Developing acetylcholinesterase-based inhibition assay by modulated synthesis of silver nanoparticles: applications for sensing of organophosphorus pesticides

A novel and highly sensitive probe for the detection of organophosphorus compounds (OPs) using acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and acetylthiocholine (ATCh) during the modulated synthesis of silver nanoparticles.

Measurement of the single top quark production cross section and |Vtb| in events with one charged lepton, large missing transverse energy, and jets at CDF

We report a measurement of single top quark production in proton-antiproton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt[s]=1.96  TeV using a data set corresponding to 7.5  fb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. We select events consistent with the single top quark decay process t→Wb→ℓνb by requiring the presence of an electron or muon, a large imbalance of transverse momentum indicating the presence of a neutrino, and two or three jets including at least one originating from a bottom quark. An artificial neural network is used to discriminate the signal from backgrounds. We measure a single top quark production cross section of 3.04(-0.53)(+0.57)  pb and set a lower limit on the magnitude of the coupling between the top quark and bottom quark |Vtb|>0.78 at the 95% credibility level.

A novel nested reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction method for rapid hepatitis C virus detection and genotyping

PURPOSE

Rapid and specific detection of viral nucleic acid is increasingly important in the diagnosis of infectious diseases. The objective was to develop a rapid, efficient process of nucleic acid based detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection for its diagnosis and treatment follow-up.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A two-step nested reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been standardised on a sample set of 125 individuals from different liver clinics in Kolkata. The method utilises a novel fast nested RT-PCR for HCV detection and genotyping from HCV infected patient plasma with high processivity.

RESULTS

The overall time required from ribonucleic acid (RNA) isolation to nested PCR amplified product detection is reduced to 42% when compared with conventional nested RT-PCR amplification. The method is sensitive as conventional PCR and detected all HCV RNA positive samples. Sequencing, phylogenetic analysis of the PCR amplified product by this method showed concordant genotypes with conventional PCR.

CONCLUSION

Though being a two-step process, this method is fast, cost-efficient, reliable and feasible for regular HCV RNA screening and apt even in resource limited settings. This method could be translated to regular nucleic acid screening for other infectious diseases as regular PCR regimen.

Measurements of direct CP-violating asymmetries in charmless decays of bottom baryons

We report final measurements of direct CP-violating asymmetries in charmless decays of neutral bottom hadrons to pairs of charged hadrons with the upgraded Collider Detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. Using the complete √s=1.96  TeV proton-antiproton collisions data set, corresponding to 9.3  fb⁻¹ of integrated luminosity, we measure A(Λ(b)⁰→pπ⁻)=+0.06±0.07(stat)±0.03(syst) and A(Λ(b)⁰→pK⁻)=-0.10±0.08(stat)±0.04(syst), compatible with no asymmetry. In addition we measure the CP-violating asymmetries in B(s)⁰→K⁻π⁺ and B⁰→K⁺π⁻ decays to be A(B(s)⁰→K⁻π⁺)=+0.22±0.07(stat)±0.02(syst) and A(B⁰→K⁺π⁻)=-0.083±0.013(stat)±0.004(syst), respectively, which are significantly different from zero and consistent with current world averages.

Temperature-dependent development, cold tolerance, and potential distribution of Cricotopus lebetis (Diptera: Chironomidae), a tip miner of Hydrilla verticillata (Hydrocharitaceae)

A chironomid midge, Cricotopus lebetis (Sublette) (Diptera: Chironomidae), was discovered attacking the apical meristems of Hydrilla verticillata (L.f. Royle) in Crystal River, Citrus Co., Florida in 1992. The larvae mine the stems of H. verticillata and cause basal branching and stunting of the plant. Temperature-dependent development, cold tolerance, and the potential distribution of the midge were investigated. The results of the temperature-dependent development study showed that optimal temperatures for larval development were between 20 and 30°C, and these data were used to construct a map of the potential number of generations per year of C. lebetis in Florida. Data from the cold tolerance study, in conjunction with historical weather data, were used to generate a predicted distribution of C. lebetis in the United States. A distribution was also predicted using an ecological niche modeling approach by characterizing the climate at locations where C. lebetis is known to occur and then finding other locations with similar climate. The distributions predicted using the two modeling approaches were not significantly different and suggested that much of the southeastern United States was climatically suitable for C. lebetis.

