomb potential. All charged fragments were detected in coincidence with a COLTRIMS system. Especially Interatomic Coulombic Decay (ICD) and the two step process (TS1) were clearly identified. Furthermore a distribution of the internuclear distance was obtained from the measured Kinetic Energy Release (KER). (orig.)

  13. Exact Solution of a Generalized Nonlinear Schrodinger Equation Dimer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Peter Leth; Maniadis, P.; Tsironis, G.P.

    1998-01-01

    We present exact solutions for a nonlinear dimer system defined throught a discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equation that contains also an integrable Ablowitz-Ladik term. The solutions are obtained throught a transformation that maps the dimer into a double Sine-Gordon like ordinary nonlinear...... differential equation....

  14. Dimer formation enhances structural differences between amyloid β-protein (1-40 and (1-42: an explicit-solvent molecular dynamics study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bogdan Barz

    Full Text Available Amyloid β-protein (Aβ is central to the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. A 5% difference in the primary structure of the two predominant alloforms, Aβ(1-40 and Aβ(1-42, results in distinct assembly pathways and toxicity properties. Discrete molecular dynamics (DMD studies of Aβ(1-40 and Aβ(1-42 assembly resulted in alloform-specific oligomer size distributions consistent with experimental findings. Here, a large ensemble of DMD-derived Aβ(1-40 and Aβ(1-42 monomers and dimers was subjected to fully atomistic molecular dynamics (MD simulations using the OPLS-AA force field combined with two water models, SPCE and TIP3P. The resulting all-atom conformations were slightly larger, less compact, had similar turn and lower β-strand propensities than those predicted by DMD. Fully atomistic Aβ(1-40 and Aβ(1-42 monomers populated qualitatively similar free energy landscapes. In contrast, the free energy landscape of Aβ(1-42 dimers indicated a larger conformational variability in comparison to that of Aβ(1-40 dimers. Aβ(1-42 dimers were characterized by an increased flexibility in the N-terminal region D1-R5 and a larger solvent exposure of charged amino acids relative to Aβ(1-40 dimers. Of the three positively charged amino acids, R5 was the most and K16 the least involved in salt bridge formation. This result was independent of the water model, alloform, and assembly state. Overall, salt bridge propensities increased upon dimer formation. An exception was the salt bridge propensity of K28, which decreased upon formation of Aβ(1-42 dimers and was significantly lower than in Aβ(1-40 dimers. The potential relevance of the three positively charged amino acids in mediating the Aβ oligomer toxicity is discussed in the light of available experimental data.

  15. Quantum-statistical mechanics of an atom-dimer mixture: Lee-Yang cluster expansion approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohkuma, Takahiro; Ueda, Masahito

    2006-01-01

    We use the Lee-Yang cluster expansion method to study quantum-statistical properties of a mixture of interconvertible atoms and dimers, where the dimers form in a two-body bound state of the atoms. We point out an infinite series of cluster diagrams whose summation leads to the Bose-Einstein condensation of the dimers below a critical temperature. Our theory captures some important features of a cold atom-dimer mixture such as interconversion of atoms and dimers and properties of the mixture at the unitarity limit

  16. Formation of thymine containing dimers in skin exposed to ultraviolet radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, B E [Dundee Univ. (UK)

    1978-01-01

    Nuclear DNA appears to be the major molecular target for the inhibitory, mutagenic and lethal effects of ultraviolet radiation on cells in culture. Cyclobutyl dimers between adjacent pyrimidine bases, the major photochemical lesions for these effects in prokaryotes, also play a part in UVR effects on eukaryotes cells. Pyrimidine dimers have been isolated from in vivo UV-irradiated guinea pig and mouse skin. The wavelength dependence for dimer induction is similar to that for acute skin reactions but no direct causal relationship has been established. Sunlight UVR may induce dimers in skin DNA. Excision of dimers from mouse skin in vivo is deficient as it is for most rodent cells in culture; human cell excision is efficient and the difficulties in interpretation of UV-carcinogenesis results with mice in terms of human skin cancer are therefore increased.

  17. Artificial light harvesting by dimerized Möbius ring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Lei; Gong, Z. R.; Tao, Ming-Jie; Ai, Qing

    2018-04-01

    We theoretically study artificial light harvesting by a Möbius ring. When the donors in the ring are dimerized, the energies of the donor ring are split into two subbands. Because of the nontrivial Möbius boundary condition, both the photon and acceptor are coupled to all collective-excitation modes in the donor ring. Therefore, the quantum dynamics in the light harvesting is subtly influenced by dimerization in the Möbius ring. It is discovered that energy transfer is more efficient in a dimerized ring than that in an equally spaced ring. This discovery is also confirmed by a calculation with the perturbation theory, which is equivalent to the Wigner-Weisskopf approximation. Our findings may be beneficial to the optimal design of artificial light harvesting.

  18. A high-affinity, dimeric inhibitor of PSD-95 bivalently interacts with PDZ1-2 and protects against ischemic brain damage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bach, Anders*; Clausen, Bettina H; Møller, Magda

    2012-01-01

    Inhibition of the ternary protein complex of the synaptic scaffolding protein postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95), neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), and the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor is a potential strategy for treating ischemic brain damage, but high-affinity inhibitors are ...... of Tat-N-dimer (3 nmol/g) to mice subjected to focal cerebral ischemia reduces infarct volume with 40% and restores motor functions. Thus, Tat-N-dimer is a highly efficacious neuroprotective agent with therapeutic potential in stroke....

  19. Chemical Reaction Equilibrium in Nanoporous Materials: NO Dimerization Reaction in Carbon Slit Nanopores

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Lísal, Martin; Brennan, J.K.; Smith, W.R.

    2006-01-01

    Roč. 124, č. 6 (2006), s. 64712.1-64712.14 ISSN 0021-9606 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA203/05/0725; GA AV ČR(CZ) 1ET400720507; GA AV ČR(CZ) 1ET400720409 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40720504 Keywords : nanopore * NO dimerization * reaction Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 3.166, year: 2006

  20. The induction and repair of cyclobutane thymidine dimers in human skin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roza, L.; Erasmus Univ., Rotterdam; Vermeulen, W.; Schans, G.P. van der; Lohman, P.H.M.

    1987-01-01

    The most important detrimental effect of ultraviolet radiation (UV) on the living cell, so far known, is the induction of damage in the DNA. The major photoproducts induced in DNA by UV-C (200-280 nm) and UV-B (280-315 nm) are the cyclobutane-type pyrimidine dimers, which have been implicated in UV-induced mutagenesis and carcinogenesis. Dimer lesions in DNA of cells may be repaired in the dark by a multi-enzyme process (excision repair), or via a light dependent enzymatic reaction known as photoreactivation (phr) which is specific for pyrimidine dimers. Although phr has been found to occur in a wide range of organisms, studies on the presence of phr in mammalian cells have yielded conflicting results. To investigate repair of pyrimidine dimers in human skin cells irradiated in vivo, a specific and sensitive detection method was developed based on a monoclonal antibody directed against thymidine dimers. Application together with a fluorescent immunostaining permits the direct detection of thymidine dimers in human skin cells. The method is used in studies aimed at a better understanding of the role of these lesions in the process of carcinogenesis. A report is given on the isolation and characterization of the antibodies, and their application in a study on the induction of pyrimidine dimers in human skin and on photorepair in cultured cells. 10 refs.; 2 figs

  1. Effects of Dimerization of Serratia marcescens Endonuclease on Water Dynamics.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Chuanying; Beck, Brian W.; Krause, Kurt; Weksberg, Tiffany E.; Pettitt, Bernard M.

    2007-02-15

    The research described in this product was performed in part in the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a national scientific user facility sponsored by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The dynamics and structure of Serratia marcescens endonuclease and its neighboring solvent are investigated by molecular dynamics (MD). Comparisons are made with structural and biochemical experiments. The dimer form is physiologic and functions more processively than the monomer. We previously found a channel formed by connected clusters of waters from the active site to the dimer interface. Here, we show that dimerization clearly changes correlations in the water structure and dynamics in the active site not seen in the monomer. Our results indicate that water at the active sites of the dimer is less affected compared with bulk solvent than in the monomer where it has much slower characteristic relaxation times. Given that water is a required participant in the reaction, this gives a clear advantage to dimerization in the absence of an apparent ability to use both active sites simultaneously.

  2. Water dimers in the atmosphere III: equilibrium constant from a flexible potential.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scribano, Yohann; Goldman, Nir; Saykally, R J; Leforestier, Claude

    2006-04-27

    We present new results for the water dimer equilibrium constant K(p)(T) in the range 190-390 K, using a flexible potential energy surface fitted to spectroscopical data. The increased numerical complexity due to explicit consideration of the monomer vibrations is handled via an adiabatic (6 + 6)d decoupling between intra- and intermolecular modes. The convergence of the canonical partition function of the dimer is ensured by computing all energy levels up to dissociation for total angular momentum values J = 0-5 and using an extrapolation scheme to higher values. The newly calculated values for K(p)(T) are in very good agreement with available experimental data at room temperature. At higher temperatures, an analysis of the convergence of the partition function reveals that quasi-bound states are likely to contribute to the equilibrium constant. Additional thermodynamical quantities (deltaG, deltaH, deltaS, and C(p)) have also been determined and fit to quadratic expressions a + bT + cT2.

  3. Remarkable nanoconfinement effects on chemical equilibrium manifested in nucleotide dimerization and H-D exchange reactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polak, Micha; Rubinovich, Leonid

    2011-10-06

    Nanoconfinement entropic effects on chemical equilibrium involving a small number of molecules, which we term NCECE, are revealed by two widely diverse types of reactions. Employing statistical-mechanical principles, we show how the NCECE effect stabilizes nucleotide dimerization observed within self-assembled molecular cages. Furthermore, the effect provides the basis for dimerization even under an aqueous environment inside the nanocage. Likewise, the NCECE effect is pertinent to a longstanding issue in astrochemistry, namely the extra deuteration commonly observed for molecules reacting on interstellar dust grain surfaces. The origin of the NCECE effect is elucidated by means of the probability distributions of the reaction extent and related variations in the reactant-product mixing entropy. Theoretical modelling beyond our previous preliminary work highlights the role of the nanospace size in addition to that of the nanosystem size, namely the limited amount of molecules in the reaction mixture. Furthermore, the NCECE effect can depend also on the reaction mechanism, and on deviations from stoichiometry. The NCECE effect, leading to enhanced, greatly variable equilibrium "constants", constitutes a unique physical-chemical phenomenon, distinguished from the usual thermodynamical properties of macroscopically large systems. Being significant particularly for weakly exothermic reactions, the effects should stabilize products in other closed nanoscale structures, and thus can have notable implications for the growing nanotechnological utilization of chemical syntheses conducted within confined nanoreactors.

  4. Quantitative Experimental Determination of Primer-Dimer Formation Risk by Free-Solution Conjugate Electrophoresis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desmarais, Samantha M.; Leitner, Thomas; Barron, Annelise E.

    2012-01-01

    DNA barcodes are short, unique ssDNA primers that “mark” individual biomolecules. To gain better understanding of biophysical parameters constraining primer-dimer formation between primers that incorporate barcode sequences, we have developed a capillary electrophoresis method that utilizes drag-tag-DNA conjugates to quantify dimerization risk between primer-barcode pairs. Results obtained with this unique free-solution conjugate electrophoresis (FSCE) approach are useful as quantitatively precise input data to parameterize computation models of dimerization risk. A set of fluorescently labeled, model primer-barcode conjugates were designed with complementary regions of differing lengths to quantify heterodimerization as a function of temperature. Primer-dimer cases comprised two 30-mer primers, one of which was covalently conjugated to a lab-made, chemically synthesized poly-N-methoxyethylglycine drag-tag, which reduced electrophoretic mobility of ssDNA to distinguish it from ds primer-dimers. The drag-tags also provided a shift in mobility for the dsDNA species, which allowed us to quantitate primer-dimer formation. In the experimental studies, pairs of oligonucleotide primer-barcodes with fully or partially complementary sequences were annealed, and then separated by free-solution conjugate CE at different temperatures, to assess effects on primer-dimer formation. When less than 30 out of 30 basepairs were bonded, dimerization was inversely correlated to temperature. Dimerization occurred when more than 15 consecutive basepairs formed, yet non-consecutive basepairs did not create stable dimers even when 20 out of 30 possible basepairs bonded. The use of free-solution electrophoresis in combination with a peptoid drag-tag and different fluorophores enabled precise separation of short DNA fragments to establish a new mobility shift assay for detection of primer-dimer formation. PMID:22331820

  5. The R35 residue of the influenza A virus NS1 protein has minimal effects on nuclear localization but alters virus replication through disrupting protein dimerization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lalime, Erin N.; Pekosz, Andrew, E-mail: apekosz@jhsph.edu

    2014-06-15

    The influenza A virus NS1 protein has a nuclear localization sequence (NLS) in the amino terminal region. This NLS overlaps sequences that are important for RNA binding as well as protein dimerization. To assess the significance of the NS1 NLS on influenza virus replication, the NLS amino acids were individually mutated to alanines and recombinant viruses encoding these mutations were rescued. Viruses containing NS1 proteins with mutations at R37, R38 and K41 displayed minimal changes in replication or NS1 protein nuclear localization. Recombinant viruses encoding NS1 R35A were not recovered but viruses containing second site mutations at position D39 in addition to the R35A mutation were isolated. The mutations at position 39 were shown to partially restore NS1 protein dimerization but had minimal effects on nuclear localization. These data indicate that the amino acids in the NS1 NLS region play a more important role in protein dimerization compared to nuclear localization. - Highlights: • Mutations were introduced into influenza NS1 NLS1. • NS1 R37A, R38A, K41A viruses had minimal changes in replication and NS1 localization. • Viruses from NS1 R35A rescue all contained additional mutations at D39. • NS1 R35A D39X mutations recover dimerization lost in NS1 R35A mutations. • These results reaffirm the importance of dimerization for NS1 protein function.

  6. The R35 residue of the influenza A virus NS1 protein has minimal effects on nuclear localization but alters virus replication through disrupting protein dimerization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lalime, Erin N.; Pekosz, Andrew

    2014-01-01

    The influenza A virus NS1 protein has a nuclear localization sequence (NLS) in the amino terminal region. This NLS overlaps sequences that are important for RNA binding as well as protein dimerization. To assess the significance of the NS1 NLS on influenza virus replication, the NLS amino acids were individually mutated to alanines and recombinant viruses encoding these mutations were rescued. Viruses containing NS1 proteins with mutations at R37, R38 and K41 displayed minimal changes in replication or NS1 protein nuclear localization. Recombinant viruses encoding NS1 R35A were not recovered but viruses containing second site mutations at position D39 in addition to the R35A mutation were isolated. The mutations at position 39 were shown to partially restore NS1 protein dimerization but had minimal effects on nuclear localization. These data indicate that the amino acids in the NS1 NLS region play a more important role in protein dimerization compared to nuclear localization. - Highlights: • Mutations were introduced into influenza NS1 NLS1. • NS1 R37A, R38A, K41A viruses had minimal changes in replication and NS1 localization. • Viruses from NS1 R35A rescue all contained additional mutations at D39. • NS1 R35A D39X mutations recover dimerization lost in NS1 R35A mutations. • These results reaffirm the importance of dimerization for NS1 protein function

  7. Age-Related Differences in the Effect of Psychological Distress on Mortality: Type D Personality in Younger versus Older Patients with Cardiac Arrhythmias

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johan Denollet

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Mixed findings in biobehavioral research on heart disease may partly be attributed to age-related differences in the prognostic value of psychological distress. This study sought to test the hypothesis that Type D (distressed personality contributes to an increased mortality risk following implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD treatment in younger patients but not in older patients. Methods. The Type D Scale (DS14 was used to assess general psychological distress in 455 younger (≤70 y,. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT, but not Type D personality, was associated with increased mortality in older patients. Among younger patients, however, Type D personality was associated with an adjusted hazard ratio = 1.91 (95% CI 1.09–3.34 and 2.26 (95% CI 1.16–4.41 for all-cause and cardiac mortality; other predictors were increasing age, CRT, appropriate shocks, ACE-inhibitors, and smoking. Conclusion. Type D personality was independently associated with all-cause and cardiac mortality in younger ICD patients but not in older patients. Cardiovascular research needs to further explore age-related differences in psychosocial risk.

  8. Age adjustment in ecological studies: using a study on arsenic ingestion and bladder cancer as an example.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, How-Ran

    2011-10-20

    Despite its limitations, ecological study design is widely applied in epidemiology. In most cases, adjustment for age is necessary, but different methods may lead to different conclusions. To compare three methods of age adjustment, a study on the associations between arsenic in drinking water and incidence of bladder cancer in 243 townships in Taiwan was used as an example. A total of 3068 cases of bladder cancer, including 2276 men and 792 women, were identified during a ten-year study period in the study townships. Three methods were applied to analyze the same data set on the ten-year study period. The first (Direct Method) applied direct standardization to obtain standardized incidence rate and then used it as the dependent variable in the regression analysis. The second (Indirect Method) applied indirect standardization to obtain standardized incidence ratio and then used it as the dependent variable in the regression analysis instead. The third (Variable Method) used proportions of residents in different age groups as a part of the independent variables in the multiple regression models. All three methods showed a statistically significant positive association between arsenic exposure above 0.64 mg/L and incidence of bladder cancer in men and women, but different results were observed for the other exposure categories. In addition, the risk estimates obtained by different methods for the same exposure category were all different. Using an empirical example, the current study confirmed the argument made by other researchers previously that whereas the three different methods of age adjustment may lead to different conclusions, only the third approach can obtain unbiased estimates of the risks. The third method can also generate estimates of the risk associated with each age group, but the other two are unable to evaluate the effects of age directly.

  9. Designer interface peptide grafts target estrogen receptor alpha dimerization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chakraborty, S.; Asare, B.K.; Biswas, P.K.; Rajnarayanan, R.V.

    2016-01-01

    The nuclear transcription factor estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), triggered by its cognate ligand estrogen, regulates a variety of cellular signaling events. ERα is expressed in 70% of breast cancers and is a widely validated target for anti-breast cancer drug discovery. Administration of anti-estrogen to block estrogen receptor activation is still a viable anti-breast cancer treatment option but anti-estrogen resistance has been a significant bottle-neck. Dimerization of estrogen receptor is required for ER activation. Blocking ERα dimerization is therefore a complementary and alternative strategy to combat anti-estrogen resistance. Dimer interface peptide “I-box” derived from ER residues 503–518 specifically blocks ER dimerization. Recently using a comprehensive molecular simulation we studied the interaction dynamics of ERα LBDs in a homo-dimer. Based on this study, we identified three interface recognition peptide motifs LDKITDT (ERα residues 479–485), LQQQHQRLAQ (residues 497–506), and LSHIRHMSNK (residues 511–520) and reported the suitability of using LQQQHQRLAQ (ER 497–506) as a template to design inhibitors of ERα dimerization. Stability and self-aggregation of peptide based therapeutics poses a significant bottle-neck to proceed further. In this study utilizing peptide grafted to preserve their pharmacophoric recognition motif and assessed their stability and potential to block ERα mediated activity in silico and in vitro. The Grafted peptides blocked ERα mediated cell proliferation and viability of breast cancer cells but did not alter their apoptotic fate. We believe the structural clues identified in this study can be used to identify novel peptidometics and small molecules that specifically target ER dimer interface generating a new breed of anti-cancer agents. - Highlights: • Designer peptide grafts retain core molecular recognition motif during MD simulations. • Designer peptide grafts with Poly-ALA helix form stable

  10. Tricriticality for dimeric Coulomb molecular crystals in ground state

    Science.gov (United States)

    Travěnec, Igor; Šamaj, Ladislav

    2017-12-01

    We study the ground-state properties of a system of dimers. Each dimer consists in a pair of equivalent charges at a fixed distance, immersed in a neutralizing homogeneous background. All charges interact pairwisely by Coulomb potential. The dimer centers form a two-dimensional rectangular lattice with the aspect ratio α\\in [0, 1] and each dimer is allowed to rotate around its center. The previous numerical simulations, made for the more general Yukawa interaction, indicate that only two basic dimer configurations can appear: either all dimers are parallel or they have two different angle orientations within alternating (checkerboard) sublattices. As the dimer size increases, two second-order phase transitions, related to two kinds of the symmetry breaking in dimer’s orientations, were reported. In this paper, we use a recent analytic method based on an expansion of the interaction energy in Misra functions which converges quickly and provides an analytic derivation of the critical behaviour. Our main result is that there exists a specific aspect ratio of the rectangular lattice α^*=0.714 106 840 000 71\\ldots which divides the space of model’s phases onto two distinct regions. If the lattice aspect ratio α>α* , we recover both types of the second-order phase transitions and find that they are of mean-field type with the critical exponent β = 1/2 . If 0.711 535≤slantα<α* , the phase transition associated with the discontinuity of dimer’s angles on alternating sublattices becomes of first order. For α=α* , the first- and second-order phase transitions meet at the tricritical point, characterized by the different critical index β = 1/4 . Such phenomenon is known from literature about the Landau theory of one-component fields, but in our two-component version the scenario is more complicated: the component which is already in the symmetry-broken state at the tricritical point also interferes and exhibits unexpectedly the mean-field singular

  11. Designer interface peptide grafts target estrogen receptor alpha dimerization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chakraborty, S. [Laboratory of Computational Biophysics & Bioengineering, Department of Physics, Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS 39174 (United States); Asare, B.K. [Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214 (United States); Biswas, P.K., E-mail: pbiswas@tougaloo.edu [Laboratory of Computational Biophysics & Bioengineering, Department of Physics, Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS 39174 (United States); Rajnarayanan, R.V., E-mail: rajendra@buffalo.edu [Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214 (United States)

    2016-09-09

    The nuclear transcription factor estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), triggered by its cognate ligand estrogen, regulates a variety of cellular signaling events. ERα is expressed in 70% of breast cancers and is a widely validated target for anti-breast cancer drug discovery. Administration of anti-estrogen to block estrogen receptor activation is still a viable anti-breast cancer treatment option but anti-estrogen resistance has been a significant bottle-neck. Dimerization of estrogen receptor is required for ER activation. Blocking ERα dimerization is therefore a complementary and alternative strategy to combat anti-estrogen resistance. Dimer interface peptide “I-box” derived from ER residues 503–518 specifically blocks ER dimerization. Recently using a comprehensive molecular simulation we studied the interaction dynamics of ERα LBDs in a homo-dimer. Based on this study, we identified three interface recognition peptide motifs LDKITDT (ERα residues 479–485), LQQQHQRLAQ (residues 497–506), and LSHIRHMSNK (residues 511–520) and reported the suitability of using LQQQHQRLAQ (ER 497–506) as a template to design inhibitors of ERα dimerization. Stability and self-aggregation of peptide based therapeutics poses a significant bottle-neck to proceed further. In this study utilizing peptide grafted to preserve their pharmacophoric recognition motif and assessed their stability and potential to block ERα mediated activity in silico and in vitro. The Grafted peptides blocked ERα mediated cell proliferation and viability of breast cancer cells but did not alter their apoptotic fate. We believe the structural clues identified in this study can be used to identify novel peptidometics and small molecules that specifically target ER dimer interface generating a new breed of anti-cancer agents. - Highlights: • Designer peptide grafts retain core molecular recognition motif during MD simulations. • Designer peptide grafts with Poly-ALA helix form stable

  12. Bound states and Cooper pairs of molecules in 2D optical lattices bilayer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Camacho-Guardian, A.; Dominguez-Castro, G.A.; Paredes, R. [Instituto de Fisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (Mexico)

    2016-08-15

    We investigate the formation of Cooper pairs, bound dimers and the dimer-dimer elastic scattering of ultracold dipolar Fermi molecules confined in a 2D optical lattice bilayer configuration. While the energy and their associated bound states are determined in a variational way, the correlated two-molecule pair is addressed as in the original Cooper formulation. We demonstrate that the 2D lattice confinement favors the formation of zero center mass momentum bound states. Regarding the Cooper pairs binding energy, this depends on the molecule populations in each layer. Maximum binding energies occur for non-zero (zero) pair momentum when the Fermi system is polarized (unpolarized). We find an analytic expression for the dimer-dimer effective interaction in the deep BEC regime. The present analysis represents a route for addressing the BCS-BEC crossover in dipolar Fermi gases confined in 2D optical lattices within the current experimental panorama. (copyright 2016 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  13. Dimerization of the voltage-sensing phosphatase controls its voltage-sensing and catalytic activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rayaprolu, Vamseedhar; Royal, Perrine; Stengel, Karen; Sandoz, Guillaume; Kohout, Susy C

    2018-05-07

    Multimerization is a key characteristic of most voltage-sensing proteins. The main exception was thought to be the Ciona intestinalis voltage-sensing phosphatase (Ci-VSP). In this study, we show that multimerization is also critical for Ci-VSP function. Using coimmunoprecipitation and single-molecule pull-down, we find that Ci-VSP stoichiometry is flexible. It exists as both monomers and dimers, with dimers favored at higher concentrations. We show strong dimerization via the voltage-sensing domain (VSD) and weak dimerization via the phosphatase domain. Using voltage-clamp fluorometry, we also find that VSDs cooperate to lower the voltage dependence of activation, thus favoring the activation of Ci-VSP. Finally, using activity assays, we find that dimerization alters Ci-VSP substrate specificity such that only dimeric Ci-VSP is able to dephosphorylate the 3-phosphate from PI(3,4,5)P 3 or PI(3,4)P 2 Our results indicate that dimerization plays a significant role in Ci-VSP function. © 2018 Rayaprolu et al.

  14. Jozilebomines A and B, Naphthylisoquinoline Dimers from the Congolese Liana Ancistrocladus ileboensis, with Antiausterity Activities against the PANC-1 Human Pancreatic Cancer Cell Line.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jun; Seupel, Raina; Bruhn, Torsten; Feineis, Doris; Kaiser, Marcel; Brun, Reto; Mudogo, Virima; Awale, Suresh; Bringmann, Gerhard

    2017-10-27

    Two new naphthylisoquinoline dimers, jozilebomines A (1a) and B (1b), were isolated from the roots of the Congolese plant Ancistrocladus ileboensis, along with the known dimer jozimine A 2 (2). These compounds are Dioncophyllaceae-type metabolites, i.e., lacking oxygen functions at C-6 and with an R-configuration at C-3 in their tetrahydroisoquinoline moieties. The dimers 1a and 1b consist of two 7,1'-coupled naphthylisoquinoline monomers linked through an unprecedented 3',6″-coupling in the binaphthalene core and not, as in 2, via the C-3-positions of the two naphthalene units. Thus, different from the C 2 -symmetric jozimine A 2 (2), the new jozilebomines are constitutionally unsymmetric. The central biaryl axis of each of the three dimers is rotationally hindered, so that 1a, 1b, and 2 possess three consecutive chiral axes. The two jozilebomines have identical constitutions and the same absolute configurations at all four stereogenic centers, but differ from each other in their axial chirality. Their structural elucidation was achieved by HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR, oxidative degradation, and experimental and calculated ECD data. They exhibited distinct and specific antiplasmodial activities. All dimers showed potent cytotoxicity against HeLa human cervical cancer cells and preferential cytotoxicity against PANC-1 human pancreatic cancer cells under nutrition-deprived conditions. Furthermore, these dimers significantly inhibited the colony formation of PANC-1 cells, even when exposed to noncytotoxic concentration for a short time. Jozilebomines A (1a) and B (1b) and jozimine A 2 (2) represent novel potential candidates for future drug development against pancreatic cancer.

  15. Radiation-induced tetramer-to-dimer transition of Escherichia coli lactose repressor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goffinont, S.; Davidkova, M.; Spotheim-Maurizot, M.

    2009-01-01

    The wild type lactose repressor of Escherichia coli is a tetrameric protein formed by two identical dimers. They are associated via a C-terminal 4-helix bundle (called tetramerization domain) whose stability is ensured by the interaction of leucine zipper motifs. Upon in vitro γ-irradiation the repressor losses its ability to bind the operator DNA sequence due to damage of its DNA-binding domains. Using an engineered dimeric repressor for comparison, we show here that irradiation induces also the change of repressor oligomerisation state from tetramer to dimer. The splitting of the tetramer into dimers can result from the oxidation of the leucine residues of the tetramerization domain.

  16. Dimer and String Formation during Low Temperature Silicon Deposition on Si(100)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Smith, A. P.; Jonsson, Hannes

    1996-01-01

    We present theoretical results based on density functional theory and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of silicon deposition and address observations made in recently reported low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy studies. A mechanism is presented which explains dimer formation on top...... of the substrate's dimer rows at 160 K and up to room temperature, while between-row dimers and longer strings of adatoms (''diluted dimer rows'') form at higher temperature. A crossover occurs at around room temperature between two different mechanisms for adatom diffusion in our model....

