The effects of low dose leukotriene receptor antagonist therapy on airway remodeling and cysteinyl leukotriene expression in a mouse asthma model

Airway structural changes that occur in patients with asthma in response to persistent inflammation are termed airway remodeling. The cysteinyl leukotrienes (LTC(4), D(4) and E(4)) are known to play important roles in the pathobiology of asthma. To evaluate the effect of low dose montelukast (MK) on the development of airway remodeling using a chronic murine model of allergic airway inflammation with subepithelial fibrosis, BALB/c mice, after intraperitoneal ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization on days 0 and 14, received intranasal OVA periodically on days 14-75. MK treated mice received montelukast sodium intraperitoneally on days 26-75. The OVA sensitized/challenged mice developed an extensive eosinophil cell inflammatory response, goblet cell hyperplasia, mucus occlusion, and smooth muscle hypertrophy of the airways. In addition, in OVA sensitized/challenged mice, dense collagen deposition/fibrosis was seen throughout the lung interstitium surrounding the airways, blood vessels, and alveolar septae. The cysteinyl leukotriene 1 (CysLT1) receptor antagonist, MK significantly reduced the airway eosinophil infiltration, goblet cell hyperplasia, mucus occlusion, and lung fibrosis except airway smooth muscle hypertrophy in the OVA sensitized/challenged mice. The OVA sensitized/challenged mice had significantly increased epithelial desquamation compared with control mice. MK markedly reduced epithelial desquamation of airways in OVA/MK treated animals compared with OVA sensitized/challenged mice. MK treatment did not affect the levels of CysLT in lung tissue. Our results show that the important role of cysteinyl leukotrienes in the pathogenesis of asthma. Lower dose of CysLT1 receptor antagonism has a significant anti-inflammatory effect on allergen-induced lung inflammation and fibrosis but not airway smooth muscle hypertrophy in an animal model of asthma.     

Voltammetric methods of reboxetine analysis and the mechanism of its electrode reactions

Reboxetine (RBX) electrochemical redox behavior at hanging mercury drop (HMDE) and glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) was studied in various pH Britton-Robinson universal buffers using cyclic voltammetry and square-wave voltammetry. RBX was reduced at the HMDE and oxidized at the GCE with reversible adsorption controlled and irreversible diffusion controlled processes respectively. The anodic peak is due to the amine and the cathodic peak may correspond to oxygen protonation. An oxidation reaction mechanism is proposed. The linear relation between peak currents and RBX concentration allowed simple, sensitive, precise and inexpensive voltammetric procedures to be developed. The limit of detection was 0.04 µM RBX. The procedures were successfully applied to human urine and RBX tablet assay. Therapeutic RBX concentrations in human serum were not detected due to strong drug-protein binding. Using bovine serum albumin, the methods were used to investigate the effect of serum protein binding on RBX determination.      

Plasma Induced Graft Polymerization of Three Hydrophilic Monomers on Nylon 6,6 Fabrics for Enhancing Antistatic Property

In this study, three hydrophilic monomers; 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, diallyldimethylammonium chloride (DADMAC) were selected and their performance as an antistatic finish on nylon 6,6 fabrics was investigated. A non-thermal, high density atmospheric pressure plasma was used to graft polymerize the monomers on nylon 6,6 fabrics. Fabrics were first treated with solutions of monomer in water, air dried and then treated with helium plasma to graft polymerize the monomer on the fiber surface. Surface resistivity values were measured before and after soxhlet extraction with water. Results showed that the DADMAC monomer provided better antistatic properties to fabrics. Further studies with DADMAC monomer were made; effects of plasma post exposure time, plasma pre-exposure time, plasma power, concentration of the monomer and existence of a crosslinker were investigated. Higher plasma power, higher concentration of the monomer and longer post exposure times all gave better antistatic properties to the nylon 6,6 fabrics. Acid dye staining, UV–Vis and FT-IR measurements were conducted and results confirmed a grafted poly-DADMAC layer on the fabric surface.     

Synthesis and structural studies of (2E,3E)-3-[(6-{[(1E,2E)-2-(hydroxyimino)-1-methylpropylidene]amino}pyridin-2-yl)imino]butan-2-one oxime, ligand and its mono-, di- and trinuclear copper(II) complexes

A new dioxime ligand, (2E,3E)-3-[(6-{[(1E,2E)-2-(hydroxyimino)-1-methylpropylidene]amino}-pyridin-2-yl)imino]butan-2-one oxime, (H₂Pymdo) (3) has been synthesized in H₂O by reacting 2,3-butenedione monoxime (2) with 2,6-diaminopyridine. Mono-, di- and tri-nuclear copper(II) complexes of the dioxime ligand (H₂Pymdo) and/or 1,10-phenanthroline have been prepared. The dioxime ligand (H₂Pymdo) and its copper(II) complexes were characterized by ¹H-n.m.r., ¹³C-n.m.r. and elemental analyses, magnetic moments, i.r. and mass spectral studies. The mononuclear copper(II) complex of H₂Pymdo was found to have a 1:1 metal:ligand ratio. Elemental analyses, stoichiometric and spectroscopic data of the metal complexes indicated that the metal ions are coordinated to the oxime and imine nitrogen atoms (C=N). In the dinuclear complexes, in which the first Cu(II) ion was complexed with nitrogen atoms of the oxime and imine groups, the second Cu(II) ion is ligated with dianionic oxygen atoms of the oxime groups and are linked to the 1,10-phenanthroline nitrogen atoms. The trinuclear copper(II) complex (6) was formed by coordination of the third Cu(II) ion with dianionic oxygen atoms of each of two molecules of the mononuclear copper(II) complexes. The data support the proposed structure of H₂Pymdo and its Cu(II) complexes.     

