Pectic Galactan Polysaccharide-Based Gene Delivery System for Targeting Neuroinflammation

Treating neuroinflammation-related injuries and disorders through manipulation of neuroinflammation functions is being heralded as a new therapeutic strategy. In this study, a novel pectic galactan (PG) polysaccharide based gene therapy approach is developed for targeting reactive gliosis in neuroinflammation. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a cell protein with a high affinity to β-galactoside sugars and is highly expressed in reactive gliosis. Since PG carries galactans, it can target reactive gliosis via specific carbohydrate interaction between galactan and Gal-3 on the cell membrane, and therefore can be utilized as a carrier for delivering genes to these cells. The carrier is synthesized by modifying quaternary ammonium groups on the PG. The resulting quaternized PG (QPG) is found to form complexes with plasmid DNA with a mean diameter of 100 nm and have the characteristics required for targeted gene therapy. The complexes efficiently condense large amounts of plasmid per particle and successfully bind to Gal-3. The in vivo study shows that the complexes are biocompatible and safe for administration and can selectively transfect reactive glial cells of an induced cortical lesion. The results confirm that this PG-based delivery system is a promising platform for targeting Gal-3 overexpressing neuroinflammation cells for treating neuroinflammation-related injuries and neurodegenerative diseases.     

Lipid and fatty acyl composition of rat brain capillary endothelia isolated by a new technique

A method is described for the isolation of pure capillary endothelia from rat brain and the phospholipid composition of these cells is reported. This method is rapid and requires only a small amount of starting material. It involves: (a) tissue disruption by high speed homogenization, (b) separation of the capillary endothelia from other brain structures using sucrose gradients, and (c) a final purification using a glass bead column. Choline and ethanolamine phosphoglycerides were found to be the predominant lipid classes of these cells amounting to 31.9% and 24.4%, respectively, of total phospholipids. The choline phosphoglycerides consisted almost exclusively of 1,2-diacyl glycerophosphorylcholine, whereas the ethanolamine phosphoglycerides consisted of approximately equal amounts of 1,2-diacyl and 1-alk-l’-enyl-2-acyl glycerophosphorylethanolamine. The composition of the constituent fatty acids of both choline and ethanolamine phosphoglycerides and the alk-1-enyl composition of ethanolamine phosphoglycerides is reported. Saturated fatty acids accounted for 45% of the total fatty acids in choline phosphoglycerides and for 53% in ethanolamine phosphoglycerides. Arachidonic acid accounted for approximately 48% of the total fatty acids in alk-1-enyl ethanolamine phosphoglyceride.     

AutoRELAX: automatically RELAXing a goal model to address uncertainty

Dynamically adaptive systems (DAS) must cope with system and environmental conditions that may not have been fully understood or anticipated during development. RELAX is a fuzzy logic-based specification language for identifying and assessing sources of environmental uncertainty, thereby making DAS requirements more tolerant of unanticipated conditions. This paper presents AutoRELAX, an approach that automatically generates RELAXed goal models to address environmental uncertainty. Specifically, AutoRELAX identifies goals to RELAX, which RELAX operators to apply, and the shape of the fuzzy logic function that establishes the goal satisfaction criteria. AutoRELAX generates different solutions by making tradeoffs between minimizing the number of RELAXed goals and maximizing delivered functionality by reducing the number of adaptations triggered by minor and adverse environmental conditions. In a recent extension, AutoRELAX uses a stepwise adaptation of weights to balance these two competing concerns and thereby further improve the utility of AutoRELAX. We apply it to two industry-based applications involving network management and a robotic controller, respectively.     

Organizational impact of system quality,information quality,and service quality

Increased organizational dependence on information systems drives management attention towards improving information systems’ quality. A recent survey shows that “Improve IT quality” is one of the top concerns facing IT executives. As IT quality is a multidimensional measure, it is important to determine what aspects of IT quality are critical to organizations to help Chief Information Officers (CIOs) to devise effective IT quality improvement strategies. In this research, we model the relationship between information systems’ (IS) quality and organizational impact. We hypothesize greater organizational impact in situations in which system quality, information quality and service quality are high. We also hypothesize a positive relationship between system quality and information quality. We test our hypotheses using survey data. Our structural equation model exhibits a good fit with the observed data. Our results show that IS service quality is the most influential variable in this model (followed by information quality and system quality), thus highlighting the importance of IS service quality for organizational performance. This paper contributes theoretically to IS success models through the system quality-to-information quality and IS quality-to-organizational impact links. Implications of our results for practice and research are discussed.     

