The Challenge of Quantification: An Interdisciplinary Reading.

The present work looks at what we call "the multiverse of quantification", where visible and invisible numbers permeate all aspects and venues of life. We review the contributions of different authors who focus on the roles of quantification in society, with the aim of capturing different and sometimes separate voices. Several scholars, including economists, jurists, philosophers, sociologists, communication and data scientists, express concerns or identify critical areas of our relationship with new technologies of 'numericization'. While mindful of the important specificities of the different families of quantification, we use our broad and holistic canvas to explore possible spaces for a more systematic investigation of incumbent and novel quantifications, as to increase communication among disciplinary communities, and among these and society, in the pursuit a democratic agency and self-defence.

Synthesis, Characterization, and In Vitro Cancer Cell Growth Inhibition Evaluation of Novel Phosphatidylcholines with Anisic and Veratric Acids.

Phenolic acids and its methoxy derivatives are known to induce caspase-mediated apoptosis activity and exhibit cytotoxic effect towards various cancer cell lines. However, their low stability and poor bioavailability in the human organism extensively restrict the utility of this group of compounds as anticancer and health-promoting agents. In this report, a series of eight novel phosphatidylcholines (3a-b, 5a-b, 7a-b, 8a-b) containing anisic or veratric acids (1a-b) at sn-1 and/or sn-2 positions were synthesized. The phenoylated phospholipids were obtained in good yields 28⁻66%. The structures of novel compounds were determined by their spectroscopic data. All synthesized compounds were evaluated for their antiproliferative activity towards six cancer cell lines and normal cell line Balb/3T3. Lipophilization of phenolcarboxylic acids significantly increased their anticancer properties. The asymmetrically substituted phenoylated phosphatidylcholines exhibited higher antiproliferative effect than free acids. Lysophosphatidylcholine (7b) effectively inhibited the proliferation of human leukaemia (MV4-11), breast (MCF-7), and colon (LoVo) cancer cell lines at concentrations of 9.5⁻20.7 µm and was from 19 to 38-fold more active than corresponding free veratric acid. The conjugation of anisic/veratric acids with the phosphatidylcholine have proved the anticancer potential of these phenolcarboxylic acids and showed that this type of lipophilization is an effective method for the production of active biomolecules.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of phosphatidylcholines with cinnamic and 3-methoxycinnamic acids with potent antiproliferative activity.

A series of eight novel phosphatidylcholines containing cinnamic or 3-methoxycinnamic acids (3a-b, 5a-b, 9a-b, 10a-b) at sn-1 and/or sn-2 positions were synthesized and tested for their antiproliferative activity in an in vitro model against representative six human cancer cell lines (MV4-11, A549, MCF-7, LoVo, LoVo/DX, HepG2) and a normal cell line BALB/3T3. The structures of the new compounds were confirmed by spectral analysis. Biological evaluation revealed that all the tested conjugates exhibited higher antitumor activity than the corresponding free aromatic acids. Compounds 3b and 9b turned out to be the most active, with IC50 values of 32.1 and 30.5 µM against the LoVo/DX and MV4-11 cell lines, respectively. Studies of the mechanism of the antitumor action were carried out for 1-palmitoyl-2-cinnamoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (5a), and it was shown to be active toward almost all the tested types of cancer cells, showing that this compound could effectively arrest the cell cycle in G2/M and decrease the mitochondrial membrane potential of leukemia MV4-11 cells. The obtained results proved that the strategy of the incorporation of cinnamic and 3-methoxycinnamic acids into phospholipids could expand their potential application in industry, as well as could improve their antiproliferative activity and selectivity toward cancer cell lines.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Phosphatidylcholine Analogues Containing Monoterpene Acids as Potent Antiproliferative Agents.

The synthesis of novel phosphatidylcholines with geranic and citronellic acids in sn-1 and sn-2 positions is described. The structured phospholipids were obtained in high yields (59-87%) and evaluated in vitro for their cytotoxic activity against several cancer cell lines of different origin: MV4-11, A-549, MCF-7, LOVO, LOVO/DX, HepG2 and also towards non-cancer cell line BALB/3T3 (normal mice fibroblasts). The phosphatidylcholines modified with monoterpene acid showed a significantly higher antiproliferative activity than free monoterpene acids. The highest activity was observed for the terpene-phospholipids containing the isoprenoid acids in sn-1 position of phosphatidylcholine and palmitic acid in sn-2.