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Sample records for scavenger receptor bi

  1. Genetic Variant of the Scavenger Receptor BI in Humans

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vergeer, Menno; Korporaal, Suzanne J. A.; Franssen, Remco; Meurs, Illiana; Out, Ruud; Hovingh, G. Kees; Hoekstra, Menno; Sierts, Jeroen A.; Dallinga-Thie, Geesje M.; Motazacker, Mohammad Mahdi; Holleboom, Adriaan G.; van Berkel, Theo J. C.; Kastelein, John J. P.; van Eck, Miranda; Kuivenhoven, Jan Albert

    2011-01-01

    BACKGROUND In mice, the scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) is essential for the delivery of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol to the liver and steroidogenic organs. Paradoxically, elevated HDL cholesterol levels are associated with increased atherosclerosis in SR-BI-knockout mice. It

  2. Genetic variant of the scavenger receptor BI in humans

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vergeer, Menno; Korporaal, Suzanne J A; Franssen, Remco; Meurs, Illiana; Out, Ruud; Hovingh, G Kees; Hoekstra, Menno; Sierts, Jeroen A; Dallinga-Thie, Geesje M; Motazacker, Mohammad Mahdi; Holleboom, Adriaan G; Van Berkel, Theo J C; Kastelein, John J P; Van Eck, Miranda; Kuivenhoven, Jan Albert

    2011-01-01

    BACKGROUND: In mice, the scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) is essential for the delivery of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol to the liver and steroidogenic organs. Paradoxically, elevated HDL cholesterol levels are associated with increased atherosclerosis in SR-BI-knockout mice.

  3. Scavenger Receptor BI Plays a Role in Facilitating Chylomicron Metabolism

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Out, R.; Kruijt, J.K.; Rensen, P.C.N.; Hildebrand, R.B.; Vos, P. de; Eck, M. van; Berkel, T.J.C. van

    2004-01-01

    The function of scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) in mediating the selective uptake of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol esters is well established. However, the potential role of SR-BI in chylomicron and chylomicron remnant metabolism is largely unknown. In the present

  4. Novel mutations in scavenger receptor BI associated with high HDL cholesterol in humans

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brunham, Liam R.; Tietjen, Ian; Bochem, Andrea E.; Singaraja, Roshni R.; Franchini, Patrick L.; Radomski, Chris; Mattice, Maryanne; Legendre, Annick; Hovingh, G. Kees; Kastelein, John J. P.; Hayden, Michael R.

    2011-01-01

    The scavenger receptor class B, member 1 (SR-BI), is a key cellular receptor for high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in mice, but its relevance to human physiology has not been well established. Recently a family was reported with a mutation in the gene encoding SR-BI and high HDL cholesterol (HDL-C).

  5. Rare variant in scavenger receptor BI raises HDL cholesterol and increases risk of coronary heart disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zanoni, Paolo; Khetarpal, Sumeet A; Larach, Daniel B

    2016-01-01

    Scavenger receptor BI (SR-BI) is the major receptor for high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (HDL-C). In humans, high amounts of HDL-C in plasma are associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Mice that have depleted Scarb1 (SR-BI knockout mice) have markedly elevated HDL-...

  6. Rare variant in scavenger receptor BI raises HDL cholesterol and increases risk of coronary heart disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scavenger receptor BI (SR-BI) is the major receptor for high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (HDL-C). In humans, high amounts of HDL-C in plasma are associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Mice that have depleted Scarb1 (SR-BI knockout mice) have markedly elevated HDL-C l...

  7. In vivo regulation of scavenger receptor BI and the selective uptake of high density lipoprotein cholesteryl esters in rat liver parenchymal and Kupffer cells

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fluiter, K.; van der Westhuijzen, D. R.; van Berkel, T. J.

    1998-01-01

    High density lipoprotein cholesteryl esters (HDL-CE) are selectively taken up by liver parenchymal cells without parallel apolipoprotein uptake. This selective uptake route forms an important step in the so-called reverse cholesterol transport. Scavenger receptor BI (SR-BI) is the only known HDL

  8. Scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) in pig enterocytes: trafficking from the brush border to lipid droplets during fat absorption

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Gert Helge; Niels-Christiansen, Lise-Lotte W; Immerdal, Lissi

    2003-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) is known to mediate cellular uptake of cholesterol from high density lipoprotein particles and is particularly abundant in liver and steroidogenic tissues. In addition, SR-BI expression in the enterocyte brush border has also been reported...... but its role in the small intestine remains unclear. AIM AND METHODS: To gain insight into the possible function of pig SR-BI during uptake of dietary fat, its localisation in enterocytes was studied in the fasting state and during fat absorption by immunogold electron microscopy and subcellular...... fat, SR-BI is endocytosed from the enterocyte brush border and accumulates in cytoplasmic lipid droplets. Internalisation of the receptor occurs mainly by clathrin coated pits rather than by a caveolae/lipid raft based mechanism....

  9. [Plasma scavenger receptor BI and CD36 expression change and susceptibility of atherosclerosis in patients post liver transplantation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xin; Xue, Jinhong; Zhang, Shuyi; Sun, Liying; Lu, Chengzhi

    2014-02-01

    To explore the association between expression changes of plasma macrophages scavenger receptor (SR)-BI and CD36 and risk of arteriosclerosis in end-stage liver disease (ESLD) patients post liver transplantation. A total of 20 liver transplantation patients were included. Clinical data including blood pressure, blood lipid, blood glucose, incidence of new-onset cardiovascular events were obtained. Plasma macrophages scavenger receptor SR-BIand CD36 expressions were detected by polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western-blot before and at 1 year after liver transplantation. The serum levels of TC [(5.34 ± 0.87) mmol/L vs. (4.27 ± 0.91) mmol/L], TG [(2.47 ± 0.81) mmol/L vs. (1.02 ± 0.49) mmol/L] and LDL-C [(3.36 ± 0.67) mmol/L vs. (2.14 ± 0.74) mmol/L] were significantly increased (P compared to before-transplantation levels. One patient developed non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction and treated with percutaneous coronary intervention, another patient developed atrial fibrillation at one year after transplantation. The plasma mRNA expression of SR-BI was reduced (20.44 ± 0.60 vs. 23.12 ± 0.69, P compare with that of before the transplantation. Similarly, the plasma protein expression of SR-BIwas reduced (0.21 ± 0.13 vs. 0.64 ± 0.28, P compare with that of before the transplantation. Plasma expression changes of SR-BI and CD36 might contribute to the dyslipidemia and contribute to the atherosclerosis susceptibility after liver transplantation.

  10. Scavenger receptors in homeostasis and immunity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canton, Johnathan; Neculai, Dante; Grinstein, Sergio

    2013-09-01

    Scavenger receptors were originally identified by their ability to recognize and to remove modified lipoproteins; however, it is now appreciated that they carry out a striking range of functions, including pathogen clearance, lipid transport, the transport of cargo within the cell and even functioning as taste receptors. The large repertoire of ligands recognized by scavenger receptors and their broad range of functions are not only due to the wide range of receptors that constitute this family but also to their ability to partner with various co-receptors. The ability of individual scavenger receptors to associate with different co-receptors makes their responsiveness extremely versatile. This Review highlights recent insights into the structural features that determine the function of scavenger receptors and the emerging role that these receptors have in immune responses, notably in macrophage polarization and in the pathogenesis of diseases such as atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease.

  11. Scavenger Receptor Class B, Type I, a CD36 Related Protein in Macrobrachium nipponense: Characterization, RNA Interference, and Expression Analysis with Different Dietary Lipid Sources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhili Ding

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The scavenger receptor class B, type I (SR-BI, is a member of the CD36 superfamily comprising transmembrane proteins involved in mammalian and fish lipid homeostasis regulation. We hypothesize that this receptor plays an important role in Macrobrachium nipponense lipid metabolism. However, little attention has been paid to SR-BI in commercial crustaceans. In the present study, we report a cDNA encoding M. nipponense scavenger receptor class B, type I (designated as MnSR-BI, obtained from a hepatopancreas cDNA library. The complete MnSR-BI coding sequence was 1545 bp, encoding 514 amino acid peptides. The MnSR-BI primary structure consisted of a CD36 domain that contained two transmembrane regions at the N- and C-terminals of the protein. SR-BI mRNA expression was specifically detected in muscle, gill, ovum, intestine, hepatopancreas, stomach, and ovary tissues. Furthermore, its expression in the hepatopancreas was regulated by dietary lipid sources, with prawns fed soybean and linseed oils exhibiting higher expression levels. RNAi-based SR-BI silencing resulted in the suppression of its expression in the hepatopancreas and variation in the expression of lipid metabolism-related genes. This is the first report of SR-BI in freshwater prawns and provides the basis for further studies on SR-BI in crustaceans.

  12. Scavenger receptor class B member 1 protein: hepatic regulation and its effects on lipids, reverse cholesterol transport, and atherosclerosis

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    Kent AP

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Anthony P Kent, Ioannis M StylianouDepartment of Medicine and Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USAAbstract: Scavenger receptor class B member 1 (SR-BI, also known as SCARB1 is the primary receptor for the selective uptake of cholesterol from high-density lipoprotein (HDL. SR-BI is present in several key tissues; however, its presence and function in the liver is deemed the most relevant for protection against atherosclerosis. Cholesterol is transferred from HDL via SR-BI to the liver, which ultimately results in the excretion of cholesterol via bile and feces in what is known as the reverse cholesterol transport pathway. Much of our knowledge of SR-BI hepatic function and regulation is derived from mouse models and in vitro characterization. Multiple independent regulatory mechanisms of SR-BI have been discovered that operate at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. In this review we summarize the critical discoveries relating to hepatic SR-BI cholesterol metabolism, atherosclerosis, and regulation of SR-BI, as well as alternative functions that may indirectly affect atherosclerosis.Keywords: SR-BI, SCARB1, lipids, atherosclerosis, CAD, mouse models

  13. Scavenger Receptor Class B Type I Mediates Biliary Cholesterol Secretion Independent of ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter g5/g8 in Mice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wiersma, Harmen; Gatti, Alberto; Nijstad, Niels; Elferink, Ronald P. J. Oude; Kuipers, Folkert; Tietge, Uwe J. F.

    2009-01-01

    Scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) mediates selective uptake of cholesterol from high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles by the liver and influences biliary cholesterol secretion. However, it is not dear, if this effect is direct or indirect. The aim of this study was to determine the impact

  14. In vitro and in vivo Analysis of the Binding of the C Terminus of the HDL Receptor Scavenger Receptor Class B type I (SR-BI) to the PDZ1 Domain of its Cytoplasmic Adaptor Protein PDZK1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    O Kocher; G Birrane; K Tsukamoto; S Fenske; A Yesilaltay; R Pal; K Daniels; J Ladias; M Krieger

    2011-12-31

    The PDZ1 domain of the four PDZ domain-containing protein PDZK1 has been reported to bind the C terminus of the HDL receptor scavenger receptor class B, type I (SR-BI), and to control hepatic SR-BI expression and function. We generated wild-type (WT) and mutant murine PDZ1 domains, the mutants bearing single amino acid substitutions in their carboxylate binding loop (Lys(14)-Xaa(4)-Asn(19)-Tyr-Gly-Phe-Phe-Leu(24)), and measured their binding affinity for a 7-residue peptide corresponding to the C terminus of SR-BI ((503)VLQEAKL(509)). The Y20A and G21Y substitutions abrogated all binding activity. Surprisingly, binding affinities (K(d)) of the K14A and F22A mutants were 3.2 and 4.0 ?M, respectively, similar to 2.6 ?M measured for the WT PDZ1. To understand these findings, we determined the high resolution structure of WT PDZ1 bound to a 5-residue sequence from the C-terminal SR-BI ((505)QEAKL(509)) using x-ray crystallography. In addition, we incorporated the K14A and Y20A substitutions into full-length PDZK1 liver-specific transgenes and expressed them in WT and PDZK1 knock-out mice. In WT mice, the transgenes did not alter endogenous hepatic SR-BI protein expression (intracellular distribution or amount) or lipoprotein metabolism (total plasma cholesterol, lipoprotein size distribution). In PDZK1 knock-out mice, as expected, the K14A mutant behaved like wild-type PDZK1 and completely corrected their hepatic SR-BI and plasma lipoprotein abnormalities. Unexpectedly, the 10-20-fold overexpressed Y20A mutant also substantially, but not completely, corrected these abnormalities. The results suggest that there may be an additional site(s) within PDZK1 that bind(s) SR-BI and mediate(s) productive SR-BI-PDZK1 interaction previously attributed exclusively to the canonical binding of the C-terminal SR-BI to PDZ1.

  15. Human macrophage scavenger receptors: Primary structure, expression, and localization in atherosclerotic lesions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumoto, Akiyo; Itakura, Hiroshige; Kodama, Tatsuhiko; Naito, Makoto; Takahashi, Kiyoshi; Ikemoto, Shinji; Asaoka, Hitoshi; Hayakawa, Ikuho; Kanamori, Hiroshi; Takaku, Fumimaro; Aburatani, Hiroyuki; Suzuki, Hiroshi; Kobari, Yukage; Miyai, Tatsuya; Cohen, E.H.; Wydro, R.; Housman, D.E.

    1990-01-01

    Two types of cDNAs for human macrophage scavenger receptors were cloned from a cDNA library derived from the phorbol ester-treated human monocytic cell line THP-1. The type I and type II human scavenger receptors encoded by these cDNAs are homologous (73% and 71% amino acid identity) to their previously characterized bovine counterparts and consist of six domains: cytoplasmic (I), membrane-spanning (II), spacer (III), α-helical coiled-coil (IV), collagen-like (V), and a type-specific C-terminal (VI). The receptor gene is located on human chromosome 8. The human receptors expressed in CHO-K1 cells mediated endocytosis of modified low density lipoproteins. Two mRNAs, 4.0 and 3.2 kilobases, have been detected in human liver, placenta, and brain. Immunohistochemical studies using an anti-peptide antibody which recognizes human scavenger receptors indicated the presence of the scavenger receptors in the macrophages of lipid-rich atherosclerotic lesions, suggesting the involvement of scavenger receptors in atherogenesis

  16. Scavenger Receptors and Their Potential as Therapeutic Targets in the Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease

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    Sam L. Stephen

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Scavenger receptors act as membrane-bound and soluble proteins that bind to macromolecular complexes and pathogens. This diverse supergroup of proteins mediates binding to modified lipoprotein particles which regulate the initiation and progression of atherosclerotic plaques. In vascular tissues, scavenger receptors are implicated in regulating intracellular signaling, lipid accumulation, foam cell development, and cellular apoptosis or necrosis linked to the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis. One approach is using gene therapy to modulate scavenger receptor function in atherosclerosis. Ectopic expression of membrane-bound scavenger receptors using viral vectors can modify lipid profiles and reduce the incidence of atherosclerosis. Alternatively, expression of soluble scavenger receptors can also block plaque initiation and progression. Inhibition of scavenger receptor expression using a combined gene therapy and RNA interference strategy also holds promise for long-term therapy. Here we review our current understanding of the gene delivery by viral vectors to cells and tissues in gene therapy strategies and its application to the modulation of scavenger receptor function in atherosclerosis.

  17. Scavenger receptors mediate the role of SUMO and Ftz-f1 in Drosophila steroidogenesis.

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    Ana Talamillo

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available SUMOylation participates in ecdysteroid biosynthesis at the onset of metamorphosis in Drosophila melanogaster. Silencing the Drosophila SUMO homologue smt3 in the prothoracic gland leads to reduced lipid content, low ecdysone titers, and a block in the larval-pupal transition. Here we show that the SR-BI family of Scavenger Receptors mediates SUMO functions. Reduced levels of Snmp1 compromise lipid uptake in the prothoracic gland. In addition, overexpression of Snmp1 is able to recover lipid droplet levels in the smt3 knockdown prothoracic gland cells. Snmp1 expression depends on Ftz-f1 (an NR5A-type orphan nuclear receptor, the expression of which, in turn, depends on SUMO. Furthermore, we show by in vitro and in vivo experiments that Ftz-f1 is SUMOylated. RNAi-mediated knockdown of ftz-f1 phenocopies that of smt3 at the larval to pupal transition, thus Ftz-f1 is an interesting candidate to mediate some of the functions of SUMO at the onset of metamorphosis. Additionally, we demonstrate that the role of SUMOylation, Ftz-f1, and the Scavenger Receptors in lipid capture and mobilization is conserved in other steroidogenic tissues such as the follicle cells of the ovary. smt3 knockdown, as well as ftz-f1 or Scavenger knockdown, depleted the lipid content of the follicle cells, which could be rescued by Snmp1 overexpression. Therefore, our data provide new insights into the regulation of metamorphosis via lipid homeostasis, showing that Drosophila Smt3, Ftz-f1, and SR-BIs are part of a general mechanism for uptake of lipids such as cholesterol, required during development in steroidogenic tissues.

  18. Scavenger Receptor CD163 and Its Biological Functions

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    Gabriela Onofre

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available CD163 is a member of scavenger receptor super family class B of the first subgroup. It is mapped to the region p13 on chromosome 12. Five different isoforms of CD163 have been described, which differ in the structure of their cytoplasmic domains and putative phosporylation sites. This scavenger receptor is selectively expressed on cells of monocytes and macrophages lineage exclusively. CD163 immunological function is essentially homeostatic. It also has other functions because participates in adhesion to endothelial cells, in tolerance induction and tissues regeneration. Other very important function of CD163 is the clearance of hemoglobin in its cell-free form and participation in anti-inflammation in its soluble form, exhibiting cytokine-like functions. We review the biological functions of CD163 which have been discovered until now. It seems apparent from this review that CD163 scavenger receptor can be used as biomarker in different diseases and as a valuable diagnostic parameter for prognosis of many diseases especially inflammatory disorders and sepsis.

  19. Receptor complementation and mutagenesis reveal SR-BI as an essential HCV entry factor and functionally imply its intra- and extra-cellular domains.

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    Marlène Dreux

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available HCV entry into cells is a multi-step and slow process. It is believed that the initial capture of HCV particles by glycosaminoglycans and/or lipoprotein receptors is followed by coordinated interactions with the scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI, a major receptor of high-density lipoprotein (HDL, the CD81 tetraspanin, and the tight junction protein Claudin-1, ultimately leading to uptake and cellular penetration of HCV via low-pH endosomes. Several reports have indicated that HDL promotes HCV entry through interaction with SR-BI. This pathway remains largely elusive, although it was shown that HDL neither associates with HCV particles nor modulates HCV binding to SR-BI. In contrast to CD81 and Claudin-1, the importance of SR-BI has only been addressed indirectly because of lack of cells in which functional complementation assays with mutant receptors could be performed. Here we identified for the first time two cell types that supported HCVpp and HCVcc entry upon ectopic SR-BI expression. Remarkably, the undetectable expression of SR-BI in rat hepatoma cells allowed unambiguous investigation of human SR-BI functions during HCV entry. By expressing different SR-BI mutants in either cell line, our results revealed features of SR-BI intracellular domains that influence HCV infectivity without affecting receptor binding and stimulation of HCV entry induced by HDL/SR-BI interaction. Conversely, we identified positions of SR-BI ectodomain that, by altering HCV binding, inhibit entry. Finally, we characterized alternative ectodomain determinants that, by reducing SR-BI cholesterol uptake and efflux functions, abolish HDL-mediated infection-enhancement. Altogether, we demonstrate that SR-BI is an essential HCV entry factor. Moreover, our results highlight specific SR-BI determinants required during HCV entry and physiological lipid transfer functions hijacked by HCV to favor infection.

