Protective Effect of Esculetin,Natural Coumarin in Mice Model of Fibromyalgia: Targeting Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines and MAO-A

Neurochemical Research - Fibromyalgia is a refractory syndrome characterized by chronic wayward pain and complex co-morbid psychological trepidation. The current treatments have a limited role and...     

Evidence for the occurrence of photorespiration in synurophyte algae

The fluxes of CO(2) and oxygen during photosynthesis by cell suspensions of Tessellaria volvocina and Mallomonas papillosa were monitored mass spectrometrically. There was no rapid uptake of CO(2,) only a slow drawdown to compensation concentrations of 26 μM for T. volvocina and 18 μM for M. papillosa, when O(2) evolution ceased, indicating a lack of active bicarbonate uptake by the cells. Darkening of the cells after a period of photosynthesis did not cause rapid release of CO(2), indicating the absence of an intracellular inorganic carbon pool. However, upon darkening a brief burst of CO(2) was observed similar to the post-illumination burst characteristic of C(3) higher plants. Treatment of the cells of both species with the membrane-permeable carbonic anhydrase inhibitor ethoxyzolamide had no adverse effect on photosynthetic rate, but stimulated the dark CO(2) burst indicating the dark oxidation of a compound formed in the light. In the absence of any active accumulation of inorganic carbon photosynthesis in these species should be inhibited by O(2). This was investigated in four synurophyte species T. volvocina, M. papillosa, Synura petersenii, and Synura uvella: photosynthetic O(2) evolution rates in all four algae, measured by O(2) electrode, were significantly higher (40-50%) in media at low O(2) (4%) than in air-equilibrated (21% O(2)) media, indicating an O(2) inhibition of photosynthesis (Warburg effect) and thus the occurrence of photorespiration in these species.     

Surface characteristics of polyurethane elastomers based on chitin/1,4-butane diol blends

Biodegradable polyurethane elastomers with tunable hydrophobicity were synthesized by step-growth polymerization techniques using poly(?-caprolactone) (PCL) and 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI). The prepolymer was extended with different mass ratios of chitin and 1,4-butane diol (BDO). The effect of chitin contents in chain extenders (CE) proportion on surface properties was studied and investigated. Incorporation of chitin contents into the final PU showed decrease in surface free energy and its polar component. Simultaneously, the work of water adhesion to polymer decreases significantly by increasing the chitin contents in the synthesized polymer. Contact angle measurement, water absorption and swelling behavior of the synthesized polyurethane samples were affected by varying the chitin contents in the chemical composition of the final PU. The interactions of the final PU films with solvents on the surface were displayed clear dependent on the contents of chitin in to the final polyurethane formulation. The results of different tests demonstrated that the synthesized products are a potential candidate as non-absorbable suture as previously investigated into their in vitro biocompatibility and non-toxicity [K.M. Zia, M. Zuber, I.A. Bhatti, M. Barikani, M.A. Sheikh, Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 44 (2009) 18–22].     

Reduced order multiport parallel and multidirectional neural associative memories

This paper proposes multiport parallel and multidirectional intraconnected associative memories of outer product type with reduced interconnections. Some new reduced order memory architectures such as k-directional and k-port parallel memories are suggested. These architectures are, also, very suitable for implementation of spatio-temporal sequences and multiassociative memories. It is shown that in the proposed memory architectures, a substational reduction in interconnections is achieved if the actual length of original N-bit long vectors is subdivided into k sublengths. Using these sublengths, submemory matrices, T _s or W _s , are computed, which are then intraconnected to form k-port parallel or k-directional memories. The subdivisions of N-bit long vectors into k sublengths save of interconnections. It is shown, by means of an example, that more than 80% reduction in interconnections is achieved. Minimum limit in bits on k as well as maximum limit on subdivisions in k is determined. The topologies of reduced interconnectivity developed in this paper are symmetric in structure and can be used to scale up to larger systems. The underlying principal of construction, storage and retrieval processes of such associative memories has been analyzed. The effect of complexity of different levels of reduced interconnectivity on the quality of retrieval, signal to noise ratio, and storage capacity has been investigated. The model possesses analogies to biological neural structures and digital parallel port memories commonly used in parallel and multiprocessing systems.     

