Adsorption behavior of natural anthocyanin dye on mesoporous silica

Because of its non-toxicity, naturally occurring anthocyanin is potentially suitable as a colorant for foods and cosmetics. To the wider use of the anthocyanin, the immobilization on the inorganic host for an easy handling as well as the improvement of the stability is required. This study is focused on the adsorption of significant amount of the natural anthocyanin dye onto mesoporous silica, and on the stability enhancement of the anthocyanin by the complexation. The anthocyanin has successfully been adsorbed on the HMS type mesoporous silica containing small amount of aluminum. The amount of the adsorbed anthocyanin has been increased by modifying the pore wall with n-propyl group to make the silica surface hydrophobic. The light fastness of the adsorbed anthocyanin has been improved by making the composite with the HMS samples containing aluminum, although the degree of the improvement is not so large. It has been proposed that incorporation of the anthocyanin molecule deep inside the mesopore is required for the further enhancement of the stability.     

Synthesis,optical and electrochemical properties of arylenevinylene‐based π‐conjugated polymers with imidazolium units in the main chain

Arylenevinylene‐based π‐conjugated polymers containing imidazolium cationic units in the main chain and their model compounds were synthesized and characterized in terms of optical and electrochemical properties. 9,9‐Bisoctylfluorene, 2,5‐bisdodecyloxybenzene, and 3‐dodecylthiophene were introduced as arylene units with different donor characteristics to evaluate the effect on the highest occupied molecular orbital‐lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO‐LUMO) gap energy. The UV–vis and fluorescence spectra of cationic polymers and model compounds with iodide counter anion exhibited a significant blue shift with respect to the parent neutral molecules. X‐ray single crystal analysis for model compounds revealed that the effective π‐conjugation length of cationic model compounds decreased compared to the neutral model compounds by means of twisted conformation directed by CH‐π interactions between N‐methyl groups of imidazolium and neighboring aryl units. The cyclic voltammetry measurement suggested the negative shift of LUMO levels by the conversion of imidazole to imidazolium, indicating the electron‐accepting characteristics of cationic imidazolium unit. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Similarity laws of the wind wave and the coupling process of the air and water turbulent boundary layers

The statistical properties of growing wind waves are known to obey certain self-similarity laws. One of these is expressed as the -power law relation between the significant wave-height and the significant wave period in nondimensional forms. Recent experiments on turbulence above and below laboratory wind waves indicate that both the air and the water layers have a structure which is similar to that of the turbulent boundary layer over a rough solid wall. The continuity of the momentum flux through the air and water boundary layers combined with the -power law of wind waves means that all the characteristic velocities related to the air-water boundary process are proportional to one another. Our laboratory experimental data on the several characteristic variables concerned support this picture. The state of local equilibrium as expressed by the -power law is thought to be brought about by the “breaking adjustment of the wind wave” which is required by the overall continuity of the velocity and the momentum flux across a thin surface layer. The above proportionality of the characteristic velocities provides a physical basis for the observed friction velocity scaling of the ocean mixed layer.     

Antioxidant effects of photodegradation product of nifedipine

Recently, increasing evidence suggests that the antihypertensive drug nifedipine acts as a protective agent for endothelial cells, and that the activity is unrelated to its calcium channel blocking. Nifedipine is unstable under light and reportedly decomposes to a stable nitrosonifedipine (NO-NIF). NO-NIF has no antihypertensive effect, and it has been recognized as a contaminant of nifedipine. The present study for the first time demonstrated that NO-NIF changed to a NO-NIF radical in a time-dependent manner when it interacted with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal of NO-NIF radicals in HUVECs showed an asymmetric pattern suggesting that the radicals were located in the membrane. The NO-NIF radicals had radical scavenging activity for 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, whereas neither NO-NIF nor nifedipine did. In addition, the NO-NIF radical more effectively quenched lipid peroxides than NO-NIF or nifedipine. Furthermore, NO-NIF attenuated the superoxide-derived free radicals in HUVECs stimulated with LY83583, and suppressed iron-nitrilotriacetic acid (Fe-NTA)-induced cytotoxicity in rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells. Our findings suggest that NO-NIF is a candidate for a new class of antioxidative drugs that protect cells against oxidative stress.     

Formal meta-specific intramolecular Friedel–Crafts allylic alkylation of phenols through a spirocyclization–dienone–phenol rearrangement cascade

Formal meta-specific intramolecular Friedel–Crafts allylic alkylation of phenols was achieved based on spirocyclization–dienone–phenol rearrangement cascades. Systematic screening of acid catalysts revealed that Sc(OTf)₃ was a highly effective catalyst for dienone–phenol rearrangement of spiro[4.5]cyclohexadienones. Using 5 mol % of Sc(OTf)₃ as the promoter, various spirocyclic substrates were transformed into the corresponding phenol derivatives in good to excellent yield. Furthermore, the one-pot sequential spirocyclization–dienone–phenol rearrangement proceeded using a palladium and scandium multi-catalytic system or a triphenylmethyl cation single-catalyst system, providing the corresponding meta-allylated phenol derivatives in excellent yield.     

