Carboxylated SiO2-coated α-Fe nanoparticles have been successfully prepared via CaH2-mediated reduction of SiO2-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles followed by surface carboxylation. These α-Fe-based nanoparticles, which are characterized by ease of coating with additional functional groups, a large magnetization of 154 emu per g-Fe, enhanced corrosion resistivity, excellent aqueous dispersibility, and low cytotoxicity, have potential to be a versatile platform in biomedical applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly invasive and chemoradioresistant brain malignancy. Temozolomide (TMZ), a DNA-alkylating agent, is effective against GBM and has become the standard first-line drug. However, the mechanism by which TMZ regulates the progression of GBM remains elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdministration of galanin-like peptide (GALP) leads to a decrease in both total food intake and body weight 24 h after injection, compared to controls. Moreover, GALP induces an increase in core body temperature. To elucidate the mechanism by which GALP exerts its effect on energy homeostasis, urethane-anesthetized rats were intracerebroventricularly injected with GALP or saline, after which oxygen consumption, heart rate, and body temperature were monitored for 4 h.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuropeptide W (NPW), which was first isolated from the porcine hypothalamus, exists in two forms, consisting of 23 (NPW23) or 30 (NPW30) amino acids. These neuropeptides bind to one of two NPW receptors, either NPBWR1 (otherwise known as GPR7) or NPBWR2 (GPR8), which belong to the G protein-coupled receptor family. GPR7 is expressed in the brain and peripheral organs of both humans and rodents, whereas GPR8 is not found in rodents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Asian wild rice, Oryza rufipogon, has partial outcrossing behavior and shows high levels of genetic variation. To estimate an accurate outcrossing rate of annual form of O. rufipogon, two backcross lines (Lines R1 and R2) between Oryza sativa Nipponbare and O.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuropeptide Y (NPY) is a 36-amino-acid neuropeptide that was first discovered in porcine brain extracts and later in the porcine intestine. It is widely distributed in both the central and peripheral nervous systems and exerts a powerful orexigenic effect. NPY-producing neuronal cell bodies are abundantly localized in the medial arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus, this being a brain center that integrates signals for energy homeostasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGhrelin, which is mainly produced in the A/X-like cells of the oxyntic glands of the stomach, transduces an appetite-stimulatory signal from peripheral tissues to the central nervous system. Ghrelin is also localized in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus of rodents. While ghrelin acts on the hypothalamus to promote feeding behavior and energy metabolism, it is important to clarify the neuronal circuits that involve ghrelin so as to elucidate the action of ghrelin in the brain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have successfully implemented a facile, one-pot solventless synthesis procedure starting from acetylacetonate salts and CaH(2) to obtain carbon-coated ferromagnetic metallic Ni and Fe nanoparticles at low temperature. The use of CaH(2) as a reductant drastically reduces reaction temperature down to 140 °C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTopochemical reduction of (layered) perovskite iron oxides with metal hydrides has so far yielded stoichiometric compositions with ordered oxygen defects with iron solely in FeO(4) square planar coordination. Using this method, we have successfully obtained a new oxygen-deficient perovskite, (Sr(1-x)Ba(x))FeO(2) (0.4 ≤ x ≤ 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotosynthetic, nitrogen-fixing Anabaena strains play an important role in the carbon and nitrogen cycles in tropical paddy fields although they are salt sensitive. Improvement in salt tolerance of Anabaena cells by expressing glycine betaine-synthesizing genes is an interesting subject. Due to the absence of choline in cyanobacteria, choline-oxidizing enzyme could not be used for the synthesis of glycine betaine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMonolithic conductive titanium oxides Ti(n)O(2n-1) (n = 2, 3, 4, 6) with well-defined macropores have been successfully prepared as a single phase, via reduction of a macroporous TiO(2) precursor monolith using zirconium getter. Despite substantial removal of oxide ions, all the reduced monoliths retain the macropore properties of the precursor, i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpitaxial thin films of titanium perovskite oxyhydride ATiO(3-x)H(x) (A = Ba, Sr, Ca) were prepared by CaH(2) reduction of epitaxial ATiO(3) thin films deposited on a (LaAlO(3))(0.3)(SrAl(0.5)Ta(0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn oxides, the substitution of non-oxide anions (F(-),S(2-),N(3-) and so on) for oxide introduces many properties, but the least commonly encountered substitution is where the hydride anion (H(-)) replaces oxygen to form an oxyhydride. Only a handful of oxyhydrides have been reported, mainly with electropositive main group elements or as layered cobalt oxides with unusually low oxidation states. Here, we present an oxyhydride of the perhaps most well-known perovskite, BaTiO(3), as an O(2-)/H(-) solid solution with hydride concentrations up to 20% of the anion sites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Telmisartan, a nonpeptide angiotensin II AT1 receptor antagonist used as an antihypertensive drug, is specifically taken up by the liver through the OATP1B3. PET imaging with [(11)C]telmisartan is expected to provide information about the whole body pharmacokinetics of telmisartan as well as its transport property by OATP1B3. The purpose of the study was to determine the biodistribution and radiation dosimetry of [(11)C]telmisartan in humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMagnetic attraction: The cubic perovskite BaFeO(3) (see picture, Ba blue, Fe brown, O white), which is obtained by a low-temperature reaction using ozone as an oxidant, exhibits ferromagnetism with a fairly large moment of 3.5 μ(B) per Fe ion above a small critical field of approximately 0.3 T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Despite being a relatively widely-used non-invasive parameter of endothelial dysfunction, little is known regarding the relationship between flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) and coronary plaque vulnerability in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).
Methods: 111 CAD patients (age; 68.9 ± 9.
We will provide an overview of the synthesis, structures, chemical and physical properties of novel iron oxides bearing FeO(4) square planar coordination, such as SrFeO(2) and Sr(3)Fe(2)O(5). The preparation of these materials relies on topotactic low-temperature reduction using metal hydrides. For instance, a simple 3D perovskite structure SrFeO(3) converts to a 2D structure SrFeO(2)via SrFeO(2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe preparation of organic/inorganic layered hybrids has relied on multistep processing. Thus, shortening the synthetic procedure is important for possible future applications, but only a few studies report one-pot syntheses. In this work, we established a simple one-pot solution process to synthesize layered alkyl ammonium/MnO(2) hybrids, by stirring MnCl(2) and alkyl amine/H(2)O(2) aqueous solutions at 40 °C; the reaction concept is a chemical oxidation of Mn(II) ions in the presence of alkyl amine in aqueous solution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe rock salt (B1) structure of binary oxides or chalcogenides transforms to the CsCl (B2) structure under high pressure, with critical pressures P(s) depending on the cation to anion size ratio (R(c)/R(a)). We investigated structural changes of A(2)MO(3) (A = Sr, Ca; M = Cu, Pd) comprising alternate 7-fold B1 AO blocks and corner-shared MO(2) square-planar chains under pressure. All of the examined compounds exhibit a structural transition at P(s) = 29-41 GPa involving a change in the A-site geometry to an 8-fold B2 coordination.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRepeated postprandial hyperglycemia may play an important role in the development of atherosclerosis by suppressing vascular endothelial function. Although miglitol suppresses the elevation of blood glucose levels shortly after a meal more than other α-glucosidase inhibitors, the effect of 3-month repeated administration of miglitol on endothelial dysfunction is unknown. Fifty patients with type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease were enrolled in the present study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCongenit Anom (Kyoto)
September 2011
Human epidemiological evidence has led scientists to theorize that undernutrition during gestation is an important early origin of adult diseases. Animal models have successfully demonstrated that maternal diet could contribute to some adult diseases. Undernutrition is perceived harmful in pregnant women, whereas calorie restriction is a strategy proven to extend healthy and maximum lifespan in adult.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) fusion gene-positive lung cancer accounts for 4-5% of non-small cell lung carcinoma. A clinical trial of the specific inhibitor of ALK fusion-type tyrosine kinase is currently under way.
Methods: ALK fusion gene products were analyzed immunohistochemically with the materials obtained by surgery or by endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA).
Graft polymerization of trimethoxysilyl-containing ammonium cations on negatively-charged titania nanosheets gives a photoluminescent viscoelastic nanocomposite. Proton conduction network comprised of adsorbed water molecules near the titania slabs leads to the multiple conductometric sensitivities to temperature, humidity, and photo-irradiation.
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