Accumulation of pyrraline-modified albumin in phagocytes due to reduced degradation by lysosomal enzymes

Previous studies suggested that the interaction between proteins modified by advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and cells, such as macrophages, may be involved in diabetic angiopathy. Pyrraline is one of the AGEs and known to be elevated in plasma of diabetic rats and humans, and is present in vascular lesions of diabetic and elderly subjects. We examined whether modification of albumin by pyrraline influences its degradation by macrophage-like cell line, P388D1 cells. Degradation of pyrraline-modified albumin by these cells was diminished, causing accumulation of the albumin in these cells. The susceptibility of pyrraline-modified albumin to lysosomal proteolytic enzymes was reduced by approximately 40% in vitro, while lysosomal activity in the cells per se was not affected. This phenomenon was also observed when human monocytes were used instead of P388D1 cells. Our results suggest that accumulation of pyrraline-modified albumin in P388D1 cells is due to the reduced susceptibility of the protein to lysosomal enzymatic degradation. Such alterations in the interaction between AGEs-modified protein and phagocytes may contribute to angiopathy in elderly subjects and patients with diabetes.     

Material Flow Analyses of Noncircular-Shaped Granular Media Using Discrete Element Methods

The mathematical development and application of two discrete element methods for analyzing the material flow of granular media is described. These two discrete element methods model the noncircular-shaped particles with analytical surface representations. 2D particles are modeled with a superquadric equation and 3D particles as ellipsoids. Two examples are then presented to illustrate the applicability of these techniques in engineering analysis. These examples include (1) flow of particulate media in a rotating drum; and (2) flow of ore material in an inclined ore pass system.     

An X-ray absorption approach to mixed and metallicity-sorted single-walled carbon nanotubes

Carbon based structures have been widely studied by X-ray absorption (XAS), also called NEXAFS, which is a very useful bulk probing method that allows examining the unoccupied density of states (DOS) and the site selective bonding environment. Two very well known spectral features in the XAS core level spectrum are the σ* and π* bands, and both have been analyzed in several studies for graphitic-like systems. However, among all the carbon materials, the unique one-dimensional electronic properties attributed to single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) exhibit features that reveal clearly their electronic structure in the core level XAS spectrum. In this article, we outline the C1s response in XAS, which is related to the DOS of the conduction band in SWCNTs and its fine structure, revealed by experiments performed on metallicity-sorted SWCNT material. The progress in the identification of changes in the site selective conduction band electronic structure with XAS is discussed in detail.     

Relationship between Expression of Onco-Related miRNAs and the Endoscopic Appearance of Colorectal Tumors

Accumulating data indicates that certain microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are differently expressed in samples of tumors and paired non-tumorous samples taken from the same patients with colorectal tumors. We examined the expression of onco-related miRNAs in 131 sporadic exophytic adenomas or early cancers and in 52 sporadic flat elevated adenomas or early cancers to clarify the relationship between the expression of the miRNAs and the endoscopic morphological appearance of the colorectal tumors. The expression levels of miR-143, -145, and -34a were significantly reduced in most of the exophytic tumors compared with those in the flat elevated ones. In type 2 cancers, the miRNA expression profile was very similar to that of the exophytic tumors. The expression levels of miR-7 and -21 were significantly up-regulated in some flat elevated adenomas compared with those in exophytic adenomas. In contrast, in most of the miR-143 and -145 down-regulated cases of the adenoma-carcinoma sequence and in some of the de novo types of carcinoma, the up-regulation of oncogenic miR-7 and/or -21 contributed to the triggering mechanism leading to the carcinogenetic process. These findings indicated that the expression of onco-related miRNA was associated with the morphological appearance of colorectal tumors.     

Acetic Acid-Catalyzed Formation of N-Phenylphthalimide from Phthalanilic Acid: A Computational Study of the Mechanism

In glacial acetic acid, phthalanilic acid and its monosubstituents are known to be converted to the corresponding phthalimides in relatively good yields. In this study, we computationally investigated the experimentally proposed two-step (addition-elimination or cyclization-dehydration) mechanism at the second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation (MP2) level of theory for the unsubstituted phthalanilic acid, with an explicit acetic acid molecule included in the calculations. In the first step, a gem-diol tetrahedral intermediate is formed by the nucleophilic attack of the amide nitrogen. The second step is dehydration of the intermediate to give N-phenylphthalimide. In agreement with experimental findings, the second step has been shown to be rate-determining. Most importantly, both of the steps are catalyzed by an acetic acid molecule, which acts both as proton donor and acceptor. The present findings, along with those from our previous studies, suggest that acetic acid and other carboxylic acids (in their undissociated forms) can catalyze intramolecular nucleophilic attacks by amide nitrogens and breakdown of the resulting tetrahedral intermediates, acting simultaneously as proton donor and acceptor. In other words, double proton transfers involving a carboxylic acid molecule can be part of an extensive bond reorganization process from cyclic hydrogen-bonded complexes.     