  20. The evolution of the class A scavenger receptors

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    Whelan Fiona J

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The class A scavenger receptors are a subclass of a diverse family of proteins defined based on their ability to bind modified lipoproteins. The 5 members of this family are strikingly variable in their protein structure and function, raising the question as to whether it is appropriate to group them as a family based on their ligand binding abilities. Results To investigate these relationships, we defined the domain architecture of each of the 5 members followed by collecting and annotating class A scavenger receptor mRNA and amino acid sequences from publicly available databases. Phylogenetic analyses, sequence alignments, and permutation tests revealed a common evolutionary ancestry of these proteins, indicating that they form a protein family. We postulate that 4 distinct gene duplication events and subsequent domain fusions, internal repeats, and deletions are responsible for the diverse protein structures and functions of this family. Despite variation in domain structure, there are highly conserved regions across all 5 members, indicating the possibility that these regions may represent key conserved functional motifs. Conclusions We have shown with significant evidence that the 5 members of the class A scavenger receptors form a protein family. We have indicated that these receptors have a common origin which may provide insight into future functional work with these proteins.

  1. The Evolution of the Scavenger Receptor Cysteine-Rich Domain of the Class A Scavenger Receptors

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    Nicholas eYap

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The class A Scavenger Receptor (cA-SR family is a group of five evolutionarily related innate immune receptors. The cA-SRs are known for their promiscuous ligand binding; as they have been shown to bind bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli, as well as different modified forms of low-density lipoprotein. Three of the five family members possess a Scavenger Receptor Cysteine Rich (SRCR domain while the remaining two receptors lack the domain. Previous work has suggested that the Macrophage Associated Receptor with COllagenous structure (MARCO shares a recent common ancestor with the non-SRCR-containing receptors; however the origin of the SRCR domain within the cA-SRs remains unknown. We hypothesize that the SRCR domains of the cA-SRs have a common origin that predates teleost fish. Using the newly available sequence data from sea lamprey and ghost shark genome projects, we have shown that MARCO shares a common ancestor with the SRCR-containing proteins. In addition, we explored the evolutionary relationships within the SRCR domain by reconstructing the ancestral SRCR domains of the cA-SRs. We identified a motif that is highly conserved between the cA-SR SRCR domains and the ancestral SRCR domain that consist of WGTVCDD. We also show that the GRAEVYY motif, a functionally important motif within MARCO, is poorly conserved in the other cA-SRs and in the reconstructed ancestral domain. Further, we identified three sites within MARCO’s SRCR domain which are under positive selection. Two of these sites lie adjacent to the conserved WGTVCDD motif, and may indicate a potential biological function for these sites. Together these findings indicate a common origin of the SRCR domain within the cA-SRs; however different selective pressures between the proteins may have caused MARCOs SRCR domain to evolve to contain different functional motifs when compared to the other SRCR-containing cA-SRs.

  2. Microglial Scavenger Receptors and Their Roles in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease

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    Kim Wilkinson

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Alzheimer’s disease (AD is increasing in prevalence with the aging population. Deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ in the brain of AD patients is a hallmark of the disease and is associated with increased microglial numbers and activation state. The interaction of microglia with Aβ appears to play a dichotomous role in AD pathogenesis. On one hand, microglia can phagocytose and clear Aβ, but binding of microglia to Aβ also increases their ability to produce inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and neurotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS. Scavenger receptors, a group of evolutionally conserved proteins expressed on the surface of microglia act as receptors for Aβ. Of particular interest are SCARA-1 (scavenger receptor A-1, CD36, and RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation end products. SCARA-1 appears to be involved in the clearance of Aβ, while CD36 and RAGE are involved in activation of microglia by Aβ. In this review, we discuss the roles of various scavenger receptors in the interaction of microglia with Aβ and propose that these receptors play complementary, nonredundant functions in the development of AD pathology. We also discuss potential therapeutic applications for these receptors in AD.

  3. Hemoglobin and heme scavenger receptors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Marianne Jensby; Møller, Holger Jon; Moestrup, Søren Kragh

    2010-01-01

    Heme, the functional group of hemoglobin, myoglobin, and other hemoproteins, is a highly toxic substance when it appears in the extracellular milieu. To circumvent potential harmful effects of heme from hemoproteins released during physiological or pathological cell damage (such as hemolysis...... and rhabdomyolysis), specific high capacity scavenging systems have evolved in the mammalian organism. Two major systems, which essentially function in a similar way by means of a circulating latent plasma carrier protein that upon ligand binding is recognized by a receptor, are represented by a) the hemoglobin...

  4. Intestinal SR-BI does not impact cholesterol absorption or transintestinal cholesterol efflux in mice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bura, Kanwardeep S.; Lord, Caleb; Marshall, Stephanie; McDaniel, Allison; Thomas, Gwyn; Warrier, Manya; Zhang, Jun; Davis, Matthew A.; Sawyer, Janet K.; Shah, Ramesh; Wilson, Martha D.; Dikkers, Arne; Tietge, Uwe J. F.; Collet, Xavier; Rudel, Lawrence L.; Temel, Ryan E.; Brown, J. Mark

    Reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) can proceed through the classic hepatobiliary route or through the non-biliary transintestinal cholesterol efflux (TICE) pathway. Scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) plays a critical role in the classic hepatobiliary route of RCT. However, the role of SR-BI

  5. Targeting SR-BI for cancer diagnostics, imaging and therapy

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    Maneesha Amrita Rajora

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI plays an important role in trafficking cholesteryl esters between the core of high density lipoprotein and the liver. Interestingly, this integral membrane protein receptor is also implicated in the metabolism of cholesterol by cancer cells, whereby overexpression of SR-BI has been observed in a number of tumours and cancer cell lines, including breast and prostate cancers. Consequently, SR-BI has recently gained attention as a cancer biomarker and exciting target for the direct cytosolic delivery of therapeutic agents. This brief review highlights these key developments in SR-BI-targeted cancer therapies and imaging probes. Special attention is given to the exploration of high density lipoprotein nanomimetic platforms that take advantage of upregulated SR-BI expression to facilitate targeted drug-delivery and cancer diagnostics, and promising future directions in the development of these agents.

  6. The alpha-fetoprotein third domain receptor binding fragment: in search of scavenger and associated receptor targets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mizejewski, G J

    2015-01-01

    Recent studies have demonstrated that the carboxyterminal third domain of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP-CD) binds with various ligands and receptors. Reports within the last decade have established that AFP-CD contains a large fragment of amino acids that interact with several different receptor types. Using computer software specifically designed to identify protein-to-protein interaction at amino acid sequence docking sites, the computer searches identified several types of scavenger-associated receptors and their amino acid sequence locations on the AFP-CD polypeptide chain. The scavenger receptors (SRs) identified were CD36, CD163, Stabilin, SSC5D, SRB1 and SREC; the SR-associated receptors included the mannose, low-density lipoprotein receptors, the asialoglycoprotein receptor, and the receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (RAGE). Interestingly, some SR interaction sites were localized on the AFP-derived Growth Inhibitory Peptide (GIP) segment at amino acids #480-500. Following the detection studies, a structural subdomain analysis of both the receptor and the AFP-CD revealed the presence of epidermal growth factor (EGF) repeats, extracellular matrix-like protein regions, amino acid-rich motifs and dimerization subdomains. For the first time, it was reported that EGF-like sequence repeats were identified on each of the three domains of AFP. Thereafter, the localization of receptors on specific cell types were reviewed and their functions were discussed.

  7. Scavenger receptors in human airway epithelial cells: role in response to double-stranded RNA.

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    Audrey Dieudonné

    Full Text Available Scavenger receptors and Toll-like receptors (TLRs cooperate in response to danger signals to adjust the host immune response. The TLR3 agonist double stranded (dsRNA is an efficient activator of innate signalling in bronchial epithelial cells. In this study, we aimed at defining the role played by scavenger receptors expressed by bronchial epithelial cells in the control of the innate response to dsRNA both in vitro and in vivo. Expression of several scavenger receptor involved in pathogen recognition was first evaluated in human bronchial epithelial cells in steady-state and inflammatory conditions. Their implication in the uptake of dsRNA and the subsequent cell activation was evaluated in vitro by competition with ligand of scavenger receptors including maleylated ovalbumin and by RNA silencing. The capacity of maleylated ovalbumin to modulate lung inflammation induced by dsRNA was also investigated in mice. Exposure to tumor necrosis factor-α increased expression of the scavenger receptors LOX-1 and CXCL16 and the capacity to internalize maleylated ovalbumin, whereas activation by TLR ligands did not. In contrast, the expression of SR-B1 was not modulated in these conditions. Interestingly, supplementation with maleylated ovalbumin limited dsRNA uptake and inhibited subsequent activation of bronchial epithelial cells. RNA silencing of LOX-1 and SR-B1 strongly blocked the dsRNA-induced cytokine production. Finally, administration of maleylated ovalbumin in mice inhibited the dsRNA-induced infiltration and activation of inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar spaces and lung draining lymph nodes. Together, our data characterize the function of SR-B1 and LOX-1 in bronchial epithelial cells and their implication in dsRNA-induced responses, a finding that might be relevant during respiratory viral infections.

  8. Scavenger Receptors and Resistance to Inhaled Allergens

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-01

    throughput manner which will enable future studies. We plan to continue two especially interesting aspects of these studies. First, the epigenetic control...directs mod- ified proteins to antigen presentation. Eur. J. Immunol. 29: 512–521. 30. Granucci, F., F. Petralia, M. Urbano , S. Citterio, F. Di Tota, L...11 Suppl:S32-6. 50. Granucci F, Petralia F, Urbano M, Citterio S, Di Tota F, Santambrogio L, Ricciardi-Castagnoli P: The scavenger receptor MARCO

  9. Effekte des oxidativen Stresses auf die Expression der Scavenger-Rezeptoren CD36 und SR-BI und des Transkriptionsfaktors PPARγ in Makrophagen

    OpenAIRE

    Westendorf, Thomas

    2006-01-01

    Ziel dieser Dissertationsschrift war es, die Effekte des oxidativen Stresses in Form von oxLDL auf die Expression der atherogenen Scavenger-Rezeptoren CD36, SR-BI, des Transkriptionsfaktors PPARγ und pro-inflammatorischer Zytokine zu untersuchen. Die durchgeführten Untersuchungen beruhen auf der Annahme, dass modifizierte LDL durch Induktion der genannten Scavenger-Rezeptoren und nachfolgende unregulierte Aufnahme in Makrophagen mit Bildung von Schaumzellen entscheidend zur Entwicklung einer ...

  10. Is the scavenger receptor MARCO a new immune checkpoint?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arredouani, Mohamed S

    2014-11-01

    Whereas macrophages use the scavenger receptor MARCO primarily in antimicrobial immunity by interacting with both exogenous and endogenous environments, in dendritic cells (DCs) MARCO is believed to pleiotropically link innate to adaptive immunity. MARCO exerts a significant modulatory effect on TLR-induced DC activation, thus offering novel avenues in cancer immunotherapy.

  11. Scavenger receptor AI/II truncation, lung function and COPD

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, M; Nordestgaard, B G; Tybjaerg-Hansen, A

    2011-01-01

    The scavenger receptor A-I/II (SRA-I/II) on alveolar macrophages is involved in recognition and clearance of modified lipids and inhaled particulates. A rare variant of the SRA-I/II gene, Arg293X, truncates the distal collagen-like domain, which is essential for ligand recognition. We tested whet...

  12. The macrophage scavenger receptor CD163 functions as an innate immune sensor for bacteria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fabriek, Babs O.; van Bruggen, Robin; Deng, Dong Mei; Ligtenberg, Antoon J. M.; Nazmi, Kamran; Schornagel, Karin; Vloet, Rianka P. M.; Dijkstra, Christine D.; van den Berg, Timo K.

    2009-01-01

    The plasma membrane glycoprotein receptor CD163 is a member of the scavenger receptor cystein-rich (SRCR) superfamily class B that is highly expressed on resident tissue macrophages in vivo. Previously, the molecule has been shown to act as a receptor for hemoglobin-haptoglobin complexes and to

  13. Scavenger receptor classes A and B. Their roles in atherogenesis and the metabolism of modified LDL and HDL

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Berkel, T. J.; van Eck, M.; Herijgers, N.; Fluiter, K.; Nion, S.

    2000-01-01

    Scavenger-receptor class A has been held responsible for the clearance of modified LDL from the blood circulation. However, in mice deficient in scavenger-receptor class A, the decay in vivo of acetylated LDL (t1/2 <2 min), as well as tissue distribution and liver uptake (at 5 min 77.4 +/- 4.6% of

  14. Scavenger receptor-mediated recognition of maleyl bovine plasma albumin and the demaleylated protein in human monocyte macrophages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haberland, M.E.; Fogelman, A.M.

    1985-01-01

    Maleyl bovine plasma albumin competed on an equimolar basis with malondialdehyde low density lipoprotein (LDL) in suppressing the lysosomal hydrolysis of 125 I-labeled malondialdehyde LDL mediated by the scavenger receptor of human monocyte macrophages. Maleyl bovine plasma albumin, in which 94% of the amino groups were modified, exhibited an anodic mobility in agarose electrophoresis 1.7 times that of the native protein. Incubation of maleyl bovine plasma albumin at pH 3.5 regenerated the free amino groups and restored the protein to the same electrophoretic mobility as native albumin. Although ligands recognized by the scavenger receptor typically are anionic, the authors propose that addition of new negative charge achieved by maleylation, rather than directly forming the receptor binding site(s), induces conformational changes in albumin as a prerequisite to expression of the recognition domain(s). They conclude that the primary sequence of albumin, rather than addition of new negative charge, provides the recognition determinant(s) essential for interaction of maleyl bovine plasma albumin with the scavenger receptor

  15. Scavenger Receptor Structure and Function in Health and Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izma Abdul Zani

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Scavenger receptors (SRs are a ‘superfamily’ of membrane-bound receptors that were initially thought to bind and internalize modified low-density lipoprotein (LDL, though it is currently known to bind to a variety of ligands including endogenous proteins and pathogens. New family of SRs and their properties have been identified in recent years, and have now been classified into 10 eukaryote families, defined as Classes A-J. These receptors are classified according to their sequences, although in each class they are further classified based in the variations of the sequence. Their ability to bind a range of ligands is reflected on the biological functions such as clearance of modified lipoproteins and pathogens. SR members regulate pathophysiological states including atherosclerosis, pathogen infections, immune surveillance, and cancer. Here, we review our current understanding of SR structure and function implicated in health and disease.

  16. Proteolytic shedding of the macrophage scavenger receptor CD163 in multiple sclerosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fabriek, Babs O; Møller, Holger J; Vloet, Rianka P M

    2007-01-01

    The scavenger receptor CD163 is selectively expressed on tissue macrophages and human monocytes. CD163 has been implicated to play a role in the clearance of hemoglobin and in the regulation of cytokine production by macrophages. Membrane CD163 can be cleaved by matrix metalloproteinases (MMP...

  17. The macrophage scavenger receptor (CD163): a double-edged sword in treatment of malignant disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maniecki, Maciej Bogdan

    2009-01-01

    of inflammatory processes. The receptor is expressed by circulatory monocytes and it is highly expressed on tissue-resident macrophages. CD163 is also expressed on leukemic blast cells of AML type M4/M5 and tumor cells in malignant melanoma and breast cancer. Although circumstantial evidence of the potential...... was investigated in biopsies from bladder cancer patients. We demonstrated that CD163 mRNA expression was significantly elevated in muscle invasive tumors (T2-T4) compared with superficial tumors (Ta), and that a high level of CD163 mRNA expression in tumor biopsies was significantly associated with poor 13-year......The hemoglobin scavenger receptor CD163 is a transmembrane glycoprotein belonging to the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich (SRCR) domain family. It mediates the clearance of hemoglobin released to the circulation during intravascular hemolysis, and it is also involved in the regulation...

  18. Structures of class A macrophage scavenger receptors. Electron microscopic study of flexible, multidomain, fibrous proteins and determination of the disulfide bond pattern of the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich domain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resnick, D; Chatterton, J E; Schwartz, K; Slayter, H; Krieger, M

    1996-10-25

    Structures of secreted forms of the human type I and II class A macrophage scavenger receptors were studied using biochemical and biophysical methods. Proteolytic analysis was used to determine the intramolecular disulfide bonds in the type I-specific scavenger receptor cysteine-rich (SRCR) domain: Cys2-Cys7, Cys3-Cys8, and Cys5-Cys6. This pattern is likely to be shared by the highly homologous domains in the many other members of the SRCR domain superfamily. Electron microscopy using rotary shadowing and negative staining showed that the type I and II receptors are extended molecules whose contour lengths are approximately 440 A. They comprised two adjacent fibrous segments, an alpha-helical coiled-coil ( approximately 230 A, including a contribution from the N-terminal spacer domain) and a collagenous triple helix ( approximately 210 A). The type I molecules also contained a C-terminal globular structure ( approximately 58 x 76 A) composed of three SRCR domains. The fibrous domains were joined by an extremely flexible hinge. The angle between these domains varied from 0 to 180 degrees and depended on the conditions of sample preparation. Unexpectedly, at physiologic pH, the prevalent angle seen using rotary shadowing was 0 degrees , resulting in a structure that is significantly more compact than previously suggested. The apparent juxtaposition of the fibrous domains at neutral pH provides a framework for future structure-function studies of these unusual multiligand receptors.

  19. Design and synthesis of a stable oxidized phospholipid mimic with specific binding recognition for macrophage scavenger receptors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Turner, William W; Hartvigsen, Karsten; Boullier, Agnes

    2012-01-01

    Macrophage scavenger receptors appear to play a major role in the clearance of oxidized phospholipid (OxPL) products. Discrete peptide-phospholipid conjugates with the phosphatidylcholine headgroup have been shown to exhibit binding affinity for these receptors. We report the preparation of a wat...

