Neutron reflectivity and X‐ray scattering have been used to characterise the structure of photovoltaic optimised PCDTBT:PCBM (1:4) blend films. A negative gradient of the PCBM forms spontaneously ...upon film casting – a fortuitous structure that is well matched for efficient charge extraction. Mild thermal annealing at 70 °C does not significantly modify the film structure, and any improvement in device efficiency is likely to be through the removal of trapped casting solvent.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The importance of epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation in tumorigenesis is increasingly being appreciated. To define the genome‐wide pattern of DNA methylation in pancreatic ductal ...adenocarcinomas (PDAC), we captured the methylation profiles of 167 untreated resected PDACs and compared them to a panel of 29 adjacent nontransformed pancreata using high‐density arrays. A total of 11,634 CpG sites associated with 3,522 genes were significantly differentially methylated (DM) in PDAC and were capable of segregating PDAC from non‐malignant pancreas, regardless of tumor cellularity. As expected, PDAC hypermethylation was most prevalent in the 5′ region of genes (including the proximal promoter, 5′UTR and CpG islands). Approximately 33% DM genes showed significant inverse correlation with mRNA expression levels. Pathway analysis revealed an enrichment of aberrantly methylated genes involved in key molecular mechanisms important to PDAC: TGF‐β, WNT, integrin signaling, cell adhesion, stellate cell activation and axon guidance. Given the recent discovery that SLIT‐ROBO mutations play a clinically important role in PDAC, the role of epigenetic perturbation of axon guidance was pursued in more detail. Bisulfite amplicon deep sequencing and qRT‐PCR expression analyses confirmed recurrent perturbation of axon guidance pathway genes SLIT2, SLIT3, ROBO1, ROBO3, ITGA2 and MET and suggests epigenetic suppression of SLIT‐ROBO signaling and up‐regulation of MET and ITGA2 expression. Hypomethylation of MET and ITGA2 correlated with high gene expression, which was associated with poor survival. These data suggest that aberrant methylation plays an important role in pancreatic carcinogenesis affecting core signaling pathways with potential implications for the disease pathophysiology and therapy.
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Based on a large genome‐wide scan of DNA methylation, this study reports that global DNA methylation patterns can robustly segregate tumor and non‐malignant pancreata. Cancer methylation also affects key pathways in pancreatic carcinogenesis, including TGF‐β, WNT, and axon guidance signaling. This study confirms that methylation plays an important role in the development and progression of pancreatic cancer, with implications for both ongoing research and therapeutic development.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Several
N-prolinylanthranilic acid derivatives were prepared and tested as bifunctional organocatalysts in the direct asymmetric aldol reaction of cyclohexanone with
p-nitrobenzaldehyde. It was found ...that methyl substitution
ortho to the carboxylic acid improves enantioselectivity, but substitution
ortho to the anilide group does not. The catalyst derived from 2-amino-6-methylbenzoic acid was tested over a range of direct asymmetric aldol reactions and its overall performance is equal to or better than many of the known prolinamide catalysts in terms of yield, diastereoselectivity, and enantioselectivity.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
N-Prolinylanthranilamide-based pseudopeptide organocatalyst 14 was shown to promote enantioselective direct aldol reaction of 7-iodoisatin and 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxan-5-one with 90% conversion (75% ...isolated yield), 90% enantioselectivity, and 23:1 diastereoselectivity. To demonstrate the synthetic utility of this chemistry, the racemic aldol reaction product was converted in five steps to a potential intermediate for construction of the natural product TMC-95A.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
The increasing incidence of resistance to current HIV-1 therapy underscores the need to develop antiretroviral agents with new mechanisms of action. Integrase, one of three viral enzymes essential ...for HIV-1 replication, presents an important yet unexploited opportunity for drug development. We describe here the identification and characterization of L-870,810, a small-molecule inhibitor of HIV-1 integrase with potent antiviral activity in cell culture and good pharmacokinetic properties. L-870,810 is an inhibitor with an 8-hydroxy-(1,6)-naphthyridine-7-carboxamide pharmacophore. The compound inhibits HIV-1 integrase-mediated strand transfer, and its antiviral activity in vitro is a direct consequence of this ascribed effect on integration. L-870,810 is mechanistically identical to previously described inhibitors from the diketo acid series; however, viruses selected for resistance to L-870,810 contain mutations (integrase residues 72, 121, and 125) that uniquely confer resistance to the naphthyridine. Conversely, mutations associated with resistance to the diketo acid do not engender naphthyridine resistance. Importantly, the mutations associated with resistance to each of these inhibitors map to distinct regions within the integrase active site. Therefore, we propose a model of the two inhibitors that is consistent with this observation and suggests specific interactions with discrete binding sites for each ligand. These studies provide a structural basis and rationale for developing integrase inhibitors with the potential for unique and nonoverlapping resistance profiles.