Bilateral primary renal lymphoma in a pediatric patient: staging and response evaluation with ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT

Primary renal lymphoma (PRL) is a rare disease. We here present the case of an 8-year-old child who presented with bilateral renal masses. On biopsy, it was confirmed to be B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) for staging demonstrated (18)F-FDG avid bilateral renal masses, with no other abnormal focus. Follow up (18)F-FDG PET/CT showed complete resolution of the disease after six cycles of chemotherapy. Here we have highlighted the potential role of (18)F-FDG PET/CT in staging and response evaluation of a patient with PRL and presented a brief review.

Measurement of the inclusive leptonic asymmetry in top-quark pairs that decay to two charged leptons at CDF

We measure the inclusive forward-backward asymmetry of the charged-lepton pseudorapidities from top-quark pairs produced in proton-antiproton collisions and decaying to final states that contain two charged leptons (electrons or muons). The data are collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 9.1 fb(-1). We measure the leptonic forward-backward asymmetry, A(FB)(ℓ), to be 0.072 ± 0.060 and the leptonic pair forward-backward asymmetry, A(FB)(ℓℓ), to be 0.076 ± 0.082. The measured values can be compared with the standard model predictions of A(FB)(ℓ) = 0.038 ± 0.003 and A(FB)(ℓℓ) = 0.048 ± 0.004, respectively. Additionally, we combine the A(FB)(ℓ) result with a previous determination from a final state with a single lepton and hadronic jets and obtain A(FB)(ℓ) = 0.090(-0.026)(+0.028).

Effects of biochar and other amendments on the physical properties and greenhouse gas emissions of an artificially degraded soil

Short and long-term impacts of biochar on soil properties under field conditions are poorly understood. In addition, there is a lack of field reports of the impacts of biochar on soil physical properties, gaseous emissions and C stability, particularly in comparison with other amendments. Thus, three amendments - biochar produced from oak at 650°C, humic acid (HA) and water treatment residual - (WTR) were added to a scalped silty-loam soil @ 0.5% (w/w) in triplicated plots under soybean. Over the 4-month active growing season, all amendments significantly increased soil pH, but the effect of biochar was the greatest. Biochar significantly increased soil-C by 7%, increased sub-nanopore surface area by 15% and reduced soil bulk density by 13% compared to control. However, only WTR amendment significantly increased soil nanopore surface area by 23% relative to the control. While total cumulative CH4 and CO2 emissions were not significantly affected by any amendment, cumulative N2O emission was significantly decreased in the biochar-amended soil (by 92%) compared to control over the growing period. Considering both the total gas emissions and the C removed from the atmosphere as crop growth and C added to the soil, WTR and HA resulted in net soil C losses and biochar as a soil C gain. However, all amendments reduced the global warming potential (GWP) of the soil and biochar addition even produced a net negative GWP effect. The short observation period, low application rate and high intra-treatment variation resulted in fewer significant effects of the amendments on the physicochemical properties of the soils than one might expect indicating further possible experimentation altering these variables. However, there was clear evidence of amendment-soil interaction processes affecting both soil properties and gaseous emissions, particularly for biochar, that might lead to greater changes with additional field emplacement time.

Evidence for s-channel single-top-quark production in events with one charged lepton and two jets at CDF

We report evidence for s-channel single-top-quark production in proton-antiproton collisions at center-of-mass energy sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV using a data set that corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 9.4 fb(-1) collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. We select events consistent with the s-channel process including two jets and one leptonically decaying W boson. The observed significance is 3.8 standard deviations with respect to the background-only prediction. Assuming a top-quark mass of 172.5 GeV/c(2), we measure the s-channel cross section to be 1.41(-0.42)(+0.44) pb.