  20. Contributions of a disulfide bond and a reduced cysteine side chain to the intrinsic activity of the high-density lipoprotein receptor SR-BI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Miao; Lau, Thomas Y; Carr, Steven A; Krieger, Monty

    2012-12-18

    The high-density lipoprotein (HDL) receptor scavenger receptor class B, type I (SR-BI), binds HDL and mediates selective cholesteryl ester uptake. SR-BI's structure and mechanism are poorly understood. We used mass spectrometry to assign the two disulfide bonds in SR-BI that connect cysteines within the conserved Cys(321)-Pro(322)-Cys(323) (CPC) motif and connect Cys(280) to Cys(334). We used site-specific mutagenesis to evaluate the contributions of the CPC motif and the side chain of extracellular Cys(384) to HDL binding and lipid uptake. The effects of CPC mutations on activity were context-dependent. Full wild-type (WT) activity required Pro(322) and Cys(323) only when Cys(321) was present. Reduced intrinsic activities were observed for CXC and CPX, but not XXC, XPX, or XXX mutants (X ≠ WT residue). Apparently, a free thiol side chain at position 321 that cannot form an intra-CPC disulfide bond with Cys(323) is deleterious, perhaps because of aberrant disulfide bond formation. Pro(322) may stabilize an otherwise strained CPC disulfide bond, thus supporting WT activity, but this disulfide bond is not absolutely required for normal activity. C(384)X (X = S, T, L, Y, G, or A) mutants exhibited altered activities that varied with the side chain's size: larger side chains phenocopied WT SR-BI treated with its thiosemicarbazone inhibitor BLT-1 (enhanced binding, weakened uptake); smaller side chains produced almost inverse effects (increased uptake:binding ratio). C(384)X mutants were BLT-1-resistant, supporting the proposal that Cys(384)'s thiol interacts with BLT-1. We discuss the implications of our findings on the functions of the extracellular loop cysteines in SR-BI and compare our results to those presented by other laboratories.

  1. Protection against inhaled oxidants through scavenging of oxidized lipids by macrophage receptors MARCO and SR-AI/II

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dahl, Morten; Bauer, Alison K; Arredouani, Mohamed

    2007-01-01

    Alveolar macrophages (AMs) express the class A scavenger receptors (SRAs) macrophage receptor with collagenous structure (MARCO) and scavenger receptor AI/II (SRA-I/II), which recognize oxidized lipids and provide innate defense against inhaled pathogens and particles. Increased MARCO expression...... in lungs of ozone-resistant mice suggested an additional role protecting against inhaled oxidants. After ozone exposure, MARCO-/- mice showed greater lung injury than did MARCO+/+ mice. Ozone is known to generate oxidized, proinflammatory lipids in lung lining fluid, such as 5beta,6beta......-epoxycholesterol (beta-epoxide) and 1-palmitoyl-2-(9'-oxo-nonanoyl)-glycerophosphocholine (PON-GPC). Intratracheal instillation of either lipid caused substantial neutrophil influx in MARCO-/- mice, but had no effect in MARCO+/+ mice. Normal AMs showed greater uptake in vitro of beta-epoxide compared with MARCO-/- AMs...

  2. The LOX-1 Scavenger Receptor and Its Implications in the Treatment of Vascular Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. W Twigg

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death. The disease is due to atherosclerosis which is characterized by lipid and fat accumulation in arterial blood vessel walls. A key causative event is the accumulation of oxidised low density lipoprotein particles within vascular cells, and this is mediated by scavenger receptors. One such molecule is the LOX-1 scavenger receptor that is expressed on endothelial, vascular smooth muscle, and lymphoid cells including macrophages. LOX-1 interaction with OxLDL particles stimulates atherosclerosis. LOX-1 mediates OxLDL endocytosis via a clathrin-independent internalization pathway. Transgenic animal model studies show that LOX-1 plays a significant role in atherosclerotic plaque initiation and progression. Administration of LOX-1 antibodies in cellular and animal models suggest that such intervention inhibits atherosclerosis. Antiatherogenic strategies that target LOX-1 function using gene therapy or small molecule inhibitors would be new ways to address the increasing incidence of vascular disease in many countries.

  3. Increased DNA methylation of scavenger receptor class B type I contributes to inhibitory effects of prenatal caffeine ingestion on cholesterol uptake and steroidogenesis in fetal adrenals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Dong-Mei; He, Zheng; Ma, Liang-Peng; Wang, Lin-Long [Department of Pharmacology, Wuhan University School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan 430071 (China); Ping, Jie, E-mail: pingjie@whu.edu.cn [Department of Pharmacology, Wuhan University School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan 430071 (China); Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Developmentally Originated Diseases, Wuhan 430071 (China); Research Center of Food and Drug Evaluation, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071 (China); Wang, Hui [Department of Pharmacology, Wuhan University School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan 430071 (China); Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Developmentally Originated Diseases, Wuhan 430071 (China); Research Center of Food and Drug Evaluation, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071 (China)

    2015-06-01

    Steroid hormones synthesized from cholesterol in the fetal adrenal are crucial for fetal development. We have observed the inhibited fetal adrenal corticosterone synthesis and increased intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) rate in rats under prenatal caffeine ingestion. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of prenatal caffeine ingestion on cholesterol supply in fetal adrenal steroidogenesis in rats and explore the underlying epigenetic mechanisms. Pregnant Wistar rats were treated with 60 mg/kg·d caffeine from gestational day (GD) 7 to GD17. Histological changes of fetal adrenals and increased IUGR rates were observed in the caffeine group. There were significantly decreased steroid hormone contents and cholesterol supply in caffeine-treated fetal adrenals. Data from the gene expression array suggested that prenatal caffeine ingestion caused increased expression of genes related to DNA methylation and decreased expression of genes related to cholesterol uptake. The following conjoint analysis of DNA methylation array with these differentially expressed genes suggested that scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) may play an important role in caffeine-induced cholesterol supply deficiency. Moreover, real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemical detection certified the inhibitory effects of caffeine on both mRNA expression and protein expression of SR-BI in the fetal adrenal. And the increased DNA methylation frequency in the proximal promoter of SR-BI was confirmed by bisulfite-sequencing PCR. In conclusion, prenatal caffeine ingestion can induce DNA hypermethylation of the SR-BI promoter in the rat fetal adrenal. These effects may lead to decreased SR-BI expression and cholesterol uptake, which inhibits steroidogenesis in the fetal adrenal. - Highlights: • Prenatal caffeine ingestion inhibits steroid hormone production in the fetal adrenal. • Prenatal caffeine ingestion inhibits cholesterol uptake in the fetal adrenal. • Prenatal caffeine

  4. Increased DNA methylation of scavenger receptor class B type I contributes to inhibitory effects of prenatal caffeine ingestion on cholesterol uptake and steroidogenesis in fetal adrenals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Dong-Mei; He, Zheng; Ma, Liang-Peng; Wang, Lin-Long; Ping, Jie; Wang, Hui

    2015-01-01

    Steroid hormones synthesized from cholesterol in the fetal adrenal are crucial for fetal development. We have observed the inhibited fetal adrenal corticosterone synthesis and increased intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) rate in rats under prenatal caffeine ingestion. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of prenatal caffeine ingestion on cholesterol supply in fetal adrenal steroidogenesis in rats and explore the underlying epigenetic mechanisms. Pregnant Wistar rats were treated with 60 mg/kg·d caffeine from gestational day (GD) 7 to GD17. Histological changes of fetal adrenals and increased IUGR rates were observed in the caffeine group. There were significantly decreased steroid hormone contents and cholesterol supply in caffeine-treated fetal adrenals. Data from the gene expression array suggested that prenatal caffeine ingestion caused increased expression of genes related to DNA methylation and decreased expression of genes related to cholesterol uptake. The following conjoint analysis of DNA methylation array with these differentially expressed genes suggested that scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) may play an important role in caffeine-induced cholesterol supply deficiency. Moreover, real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemical detection certified the inhibitory effects of caffeine on both mRNA expression and protein expression of SR-BI in the fetal adrenal. And the increased DNA methylation frequency in the proximal promoter of SR-BI was confirmed by bisulfite-sequencing PCR. In conclusion, prenatal caffeine ingestion can induce DNA hypermethylation of the SR-BI promoter in the rat fetal adrenal. These effects may lead to decreased SR-BI expression and cholesterol uptake, which inhibits steroidogenesis in the fetal adrenal. - Highlights: • Prenatal caffeine ingestion inhibits steroid hormone production in the fetal adrenal. • Prenatal caffeine ingestion inhibits cholesterol uptake in the fetal adrenal. • Prenatal caffeine

  5. Molecular and Functional Characterization of Mouse S5D-SRCRB: A New Group B Member of the Scavenger Receptor Cysteine-Rich Superfamily

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Miró-Julià, Cristina; Roselló, Sandra; Martínez, Vanesa G

    2011-01-01

    The scavenger receptor cysteine-rich superfamily (SRCR-SF) members are transmembrane and/or secreted receptors exhibiting one or several repeats of a cysteine-rich protein module of ∼100 aa, named scavenger receptor cysteine-rich (SRCR). Two types of SRCR domains (A or B) have been reported, which...... differ in the number of coding exons and intradomain cysteines. Although no unifying function has been reported for SRCR-SF members, recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) was recently shown for some of them. In this article, we report the structural and functional characterization...

  6. High density lipoprotein stimulated migration of macrophages depends on the scavenger receptor class B, type I, PDZK1 and Akt1 and is blocked by sphingosine 1 phosphate receptor antagonists.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aishah Al-Jarallah

    Full Text Available HDL carries biologically active lipids such as sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P and stimulates a variety of cell signaling pathways in diverse cell types, which may contribute to its ability to protect against atherosclerosis. HDL and sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor agonists, FTY720 and SEW2871 triggered macrophage migration. HDL-, but not FTY720-stimulated migration was inhibited by an antibody against the HDL receptor, SR-BI, and an inhibitor of SR-BI mediated lipid transfer. HDL and FTY720-stimulated migration was also inhibited in macrophages lacking either SR-BI or PDZK1, an adaptor protein that binds to SR-BI's C-terminal cytoplasmic tail. Migration in response to HDL and S1P receptor agonists was inhibited by treatment of macrophages with sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor type 1 (S1PR1 antagonists and by pertussis toxin. S1PR1 activates signaling pathways including PI3K-Akt, PKC, p38 MAPK, ERK1/2 and Rho kinases. Using selective inhibitors or macrophages from gene targeted mice, we demonstrated the involvement of each of these pathways in HDL-dependent macrophage migration. These data suggest that HDL stimulates the migration of macrophages in a manner that requires the activities of the HDL receptor SR-BI as well as S1PR1 activity.

  7. Lipoprotein profiles in human heterozygote carriers of a functional mutation P297S in scavenger receptor class B1

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ljunggren, Stefan A.; Levels, Johannes H. M.; Hovingh, Kees; Holleboom, Adriaan G.; Vergeer, Menno; Argyri, Letta; Gkolfinopoulou, Christina; Chroni, Angeliki; Sierts, Jeroen A.; Kastelein, John J.; Kuivenhoven, Jan Albert; Lindahl, Mats; Karlsson, Helen

    2015-01-01

    The scavenger receptor class B type 1 (SR-B1) is an important HDL receptor involved in cholesterol uptake and efflux, but its physiological role in human lipoprotein metabolism is not fully understood. Heterozygous carriers of the SR-B1(P297S) mutation are characterized by increased HDL cholesterol

  8. Cloning and characterization of SCART1, a novel scavenger receptor cysteine-rich type I transmembrane molecule

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Dorte; Fink, Dorte Rosenbek; Grønlund, Jørn

    2009-01-01

    We have cloned and characterized a novel murine transmembrane molecule, mSCART1 belonging to the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich superfamily. The cDNA encodes a polypeptide chain of 989 amino acids, organized as a type I transmembrane protein that contains eight extracellular SRCR domains followed...

  9. Transgenic mouse models to study the role of the macrophage scavenger receptor class A in atherosclerosis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Winther, M. P.; Gijbels, M. J.; van Dijk, K. W.; Havekes, L. M.; Hofker, M. H.

    2000-01-01

    Several in vivo studies have been performed on the role of the macrophage scavenger receptor class A (SR-A) in atherosclerosis using SR-A knockout mice. The results indicate both an antiatherogenic and a proatherogenic role of SR-A, depending on the nature of the animal model serving as the

  10. In vitro photodynamic effects of scavenger receptor targeted-photoactivatable nanoagents on activated macrophages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Bong Gu; Park, Ok Kyu; Jeong, Myeong Seon; Kwon, Seung Hae; Jung, Jae In; Lee, Seongsoo; Ryoo, Sungwoo; Kim, Sung Eun; Kim, Jin Won; Moon, Won-Jin; Park, Kyeongsoon

    2017-04-01

    Scavenger receptors (SRs) expressed on the activated macrophages in inflammation sites have been considered as the most interesting and important target biomarker for targeted drug delivery, imaging and therapy. In the present study, we fabricated the scavenger receptor-A (SR-A) targeted-photoactivatable nanoagents (termed as Ce6/DS-DOCA) by entrapping chlorin e6 (Ce6) into the amphiphilic dextran sulfate-deoxycholic acid (DS-DOCA) conjugates via physically hydrophobic interactions. Insoluble Ce6 was easily encapsulated into DS-DOCA nanoparticles by a dialysis method and the loading efficiency was approximately 51.7%. The Ce6/DS-DOCA formed nano-sized self-assembled aggregates (28.8±5.6nm in diameter), confirmed by transmission electron microscope, UV/Vis and fluorescence spectrophotometer. The Ce6/DS-DOCA nanoagents could generate highly reactive singlet oxygen under laser irradiation. Also, in vitro studies showed that they were more specifically taken up by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced activated macrophages (RAW 264.7) via a SR-A-mediated endocytosis, relative to by non-activated macrophages, and notably induced cell death of activated macrophages under laser irradiation. Therefore, SR-A targetable and photoactivatable Ce6/DS-DOCA nanoagents with more selective targeting to the activated macrophages will have great potential for treatment of inflammatory diseases. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Activated human mast cells induce LOX-1-specific scavenger receptor expression in human monocyte-derived macrophages.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mervi Alanne-Kinnunen

    Full Text Available Activated mast cells in atherosclerotic lesions degranulate and release bioactive compounds capable of regulating atherogenesis. Here we examined the ability of activated human primary mast cells to regulate the expression of the major scavenger receptors in cultured human primary monocyte-derived macrophages (HMDMs.Components released by immunologically activated human primary mast cells induced a transient expression of lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor (LOX-1 mRNA in HMDMs, while the expression of two other scavenger receptors, MSR1 and CD36, remained unaffected. The LOX-1-inducing secretory components were identified as histamine, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α, and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β1, which exhibited a synergistic effect on LOX-1 mRNA expression. Histamine induced a transient expression of LOX-1 protein. Mast cell -induced increase in LOX-1 expression was not associated with increased uptake of oxidized LDL by the macrophages.Mast cell-derived histamine, TNF-α, and TGF-β1 act in concert to induce a transient increase in LOX-1 expression in human primary monocyte-derived macrophages. The LOX-1-inducing activity potentially endows mast cells a hitherto unrecognized role in the regulation of innate immune reactions in atherogenesis.

  12. Scavenger receptor AI/II truncation, lung function and COPD: a large population-based study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, M; Nordestgaard, B G; Tybjærg-Hansen, Anne

    2011-01-01

    The scavenger receptor A-I/II (SRA-I/II) on alveolar macrophages is involved in recognition and clearance of modified lipids and inhaled particulates. A rare variant of the SRA-I/II gene, Arg293X, truncates the distal collagen-like domain, which is essential for ligand recognition. We tested...... whether the Arg293X variant is associated with reduced lung function and risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the general population....

  13. The chemokine and scavenger receptor CXCL16/SR-PSOX is expressed in human vascular smooth muscle cells and is induced by interferon γ

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wagsaeter, Dick; Olofsson, Peder S.; Norgren, Lars; Stenberg, Bjoern; Sirsjoe, Allan

    2004-01-01

    Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease that is characterised by the involvement of chemokines that are important for the recruitment of leukocytes and scavenger receptors that mediate foam cell formation. Several cytokines are involved in the regulation of chemokines and scavenger receptors in atherosclerosis. CXCL16 is a chemokine and scavenger receptor and found in macrophages in human atherosclerotic lesions. Using double-labelled immunohistochemistry, we identified that smooth muscle cells in human lesions express CXCL16. We then analysed the effects of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-12, IL-15, IL-18, and LPS on CXCL16 expression in cultured aortic smooth muscle cells. IFN-γ was the most potent CXCL16 inducer and increased mRNA, soluble form, membrane form, and total cellular levels of CXCL16. The IFN-γ induction of CXCL16 was also associated with increased uptake of oxLDL into these cells. Taken together, smooth muscle cells express CXCL16 in atherosclerotic lesions, which may play a role in the attraction of T cells to atherosclerotic lesions and contribute to the cellular internalisation of modified LDL

  14. Innate scavenger receptor-A regulates adaptive T helper cell responses to pathogen infection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Zhipeng; Xu, Lei; Li, Wei; Jin, Xin; Song, Xian; Chen, Xiaojun; Zhu, Jifeng; Zhou, Sha; Li, Yong; Zhang, Weiwei; Dong, Xiaoxiao; Yang, Xiaowei; Liu, Feng; Bai, Hui; Chen, Qi; Su, Chuan

    2017-01-01

    The pattern recognition receptor (PRR) scavenger receptor class A (SR-A) has an important function in the pathogenesis of non-infectious diseases and in innate immune responses to pathogen infections. However, little is known about the role of SR-A in the host adaptive immune responses to pathogen infection. Here we show with mouse models of helminth Schistosoma japonicum infection and heat-inactivated Mycobacterium tuberculosis stimulation that SR-A is regulated by pathogens and suppresses IRF5 nuclear translocation by direct interaction. Reduced abundance of nuclear IRF5 shifts macrophage polarization from M1 towards M2, which subsequently switches T-helper responses from type 1 to type 2. Our study identifies a role for SR-A as an innate PRR in regulating adaptive immune responses. PMID:28695899

  15. Knockdown expression and hepatic deficiency reveal anatheroprotective role for SR-BI in liver and peripheral tissues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huby, Thierry; Doucet, Chantal; Dachet, Christiane; Ouzilleau,Betty; Ueda, Yukihiko; Afzal, Veena; Rubin, Edward; Chapman, M. John; Lesnik, Philippe

    2006-07-18

    Scavenger receptor SR-BI has been implicated inHDL-dependent atheroprotective mechanisms. We report the generation of anSR-BI conditional knockout mouse model in which SR-BI gene targeting byloxP site insertion produced a hypomorphic allele (hypomSR-BI).Attenuated SR-BI expression in hypomSR-BI mice resulted in 2-foldelevation in plasma total cholesterol (TC) levels. Cre-mediated SR-BIgene inactivation of the hypomorphic SR-BI allele in hepatocytes(hypomSR-BI-KOliver) was associated with high plasma TC concentrations,increased plasma free cholesterol/TC (FC/TC) ratio, and alipoprotein-cholesterol profile typical of SR-BI-/- mice. Plasma TClevels were increased 2-fold in hypomSR-BI and control mice fed anatherogenic diet, whereas hypomSR-BI-KOliver and SR-BI-/- mice developedsevere hypercholesterolemia due to accumulation of FC-rich, VLDL-sizedparticles. Atherosclerosis in hypomSR-BI mice was enhanced (2.5-fold)compared with that in controls, but to a much lower degree than inhypomSR-BI-KOliver (32-fold) and SR-BI-/- (48-fold) mice. The lattermodels did not differ in either plasma lipid levels or in the capacity ofVLDL-sized lipoproteins to induce macrophage cholesterol loading.However, reduced atherosclerosis in hypomSR-BI-KOliver mice wasassociated with decreased lesional macrophage content as compared withthat in SR-BI-/- mice. These data imply that, in addition to its majoratheroprotective role in liver, SR-BI may exert an antiatherogenic rolein extrahepatic tissues.

  16. Alternative activation of macrophages and pulmonary fibrosis are modulated by scavenger receptor, macrophage receptor with collagenous structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murthy, Shubha; Larson-Casey, Jennifer L; Ryan, Alan J; He, Chao; Kobzik, Lester; Carter, A Brent

    2015-08-01

    Alternative activation of alveolar macrophages is linked to fibrosis following exposure to asbestos. The scavenger receptor, macrophage receptor with collagenous structure (MARCO), provides innate immune defense against inhaled particles and pathogens; however, a receptor for asbestos has not been identified. We hypothesized that MARCO acts as an initial signaling receptor for asbestos, polarizes macrophages to a profibrotic M2 phenotype, and is required for the development of asbestos-induced fibrosis. Compared with normal subjects, alveolar macrophages isolated from patients with asbestosis express higher amounts of MARCO and have greater profibrotic polarization. Arginase 1 (40-fold) and IL-10 (265-fold) were higher in patients. In vivo, the genetic deletion of MARCO attenuated the profibrotic environment and pulmonary fibrosis in mice exposed to chrysotile. Moreover, alveolar macrophages from MARCO(-/-) mice polarize to an M1 phenotype, whereas wild-type mice have higher Ym1 (>3.0-fold) and nearly 7-fold more active TGF-β1 in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid (BALF). Arg(432) and Arg(434) in domain V of MARCO are required for the polarization of macrophages to a profibrotic phenotype as mutation of these residues reduced FIZZ1 expression (17-fold) compared with cells expressing MARCO. These observations demonstrate that a macrophage membrane protein regulates the fibrotic response to lung injury and suggest a novel target for therapeutic intervention. © FASEB.

  17. Scavenger Receptor C Mediates Phagocytosis of White Spot Syndrome Virus and Restricts Virus Proliferation in Shrimp

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Ming-Chong; Shi, Xiu-Zhen; Yang, Hui-Ting; Sun, Jie-Jie; Xu, Ling; Wang, Xian-Wei; Zhao, Xiao-Fan

    2016-01-01

    Scavenger receptors are an important class of pattern recognition receptors that play several important roles in host defense against pathogens. The class C scavenger receptors (SRCs) have only been identified in a few invertebrates, and their role in the immune response against viruses is seldom studied. In this study, we firstly identified an SRC from kuruma shrimp, Marsupenaeus japonicus, designated MjSRC, which was significantly upregulated after white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) challenge at the mRNA and protein levels in hemocytes. The quantity of WSSV increased in shrimp after knockdown of MjSRC, compared with the controls. Furthermore, overexpression of MjSRC led to enhanced WSSV elimination via phagocytosis by hemocytes. Pull-down and co-immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated the interaction between MjSRC and the WSSV envelope protein. Electron microscopy observation indicated that the colloidal gold-labeled extracellular domain of MjSRC was located on the outer surface of WSSV. MjSRC formed a trimer and was internalized into the cytoplasm after WSSV challenge, and the internalization was strongly inhibited after knockdown of Mjβ-arrestin2. Further studies found that Mjβ-arrestin2 interacted with the intracellular domain of MjSRC and induced the internalization of WSSV in a clathrin-dependent manner. WSSV were co-localized with lysosomes in hemocytes and the WSSV quantity in shrimp increased after injection of lysosome inhibitor, chloroquine. Collectively, this study demonstrated that MjSRC recognized WSSV via its extracellular domain and invoked hemocyte phagocytosis to restrict WSSV systemic infection. This is the first study to report an SRC as a pattern recognition receptor promoting phagocytosis of a virus. PMID:28027319

  18. SR-BI: Linking Cholesterol and Lipoprotein Metabolism with Breast and Prostate Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge L. Gutierrez-Pajares

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Studies have demonstrated the significant role of cholesterol and lipoprotein metabolism in the progression of cancer. The SCARB1 gene encodes the scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI, which is an 82-kDa glycoprotein with two transmembrane domains separated by a large extracellular loop. SR-BI plays an important role in the regulation of cholesterol exchange between cells and high-density lipoproteins. Accordingly, hepatic SR-BI has been shown to play an essential role in the regulation of the reverse cholesterol transport pathway, which promotes the removal and excretion of excess body cholesterol. In the context of atherosclerosis, SR-BI has been implicated in the regulation of intracellular signaling, lipid accumulation, foam cell formation, and cellular apoptosis. Furthermore, since lipid metabolism is a relevant target for cancer treatment, recent studies have focused on examining the role of SR-BI in this pathology. While signaling pathways have initially been explored in non-tumoral cells, studies with cancer cells have now demonstrated SR-BI’s function in tumor progression. In this review, we will discuss the role of SR-BI during tumor development and malignant progression. In addition, we will provide insights into the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of the SCARB1 gene. Overall, studying the role of SR-BI in tumor development and progression should allow us to gain useful information for the development of new therapeutic strategies.

  19. Blood Glutamate Scavenging: Insight into Neuroprotection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Zlotnik

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Brain insults are characterized by a multitude of complex processes, of which glutamate release plays a major role. Deleterious excess of glutamate in the brain’s extracellular fluids stimulates glutamate receptors, which in turn lead to cell swelling, apoptosis, and neuronal death. These exacerbate neurological outcome. Approaches aimed at antagonizing the astrocytic and glial glutamate receptors have failed to demonstrate clinical benefit. Alternatively, eliminating excess glutamate from brain interstitial fluids by making use of the naturally occurring brain-to-blood glutamate efflux has been shown to be effective in various animal studies. This is facilitated by gradient driven transport across brain capillary endothelial glutamate transporters. Blood glutamate scavengers enhance this naturally occurring mechanism by reducing the blood glutamate concentration, thus increasing the rate at which excess glutamate is cleared. Blood glutamate scavenging is achieved by several mechanisms including: catalyzation of the enzymatic process involved in glutamate metabolism, redistribution of glutamate into tissue, and acute stress response. Regardless of the mechanism involved, decreased blood glutamate concentration is associated with improved neurological outcome. This review focuses on the physiological, mechanistic and clinical roles of blood glutamate scavenging, particularly in the context of acute and chronic CNS injury. We discuss the details of brain-to-blood glutamate efflux, auto-regulation mechanisms of blood glutamate, natural and exogenous blood glutamate scavenging systems, and redistribution of glutamate. We then propose different applied methodologies to reduce blood and brain glutamate concentrations and discuss the neuroprotective role of blood glutamate scavenging.

  20. The superoxide scavenger TEMPOL induces urokinase receptor (uPAR expression in human prostate cancer cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francis Joseph

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract There is little understanding of the effect that reactive oxygen metabolites have on cellular behavior during the processes of invasion and metastasis. These oxygen metabolites could interact with a number of targets modulating their function such as enzymes involved in basement membrane dissolution, adhesion molecules involved in motility or receptors involved in proliferation. We investigated the effect of increased scavenging of superoxide anions on the expression of the urokinase receptor (uPAR in PC-3M human prostate cancer cells. Urokinase receptor is a GPI-linked cell surface molecule which mediates multiple functions including adhesion, proliferation and pericellular proteolysis. Addition of the superoxide scavenger 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyloxy (TEMPOL to PC-3M cultures stimulated expression of uPAR protein peaking between 48 and 72 hours. Cell surface expression of the uPAR was also increased. Surprisingly, uPAR transcript levels increased only slightly and this mild increase did not coincide with the striking degree of protein increase. This disparity indicates that the TEMPOL effect on uPAR occurs through a post-transcriptional mechanism. TEMPOL presence in PC-3M cultures reduced intracellular superoxide-type species by 75% as assayed by NBT dye conversion; however this reduction significantly diminished within hours following TEMPOL removal. The time gap between TEMPOL treatment and peak uPAR protein expression suggests that reduction of reactive oxygen metabolites in prostate cancer cells initiates a multistep pathway which requires several hours to culminate in uPAR induction. These findings reveal a novel pathway for uPAR regulation involving reactive oxygens such as superoxide anion.

  1. Molecular characterization of the haptoglobin.hemoglobin receptor CD163. Ligand binding properties of the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich domain region

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Mette; Møller, Holger J; Nielsen, Marianne Jensby

    2004-01-01

    CD163 is the macrophage receptor for endocytosis of haptoglobin.hemoglobin complexes. The extracellular region consisting of nine scavenger receptor cysteine rich (SRCR) domains also circulates in plasma as a soluble protein. By ligand binding analysis of a broad spectrum of soluble CD163...... truncation variants, the amino-terminal third of the SRCR region was shown to be crucial for the binding of haptoglobin.hemoglobin complexes. By Western blotting of the CD163 variants, a panel of ten monoclonal antibodies was mapped to SRCR domains 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9, respectively. Only the two antibodies...... to CD163 demonstrated that optimal ligand binding requires physiological plasma calcium concentrations, and an immediate ligand release occurs at the low calcium concentrations measured in acidifying endosomes. In conclusion, SRCR domain 3 of CD163 is an exposed domain and a critical determinant...

  2. Comparison of the effectiveness and safety between lymphocytes scavenger and IL-2 receptor blocking agent induction in living kidney transplantation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ning-bo QIN

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective  To compare the safety of two antibody inductors, namely lymphocytes scavenger and IL-2 receptor blocking agent, in living kidney transplantation. Methods  The data of 191 patients, who received living kidney transplant in our hospital from Feb. 2007 to Jul. 2012, were retrospectively analyzed, and grouped according to the inductors they received as: a lymphocytes scavenger group (n=56, with rabbit antithymocyte immunoglobulin (rATG, 4 cases and porcine antihuman T-lymphocyte immunoglobulin (pATG, 52 cases served as the inductor; b IL -2 receptor blocking agent group (n=54, with basiliximab (40 cases and daclizumab (14 cases served as the inductor; and c control group (n=81. The incidence of rejection and infection, and the survival rate of patient/allograft within one year were then compared among the three groups. Results  Within one year after the transplantation, the incidence of acute rejection in lymphocytes scavenger group, IL-2 receptor blocking agent group and control group was 12.5%, 11.1% and 28.4%, respectively. There was a significant difference between the two inductor groups and control group (P=0.003, but no significant difference was found between the two inductor groups (P>0.05. The incidence of delayed graft function (DGF in the three groups was 8.9%, 7.4% and 13.6%, respectively, with no statistical significance (P>0.05. Also there was no significant difference among the three groups in the incidence of infection and the survival rate of patient/allograft within one year after transplantation (P>0.05. Conclusion  Both inductors may significantly reduce the incidence of acute rejection within one year without increasing the incidence of infection and other adverse events, nor affect the postoperative patient/graft survival, so they are both safe and effective.

  3. CXCR7 functions as a scavenger for CXCL12 and CXCL11.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ulrike Naumann

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available CXCR7 (RDC1, the recently discovered second receptor for CXCL12, is phylogenetically closely related to chemokine receptors, but fails to couple to G-proteins and to induce typical chemokine receptor mediated cellular responses. The function of CXCR7 is controversial. Some studies suggest a signaling activity in mammalian cells and zebrafish embryos, while others indicate a decoy activity in fish. Here we investigated the two propositions in human tissues.We provide evidence and mechanistic insight that CXCR7 acts as specific scavenger for CXCL12 and CXCL11 mediating effective ligand internalization and targeting of the chemokine cargo for degradation. Consistently, CXCR7 continuously cycles between the plasma membrane and intracellular compartments in the absence and presence of ligand, both in mammalian cells and in zebrafish. In accordance with the proposed activity as a scavenger receptor CXCR7-dependent chemokine degradation does not become saturated with increasing ligand concentrations. Active CXCL12 sequestration by CXCR7 is demonstrated in adult mouse heart valves and human umbilical vein endothelium.The finding that CXCR7 specifically scavenges CXCL12 suggests a critical function of the receptor in modulating the activity of the ubiquitously expressed CXCR4 in development and tumor formation. Scavenger activity of CXCR7 might also be important for the fine tuning of the mobility of hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow and lymphoid organs.

  4. Identification of the hemoglobin scavenger receptor/CD163 as a natural soluble protein in plasma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møller, Holger Jon; Peterslund, Niels Anker; Graversen, Jonas Heilskov

    2002-01-01

    enabled identification of a soluble plasma form of HbSR (sHbSR) having an electrophoretic mobility equal to that of recombinant HbSR consisting of the extracellular domain (scavenger receptor cysteine-rich 1-9). A sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was established and used to measure the s...... a level of sHbSR above the range of healthy persons. Patients with myelomonocytic leukemias and pneumonia/sepsis exhibited the highest levels (up to 67.3 mg/L). In conclusion, sHbSR is an abundant plasma protein potentially valuable in monitoring patients with infections and myelomonocytic leukemia....

  5. Bacteria binding by DMBT1/SAG/gp-340 is confined to the VEVLXXXXW motif in its scavenger receptor cysteine-rich domains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bikker, Floris J; Ligtenberg, Antoon J M; End, Caroline

    2004-01-01

    The scavenger receptor cysteine-rich (SRCR) proteins form an archaic group of metazoan proteins characterized by the presence of SRCR domains. These proteins are classified in group A and B based on the number of conserved cysteine residues in their SRCR domains, i.e. six for group A and eight fo...

  6. Class A scavenger receptor promotes osteoclast differentiation via the enhanced expression of receptor activator of NF-{kappa}B (RANK)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takemura, Kenichi [Department of Cell Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Kumamoto 860-8556 (Japan); Department of Orthopaedic and Neuro-Musculoskeletal Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto (Japan); Sakashita, Naomi; Fujiwara, Yukio; Komohara, Yoshihiro; Lei, XiaoFeng; Ohnishi, Koji [Department of Cell Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Kumamoto 860-8556 (Japan); Suzuki, Hiroshi [National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido (Japan); Kodama, Tatsuhiko [Department of Molecular Biology and Medicine, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan); Mizuta, Hiroshi [Department of Orthopaedic and Neuro-Musculoskeletal Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto (Japan); Takeya, Motohiro, E-mail: takeya@kumamoto-u.ac.jp [Department of Cell Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Kumamoto 860-8556 (Japan)

    2010-01-22

    Osteoclasts originate from bone marrow monocyte/macrophage lineage cells, and their differentiation depends on macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator nuclear factor kappa B (RANK) ligand. Class A scavenger receptor (SR-A) is one of the principal functional molecules of macrophages, and its level of expression declines during osteoclast differentiation. To investigate the role of SR-A in osteoclastogenesis, we examined pathological changes in femoral bone and the expression levels of osteoclastogenesis-related molecules in SR-A{sup -/-} mice. The femoral osseous density of SR-A{sup -/-} mice was higher than that of SR-A{sup +/+} mice, and the number of multinucleated osteoclasts was significantly decreased. An in vitro differentiation assay revealed that the differentiation of multinucleated osteoclasts from bone marrow-derived progenitor cells is impaired in SR-A{sup -/-} mice. Elimination of SR-A did not alter the expression level of the M-CSF receptor, c-fms; however, the expression levels of RANK and RANK-related osteoclast-differentiation molecules such as nuclear factor of activated T-cells, cytoplasmic, calcineurin-dependent 1 (NFATc1) and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) significantly decreased. Furthermore, acetylated low-density lipoprotein (AcLDL), an SR-A ligand, significantly increased the expression level of RANK and MITF during osteoclast differentiation. These data indicate that SR-A promotes osteoclastogenesis via augmentation of the expression level of RANK and its related molecules.

  7. Effect of human scavenger receptor class A overexpression in bone marrow-derived cells on cholesterol levels and atherosclerosis in ApoE-deficient mice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Eck, M.; de Winther, M. P.; Herijgers, N.; Havekes, L. M.; Hofker, M. H.; Groot, P. H.; van Berkel, T. J.

    2000-01-01

    In the arterial wall, scavenger receptor class A (SRA) is implicated in pathological lipid deposition. In contrast, in the liver, SRA is suggested to remove modified lipoproteins from the circulation, thereby protecting the body from their pathological action. The role of SRA on bone marrow-derived

  8. Effect of human scavenger receptor class A overexpression in bone marrow-derived cells on cholesterol levels and atherosclerosis in apoE-deficient mice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Eck, M. van; Winther, M.P.J. de; Herijgers, N.; Havekes, L.M.; Hofker, M.H.; Groot, P.H.E.; Berkel, T.J.C. van

    2000-01-01

    In the arterial wall, scavenger receptor class A (SRA) is implicated in pathological lipid deposition. In contrast, in the liver, SRA is suggested to remove modified lipoproteins from the circulation, thereby protecting the body from their pathological action. The role of SRA on bone marrow-derived

  9. The scavenger receptor SSc5D physically interacts with bacteria through the SRCR-containing N-terminal domain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catarina Bessa-Pereira

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The scavenger receptor cysteine-rich (SRCR family comprises a group of membrane-attached or secreted proteins that contain one or more modules/domains structurally similar to the membrane distal domain of type I macrophage scavenger receptor. Although no all-inclusive biological function has been ascribed to the SRCR family, some of these receptors have been shown to recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMP of bacteria, fungi or other microbes. SSc5D is a recently described soluble SRCR receptor produced by monocytes/macrophages and T lymphocytes, consisting of an N-terminal portion which contains five SRCR modules, and a large C-terminal mucin-like domain. Towards establishing a global common role for SRCR domains, we interrogated whether the set of five SRCR domains of SSc5D displayed pattern recognition receptor (PRR properties. For that purpose, we have expressed in a mammalian expression system the N-terminal SRCR-containing moiety of SSC5D (N-SSc5D, thus excluding the mucin-like domain likely by nature to bind microorganisms, and tested the capacity of the SRCR functional groups to physically interact with bacteria. Using conventional protein-bacteria binding assays, we showed that N-SSc5D had a superior capacity to bind to E. coli strains RS218 and IHE3034 compared with that of the extracellular domains of the SRCR proteins CD5 and CD6 (sCD5 and sCD6, respectively, and similar E. coli-binding properties as Spα, a proven PRR of the SRCR family. We have further designed a more sensitive, real-time and label-free surface plasmon resonance (SPR-based assay, and examined the capacity of N-SSc5D, Spα, sCD5 and sCD6 to bind to different bacteria. We demonstrated that the N-SSc5D compares with Spα in the capacity to bind to E. coli and L. monocytogenes, and further that it can distinguish between pathogenic E. coli RS218 and IHE3034 strains and the non-pathogenic laboratory E. coli strain BL21(DE3. Our work thus advocates the

  10. Protective or deleterious role of scavenger receptors SR-A and CD36 on host resistance to Staphylococcus aureus depends on the site of infection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charlène Blanchet

    Full Text Available Staphylococcus aureus is a major human opportunistic pathogen responsible for a broad spectrum of infections ranging from benign skin infection to more severe life threatening disorders (e.g. pneumonia, sepsis, particularly in intensive care patients. Scavenger receptors (SR-A and CD36 are known to be involved in S. aureus recognition by immune cells in addition to MARCO, TLR2, NOD2 and α5β1 integrin. In the present study, we further deciphered the contribution of SR-A and CD36 scavenger receptors in the control of infection of mice by S. aureus. Using double SR-A/CD36 knockout mice (S/C-KO and S. aureus strain HG001, a clinically relevant non-mutagenized strain, we showed that the absence of these two scavenger receptors was protective in peritoneal infection. In contrast, the deletion of these two receptors was detrimental in pulmonary infection following intranasal instillation. For pulmonary infection, susceptible mice (S/C-KO had more colony-forming units (CFU in their broncho-alveolar lavages fluids, associated with increased recruitment of macrophages and neutrophils. For peritoneal infection, susceptible mice (wild-type had more CFU in their blood, but recruited less macrophages and neutrophils in the peritoneal cavity than resistant mice. Exacerbated cytokine levels were often observed in the susceptible mice in the infected compartment as well as in the plasma. The exception was the enhanced compartmentalized expression of IL-1β for the resistant mice (S/C-KO after peritoneal infection. A similar mirrored susceptibility to S. aureus infection was also observed for MARCO and TLR2. Marco and tlr2 -/- mice were more resistant to peritoneal infection but more susceptible to pulmonary infection than wild type mice. In conclusion, our results show that innate immune receptors can play distinct and opposite roles depending on the site of infection. Their presence is protective for local pulmonary infection, whereas it becomes detrimental

  11. Uptake and metabolism of polymerized albumin by rat liver. Role of the scavenger receptor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wright, T.L.; Roll, F.J.; Jones, A.L.; Weisiger, R.A.

