At the interface between the innate and adaptive immune system, dendritic cells (DCs) play key roles in tumour immunity and hold a hitherto unrealized potential for cancer immunotherapy. Here we ...review the role of distinct DC subsets in the tumour microenvironment, with special emphasis on conventional type 1 DCs. Integrating new knowledge of DC biology and advancements in cell engineering, we provide a blueprint for the rational design of optimized DC vaccines for personalized cancer medicine.
A novel chiral 3D bioMOF exhibiting functional channels with thio-alkyl chains derived from the natural amino acid l-methionine (1) has been rationally prepared. The well-known strong affinity of ...gold for sulfur derivatives, together with the extremely high flexibility of the thioether “arms” decorating the channels, account for a selective capture of gold(III) and gold(I) salts in the presence of other metal cations typically found in electronic wastes. The X-ray single-crystal structures of the different gold adsorbates Au III @1 and Au I @1 suggest that the selective metal capture occurs in a metal ion recognition process somehow mimicking what happens in biological systems and protein receptors. Both Au III @1 and Au I @1 display high activity as heterogeneous catalyst for the hydroalkoxylation of alkynes, further expanding the application of these novel hybrid materials.
This paper presents in detail the background and implementation of a particle swarm optimization algorithm suitable for constraint structural optimization tasks. Improvements, effect of the different ...setting parameters, and functionality of the algorithm are shown in the scope of classical structural optimization problems. The effectiveness of the approach is illustrated by three benchmark structural optimization tasks. Results show the ability of the proposed methodology to find better optimal solutions for structural optimization tasks than other optimization algorithms.
The field of energy textiles is growing but continues to face two main challenges: (1) flexible energy storage does not yet exist in a form that is directly comparable with everyday fabrics including ...their feel, drape and thickness, and (2) in order to produce an "energy textile" as part of a garment, it must be fabricated in a systematic manner allowing for multiple components of e-textiles to be integrated simultaneously. To help address these issues, we have developed textile supercapacitors based on knitted carbon fibers and activated carbon ink. We show capacitances as high as 0.51 F cm
−2
per device at 10 mV s
−1
, which is directly comparable with those of standard activated carbon film electrodes tested under the same conditions. We also demonstrate the performance of the device when bent at 90°, 135°, 180° and when stretched. This is the first report on knitting as a fabrication technique for integrated energy storage devices.
Energy storage is a key challenge to the full implementation of wearable electronics. In this work, custom knitted and screen printed supercapacitors are fabricated. Assembled devices have capacitances per area as high as 0.51 F cm
−2
per device.
More than 99% of the mitochondrial proteome is encoded by the nucleus and requires refolding following import. Therefore, mitochondrial proteins require the coordinated action of molecular chaperones ...for their folding and activation. Several heat shock protein (Hsp) molecular chaperones, including members of the Hsp27, Hsp40/70, and Hsp90 families, as well as the chaperonin complex Hsp60/10 have an established role in mitochondrial protein import and folding. The "Chaperone Code" describes the regulation of chaperone activity by dynamic post-translational modifications; however, little is known about the post-translational regulation of mitochondrial chaperones. Dissecting the regulation of chaperone function is essential for understanding their differential regulation in pathogenic conditions and the potential development of efficacious therapeutic strategies. Here, we summarize the recent literature on post-translational regulation of mitochondrial chaperones, the consequences for mitochondrial function, and potential implications for disease.
We describe the new version 3.00 of the code hfbtho that solves the nuclear Hartree–Fock (HF) or Hartree–Fock–Bogolyubov (HFB) problem by using the cylindrical transformed deformed harmonic ...oscillator basis. In the new version, we have implemented the following features: (i) the full Gogny force in both particle–hole and particle–particle channels, (ii) the calculation of the nuclear collective inertia at the perturbative cranking approximation, (iii) the calculation of fission fragment charge, mass and deformations based on the determination of the neck, (iv) the regularization of zero-range pairing forces, (v) the calculation of localization functions, (vi) a MPI interface for large-scale mass table calculations.
Program title:hfbtho v3.00
Program Files doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/c5g2f92by3.1
Licensing provisions: GPL v3
Programming language: FORTRAN-95
Journal reference of previous version: M.V. Stoitsov, N. Schunck, M. Kortelainen, N. Michel, H. Nam, E. Olsen, J. Sarich, and S. Wild, Comput. Phys. Commun. 184 (2013).
Does the new version supersede the previous one: Yes
Summary of revisions:
1. the Gogny force in both particle–hole and particle–particle channels was implemented;
2. the nuclear collective inertia at the perturbative cranking approximation was implemented;
3. fission fragment charge, mass and deformations were implemented based on the determination of the position of the neck between nascent fragments;
4. the regularization method of zero-range pairing forces was implemented;
5. the localization functions of the HFB solution were implemented;
6. a MPI interface for large-scale mass table calculations was implemented.
Nature of problem:hfbtho is a physics computer code that is used to model the structure of the nucleus. It is an implementation of the energy density functional (EDF) approach to atomic nuclei, where the energy of the nucleus is obtained by integration over space of some phenomenological energy density, which is itself a functional of the neutron and proton intrinsic densities. In the present version of hfbtho, the energy density derives either from the zero-range Skyrme or the finite-range Gogny effective two-body interaction between nucleons. Nuclear super-fluidity is treated at the Hartree–Fock–Bogolyubov (HFB) approximation. Constraints on the nuclear shape allows probing the potential energy surface of the nucleus as needed e.g., for the description of shape isomers or fission. The implementation of a local scale transformation of the single-particle basis in which the HFB solutions are expanded provide a tool to properly compute the structure of weakly-bound nuclei.