Modification of cellulosic fibers by UV-irradiation. Part II: After treatments effects

This work presents the comparative study on the dyeing behavior of cellulose fibers in alkaline solutions and under the influence of UV radiation. The cellulosic fabrics were pretreated followed by conventional mercerization technique or treatment with UV irradiation. For different time duration the reorganization of cellulose fibers by swelling treatments in alkaline solutions results in numerous structural modifications, causing changes of their accessibility and/or reactivity. The results revealed that the swelling of the cellulosic fibers depends on type of pre-treatment, dose of the radiation and the concentration of alkaline solution used. SEM analysis confirmed that UV irradiation of the cellulosic fibers leads to a higher swelling in comparison with any concentration of NaOH treatment. In comparison of both the treatments, the mercerized cellulosic fibers have shown better tear and tensile strength as compared to the untreated and UV irradiated one. There is adverse effect of UV radiation on the mechanical properties of UV radiation. Moreover, no loss in weight was observed after exposing the cellulose fabrics surface to UV radiation.     

Incidence of dsRNA Mycoviruses in a Collection of Aspergillus fumigatus Isolates

A collection of clinical and environmental isolates of the opportunistic human pathogen, Aspergillus fumigatus, were screened for the presence of mycoviruses and 6.6?% of 366 isolates contained dsRNA segments ranging in size from ~1.0 to 4.0?kbp. The dsRNAs were categorised into three different groups comprising bipartite dsRNAs, quadripartite dsRNAs, representative isolates of which have both been sequenced, and an uncharacterised mycovirus, whose genome apparently consists of four dsRNAs 1-2.5?kbp in size. Here, we describe dsRNA incidence in the A. fumigatus isolates examined, their provenance and also note that on occasion individual isolates were infected with two groups of different dsRNAs.     

Weathering of phlogopite by Bacillus cereus and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

The purpose of this study was to assess the weathering of finely ground phlogopite, a trioctahedral mica, by placing it in contact with heterotrophic (Bacillus cereus) and acidophilic (Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans) cultures. X-ray diffraction analyses of the phlogopite sample before and after 24 weeks of contact in B. cereus cultures revealed a decrease in the characteristic peak intensities of phlogopite, indicating destruction of individual structural planes of the mica. No new solid phase products or interlayer structures were detected in B. cereus cultures. Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans cultures enhanced the chemical dissolution of the mineral and formed partially weathered interlayer structures, where interlayer K was expelled and coupled with the precipitation of K-jarosite [KFe3(SO4)2(OH)6].     

High-density single-nucleotide polymorphism maps of the human genome

Here we report a large, extensively characterized set of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) covering the human genome. We determined the allele frequencies of 55,018 SNPs in African Americans, Asians (Japanese-Chinese), and European Americans as part of The SNP Consortium's Allele Frequency Project. A subset of 8333 SNPs was also characterized in Koreans. Because these SNPs were ascertained in the same way, the data set is particularly useful for modeling. Our results document that much genetic variation is shared among populations. For autosomes, some 44% of these SNPs have a minor allele frequency > or =10% in each population, and the average allele frequency differences between populations with different continental origins are less than 19%. However, the several percentage point allele frequency differences among the closely related Korean, Japanese, and Chinese populations suggest caution in using mixtures of well-established populations for case-control genetic studies of complex traits. We estimate that approximately 7% of these SNPs are private SNPs with minor allele frequencies <1%. A useful set of characterized SNPs with large allele frequency differences between populations (>60%) can be used for admixture studies. High-density maps of high-quality, characterized SNPs produced by this project are freely available.