P2Y11 Agonism Prevents Hypoxia/Reoxygenation- and Angiotensin II-Induced Vascular Dysfunction and Intimal Hyperplasia Development

Vascular dysfunction in cardiovascular diseases includes vasomotor response impairments, endothelial cells (ECs) activation, and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) proliferation and migration to the intima. This results in intimal hyperplasia and vessel failure. We previously reported that activation of the P2Y11 receptor (P2Y11R) in human dendritic cells, cardiofibroblasts and cardiomyocytes was protective against hypoxia/reoxygenation (HR) lesions. In this study, we investigated the role of P2Y11R signaling in vascular dysfunction. P2Y11R activity was modulated using its pharmacological agonist NF546 and antagonist NF340. Rat aortic rings were exposed to angiotensin II (AngII) and evaluated for their vasomotor response. The P2Y11R agonist NF546 reduced AngII-induced vascular dysfunction by promoting EC-dependent vasorelaxation, through an increased nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and reduced AngII-induced H₂O₂ release; these effects were prevented by the use of the P2Y11R antagonist NF340. Human vascular SMCs and ECs were subjected to AngII or H/R simulation in vitro. P2Y11R agonist modulated vasoactive factors in human ECs, that is, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and endothelin-1, reduced SMC proliferation and prevented the switch towards a synthetic phenotype. H/R and AngII increased ECs secretome-induced SMC proliferation, an effect prevented by P2Y11R activation. Thus, our data suggest that P2Y11R activation may protect blood vessels from HR-/AngII-induced injury and reduce vascular dysfunctions. These results open the way for new vasculoprotective interventions.     

Structure–property relationship of sodium deoxycholate based poly(ester ether)urethane ionomers for biomedical applications

New sodium deoxycholate based poly(ester ether)urethane ionomers were prepared for the development of biomedical materials. A structure–property relationship in the tested biomaterials was established by cross‐examination of the dynamic mechanical and dielectric properties, attenuated total reflection–Fourier transform infrared investigation, thermogravimetric analysis, and surface morphology characterization. A stronger ionic interaction and solvation capacity of the ions and a higher ionic conductivity were manifested in the case of poly(ethylene oxide)‐rich segments than for poly(propylene oxide)‐rich segments in these polyurethane ionomers. The molecular and ionic interactions of the bile‐salt moiety with different polyether cosoft segments influenced chain packing and conformation, supramolecular organization, and the resulting surface morphological microstructures of the polyurethane biomembranes. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 42921.     

The Importance of Small Extracellular Vesicles in the Cerebral Metastatic Process

Brain metastases represent more than 50% of all cerebral tumors encountered in clinical practice. Recently, there has been increased interest in the study of extracellular vesicles, and the knowledge about exosomes is constantly expanding. Exosomes are drivers for organotropic metastatic spread, playing important roles in the brain metastatic process by increasing the permeability of the blood–brain barrier and preparing the premetastatic niche. The promising results of the latest experimental studies raise the possibility of one day using exosomes for liquid biopsies or as drug carriers, contributing to early diagnosis and improving the efficacy of chemotherapy in patients with brain metastases. In this review, we attempted to summarize the latest knowledge about the role of exosomes in the brain metastatic process and future research directions for the use of exosomes in patients suffering from brain metastatic disease.     

Classification Using Φ-Machines and Constructive Function Approximation

This article presents a new classification algorithm, called CLEF, which induces a -machine by constructing its own features based on the training data. The features can be viewed as defining subsets of the instance space, and they allow CLEF to create useful non-linear functions over the input variables. The algorithm is guaranteed to find a classifier that separates the training instances, if such a separation is possible. We compare CLEF empirically to several other classification algorithms, including a well-known decision tree inducer, an artificial neural network inducer, and a support vector machine inducer. Our results show that the CLEF-induced -machines and support vector machines have similar accuracy on the suite tested, and that both are significantly more accurate than the other classifiers produced. We argue that the classifiers produced by CLEF are easy to interpret, and hence may be preferred over support vector machines in certain circumstances.     