  17. A discotic triphenylene dimer as organic hole transporting material for electroluminescence devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mao Huaxiang; He Zhiqun; Wang Junling; Zhang Chunxiu; Xie, Ping; Zhang Rongben

    2007-01-01

    A triphenylene dimer, an intermediate between a discotic triphenylene molecule and the macromolecule, had been prepared by linking together two triphenylene units via phenylene carbamate linkages, which was formed through a reaction between one 1,4-phenylene diisocyanate and two hydroxyl end groups on flexible substituents of triphenylenes. The dimer exhibited good film-forming property. Its temperature-dependent phase transitions were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry and polarized optical microscopy. Room temperature microstructure of the dimer was analyzed by X-ray diffraction. Charge mobility of the triphenylene dimer was also measured. Our preliminary result using the materials in a sandwich light-emitting device is reported here. It demonstrates that the triphenylene dimer is a promising candidate as a hole transporting material

  18. Dimerization of the Glucan Phosphatase Laforin Requires the Participation of Cysteine 329

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez-Martín, Pablo; Raththagala, Madushi; Bridges, Travis M.; Husodo, Satrio; Gentry, Matthew S.; Sanz, Pascual; Romá-Mateo, Carlos

    2013-01-01

    Laforin, encoded by a gene that is mutated in Lafora Disease (LD, OMIM 254780), is a modular protein composed of a carbohydrate-binding module and a dual-specificity phosphatase domain. Laforin is the founding member of the glucan-phosphatase family and regulates the levels of phosphate present in glycogen. Multiple reports have described the capability of laforin to form dimers, although the function of these dimers and their relationship with LD remains unclear. Recent evidence suggests that laforin dimerization depends on redox conditions, suggesting that disulfide bonds are involved in laforin dimerization. Using site-directed mutagenesis we constructed laforin mutants in which individual cysteine residues were replaced by serine and then tested the ability of each protein to dimerize using recombinant protein as well as a mammalian cell culture assay. Laforin-Cys329Ser was the only Cys/Ser mutant unable to form dimers in both assays. We also generated a laforin truncation lacking the last three amino acids, laforin-Cys329X, and this truncation also failed to dimerize. Interestingly, laforin-Cys329Ser and laforin-Cys329X were able to bind glucans, and maintained wild type phosphatase activity against both exogenous and biologically relevant substrates. Furthermore, laforin-Cys329Ser was fully capable of participating in the ubiquitination process driven by a laforin-malin complex. These results suggest that dimerization is not required for laforin phosphatase activity, glucan binding, or for the formation of a functional laforin-malin complex. Cumulatively, these results suggest that cysteine 329 is specifically involved in the dimerization process of laforin. Therefore, the C329S mutant constitutes a valuable tool to analyze the physiological implications of laforin’s oligomerization. PMID:23922729

  19. Introduction of a proline residue into position 31 of the loop of the dimeric 4-alpha-helical protein ROP causes a drastic destabilization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, K; Hinz, H J; Cesareni, G

    1997-10-01

    The exchange of an alanine with a proline residue in position 31 of the loop region of the dimeric 4-alpha-helical-bundle protein ROP causes a reduction in the alpha-helix content of 7% and a reduction in stability of about 40% compared to the wild type parameters. The Gibbs energy of unfolding by denaturants extrapolated linearly to zero denaturant concentration, delta G0D (buffer, 25 degrees C), has been determined to be 43 kJ (mol dimer)-1. The corresponding ROPwt value is 72 kJ (mol dimer)-1 (Steif et al., 1993). The extrapolated delta G0D values obtained from urea and GdmHCI un- and refolding studies are identical within error limits. Deconvolution of the stability values into enthalpy and entropy terms resulted in the following parameters. At T1/2 = 43 degrees C (Cprotein = 0.05 mg.ml-1) the ROP A31P mutant is characterized by delta Hv.H.0 = 272 kJ (mol dimer)-1, delta Cp = 7.2 kJ (mol dimer)-1 K-1, delta S0 = 762 J (mol dimer)-1 K-1. These parameters are only approximately 50% as large as the corresponding values of ROPwt. We assume that the significant reduction in stability reflects the absence of at least one hydrogen bond as well as deformation of the protein structure. This interpretation is supported by the reduction in the change in heat capacity observed for the A31P mutant relative to ROPwt, by the increased aggregation tendency of the mutant and by the reduced specific CD absorption at 222 nm. All results support the view that in the case of ROP protein the loop region plays a significant role in the maintenance of native structure and conformational stability.

  20. Systemic Inflammation, Coagulation, and Clinical Risk in the START Trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baker, Jason V; Sharma, Shweta; Grund, Birgit

    2017-01-01

    , pooled across groups, adjusted for age, gender, and treatment group, and stratified by region. Mean changes over 8 months were estimated and compared between the immediate and deferred ART arms using analysis of covariance models, adjusted for levels at entry. Results: Baseline biomarker levels were...... for baseline CD4+ count, HIV RNA level, and other biomarkers. At month 8, biomarker levels were lower in the immediate arm by 12%-21%. Conclusions: These data, combined with evidence from prior biomarker studies, demonstrate that IL-6 and D-dimer consistently predict clinical risk across a broad spectrum of CD...

  1. Dimer coverings on random multiple chains of planar honeycomb lattices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ren, Haizhen; Zhang, Fuji; Qian, Jianguo

    2012-01-01

    We study dimer coverings on random multiple chains. A multiple chain is a planar honeycomb lattice constructed by successively fusing copies of a ‘straight’ condensed hexagonal chain at the bottom of the previous one in two possible ways. A random multiple chain is then generated by admitting the Bernoulli distribution on the two types of fusing, which describes a zeroth-order Markov process. We determine the expectation of the number of the pure dimer coverings (perfect matchings) over the ensemble of random multiple chains by the transfer matrix approach. Our result shows that, with only two exceptions, the average of the logarithm of this expectation (i.e., the annealed entropy per dimer) is asymptotically nonzero when the fusing process goes to infinity and the length of the hexagonal chain is fixed, though it is zero when the fusing process and the length of the hexagonal chain go to infinity simultaneously. Some numerical results are provided to support our conclusion, from which we can see that the asymptotic behavior fits well to the theoretical results. We also apply the transfer matrix approach to the quenched entropy and reveal that the quenched entropy of random multiple chains has a close connection with the well-known Lyapunov exponent of random matrices. Using the theory of Lyapunov exponents we show that, for some random multiple chains, the quenched entropy per dimer is strictly smaller than the annealed one when the fusing process goes to infinity. Finally, we determine the expectation of the free energy per dimer over the ensemble of the random multiple chains in which the three types of dimers in different orientations are distinguished, and specify a series of non-random multiple chains whose free energy per dimer is asymptotically equal to this expectation. (paper)

  2. Kinetics of the monomer-dimer reaction of yeast hexokinase PI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoggett, J G; Kellett, G L

    1992-10-15

    Kinetic studies of the glucose-dependent monomer-dimer reaction of yeast hexokinase PI at pH 8.0 in the presence of 0.1 M-KCl have been carried out using the fluorescence temperature-jump technique. A slow-relaxation effect was observed which was attributed from its dependence on enzyme concentration to the monomer-dimer reaction; the reciprocal relaxation times tau-1 varied from 3 s-1 at low concentrations of glucose to 42 s-1 at saturating concentrations. Rate constants for association (kass.) and dissociation (kdiss.) were determined as a function of glucose concentration using values of the equilibrium association constant of the monomer-dimer reaction derived from sedimentation ultracentrifugation studies under similar conditions, and also from the dependence of tau-2 on enzyme concentration. kass. was almost independent of glucose concentration and its value (2 x 10(5) M-1.s-1) was close to that expected for a diffusion-controlled process. The influence of glucose on the monomer-dimer reaction is entirely due to effects on kdiss., which increases from 0.21 s-1 in the absence of glucose to 25 s-1 at saturating concentrations. The monomer and dimer forms of hexokinase have different affinities and Km values for glucose, and the results reported here imply that there may be a significant lag in the response of the monomer-dimer reaction to changes in glucose concentrations in vivo with consequent hysteretic effects on the hexokinase activity.

  3. Structural features of the KPI domain control APP dimerization, trafficking, and processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben Khalifa, Naouel; Tyteca, Donatienne; Marinangeli, Claudia; Depuydt, Mathieu; Collet, Jean-François; Courtoy, Pierre J; Renauld, Jean-Christophe; Constantinescu, Stefan; Octave, Jean-Noël; Kienlen-Campard, Pascal

    2012-02-01

    The two major isoforms of human APP, APP695 and APP751, differ by the presence of a Kunitz-type protease inhibitor (KPI) domain in the extracellular region. APP processing and function is thought to be regulated by homodimerization. We used bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) to study dimerization of different APP isoforms and mutants. APP751 was found to form significantly more homodimers than APP695. Mutation of dimerization motifs in the TM domain did not affect fluorescence complementation, but native folding of KPI is critical for APP751 homodimerization. APP751 and APP695 dimers were mostly localized at steady state in the Golgi region, suggesting that most of the APP751 and 695 dimers are in the secretory pathway. Mutation of the KPI led to the retention of the APP homodimers in the endoplasmic reticulum. We finally showed that APP751 is more efficiently processed through the nonamyloidogenic pathway than APP695. These findings provide new insight on the particular role of KPI domain in APP dimerization. The correlation observed between dimerization, subcellular localization, and processing suggests that dimerization acts as an efficient regulator of APP trafficking in the secretory compartments that has major consequences on its processing.

  4. NMR and molecular modeling: application to wine ageing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saucier, C.; Pianet, I.; Laguerre, M.; Glories, Y.

    1998-02-01

    Red wine contains polyphenols called tannins which are very important for its taste and longevity. These polymers consist in repeating units of catechin and its epimer epicatechin. During ageing, slow condensation reactions take place which lead to new chemical structures. Among the possible reactions, we have focused our attention on acetaldehyde cross-linking. Catechin was used as a model for the production of polymers with acetaldehyde. Two reaction product fractions have been isolated by liquid chromatography. Mass measurement indicated that these fractions contain dimers. NMR (1D and 2D) and molecular modelling were then used to study the structure and conformations of these products. The first product consist in a pure dimer with the two catechin moieties connected with an ethyl bridge on the carbon 6 and 8. The second fraction was a mixture of two dimers (50/50). NMR measurements showed that it could be two symmetrical dimers involving the same carbon for each catechin moiety (6 or8). Le vin rouge contient des polyphénols appelés tanins qui sont très importants pour son goût et sa longévité. Il s'agit principalement de polymères de catéchine et d'épicatéchine. Durant le vieillissement du vin, des réactions de condensation interviennent lentement et conduisent à de nouvelles structures. Parmi les réactions possibles, nous avons plus spécialement étudié la polymérisation par pontage avec l'éthanal. La catéchine a été utilisée comme modèle de tannin et mise en présence d'éthanal en milieu acide proche du vin. Deux fractions de produits de réaction ont été isolées par chromatographie liquide. La spectrométrie de masse a révélé la présence de dimères. La RMN (1D et 2D) et la modélisation moléculaire ont ensuite été utilisées pour déterminer la structure et la conformation de ces produits. La première fraction a été identifiée comme étant un dimère de deux unités catéchines reliées par un pont éthyle par leur

  5. On the asymptotics of dimers on tori

    OpenAIRE

    Kenyon, Richard W.; Sun, Nike; Wilson, David B.

    2013-01-01

    We study asymptotics of the dimer model on large toric graphs. Let $\\mathbb L$ be a weighted $\\mathbb{Z}^2$-periodic planar graph, and let $\\mathbb{Z}^2 E$ be a large-index sublattice of $\\mathbb{Z}^2$. For $\\mathbb L$ bipartite we show that the dimer partition function on the quotient $\\mathbb{L}/(\\mathbb{Z}^2 E)$ has the asymptotic expansion $\\exp[A f_0 + \\text{fsc} + o(1)]$, where $A$ is the area of $\\mathbb{L}/(\\mathbb{Z}^2 E)$, $f_0$ is the free energy density in the bulk, and $\\text{fsc...

  6. Vitamin D intake, month the mammogram was taken and mammographic density in Norwegian women aged 50-69.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Merete Ellingjord-Dale

    Full Text Available The role of vitamin D in breast cancer etiology is unclear. There is some, but inconsistent, evidence that vitamin D is associated with both breast cancer risk and mammographic density (MD. We evaluated the associations of MD with month the mammogram was taken, and with vitamin D intake, in a population of women from Norway--a country with limited sunlight exposure for a large part of the year.3114 women aged 50-69, who participated in the Norwegian Breast Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP in 2004 or 2006/07, completed risk factor and food frequency (FFQ questionnaires. Dietary and total (dietary plus supplements vitamin D, calcium and energy intakes were estimated by the FFQ. Month when the mammogram was taken was recorded on the mammogram. Percent MD was assessed using a computer assisted method (Madena, University of Southern California after digitization of the films. Linear regression models were used to investigate percent MD associations with month the mammogram was taken, and vitamin D and calcium intakes, adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI, study year, estrogen and progestin therapy (EPT, education, parity, calcium intakes and energy intakes.There was no statistical significant association between the month the mammogram was taken and percent MD. Overall, there was no association between percent MD and quartiles of total or dietary vitamin D intakes, or of calcium intake. However, analysis restricted to women aged <55 years revealed a suggestive inverse association between total vitamin D intake and percent MD (p for trend = 0.03.Overall, we found no strong evidence that month the mammogram was taken was associated with percent MD. We found no inverse association between vitamin D intake and percent MD overall, but observed a suggestive inverse association between dietary vitamin D and MD for women less than 55 years old.

  7. On the diffusion and self-trapping of surface dimers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kappus, W.

    1982-03-01

    The theory of elastic interactions between surface atoms which are caused by substrate strains is applied to the interaction of dimers on the (211) surface of tungsten. From the comparison of theoretical and experimental interactions which were derived from the diffusion behaviour of dimers, conclusions are drawn on the nature of the adatom-substrate bond.

  8. Dislocations and vacancies in two-dimensional mixed crystals of spheres and dimers

    KAUST Repository

    Gerbode, Sharon J.

    2010-10-15

    In colloidal crystals of spheres, dislocation motion is unrestricted. On the other hand, recent studies of relaxation in crystals of colloidal dimer particles have demonstrated that the dislocation dynamics in such crystals are reminiscent of glassy systems. The observed glassy dynamics arise as a result of dislocation cages formed by certain dimer orientations. In the current study, we use experiments and simulations to investigate the transition that arises when a pure sphere crystal is doped with an increasing concentration of dimers. Specifically, we focus on both dislocation caging and vacancy motion. Interestingly, we find that any nonzero fraction of dimers introduces finite dislocation cages, suggesting that glassy dynamics are present for any mixed crystal. However, we have also identified a vacancy-mediated uncaging mechanism for releasing dislocations from their cages. This mechanism is dependent on vacancy diffusion, which slows by orders of magnitude as the dimer concentration is increased. We propose that in mixed crystals with low dimer concentrations vacancy diffusion is fast enough to uncage dislocations and delay the onset of glassy dislocation dynamics. © 2010 The American Physical Society.

  9. Dislocations and vacancies in two-dimensional mixed crystals of spheres and dimers

    KAUST Repository

    Gerbode, Sharon J.; Ong, Desmond C.; Liddell, Chekesha M.; Cohen, Itai

    2010-01-01

    In colloidal crystals of spheres, dislocation motion is unrestricted. On the other hand, recent studies of relaxation in crystals of colloidal dimer particles have demonstrated that the dislocation dynamics in such crystals are reminiscent of glassy systems. The observed glassy dynamics arise as a result of dislocation cages formed by certain dimer orientations. In the current study, we use experiments and simulations to investigate the transition that arises when a pure sphere crystal is doped with an increasing concentration of dimers. Specifically, we focus on both dislocation caging and vacancy motion. Interestingly, we find that any nonzero fraction of dimers introduces finite dislocation cages, suggesting that glassy dynamics are present for any mixed crystal. However, we have also identified a vacancy-mediated uncaging mechanism for releasing dislocations from their cages. This mechanism is dependent on vacancy diffusion, which slows by orders of magnitude as the dimer concentration is increased. We propose that in mixed crystals with low dimer concentrations vacancy diffusion is fast enough to uncage dislocations and delay the onset of glassy dislocation dynamics. © 2010 The American Physical Society.

  10. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and Age-Related Cataract.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Sangshin; Choi, Nam-Kyong

    2017-10-01

    Cataract and insufficient vitamin D intake are both increasing worldwide concerns, yet little is known about the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels and age-related cataract. We performed this study to determine the association between serum 25(OH)D levels and age-related cataract in adults. Study participants comprised 16,086 adults aged 40 years or older who had never been diagnosed with or undergone surgery for cataract using Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 2008 to 2012. Participants were assessed to have cataract when diagnosed with cortical, nuclear, anterior subcapsular, posterior subcapsular, or mixed cataract. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the magnitude and significance of the association between serum 25(OH)D levels and cataract in multivariable logistic regression models. The OR for nuclear cataract with the highest quintile of serum 25(OH)D levels was 0.86 (95% CI 0.75-0.99) compared to the lowest quintile. A linear trend across quintiles was significant. Natural log-transformed serum 25(OH)D levels were also significantly associated with nuclear cataract (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.75-0.95). The opulation-attributable fraction of nuclear cataract due to serum 25(OH)D insufficiency (D levels were inversely associated with the risk of nuclear cataract. Prospective studies investigating the effects of serum 25(OH)D levels on the development of nuclear cataract are needed to confirm our findings.

  11. Behavioral Risk Factors: Selected Metropolitan Area Risk Trends (SMART) MMSA Age-adjusted Prevalence Data (2011 to Present)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — 2011 to present. BRFSS SMART MMSA age-adjusted prevalence combined land line and cell phone data. The Selected Metropolitan Area Risk Trends (SMART) project uses the...

  12. Asymmetric monometallic nanorod nanoparticle dimer and related compositions and methods

    KAUST Repository

    Han, Yu; Huang, Jianfeng; Zhu, Yihan

    2016-01-01

    and three-dimensional morphology of the dimer, as well as the growth pathway of the AuNP on the AuNR seed, was investigated for this example. The dimer exhibits an extraordinary broadband optical extinction spectrum spanning the UV, visible, and near

  13. DFT Study of dimers of dimethyl sulfoxide in gas phase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reza Fazaeli

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Density functional (DFT calculations at M05-2x/aug-cc-pVDZ level were used to analyze the interactions between dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO dimers. The structures obtained have been ana-lyzed with the Atoms in Molecules (AIMs and Natural Bond Orbital (NBO methodologies. Four minima were located on the potential energy surface of the dimers. Three types of interac-tions are observed, CH•••O, CH•••S hydrogen bonds and orthogonal interaction between the lone pair of the oxygen with the electron-deficient region of the sulfur atom. Stabilization energies of dimers including BSSE and ZPE are in the range 27–40 kJmol-1. The most stable conformers of dimers at DFT level is cyclic structure with antiparallel orientation of S=O groups pairing with three C–H∙∙∙O and a S∙∙∙O interactions.

  14. Photoreactivation of pyrimidine dimers in the DNA of normal and xeroderma pigmentosum cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sutherland, B.M.; Oliver, R.; Fuselier, C.O.; Sutherland, J.C.

    1976-01-01

    Photoproducts formed in the DNA of human cells irradiated with ultraviolet light (uv) were identified as cyclobutyl pyrimidine dimers by their chromatographic mobility, reversibility to monomers upon short wavelength uv irradiation, and comparison of the kinetics of this monomerization with that of authentic cis--syn thymine--thymine dimers prepared by irradiation of thymine in ice. The level of cellular photoreactivation of these dimers reflects the level of photoreactivating enzyme measured in cell extracts. Action spectra for cellular dimer photoreactivation in the xeroderma pigmentosum line XP12BE agree in range (300 nm to at least 577 nm) and maximum (near 400 nm) with that for photoreactivation by purified human photoreactivating enzyme. Normal human cells can also photoreactivate dimers in their DNA. The action spectrum for the cellular monomerization of dimers is similar to that for photoreactivation by the photoreactivating enzyme in extracts of normal human fibroblasts

  15. Visualization of multipolar longitudinal and transversal surface plasmon modes in nanowire dimers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alber, Ina; Sigle, Wilfried; Müller, Sven; Neumann, Reinhard; Picht, Oliver; Rauber, Markus; van Aken, Peter A; Toimil-Molares, Maria Eugenia

    2011-12-27

    We study the transversal and longitudinal localized surface plasmon resonances in single nanowires and nanowire dimers excited by the fast traveling electron beam in a transmission electron microscope equipped with high-resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy. Bright and dark longitudinal modes up to the fifth order are resolved on individual metallic nanowires. On nanowire dimers, mode splitting into bonding and antibonding is measured up to the third order for several dimers with various aspect ratio and controlled gap size. We observe that the electric field maxima of the bonding modes are shifted toward the gap, while the electric field maxima of the antibonding modes are shifted toward the dimer ends. Finally, we observe that the transversal mode is not detected in the region of the dimer gap and decays away from the rod more rapidly than the longitudinal modes.

  16. Dimerization of 3He in 3He-4He mixture films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bashkin, E.

    1994-01-01

    3 He atoms dissolved in superfluid 4 He may form dimers ( 3 He) 2 in two-dimensional geometries. Dimer formation is studied in films of dilute 3 He- 4 He mixture. After designing a schematic 3 He- 3 He interaction potential, the dimer binding energy is calculated for various substrates. It is shown that 3 He impurity states localized near the substrate give rise to the highest magnitudes of the binding energy. (author). 32 refs., 6 figs.,; 1 tab

  17. Sulfur dimers adsorbed on Au(111) as building blocks for sulfur octomers formation: A density functional study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hernandez-Tamargo, Carlos E.; Montero-Alejo, Ana Lilian; Pujals, Daniel Codorniu; Mikosch, Hans; Hernández, Mayra P.

    2014-01-01

    Experimental scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies have shown for more than two decades rectangular formations when sulfur atoms are deposited on Au(111) surfaces. The precursors have ranged from simple molecules or ions, such as SO 2 gas or sulfide anions, to more complex organosulfur compounds. We investigated, within the framework of the Density Functional Theory, the structure of these rectangular patterns assuming them entirely composed of sulfur atoms as the experimental evidence suggests. The sulfur coverage at which the simulations were carried out (0.67 ML or higher) provoked that the sulfur-sulfur association had to be taken into account for achieving a good agreement between the sets of simulated and experimental STM images. A combination of four sulfur dimers per rectangular formation properly explained the trends obtained by the experimental STM analysis which were related with the rectangles' size and shape fluctuations together with sulfur-sulfur distances within these rectangles. Finally, a projected density of states analysis showed that the dimers were capable of altering the Au(5d) electronic states at the same level as atomic sulfur adsorbed at low coverage. Besides, sulfur dimers states were perfectly distinguished, whose presence near and above the Fermi level can explain both: sulfur-sulfur bond elongation and dimers stability when they stayed adsorbed on the surface at high coverage

  18. Sulfur dimers adsorbed on Au(111) as building blocks for sulfur octomers formation: A density functional study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hernandez-Tamargo, Carlos E.; Montero-Alejo, Ana Lilian [Laboratory of Computational and Theoretical Chemistry (LQCT), Faculty of Chemistry, Havana University, Havana 10400 (Cuba); Pujals, Daniel Codorniu [Higher Institute of Technologies and Applied Sciences (InSTEC), Havana 10400 (Cuba); Mikosch, Hans [Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, Vienna University of Technology, Getreidemarkt 9/E164-EC, 1060 Vienna (Austria); Hernández, Mayra P., E-mail: mayrap@imre.oc.uh.cu [Instituto de Ciencias y Tecnologías de Materiales (IMRE), Havana 10400 (Cuba)

    2014-07-28

    Experimental scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies have shown for more than two decades rectangular formations when sulfur atoms are deposited on Au(111) surfaces. The precursors have ranged from simple molecules or ions, such as SO{sub 2} gas or sulfide anions, to more complex organosulfur compounds. We investigated, within the framework of the Density Functional Theory, the structure of these rectangular patterns assuming them entirely composed of sulfur atoms as the experimental evidence suggests. The sulfur coverage at which the simulations were carried out (0.67 ML or higher) provoked that the sulfur-sulfur association had to be taken into account for achieving a good agreement between the sets of simulated and experimental STM images. A combination of four sulfur dimers per rectangular formation properly explained the trends obtained by the experimental STM analysis which were related with the rectangles' size and shape fluctuations together with sulfur-sulfur distances within these rectangles. Finally, a projected density of states analysis showed that the dimers were capable of altering the Au(5d) electronic states at the same level as atomic sulfur adsorbed at low coverage. Besides, sulfur dimers states were perfectly distinguished, whose presence near and above the Fermi level can explain both: sulfur-sulfur bond elongation and dimers stability when they stayed adsorbed on the surface at high coverage.

  19. Avaliação do dímero D (D-Di na doença hipertensiva específica da gravidez (DHEG D-dimer plasma levels assessment in preeclampsia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luci Maria Sant'Ana Dusse

    2003-09-01

    Full Text Available A doença hipertensiva específica da gravidez (DHEG, na sua forma pura, caracteriza-se pelo aparecimento, em grávida normotensa, após a vigésima semana de gestação, da tríade sintomática: hipertensão, proteinúria e edema. A DHEG está associada a vasoconstrição generalizada, anormalidades da coagulação e deposição de fibrina na microcirculação da placenta. A fibrina compromete a perfusão adequada da placenta, contribuindo para a prematuridade, o baixo peso fetal e a mortalidade neonatal. Os dímeros D (D-Di constituem os menores fragmentos dos produtos de degradação da fibrina (pdf e são produzidos após a lise, pela plasmina, da ligação cruzada da fibrina. Níveis plasmáticos aumentados de D-Di indicam tanto uma exacerbação da formação de fibrina como um aumento da ação da plasmina. O presente trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar e comparar os níveis plasmáticos de D-Di, obtido por Elisa (Stago em gestantes-controle (n = 26, gestantes com DHEG nas formas leve e moderada (n = 23 e gestantes com DHEG na forma grave (n = 20, visando a investigar a possível utilização desse marcador laboratorial para diagnóstico e/ou prognóstico da doença. As médias e os desvios padrões obtidos para os três grupos avaliados foram 1.146,6 ± 311,2; 1.060,3 ± 259,2 e 1.497,8 ± 435,3ng/ml, respectivamente. A análise estatística das médias dos resultados obtidos revelou um aumento significativo de D-Di plasmático no grupo com DHEG grave, comparando-se aos grupos com DHEG leve/moderada (p Preeclampsia is associated to a generalized vasoconstriction, clot abnormalities and fibrin deposition within placenta microcirculation. The presence of fibrin hampers the placenta perfusion contributing to prematurity, fetal low weight and neonates' mortality. D-Dimers (D-Di are the products of degradation of cross-linked fibrin by plasmin. Increased plasma levels of D-Di may indicate either an exacerbated fibrin formation or an increase

  20. Glycine transporter dimers: evidence for occurrence in the plasma membrane.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartholomäus, Ingo; Milan-Lobo, Laura; Nicke, Annette; Dutertre, Sébastien; Hastrup, Hanne; Jha, Alok; Gether, Ulrik; Sitte, Harald H; Betz, Heinrich; Eulenburg, Volker

    2008-04-18

    Different Na(+)/Cl(-)-dependent neurotransmitter transporters of the SLC6a family have been shown to form dimers or oligomers in both intracellular compartments and at the cell surface. In contrast, the glycine transporters (GlyTs) GlyT1 and -2 have been reported to exist as monomers in the plasma membrane based on hydrodynamic and native gel electrophoretic studies. Here, we used cysteine substitution and oxidative cross-linking to show that of GlyT1 and GlyT2 also form dimeric complexes within the plasma membrane. GlyT oligomerization at the cell surface was confirmed for both GlyT1 and GlyT2 by fluorescence resonance energy transfer microscopy. Endoglycosidase treatment and surface biotinylation further revealed that complex-glycosylated GlyTs form dimers located at the cell surface. Furthermore, substitution of tryptophan 469 of GlyT2 by an arginine generated a transporter deficient in dimerization that was retained intracellulary. Based on these results and GlyT structures modeled by using the crystal structure of the bacterial homolog LeuT(Aa), as a template, residues located within the extracellular loop 3 and at the beginning of transmembrane domain 6 are proposed to contribute to the dimerization interface of GlyTs.

  1. cis elements and trans-acting factors involved in dimer formation of murine leukemia virus RNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prats, A C; Roy, C; Wang, P A; Erard, M; Housset, V; Gabus, C; Paoletti, C; Darlix, J L

    1990-02-01

    The genetic material of all retroviruses examined so far consists of two identical RNA molecules joined at their 5' ends by the dimer linkage structure (DLS). Since the precise location of the DLS as well as the mechanism and role(s) of RNA dimerization remain unclear, we analyzed the dimerization process of Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMuLV) genomic RNA. For this purpose we derived an in vitro model for RNA dimerization. By using this model, murine leukemia virus RNA was shown to form dimeric molecules. Deletion mutagenesis in the 620-nucleotide leader of MoMuLV RNA showed that the dimer promoting sequences are located within the encapsidation element Psi between positions 215 and 420. Furthermore, hybridization assays in which DNA oligomers were used to probe monomer and dimer forms of MoMuLV RNA indicated that the DLS probably maps between positions 280 and 330 from the RNA 5' end. Also, retroviral nucleocapsid protein was shown to catalyze dimerization of MoMuLV RNA and to be tightly bound to genomic dimer RNA in virions. These results suggest that MoMuLV RNA dimerization and encapsidation are probably controlled by the same cis element, Psi, and trans-acting factor, nucleocapsid protein, and thus might be linked during virion formation.

  2. 糖尿病视网膜病变患者D-二聚体和血尿酸水平的研究%Research of D-dimer and Blood Uric Acid Level about Patients with Diabetic Retinopathy

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    李悦; 罗雁

    2015-01-01

    目的:探讨D-二聚体(D-D)和血尿酸(UA)与(DR)的关系。方法将90例糖尿病患者按眼底视网膜病变程度分为糖尿病无视网膜病变期(NDR),非增殖型糖尿病视网膜病变期(NPDR)和增殖型糖尿病视网膜病变期(PDR)。另选健康者30例作为正常对照(NC)组,测定各组血尿酸及D-D浓度。结果 NDR组血D-D及尿酸水平与NC组比较,差异无统计学意义(>0.05);NPDR、PDR组均高于NDR组与NC组(0.05);NPDR, the PDR group were higher than in NDR group and NC group ( <0.05). Conclusion D-dimer monitoring blood and blood uric acid for early detection of diabetes retinopathy have assisted diagnostic value.

  3. Analysis of pyrimidine dimer content of isolated DNA by nuclease digestion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farland, W.H.; Sutherland, B.M.

