Lipopeptide phytotoxins produced by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae: comparison of the biosurfactant and ion channel-forming activities of syringopeptin and syringomycin

The maturational status of Adelta and C-fibers in the fetal rat spinal cord was examined using formalin-induced c-fos expression as a marker for neuronal activities. Awake 19-, 20-, and 21-day fetuses (FD) were injected ex utero with 5 microl of 10% formalin either into the ventral aspect of the forepaw or the hindpaw. FD 19 fetuses showed little response to the injection, but with increasing age, the fetuses exhibited more specific behaviors following injury of the paw. By FD 21, fetuses treated with formalin injection showed body curls and twitches, mouth opening, face wiping, and withdrawal of the injected paw. The anatomical data paralleled that of behavior; FD 19 animals expressed a small number of Fos labeled nuclei following the formalin injection that was not statistically different from control animals. The formalin-induced increase in Fos staining was first observed at FD 20 with a large increase in the number of Fos labeled cell occurring between FD 20 and 21. By FD 21, the pattern of Fos stained nuclei resembled that found in neonatal rats. There was constitutive bilateral staining in all untreated, saline and formalin injected fetuses that is unique to prenatal animals. Formalin treated fetuses showed constitutive level of staining in addition to the increase in the c-fos expression caused by formalin. We have thus demonstrated that, as indexed both by behavioral response and by Fos immunoreactivity, rat fetuses are capable of transmitting and responding to noxious input before birth.     

The dispersion of magnetic nanorods in poly(2‐vinylpyridine)

The dispersion of magnetic nanorods in poly(2‐vinylpyridine) (PVP) as a function of rod length, particle loading and molecular weight of PVP was investigated. The nanorods were organized into small spherical clusters at low particle loading. Further increasing the particle concentration caused an increase in the size of the aggregates. Additionally, the internal structure of the nanorods developed into a raft‐like structure, forming rectangular clusters. The incorporation of longer nanorods in the PVP amplified the magnetic interaction energy, which created conditions to induce extensive aggregation. The entanglement of the polymer also played an important role in the arrangement of the nanorods. This behavior could be categorized into two regimes, M_PVP > M_e and M_PVP < M_e, where M_PVP and M_e are the number‐average molecular weight and entanglement molecular weight of PVP, respectively: for M_PVP > M_e, PVP formed entanglements that prevented nanorods from extensive aggregation; for M_PVP < M_e, PVP could not form entanglements, and nanorods could move freely in the PVP, and thus significant rod aggregation occurred. Simple calculations to assess the contribution of the magnetic interaction, the van der Waals interaction and the free energy of mixing of the system to the arrangement of magnetic nanorods in the homopolymer are discussed. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Multivariate control charts based on loss functions

A new method is given for designing multivariate control charts based on loss functions. The average run length contours of the proposed procedure correspond closely to the contours of the expected loss. The approach is much more efficient in terms of resulting statistical properties than the method of Mohebbi and Hayre (1989). Several bivariate examples are considered.     

The formation of β‐polypropylene crystals in a compatibilized blend of isotactic polypropylene and polyamide‐6

Compatibilized polypropylene (PP)/polyamide (PA6) blends with and without β nucleating agent (β‐NA) are prepared, and are designated as Blend‐0.3 and Blend‐0, respectively. The melting and crystallization characteristic of the blends crystallized under different cooling rates and different crystallization temperatures are studied. It is observed that high β‐PP content can be developed in Blend‐0.3 only at slow cooling rates (<5°C/min), whereas high α‐PP content is formed at fast cooling rates. Isothermal crystallization analysis of Blend‐0 indicates that PA6 is an effective NA for α‐PP in the lower temperature range, whereas the α‐nucleating effect disappears in the higher temperature range. Blend‐0.3 can, therefore, be viewed as a system containing both α‐ and β‐NAs, simultaneously. PA6 is competing with β‐NA in inducing PP crystallization. Under the normal injection of Blend‐0.3, the melt will be cooled through the higher temperature that favors the effectiveness of β‐NA rapidly because of the faster cooling rate. However, the α‐nucleation effect from PA6 predominate at the lower temperature. This explains the difficulty in obtaining high β‐PP content in Blend‐0.3 from injection molding. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers     

