Transport of contrast agents in contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography

Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CEMRA) often appears to display vessels with good resolution, but it does not adequately visualize the throat of a tight stenosis. Image quality in CEMRA is also governed by the timing of contrast injection and data acquisition. We developed a numerical technique to predict the image appearance of a target vessel by taking into account the passage of contrast agent. Experiments were conducted on a phantom with both centric and linear ordering. An effort to prolong the duration in which the contrast passes by employing a double injection technique gives a wider window of opportunity to acquire quality images.     

Caveolin-1 is involved in reactive oxygen species-induced SHP-2 activation in astrocytes

Recent evidence supports a neuroprotective role of Src homology 2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (SHP-2) against ischemic brain injury. However, the molecular mechanisms of SHP-2 activation and those governing how SHP-2 exerts its function under oxidative stress conditions are not well understood. Recently we have reported that reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated oxidative stress promotes the phosphorylation of endogenous SHP-2 through lipid rafts, and that this phosphorylation strongly occurs in astrocytes, but not in microglia. To investigate the molecules involved in events leading to phosphorylation of SHP-2, raft proteins were analyzed using astrocytes and microglia. Interestingly, caveolin-1 and -2 were detected only in astrocytes but not in microglia, whereas flotillin-1 was expressed in both cell types. To examine whether the H2O2-dependent phosphorylation of SHP-2 is mediated by caveolin-1, we used specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) to downregulate caveolin- 1 expression. In the presence of caveolin-1 siRNA, the level of SHP-2 phosphorylation induced by H2O2 was significantly decreased, compared with in the presence of control siRNA. Overexpression of caveolin- 1 effectively increased H2O2-induced SHP-2 phosphorylation in microglia. Lastly, H2O2 induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation in astrocytes through caveolin-1. Our results suggest that caveolin-1 is involved in astrocyte-specific intracellular responses linked to the SHP-2-mediated signaling cascade following ROS-induced oxidative stress.     

Growth of nano Co encapsulated in carbon-shell

Nanostructured cobalt is one of the key elements in catalysis and therapeutic drug delivery. To design and prepare nanosize-controllable cobalt, a better understanding of its growth mechanism is essential. Growth of Co nanoparticles encapsulated in carbon-shell (Co@C) during temperature-programmed carbonization of the Co²⁺-β-cyclodextrin (CD) complex at 363–573 K was, therefore, studied by in situ synchrotron small-angel X-ray scattering and X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy. The carbon-shell having a thickness of about 2 nm can prevent the core Co from being aggregated and oxidized. A relatively slow reduction of Co(II) to Co is observed at 393–423 K (stage I) prior to a particle growth transition-state possessing Co of 2.2 nm in diameter at 423–483 K. At 483–513 K (stage II), an increasing Co(II) reduction rate coupled with a rapid fusion and coalescence of Co nanoparticles is found. The average growth rates of Co at stages I and II are about 27 and 98 atoms/min, respectively. The most-probable particle diameter of the ripened Co is 5.9 nm. The carbon-shell can be removed by steam reforming to yield the Co nanoparticles. This work also exemplifies the possible temperature-controllable growth of Co@C, especially in the Co size range of 2–6 nm in diameter.     

Beyond the Fourier heat conduction law and the thermal no-slip boundary condition

The problem of heat slip flow along solid walls is investigated within the framework of modern thermodynamics. The underlying idea is to elevate the heat flux at the boundary to the status of independent variable. General boundary conditions are obtained from the constraint imposed by the second law of thermodynamics expressing that the rate of entropy production is non-negative. In parallel, evolution equations for the heat flux inside the bulk of the system are also formulated.     

Statistical physics and fluctuations in ballistic non-equilibrium systems

In nonequilibrium systems in the ballistic transport regime, every point of the system contains particles arriving from different regions-each of them at different temperatures-and there are only few collisions, in such a way that equilibrium between the different populations will be reached very slowly. Here, we tentatively approach the local distribution function by a superposition of local-equilibrium distribution functions with different temperatures, corresponding to the different starting positions of the particles. In a second-order expansion, we find a distribution function which depends not only on the Hamiltonian H but also on H², and we study the additional contribution to energy fluctuations.     