    1980-01-01

    Isolated DNA is highly susceptible to degradation by exogenous nucleases. Complete digestion is possible with a number of well-characterized enzymes from a variety of sources. Treatment of DNA with a battery of enzymes including both phosphodiesterase and phosphatase activities yields a mixture of nucleosides and inorganic phosphate (P/sub i/) as a final product. Unlike native DNA, ultraviolet-irradiated DNA is resistant to complete digestion. Setlow et al. demonstrated that the structural changes in the DNA responsible for the nuclease resistance were the formation of cyclobutyl pyrimidine dimers, the major photoproduct in UV-irradiated DNA. Using venom phosphodiesterase, they demonstrated that UV irradiation of DNA affected both the rate and extent of enzymatic hydrolysis. In addition, it was demonstrated that the major nuclease-resistant product of this hydrolysis was an oligonucleotide containing dimerized pyrimidines. Treatment of the DNA to split the dimers, either photochemically or photoenzymatically, rendered the polymer more susceptible to hydrolysis by the phosphodiesterase. The specificity of photoreactivating enzyme for pyrimidine dimers lends support to the role of these structures in conferring nuclease resistance to UV-irradiated DNA. The nuclease resistance of DNA containing dimers has been the basis of several assays for the measurement of these photoproducts. Sutherland and Chamberlin reported the development of a rapid and sensitive assay for dimers in 32 P-labeled DNA

  4. Role of Family Resources and Paternal History of Substance Use Problems in Psychosocial Adjustment among School-Aged Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peleg-Oren, Neta; Rahav, Giora; Teichman, Meir

    2009-01-01

    The present study examines the role of family resources (parenting style and family cohesion) and paternal history of substance abuse on the psychosocial adjustment of their school-aged children. Data were collected from 148 children aged 8-11 (72 of fathers with history of substance use disorder, 76 children of fathers with no substance use…

  5. Investigation of split-off dimers on the Si(001)2x1 surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schofield, S.R.; O'Brien, J.L.; Curson, N.J.; Simmons, M.Y.; Clark, R.G.

    2002-01-01

    Full text: A detailed knowledge of the nature of crystalline defects on the Si(001)2x1 surface is becoming increasingly important as more research effort is dedicated to producing atomic-scale electronic devices. Here we present high-resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) images and ab initio pseudopotential calculations of an unusual defect of the silicon (001) surface called the split-off dimer. In high-resolution filled-state images, split-off dimers appear as a pair of protrusions, in contrast to the surrounding surface dimers that appear as 'bean-shaped' protrusions. We show that π-bonding does not exist between the atoms of the split-off dimer, but instead, the dimer atoms form π-bonds with two second layer atoms as part of a tetramer bonding arrangement. We discuss the strain associated with split-off dimer defects and describe how this strain significantly affects the bonding arrangements and local density of states around these defects

  6. A short autocomplementary sequence plays an essential role in avian sarcoma-leukosis virus RNA dimerization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fossé, P; Motté, N; Roumier, A; Gabus, C; Muriaux, D; Darlix, J L; Paoletti, J

    1996-12-24

    Retroviral genomes consist of two identical RNA molecules joined noncovalently near their 5'-ends. Recently, two models have been proposed for RNA dimer formation on the basis of results obtained in vitro with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNA and Moloney murine leukemia virus RNA. It was first proposed that viral RNA dimerizes by forming an interstrand quadruple helix with purine tetrads. The second model postulates that RNA dimerization is initiated by a loop-loop interaction between the two RNA molecules. In order to better characterize the dimerization process of retroviral genomic RNA, we analyzed the in vitro dimerization of avian sarcoma-leukosis virus (ASLV) RNA using different transcripts. We determined the requirements for heterodimer formation, the thermal dissociation of RNA dimers, and the influence of antisense DNA oligonucleotides on dimer formation. Our results strongly suggest that purine tetrads are not involved in dimer formation. Data show that an autocomplementary sequence located upstream from the splice donor site and within a major packaging signal plays a crucial role in ASLV RNA dimer formation in vitro. This sequence is able to form a stem-loop structure, and phylogenetic analysis reveals that it is conserved in 28 different avian sarcoma and leukosis viruses. These results suggest that dimerization of ASLV RNA is initiated by a loop-loop interaction between two RNA molecules and provide an additional argument for the ubiquity of the dimerization process via loop-loop interaction.

  7. Dynamic polarizabilities and Van der Waals coefficients for alkali atoms Li, Na and alkali dimer molecules Li2, Na2 and NaLi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mérawa, M.; Dargelos, A.

    1998-07-01

    The present paper gives an account of investigations of the polarizability of the alkali atoms Li, Na, diatomics homonuclear and heteronuclear Li2, Na2 and NaLi at SCF (Self Consistent Field) level of approximation and at correlated level, using a time Time-Dependent Gauge Invariant method (TDGI). Our static polarizability values agree with the best experimental and theoretical determinations. The Van der Waals C6 coefficients for the atom-atom, atom-dimer and dimer-dimer interactions have been evaluated. Les polarisabilités des atomes alcalins Li, Na, et des molécules diatomiques homonucléaires et hétéronucléaire Li2, Na2 et NaLi, ont été calculées au niveau SCF (Self Consistent Field) et au niveau corrélé à partir d'une méthode invariante de jauge dépendante du temps(TDGI). Nos valeurs des polarisabilités statiques sont en accord avec les meilleurs déterminations expérimentales et théoriques. Les coefficients C6 de Van de Waals pour les interactions atome-atome, atome-dimère et dimère-dimère ont également été évalués.

  8. Unphosphorylated rhabdoviridae phosphoproteins form elongated dimers in solution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerard, Francine C A; Ribeiro, Euripedes de Almeida; Albertini, Aurélie A V; Gutsche, Irina; Zaccai, Guiseppe; Ruigrok, Rob W H; Jamin, Marc

    2007-09-11

    The phosphoprotein (P) is an essential component of the replication machinery of rabies virus (RV) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), and the oligomerization of P, potentially controlled by phosphorylation, is required for its function. Up to now the stoichiometry of phosphoprotein oligomers has been controversial. Size exclusion chromatography combined with detection by multiangle laser light scattering shows that the recombinant unphosphorylated phosphoproteins from VSV and from RV exist as dimers in solution. Hydrodynamic analysis indicates that the dimers are highly asymmetric, with a Stokes radius of 4.8-5.3 nm and a frictional ratio larger than 1.7. Small-angle neutron scattering experiments confirm the dimeric state and the asymmetry of the structure and yield a radius of gyration of about 5.3 nm and a cross-sectional radius of gyration of about 1.6-1.8 nm. Similar hydrodynamic properties and molecular dimensions were obtained with a variant of VSV phosphoprotein in which Ser60 and Thr62 are substituted by Asp residues and which has been reported previously to mimic phosphorylation by inducing oligomerization and activating transcription. Here, we show that this mutant also forms a dimer with hydrodynamic properties and molecular dimensions similar to those of the wild type protein. However, incubation at 30 degrees C for several hours induced self-assembly of both wild type and mutant proteins, leading to the formation of irregular filamentous structures.

  9. Selective inhibition by methoxyamine of the apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease activity associated with pyrimidine dimer-DNA glycosylases from Micrococcus luteus and bacteriophage T4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liuzzi, M.; Weinfeld, M.; Paterson, M.C.

    1987-01-01

    The UV endonucleases from Micrococcus luteus and bacteriophage T4 possess two catalytic activities specific for the site of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers in UV-irradiated DNA: a DNA glycosylase that cleaves the 5'-glycosyl bond of the dimerized pyrimidines and an apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonuclease that thereupon incises the phosphodiester bond 3' to the resulting apyrimidinic site. The authors have explored the potential use of methoxyamine, a chemical that reacts at neutral pH with AP sites in DNA, as a selective inhibitor of the AP endonuclease activities residing in the M. luteus and T4 enzymes. The presence of 50 mM methoxyamine during incubation of UV-treated, [ 3 H]thymine-labeled poly(dA) x poly(dT) with either enzyme preparation was found to protect completely the irradiated copolymer from endonucleolytic attack at dimer sites, as assayed by yield of acid-soluble radioactivity. In contrast, the dimer-DNA glycosylase activity of each enzyme remained fully functional, as monitored retrospectively by release of free thymine after either photochemical-(5 kJ/m 2 , 254 nm) or photoenzymic- (Escherichia coli photolyase plus visible light) induced reversal of pyrimidine dimers in the UV-damaged substrate. The data demonstrate that the inhibition of the strand-incision reaction arises because of chemical modification of the AP sites and is not due to inactivation of the enzyme by methoxyamine. The results, combined with earlier findings for 5'-acting AP endonucleases, strongly suggest that methoxyamine is a highly specific inhibitor of virtually all AP endonucleases, irrespective of their modes of action, and may therefore prove useful in a wide variety of DNA repair studies

  10. Moderate exercise prevents neurodegeneration in D-galactose-induced aging mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Li

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available D-galactose has been widely used in aging research because of its efficacy in inducing senescence and accelerating aging in animal models. The present study investigated the benefits of exercise for preventing neurodegeneration, such as synaptic plasticity, spatial learning and memory abilities, in mouse models of aging. D-galactose-induced aging mice were administered daily subcutaneous injections of D-galactose at the base of the neck for 10 consecutive weeks. Then, the mice were subjected to exercise training by running on a treadmill for 6 days a week. Shortened escape latency in a Morris water maze test indicated that exercise improved learning and memory in aging mice. The ameliorative changes were likely induced by an upregulation of Bcl-2 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, the repression of apoptosis factors such as Fas and Bax, and an increase in the activity of glucose transporters-1 and 4. The data suggest moderate exercise may retard or inhibit neurodegeneration in D-galactose-induced aging mice.

  11. Dimerization of glycoprotein Ibα is not sufficient to induce platelet clearance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, X; Syed, A K; Russell, S R; Ware, J; Li, R

    2016-02-01

    ESSENTIALS: Many anti-glycoprotein (GP)Ibα antibodies induce platelet clearance in a dimer-dependent manner. Characterization of monoclonal antibodies that bind the mechanosensitive domain (MSD) of GPIbα. An anti-MSD antibody binds two copies of GPIbα in platelets but does not induce platelet clearance. The prevailing clustering model of GPIbα signaling is incorrect or needs revision. The mechanism of platelet clearance is not clear. Many antibodies binding the membrane-distal ligand-binding domain of glycoprotein (GP)Ibα induce rapid clearance of platelets and acute thrombocytopenia, which requires the bifurcated antibody structure. It was thought that binding of these antibodies induced lateral dimerization or clustering of GPIbα in the plasma membrane, which leads to downstream signaling and platelet clearance. However, many antibodies targeting GPIbβ and GPIX, which are associated with GPIbα in the GPIb-IX complex, do not induce platelet clearance, which is in contradiction to the clustering model. To test whether dimerization or clustering of GPIbα is sufficient to transmit the signal that leads to platelet clearance. We have recently raised several mAbs targeting the mechanosensitive domain (MSD) of GPIbα. Binding of these anti-MSD antibodies was characterized with biochemical methods. Their ability to stimulate platelets and induce platelet clearance in mice was assessed. Infusion of anti-MSD antibodies does not cause thrombocytopenia in mice. These antibodies show no detectable effects on platelet activation and aggregation in vitro. Further biochemical investigation showed that the anti-MSD antibody 3D1 binds two copies of GPIbα on the platelet surface. Therefore, lateral dimerization of GPIbα induced by antibody binding is not sufficient to initiate GPIb-IX signaling and induce platelet clearance. Our results suggest that a factor other than or in addition to clustering of GPIbα is required to induce platelet clearance. © 2015 International

  12. Spin-orbit interaction driven dimerization in one dimensional frustrated magnets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shang-Shun; Batista, Cristian D.

    Spin nematic ordering has been proposed to emerge near the saturation of field of a class of frustrated magnets. The experimental observation of this novel phase is challenging for the traditional experimental probes. Nematic spin ordering is expected to induce a local quadrupolar electric moment via the spin-orbit coupling. However, a finite spin-orbit interaction explicitly breaks the U(1) symmetry of global spin rotations down to Z2, which renders the traditional nematic order no longer well-defined. In this work we investigate the relevant effect of spin-orbit interaction on the 1D frustrated J1 -J2 model. The real and the imaginary parts of the nematic order parameter belong to different representations of the discrete symmetry group of the new Hamiltonian. We demonstrate that spin-orbit coupling stabilizes the real component and simultaneously induces bond dimerization in most of the phase diagram. Such a bond dimerization can be observed with X-rays or nuclear magnetic resonance. In addition, an incommensurate bond-density wave (ICBDW) appears for smaller values of J2 / |J1 | . The experimental fingerprint of the ICBDW is a double-horn shape of the the NMR line. These conclusions can shed light on the experimental search of this novel phase.

  13. Vitamin D and inflammatory markers: cross-sectional analyses using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Oliveira, Cesar; Biddulph, Jane P; Hirani, Vasant; Schneider, Ione Jayce Ceola

    2017-01-01

    Recent evidence suggests that low vitamin D concentrations are associated with increased levels of inflammatory markers. However, there are limited studies investigating associations between vitamin D levels and inflammatory markers in the general population and much of this evidence in older adults is inconclusive. Therefore, this study investigates the cross-sectional association of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels with inflammatory markers in 5870 older English adults from wave 6 (2012-2013) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). ELSA is a large prospective observational study of community-dwelling people aged 50 years and over in England. Serum 25(OH)D levels, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, plasma fibrinogen levels, white blood cell count (WBC), age, season of blood collection, waist circumference, total non-pension household wealth, measures of health and health behaviours that included depression, number of cardiovascular, non-cardiovascular conditions and difficulties in activities of daily living, smoking, and physical activity were measured. There was a significant negative association between low 25(OH)D levels (≤30 nmol/l) and CRP (OR 1·23, 95 % CI 1·00, 1·51) and WBC (OR 1·35, 95 % CI 1·13, 1·60) that remained after adjustment for a wide range of covariates of clinical significance. However, for fibrinogen, the association did not remain significant when waist circumference was entered in the final model. Our findings showed that 25(OH)D levels were associated with two out the three inflammatory markers investigated. The independent and inverse association between serum 25(OH)D levels and inflammation suggests a potential anti-inflammatory role for vitamin D in older English individuals from the general population.

  14. Covalent α-synuclein dimers: chemico-physical and aggregation properties.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Micaela Pivato

    Full Text Available The aggregation of α-synuclein into amyloid fibrils constitutes a key step in the onset of Parkinson's disease. Amyloid fibrils of α-synuclein are the major component of Lewy bodies, histological hallmarks of the disease. Little is known about the mechanism of aggregation of α-synuclein. During this process, α-synuclein forms transient intermediates that are considered to be toxic species. The dimerization of α-synuclein could represent a rate-limiting step in the aggregation of the protein. Here, we analyzed four covalent dimers of α-synuclein, obtained by covalent link of the N-terms, C-terms, tandem cloning of two sequences and tandem juxtaposition in one protein of the 1-104 and 29-140 sequences. Their biophysical properties in solution were determined by CD, FT-IR and NMR spectroscopies. SDS-induced folding was also studied. The fibrils formation was analyzed by ThT and polarization fluorescence assays. Their morphology was investigated by TEM and AFM-based quantitative morphometric analysis. All dimers were found to be devoid of ordered secondary structure under physiological conditions and undergo α-helical transition upon interaction with SDS. All protein species are able to form amyloid-like fibrils. The reciprocal orientation of the α-synuclein monomers in the dimeric constructs affects the kinetics of the aggregation process and a scale of relative amyloidogenic propensity was determined. Structural investigations by FT IR spectroscopy, and proteolytic mapping of the fibril core did not evidence remarkable difference among the species, whereas morphological analyses showed that fibrils formed by dimers display a lower and diversified level of organization in comparison with α-synuclein fibrils. This study demonstrates that although α-synuclein dimerization does not imply the acquisition of a preferred conformation by the participating monomers, it can strongly affect the aggregation properties of the molecules. The results

  15. Pyrimidine dimer sites associated with the daughter DNA strands in uv-irradiated human fibroblasts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehmann, A R; Kirk-Bell, S [Sussex Univ., Brighton (UK)

    1978-03-01

    Pyrimidine dimer sites associated with the newly-synthesized DNA were detected during post-replication repair of DNA in uv-irradiated human fibroblasts. These pyrimidine dimer sites were inferred from a decrease in the molecular weight of pulse-labelled DNA after treatment with an extract of Micrococcus luteus containing uv-specific endonuclease activity. In DNA synthesized immediately after irradiation, the frequency of these daughter strand dimer sites was 7 to 20% of that in the parental DNA. Such sites were found in fibroblasts from normal donors and from xeroderma pigmentosum patients (with defects in excision-repair or post-replication repair). They were excised from the DNA of normal cells. As the time between uv irradiation and pulse-labelling was increased, the frequency of dimer sites associated with the labelled DNA decreased. If the pulse-label was delivered 6 h after irradiation of normal cells or excision-defective xeroderma pigmentosum cells, no dimer sites were detected in the labelled DNA. It has usually been assumed that daughter-strand dimer sites were the result of recombinational exchanges. The assay procedure used in these experiments and in similar experiments of others did not distinguish between labelled DNA containing pyrimidine dimers within the labelled section, and labelled DNA which did not contain pyrimidine dimers but was attached to unlabelled DNA which did contain dimers. The latter structures would arise during normal replication immediately following uv irradiation of mammalian cells. Calculations are presented which suggest that a significant proportion and conceivably all of the dimer sites associated with the daughter strands may have arisen in this way, rather than from recombinational exchanges as has been generally assumed.

  16. Pyrimidine dimer sites associated with the daughter DNA strands in UV-irradiated human fibroblasts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lehmann, A.R.; Kirk-Bell, S.

    1978-01-01

    Pyrimidine dimer sites associated with the newly-synthesized DNA were detected during post-replication repair of DNA in UV-irradiated human fibroblasts. These pyrimidine dimer sites were inferred from a decrease in the molecular weight of pulse-labelled DNA after treatment with an extract of Micrococcus luteus containing UV-specific endonuclease activity. In DNA synthesized immediately after irradiation the frequency of these daughter strand dimer sites was 7-20% of that in the parental DNA. Such sites were found in fibroblasts from normal donors and from xeroderma pigmentosum patients (with defects in excision-repair or post-replication repair). They were excised from the DNA of normal cells. As the time between UV-irradiation and pulse-labelling was increased, the frequency of dimer sites associated with the labelled DNA decreased. If the pulse-label was delivered 6 h after irradiation of normal cells or excision-defective xeroderma pigmentosum cells, no dimer sites were detected in the labelled DNA. It has usually been assumed that daughter-strand dimer sites were the result of recombinational exchanges. The assay procedure used in these experiments and in similar experiments of others did not distinguish between labelled DNA containing pyrimidine dimers within the labelled section, and labelled DNA which did not contain pyrimidine dimers but was attached to unlabelled DNA which did contain dimers. The latter structures would arise during normal replication immediately following UV-irradiation of mammalian cells. Calculations are presented which suggest that a significant proportion and conceivably all of the dimer sites associated with the daughter strands may have arisen in this way, rather than from recombinational exchanges as has been generally assumed. (author)

  17. Single-molecule photobleaching reveals increased MET receptor dimerization upon ligand binding in intact cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dietz, Marina S; Haße, Daniel; Ferraris, Davide M; Göhler, Antonia; Niemann, Hartmut H; Heilemann, Mike

    2013-01-01

    The human receptor tyrosine kinase MET and its ligand hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor are essential during embryonic development and play an important role during cancer metastasis and tissue regeneration. In addition, it was found that MET is also relevant for infectious diseases and is the target of different bacteria, amongst them Listeria monocytogenes that induces bacterial uptake through the surface protein internalin B. Binding of ligand to the MET receptor is proposed to lead to receptor dimerization. However, it is also discussed whether preformed MET dimers exist on the cell membrane. To address these issues we used single-molecule fluorescence microscopy techniques. Our photobleaching experiments show that MET exists in dimers on the membrane of cells in the absence of ligand and that the proportion of MET dimers increases significantly upon ligand binding. Our results indicate that partially preformed MET dimers may play a role in ligand binding or MET signaling. The addition of the bacterial ligand internalin B leads to an increase of MET dimers which is in agreement with the model of ligand-induced dimerization of receptor tyrosine kinases.

  18. Species A rotavirus NSP3 acquires its translation inhibitory function prior to stable dimer formation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hugo I Contreras-Treviño

    Full Text Available Species A rotavirus non-structural protein 3 (NSP3 is a translational regulator that inhibits or, under some conditions, enhances host cell translation. NSP3 binds to the translation initiation factor eIF4G1 and evicts poly-(A binding protein (PABP from eIF4G1, thus inhibiting translation of polyadenylated mRNAs, presumably by disrupting the effect of PABP bound to their 3'-ends. NSP3 has a long coiled-coil region involved in dimerization that includes a chaperone Hsp90-binding domain (HS90BD. We aimed to study the role in NSP3 dimerization of a segment of the coiled-coil region adjoining the HS90BD. We used a vaccinia virus system to express NSP3 with point mutations in conserved amino acids in the coiled-coil region and determined the effects of these mutations on translation by metabolic labeling of proteins as well as on accumulation of stable NSP3 dimers by non-dissociating Western blot, a method that separates stable NSP3 dimers from the monomer/dimerization intermediate forms of the protein. Four of five mutations reduced the total yield of NSP3 and the formation of stable dimers (W170A, K171E, R173E and R187E:K191E, whereas one mutation had the opposite effects (Y192A. Treatment with the proteasome inhibitor MG132 revealed that stable NSP3 dimers and monomers/dimerization intermediates are susceptible to proteasome degradation. Surprisingly, mutants severely impaired in the formation of stable dimers were still able to inhibit host cell translation, suggesting that NSP3 dimerization intermediates are functional. Our results demonstrate that rotavirus NSP3 acquires its function prior to stable dimer formation and remain as a proteasome target throughout dimerization.

  19. Single-Molecule Rotational Switch on a Dangling Bond Dimer Bearing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godlewski, Szymon; Kawai, Hiroyo; Kolmer, Marek; Zuzak, Rafał; Echavarren, Antonio M; Joachim, Christian; Szymonski, Marek; Saeys, Mark

    2016-09-27

    One of the key challenges in the construction of atomic-scale circuits and molecular machines is to design molecular rotors and switches by controlling the linear or rotational movement of a molecule while preserving its intrinsic electronic properties. Here, we demonstrate both the continuous rotational switching and the controlled step-by-step single switching of a trinaphthylene molecule adsorbed on a dangling bond dimer created on a hydrogen-passivated Ge(001):H surface. The molecular switch is on-surface assembled when the covalent bonds between the molecule and the dangling bond dimer are controllably broken, and the molecule is attached to the dimer by long-range van der Waals interactions. In this configuration, the molecule retains its intrinsic electronic properties, as confirmed by combined scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) measurements, density functional theory calculations, and advanced STM image calculations. Continuous switching of the molecule is initiated by vibronic excitations when the electrons are tunneling through the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital state of the molecule. The switching path is a combination of a sliding and rotation motion over the dangling bond dimer pivot. By carefully selecting the STM conditions, control over discrete single switching events is also achieved. Combined with the ability to create dangling bond dimers with atomic precision, the controlled rotational molecular switch is expected to be a crucial building block for more complex surface atomic-scale devices.

  20. Laser isotope separation using selective inhibition and encouragement of dimer formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kivel, B.

    1979-01-01

    Method and apparatus for inhibiting dimer formation of molecules of a selected isotope type in a cooled flow of gas to enhance the effectiveness of mass difference isotope separation techniques are described. Molecules in the flow containing atoms of the selected isotope type are selectively excited by infrared radiation in order to inhibit the formation of dimers and larger clusters of such molecules, while the molecules not containing atoms of the selected, excited type are encouraged to form dimers and higher order aggregates by the cooling of the gaseous flow. The molecules with the excited isotope will predominate in monomers and will constitute the enriched product stream, while the aggregated group comprising molecules having the unexcited isotope will predominate in dimers and larger clusters of molecules, forming the tails stream. The difference in diffusion coefficientts between particles of the excited and unexcited isotopes is enhanced by the greater mass differences resulting from aggregation of unexcited particles into dimers and larger clusters. Prior art separation techniques which exploit differences in isotopic diffusion rates will consequently exhibit enhanced enrichment per stage by the utilization of the present invention

  1. Spin Quantum Tunneling via Entangled States in a Dimer of Exchange-Coupled Single-Molecule Magnets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiron, R.; Wernsdorfer, W.; Foguet-Albiol, D.; Aliaga-Alcalde, N.; Christou, G.

    2003-11-01

    A new family of supramolecular, antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled dimers of single-molecule magnets (SMMs) has recently been reported. Each SMM acts as a bias on its neighbor, shifting the quantum tunneling resonances of the individual SMMs. Hysteresis loop measurements on a single crystal of SMM dimers have now established quantum tunneling of the magnetization via entangled states of the dimer. This shows that the dimer really does behave as a quantum mechanically coupled dimer, and also allows the measurement of the longitudinal and transverse superexchange coupling constants.

  2. Light activation of the LOV protein vivid generates a rapidly exchanging dimer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zoltowski, Brian D; Crane, Brian R

    2008-07-08

    The fungal photoreceptor Vivid (VVD) plays an important role in the adaptation of blue-light responses in Neurospora crassa. VVD, an FAD-binding LOV (light, oxygen, voltage) protein, couples light-induced cysteinyl adduct formation at the flavin ring to conformational changes in the N-terminal cap (Ncap) of the VVD PAS domain. Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), equilibrium ultracentrifugation, and static and dynamic light scattering show that these conformational changes generate a rapidly exchanging VVD dimer, with an expanded hydrodynamic radius. A three-residue N-terminal beta-turn that assumes two different conformations in a crystal structure of a VVD C71V variant is essential for light-state dimerization. Residue substitutions at a critical hinge between the Ncap and PAS core can inhibit or enhance dimerization, whereas a Tyr to Trp substitution at the Ncap-PAS interface stabilizes the light-state dimer. Cross-linking through engineered disulfides indicates that the light-state dimer differs considerably from the dark-state dimer found in VVD crystal structures. These results verify the role of Ncap conformational changes in gating the photic response of N. crassa and indicate that LOV-LOV homo- or heterodimerization may be a mechanism for regulating light-activated gene expression.

  3. Structure of the dimeric form of CTP synthase from Sulfolobus solfataricus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauritsen, Iben; Willemoës, Martin; Jensen, Kaj Frank

    2011-01-01

    CTP synthase catalyzes the last committed step in de novo pyrimidine-nucleotide biosynthesis. Active CTP synthase is a tetrameric enzyme composed of a dimer of dimers. The tetramer is favoured in the presence of the substrate nucleotides ATP and UTP; when saturated with nucleotide, the tetramer...... completely dominates the oligomeric state of the enzyme. Furthermore, phosphorylation has been shown to regulate the oligomeric states of the enzymes from yeast and human. The crystal structure of a dimeric form of CTP synthase from Sulfolobus solfataricus has been determined at 2.5 Å resolution...

  4. Preparation of 177Lu-DOTA/DTPA-Bz-Cys-RGD dimer and biodistribution evaluation in normal mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sheng Feng; Jia Bing; Wang Fan; He Weiwei; Liu Zhaofei; Zhao Huiyun

    2008-01-01

    177 Lu-DOTA-Bz-Cys-RGD dimer and 177 Lu-DTPA-Bz-Cys-RGD dimer were prepared, and the in vitro and in vivo properties were compared. TLC and HPLC show that the labeling yields of two radiolabeled compounds are more than 95% under optimal conditions (pH=5.0, reacting at 100 degree C for 15-20 min), and the two radiolabeled compounds show pretty good in vitro stability. HPLC analyses and lg P values reveal that lipophilicity of 177 Lu-DOTA-Bz-Cys- RGD dimer is higher than 177 Lu-DTPA-Bz-Cys-RGD dimer. The uptake of 177 Lu-DTPA-Bz-Cys- RGD dimer in other tissues is significantly higher than that of 177 Lu-DOTA-Bz-Cys-RGD dimer at 4 h postinjection, except for blood and spleen. The in vivo stability of 177 Lu-DOTA-Bz-Cys-RGD dimer is much better than 177 Lu-DTPA-Bz-Cys-RGD dimer. Bz-DOTA is an ideal bifunctional chelator for 177 Lu labeling of RGD dimer. (authors)

  5. Risk and Protective Factors at Age 16: Psychological Adjustment in Children With a Cleft Lip and/or Palate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feragen, Kristin Billaud; Stock, Nicola Marie; Kvalem, Ingela Lundin

    2015-09-01

    Explore psychological functioning in adolescents with a cleft at age 16 from a broad perspective, including cognitive, emotional, behavioral, appearance-related, and psychosocial adjustment. High-risk groups were identified within each area of adjustment to investigate whether vulnerable adolescents were found across domains or whether risk was limited to specific areas of adjustment. Cross-sectional data based on psychological assessments at age 16 (N = 857). The effect of gender, cleft visibility, and the presence of an additional condition were investigated on all outcome variables. Results were compared with large national samples. Hopkins Symptom Checklist, Harter Self-Perception Scale for Adolescents, Child Experience Questionnaire, and Satisfaction With Appearance scale. The main factor influencing psychological adjustment across domains was gender, with girls in general reporting more psychological problems, as seen in reference groups. The presence of an additional condition also negatively affected some of the measures. No support was found for cleft visibility as a risk factor except for dissatisfaction with appearance. Correlation analyses of risk groups seem to point to an association between social and emotional risk and between social risk and dissatisfaction with appearance. Associations between other domains were found to be weak. The results point to areas of both risk and strength in adolescents born with a cleft lip and/or palate. Future research should investigate how protective factors could counteract potential risk in adolescents with a cleft.

  6. Computational study of aggregation mechanism in human lysozyme[D67H].

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dharmeshkumar Patel

    Full Text Available Aggregation of proteins is an undesired phenomena that affects both human health and bioengineered products such as therapeutic proteins. Finding preventative measures could be facilitated by a molecular-level understanding of dimer formation, which is the first step in aggregation. Here we present a molecular dynamics (MD study of dimer formation propensity in human lysozyme and its D67H variant. Because the latter protein aggregates while the former does not, they offer an ideal system for testing the feasibility of the proposed MD approach which comprises three stages: i partially unfolded conformers involved in dimer formation are generated via high-temperature MD simulations, ii potential dimer structures are searched using docking and refined with MD, iii free energy calculations are performed to find the most stable dimer structure. Our results provide a detailed explanation for how a single mutation (D67H turns human lysozyme from non-aggregating to an aggregating protein. Conversely, the proposed method can be used to identify the residues causing aggregation in a protein, which can be mutated to prevent it.

