Impact of Melatonin on RAW264.7 Macrophages during Mechanical Strain

The concentration of melatonin is elevated during the night when patients mainly wear removable orthodontic appliances. Next to periodontal ligament fibroblasts and osteoblasts, macrophages react to mechanical strain with an increased expression of inflammatory mediators. Here, we investigated the impact of melatonin on RAW264.7 macrophages exposed to tensile or compressive strain occurring during orthodontic tooth movement in the periodontal ligament. Before exposure to mechanical strain for 4 h, macrophages were pre-incubated with different melatonin concentrations for 24 h, to determine the dependence of melatonin concentration. Afterwards, we performed experiments with and without mechanical strain, the most effective melatonin concentration (25 µM), and the melatonin receptor 2 (MT2) specific antagonist 4P-PDOT. The expression of inflammatory genes and proteins was investigated by RT-qPCR, ELISAs, and immunoblot. Both tensile and compressive strain increased the expression of the investigated inflammatory factors interleukin-1-beta, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase-2. This effect was inhibited by the addition of melatonin. Incubation with 4P-PDOT blocked this anti-inflammatory effect of melatonin. Melatonin had an anti-inflammatory effect on macrophages exposed to mechanical strain, independent of the type of mechanical strain. As inhibition was possible with 4P-PDOT, the MT2 receptor might be involved in the regulation of the observed effects.     

Structure and surface properties of a novel bulk-matte waterborne polyurethane coating composite

This paper reports on a novel self-matte or bulk-matte waterborne polyurethane coating composite with inherently extremely low gloss. The coating composite was comprised of a siloxane-containing waterborne polyurethane (SPU) resin and a crosslinked waterborne polyurethane (CPU) resin. The CPU resin was mainly responsible for fabricating the micro-rough surface of the film, which was achieved by a crosslinking reaction between the waterborne polyurethane and bisphenol A-type epoxy E-44 resin. The SPU resin was used to improve the comprehensive properties of the film, which was ascribed to the addition of silane coupling agent KH792. Compared with traditional matte coatings, this coating composite made it possible to avoid high loadings of matting agent and to arrive at highly flexible low-gloss finishes. Gloss levels of as low as a few tenths of a percent, even at high incidence angles, have been achieved with zero loading of extraneous dulling agent. The chemical structures of the SPU and CPU resins were characterized by FTIR-ATR and NMR spectra. The micro-rough topographies and surface rough degrees of the SPU, CPU and their 50%/50% composite films were measured by SEM and MSP, respectively. The particle sizes and particle morphologies of the SPU and CPU resins were imaged by TEM. Finally, the comprehensive properties of the SPU, CPU and their 50%/50% composite resins were evaluated, including the water contact angle, film transparency, tensile strength and storage stability.     

Surface topography and tribological properties of coatings prepared from microparticle size polyurethane dispersions studied by atomic force microscopy

The surface topography and mechanical properties of coatings prepared using large particle size polyurethane dispersions (PUD) are investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging, AFM-based force measurements, and friction force microscopy. PUD coatings, which are prepared from dispersions containing particles of micron size, have surface roughness of 250–300 nm and waviness of 2.5–3 μm resulting from the particle size. The surface moduli of the PUD coatings are varied by tuning the ratio of hard-to-soft segmentation in the polyurethanes and are found to be between 40 and 100 MPa. The friction coefficient obtained in the study is found to be correlated with both the surface modulus of the coatings and the adhesion between the probe and the samples and is well in line with the perceived feel of an experienced human panel. The data are very well behaved and clearly show the utility of this technique in characterizing these types of surfaces.     

The dynamics of local quantum uncertainty and trace distance discord for two-qubit <Emphasis Type="Italic">X</Emphasis> states under decoherence: a comparative study

We employ the concepts of local quantum uncertainty and geometric quantum discord based on the trace norm to investigate the environmental effects on quantum correlations of two bipartite quantum systems. The first one concerns a two-qubit system coupled with two independent bosonic reservoirs. We show that the trace discord exhibits frozen phenomenon contrarily to local quantum uncertainty. The second scenario deals with a two-level system, initially prepared in a separable state, interacting with a quantized electromagnetic radiation. Our results show that there exists an exchange of quantum correlations between the two-level system and its surrounding which is responsible for the revival phenomenon of non-classical correlations.     

