High oleic acid oil suppresses lung tumorigenesis in mice through the modulation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase cascade

This study was undertaken to estimate the effect of dietary high oleic acid oil (OA) on 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK)-induced lung tumorigenesis in mice. Diet containing 10% oil was fed to mice through experimental periods. On day 30 after NNK injection (100 mg/kg body weight, i.p.), the treatment increased the level of prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) as well as proliferating cell nuclear antigen, a marker of cell proliferation in a high linoleic acid oil (LA)-fed group but not in an OA-fed group. The NNK treatment also induced the activation of an extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) cascade (Erk, Mek and Raf-1) in an LA-fed group. On the other hand, OA feeding abolished the NNK-induced activation of the Erk cascade. In conjugation with these events, OA feeding reduced lung tumor incidence and tumor multiplicity (percentage of mice with tumors) in mice compared with LA feeding at the 20th experimental week. These results suggest that OA suppresses lung tumorigenesis and that this suppression is correlated with the inhibition of PGE₂ production and inactivation of the Erk cascade.     

Syndiotactic‐specific radical polymerization of N‐isopropylacrylamide in toluene at low temperatures in the presence of silyl alcohols

The radical polymerization of N‐isopropylacrylamide was carried out in toluene at low temperatures in the presence of silyl alcohols, such as triethylsilanol. Poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) with a racemo dyad content of 75% was obtained at ? 80 °C with a 4:1 triethylsilanol to monomer ratio loading. NMR analysis suggests that the mechanism for syndiotactic induction, in the presence of silyl alcohols, may be similar to that observed with alkyl alcohols. In this case, a 1:2 complex formation, via hydrogen bonding interactions, leads to the induction of syndiotactic specificity. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

A novel assay method for glycosphingolipid deacylase by enzyme-linked immunochemical detection of lysoglycosphingolipid

Lysoglycosphingolipids consist of a sphingoid long-chain base and monosaccharide or complex sugar, and they lack the fatty acyl group present in native glycosphingolipids. Less than 1 pmol of lyso-Forssman glycolipid and lysoganglioside GM1 were detected on a thin-layer chromatogram by an enzyme-linked immunochemical coloration method with anti-Forssman glycolipid antibody (FOM-1) and cholera toxin B subunit, respectively. Each spot between 1 and 100 pmol lyso-Forssman glycolipid was immunostained as densely as that of the same amount of native Forssman glycolipid. The density of the lyso-Forssman glycolipid spots increased proportionally with increment in the amount of lysoglycolipid. The density of spots of 0.2–100 pmol lysoganglioside GM1 was also proportional to the amount of each lyso-GM1 spot. These results indicated that less than 1 to 100 pmol of deacylated glycosphingolipid was quantifiable by the immunochemical coloration method with sugar chain-specific antibodies. Glycosphingolipid deacylase, which cleaved an amide bond between the sphingoid long-chain base and fatty acyl chain in ceramide of glycosphingolipid, was assayed by detecting the lyso-Forssman glycolipid produced. Lipophilic compounds, recovered from an aliquot of the reaction mixture of Forssman glycolipid and crude enzyme at appropriate times, were analyzed by thin-layer chromatography. It was found that lyso-Forssman glycolipid was produced in the first 1–2 h by the enzyme and production increased with incubation time. This coloration method is more sensitive and specific than the visualization method with a non-specific reagent such as orcinol-sulfuric acid reagent.     

Effect of Ultrasonic Irradiation on the Probability of Primary Nucleation of L-Arginine Hydrochloride

Most of the amino acids that are utilized as medical raw materials and food additives show polymorphism. To improve the functionality of amino acid crystals, an effective method of polymorph control is required in the crystallization process. Here, primary nucleation of L-arginine hydrochloride by ultrasonication was investigated. L-Arginine hydrochloride exhibits polymorphism, and it crystallizes into three distinct crystal forms. A cooling crystallization experiment was performed, and nucleation of each polymorph upon ultrasonication was observed. In addition, the nucleation was analyzed using the nucleation probability theory. The results indicate that ultrasonic irradiation would significantly induce the nucleation of a particular polymorph.     