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Urate is often viewed as an antioxidant. Here, we present an alternative perspective by showing that, when oxidized, urate propagates oxidative stress. Oxidation converts urate to the urate radical ...and the electrophilic products dehydrourate, 5-hydroxyisourate, and urate hydroperoxide, which eventually break down to allantoin. We investigated whether urate-derived electrophiles are intercepted by nucleophilic amino acid residues to form stable adducts on proteins. When urate was oxidized in the presence of various peptides and proteins, two adducts derived from urate (Mr 167 Da) were detected and had mass additions of 140 and 166 Da, occurring mainly on lysine residues and N-terminal amines. The adduct with a 140-Da mass addition was detected more frequently and was stable. Dehydrourate (Mr 166 Da) also formed transient adducts with cysteine residues. Urate-derived adducts were detected on human serum albumin in plasma of healthy donors. Basal adduct levels increased when neutrophils were added to plasma and stimulated, and relied on the NADPH oxidase, myeloperoxidase, hydrogen peroxide, and superoxide. Adducts of oxidized urate on serum albumin were elevated in plasma and synovial fluid from individuals with gout and rheumatoid arthritis. We propose that rather than acting as an antioxidant, urate's conversion to electrophiles contributes to oxidative stress. The addition of urate-derived electrophiles to nucleophilic amino acid residues, a process we call oxidative uratylation, will leave a footprint on proteins that could alter their function when critical sites are modified.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Somatic mutation calling from next-generation sequencing data remains a challenge due to the difficulties of distinguishing true somatic events from artifacts arising from PCR, sequencing errors or ...mis-mapping. Tumor cellularity or purity, sub-clonality and copy number changes also confound the identification of true somatic events against a background of germline variants. We have developed a heuristic strategy and software (http://www.qcmg.org/bioinformatics/qsnp/) for somatic mutation calling in samples with low tumor content and we show the superior sensitivity and precision of our approach using a previously sequenced cell line, a series of tumor/normal admixtures, and 3,253 putative somatic SNVs verified on an orthogonal platform.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Chest radiographs in critically ill patients can be difficult to interpret due to technical and clinical factors. We sought to determine the agreement of chest radiographs and CT scans, and the ...inter-observer variation of chest radiograph interpretation, in intensive care units (ICUs).
Chest radiographs and corresponding thoracic computerised tomography (CT) scans (as reference standard) were collected from 45 ICU patients. All radiographs were analysed by 20 doctors (radiology consultants, radiology trainees, ICU consultants, ICU trainees) from 4 different centres, blinded to CT results. Specificity/sensitivity were determined for pleural effusion, lobar collapse and consolidation/atelectasis. Separately, Fleiss' kappa for multiple raters was used to determine inter-observer variation for chest radiographs.
The median sensitivity and specificity of chest radiographs for detecting abnormalities seen on CTs scans were 43.2% and 85.9% respectively. Diagnostic sensitivity for pleural effusion was significantly higher among radiology consultants but no specialty/experience distinctions were observed for specificity. Median inter-observer kappa coefficient among assessors was 0.295 (“fair”).
Chest radiographs commonly miss important radiological features in critically ill patients. Inter-observer agreement in chest radiograph interpretation is only “fair”. Consultant radiologists are least likely to miss thoracic radiological abnormalities. The consequences of misdiagnosis by chest radiographs remain to be determined.
•Chest x-rays often fail to pick up conditions such as pneumonia in the ICU.•The low sensitivity of chest radiographs risks important diagnoses being missed.•Accuracy of ICU chest x-ray interpretation is higher among senior radiologists than intensivists.•Agreement between doctors interpreting chest x-rays from ICU patients is only fair.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
A stereocontrolled intramolecular iron-mediated diene/olefin cyclocoupling reaction has been explored using vinyl ethers as the olefin partners. Spirolactams with functionalized (alkoxymethyl) side ...chains can be formed under thermal conditions. With a methoxy substituent on the diene, demetalation and hydrolysis of the cyclocoupling product afforded a single diastereomer.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal and molecularly diverse malignancies. Repurposing of therapeutics that target specific molecular mechanisms in different disease types offers potential for ...rapid improvements in outcome. Although HER2 amplification occurs in pancreatic cancer, it is inadequately characterized to exploit the potential of anti-HER2 therapies.
HER2 amplification was detected and further analyzed using multiple genomic sequencing approaches. Standardized reference laboratory assays defined HER2 amplification in a large cohort of patients (n = 469) with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
An amplified inversion event (1 MB) was identified at the HER2 locus in a patient with PDAC. Using standardized laboratory assays, we established diagnostic criteria for HER2 amplification in PDAC, and observed a prevalence of 2%. Clinically, HER2- amplified PDAC was characterized by a lack of liver metastases, and a preponderance of lung and brain metastases. Excluding breast and gastric cancer, the incidence of HER2-amplified cancers in the USA is >22,000 per annum.
HER2 amplification occurs in 2% of PDAC, and has distinct features with implications for clinical practice. The molecular heterogeneity of PDAC implies that even an incidence of 2% represents an attractive target for anti-HER2 therapies, as options for PDAC are limited. Recruiting patients based on HER2 amplification, rather than organ of origin, could make trials of anti-HER2 therapies feasible in less common cancer types.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
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