Serotonin 5-HT2A and 5-HT6 receptors in the prefrontal cortex of Alzheimer and normal aging patients

Background  

It has been hypothesized that alterations of the serotonergic system contribute to neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer disease (AD). Cellular expressions of the two serotonergic receptors 5-HT_2A and 5-HT₆ have therefore been determined by immunohistochemistry in the prefrontal cortex of patients with AD (n=6) and normal age-matched controls (n = 7).     

Preparation of anthracene-labelled poly(methyl methacrylate) via atom transfer radical polymerization

Anthracene-labelled poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was prepared via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) where 9,10-bis(chloromethyl)anthracene and CuCl/2,2′-bipyridine were used as the initiator and catalyst, respectively. Both the linear increase of the number average molecular mass with conversion and the narrow polydispersity in the resulting polymers suggest that the polymerization proceeds in a “living” fashion and the anthracene molecule is incorporated into the middle of the polymer backbone. The initiation efficiency was low, ca. 13%, presumably due to some side reactions which compete with the initiation reaction.     

PDL Reduction in Arrayed-Waveguide Gratings by Control of Stress in the Waveguide

We have demonstrated polarization insensitive AWGs by controlling the doping concentration of Boron in overcladding and the etching depth of waveguide. The proposed method uses the conventional fabrication process and does not degrade optical properties and reliability characteristics.     

MEAM study of carbon atom interaction with Ni nano particle

Carbon, Ni, and C-Ni alloy modified embedded atom method (MEAM) potentials were developed to study the initial process of carbon nanotube growth on Ni catalyst particles. The MEAM potentials were used to study the atomistic interaction between a carbon atom and a fcc Ni nano particle, both on the particle surfaces and inside the Ni nano particles. The result shows that surface carbon atom is more stable than those in the bulk and sub-surface interstitial positions. Carbon atoms are expected to diffuse from the bulk to the surface, and the single walled and double-walled carbon nanotubes would be more favorable to form on Ni nano particle catalyst. The carbon and Ni nano particle interaction calculation shows that the corner and the edge of the particle are the energetically more favorable sites for the carbon adatom. The carbon nanotube may grow from the corner and edge of the particle.     

Trifluoromethylation of heterocycles via visible light photoredox catalysis

A method has been developed for the visible light-induced trifluoromethylation of heterocyclic compounds. A variety of electron-rich heterocycles were transformed into trifluoromethylated products by using CF₃I as the trifluoromethyl radical source and Ru(bpy)₃Cl₂ as the photocatalyst under mild reaction conditions. This operationally simple and eco-friendly process can introduce trifluoromethyl groups without prefunctionalization.     

Suppression of antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation in Zn-substituted YBa2Cu3O7

We have prepared Zn-substituted YBa₂Cu_3−xZn_xO₇ (YBCO, x=0.0–0.09) and performed ^63,65Cu nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) measurements for the plane site at 300 and 100 K as a function of Zn concentration. The substitutional effects are observed in resonant frequencies and linewidths of spectra, and relaxation times as well as in the superconducting transition temperature. The spin–lattice relaxation rate 1/T₁ is reduced for the higher Zn concentration and the reduction is more significant at 100 K. The ratio of ^63,65Cu spin–lattice relaxation rates suggests that a magnetic contribution due to the antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation becomes weak as the Zn concentration increases. These effects confirm that the antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation of Cu 3d spins is suppressed by the Zn substitution due to the absence of local moment at the zinc site.     

Photoinitiated thermolysis of poly(phenylenevinylene) precursor and photochemical doping of poly(phenylenevinylene)

The photoinitiated elimination of methoxy groups of poly(p-phenylene-1-methoxyethylene) and the photochemical doping of the resulting poly(phenylenevinylene) (PPV) were investigated. Upon irradiation and then heat treatment at 150°C, poly(p-phenylene-1-methoxyethylene) containing triphenylsulfonium hexafluoroantimonate was converted to PPV. The resulting PPV was observed to be conductive, and its conductivity was 10⁻²–10⁻³ S/cm. By a lithographic procedure, we produced a conducting pattern doped photochemically in a nonconjugated poly(p-phenylene-1-methoxyethylene) matrix.     

Phosphorylation effect on the GSSS peptide conformation in water: infrared, vibrational circular dichroism, and circular dichroism experiments and comparisons with molecular dynamics simulations

The phosphorylation effect on the small peptide conformation in water has not been clearly understood yet, despite the widely acknowledged notion that control of protein activity by phosphorylation works mainly by inducing conformational change. To elucidate the detailed mechanism, we performed infrared (IR) absorption and vibrational and electronic circular dichroism studies of both unphosphorylated and phosphorylated tetrapeptides, GSSS 1 and GSSpS 2. The solution structure of the tetrapeptide is found to be little dependent on the presence of the neutral or negatively charged phosphoryl group, and to be a mixture of extended structures including polyproline II (PII) and beta-sheet conformations. The additional band at 1598 cm(-1) in the amide I IR spectrum of the phosphorylated peptide GSSpS at neutral pD appears to be clear spectroscopic evidence for direct intramolecular hydrogen-bonding interaction between the side chain dianionic phosphoryl group and the backbone amide proton. On the basis of amide I IR band analyses, the authors found that the probability of finding the phosphoryl group strongly H bonded to the backbone proton in GSSpS is about 43% at pD 7.0 and 37 degrees C. Such a H-bonding interaction in GSSpS has the biological standard enthalpy and entropy of -15.1 kJ/mol and -51.2 J/K mol, respectively. Comparisons between the experimentally measured IR and VCD spectra and the numerically simulated ones suggested that the currently available force field parameters need to be properly modified. The results in this paper may shed light on an unknown mechanism of controlling the peptide conformation by phosphorylation.     

Identification of radiolytic marker compounds in the irradiated beef extract powder by volatile analysis

In order to develop a new detection method for marker compounds from irradiated powdery foods, two different extraction methods such as solid phase microextraction (SPME) and purge and trap (P&T) methods, were used to detect radiolytic volatile compounds as marker compounds by testing beef extract powder. Beef extract powder was irradiated using a ⁶⁰Co source (γ-irradiation) at 1, 3, 5 and 10 kGy, and then divided into 0 and 30 days of storage (30±1 °C). In 0 day of storage, each concentration of 1,3-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)benzene as a marker compound detected simultaneously by the extraction methods, increased linearly with irradiation dose (p<0.05) and had the same trend after 30 days of storage. Meanwhile, four other compounds such as tridecane, hexadecane, 2-octene and 2-decanone were excluded from possible marker compounds because these compounds were detected initially but soon disappeared. Another reason is that these compounds were detectable in non-irradiated samples. In this study, therefore, 1,3-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl) benzene was selected as a maker compound in irradiated beef extract powder.