Molecular Basis of Cardiac Myxomas

Cardiac tumors are rare, and of these, primary cardiac tumors are even rarer. Metastatic cardiac tumors are about 100 times more common than the primary tumors. About 90% of primary cardiac tumors are benign, and of these the most common are cardiac myxomas. Approximately 12% of primary cardiac tumors are completely asymptomatic while others present with one or more signs and symptoms of the classical triad of hemodynamic changes due to intracardiac obstruction, embolism and nonspecific constitutional symptoms. Echocardiography is highly sensitive and specific in detecting cardiac tumors. Other helpful investigations are chest X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography scan. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice for primary cardiac tumors and is usually associated with a good prognosis. This review article will focus on the general features of benign cardiac tumors with an emphasis on cardiac myxomas and their molecular basis.     

Pharmacophore-Oriented Identification of Potential Leads as CCR5 Inhibitors to Block HIV Cellular Entry

Cysteine–cysteine chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) has been discovered as a co-receptor for cellular entry of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Moreover, the role of CCR5 in a variety of cancers and various inflammatory responses was also discovered. Despite the fact that several CCR5 antagonists have been investigated in clinical trials, only Maraviroc has been licensed for use in the treatment of HIV patients. This indicates that there is a need for novel CCR5 antagonists. Keeping this in mind, the present study was designed. The active CCR5 inhibitors with known IC₅₀ value were selected from the literature and utilized to develop a ligand-based common feature pharmacophore model. The validated pharmacophore model was further used for virtual screening of drug-like databases obtained from the Asinex, Specs, InterBioScreen, and Eximed chemical libraries. Utilizing computational methods such as molecular docking studies, molecular dynamics simulations, and binding free energy calculation, the binding mechanism of selected inhibitors was established. The identified Hits not only showed better binding energy when compared to Maraviroc, but also formed stable interactions with the key residues and showed stable behavior throughout the 100 ns MD simulation. Our findings suggest that Hit1 and Hit2 may be potential candidates for CCR5 inhibition, and, therefore, can be considered for further CCR5 inhibition programs.     

Exploiting similarities across multiple dimensions for author name disambiguation

Scientometrics - In bibliometric analysis, ambiguity in author names may lead to erroneous aggregation of records. The author name disambiguation techniques attempt to address this issue by...     

Extracellular Vesicles in Alzheimer’s Disease: Friends or Foes? Focus on Aβ-Vesicle Interaction

The intercellular transfer of amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau proteins has received increasing attention in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Among other transfer modes, Aβ and tau dissemination has been suggested to occur through release of Extracellular Vesicles (EVs), which may facilitate delivery of pathogenic proteins over large distances. Recent evidence indicates that EVs carry on their surface, specific molecules which bind to extracellular Aβ, opening the possibility that EVs may also influence Aβ assembly and synaptotoxicity. In this review we focus on studies which investigated the impact of EVs in Aβ-mediated neurodegeneration and showed either detrimental or protective role for EVs in the pathology.     

Different Roles of p62 (SQSTM1) Isoforms in Keratin-Related Protein Aggregation

p62/Sequestosome-1 (p62) is a multifunctional adaptor protein and is also a constant component of disease-associated protein aggregates, including Mallory–Denk bodies (MDBs), in steatohepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma. We investigated the interaction of the two human p62 isoforms, p62-H1 (full-length isoform) and p62-H2 (partly devoid of PB1 domain), with keratins 8 and 18, the major components of MDBs. In human liver, p62-H2 is expressed two-fold higher compared to p62-H1 at the mRNA level and is present in slightly but not significantly higher concentrations at the protein level. Co-transfection studies in CHO-K1 cells, PLC/PRF/5 cells as well as p62⁻ total-knockout and wild-type mouse fibroblasts revealed marked differences in the cytoplasmic distribution and aggregation behavior of the two p62 isoforms. Transfection-induced overexpression of p62-H2 generated large cytoplasmic aggregates in PLC/PRF/5 and CHO-K1 cells that mostly co-localized with transfected keratins resembling MDBs or (transfection without keratins) intracytoplasmic hyaline bodies. In fibroblasts, however, transfected p62-H2 was predominantly diffusely distributed in the cytoplasm. Aggregation of p62-H2 and p62ΔSH2 as well as the interaction with K8 (but not with K18) involves acquisition of cross-β-sheet conformation as revealed by staining with luminescent conjugated oligothiophenes. These results indicate the importance of considering p62 isoforms in protein aggregation disease.     