  7. Gap solitons in a chain of split-ring resonator dimers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cui, Wei-na, E-mail: cuiweinaa@163.com [Department of Applied Physics, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094 (China); Li, Hong-xia, E-mail: hxli@njust.edu.cn [Department of Applied Physics, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094 (China); Sun, Min [Department of Applied Physics, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094 (China); Bu, Ling-bing [Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Key Laboratory for Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation of China Meteorological Administration, Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster of Ministry of Education, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044 (China)

    2017-06-21

    Dynamics of a chain of split-ring resonator dimers with Kerr nonlinear interaction are investigated. A dimer is built as a pair of coupled split-ring resonators with different size. It is shown that the gap solitons with frequency lying in the gap exist due to the interaction of the discreteness and nonlinearity. Such localized structures are studied in the phase plane and analytical and numerical expressions are also obtained. - Highlights: • The coupling of the two modes is studied in the chain of split-ring resonator dimers with Kerr nonlinear interaction. • The evolution of the localized structures is studied in the phase plane. • This system supports gap solitons with the frequencies lying in the gap.

  8. Thermal entanglement in an orthogonal dimer-plaquette chain with alternating Ising–Heisenberg coupling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paulinelli, H G; De Souza, S M; Rojas, Onofre

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we explore the entanglement in an orthogonal dimer-plaquette Ising–Heisenberg chain, assembled between plaquette edges, also known as orthogonal dimer plaquettes. The quantum entanglement properties involving an infinite chain structure are quite important, not only because the mathematical calculation is cumbersome but also because real materials are well represented by infinite chains. Using the local gauge symmetry of this model, we are able to map onto a simple spin-1 like Ising and spin-1/2 Heisenberg dimer model with single effective ion anisotropy. Thereafter this model can be solved using the decoration transformation and transfer matrix approach. First, we discuss the phase diagram at zero temperature of this model, where we find five ground states, one ferromagnetic, one antiferromagnetic, one triplet–triplet disordered and one triplet–singlet disordered phase, beside a dimer ferromagnetic–antiferromagnetic phase. In addition, we discuss the thermodynamic properties such as entropy, where we display the residual entropy. Furthermore, using the nearest site correlation function it is possible also to analyze the pairwise thermal entanglement for both orthogonal dimers. Additionally, we discuss the threshold temperature of the entangled region as a function of Hamiltonian parameters. We find a quite interesting thin reentrance threshold temperature for one of the dimers, and we also discuss the differences and similarities for both dimers. (paper)

  9. Studies of molecular association in H2O and D2O vapors by measurement of thermal conductivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Curtiss, L.A.; Frurip, D.J.; Blander, M.

    1979-01-01

    The thermal conductivities of H 2 O and D 2 O vapors were measured in a modified thick hot wire cell between 358 and 386 K at pressures ranging from 100 to 1000 Torr. Analysis of the data indicates that molecular association to form a dimeric species is the main source of enhancement of the thermal conductivity of both vapors. The enthalpy and entropy of association of the H 2 O dimer are -3.59 kcal mol -1 and -18.59 cal deg -1 mol -1 , respectively. The enthalpy and entropy of association of the D 2 O dimer are -3.66 kcal mol -1 and -18.67 cal deg -1 mol -1 , respectively. The measured enthalpy of association of the H 2 O dimer is in agreement with recently reported ab initio molecular orbital calculations on the H 2 O dimer. The entropies of association of the H 2 O and D 2 O dimers are calculated theoretically and are found to be in agreement with the measured values

  10. Synthesis and Diels–Alder cycloaddition reaction of norbornadiene and benzonorbornadiene dimers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bilal Nişancı

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Dimeric forms of norbornadiene and benzonorbornadiene were synthesized starting with known monobromide derivatives. The Diels–Alder cycloaddition reaction of dimers with TCNE and PTAD was investigated and new norbornenoid polycyclics were obtained. All compounds were characterized properly using NMR spectroscopy.

  11. Theoretical Insights into a CO Dimerization Mechanism in CO2 Electroreduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montoya, Joseph H; Shi, Chuan; Chan, Karen; Nørskov, Jens K

    2015-06-04

    In this work, we present DFT simulations that demonstrate the ability of Cu to catalyze CO dimerization in CO2 and CO electroreduction. We describe a previously unreported CO dimer configuration that is uniquely stabilized by a charged water layer on both Cu(111) and Cu(100). Without this charged water layer at the metal surface, the formation of the CO dimer is prohibitively endergonic. Our calculations also demonstrate that dimerization should have a lower activation barrier on Cu(100) than Cu(111), which, along with a more exergonic adsorption energy and a corresponding higher coverage of *CO, is consistent with experimental observations that Cu(100) has a high activity for C-C coupling at low overpotentials. We also demonstrate that this effect is present with cations other than H(+), a finding that is consistent with the experimentally observed pH independence of C2 formation on Cu.

  12. Computer simulations and modeling-assisted ToxR screening in deciphering 3D structures of transmembrane α-helical dimers: ephrin receptor A1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Volynsky, P E; Mineeva, E A; Goncharuk, M V; Ermolyuk, Ya S; Arseniev, A S; Efremov, R G

    2010-01-01

    Membrane-spanning segments of numerous proteins (e.g. receptor tyrosine kinases) represent a novel class of pharmacologically important targets, whose activity can be modulated by specially designed artificial peptides, the so-called interceptors. Rational construction of such peptides requires understanding of the main factors driving peptide–peptide association in lipid membranes. Here we present a new method for rapid prediction of the spatial structure of transmembrane (TM) helix–helix complexes. It is based on computer simulations in membrane-like media and subsequent refinement/validation of the results using experimental studies of TM helix dimerization in a bacterial membrane by means of the ToxR system. The approach was applied to TM fragments of the ephrin receptor A1 (EphA1). A set of spatial structures of the dimer was proposed based on Monte Carlo simulations in an implicit membrane followed by molecular dynamics relaxation in an explicit lipid bilayer. The resulting models were employed for rational design of wild-type and mutant genetic constructions for ToxR assays. The computational and the experimental data are self-consistent and provide an unambiguous spatial model of the TM dimer of EphA1. The results of this work can be further used to develop new biologically active 'peptide interceptors' specifically targeting membrane domains of proteins

  13. Conformational study of the protegrin-1 (PG-1 dimer interaction with lipid bilayers and its effect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nussinov Ruth

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Protegrin-1 (PG-1 is known as a potent antibiotic peptide; it prevents infection via an attack on the membrane surface of invading microorganisms. In the membrane, the peptide forms a pore/channel through oligomerization of multiple subunits. Recent experimental and computational studies have increasingly unraveled the molecular-level mechanisms underlying the interactions of the PG-1 β-sheet motifs with the membrane. The PG-1 dimer is important for the formation of oligomers, ordered aggregates, and for membrane damaging effects. Yet, experimentally, different dimeric behavior has been observed depending on the environment: antiparallel in the micelle environment, and parallel in the POPC bilayer. The experimental structure of the PG-1 dimer is currently unavailable. Results Although the β-sheet structures of the PG-1 dimer are less stable in the bulk water environment, the dimer interface is retained by two intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The formation of the dimer in the water environment implies that the pathway of the dimer invasion into the membrane can originate from the bulk region. In the initial contact with the membrane, both the antiparallel and parallel β-sheet conformations of the PG-1 dimer are well preserved at the amphipathic interface of the lipid bilayer. These β-sheet structures illustrate the conformations of PG-1 dimer in the early stage of the membrane attack. Here we observed that the activity of PG-1 β-sheets on the bilayer surface is strongly correlated with the dimer conformation. Our long-term goal is to provide a detailed mechanism of the membrane-disrupting effects by PG-1 β-sheets which are able to attack the membrane and eventually assemble into the ordered aggregates. Conclusion In order to understand the dimeric effects leading to membrane damage, extensive molecular dynamics (MD simulations were performed for the β-sheets of the PG-1 dimer in explicit water, salt, and lipid bilayers

  14. Physical association of pyrimidine dimer DNA glycosylase and apurinic/apyrimidinic DNA endonuclease essential for repair of ultraviolet-damaged DNA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakabeppu, Y.; Sekiguchi, M.

    1981-01-01

    T4 endonuclease, which is involved in repair of uv-damaged DNA, has been purified to apparent physical homogeneity. Incubation of uv-irradiated poly(dA).poly(dT) with the purified enzyme preparations resulted in production of alkali-labile apyrimidinic sites, followed by formation of nicks in the polymer. By performing a limited reaction with T4 endonuclease V at pH 8.5, irradiated polymer was converted to an intermediate form that carried a large number of alkali-labile sites but only a few nicks. The intermediate was used as substrate for the assay of apurinic/apyrimidinic DNA endonuclease activity. The two activities, a pyrimidine dimer DNA glycosylase and an apurinic/apyrimidinic DNA endonuclease, were copurified and found in enzyme preparations that contained only a 16,000-dalton polypeptide. These results strongly suggested that a DNA glycosylase specific for pyrimidine dimers and an apurinic/apyrimidinic DNA endonuclease reside in a single polypeptide chain coded by the denV gene of bacteriophage T4

  15. QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Death Rates* for Top Five Causes of Cancer Death,(†) by Race/Hispanic Ethnicity - United States, 2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-09-16

    In 2014, the top five causes of cancer deaths for the total population were lung, colorectal, female breast, pancreatic, and prostate cancer. The non-Hispanic black population had the highest age-adjusted death rates for each of these five cancers, followed by non-Hispanic white and Hispanic groups. The age-adjusted death rate for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in all groups, was 42.1 per 100,000 standard population for the total population, 45.4 for non-Hispanic white, 45.7 for non-Hispanic black, and 18.3 for Hispanic populations.

  16. Refractive accuracy with light-adjustable intraocular lenses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villegas, Eloy A; Alcon, Encarna; Rubio, Elena; Marín, José M; Artal, Pablo

    2014-07-01

    To evaluate efficacy, predictability, and stability of refractive treatments using light-adjustable intraocular lenses (IOLs). University Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain. Prospective nonrandomized clinical trial. Eyes with a light-adjustable IOL (LAL) were treated with spatial intensity profiles to correct refractive errors. The effective changes in refraction in the light-adjustable IOL after every treatment were estimated by subtracting those in the whole eye and the cornea, which were measured with a Hartmann-Shack sensor and a corneal topographer, respectively. The refractive changes in the whole eye and light-adjustable IOL, manifest refraction, and visual acuity were obtained after every light treatment and at the 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. The study enrolled 53 eyes (49 patients). Each tested light spatial pattern (5 spherical; 3 astigmatic) produced a different refractive change (Plight adjustments induced a maximum change in spherical power of the light-adjustable IOL of between -1.98 diopters (D) and +2.30 D and in astigmatism of up to -2.68 D with axis errors below 9 degrees. Intersubject variability (standard deviation) ranged between 0.10 D and 0.40 D. The 2 required lock-in procedures induced a small myopic shift (range +0.01 to +0.57 D) that depended on previous adjustments. Light-adjustable IOL implantation achieved accurate refractive outcomes (around emmetropia) with good uncorrected distance visual acuity, which remained stable over time. Further refinements in nomograms and in the treatment's protocol would improve the predictability of refractive and visual outcomes with these IOLs. No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned. Copyright © 2014 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. How different is the borazine-acetylene dimer from the benzene-acetylene dimer? A matrix isolation infrared and ab initio quantum chemical study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Kanupriya; Viswanathan, K. S.; Majumder, Moumita; Sathyamurthy, N.

    2017-11-01

    The 1:1 dimer of borazine-acetylene has been studied for the first time, both experimentally and computationally. The borazine-acetylene dimer was trapped in Ar and N2 matrices, and studied using infrared spectroscopy. Our experiments clearly revealed two isomers of the borazine-acetylene complex, one in which the N-H of borazine interacted with the carbon of acetylene, and another in which the C-H of acetylene formed a hydrogen bond with a nitrogen atom of borazine. The formation of both isomers in the matrix was evidenced by shifts in the vibrational frequencies of the appropriate modes. Reassuringly, the experimental observations were corroborated by our computations using the second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theoretic method and coupled-cluster singles, doubles and perturbative triples method in conjunction with different Dunning basis sets, which indicated both these isomers to be stable minima, with the N-HṡṡṡC complex being the global minimum. Atoms-in-molecules and energy decomposition analysis were also carried out for the different isomers of the dimer. These studies reveal that replacing the three C-C linkages in benzene with three B-N linkages in borazine modifies the interaction in the dimer sufficiently, to result in a different potential energy landscape for the borazine-acetylene system when compared with the benzene-acetylene system.

  18. A Correlation of the Platelet Count with D-Dimer Levels as an Indicator for Component Therapy in Children with Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sridhar, Arthi; Sunil Kumar, B M; Rau, Aarathi; Rau, A T K

    2017-06-01

    Dengue Fever (DF) may evolve into two life threatening forms-Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) and Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS). DHF is associated with increased vascular permeability and plasma leakage causing thrombocytopenia and loss of clotting factors into the third space and may result in bleeding initially due to thrombocytopenia and later due to disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), often as a terminal event. Prompt recognition and treatment of minor bleeds in DF children with incipient DIC with component therapy may be associated with improved survival while failure to do so is usually catastrophic. A sensitive marker for early DIC is the presence of D-dimer (DD) in the blood. To determine the correlation between the severity of thrombocytopenia and early DIC in children with DHF. The impact of additional factors like age and shock will also be evaluated. Case control prospective study of 60 DHF sero -positive children (1-15 years) with thrombocytopenia. After clinical evaluation they were divided into two equal groups based on the degree of thrombocytopenia (more than/less than 30,000/mm 3 ). PT/APTT and DD levels were estimated in all children of both groups and statistical correlation was done. There was no significant difference in the DD levels between the two groups. However, children in either group, presenting with clinical features of shock and thrombocytopenia had significantly higher DD levels. Empirical component therapy in children with DHF based purely on their low platelet counts may not be justified. However, in DHF children with thrombocytopenia and features of shock, aggressive component therapy may prevent subsequent bleeding and may be justified.

  19. Gas-phase isotope fractionation factor for the proton-bound dimer of the ethoxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ellenberger, M.R.; Farneth, W.E.; Dixon, D.A.

    1981-01-01

    The gas-phase isotope fractionation factor, phi/sub gp/, for A 2 L - where A = EtO and L = H or D has been measured by using ion cyclotron resonance spectroscopy. Two approaches to the formation of the A 2 L - dimers are presented. The value for phi/sub gp/ is 0.46 +- 0.1. This low value for phi/sub gp/ is consistent with motion of a proton in a potential with a small central maximum or no maximum

  20. Alignment and Imaging of the CS2 Dimer Inside Helium Nanodroplets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pickering, James D.; Shepperson, Benjamin; Hübschmann, Bjarke A. K.; Thorning, Frederik; Stapelfeldt, Henrik

    2018-03-01

    The carbon disulphide (CS2) dimer is formed inside He nanodroplets and identified using fs laser-induced Coulomb explosion, by observing the CS2+ ion recoil velocity. It is then shown that a 160 ps moderately intense laser pulse can align the dimer in advantageous spatial orientations which allow us to determine the cross-shaped structure of the dimer by analysis of the correlations between the emission angles of the nascent CS2+ and S+ ions, following the explosion process. Our method will enable fs time-resolved structural imaging of weakly bound molecular complexes during conformational isomerization, including formation of exciplexes.

  1. Breaking symmetry in the structure determination of (large) symmetric protein dimers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gaponenko, Vadim; Altieri, Amanda S.; Li, Jess; Byrd, R. Andrew [National Cancer Institute, Structural Biophysics Laboratory (United States)], E-mail: rabyrd@ncifcrf.gov

    2002-10-15

    We demonstrate a novel methodology to disrupt the symmetry in the NMR spectra of homodimers. A paramagnetic probe is introduced sub-stoichiometrically to create an asymmetric system with the paramagnetic probe residing on only one monomer within the dimer. This creates sufficient magnetic anisotropy for resolution of symmetry-related overlapped resonances and, consequently, detection of pseudocontact shifts and residual dipolar couplings specific to each monomeric component. These pseudocontact shifts can be readily incorporated into existing structure refinement calculations and enable determination of monomer orientation within the dimeric protein. This methodology can be widely used for solution structure determination of symmetric dimers.

  2. Substrate-Induced Dimerization of Engineered Monomeric Variants of Triosephosphate Isomerase from Trichomonas vaginalis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel Lara-Gonzalez

    Full Text Available The dimeric nature of triosephosphate isomerases (TIMs is maintained by an extensive surface area interface of more than 1600 Å2. TIMs from Trichomonas vaginalis (TvTIM are held in their dimeric state by two mechanisms: a ball and socket interaction of residue 45 of one subunit that fits into the hydrophobic pocket of the complementary subunit and by swapping of loop 3 between subunits. TvTIMs differ from other TIMs in their unfolding energetics. In TvTIMs the energy necessary to unfold a monomer is greater than the energy necessary to dissociate the dimer. Herein we found that the character of residue I45 controls the dimer-monomer equilibrium in TvTIMs. Unfolding experiments employing monomeric and dimeric mutants led us to conclude that dimeric TvTIMs unfold following a four state model denaturation process whereas monomeric TvTIMs follow a three state model. In contrast to other monomeric TIMs, monomeric variants of TvTIM1 are stable and unexpectedly one of them (I45A is only 29-fold less active than wild-type TvTIM1. The high enzymatic activity of monomeric TvTIMs contrast with the marginal catalytic activity of diverse monomeric TIMs variants. The stability of the monomeric variants of TvTIM1 and the use of cross-linking and analytical ultracentrifugation experiments permit us to understand the differences between the catalytic activities of TvTIMs and other marginally active monomeric TIMs. As TvTIMs do not unfold upon dimer dissociation, herein we found that the high enzymatic activity of monomeric TvTIM variants is explained by the formation of catalytic dimeric competent species assisted by substrate binding.

  3. Depletion calculations of adjuster rods in Darlington

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arsenault, B.; Tsang, K., E-mail: benoit.arsenault@amecfw.com, E-mail: kwok.tsang@amecfw.com [AMEC Foster Wheeler, Toronto, ON (Canada)

    2015-07-01

    This paper describes the simulation methodology and reactivity worth calculated for aged adjuster rods in the Darlington core. ORIGEN-S IST was applied to simulate the isotope transmutation process of the stainless steel and titanium adjusters. The compositions were used in DRAGON-IST to calculate the change in incremental properties of aged adjusters. Pre-simulations of the reactivity worth of the stainless steel and titanium adjusters in Darlington were performed using RFSP-IST and the results showed that the titanium adjuster rods exhibit faster reactivity-worth drop than that of stainless steel rods. (author)

  4. The attenuated inflammation of MPL is due to the lack of CD14-dependent tight dimerization of the TLR4/MD2 complex at the plasma membrane.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanimura, Natsuko; Saitoh, Shin-Ichiroh; Ohto, Umeharu; Akashi-Takamura, Sachiko; Fujimoto, Yukari; Fukase, Koichi; Shimizu, Toshiyuki; Miyake, Kensuke

    2014-06-01

    TLR4/MD-2 senses lipid A, activating the MyD88-signaling pathway on the plasma membrane and the TRIF-signaling pathway after CD14-mediated TLR4/MD-2 internalization into endosomes. Monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL), a detoxified derivative of lipid A, is weaker than lipid A in activating the MyD88-dependent pathway. Little is known, however, about mechanisms underlying the attenuated activation of MyD88-dependent pathways. We here show that MPL was impaired in induction of CD14-dependent TLR4/MD-2 dimerization compared with lipid A. Impaired TLR4/MD-2 dimerization decreased CD14-mediated TNFα production. In contrast, MPL was comparable to lipid A in CD14-independent MyD88-dependent TNFα production and TRIF-dependent responses including cell surface CD86 up-regulation and IFNβ induction. Although CD86 up-regulation is dependent on TRIF signaling, it was induced by TLR4/MD-2 at the plasma membrane. These results revealed that the attenuated MPL responses were due to CD14-initiated responses at the plasma membrane, but not just to responses initiated by MyD88, that is, MPL was specifically unable to induce CD14-dependent TLR4/MD-2 dimerization that selectively enhances MyD88-mediated responses at the plasma membrane. © The Japanese Society for Immunology. 2013. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Vibrational study and Natural Bond Orbital analysis of serotonin in monomer and dimer states by density functional theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borah, Mukunda Madhab; Devi, Th. Gomti

    2018-06-01

    The vibrational spectral analysis of Serotonin and its dimer were carried out using the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Raman techniques. The equilibrium geometrical parameters, harmonic vibrational wavenumbers, Frontier orbitals, Mulliken atomic charges, Natural Bond orbitals, first order hyperpolarizability and some optimized energy parameters were computed by density functional theory with 6-31G(d,p) basis set. The detailed analysis of the vibrational spectra have been carried out by computing Potential Energy Distribution (PED, %) with the help of Vibrational Energy Distribution Analysis (VEDA) program. The second order delocalization energies E(2) confirms the occurrence of intramolecular Charge Transfer (ICT) within the molecule. The computed wavenumbers of Serotonin monomer and dimer were found in good agreement with the experimental Raman and IR values.

  6. Intense redox-driven chiroptical switching with a 580 mV hysteresis actuated through reversible dimerization of an azoniahelicene

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Brandt, J. R.; Pospíšil, Lubomír; Bednárová, L.; da Costa, R. C.; White, A. J. P.; Mori, T.; Teplý, F.; Fuchter, M. J.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 53, č. 65 (2017), s. 9059-9062 ISSN 1359-7345 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA16-03085S Institutional support: RVO:61388955 Keywords : electrochemistry * azoniahelicene * dimerization Subject RIV: CG - Electrochemistry OBOR OECD: Electrochemistry (dry cells, batteries, fuel cells, corrosion metals, electrolysis) Impact factor: 6.319, year: 2016

  7. The composition of the saturated vapor and enthalpies of dimerization of rubidium and cesium pivalates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khoretonenko, N.M.; Rykov, A.N.; Korenev, Yu.M.

    1998-01-01

    The rubidium and cesium pivalates sublimation processes are studied through the Knudsen effusion method with the mass-spectral analysis of the gaseous phase composition. It is established that MPiv and M 2 Piv 2 and in small amounts M 3 Piv 3 and M 4 Piv 4 constitute the basic components in the saturated vapour of the rubidium and cesium pivalates. Sublimation enthalpies (kJ/mole) of monomers Δ S H T 0 =163.5±7.2 and dimers Δ S H T 0 (Cs 2 Piv 2 )-192.1±9.6 are determined. Dissociation enthalpies (kJ/mole) of the M 2 Piv 2 dimers by the second(2) and the third (3) laws of thermodynamics: Δ D H T 0 (Cs 2 Piv 2 )=137.1±5.4(2), Δ D H T 0 (Rb 2 Piv 2 )=138.2±10.2 (3); Δ D H T 0 (Cs 2 Piv 2 )-134.9±9.3 (2), Δ D H T 0 (Cs 2 Piv 2 )=136.8±10.8 (3) are calculated. Temperature dependence equations (210-300 deg C of partial pressures (Pa) of the MPiv, M 2 Piv 2 molecules: InP(RbPiv)=-(20099±674)/T+34.6±1.2; InP(Rb 2 Piv 2 )=-(23707±734)/T+40.4±1.4; InP(CsPiv)=-(19666±866)/T+34.1±1.6; InP(Cs 2 Piv 2 )=-(23106±1155)/T+39.5±2.1 are obtained

  8. The PH Domain of PDK1 Exhibits a Novel, Phospho-Regulated Monomer-Dimer Equilibrium With Important Implications for Kinase Domain Activation: Single Molecule and Ensemble Studies†

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziemba, Brian P.; Pilling, Carissa; Calleja, Véronique; Larijani, Banafshé; Falke, Joseph J.

    2013-01-01

    Phosphoinositide-Dependent Kinase-1 (PDK1) is an essential master kinase recruited to the plasma membrane by the binding of its C-terminal PH domain to the signaling lipid phosphatidylinositol-3,4-5-trisphosphate (PIP3). Membrane binding leads to PDK1 phospho-activation, but despite the central role of PDK1 in signaling and cancer biology this activation mechanism remains poorly understood. PDK1 has been shown to exist as a dimer in cells, and one crystal structure of its isolated PH domain exhibits a putative dimer interface. It has been proposed that phosphorylation of PH domain residue T513 (or the phospho-mimetic T513E mutation) may regulate a novel PH domain dimer-monomer equilibrium, thereby converting an inactive PDK1 dimer to an active monomer. However, the oligomeric state(s) of the PH domain on the membrane have not yet been determined, nor whether a negative charge at position 513 is sufficient to regulate its oligomeric state. The present study investigates the binding of purified WT and T513E PDK1 PH domains to lipid bilayers containing the PIP3 target lipid, using both single molecule and ensemble measurements. Single molecule analysis of the brightness of fluorescent PH domain shows that the PIP3-bound WT PH domain on membranes is predominantly dimeric, while the PIP3-bound T513E PH domain is monomeric, demonstrating that negative charge at the T513 position is sufficient to dissociate the PH domain dimer and is thus likely to play a central role in PDK1 monomerization and activation. Single molecule analysis of 2-D diffusion of PH domain-PIP3 complexes reveals that the dimeric WT PH domain diffuses at the same rate a single lipid molecule, indicating that only one of its two PIP3 binding sites is occupied and there is little protein penetration into the bilayer as observed for other PH domains. The 2-D diffusion of T513E PH domain is slower, suggesting the negative charge disrupts local structure in a way that enables greater protein insertion into

  9. Quantum mechanics models of the methanol dimer: OH⋯O hydrogen bonds of β-d-glucose moieties from crystallographic data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cintrón, Michael Santiago; Johnson, Glenn P; French, Alfred D

    2017-04-18

    The interaction of two methanol molecules, simplified models of carbohydrates and cellulose, was examined using a variety of quantum mechanics (QM) levels of theory. Energy plots for hydrogen bonding distance (H⋯O) and angle (OH⋯O) were constructed. All but two experimental structures were located in stabilized areas on the vacuum phase energy plots. Each of the 399 models was analyzed with Bader's atoms-in-molecules (AIM) theory, which showed a widespread ability by the dimer models to form OH⋯O hydrogen bonds that have bond paths and Bond Critical Points. Continuum solvation calculations suggest that a portion of the energy-stabilized structures could occur in the presence of water. A survey of the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) for all donor-acceptor interactions in β-D-glucose moieties examined the similarities and differences among the hydroxyl groups and acetal oxygen atoms that participate in hydrogen bonds. Comparable behavior was observed for the O2H, O3H, O4H, and O6H hydroxyls, acting either as acceptors or donors. Ring O atoms showed distinct hydrogen bonding behavior that favored mid-length hydrogen bonds. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  10. Study of structural stability and damaging effect on membrane for four Aβ42 dimers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Feng

    Full Text Available Increasing evidence shows that Aβ oligomers are key pathogenic molecules in Alzheimer's disease. Among Aβ oligomers, dimer is the smallest aggregate and toxic unit. Therefore, understanding its structural and dynamic properties is quite useful to prevent the formation and toxicity of the Aβ oligomers. In this study, we performed molecular dynamic simulations on four Aβ42 dimers, 2NCb, CNNC, NCNC and NCCN, within the hydrated DPPC membrane. Four Aβ42 dimers differ in the arrangements of two Aβ42 peptides. This study aims to investigate the impact of aggregation pattern of two Aβ peptides on the structural stability of the Aβ42 dimer and its disruption to the biological membrane. The MD results demonstrate that the NCCN, CNNC and NCNC have the larger structural fluctuation at the N-terminus of Aβ42 peptide, where the β-strand structure converts into the coil structure. The loss of the N-terminal β-strand further impairs the aggregate ability of Aβ42 dimer. In addition, inserting Aβ42 dimer into the membrane can considerably decrease the average APL of DPPC membrane. Moreover this decrease effect is largely dependent on the distance to the location of Aβ42 dimer and its secondary structure forms. Based on the results, the 2NCb is considered as a stable dimeric unit for aggregating the larger Aβ42 oligomer, and has a potent ability to disrupt the membrane.

  11. Effect of adding B-vitamins to vitamin D and calcium supplementation on CpG methylation of epigenetic aging markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Obeid, R; Hübner, U; Bodis, M; Graeber, S; Geisel, J

    2018-04-01

    B-vitamins may influence DNA methylation. We studied the effects of vitamin D + Ca + B versus D + Ca on epigenetic age markers and biological age. Participants (mean ± SD of age = 68.4 ± 10.1 years) were randomized to receive 1200 IE vitamin D3 plus 800 mg Ca-carbonate alone (n = 31) or with 0.5 mg B9, 50 mg B6, and 0.5 mg B12 (n = 32). The CpG methylation of 3 genes (ASPA, ITGA2B, and PDE4C) and the changes in methylation were compared between the groups after 1 year. The changes of ASPA methylation from baseline were higher in the D + Ca + B than in the D + Ca group (1.40 ± 4.02 vs. -0.96 ± 5.12, respectively; p = 0.046, adjusted for age, sex, and baseline methylation). The changes in PDE4C from baseline were slightly higher in the D + Ca + B group (1.95 ± 3.57 vs. 0.22 ± 3.57; adjusted p = 0.062). Methylation of ITGA2B and its changes from baseline were not different between the intervention groups. Sex-adjusted odds ratio of accelerated aging (chronological age B compared with the D + Ca group. Accelerated aging in both groups was associated with younger age. In the D + Ca + B group, it was additionally associated with lower baseline homocysteine. Vitamin D + Ca + B and D + Ca differentially affected epigenetic age markers, although the effect size appeared to be small after 1 year. B-vitamins effect in young subjects with low homocysteine requires further investigation. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02586181. Copyright © 2018 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Alkane dimers interaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ferrighi, Lara; Madsen, Georg Kent Hellerup; Hammer, Bjørk

    2010-01-01

    The interaction energies of a series of n-alkane dimers, from methane to decane, have been investigated with Density Functional Theory (DFT), using the MGGA-M06-L density functional. The results are compared both to the available wavefunction-based values as well as to dispersion corrected DFT...... values. The MGGA-M06-L density functional is a semi-local functional designed and has proven to provide accurate estimates of dispersion interactions for several systems at moderate computational cost. In the present application, it reproduces the trends obtained by the more expensive wavefunction...