CuI and H2O2 Inactivate and FeII Inhibits [Fe]‐Hydrogenase at Very Low Concentrations

[Fe]‐Hydrogenase (Hmd) catalyzes reversible hydride transfer from H₂. It harbors an iron‐guanylylpyridinol as a cofactor with an Fe^II that is ligated to one thiolate, two COs, one acyl‐C, one pyridinol‐N, and solvent. Here, we report that Cu^I and H₂O₂ inactivate Hmd (half‐maximal rates at 1 μM Cu^I and 20 μM H₂O₂) and that Fe^II inhibits the enzyme with very high affinity (K_i=40 nM ). Infrared and EPR studies together with competitive inhibition studies with isocyanide indicated that Cu^I exerts its inhibitory effect most probably by binding to the active site iron‐thiolate ligand. Using the same methods, it was found that H₂O₂ binds to the active‐site iron at the solvent‐binding site and oxidizes Fe^II to Fe^III. Also it was shown that Fe^II reversibly binds away from the active site iron, with binding being competitive to the organic hydride acceptor; this inhibition is specific for Fe^II and is reminiscent of that for the [FeFe]‐hydrogenase second iron, which specifically interacts with H₂.     

采用无偏振片反射式LCD及超低功耗驱动技术制造移动显示器件

我们通过对材料和制备条件的精细化处理,生产出一种在低刷新频率下无闪烁和图像迟滞现象的反射式显示器。该显示器的功耗非常低,且可在宽温度范围内工作,是未来移动显示器件的潜力平台。     

Estimation of daily intake of phenols in hospital meal samples

Daily intakes of 12 phenols which are possible endocrine disruptors were estimated in hospital meals from 2000 to 2001. 4-Nonylphenol (4-NP (mix)) and bisphenol A (BPA) were detected at levels of 5.0 to 19.4 ng/g and 0.2 to 1.1 ng/g, respectively. 4-tert-Butylphenol, 4-n-pentylphenol, 4 -tert-pentylphenol, 4-n-hexylphenol, 4-n-heptylphenol and 4-tert-octylphenol were detected at levels of 0.1 to 2.4 microg/g. The daily intakes of 4-NP (mix) and BPA were 5.8 microg/day and 0.42 microg/day, respectively. The daily intakes of other phenols were less than 1 microg/day.     

Pressure-sensitive molecular film for investigation of micro gas flows

For the development of micro- and nano-technology, it has been strongly desired to understand thermo-fluid phenomena inside or around micro- and nano-devices. An optical measurement technique based on the absorption and the emission of photons by molecules is useful for experimental analyses of thermo-fluid phenomena of micro and nanoflows. The pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) technique is a potential diagnostic tool for pressure measurements of micro/nano gas flows because it works as a so-called “molecular sensor”. However, the micro-scale measurement of PSP has been limited by the aggregation of the luminescent molecules and their thick film due to the use of a polymer binder. In our previous work, we adopted the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique to fabricate pressure-sensitive molecular film (PSMF) with ordered molecular assemblies, and investigated properties of PSMF. In this study, a novel approach to enhance the luminescent intensity of PSMF is proposed, and the pressure distribution in a micro-nozzle is successfully measured by using PSMF. Moreover, we compared the pressure distribution measured by PSMF with that numerically analyzed by the direct simulation monte carlo (DSMC) method, showing good agreement with each other.     

Solid and thermal properties of ABA‐type triblock copolymers designed using difunctional fluorine‐containing polyimide macroinitiators with methyl methacrylate

BACKGROUND: ABA‐type poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and fluorine‐containing polyimide triblock copolymers are potentially beneficial for electric materials. In the work reported here, triblock copolymers with various block lengths were prepared from fluorine‐containing difunctional polyimide macroinitiators and methyl methacrylate monomer through atom‐transfer radical polymerization. The effects of structure on their solid and thermal properties were studied. RESULTS: The weight ratios of the triblock copolymers derived using thermogravimetric analysis were shown to be almost identical to the ratios determined using ¹H NMR. The solid properties (film density and maximum d‐spacing value) and thermal properties (glass transition and thermal expansion) were shown to be strongly dependent on the weight ratios of both PMMA and polyimide components. Furthermore, a porous film, which showed a lower dielectric constant of 2.48 at 1 MHz, could be prepared by heating a triblock copolymer film to induce the thermal degradation of the PMMA component. CONCLUSION: The use of the polyimide macroinitiator was useful in the preparation of ABA‐type triblock copolymers to control each block length that influences the solid and thermal properties. Additionally, the triblock copolymers have great potential in preparing porous polyimides in the application of electric materials as interlayer insulation membranes of large‐scale integration. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry