Zinkacrylat und andere feste Monomere als Vernetzungsmittel für ungesättigte Polyester

The peroxide-initiated copolymerisation of an unsaturated polyester with zinc acrylate, diallyl phthalate prepolymer and a solid vinyl ester resin was investigated. The curing was followed by means of gelation curves and differential scanning calorimetry. The studies showed that zinc acrylate has the highest reactivity.     

Preliminary comparison of behavioral and biochemical effects of chronic transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroconvulsive shock in the rat

To confirm the assumption that repetitive rapid-rate transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) induces the functional and structural changes analogous to those which are evoked during electroconvulsive shock (ECS), we compared now the effects of treatments with TMS and ECS on the behavioral responses in rats. We also tested the reactivity of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP) generating system in cerebral cortical slices. TMS similarly to ECS shortened the immobility time in the forced swimming test and produced a depression of responsiveness of the noradrenaline-stimulated cyclic AMP generating system, although the significance of the latter effect was borderline. In contrast to ECT, TMS produced no such immediate behavioral effects as analgesia and depression of the early phase of locomotor activity. The data suggest that TMS produces in rats some responses that are regarded as predictive for antidepressant activity, similar to those produced by ECS, but less adverse effects.     

Synthesis of Novel Phosphonic‐Type Activity‐Based Probes for Neutrophil Serine Proteases and Their Application in Spleen Lysates of Different Organisms

Neutrophils are a type of granulocyte important in the “first line of defense” of the innate immune system. Upon activation, they facilitate the destruction of invading microorganisms by the production of superoxide radicals, as well as the release of the enzymatic contents of their lysozymes. These enzymes include specific serine proteases: cathepsin G, neutrophil elastase, proteinase 3, as well as the recently discovered neutrophil serine protease 4 (NSP4). Under normal conditions, the proteolytic activity of neutrophil proteases is tightly regulated by endogenous serpins; however, this mechanism can be subverted during tissue stress, thereby resulting in the uncontrolled activity of serine proteases, which induce chronic inflammation and subsequent pathology. Herein, we describe the development of low‐molecular‐weight activity‐based probes that specifically target the active sites of neutrophil proteases.     

Optimum deposition conditions of ultrasmooth silver nanolayers

Reduction of surface plasmon-polariton losses due to their scattering on metal surface roughness still remains a challenge in the fabrication of plasmonic devices for nanooptics. To achieve smooth silver films, we study the dependence of surface roughness on the evaporation temperature in a physical vapor deposition process. At the deposition temperature range 90 to 500 K, the mismatch of thermal expansion coefficients of Ag, Ge wetting layer, and sapphire substrate does not deteriorate the metal surface. To avoid ice crystal formation on substrates, the working temperature of the whole physical vapor deposition process should exceed that of the sublimation at the evaporation pressure range. At optimum room temperature, the root-mean-square (RMS) surface roughness was successfully reduced to 0.2 nm for a 10-nm Ag layer on sapphire substrate with a 1-nm germanium wetting interlayer. Silver layers of 10- and 30-nm thickness were examined using an atomic force microscope (AFM), X-ray reflectometry (XRR), and two-dimensional X-ray diffraction (XRD2).

PACS

63.22.Np Layered systems; 68. Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and nanosystems (structure and nonelectronic properties); 81.07.-b Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization     

Response of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) to stress induced by different types of pollutants – testing the fluctuating asymmetry

Damage caused to pine forests by industrial pollution is observed even several decades after emissions have stopped down. A simple morphological feature – the leaf fluctuating asymmetry – was used for assessing the condition of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) stands growing in a heavily degraded area. In 2011, a study was performed on the developmental instability of needles in four naturally reforested Polish populations of P. sylvestris. Studies were conducted within the protective zone at a zinc smelter, a copper smelter, a cement plant and train tracks. All selected areas manifested a high extent of anthropogenic pollution‐induced environmental degradation until the end of the 90s. Currently, a reduced level of environmental pollution is recorded at these sites. Control group was a natural population of Scots pine from the region of National Park of Wielkopolska. The results confirm the usefulness of fluctuating asymmetry as a highly sensitive indicator of non‐specific stress. Also, it was shown that in areas degraded by human activity, poor condition of Scots pine persists that the stress factor has been eliminated. This tendency occurs particularly to areas contaminated by heavy metals.     

Changes in the contents of mono-, di- and oligosaccharides in leek plants stored in cold room

The aim of this work is to present the results of the analysis of composition of mono-, di- and oligosaccharides, including the content of fructooligosaccharides as well as rafinose, stachyose in pseudo stalk of leek plants of the following cultivars: Shelton F1, Belton F1 and Parton F1. Leek plants were stored in cold room at the temperature 0 °C and relative humidity around 98% in the period from December to May. Fructose, glucose, saccharose, fructooligosaccharides (FOS) as well as α-galactosides were determined with the HPLC method with the application of water-alcohol extracts. It was shown that some of the studied parameters have changed during storage, i.e., the glucose content increased from 4.4 ± 0.3 to 16.2 ± 1.6, fructose from 4.7 ± 0.2 to 23.8 ± 0.4, saccharose from 5.1 ± 0.7 to 18.7 ± 0.1, depending on the cultivar and the storage period. The largest increase in the content of fructose and glucose took place between 60th and 90th day of storage which testifies to intensive hydrolysis of fructans. Leek cv. Parton F1 was characterised by the largest content of fructans and the lowest susceptibility to hydrolysis. The amount of kestose, nystose and rafinose after the period of storage changed from 0.3 ± 0.0 to 0.9 ± 0.2, 0.5 ± 0.1 to 1.8 ± 0.1, 0.8 ± 0.1 to 1.8 ± 0.2 g/100 g of dry mass, respectively. The content of stachyose, in turn, remained at a constant level and amounts to around 0.5 g/100 g of dry mass. Leek plants kept in typical refrigeration conditions are characterised by good durability and constitute a valuable merchandise. However, due to ongoing hydrolysis processes, the content of prebiotic substances decreased what lowered the health-promoting value.     

metaXCMS: second-order analysis of untargeted metabolomics data

Mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomics often results in the observation of hundreds to thousands of features that are differentially regulated between sample classes. A major challenge in interpreting the data is distinguishing metabolites that are causally associated with the phenotype of interest from those that are unrelated but altered in downstream pathways as an effect. To facilitate this distinction, here we describe new software called metaXCMS for performing second-order ("meta") analysis of untargeted metabolomics data from multiple sample groups representing different models of the same phenotype. While the original version of XCMS was designed for the direct comparison of two sample groups, metaXCMS enables meta-analysis of an unlimited number of sample classes to facilitate prioritization of the data and increase the probability of identifying metabolites causally related to the phenotype of interest. metaXCMS is used to import XCMS results that are subsequently filtered, realigned, and ultimately compared to identify shared metabolites that are up- or down-regulated across all sample groups. We demonstrate the software's utility by identifying histamine as a metabolite that is commonly altered in three different models of pain. metaXCMS is freely available at http://metlin.scripps.edu/metaxcms/.