  13. Using dimers to measure biosignatures and atmospheric pressure for terrestrial exoplanets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misra, Amit; Meadows, Victoria; Claire, Mark; Crisp, Dave

    2014-02-01

    We present a new method to probe atmospheric pressure on Earth-like planets using (O2-O2) dimers in the near-infrared. We also show that dimer features could be the most readily detectable biosignatures for Earth-like atmospheres and may even be detectable in transit transmission with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The absorption by dimers changes more rapidly with pressure and density than that of monomers and can therefore provide additional information about atmospheric pressures. By comparing the absorption strengths of rotational and vibrational features to the absorption strengths of dimer features, we show that in some cases it may be possible to estimate the pressure at the reflecting surface of a planet. This method is demonstrated by using the O2 A band and the 1.06 μm dimer feature, either in transmission or reflected spectra. It works best for planets around M dwarfs with atmospheric pressures between 0.1 and 10 bar and for O2 volume mixing ratios above 50% of Earth's present-day level. Furthermore, unlike observations of Rayleigh scattering, this method can be used at wavelengths longer than 0.6 μm and is therefore potentially applicable, although challenging, to near-term planet characterization missions such as JWST. We also performed detectability studies for JWST transit transmission spectroscopy and found that the 1.06 and 1.27 μm dimer features could be detectable (SNR>3) for an Earth analogue orbiting an M5V star at a distance of 5 pc. The detection of these features could provide a constraint on the atmospheric pressure of an exoplanet and serve as biosignatures for oxygenic photosynthesis. We calculated the required signal-to-noise ratios to detect and characterize O2 monomer and dimer features in direct imaging-reflected spectra and found that signal-to-noise ratios greater than 10 at a spectral resolving power of R=100 would be required.

  14. DFT approach to (benzylthio)acetic acid: Conformational search, molecular (monomer and dimer) structure, vibrational spectroscopy and some electronic properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sienkiewicz-Gromiuk, Justyna

    2018-01-01

    The DFT studies were carried out with the B3LYP method utilizing the 6-31G and 6-311++G(d,p) basis sets depending on whether the aim of calculations was to gain the geometry at equilibrium, or to calculate the optimized molecular structure of (benzylthio)acetic acid (Hbta) in the forms of monomer and dimer. The minimum conformational energy search was followed by the potential energy surface (PES) scan of all rotary bonds existing in the acid molecule. The optimized geometrical monomeric and dimeric structures of the title compound were compared with the experimental structural data in the solid state. The detailed vibrational interpretation of experimental infrared and Raman bands was performed on the basis of theoretically simulated ESFF-scaled wavenumbers calculated for the monomer and dimer structures of Hbta. The electronic characteristics of Hbta is also presented in terms of Mulliken atomic charges, frontier molecular orbitals and global reactivity descriptors. Additionally, the MEP and ESP surfaces were computed to predict coordination sites for potential metal complex formation.

  15. Engineering of a novel Ca2+-regulated kinesin molecular motor using a calmodulin dimer linker

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shishido, Hideki; Maruta, Shinsaku

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Engineered kinesin–M13 and calmodulin involving single cysteine were prepared. ► CaM mutant was cross-linked to dimer by bifunctional thiol reactive reagent. ► Kinesin–M13 was dimerized via CaM dimer in the presence of calcium. ► Function of the engineered kinesin was regulated by a Ca 2+ -calmodulin dimer linker. -- Abstract: The kinesin–microtubule system holds great promise as a molecular shuttle device within biochips. However, one current barrier is that such shuttles do not have “on–off” control of their movement. Here we report the development of a novel molecular motor powered by an accelerator and brake system, using a kinesin monomer and a calmodulin (CaM) dimer. The kinesin monomer, K355, was fused with a CaM target peptide (M13 peptide) at the C-terminal part of the neck region (K355–M13). We also prepared CaM dimers using CaM mutants (Q3C), (R86C), or (A147C) and crosslinkers that react with cysteine residues. Following induction of K355–M13 dimerization with CaM dimers, we measured K355–M13 motility and found that it can be reversibly regulated in a Ca 2+ -dependent manner. We also found that velocities of K355–M13 varied depending on the type and crosslink position of the CaM dimer used; crosslink length also had a moderate effect on motility. These results suggest Ca 2+ -dependent dimerization of K355–M13 could be used as a novel molecular shuttle, equipped with an accelerator and brake system, for biochip applications.

  16. Normative adjustments to the D-KEFS trail making test: corrections for education and vocabulary level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fine, Eric M; Delis, Dean C; Holdnack, James

    2011-11-01

    The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Trail Making Test (TMT), a modification of the original TMT, was created to isolate set-shifting (Letter-Number Switching) from other component skills. This was accomplished by including four baseline conditions (Visual Scanning, Number Sequencing, Letter Sequencing, and Motor Speed) and by placing equal numbers of stimuli in the three sequencing conditions. Given that some studies with the original TMT demonstrated a significant effect of education and intellectual functioning on performance, we utilized the D-KEFS national standardization sample to examine the effects of education and vocabulary level-i.e., Vocabulary subtest from the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI)-on the D-KEFS TMT. The results indicate a significant effect of these variables on each D-KEFS TMT condition. Normative tables for education- and vocabulary-adjusted scaled scores based on the database from the D-KEFS national normative study were generated.

  17. Should breast MRI be performed with adjustment for the phase in patients’ menstrual cycle? Correlation between mammographic density, age, and background enhancement on breast MRI without adjusting for the phase in patients’ menstrual cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uematsu, Takayoshi; Kasami, Masako; Watanabe, Junichiro

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation between mammographic density, age, and background enhancement on breast MRI without adjusting for the phase in patients’ menstrual cycle. Material and methods: The background enhancement of bilateral breast MRI and the breast density of mammography in 146 consecutive women without adjusting for the phase in patients’ menstrual cycle were reviewed. The breast density was classified into four categories according to the American College of Radiology the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System lexicon. The background enhancement was classified into four categories: minimal, mild, moderate, and marked. The correlations of mammographic breast density as well as age with background enhancement on breast MRI were examined. Results: There was a significant correlation between mammographic breast density and background enhancement (p = 0.011). All nine cases with almost completely fat mammographic breast density showed minimal (78%) or mild (12%) background enhancement on breast MRI. There was a significant inverse correlation between age and background enhancement (p < 0.0001). Younger patients with dense breasts were more likely to demonstrate moderate/marked background enhancement. Conclusion: When no adjusting for the phase in patients’ menstrual cycle, a significant correlation was observed between background enhancement and mammographic density. A significant inverse correlation was also observed between age and background enhancement.

  18. Dimerization inhibits the activity of receptor-like protein-tyrosine phosphatase-alpha

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jiang, G; den Hertog, J; Su, J

    1999-01-01

    that dimerization can negatively regulate activity, through the interaction of an inhibitory 'wedge' on one monomer with the catalytic cleft of domain 1 in the other monomer. Here we show that dimerization inhibits the activity of a full-length RPTP in vivo. We generated stable disulphide-bonded full...

  19. Detectability of H2-Ar and H2-Ne Dimers in Jovian Atmospheres

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Young-Key Minn

    1997-12-01

    Full Text Available The detection of jovian hydrogen-hydrogen dimers through the clear telluric 2-micron window(Kim et al. 1995, Trafton et al. 1997 suggests possibility to detect noble gases in the form of dimer with hydrogen in jovian atmospheres. Since noble gases do not have spectral structures in the infrared, it has been difficult to derive their abundances in the atmospheres of jovian planets. If there is a significant component of noble gases other than helium in the jovian atmospheres. it might be detected through its dimer spectrum with hydrogen molecule. The relatively sharp spectral structures of hydrogen-argon and hydrogen-neon dimers compared with those of hydrogen-hydrogen dimers are useful for the detection, if an adequate signal-to-noise (S/N is obtained. If we use a large telescope, such as the Keck telescope, with a long exposure time (>24 hours, then H2-Ar spectral structure may be detected.

  20. Anion Photoelectron Spectroscopy of the Homogenous 2-Hydroxypyridine Dimer Electron Induced Proton Transfer System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlk, Alexandra; Stokes, Sarah; Wang, Yi; Hicks, Zachary; Zhang, Xinxing; Blando, Nicolas; Frock, Andrew; Marquez, Sara; Bowen, Kit; Bowen Lab JHU Team

    Anion photoelectron spectroscopic (PES) and density functional theory (DFT) studies on the dimer anion of (2-hydroxypyridine)2-are reported. The experimentally measured vertical detachment energy (VDE) of 1.21eV compares well with the theoretically predicted values. The 2-hydroxypyridine anionic dimer system was investigated because of its resemblance to the nitrogenous heterocyclic pyrimidine nucleobases. Experimental and theoretical results show electron induced proton transfer (EIPT) in both the lactim and lactam homogeneous dimers. Upon electron attachment, the anion can serve as the intermediate between the two neutral dimers. A possible double proton transfer process can occur from the neutral (2-hydroxypyridine)2 to (2-pyridone)2 through the dimer anion. This potentially suggests an electron catalyzed double proton transfer mechanism of tautomerization. Research supported by the NSF Grant No. CHE-1360692.

  1. Synthesis and Dimerization Behavior of Five Metallophthalocyanines in Different Solvents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhenhua Cheng

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Metallophthalocyanine (MPc has become one of the metal organic compounds with the largest production and the most widely application, because of its excellent performance in catalytic oxidation. However, aggregation of the MPc in solution, resulting in decreased solubility, greatly limits the performance of application. Studying the behavior of dimerization of MPcs can provide a theoretical basis for solving the problem of the low solubility. So five metallophthalocyanines (FePc, CoPc, NiPc, CuPc, and ZnPc were prepared with improved method and characterized. Dimerization of the five MPcs was measured by UV-Vis spectroscopy separately in N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO. The red-shift of maximum absorption wavelength and deviations from Lambert-Beer law with increasing the concentration were observed for all the five MPcs. The dimerization equilibrium constants (K of the five MPcs in DMF were arranged in order of CoPc > ZnPc > CuPc > FePc > NiPc, while in DMSO they were arranged in order of ZnPc > CoPc > FePc > CuPc > NiPc. The type of the central metal and nature of the solvent affect the dimerization of the MPcs.

  2. Fe65-PTB2 Dimerization Mimics Fe65-APP Interaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lukas P. Feilen

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Physiological function and pathology of the Alzheimer’s disease causing amyloid precursor protein (APP are correlated with its cytosolic adaptor Fe65 encompassing a WW and two phosphotyrosine-binding domains (PTBs. The C-terminal Fe65-PTB2 binds a large portion of the APP intracellular domain (AICD including the GYENPTY internalization sequence fingerprint. AICD binding to Fe65-PTB2 opens an intra-molecular interaction causing a structural change and altering Fe65 activity. Here we show that in the absence of the AICD, Fe65-PTB2 forms a homodimer in solution and determine its crystal structure at 2.6 Å resolution. Dimerization involves the unwinding of a C-terminal α-helix that mimics binding of the AICD internalization sequence, thus shielding the hydrophobic binding pocket. Specific dimer formation is validated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR techniques and cell-based analyses reveal that Fe65-PTB2 together with the WW domain are necessary and sufficient for dimerization. Together, our data demonstrate that Fe65 dimerizes via its APP interaction site, suggesting that besides intra- also intermolecular interactions between Fe65 molecules contribute to homeostatic regulation of APP mediated signaling.

  3. Fe65-PTB2 Dimerization Mimics Fe65-APP Interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feilen, Lukas P; Haubrich, Kevin; Strecker, Paul; Probst, Sabine; Eggert, Simone; Stier, Gunter; Sinning, Irmgard; Konietzko, Uwe; Kins, Stefan; Simon, Bernd; Wild, Klemens

    2017-01-01

    Physiological function and pathology of the Alzheimer's disease causing amyloid precursor protein (APP) are correlated with its cytosolic adaptor Fe65 encompassing a WW and two phosphotyrosine-binding domains (PTBs). The C-terminal Fe65-PTB2 binds a large portion of the APP intracellular domain (AICD) including the GYENPTY internalization sequence fingerprint. AICD binding to Fe65-PTB2 opens an intra-molecular interaction causing a structural change and altering Fe65 activity. Here we show that in the absence of the AICD, Fe65-PTB2 forms a homodimer in solution and determine its crystal structure at 2.6 Å resolution. Dimerization involves the unwinding of a C-terminal α-helix that mimics binding of the AICD internalization sequence, thus shielding the hydrophobic binding pocket. Specific dimer formation is validated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques and cell-based analyses reveal that Fe65-PTB2 together with the WW domain are necessary and sufficient for dimerization. Together, our data demonstrate that Fe65 dimerizes via its APP interaction site, suggesting that besides intra- also intermolecular interactions between Fe65 molecules contribute to homeostatic regulation of APP mediated signaling.

  4. FAK dimerization controls its kinase-dependent functions at focal adhesions

    KAUST Repository

    Brami-Cherrier, Karen; Gervasi, Nicolas; Arsenieva, Diana A.; Walkiewicz, Katarzyna; Boutterin, Marie Claude; Ortega, Á lvaro Darí o; Leonard, Paul G.; Seantier, Bastien; Gasmi, Laï la; Bouceba, Tahar; Kadaré , Gress; Girault -, Jean Antoine; Arold, Stefan T.

    2014-01-01

    Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) controls adhesion-dependent cell motility, survival, and proliferation. FAK has kinase-dependent and kinase-independent functions, both of which play major roles in embryogenesis and tumor invasiveness. The precise mechanisms of FAK activation are not known. Using x-ray crystallography, small angle x-ray scattering, and biochemical and functional analyses, we show that the key step for activation of FAK's kinase-dependent functions-autophosphorylation of tyrosine-397-requires site-specific dimerization of FAK. The dimers form via the association of the N-terminal FERM domain of FAK and are stabilized by an interaction between FERM and the C-terminal FAT domain. FAT binds to a basic motif on FERM that regulates co-activation and nuclear localization. FAK dimerization requires local enrichment, which occurs specifically at focal adhesions. Paxillin plays a dual role, by recruiting FAK to focal adhesions and by reinforcing the FAT:FERM interaction. Our results provide a structural and mechanistic framework to explain how FAK combines multiple stimuli into a site-specific function. The dimer interfaces we describe are promising targets for blocking FAK activation. © 2014 The Authors.

  5. FAK dimerization controls its kinase-dependent functions at focal adhesions

    KAUST Repository

    Brami-Cherrier, Karen

    2014-01-30

    Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) controls adhesion-dependent cell motility, survival, and proliferation. FAK has kinase-dependent and kinase-independent functions, both of which play major roles in embryogenesis and tumor invasiveness. The precise mechanisms of FAK activation are not known. Using x-ray crystallography, small angle x-ray scattering, and biochemical and functional analyses, we show that the key step for activation of FAK\\'s kinase-dependent functions-autophosphorylation of tyrosine-397-requires site-specific dimerization of FAK. The dimers form via the association of the N-terminal FERM domain of FAK and are stabilized by an interaction between FERM and the C-terminal FAT domain. FAT binds to a basic motif on FERM that regulates co-activation and nuclear localization. FAK dimerization requires local enrichment, which occurs specifically at focal adhesions. Paxillin plays a dual role, by recruiting FAK to focal adhesions and by reinforcing the FAT:FERM interaction. Our results provide a structural and mechanistic framework to explain how FAK combines multiple stimuli into a site-specific function. The dimer interfaces we describe are promising targets for blocking FAK activation. © 2014 The Authors.

  6. Vitamin D and Age-Related Macular Degeneration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alfredo Garcia Layana

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, the relationship between vitamin D and health has received growing attention from the scientific and medical communities. Vitamin D deficiencies have been repeatedly associated with various acute and chronic diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD. Its active metabolite, 1α,25-dihydoxy vitamin D, acts as a modulator of cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis, and cumulative data from experimental and observational studies suggest that relatively a lower vitamin D status could be a potential risk factor for the development of early and/or late AMD. Herein, we made a narrative review of the mechanisms linking a potential role of vitamin D with the current concepts of AMD pathophysiology.

  7. Vitamin D and Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Layana, Alfredo Garcia; Minnella, Angelo Maria; Garhöfer, Gerhard; Aslam, Tariq; Holz, Frank G; Leys, Anita; Silva, Rufino; Delcourt, Cécile; Souied, Eric; Seddon, Johanna M

    2017-10-13

    In recent years, the relationship between vitamin D and health has received growing attention from the scientific and medical communities. Vitamin D deficiencies have been repeatedly associated with various acute and chronic diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Its active metabolite, 1α,25-dihydoxy vitamin D, acts as a modulator of cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis, and cumulative data from experimental and observational studies suggest that relatively a lower vitamin D status could be a potential risk factor for the development of early and/or late AMD. Herein, we made a narrative review of the mechanisms linking a potential role of vitamin D with the current concepts of AMD pathophysiology.

  8. Controlled Patterning of Plasmonic Dimers by Using an Ultrathin Nanoporous Alumina Membrane as a Shadow Mask.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Qi; Huang, Hao; Fan, Xingce; Yin, Yin; Wang, Jiawei; Li, Wan; Qiu, Teng; Ma, Libo; Chu, Paul K; Schmidt, Oliver G

    2017-10-18

    We report on design and fabrication of patterned plasmonic dimer arrays by using an ultrathin anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane as a shadow mask. This strategy allows for controllable fabrication of plasmonic dimers where the location, size, and orientation of each particle in the dimer pairs can be independently tuned. Particularly, plasmonic dimers with ultrasmall nanogaps down to the sub-10 nm scale as well as a large dimer density up to 1.0 × 10 10 cm -2 are fabricated over a centimeter-sized area. The plasmonic dimers exhibit significant surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enhancement with a polarization-dependent behavior, which is well interpreted by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations. Our results reveal a facile approach for controllable fabrication of large-area dimer arrays, which is of fundamental interest for plasmon-based applications in surface-enhanced spectroscopy, biochemical sensing, and optoelectronics.

  9. The steady-state and time-resolved photophysical properties of a dimeric indium phthalocyanine complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Yu; Araki, Yasuyuki; Dini, Danilo; Liu Ying; Ito, Osamu; Fujitsuka, Mamoru

    2006-01-01

    The steady-state and time-resolved photophysical properties and some molecular orbital calculation results of a dimeric indium phthalocyanine complex with an indium-indium bond, i.e., [tBu 4 PcIn] 2 .2tmed, have been described. The results regarding triplet excited state lifetimes can be ascribed to strong intramolecular interactions existing only in the excited state of this dimer because no significant difference in the absorption spectra of the tBu 4 PcInCl monomer and the [tBu 4 PcIn] 2 .2tmed dimer is observed, suggesting that no ground-state interaction can be assessed. The deactivation processes of the excited singlet state of [tBu 4 PcIn] 2 .2tmed are apparently faster than that of μ-oxo-bridged PcIn dimer [tBu 4 PcIn] 2 O. Molecular orbital calculation on the PcIn dimer shows no node between two indium atoms was found in the HOMO - 2 of the PcIn-InPc dimer, suggesting that bonding electrons distribute between two indium atoms

  10. Quantitation of pyrimidine dimers in DNA from UVB-irradiated alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) seedlings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quaite, F.E.; Sutherland, B.M.; Sutherland, J.C.

    1991-01-01

    Depletion of stratospheric ozone will increase the solar ultraviolet radiation in the range from 290-320 nm (UVB) that reaches the surface of the earth, placing an increased UV burden on exposed organisms. One consequence of increased UVB may be decreased productivity of crop plants. A principal lesion caused by UV in DNA is the cyclobutyl pyrimidine dimer. We have adapted a method for measuring these dimers in nanogram quantities of non-radioactive DNA for use in UV-irradiated plants. We find that biologically relevant doses of broad band UVB radiation induce easily detectable frequencies of pyrimidine dimers in the DNA of irradiated alfalfa sprout leaves and that the dose response for dimer formation is linear up to doses of at least 690 J/m 2 . We also find easily measurable frequencies of dimers in the leaves of seedlings grown in glass filtered sunlight but not exposed to additional UVB, suggesting that significant number of dimers are formed in plants exposed to normal sunlight. 27 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

  11. Potential Energy and Free Energy Surfaces of the Formic Acid Dimer: Correlared ab initio Calculations and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Chocholoušová, Jana; Vacek, Jaroslav; Hobza, Pavel

    2002-01-01

    Roč. 4, - (2002), s. 2119-2122 ISSN 1463-9076 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LN00A032 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z4040901 Keywords : formic acid dimer * ab initio calculations * molecular dynamics simulations Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 1.838, year: 2002

  12. Complete Structure of an Epithelial Keratin Dimer: Implications for Intermediate Filament Assembly.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David J Bray

    Full Text Available Keratins are cytoskeletal proteins that hierarchically arrange into filaments, starting with the dimer sub-unit. They are integral to the structural support of cells, in skin, hair and nails. In skin, keratin is thought to play a critical role in conferring the barrier properties and elasticity of skin. In general, the keratin dimer is broadly described by a tri-domain structure: a head, a central rod and a tail. As yet, no atomistic-scale picture of the entire dimer structure exists; this information is pivotal for establishing molecular-level connections between structure and function in intermediate filament proteins. The roles of the head and tail domains in facilitating keratin filament assembly and function remain as open questions. To address these, we report results of molecular dynamics simulations of the entire epithelial human K1/K10 keratin dimer. Our findings comprise: (1 the first three-dimensional structural models of the complete dimer unit, comprising of the head, rod and tail domains; (2 new insights into the chirality of the rod-domain twist gained from analysis of the full domain structure; (3 evidence for tri-subdomain partitioning in the head and tail domains; and, (4 identification of the residue characteristics that mediate non-covalent contact between the chains in the dimer. Our findings are immediately applicable to other epithelial keratins, such as K8/K18 and K5/K14, and to intermediate filament proteins in general.

  13. Zak phase and band inversion in dimerized one-dimensional locally resonant metamaterials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Weiwei; Ding, Ya-qiong; Ren, Jie; Sun, Yong; Li, Yunhui; Jiang, Haitao; Chen, Hong

    2018-05-01

    The Zak phase, which refers to Berry's phase picked up by a particle moving across the Brillouin zone, characterizes the topological properties of Bloch bands in a one-dimensional periodic system. Here the Zak phase in dimerized one-dimensional locally resonant metamaterials is investigated. It is found that there are some singular points in the bulk band across which the Bloch states contribute π to the Zak phase, whereas in the rest of the band the contribution is nearly zero. These singular points associated with zero reflection are caused by two different mechanisms: the dimerization-independent antiresonance of each branch and the dimerization-dependent destructive interference in multiple backscattering. The structure undergoes a topological phase-transition point in the band structure where the band inverts, and the Zak phase, which is determined by the numbers of singular points in the bulk band, changes following a shift in dimerization parameter. Finally, the interface state between two dimerized metamaterial structures with different topological properties in the first band gap is demonstrated experimentally. The quasi-one-dimensional configuration of the system allows one to explore topology-inspired new methods and applications on the subwavelength scale.

  14. Modulation of BCR Signaling by the Induced Dimerization of Receptor-Associated SYK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark L. Westbroek

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Clustering of the B cell antigen receptor (BCR by polyvalent antigens is transmitted through the SYK tyrosine kinase to the activation of multiple intracellular pathways that determine the physiological consequences of receptor engagement. To explore factors that modulate the quantity and quality of signals sent by the crosslinked BCR, we developed a novel chemical mediator of dimerization to induce clustering of receptor-associated SYK. To accomplish this, we fused SYK with E. coli dihydrofolate reductase (eDHFR, which binds the small molecule trimethoprim (TMP with high affinity and selectivity and synthesized a dimer of TMP with a flexible linker. The TMP dimer is able to induce the aggregation of eDHFR-linked SYK in live cells. The induced dimerization of SYK bound to the BCR differentially regulates the activation of downstream transcription factors, promoting the activation of Nuclear Factor of Activated T cells (NFAT without affecting the activation of NFκB. The dimerization of SYK enhances the duration but not the amplitude of calcium mobilization by enhancing the extent and duration of its interaction with the crosslinked BCR at the plasma membrane.

  15. Performance of first-trimester combined test for Down syndrome in different maternal age groups: reason for adjustments in screening policy?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Engels, Melanie A. J.; Heijboer, A. C.; Blankenstein, Marinus A.; van Vugt, John M. G.

    2011-01-01

    To evaluate the performance of the first-trimester combined test (FCT) in different maternal age groups and to discuss whether adjustments in screening policies should be made. In this retrospective study data (n = 26 274) from a fetal medicine center on FCT (maternal age, fetal NT, free β-human

  16. Nicotinamidase/pyrazinamidase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis forms homo-dimers stabilized by disulfide bonds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rueda, Daniel; Sheen, Patricia; Gilman, Robert H; Bueno, Carlos; Santos, Marco; Pando-Robles, Victoria; Batista, Cesar V; Zimic, Mirko

    2014-12-01

    Recombinant wild-pyrazinamidase from H37Rv Mycobacterium tuberculosis was analyzed by gel electrophoresis under differential reducing conditions to evaluate its quaternary structure. PZAse was fractionated by size exclusion chromatography under non-reducing conditions. PZAse activity was measured and mass spectrometry analysis was performed to determine the identity of proteins by de novo sequencing and to determine the presence of disulfide bonds. This study confirmed that M. tuberculosis wild type PZAse was able to form homo-dimers in vitro. Homo-dimers showed a slightly lower specific PZAse activity compared to monomeric PZAse. PZAse dimers were dissociated into monomers in response to reducing conditions. Mass spectrometry analysis confirmed the existence of disulfide bonds (C72-C138 and C138-C138) stabilizing the quaternary structure of the PZAse homo-dimer. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Dimer-flipping-assisted diffusion on a Si(001) surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zi, J.; Min, B. J.; Lu, Y.; Wang, C. Z.; Ho, K. M.

    2000-01-01

    The binding sites and diffusion pathways of Si adatoms on a c(4x2) reconstructed Si(001) surface are investigated by a tight-binding method with an environment-dependent silicon potential in conjunction with ab initio calculations using the Car--Parrinello method. A new diffusion pathway along the trough edge driven by dimer flipping is found with a barrier of 0.74 eV, comparable to that of 0.68 eV along the top of the dimer rows

  18. Continuously adjustable Pulfrich spectacles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Ken; Karpf, Ron

    2011-03-01

    A number of Pulfrich 3-D movies and TV shows have been produced, but the standard implementation has inherent drawbacks. The movie and TV industries have correctly concluded that the standard Pulfrich 3-D implementation is not a useful 3-D technique. Continuously Adjustable Pulfrich Spectacles (CAPS) is a new implementation of the Pulfrich effect that allows any scene containing movement in a standard 2-D movie, which are most scenes, to be optionally viewed in 3-D using inexpensive viewing specs. Recent scientific results in the fields of human perception, optoelectronics, video compression and video format conversion are translated into a new implementation of Pulfrich 3- D. CAPS uses these results to continuously adjust to the movie so that the viewing spectacles always conform to the optical density that optimizes the Pulfrich stereoscopic illusion. CAPS instantly provides 3-D immersion to any moving scene in any 2-D movie. Without the glasses, the movie will appear as a normal 2-D image. CAPS work on any viewing device, and with any distribution medium. CAPS is appropriate for viewing Internet streamed movies in 3-D.

  19. One pyrimidine dimer inactivates expression of a transfected gene in xeroderma pigmentosum cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Protic-Sabljic, M.; Kraemer, K.H.

    1985-01-01

    The authors have developed a host cell reactivation assay of DNA repair utilizing UV-treated plasmid vectors. The assay primarily reflects cellular repair of transcriptional activity of damaged DNA measured indirectly as enzyme activity of the transfected genes. They studied three plasmids (pSV2cat, 5020 base pairs; pSV2catSVgpt, 7268 base pairs; and pRSVcat, 5027 base pairs) with different sizes and promoters carrying the bacterial cat gene (CAT, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase) in a construction that permits cat expression in human cells. All human simian virus 40-transformed cells studied expressed high levels of the transfected cat gene. UV treatment of the plasmids prior to transfection resulted in differential decrease in CAT activity in different cell lines. With pSV2catSVgpt, UV inactivation of CAT expression was greater in the xeroderma pigmentosum group A and D lines than in the other human cell lines tested. The D 0 of the CAT inactivation curve was 50 J X m-2 for pSV2cat and for pRSVcat in the xeroderma pigmentosum group A cells. The similarity of the D0 data in the xeroderma pigmentosum group A cells for three plasmids of different size and promoters implies they all have similar UV-inactivation target size. UV-induced pyrimidine dimer formation in the plasmids was quantified by assay of the number of UV-induced T4 endonuclease V-sensitive sites. In the most sensitive xeroderma pigmentosum cells, with all three plasmids, one UV-induced pyrimidine dimer inactivates a target of about 2 kilobases, close to the size of the putative CAT mRNA

  20. Vitamin D Levels Are Inversely Associated with Liver Fat Content and Risk of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in a Chinese Middle-Aged and Elderly Population: The Shanghai Changfeng Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Dan; Lin, Huandong; Xia, Mingfeng; Aleteng, Qiqige; Li, Xiaoming; Ma, Hui; Pan, Baishen; Gao, Jian; Gao, Xin

    2016-01-01

    Vitamin D exerts metabolic activities. We investigated whether the 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] is associated with liver fat content (LFC) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in a middle-aged, elderly Chinese population. A total of 2,960 participants (954 men and 2,006 women) aged over 45 years old were enrolled. Each participant underwent a standard interview, anthropometric measurements and laboratory examinations. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency was diagnosed when serum 25(OH) D level was vitamin D deficiency, 769 (26.0%) had vitamin D insufficiency, and 209 (7%) had normal vitamin D. Male subjects with vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency had significantly higher LFC than those with normal 25(OH)D (P = 0.034), while the LFC values showed no significant difference among the female subjects with vitamin D sufficiency, insufficiency and deficiency (P = 0.396). Univariate correlation analysis showed that 25(OH)D had a significantly negative association with LFC in men (r = -0.085, P = 0.009), but not in women. After adjusting for age, cigarette smoking, examination season, serum calcium, PTH and all possible confounders that displayed significant associations with LFC in univariate correlation analysis, serum 25(OH)D remained associated with LFC in middle-aged and elderly Chinese men. Serum 25(OH)D level was inversely associated with LFC in middle-aged and elderly Chinese men.

