Cryptolepis sanguinolenta: an ethnobotanical approach to drug discovery and the isolation of a potentially useful new antihyperglycaemic agent

Hypoxia induces an increase in PMN adherence to endothelial cells for which an interaction between ICAM-1 and CD18/CD11b has been demonstrated. Since PECAM-1 has been shown to be involved in PMN transmigration through the endothelium and to increase the binding capacity of leukocyte CD18/CD11b, the role of this molecule in the hypoxia-induced PMN adherence was investigated. Hypoxia did not change the total surface expression of PECAM-1 on HUVEC and did not change the cell-cell border localization of this molecule as TNF-alpha did. In addition, blocking anti-PECAM-1 antibodies could not inhibit the increased adherence of unstimulated human PMN to hypoxia-incubated HUVEC while anti-ICAM-1 partially inhibited this process. These results indicate that PECAM-1 is probably not involved in the hypoxia-induced PMN adherence to endothelial cells.     

Fibroblasts cultured from venous ulcers display cellular characteristics of senescence

PURPOSE: A well-recognized characteristic of venous ulcers is impaired healing. Fibroblasts cultured from venous ulcers (wound-fb) have been shown to have reduced growth rates and are larger than normal fibroblasts (normal-fb) from the ipsilateral limb. Reduced growth capacity and morphologic changes are 2 well-known traits of cellular senescence. Other molecular changes are overexpression of matrix proteins, such as cellular fibronectin (cFN), and enhanced activity of beta-galactosidase at pH of 6.0 (senescence associated beta-Gal, or SA-beta-Gal). Senescence, an irreversible arrest of cell proliferation with maintenance of metabolic functions, may represent in vivo aging and thus may be related to impaired healing. METHODS: Cultured normal-fb and wound-fb from 7 venous ulcer patients (average age, 51 years) were obtained by taking punch biopsies of the perimeter of the ulcer and from the ipsilateral thigh of the same patient. Growth rates, SA-beta-Gal activity, and level of cFN protein (immunoblot) and message (Northern blot) were measured. RESULTS: In all patients, wound-fb growth rates were significantly lower than those of normal-fb (P =.006). A higher percentage of SA-beta-Gal positive cells were found in all wound-fb (average, 6.3% vs. 0.21%; P =.016). The level of cFN, was consistently higher in all wound-fb tested. Also, in 4 patients, the level of cFN messenger RNA (mRNA) was increased. CONCLUSION: Fibroblasts cultured from venous ulcers exhibited characteristics associated with senescent cells. Accumulation of senescent cell in ulcer environment may be associated with impaired healing.     

Determination of zinc in serum, blood, and ultrafiltrate fluid from patients on hemofiltration by graphite furnace/atomic absorption spectroscopy or flow injection analysis/atomic absorption spectroscopy

Two methods were optimized for the determination of zinc in samples of blood, serum, and ultrafiltrate fluid from patients with chronic renal impairment undergoing hemofiltration. In the first procedure, after acid digestion of the samples, Zn in blood and serum is determined by a system coupled to flow injection analysis and atomic absorption spectroscopy. The method is rapid, automated, simple, needs small amounts of sample, and has acceptable analytical characteristics. The analytical characteristics obtained were as follows: determination range of method, 0.05-2.0 ppm of Zn; precision as coefficient of variation (CV), 5.3%; recovery, 95-105%; and detection limit (DL), 0.02 ppm. The second method is optimized for ultrafiltrate fluid because the sensitivity of the first procedure is not suitable for the levels of Zn (ppb or ng/mL) in these samples. The technique chosen was atomic absorption spectroscopy with electrothermal atomization in a graphite furnace. The analytical characteristics obtained were as follows: determination range of method, 0.3-2.0 ppb Zn; CV, 5.7%; recovery, 93-107%; and DL, 0.12 ppb. The methods were used to determine zinc in samples of blood, serum, and ultrafiltrate fluid from 5 patients with chronic renal impairment undergoing hemofiltration to discover whether there were significant differences in the zinc contents of blood, serum, and ultrafiltrate fluid after the hemofiltration process. An analysis of variance of the experimental data obtained from a randomly selected group of 5 patients showed that zinc concentrations in the ultrafiltrate fluid, venous blood, and venous serum do not vary during hemofiltration (p < 0.05), whereas in arterial blood and serum, the time factor has a significant effect.     