    1988-01-01

    Hepatitis B virus binds avidly to albumin polymers, which in turn may mediate viral attachment to liver cells. This hypothesis is critically dependent on prior results obtained using glutaraldehyde-polymerized human serum albumin as a model for naturally occurring albumin species. We used the perfused rat liver to characterize the uptake, cellular distribution, and metabolism of glutaraldehyde-polymerized human albumin. 125 I-glutaraldehyde-polymerized human albumin was efficiently removed from the perfusate by the liver (29% extraction). However, few autoradiographic grains were located over hepatic parenchymal cells (6%). Instead, most glutaraldehyde-polymerized human albumin appeared to be removed by endothelial (59%) or Kupffer (31%) cells. Hepatic uptake was strongly inhibited by formaldehyde-treated monomeric albumin, a known ligand of the endothelial scavenger receptor for chemically modified proteins. After uptake, most glutaraldehyde-polymerized human albumin was rapidly degraded and released into the perfusate (74% within 60 min). This process was blocked by chloroquine and leupeptin, suggesting that it involves lysosomal acid hydrolases. We conclude that glutaraldehyde-polymerized albumin is efficiently cleared and degraded by the endothelial scavenger pathway. Glutaraldehyde-polymerized albumin therefore appears to be a poor model for predicting the hepatic handling of naturally occurring albumin species bound to hepatitis B virions. Even if viral particles were to follow this pathway, few would enter parenchymal hepatocytes

  12. Scavenger

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2009-01-01

    Scavenger is one of the cyber foraging frameworks developed in the Locusts project. It has been released as open source software at http://code.google.com/p/scavenger-cf/......Scavenger is one of the cyber foraging frameworks developed in the Locusts project. It has been released as open source software at http://code.google.com/p/scavenger-cf/...

  13. ApoA-I/SR-BI modulates S1P/S1PR2-mediated inflammation through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in HUVECs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Kun; Lu, Yan-Ju; Mo, Zhong-Cheng; -Liu, Xing; Tang, Zhen-Li; Jiang, Yue; Peng, Xiao-Shan; Li, Li; Zhang, Qing-Hai; Yi, Guang-Hui

    2017-05-01

    Endothelial dysfunction plays a vital role during the initial stage of atherosclerosis. Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) induces vascular endothelial injury and vessel wall inflammation. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) exerts numerous vasoprotective effects by binding to diverse S1P receptors (S1PRs; S1PR1-5). A number of studies have shown that in endothelial cells (ECs), S1PR2 acts as a pro-atherosclerotic mediator by stimulating vessel wall inflammation through the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway. Scavenger receptor class B member I (SR-BI), a high-affinity receptor for apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I)/high-density lipoprotein (HDL), inhibits nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) translocation and decreases the plasma levels of inflammatory mediators via the PI3K/Akt pathway. We hypothesized that the inflammatory effects of S1P/S1PR2 on ECs may be regulated by apoA-I/SR-BI. The results showed that ox-LDL, a pro-inflammatory factor, augmented the S1PR2 level in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In addition, S1P/S1PR2 signaling influenced the levels of inflammatory factors, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and IL-10, aggravating inflammation in HUVECs. Moreover, the pro-inflammatory effects induced by S1P/S1PR2 were attenuated by SR-BI overexpression and enhanced by an SR-BI inhibitor, BLT-1. Further experiments showed that the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway was involved in this process. Taken together, these results demonstrate that apoA-I/SR-BI negatively regulates S1P/S1PR2-mediated inflammation in HUVECs by activating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

  14. Energy scavenging from environmental vibration.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galchev, Tzeno (University of Michigan); Apblett, Christopher Alan; Najafi, Khalil (University of Michigan)

    2009-10-01

    The goal of this project is to develop an efficient energy scavenger for converting ambient low-frequency vibrations into electrical power. In order to achieve this a novel inertial micro power generator architecture has been developed that utilizes the bi-stable motion of a mechanical mass to convert a broad range of low-frequency (< 30Hz), and large-deflection (>250 {micro}m) ambient vibrations into high-frequency electrical output energy. The generator incorporates a bi-stable mechanical structure to initiate high-frequency mechanical oscillations in an electromagnetic scavenger. This frequency up-conversion technique enhances the electromechanical coupling and increases the generated power. This architecture is called the Parametric Frequency Increased Generator (PFIG). Three generations of the device have been fabricated. It was first demonstrated using a larger bench-top prototype that had a functional volume of 3.7cm3. It generated a peak power of 558{micro}W and an average power of 39.5{micro}W at an input acceleration of 1g applied at 10 Hz. The performance of this device has still not been matched by any other reported work. It yielded the best power density and efficiency for any scavenger operating from low-frequency (<10Hz) vibrations. A second-generation device was then fabricated. It generated a peak power of 288{micro}W and an average power of 5.8{micro}W from an input acceleration of 9.8m/s{sup 2} at 10Hz. The device operates over a frequency range of 20Hz. The internal volume of the generator is 2.1cm{sup 3} (3.7cm{sup 3} including casing), half of a standard AA battery. Lastly, a piezoelectric version of the PFIG is currently being developed. This device clearly demonstrates one of the key features of the PFIG architecture, namely that it is suitable for MEMS integration, more so than resonant generators, by incorporating a brittle bulk piezoelectric ceramic. This is the first micro-scale piezoelectric generator capable of <10Hz operation. The

  15. Cellular uptake of fluorophore-labeled glyco-DNA–gold nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Witten, Katrin G.; Ruff, Julie; Mohr, Anne; Görtz, Dieter; Recker, Tobias; Rinis, Natalie; Rech, Claudia; Elling, Lothar; Müller-Newen, Gerhard; Simon, Ulrich

    2013-01-01

    DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNP–DNA) were hybridized with complementary di-N-acetyllactosamine-(di-LacNAc, [3Gal(β1-4)GlcNAc(β1-]2)-modified oligonucleotides to form glycol-functionalized particles, AuNP–DNA–di-LacNAc. While AuNP–DNA are known to be taken up by cells via scavenger receptors, glycol-functionalized particles have shown to be taken up via asialoglycoprotein receptors (ASGP-R). In this work, the interaction of these new particles with HepG2 cells was analyzed, which express scavenger receptors class B type I (SR-BI) and ASGP-R. To study the contribution of these receptors as potential mediators for cellular uptake, receptor-blocking experiments were performed with d-lactose, a ligand for ASGP-R, Fucoidan, a putative ligand for SR-BI, and a SR-BI blocking antibody. Labeling with Cy5-modified DNA ligands enabled us to monitor the particle uptake by confocal fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry, in order to discriminate the two putative pathways by competitive binding studies. While SR-BI-antibody and d-lactose had no inhibiting effects on particle uptake Fucoidan led to a complete inhibition. Thus, a receptor-mediated uptake by the two receptors studied could not be proven and therefore other uptake mechanisms have to be considered

  16. Cellular uptake of fluorophore-labeled glyco-DNA-gold nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Witten, Katrin G.; Ruff, Julie [RWTH Aachen University, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and JARA - Fundamentals of Future Information Technology (Germany); Mohr, Anne; Goertz, Dieter; Recker, Tobias; Rinis, Natalie [RWTH Aachen University, Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University Hospital Aachen (Germany); Rech, Claudia; Elling, Lothar [RWTH Aachen University, Laboratory for Biomaterials, Institute of Biotechnology and Helmholtz-Institute for Biomedical Engineering (Germany); Mueller-Newen, Gerhard [RWTH Aachen University, Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University Hospital Aachen (Germany); Simon, Ulrich, E-mail: ulrich.simon@ac.rwth-aachen.de [RWTH Aachen University, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and JARA - Fundamentals of Future Information Technology (Germany)

    2013-10-15

    DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNP-DNA) were hybridized with complementary di-N-acetyllactosamine-(di-LacNAc, [3Gal({beta}1-4)GlcNAc({beta}1-]2)-modified oligonucleotides to form glycol-functionalized particles, AuNP-DNA-di-LacNAc. While AuNP-DNA are known to be taken up by cells via scavenger receptors, glycol-functionalized particles have shown to be taken up via asialoglycoprotein receptors (ASGP-R). In this work, the interaction of these new particles with HepG2 cells was analyzed, which express scavenger receptors class B type I (SR-BI) and ASGP-R. To study the contribution of these receptors as potential mediators for cellular uptake, receptor-blocking experiments were performed with d-lactose, a ligand for ASGP-R, Fucoidan, a putative ligand for SR-BI, and a SR-BI blocking antibody. Labeling with Cy5-modified DNA ligands enabled us to monitor the particle uptake by confocal fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry, in order to discriminate the two putative pathways by competitive binding studies. While SR-BI-antibody and d-lactose had no inhibiting effects on particle uptake Fucoidan led to a complete inhibition. Thus, a receptor-mediated uptake by the two receptors studied could not be proven and therefore other uptake mechanisms have to be considered.

  17. Surfactant protein A (SP-A)-mediated clearance of Staphylococcus aureus involves binding of SP-A to the staphylococcal adhesin eap and the macrophage receptors SP-A receptor 210 and scavenger receptor class A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sever-Chroneos, Zvjezdana; Krupa, Agnieszka; Davis, Jeremy; Hasan, Misbah; Yang, Ching-Hui; Szeliga, Jacek; Herrmann, Mathias; Hussain, Muzafar; Geisbrecht, Brian V; Kobzik, Lester; Chroneos, Zissis C

    2011-02-11

    Staphylococcus aureus causes life-threatening pneumonia in hospitals and deadly superinfection during viral influenza. The current study investigated the role of surfactant protein A (SP-A) in opsonization and clearance of S. aureus. Previous studies showed that SP-A mediates phagocytosis via the SP-A receptor 210 (SP-R210). Here, we show that SP-R210 mediates binding and control of SP-A-opsonized S. aureus by macrophages. We determined that SP-A binds S. aureus through the extracellular adhesin Eap. Consequently, SP-A enhanced macrophage uptake of Eap-expressing (Eap(+)) but not Eap-deficient (Eap(-)) S. aureus. In a reciprocal fashion, SP-A failed to enhance uptake of Eap(+) S. aureus in peritoneal Raw264.7 macrophages with a dominant negative mutation (SP-R210(DN)) blocking surface expression of SP-R210. Accordingly, WT mice cleared infection with Eap(+) but succumbed to sublethal infection with Eap- S. aureus. However, SP-R210(DN) cells compensated by increasing non-opsonic phagocytosis of Eap(+) S. aureus via the scavenger receptor scavenger receptor class A (SR-A), while non-opsonic uptake of Eap(-) S. aureus was impaired. Macrophages express two isoforms: SP-R210(L) and SP-R210(S). The results show that WT alveolar macrophages are distinguished by expression of SP-R210(L), whereas SR-A(-/-) alveolar macrophages are deficient in SP-R210(L) expressing only SP-R210(S). Accordingly, SR-A(-/-) mice were highly susceptible to both Eap(+) and Eap(-) S. aureus. The lungs of susceptible mice generated abnormal inflammatory responses that were associated with impaired killing and persistence of S. aureus infection in the lung. In conclusion, alveolar macrophage SP-R210(L) mediates recognition and killing of SP-A-opsonized S. aureus in vivo, coordinating inflammatory responses and resolution of S. aureus pneumonia through interaction with SR-A.

  18. Optimizing labelling conditions of 213Bi-DOTATATE for preclinical applications of peptide receptor targeted alpha therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Ho Sze; de Blois, Erik; Konijnenberg, Mark W; Morgenstern, Alfred; Bruchertseifer, Frank; Norenberg, Jeffrey P; Verzijlbergen, Fred J; de Jong, Marion; Breeman, Wouter A P

    2017-01-01

    213 Bismuth ( 213 Bi, T 1/2 = 45.6 min) is one of the most frequently used α-emitters in cancer research. High specific activity radioligands are required for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy. The use of generators containing less than 222 MBq 225 Ac (actinium), due to limited availability and the high cost to produce large-scale 225 Ac/ 213 Bi generators, might complicate in vitro and in vivo applications though.Here we present optimized labelling conditions of a DOTA-peptide with an 225 Ac/ 213 Bi generator (< 222 MBq) for preclinical applications using DOTA-Tyr 3 -octreotate (DOTATATE), a somatostatin analogue. The following labelling conditions of DOTATATE with 213 Bi were investigated; peptide mass was varied from 1.7 to 7.0 nmol, concentration of TRIS buffer from 0.15 mol.L -1 to 0.34 mol.L -1 , and ascorbic acid from 0 to 71 mmol.L -1 in 800 μL. All reactions were performed at 95 °C for 5 min. After incubation, DTPA (50 nmol) was added to stop the labelling reaction. Besides optimizing the labelling conditions, incorporation yield was determined by ITLC-SG and radiochemical purity (RCP) was monitored by RP-HPLC up to 120 min after labelling. Dosimetry studies in the reaction vial were performed using Monte Carlo and in vitro clonogenic assay was performed with a rat pancreatic tumour cell line, CA20948. At least 3.5 nmol DOTATATE was required to obtain incorporation ≥ 99 % with 100 MBq 213 Bi (at optimized pH conditions, pH 8.3 with 0.15 mol.L -1 TRIS) in a reaction volume of 800 μL. The cumulative absorbed dose in the reaction vial was 230 Gy/100 MBq in 30 min. A minimal final concentration of 0.9 mmol.L -1 ascorbic acid was required for ~100 MBq (t = 0) to minimize radiation damage of DOTATATE. The osmolarity was decreased to 0.45 Osmol/L.Under optimized labelling conditions, 213 Bi-DOTATATE remained stable up to 2 h after labelling, RCP was ≥ 85 %. In vitro showed a negative correlation between ascorbic acid

  19. Scavenger receptor B1 facilitates macrophage uptake of silver nanoparticles and cellular activation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aldossari, Abdullah A.; Shannahan, Jonathan H. [The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (United States); Podila, Ramakrishna [Clemson University, Department of Physics and Astronomy (United States); Brown, Jared M., E-mail: jared.brown@ucdenver.edu [The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (United States)

    2015-07-15

    Due to increased use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) for their antimicrobial activity, concerns have risen regarding potential adverse human health effects. Scavenger receptor B1 (SR-B1), a major receptor for high-density lipoprotein (HDL), is expressed by macrophages and has also been reported to play a role in recognition of negatively charged particles. We, therefore, hypothesized that SR-B1 mediates macrophage uptake of AgNPs and inflammatory activation. To test this hypothesis, we exposed a mouse macrophage cell line RAW264.7 (RAW) and bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) to 20 nm citrate-suspended AgNPs. To verify the role of the SR-B1 receptor, we utilized a SR-B1 inhibitor (Blt2). In vitro studies demonstrated uptake of AgNPs and HDL-coated AgNPs by macrophages which were significantly reduced following pretreatment with Blt2. Inflammatory cytokine arrays revealed that macrophages exposed to AgNPs up-regulated expression of Tnf-α, Oncostatin m (OSM), Ccl4, Il17f, Ccl7, and Ccl2, whereas Il16 was found to be down-regulated. Macrophage activation was observed following AgNP and HDL-coated AgNP exposure as measured by OSM protein production and increased surface expression of CD86. These markers of activation were reduced with Blt2 pretreatment. The in vitro findings were confirmed in vivo through pulmonary instillation of AgNPs in mice. Pulmonary instillation of AgNPs resulted in a recruitment of inflammatory cells that were reduced in SR-B1-deficient mice or following Blt2 pretreatment. This study suggests that SR-B1 plays a major role in cellular recognition of AgNPs and the induction of cell responses that could contribute to inflammation caused by AgNP exposure.

  20. Scavenger receptor B1 facilitates macrophage uptake of silver nanoparticles and cellular activation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aldossari, Abdullah A.; Shannahan, Jonathan H.; Podila, Ramakrishna; Brown, Jared M.

    2015-07-01

    Due to increased use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) for their antimicrobial activity, concerns have risen regarding potential adverse human health effects. Scavenger receptor B1 (SR-B1), a major receptor for high-density lipoprotein (HDL), is expressed by macrophages and has also been reported to play a role in recognition of negatively charged particles. We, therefore, hypothesized that SR-B1 mediates macrophage uptake of AgNPs and inflammatory activation. To test this hypothesis, we exposed a mouse macrophage cell line RAW264.7 (RAW) and bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) to 20 nm citrate-suspended AgNPs. To verify the role of the SR-B1 receptor, we utilized a SR-B1 inhibitor (Blt2). In vitro studies demonstrated uptake of AgNPs and HDL-coated AgNPs by macrophages which were significantly reduced following pretreatment with Blt2. Inflammatory cytokine arrays revealed that macrophages exposed to AgNPs up-regulated expression of Tnf- α, Oncostatin m (OSM), Ccl4, Il17f, Ccl7, and Ccl2, whereas Il16 was found to be down-regulated. Macrophage activation was observed following AgNP and HDL-coated AgNP exposure as measured by OSM protein production and increased surface expression of CD86. These markers of activation were reduced with Blt2 pretreatment. The in vitro findings were confirmed in vivo through pulmonary instillation of AgNPs in mice. Pulmonary instillation of AgNPs resulted in a recruitment of inflammatory cells that were reduced in SR-B1-deficient mice or following Blt2 pretreatment. This study suggests that SR-B1 plays a major role in cellular recognition of AgNPs and the induction of cell responses that could contribute to inflammation caused by AgNP exposure.

