The electrochemical reduction of fullerenes, C60 and C70

The hexaanion of fullerene, C(60)(6-), was obtained in 1:5 (v/v) acetonitrile-toluene mixture with a mercury hemispherical ultramicroelectrode as a working electrode at a temperature of up to 30 degrees C. The C(70)(6-) ion also can be observed under the same conditions. The differences between the redox potentials of C(60) relative to C(70) indicate that it is easier to add electrons to C(70) and its anions compared to the counterparts of C(60). The results show that the mercury electrode is very suitable for investigation of the properties of the electrochemical reduction for the fullerenes, particularly C(60), at room temperature.

Immunomodulated signaling in macrophages: Studies on activation of Raf-1, MAPK, cPLA(2) and secretion of IL-12

Little is known about the mechanism and signal transduction by LPS-mediated immunomodulation of murine peritoneal macrophages. It is found that the signal molecules of the down-stream of Ras, Raf-1, MAPK p44, and MAPK p42 are phosphorylated, and cPLA(2) is activated with a significant increase of the release of [ H(3) ] AA by macrophages in response to LPS and PMA. Compared with the very recent finding that LPS and PMA trigger the activation and translocation of PKC-alpha and PKC-epsilon, these findings suggest that there is a connection between PKC signaling pathway and the Raf-1/MAPK pathway and that the activation of these main signaling events may be closely related to the secretion of IL-12 during LPS-induced modulation of macrophages.

Raman spectroscopic characteristics of microcosmic and photosensitive damage on space structure of liposomes sensitized by hypocrellin and its derivatives

Raman spect-pic characteristics of microcosmic and photosensitive damage on space structure of DP-PC liposomes sensitized by hypocrellin and its derivatives are obvious. The trans conformation decreased and the gauche conformation increased. The longitudinal order-parameter in chains and the lateral order-parameter between chains decreased in different degrees. The lateral packing became loose. Photodamage on the liposomes sensitized by 5-Br-hypocrellin B was stronger than that by hypocrellins A and B.

Manipulating nanoscale light fields with the asymmetric bowtie nano-colorsorter

We present a class of devices called Asymmetric Bowtie nano-Colorsorters. These devices are specifically engineered to not only capture and confine optical fields, but also to spectrally filter and steer them while maintaining nanoscale field distributions. We show that spectral properties and localized spatial mode distributions can be readily tuned by controlled asymmetry. Nano-Colorsorters can control light's spatial and spectral distributions at the nanoscale and thus significantly impact applications ranging from broadband light harvesting to ultrafast wavelength-selective photodetection.

Relationship between NFKB1 -94 insertion/deletion ATTG polymorphism and susceptibility of cervical squamous cell carcinoma risk

BACKGROUND

A very high expression of nuclear factor-kappa B protein (nuclear p50, encoded by NFKB1) in high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion and invasive cancers has been observed. The aim of this study was to determine whether the functional NFKB1 -94 insertion/deletion ATTG polymorphism (rs28362491) is associated with cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

PCR-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis method was used to genotype the NFKB1 -94 insertion/deletion ATTG polymorphism in 233 women with CSCC and 365 ethnicity-matched healthy control women. The genotyping method was confirmed by the DNA sequencing analysis.

RESULTS

The frequency of ATTG(2)/ATTG(2) genotype and ATTG(2) allele in the CSCC patients was significantly higher than that of controls, indicating that the -94 insertion/deletion ATTG polymorphism in NFKB1 promoter was associated with CSCC [P = 0.001, odds ratio (OR) = 2.560, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.459-4.492 and P = 0.001, OR = 1.493, 95% CI 1.168-1.908, respectively]. Results of stratified analyses revealed that this polymorphism is associated with younger age (< or =35 years) and positive parametrial invasion but not with tumor differentiation, high clinical stage or lymph node status.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate that the functional NFKB1 -94 insertion/deletion ATTG polymorphism is associated with CSCC, especially with younger age (< or =35 years) and positive parametrial invasion of CSCC patients.

A narrow and highly significant linkage signal for severe bipolar disorder in the chromosome 5q33 region in Latin American pedigrees

We previously reported linkage of bipolar disorder to 5q33-q34 in families from two closely related population isolates, the Central Valley of Costa Rica (CVCR) and Antioquia, Colombia (CO). Here we present follow up results from fine-scale mapping in large CVCR and CO families segregating severe bipolar disorder, BP-I, and in 343 population trios/duos from CVCR and CO. Employing densely spaced SNPs to fine map the prior linkage peak region increases linkage evidence and clarifies the position of the putative BP-I locus. We performed two-point linkage analysis with 1134 SNPs in an approximately 9 Mb region between markers D5S410 and D5S422. Combining pedigrees from CVCR and CO yields a LOD score of 4.9 at SNP rs10035961. Two other SNPs (rs7721142 and rs1422795) within the same 94 kb region also displayed LOD scores greater than 4. This linkage peak coincides with our prior microsatellite results and suggests a narrowed BP-I susceptibility regions in these families. To investigate if the locus implicated in the familial form of BP-I also contributes to disease risk in the population, we followed up the family results with association analysis in duo and trio samples, obtaining signals within 2 Mb of the peak linkage signal in the pedigrees; rs12523547 and rs267015 (P = 0.00004 and 0.00016, respectively) in the CO sample and rs244960 in the CVCR sample and the combined sample, with P = 0.00032 and 0.00016, respectively. It remains unclear whether these association results reflect the same locus contributing to BP susceptibility within the extended pedigrees.

Identification of a cis-regulatory element required for 20-hydroxyecdysone enhancement of antimicrobial peptide gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster

The antimicrobial peptide diptericin plays an important role in defence against microorganisms. Drosophila melanogaster diptericin mRNA levels showed an increase during the late final instar larval stage when the ecdysteroid titres increase to initiate metamorphosis. Deletion analysis in Drosophila melanogaster mbn2 (mbn2) cells identified a cis-regulatory element (AAGAAAGATCCCCTG) necessary for 20-hydroxyecdysone enhancement of peptidoglycan-induced expression of diptericin in the 3 kb diptericin promoter. Proteins extracted from mbn2 cells treated with peptidoglycan plus 20-hydroxyecdysone specifically bound to this element. 20-hydroxyecdysone also enhanced peptidoglycan-induced expression of four other antimicrobial peptide (AMP) genes--drosomycin, attacin-A, metchnikowin and cecropin A1. Moreover, in silico promoter analysis using the meme program showed that an eight-nucleotide region of the identified cis-regulatory element is present in the promoters of these four AMP genes. These studies suggest that 20-hydroxyecdysone regulates the expression of AMP genes through a conserved cis-regulatory element.