A Modified Water-Gas Shift Reaction. The Decomposition of Alkyl Formate in the Presence of Water Using a Ruthenium Carbonyl

Alkyl formates in the presence of water were rapidly decomposed to H₂, CO₂ and the corresponding alcohols using Ru₃(CO)₁₂ and KOAc as catalyst. Based on the hydrogen gas produced, a turnover rate as fast as 8446/h for ethyl formate at 140°C was observed. The catalyst system was also active for the decomposition of other alkyl formates. The rate of decomposition increased both with increasing amount of KOAc and with decreasing number of carbon atom in the alkyl group of the formate. In addition to Ru₃(CO)₁₂, several other transition metal complexes RuCl₃, RuCl₂(PPh₃)₃, Os₃(CO)₁₂, H₂Os₃(CO)₁₀, RhCl₃, and RhCl(PPh₃)₃, were active in the catalytic decomposition of alkyl formates, although their activities varied greatly. The Ru₃(CO)₁₂-KOAc system also catalyzed the reduction of nitrobenzene by HCOOEt-H₂O to aniline in EtOH and to a mixture of N-phenylformamide and N-methyl-N-phenylformamide in HCOOEt. Under coditions the same as for the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene, ethylene styrene and cyclohexenone were reduced to the corresponding alkanes, whereas 1-hexene and 1-octene were isomerized to the corresponding 2-alkene products.     

Fibrin Association at Hybrid Biointerfaces Made of Clot‐Binding Peptides and Polythiophene

The properties as biointerfaces of electroactive conducting polymer–peptide biocomposites formed by poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and CREKA or CR(NMe)EKA peptide sequences (where Glu has been replaced by N‐methyl‐Glu in the latter) have been compared. CREKA is a linear pentapeptide that recognizes clotted plasma proteins and selectively homes to tumors, while CR(NMe)EKA is an engineer to improve such properties by altering peptide–fibrin interactions. Differences between PEDOT‐CREKA and PEDOT‐CR(NMe)EKA reflect dissemblance in the organization of the peptides into the polymeric matrix. Both peptides affect fibrinogen thrombin‐catalyzed polymerization causing the immediate formation of fibrin, whereas in the absence of thrombin this phenomenon is only observed for CR(NMe)EKA. Consistently, the fibrin‐adsorption capacity is higher for PEDOT‐CR(NMe)EKA than for PEDOT‐CREKA, even though in both cases adsorbed fibrin exhibits round‐like morphologies rather than the characteristic fibrous structure. PEDOT‐peptide films coated with fibrin are selective in terms of cell adhesion, promoting the attachment of metastatic cells with respect to normal cells.

     

Thermodynamics of nonequilibrium radiation. (II) Irreversible evolution and experimental setup

Giving continuation to the study of the thermodynamics of nonequilibrium radiation presented in the preceding article [Physica A 300 (2001) 386], we derive the evolution in time of its macroscopic nonequilibrium state. The case of a semiconductor sample and the coupling of radiation and transverse optical phonons is explicitly considered. Excitation of the latter drives the radiation field out of equilibrium. Under constant excitation, a steady state sets in which is analyzed. It is shown that the quasitemperature per mode of the radiation field, which has been defined in the preceding paper, can be determined in optical experiments such as Raman scattering.     

Thermoswitchable fluorescence organogels based on hydrogen bond‐assisted chiral gelators

To clarify the individual effect of secondary forces on the self‐assembly of molecules, a chiral cholesteryl N‐(2‐anthryl) carbamate (CAC) consisting of anthryl, carbamate, and cholesteryl groups was synthesized. From the results of the temperature‐dependent ¹H NMR, the hydrogen bond‐assisted π–π interaction was found to maintain the growth of the axis of the self‐assembled structure, and the three‐dimensional effect from the cholesteryl group induces the rotational structure. Fluorescence behavior of the CAC molecules with and without assistance of secondary forces was investigated. Thermoswitchable fluorescence of gelators was observed. Supramolecular organogels reveal significant enhanced fluorescence strength due to the aggregation‐induced enhanced emission of the CAC molecules. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Focusing of heat pulses along nonequilibrium nanowires

As a consequence of the temperature dependence of the speed of heat pulses, rectangular heat pulses will shrink (or extend) spatially, and will increase (or decrease) their temperature when propagating along a temperature gradient. Here, we consider heat pulse propagation along silicon nanowires, because of their interest in nanotechnology. The relative rates of variation per meter may be very high, and variations along relatively short lengths could be experimentally observable.