No evidence of paralogous loci or new bona fide microRNAs in telomere to telomere (T2T) genomic data

The telomere to telomere (T2T) genome project discovered and mapped ~240 million additional base pairs of primarily telomeric and centromeric reads. Much of this sequence was comprised of satellite sequences and large segmental duplications. We evaluated the extent to which human bona fide microRNAs (miRNAs) may be found in additional paralogous genomic loci or if previously undescribed microRNAs are present in these newly sequenced regions of the human genome. New genomic regions of the T2T project spanning ~240 million bp of sequence were obtained and evaluated by blastn for the human miRNAs contained in MirGeneDB2.0 (N=556) and miRBase (N = 1917) along with all species of MirGeneDB2.0 miRNAs (N=10,899). Additionally, bowtie was used to compare unmapped reads from >4,000 primary cell samples to the new T2T sequence. Based on sequence and structure, no bona fide miRNAs were identified. Ninety-seven miRNAs of questionable authenticity (frequently known repeat elements) were identified from the miRBase dataset across the newly described regions of the human genome. These 97 represent only 51 miRNA families due to paralogy of highly similar miRNAs such as 24 members of the hsa-mir-548 family. Altogether, this data strongly supports our having identified widely expressed bona fide miRNAs in the human genome and move us further toward the completion of human miRNA discovery.

From a Well-Defined Organozinc Precursor to Diverse Luminescent Coordination Polymers Based on Zn(II)-Quinolinate Building Units Interconnected by Mixed Ligand Systems

Introduction of photoactive building blocks into mixed-ligand coordination polymers appears to be a promising way to produce new advanced luminescent materials. However, rational design and self-assembly of the multi-component supramolecular systems is challenging from both a conceptual and synthetic perspective. Here, we report exploratory studies that investigate the potential of [Zn(q)2]2[tBuZn(OH)]2 complex (q = deprotonated 8-hydroxyquinoline) as an organozinc precursor as well as a mixed-ligand synthetic strategy for the preparation of new luminescent coordination polymers (CPs). As a result we present three new 2D mixed-ligand Zn(II)-quinolinate coordination polymers which are based on various zinc quinolinate secondary building units interconnected by two different organic linker types, i.e., deprotonated 4,4′-oxybisbenzoic acid (H2obc) as a flexible dicarboxylate linker and/or selected bipyridines (bipy). Remarkably, using the title organozinc precursors in a combination with H2obc and 4,4′-bipyridine, a novel molecular zinc quinolinate building unit, [Zn4(q)6(bipy)2(obc)2], was obtained which self-assembled into a chain-type hydrogen-bonded network. The application of the organometallic precursor allowed for its direct reaction with the selected ligands at ambient temperature, avoiding the use of both solvothermal conditions and additional base reagents. In turn, the reaction involving Zn(NO3)2, as a classical inorganic precursor, in a combination with H2obc and bipy led to a novel 1D coordination polymer [Zn2(q)2(NO3)2(bipy)]. While the presence of H2obc was essential for the formation of this coordination polymer, this ditopic linker was not incorporated into the isolated product, which indicates its templating behavior. The reported compounds were characterized by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis as well as UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy.

18F-Fluorination Using Tri-Tert-Butanol Ammonium Iodide as Phase-Transfer Catalyst: An Alternative Minimalist Approach