  1. The role of scavenger receptor B1 in infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a murine model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georgia Schäfer

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The interaction between Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb and host cells is complex and far from being understood. The role of the different receptor(s implicated in the recognition of Mtb in particular remains poorly defined, and those that have been found to have activity in vitro were subsequently shown to be redundant in vivo.To identify novel receptors involved in the recognition of Mtb, we screened a macrophage cDNA library and identified scavenger receptor B class 1 (SR-B1 as a receptor for mycobacteria. SR-B1 has been well-described as a lipoprotein receptor which mediates both the selective uptake of cholesteryl esters and the efflux of cholesterol, and has also recently been implicated in the recognition of other pathogens. We show here that mycobacteria can bind directly to SR-B1 on transfected cells, and that this interaction could be inhibited in the presence of a specific antibody to SR-B1, serum or LDL. We define a variety of macrophage populations, including alveolar macrophages, that express this receptor, however, no differences in the recognition and response to mycobacteria were observed in macrophages isolated from SR-B1(-/- or wild type mice in vitro. Moreover, when wild type and SR-B1(-/- animals were infected with a low dose of Mtb (100 CFU/mouse there were no alterations in survival, bacterial burdens, granuloma formation or cytokine production in the lung. However, significant reduction in the production of TNF, IFNgamma, and IL10 were observed in SR-B1(-/- mice following infection with a high dose of Mtb (1000 CFU/mouse, which marginally affected the size of inflammatory foci but did not influence bacterial burdens. Deficiency of SR-B1 also had no effect on resistance to disease under conditions of varying dietary cholesterol. We did observe, however, that the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the diet significantly enhanced the bacterial burdens in the lung, but this was independent of SR-B1.SR-B1 is involved in

  2. In Vitro comparison of 213Bi- and 177Lu-radiation for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Ho Sze; de Blois, Erik; Morgenstern, Alfred; Bruchertseifer, Frank; de Jong, Marion; Breeman, Wouter; Konijnenberg, Mark

    2017-01-01

    Absorbed doses for α-emitters are different from those for β-emitters, as the high linear energy transfer (LET) nature of α-particles results in a very dense energy deposition over a relatively short path length near the point of emission. This highly localized and therefore high energy deposition can lead to enhanced cell-killing effects at absorbed doses that are non-lethal in low-LET type of exposure. Affinities of DOTA-DPhe1-Tyr3-octreotate (DOTATATE), 115In-DOTATATE, 175Lu-DOTATATE and 209Bi-DOTATATE were determined in the K562-SST2 cell line. Two other cell lines were used for radiation response assessment; BON and CA20948, with a low and high expression of somatostatin receptors, respectively. Cellular uptake kinetics of 111In-DOTATATE were determined in CA20948 cells. CA20948 and BON were irradiated with 137Cs, 177Lu-DTPA, 177Lu-DOTATATE, 213Bi-DTPA and 213Bi-DOTATATE. Absorbed doses were calculated using the MIRDcell dosimetry method for the specific binding and a Monte Carlo model of a cylindrical 6-well plate geometry for the exposure by the radioactive incubation medium. Absorbed doses were compared to conventional irradiation of cells with 137Cs and the relative biological effect (RBE) at 10% survival was calculated. IC50 of (labelled) DOTATATE was in the nM range. Absorbed doses up to 7 Gy were obtained by 5.2 MBq 213Bi-DOTATATE, in majority the dose was caused by α-particle radiation. Cellular internalization determined with 111In-DOTATATE showed a linear relation with incubation time. Cell survival after exposure of 213Bi-DTPA and 213Bi-DOTATATE to BON or CA20948 cells showed a linear-exponential relation with the absorbed dose, confirming the high LET character of 213Bi. The survival of CA20948 after exposure to 177Lu-DOTATATE and the reference 137Cs irradiation showed the typical curvature of the linear-quadratic model. 10% Cell survival of CA20948 was reached at 3 Gy with 213Bi-DOTATATE, a factor 6 lower than the 18 Gy found for 177Lu

  3. In Vitro comparison of 213Bi- and 177Lu-radiation for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ho Sze Chan

    Full Text Available Absorbed doses for α-emitters are different from those for β-emitters, as the high linear energy transfer (LET nature of α-particles results in a very dense energy deposition over a relatively short path length near the point of emission. This highly localized and therefore high energy deposition can lead to enhanced cell-killing effects at absorbed doses that are non-lethal in low-LET type of exposure. Affinities of DOTA-DPhe1-Tyr3-octreotate (DOTATATE, 115In-DOTATATE, 175Lu-DOTATATE and 209Bi-DOTATATE were determined in the K562-SST2 cell line. Two other cell lines were used for radiation response assessment; BON and CA20948, with a low and high expression of somatostatin receptors, respectively. Cellular uptake kinetics of 111In-DOTATATE were determined in CA20948 cells. CA20948 and BON were irradiated with 137Cs, 177Lu-DTPA, 177Lu-DOTATATE, 213Bi-DTPA and 213Bi-DOTATATE. Absorbed doses were calculated using the MIRDcell dosimetry method for the specific binding and a Monte Carlo model of a cylindrical 6-well plate geometry for the exposure by the radioactive incubation medium. Absorbed doses were compared to conventional irradiation of cells with 137Cs and the relative biological effect (RBE at 10% survival was calculated.IC50 of (labelled DOTATATE was in the nM range. Absorbed doses up to 7 Gy were obtained by 5.2 MBq 213Bi-DOTATATE, in majority the dose was caused by α-particle radiation. Cellular internalization determined with 111In-DOTATATE showed a linear relation with incubation time. Cell survival after exposure of 213Bi-DTPA and 213Bi-DOTATATE to BON or CA20948 cells showed a linear-exponential relation with the absorbed dose, confirming the high LET character of 213Bi. The survival of CA20948 after exposure to 177Lu-DOTATATE and the reference 137Cs irradiation showed the typical curvature of the linear-quadratic model. 10% Cell survival of CA20948 was reached at 3 Gy with 213Bi-DOTATATE, a factor 6 lower than the 18 Gy found

  4. Key Role of the Scavenger Receptor MARCO in Mediating Adenovirus Infection and Subsequent Innate Responses of Macrophages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maler, Mareike D; Nielsen, Peter J; Stichling, Nicole; Cohen, Idan; Ruzsics, Zsolt; Wood, Connor; Engelhard, Peggy; Suomalainen, Maarit; Gyory, Ildiko; Huber, Michael; Müller-Quernheim, Joachim; Schamel, Wolfgang W A; Gordon, Siamon; Jakob, Thilo; Martin, Stefan F; Jahnen-Dechent, Willi; Greber, Urs F; Freudenberg, Marina A; Fejer, György

    2017-08-01

    The scavenger receptor MARCO is expressed in several subsets of naive tissue-resident macrophages and has been shown to participate in the recognition of various bacterial pathogens. However, the role of MARCO in antiviral defense is largely unexplored. Here, we investigated whether MARCO might be involved in the innate sensing of infection with adenovirus and recombinant adenoviral vectors by macrophages, which elicit vigorous immune responses in vivo Using cells derived from mice, we show that adenovirus infection is significantly more efficient in MARCO-positive alveolar macrophages (AMs) and in AM-like primary macrophage lines (Max Planck Institute cells) than in MARCO-negative bone marrow-derived macrophages. Using antibodies blocking ligand binding to MARCO, as well as gene-deficient and MARCO-transfected cells, we show that MARCO mediates the rapid adenovirus transduction of macrophages. By enhancing adenovirus infection, MARCO contributes to efficient innate virus recognition through the cytoplasmic DNA sensor cGAS. This leads to strong proinflammatory responses, including the production of interleukin-6 (IL-6), alpha/beta interferon, and mature IL-1α. These findings contribute to the understanding of viral pathogenesis in macrophages and may open new possibilities for the development of tools to influence the outcome of infection with adenovirus or adenovirus vectors. IMPORTANCE Macrophages play crucial roles in inflammation and defense against infection. Several macrophage subtypes have been identified with differing abilities to respond to infection with both natural adenoviruses and recombinant adenoviral vectors. Adenoviruses are important respiratory pathogens that elicit vigorous innate responses in vitro and in vivo The cell surface receptors mediating macrophage type-specific adenovirus sensing are largely unknown. The scavenger receptor MARCO is expressed on some subsets of naive tissue-resident macrophages, including lung alveolar macrophages

  5. Identification of Adenovirus Serotype 5 Hexon Regions That Interact with Scavenger Receptors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khare, Reeti; Reddy, Vijay S.; Nemerow, Glen R.; Barry, Michael A. (Scripps); (Mayo)

    2012-05-04

    Most of an intravenous dose of species C adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) is destroyed by liver Kupffer cells. In contrast, another species C virus, Ad6, evades these cells to mediate more efficient liver gene delivery. Given that this difference in Kupffer cell interaction is mediated by the hypervariable (HVR) loops of the virus hexon protein, we genetically modified each of the seven HVRs of Ad5 with a cysteine residue to enable conditional blocking of these sites with polyethylene glycol (PEG). We show that these modifications do not affect in vitro virus transduction. In contrast, after intravenous injection, targeted PEGylation at HVRs 1, 2, 5, and 7 increased viral liver transduction up to 20-fold. Elimination or saturation of liver Kupffer cells did not significantly affect this increase in the liver transduction. In vitro, PEGylation blocked uptake of viruses via the Kupffer cell scavenger receptor SRA-II. These data suggest that HVRs 1, 2, 5, and 7 of Ad5 may be involved in Kupffer cell recognition and subsequent destruction. These data also demonstrate that this conditional genetic-chemical mutation strategy is a useful tool for investigating the interactions of viruses with host tissues.

  6. Pattern Recognition Scavenger Receptor A/CD204 Regulates Airway Inflammatory Homeostasis Following Organic Dust Extract Exposures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poole, Jill A.; Anderson, Leigh; Gleason, Angela M.; West, William W.; Romberger, Debra J.; Wyatt, Todd A.

    2014-01-01

    Exposure to agriculture organic dusts, comprised of a diversity of pathogen-associated molecular patterns, results in chronic airway diseases. The multi-functional class A macrophage scavenger receptor (SRA)/CD204 has emerged as an important class of pattern recognition receptors with broad ligand binding ability. Our objective was to determine the role of SRA in mediating repetitive and post-inflammatory organic dust extract (ODE)-induced airway inflammation. Wild-type (WT) and SRA knockout (KO) mice were intra-nasally treated with ODE or saline daily for 3 wk and immediately euthanized or allowed to recover for 1 wk. Results show that lung histopathologic changes were increased in SRA KO mice as compared to WT following repetitive ODE exposures marked predominately by increased size and distribution of lymphoid aggregates. After a 1-wk recovery from daily ODE treatments, there was significant resolution of lung injury in WT mice, but not SRA KO animals. The increased lung histopathology induced by ODE treatment was associated with decreased accumulation of neutrophils, but greater accumulation of CD4+ T-cells. The lung cytokine milieu induced by ODE was consistent with a TH1/TH17 polarization in both WT and SRA KO mice. Overall, our data demonstrate that SRA/CD204 plays an important role in the normative inflammatory lung response to ODE as evidenced by the enhanced dust-mediated injury viewed in the absence of this receptor. PMID:24491035

  7. Loss of Function of P2X7 Receptor Scavenger Activity in Aging Mice: A Novel Model for Investigating the Early Pathogenesis of Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vessey, Kirstan A; Gu, Ben J; Jobling, Andrew I; Phipps, Joanna A; Greferath, Ursula; Tran, Mai X; Dixon, Michael A; Baird, Paul N; Guymer, Robyn H; Wiley, James S; Fletcher, Erica L

    2017-08-01

    Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of irreversible, severe vision loss in Western countries. Recently, we identified a novel pathway involving P2X7 receptor scavenger function expressed on ocular immune cells as a risk factor for advanced AMD. In this study, we investigate the effect of loss of P2X7 receptor function on retinal structure and function during aging. P2X7-null and wild-type C57bl6J mice were investigated at 4, 12, and 18 months of age for macrophage phagocytosis activity, ocular histological changes, and retinal function. Phagocytosis activity of blood-borne macrophages decreased with age at 18 months in the wild-type mouse. Lack of P2X7 receptor function reduced phagocytosis at all ages compared to wild-type mice. At 12 months of age, P2X7-null mice had thickening of Bruchs membrane and retinal pigment epithelium dysfunction. By 18 months of age, P2X7-null mice displayed phenotypic characteristics consistent with early AMD, including Bruchs membrane thickening, retinal pigment epithelium cell loss, retinal functional deficits, and signs of subretinal inflammation. Our present study shows that loss of function of the P2X7 receptor in mice induces retinal changes representing characteristics of early AMD, providing a valuable model for investigating the role of scavenger receptor function and the immune system in the development of this age-related disease. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Investigative Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. The scavenger receptor MARCO modulates TLR-induced responses in dendritic cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haydn T Kissick

    Full Text Available The scavenger receptor MARCO mediates macrophage recognition and clearance of pathogens and their polyanionic ligands. However, recent studies demonstrate MARCO expression and function in dendritic cells, suggesting MARCO might serve to bridge innate and adaptive immunity. To gain additional insight into the role of MARCO in dendritic cell activation and function, we profiled transcriptomes of mouse splenic dendritic cells obtained from MARCO deficient mice and their wild type counterparts under resting and activating conditions. In silico analysis uncovered major alterations in gene expression in MARCO deficient dendritic cells resulting in dramatic alterations in key dendritic cell-specific pathways and functions. Specifically, changes in CD209, FCGR4 and Complement factors can have major consequences on DC-mediated innate responses. Notably, these perturbations were magnified following activation with the TLR-4 agonist lipopolysaccharide. To validate our in silico data, we challenged DC's with various agonists that recognize all mouse TLRs and assessed expression of a set of immune and inflammatory marker genes. This approach identified a differential contribution of MARCO to TLR activation and validated a major role for MARCO in mounting an inflammatory response. Together, our data demonstrate that MARCO differentially affects TLR-induced DC activation and suggest targeting of MARCO could lead to different outcomes that depend on the inflammatory context encountered by DC.

  9. Controlled hydrothermal synthesis of BiOxCly/BiOmIn composites exhibiting visible-light photocatalytic degradation of crystal violet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, Yu-Rou; Lin, Ho-Pan; Chung, Wen-Hsin; Dai, Yong-Ming; Lin, Wan-Yu; Chen, Chiing-Chang

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • This is the first report on a series of BiO x Cl y /BiO m I n heterojunctions. • The BiO x Cl y /BiO m I n composition was controlled by adjusting the growth parameters. • The BiO x Cl y /BiO m I n were indirect semiconductors with a 1.78–2.95-eV bandgap. • The new photocatalysts removed CV at a much faster rate than TiO 2 . • Mechanisms were determined by separating the intermediates using HPLC-MS. - Abstract: A series of BiO x Cl y /BiO m I n composites were prepared using autoclave hydrothermal methods. The composition and morphologies of the BiO x Cl y /BiO m I n composites were controlled by adjusting the experimental conditions: the reaction pH value, temperature, and KCl/KI molar ratio. The products were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy-electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller specific surface areas, cathodoluminescence, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The photocatalytic efficiencies of composite powder suspensions were evaluated by monitoring the crystal violet (CV) concentrations. In addition, the quenching effects of various scavengers indicated that the reactive O 2 · − played a major role, and OH· or h + played a minor role in CV degradation. The intermediates formed during the decomposition process were isolated, identified, and characterized using high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry to elucidate the CV decomposition mechanism

  10. Salivary agglutinin and lung scavenger receptor cysteine-rich glycoprotein 340 have broad anti-influenza activities and interactions with surfactant protein D that vary according to donor source and sialylation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hartshorn, Kevan L.; Ligtenberg, Antoon; White, Mitchell R.

    2006-01-01

    We previously found that scavenger receptor cysteine-rich gp-340 (glycoprotein-340), isolated from lung or saliva, directly inhibits human IAVs (influenza A viruses). We now show that salivary gp-340 has broad antiviral activity against human, equine and porcine IAV strains. Although lung...

  11. The macrophage scavenger receptor CD163

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Marianne Jensby; Madsen, Mette; Møller, Holger J

    2006-01-01

    CD163 is the monocyte/macrophage-specific receptor for haptoglobin-hemoglobin (Hp-Hb) complexes. The cytoplasmic tail of human CD163 exists as a short tail variant and two long tail variants. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated that all three CD163 variants are subs......CD163 is the monocyte/macrophage-specific receptor for haptoglobin-hemoglobin (Hp-Hb) complexes. The cytoplasmic tail of human CD163 exists as a short tail variant and two long tail variants. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated that all three CD163 variants...

  12. Impact of gene variants on sex-specific regulation of human Scavenger receptor class B type 1 (SR-BI expression in liver and association with lipid levels in a population-based study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barrett-Connor Elizabeth

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Several studies have noted that genetic variants of SCARB1, a lipoprotein receptor involved in reverse cholesterol transport, are associated with serum lipid levels in a sex-dependent fashion. However, the mechanism underlying this gene by sex interaction has not been explored. Methods We utilized both epidemiological and molecular methods to study how estrogen and gene variants interact to influence SCARB1 expression and lipid levels. Interaction between 35 SCARB1 haplotype-tagged polymorphisms and endogenous estradiol levels was assessed in 498 postmenopausal Caucasian women from the population-based Rancho Bernardo Study. We further examined associated variants with overall and SCARB1 splice variant (SR-BI and SR-BII expression in 91 human liver tissues using quantitative real-time PCR. Results Several variants on a haplotype block spanning intron 11 to intron 12 of SCARB1 showed significant gene by estradiol interaction affecting serum lipid levels, the strongest for rs838895 with HDL-cholesterol (p = 9.2 × 10-4 and triglycerides (p = 1.3 × 10-3 and the triglyceride:HDL cholesterol ratio (p = 2.7 × 10-4. These same variants were associated with expression of the SR-BI isoform in a sex-specific fashion, with the strongest association found among liver tissue from 52 young women Conclusions Estrogen and SCARB1 genotype may act synergistically to regulate expression of SCARB1 isoforms and impact serum levels of HDL cholesterol and triglycerides. This work highlights the importance of considering sex-dependent effects of gene variants on serum lipid levels.

  13. Macrophage specific overexpression of the human macrophage scavenger receptor in transgenic mice, using a 180-kb yeast artificial chromosome, leads to enhanced foam cell formation of isolated peritoneal macrophages

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Winther, M. P.; van Dijk, K. W.; van Vlijmen, B. J.; Gijbels, M. J.; Heus, J. J.; Wijers, E. R.; van den Bos, A. C.; Breuer, M.; Frants, R. R.; Havekes, L. M.; Hofker, M. H.

    1999-01-01

    Macrophage scavenger receptors class A (MSR) are thought to play an important role in atherogenesis by mediating the unrestricted uptake of modified lipoproteins by macrophages in the vessel wall leading to foam cell formation. To investigate the in vivo role of the MSR in this process, a transgenic

  14. Identification of the receptor scavenging hemopexin-heme complexes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hvidberg, Vibeke; Maniecki, Maciej B; Jacobsen, Christian

    2005-01-01

    and is suggested to facilitate cellular heme metabolism. Using a ligand-affinity approach, we purified the human hemopexin-heme receptor and identified it as the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP)/CD91, a receptor expressed in several cell types including macrophages, hepatocytes, neurons......, and syncytiotrophoblasts. Binding experiments, including Biacore analysis, showed that hemopexin-heme complex formation elicits the high receptor affinity. Uptake studies of radio-labeled hemopexin-heme complex in LRP/CD91-expressing COS cells and confocal microscopy of the cellular processing of fluorescent hemopexin......-heme complexes are removed by a receptor-mediated pathway showing striking similarities to the CD163-mediated haptoglobin-hemoglobin clearance in macrophages. Furthermore, the data indicate a hitherto unknown role of LRP/CD91 in inflammation....

