Evidence that angiotensin II, endothelins and nitric oxide regulate mitogen-activated protein kinase activity in rat aorta

We measured the activity of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases, enzymes believed to be involved in the pathway for cell proliferation, in rat aortic strips with or without endothelium, and examined effects of angiotensin receptor antagonists, endothelin receptor antagonists and nitric oxide (NO)-related agents. Endothelium removal produced an activation of MAP kinase activity in the strips, whereas the enzyme activity was not affected in the adventitia. The MAP kinase activation was inhibited by either the angiotensin AT1 receptor antagonist losartan or the endothelin ETA receptor antagonist BQ 123. The combination of both antagonists caused an additive inhibition. The angiotensin AT2 receptor antagonist PD 123,319 and the endothelin ETB receptor antagonist BQ 788 did not affect the MAP kinase activation. The NO synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) caused an activation of MAP kinase in the endothelium-intact aorta and the MAP kinase activation was inhibited by losartan or BQ123. The NO releaser nitroprusside inhibited the MAP kinase activation induced by endothelium removal or angiotensin II. These results suggest that even in isolated arteries, NO of endothelial origin tonically exert MAP kinase-inhibiting effects and endogenous angiotensin II and endothelins in the media are tonically released to cause MAP kinase-stimulating effects in medial smooth muscle.     

Novel UV absorbers prepared from 2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone and hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene

The UV-stabilizing ability and thermal loss from the polystyrene film of novel UV absorbers, 2-[(3-hydroxy-4-benzoyl) phenoxy] pentachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HBPC) and hexakis[ (2-hydroxy-4-benzoyl) phenoxy] cyclotriphosphazene (HBPP), were investigated. The UV-stabilizing ability of HBPC estimated by the formation of carbonyl groups in polystyrene was comparable to that of 2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone (DHB), suggesting that the phosphazene moiety does not affect the efficiency of the stabilizing ability of DHB units. No significant difference of efficiency per stabilizing units between HBPC and HBPP was observed. HBPC and HBPP are noteworthy for their low thermal losses from the polystyrene film, i.e., the thermal loss of HBPP was completely suppressed and the diffusion coefficient of HBPC at 160°C was two orders of magnitude smaller than that of DHB. The thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry measurement showed that HBPC and HBPP are nonvolatile and stable up to 230 and 300°C, respectively. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Tensile properties and plastic deformation modes ofβ Zr-Nb alloys

Tensile properties and plastic deformation modes of zirconium-niobium alloys were investigated at 290 and 77 K in the wide composition range from metastable to stable phase. Three types of plastic deformation modes, {332}113 twinning, {112}111 twinning and slip, were observed depending on alloy composition and temperature. {332}113 twinning, which occurs in metastable zirconium alloys, is related to the stability of phase to decomposition and leads to low yield stress and large elongation. On the other hand, {112}111 twinning, which appears in stable zirconium alloys, results from high critical stress for slip due to solution hardening and high Peierls stress and does not affect tensile properties significantly. The results obtained for zirconium-alloys are similar to those for titanium alloys, strongly suggesting that {332}113 twinning is an important plastic deformation mode which is common to phase alloys containing athermal phase.     

Morphology and preferred orientation of Y2O3 film prepared by high-speed laser CVD

Yttria (Y₂O₃) films were prepared at high deposition rates of up to 83 nm/s (300 μm/h) by laser chemical vapor deposition (LCVD) using an Y(dpm)₃ precursor. The effects of deposition conditions, mainly total gas pressure and laser power, on morphology, deposition rate and preferred orientation were studied. Plasma was produced around the substrate over a critical laser power resulting in significant increases in deposition temperature and deposition rate. The high deposition rate (300 μm/h) by LCVD was about 100 to 1000 times as high as those by conventional CVD. The morphology of Y₂O₃ films changed from faceted and columnar structures with high (400) orientation to a columnar structure with high (440) orientation, and finally to a cone-like structure with moderate (440) orientation with increasing total gas pressure (P_tot).     

Spatial distribution of silica fillers in phase-separated rubber blends investigated by three-dimensional elemental mapping

The distribution of nano-sized silica in binary rubber blends is characterized by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) tomography combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). 3D distribution of silica is visualized by STEM-EDX tomography with the tilt-series of silicon elemental maps, while the phase-separated morphologies of polyisoprene rubber (IR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) are visualized by STEM-tomography in high-angle-annular-dark field (HAADF) mode. The combination of STEM-EDX and STEM-HAADF tomography enables us to determine the distribution of silica between the two rubber phases quantitatively even with high contents of silica up to 70 phr (weight parts per hundred rubber). It is found that silica is preferentially distributed in the SBR phase, but it is also distributed in the IR phase when the IR fraction in the total rubber components is higher than 40 wt%. The preferential distribution of silica in the SBR phase improves the dispersion of the IR domains. This is the first use of this technique for a multicomponent polymer system, showing the advantage to characterize the complicated multicomponent polymer composite morphologies.     

Mechanical properties of porous titanium compacts prepared by powder sintering

Porous Ti compacts for biomedical applications are successfully fabricated in the porosity range from 5.0 to 37.1 vol% by controlling sintering conditions and Ti powder sizes. Young’s modulus and bending strength at the porosity of around 30 vol% are found to be similar to those of human cortical bone.     

Origin of coercivity changes during the oxidation of Fe3O4to γ-Fe2O3

Oxidation kinetics and x-ray diffraction of the intermediate products have been investigated for several kinds of Fe3O4powders during the oxidation to γFe2O3. From these results, a two-components-hypothesis as an intermediate state of the Fe3O4- γFe2O3system is proposed, instead of a homogenious solid solution which has been widely recognized. The effect of the changes in particle size caused by the two phases oxidation products on the variations of magnetic coercivity was emphasised.     

Glasslike Transitions in Thin Polymer-Melt Films Due to Thickness Constraint

The shear properties of thin films of star and linear polyisoprene (PIP) melts under high pressure were investigated as a function of sliding velocity (shear rate) using the surface forces apparatus. The results were contrasted with their bulk rheological properties; effects of thickness constraint on the shear behavior were discussed. The melts of PIP in bulk exhibit Newtonian-like constant viscosity at least at low shear rates (frequencies), which suggests that individual molecules flow with lateral sliding motion. However, thin films of PIP melts show tribological features involving apparent shear-thinning behavior, indicative of the correlated motions in confined geometries. The shear-property change from bulk rheological behavior to thin-film tribological behavior along with the thickness decrease reflects the physical states and their transitions in the systems; the thickness constraint induces glasslike transitions. Effects of molecular weights and molecular architecture (star-branched or linear) on the shear properties are also discussed.     

Permeation measurements for investigating atomic hydrogen flux and wall pumping/fuelling dynamics in QUEST

In order to investigate the overall atomic hydrogen background and the dynamic characteristics of wall pumping/fuelling phenomenon, a permeation probe system has been developed and applied in the spherical tokamak QUEST. Reliability of measurements, within ±3% accuracy and a positive correlation with the hydrogen line emission over three orders of magnitude have been demonstrated for more than 3000 various plasma discharges. By comparison of the experimental permeation (flux) curves with the numerically simulated curves, the net incident atomic hydrogen flux is evaluated in the range of 1 × 10¹⁹ H m^?2 s^?1 to 4 × 10²⁰ H m^?2 s^?1. The atomic flux has been investigated as a function of various plasma operation parameters like RF power, gas pressure and magnetic configuration. Using the static particle balance and permeation measurements, the progress in wall conditioning has been investigated. An inverse correlation between the atomic hydrogen flux and improvement in wall pumping has been observed over the two campaigns.