Differential Effects of STCH and Stress-Inducible Hsp70 on the Stability and Maturation of NKCC2

Mutations in the Na-K-2Cl co-transporter NKCC2 lead to type I Bartter syndrome, a life-threatening kidney disease. We previously showed that export from the ER constitutes the limiting step in NKCC2 maturation and cell surface expression. Yet, the molecular mechanisms involved in this process remain obscure. Here, we report the identification of chaperone stress 70 protein (STCH) and the stress-inducible heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), as two novel binding partners of the ER-resident form of NKCC2. STCH knock-down increased total NKCC2 expression whereas Hsp70 knock-down or its inhibition by YM-01 had the opposite effect. Accordingly, overexpressing of STCH and Hsp70 exerted opposite actions on total protein abundance of NKCC2 and its folding mutants. Cycloheximide chase assay showed that in cells over-expressing STCH, NKCC2 stability and maturation are heavily impaired. In contrast to STCH, Hsp70 co-expression increased NKCC2 maturation. Interestingly, treatment by protein degradation inhibitors revealed that in addition to the proteasome, the ER associated degradation (ERAD) of NKCC2 mediated by STCH, involves also the ER-to-lysosome-associated degradation pathway. In summary, our data are consistent with STCH and Hsp70 having differential and antagonistic effects with regard to NKCC2 biogenesis. These findings may have an impact on our understanding and potential treatment of diseases related to aberrant NKCC2 trafficking and expression.     

Synthesis and physicochemical studies of some new amphoteric ion exchangers

Some new amphoteric ion exchangers have been synthesized by condensing salicylic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, sulfosalicylic acid, gallic acid, 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, β-resorcylic acid, and resacetophenone with epichlorohydrin employing ethylenediamine as a crosslinking agent. Some of the physicochemical properties, such as moisture content, true density, apparent density, void volume fraction, concentration of ionogenic groups, exchange capacity, rate of exchange, pH-titration curves, pK values, isoionic point, thermal stability, oxidation resistance, and swelling behavior in different solvents, have been investigated.     

Morphological, mechanical and gas-transport characteristics of crosslinked poly(propylene glycol): homopolymers, nanocomposites and blends

Linear polyethers possess unusually high CO₂ solubility and, hence, selectivity due to the presence of accessible ether linkages that can interact with the quadrupolar moment of CO₂ molecules. In this work, membranes derived from crosslinked poly(propylene glycol) diacrylate (PPGda) oligomers differing in molecular weight (M), as well as PPGda nanocomposites containing either an organically-modified montmorillonite clay or a methacrylate-terminated fumed silica are investigated and compared with highly CO₂-selective poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGda) homopolymer and nanocomposite membranes previously reported. The rheological and permeation properties of PPGda depend sensitively on M, with the elastic modulus decreasing, but CO₂ permeability and CO₂/H₂ selectivity increasing, with increasing M. Incorporation of either nanofiller into PPGda enhances the elastic modulus and reduces the gas permeability in the resultant nanocomposites without strongly affecting CO₂/H₂ selectivity. Blending PPGda and PEGda prior to chemical crosslinking yields binary membranes that exhibit intermediate gas-transport properties accurately described by a linear rule of mixtures.     

12-tungstophosphoric and 12-tungstosilicicacid supported onto hydrous zirconia for liquid phase tert-butylation of m-cresol

Supported 12-tungstophosphoricacid (12-TPA) and 12-tunstosilicicacid (12-TSA) were used as heterogeneous catalysts for liquid-phase tert-butylation of m-cresol, an industrial important reaction. Alkylation reactions have been carried out with supported 12-TPA by varying different parameters such as % loading of 12-tungstophosphoricacid onto support, mole ratio of alcohol to m-cresol, reaction temperature, amount of the catalyst, reaction time and calcination temperature to optimize the conditions. To see the effect of the acidity on the reaction, the same reaction was studied over supported 12-TSA. Both the catalysts give 100% selectivity for o-isomer with different % conversion. The difference in catalyst performance of both the catalyst was correlated with the value of total acidity as well as Bronsted acidity.     