  1. Solid-phase synthesis of 2{sup '}-O-methoxyethyl oligonucleotides using dimeric phosphoramidate blocks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Gi Weon; Kang, Yong Han [Dept. of Applied Chemistry, Hanyang University, Ansan (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-11-15

    This research focused on the method of using dimeric phosphoramidite blocks to synthesize oligonucleotides for development as oligonucleotide drugs. A 16-mer oligonucleotide with the randomly selected sequence of C*C*T*C*G*C *T*C*T*C*G*C*C* C*G*C was synthesized using CC, GC, and TC dimers, a combination of monomers and dimers, or only monomers as building blocks. Using dimer blocks in this synthetic method provided a significant decrease in critical impurities that had similar properties to the main product, which was confirmed by LC-MS and HPLC analysis.

  2. Analysis of the dimerized Sb/Si(001)-(2x1) surface by x-ray standing waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lyman, P.F.; Qian, Y.; Bedzyk, M.J.

    1994-12-01

    X-ray standing wave measurements were undertaken to study the bonding position of Sb adatoms on the Sb-saturated Si(001)-(2x1) surface. Using the (004) and (022) Bragg reflections, the authors find that the Sb atoms form dimers, and that the center of the Sb ad-dimers lies 1.64 angstrom above the bulk-like Si(004) surface atomic plane. These in-plane results are compared to two structural models consisting of dimers whose bonds are parallel to the surface plane and whose centers are either shifted or unshifted (parallel to the dimer bond direction) relative to the underlying substrate planes. The authors thus find two special cases consistent with these data: one with symmetric (unshifted) dimers having a dimer bond length of 2.81 angstrom, and the other with midpoint-shifted dimers, having a bond length of 2.88 angstrom and a lateral shift of 0.21 angstrom

  3. Fano resonances in heterogeneous dimers of silicon and gold nanospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Qian; Yang, Zhong-Jian; He, Jun

    2018-06-01

    We theoretically investigate the optical properties of dimers consisting of a gold nanosphere and a silicon nanosphere. The absorption spectrum of the gold sphere in the dimer can be significantly altered and exhibits a pronounced Fano profile. Analytical Mie theory and numerical simulations show that the Fano profile is induced by constructive and destructive interference between the incident electric field and the electric field of the magnetic dipole mode of the silicon sphere in a narrow wavelength range. The effects of the silicon sphere size, distance between the two spheres, and excitation configuration on the optical responses of the dimers are studied. Our study reveals the coherent feature of the electric fields of magnetic dipole modes in dielectric nanostructures and the strong interactions of the coherent fields with other nanophotonic structures.

  4. The intrinsically disordered RNR inhibitor Sml1 is a dynamic dimer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Danielsson, Jens; Liljedahl, Leena; Ba´ra´ny-Wallje, Elsa

    2008-01-01

    . Sml1 belongs to the class of intrinsically disordered proteins with a high degree of dynamics and very little stable structure. Earlier suggestions for a dimeric structure of Sml1 were confirmed, and from translation diffusion NMR measurements, a dimerization dissociation constant of 0.1 mM at 4...... natively disordered proteins....

  5. Dimerization effect of sucrose octasulfate on rat FGF1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kulahin, N.; Kiselyov, V.; Kochoyan, A.; Kristensen, O.; Kastrup, Jette S.; Berezin, V.; Bock, E.; Gajhede, M.

    2008-01-01

    The work describes the sucrose octasulfate-mediated dimerization of rat FGF1 by gel-filtration experiments and crystal structure determination. Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) constitute a family of at least 23 structurally related heparin-binding proteins that are involved in regulation of cell growth, survival, differentiation and migration. Sucrose octasulfate (SOS), a chemical analogue of heparin, has been demonstrated to activate FGF signalling pathways. The structure of rat FGF1 crystallized in the presence of SOS has been determined at 2.2 Å resolution. SOS-mediated dimerization of FGF1 was observed, which was further supported by gel-filtration experiments. The major contributors to the sulfate-binding sites in rat FGF1 are Lys113, Lys118, Arg122 and Lys128. An arginine at position 116 is a consensus residue in mammalian FGF molecules; however, it is a serine in rat FGF1. This difference may be important for SOS-mediated FGF1 dimerization in rat

  6. Role of distonic dimer radical cations in the radiation-induced polymerisation of vinyl ethers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naumov, Sergej; Janovsky, Igor; Knolle, Wolfgang; Mehnert, Reiner

    2005-01-01

    The experimental low-temperature EPR results and the quantum chemical calculations suggest that dimer radical cations of cyclic and aliphatic vinyl ethers (VE) plays a key role in starting of radiation-induced polymerisation. The main species observed at high 2,3-dihydrofuran (DHF), 2,3-dihydropyran (DHP) and VE concentration is the dimer radical cation. In the case of cyclic VE the dimer radical cation transforms through H-abstraction from neutral molecule into a carbocation and radical, which could start both cationic and free-radical polymerisation. However, in the case of aliphatic VE no further reactive species, which could start polymerisation, were observed. This is caused (in agreement with experiment and quantum chemical calculations) by the very high stability of dimer radical cation and calculated endothermity of H-abstraction reaction by dimer radical cation from monomer

  7. An introduction to the dimer model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kenyon, R.

    2004-01-01

    A perfect matching of a graph is a subset of edges which covers every vertex exactly once, that is, for every vertex there is exactly one edge in the set with that vertex as endpoint. The dimer model is the study of the set of perfect matchings of a (possibly infinite) graph. The most well-known example is when the graph is Z 2 , for which perfect matchings are equivalent (via a simple duality) to domino tilings, that is, tilings of the plane with 2 x 1 and 1 x 2 rectangles. In the first three sections we study domino tilings of the plane and of finite polygonal regions, or equivalently, perfect matchings on Z 2 and subgraphs of Z 2 . In the last two sections we study the FK-percolation model and the dimer model on a more general family of planar graphs

  8. Neutral dipole-dipole dimers: A new field in science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kosower, Edward M.; Borz, Galina

    2018-03-01

    Dimer formation with dipole neutralization produces species such as low polarity water (LPW) compatible with hydrophobic surfaces (Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2015, 17, 24895-24900) Dimerization and dipole neutralization occurs for N-methylacetamide on polyethylene, a behavior drastically different from its contortions in acetonitrile on AgBr:AgCl planar crystals (AgX) (ChemPhysChem 2014, 15, 3598-3607). The weak infrared absorption of the amide dimer on polyethylene is shown experimentally. Dimerization of palmitic acid is shown along with some of the many ramifications for intracellular systems. Polyoligomers of water are present on polyethylene surfaces. Some high resolution spectra of three of the polyoligomers of water are shown along with a mechanistic scheme for polyoligomer formation and dissolution. The structures of some of the oligomers are known from spectroscopic studies of water on AgX. The scope of the article begins with PE, generally accepted as hydrophobic. The IR of PE revealed not only that water was present but that it appeared in two forms, oligomers (O) and polyoligomers (PO). How did we recognize what they were? These species had been observed as especially strong "marker" peaks in the spectra1 of water placed on planar AgX, a platform developed by Katzir and his coworkers [6]. But there was a problem: the proximity to PE of oligomers with substantial (calculated) dipole moments and thus polarity, including cyclic hexamers of water (chair and boat forms), the cyclic pentamer, the books I and II, and the cyclic trimer [7a]. Another link was needed, a role perfectly fit by the already cited low polarity water (LPW). The choice was experimentally supported by the detection of low intensity absorption in the bending region.Some important generalities flow from these results. What other dimers might be present in the biological or chemical world? Palmitic acid dimer (PAD) would be a candidate for decreasing the polarity of the acid (PA). Another

  9. Probing Intermolecular Electron Delocalization in Dimer Radical Anions by Vibrational Spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mani, Tomoyasu; Brookhaven National Laboratory; Grills, David C.

    2017-01-01

    Delocalization of charges is one of the factors controlling charge transport in conjugated molecules. It is considered to play an important role in the performance of a wide range of molecular technologies, including organic solar cells and organic electronics. Dimerization reactions are well-suited as a model to investigate intermolecular spatial delocalization of charges. And while dimerization reactions of radical cations are well investigated, studies on radical anions are still scarce. Upon dimerization of radical anions with neutral counterparts, an electron is considered to delocalize over the two molecules. By using time-resolved infrared (TRIR) detection coupled with pulse radiolysis, we show that radical anions of 4-n-hexyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (6CB) undergo such dimerization reactions, with an electron equally delocalized over the two molecules. We have recently demonstrated that nitrile ν(C≡N) vibrations respond to the degree of electron localization of nitrile-substituted anions: we can quantify the changes in the electronic charges from the neutral to the anion states in the nitriles by monitoring the ν(C≡N) IR shifts. In the first part of this article, we show that the sensitivity of the ν(C≡N) IR shifts does not depend on solvent polarity. In the second part, we describe how probing the shifts of the nitrile IR vibrational band unambiguously confirms the formation of dimer radical anions, with K dim = 3 × 10 4 M –1 . IR findings are corroborated by electronic absorption spectroscopy and electronic structure calculations. We find that the presence of a hexyl chain and the formation of π–π interactions are both crucial for dimerization of radical anions of 6CB with neutral 6CB. Our study provides clear evidence of spatial delocalization of electrons over two molecular fragments.

  10. Presence of the propeptide on recombinant lysosomal dipeptidase controls both activation and dimerization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolenc, Iztok; Pain, Roger; Turk, Vito

    2007-01-01

    Lysosomal dipeptidase catalyzes the hydrolysis of dipeptides with unsubstituted terminals. It is a homodimer and binds zinc. Dimerization is an important issue in understanding the enzyme's function. In this study, we investigated the influence of the propeptide on the folding and dimerization of recombinant lysosomal dipeptidase. For this purpose, we separately cloned and overexpressed the mature protein and the proenzyme. The overexpressed proteins were localized exclusively to insoluble inclusion bodies. Refolding of the urea-solubilized inclusion bodies showed that only dipeptidase lacking the propeptide was dimeric. The soluble renatured proenzyme was a monomer, although circular dichroism and fluorescence spectra of the proenzyme indicated the formation of secondary and tertiary structure. The propeptide thus controls dimerization, as well as activation, of lysosomal dipeptidase.

  11. Fabrication and characterization of terahertz anisotropic anti-rod dimer planar metamaterials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zalkovskij, Maksim; Malureanu, Radu; Novitsky, Andrey

    2012-01-01

    In this work we describe the fabrication and characterization of free-standing membranes with thick anti-rod dimers metamaterials for terahertz waves. Two different designs with parallel and V-shape anti-rods were analysed. Even though both structures consists of simple elements, namely anti......-rod dimers, they reveal interesting birefringent and dichroic transmission properties....

  12. Pyrimidine dimer excision in human cells and skin cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Regan, J.D.; Carrier, W.L.; Smith, D.P.; Waters, R.

    1977-01-01

    We have compared three different methods for estimating the induction and removal of uv induced pyrimidine dimers from the DNA of human fibroblasts. Results indicate that after uv doses of 5-20 J/m 2 50% of the dimers are removed by 24 hours after irradiation. Almost complete excision can be observed if the cells are incubated for periods not less than 72 hours after 5 J/m 2 . After higher doses it probably takes even longer fr such complete removal to be seen

  13. Photomonomerization of pyrimidine dimers by indoles and proteins

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, J.; Huang, C.W.; Hinman, L.; Gordon, M.P.; Deranleau, D.A.

    1976-01-01

    Model systems for the study of photoreactivation have been developed that utilize a variety of indole derivatives. These systems can split uracil cis-syn cyclobutadipyrimidine, either free or in RNA, when irradiated at wavelengths absorbed only by the indole moiety. The ability of indole compounds to split dimers is closely related to their electronic properties. Those of high electron-donor capacity such as indole, 3-methylindole, indole-3-acetic acid, 5-hydroxytryptophan and tryptophan are good photosensitizers, with efficacy in that order. Indoles with electron-withdrawing substituents such as indole-3-carboxylic acid, indole-3-aldehyde and oxindole are inactive in the monomerization reaction. These findings support the proposed mechanism that the photosensitized monomerization occurs as a result of electron transfer from the excited indole molecules to the pyrimidine bases. Proteins containing fully exposed tryptophan residues (chicken egg white lysozyme and bovine diisopropylphosphoryltrypsin) also cause the splitting of the /sup 14/C-labeled dimers under the same conditions. In the case of lysozyme the quantum yield of monomerization is similar to that of free tryptophan. Much of the monomerization ability of lysozyme was lost after the solvent-available tryptophan had been oxidized by treatment with N-bromosuccinimide. Bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A, a protein devoid of tryptophan, failed to exhibit photosensitized monomerization of uracil dimers. The biological implication of these reactions involving a protein with an exposed tryptophan residue is discussed. Although indoles are able to split the dimers in RNA, they fail to photoreactivate uv-damaged TMV-RNA. Indole-3-acetic acid, 3-methylindole and 5-hydroxytryptophan rapidly inactive viral RNA when irradiated at 313 nm, possibly because of side reactions.

  14. DNA Origami Directed Au Nanostar Dimers for Single-Molecule Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanwar, Swati; Haldar, Krishna Kanta; Sen, Tapasi

    2017-12-06

    We demonstrate the synthesis of Au nanostar dimers with tunable interparticle gap and controlled stoichiometry assembled on DNA origami. Au nanostars with uniform and sharp tips were immobilized on rectangular DNA origami dimerized structures to create nanoantennas containing monomeric and dimeric Au nanostars. Single Texas red (TR) dye was specifically attached in the junction of the dimerized origami to act as a Raman reporter molecule. The SERS enhancement factors of single TR dye molecules located in the conjunction region in dimer structures having interparticle gaps of 7 and 13 nm are 2 × 10 10 and 8 × 10 9 , respectively, which are strong enough for single analyte detection. The highly enhanced electromagnetic field generated by the plasmon coupling between sharp tips and cores of two Au nanostars in the wide conjunction region allows the accommodation and specific detection of large biomolecules. Such DNA-directed assembled nanoantennas with controlled interparticle separation distance and stoichiometry, and well-defined geometry, can be used as excellent substrates in single-molecule SERS spectroscopy and will have potential applications as a reproducible platform in single-molecule sensing.

  15. Structure of FGFR3 transmembrane domain dimer: implications for signaling and human pathologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bocharov, Eduard V; Lesovoy, Dmitry M; Goncharuk, Sergey A; Goncharuk, Marina V; Hristova, Kalina; Arseniev, Alexander S

    2013-11-05

    Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) transduces biochemical signals via lateral dimerization in the plasma membrane, and plays an important role in human development and disease. Eight different pathogenic mutations, implicated in cancers and growth disorders, have been identified in the FGFR3 transmembrane segment. Here, we describe the dimerization of the FGFR3 transmembrane domain in membrane-mimicking DPC/SDS (9/1) micelles. In the solved NMR structure, the two transmembrane helices pack into a symmetric left-handed dimer, with intermolecular stacking interactions occurring in the dimer central region. Some pathogenic mutations fall within the helix-helix interface, whereas others are located within a putative alternative interface. This implies that although the observed dimer structure is important for FGFR3 signaling, the mechanism of FGFR3-mediated transduction across the membrane is complex. We propose an FGFR3 signaling mechanism that is based on the solved structure, available structures of isolated soluble FGFR domains, and published biochemical and biophysical data. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. N-glycosylation of the β2 adrenergic receptor regulates receptor function by modulating dimerization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiaona; Zhou, Mang; Huang, Wei; Yang, Huaiyu

    2017-07-01

    N-glycosylation is a common post-translational modification of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). However, it remains unknown how N-glycosylation affects GPCR signaling. β 2 adrenergic receptor (β 2 AR) has three N-glycosylation sites: Asn6, Asn15 at the N-terminus, and Asn187 at the second extracellular loop (ECL2). Here, we show that deletion of the N-glycan did not affect receptor expression and ligand binding. Deletion of the N-glycan at the N-terminus rather than Asn187 showed decreased effects on isoproterenol-promoted G-protein-dependent signaling, β-arrestin2 recruitment, and receptor internalization. Both N6Q and N15Q showed decreased receptor dimerization, while N187Q did not influence receptor dimerization. As decreased β 2 AR homodimer accompanied with reduced efficiency for receptor function, we proposed that the N-glycosylation of β 2 AR regulated receptor function by influencing receptor dimerization. To verify this hypothesis, we further paid attention to the residues at the dimerization interface. Studies of Lys60 and Glu338, two residues at the receptor dimerization interface, exhibited that the K60A/E338A showed decreased β 2 AR dimerization and its effects on receptor signaling were similar to N6Q and N15Q, which further supported the importance of receptor dimerization for receptor function. This work provides new insights into the relationship among glycosylation, dimerization, and function of GPCRs. Peptide-N-glycosidase F (PNGase F, EC 3.2.2.11); endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidase A (Endo-A, EC 3.2.1.96). © 2017 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

  17. The relative cytotoxicity and mutagenicity of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and photoproducts in Escherichia coli cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang, Moon-shong; Hrncir, J.; Mitchell, D.; Ross, J.; Clarkson, J.

    1986-01-01

    In order to calculate the relative cytotoxicity and mutagenicity of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and photoproducts, the authors have measured survival and mutation induction in UV-irradiated excision-deficient E. coli uvrA cells, with or without complete photoreactivation of the dimers. Radioimmunoassays with specificity for dimers or photoproducts have shown that maximum photoreactivation eliminates all of the dimers produce up to 10 Jm -2 254-nm light, while it has no effect on photoproducts. These results were confirmed by measuring the frequency of T4 endonuclease V-sensitive sites. Based on the best fit equations for survival and mutation induction, the authors have found that the calculated cytotoxicity of photoproducts is similar to that of dimers; however, the former is much more mutagenic than the latter. (Auth.)

  18. Internal energy selection in vacuum ultraviolet photoionization of ethanol and ethanol dimers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bodi, Andras

    2013-10-01

    Internal energy selected ethanol monomer and ethanol dimer ions were prepared by threshold photoionization of a supersonic molecular beam seeded with ethanol. The dissociative photoionization processes of the monomer, the lowest-energy CH3-loss channel of the dimer, and the fragmentation of larger clusters were found to be disjunct from the ionization onset to about 12 eV, which made it possible to determine the 0 K appearance energy of C-C bond breaking in the H-donor unit of the ethanol dimer cation as 9.719 ± 0.004 eV. This reaction energy is used together with ab initio calculations in a thermochemical cycle to determine the binding energy change from the neutral ethanol dimer to a protonated ethanol-formaldehyde adduct. The cycle also shows general agreement between experiment, theory, and previously published enthalpies of formation. The role of the initial ionization site, or rather the initial photoion state, is also discussed based on the dimer breakdown diagram and excited state calculations. There is no evidence for isolated state behavior, and the ethanol dimer dissociative photoionization processes appear to be governed by statistical theory and the ground electronic state of the ion. In the monomer breakdown diagram, the smoothly changing branching ratio between H and CH3 loss is at odds with rate theory predictions, and shows that none of the currently employed few-parameter rate models, appropriate for experimental rate curve fitting, yields a correct description for this process in the experimental energy range.

  19. Elucidation of cladofulvin biosynthesis reveals a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase required for anthraquinone dimerization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, Scott; Mesarich, Carl H; Saccomanno, Benedetta; Vaisberg, Abraham; De Wit, Pierre J G M; Cox, Russell; Collemare, Jérôme

    2016-06-21

    Anthraquinones are a large family of secondary metabolites (SMs) that are extensively studied for their diverse biological activities. These activities are determined by functional group decorations and the formation of dimers from anthraquinone monomers. Despite their numerous medicinal qualities, very few anthraquinone biosynthetic pathways have been elucidated so far, including the enzymatic dimerization steps. In this study, we report the elucidation of the biosynthesis of cladofulvin, an asymmetrical homodimer of nataloe-emodin produced by the fungus Cladosporium fulvum A gene cluster of 10 genes controls cladofulvin biosynthesis, which begins with the production of atrochrysone carboxylic acid by the polyketide synthase ClaG and the β-lactamase ClaF. This compound is decarboxylated by ClaH to yield emodin, which is then converted to chrysophanol hydroquinone by the reductase ClaC and the dehydratase ClaB. We show that the predicted cytochrome P450 ClaM catalyzes the dimerization of nataloe-emodin to cladofulvin. Remarkably, such dimerization dramatically increases nataloe-emodin cytotoxicity against mammalian cell lines. These findings shed light on the enzymatic mechanisms involved in anthraquinone dimerization. Future characterization of the ClaM enzyme should facilitate engineering the biosynthesis of novel, potent, dimeric anthraquinones and structurally related compound families.

  20. Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Social and School Adjustment: The Moderating Roles of Age and Parenting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawabata, Yoshito; Tseng, Wan-Ling; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the associations between symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and social and school adjustment (academic performance, peer relationships, school social problems) and the moderating roles of children's age and maternal parenting (affection and overprotection) in these associations. The sample consisted of…

  1. Mutation D816V alters the internal structure and dynamics of c-KIT receptor cytoplasmic region: implications for dimerization and activation mechanisms.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elodie Laine

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The type III receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK KIT plays a crucial role in the transmission of cellular signals through phosphorylation events that are associated with a switching of the protein conformation between inactive and active states. D816V KIT mutation is associated with various pathologies including mastocytosis and cancers. D816V-mutated KIT is constitutively active, and resistant to treatment with the anti-cancer drug Imatinib. To elucidate the activating molecular mechanism of this mutation, we applied a multi-approach procedure combining molecular dynamics (MD simulations, normal modes analysis (NMA and binding site prediction. Multiple 50-ns MD simulations of wild-type KIT and its mutant D816V were recorded using the inactive auto-inhibited structure of the protein, characteristic of type III RTKs. Computed free energy differences enabled us to quantify the impact of D816V on protein stability in the inactive state. We evidenced a local structural alteration of the activation loop (A-loop upon mutation, and a long-range structural re-organization of the juxta-membrane region (JMR followed by a weakening of the interaction network with the kinase domain. A thorough normal mode analysis of several MD conformations led to a plausible molecular rationale to propose that JMR is able to depart its auto-inhibitory position more easily in the mutant than in wild-type KIT and is thus able to promote kinase mutant dimerization without the need for extra-cellular ligand binding. Pocket detection at the surface of NMA-displaced conformations finally revealed that detachment of JMR from the kinase domain in the mutant was sufficient to open an access to the catalytic and substrate binding sites.

  2. 21 CFR 176.120 - Alkyl ketene dimers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ..., processing, preparing, treating, packaging, transporting, or holding food, subject to the provisions of this... paperboard. (c) The alkyl ketene dimers may be used in the form of an aqueous emulsion which may contain...

  3. Electronic gaming and psychosocial adjustment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Przybylski, Andrew K

    2014-09-01

    The rise of electronic games has driven both concerns and hopes regarding their potential to influence young people. Existing research identifies a series of isolated positive and negative effects, yet no research to date has examined the balance of these potential effects in a representative sample of children and adolescents. The objective of this study was to explore how time spent playing electronic games accounts for significant variation in positive and negative psychosocial adjustment using a representative cohort of children aged 10 to 15 years. A large sample of children and adolescents aged 10 to 15 years completed assessments of psychosocial adjustment and reported typical daily hours spent playing electronic games. Relations between different levels of engagement and indicators of positive and negative psychosocial adjustment were examined, controlling for participant age and gender and weighted for population representativeness. Low levels (3 hours daily) of game engagement was linked to key indicators of psychosocial adjustment. Low engagement was associated with higher life satisfaction and prosocial behavior and lower externalizing and internalizing problems, whereas the opposite was found for high levels of play. No effects were observed for moderate play levels when compared with non-players. The links between different levels of electronic game engagement and psychosocial adjustment were small (Games consistently but not robustly associated with children's adjustment in both positive and negative ways, findings that inform policy-making as well as future avenues for research in the area. Copyright © 2014 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  4. Dimerization of a flocculent protein from Moringa oleifera: experimental evidence and in silico interpretation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavankumar, Asalapuram R; Kayathri, Rajarathinam; Murugan, Natarajan A; Zhang, Qiong; Srivastava, Vaibhav; Okoli, Chuka; Bulone, Vincent; Rajarao, Gunaratna K; Ågren, Hans

    2014-01-01

    Many proteins exist in dimeric and other oligomeric forms to gain stability and functional advantages. In this study, the dimerization property of a coagulant protein (MO2.1) from Moringa oleifera seeds was addressed through laboratory experiments, protein-protein docking studies and binding free energy calculations. The structure of MO2.1 was predicted by homology modelling, while binding free energy and residues-distance profile analyses provided insight into the energetics and structural factors for dimer formation. Since the coagulation activities of the monomeric and dimeric forms of MO2.1 were comparable, it was concluded that oligomerization does not affect the biological activity of the protein.

  5. Vitamin D deficiency in early pregnancy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shannon K Flood-Nichols

    Full Text Available Vitamin D deficiency is a common problem in reproductive-aged women in the United States. The effect of vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy is unknown, but has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between vitamin D deficiency in the first trimester and subsequent clinical outcomes.This is a retrospective cohort study. Plasma was collected in the first trimester from 310 nulliparous women with singleton gestations without significant medical problems. Competitive enzymatic vitamin D assays were performed on banked plasma specimens and pregnancy outcomes were collected after delivery. Logistic regression was performed on patients stratified by plasma vitamin D concentration and the following combined clinical outcomes: preeclampsia, preterm delivery, intrauterine growth restriction, gestational diabetes, and spontaneous abortion.Vitamin D concentrations were obtained from 235 patients (mean age 24.3 years, range 18-40 years. Seventy percent of our study population was vitamin D insufficient with a serum concentration less than 30 ng/mL (mean serum concentration 27.6 ng/mL, range 13-71.6 ng/mL. Logistic regression was performed adjusting for age, race, body mass index, tobacco use, and time of year. Adverse pregnancy outcomes included preeclampsia, growth restriction, preterm delivery, gestational diabetes, and spontaneous abortion. There was no association between vitamin D deficiency and composite adverse pregnancy outcomes with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.01 (p value 0.738, 95% confidence intervals 0.961-1.057.Vitamin D deficiency did not associate with adverse pregnancy outcomes in this study population. However, the high percentage of affected individuals highlights the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in young, reproductive-aged women.

  6. APPLYING 3D AFFINE TRANSFORMATION AND LEAST SQUARES MATCHING FOR AIRBORNE LASER SCANNING STRIPS ADJUSTMENT WITHOUT GNSS/IMU TRAJECTORY DATA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Ressl

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available In this article we extend our previous work on the topic of ALS strip adjustment without GNSS/IMU trajectory data. Between overlap- ping strip pairs the relative orientation as a 3D affine transformation is estimated by a 3D LSM approach, which uses interpolated 2.5D grid surface models of the strips and the entire strip overlap as one big LSM window. The LSM derived relative orientations of all strip pairs in the block together with their covariance matrices are then used simultaneously as observations in an adjustment following the Gauss-Helmert model. This way the exterior orientation of each strip is computed, which refers to a relative block system. If proper ground control data is given, then an absolute orientation of the block of strips can be computed by a final LSM run. In a small example consisting of 4 strips with ca. 70% overlap the improvement in the relative geometric accuracy is demonstrated by the decreasing óMAD of the height differences from 8.4cm (before to 1.6cm (after the strip adjustment.

  7. Associations Between Vitamin D Levels and Depressive Symptoms in Later Life: Evidence From the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Oliveira, Cesar; Hirani, Vasant; Biddulph, Jane P

    2017-06-22

    A possible role of vitamin D in depression has received considerable attention, especially given the significant disability, mortality, and healthcare costs associated to depression and the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. We investigated the cross-sectional associations between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels and depressive symptoms (CES-D) in 5,607 older adults from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Overall, there was a significant association between low 25OHD levels and elevated depressive symptoms (odds ratio [OR] = 1.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.20-2.07 for the lowest quartile; OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.15-1.83 for <30 nmol/L cut-off and OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.10-1.62 for the ≤50 nmol/L cut-off) after adjustment for a wide range of covariates of clinical significance. Fully adjusted models showed that women in the lowest (OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.20-2.34) and second lowest (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.20-2.35) quartiles of 25OHD as well as those with 25OHD levels <30 nmol/L (OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.06-1.86) and ≤50 nmol/L (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.07-1.72) were more likely to report elevated depressive symptoms. For men, however, this association only remained significant for those with 25OHD levels of <30 nmol/L (OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.06-2.42) in the fully adjusted models. The independent and inverse association found between low 25OHD levels and elevated depressive symptoms suggests that vitamin D deficiency may be a risk factor for late-life depression, particularly among women. Whether our findings have any clinical meaning or not, additional data are needed from well-designed randomized controlled trials of vitamin D for the prevention and treatment of late-life depression. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.

  8. MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS OF THE ADSORPTION OF DIMERS ON STRUCTURED HETEROGENEOUS SURFACES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abreu C.R.A.

