NADPH oxidase activation contributes to native low-density lipoprotein-induced proliferation of human aortic smooth muscle cells

Elevated plasma concentration of native low-density lipoprotein (nLDL) is associated with vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) activation and cardiovascular disease. We investigated the mechanisms of superoxide generation and its contribution to pathophysiological cell proliferation in response to nLDL stimulation. Lucigenin-induced chemiluminescence was used to measure nLDL-induced superoxide production in human aortic smooth muscle cells (hAoSMCs). Superoxide production was increased by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and decreased by NADPH oxidase inhibitors in nLDL-stimulated hAoSMC and hAoSMC homogenates, as well as in prepared membrane fractions. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2), protein kinase C-θ (PKCθ) and protein kinase C-β (PKCβ) were phosphorylated and maximally activated within 3 min of nLDL stimulation. Phosphorylated Erk1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinase, PKCθ and PKCβ stimulated interactions between p47phox and p22phox; these interactions were prevented by MEK and PKC inhibitors (PD98059 and calphostin C, respectively). These inhibitors decreased nLDL-dependent superoxide production and blocked translocation of p47phox to the membrane, as shown by epifluorescence imaging and cellular fractionation experiments. Proliferation assays showed that a small interfering RNA against p47phox, as well as superoxide scavenger and NADPH oxidase inhibitors, blocked nLDL-induced hAoSMC proliferation. The nLDL stimulation in deendothelialized aortic rings from C57BL/6J mice increased dihydroethidine fluorescence and induced p47phox translocation that was blocked by PD98059 or calphostin C. Isolated aortic SMCs from p47phox^−/− mice (mAoSMCs) did not respond to nLDL stimulation. Furthermore, NADPH oxidase 1 (Nox1) was responsible for superoxide generation and cell proliferation in nLDL-stimulated hAoSMCs. These data demonstrated that NADPH oxidase activation contributed to cell proliferation in nLDL-stimulated hAoSMCs.     

Electronic and vibrational spectroscopy of cis-beta-[CrCl(2)(1,4,7,11-tetrazaundecane)chromium(III) perchlorate

The sharp-line absorption spectrum of cis-beta-[CrCl(2)(2,2,3-tet)]ClO(4) (2,2,3-tet: 1,4,7,11-tetraazaundecane) has been measured between 13,000 and 16,000 cm(-1) at 5K. The 77K emission, 298 K infrared and visible spectra have also been measured. The zero-phonon band in the highly resolved absorption spectrum splits into four components. The vibrational intervals of the electronic ground state were determined from the far-infrared and emission spectra. The 10 electronic bands due to spin-allowed and spin-forbidden transitions were assigned. Using the observed transitions, a ligand field analysis has been performed to probe the ligand field properties of coordinated atoms in the title chromium(III) complex. The X-ray crystal structure at low-temperature was determined to help in assigning the sharp-line electronic transitions.     

Functional SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>–TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>–PEG hybrid resin by direct chelation with catecholic compound

The mesoporous inorganic–organic SiO₂–TiO₂–PEG hybrid resin systems with various useful functionalities were directly synthesized by a binary sol–gel reaction of TEOS–TiCl₄ and the subsequent chelation with a chatecholic compound (dihydroxy benzene), dihydroxy-m-benzenedisulfonic acid disodium salt, on the surface Ti ion of the ordered mesoporous SBA-15 network structure, respectively. Moreover, the hybrid resins consisting of polyethylene glycol and a silane coupling agent exhibited the controlled wettability, excellent coating processibility on various substrates with strong abrasion resistance. Furthermore, the transparent and low viscous resin showed the successful performance to fabricate various nanoscale patterns with the feature size down to 170 nm by imprint lithography. Based on the excellent patternability, nanofluidics with 100 nm of the narrowest dimension channel height was fabricated to employ a capillary electrophoresis for separation DNAs without gel matrix. In addition, the presence of sulfonic acid in the resin also showed the solid acid catalytic performance. These results reveal that the developed hybrid materials are very useful as an imprint resin as well as versatile microchemical applications.     