Selective palladium-catalyzed arylation(s) of benzaldehyde derivatives by N-heterocarbene ligands

The 2- or 2,6-position(s) of aromatic aldehydes were directly and selectively arylated with aryl chlorides or bromides in the presence of a catalytic system prepared in situ from Pd(OAc)₂, imidazolinium chlorides (1-5) and Cs₂CO₃.     

Di- and tetranuclear copper(II) complexes of a novel binucleating tetrathioether-tetrathiol ligand

A novel bi-tetradentate polythioether ligand, 6,6-methylene-bis(5- mercapto-3-thiahexyl)-4,8-dithiaundecane-1, 11-dithiol (H4L) was synthesized, and its di- and tetranuclear copper(II) complexes were prepared, and characterized by elemental analyses, magnetic moments, 1H-n.m.r., i.r., and Uv/vis spectra. The i.r. data show that the ligand acts in a tetradentate manner and coordinates via one S atom of the thioether and thiol groups. The geometry of the metal chelates is discussed with the help of magnetic and spectroscopic measurements. The elemental analyses, stoichiometry, and spectroscopic data of the complexes indicate that the copper(II) ions are coordinated to the bi-dianion of the ligand. The function of the thiol ligand is to release protons to form copper(II) complexes, (Cu2L).     

Polymeric copper(II) and nickel(II) complexes of a tetraoxime containing a binucleating macrocycle ligand

Polymeric copper(II) and nickel(II) complexes of a binucleating tetraoxime macrocycle, 6,6-methylene-bis[1,12-di(hydroximino)- 2,3;9,10-dibenzo-1,11-diaza-4,8-dithiacyclotridecane] (H4L), have been prepared and characterised by elemental analysis, magnetic moments, i.r., uv/vis., and e.p.r. spectral studies. I.r. spectra show that the ligand acts in a tetradentate manner and coordinates via N, S and O donor atoms. The geometry of the resulting metal chelates is discussed with the help of magnetic and spectroscopic measurements. The elemental analyses, stoichiometry and the spectroscopic data of the complexes indicate that the copper(II) and nickel(II) ions are coordinated by the coordination environment of the ligand. The spectral data suggest a distorted tetragonal geometry for polymeric copper(II), and nickel(II) ions in the complexes. The stoichiometry of the metal-to- H4L ratio of complexes (2) and (3), prepared from CuCl2 and NiCl2 respectively, was 3:1, suggesting the formation of polymeric species.     

Stacking in CE for Analysis of Bromate Flour Additive

In this paper we report a simple and effective on-line sample-stacking method in capillary electrophoresis for analysis of bromate ion. The detection limit is 10.9 ng mL^?1. Direct injection is performed after a simple extraction procedure. It is possible to detect 2.18 mg kg^?1 bromate ion in flour by use of this technique.     

Effect of particle polydispersity on particle concentration measurement by using laser Doppler anemometry

Measurement of particle concentration by laser Doppler anemometry (LDA) is studied on a vertical air jet seeded by a powder disperser with controlled particle and air flow rates. Particle arrival rate is utilized to retrieve particle number densities from conventional LDA operation. The effect of polydisperse nature of the particles is assessed. Comparisons between measured and estimated particle number densities suggest that only a certain portion of the particle population with a particle size to fringe spacing ratio around unity can be detected. Results indicate that reliable measurement of absolute particle concentration is possible for a particle population of narrow size distribution with an average diameter equivalent to fringe spacing. Present number density measurement technique which is useful for practical purposes with conventional LDA systems is found to yield physically reasonable profiles in both laminar and turbulent regimes.     

Effects of the surface roughness on heat transfer of perpendicularly impinging co-axial jet

Current work presents the comparison of the cooling characteristics of roughened and smooth heated surfaces subjected to co-axial impinging jet. The work fluid is air and the data runs are performed for jet Reynolds numbers for 10,000, 20,000 and 40,000, and non-dimensional surface to jet exit spacing, H/D, from 1 to 10. The co-axial jet configuration is based on a fully developed pipe flow encountering a double-pipe arrangement and splitting between the two pipes. The inner to outer diameter ratio is 0.5. A straight pipe without inner section is used as the circular jet. The impingement of circular jets to the roughened and smooth surfaces is also performed for comparison. Average Nusslet numbers were obtained to show the heat transfer enhancement from the surface. A good agreement between the literature and present paper was obtained. As a result, average Nusselt number with co-axial jet impingement to the roughened surface increased by up to 27% comparing to the circular jet impingement. In addition, the average Nusselt number increased with roughened surface by up to 6% over the whole surface area, comparing to the smooth surface.