  15. The scavenger receptor repertoire in six cnidarian species and its putative role in cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emilie F. Neubauer

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Many cnidarians engage in a mutualism with endosymbiotic photosynthetic dinoflagellates that forms the basis of the coral reef ecosystem. Interpartner interaction and regulation includes involvement of the host innate immune system. Basal metazoans, including cnidarians have diverse and complex innate immune repertoires that are just beginning to be described. Scavenger receptors (SR are a diverse superfamily of innate immunity genes that recognize a broad array of microbial ligands and participate in phagocytosis of invading microbes. The superfamily includes subclades named SR-A through SR-I that are categorized based on the arrangement of sequence domains including the scavenger receptor cysteine rich (SRCR, the C-type lectin (CTLD and the CD36 domains. Previous functional and gene expression studies on cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis have implicated SR-like proteins in interpartner communication and regulation. In this study, we characterized the SR repertoire from a combination of genomic and transcriptomic resources from six cnidarian species in the Class Anthozoa. We combined these bioinformatic analyses with functional experiments using the SR inhibitor fucoidan to explore a role for SRs in cnidarian symbiosis and immunity. Bioinformatic searches revealed a large diversity of SR-like genes that resembled SR-As, SR-Bs, SR-Es and SR-Is. SRCRs, CTLDs and CD36 domains were identified in multiple sequences in combinations that were highly homologous to vertebrate SRs as well as in proteins with novel domain combinations. Phylogenetic analyses of CD36 domains of the SR-B-like sequences from a diversity of metazoans grouped cnidarian with bilaterian sequences separate from other basal metazoans. All cnidarian sequences grouped together with moderate support in a subclade separately from bilaterian sequences. Functional experiments were carried out on the sea anemone Aiptasia pallida that engages in a symbiosis with Symbiodinium minutum

  16. Differential effect on TCR:CD3 stimulation of a 90-kD glycoprotein (gp90/Mac-2BP), a member of the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich domain protein family

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Silvestri, B; Calderazzo, F; Coppola, V

    1998-01-01

    We studied the effects of a 90-kD glycoprotein (gp90/Mac-2BP) belonging to the scavenger receptor family, present in normal serum and at increased levels in inflammatory disease and cancer patients, on some T cell function parameters. Whereas the lymphocyte proliferative response to non-specific ......We studied the effects of a 90-kD glycoprotein (gp90/Mac-2BP) belonging to the scavenger receptor family, present in normal serum and at increased levels in inflammatory disease and cancer patients, on some T cell function parameters. Whereas the lymphocyte proliferative response to non......-specific mitogens such as phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A (Con A), but not pokeweed mitogen (PWM), was strongly reduced, probably due to the lectin-binding properties of gp90/Mac-2BP, the response to T cell receptor (TCR) agonists such as superantigens and allogeneic cells was potentiated. When...... lymphocytes were stimulated with different anti-TCR:CD3 MoAbs, both in soluble and solid-phase form, gp90/Mac-2BP was able to down-regulate the proliferative response to anti-CD3 MoAb, whereas the response to anti-TCR alphabeta MoAb was enhanced. A similar differential effect was observed when a MoAb against...

  17. The HDL receptor SR-BI is associated with human prostate cancer progression and plays a possible role in establishing androgen independence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schörghofer, David; Kinslechner, Katharina; Preitschopf, Andrea; Schütz, Birgit; Röhrl, Clemens; Hengstschläger, Markus; Stangl, Herbert; Mikula, Mario

    2015-08-07

    Human prostate cancer represents one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers in men worldwide. Currently, diagnostic methods are insufficient to identify patients at risk for aggressive prostate cancer, which is essential for early treatment. Recent data indicate that elevated cholesterol levels in the plasma are a prerequisite for the progression of prostate cancer. Here, we analyzed clinical prostate cancer samples for the expression of receptors involved in cellular cholesterol uptake. We screened mRNA microarray files of prostate cancer samples for alterations in the expression levels of cholesterol transporters. Furthermore, we performed immunohistochemistry analysis on human primary prostate cancer tissue sections derived from patients to investigate the correlation of SR-BI with clinicopathological parameters and the mTOR target pS6. In contrast to LDLR, we identified SR-BI mRNA and protein expression to be induced in high Gleason grade primary prostate cancers. Histologic analysis of prostate biopsies revealed that 53.6 % of all cancer samples and none of the non-cancer samples showed high SR-BI staining intensity. The disease-free survival time was reduced (P = 0.02) in patients expressing high intra-tumor levels of SR-BI. SR-BI mRNA correlated with HSD17B1 and HSD3B1 and SR-BI protein staining showed correlation with active ribosomal protein S6 (RS = 0.828, P prostate cancer formation, suggesting that increased levels of SR-BI may be involved in the generation of a castration-resistant phenotype.

  18. Fabricaion of improved novel p–n junction BiOI/Bi{sub 2}Sn{sub 2}O{sub 7} nanocomposite for visible light driven photocatalysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Weicheng [School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong (China); Fang, Jianzhang, E-mail: fangjzh@scnu.edu.cn [School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong (China); Guangdong Technology Research Center for Ecological Management and Remediation of Urban Water System, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Zhu, Ximiao [School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong (China); Fang, Zhanqiang [School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong (China); Guangdong Technology Research Center for Ecological Management and Remediation of Urban Water System, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Cen, Chaoping [The Key Laboratory of Water and Air Pollution Control of Guangdong Province, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Guangzhou 510655 (China)

    2015-12-15

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • A p–n heterojunction photocatalyst BiOI/Bi{sub 2}Sn{sub 2}O{sub 7} was prepared by hydrothermal method. • 4% BiOI/Bi{sub 2}Sn{sub 2}O{sub 7} with maximal photocatalytic degradation efficiency (RhB) of 99.9%. • A specific degradation routes of RhB was illustrated. • The photocatalytic mechanism is discussed according to p–n junction principles. • • O{sub 2}{sup −} and h+ are the main reactive species for the degradation of RhB. - Abstract: A series of novel p−n junction photocatalysts BiOI/Bi{sub 2}Sn{sub 2}O{sub 7} (BiOI/BSO) were successfully fabricated via a facile hydrothermal method. The phase structures, morphologies and optical properties of the as-prepared samples were studied by XRD, TEM, HRTEM, BET, XPS, UV–vis DRS and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The results showed that BiOI/BSO heteronanostructures displayed much higher photocatalytic activity than pure BSO and BiOI for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB). The best photocatalytic activity of BiOI/BSO with almost 99.9% RhB degradation situated at molar percentage ratio of 4% after 6 h irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic performance of BiOI/BSO could be mainly attributed to the formation of the heterojunction between p-BiOI and n-BSO, which effectively restrains the recombination of photoinduced electron–hole pairs. Moreover, the study of radical scavengers affirmed that h{sup +} and • O{sub 2}{sup −} were the primary reactive species for the degradation of RhB.

  19. Conserved Bacterial-Binding Peptides of the Scavenger-Like Human Lymphocyte Receptor CD6 Protect From Mouse Experimental Sepsis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mario Martínez-Florensa

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Sepsis is an unmet clinical need constituting one of the most important causes of death worldwide, a fact aggravated by the appearance of multidrug resistant strains due to indiscriminate use of antibiotics. Host innate immune receptors involved in pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs recognition represent a source of broad-spectrum therapies alternative or adjunctive to antibiotics. Among the few members of the ancient and highly conserved scavenger receptor cysteine-rich superfamily (SRCR-SF sharing bacterial-binding properties there is CD6, a lymphocyte-specific surface receptor. Here, we analyze the bacterial-binding properties of three conserved short peptides (11-mer mapping at extracellular SRCR domains of human CD6 (CD6.PD1, GTVEVRLEASW; CD6.PD2 GRVEMLEHGEW; and CD6.PD3, GQVEVHFRGVW. All peptides show high binding affinity for PAMPs from Gram-negative (lipopolysaccharide; Kd from 3.5 to 3,000 nM and Gram-positive (lipoteichoic acid; Kd from 36 to 680 nM bacteria. The CD6.PD3 peptide possesses broad bacterial-agglutination properties and improved survival of mice undergoing polymicrobial sepsis in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Accordingly, CD6.PD3 triggers a decrease in serum levels of both pro-inflammatory cytokines and bacterial load. Interestingly, CD6.PD3 shows additive survival effects on septic mice when combined with Imipenem/Cilastatin. These results illustrate the therapeutic potential of peptides retaining the bacterial-binding properties of native CD6.

  20. TmSR-C, scavenger receptor class C, plays a pivotal role in antifungal and antibacterial immunity in the coleopteran insect Tenebrio molitor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Soo Gon; Jo, Yong Hun; Seong, Jeong Hwan; Park, Ki Beom; Noh, Mi Young; Cho, Jun Ho; Ko, Hye Jin; Kim, Chang Eun; Tindwa, Hamisi; Patnaik, Bharat Bhusan; Bang, In Seok; Lee, Yong Seok; Han, Yeon Soo

    2017-10-01

    Scavenger receptors (SRs) constitute a family of membrane-bound receptors that bind to multiple ligands. The SR family of proteins is involved in removing cellular debris, oxidized low-density lipoproteins, and pathogens. Specifically, class C scavenger receptors (SR-C) have also been reported to be involved in phagocytosis of gram-positive and -negative bacteria in Drosophila and viruses in shrimp. However, reports are unavailable regarding the role of SR-C in antifungal immune mechanisms in insects. In this study, a full-length Tenebrio molitor SR-C (TmSR-C) sequence was obtained by 5'- and 3'-Rapid amplification of cDNA ends-polymerase chain reaction (RACE-PCR). The TmSR-C full-length cDNA comprised 1671 bp with 5'- and 3'-untranslated regions of 23- and 107-bp, respectively. TmSR-C encodes a putative protein of 556 amino acid residues that is constitutively expressed in all tissues of late instar larvae and 2-day-old adults, with the highest transcript levels observed in hemocytes of larvae and adults. TmSR-C mRNA showed a 2.5-fold and 3-fold increase at 24 and 6 h after infection with Candida albicans and β-glucan, respectively. Immunoassay with TmSR-C polyclonal antibody showed induction of the putative protein in the cytosols of hemocytes at 3 h after inoculation of C. albicans. RNA interference (RNAi)-based gene silencing and phagocytosis assays were used to understand the role of TmSR-C in antifungal immunity. Silencing of TmSR-C transcripts reduced the survivability of late instar larvae at 2 days post-inoculation of C. albicans, Escherichia coli, or Staphylococcus aureus. Furthermore, in TmSR-C-silenced larvae, there was a decline in the rate of microorganism phagocytosis. Taken together, results of this study suggest that TmSR-C plays a pivotal role in phagocytosing not only fungi but also gram-negative and -positive bacteria in T. molitor. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  1. Suppression of TLR4-mediated inflammatory response by macrophage class A scavenger receptor (CD204)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ohnishi, Koji; Komohara, Yoshihiro; Fujiwara, Yukio; Takemura, Kenichi [Department of Cell Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto (Japan); Lei, XiaoFeng [Department of Cell Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto (Japan); Department of Biochemistry, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo (Japan); Nakagawa, Takenobu [Department of Cell Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto (Japan); Sakashita, Naomi [Department of Cell Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto (Japan); Department of Human Pathology, Institute of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima (Japan); Takeya, Motohiro, E-mail: takeya@kumamoto-u.ac.jp [Department of Cell Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto (Japan)

    2011-08-05

    Highlights: {yields} We focused on the interaction between SR-A and TLR4 signaling in this study. {yields} SR-A deletion promoted NF{kappa}B activation in macrophages in septic model mouse. {yields} SR-A suppresses both MyD88-dependent and -independent TLR4 signaling in vitro. {yields} SR-A clears LPS binding to TLR4 which resulting in the suppression of TLR4 signals. -- Abstract: The class A scavenger receptor (SR-A, CD204), one of the principal receptors expressed on macrophages, has been found to regulate inflammatory response and attenuate septic endotoxemia. However, the detailed mechanism of this process has not yet been well characterized. To clarify the regulative mechanisms of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced macrophage activation by SR-A, we evaluated the activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated signaling molecules in SR-A-deficient (SR-A{sup -/-}) macrophages. In a septic shock model, the blood levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-{alpha}, interleukin (IL)-6 and interferon (IFN)-{beta} were significantly increased in SR-A{sup -/-} mice compared to wild-type mice, and elevated nuclear factor kappa B (NF{kappa}B) activation was detected in SR-A{sup -/-} macrophages. SR-A deletion increased the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and NF{kappa}B in vitro. SR-A deletion also promoted the nuclear translocation of NF{kappa}B and IFN regulatory factor (IRF)-3. In addition, a competitive binding assay with acetylated low-density lipoprotein, an SR-A-specific ligand, and anti-SR-A antibody induced significant activation of TLR4-mediated signaling molecules in wild-type macrophages but not in SR-A{sup -/-} macrophages. These results suggest that SR-A suppresses the macrophage activation by inhibiting the binding of LPS to TLR4 in a competitive manner and it plays a pivotal role in the regulation of the LPS-induced inflammatory response.

  2. Peroxynitrite scavenging by flavonids.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haenen, G.R.M.M.; Paquay, J.B.G.; Korthouwer, R.E.M.; Bast, A.

    1997-01-01

    The peroxynitrite scavenging activity of a series of structurally related flavonoids was tested. It was found that flavonoids are excellent scavengers of peroxynitrite. Compared to the known peroxynitrite scavenger ebselen, the most active flavonoids proved to be 10 times more effective. Indications

  3. Effects of a novel bradykinin B1 receptor antagonist and angiotensin II receptor blockade on experimental myocardial infarction in rats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dongmei Wu

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to evaluate the cardiovascular effects of the novel bradykinin B1 receptor antagonist BI-113823 following myocardial infarction (MI and to determine whether B1 receptor blockade alters the cardiovascular effects of an angiotensin II type 1 (AT1 receptor antagonist after MI in rats.Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to permanent occlusion of the left descending coronary artery. Cardiovascular function was determined at 7 days post MI. Treatment with either B1 receptor antagonist (BI-113823 or AT1 receptor antagonist (irbesartan alone or in combination improved post-MI cardiac function as evidenced by attenuation of elevated left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP; greater first derivative of left ventricular pressure (± dp/dt max, left ventricle ejection fraction, fractional shorting, and better wall motion; as we as reductions in post-MI up-regulation of matrix metalloproteinases 2 (MMP-2 and collagen III. In addition, the cardiac up-regulation of B1 receptor and AT1 receptor mRNA were markedly reduced in animals treated with BI 113823, although bradykinin B2 receptor and angiotensin 1 converting enzyme (ACE1 mRNA expression were not significantly affected by B1 receptor blockade.The present study demonstrates that treatment with the novel B1 receptor antagonist, BI-113823 improves post-MI cardiac function and does not influence the cardiovascular effects of AT1 receptor antagonist following MI.

  4. The scavenger endothelial cell: a new player in homeostasis and immunity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sørensen, Karen Kristine; McCourt, Peter; Berg, Trond; Crossley, Clive; Le Couteur, David; Wake, Kenjiro; Smedsrød, Bård

    2012-12-15

    To maintain homeostasis, the animal body is equipped with a powerful system to remove circulating waste. This review presents evidence that the scavenger endothelial cell (SEC) is responsible for the clearance of blood-borne waste macromolecules in vertebrates. SECs express pattern-recognition endocytosis receptors (mannose and scavenger receptors), and in mammals, the endocytic Fc gamma-receptor IIb2. This cell type has an endocytic machinery capable of super-efficient uptake and degradation of physiological and foreign waste material, including all major classes of biological macromolecules. In terrestrial vertebrates, most SECs line the wall of the liver sinusoid. In phylogenetically older vertebrates, SECs reside instead in heart, kidney, or gills. SECs, thus, by virtue of their efficient nonphagocytic elimination of physiological and microbial substances, play a critical role in the innate immunity of vertebrates. In major invertebrate phyla, including insects, the same function is carried out by nephrocytes. The concept of a dual-cell principle of waste clearance is introduced to emphasize that professional phagocytes (macrophages in vertebrates; hemocytes in invertebrates) eliminate larger particles (>0.5 μm) by phagocytosis, whereas soluble macromolecules and smaller particles are eliminated efficiently and preferentially by clathrin-mediated endocytosis in nonphagocytic SECs in vertebrates or nephrocytes in invertebrates. Including these cells as important players in immunology and physiology provides an additional basis for understanding host defense and tissue homeostasis.

  5. Effect of superoxide anion scavenger on rat hearts with chronic intermittent hypoxia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pai, Peiying; Lai, Ching Jung; Lin, Ching-Yuang; Liou, Yi-Fan; Huang, Chih-Yang; Lee, Shin-Da

    2016-04-15

    Only very limited information regarding the protective effects of the superoxide anion scavenger on chronic intermittent hypoxia-induced cardiac apoptosis is available. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of the superoxide anion scavenger on cardiac apoptotic and prosurvival pathways in rats with sleep apnea. Forty-two Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups, rats with normoxic exposure (Control, 21% O2, 1 mo), rats with chronic intermittent hypoxia exposure (Hypoxia, 3-7% O2vs. 21% O2per 40 s cycle, 8 h per day, 1 mo), and rats with pretreatment of the superoxide anion scavenger and chronic intermittent hypoxia exposure (Hypoxia-O2 (-)-Scavenger, MnTMPyP pentachloride, 1 mg/kg ip per day; 3-7% O2vs. 21% O2per 40 s cycle, 8 h per day, 1 mo) at 5-6 mo of age. After 1 mo, the protein levels and apoptotic cells of excised hearts from three groups were measured by Western blotting and terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. The superoxide anion scavenger decreased hypoxia-induced myocardial architecture abnormalities, left ventricular hypertrophy, and TUNEL-positive apoptosis. The superoxide anion scavenger decreased hypoxia-induced Fas ligand, Fas death receptors, Fas-associated death domain (FADD), activated caspase-8, and activated caspase-3 (Fas-dependent apoptotic pathway) as well as Bad, activated caspase-9 and activated caspase-3 (mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathway), endonuclease G (EndoG), apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF), and TUNEL-positive apoptosis. The superoxide anion scavenger increased IGF-1, IGF-1R, p-PI3k, p-Akt, p-Bad, Bcl-2, and Bcl-xL (survival pathway). Our findings imply that the superoxide anion scavenger might prevent cardiac Fas-mediated and mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis and enhance the IGF-1-related survival pathway in chronic intermittent hypoxia. The superoxide anion scavenger may prevent chronic sleep apnea-enhanced cardiac apoptotic pathways and enhances

  6. Identification of the Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein Scavenger Receptor CD36 in Plasma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Handberg, Aase; Levin, Klaus; Højlund, Kurt

    2006-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Macrophage CD36 scavenges oxidized low-density lipoprotein, leading to foam cell formation, and appears to be a key proatherogenic molecule. Increased expression of CD36 has been attributed to hyperglycemia and to defective macrophage insulin signaling in insulin resistance. Premature...

