ACAT inhibitors derived from hetero-Diels-Alder cycloadducts of thioaldehydes

Acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) is the enzyme largely responsible for intracellular cholesterol esterification. A systemic inhibitor of ACAT is believed to be able to slow or even reverse the atherosclerotic process. Towards that goal, a series of cyclic sulfides, derived from the hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of thioaldehydes with 1,3-dienes, and bearing carboxamide substituents, were prepared and evaluated for in vitro (in several tissues and species) and ex vivo ACAT inhibition. Minor changes in subsequent structure were found to have a significant effect in optimization of the biological activity of this series of compounds.     

The lived experience of nursing students in caring for suffering individuals

Most nursing school curricula address the pathologic nature of illness, the nursing care of clients who are ill, the prevention of illness, and the promotion of health. There seems to be minimal discussion, however, both in nursing curricula and in textbooks, of the alleviation of suffering or of how nurses know that someone is suffering. The article describes a phenomenologic analysis of 12 nursing students' lived experiences of caring for individuals who were suffering. The voices of the students as they chronicled their experiences are exemplars of clinical scholarship as described in the literature.     

Ti,N,Mg对M2高速钢凝固组织和硬度的影响

为了改善Ｍ２高速钢共晶碳化物的分布，本文利用小凝固试样变质的方法研究了Ｔｉ，Ｎ和Ｍｇ对Ｍ２高速钢凝固组织和硬度的影响。试验结果表明，加入Ｔｉ或Ｔｉ－Ｎ后，共晶碳化物形态和分布有很大改善，而加入Ｔｉ－Ｎ后对凝固组织有轻微的细化作用，但只添加Ｔｉ不补碳时，钢的淬火硬度和回火硬度均下降；加入适量的Ｍｇ可以使片状的Ｍ２Ｃ型共晶碳化物转为鱼骨状的Ｍ６Ｃ型共晶碳化物，使其分布有所改善，Ｔｉ和Ｍｇ复合加入可以明     

助催化剂对TiCl_4/MgCl_2催化丙烯高温聚合的影响

研究了助催化剂种类(三甲基铝、三异丁基铝、三正己基铝、三乙基铝和甲基铝氧烷)及其含量对无内、外给电子体的TiCl4/MgCl2催化剂催化丙烯高温(100℃)聚合性能的影响,并用结晶分级分析、示差扫描量热和凝胶渗透色谱等方法分析了所得聚丙烯的结晶熔融行为和微观结构。实验结果表明,聚合温度从70℃升至100℃时,TiCl4/MgCl2催化剂的定向能力基本不变;100℃聚合时,以烷基化能力较弱的三异丁基铝为助催化剂时TiCl4/MgCl2催化剂的活性最高,而采用烷基化能力最强的三甲基铝为助催化剂时TiCl4/MgCl2催化剂的活性最低;100℃聚合时,助催化剂的种类对TiCl4/MgCl2催化剂的定向能力影响很小。     

低温等离子体对血管内金属支架的表面改性

生物材料用于人体必须要具备生物相容性。尤其是与血液相接触的材料如血管内支架必须要具备血液相容性。材料的表面特性直接影响血液系统中是否会出现血栓。本文针对金属血管内支架的表面特性、与血液的界面反应以及用于提高血液相容性的低温等离子表面改性进行了简要综述     

Change of foot size with weightbearing. A study of 2829 children 3 to 18 years of age

The change of foot length and width with age has been reported in a few anthropometric studies in the literature. However, the relationship with body height rarely is reported, and the dynamic effect of weightbearing on foot size has not been documented. In this series, 2829 children 3 to 18 years of age of equal gender distribution were included in the study. The foot length and width on weightbearing and nonweightbearing were measured with a special precision electronic caliper. The foot length and width were found to increase linearly from the age of 3 years until 12 years in girls and 15 years in boys. This was followed by a phase during which the increase plateaued. The foot length and width increased significantly on weightbearing at all ages in both genders with a mean of 2.1 to 4.4 mm or 3.1% to 4.8%, respectively. The foot length and width also were found to correlate significantly with the body height in both genders, with a correlation coefficient of 0.96 to 0.98. No significant differences were found between the sizes of the dominant and nondominant foot in either gender.     

Haemolytic activity of Aeromonas species isolated in Libya

Twenty seven Aeromonas strains (5A. hydrophila, 8A. sobria and 14A. caviae) isolated from children with diarrhoea and 34 Aeromonas strains (9A. hydrophila, 7A. sobria an 18A. caviae) isolated from children without diarrhoea were tested from haemolysin production. The results obtained showed that haemolysin production using human, horse or sheep erythrocytes was significantly associated with A.hydrophila and A sobria but not with A.caviae, regardless of whether these strains were isolated from children with or without diarrhoea. Human or horse rather than sheep erythrocytes are recommended for use in the haemolysin assay.     

Inhibition of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone mouse lung tumorigenesis by arylalkynes, mechanism-based inactivators of cytochrome P450

Arylalkynes such as 4-phenyl-1-butyne (PBY), 5-phenyl-1-pentyne (PPY) and 2-ethynylnaphthalene (2-EN) are suicide inhibitors of cytochrome P450 enzymes. Arylalkyl isothiocyanates such as 6-phenylhexyl isothiocyanate (PHITC) are structurally related to arylalkynes and are known to inhibit the cytochrome P450 mediated metabolic activation and tumorigenicity of a tobacco-specific lung carcinogen, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK). In this study, we compared the ability of PBY, PPY, 2-EN and PHITC to inhibit A/J mouse lung tumorigenesis by NNK. Groups of 20 female mice were gavaged with 5 mumol of arylalkyne or PHITC in corn oil. Two hours later they were given a single i.p. injection of 10 mumol NNK. The mice were killed 16 weeks later. PPY and PHITC were both potent inhibitors of tumorigenesis by NNK, reducing lung tumor multiplicity from 8.35 tumors per mouse to 0.40 and 0.35 respectively. PBY and 2-EN also significantly inhibited tumor multiplicity. The results of this study demonstrate that arylalkynes and PHITC are potent inhibitors of NNK induced lung tumorigenesis in A/J mice, consistent with the hypothesis that inhibition of specific cytochrome P450 enzymes is involved in inhibition of tumorigenesis.