Decreased levels of a soluble form of the human adhesion receptor CD58 (LFA-3) in sera and synovial fluids of patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The mode of interaction between muramyl dipeptide (MDP), a compound with immunopharmacological activities, and 5-hydroxtryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) was studied in isolated nerve-smooth muscle preparations of the carp stomach. Application of exogenous 5-HT evoked direct smooth muscle contractions; electric neurogenic stimulation evoked twitches due to release of 5-HT from nerve endings. Contractions evoked by a high concentration of 5-HT (3-30 microM) were resistant to atropine and potentiated in the presence of MDP. Isamoltan (5-HTID antagonist) decreased the amplitude of contractions, whereas ketanserin (5-HT2 antagonist) and MDL 72,222 (5-HT3 antagonist) had no effect. The addition of low concentrations (0.1-1.5 microM) of 5-HT did not contract the preparation but caused a decrease in the amplitude of neurogenic twitches, which might be due to the presynaptic inhibition of serotonin release. This effect of 5-HT was not changed by isamoltan or ketanserin, but it was largely reduced in the presence of 5-HT3 antagonists tropisetron and MDL 72,222. This inhibitory effect of 5-HT on twitch amplitude was potentiated by MDP. The interaction of MDP with the serotonergic system thus involved not only potentiation of the postsynaptic effect of higher 5-HT concentrations, which might have been mediated via the 5-HT1 subsystem, but also presynaptic inhibition. MDP enhancement of 5-HT's inhibitory effect, mediated via 5-HT3 receptors, might represent a new feature in mutual 5-HT-MDP interactions.     

Functionalization of soluble polymers

Summary The synthesis of di-(4-formylphenyloxyethyl) poly(oxyethylene) and the corresponding oxime derivative are described. Kinetic aspects of the reaction of the dichloro telechelic with 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde are investigated and discussed.     

Conductive PE-carbon composites by elongation flow injection moulding

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this paper the preparation of linear polyethylene (PE)-carbon black processed composites with conducting electrical properties was examined by means of elongation flow injection moulding. Mould geometry was optimized in the form of oriented double-armed bars so as to give enhanced mechanical properties combined with a high degree of electrical homogeneity. The present paper deals with composites using a high molecular weight PE matrix. It is shown that the injection-moulded composite material exhibits not only a lower percolation threshold, _c, than the conventionally pressure-moulded isotropic sample, but also conductivities two to three orders of magnitude larger than the latter. The radial and axial conductivity profiles, for concentrations well above _c, are discussed in the light of the molecular orientation variations across the bars as determined by birefringence. A segregation of primary filler particles, during flow-induced orientation, into axial channels has been shown to explain the enhancement of conductivity detected in the injected mouldings. In addition, for filler concentrations near 7%, -profile analysis indicates the development of a uniform conductive-stiff inner cylinder, several millimetres wide, homogeneously extending along the full length of the injected material.     

Structure development in amorphous starch as revealed by X‐ray scattering: Influence of the network structure and water content

The evolution of the amorphous structure of starch was characterized during the drying process by real‐time X‐ray wide‐angle scattering. The X‐ray diffractograms of injection‐molded starch show two superposed, rather broad, scattering maxima indicative of noncrystalline structures. The location of the two peaks has been associated to disordered starch single helices. A third maximum that arises upon drying the material in vacuum is associated to the scattering emerging from regions containing double helices. A model for the starch network is proposed, assuming a primary and a secondary component. The wider, temperature stable component appearing first, is correlated to the entanglement network of the melt. The narrower network component, which is created later, at lower temperature (secondary network), is explained by the formation of double helix regions that densify the wider primary network. The secondary network is increased strongly by the drying process. X‐ray experiments performed during the penetration of water, provoking a higher molecular mobility, reveal a better‐packed helical structure that becomes the precursor of a double helix crystalline formation. When temperature increases, the secondary network is dissolved and water molecules arrange themselves in better‐organized crystals as strongly bound crystal water. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 1880–1886, 2006     

Effect of Ionic Substitution on the Thermal Expansion of ZrTiO4

New oxide compounds with α-PbO₂ structure have been synthesized by solid-state reactions. These are derived from ZrTiO₄ and HfTiO₄ by a different kind of ionic substitution. The thermal expansion behavior of these phases was investigated by means of a dilatometer and an X-ray heating diffractometer. These measurements revealed rather low expansion for some of the Zr(Me³⁺/Me⁵⁺)O₄, solid solutions. This behavior is attributed to their high expansion anisotropy, which leads to extended formation of microcracks.     

Advanced methods for the estimation of an unknown projection from a map

This article presents three new methods (M5, M6, M7) for the estimation of an unknown map projection and its parameters. Such an analysis is beneficial and interesting for historic, old, or current maps without information about the map projection; it could improve their georeference. The location similarity approach takes into account the residuals on the corresponding features; the minimum is found using the non-linear least squares. For the shape similarity approach, the minimized objective function ? takes into account the spatial distribution of the features, together with the shapes of the meridians, parallels and other 0D-2D elements. Due to the non-convexity and discontinuity, its global minimum is determined using the global optimization, represented by the differential evolution. The constant values of projection φ _k , λ _k , φ ₁, λ ₀, and map constants R,ΔX,ΔY, α (in relation to which the methods are invariant) are estimated. All methods are compared and the results are presented for the synthetic data as well as for 8 early maps from the Map Collection of the Charles University and the David Rumsay Map Collection. The proposed algorithms have been implemented in the new version of the detectproj software.     

Capillary HPLC-NMR Coupling: High-Resolution (1)H NMR Spectroscopy in the Nanoliter Scale

Coupling HPLC and NMR is one of the most powerful techniques for simultaneous separation and structural elucidation of unknown compounds in mixtures. To date, however, minimizing the detection volume, as is required when coupling NMR with miniaturized separation techniques, has been accompanied by a dramatic loss in resolution of the NMR spectra. Here, we report on the coupling of gradient capillary HPLC with on-column, high-resolution NMR detection. On-line stopped-flow and static (1)H NMR spectra were acquired with capillary columns of 75-315 μm i.d. With detection over a length of 1.2 cm, cell volumes cover a range of 50-900 nL. An on-line-detected NMR separation of dansylated amino acids was carried out in a 315 μm i.d. fused silica capillary packed to a length of 12 cm with C(18) stationary phase. The low solvent consumption makes the use of fully deuterated solvents economically feasible. NMR spectra with resolution on the order of 3 Hz were obtained using a 50 nL detection cell to measure 1.1 nmol of dansylated γ-aminobutyric acid under static conditions in a 75 μm i.d. capillary.     

Correlation of microhardness and morphology in injection-moulded poly(ethylene terephtalate)

Microindentation hardness has been applied to a series of injection-moulded poly(ethylene terephtalate) samples prepared using a range of mould temperatures, T _c. The morphology of the samples was characterized by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. Depending on T _c, it is shown that microhardness is lower at the surface than in the core of the mouldings. Results are discussed in terms of the volume fraction of spherulites filling the mouldings which is shown to be dependent upon T _c. The influence of an annealing treatment on the properties of the mouldings is examined. The microhardness values are correlated with the thickness and with the surface free energy of the lamellar crystals. The results obtained indicate that increasing annealing temperatures first leads to an increase and then to a sudden decrease of hardness. The latter can be associated with the changes occurring in the number of defects on the crystal's surface.