Search for s-channel single-top-quark production in events with missing energy plus jets in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV

The first search for single-top-quark production from the exchange of an s-channel virtual W boson using events with an imbalance in the total transverse energy, b-tagged jets, and no identified leptons is presented. Assuming the electroweak production of top quarks of mass 172.5 GeV/c(2) in the s channel, a cross section of 1.12(-0.57)(+0.61) (stat+syst) pb with a significance of 1.9 standard deviations is measured. This measurement is combined with the result obtained from events with an imbalance in total transverse momentum, b-tagged jets, and exactly one identified lepton, yielding a cross section of 1.36(-0.32)(+0.37) (stat+syst) pb, with a significance of 4.2 standard deviations.

Observation of s-channel production of single top quarks at the Tevatron

We report the first observation of single-top-quark production in the s channel through the combination of the CDF and D0 measurements of the cross section in proton-antiproton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. The data correspond to total integrated luminosities of up to 9.7 fb(-1) per experiment. The measured cross section is σ(s) = 1.29(-0.24)(+0.26) pb. The probability of observing a statistical fluctuation of the background to a cross section of the observed size or larger is 1.8 × 10(-10), corresponding to a significance of 6.3 standard deviations for the presence of an s-channel contribution to the production of single-top quarks.

Measurement of B(t→Wb)/B(t→Wq) in top-quark-pair decays using dilepton events and the full CDF Run II data set

We present a measurement of the ratio of the top-quark branching fractions R=B(t→Wb)/B(t→Wq), where q represents any quark flavor, in events with two charged leptons, imbalance in total transverse energy, and at least two jets. The measurement uses proton-antiproton collision data at center-of-mass energy 1.96 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.7  fb^{-1} collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab during Run II of the Tevatron. We measure R to be 0.87±0.07, and extract the magnitude of the top-bottom quark coupling to be |V_{tb}|=0.93±0.04, assuming three generations of quarks. Under these assumptions, a lower limit of |V_{tb}|>0.85(0.87) at 95% (90%) credibility level is set.

Nanoemulsion of eucalyptus oil and its larvicidal activity against Culex quinquefasciatus

Filariasis is a mosquito-borne disease that causes lymphedema and the main vector is Culex quinquefasciatus. A simple measure was taken to eradicate the vector using nanoemulsion. Eucalyptus oil nanoemulsion was formulated in various ratios comprising of eucalyptus oil, tween 80 and water by ultrasonication. The stability of nanoemulsion was observed over a period of time and 1:2 ratios of eucalyptus oil (6%) and surfactant (12%) was found to be stable. The formulated eucalyptus oil nanoemulsion was characterized by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. The nanoemulsion droplets were found to have a Z-average diameter of 9.4 nm and were spherical in shape. The larvicidal activity of eucalyptus oil nanoemulsion and bulk emulsion was tested and compared. Our nanoemulsion showed higher activity when compared to bulk emulsion. The histopathology of larvae-treated and untreated nanoemulsion was analyzed. Furthermore, biochemical assays were carried out to examine the effect of nanoemulsion on biochemical characteristics of larvae. The treated larval homogenate showed decrease in total protein content and a significant reduction in the levels of acetylcholinesterase. The levels of acid and alkaline phosphatase also showed reduction as compared to control larval homogenate.

Role of the QuantiFERON®-TB Gold In-Tube test in the diagnosis of intrathoracic childhood tuberculosis

SETTING

Tertiary care hospitals in India.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the performance of the QuantiFERON®-TB Gold In-Tube test (QFT-GIT) with that of the tuberculin skin test (TST) in the diagnosis of intrathoracic childhood tuberculosis (TB).

