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Isolated ribs and vertebrae of Middle Triassic sauropterygians are studied. The vertebrae have a well-defined large cavity in their centra, which is a unique feature and is without any modern analogue. The articular facets of vertebrae are made of endochondral bone including calcified as well as uncalcified cartilage. Vertebrae are pachyosteosclerotic in the pachypleurosaurs Neusticosaurus and Serpianosaurus from the Alpine Triassic, and osteosclerotic in the placodont, in the medium-sized Nothosaurus marchicus, and in the pachypleurosaur Anarosaurus. In large Nothosaurus specimens, the vertebrae are cavernous. The ribs of all sampled specimens are osteosclerotic, which resembles the microanatomy of long bones in all studied taxa. The proximal to medial part of ribs mainly consists of a compact periosteal cortex surrounding an inner endosteal territory. Toward the distal end of the ribs, the periosteal thickness decreases whereas the endosteal territory increases. Despite a shift from periosteal versus endosteal tissues, global rib compactness remains relatively constant. Osteosclerosis in ribs and vertebrae is reached by the same processes as in the long bones: by a relative increase in cortex thickness that is coupled by a reduction of the medullary cavity, by the persistence of calcified cartilage, and by an inhibition of remodeling although some resorption may occur but without complete redeposition of bone. Processes differ from those observed in Permian marine reptiles and some mosasaurines, where either extensive remodeling or inhibition of bone resorption leads to osteosclerosis. Besides differences regarding the microanatomy, all studied bones of a taxon are consistent in their bone tissue type. Anat Rec, 302:1770-1791, 2019. © 2019 American Association for Anatomy.

Metall-organische Geruste (MOFs) sind vielversprechende Materialien fur die Gastrennung und Luftfiltration. Fur diese Anwendungen mussen die MOF-Kristalle jedoch in robuste und leicht zu handhabende Tragermaterialien eingebettet werden. Wir haben ein chitinbasiertes Netzwerk aus einem marinen Schwamm als ungiftiges, bioabbaubares und leichtes Tragermaterial fur die Abscheidung eines MOF verwendet. Die Struktureigenschaften des Materials begunstigen die Kristallanbindung des MOF hauptsachlich im Inneren der hohlen Fasern. Das Kompositmaterial weist ein hierarchisches Porensystem mit einer inneren Oberflache von 800 m2 g−1 und einem Porenvolumen von 3.6 cm3 g−1 auf. Dieses Porensystem ermoglicht eine gute Transportkinetik und eine sehr hohe Beladung mit dem aktiven Material. Ammoniak-Durchbruchskurven zeigen zudem die Zuganglichkeit der MOF-Kristalle und das Adsorptionspotenzial des Kompositmaterials, das vielversprechend fur die Aufreinigung toxischer Industriegase ist.

Die Umwandlung des intrinsisch ungeordneten Proteins α-Synuclein (α-syn) in Amyloidaggregate ist ein Schlusselprozess der Parkinson-Krankheit. Die Sequenzregion 35–59 enthalt die β-Strangsegmente β1 und β2 aus Strukturmodellen von α-syn-Amyloidfibrillen sowie die Mehrzahl der bekannten krankheitsassoziierten Mutationen. β1 und β2 gehen miteinander transiente Interaktionen in monomerem α-syn ein. Hier untersuchen wir die Folgen von β1-β2-Kontakten mittels Disulfid-Engineering, biophysikalischen Techniken und Zellviabilitats-Assays. Die Doppelcystein-Mutante α-synCC mit einer Disulfidbrucke zwischen β1 und β2 bildet keine Aggregate und inhibiert die Aggregation und Toxizitat von Wildtyp-α-syn. Wir zeigen, dass α-syn die Aggregation des Amyloid-β-Peptids und des Inselamyloid-Polypeptids inhibiert, ein Effekt, der in der α-synCC-Mutante verstarkt ist. Tertiare Interaktionen in der β1-β2-Region von α-syn beeintrachtigen die Nukleation der Amyloidbildung. Ein therapeutischer Ansatz ware folglich die Forderung solcher Interaktionen.

Turtles are frequently found in fluviatile to lagoonal and shallow marine sediments in the Upper Jurassic of Western Europe. These turtles usually show a mixture of basal and derived characters, but phylogenetic relationships are still largely unresolved. This is mainly due to the incom- pleteness of fossils and the lack of taxonomically unambigu- ous characters and is also related to the presence of different ontogenetic stages, which are not easy to compare. The mor- phological description of a new turtle from the Upper Juras- sic of Langenberg Quarry (Oker, Lower Saxony, Germany) gives further insights into the ontogeny of basal eucryptodire turtles as well as into aquatic adaptation of Upper Jurassic turtles. The specimen is herein left in open nomenclature, due to the fact that it represents a juvenile individual. Sev- eral characters define the specimen as juvenile: its small size (7.28 cm carapace length); lateral carapacial fontanelles; enlarged vertebral scutes; a radial striation pattern covering the entire carapace; and the grade of ossification of preserved skull and limb elements. A clear aquatic adaptation of the individual is the elongated manus, a feature that is indepen- dent of ontogenetic age. The elongated manus may indicate a marine lifestyle and the individual possibly inhabited near- shore to offshore areas around the former Jurassic islands, which today form the Saxony Basin. The ossification pattern of the carapace of this eucryptodire turtle resembles that of known Jurassic paracryptodires and thus provides new insights to the ontogeny of Jurassic turtles.

