Superior neuroprotective effects of cerebrolysin in heat stroke following chronic intoxication of Cu or Ag engineered nanoparticles. A comparative study with other neuroprotective agents using biochemical and morphological approaches in the rat

The possibility that cerebrolysin, a mixture of several active fragments of neurotrophic factors and peptides induces neuroprotection following nanoparticles induced exacerbation of brain damage in heat stroke was examined in a rat model. For this purpose, the therapeutic efficacy of Cerebrolysin (2.5 or 5 ml/kg) recommended for stroke treatment was used in comparison with other drugs in standard doses recommended for such therapy in clinical situations e.g., levetiracetam (44 mg/kg), pregabalin (200 mg/kg), topiramate (40 mg/kg,i.p.) and valproate (400 mg/kg). Rats subjected to 4 h heat stress in a biological oxygen demand (BOD) incubator at 38 degrees C (Rel Humid 45-47%; Wind vel 22.4 to 25.6 cm/sec) developed profound behavioral symptoms of heat stroke e.g., hyperthermia, profuse salivation, prostration and gastric ulcerations in the stomach. These rats also exhibited marked brain pathology at this time. Thus, breakdown of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to proteins associated with brain edema formation could be seen in these heat stressed rats as compared to control groups. The edematous brain areas showed profound neuronal damage and/or distortion in large areas of the neuropil. These pathological symptoms were further exacerbated in Cu or Ag nanoparticles treated group (50-60 nm particle size, 50 mg/kg, i.p./day for 7 days) after identical heat stress on the 8th day. Pretreatment with cerebrolysin (2.5 ml/kg, i.v.) daily for 3 days in normal rats before heat stress significantly reduced the behavioral stress symptoms and the breakdown of the BBB function, edema formation and neuronal injuries. However, the magnitude and intensity of these neuroprotective effects were much less intense in all other drug treated rats after similar heat stress. On the other hand, almost double dose of cerebrolysin (5 ml/kg) was needed to achieve comparable neuroprotection in nanoparticles treated animals after heat stress. Whereas, double dose of all other compounds was much less effective in inducing neuroprotection in nanoparticles treated heat-exposed animals. These observations are the first to show that cerebrolysin exerts the most superior neuroprotective effects in heat stress as compared to other neuroprotective agents on brain pathology in normal and in nanoparticles treated group. Furthermore, cerebrolysin in double dose was the most effective in inducing neuroprotection in nanoparticles treated heat exposed rats on brain pathology as compared to double doses of other drugs. Taken together, our results show that cerebrolysin has the most superior neuroprotective effects on brain pathology in heat stroke in both normal and nanoparticles treated rats as compared to other contemporary neuroprotective agents, not reported earlier.     

System of nano-silver inkjet printed memory cards and PC card reader and programmer

This work describes the development of inkjet printed, low-cost memory cards, and complementary pair of memory card reader and card reader/programmer for PCs. This constitutes a complete system that can be used for various applications. The memory cards are manufactured by inkjet printing nano-silver ink on photo paper substrate. The printed memory structures have an initial high resistance that can later be programmed to specific values representing data on the cards, the so called Write Once Read Many (WORM) memories. The memory card reader measures the resistance values of the memory cells and reads it back to the computer by USB connection. Using multiple resistance levels that represent different states it is possible to have a larger number of selectable combinations with fewer physical bits compared to binary coding. This somewhat counters one of the limitations of resistive memory technology that basically each cell needs one physical contact. The number of possible states is related to the resolution of the reader and the stability of the WORM memory.     

Symbolic Mapping of Loop Programs onto Processor Arrays

In this paper, we present a solution to the problem of joint tiling and scheduling a given loop nest with uniform data dependencies symbolically. This challenge arises when the size and number of available processors for parallel loop execution is not known at compile time. But still, in order to avoid any overhead of dynamic (run-time) recompilation, a schedule of loop iterations shall be computed and optimized statically. In this paper, it will be shown that it is possible to derive parameterized latency-optimal schedules statically by proposing a two step approach: First, the iteration space of a loop program is tiled symbolically into orthotopes of parametrized extensions. Subsequently, the resulting tiled program is also scheduled symbolically, resulting in a set of latency-optimal parameterized schedule candidates. At run time, once the size of the processor array becomes known, simple comparisons of latency-determining expressions finally steer which of these schedules will be dynamically selected and the corresponding program configuration executed on the resulting processor array so to avoid any further run-time optimization or expensive recompilation. Our theory of symbolic loop parallelization is applied to a number of loop programs from the domains of signal processing and linear algebra. Finally, as a proof of concept, we demonstrate our proposed methodology for a massively parallel processor array architecture called tightly coupled processor array (TCPA) on which applications may dynamically claim regions of processors in the context of invasive computing.     

Vitamin D Supplementation: Oxidative Stress Modulation in a Mouse Model of Ovalbumin-Induced Acute Asthmatic Airway Inflammation

Asthma oxidative stress disturbances seem to enable supplementary proinflammatory pathways, thus contributing to disease development and severity. The current study analyzed the impact of two types of oral vitamin D (VD) supplementation regimens on the redox balance using a murine model of acute ovalbumin-induced (OVA-induced) asthmatic inflammation. The experimental prevention group received a long-term daily dose of 50 µg/kg (total dose of 1300 µg/kg), whereas the rescue group underwent a short-term daily dose of 100 µg/kg (total dose of 400 µg/kg). The following oxidative stress parameters were analyzed in serum, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue homogenate (LTH): total oxidative status, total antioxidant response, oxidative stress index, malondialdehyde and total thiols. Results showed that VD significantly reduced oxidative forces and increased the antioxidant capacity in the serum and LTH of treated mice. There was no statistically significant difference between the two types of VD supplementation. VD also exhibited an anti-inflammatory effect in all treated mice, reducing nitric oxide formation in serum and the expression of nuclear factor kappa B p65 in the lung. In conclusion, VD supplementation seems to exhibit a protective role in oxidative stress processes related to OVA-induced acute airway inflammation.     

Design,Synthesis, In Silico and In Vitro Studies for New Nitric Oxide-Releasing Indomethacin Derivatives with 1,3,4-Oxadiazole-2-thiol Scaffold

Starting from indomethacin (IND), one of the most prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), new nitric oxide-releasing indomethacin derivatives with 1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol scaffold (NO-IND-OXDs, 8a–p) have been developed as a safer and more efficient multitarget therapeutic strategy. The successful synthesis of designed compounds (intermediaries and finals) was proved by complete spectroscopic analyses. In order to study the in silico interaction of NO-IND-OXDs with cyclooxygenase isoenzymes, a molecular docking study, using AutoDock 4.2.6 software, was performed. Moreover, their biological characterization, based on in vitro assays, in terms of thermal denaturation of serum proteins, antioxidant effects and the NO releasing capacity, was also performed. Based on docking results, 8k, 8l and 8m proved to be the best interaction for the COX-2 (cyclooxygense-2) target site, with an improved docking score compared with celecoxib. Referring to the thermal denaturation of serum proteins and antioxidant effects, all the tested compounds were more active than IND and aspirin, used as references. In addition, the compounds 8c, 8h, 8i, 8m, 8n and 8o showed increased capacity to release NO, which means they are safer in terms of gastrointestinal side effects.     

Optimal Control for Chemical Reactors with Distributed Parameters Using Genetic Algorithms

Genetic algorithms (GA) have been very seldom applied in the optimization of chemical reactors with distributed parameters, described by models containing differential equations. GA are applied here in the frame of four case studies. In all four cases, the GA are superior in comparison to other methods, such as maximum principle (up to 20.72 %), simulated annealing (up to 0.11 %), and particle swarm optimization (up to 36.74 %). Possibly, the solutions obtained by GA can be improved by a better selection of the values of the method parameters, but this was not the aim of the present work. The use of optimal control can produce an important economic improvement, especially by increasing the selectivity, which significantly enhances the use of raw materials.     

Synthesis and physico-chemical properties of highly conjugated azo-aromatic systems. 4-(azulen-1-yl)-pyridines with mono- and bis azo-aromatic moieties at C3-position of azulene

Highly conjugated azo-aromatic systems have been prepared in high to moderate yields by linking mono- and bis-azo aromatic fragments to 4-(Rn-azulen-1-yl)-2,6-dimethyl-pyridine. The synthesized π-extended systems have been studied by NMR spectroscopy, UV-Vis and electrochemistry. Systematic increase of the conjugation along the azobenzene skeleton has affected the spectral properties of the azophenyl substituted 4-(azulen-1-yl)-pyridine. The synthesized compounds exhibit a bathochromic shift of the visible absorption maxima with the increase of the conjugating skeleton and introduction of an electron-withdrawing group. The electrochemical behavior revealed a high stability toward oxidation owing to the higher polarization induced by the azulenylpyridine moiety.     

Novel Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Renewable-Resource Based Carbon-Magnetite Nanocomposites

Abstract

Magnetic carbon-iron oxide nanoparticles have been synthesized using tannin, a renewable resource material, in combination with a microwave-based thermolytic process without the addition of any inert or reducing gas during the synthesis. The predominant iron oxide species present in these particles has been determined by XRD and FT-IR to be magnetite (Fe₃O₄). These iron oxide nanoparticles are embedded within a carbon matrix in small clusters generally ≤100 nm in size. The resulting powder is approximately 48% (w/w) magnetite, and has been characterized by magnetic susceptibility and SQUID analysis.     

CYCLIC CONJUGATION IN FLUORANTHENE AND ITS BENZO-DERIVATIVES. PART 1. CATACONDENSED SYSTEMS

Continuing our investigations of π -electron properties of fluoranthene-type polycyclic conjugated compounds [Gutman, ?ur?evi?, Balaban, Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds 29 (2009): 3–11], we studied the energy effects of individual rings in fluoranthene and its catacondensed benzo-derivatives (i.e., benzo-annelated fluoranthenes possessing exactly one internal carbon atom). A number of general regularities were observed: (a) the PCP effect (six-membered rings connected by a single bond to the five-membered ring increase in it the intensity of cyclic conjugation), (b), the retro-PCP effect (the five-membered ring increases the intensity of cyclic conjugation in the six-membered rings to which it is connected by a single bond), (c) the linear effect (six-membered rings, linearly annelated to fluoranthene, decrease the cyclic conjugation in the five-membered ring), (d) the magnitude of the PCP effect differs, depending on whether the six-membered ring belongs to the “male” or “female” benzenoid fragment, and (e) the pattern of cyclic conjugationin of isoarithmic benzofluoranthenes is essentially identical.