METHODS

Children with intrathoracic TB were enrolled in a randomised controlled trial studying micronutrient supplementation in intrathoracic TB. They underwent TST and QFT-GIT before starting daily anti-tuberculosis treatment.

RESULTS

Of 362 children (median age 115.5 months, IQR 73-144, 55% girls) enrolled in the study, microbiological confirmation of TB was obtained in 128 (35%). The TST was positive in 337 (93%, 95%CI 90-95.5) and QFT-GIT in 297 (82%, 95%CI 77.8-85.6). Sensitivity of TST and QFT-GIT in culture-confirmed TB cases was respectively 90.5% (95%CI 84.1-94.5) and 82.6% (95%CI 74.9-88.4). QFT-GIT positivity rate correlated with TST induration (P < 0.001). TST was influenced by the disease spectrum (P = 0.004) and the age of the children (P = 0.002); QFT-GIT remained unaffected by these factors. Bacille Calmette-Guérin immunisation status, weight-for-age Z-scores and microbiological confirmation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis did not influence the performance of either test.

CONCLUSION

In high-burden countries, QFT-GIT is comparable to TST and offers no added advantage in the diagnosis of childhood intrathoracic TB.

First search for exotic Z Boson decays into photons and neutral pions in hadron collisions

A search for forbidden and exotic Z boson decays in the diphoton mass spectrum is presented for the first time in hadron collisions, based on data corresponding to 10.0 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity from proton-antiproton collisions at √s = 1.96 TeV collected by the CDF experiment. No evidence of signal is observed, and 95% credibility level Bayesian upper limits are set on the branching ratios of decays of the Z boson to a photon and neutral pion (which is detected as a photon), a pair of photons, and a pair of neutral pions. The observed branching ratio limits are 2.01 × 10(-5) for Z → π(0)γ, 1.46 × 10(-5) for Z → γγ, and 1.52 × 10(-5) for Z → π(0)π(0). The Z → π(0)γ and Z → γγ limits improve the most stringent results from other experiments by factors of 2.6 and 3.6, respectively. The Z → π(0)π(0) branching ratio limit is the first experimental result on this decay.

Effect of micronutrient deficiency on QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test and tuberculin skin test in diagnosis of childhood intrathoracic tuberculosis

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Data on performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test (QFT) and tuberculin skin test (TST) in children with active tuberculosis from high burden countries in the context of micronutrient deficiency are scarce. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of micronutrient deficiency on the performance of TST and QFT in children with intrathoracic tuberculosis.

SUBJECTS/METHODS

Children with probable intrathoracic tuberculosis underwent TST, QFT, gastric lavages and induced sputum examination for AFB (Acid-Fast Bacilli) smear and culture. Zinc, copper, ferritin and vitamin D were measured on stored serum samples. The study used cross-sectional data at initiation of anti-tubercular therapy.

RESULTS

Three hundred and sixty-two children (median age 115.5 months (interquartile range: 73, 144), 200 (55.3%) girls) were enrolled in the study. Microbiological confirmation of tuberculosis could be obtained in 128 patients. TST and QFT were positive in 337 (93%) and 297 (82%) children, respectively. Performance of both the tests was unaffected by weight-for-age and height-for-age 'z-scores' or by serum copper levels. TST was not affected by serum zinc and ferritin levels. Children with negative QFT results had lower mean serum zinc level (P=0.01) and higher ferritin levels (P=0.007) as compared to those with positive test. Higher proportion of children with positive TST were vitamin D deficient/insufficient (P=0.003).

CONCLUSION

Micronutrient status, especially serum levels of zinc, may influence the performance of QFT in children with intrathoracic tuberculosis. Considering the high prevalence of zinc deficiency in developing countries, QFT should be used cautiously for diagnosing tuberculosis.

