Superabsorbent polymer prepared using carboxymethyl cellulose derived from Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn. (kapok) cotton

Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) were synthesized by grafting acrylic acid and butyl acrylate onto carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) modified from Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn. (kapok) cotton, with N,N′‐methylenebisacrylamide as a crosslinker and ammonium persulphate as initiator. The effect of distilled water, saline solution, and applied pressure on superabsorbent was investigated. The product exhibited the maximum water absorbency of 554 g/g in distilled water and 96 g/g in saline solution. The SAP achieved the highest water absorbency under load of 83 g/g under applied pressure of 7.6 g/cm². The kapok cotton modified cellulose‐based SAP exhibited stronger gel strength than the SAP based on commercial CMC. This is probably due to the higher grafting efficiency (78.3%) of the former. The SAP was characterized by FTIR analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis results showed that the SAP, with AA and BA grafted onto CMC, had better thermal stability than CMC alone. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40808.     

Carotenoids and Their Geometry Isomers in Selected Tropical Fruits

This study determined the carotenoids content in cherry tomato, pink guava, and red grapefruit pulps and juices. Cherry tomato pulp exhibited the highest β-carotene content whereas pink guava pulp had the highest lycopene content. However, β-carotene and lycopene contents in the studied fruit juices were lower than their pulps in the same sample portion. Interestingly, six to twelve cis-isomers of carotenoids were identified in the fruit pulps and juices studied. A higher number of trace amounts of cis-carotenoids was found in fruit pulps as compared to juices. Therefore, consumption of whole fruit is recommended as the studied fruit juices have lower carotenoids content.     

Application of GDQ scheme to simulate natural convection in a square cavity

The global method of generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) was applied to simulate the natural convection in a square cavity. Numerical results demonstrated that accurate solutions can be obtained using just a few grid points and requiring much less computational effort and storage.     

Studies of sol-gel ceramic film incorporating methylene blue on glassy carbon: an electrocatalytic system for the simultaneous determination of ascorbic and uric acids

In this work, we investigated the immobilization of methylene blue in a methyltrimethoxysilane sol-gel ceramic film on a glassy carbon electrode. Up to a certain saturation level, under our conditions, it was found that the methylene blue was tightly held and did not leach out into aqueous solutions, even with continuous immersion for up to 1 month. The electrochemical behavior of the immobilized methylene blue was then studied. pH variation revealed that there were two distinct redox couples whose existences were pH-dependent. The methylene blue/sol-gel film was also examined as an electrocatalytic system for ascorbic and uric acid oxidations. It was revealed that this system was highly sensitive for ascorbic and uric acid sensing (practical determination limits of 5.00 nM and 1.00 nM for ascorbic acid and uric acid, respectively) and also allowed simultaneous determination of these biomolecules. The simultaneous determination of these two analytes in a human urine sample was demonstrated. The stability of the methylene blue/sol-gel film/glassy carbon electrode sensing system was good, with up to at least a month of continual operation.     

Proteolytic cleavage and activation of PAK2 during UV irradiation-induced apoptosis in A431 cells

Exposure of mammalian cells to ultraviolet (UV) light elicits a cellular response and can also lead to apoptotic cell death. In this report, we show that a 36-kDa myelin basic protein (MBP) kinase detected by an in-gel kinase assay can be dramatically activated during the early stages of UV irradiation-triggered apoptosis of A431 cells. Immunoblot analysis revealed that this 36-kDa MBP kinase could be recognized by an antibody against the C-terminal regions of a family of p21Cdc42/Rac-activated kinases (PAKs). By using this antibody and a PAK2-specific antibody against the N-terminal region of PAK2 as studying tools, we further demonstrated that UV irradiation caused cleavage of PAK2 to generate a 36-kDa C-terminal catalytic fragment and a 30-kDa N-terminal fragment in A431 cells. The appearance of the 36-kDa C-terminal catalytic fragment of PAK2 matched exactly with the activation of the 36-kDa MBP kinase in A431 cells upon UV irradiation. In addition, UV irradiation also led to activation of CPP32/caspase-3, but not ICH-1L/caspase-2 and ICE/caspase-1, in A431 cells and the kinetics of activation of CPP32/caspase-3 appeared to correlate well with that of DNA fragmentation and of cleavage/activation of PAK2, respectively. Moreover, blockage of activation of CPP32/caspase-3 by pretreating the cells with two specific tetrapeptidic inhibitors for caspases (Ac-DEVD-cho and Ac-YVAD-cmk) could significantly attenuate the extent of cleavage/activation of PAK2 induced by UV irradiation. Collectively, the results demonstrate that cleavage and activation of PAK2 can be induced during the early stages of UV irradiation-triggered apoptosis and indicate the involvement of CPP32/caspase-3 in this process.     

Transferable, plasmid-mediated vanB-type glycopeptide resistance in Enterococcus faecium

An approximately 60-kb transferable, vanB-carrying plasmid has been identified in a clinical Enterococcus faecium strain. A similar plasmid has been observed in an unrelated E. faecium strain, suggesting that plasmid transfer of vanB operons occurs in nature and plays a role in the dissemination of VanB-type resistance among strains of E. faecium.     

