Polymer‐Based Spherical Activated Carbons in Combination with TS‐1 as Efficient Epoxidation Catalysts

The heterogeneously catalyzed epoxidation of commercially available biodiesel with aqueous H₂O₂ as an oxidant was studied over composite catalysts consisting of microporous titanium silicalite‐1 (TS‐1) as reactive and polymer‐based spherical activated carbon (PBSAC) as sorptive component. The results are compared to that of a commercial TS‐1 catalyst. The polymer‐based spherical activated carbon was applied either as a support or as an exotemplate. In the composite catalyst, the active titanium sites are utilized four times more efficiently than in the commercial TS‐1.     

Carborane-Based Analogues of 5-Lipoxygenase Inhibitors Co-inhibit Heat Shock Protein 90 in HCT116 Cells

5-Lipoxygenase converts arachidonic acid into leukotrienes, which are involved in inflammation and angiogenesis. The introduction of carboranes can improve the pharmacokinetic behavior of metabolically less stable pharmaceutics. Herein we report the syntheses of several carborane-based inhibitors of the 5-lipoxygenase pathway. The isosteric replacement of phenyl rings by carboranes leads to improved cytotoxicity toward several melanoma and colon cancer cell lines. For the colon cancer cell line HCT116, the co-inhibition of heat shock protein 90 was observed.     

UV polarizers based on oriented poly(vinyl alcohol)–Chrysophenine–Congo red blend films

The availability of efficient low‐cost ultraviolet (UV) film polarizers is of vital importance to a number of applications, which rely on the use of polarized light in the near‐UV regime. We describe here the preparation of such elements based on stretch‐oriented films comprising poly(vinyl alcohol) and a combination of two commercially available azo dyes, Congo Red and Chrysophenine. Films of various dye contents were prepared and oriented by uniaxial tensile deformation. Moderately stretched films (draw ratio l/l₀ = 4–8) exhibit a pronounced optical dichroism, characterized by a polarizing efficiency up to 0.98 at a wavelength of 365 nm. Initial experiments suggest that, even under rather harsh irradiation conditions and without any packaging, these azo‐dye‐based polarizers are surprisingly inert under simulated operating conditions. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 1235–1239, 2002     

Importance of characterizing a reference filter test system

Standards governing the performance of air filters are there to enable comparisons to be made between different filter tests. However, measurement data from different filter test systems can vary widely, making comparisons difficult. Palas GmbH, Germany, has developed a modifed test system that it says meets the minimum requirements of a reference filter test system.     

Testis-preserving surgery in bilateral testicular germ cell tumours

We present a case of congenital unilateral hypertrophy of an upper extremity due to aberrant muscles. Reviewing the previous Japanese reports, we discuss the clinical features and the pathogenetic factors of this rare anomaly.     

Differential release of proteoglycans during human B lymphocyte maturation

Proteoglycans interact with soluble proteins such as growth factors and thereby regulate extracellular signals. During B lymphocyte maturation, secretion of proteoglycans may be functionally related to the different requirements of the respective maturation stage. In order to address this question we compared structures of proteoglycans released by three B lymphocyte lines which correspond to different maturation stages. Plasma-cell type U266 cells secreted the largest proteoglycans (150 kDa), followed by mature B cells JOK-1 (130 kDa) and pre-B cells Nalm 6 (90 kDa). On average, secreted proteoglycans carried four glycosaminoglycan chains with molecular masses ranging each from 32 kDa (U266) to 23 kDa (Nalm 6). All three cell lines secreted more than 90% of their proteoglycans possessing chondroitin sulfate chains having chondroitin-4-sulfate (delta Di-4S) as the prevalent disaccharide unit. In these proteochondroitin sulfates, unsulfated chondroitin (delta Di-0S) was present in smaller quantities and chondroitin-6-sulfate (delta Di-6S)-containing proteoglycan was released only by Nalm 6 and U266 cells. Cell line Nalm 6 exclusively produced proteochondroitin sulfate, whereas in culture medium of JOK-1 and U266 a small amount of proteoheparan sulfate was found also. In all three cell lines, treatment with chondroitinase ABC released a protein of 30 kDa and chemical deglycosylation resulted in a core protein of 21 kDa. In addition to pure proteochondroitin sulfate, a small portion of proteoheparan sulfate with a protein moiety of 30 kDa was detected after heparitinase treatment in supernatants of JOK-1 and U266. Thus, our results indicate that released proteoglycans may undergo modulations in their glycosaminoglycan moieties during B-cell differentiation. This may have functional consequences at the level of growth factor regulation.     

The single-format assumption in arithmetic fact retrieval.

Current models of mental arithmetic disagree on whether the same mental representation is activated by numbers in different forms (single-format assumption). Two experiments examined if the response times in arithmetic fact retrieval from arabic digits, number words, or dice are independent of the graphical representation of the numbers. S. Sternberg's (1969) additive factors method was used to analyze which response time interactions are compatible with the single-format assumption. In accord with the assumption, additive effects of form and operation were found in Experiment 1. In contrast, Experiment 2 showed additive effects only when an operand was held in memory, but a strong Form?X?Operation interaction otherwise. The authors discuss how phonological interference and form-specific retrieval could produce these interactions and how the single-format assumption can be extended to handle the findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Starburst cholinergic amacrine cells in the tree shrew retina

In all mammalian retinae studied to date, starburst cholinergic amacrine cells are a consistently occurring cell type. Here, we show that the cone-dominated retina of the tree shrew also has starburst cells with the characteristic radially symmetric branching pattern known from other species. Dendritic field sizes increase from 150 microm in the central retina to 300 microm in the retinal periphery. The characteristic morphology is established early during postnatal development. Labelling the starburst cholinergic cells with an antibody against choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) reveals two dendritic strata in the inner plexiform layer and two corresponding soma populations in the inner nuclear layer (orthotopic) and ganglion cell layer (displaced). These features are present in the adult and in early postnatal stages. In the adult, the density of the orthotopic population as well as the displaced population peaks in the central retina at about 2,200 cells/mm2 and has a peripheral minimum of 400 cells/mm2. These properties are qualitatively similar to those of starburst cells in rod-dominated retinae. In contrast to findings in other mammals, we did not see gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) or glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 kDa (GAD65) immunoreactivity in tree shrew starburst cells. These cells also appear to lack synaptophysin, a ubiquitous synaptic vesicle protein detected in the starburst cells of some other mammals. However, synaptoporin, a homologous synaptic vesicle protein, appears to be present in tree shrew starburst cells.