Multiple Ligand and Cell-Dependent States of Lateral Mobility of Plasmalemmal G Protein-Coupled Cholecystokinin Receptors

Lateral movement of receptor molecules in the plane of the plasmalemma has important implications for signal transduction and receptor regulation, yet mechanisms affecting such movement are not well understood. We have studied the lateral mobility of the G protein-coupled cholecystokinin (CCK) receptor expressed in the natural milieu of the rat pancreatic acinar cell and in a model cell system, the CHO-CCKR cell, after occupation with fluorescent agonist and antagonist. Lateral diffusion characteristics were distinct in each type of cell and for receptors occupied by each type of ligand, fluorescent agonist, rhodamine-Gly-[(Nle^28,31)CCK-26-33], and fluorescent antagonist, rhodamine-Gly-[(D-Trp³⁰,Nle^28,31)CCK-26-32]-phenethyl ester. Multiple states of mobility were detected for CCK receptors. The slowest population of mobile receptors on the CHO-CCKR cells moved at similar rates when occupied by both antagonist and agonist, while the faster-moving populations moved at a faster rate when occupied with antagonist than with agonist. The fastest component of mobile receptors may reflect unconstrained interactions of the antagonist-occupied receptors with signaling or anchoring structures, while the slowest component may represent the fraction of ligand-occupied receptors that ultimately undergo internalization. The intermediate mobility states may reflect receptor interactions with signal transduction and regulatory machinery. While only a single population of mobile receptors was demonstrable on the acinar cells, increased ligand concentrations (agonist and antagonist) resulted in increased percentages of mobile receptors, suggesting a stoichiometric limitation of immobilizing molecular constraints. Inhibition of protein kinase C had no significant effect on the lateral mobility of agonist-occupied CCK receptors.     

Multicriteria Optimal Design of a Rectangular Composite Plate Subjected to Biaxial and Thermal Loading

Multicriteria optimization of the structure and geometry of a laminated anisotropic composite plate subjected to the thermal and biaxial action is considered. From known properties of the monolayer and the given values of variable structural parameters, the thermoelastic properties of the layered composite are determined. The criteria to be optimized—the transverse critical load and the longitudinal thermal stresses—depend on two variable design parameters of composite properties and temperature. In the space of the optimization criteria, the domain of allowable solutions and the Pareto-optimal subdomain are found. __________ Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 41, No. 5, pp. 683–690, September–October, 2005.     

Compromise optimization of a rectangular composite plate subjected to biaxial thermal loading and buckling under the action of shear

The compromise optimization of the structure and geometry of a laminated anisotropic composite plate subjected to biaxial thermal shear loading is considered. From the known properties of the monolayer and given values of a variable structural parameter, the thermoelastic properties of the layered composite are determined. The optimization criteria — the critical shear load and the longitudinal and transverse thermal stresses — depend on two variable design parameters of composite properties and temperature. In the space of optimization criteria, the domain of allowable solutions and the Pareto-optimal subregion are found. __________ Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 44, No. 4, pp. 471–478, July–August, 2008.     

Influence of poly(ethylene glycol) on the partition of a charged spin probe

The influence of poly(ethylene glycol) on the partition of a charged long chain spin probe between membranes and an external phase is studied. The partition coefficient is derived from the ESR spectra. Membranes of different properties are used (egg lecithin liposomes, erythrocytes) to differentiate between the influence of the external phase and the specific properties of the membrane.The partition coefficient is decreased in an exponential manner on increasing the PEG concentration, which indicates a lowering of the thermodynamic stability of the membranes. The determination of the change in the difference of the chemical potential is dependent on the PEG concentration.The membrane destabilization induced by PEG is caused in an indirect manner by a change of the chemical potential difference as result of the changed water structure and the osmotic pressure, surface tension and hydration of the membrane. This destabilization could be connected with the high fusogenic activity of PEG.     

Computer Simulations on the Channel Membrane Formation by Nonsolvent Induced Phase Separation

The formation of channel membrane of polystyrene‐block‐poly(4‐vinyl pyridine) block copolymer is studied by computer simulations with the nonsolvent induced phase separation (SNIPS) method. Dissipative particle dynamics is employed to study the microphase separation process and the SNIPS mechanism. Simulation results indicate that polymer concentration has a significant effect on the membrane structure. Channel membranes form in the copolymer concentration range of 44–58%. Block ratio plays an important role in shaping the membrane structure. Solvent exchange rate also affects the degree of microphase separation at each evolution stage of simulation. The time evolution of morphologies shows that the microphase separation processes happen with the following sequences: the polymer self‐assembled and many small pores appear, then they form irregular cavities and cross‐link gradually, finally the channel membrane forms. These results throw light on the formation mechanism of polymer membranes and provide insightful guidance for future membrane design and preparation.     