卡拉胶硬胶囊

<正>硬胶囊系指已大规模生产的空胶囊,它是由两个部分(胶囊帽和胶囊体)组成的,只在生产后装填内容物,然后组合和密封在一起。硬胶囊在大多数情况下是用单相水溶液以所谓的蘸胶法加工过程生产的。     

Evaluating p97 Inhibitor Analogues for Potency against p97–p37 and p97–Npl4–Ufd1 Complexes

We previously found that the p97 cofactor, p47, significantly decreased the potency of some ATP‐competitive p97 inhibitors such as ML240 [2‐(2‐amino‐1H‐benzo[d]imidazol‐1‐yl)‐N‐benzyl‐8‐methoxyquinazolin‐4‐amine] and ML241 [2‐(2H‐benzo[b][1,4]oxazin‐4(3H)‐yl)‐N‐benzyl‐5,6,7,8 tetrahydroquinazolin‐4‐amine]. In this study, we aimed to evaluate inhibitor potencies against two additional p97 cofactor complexes, p97–p37 and p97–Npl4–Ufd1. We focused on these two cofactor complexes, because the protein sequence of p37 is 50 % identical to that of p47, and the Npl4–Ufd1 heterodimer (NU) is the most‐studied p97 cofactor complex. We screened 200 p97 inhibitor analogues for their ability to inhibit the ATPase activity of p97 alone and of p97–p37 and p97–NU complexes. In contrast to the effect of p47, p37 and NU did not significantly change the potencies of most of the compounds. These results highlight differences among p97 cofactors in influencing p97 conformation and effects of inhibitors on p97 complexes, as compared to p97 alone. Continued efforts are needed to advance the development of complex‐specific p97 inhibitors.     

Optimization strategy for encapsulation efficiency and size of drug loaded silica xerogel/polymer core‐shell composite nanoparticles prepared by gelation‐emulsion method

It has been commonly discovered that reducing particle size always accompanies with undesirable deterioration of drug encapsulation efficiency in double emulsion based techniques. However, a clear optimization strategy for process variables to minimize this negative impact has been rarely reported. To fill this gap, we have successfully developed an optimization strategy for silica xerogel/polymer composite nanoparticles prepared by our recently developed gelation‐emulsion method. To develop this strategy, interactive effects of multiple process variables were investigated through a four‐factor three‐level experimental design by considering all screened dominant process variables influencing particle size and encapsulation efficiency, including sonication time of second emulsion (t₂), sonication power of the second emulsion (P₂), total volume of the second emulsion (V₂) and volume ratio of aqueous phase and primary emulsion (r). The optimization strategy for fabricating the target particle size with optimal encapsulation efficiency was designed by adjusting the process variables in the order of r, V₂, t₂, and P₂ With this strategy, conspicuous enhancement of the encapsulation efficiency (e.g., from 27 to 63% for a particle size of 211 nm) and significant increment of the feasible size range through our novel fabrication method from 192–569 nm to 90–914 nm have been achieved in this study. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2017. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Manifestation of external size reduction effects on the yield point of nanocrystalline rhodium using nanopillars approach

In this study, pure rhodium was fabricated and mechanically investigated at the nanoscale for the first time. The nanopillars approach was employed to study the effects of size on the yield point. Nanopillars with different diameters were fabricated using electroplating followed by uniaxial compression tests. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used as a quality control technique by imaging the pillars before and after compression to ensure the absence of cracks, buckling, barrelling or any other problems. Transmission electron microscopy and SEM were used as microstructural characterization techniques. Due to substrate-induced effects, only the plastic region of the stress–strain curves were investigated, and it was revealed that the yield point increases with size reduction up to certain limit, then decreases with further reduction of the nanopillar size (diameter). The later weakening effect is consistent with the literature, which demonstrates the reversed size effect (the failure of the plasticity theory) in nanocrystalline metals, i.e. smaller is weaker. In this study, however, the effect of size reduction is not only weakening, but is strengthening-then-weakening, which the authors believe is the true behavior of nanocrystalline materials.