The complexes cis-Ru(phen)2(Apy)22+, Apy = 4-aminopyridine and 3,4-aminopyridine, are stable in aqueous solution with strong visible absorption. They present emission in the visible region with long ...lifetime that accumulates in the cytoplasm of Neuro2A cell line without appreciable cytotoxicity. The complexes also serve as mixed-type reversible inhibitors of human AChE and BuChE with high active site contact. cis-Ru(phen)2(3,4Apy)22+ competes efficiently with DMPO by the OH• radical. Luminescence using fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) enables real-time imaging of the conformational changes of the self-aggregation of Aβ with incubation of complexes (0–24 h) in phosphate buffer at micromolar concentrations. By this technique, we identified protofibrills in the self-assembly of Aβ1–40 and globular structures in the short fragment Aβ15–21 in aqueous solution.
The aim of this study was to prove that Arabica coffee introgressed with C. liberica, have resistance to Meloidogyne paranaensis (Mp). Open pollinated fruits were harvested from mother plants of 29 ...Arabica coffee genotypes from the IAPAR germplasm bank. Seeds were collected from the fruits and were sown to obtain seedlings to test the resistance to Mp. The experiment was set up in a completely randomized design with 29 coffee genotypes, 8 replications, and one plant per plot. Cultivars Catuai Vermelho IAC 99 and IPR 100 were used as susceptible and resistant checks, respectively. Seedlings with three to four pairs of leaves were inoculated with 1,400 eggs and juveniles J2 of Mp (IP). At 120 days after inoculation, seedlings were evaluated by counting the nematodes per gram of roots, and the final nematodes population was obtained (FP). The reproduction factor (RF) was calculated using the formula: RF = FP/IP. The reproduction factor reduction was used to classify the resistance levels of genotypes, which were classified as highly resistant (HR), resistant (R), moderately resistant (MR), moderately susceptible (MS), susceptible (S) an highly susceptible (HS). All genotypes differed from Catuai in resistance factor (RF), five of which did not differ from IPR 100 for RF, and only the line IAPAR 15242 had RF < 1.0. Out of 28 Arabica genotypes introgressed with C. liberica, five HR, 11 R, 11 MR and one MS were identified. However, only IAPAR 15242 and IPR 100 were classified as HR and presented 100% of HR plants, but only the first showed an RF < 1.0. Results revealed that these Arabica coffee genotypes with introgression of C. liberica genes have great potential to be used in breeding programs and they are a new alternative as a source of resistance.
Infection with Helicobacter pylori uniformly leads to a chronic superficial gastritis that may progress to atrophic gastritis, a premalignant process. A mouse model of Helicobacter felis infection ...was used to study possible genetic determinants of the response to infection.
Three inbred mouse strains with known secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) genotypes BALB/c (+/+), C3H/HeJ (+/+), and C57BL/6 (-/-) were orally infected with H. felis and examined longitudinally using routine histology, immunocytochemistry, electron microscopy, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling, and Northern and Western blot studies.
Only the C57BL/6 strain showed increased gastric fundic proliferation and apoptosis in response to infection. In addition, the C57BL/6 mouse showed a marked loss of parietal and chief cells, along with a marked expansion of an aberrant gastric mucous cell lineage that stained positive for spasmolytic polypeptide. In contrast, no significant change in these cell types was observed in BALB/c and C3H/HeJ strains. Increased expression of sPLA2 was observed in BALB/c and C3H/HeJ after H. felis infection, whereas sPLA2 expression was absent in C57BL/6 mice.
H. felis infection leads to increased apoptosis and altered cellular differentiation in the C57BL/6 mouse, a strain that lacks gastric sPLA2 expression. Because sPLA2 has been identified recently as the MOM1 (modifier of MIN) locus that influences polyp formation in the colon, these studies suggest that sPLA2 may also influence the gastric epithelial response to Helicobacter infection.
Theoretical and experimental studies were made on the thermal performance of a heat pump that used a bare flat-plate collector as the evaporator. The analysis used empirical equations to express the ...electric power consumption of the compressor and coefficient of performance (COP), as functions of temperature of evaporation at the evaporator and that of the heat transfer medium (water) at the inlet of the condenser. The experimental heat pump had a compressor with a rated capacity of 350 W and collectors with the total area of 3.24 m
2. Around noon in winter the evaporator temperature was found to be about 17°C higher than the ambient air temperature of 8°C, and a COP of about 5.3 was obtained when the water temperature at the condenser inlet was 40°C. These measured evaporation temperatures and COPs were in good agreement with those predicted by the analysis. According to the analysis, the total area of the collectors in the experiment was appropriate for the heat pump system. Also, the 1-mm thickness of the collector's copper plate used in the experiment could be 0.5 mm with little reduction of COP. The pitch of the tube soldered to the copper plate for the refrigerant flow was 100 mm in the experiment, but the COP would only be reduced by about 4% if the pitch were changed to 190 mm.