Observation of D⁰-D¯⁰ mixing using the CDF II detector

We measure the time dependence of the ratio of decay rates for D0→K(+)π(-) to the Cabibbo-favored decay D(0)→K(-)π(+). The charge conjugate decays are included. A signal of 3.3×10(4) D(*+)→π(+)D(0), D(0)→K(+)π(-) decays is obtained with D0 proper decay times between 0.75 and 10 mean D0 lifetimes. The data were recorded with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 9.6  fb(-1) for pp¯ collisions at √s=1.96  TeV. Assuming CP conservation, we search for D0-D¯0 mixing and measure the mixing parameters to be R(D)=(3.51±0.35)×10(-3), y'=(4.3±4.3)×10(-3), and x'2=(0.08±0.18)×10(-3). We report Bayesian probability intervals in the x'2-y' plane and find that the significance of excluding the no-mixing hypothesis is equivalent to 6.1 Gaussian standard deviations, providing the second observation of D0-D¯0 mixing from a single experiment.

Flavonol isolated from ethanolic leaf extract of Thuja occidentalis arrests the cell cycle at G2-M and induces ROS-independent apoptosis in A549 cells, targeting nuclear DNA

OBJECTIVES

The K-ras gene mutation commonly found in lung adenocarcinomas contributes to their non-invasive expansion. Our main objective here was to develop a chemopreventive agent against K-ras-mutated lung adenocarcinoma cell line like-A549.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We isolated flavonol from ethanolic leaf extract of Thuja occidentalis, and evaluated its apoptotic potentials on A549 cells. They were treated with 1-10 μg/ml of flavonol and viability was tested retaining normal lung cells L-132 as control. We performed assays such as TUNEL, annexin V, cell-cycle and mitochondrial membrane potentials, by FACS analysis. ROS-mediated oxidative stress and drug-DNA interactions were analysed along with gene expression studies for p53, Bax-Bcl2, cytochrome c, the caspase cascade genes and PARP.

RESULTS

Flavonol reduced A549 cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner (IC50 value = 7.6 ± 0.05 μg/ml following 48 h incubation) sparing normal L-132 cells. It effected G2-M phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, as indicated by progressive increase in the sub-G1, annexin V and TUNEL-positive cell populations. Apoptotic effects appeared to be mitochondria-dependent, caspase-3-mediated, but ROS-independent. Analysis of circular dichroism data revealed that flavonol intercalated with nuclear DNA. In vivo studies on non small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC)-induced mice confirmed anti-cancer potential of flavonol.

CONCLUSION

Flavonol-induced apoptosis apparently resulted from intercalation of cells' nuclear DNA. Flavonol inhibited growth of induced lung tumours in the mice, indicating its potential as an effective agent against NSCLC.

Direct measurement of the total decay width of the top quark

We present a measurement of the total decay width of the top quark using events with top-antitop quark pair candidates reconstructed in the final state with one charged lepton and four or more hadronic jets. We use the full Tevatron run II data set of sqrt[s]=1.96  TeV proton-antiproton collisions recorded by the CDF II detector. The top quark mass and the mass of the hadronically decaying W boson are reconstructed for each event and compared with distributions derived from simulated signal and background samples to extract the top quark width (Γtop) and the energy scale of the calorimeter jets with in situ calibration. For a top quark mass Mtop=172.5  GeV/c2, we find 1.10<Γtop<4.05  GeV at 68% confidence level, which is in agreement with the standard model expectation of 1.3 GeV and is the most precise direct measurement of the top quark width to date.