The 18F syntheses of tracers for positron emission tomography (PET) typically require several steps, including extraction of [18F]fluoride from H2[18O]O, elution, and drying, prior to nucleophilic substitution reaction, being a laborious and time-consuming process. The elution of [18F]fluoride is commonly achieved by phase transfer catalysts (PTC) in aqueous solution, which makes azeotropic drying indispensable. The ideal PTC is characterized by a slightly basic nature, its capacity to elute [18F]fluoride with anhydrous solvents, and its efficient complex formation with [18F]fluoride during subsequent labeling. Herein, we developed tri-(tert-butanol)-methylammonium iodide (TBMA-I), a quaternary ammonium salt serving as the PTC for 18F-fluorination reactions. The favorable elution efficiency of [18F]fluoride using TBMA-I was demonstrated with aprotic and protic solvents, maintaining high 18F-recoveries of 96–99%. 18F-labeling reactions using TBMA-I as PTC were studied with aliphatic 1,3-ditosylpropane and aryl pinacol boronate esters as precursors, providing 18F-labeled products in moderate-to-high radiochemical yields. TBMA-I revealed adequate properties for application to 18F-fluorination reactions and could be used for elution of [18F]fluoride with MeOH, omitting an additional base and azeotropic drying prior to 18F-labeling. We speculate that the tert-alcohol functionality of TBMA-I promotes intermolecular hydrogen bonding, which enhances the elution efficiency and stability of [18F]fluoride during nucleophilic 18F-fluorination.

Feline Stool-Associated Circular DNA Virus (FeSCV) in Diarrheic Cats in China

Feline stool-associated circular DNA virus (FeSCV) is an unclassified circular replication-associated protein-encoding single-stranded (CRESS) DNA virus that was discovered in cats in Japan in 2018. Few studies on the genomic characteristics and prevalence of FeSCV have been conducted. To investigate whether FeSCV has been circulating in domestic cats in Guangdong, China, fecal samples were collected from cats with diarrhea in an animal hospital in 2018 to promote research on FeSCV. The FeSCV genome was obtained by PCR amplification and sequencing, and the detected virus was named PY4 (GenBank No. MT732515). The genome of PY4 was 2,034 nt in size, which was 12 nt smaller than the reported genome of Japanese FeSCV strains (KU7, KU8, KU9, KU14) (2,046 nt). The PY4 strain shared 95.1 ~ 95.5% homology with Japanese FeSCV strains. Notably, the Cap protein of PY4 was mutated at 15 amino acid sites, and the PY4 genome contained a unique open reading frame 3. In addition, there were two additional base insertions in the stem-loop structure of PY4, and the nucleotide homology of the spacer region was not high. A phylogenetic tree based on Rep proteins showed that PY4, Japanese FeSCVs and rodent stool-associated circular viruses (RodSCVs) clustered together, suggesting that they might share a similar origin in their phylogenetic evolution. In this study, samples collected in Guangzhou, China, in 2018 were subjected to an etiological investigation, and 20% (2/10) of the samples were positive for FeSCV. The ORFs, stem-loop structures, Cap proteins and intergenic region sequences of PY4 were significantly different from those reported in Japan. This is the first report of FeSCV in domestic cats with diarrhea in China, and further epidemiological studies are urgently needed to assess the impact of the virus on cats.

Novel Design Proposal for the Seismic Retrofit of Existing Buildings with Hybrid Steel Exoskeletons and Base Sliding Devices

Background: Existing Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures and brittle buildings are often exposed to seismic events that may have significant resistance and displacement demand compared to their actual capacity. Accordingly, an optimal retrofit intervention can ensure enhanced and safe structural performances for them. Among the techniques that have been addressed for the retrofit of existing RC frames, steel exoskeletons can notoriously improve the seismic performance of existing buildings due to their input stiffness, ductility and resistance. In this paper, the attention is focused on the interaction of steel exoskeletons with RC frames and the consequent details to achieve a more effective design of the retrofit intervention. Objective: Based on parametric calculations, a new hybrid design concept that takes advantage of traditional steel exoskeletons with additional base sliding devices (at the foundation level of the RC frame to retrofit) is addressed in this paper. Methods: As shown through SDOF and 2D-MDOF calculations, the definition of the optimal operational conditions (and thus mechanical configurations) for the so-assembled hybrid solution can maximize the potential of the retrofit intervention, with marked benefits in terms of ductility, resistance, and overall efficiency, ensuring very low damage in the existing building. Results: Given that the used base sliders are bidirectional, it is expected that the proposed solution could be efficiently extended to 3D structures, once the exoskeleton systems are optimally designed along the two principal directions of the hybrid structure to retrofit. Conclusion: The potential of the hybrid approach is shown based on parametric analyses. Furthermore, general design recommendations are proposed for the hybrid solution.

