Investigation on the Coaxial-Annulus-Argon-Assisted Water-Jet-Guided Laser Machining of Hard-to-Process Materials.

In this study, the novel coaxial-annulus-argon-assisted (CAAA) atmosphere is proposed to enhance the machining capacity of the water-jet-guided laser (WJGL) when dealing with hard-to-process materials, including ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) and chemical-vapor-deposition (CVD) diamond. A theoretical model was developed to describe the two-phase flow of argon and the water jet. Simulations and experiments were conducted to analyze the influence of argon pressure on the working length of the WJGL beam, drainage circle size, and extreme scribing depth on ceramic matrix composite (CMC) substrates.

Surface acoustic wave-assisted microfluidic isolation of aptamers.

Aptamers are synthetic single-stranded nucleic acid molecules that bind to biochemical targets with high affinity and specificity. The method of systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) is widely used to isolate aptamers from randomized oligonucleotides. Recently, microfluidic technology has been applied to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost in SELEX processes.

Nickel affects xylem Sap RNase a and converts RNase A to a urease.

Background: Nickel (Ni) is an essential micronutrient; however, its metabolic or physiological functions in plants and animals are largely uncharacterized. The ribonucleases (RNase, e.g.

Identification and functional studies of Akirin, a potential positive nuclear factor of NF-κB signaling pathways in the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei.

As conserved nuclear factors, Akirins play critical roles in regulating antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) transcription downstream of NF-κB dependent signaling pathways in insects and mammals. However, no any functional studies was reported in penaeid shrimp. The identification and functional analysis of Akirin in the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei were made in this research.

Nonviral gene therapy in vivo with PAM-RG4/apoptin as a potential brain tumor therapeutic.

Background: Glioma is still one of the most complicated forms of brain tumor to remove completely due to its location and the lack of an efficient means to specifically eliminate tumor cells. For these reasons, this study has examined the effectiveness of a nonviral gene therapy approach utilizing a tumor-selective killer gene on a brain tumor xenograft model.

Methods And Results: The therapeutic apoptin gene was recombined into the JDK plasmid and delivered into human brain tumor cells (U87MG) by using a polyamidoamine dendrimer with an arginine surface (PAM-RG4).

Arginine modified PAMAM dendrimer for interferon beta gene delivery to malignant glioma.

A xenograft brain tumor model was established by the subcutaneous injection of U87MG cells into nude mice to investigate the efficacy of a non-viral vector, arginine-modified polyamidoamine dendrimer (PAMAM-R), in delivering a therapeutic gene, human interferon beta (IFN-β). We used 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining, the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay, and the caspase-3 activity assay to determine the induction of apoptosis upon transfection with the PAMAM-R/IFN-β gene polyplex in vitro. The polyplex was injected into xenograft brain tumors.

Paclitaxel coating of the luminal surface of hemodialysis grafts with effective suppression of neointimal hyperplasia.

Objectives: Paclitaxel coating of hemodialysis grafts is effective in suppressing neointimal hyperplasia in the graft and vascular anastomosis sites. However, paclitaxel can have unwanted effects on the surrounding tissues. To reduce such problems, we developed a method to coat the drug only on the luminal surface of the graft, with little loading on the outer surface.

Suppression of neointimal hyperplasia by sirolimus-eluting expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) haemodialysis grafts in comparison with paclitaxel-coated grafts.

Background: Haemodialysis vascular access dysfunction caused by aggressive venous neointimal hyperplasia is a major problem for haemodialysis patients with synthetic arteriovenous (AV) grafts. Several different strategies to prevent venous stenosis by inhibiting smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration using local delivery of potent antiproliferative agents are currently under investigation. We performed this study to evaluate the efficacy of sirolimus-eluting vascular grafts in preventing stenosis and to compare the effectiveness of sirolimus-coated grafts with that of paclitaxel-coated vascular grafts that we characterized in a previous study.

Comparison between arginine conjugated PAMAM dendrimers with structural diversity for gene delivery systems.

Mono- and di-arginine conjugated PAMAM dendrimers (G=3 or 4) were synthesized to examine the structure-activity relationships of arginine conjugation for gene delivery systems. Number of conjugated arginines was examined by 1H NMR (PAMAM3-R: 31, PAMAM4-R: 60, PAMAM3-R2: 59, PAMAM4-R2: 116). They could retard pDNA at a charge ratio of 2 and form polyplexes with sizes less than 250 nm from a charge ratio of 4.

Essential role of PSM/SH2-B variants in insulin receptor catalytic activation and the resulting cellular responses.

The positive regulatory role of PSM/SH2-B downstream of various mitogenic receptor tyrosine kinases or gene disruption experiments in mice support a role of PSM in the regulation of insulin action. Here, four alternative PSM splice variants and individual functional domains were compared for their role in the regulation of specific metabolic insulin responses. We found that individual PSM variants in 3T3-L1 adipocytes potentiated insulin-mediated glucose and amino acid transport, glycogenesis, lipogenesis, and key components in the metabolic insulin response including p70 S6 kinase, glycogen synthase, glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3), Akt, Cbl, and IRS-1.

Identification and quantitation of asparagine and citrulline using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis was used for identification of two problematic ureides, asparagine and citrulline. We report here a technique that takes advantage of the predictable delay in retention time of the co-asparagine/citrulline peak to enable both qualitative and quantitative analysis of asparagine and citrulline using the Platinum EPS reverse-phase C18 column (Alltech Associates). Asparagine alone is eluted earlier than citrulline alone, but when both of them are present in biological samples they may co-elute.

Nickel deficiency disrupts metabolism of ureides, amino acids, and organic acids of young pecan foliage.

The existence of nickel (Ni) deficiency is becoming increasingly apparent in crops, especially for ureide-transporting woody perennials, but its physiological role is poorly understood. We evaluated the concentrations of ureides, amino acids, and organic acids in photosynthetic foliar tissue from Ni-sufficient (Ni-S) versus Ni-deficient (Ni-D) pecan (Carya illinoinensis [Wangenh.] K.

Effect of Entomopathogenic Nematode Concentration on Survival during Cryopreservation in Liquid Nitrogen.

Entomopathogenic nematodes are used for biological control of insect pests. A method for improved cryopreservation of infective juvenile stage nematodes has been developed using Steinernema carpocapsae and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. Optimum survival for both species was achieved with 12,000 infective juveniles/ml in glycerol and 7,500/ml in Ringer's solution.

Amelioration of ozone-induced lung injury by anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha.

Ozone (O(3)) is a significant component of atmospheric air pollution and produces detrimental effects in the lung. Although the mechanism of O(3)-induced lung inflammation and injury is unclear, the increased release of the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) by lung cells following O(3) exposure may shed some light on this subject. To investigate the role of TNF-alpha in the O(3)-induced pulmonary insult, we intraperitoneally injected rats with either rabbit preimmune serum or rabbit antirat TNF-alpha 1 h prior to O(3) exposure.

Characterization of a new Bacillus thuringiensis isolate highly active against Cochylis hospes.

A new bacterial isolate, 00-50-5, from sunflower head extracts was identified as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) according to its morphology. Bt isolate 00-50-5 was highly active against the banded sunflower moth (BSM), Cochylis hospes Walsingham. A sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) 4-15% gradient gel of whole strain protein of 00-50-5 revealed six proteins with molecular masses (Mr) of 133, 80, 60, 27, 15, and 14 kDa.