A combination of topological rules and quantum chemical calculations has facilitated the development of a rational metal-organic framework (MOF) synthetic strategy using the tritopic benzene-1,3,5-tribenzoate (btb) linker and a neutral cross-linker 4,4'-bipyridine (bipy). A series of new compounds, namely [M(2)(bipy)](3)(btb)(4) (DUT-23(M), M = Zn, Co, Cu, Ni), [Cu(2)(bisqui)(0.5)](3)(btb)(4) (DUT-24, bisqui = diethyl (R,S)-4,4'-biquinoline-3,3'-dicarboxylate), [Cu(2)(py)(1.5)(H(2)O)(0.5)](3)(btb)(4) (DUT-33, py = pyridine), and [Cu(2)(H(2)O)(2)](3)(btb)(4) (DUT-34), with high specific surface areas and pore volumes (up to 2.03 m(3) g(-1) for DUT-23(Co)) were synthesized. For DUT-23(Co), excess storage capacities were determined for methane (268 mg g(-1) at 100 bar and 298 K), hydrogen (74 mg g(-1) at 40 bar and 77 K), and n-butane (99 mg g(-1) at 293 K). DUT-34 is a non-cross-linked version of DUT-23 (non-interpenetrated pendant to MOF-14) that possesses open metal sites and can therefore be used as a catalyst. The accessibility of the pores in DUT-34 to potential substrate molecules was proven by liquid phase adsorption. By exchanging the N,N donor 4,4'-bipyridine with a substituted racemic biquinoline, DUT-24 was obtained. This opens a route to the synthesis of a chiral compound, which could be interesting for enantioselective separation.

Keywords: Metal–organic frameworks / Carboxylate ligands / Physisorption / Gas separation / Topology The combination of a tetradentate ligand, N,N,N,N-benzidinetetrabenzoate (BenzTB), with paddle-wheel SBUs based on Zn, Co or Cu has led to a series of new metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with different structural motifs, depending on the additional acid present and the reaction temperature. Isomorphous compounds M2(H2O)2(BenzTB) [DUT10(M), M = Zn, Cu, Co] crystallize in the Imma space group

The quest for advanced designer adsorbents for air filtration and monitoring hazardous trace gases has recently been more and more driven by the need to ensure clean air in indoor, outdoor, and industrial environments. How to increase safety with regard to personal protection in the event of hazardous gas exposure is a critical question for an ever-growing population spending most of their lifetime indoors, but is also crucial for the chemical industry in order to protect future generations of employees from potential hazards. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are already quite advanced and promising in terms of capacity and specific affinity to overcome limitations of current adsorbent materials for trace and toxic gas adsorption. Due to their advantageous features (e.g., high specific surface area, catalytic activity, tailorable pore sizes, structural diversity, and range of chemical and physical properties), MOFs offer a high potential as adsorbents for air filtration and monitoring of hazardous trace gases. Three advanced topics are considered here, in applying MOFs for selective adsorption: (i) toxic gas adsorption toward filtration for respiratory protection as well as indoor and cabin air, (ii) enrichment of hazardous gases using MOFs, and (iii) MOFs as sensors for toxic trace gases and explosives.

Tracing the footsteps of giants: How the bodies of 50-ton prehistoric dinosaurs worked and the evolutionary steps that led to this gigantic size

Giganten auf der Spur: Wie der Organismus der 50 Tonnen schweren Riesensaurier funktionierte und wie sich ihre imposante Korpergrose entwickeln konnte

The aim of this study is to assess the convenience of exploring longterm synergistic effects when multiple AD therapeutics of different mechanisms, fundamental and symptomatic, are combined. Methods: As a symptomatic drug, we selected donepezil, which have significant clinical benefits by activating undamaged cholinergic systems. From our previous study, as a fundamental drug, we prepared a small molecule KMSB600 that disassembles neurotoxic Ab aggregates back to inert Ab monomers and reverses the behavioral deficits in 2xTG-AD mice (APP/ PS1). During the oral co-administration, we performed Y-maze tasks every week for 4 months and performed fear conditioning tasks after the last trial of Y-maze. Ab plaques were visualized by thioflavin-S staining. Results: Co-administration of donepezil and KMSB600 significantly improved the deficits in the both behavior tests and histology study, compared to individual administration of donepezil or KMSB600 at the same dosages. Conclusions: Here, we report that co-administration of donepezil and KMSB600 significantly enhanced cognitive deficits in aged-AD mice in a complementary manner. Our findings imply that the cure of AD may require cocktail therapy of multiple drugs with different modes of action: cholinergic system improvement and amyloidogenic pathology reduction.