'Broken Heart' syndrome in Scotland: a case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in a recently widowed lady

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TCM), first described in Japan in the early 1990s, is a reversible non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy of unclear aetiology characterised by transient left ventricular dysfunction. It mimics acute myocardial infarction with ST segment changes (STEMI), although evidence of occlusive coronary artery disease is absent. TCM is typically triggered by an intense physical or emotional stress event. We report a case of TCM diagnosed in a recently widowed lady in whom a myocardial infarction was initially suspected. This case illustrates the importance of an awareness of this unique clinical entity. Without appreciation of differentiating features, TCM can easily be misdiagnosed as an acute coronary syndrome. Misdiagnosis and the subsequent inappropriate and potentially harmful use of fibrinolytic therapy can be avoided through careful history-taking, clinical examination and appropriate investigations. Although well reported in the medical literature, this case of TCM provides the basis of a timely summary and update on current understanding of this perplexing condition.

Measurement of the differential cross section dσ/d(cosθ(t)) for Top-Quark Pair Production in pp Collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV

We report a measurement of the differential cross section dσ/d(cosθ(t)) for top-quark pair production as a function of the top-quark production angle in proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV. This measurement is performed using data collected with the CDF II detector at the Tevatron, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9.4 fb(-1). We employ the Legendre polynomials to characterize the shape of the differential cross section at the parton level. The observed Legendre coefficients are in good agreement with the prediction of the next-to-leading-order standard-model calculation, with the exception of an excess linear-term coefficient a(1) = 0.40 ± 0.12, compared to the standard-model prediction of a(1)=0.15(-0.03)(+0.07).

Sociodemographic and substance use correlates of repeated relapse among patients presenting for relapse treatment at an addiction treatment center in Kolkata, India

BACKGROUND

In India, substance abuse has infiltrated all socio-cultural and economic strata causing loss of productivity. Prevention of relapse is crucial for its control.

OBJECTIVES

To find out the pattern of substance use, relapse rate, its association with various socio-demographic factors and treatment related issues.

METHODS

An observational study with cross-sectional design during April 2009-March 2010 at a de addiction centre was conducted among consecutive 284 clients admitted with relapse. They were detoxified earlier in the same centre. Data were collected by interviewing clients with schedule and clinical examination.

RESULTS

Brown sugar (an adulterated form of Heroin) was primary drug of abuse in urban area contrary to alcohol in rural area. Commonest age of initiation was between 15-20 years. Polydrug abusers (59.1%) were common. Only 31.3% of the relapse cases took regular follow up. Common psychiatric illnesses were anxiety (44.7%) and depression (30.6%). Peer pressure (77.8%) was commonest cause of relapse. Significantly higher relapse episodes were present with increasing age, Muslim religion, ever marriage, poor literacy, current unemployment, living in nuclear rather than joint family, early age of initiation, longer duration of abuse and no follow up.

CONCLUSION

Regular follow up with family, peer and social support are essential along with vocational rehabilitation to prevent relapse.

Poly(ethylene) glycol-capped silver and magnetic nanoparticles: synthesis, characterization, and comparison of bactericidal and cytotoxic effects

Silver and magnetic (Fe3O4) nanoparticles have attracted wide attention as novel antimicrobial agents due to their unique chemical and physical properties. In order to study the comparative effects on antibacterial and animal cytotoxicity, Staphylococcus aureus and NIH 3T3 fibroblasts were used, respectively. Both nanoparticles were synthesized via a novel matrix-mediated method using poly(ethylene) glycol. Formation of silver nanoparticles was confirmed by fluorescence and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopic techniques. The poly(ethylene) glycol-coated silver and Fe3O4 nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, zeta potential, particle size analysis, Fourier-transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The antimicrobial results indicate that both poly(ethylene) glycol-coated silver and Fe3O4 nanoparticles inhibited S. aureus growth at the concentrations of 5 and 10 µg/mL at all time points without showing any significant cytotoxicity on NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. The particle size of both the poly(ethylene) glycol-coated silver and Fe3O4 nanoparticles dominated in the range 10-15 nm, obtained by particle size analyzer. The poly(ethylene) glycol coating on the particles showed less aggregation of nanoparticles, as observed by scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope. The overall obtained results indicated that these two nanoparticles were stable and could be used to develop a magnetized antimicrobial scaffolds for biomedical applications.

