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Genetic heterogeneity in ovarian cancer indicates the need for personalised treatment approaches. Currently, very few G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been investigated for active targeting with nanomedicines such as antibody-conjugated drugs and drug-loaded nanoparticles, highlighting a neglected potential to develop personalised treatment. To address the genetic heterogeneity of ovarian cancer, a future personalised approach could include the identification of unique GPCRs expressed in cancer biopsies, matched with personalised GPCR-targeted nanomedicines, for the delivery of lethal drugs to tumour tissue before, during and after surgery. Here we report on the systematic analysis of public ribonucleic acid-sequencing (RNA-seq) gene expression data, which led to prioritisation of 13 GPCRs as candidates with frequent overexpression in ovarian cancer tissues. Subsequently, primary ovarian cancer cells derived from ascites and ovarian cancer cell lines were used to confirm frequent gene expression for the selected GPCRs. However, the expression levels showed high variability within our selection of samples, therefore, supporting and emphasising the need for the future development of case-to-case personalised targeting approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predation by invasive mammalian species is one of the key drivers of native species' population declines and extinctions. Current management of invasive species focuses on their removal from the landscape. However, total removal can be difficult, costly and even impossible. If eradication is not achieved, reductions in predator numbers are often temporary. New tactics are needed to target predators in situ, to reduce their negative impacts. We test the efficacy of conditioned taste aversion (CTA), a tactic that could reduce the impact of predation on target prey species. By associating nausea with a specific food source, it may be possible to condition an aversion to a target bait, and ultimately to live animals in the wild. To assess if wild invasive red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) can be conditioned to avoid a specific food source, we used baits (fried deboned chicken) containing encapsulated levamisole, an anthelmintic agent known to induce nausea leading to emesis and/or diarrhea at high dosages with no long‐term side effects. We buried baits at 30 stations across an open landscape. After treatment, reductions in control baits taken (at least 30%) were observed for 68 days, indicating the use of CTA had successfully reduced bait consumption by red foxes in a wild context. To our knowledge, this study represents the first successful test of CTA to a meat bait in a wild red fox population. Our results suggest that CTA shows promise as a tool to reduce the predation of vulnerable animals providing an alternative tactic to manage the impacts of invasive mammalian predators where eradication is currently impossible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with ratiometric sensing properties are desirable for many applications due to their intrinsic self-calibration. We report the re-assessment of the sensing properties of a MOF, originally reported as containing europium(III) and 2-hydroxyterephtalic acid, and having fluorescent ratiometric iron(III) sensing properties. Synchrotron single-crystal X-ray diffraction and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy revealed that the MOF is composed of 2-methoxyterephthalate, not 2-hydroxyterephthalate as originally reported. We found that the MOF exhibits a sensor turn-off response towards Fe3+ ion concentrations in the range 0.5–3.7 ppm (band 425 nm), and a turn-on response towards a decrease of pH from 5.4 to 3.0 (band 375 nm), both resulting from the addition of acidic Fe3+ salt solution to a MOF suspension. Thus, the ratiometric sensing properties and the originally proposed mechanism no longer apply; our work reveals a dynamic quenching mechanism for the fluorescence turn-off response due to the presence of Fe3+ ions, and a ligand protonation mechanism for the turn-on response to a decrease in pH. Our work highlights the importance of a thorough investigation of the structure of any newly synthesized MOF, and, in the case of potential sensors, their selectivity and any environmental effects on their sensing behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]