Hydrostatic Pressure Influences HIF-2 Alpha Expression in Chondrocytes

Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2α is considered to play a major role in the progression of osteoarthritis. Recently, it was reported that pressure amplitude influences HIF-2α expression in murine endothelial cells. We examined whether hydrostatic pressure is involved in expression of HIF-2α in articular chondrocytes. Chondrocytes were cultured and stimulated by inflammation or hydrostatic pressure of 0, 5, 10, or 50 MPa. After stimulation, heat shock protein (HSP) 70, HIF-2α, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-13, MMP-3, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene expression were evaluated. The levels of all gene expression were increased by inflammatory stress. When chondrocytes were exposed to a hydrostatic pressure of 5 MPa, HIF-2α, MMP-13, and MMP-3 gene expression increased significantly although those of HSP70 and NF-κB were not significantly different from the control group. In contrast, HIF-2α gene expression did not increase under a hydrostatic pressure of 50 MPa although HSP70 and NF-κB expression increased significantly compared to control. We considered that hydrostatic pressure of 5 MPa could regulate HIF-2α independent of NF-κB, because the level of HIF-2α gene expression increased significantly without upregulation of NF-κB expression at 5 MPa. Hydrostatic pressure may influence cartilage degeneration, inducing MMP-13 and MMP-3 expression through HIF-2α.     

Enzymatic syntheses of N-lauroyl-β-alanine homologs in organic media

Enyzmatic amidation of the primary amines β-alanine ethyl ester and 3-aminopropionitrile with methyl laurate by means of immobilized lipase (Candida antarctica lipase, CAL) resulted in the formation in good yield of N-lauroyl-β-alanine ethyl ester and 3-(N-lauroylamino)-propionitrile, respectively. When 3-amino-propionitrile was used as substrate, diisopropyl ether was a suitable solvent. Changing the reaction temperature (12–80°C) did not affect the yields, and room temperature was a suitable temperature for this reaction. In the investigation of reaction conditions, the use of equimolar amounts (5 mmol) of substrate and ester, along with 0.5 g of CAL, in diisopropyl ether gave the best yield (99.3%) after 24 h of incubation at 24°C. The enzyme activity in the amidation reaction did not decrease even after six uses. With β-alanine ethyl ester hydrochloride as substrate, diisopropyl ether was unsuited as a solvent owing to the low solubility of the substrate in this solvent. In this reaction, the best yield (82.0%) was attained by using dioxane as solvent. CAL achieved higher extents of amide synthesis with long-chain than with short-chain ester substrates. The enzyme accepted only nonbulky primary amines as substrates.     

Preparation of bismuth nanowire encased in quartz template for Hall measurements using focused ion beam processing

ABSTRACT: Forming electrodes on opposite sides of an individual bismuth nanowire was attempted to prepare for Hall measurements. Although a 1-mm-long bismuth nanowire which is completely covered with a quartz template has been successfully fabricated to prevent oxidation, it is very difficult to attach Hall electrodes on the opposite sides of the nanowire due to the quartz covering. One side of the cylindrical quartz template was removed by polishing without exposure of the nanowire to the atmosphere; the thickness between the polished template surface and the nanowire was estimated to be several micrometers. Focused ion beam processing was successfully employed to expose both surfaces of the nanowire under high vacuum by removing part of the quartz template. A carbon thin film was then deposited in situ on the wire surface to fabricate an electrical contact on the bismuth nanowire sample. Furthermore, the energy dispersive X-ray analysis was performed to the area processed by focused ion beam, and the bismuth component of the nanowire was successfully detected. It was confirmed that the focused ion beam processing was applicable to attach electrodes to bismuth nanowire for Hall measurement.     

Combustion synthesis of AlN doped with carbon and oxygen

Carbon-and-oxygen-doped AlN specimens were prepared by combustion synthesis using Al, graphite, and AlN. Graphite addition changed the product color from white to blue. By XRD, the lattice constant increased slightly with increasing carbon content. Blue AlN powder was synthesized with a molar ratio of the diluent AlN of 0.2-0.5 with a fixed graphite content of 0.05. At an AlN molar ratio exceeding 0.6, carbon was not successfully incorporated due to the lower reaction temperature. Calcination at 800°C in air removed residual graphite without changing the crystal structure or product color. Oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon analyses revealed that blue AlN powders contained 0.45-0.54 mass% carbon and 1.4-1.6 mass% oxygen, while the undoped AlN contained 0.021 mass% carbon and 0.94 mass% oxygen. The origin of the white-to-blue color change was investigated via reflection measurements. Blue AlN exhibits an absorption peak at 634 nm (1.96 eV). From first-principles electronic structure calculations, the C-doped AlN and carbon-and-oxygen-doped AlN with a 1:1 ratio could be classified as p-type, whereas the O-doped AlN and 1:3 carbon-and-oxygen-doped AlN were n-type. One reason for the absorption peak at 634 nm may be a transition from the conduction band to an upper unoccupied state. These results suggest the possible control of optical and electronic properties of AlN via carbon-and-oxygen doping.     

Improvement of mechanical properties of ferritic stainless steel weld metal by ultrasonic vibration

Authors investigated the effect of ultrasonic vibration on the solidification microstructure and mechanical properties of the weld metal of ferritic stainless steel by introducing directly ultrasonic vibration into the weld molten pool using ultrasonically vibrating filler metal. The main results obtained in this study are as follow.