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available The effect of surface topography upon the adsorption of dimer molecules is analyzed by means of grand canonical ensemble Monte Carlo simulations. Heterogeneous surfaces were assumed to consist of a square lattice containing active sites with two different energies. These were distributed in three different configurations: a random distribution of isolated sites; a random distribution of grains with four high-energy sites; and a random distribution of grains with nine high-energy sites. For the random distribution of isolated sites, the results are in good agreement with the molecular simulations performed by Nitta et al. (1997. In general, the comparison with theoretical models shows that the Nitta et al. (1984 isotherm presents good predictions of dimer adsorption both on homogeneous and heterogeneous surfaces with sites having small differences in characteristic energies. The molecular simulation results also show that the energy topology of the solid surfaces plays an important role in the adsorption of dimers on solids with large differences in site energies. For these cases, the Nitta et al. model does not describe well the data on dimer adsorption on random heterogeneous surfaces (grains with one acid site, but does describe reasonably well the adsorption of dimers on more patchwise heterogeneous surfaces (grains with nine acid sites.

  9. Theoretical analysis of bimetallic nanorod dimer biosensors for label-free molecule detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Avijit; Talukder, Muhammad Anisuzzaman

    2018-02-01

    In this work, we theoretically analyze a gold (Au) core within silver (Ag) shell (Au@Ag) nanorod dimer biosensor for label-free molecule detection. The incident light on an Au@Ag nanorod strongly couples to localized surface plasmon modes, especially around the tip region. The field enhancement around the tip of a nanorod or between the tips of two longitudinally aligned nanorods as in a dimer can be exploited for sensitive detection of biomolecules. We derive analytical expressions for the interactions of an Au@Ag nanorod dimer with the incident light. We also study the detail dynamics of an Au@Ag nanorod dimer with the incident light computationally using finite difference time domain (FDTD) technique when core-shell ratio, relative position of the nanorods, and angle of incidence of light change. We find that the results obtained using the developed analytical model match well with that obtained using FDTD simulations. Additionally, we investigate the sensitivity of the Au@Ag nanorod dimer, i.e., shift in the resonance wavelength, when a target biomolecule such as lysozyme (Lys), human serum albumin (HSA), anti-biotin (Abn), human catalase (CAT), and human fibrinogen (Fb) protein molecules are attached to the tips of the nanorods.

  10. The PH domain of phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 exhibits a novel, phospho-regulated monomer-dimer equilibrium with important implications for kinase domain activation: single-molecule and ensemble studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziemba, Brian P; Pilling, Carissa; Calleja, Véronique; Larijani, Banafshé; Falke, Joseph J

    2013-07-16

    Phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 (PDK1) is an essential master kinase recruited to the plasma membrane by the binding of its C-terminal PH domain to the signaling lipid phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3). Membrane binding leads to PDK1 phospho-activation, but despite the central role of PDK1 in signaling and cancer biology, this activation mechanism remains poorly understood. PDK1 has been shown to exist as a dimer in cells, and one crystal structure of its isolated PH domain exhibits a putative dimer interface. It has been proposed that phosphorylation of PH domain residue T513 (or the phospho-mimetic T513E mutation) may regulate a novel PH domain dimer-monomer equilibrium, thereby converting an inactive PDK1 dimer to an active monomer. However, the oligomeric states of the PH domain on the membrane have not yet been determined, nor whether a negative charge at position 513 is sufficient to regulate its oligomeric state. This study investigates the binding of purified wild-type (WT) and T513E PDK1 PH domains to lipid bilayers containing the PIP3 target lipid, using both single-molecule and ensemble measurements. Single-molecule analysis of the brightness of the fluorescent PH domain shows that the PIP3-bound WT PH domain on membranes is predominantly dimeric while the PIP3-bound T513E PH domain is monomeric, demonstrating that negative charge at the T513 position is sufficient to dissociate the PH domain dimer and is thus likely to play a central role in PDK1 monomerization and activation. Single-molecule analysis of two-dimensional (2D) diffusion of PH domain-PIP3 complexes reveals that the dimeric WT PH domain diffuses at the same rate as a single lipid molecule, indicating that only one of its two PIP3 binding sites is occupied and there is little penetration of the protein into the bilayer as observed for other PH domains. The 2D diffusion of T513E PH domain is slower, suggesting the negative charge disrupts local structure in a way that allows

  11. Metal membrane with dimer slots as a universal polarizer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhukovsky, Sergei; Zalkovskij, Maksim; Malureanu, Radu

    2014-01-01

    In this work, we show theoretically and confirm experimentally that thin metal membranes patterned with an array of slot dimers (or their Babinet analogue with metal rods) can function as a versatile spectral and polarization filter. We present a detailed covariant multipole theory for the electr......In this work, we show theoretically and confirm experimentally that thin metal membranes patterned with an array of slot dimers (or their Babinet analogue with metal rods) can function as a versatile spectral and polarization filter. We present a detailed covariant multipole theory...

  12. Revisiting the Optical PT-Symmetric Dimer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Delfino Huerta Morales

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Optics has proved a fertile ground for the experimental simulation of quantum mechanics. Most recently, optical realizations of PT -symmetric quantum mechanics have been shown, both theoretically and experimentally, opening the door to international efforts aiming at the design of practical optical devices exploiting this symmetry. Here, we focus on the optical PT -symmetric dimer, a two-waveguide coupler where the materials show symmetric effective gain and loss, and provide a review of the linear and nonlinear optical realizations from a symmetry-based point of view. We go beyond a simple review of the literature and show that the dimer is just the smallest of a class of planar N-waveguide couplers that are the optical realization of the Lorentz group in 2 + 1 dimensions. Furthermore, we provide a formulation to describe light propagation through waveguide couplers described by non-Hermitian mode coupling matrices based on a non-Hermitian generalization of the Ehrenfest theorem.

  13. Alloantibodies, Anti-D, Childbearing age, Women, Cameroon ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    negative phenotype rates among Cameroonian women of reproductive age (15 – 44 years), in order to evaluate the importance of. D alloimmunization. Analysis of the haematology laboratory records from January 2006 to December 2007 ...

  14. Latent constructs of adjustment to aging and subjective age in Portugal and Romania: a comparative multiple correspondence analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sofia von Humboldt

    Full Text Available Objective: To analyze the determinants of adjustment to aging (AtA and subjective age (SA identified by older adults and to investigate the differences of latent constructs that can work as major determinants in AtA and SA in an older Portuguese and Romanian population. Method: Measures were completed, including demographics and interviews. Complete data were available for 38 older adults aged between 74-90 years (M=80.6; SD = 5.4, from Portugal and Romenia. Data was subjected to content analysis. Representation of the associations and latent constructs were analyzed by a Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA. Results: The most prevalent response of the interviewed participants for determinants to AtA was ‘health status, physical and intellectual functioning’ (18.1%. ‘With apprehension’ and ‘good enough’ (both 27.0% were identified as the most frequent SA responses. Findings showed a model for each nationality. AtA and SA for Portuguese elderly were explained by a three-factor model: ‘regardful’, ‘engaged’ and ‘conciliated’. A three-dimension model formed by ‘perseverant’, ‘congruent’ and ‘enjoyers’ was indicated as a best-fit solution for Romanian elderly. Conclusion: AtA and SA are strongly explained by increased likelihood of specific constructs in its definition. AtA is related to SA in older adults in both countries, although in different degree.

  15. From Soil to Structure, a Novel Dimeric β-Glucosidase Belonging to Glycoside Hydrolase Family 3 Isolated from Compost Using Metagenomic Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAndrew, Ryan P.; Park, Joshua I.; Heins, Richard A.; Reindl, Wolfgang; Friedland, Gregory D.; D'haeseleer, Patrik; Northen, Trent; Sale, Kenneth L.; Simmons, Blake A.; Adams, Paul D.

    2013-01-01

    A recent metagenomic analysis sequenced a switchgrass-adapted compost community to identify enzymes from microorganisms that were specifically adapted to switchgrass under thermophilic conditions. These enzymes are being examined as part of the pretreatment process for the production of “second-generation” biofuels. Among the enzymes discovered was JMB19063, a novel three-domain β-glucosidase that belongs to the GH3 (glycoside hydrolase 3) family. Here, we report the structure of JMB19063 in complex with glucose and the catalytic variant D261N crystallized in the presence of cellopentaose. JMB19063 is first structure of a dimeric member of the GH3 family, and we demonstrate that dimerization is required for catalytic activity. Arg-587 and Phe-598 from the C-terminal domain of the opposing monomer are shown to interact with bound ligands in the D261N structure. Enzyme assays confirmed that these residues are absolutely essential for full catalytic activity. PMID:23580647

  16. Jellium-model calculation for monomer and dimer decays of some potassium clusters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saito, Susumu; Cohen, M.L.; Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA

    1989-01-01

    We have studied several decay processes of potassium clusters and found that a dimer-decay mechanism can explain the observed lowest abundance of K 10 in the K n mass spectra. Total-energy curves for decay processes are calculated using a jellium-background model for positive-ion cores and the local-spin-density-functional approximation for valence electrons. The energy-barrier height for a dimer decay of K 10 from the energy-minimum point is found to be 0.18 eV, which is a reasonable magnitude for the decay to take place thermally in the experiment. The monomer decay of K 9 and the dimer decay of K 11 , which are expected to be the most favorable decays of K 9 and K 11 , are found to have high barriers. Monomer and dimer decays of K 8 are also studied and the monomer decay is found to be more favorable, in accord with the high-nozzle-temperature mass spectrum. (orig.)

  17. Social Cognitive Career Theory, the Theory of Work Adjustment, and Work Satisfaction of Retirement-Age Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foley, Pamela F; Lytle, Megan C

    2015-06-01

    Despite a recent increase in the number of adults who work past traditional retirement age, existing theories of vocational behavior have not yet received adequate empirical support. In a large sample of adults age 60-87, we evaluated the relationship between theorized predictors of work satisfaction proposed by Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), work satisfaction as a predictor of continued work, as proposed by the Theory of Work adjustment (TWA), as well as the influence of reported experiences of discrimination on these relationships. While the results supported most of the predicted relationships, the effects of discrimination were stronger than the variables proposed by either SCCT or TWA for the present sample.

  18. Antiviral activity of α-helical stapled peptides designed from the HIV-1 capsid dimerization domain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cowburn David

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The C-terminal domain (CTD of HIV-1 capsid (CA, like full-length CA, forms dimers in solution and CTD dimerization is a major driving force in Gag assembly and maturation. Mutations of the residues at the CTD dimer interface impair virus assembly and render the virus non-infectious. Therefore, the CTD represents a potential target for designing anti-HIV-1 drugs. Results Due to the pivotal role of the dimer interface, we reasoned that peptides from the α-helical region of the dimer interface might be effective as decoys to prevent CTD dimer formation. However, these small peptides do not have any structure in solution and they do not penetrate cells. Therefore, we used the hydrocarbon stapling technique to stabilize the α-helical structure and confirmed by confocal microscopy that this modification also made these peptides cell-penetrating. We also confirmed by using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC, sedimentation equilibrium and NMR that these peptides indeed disrupt dimer formation. In in vitro assembly assays, the peptides inhibited mature-like virus particle formation and specifically inhibited HIV-1 production in cell-based assays. These peptides also showed potent antiviral activity against a large panel of laboratory-adapted and primary isolates, including viral strains resistant to inhibitors of reverse transcriptase and protease. Conclusions These preliminary data serve as the foundation for designing small, stable, α-helical peptides and small-molecule inhibitors targeted against the CTD dimer interface. The observation that relatively weak CA binders, such as NYAD-201 and NYAD-202, showed specificity and are able to disrupt the CTD dimer is encouraging for further exploration of a much broader class of antiviral compounds targeting CA. We cannot exclude the possibility that the CA-based peptides described here could elicit additional effects on virus replication not directly linked to their ability to bind

  19. Relativity-Induced Bonding Pattern Change in Coinage Metal Dimers M2 (M = Cu, Ag, Au, Rg).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wan-Lu; Lu, Jun-Bo; Wang, Zhen-Ling; Hu, Han-Shi; Li, Jun

    2018-05-07

    The periodic table provides a fundamental protocol for qualitatively classifying and predicting chemical properties based on periodicity. While the periodic law of chemical elements had already been rationalized within the framework of the nonrelativistic description of chemistry with quantum mechanics, this law was later known to be affected significantly by relativity. We here report a systematic theoretical study on the chemical bonding pattern change in the coinage metal dimers (Cu 2 , Ag 2 , Au 2 , Rg 2 ) due to the relativistic effect on the superheavy elements. Unlike the lighter congeners basically demonstrating ns- ns bonding character and a 0 g + ground state, Rg 2 shows unique 6d-6d bonding induced by strong relativity. Because of relativistic spin-orbit (SO) coupling effect in Rg 2 , two nearly degenerate SO states, 0 g + and 2 u , exist as candidate of the ground state. This relativity-induced change of bonding mechanism gives rise to various unique alteration of chemical properties compared with the lighter dimers, including higher intrinsic bond energy, force constant, and nuclear shielding. Our work thus provides a rather simple but clear-cut example, where the chemical bonding picture is significantly changed by relativistic effect, demonstrating the modified periodic law in heavy-element chemistry.

  20. D-dimer testing for safe exclusion and risk stratification in patients with acute pulmonary embolism in primary care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhou Yin

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Safe exclusion and risk stratification are currently recommended for the initial management of patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE. The aim of this study was to assess the safe exclusion and risk stratification value of D-dimer (DD for APE when tested at the beginning of admission. Materials and Methods: All consecutive Chinese APE patients and controls were recruited from January 2010 to December 2012. All measurements of serum indexes were made in duplicate and blinded to the patients′ status. All the 40 patients with the first episode of APE were confirmed by multi-detector computed tomographic pulmonary angiography. The plasma prothrombin time (PT, activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time, fibrinogen, and DD levels were measured within 24 h of admission. We used the Mann-Whitney U-test to determine the differences between groups and drew receiver operator characteristic curve to evaluate the indexes′ value in the APE screening. Results: The PT and DD in the APE group were significantly higher than those in the disease control group (P 1820 μg/L as cut-off value, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value was 82.5%, 75.2%, 56.9%, and 91.6%, respectively. Conclusion: The patients with APE showed significant higher DD levels compared with disease controls, suggesting a negative qualitative DD test result can safely and efficiently exclude APE in primary care.

  1. Characterization of thrombosis in patients with Proteus syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keppler-Noreuil, Kim M; Lozier, Jay N; Sapp, Julie C; Biesecker, Leslie G

    2017-09-01

    Patients with overgrowth and complex vascular malformation syndromes, including Proteus syndrome have an increased risk of thromboembolism. Proteus syndrome is a mosaic, progressive overgrowth disorder involving vasculature, skin, and skeleton, and caused by a somatic activating mutation in AKT1. We conducted a comprehensive review of the medical histories and hematologic evaluations of 57 patients with Proteus syndrome to identify potential risk factors for thrombosis. We found that six of ten patients, who were deceased, died secondary to deep venous thrombosis and/or pulmonary embolism. Of the remaining 47 living patients, six had thromboembolic events that all occurred postoperatively and in an affected limb. Eleven of 21 patients had an abnormal hypercoagulable panel including Factor V Leiden heterozygotes, antithrombin III deficiency, positive lupus anticoagulant, or Protein C or S deficiencies. We observed that eight of 17 patients had an abnormal D-dimer level >0.5 mcg/dl, but deep venous thromboses occurred in only four of those with D-dimer >1.0 mcg/dl. We conclude that the predisposition to thrombosis is likely to be multifaceted with risk factors including vascular malformations, immobility, surgery, additional prothrombotic factors, and possible pathophysiologic effects of the somatic AKT1 mutation on platelet function or the vascular endothelium. The D-dimer test is useful as a screen for thromboembolism, although the screening threshold may need to be adjusted for patients with this disorder. We propose developing a registry to collect D-dimer and outcome data to facilitate adjustment of the D-dimer threshold for Proteus syndrome and related disorders, including PIK3CA-Related Overgrowth Spectrum. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Relative stabilities and the spectral signatures of stacked and hydrogen-bonded dimers of serotonin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dev, S.; Giri, K.; Majumder, M.; Sathyamurthy, N.

    2015-10-01

    The O-HṡṡṡN hydrogen-bonded dimer of serotonin is shown to be more stable than the stacked dimer in its ground electronic state, by using the Møller-Plesset second-order perturbation theory (MP2) and the 6-31g** basis set. The vertical excitation energy for the lowest π → π* transition for the monomer as well as the dimer is predicted by time-dependent density functional theory. The experimentally observed red shift of excitation wavelength on oligomerisation is explained in terms of the change in the HOMO-LUMO energy gap due to complex formation. The impact of dimer formation on the proton magnetic resonance spectrum of serotonin monomer is also examined.

  3. Numerical investigation of radiative properties and surface plasmon resonance of silver nanorod dimers on a substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    An, Wei; Zhu, Tong; Zhu, QunZhi

    2014-01-01

    When the distance between two silver nanoparticles is small enough, interparticle surface plasmon coupling has a great impact on their radiative properties. It is becoming a promising technique to use in the sensing and imaging. A model based on finite difference time domain method is developed to investigate the effect of the assembled parameters on the radiative properties and the field-enhancement effect of silver nanorod dimer. The numerical results indicate that the radiative properties of silver nanorod dimer are very sensitive to the assembled angle and the polarization orientation of incident wave. There is great difference on the intensity and location of field-enhancement effect for the cases of different assembled angle and polarization. The most intensive field-enhancement effect occurs in the middle of two nanorods when two nanorods is assembled head to head and the polarization orientation parallels to the length axis of nanorods. Moreover, compared with the single nanorod, the wavelength of extinction peak of dimer has a red-shift, and the intensity of field-enhancement effect on the dimer is more intensive than that of single particle. With the increasing of particle length, extinction cross-section of silver nanorod dimer rises, while extinction efficiency and scattering efficiency firstly increase then drop down gradually. In addition, the extinction peaks of silver nanorod dimer on the substrate are smaller than that without the substrate, and their extinction peaks has a red-shift compared with that without the substrate. -- Highlights: ► Radiative properties of silver nanorod dimer are very sensitive to the assembled angle. ► The projective length of nanorod dimer on the polarization orientation is crucial. ► Compared with single nanorod, wavelength of extinction peak of dimer has a red-shift. ► Extinction peaks of dimer on the substrate are smaller than that without the substrate

  4. Is a positive L-dimer result a sufficient indication for performing a V/Q lung scan?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salanitri, G.C.; Kelly, M.J.; O'Donnell, M.; Kalff, V.

    2002-01-01

    Full text: At our institution there has developed a practice of referring some patients for assessment of pulmonary embolism (PE) because of a positive L-dimer test but without standard clinical indications. Therefore this study aimed to determine whether a positive L-dimer test result by itself is a sufficient indication to perform a ventilation/perfusion V/Q study. V/Q lung scan results, L-dimer test results and appropriate radiology results of 949 consecutive patients from August 2000 to October 2001 were retrospectively reviewed. Prediction of V/Q results by L-dimer results was compared with that of clinical risk factors for PE (Risk factor + or -) These factors were dyspnoea, current deep vein thrombosis (DVT), recent orthopaedic procedure or a past history of PE/DVT, Of the 949 patients in the study population, 254 patients had an L-dimer study, with 206 positive and 48 negative L-dimer results. Helical CT was performed in 8 patients with an equivocal V/Q - 4 showed PE and 4 did not. In the 27 patients with a positive L-dimer result and PE on either V-Q scan or CT, 25 (92.6%) had additional recognised major risk factors for PE. A positive L-dimer test is a poor predictor of a positive V/Q scan compared to conventional clinical indications. Thus, a positive L-dimer test result in isolation does not constitute an appropriate indication to perform a V/Q scan. Copyright (2002) The Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine Inc

  5. Comprehensive prediction in 78 human cell lines reveals rigidity and compactness of transcription factor dimers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jankowski, Aleksander; Szczurek, Ewa; Jauch, Ralf; Tiuryn, Jerzy; Prabhakar, Shyam

    2013-01-01

    The binding of transcription factors (TFs) to their specific motifs in genomic regulatory regions is commonly studied in isolation. However, in order to elucidate the mechanisms of transcriptional regulation, it is essential to determine which TFs bind DNA cooperatively as dimers and to infer the precise nature of these interactions. So far, only a small number of such dimeric complexes are known. Here, we present an algorithm for predicting cell-type–specific TF–TF dimerization on DNA on a large scale, using DNase I hypersensitivity data from 78 human cell lines. We represented the universe of possible TF complexes by their corresponding motif complexes, and analyzed their occurrence at cell-type–specific DNase I hypersensitive sites. Based on ∼1.4 billion tests for motif complex enrichment, we predicted 603 highly significant cell-type–specific TF dimers, the vast majority of which are novel. Our predictions included 76% (19/25) of the known dimeric complexes and showed significant overlap with an experimental database of protein–protein interactions. They were also independently supported by evolutionary conservation, as well as quantitative variation in DNase I digestion patterns. Notably, the known and predicted TF dimers were almost always highly compact and rigidly spaced, suggesting that TFs dimerize in close proximity to their partners, which results in strict constraints on the structure of the DNA-bound complex. Overall, our results indicate that chromatin openness profiles are highly predictive of cell-type–specific TF–TF interactions. Moreover, cooperative TF dimerization seems to be a widespread phenomenon, with multiple TF complexes predicted in most cell types. PMID:23554463

  6. Photoreactivation of ultraviolet radiation-induced pyrimidine dimers in neonatal BALB/c mouse skin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ananthaswamy, H.N.; Fisher, M.S.

    1981-01-01

    The numbers of ultraviolet light (uv)-induced pyrimidine dimers in the DNA of neonatal BALB/c mouse skin were measured by assessing the sensitivity of the DNA to Micrococcus luteus uv endonuclease. Irradiation of neonatal BALB/c mice with FS40 sunlamps caused a dose-dependent induction of endonuclease-sensitive sites (pyrimidine dimers) in DNA extracted from back skin. Exposure of these uv-irradiated neonatal mice to photoreactivating (PR) light (cool white fluorescent lamp and incandescent lamp) caused a reduction in the number of pyrimidine dimers in the DNA, as revealed by a shift in low-molecular-weight DNA to high-molecular-weight DNA. In contrast, DNA profiles of the skin of either uv-irradiated mice or uv-irradiated mice kept in the dark for the same duration as those exposed to PR light did not show a loss of uv-induced endonuclease-sensitive sites. Furthermore, reversing the order of treatment, i.e., administering PR light first and then uv, did not produce a reduction in pyrimidine dimers. These results demonstrate that PR or uv-induced pyrimidine dimers occurs in neonatal BALB/c mouse skin. The optimal wavelength range for in vivo PR appears to be in the visible region of the spectrum (greater than 400 nm). Although dimer formation could be detected in both dermis and epidermis, PR occurred only in the dermis. Furthermore, the PR phenomenon could not be detected in the skin of adult mice from the same inbred strain

  7. Dimerization effects on coacervation property of an elastin-derived synthetic peptide (FPGVG)5.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suyama, Keitaro; Taniguchi, Suguru; Tatsubo, Daiki; Maeda, Iori; Nose, Takeru

    2016-04-01

    Elastin, a core protein of the elastic fibers, exhibits the coacervation (temperature-dependent reversible association/dissociation) under physiological conditions. Because of this characteristic, elastin and elastin-derived peptides have been considered to be useful as base materials for developing various biomedical products, skin substitutes, synthetic vascular grafts, and drug delivery systems. Although elastin-derived polypeptide (Val-Pro-Gly-Val-Gly)n also has been known to demonstrate coacervation property, a sufficiently high (VPGVG)n repetition number (n>40) is required for coacervation. In the present study, a series of elastin-derived peptide (Phe-Pro-Gly-Val-Gly)5 dimers possessing high coacervation potential were newly developed. These novel dimeric peptides exhibited coacervation at significantly lower concentrations and temperatures than the commonly used elastin-derived peptide analogs; this result suggests that the coacervation ability of the peptides is enhanced by dimerization. Circular dichroism (CD) measurements indicate that the dimers undergo similar temperature-dependent and reversible conformational changes when coacervation occurs. The molecular dynamics calculation results reveal that the sheet-turn-sheet motif involving a type II β-turn-like structure commonly observed among the dimers and caused formation of globular conformation of them. These synthesized peptide dimers may be useful not only as model peptides for structural analysis of elastin and elastin-derived peptides, but also as base materials for developing various temperature-sensitive biomedical and industrial products. Copyright © 2016 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. Mass spectrometric characterization of human serum albumin dimer: A new potential biomarker in chronic liver diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naldi, Marina; Baldassarre, Maurizio; Nati, Marina; Laggetta, Maristella; Giannone, Ferdinando Antonino; Domenicali, Marco; Bernardi, Mauro; Caraceni, Paolo; Bertucci, Carlo

    2015-08-10

    Human serum albumin (HSA) undergoes several structural alterations affecting its properties in pro-oxidant and pro-inflammatory environments, as it occurs during liver cirrhosis. These modifications include the formation of albumin dimers. Although HSA dimers were reported to be an oxidative stress biomarker, to date nothing is known about their role in liver cirrhosis and related complications. Additionally, no high sensitive analytical method was available for HSA dimers assessment in clinical settings. Thus the HSA dimeric form in human plasma was characterized by mass spectrometry using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-Q-TOF) and matrix assisted laser desorption time of flight (MALDI-TOF) techniques. N-terminal and C-terminal truncated HSA, as well as the native HSA, undergo dimerization by binding another HSA molecule. This study demonstrated the presence of both homo- and hetero-dimeric forms of HSA. The dimerization site was proved to be at Cys-34, forming a disulphide bridge between two albumin molecules, as determined by LC-MS analysis after tryptic digestion. Interestingly, when plasma samples from cirrhotic subjects were analysed, the dimer/monomer ratio resulted significantly increased when compared to that of healthy subjects. These isoforms could represent promising biomarkers for liver disease. Additionally, this analytical approach leads to the relative quantification of the residual native HSA, with fully preserved structural integrity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Stabilization of sulfuric acid dimers by ammonia, methylamine, dimethylamine, and trimethylamine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jen, Coty N.; McMurry, Peter H.; Hanson, David R.

    2014-06-01

    This study experimentally explores how ammonia (NH3), methylamine (MA), dimethylamine (DMA), and trimethylamine (TMA) affect the chemical formation mechanisms of electrically neutral clusters that contain two sulfuric acid molecules (dimers). Dimers may also contain undetectable compounds, such as water or bases, that evaporate upon ionization and sampling. Measurements were conducted using a glass flow reactor which contained a steady flow of humidified nitrogen with sulfuric acid concentrations of 107 to 109 cm-3. A known molar flow rate of a basic gas was injected into the flow reactor. The University of Minnesota Cluster Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer was used to measure the resulting sulfuric acid vapor and cluster concentrations. It was found that, for a given concentration of sulfuric acid vapor, the dimer concentration increases with increasing concentration of the basic gas, eventually reaching a plateau. The base concentrations at which the dimer concentrations saturate suggest NH3 heuristic models for cluster formation by acid-base reactions are developed to interpret the data. The models provide ranges of evaporation rate constants that are consistent with observations and leads to an analytic expression for nucleation rates that is consistent with atmospheric observations.

  10. Model-Based Comparison of Antibody Dimerization in Continuous and Batch-Wise Downstream Processing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anton Sellberg

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Monoclonal antibodies are generally produced using a generic platform approach in which several chromatographic separations assure high purity of the product. Dimerization can occur during the fermentation stage and may occur also during the downstream processing. We present here simulations in which a traditional platform approach that consist of protein A capture, followed by cation-exchange and anion-exchange chromatography for polishing is compared to a continuous platform in which dimer removal and virus inactivation are carried out on a size-exclusion column. A dimerization model that takes pH, salt concentration and the concentration of antibodies into account is combined with chromatographic models, to be able to predicted both the separation and the degree to which dimers are formed. Purification of a feed composition that contained 1% by weight of dimer and a total antibody concentration of 1 g/L was modeled using both approaches, and the amount of antibodies in the continuous platform was at least 4 times lower than in the traditional platform. The total processing time was also lower, as the cation-exchange polish could be omitted.

  11. TACO: a general-purpose tool for predicting cell-type-specific transcription factor dimers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jankowski, Aleksander; Prabhakar, Shyam; Tiuryn, Jerzy

    2014-03-19

    Cooperative binding of transcription factor (TF) dimers to DNA is increasingly recognized as a major contributor to binding specificity. However, it is likely that the set of known TF dimers is highly incomplete, given that they were discovered using ad hoc approaches, or through computational analyses of limited datasets. Here, we present TACO (Transcription factor Association from Complex Overrepresentation), a general-purpose standalone software tool that takes as input any genome-wide set of regulatory elements and predicts cell-type-specific TF dimers based on enrichment of motif complexes. TACO is the first tool that can accommodate motif complexes composed of overlapping motifs, a characteristic feature of many known TF dimers. Our method comprehensively outperforms existing tools when benchmarked on a reference set of 29 known dimers. We demonstrate the utility and consistency of TACO by applying it to 152 DNase-seq datasets and 94 ChIP-seq datasets. Based on these results, we uncover a general principle governing the structure of TF-TF-DNA ternary complexes, namely that the flexibility of the complex is correlated with, and most likely a consequence of, inter-motif spacing.

  12. Characterization of topological phases of dimerized Kitaev chain via edge correlation functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yucheng; Miao, Jian-Jian; Jin, Hui-Ke; Chen, Shu

    2017-11-01

    We study analytically topological properties of a noninteracting modified dimerized Kitaev chain and an exactly solvable interacting dimerized Kitaev chain under open boundary conditions by analyzing two introduced edge correlation functions. The interacting dimerized Kitaev chain at the symmetry point Δ =t and the chemical potential μ =0 can be exactly solved by applying two Jordan-Wigner transformations and a spin rotation, which permits us to calculate the edge correlation functions analytically. We demonstrate that the two edge correlation functions can be used to characterize the trivial, Su-Schrieffer-Heeger-like topological and topological superconductor phases of both the noninteracting and interacting systems and give their phase diagrams.