Background Hepatic stellate cells play a key role in the pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis. Aims To examine the inhibitory effect of oestradiol on stellate cell activation. Methods In vivo, hepatic ...fibrosis was induced in rats by dimethylnitrosamine or pig serum. In vitro, rat stellate cells were activated by contact with plastic dishes resulting in their transformation into myofibroblast-like cells. Results In the dimethylnitrosamine and pig serum models, treatment with oestradiol at gestation related doses resulted in a dose dependent suppression of hepatic fibrosis with restored content of hepatic retinyl palmitate, reduced collagen content, lower areas of stellate cells which express α smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and desmin, and lower procollagen type I and III mRNA levels in the liver. In cultured stellate cells, oestradiol inhibited type I collagen production, α-SMA expression, and cell proliferation. These findings suggest that oestradiol is a potent inhibitor of stellate cell transformation. Conclusion The antifibrogenic role of oestradiol in the liver may contribute to the sex associated differences in the progression from hepatic fibrosis to cirrhosis.
Deterioration of magnetic anisotropy field in the FeCoB/NiFe/Si trilayers deposited on glass substrates was investigated. It was found that the choice of Kr as sputtering gas instead of Ar was quite ...effective to improve the soft magnetic characteristics of FeCoB/NiFe/Si thin films deposited on glass substrates. Kr sputtering is effective to reduce compressive residual stress in the film. The rotatable magnetic anisotropy observed in the FeCoB/NiFe/Si films deposited by Ar sputtering disappeared in the film deposited by Kr sputtering, even though they are prepared on glass disk substrates.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a worldwide public health problem with significant comorbidity and mortality. Improving quality of life and survival of CKD patients necessitates a large number of ...preventive and therapeutic interventions. To resolve these issues several organizations have developed guidelines, which are difficult to compare comprehensively. The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes website at http://kdigo.org compares five major guidelines. The section ‘compare guidelines’ covers 41 topics distributed over five major subjects: (1) general clinics; (2) hemodialysis (HD); (3) vascular access for HD; (4) peritoneal dialysis; and (5) chemistries. The tables compare guideline recommendations and the evidence levels on which they are based, with direct links to each of the guidelines. These data show that the different guideline groups tend to propose similar targets, but that nuances in the guideline statements, their rationale, and grading of evidence levels present some discrepancies, although most guidelines are based on the same literature. We conclude that there is an urgent need to harmonize existing guidelines, and for a global initiative to avoid the parallel development of conflicting guidelines on the same topics. The tables displayed on the website offer a basis for structuring this process, a procedure which has recently been initiated by a body composed of the five guideline development groups.
Cell transformation by v-Src causes suppression of gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC). Although tyrosine phosphorylation of connexin43 (Cx43), a gap junctional component, appears to be ...necessary for the suppression, involvement of other signaling remains unclear. We investigated the role of Ras signaling in the suppression of GJIC by v-Src. Conditional expression of either S17N Ras or mtGap1m dramatically recovered GJIC in v-Src-transformed cells. Although expression of S17N Ras or mtGap1m substantially decreased the levels of active Ras, tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins including Cx43 remained unchanged. Similarly, treatment of v-Src-transfomed cells with a Ras farnesyltransferase inhibitor, manumycin A, restored GJIC, whereas tyrosine phosphorylation of Cx43 remained unchanged. Thus, these results strongly suggest that, in addition to Cx43 phosphorylation, constitutive activation of Ras signaling is required for the suppression of GJIC by v-Src.
The dynamic radiation effects on the electrical properties of chemical-vapor-deposited silicon carbides (CVD-SiCs) were investigated in situ under gamma-ray irradiation at various ionizing dose rates ...of 0.52–5.9 Gy/s at room temperature in air. The initial rapid increase in the electrical conductivity occurred because of electronic excitation at a rate proportional to the ionizing dose rates. The base conductivity without radiation also increased rapidly at doses below approximately 10 kGy and thereafter increased gradually. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra revealed the melting formation and presence of carbon-rich formations on the gamma-ray-irradiated surface.
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