Development of Molecular Sieves‐Supported Palladium Catalyst and Chemoselective Hydrogenation of Unsaturated Bonds in the Presence of Nitro Groups

The chemoselective hydrogenation of unsaturated bonds and azide functionalities is achieved in the presence of nitro groups by a heterogeneous palladium catalyst supported on molecular sieves (MS3A). The present method shows a wide‐range of applicability with regard to substrates and the catalyst can be easily prepared and reused at least three times without any loss of activity.     

Cyclooxygenase Inhibition Alters Proliferative,Migratory, and Invasive Properties of Human Glioblastoma Cells In Vitro

Prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) is known to increase glioblastoma (GBM) cell proliferation and migration while cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibition decreases proliferation and migration. The present study investigated the effects of COX inhibitors and PGE₂ receptor antagonists on GBM cell biology. Cells were grown with inhibitors and dose response, viable cell counting, flow cytometry, cell migration, gene expression, Western blotting, and gelatin zymography studies were performed. The stimulatory effects of PGE₂ and the inhibitory effects of ibuprofen (IBP) were confirmed in GBM cells. The EP2 and EP4 receptors were identified as important mediators of the actions of PGE₂ in GBM cells. The concomitant inhibition of EP2 and EP4 caused a significant decrease in cell migration which was not reverted by exogenous PGE₂. In T98G cells exogenous PGE₂ increased latent MMP2 gelatinolytic activity. The inhibition of COX1 or COX2 caused significant alterations in MMP2 expression and gelatinolytic activity in GBM cells. These findings provide further evidence for the importance of PGE₂ signalling through the EP2 and the EP4 receptor in the control of GBM cell biology. They also support the hypothesis that a relationship exists between COX1 and MMP2 in GBM cells which merits further investigation as a novel therapeutic target for drug development.     

Design,Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Lysine Demethylase 5 C Degraders

Lysine demethylase 5 C (KDM5C) controls epigenetic gene expression and is attracting great interest in the field of chemical epigenetics. KDM5C has emerged as a therapeutic target for anti-prostate cancer agents, and recently we identified triazole 1 as an inhibitor of KDM5C. Compound 1 exhibited highly potent KDM5C-inhibitory activity in in vitro enzyme assays, but did not show strong anticancer effects. Therefore, a different approach is needed for the development of anticancer agents targeting KDM5C. Here, we attempted to identify KDM5C degraders by focusing on a protein-knockdown strategy. Compound 3 b , which was designed based on compound 1 , degraded KDM5C and inhibited the growth of prostate cancer PC-3 cells more strongly than compound 1 . These findings suggest that KDM5C degraders are more effective as anticancer agents than compounds that only inhibit the catalytic activity of KDM5C.     

Theoretical analyses of surface interaction stresses considering two-dimensional periodic material distributions

Microsystem Technologies - The interaction stresses (pressure and shear stress) for the (001) surface between a half-space consisting of a homogeneous material and a half-space with a spatially...     

Performance evaluation of ozonation and an ozone/hydrogen peroxide process toward development of a new sewage treatment process—Focusing on organic compounds and emerging contaminants

Performance of ozonation and an ozone/hydrogen peroxide process under a new concept centering on ozonation and/or ozone/hydrogen peroxide processes in sewage treatment processes comprising only physical and chemical processes are discussed, with focus on the removal of matrix organic compounds and emerging contaminants. Matrix organic compounds of filtrated primary sewage effluents were removed to as low as 3.2 mgC/L in the ozone/hydrogen peroxide process at an ozone consumption of around 400 mg/L. Linear relationships between ozone consumption and removal amounts of organic compounds were observed, in which the amounts of ozone required to remove 1 mg of organic carbon were 9.5 and 8.3 mg (2.4 and 2.1 mol-O₃/mol-C) in ozonation and the ozone/hydrogen peroxide process, respectively. Ratios of hydroxyl radical exposure to ozone exposure were in the order of 10^–9 to 10^–8 for ozonation and 10^–7 to 10^–6 for the ozone/hydrogen peroxide process. Experiments and a kinetic evaluation showed that ozonation and/or the ozone/hydrogen peroxide process have high elimination capability for emerging contaminants, even in primary sewage effluent with the thorough removal of matrix organic compounds. Newly found reaction phenomena, the temporal increase and decrease of dissolved ozone and accumulation of hydrogen peroxide in the early stage of oxidation with the continuous feeding of hydrogen peroxide, were presented. Possible reaction mechanisms are also discussed.     

Sillimanite‐mullite transformation observed in synchrotron X‐ray diffraction experiments

High‐resolution synchrotron powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD) experiments were conducted to clarify the transformation of sillimanite to mullite (mullitization) and determine the mullitization temperature (T_c). We were able to distinguish sillimanite and mullite in the XRD patterns, despite their very similar crystallographic parameters, and to detect the appearance of small mullite peaks among sillimanite peaks. Analysis of the Johnson‐Mehl‐Avrami (JMA) equation for mullitization ratio (ζ) revealed that at temperatures T≥1240°C the mullitization had the same kinetics. The activation energy E at T≥1240°C obtained from the Arrhenius plot was 679.8 kJ mol^?1. In analysis using a time‐temperature‐transformation diagram for mullitization, a mullitization curve of ζ=1% can be described as where t is time, n is a reaction‐mechanism‐dependent parameter determined as 0.324 by JMA‐analysis, k₀ is the frequency factor, E_A is the activation energy for atomic diffusion, and represents the activation energy for nucleation. The results of fitting the data to this equation were T_c=1199°C, A=3.9×10⁶ kJ mol^?1 K^?2, E_A=605 kJ mol^?1, and k₀=3.65×10¹⁵. We conclude that the boundary between sillimanite and mullite+SiO₂ in the phase diagram is ~1200°C.     