  13. Perceived Expectations for Active Aging, Formal Productive Roles, and Psychological Adjustment Among the Young-Old.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlova, Maria K; Silbereisen, Rainer K

    2016-01-01

    We investigated how older adults' perceptions of societal expectations for active aging, or activation demands (e.g., to stay fit and to contribute to the public good), relate to their involvement in paid work and formal volunteering and psychological adjustment. We used two waves of survey data on young-old Germans (aged 56-75, N(T1) = 1,508, N(T2) = 602). With the exception of several items on perceived activation demands, paid work and volunteering were not significant longitudinal predictors of such demands. In females, perceived activation demands increased the likelihood to work for pay a year later. Finally, among nonworking individuals, perceived activation demands predicted a better physical self-concept and a higher positive affect, whereas among nonvolunteers, such demands predicted fewer depressive symptoms a year later. We conclude that the policy debate on active aging may benefit some older German adults but is of little consequence for most of them. © The Author(s) 2015.

  14. Field-based scanning tunneling microscope manipulation of antimony dimers on Si(001)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rogge, S.; Timmerman, R.H.; Scholte, P.M.L.O.; Geerligs, L.J.; Salemink, H.W.M.

    2001-01-01

    The manipulation of antimony dimers, Sb2, on the silicon (001) surface by means of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) has been experimentally investigated. Directed hopping of the Sb2 dimers due the STM tip can dominate over the thermal motion at temperatures between 300 and 500 K. Statistics on

  15. The hyperfine spectrum of hydrogen dimers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Verberne, J.F.C.

    1979-01-01

    The authors' aim was to obtain the level scheme for the hydrogen dimers and to investigate the angle dependent interactions by analyzing the zero magnetic field hyperfine spectrum of the ortho-ortho and ortho-para species. The results were tested by several recent semi-empirical and ab initio potentials. (Auth.)

  16. UV light-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers are mutagenic in mammalian cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Protic-Sabljic, M.; Tuteja, N.; Munson, P.J.; Hauser, J.; Kraemer, K.H.; Dixon, K.

    1986-01-01

    We used a simian virus 40-based shuttle vector plasmid, pZ189, to determine the role of pyrimidine cyclobutane dimers in UV light-induced mutagenesis in monkey cells. The vector DNA was UV irradiated and then introduced into monkey cells by transfection. After replication, vector DNA was recovered from the cells and tested for mutations in its supF suppressor tRNA marker gene by transformation of Escherichia coli carrying a nonsense mutation in the beta-galactosidase gene. When the irradiated vector was treated with E. coli photolyase prior to transfection, pyrimidine cyclobutane dimers were removed selectively. Removal of approximately 90% of the pyrimidine cyclobutane dimers increased the biological activity of the vector by 75% and reduced its mutation frequency by 80%. Sequence analysis of 72 mutants recovered indicated that there were significantly fewer tandem double-base changes and G X C----A X T transitions (particularly at CC sites) after photoreactivation of the DNA. UV-induced photoproducts remained (although at greatly reduced levels) at all pyr-pyr sites after photoreactivation, but there was a relative increase in photoproducts at CC and TC sites and a relative decrease at TT and CT sites, presumably due to a persistence of (6-4) photoproducts at some CC and TC sites. These observations are consistent with the fact that mutations were found after photoreactivation at many sites at which only cyclobutane dimers would be expected to occur. From these results we conclude that UV-induced pyrimidine cyclobutane dimers are mutagenic in DNA replicated in monkey cells

  17. Association of parental history of type 2 diabetes with age, lifestyle, anthropometric factors, and clinical severity at type 2 diabetes diagnosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svensson, Elisabeth; Berencsi, Klara; Sander, Simone

    2016-01-01

    in Type 2 Diabetes cohort. We examined the prevalence ratios (PR) of demographic, lifestyle, anthropometric, and clinical factors according to parental history, using Poisson regression adjusting for age and gender. RESULTS: Of 2825 T2D patients, 34% (n = 964) had a parental history of T2D. Parental......BACKGROUND: We investigated whether parental history of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is associated with age, lifestyle, anthropometric factors, and clinical severity at the time of T2D diagnosis. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study based on the Danish Centre for Strategic Research...... history was associated with younger age at diagnosis [adjusted (a)PR 1.66, 95% confidence interval: 1.19, 2.31) for age

  18. Dimerization Efficiency of Canine Distemper Virus Matrix Protein Regulates Membrane-Budding Activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bringolf, Fanny; Herren, Michael; Wyss, Marianne; Vidondo, Beatriz; Langedijk, Johannes P; Zurbriggen, Andreas; Plattet, Philippe

    2017-08-15

    Paramyxoviruses rely on the matrix (M) protein to orchestrate viral assembly and budding at the plasma membrane. Although the mechanistic details remain largely unknown, structural data suggested that M dimers and/or higher-order oligomers may facilitate membrane budding. To gain functional insights, we employed a structure-guided mutagenesis approach to investigate the role of canine distemper virus (CDV) M protein self-assembly in membrane-budding activity. Three six-alanine-block (6A-block) mutants with mutations located at strategic oligomeric positions were initially designed. While the first one includes residues potentially residing at the protomer-protomer interface, the other two display amino acids located within two distal surface-exposed α-helices proposed to be involved in dimer-dimer contacts. We further focused on the core of the dimeric interface by mutating asparagine 138 (N138) to several nonconservative amino acids. Cellular localization combined with dimerization and coimmunopurification assays, performed under various denaturing conditions, revealed that all 6A-block mutants were impaired in self-assembly and cell periphery accumulation. These phenotypes correlated with deficiencies in relocating CDV nucleocapsid proteins to the cell periphery and in virus-like particle (VLP) production. Conversely, all M-N138 mutants remained capable of self-assembly, though to various extents, which correlated with proper accumulation and redistribution of nucleocapsid proteins at the plasma membrane. However, membrane deformation and VLP assays indicated that the M-N138 variants exhibiting the most reduced dimerization propensity were also defective in triggering membrane remodeling and budding, despite proper plasma membrane accumulation. Overall, our data provide mechanistic evidence that the efficiency of CDV M dimerization/oligomerization governs both cell periphery localization and membrane-budding activity. IMPORTANCE Despite the availability of

  19. Quantification of microangiopathic lesions in brain parenchyma and age-adjusted mean scores for the diagnostic separation of normal from pathological values in senile dementia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hentschel, F.; Kreis, M.; Damian, M.; Krumm, B.; Froelich, F.

    2005-01-01

    Purpose: to quantify microangiopathic lesions in the cerebral white matter and to develop age-corrected cut-off values for separating normal from dementia-related pathological lesions. Materials and methods: in a memory clinic, 338 patients were investigated neuropsychiatrically by a psychological test battery and by MRI. Using a FLAIR sequence and a newly developed rating scale, white matter lesions (WMLs) were quantified with respect to localization, number and intensity, and these ratings were condensed into a score. The WML scores were correlated with the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and clinical dementia rating (CDR) score in dementia patients. A non-linear smoothing procedure was used to calculate age-related mean values and confidence intervals, separate for cognitively intact subjects and dementia patients. Results: the WML scores correlated highly significantly with age in cognitively intact subjects and with psychometric scores in dementia patients. Age-adjusted WML scores of cognitively intact subjects were significantly different from those of dementia patients with respect to the whole brain as well as to the frontal lobe. Mean value and confidence intervals adjusted for age significantly separated dementia patients from cognitively intact subjects over an age range of 54 through 84 years. Conclusion: a rating scale for the quantification of WML was validated and age-adjusted mean values with their confidence intervals for a diagnostically relevant age range were developed. This allows an easy to handle, fast and reliable diagnosis of the vascular component in senile dementia. (orig.)

  20. Disintegration and dimerization of δ-tocopherol under radiation effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jasinska-Stepniak, A.; Gogolewski, M.; Zabielski, J.

    1996-01-01

    The goal of the work was to recognize scala changes of δ-tocopherol in model system (diluted in benzene, ethanol and ''in substantia'') after 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 kGy dose irradiation. δ-tocopherol and its mild oxidation products (dimers) after TLC separation were quantitatively determined with Emmerie-Engel method. Relations dose-effect have been defined and radiation capacity has been calculated. The results show that disintegration of δ-tocopherol diluted in ethanol is about ten times stronger the diluted in benzene. δ-tocopherol in benzene was dimerized. The most stable after irradiation was δ-tocopherol ''in substantia''. (author)

  1. Psychological adjustment to amputation: variations on the bases of sex, age and cause of limb loss

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ali, S.; Haider, S.K.F.

    2017-01-01

    Amputation is the removal of a limb or part of a limb by a surgical procedure in order to save the life of a person. The underlying reasons behind the occurrence of this tragic incidence may be varied. However, irrespective of its cause limb loss is associated with wide range of life challenges. The study was done to investigate the psychological sequel of an individual after losing a limb and to know the level of strain and pressure they experience after this traumatic event. It also attempts to examine the moderating role of some demographic traits such as age, sex and cause of limb loss in psychosocial adjustment to amputation. Methods: The study includes 100 adult amputees of both genders and the data was collected from major government and private hospitals of Peshawar district. Demographic data sheet was constructed in order to know the demographics traits of amputees and a standardize Psychological Adjustment Scale developed by Sabir (1999) was used to find out the level of psychological adjustment after limb loss. Results: Nearly all the amputees' exhibit signs of psychological maladjustment at varying degrees. Males showed much greater signs of maladjustment than women and young adults were much psychologically shattered and disturbed as a result of limb loss. Amputation caused by planned medical reasons leads to less adjustment issues as compared to unplanned accidental amputation in which patient were not mentally prepare to accept this loss. Conclusion: Psychological aspect of amputation is an important aspect of limb loss which needs to be addressed properly in order to rehabilitate these patients and helps them to adjust successfully to their limb loss. (author)

  2. Adjustment disorder: current perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zelviene P

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Paulina Zelviene, Evaldas Kazlauskas Department of Clinical and Organizational Psychology, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania Abstract: Adjustment disorder (AjD is among the most often diagnosed mental disorders in clinical practice. This paper reviews current status of AjD research and discusses scientific and clinical issues associated with AjD. AjD has been included in diagnostic classifications for over 50 years. Still, the diagnostic criteria for AjD remain vague and cause difficulties to mental health professionals. Controversies in definition resulted in the lack of reliable and valid measures of AjD. Epidemiological data on prevalence of AjD is scarce and not reliable because prevalence data are biased by the diagnostic algorithm, which is usually developed for each study, as no established diagnostic standards for AjD are available. Considerable changes in the field of AjD could follow after the release of the 11th edition of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11. A new AjD symptom profile was introduced in ICD-11 with 2 main symptoms as follows: 1 preoccupation and 2 failure to adapt. However, differences between the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition and ICD-11 AjD diagnostic criteria could result in diverse research findings in the future. The best treatment approach for AjD remains unclear, and further treatment studies are needed to provide AjD treatment guidelines to clinicians. Keywords: adjustment disorder, review, diagnosis, prevalence, treatment, DSM, ICD

  3. Antimicrobial peptide protegrin-3 adopt an antiparallel dimer in the presence of DPC micelles: a high-resolution NMR study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Usachev, K. S., E-mail: k.usachev@kpfu.ru; Efimov, S. V.; Kolosova, O. A.; Klochkova, E. A.; Aganov, A. V.; Klochkov, V. V. [Kazan Federal University, NMR Laboratory, Institute of Physics (Russian Federation)

    2015-05-15

    A tendency to dimerize in the presence of lipids was found for the protegrin. The dimer formation by the protegrin-1 (PG-1) is the first step for further oligomeric membrane pore formation. Generally there are two distinct model of PG-1 dimerization in either a parallel or antiparallel β-sheet. But despite the wealth of data available today, protegrin dimer structure and pore formation is still not completely understood. In order to investigate a more detailed dimerization process of PG-1 and if it will be the same for another type of protegrins, in this work we used a high-resolution NMR spectroscopy for structure determination of protegrin-3 (RGGGL-CYCRR-RFCVC-VGR) in the presence of perdeuterated DPC micelles and demonstrate that PG-3 forms an antiparallel NCCN dimer with a possible association of these dimers. This structural study complements previously published solution, solid state and computational studies of PG-1 in various environments and validate the potential of mean force simulations of PG-1 dimers and association of dimers to form octameric or decameric β-barrels.

  4. Dimers of nineteen-electron sandwich compounds: Crystal and electronic structures, and comparison of reducing strengths

    KAUST Repository

    Mohapatra, Swagat Kumar

    2014-10-03

    The dimers of some Group 8 metal cyclopentadienyl/ arene complexes and Group 9 metallocenes can be handled in air, yet are strongly reducing, making them useful n-dopants in organic electronics. In this work, the Xray molecular structures are shown to resemble those of Group 8 metal cyclopentadienyl/pentadienyl or Group 9 metal cyclopentadienyl/diene model compounds. Compared to those of the model compounds, the DFT HOMOs of the dimers are significantly destabilized by interactions between the metal and the central C-C σ-bonding orbital, accounting for the facile oxidation of the dimers. The lengths of these C-C bonds (X-ray or DFT) do not correlate with DFT dissociation energies, the latter depending strongly on the monomer stabilities. Ru and Ir monomers are more reducing than their Fe and Rh analogues, but the corresponding dimers also exhibit much higher dissociation energies, so the estimated monomer cation/neutral dimer potentials are, with the exception of that of [RhCp2]2, rather similar (-1.97 to-2.15 V vs. FeCp2 +/0 in THF). The consequences of the variations in bond strength and redox potentials for the reactivity of the dimers are discussed.

  5. Comparison of FDTD numerical computations and analytical multipole expansion method for plasmonics-active nanosphere dimers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhawan, Anuj; Norton, Stephen J; Gerhold, Michael D; Vo-Dinh, Tuan

    2009-06-08

    This paper describes a comparative study of finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and analytical evaluations of electromagnetic fields in the vicinity of dimers of metallic nanospheres of plasmonics-active metals. The results of these two computational methods, to determine electromagnetic field enhancement in the region often referred to as "hot spots" between the two nanospheres forming the dimer, were compared and a strong correlation observed for gold dimers. The analytical evaluation involved the use of the spherical-harmonic addition theorem to relate the multipole expansion coefficients between the two nanospheres. In these evaluations, the spacing between two nanospheres forming the dimer was varied to obtain the effect of nanoparticle spacing on the electromagnetic fields in the regions between the nanostructures. Gold and silver were the metals investigated in our work as they exhibit substantial plasmon resonance properties in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared spectral regimes. The results indicate excellent correlation between the two computational methods, especially for gold nanosphere dimers with only a 5-10% difference between the two methods. The effect of varying the diameters of the nanospheres forming the dimer, on the electromagnetic field enhancement, was also studied.

  6. Dimers of nineteen-electron sandwich compounds: Crystal and electronic structures, and comparison of reducing strengths

    KAUST Repository

    Mohapatra, Swagat Kumar; Fonari, Alexandr; Risko, Chad; Yesudas, Kada; Moudgil, Karttikay; Delcamp, Jared Heath; Timofeeva, Tatiana V.; Bredas, Jean-Luc; Marder, Seth R.; Barlow, Stephen J.

    2014-01-01

    The dimers of some Group 8 metal cyclopentadienyl/ arene complexes and Group 9 metallocenes can be handled in air, yet are strongly reducing, making them useful n-dopants in organic electronics. In this work, the Xray molecular structures are shown to resemble those of Group 8 metal cyclopentadienyl/pentadienyl or Group 9 metal cyclopentadienyl/diene model compounds. Compared to those of the model compounds, the DFT HOMOs of the dimers are significantly destabilized by interactions between the metal and the central C-C σ-bonding orbital, accounting for the facile oxidation of the dimers. The lengths of these C-C bonds (X-ray or DFT) do not correlate with DFT dissociation energies, the latter depending strongly on the monomer stabilities. Ru and Ir monomers are more reducing than their Fe and Rh analogues, but the corresponding dimers also exhibit much higher dissociation energies, so the estimated monomer cation/neutral dimer potentials are, with the exception of that of [RhCp2]2, rather similar (-1.97 to-2.15 V vs. FeCp2 +/0 in THF). The consequences of the variations in bond strength and redox potentials for the reactivity of the dimers are discussed.

  7. 20 CFR 404.412 - After my benefits are reduced for age when and how will adjustments to that reduction be made?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false After my benefits are reduced for age when and how will adjustments to that reduction be made? 404.412 Section 404.412 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL...; and Nonpayments of Benefits § 404.412 After my benefits are reduced for age when and how will...

  8. A high PSRR Class-D audio amplifier IC based on a self-adjusting voltage reference

    OpenAIRE

    Huffenus , Alexandre; Pillonnet , Gaël; Abouchi , Nacer; Goutti , Frédéric; Rabary , Vincent; Cittadini , Robert

    2010-01-01

    International audience; In a wide range of applications, audio amplifiers require a large Power Supply Rejection Ratio (PSRR) that the current Class-D architecture cannot reach. This paper proposes a self-adjusting internal voltage reference scheme that sets the bias voltages of the amplifier without losing on output dynamics. This solution relaxes the constraints on gain and feedback resistors matching that were previously the limiting factor for the PSRR. Theory of operation, design and IC ...

  9. Pyrimidine dimers in Drosophila chromatin become increasingly accessible after irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, P.V.; Boyd, J.B.

    1987-01-01

    A prokaryotic DNA-repair enzyme has been utilized as a probe for changes in the accessibility of pyrimidine dimers in Drosophila chromatin following UV irradiation. The results demonstrate a rapid cellular response to physiologically relevant doses of radiation which results in at least a 40% increase in accessible dimers. This increase occurs in two incision-deficient mutants which indicates that the excision-repair process, at or beyond the incision step, is not required or responsible for the increase. In the absence of excision the increase in accessibility persists for a least 2 days following irradiation. The observed increase in accessibility is inhibited by both novobiocin and coumermycin. These inhibitors do not inhibit the initial rate of incision, but do reduce dimer excision measured over more extended periods. A pre-incision process is proposed which actively exposes DNA lesions to excision repair. A fraction of the genome is postulated to be accessible without the intervention of that process. (Auth.)

  10. Biosynthesis of intestinal microvillar proteins. Dimerization of aminopeptidase N and lactase-phlorizin hydrolase

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Danielsen, E M

    1990-01-01

    of dimers of this enzyme therefore occurs prior to the Golgi-associated processing, and the slow rate of dimerization may be the rate-limiting step in the transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi complex. For lactase-phlorizin hydrolase, the posttranslational processing includes a proteolytic......The pig intestinal brush border enzymes aminopeptidase N (EC 3.4.11.2) and lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (EC 3.2.1.23-62) are present in the microvillar membrane as homodimers. Dimethyl adipimidate was used to cross-link the two [35S]methionine-labeled brush border enzymes from cultured mucosal...... explants. For aminopeptidase N, dimerization did not begin until 5-10 min after synthesis, and maximal dimerization by cross-linking of the transient form of the enzyme required 1 h, whereas the mature form of aminopeptidase N cross-linked with unchanged efficiency from 45 min to 3 h of labeling. Formation...

  11. Possibilities of the observation of the discrete spectrum of the water dimer at equilibrium in millimeter-wave band

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krupnov, A.F.; Tretyakov, M.Yu.; Leforestier, C.

    2009-01-01

    Attempts of experimental observations of the water dimer spectrum at equilibrium conditions have lasted for more than 40 years since the dimeric hypothesis for extra absorption, but have not yielded any positive confirmed result. In the present paper a new approach is considered: using a high-resolution millimeter-wave spectrum of the water dimer at equilibrium, calculated by a rigorous fully quantum method, we show the potential existence of discernible spectral series of discrete features of the water dimer, which correspond to J+1 1 symmetry, already observed in cold molecular beam experiments and having, therefore, well-defined positions. The intensity of spectral series and contrast to the remaining continuum-like spectrum of the dimer are calculated and compared with the monomer absorption. The suitability of two types of microwave spectrometers for observing these series is considered. The collisional line-width of millimeter lines of the dimer at equilibrium is estimated and the width of IR dimer bands is discussed. It is pointed out that the large width of IR dimer bands may pose difficulties for their reliable observation and conclusive separation from the rest of absorption in water vapor. This situation contrasts with the suggested approach of dimer detection in millimeter-waves.

  12. Exploiting pH-Regulated Dimer-Tetramer Transformation of Concanavalin A to Develop Colorimetric Biosensing of Bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Xiahong; Yuan, Yuwei; Hu, Guixian; Wang, Xiangyun; Qi, Peipei; Wang, Zhiwei; Wang, Qiang; Wang, Xinquan; Fu, Yingchun; Li, Yanbin; Yang, Hua

    2017-05-03

    Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) aggregation-based colorimetric biosensing remains a challenge for bacteria due to their large size. Here we propose a novel colorimetric biosensor for rapid detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) in milk samples based on pH-regulated transformation of dimer/tetramer of Concanavalin A (Con A) and the Con A-glycosyl recognition. Briefly, antibody-modified magnetic nanoparticles was used to capture and concentrate E. coli O157:H7 and then to label with Con A; pH adjusted to 5 was then applied to dissociate Con A tetramer to release dimer, which was collected and re-formed tetramer at pH of 7 to cause the aggregation of dextran-modified AuNPs. The interesting pH-dependent conformation-transformation behavior of Con A innovated the design of the release from the bacteria surface and then the reconstruction of Con A. Therefore, we realized the sensitive colorimetric biosensing of bacteria, which are much larger than AuNPs that is generally not suitable for this kind of method. The proposed biosensor exhibited a limit of detection down to 41 CFU/mL, short assay time (~95 min) and satisfactory specificity. The biosensor also worked well for the detection in milk sample, and may provide a universal concept for the design of colorimetric biosensors for bacteria and virus.

  13. Chloroplast Preproteins Bind to the Dimer Interface of the Toc159 Receptor during Import1[OPEN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Lih-Jen; Yeh, Yi-Hung; Hsiao, Chwan-Deng

    2017-01-01

    Most chloroplast proteins are synthesized in the cytosol as higher molecular weight preproteins and imported via the translocons in the outer (TOC) and inner (TIC) envelope membranes of chloroplasts. Toc159 functions as a primary receptor and directly binds preproteins through its dimeric GTPase domain. As a first step toward a molecular understanding of how Toc159 mediates preprotein import, we mapped the preprotein-binding regions on the Toc159 GTPase domain (Toc159G) of pea (Pisum sativum) using cleavage by bound preproteins conjugated with the artificial protease FeBABE and cysteine-cysteine cross-linking. Our results show that residues at the dimer interface and the switch II region of Toc159G are in close proximity to preproteins. The mature portion of preproteins was observed preferentially at the dimer interface, whereas the transit peptide was found at both regions equally. Chloroplasts from transgenic plants expressing engineered Toc159 with a cysteine placed at the dimer interface showed increased cross-linking to bound preproteins. Our data suggest that, during preprotein import, the Toc159G dimer disengages and the dimer interface contacts translocating preproteins, which is consistent with a model in which conformational changes induced by dimer-monomer conversion in Toc159 play a direct role in facilitating preprotein import. PMID:28250068

  14. Talaroxanthone, a novel xanthone dimer from the endophytic fungus Talaromyces sp. associated with Duguetia stelechantha (Diels) R.E. Fries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koolen, Hector H.F.; Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Menezes, Lais S.; Souza, Mayane P.; Silva, Felipe M.A.; Almeida, Fabiana G.O.; Souza, Afonso D.L. de; Souza, Antonia Q.L. de; Nepel, Angelita; Barison, Andersson; Silva, Flavio Henrique da; Evangelista, Danilo Elton

    2013-01-01

    DgCr22.1b, an endophytic isolate of Talaromyces sp., was collected in the Amazonian Rain forest from the medicinal plant Duguetia stelechantha. From the fractionation of the methanolic mycelial extract, a new xanthone dimer talaroxanthone was isolated. The structure of this new compound was elucidated based on spectroscopic analyses including 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. (author)

  15. Talaroxanthone, a novel xanthone dimer from the endophytic fungus Talaromyces sp. associated with Duguetia stelechantha (Diels) R.E. Fries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koolen, Hector H.F., E-mail: hectorkoolen@gmail.com [Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM), Manaus, AM (Brazil). Departamento de Quimica; Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), SP (Brazil). Instituto de Quimica; Menezes, Lais S.; Souza, Mayane P.; Silva, Felipe M.A.; Almeida, Fabiana G.O.; Souza, Afonso D.L. de [Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM), Manaus, AM (Brazil). Departamento de Quimica; Souza, Antonia Q.L. de [Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM), Manaus, AM (Brazil). Escola Superior de Ciencias da Saude; Nepel, Angelita; Barison, Andersson [Universidade Federal do Parana (UFPR), Curitiba, PR (Brazil). Departamento de Quimica; Silva, Flavio Henrique da; Evangelista, Danilo Elton [Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos (UFSC), SP (Brazil). Departamento de Genetica e Evolucao

    2013-05-15

    DgCr22.1b, an endophytic isolate of Talaromyces sp., was collected in the Amazonian Rain forest from the medicinal plant Duguetia stelechantha. From the fractionation of the methanolic mycelial extract, a new xanthone dimer talaroxanthone was isolated. The structure of this new compound was elucidated based on spectroscopic analyses including 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. (author)

  16. A first principles study of fluorescence quenching in rhodamine B dimers : how can quenching occur in dimeric species?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Setiawan, Dani; Kazaryan, Andranik; Martoprawiro, Muhamad Abdulkadir; Filatov, Michael

    2010-01-01

    Rhodamine B (RhB) is widely used in chemistry and biology due to its high fluorescence quantum yield. In high concentrations, the quantum yield of fluorescence decreases considerably which is attributed to the formation of RhB dimers. In the present work, a possible mechanism of fluorescence

  17. Inverse associations between cord vitamin D and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mossin, Mats H; Aaby, Jens B; Dalgård, Christine

    2017-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between cord 25-hydroxyvitamin D2+3 (25(OH)D) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in toddlers, using Child Behaviour Checklist for ages 1.5-5. METHOD: In a population-based birth cohort, a Child Behaviour Checklist for ages 1.5-5 questionnaire...... was returned from parents of 1233 infants with mean age 2.7 (standard deviation 0.6) years. Adjusted associations between cord 25(OH)D and Child Behaviour Checklist-based attention deficit hyperactivity disorder problems were analysed by multiple regression. RESULTS: The median cord 25(OH)D was 44.1 (range: 1.......5-127.1) nmol/L. Mean attention deficit hyperactivity disorder problem score was 2.7 (standard deviation 2.1). In adjusted analyses, cord 25(OH)D levels >25 nmol/L and >30 nmol/L were associated with lower attention deficit hyperactivity disorder scores compared to levels ⩽25 nmol/L (p = 0.035) and ⩽30 nmol...

  18. Routine antenatal anti-D prophylaxis in women who are Rh(D negative: meta-analyses adjusted for differences in study design and quality.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca M Turner

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: To estimate the effectiveness of routine antenatal anti-D prophylaxis for preventing sensitisation in pregnant Rhesus negative women, and to explore whether this depends on the treatment regimen adopted. METHODS: Ten studies identified in a previous systematic literature search were included. Potential sources of bias were systematically identified using bias checklists, and their impact and uncertainty were quantified using expert opinion. Study results were adjusted for biases and combined, first in a random-effects meta-analysis and then in a random-effects meta-regression analysis. RESULTS: In a conventional meta-analysis, the pooled odds ratio for sensitisation was estimated as 0.25 (95% CI 0.18, 0.36, comparing routine antenatal anti-D prophylaxis to control, with some heterogeneity (I²  =  19%. However, this naïve analysis ignores substantial differences in study quality and design. After adjusting for these, the pooled odds ratio for sensitisation was estimated as 0.31 (95% CI 0.17, 0.56, with no evidence of heterogeneity (I²  =  0%. A meta-regression analysis was performed, which used the data available from the ten anti-D prophylaxis studies to inform us about the relative effectiveness of three licensed treatments. This gave an 83% probability that a dose of 1250 IU at 28 and 34 weeks is most effective and a 76% probability that a single dose of 1500 IU at 28-30 weeks is least effective. CONCLUSION: There is strong evidence for the effectiveness of routine antenatal anti-D prophylaxis for prevention of sensitisation, in support of the policy of offering routine prophylaxis to all non-sensitised pregnant Rhesus negative women. All three licensed dose regimens are expected to be effective.

  19. Electron beam curing of dimer acid-based urethane acrylates for pressure sensitive adhesives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sasaki, Takashi; Takeda, Satoe; Shiraishi, Katsutoshi.

    1995-01-01

    Polyester urethane diacrylate prepolymers prepared from dimer acids (DUA) were cured with low energy electron beams to investigate adhesive properties of cured films. Among various type monomers added, monofunctional methacrylates such as isobornyl methacrylate (IBXMA) were effective for higher peel strength cured films although the dose-to-cure for the mixtures increased to 100 kGy or more. The increase in the molecular weight of prepolymers resulted in lower curing rates but higher peel strength. Aging tests up to 80degC for four weeks proved good stability in peel strength of the stored products. (author)

  20. Reversing the Trend of Large Scale and Centralization in Manufacturing: The Case of Distributed Manufacturing of Customizable 3-D-Printable Self-Adjustable Glasses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jephias Gwamuri

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Although the trend in manufacturing has been towards centralization to leverage economies of scale, the recent rapid technical development of open-source 3-D printers enables low-cost distributed bespoke production. This paper explores the potential advantages of a distributed manufacturing model of high-value products by investigating the application of 3-D printing to self-refraction eyeglasses. A series of parametric 3-D printable designs is developed, fabricated and tested to overcome limitations identified with mass-manufactured self-correcting eyeglasses designed for the developing world's poor. By utilizing 3-D printable self-adjustable glasses, communities not only gain access to far more diversity in product design, as the glasses can be customized for the individual, but 3-D printing also offers the potential for significant cost reductions. The results show that distributed manufacturing with open-source 3-D printing can empower developing world communities through the ability to print less expensive and customized self-adjusting eyeglasses. This offers the potential to displace both centrally manufactured conventional and self-adjusting glasses while completely eliminating the costs of the conventional optics correction experience, including those of highly-trained optometrists and ophthalmologists and their associated equipment. Although, this study only analyzed a single product, it is clear that other products would benefit from the same approach in isolated regions of the developing world.