Eco-Friendly Synthesis of Peptides Using Fmoc-Amino Acid Chlorides as Coupling Agent Under Biphasic Condition

Background: Agro-waste derived solvent media act as a greener process for the peptide bond formation using Nα - Fmoc-amino acid chloride and amino acid ester salt with in situ neutralization and coupling under biphasic condition. The Fmoc-amino acid chlorides are prepared by the reported procedure of freshly distilled SOCl2 with dry CH2Cl2. The protocol found many added advantages such as neutralization of amino acid ester salt and not required additional base for the neutralization, and directly coupling take place with Fmoc-amino acid chloride gave final product dipeptide ester in good to excellent yields. The protocol occurs with complete stereo chemical integrity of the configuration of substrates. Here, we revisited Schotten-Baumann condition, instead of using inorganic base. Objective: To develop green protocol for the synthesis of peptide bond using Fmoc-amino acid chloride with amino acid esters salt. Methods: The final product isolated is analyzed in several spectroscopic and analytical techniques such as FT-IR, 1H-, 13CNMR, Mass spectrometry and RP-HPLC to check stereo integrity and purity of the product. Conclusion: The present method developed greener using natural agro-waste (lemon fruit shell ash) derived solvent medium for the reaction and not required chemical entity.

Copper Hydrotalcite (Cu-HT) as an Efficient Catalyst for the Hydrogenation of CO2 to Formic Acid

: Hydrogenation of CO2 to energy-rich products over heterogeneous metal catalysts has gained much attention due to their commercial applications. Specifically, the first-row transition metal catalysts are very rarely reported and discussed for the production of formic acid from the hydrogenation of CO2. Herein, hydrotalcite supported copper metal has shown activity and efficiency to produce formic acid from the hydrogenation of CO2, without adding any additional base or promoter and was effectively recycled 4 times after separating by simple filtration without compromising the formic acid yield. Hydrotalcite supported copper-based catalyst (Cu-HT) was synthesized through the coprecipitation method and used as a heterogeneous catalyst for the hydrogenation of CO2. The precise copper metal content determined by ICP in Cu-HT is 0.00944 mmol. The catalyst afforded maximum TOF, 124 h-1 under the employed reaction conditions: 100 mg catalyst, 60 °C, 60 bar total pressure of CO2/H2 (1:1, p/p) with 60 mL of mixed methanol:water (5:1, v/v) solvent. Cu-HT catalyst was synthesised and thoroughly characterized by FT-IR, PXRD, SEM, TEM, XPS and BET surface area. The first-order kinetic dependence with respect to the catalyst amount, partial pressures of CO2, and of H2 was observed and a plausible reaction mechanism is suggested. Background: CO2 hydrogenation to energy-rich products over heterogeneous metal catalysts has gained much attention due to their commercial applications. Specifically, the first-row transition metal catalysts are very rarely reported and discussed for the production of formic acid from the hydrogenation of CO2. Objective: he aim is to investigate the heterogeneous catalyst systems, using solid soft base hydrotalcite supported Cu metal-based catalyst for effective and selective hydrogenation of CO2 to formic acid. Methods: The Cu –HT catalyst was synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, PXRD, SEM, TEM, XPS and BET surface area in which the precise copper content was 0.00944 mmol. The Cu-HT catalysed hydrogenation of CO2 was carried out in the autoclave. Results: The Cu-HT catalyst afforded maximum TOF of 124 h-1 under the employed reaction conditions: 100 mg catalyst, 60 °C, 60 bar total pressure of CO2/H2 (1:1, p/p) with 60 mL of mixed methanol: water (5:1, v/v) solvent, without adding any additional base or promoter and was recycled 4 times by simple filtration without compromising the formic acid yield. Formation of formic acid was observed to depend on the amount of the catalyst, partial pressures of CO2 and H2, total pressure, temperature and time. Conclusion: Cu-HT based heterogeneous catalyst was found to be efficient for selective hydrogenation of CO2 to formic acid and was effectively recycled four times after elegantly separating by simple filtration.

