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Background The association between the extended tau haplotype (H1) and susceptibility to Parkinson’s disease (PD) was controversial in previous studies. Therefore, we performed this meta-analysis to determine whether the additional polymorphisms in MAPT_238bp and STH Q7R which both included in H1 are associated with PD. Methods 19 studies were identified by a search of PubMed, PDGENE, Elsevier, Springer Link, CBM (Chinese Biomedical Database), CNKI (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure), VIP (Chinese), and Wanfang (Chinese) databases, up to May 2014. Additionally, manual retrieval of the references of identified articles was performed. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using random effects model or fixed effects model based on the between-study heterogeneity. The subgroup analyses were performed by the ethnicity. All the statistical tests were conducted using Stata 9.0. Results Both of MAPT_238bp/STH Q7R polymorphisms had a significant association with PD risk in all genetic models. Subgroup analyses by ethnicity showed that the association between MAPT_238bp polymorphism and PD existed in Caucasian populations. Conclusions The results of this meta-analysis suggested that MAPT_238bp/STH Q7R polymorphisms might modulate the risk of PD susceptibility. Certainly, additional well-designed studies are required to confirm these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ru-doped TiO 2 nanoribbon array supported on Ti plate acts as an efficient catalyst for NH 3 synthesis via electrochemical NO 2 − reduction, obtaining an ultra-large NH 3 yield of 1.56 mmol h−1 cm−2 and a super-high Faradaic efficiency of 98.9%. [Display omitted] • Ru doping is shown as an effective strategy to boost NO 2 −-to-NH 3 conversion over TiO 2 nanoribbon array supported on Ti plate. • Ru–TiO 2 /TP achieves an ultra-large NH 3 yield of 1.56 mmol h−1 cm−2 and a super-high Faradaic efficiency of 98.9% with long-term electrolytic durability. • DFT calculations reveal the catalytic mechanism of NO 2 –RR on Ru–TiO 2. Electrochemical reduction of nitrite (NO 2 –) not only removes NO 2 – contaminant but also produces high-added value ammonia (NH 3). This process, however, needs efficient and selective catalysts for NO 2 −-to-NH 3 conversion. In this study, Ruthenium doped titanium dioxide nanoribbon array supported on Ti plate (Ru–TiO 2 /TP) is proposed as an efficient electrocatalyst for the reduction of NO 2 − to NH 3. When operated in 0.1 M NaOH containing NO 2 –, such Ru–TiO 2 /TP achieves an ultra-large NH 3 yield of 1.56 mmol h−1 cm−2 and a super-high Faradaic efficiency of 98.9%, superior to its TiO 2 /TP counterpart (0.46 mmol h−1 cm−2, 74.1%). Furthermore, the reaction mechanism is studied by theoretical calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gliomas are aggressive brain tumors with high mortality rate. Over the past several years, non-coding RNAs, specifically the long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), have emerged as biomarkers of considerable interest. Emerging data reveals distinct patterns of expressions of several lncRNAs in the glioma tissues, relative to their expression in normal brains. This has led to the speculation for putative exploitation of lncRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers as well as biomarkers for targeted therapy. With a focus on lncRNAs that have shown promise as epigenetic biomarkers in the proliferation, migration, invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis in various glioma models, we discuss several such lncRNAs. The data from cell line / animal model-based studies as well as analysis from human patient samples is presented for the most up-to-date information on the topic. Overall, the information provided herein makes a compelling case for further evaluation of lncRNAs in clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a high-active metal-free electrocatalyst for NH 3 production via NO reduction reaction, honeycomb carbon nanofiber achieves an NH 3 yield of 22.35 μmol h−1 cm−2 with a high Faradaic efficiency of 88.33%. [Display omitted] Electrocatalytic NO reduction is a promising technology for ambient NO removal with simultaneous production of highly value-added NH 3. Herein, we report that honeycomb carbon nanofiber coated on carbon paper acts as an efficient metal-free catalyst for ambient electroreduction of NO to NH 3. In 0.2 M Na 2 SO 4 solution, such catalyst achieves an NH 3 yield of 22.35 μmol h−1 cm−2 with a high Faradaic efficiency of up to 88.33%. Impressively, it also shows excellent stability for 10-h continuous electrolysis. Theoretical calculations reveal that the most active center of functional groups is –OH group for NO reduction with a low energy barrier (ΔG of 0.29 eV) for the potential-determining step (*NO + H → *HNO). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Three Radical–Ln(III)–Radical complexes based on nitronyl nitroxide radicals have been synthesized, structurally and magnetically characterized: [Gd(hfac)3(NITPhOEt)2] (1) (hfac=hexafluoroacetylacetonate, and NITPhOEt=4′-ethoxy-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide), [Gd(hfac)3(NITPhOCH2Ph)2] (2) (NITPhOCH2Ph=4′-benzyloxy-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide) and [Lu(hfac)3(NITPhOCH2Ph)2] (3). The X-ray crystal structure analyses show that the structures of the three compounds are similar and all consist of the isolated molecules, in which central ions GdIII or LuIII are coordinated by six oxygen atoms from three hfac and two oxygen atoms from nitronyl radicals. The magnetic studies show that in both of the two GdIII complexes, there are ferromagnetic GdIII–Rad interactions and antiferro-magnetic Rad–Rad interactions in the molecules (with JRad−Gd =0.27cm−1, jRad–Rad =−2.97cm−1 for 1: and JRad−Gd =0.62cm−1, jRad–Rad =−7.01cm−1 for 2). An analogous complex of [Lu(hfac)3 (NITPhOCH2Ph)2] (3) containing diamagnetic LuIII ions has also been introduced for further demonstrating the nature of magnetic coupling between radicals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: How DNA repair proteins interact with the dynamic structure of chromatin is an emerging question. Chromatin structure impedes the access of repair proteins to sites of DNA damage. Several recent studies have implicated chromatin remodeling complexes in DNA repair. In this report we summarize the methods we used to investigate chromatin remodeling during nucleotide excision repair (NER) in vivo. We describe a procedure to analyze UV-induced chromatin remodeling at the silent mating-type locus HML using isolated nuclei from UV-treated yeast cells. In addition, a method to capture transient protein–protein associations in chromatin is outlined. We have used the methods described here to demonstrate that the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex is involved in chromatin rearrangement during NER. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]