Impedance measurements on some doped MnO2 electrodes in H2SO4 electrolyte

A.c. impedance behaviour of MnO₂ and doped -MnO₂ electrodes in H₂SO₄ medium was assessed with a view to explaining the mechanism of the discharge behaviour of MnO₂ electrodes in 4m H₂SO₄ electrolyte. The electrodes used in this work appear to be intermediate cases of planar and porous electrodes as the angles, , made by the low frequency part with the real axis are found to be in the range (30–60°). The Nyquist plots and the Randle plots tend to reinforce the observation made by Tye that the capacity yield is essentially diffusion controlled. The depression and flattening of semi-circles observed reveals a link with the heterogeneity of the planar electrode and with the porosity of the pitted electrode. The deviation from a 45° angle made by the low frequency part with the real axis may either be explained by the roughness of the electrode surface or the shallow pores on the surface of the electrodes; in other words due to the difference between the apparent and true surface areas. The double layer capacitance values of the electrodes seem to subsume adsorption capacitances and diffusion factors. Hence, the relative increase in magnitude. The electrodes appear to behave like planar electrodes when 10 µF is introduced into the circuit as a parallel capacitance since angles 0 vary between 40–58°. The undoped -MnO₂ electrode, as well as those prepared from Li-MnO₂, Ag-MnO₂, and I.C.8, appear to be planar electrodes.     

On the Computational Complexity of Consumer Decision Rules

A consumer entering a new bookstore can face more than 250,000alternatives. The efficiency of compensatory and noncompensatory decisionrulesfor finding a preferred item depends on the efficiency of their associatedinformation operators. At best, item-by-item information operators lead tolinear computational complexity; set information operators, on the other hand,can lead to constant complexity. We perform an experiment demonstrating thatsubjects are approximately rational in selecting between sublinear and linearrules. Many markets are organized by attributes that enable consumers toemploya set-selection-by-aspect rule using set information operations. In cyberspacedecision rules are encoded as decision aids.     

Probing the influence of superhydrophobicity and mixed wettability on droplet displacement behavior

The importance of fundamental understanding of droplet dynamics and the concomitant implications of wall wettability are critical in the emergent science and technology areas including digital microfluidics and clean energy conversion. In this work, mesoscopic illustration, based on the two-phase lattice Boltzmann model, of droplet dynamics in a microchannel is presented in order to unveil the role of superhydrophobicity and mixed wettability. The impact of critical physicochemical determinants, including capillary number and droplet size, is explored in the context of droplet–wettability interactions. Temporal evolution of wetted length and wetted area for a combination of wettability scenarios is furnished in detail in order to elucidate the droplet displacement dynamics. Capillary number plays an important role with disparate droplet behavioral patterns stemming from superhydrophobic and mixed-wet wall characteristics.     

In vitro study of lipid peroxidation and free radical scavenging activity of cow urine

This study represents a comprehensive analysis and scientific validation of our ancient knowledge about the ethnopharmacological aspects of cow urine by measuring the lipid peroxidation, radical scavenging, and level of reduced glutathione and catalase activity. Graded doses of cow urine were administered orally to experimentally treated rats. Results of liver and plasma from experimentally treated rats indicated that cow urine reduced the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance significantly in all the treatments (P < 0.01). In vitro experiments with the liver of control and experimentally treated rats were also carried out against cumene hydroperoxide-induced lipid peroxidation. On LCMS analysis, the antioxidant component of cow urine was identified as uric acid (m/z 169.07). The results demonstrate that the cow urine-mediated induction of antioxidant level controls oxidative damage, even after minimal processing, and thus is indicative of its potential as a viable substitute of synthetic antioxidants.     

Aging of distribution cables in service and its simulation in the laboratory

This study focuses on efforts to characterize aging occurring in 15 kV distribution cables in a dry climate. It has been shown that similar changes can be produced by a suitably planned accelerated thermal aging testing in the laboratory. The Arrhenius equation is used for establishing the accelerated aging test parameters. Different modes of statistical analysis namely analysis of variance (ANOVA), Andersen-Darling test for normality, F-test, t-test are performed to validate results from accelerated aging tests with field aging     

The combinatorial design approach to automatic test generation

The combinatorial design method substantially reduces testing costs. The authors describe an application in which the method reduced test plan development from one month to less than a week. In several experiments, the method demonstrated good code coverage and fault detection ability