磷脂改性聚合物膜

综述了膦脂改性聚合物膜的制备方法，其中饭知光引发接枝、电晕放电、化学接枝、原位聚合、共混改性、物理吸附等方法，并对磷脂改性聚合物膜的部分性质和应用前景作了简单介绍。     

Synthesis and characterization of proton‐conducting copolyimides bearing pendant sulfonic acid groups

A series of sulfonated copolyimides (co‐SPIs) bearing pendant sulfonic acid groups were synthesized from 1,4,5,8‐naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (NTDA), bis(3‐sulfopropoxy) benzidines (BSPBs), and common nonsulfonated diamines via statistical or sequenced polycondensation reactions. Membranes were prepared by casting their m‐cresol solutions. The co‐SPI membrane had a microphase‐separated structure composed of hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains, but the connecting behavior of hydrophilic domains was different from that of the homo‐SPIs. The co‐SPI membranes displayed clear anisotropic membrane swelling in water with negligibly small dimensional changes in the plane direction of the membrane. With water uptake values of 39–94 wt %, they showed dimensional changes in membrane thickness of about 0.11–0.58, which were much lower than those of homo‐SPIs. The proton conductivity σ values of co‐SPI membranes with ion exchange capacity values ranging from 1.95–2.32 meq/g increased sigmoidally with increasing relative humidity. They displayed σ values of 0.05–0.16 S/cm at 50 °C in liquid water. Increasing temperature up to 120 °C resulted in further increase in proton conductivity. The co‐SPI membranes showed relatively good conductivity stability during the aging treatment in water at 100 °C for 300 h. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 1545–1553, 2005     

Facile method to prepare monodispersed Ag/polystyrene composite microspheres and their properties

This article presents a facile method to prepare silver/polystyrene composite microspheres. In this approach, monodispersed polystyrene (PS) particles were synthesized with carboxyl acid groups on the surfaces of the PS particles via dispersion polymerization at first. With the addition of [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ to the PS dispersion, [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ was absorbed to the surfaces of the PS particles, and then by heating the system, [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ complex ions were reduced to silver to form the Ag/PS composite microspheres. In the synthesis of PS dispersion, PVP was used as dispersant to stabilize the PS particles, it also acted as reducing agent in the reduction of [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ complex ions to silver, so no additional reducing agent was needed. The resulting composite microspheres were characterized by TEM, SEM, XPS, and XRD. The catalytic properties and surface‐enhance Raman scattering (SERS) was studied as well. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 4547–4554, 2009     

2-硫代丁基-5-巯基-1，3，4-噻二唑Ag[I]修饰的钼硅酸盐纳米颗粒的制备及摩擦性能

以合成的2-硫代丁基-5-巯基-1，3，4-噻二唑为配体，在醇-水体系中制备了Keggin结构钼硅杂多阴离子有机衍生物的纳米颗粒，以透射电子显微镜、扫描电子显微镜、傅立叶变换红外光谱仪、热分析仪等测试手段对此纳米颗粒的形貌、组成和结构进行了表征，并在机械式四球长时抗磨损试验机上考察了其摩擦学性能．分散型实验结果表明化合物在有机溶剂中分散性能良好，红外光谱表明所合成的纳米颗粒具有杂多酸Keggin骨架结构无机核，透射电镜分析表明颗粒平均粒径约为10nm，热分析娃示分解温度范围为200～300℃．作为新型纳米润滑油添加剂，在最佳添加质量分数为0．05％，负荷300N，摩擦时间30min，转速1450r／min的条件下，与空白相比磨斑直径减小27．9％，摩擦系数减小15．3％．     

Preparation and characterization of sulfonated polyimide ionomers via post‐sulfonation method for fuel cell applications

This paper describes our work on the synthesis of a series of sulfonated homo‐/co‐polyimides (SPI) which were obtained by post‐sulfonation method over three steps. In the first step, 4,4′‐oxydianiline (ODA) and 4,4′‐diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS) dissolved in N‐methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) were reacted with benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) in order to yield poly(amic acid) (PAA). Secondly, precipitated PAA was sulfonated via concentrated sulfuric acid (95–98%) at room temperature to give post‐sulfonated PAA (PSPAA). Finally, PSPAA was converted into post‐sulfonated PI (PSPI) by the thermal imidization method. PSPIs with ion exchange capacity (IEC) ranging from 0.20 to 0.67 meq/g were prepared. The thermal properties of the PSPIs were evaluated and high desulfonation temperature was found in the range of 190–350°C, suggesting the high stability of sulfonic acid groups. In water, PSPI‐5 membrane displayed similar proton conductivity to Nafion®117, whereas this membrane showed poor conductivity in dry state. All PSPIs displayed good solubility in common polar aprotic solvents such as NMP and dimethylacetamide (DMAc). Furthermore, the effects of post‐sulfonation reaction on chemical structure, thermal oxidative behavior, and physical properties of the PSPI membranes such as membrane quality/stability and water uptake were discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.