The effects of an electric field on an autocatalytic ionic reaction in a system with high ionic strength

The effects of an applied electric field on an ionic autocatalyticreaction with a quadratic rate law are considered, where thereacting species, A⁺ and B⁺, are present in a system which alsoincludes non-reacting species C^- and D⁺. The conditions areestablished under which the general terms which describe theelectric field effects in the reaction-diffusion equations canbe simplified to those used in previous studies, where theseeffects are modelled by linear advection terms. The resultingequations are then studied in detail by first obtaining conditionsfor the existence of travelling waves of permanent form. Thisdiscussion shows that _B, the ratio of the diffusion coefficientsof B⁺ and A⁺, is a critical parameter, with different formsof behaviour arising for _B < 1 and _B > 1. This analysisis augmented by obtaining solutions valid for large times andlarge values of (the dirnensionless applied field). Numericalsolutions of initial-value problems are obtained for a rangeof values of and _B, guided by and interpreted through the analysispreviously obtained. These numerical integrations show the formationof reaction fronts, with the possibility of greatly increasedreaction rates caused by the applied electric field, as wellas propagating electrophoretic fronts in B⁺ being formed incases where a reaction front is also initiated. There is alsothe possibility of separate electrophoretic fronts in A⁺ andB⁺ being formed, which become increasingly separated as timeincreases with the reaction being completely inhibited.     

A numerical approach to the proof of existence of solutions for some generalized obstacle problems

In [8], we proposed some numerical verification methods for automatic proof of the existence of solution for obstacle problems. In this paper we propose a new iterative algorithm to automatically prove the existence of solutions for some generalized obstacle problems.     

Synthesis of ordered and disordered silicas with uniform pores on the border between micropore and mesopore regions using short double-chain surfactants.

Silica molecular sieves with uniform pores on the borderline between micropore (diameter <2 nm) and mesopore (from 2 to 50 nm) ranges were synthesized by a novel method using judiciously chosen mixtures of short double-chain alkylammonium surfactants. These silicas were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry, and nitrogen and argon adsorption. The calcined materials exhibited either 2-dimensional (2-D) hexagonal or disordered structures with XRD interplanar spacing from 2.51 to 2.93 nm, including the value of as small as 2.69 nm for highly ordered 2-D hexagonal silica. The dependence of the pore size and surfactant content on the surfactant chain length provided strong evidence for supramolecular templating being operative in the formation of small-pore silicas, even for the surfactant chain length of six carbon atoms. Both hexagonally ordered and disordered calcined samples were shown to exhibit narrow pore size distributions with maxima in the range from 1.96 to 2.61 nm (reliably evaluated on the basis of the unit-cell dimension and pore volume for 2-D hexagonal materials, and calculated using a properly calibrated procedure), tailored by the surfactant chain length. The samples exhibited primary pore volumes from 0.28 to 0.54 cm(3) g(-1) and specific surface areas from 730 to 930 m(2) g(-1). Because of their small yet uniform pore size and large specific surface area, the silicas reported herein promise to be useful in applications in adsorption and catalysis. Adsorption studies of these materials provided a unique new insight into the pore-filling mechanism for small-pore materials. Moreover, the approach proposed herein is expected to facilitate the synthesis of not only small-pore silicas but also materials with other framework compositions, thus largely contributing to bridging the gap in attainable pore sizes between micropore and mesopore ranges.     

Preparation of a high performance liquid chromatography column based on N-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)-aminoundecyl silica for the resolution of liquid crystal mixtures

A bonded silica stationary phase (SP 1) was prepared by connecting N-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl) aminoundecylsilane to silica gel. The stationary phase was applied in resolving a liquid crystal mixture with a reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) mode and the chromatographic resolution results were compared with those on an octadecylsilane (ODS) column. From the comparison of the resolution results on SP 1 and the ODS column, we found the new stationary phase was better than the ODS column in resolving a liquid crystal mixture and the elution orders of some liquid crystal were changed. The better resolution and the change in the elution orders on the new column might be originated from additional π–π interaction between the π-acidic 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl group of the stationary phase and the π-basic aromatic group of liquid crystals.