Interplay between autophagy and apoptosis mediated by copper oxide nanoparticles in human breast cancer cells MCF7

BACKGROUND

Metal oxide nanoparticles are well known to generate oxidative stress and deregulate normal cellular activities. Among these, transition metals copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) are more compelling than others and able to modulate different cellular responses.

METHODS

In this work, we have synthesized and characterized CuO NPs by various biophysical methods. These CuO NPs (~30nm) induce autophagy in human breast cancer cell line, MCF7 in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Cellular autophagy was tested by MDC staining, induction of green fluorescent protein-light chain 3 (GFP-LC3B) foci by confocal microscopy, transfection of pBABE-puro mCherry-EGFP-LC3B plasmid and Western blotting of autophagy marker proteins LC3B, beclin1 and ATG5. Further, inhibition of autophagy by 3-MA decreased LD50 doses of CuO NPs. Such cell death was associated with the induction of apoptosis as revealed by FACS analysis, cleavage of PARP, de-phosphorylation of Bad and increased cleavage product of caspase 3. siRNA mediated inhibition of autophagy related gene beclin1 also demonstrated similar results. Finally induction of apoptosis by 3-MA in CuO NP treated cells was observed by TEM.

RESULTS

This study indicates that CuO NPs are a potent inducer of autophagy which may be a cellular defense against the CuO NP mediated toxicity and inhibition of autophagy switches the cellular response into apoptosis.

CONCLUSIONS

A combination of CuO NPs with the autophagy inhibitor is essential to induce apoptosis in breast cancer cells.

GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE

CuO NP induced autophagy is a survival strategy of MCF7 cells and inhibition of autophagy renders cellular fate to apoptosis.

Alkanes in flower surface waxes of Momordica cochinchinensis influence attraction to Aulacophora foveicollis Lucas (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Extraction, thin-layer chromatography, and gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry analyses revealed 15 alkanes representing 97.14% of the total alkanes in the surface waxes of Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng flowers. Nonacosane was the prevailing alkane followed by hexatriacontane, nonadecane, heptacosane, and hentriacontane, accounting for 39.08%, 24.24%, 13.52%, 6.32%, and 5.12%, respectively. The alkanes from flower surface waxes followed by a synthetic mixture of alkanes mimicking alkanes of flower surface waxes elicited attraction of the female insect, Aulacophora foveicollis Lucas (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) between 2 and 10-μg/mL concentrations in a Y-shaped glass tube olfactometer bioassay under laboratory conditions. Synthetic nonadecane from 178.28-891.37 ng, heptacosane from 118.14-590.72 ng, and nonacosane at 784.73 ng showed attraction of the insect. A synthetic mixture of 534.82 ng nonadecane, 354.43 ng heptacosane, and 2,354.18 ng nonacosane elicited highest attraction of A. foveicollis.

Measurement of the cross section for direct-photon production in association with a heavy quark in pp[over ¯] collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV

We report on a measurement of the cross section for direct-photon production in association with a heavy quark using the full data set of sqrt[s]=1.96  TeV proton-antiproton collisions corresponding to 9.1  fb-1 of integrated luminosity collected by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. The measurements are performed as a function of the photon transverse momentum, covering a photon transverse momentum between 30 and 300 GeV, photon rapidities |yγ|<1.0, a heavy-quark-jet transverse momentum pTjet>20  GeV, and jet rapidities |yjet|<1.5. The results are compared with several theoretical predictions.

Search for pair production of strongly interacting particles decaying to pairs of jets in pp collisions at √s=1.96 TeV

We present a search for the pair production of a narrow nonstandard-model strongly interacting particle that decays to a pair of quarks or gluons, leading to a final state with four hadronic jets. We consider both nonresonant production via an intermediate gluon as well as resonant production via a distinct nonstandard-model intermediate strongly interacting particle. We use data collected by the CDF experiment in proton-antiproton collisions at √[s]=1.96 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 6.6 fb(-1). We find the data to be consistent with nonresonant production. We report limits on σ(pp[over ¯]→jjjj) as a function of the masses of the hypothetical intermediate particles. Upper limits on the production cross sections for nonstandard-model particles in several resonant and nonresonant processes are also derived.