Extending carbon chain length of 1-butanol pathway for 1-hexanol synthesis from glucose by engineered Escherichia coli

An Escherichia coli strain was engineered to synthesize 1-hexanol from glucose by extending the coenzyme A (CoA)-dependent 1-butanol synthesis reaction sequence catalyzed by exogenous enzymes. The C4-acyl-CoA intermediates were first synthesized via acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase (AtoB), 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydrogenase (Hbd), crotonase (Crt), and trans-enoyl-CoA reductase (Ter) from various organisms. The butyryl-CoA synthesized was further extended to hexanoyl-CoA via β-ketothiolase (BktB), Hbd, Crt, and Ter. Finally, hexanoyl-CoA was reduced to yield 1-hexanol by aldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase (AdhE2). Enzyme activities for the C6 intermediates were confirmed by assays using HPLC and GC. 1-Hexanol was secreted to the fermentation medium under anaerobic conditions. Furthermore, co-expressing formate dehydrogenase (Fdh) from Candida boidinii increased the 1-hexanol titer. This demonstration of 1-hexanol production by extending the 1-butanol pathway provides the possibility to produce other medium chain length alcohols using the same strategy.     

Tetraspanin CD9 modulates ADAM17-mediated shedding of LR11 in leukocytes

LR11, also known as SorLA or SORL1, is a type-I membrane protein from which a large extracellular part, soluble LR11 (sLR11), is released by proteolytic shedding on cleavage with a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 17 (ADAM17). A shedding mechanism is presumed to have a key role in the functions of LR11, but the evidence for this has not yet been demonstrated. Tetraspanin CD9 has been recently shown to regulate the ADAM17-mediated shedding of tumor necrosis factor-α and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 on the cell surface. Here, we investigated the role of CD9 on the shedding of LR11 in leukocytes. LR11 was not expressed in THP-1 monocytes, but it was expressed and released in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced THP-1 macrophages (PMA/THP-1). Confocal microscopy showed colocalization of LR11 and CD9 proteins on the cell surface of PMA/THP-1. Ectopic neo-expression of CD9 in CCRF-SB cells, which are LR11-positive and CD9-negative, reduced the amount of sLR11 released from the cells. In contrast, incubation of LR11-transfected THP-1 cells with neutralizing anti-CD9 monoclonal antibodies increased the amount of sLR11 released from the cells. Likewise, the PMA-stimulated release of sLR11 increased in THP-1 cells transfected with CD9-targeted shRNAs, which was negated by treatment with the metalloproteinase inhibitor GM6001. These results suggest that the tetraspanin CD9 modulates the ADAM17-mediated shedding of LR11 in various leukemia cell lines and that the association between LR11 and CD9 on the cell surface has an important role in the ADAM17-mediated shedding mechanism.     

A measure of rotatability for second order response surface designs

The concept of rotatability introduced by Box and Hunter (1957,Ann. Math. Statist.,28, 195–241) is an important design criterion for response surface design. Recently, a few measures of rotatability that enable us to assess the degree of rotatability for a given response surface design have been introduced. In this paper, a new measure of rotatability for second order response surface designs is suggested, and illustrated for 3 ^k factorial design and central composite design. Also a short comparison is made between the proposed measure with the previously suggested measures.     

Modeling of argon discharge characteristics of planar-type surface wave plasmas in an electron fluid model

The planar-type surface wave plasma (SWP) device permits the generation of high-density and uniform processing plasmas via 2.45-GHz microwave power without the application of an external magnetic field. In the present study, the discharge characteristics in the SWP device were analyzed using a two-dimensional numerical simulation code, and the results were compared with experimental observations. The simulation code is based on the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method for the microwave field and on the electron fluid model for the argon discharge plasma. Experimental measurements were performed, and they showed that the surface-wave discharge at a filling pressure of 10-100 mtorr has characteristic electron-density distributions that have a peak at approximately 2 cm from the surface. This characteristic of the electron density profiles, as well as the electron temperature profiles in the plasma, is reproduced by the simulation code, albeit with some discrepancies. In order to reduce the effects of these discrepancies, intentional changes in the electron heat conductivity were introduced, and the adiabatic assumption was found to result in a reasonable electron temperature profile. The effects of the alumina window thickness were also investigated in the simulation.     

Hydration-dependent protein dynamics revealed by molecular dynamics simulation of crystalline staphylococcal nuclease

Molecular dynamics simulations of crystalline Staphylococcal nuclease in full and minimal hydration states were performed to study hydration effects on protein dynamics at temperatures ranging from 100 to 300 K. In a full hydration state (hydration ratio in weight, h=0.49), gaps are fully filled with water molecules, whereas only crystal waters are included in a minimal hydration state (h=0.09). The inflection of the atomic mean-square fluctuation of protein as a function of temperature, known as the glass-like transition, is observed at approximately 220 K in both cases, which is more significant in the full hydration state. By examining the temperature dependence of residual fluctuation, we found that the increase of fluctuations in the loop and terminal regions, which are exposed to water, is much greater than that in other regions in the full hydration state, but the mobilities of the corresponding regions are relatively restricted in the minimal hydration state by intermolecular contact. The atomic mean-square fluctuation of water molecules in the full hydration state at 300 K is 1 order of magnitude greater than that in the minimal hydration state. Above the transition temperature, most water molecules in the full hydration state behave like bulk water and act as a lubricant for protein dynamics. In contrast, water molecules in the minimal hydration state tend to form more hydrogen bonds with the protein, restricting the fluctuation of these water molecules to the level of the protein. Thus, intermolecular interaction and solvent mobility are important to understand the glass-like transition in proteins.