Chemical transformation of PVC by phase transfer catalysis

Summary Suspension type PVC was reacted with sodium phenoxide in presence of different quaternary ammonium halides in THF or THF/water mixtures. The competition elimination vs. substitution of chlorine atoms depends on the homogeneity of the system, i.e. the more homogeneous the reaction mixture the less substituted the polymer.Dedicated to the 60th anniversary of Prof. Otto Vogl     

On the mechanism of bubble formation in a fluidized bed

A mechanism of bubble formation in a nonhomogeneous fluidized bed, based on instability theory, is suggested. In this mechanism it is assumed that the “bubbles” are formed at the bottom of the bed by the growth of prominences appearing because of the instability to perturbations of the lower surface of the bed. A bubble breaks off when the volume of the prominence becomes sufficiently large so that the buoyant force equals the sum of the bed resistance opposing its growth and the inertial forces. An equation for the diameter of the departing bubble is established.     

盐水介质中Ti12Mo5Ta合金的电化学特性(英文)

比较了未再结晶和再结晶Ti12Mo5Ta合金、未再结晶Ti12Mo合金和工业用纯钛(cp-Ti)在0.9%生理盐水(pH 2.3)中37°C下的电化学行为。从阳极极化曲线中得到了极低的钝化电流密度(10-6 A/cm2),这表明所有样品在酸性0.9%NaCl溶液中具有高的耐蚀性能。采用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)观察样品的表面形貌,发现所有样品表面受到了相同的腐蚀,而且经阳极动电位极化测试后的样品表面没有出现点蚀、裂纹或其它缺陷。使用等效电路模拟电化学阻抗谱(EIS)数据,以表征样品表面且更好地理解Mo和Ta的添加对cp-Ti及再结晶的影响。EIS结果证实,在开路电位下,所有样品在0.9%NaCl溶液(pH 2.3)中产生钝化(极化电阻约为105Ω·cm2)。在37°C时,样品在0.9%NaCl溶液中(pH 2.3)的耐蚀性顺序为:再结晶Ti12Mo5Ta未再结晶Ti12Mo5Ta未再结晶Ti12Mocp-Ti。     

Organochlorine pesticides in colostrums in case of normal and preterm labor (IASI, Romania)

Assessment of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in human body is important for human health because they have weak estrogenic or antiestrogenic effects and are considered endocrine disrupters. We used colostrum of women as indicator for levels of OCPs in human body for mothers with normal and preterm labor from eastern part of Romania. Sixty- three samples of colostrum were extracted by solid-phase extraction. Analyses were carried out using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). OCPs have been detected in all samples, with p,p’-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p’-DDE) and γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH) being at the highest concentrations. Of the organochlorines measured in clostrum samples from women in preterm labor, median levels of DDTs (470 ng/g) and HCHs (99 ng/g) were higher than for the same compounds from women in normal labor (median of DDTs = 268 ng/g and median of HCHs = 96 ng/g). Normal labor had higher median concentrations of HCB (19.5 ng/g) versus preterm labor (14 ng/g). Statistical data show high Spearman correlation coefficients between various OCPs. We found a good correlation between α-, γ-, β- and δ- HCH isomers (p < 0.001) for both normal and preterm labor. The most abundant target compound was p,p’-DDE (median value 96 ng/g, and 137 ng/g for mother with normal and preterm labor, respectively) in all colostrum samples. The estimated daily intakes of HCHs by infants exceeded corresponding Health Canada guidelines.     

Performance comparison of local area video streaming systems

The performance of our Quality Oriented Adaptation Scheme (QOAS) for multimedia streaming in local networks is compared with other existing solutions (TFRCP, LDA+, and non-adaptive). This comparison is done in terms of bandwidth utilization, number of concurrent clients, loss rate, and end-user perceived quality. Simulation results show that for the same average end-user quality, our QOAS system can accommodate a significantly higher number of simultaneous clients while also having higher bandwidth utilization. For the same number of clients, the average end-user quality is always higher for QOAS than for the other solutions studied.