Validity of Techniques to Evaluate Near Phoria

Background: While a number of previous studies have investigated the repeatability of techniques designed to measure heterophoria, there have been few studies of their validity. Accordingly, the present study examined the ability of 3 standard techniques; Von Graefe (VG), Maddox Rod (MR) and Modified Thorington (MT) tests to quantify a known change in heterophoria. Methods:The study was performed on 30 young subjects using each of the 3 procedures listed above. Near (40 cm) heterophoria was quantified both without and with an additional base-out prism. Five possible values were available, namely 2, 4, 6, 8 and 9Δ. After a period of 24 hours, the heterophoria measurement was repeated using the same technique with one of these prisms added to the refractive correction. Results:The mean heterophoria value measured before the introduction of prism using the VG procedure was significantly more exophoric than the findings obtained using the other 2 techniques (p = 0.035). No significant difference was observed between the measured and predicted change in heterophoria following the introduction of the prism for the VG and MT procedures, but a significant difference was found with the MR technique (p0.001). Conclusions:The ability to measure a known change in oculomotor deviation was significantly poorer with the MR technique, when compared with the VG and MT procedures. Given that the mean pre-prism measurement was significantly more exophoric when using the VG procedure, we recommend that MT be adopted as the technique of choice for the subjective measurement of oculomotor deviations in the clinical setting

On the puzzling case of sodium saccharinate 1.875-hydrate: structure description in (3+1)-dimensional superspace

The structure of sodium saccharinate 1.875-hydrate is presented in three- and (3+1)-dimensional space. The present model is more accurate than previously published superstructures, due to an excellent data set collected up to a high resolution of 0.89 Å−1. The present study confirms the unusual complexity of the structure comprising a very large primitive unit cell with Z′ = 16. A much smaller degree of correlated disorder of parts of the unit cell is found than is present in the previously published models. As a result of pseudo-symmetry, the structure can be described in a higher-dimensional space. The X-ray diffraction data clearly indicate a (3+1)-dimensional periodic structure with stronger main reflections and weaker superstructure reflections. Furthermore, the structure is established as being commensurate. The structure description in superspace results in a four times smaller unit cell with an additional base centring of the lattice, resulting in an eightfold substructure (Z′ = 2) of the 3D superstructure. Therefore, such a superspace approach is desirable to work out this high-Z′ structure. The displacement and occupational modulation of the saccharinate anions have been studied, as well as their conformational variation along the fourth dimension.

Sn-Based Porous Coordination Polymer Synthesized with Two Ligands for Tandem Catalysis Producing 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a biomass-derived important platform compound. Developing an efficient catalyst for producing HMF from a biomass source is important. Herein, using the ligands 5-sulfoisophthalic acid (SPA) and imidazole (Imd), a tin-based porous coordination polymer was synthesized, namely SPA-Imd-TinPCP. This novel material possesses a multifunctional catalysis capability. The coordinated tin (IV) can catalyze the isomerization of glucose to fructose. The ligand imidazole, as an additional base site, can catalyze glucose isomerization. The sulfonic group of the ligand SPA can catalyze the dehydration of fructose to HMF. SPA-Imd-TinPCP was used as a catalyst for the conversion of glucose to HMF. HMF yields of 59.5% in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and 49.8% in the biphasic solvent of water/tetrahydrofuran were obtained. Consecutive use of SPA-Imd-TinPCP demonstrated that, after reusing it five times, there was no significant activity loss in terms of the glucose conversion and HMF yield.