MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNAs originally involved in RNA silencing and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. We have shown in previous work that the miRNA let-7b can act as a signalling molecule for Toll-like receptor 7, thereby initiating innate immune pathways and apoptosis in the central nervous system. Here, we investigated whether different members of the miRNA family let-7, abundantly expressed in the brain, are released into the human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and whether quantitative differences in let-7 copies exist in neurodegenerative diseases. RNA isolated from CSF of patients with Alzheimer´s disease (AD) and from control patients with frontotemporal lobe dementia (FTLD), major depressive episode (MDE) without clinical or neurobiological signs of AD, and healthy individuals, was reverse transcribed with primers against nine let-7 family members, and miRNAs were quantified and analyzed comparatively by quantitative PCR. let-7 miRNAs were present in CSF from patients with AD, FTLD, MDE, and healthy controls. However, the amount of individual let-7 miRNAs in the CSF varied substantially. CSF from AD patients contained higher amounts of let-7b and let-7e compared to healthy controls, while no differences were observed regarding the other let-7 miRNAs. No increase in let-7b and let-7e was detected in CSF from FTLD patients, while in CSF from MDE patients, let-7b and let-7e copy levels were elevated. In CSF from AD patients, let-7b and let-7e were associated with extracellular vesicles. let-7 family members present in the CSF mediated neurotoxicity in vitro, albeit to a variable extent. Taken together, neurotoxic let-7 miRNAs are differentially and specifically released in AD, but also in MDE patients. Thus, these miRNAs may mirror common neuropathological paths and by this serve to unscramble mechanisms of different neurodegenerative diseases.

SUMMARYThermally driven adsorption refrigerators, which transform available low-temperature waste heat (from processes, engines, solar radiation, district heat) into useful cooling energy, are a very promising and green technology to reduce the demand for primary energy. To improve their refrigeration performance, new zeolite/aluminum composite adsorbents with optimized sorption and heat transfer properties were prepared following the partial support transformation technique. A direct and binderless contact between the closed zeolite layer and the metal could be established which enables best thermal diffusivity. It is shown by measurements of thermal sorption capacities and kinetics on planar samples and on coated heat exchangers that this causes best sorption performance combined with high mechanical stability.

Background: Dermatoscopy (dermoscopy, epiluminescence microscopy) is used for the early detection of malignant tumors and avoidance of unnecessary excisions of benign skin tumors. Objective: Description of the dermatoscopic pattern of clear-cell acanthoma. Methods: Video dermatoscopy at 20-fold magnification of a clear-cell acanthoma and psoriasis vulgaris. Results: Homogeneous, symmetrically or bunch-like arranged, pinpoint-like capillaries were seen in the clear-cell acanthoma and in psoriasis vulgaris. Conclusion: The dermatoscopic psoriasis-like pattern of clear-cell acanthoma is a diagnostic clue which may help the clinician to identify this benign epidermal tumor and to differentiate it from other benign and malignant tumors of the skin.

The successfuls ynthesis of hierarchically structured titaniums ilicalite-1 (TS-1) with large intracrystalline macroporesb ys team-assisted crystallisation of mesoporous silica particlesi sr eported. The macropore topologyw as imaged in 3D by using electron tomographya nd synchrotron radiation-based ptychographic X-ray computed tomography,r evealing interconnected macropores within the crystals accounting for about3 0% of the particle volume. The study of the macropore formation mechanism revealed that the mesoporous silica particles act as as acrificial macropore template during the synthesis. Silicon-to-titanium ratio of the macroporous TS-1 samples was successfully tuned from 100 to 44. The hierarchically structured TS-1 exhibited high activity in the liquid phase epoxidation of 2-octene with hydrogen peroxide.T he hierarchically structured TS-1 surpassed ac onventional nano-sized TS-1 sample in terms of alkene conversion and showed comparable selectivity to the epoxide. The flexible synthesis route described herec an be used to prepare hierarchical zeolites with improved mass transport properties for other selective oxidation reactions.

Understanding the details of the local transport processes in fixed-bed reactors is an essential prerequisite for the performance of reliable predictive simulations. The required local information cannot be provided by the classical pseudo-homogeneous modeling approaches, thus more advanced numerical methods are necessary. Such a detailed simulation is a challenging task, comprising various aspects to be considered at the different stages of the simulation procedure. Despite the continuous growth of computing power and further development of appropriate mathematical methods, it is today still not possible to perform a three-dimensional (3D) simulation of an industrial-scale fixed-bed reactor under realistic conditions. The aim of the present study therefore is to present a clear and comprehensive approach that can serve as a logical strategy for the detailed numerical simulation of the fluid flow and mass transport in fixed-beds. The concept is exemplarily applied to a structured simple cubic- and a random packing and includes the generation of the packing geometry, the simulation of the isothermal fluid flow and the mass transport, respectively. Each of these three simulation steps is discussed separately, emphasizing the modular character of this concept that allows for a combination adapted to the needs of the particular modeling problem. In addition, it is discussed how classical modeling approaches could benefit from these “numerical experiments” by e.g., deriving more reliable correlations.

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Hierarchical MFI zeolites with differently sized macropores were synthesised and a correlation between the macropore diameter and catalyst lifetime was found.

We created SynSysNet, available online at http://bioinformatics.charite.de/synsysnet, to provide a platform that creates a comprehensive 4D network of synaptic interactions. Neuronal synapses are fundamental structures linking nerve cells in the brain and they are responsible for neuronal communication and information processing. These processes are dynamically regulated by a network of proteins. New developments in interaction proteomics and yeast two-hybrid methods allow unbiased detection of interactors. The consolidation of data from different resources and methods is important to understand the relation to human behaviour and disease and to identify new therapeutic approaches. To this end, we established SynSysNet from a set of ∼1000 synapse specific proteins, their structures and small-molecule interactions. For two-thirds of these, 3D structures are provided (from Protein Data Bank and homology modelling). Drug-target interactions for 750 approved drugs and 50 000 compounds, as well as 5000 experimentally validated protein–protein interactions, are included. The resulting interaction network and user-selected parts can be viewed interactively and exported in XGMML. Approximately 200 involved pathways can be explored regarding drug-target interactions. Homology-modelled structures are downloadable in Protein Data Bank format, and drugs are available as MOL-files. Protein–protein interactions and drug-target interactions can be viewed as networks; corresponding PubMed IDs or sources are given.