Oral Secretions Affect HIPVs Induced by Generalist (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mythimna loreyi</Emphasis>) and Specialist (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Parnara guttata</Emphasis>) Herbivores in Rice

Plants synthesize variable mixtures of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) as part of their evolutionary conserved defense. To elucidate the impact of chewing herbivores with different level of adaptation on HIPV profiles in rice, we measured HIPVs released from rice seedlings challenged by either the generalist herbivore Mythimna loreyi (MYL) or the specialist Parnara guttata (PAG). Both herbivores markedly elicited the emission of HIPVs, mainly on the second and third days after attack compared to control plants. In addition, side-by-side HIPV comparisons using MYL and PAG caterpillars revealed that generalist feeding induced comparably more HIPVs relative to specialist, particularly on day two as highlighted by multivariate analysis (PLS-DA) of emitted HIPVs, and further confirmed in mimicked herbivory experiments. Here, mechanically wounded plants treated with water (WW) released more VOCs than untreated controls, and on top of this, oral secretions (OS) from both herbivores showed differential effects on volatile emissions from the wounded plants. Similar to actual herbivory, MYL OS promoted higher amounts of HIPVs relative to PAG OS, thus supporting disparate induction of rice indirect defenses in response to generalist and specialist herbivores, which could be due to the differential composition of their OS. (196 words).     

Roles of rare earth oxide additives in millimeter-wave sintering of AlN

Roles of rare earth oxide (RE2O3) additives in millimeter-wave(MM) sintering of AlN were investigated from the standpoints of phase diagram, heating characteristics of rare earth oxides, and morphology of intergranular oxide phase. In the millimeter-wave sintering of AlN, densification temperature decreased with the decrease of the ionic radius of rare earth ion and was closely related with the eutectic temperature in the RE2O3-Al2O3 binary system. The lowest densification temperature in the millimeter-wave sintering of AlN with Yb2O3 additive was attributed to the largest heating rate of Yb2O3·Al2O3 binary oxide under millimeter-wave radiation. Furthermore, the lowest densification temperature could be attained while selecting the Yb2O3 content so as to form the intergranular phase with the eutectic composition in the Yb2O3-Al2O3 binary system. The result showed good agreement with the above mentioned during the sintering of Si3N4 with Yb2O3-Al2O3 additive. From TEM observation, it was verified that film-like intergranular oxide phase formed under millimeter-wave radiation was favorable for attaining high thermal conductivity in the Yb2O3 added AlNs.     

Protective effects of lemon flavonoids on oxidative stress in diabetic rats

The effects of lemon flavonoids, as crude flavonoids prepared from lemon juice, were investigated in diabetic rats. The oxidative stress of eriocitrin (eriodictyol 7-O-β-rutinoside) and hesperidin (hesperetin 7-O-β-rutinoside) on streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats was investigated. Diabetic rats were given a diet which contained 0.2% crude flavonoids, 0.2% eriocitrin, and 0.2% hesperidin. After the 28-d feeding period, the concentration of the thiobarbituric acid- reactive substance in the serum, liver, and kidney of diabetic rats administered crude flavonoids, eriocitrin, and hesperidin significantly decreased as compared with that of the diabetic group. The levels of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, which is exchanged from deoxyguanosine owing to oxidative stress, in the urine of diabetic rats administered eriocitrin and hesperidin significantly decreased as compared with that of the diabetic rat group. Crude flavonoids, eriocitrin, and hesperidin suppressed the oxidative stress in the diabetic rats. These results demonstrated that dietary lemon flavonoids of eriocitrin and hesperidin play a role as antioxidant in vivo.     

Enzymatic and genetic bases on assimilation, depolymerization, and transport of heteropolysaccharides in bacteria

When microorganisms utilize macromolecules for their growth, they commonly produce extracellular depolymerization enzymes and then incorporate the depolymerized low-molecular-weight products. Assimilation of heteropolysaccharides (gellan and xanthan) by Bacillus sp. GL1 depends on this generally accepted mechanism. On the other hand, Sphingomonas sp. A1 represents an unexplored specific and interesting system for macromolecule assimilation. In the presence of heteropolysaccharide (alginate), the bacterium forms a mouthlike pit on its cell surface and directly incorporates the macromolecule using a novel ATP-binding cassette transporter (ABC transporter). In this review, we discuss enzymatic and genetic bases on the depolymerization and assimilation routes of heteropolysaccharides in bacteria, with particular emphasis on the novel incorporation system for macromolecules, characteristic post-translational modification processes of polysaccharide lyases and on the mouthlike pit structure on the bacterial cell surface.