Effects of high glucose on vascular endothelial growth factor synthesis and secretion in aortic vascular smooth muscle cells from obese and lean zucker rats

Type 1 diabetes is characterized by insulin deficiency, type 2 by both insulin deficiency and insulin resistance: in both conditions, hyperglycaemia is accompanied by an increased cardiovascular risk, due to increased atherosclerotic plaque formation/instabilization and impaired collateral vessel formation. An important factor in these phenomena is the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), a molecule produced also by Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells (VSMC). We aimed at evaluating the role of high glucose on VEGF-A(164) synthesis and secretion in VSMC from lean insulin-sensitive and obese insulin-resistant Zucker rats (LZR and OZR). In cultured aortic VSMC from LZR and OZR incubated for 24 h with d-glucose (5.5, 15 and 25 mM) or with the osmotic controls l-glucose and mannitol, we measured VEGF-A(164) synthesis (western, blotting) and secretion (western blotting and ELISA). We observed that: (i) d-glucose dose-dependently increases VEGF-A(164) synthesis and secretion in VSMC from LZR and OZR (n = 6, ANOVA p = 0.002-0.0001); (ii) all the effects of 15 and 25 mM d-glucose are attenuated in VSMC from OZR vs. LZR (p = 0.0001); (iii) l-glucose and mannitol reproduce the VEGF-A(164) modulation induced by d-glucose in VSMC from both LZR and OZR. Thus, glucose increases via an osmotic mechanism VEGF synthesis and secretion in VSMC, an effect attenuated in the presence of insulin resistance.     

Self-repairing systems based on ionomers and epoxidized natural rubber blends

The development of materials with the ability of intrinsic self-repairing after damage in a fashion resembling that of living tissues has important scientific and technological implications, particularly in relation to cost-effective approaches toward damage management of materials. Natural rubbers with epoxy functional groups in the macromolecular chain (ENR) and ethylene-methacrylic acid ionomers having acid groups partially neutralized with metal ions possess self-repairing behavior following high energy impacts. This research investigates the self-repairing behavior of both ENR and ionomers during ballistic puncture test on the basis of their thermal and mechanical properties. Heterogeneous blending of ionomers and ENR have also been used here as a strategy to tune the thermal and mechanical properties of the materials. Interestingly, blends of sodium ion containing ionomer exhibit complete self-repairing behavior, whereas blends of zinc ion containing ionomer show limited mending. The chemical structure studied by FTIR and thermal analysis shows that both ion content of ionomer and functionality of ENR have significant influence on the self-repairing behavior of blends. The mobility of rubbery phases along with its interaction to ionomer phase in the blends significantly changes the mending capability of materials. The healing behavior of the materials has been discussed on the basis of their thermal, mechanical, and rheological tests for each materials.     

Full‐wave optoelectrical modeling of optimized flattened light‐scattering substrate for high efficiency thin‐film silicon solar cells

The flattened light‐scattering substrate (FLiSS) is formed by a combination of two materials with a high refractive index mismatch, and it has a flat surface. A specific realization of this concept is a flattened two‐dimensional grating. When applied as a substrate for thin‐film silicon solar cells in the nip configuration, it is capable to reflect light with a high fraction of diffused component. Furthermore, the FLiSS is an ideal substrate for growing high‐quality microcrystalline silicon (µc‐Si:H), used as bottom cell absorber layer in most of multijunction solar cell architectures. FLiSS is a three‐dimensional structure; therefore, a full‐wave analysis of the electromagnetic field is necessary for its optimal implementation. Using finite element method, different shapes, materials, and geometrical parameters were investigated to obtain an optimized FLiSS. The application of the optimized FLiSS in µc‐Si:H single junction nip cell (1‐µm‐thick i‐layer) resulted in a 27.4‐mA/cm² implied photocurrent density. The absorptance of µc‐Si:H absorber exceeded the theoretical Yablonovitch limit for wavelengths larger than 750 nm. Double and triple junction nip solar cells on optimal FLiSS and with thin absorber layers were simulated. Results were in line with state‐of‐the‐art optical performance typical of solar cells with rough interfaces. After the optical optimization, a study of electrical performance was carried out by simulating current–voltage characteristics of nip solar cells on optimized FLiSS. Potential conversion efficiencies of 11.6%, 14.2%, and 16.0% for single, double, and triple junction solar cells with flat interfaces, respectively, were achieved. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Repair bond strength of resin composite with experimental primers – effect of formulation variables

The aim of this study was to prepare experimental resin-based primers with varied components (silane – S, polyacrylic acid – PA, or methacrylic acid – MA) and evaluate their repair bonding ability to resin composite. Primers were prepared containing methacrylate monomers, acidic monomer, ethanol, photoinitiators and 0, 10, or 20 wt% of S, PA, or MA. Degree of C=C conversion and pH were measured. Composite blocks (Opallis, FGM) were aged by 5000 thermal cycles and composite cylinders (repairs) were built up on their surfaces. The cylinders were tested under shear stress after 24 h. Failure modes were classified under magnification. Data were statistically analyzed at α = 0.05. Primers containing MA were the most acidic compositions, whereas S-containing primers were less acidic. Incorporation of 20 wt% of the varied components decreased C=C conversion. PA-based primers had higher C=C conversion than MA-based materials. Repair bond strength results were dependent on the component added and its concentration. MA-based primers presented higher bond strength than primers containing PA. Cohesive failures within composite were predominant for S-based primers, whereas mixed failures were more prevalent for PA-based primers. In conclusion, the overall best repair abilities were observed for primers containing 10 wt% of the components tested.     

Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin Kexin Type 9 Inhibitors Reduce Platelet Activation Modulating ox-LDL Pathways

Background: Proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 inhibitors (PCSK9i) lower LDL-cholesterol and slow atherosclerosis preventing cardiovascular events. While it is known that circulating PCSK9 enhances platelet activation (PA) and that PCSK9i reduce it, the underlying mechanism is not still clarified. Methods: In a multicenter before–after study in 80 heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) patients on treatment with maximum tolerated statin dose ± ezetimibe, PA, soluble-NOX2-derived peptide (sNOX2-dp), and oxidized-LDL (ox-LDL) were measured before and after six months of PCSK9i treatment. In vitro study investigates the effects of plasma from HeFH patients before and after PCK9i on PA in washed platelets (wPLTs) from healthy subjects. Results: Compared to baseline, PCSK9i reduced the serum levels of LDL-c, ox-LDL, Thromboxane (Tx) B2, sNOX2-dp, and PCSK9 (p < 0.001). The decrease of TxB2 correlates with that of ox-LDL, while ox-LDL reduction correlated with PCSK9 and sNOX2-dp delta. In vitro study demonstrated that wPLTs resuspended in plasma from HeFH after PCSK9i treatment induced lower PA and sNOX2-dp release than those obtained using plasma before PCSK9i treatment. This reduction was vanished by adding ox-LDL. ox-LDL-induced PA was blunted by CD36, LOX1, and NOX2 inhibition. Conclusions: PCSK9i treatment reduces PA modulating NOX2 activity and in turn ox-LDL formation in HeFH patients.     

High precision C AMS at CIRCE

The CIRCE AMS system started operation in March 2005. The measurement of isotopic ratios ¹⁴C/¹²C in samples of archaeological and environmental interest has rapidly attained high precision and accuracy levels in routine operation. The results of the intercomparison campaign in the framework of the VIRI program, as well as the outcome of a statistical analysis of the about 200 control measurements performed with standard samples, have shown the capability of the whole system for high precision measurements (δR/R < 0.3%), allowing systematic investigations in both archaeological and environmental sciences. ²⁶Al AMS has been implemented for the measurement of the astrophysically relevant ²⁵Mg(p,γ)²⁶Al reaction cross section, while a beam line is under construction for the measurement of actinides isotopic ratios.     

Use of admixtures in organic-contaminated cement-clay pastes

In this work microstructure, porosity and hydration degree of cement-based solidified/stabilized wasteforms were studied before assessing their leaching behaviour. 2-Chloroaniline was chosen as a model liquid organic pollutant and included into cement pastes, which were also modified with different admixtures for concrete: a superplasticizer based on acrylic-modified polymer, a synthetic rubber latex and a waterproofing agent. An organoclay, modified with an ammonium quaternary salt (benzyl-dimethyl-tallowammonium, BDMTA), was added to the pastes as pre-sorbent agent of the organic matter. All the samples were dried up to constant weight in order to stop the hydration process at different times during the first 28 days of curing, typically, after 1 day (1d), 7 days (7d) and 28 days. Then, the microstructure of the hardened cement-clay pastes was investigated by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). The hydration degree and porosity were studied by thermal analysis (TG/DTA) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), respectively. For samples cured for 28 days a short-term leach test set by Italian regulation for industrial waste recycling (D.M. 5 February 1998) was performed. The best results showed a 5% release of the total initial amount of organic pollutant.     

Creating and using the urgent metadata catalogue and thesaurus

The Urban Regeneration and the Environment Research Programme (URGENT) required a system for cataloguing its datasets and enabling its scientific community to discover what data were available to it. This community was multidisciplinary in nature and therefore needed a range of facilities for searching. Of particular importance were facilities to help those unfamiliar with specialist terminology. To meet these needs, four applications were designed and developed: a Metadata Capture Tool for describing datasets in compliance with the National Geospatial Data Framework (NGDF) standard, a Term Entry Tool for creating an ISO compliant thesaurus, a Thesaurus Builder for merging thesauri and a Search Tool. To encourage users to help in cataloguing data, the capture tools were written as stand alone applications, which users could keep and use to build their own metadatabases. The tools contained export and import facilities that allowed the URGENT Data Centre to build a central database and publish it upon the web. During the development work, it was found necessary to extend the NGDF standard as it could not adequately describe time variant or 3-D atmospheric datasets. The four applications met their design objectives. However, a number of ergonomic issues will need to be addressed if the system is to meet the needs of the much larger up coming programmes. The main challenges will be moving from the NGDF standard to the ISO standard, hence bringing the work into line with the recommendations of the INSPIRE Project, and merging the metadatabase with the scientific database, which enable metadata maintenance to be semi-automated.     

Real-time ECG transmission via Internet for nonclinicalapplications

Telemedicine is having a great impact on the monitoring of patients located in remote non-clinical environments, such as homes, elderly communities, gymnasiums, schools, remote military bases, ships, and the like. A number of applications, ranging from data collection to chronic patient surveillance, and even to the control of therapeutic procedures, are being implemented in many parts of the world. As part of this growing trend, this paper discusses the problems in electrocardiogram (ECG) real-time data acquisition, transmission and visualization over the Internet. ECG signals are transmitted in real time from a patient in a remote non-clinical environment to a specialist in a hospital or clinic using the current capabilities and availability of the Internet. A prototype system is described that is composed of (1) a portable data acquisition and pre-processing module connected to the computer at the remote site via its RS-232 port, (2) a Java-based client-server platform, and (3) software modules to handle communication protocols between the data acquisition module and the patient's personal computer, and to handle client-server communication. The purpose of the system is the provision of extended monitoring for patients under drug therapy after infarction, data collection in some particular cases, remote consultation and low-cost ECG monitoring for the elderly