Age- and gender-related elastin distribution changes in human vocal folds

To elucidate the mechanism of gut hypertrophy observed in rats artificially reared (AR) on milk formulas, the effects of four refined formulas with different ratios of casein (C) and whey protein (W), CW 2:8, CW 4:6, CW 6:4 and CW 8:2, on the gut growth of AR rats were examined. Four groups of pups were infused with each formula through an intragastric cannula from age 5 to 15 days. Each of the four milk formulas showed a different character in the stomach, such as no curd, very soft curd, soft curd and hard curd, in response to an increasing ratio of C:W. There were no significant differences in body weight gain among the AR groups and mother-reared (MR) controls. The stomach growth, in weight, of AR rats increased in response to the increasing ratios of C:W. In comparison with MR controls, hypertrophy of the stomach of AR rats appeared within the formulas with higher proportions of casein than whey protein (CW 6:4 and CW 8:2), but not those with lower proportions (CW 2:8 and CW 4:6). The growth of the small intestine was also related to the increasing ratio of C:W in the formulas. A similar pattern of hypertrophy in the hindgut was seen in AR rats. There was no association between hypertrophy of the gut in AR rats and plasma triiodothyronine. The present results clearly demonstrated that the gut growth of AR rat pups was directly influenced by the diet but not by AR per se, and that hard casein-curd in the stomach might be one cause of gut hypertrophy.     

Seed banks and molecular maps: unlocking genetic potential from the wild

Nearly a century has been spent collecting and preserving genetic diversity in plants. Germplasm banks-living seed collections that serve as repositories of genetic variation-have been established as a source of genes for improving agricultural crops. Genetic linkage maps have made it possible to study the chromosomal locations of genes for improving yield and other complex traits important to agriculture. The tools of genome research may finally unleash the genetic potential of our wild and cultivated germplasm resources for the benefit of society.     

Astrocytes are the major source of nerve growth factor upregulation following traumatic brain injury in the rat

A between-side comparison of GABAA receptor subunit expression levels in the globus pallidus and anterior-pole motor thalamic nuclei of rats with an ibotenate lesion of the striatum, and rats receiving a fetal striatal graft in the lesioned area was made by using immunocytochemistry with subunit-specific antibodies, at different times post-lesion or different times post-grafting. At 10 days post-lesion, there was already an increase in the labeling of the alpha 1- and beta 2/3-subunits in the globus pallidus, entopeduncular nucleus and ventrolateral nucleus ipsilateral to the lesion when compared with the contralateral side, while there were no significant changes at the level of the ventromedial nucleus. Labeling of the alpha 2-subunit showed a clear increase in the entopeduncular nucleus compared with the contralateral side at 10 days post-lesion. Similar changes were also observed for the different subunits studied at 30 and 120 days after lesioning. Rats with 20-day old transplants of fetal striatal neurons that were implanted in the ibotenate lesioned striatum at 10 days post-lesioning, continued to show changes in the expression of GABAA receptor subunits, albeit at a lower level than those of ibotenate lesioned rats at similar age post-lesion. However, when examining rats with 70-day old transplants, the ibotenate-lesion induced between-side changes were almost completely compensated. These findings suggest a correlation between the maturation of the grafts and their capability to function in reestablishing neuronal circuits as shown by the reduction of changes in GABAergic transmission induced by ibotenate lesions, as indicated by the reversal of changes in GABAA receptor subunit in several areas of the basal ganglia circuit.     

Measurement of myocardial blood flow with oxygen-15 labelled water: comparison of different administration protocols

Positron emission tomography (PET) in conjunction with C15O2 or H215O can be used to measure myocardial blood flow (MBF) and tissue fraction (TF), i.e. the fraction of the tissue mass in the volume of the region of interest. However, with C15O2 inhalation, the tissue fraction in the septum is overestimated. Bolus injection of H215O together with arterial cannulation gives very precise results but is invasive. The purpose of this study was to develop a method which circumvents these problems. A four-parameter model with parameters for MBF, TF and spill-over fractions from both left and right ventricular cavities was developed. This method was compared with a three-parameter model (no right ventricular cavity spill-over) in both septal and non-septal regions of interest for three different administration protocols: bolus injection of H215O, infusion of H215O and inhalation of C15O2. It was found that MBF can be measured with intravenous administration of H215O without the requirement for arterial cannulation. The four-parameter protocol with bolus injection was stable in clinical studies. The four-parameter model proved essential for the septum, where it gave highly significantly better fits than did the three-parameter model (P<0.00003 in each of 15 subjects). Administration of H215O together with this four-parameter model also circumvented the problem of overestimation of TF in the septum seen with C15O2 inhalation. In addition, the radiation dose of H215O protocols is lower than that of C15O2 inhalation. Using a left atrial input curve instead of a left ventricular cavity input curve gave the same mean MBF and TF.