Dielectric spectroscopy of T-shaped blue-phase-III liquid crystal

Dielectric relaxation spectra of a liquid crystalline (LC) material showing blue-phase-III (BPIII) for a considerably large temperature regime consisting of T-shaped molecules are investigated. A low frequency relaxation mode is observed in the isotropic phase (I) as well as in BPIII of the investigating material which is attributed to the short axis rotation of the T-shaped molecules. The outcome of the temperature and dc bias field variation of dielectric strength (Δε) and relaxation frequency (ν(c)) in the vicinity of the I-BPIII transition is also discussed. The temperature dependence of ν(c) in BPIII with a minor deviation from Arrhenius activities in the fluctuation-dominated nonlinear region (FDNLR) is found to follow the unusual thermal behavior of the activation energy (E(A)). The growth of pretransitional fluctuations is found to be nonlinear in the vicinity of the I-BPIII transition. A moderate growth of transition fluctuation commences from the value of the exponent α(eff)=0.38/°C, which is obtained by an exponential variation of ν(c) with respect to temperature in BPIII. Observed dynamic phenomenon in the vicinity of the I-BPIII transition regions is explained on the basis of the Landau-de Gennes and Maier-Saupe Theories.

Search for supersymmetry with like-sign lepton-tau events at CDF

We present a search for chargino-neutralino associated production using like electric charge dilepton events collected by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron in proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV. One lepton is identified as the hadronic decay of a tau lepton, while the other is an electron or muon. In data corresponding to 6.0 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity, we obtain good agreement with standard model predictions and set limits on the chargino-neutralino production cross section for simplified gravity- and gauge-mediated models. As an example, assuming that the chargino and neutralino decays to taus dominate, in the simplified gauge-mediated model we exclude cross sections greater than 300 fb at 95% credibility level for chargino and neutralino masses of 225 GeV/c(2). This analysis is the first to extend the LHC searches for electroweak supersymmetric production of gauginos to high tanβ and slepton next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle scenarios.

Quercetin induces cytochrome-c release and ROS accumulation to promote apoptosis and arrest the cell cycle in G2/M, in cervical carcinoma: signal cascade and drug-DNA interaction

OBJECTIVES

Small aromatic compounds like flavonoids can intercalate with DNA molecules bringing about conformational changes leading to reduced replication and transcription. Here, we have examined one dietary flavonoid, quercetin (found in many fruit and vegetables), for possible anti-cancer effects, on HeLa cells originally derived from a case of human cervical cancer.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

By circular dichroism spectroscopy we tested whether quercetin effectively interacted with DNA to bring about conformational changes that would strongly inhibit proliferation and migration of the HeLa cells. Cytotoxic effects of quercetin on cancer/normal cells, if any, were determined by MTT assay and such depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential, as a consequence of quercetin treatment, and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) also were studied, by FACS analysis and expression profiles of different anti- and pro-apoptotic genes and their products were determined.

RESULTS

Quercetin intercalated with calf thymus cell DNA and HeLa cell DNA and inhibition of anti-apoptotic AKT and Bcl-2 expression were observed. Levels of mitochondrial cytochrome-c were elevated and depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential occurred with increase of ROS; upregulation of expression of p53 and caspase-3 activity were also noted. These alterations in signalling proteins and externalization of phosphotidyl serine residues were involved with initiation of apoptosis. Reduced AKT expression suggested reduction in cell proliferation and metastasis potential, with arrest of the cell cycle at G2/M.

CONCLUSION

Quercetin would have potential for use in cervical cancer chemotherapy.