Structure and stability of a clathrate of bis(dibenzoylmethanato)-dipyridine-nickel(II) with acetone (1:2)

An inclusion compound of constant composition [Ni(DBM)₂Py₂]·2(CH₃COCH₃) is synthesized, Ni = Ni(II), DBM is dibenzoylmethanate-anion (C₆H₅CO)₂CH^?, Py is pyridine. The compound and its dissociation products are examined by structural and thermal analysis, as well as vapor pressure measurements. The crystal structure of the clathrate is solved in the monoclinic space group P2₁/n (temperature 173 K, a = 11.8617(9) Å, b = 10.0096(6) Å, c = 17.2895(9) Å, β = 96.72(1)°, V = 2038.7(2) ų, Z = 2, final R ₁ = 0.032). The host molecule [Ni(DBM)₂Py₂] is an uncharged octahedral complex, the central Ni(II) atom being surrounded by two DBM-anions in the equatorial plane and two terminal pyridines in the axial positions. Pairs of guest molecules are located in the voids of the molecular crystal. Calculated packing coefficients of the clathrate and the stable form of the host complex are 0.685(2) and 0.668(1) at 173 K, respectively. Isochoric melting of the clathrate has incongruent nature and occurs at 58–60°C to yield the solid phase of the host complex, while in air the complex decomposes in gaseous acetone and a metastable form of the host (apohost). The collapse of the metastable form of [Ni(DBM)₂Py₂] to the stable one takes place at 131°C with the release of 11 kJ/mol. The equilibrium vapor pressure of acetone over the clathrate is measured with the spoon gauge technique in a temperature interval from 292 K to 310 K (at 298 K the pressure is 0.48P ₀, P ₀ is the saturated vapor pressure of liquid acetone at this temperature). The experimental dependence logP ? 1/T is used to derive thermodynamic parameters of the process of clathrate dissociation 1/2[Ni(DBM)₂Py₂]· 2(CH₃COCH₃)(s) = 1/2[Ni(DBM)₂Py₂](s) + CH₃COCH₃(gas): ΔH _av ⁰ = 53±3 kJ/mol, ΔS _av ⁰ = 160±10 J/(mol·K), ΔG ₂₉₈ ⁰ = 4.74±0.07 kJ/mol.     

Unequal crossover recombination - population screening for PHOX2B gene polyalanine polymorphism using CE

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) is a rare neurological disorder characterized by abnormal autonomic central nervous system control of breathing during sleep. Mutations in the paired-like homeobox 2B (PHOX2B) gene, including point mutation, frameshift, and polyalanine expansion, are associated with the pathogenesis of CCHS. In this study, PHOX2B mutations were analyzed in seven CCHS patients, their family members, and 1520 healthy individuals from the general population using CE to provide high sensitivity and resolution screening for the PHOX2B polyalanine polymorphism. Seven mutations in the PHOX2B gene, including two frameshift mutations and five polyalanine expansions in the 20-residue polyalanine tract, were identified. The various phenotypes observed in CCHS patients with PHOX2B mutations suggest that the size of the expansion allele is associated with the CCHS risk. In addition, significant differences were found in allele and genotype distributions between the healthy individuals. Alleles (GCN)(20) and (GCN)(15) had the highest population incidence rates of 94.84 and 4.51%, respectively, with the remaining alleles, (GCN)(13) and (GCN)(7), accounting for 0.59 and 0.06%, respectively. Therefore, it has been demonstrated that CE can be used to improve the detection of polyalanine expansions in the PHOX2B gene. The attractive alternative method is a promising tool for the detection of disorders involving trinucleotide repeat tracts.     

IRAP: An efficient retrotransposon-based electrophoretic technique for studying genetic variability among geographical isolates of Schistosoma japonicum

In the present study, a inter-retrotransposon-amplified polymorphism (IRAP) technique, based on retrotransposons, was used to examine genetic variability among Schistosoma japonicum isolates from different provinces in mainland China. Of the 15 primers screened, 5 produced highly reproducible IRAP patterns. Using these primers, 54 discernible DNA fragments were generated with 40 (74.07%) being polymorphic, indicating considerable genetic variation among the examined S. japonicum isolates. The primer LTR-11 was found to be able to differentiate male and female parasites, producing one constant specific band for female S. japonicum isolates. The percentages of polymorphic bands (PPB) among all parasites, among isolates from mountainous provinces and among those from the lake/marshland areas were 74.07, 48.15, and 66.67%, respectively. UPGMA analysis revealed that the IRAP profiles could group S. japonicum isolates in mainland China into two clades (mountainous and lake/marshland types), and samples from the same geographical origins clustered together. These results demonstrated that the IRAP technique is suitable for studying genetic diversity and population structures, and also provides an effective technique for studying sex differentiation of S. japonicum.