Pose-Invariant Facial Expression Recognition Using Variable-Intensity Templates

In this paper, we propose a method for pose-invariant facial expression recognition from monocular video sequences. The advantage of our method is that, unlike existing methods, our method uses a simple model, called the variable-intensity template, for describing different facial expressions. This makes it possible to prepare a model for each person with very little time and effort. Variable-intensity templates describe how the intensities of multiple points, defined in the vicinity of facial parts, vary with different facial expressions. By using this model in the framework of a particle filter, our method is capable of estimating facial poses and expressions simultaneously. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our method. A recognition rate of over 90% is achieved for all facial orientations, horizontal, vertical, and in-plane, in the range of ±40 degrees, ±20 degrees, and ±40 degrees from the frontal view, respectively. Electronic Supplementary Material  The online version of this article () contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Determination of Neomycin in Aquatic Products Using an Immunoaffinity Column Coupled to High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Neomycin is widely used in veterinary medicine, while the confirmatory analysis of neomycin residues in aquatic samples has not been well identified. Here, in this study, an immunoaffinity chromatography (IAC) for determination of neomycin residues in aquatic sample was developed and optimized. The average maximum reserved content of neomycin (MRC) was calculated as 1611 ng, and by the simple regeneration with phosphate buffer saline, the recovery value maintained above 75 % even at the 32nd reusage (at the loading amount of 1200 ng). With the combination of IAC and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), a new strategy for the analysis of neomycin was proposed and validated with different aquatic products. With the spiking concentration from 400 to 1200 ng/Kg, the recovery value was observed in the range of 75.58–117.80 %, and the CV was lower than 11 %. All these results suggested that the IAC-HPLC is a new and promising technique for the routine monitoring of neomycin residue in aquatic products.     

Differences between the isostructural IRMOF-1 and MOCP-L porous adsorbents

Several discrepancies have emerged about the preparation methods of MOF-5 material, one of the adsorbents more studied for hydrogen storage, because different synthesis procedures give rise to apparently isostructural materials but actually having very different textural properties and also showing different hydrogen adsorption capacities. In this work, MOF-5 material has been successfully synthesized according to the two most extended methods, and the respective resulting materials, IRMOF-1 and MOCP-L, have been widely characterized. Powder X-ray diffraction confirmed that MOF-5 is the main crystallized phase obtained in both cases, and that the MOCP-L product contains some ZnO impurities, mainly in the form of segregated crystals that appear preferentially outside the micropores. The presence of ZnO in the MOCP-L material has been also confirmed by other characterization techniques. On the other hand, interpenetrated networks in the MOCP-L material are not significant, appearing in any case at a similar extent than in IRMOF-1; consequently it cannot be considered for explaining the differences observed in the adsorption capacity of both materials. These differences cannot be completely explained simply by the segregated ZnO impurities, so the presence of some ZnO nanocrystals partially blocking the micropores of MOCP-L must be admitted.     

Silver(I) Polymer of Tripodal Amine: Synthesis,Structure and Photoluminescence

Starting from tripodal ligand tris-(methyl-imidazole) amine (1) the colourless complex tris-(methyl-imidazole)aminesilver(I)perchlorate (2) has been synthesized, characterized by IR, UV/Vis and ¹HNMR spectroscopic studies and finally solid state structure has been established by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. A single crystal X-ray structure determination revealed the formation of coordination polymer. The crystal structure possesses weak d¹⁰–d¹⁰ ‘argentophilic’ interactions with Ag–Ag separation (3.348 Å). The weak luminance at 375 nm may be this Ag–Ag weak interaction. The molecule possesses weak H-bonding with C2 and C4H of imidazole with oxygen of ClO₄.     

<Emphasis Type=Italic>trans</Emphasis>-Fatty Acid Isomers in Adipose Tissue Have Divergent Associations with Adiposity in Humans

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between adipose tissue trans-fatty acid isomers and adiposity. This cross-sectional study included 1,785 subjects from Costa Rica. Fatty acid concentrations (as a percentage of the total fatty acids) in subcutaneous adipose tissue were assessed by gas–liquid chromatography. Dietary intakes were assessed with a food frequency questionnaire. Multivariate linear regression models were used to relate adipose tissue trans-fatty acid content to BMI, waist circumference, and skinfold thickness while adjusting for age, sex, and area of residence. To account for variations in lifestyle, we adjusted for smoking, physical activity, income, self-reported history of diabetes and hypertension, and for adipose tissue alpha-linolenic acid and energy intake in a third model. After adjustments, positive associations were found between 18:2t-fatty acids (primarily from partially hydrogenated oils) and BMI, waist circumference, and skinfold thickness (P for each association <0.01). Rumenic acid was positively associated with skinfold thickness (P < 0.0001), but not with BMI or waist circumference (P > 0.05). Inverse associations were found between 16:1n-7t-fatty acids and skinfold thickness and between 18:1t-fatty acids and BMI and waist circumference (P < 0.0001). This study suggests that individual trans-fatty acid isomers may have divergent effects on adiposity. 18:2t-fatty acids show consistent positive associations with measures of adiposity. These isomer-specific associations are an interesting new finding. Other prospective and intervention studies are necessary to examine these relationships further.