Solution method: The program uses the axial Transformed Harmonic Oscillator (THO) single-particle basis to expand quasiparticle wave functions. It iteratively diagonalizes the Hartree–Fock–Bogolyubov Hamiltonian based on generalized Skyrme-like energy densities and zero-range pairing interactions or the finite-range Gogny force until a self-consistent solution is found. A previous version of the program was presented in M.V. Stoitsov, N. Schunck, M. Kortelainen, N. Michel, H. Nam, E. Olsen, J. Sarich, and S. Wild, Comput. Phys. Commun. 184 (2013) 1592–1604 with much of the formalism presented in the original paper M.V. Stoitsov, J. Dobaczewski, W. Nazarewicz, P. Ring, Comput. Phys. Commun. 167 (2005) 43–63.
Additional comments: The user must have access to (i) the LAPACK subroutines dsyeevr, dsyevd, dsytrf and dsytri, and their dependencies, which compute eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of real symmetric matrices, (ii) the LAPACK subroutines dgetri and dgetrf, which invert arbitrary real matrices, and (iii) the BLAS routines dcopy, dscal, dgemm and dgemv for double-precision linear algebra (or provide another set of subroutines that can perform such tasks). The BLAS and LAPACK subroutines can be obtained from the Netlib Repository at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville: http://netlib2.cs.utk.edu/.
Aim
This study explored the association between the presence of uterine fibroids (UF), as determined by ultrasound, and preterm birth (PB) risk.
Methods
Medline, Embase, Cochrane, Scopus and Web of ...Science databases. Studies reporting women with and without UF demonstrated by an ultrasound exam. The primary outcome was the risk of PB < 37 weeks of gestation in pregnancies with UF diagnosed by an obstetric ultrasound exam. Effects for dichotomous and continuous outcomes are, respectively, reported as risk ratios (RR) or mean differences and their 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results
Eighteen studies were included comprising 276 172 pregnancies to whom obstetric ultrasound assessment was performed for the presence/absence of UF. Women with UF were older (mean difference = 2.40 years, 95% CI 0.94–3.85) and were at higher risk of PB before 37 (RR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.27–1.60), 34 (RR = 1.79, 95% CI 1.32–2.42), 32 (RR = 1.94, 95% CI 1.33–2.85) and 28 (RR = 2.17, 95% CI 1.48–3.17) weeks as compared to those without UF (P < 0.01). In addition, women with UF were at higher risk of threatened preterm labor, preterm premature rupture of membranes, fetal malpresentation, placental abruption, lower gestational age and birthweight at delivery and a higher cesarean delivery rate.
Conclusion
Pregnant women with UF are at increased risk of PB and other adverse obstetric outcomes.
Ibrutinib Resistance in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Furman, Richard R; Cheng, Shuhua; Lu, Pin ...
New England journal of medicine/The New England journal of medicine,
06/2014, Letnik:
370, Številka:
24
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Ibrutinib, a Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is active in CLL, but resistance may emerge. The authors observed the emergence of a CLL clone with a cysteine-to-serine change in amino acid 481 of ...the target protein that substantially weakens drug binding and leads to resistance.
To the Editor:
Ibrutinib, an inhibitor that binds covalently to C481 of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK), has produced remarkable responses in patients with relapsed and refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
1
–
4
However, 5.3% of patients have disease progression, and the mechanism of resistance is largely unknown. Herein we describe the mechanism of resistance in such a case.
A 49-year-old woman had a diagnosis of CLL established in 2000. After the failure of multiple treatments, she began receiving ibrutinib at a dose of 560 mg daily in 2010 as part of a phase 1, dose-escalation study of ibrutinib in B-cell cancers. . . .
The effects of temperature (50–200 °C) and contact time (5–30 min) on the pressurized hot water extraction of deodorized thyme were explored for antioxidant activity, polyphenol profiles, and total ...antioxidants. Six not previously reported polyphenolic compounds were identified in thyme. An inverse correlation was found between the antioxidant activity and total antioxidants with the amount and diversity of polyphenols. The highest total extract yield and antioxidant activity were obtained at 200 °C, although maximum polyphenol extraction yields of hydroxycinnamic acids, flavones, flavonols/flavanones, and total polyphenols were detected at 100 °C and 5 min. Higher temperatures and longer exposure times reduced extract polyphenol diversity. Dihydroxyphenyllactic acid was the only phenolic compound for which extraction yield increased with temperature, probably as a product of the thermal degradation of rosmarinic acid. Consequently, for extracting phenolics from thyme, 100 °C and 5 min would be appropriate operating conditions, whereas antioxidant-active nonphenolic compounds were favored at higher temperatures and exposure times.
One of the most common materials utilized by material extrusion 3D printing is acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The work presented in this research explored the effect of the addition of ...reinforcing materials on the mechanical properties of ABS in an effort to create materials with enhanced physical properties. A comparison was made between pure ABS, two ABS matrix composites, and one ABS/elastomer blend with the purpose of characterizing the effect of additives on the mechanical properties. Tensile test results of specimens built in different orientations showed that ABS reinforced with 5% by weight TiO2 exhibited the highest ultimate tensile strength for specimens built in both horizontal and vertical directions with 32.2 and 18.4 MPa, respectively. The compounding of an elastomeric material with ABS improved the surface finish of parts as they were visibly smoother compared to those printed from the ABS baseline material, though there was an observable decrease in the ductility of tensile specimens. Analysis was performed on the fracture surface of the tensile specimens through the use of scanning electron microscopy. Fractography revealed different modes of failure related to the different additives. The effects of additives on the anisotropy associated with the mechanical properties of 3D-printed parts were also analyzed.PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
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