Production of a high‐protein meal and fermentable sugars from defatted soybean meal,a co‐product of the soybean oil industry

The goal of this research was to produce a high‐protein meal by treating defatted soybean meal, a by‐product of soybean oil production, with dilute acid. Treatments were a mild hydrolysis at 80 °C with sulphuric acid at concentrations ranging from 0.5% to 2.0% (w/v) and times varying from 1 to 16 h that were arranged according to a central composite rotatable experimental design. The end products were an enhanced‐protein meal and a carbohydrate concentrate of fermentable and nonfermentable sugars. The highest protein content rise, from 48% to 58%, was for treatments with concentrations of acid ranging between 1.2% and 1.7% and times between 1.0 and 2.6 h. The maximum yield of fermentable sugar was 21.0% d.b. at 2.0% H₂SO₄ and treatments of at least 6 h. The conditions that provide a highest protein and sugar contents were the treatments with concentrations of sulphuric acid ranging from 0.9 to 1.9% H₂SO₄ for 1–4 h.     

Combination of stub‐loaded and DMS techniques for planar monopole size reduction

In this study, a new technique is presented to reduce the dimensions of a strip line monopole antenna. A combination of stub‐loaded and defected microstrip structure (DMS) methods are employed to design and built a prototype of a reduced planar monopole performing at UHF band (650 MHz). The method allows achieving a size reduction close to 50%, without modifying, significantly, the parameters of the antenna, including gain, radiation pattern, and polarization. The antenna is suitable to perform in personal communications and can be the basis to extrapolate the application to planar arrays. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2012.     

The effect of roofing material on the quality of harvested rainwater

Due to decreases in the availability and quality of traditional water resources, harvested rainwater is increasingly used for potable and non-potable purposes. In this study, we examined the effect of conventional roofing materials (i.e., asphalt fiberglass shingle, Galvalume^® metal, and concrete tile) and alternative roofing materials (i.e., cool and green) on the quality of harvested rainwater. Results from pilot-scale and full-scale roofs demonstrated that rainwater harvested from any of these roofing materials would require treatment if the consumer wanted to meet United States Environmental Protection Agency primary and secondary drinking water standards or non-potable water reuse guidelines; at a minimum, first-flush diversion, filtration, and disinfection are recommended. Metal roofs are commonly recommended for rainwater harvesting applications, and this study showed that rainwater harvested from metal roofs tends to have lower concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria as compared to other roofing materials. However, concrete tile and cool roofs produced harvested rainwater quality similar to that from the metal roofs, indicating that these roofing materials also are suitable for rainwater harvesting applications. Although the shingle and green roofs produced water quality comparable in many respects to that from the other roofing materials, their dissolved organic carbon concentrations were very high (approximately one order of magnitude higher than what is typical for a finished drinking water in the United States), which might lead to high concentrations of disinfection byproducts after chlorination. Furthermore the concentrations of some metals (e.g., arsenic) in rainwater harvested from the green roof suggest that the quality of commercial growing media should be carefully examined if the harvested rainwater is being considered for domestic use. Hence, roofing material is an important consideration when designing a rainwater catchment.     

Cocaine exposure causes long-term increases in impulsive choice.

In this study, the authors examined the long-term effects of prior exposure to cocaine on a delay-discounting task commonly used to measure impulsive choice. Male Long-Evans rats received daily intraperitoneal injections of 30 mg/kg cocaine HCl or saline for 14 days. Following 3 weeks of withdrawal, rats began training. On each trial, rats were given a choice between 2 levers. A press on 1 lever resulted in immediate delivery of a single 45-mg food pellet, and a press on the other resulted in delivery of 4 pellets after a delay period. Impulsive choice was defined as preference for the small immediate over the large delayed reward. Three months after treatment, cocaine-exposed rats displayed increased impulsive choice behavior. They also showed less anticipatory responding (entries into the food trough) during the delays prior to reward delivery, indicating that the enhanced impulsive choice in these rats may be related to deficits in bridging the delay between response and reward. These data demonstrate that cocaine exposure can cause enduring increases in impulsive choice behavior, consistent with observations in human subjects with drug addictions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Metal solid freeform fabrication using semi-solid slurries

A new process for the direct solid freeform fabrication (SFF) of metallic prototypes and components offers a significant advantage over most other metal-SFF processes: it does not involve the use of powders, thus minimizing porosity and shrinkage distortion. This process utilizes the unique rheological and thermophysical properties of semi-solid-metal (SSM) slurries to build a near-netshape metallic component in one step, without the need of sintering, molds, roughmachining, or post-processing operations. A stream of semi-solid is deposited over a moving substrate that follows a three-dimensional pattern. The high viscosity of semi-solid slurries and their particular rheology allows the stream to be deposited over previous layers in a controlled fashion, without traces of an interface. Because the rate of deposition is an order of magnitude faster than in other SFF processes, manufacturing is also faster. In addition, distortion problems characteristic of other processes involving fully molten metal are significantly reduced because the material deposited is already partially solid. In this paper, the first implementation of this technology is presented in detail. Eventually, this process could be useful in the production of a small series of large metallic components that would otherwise be produced by casting or machining. Those processes cost more and result in lower-quality components. For more information, contact P.F. Mendez, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Room 4-133, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139; (617) 253-3204; fax (801) 729-6929; e-mail pat@mit.edu.