Academic effectiveness of podcasting: A comparative study of integrated versus supplemental use of podcasting in second language classes

With podcasting gaining more mainstream adoption in higher education, it’s critical to examine its effectiveness in improving the student learning experience. To this end, this paper examines the effectiveness of podcasts integrated into the curriculum (PIC) versus podcasts as supplemental material (PSM). Considering recent empirical work on the effectiveness of podcasting, this study collected data from students enrolled in lower level and upper level language courses. Results revealed an inconclusive relationship among PIC students’ learning outcomes (as measured by their final grades). In contrast, however, our findings indicate a strong relationship between the use of PSM and students’ final grades, particularly in upper level courses.     

Thermal,hydrolytic, anticorrosive,and tribological properties of alkyd‐silicone hyperbranched resins with high solid content

Novel alkyd hyperbranched resins (AHBRs) modified with a Z‐6018 silicone (a polysiloxane intermediate) and with high solid content were synthesized by etherification reaction using an acid catalyst. Different molar ratios of AHBR to silicone were used. Structural, thermal, hydrolytic, anticorrosive, and tribological properties were studied using infrared (IR) analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), vapor pressure osmometry (VPO), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), acid value, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and pin‐on‐disk friction. IR and NMR provide evidence of grafting of the silicone on AHBR; the efficiency of grafting was quantified by TGA. Thermal stability was studied also by acid value analysis. Grafting increases the number average molecular mass, enhances thermal stability, and improves significantly hydrolytic stability. Corrosion resistance on steel is improved by two orders of magnitude, hence our modified materials can be used as highly effective anticorrosion coatings. Grafting lowers dynamic friction dramatically, more so at higher concentrations of silicone. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Evaluating Global Barriers to the Use of Red Palm Oil as an Intervention Food to Prevent Vitamin A Deficiency

Abstract: Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is an important cause of blindness and premature death. Red palm oil (RPO) is the richest food source of VA‐forming carotenoids. RPO carotenoid concentration and bioavailability were evaluated and this data used to estimate the amount of RPO needed to meet VA requirements. Amounts ranged from 6.7 to 29.2 g/d (1.5 to 6.5 tsp/d), which are easily consumed. The amount of RPO needed to supply recommended dietary intakes of VA for all 208100000 individuals most in danger for VAD worldwide for 1 y is 0.80 million metric tons, a fraction of annual world palm oil production. Despite its abundance, RPO has seldom been used for VAD prevention on a national level. Pareto charts were constructed to highlight the variables that influence the ability of RPO to prevent VAD on the national level. The most important variable by far was refining method. Most refining methods are designed to remove color and flavor from RPO, resulting in a bland product that lacks carotenoids. Thus, the important barriers to the use of RPO as a food‐based intervention to prevent VAD appear to be that: (1) RPO requires refining, limiting its profitability and availability for small farmers. (2) The goal of most refining methods is to create a low‐cost bland, odorless, and colorless fat which requires removal of carotenoids. (3) Cost, since RPO use competes with high‐dose VA supplements, which are heavily subsidized. It appears that RPO could prevent VAD in many food‐deficit countries if carotenoids were conserved during oil refining, and costs were low enough to make it an attractive alternative to nutritional supplements.     

Anthocyanin composition in aged Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon red wines

Anthocyanins in aged Cabernet Sauvignon red wines were studied by HPLC–MS. The major anthocyanin in 6, 7, and 8 year old red wine extracts was the dimer vitisin A produced by condensation of malvidin-3-O-glucoside mediated by pyruvic acid. In aged wine, the content of malvidin-3-O-glucoside decreased with age with a concomitant increase of vitisin A. The latter is accompanied by several condensation products with molecular weight up to 1500 m/z. Differential pulse voltammetry indicated that aged wines have lower antioxidant capacity than young wine (400 mV), but higher than malvidin-3-O-glucoside (483 mV). Tafel’s plots showed that the electrochemical process occurring in aged wines is different from young wines. Six, seven and eight year old wines show similar behaviour with plots of 234, 177 and 188 mV/dec, respectively. These values are higher than the expected 120 mV/dec corresponding to a first electronic transfer but smaller compared to the 523 mV/dec corresponding to young wine.