Dendrimer-encapsulated metal nanoparticles: synthesis, characterization, and applications to catalysis

This Account reports the synthesis and characterization of dendrimer-encapsulated metal nanoparticles and their applications to catalysis. These materials are prepared by sequestering metal ions within dendrimers followed by chemical reduction to yield the corresponding zerovalent metal nanoparticle. The size of such particles depends on the number of metal ions initially loaded into the dendrimer. Intradendrimer hydrogenation and carbon-carbon coupling reactions in water, organic solvents, biphasic fluorous/organic solvents, and supercritical CO2 are also described.     

Magnetic resonance angiography at 0.3 T using MS-325

Preliminary results on MS-325 versus ProHance enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) at low field strength in a rabbit model are reported. MS-325-enhanced images were acquired in vivo and compared with pre-contrast as well as conventional contrast-enhanced images. Visual image quality observations correlated with measurements of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). While published in vitro data show 7-fold greater relaxivity for MS-325 compared with conventional contrast agents, we observed an even greater effect here due, presumably, to better matching of the longer vascular lifetime with longer scan time in this study. In addition, overall vessel clarity improved significantly throughout all the phases of the experiment in MS-325-enhanced images when compared with conventional contrast-enhanced images.     

Wedgelike glycodendrimers as inhibitors of binding of mammalian galectins to glycoproteins, lactose maxiclusters, and cell surface glycoconjugates

Galectins are mammalian carbohydrate-binding proteins that are involved in cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion, cell migration, and growth regulation with relevance to inflammation and tumor spread. These important functions account for the interest to design suitable low molecular weight inhibitors that match the distinct modes of presentation of the carbohydrate recognition domains of the different galectin subfamilies. Using 3,5-di-(2-aminoethoxy)benzoic acid as the branching unit, wedgelike glycodendrimers with two, four, and eight lactose moieties (G1-G3) were synthesized. They were tested in solid-phase competition assays with lactose maxiclusters and various N-glycan branching profiles (miniclusters) as the matrix and also in cell assays. Prototype galectins-1 and -7, chimera-type galectin-3, a plant (AB)(2) toxin, and a lactose-binding immunoglobulin G fraction from human serum were the carbohydrate-binding targets. Potent inhibition and remarkable cluster effects were seen for the homodimeric galectin-1, especially in combination with biantennary N-glycans as the matrix. Remarkably, for the tetravalent G2 glycodendrimer, the inhibitory potency of each lactose unit reached a maximum value of 1667 relative to free lactose. In haemagglutination experiments as a model for cell adhesion, galectin-3 was markedly sensitive to increased sugar valency and a relative potency per lactose of 150 was reached. The spatial orientation of the carbohydrate recognition domains of the endogenous lectins and the branching pattern of the carbohydrates of the glycoprotein matrices used are both important factors in the design and synthesis of glycodendrimers with galectin-selective properties.     

Production of L-erythrose via L-erythrulose from erythritol using microbial and enzymatic reactions

A rare aldotetrose, L-erythrose, was produced from erythritol via a two-step reaction. In the first step, complete oxidation of erythritol to L-erythrulose was achieved by using Gluconobacter frateurii IFO 3254. Washed cell suspension of the strain grown on tryptic soy broth (TSB) supplemented with 1% d-sorbitol was used to carry out the transformation reaction at 30 degrees C with shaking at 170 rpm. At 10% substrate concentration, 98% erythritol was converted to L-erythrulose within 48 h. The produced L-erythrulose was then used as a substrate for the production of L-erythrose. The isomerization of L-erythrulose to L-erythrose was carried out using constitutively produced L-ribose isomerase (l-RI) from the mutant strain Acinetobacter sp. DL-28 grown on D-lyxose mineral salt medium. At equilibrium, the yield of L-erythrose from L-erythrulose was 18% and finally 1.7 g L-erythrose was obtained from 10 g erythritol. After a number of simple purification steps, the product was isolated from the reaction mixture by ion-exchange column chromatography (Dowex 50W-X2, Ca2+). The structure of the product was determined after NaBH4 reduction from Infrared (IR) and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra.     

Intraovarian actions of oestrogen

Oestrogen regulates several hypothalamic and pituitary hormones, which in turn control ovarian functions. Oestrogen and its metabolites, such as catecholoestrogens, also have direct effects within the ovary. This review examines the roles of oestrogen in regulating ovarian folliculogenesis, ovulation and corpus luteum formation. Oestrogen promotes follicular development, which culminates in ovulation, by potentiating follicular development, granulosa cell expression of gonadotrophin receptors, steroidogenesis, and gap junction formation by granulosa cells, and by inhibiting granulosa cell apoptosis. In addition, oestrogen may be needed for corpus luteum formation and maintenance. Studies on mutant mice that either lack one or both of the known oestrogen receptors or are unable to synthesize oestrogen support some but not all of these prior inferences of the roles of oestrogen within the ovary. Although these transgenic mice have proved useful in determining some of the intraovarian actions of oestrogen, they present confounding problems, including hormonal imbalances, that hinder interpretation. Transgenic mice with conditional or tissue-directed mutations in their oestrogen receptors are needed to dissect the ovarian actions of oestrogen further. In addition, microarray technologies, combined with specific hormone treatment regimens are likely to provide an attractive, alternative approach to using mutant mice in clarifying the direct actions of oestrogen in the ovaries of other species.     

Generation of terawatt pulses by use of optical parametric chirped pulse amplification

Optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers offer exciting prospects for generating new extremes in power, intensity, and pulse duration. An experiment is described that was used to investigate the operation of this scheme up to energies approaching a joule, as a step toward its implementation at the petawatt level. The results demonstrate an energy gain of 10(10) with an energy extraction efficiency of 20% and close to diffraction-limited performance. Some spectral narrowing during amplification was shown to be compatible with the time-varying profile of the pump beam and consistent with the measured recompressed pulse durations of 260 and 300 fs before and after amplification, respectively.     

我国立体测图卫星2008年发射

长期以来,由于我国没有自主的高分辨率立体测图卫星．因而很多基础地理信息数据需要购买国外卫星数据。我国自己的数据因不是“全立体”，所以到目前还没有靠我国卫星绘制出一张本国全境立体地图。     

The Design and Evaluation of a Computerized and Physical Simulator for Training Clinical Prostate Exams

The most effective screening for prostate cancer combines the prostate specific antigen blood test with the digital rectal examination (DRE). In performing a DRE, two sequential tasks are completed: ( task a) palpating the prostate to identify abnormalities and ( task b) linking identified abnormalities to a disease diagnosis. At present, clinicians find too few abnormalities and have variable rates of detection, due in part to the inadequacy of training simulators. The Virginia Prostate Examination Simulator (VPES) was designed, built, and tested to address the inadequacies of current simulators by incorporating the design requirements of the basic elements of accurate anatomy, multiple and reconfigurable scenarios of graded difficulty, and technique and performance feedback. We compared the training effectiveness of the VPES with two commercial simulators in an experiment of 36 medical and nurse practitioner students. Results indicate each type of training simulator-improved abilities, in general. Upon closer analysis, however, the following key patterns emerge: 1) Across all types of training, more deficiencies lie in skill-based rather than rule-based decision making, which improves only for VPES trainees; 2) only VPES training transfers both to other simulators and previously unencountered scenarios; 3) visual feedback may increase the number of abnormalities reported yet hinder the ability to discriminate; and 4) applied finger pressure did not correlate with the ability to identify abnormalities.