Effect of structure of aromatic imide–amines on curing behavior and thermal stability of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol‐A

The curing behavior of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol‐A (DGEBA) with aromatic imide–amines having aryl ether, sulfone, and methylene linkages was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Six imide–amines of varying structure were synthesized by reacting 1 mol of naphthalene 1,4,5,8‐tetracarboxylic dianhydride (N) or 4,4′‐oxodiphthalic anhydride (O) with excess (>2 mol) of 4,4′‐diaminodiphenylether [E] or 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl methane [M] or 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl sulfone [S]. The imide–amines prepared by reacting O or N with S, M, and E have been designated as OS/NS; OM/NM, and OE/NE, respectively. Structural characterization of imide–amines was done using FTIR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and elemental analysis. The curing behavior of DGEBA in the presence of stoichiometric amount of imide–amines was investigated by recording DSC scans. A broad exothermic transition was observed and the peak exotherm temperature was found to be dependent on the structure of imide–amines. The peak exotherm temperature (T_p) was lowest in case of imide–amines OE and highest in case of imide–amines NS/OS. Thermal stability of isothermally cured DGEBA in the presence of imide–amines was evaluated by dynamic thermogravimetry. The char yield was highest for resin cured with imide–amines NE. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Synthesis,characterization, and thermal properties of tris (3‐aminophenyl) phosphine oxide‐based nadimide resins

This article describes the synthesis, characterization, and thermal properties of nadimides obtained by reacting endo‐5‐norbornene‐2,3‐dicarboxylic acid anhydride (nadic anhydride) (NA), 4,4′‐oxodiphthalic anhydride (ODA), 1,4,5,8‐naphthalene tetra carboxylic dianhydride (NTDA) in glacial acetic acid/DMF. Structural characterization of the resins was done by elemental analysis, IR, ¹H‐NMR, and ¹³C‐NMR. The DSC scan showed the endothermic transition in the temperature range of 120–270°C. Multistep decomposition was observed in the TG scan of uncured resins in nitrogen atmosphere. Isothermal curing of the resins was done at 250 and 300°C for 1 h in an air atmosphere. These cured resins were stable to (350 ± 30)°C and decomposed in a single step above this temperature. This may be due to the retro Diels Alder (RDA) reaction. The char yield of the resins increased significantly on curing. The char yield was highest for P‐2N resin and this could be due to the presence of rigid skeleton i.e. naphthalene. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Thickness Dependent Physical Properties of Thermally Evaporated Nanocrystalline CdSe Thin Films

This paper presents a study on thickness dependent physical properties of cadmium selenide thin films. The films of thickness 445, 631 and 810 nm were deposited employing thermal evaporation technique on glass and ITO-coated glass substrates followed by thermal annealing in air atmosphere at 200 °C. These films were subjected to X-ray diffractometer, UV–Vis spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and electrometer for structural, optical,surface morphological and electrical analysis respectively. The structural analysis reveals that the films are nanocrystalline in nature with cubic phase and preferred orientation(111). The crystallographic parameters such as lattice constant, interplanar spacing, grain size, internal strain, dislocation density, number of crystallites per unit area and texture coefficient are calculated and discussed. The optical band gap is found in the range 1.75–1.92 e V and observed to increase with thickness.The SEM study shows that the annealed films are uniform, fully covered and well defined. The electrical analysis shows that the conductivity is varied with film thickness and found within the order of semiconductor behavior.     

Role of n-3 Fatty Acids on Bile Acid Metabolism and Transport in Dyslipidemia: A Review

Dietary n-3 fatty acids, especially of marine origin, eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3), have always been lauded for their profound effects on regulating the risk factors for major metabolic disorders. Yet, their consumption rate is poor compared to n-6 fatty acids [linoleic acid (18:2n-6)], which are predominantly consumed. Hence, the skewed n-6 to n-3 fatty acid ratio may have a bearing on the risk factors of various diseases, including dyslipidemia. Dyslipidemia and other lifestyle diseases associated with it, such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, are a growing concern in both developed and developing countries. A common strategy for addressing dyslipidemia involves bile acid (BA) sequestration, to interrupt the enterohepatic circulation of BA, resulting in the modulation of lipid absorption in the intestine, thereby normalizing the levels of circulating lipids. The BA homeostasis is under the tight control of hepatic and enteric BA transporters. Many investigations have reported the effects of dietary constituents, including certain fatty acids on the reabsorption and transport of BA. However, a critical review of the effects of n-3 fatty acids on BA metabolism and transport is not available. The present review attempts to explore certain unmapped facets of the n-3 fatty acids on BA metabolism and transport in dyslipidemia, and their interplay with biological processes involving lipid rafts and gut microbiome.