  7. The role of the class A scavenger receptors, SR-A and MARCO, in the immune system. Part 1. The structure of receptors, their ligand binding repertoires and ability to initiate intracellular signaling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Szczepan Józefowski

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available  Recognition of pathogens by innate immune cells is mediated by pattern recognition receptors (PRR, which include scavenger receptors (SR. The class A SR, SR-A/CD204 and MARCO, are characterized by the presence of collagenous and SR cysteine-rich domains in their extracellular portions. Both receptors are expressed mainly on macrophages and dendritic cells. Thanks to their ability to bind to a wide range of polyanionic ligands, the class A SR may participate in numerous functions of these cells, such as endocytosis, and adhesion to extracellular matrix and to other cells. Among SR-A ligands are oxidized lipoproteins and β-amyloid fibrils, which link SR-A to the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. Despite the demonstration of class A SR involvement in so many processes, the lack of selective ligands precluded reaching definite conclusions concerning their signaling abilities. Using specific receptor ligation with antibodies, we showed that SR-A and MARCO trigger intracellular signaling, modulating pro-inflammatory and microbicidal activities of macrophages. Surprisingly, despite similarities in structure and ligand binding repertoires, SR-A and MARCO exert opposite effects on interleukin-12 (IL-12 production in macrophages. SR-A ligation also stimulated H2O2 and IL-10 production, but had no effect on the release of several other cytokines. These limited effects of specific SR-A ligation contrast with generalized enhancement of immune responses observed in SR-A-deficient mice. Recent studies have revealed that many of these effects of SR-A deficiency may be caused by compensatory changes in the expression of other receptors and/or disinhibition of signal transduction from receptors belonging to the Toll/IL-1R family, rather than by the loss of the receptor function of SR-A.

  8. Controlled hydrothermal synthesis of BiO{sub x}Cl{sub y}/BiO{sub m}I{sub n} composites exhibiting visible-light photocatalytic degradation of crystal violet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Yu-Rou; Lin, Ho-Pan [Department of Science Application and Dissemination, National Taichung University of Education, Taichung 403, Taiwan, ROC (China); Chung, Wen-Hsin [Department of Plant Pathology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan, ROC (China); Dai, Yong-Ming [Department of Science Application and Dissemination, National Taichung University of Education, Taichung 403, Taiwan, ROC (China); Lin, Wan-Yu [Department of Plant Pathology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan, ROC (China); Chen, Chiing-Chang, E-mail: ccchen@ms3.ntcu.edu.tw [Department of Science Application and Dissemination, National Taichung University of Education, Taichung 403, Taiwan, ROC (China)

    2015-02-11

    Highlights: • This is the first report on a series of BiO{sub x}Cl{sub y}/BiO{sub m}I{sub n} heterojunctions. • The BiO{sub x}Cl{sub y}/BiO{sub m}I{sub n} composition was controlled by adjusting the growth parameters. • The BiO{sub x}Cl{sub y}/BiO{sub m}I{sub n} were indirect semiconductors with a 1.78–2.95-eV bandgap. • The new photocatalysts removed CV at a much faster rate than TiO{sub 2}. • Mechanisms were determined by separating the intermediates using HPLC-MS. - Abstract: A series of BiO{sub x}Cl{sub y}/BiO{sub m}I{sub n} composites were prepared using autoclave hydrothermal methods. The composition and morphologies of the BiO{sub x}Cl{sub y}/BiO{sub m}I{sub n} composites were controlled by adjusting the experimental conditions: the reaction pH value, temperature, and KCl/KI molar ratio. The products were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy-electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller specific surface areas, cathodoluminescence, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The photocatalytic efficiencies of composite powder suspensions were evaluated by monitoring the crystal violet (CV) concentrations. In addition, the quenching effects of various scavengers indicated that the reactive O{sub 2}·{sup −} played a major role, and OH· or h{sup +} played a minor role in CV degradation. The intermediates formed during the decomposition process were isolated, identified, and characterized using high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry to elucidate the CV decomposition mechanism.

  9. Somatostatin-receptor-targeted α-emitting 213Bi is therapeutically more effective than β--emitting 177Lu in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nayak, Tapan K.; Norenberg, Jeffrey P.; Anderson, Tamara L.; Prossnitz, Eric R.; Stabin, Michael G.; Atcher, Robert W.

    2007-01-01

    Introduction: Advance clinical cancer therapy studies of patients treated with somatostatin receptor (sstr)-targeted [DOTA 0 -Tyr 3 ]octreotide (DOTATOC) labeled with low-linear-energy-transfer (LET) β - -emitters have shown overall response rates in the range of 15-33%. In order to improve outcomes, we sought to compare the therapeutic effectiveness of sstr-targeted high-LET α-emitting 213 Bi to that of low-LET β - -emitting 177 Lu by determining relative biological effectiveness (RBE) using the external γ-beam of 137 Cs as reference radiation. Methods: Sstr-expressing human pancreatic adenocarcinoma Capan-2 cells and A549 control cells were used for this study. The effects of different radiation doses of 213 Bi and 177 Lu labeled to 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid and sstr-targeted DOTATOC were investigated with a clonogenic cell survival assay. Apoptosis was measured using the Cell Death Detection ELISA PLUS 10x kit. Results: Using equimolar DOTATOC treatment with concurrent irradiation with a 137 Cs source as reference radiation, the calculated RBE of [ 213 Bi]DOTATOC was 3.4, as compared to 1.0 for [ 177 Lu]DOTATOC. As measured in terms of absorbance units, [ 213 Bi]DOTATOC caused a 2.3-fold-greater release of apoptosis-specific mononucleosomes and oligonucleosomes than [ 177 Lu]DOTATOC at the final treatment time of 96 h (P 213 Bi]DOTATOC is therapeutically more effective in decreasing survival than is [ 177 Lu]DOTATOC in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells due to its comparatively higher RBE

  10. Organobasierter Sauerstoff-Scavenger/-Indikator

    OpenAIRE

    Langowski, H.C.; Wanner, T.

    2007-01-01

    WO 2007059901 A1 UPAB: 20070911 NOVELTY - Oxygen scavenger/indicator which contains at least one substance having combined scavenging and indicating functions for oxygen which is capable of absorbing oxygen under the effect of moisture in alkaline conditions, and at least one alkaline compound. The indicator effect is caused by a change in at least one physical property of the substance having combined scavenging and indicating function for oxygen, the change being initiated by the presence o...

  11. Botanical Scavenger Hunt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker-Livingston, Wendy

    2009-01-01

    Why not combine the use of technology with the excitement of a scavenger hunt that moves middle-level students out into the "wilds" of their school campus to classify plants? In the lesson plan described here, students embark on a botanical scavenger hunt and then document their findings using a digital camera. This project was designed to allow…

  12. Hypervariable region 1 deletion and required adaptive envelope mutations confer decreased dependency on scavenger receptor class B type I and low-density lipoprotein receptor for hepatitis C virus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Prentoe, Jannick; Serre, Stéphanie B N; Ramirez, Santseharay

    2014-01-01

    -deleted viruses. Apolipoprotein E (ApoE)-specific HCV neutralization was similar for H77, J6, and S52 viruses with and without HVR1. In conclusion, HVR1 and HVR1-related adaptive envelope mutations appeared to be involved in LDLr and SR-BI dependency, respectively. Also, LDLr served Apo....../S733F), S52(ΔHVR1/A369V), and S52(A369V), but not for J6(ΔHVR1). Low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLr) dependency was decreased for HVR1-deleted viruses, but not for H77(N476D/S733F) and S52(A369V). Soluble LDLr neutralization revealed strong inhibition of parental HCV but limited effect against HVR1...

  13. Fabrication of heterostructured Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 4} photocatalyst and efficient photodegradation of organic contaminants under visible-light

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun, Meng; Li, Shuangli; Yan, Tao; Ji, Pengge; Zhao, Xia; Yuan, Kun; Wei, Dong [School of Resources and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022 (China); Du, Bin, E-mail: dubin61@gmail.com [School of Resources and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022 (China); Key Laboratory of Chemical Sensing & Analysis in Universities of Shandong, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022 (China)

    2017-07-05

    Highlights: • The product shows efficient activity in photodegradation of RhB, BPA, and phenol. • The BBOC-10 heterojunction exhibits the best activity under visible light. • Suppressed recombination of photo-generated carriers lead to the activity enhancement. - Abstract: Heterostructured Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 4} photocatalysts were fabricated by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method, in which melem served as the sacrificial reagent to supply carbonate anions. The as-synthesized Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 4} heterojunction catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope. The XRD patterns of Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 4} catalysts showed the distinctive peaks of Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}O{sub 4}. The SEM and TEM results showed that the pure Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3} possessed large plate morphology, while Bi{sub 2}O{sub 4} were composed of various nanorods and particles. As for Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 4} heterojunction, it was obviously observed that Bi{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanorods and particles were grown on the surfaces of Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3} plates. The visible light driven photocatalytic activity of Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 4} heterojunction photocatalyst was evaluated by decomposing dyes, phenol, and bisphenol A in water. Compared with Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}O{sub 4}, the Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 4} photocatalysts have exhibited remarkable enhanced activity under visible light. The excellent activity can be mainly attributed to the enhanced separation efficiency of photo-generated carriers. Controlled experiments using different radical scavengers proved that ·O{sub 2}{sup −} and h{sup +} played the main role in decomposing organic pollutants. The results of this work would

  14. Peroxynitrite scavenging activity of herb extracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Hye Rhi; Choi, Jae Sue; Han, Yong Nam; Bae, Song Ja; Chung, Hae Young

    2002-06-01

    Peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)) is a cytotoxicant with strong oxidizing properties toward various cellular constituents, including sulphydryls, lipids, amino acids and nucleotides and can cause cell death, lipid peroxidation, carcinogenesis and aging. The aim of this study was to characterize ONOO(-) scavenging constituents from herbs. Twenty-eight herbs were screened for their ONOO(-) scavenging activities with the use of a fluorometric method. The potency of scavenging activity following the addition of authentic ONOO(-) was in the following order: witch hazel bark > rosemary > jasmine tea > sage > slippery elm > black walnut leaf > Queen Anne's lace > Linden flower. The extracts exhibited dose-dependent ONOO(-) scavenging activities. We found that witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana L.) bark showed the strongest effect for scavenging ONOO(-) of the 28 herbs. Hamamelitannin, the major active component of witch hazel bark, was shown to have a strong ability to scavenge ONOO(-). It is suggested that hamamelitannin might be developed as an effective peroxynitrite scavenger for the prevention of ONOO(-) involved diseases. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Scavenging and recombination kinetics in a radiation spur: The successive ordered scavenging events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Samra, Eyad H.; Green, Nicholas J. B.

    2018-03-01

    This study describes stochastic models to investigate the successive ordered scavenging events in a spur of four radicals, a model system based on a radiation spur. Three simulation models have been developed to obtain the probabilities of the ordered scavenging events: (i) a Monte Carlo random flight (RF) model, (ii) hybrid simulations in which the reaction rate coefficient is used to generate scavenging times for the radicals and (iii) the independent reaction times (IRT) method. The results of these simulations are found to be in agreement with one another. In addition, a detailed master equation treatment is also presented, and used to extract simulated rate coefficients of the ordered scavenging reactions from the RF simulations. These rate coefficients are transient, the rate coefficients obtained for subsequent reactions are effectively equal, and in reasonable agreement with the simple correction for competition effects that has recently been proposed.

  16. Enhanced photoelectrochemical performance of inorganic–organic hybrid consisting of BiVO{sub 4} and PEDOT:PSS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Trzciński, K. [Faculty of Chemistry, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk (Poland); Szkoda, M., E-mail: mariusz-szkoda@wp.pl [Faculty of Chemistry, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk (Poland); Siuzdak, K.; Sawczak, M. [Centre for Plasma and Laser Engineering, The Szewalski Institute of Fluid Flow Machinery, Fiszera 14, 80-231 Gdańsk (Poland); Lisowska-Oleksiak, A., E-mail: alo@pg.gda.pl [Faculty of Chemistry, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk (Poland)

    2016-12-01

    Highlights: • Bismuth vanadate layers were prepared using pulsed laser deposition technique. • The modification method of BiVO{sub 4} by PEDOT:PSS was developed. • Modified layers exhibited higher photoactivity than bare BiVO{sub 4}. • Prepared material can act as semiconducting layer in photoelectrochemical cells. - Abstract: The PEDOT:PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)) was electrodeposited on a thin layer of bismuth vanadate (BiVO{sub 4}) prepared using the pulsed laser deposition technique onto FTO. The inorganic–organic junction was characterized by Raman spectroscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Chronoamperometry curves, recorded under simulated solar light illumination, were performed to determine generated photocurrent during water and hydroquinone oxidation at the electrode surface. Experiments were performed for three types of electrode materials: (i) FTO/BiVO{sub 4}, (ii) FTO/PEDOT:PSS and (iii) FTO/BiVO{sub 4}/PEDOT:PSS in aqueous electrolyte. Almost 5 times higher photocurrent in electrolyte containing hole scavenger was generated after modification of BiVO{sub 4} photoanode with electrodeposited polymer. It is noteworthy that anodic photocurrent was stable even after 4 h of illumination. Cyclic voltammetry curves of FTO/BiVO{sub 4}/PEDOT:PSS recorded before and after experiments performed under electrode illumination indicated that the organic part in tested junction is photo-corrosion resistant.

  17. A sea cucumber-like BiOBr nanosheet/Zn2GeO4 nanorod heterostructure for enhanced visible light driven photocatalytic activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhiping; Ge, Xin; Zhang, Xueyu; Duan, Lianfeng; Li, Xuesong; Yang, Yue; Lü, Wei

    2018-01-01

    In present work, a two-step hydrothermal/solvothermal method was developed to fabricate sea cucumber-like p-n heterojunctions of p-BiOBr/n-Zn2GeO4. The BiOBr nanosheets were grafted onto the surface of Zn2GeO4 nanorods. BiOBr/Zn2GeO4 nanocomposites exhibit remarkable photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation, and photocatalytic activity was studied in the catalytic test of rhodamine B decolorization. The mechanism for improved photocatalytic activity is interpreted in terms of the formation of type II band alignment between BiOBr and Zn2GeO4, which is confirmed by UV-vis diffuse absorption and VB-XPS spectra. BiOBr nanosheet as an admirable electron transport medium provide desirable specific surface area for the nanocomposite and a suitable band gap for heterojunction structure. Furthermore, scavenger experiments confirmed that h+ and {{{{O}}}2}\\cdot - were the main oxygen active species in the decolorization process.

  18. Lactoferrin binding protein B - a bi-functional bacterial receptor protein.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicholas K H Ostan

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Lactoferrin binding protein B (LbpB is a bi-lobed outer membrane-bound lipoprotein that comprises part of the lactoferrin (Lf receptor complex in Neisseria meningitidis and other Gram-negative pathogens. Recent studies have demonstrated that LbpB plays a role in protecting the bacteria from cationic antimicrobial peptides due to large regions rich in anionic residues in the C-terminal lobe. Relative to its homolog, transferrin-binding protein B (TbpB, there currently is little evidence for its role in iron acquisition and relatively little structural and biophysical information on its interaction with Lf. In this study, a combination of crosslinking and deuterium exchange coupled to mass spectrometry, information-driven computational docking, bio-layer interferometry, and site-directed mutagenesis was used to probe LbpB:hLf complexes. The formation of a 1:1 complex of iron-loaded Lf and LbpB involves an interaction between the Lf C-lobe and LbpB N-lobe, comparable to TbpB, consistent with a potential role in iron acquisition. The Lf N-lobe is also capable of binding to negatively charged regions of the LbpB C-lobe and possibly other sites such that a variety of higher order complexes are formed. Our results are consistent with LbpB serving dual roles focused primarily on iron acquisition when exposed to limited levels of iron-loaded Lf on the mucosal surface and effectively binding apo Lf when exposed to high levels at sites of inflammation.

  19. Vertebrate scavenger receptor class B member 2 (SCARB2: comparative studies of a major lysosomal membrane glycoprotein

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roger Stephen Holmes

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Scavenger receptor class B member 2 (SCARB2 (also LIMP-2, CD36L2 or LGP85 is a major lysosomal membrane glycoprotein involved in endosomal and lysosomal biogenesis and maintenance. SCARB2 acts as a receptor for the lysosomal mannose-6-phosphate independent targeting of β-glucuronidase and enterovirus 71 and influences Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. Genetic deficiency of this protein causes deafness and peripheral neuropathy in mice as well as myoclonic epilepsy and nephrotic syndrome in humans. Comparative SCARB2 amino acid sequences and structures and SCARB2 gene locations were examined using data from several vertebrate genome projects. Vertebrate SCARB2 sequences shared 43-100% identity as compared with 30-36% sequence identities with other CD36-like superfamily members, SCARB1 and CD36. At least 10 N-glycosylation sites were conserved among most vertebrate SCARB2 proteins examined. Sequence alignments, key amino acid residues and conserved predicted secondary structures were examined, including cytoplasmic, transmembrane and external lysosomal membrane sequences: cysteine disulfide residues, thrombospondin (THP1 binding sites and 16 proline and 20 glycine conserved residues, which may contribute to short loop formation within the exomembrane SCARB2 sequences. Vertebrate SCARB2 genes contained 12 coding exons. The human SCARB2 gene contained a CpG island (CpG100, ten microRNA-binding sites and several transcription factor binding sites (including PPARA which may contribute to a higher level (2.4 times average of gene expression. Phylogenetic analyses examined the relationships and potential evolutionary origins of the vertebrate SCARB2 gene with vertebrate SCARB1 and CD36 genes. These suggested that SCARB2 originated from duplications of the CD36 gene in an ancestral genome forming three vertebrate CD36 gene family members: SCARB1, SCARB2 and CD36.

  20. 21 CFR 868.5590 - Scavenging mask.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Scavenging mask. 868.5590 Section 868.5590 Food... DEVICES ANESTHESIOLOGY DEVICES Therapeutic Devices § 868.5590 Scavenging mask. (a) Identification. A scavenging mask is a device positioned over a patient's nose to deliver anesthetic or analgesic gases to the...

  1. Gut microbiota-derived lipopolysaccharide uptake and trafficking to adipose tissue: implications for inflammation and obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hersoug, L-G; Møller, P; Loft, S

    2016-04-01

    The composition of the gut microbiota and excessive ingestion of high-fat diets (HFD) are considered to be important factors for development of obesity. In this review we describe a coherent mechanism of action for the development of obesity, which involves the composition of gut microbiota, HFD, low-grade inflammation, expression of fat translocase and scavenger receptor CD36, and the scavenger receptor class B type 1 (SR-BI). SR-BI binds to both lipids and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Gram-negative bacteria, which may promote incorporation of LPS in chylomicrons (CMs). These CMs are transported via lymph to the circulation, where LPS is transferred to other lipoproteins by translocases, preferentially to HDL. LPS increases the SR-BI binding, transcytosis of lipoproteins over the endothelial barrier,and endocytosis in adipocytes. Especially large size adipocytes with high metabolic activity absorb LPS-rich lipoproteins. In addition, macrophages in adipose tissue internalize LPS-lipoproteins. This may contribute to the polarization from M2 to M1 phenotype, which is a consequence of increased LPS delivery into the tissue during hypertrophy. In conclusion, evidence suggests that LPS is involved in the development of obesity as a direct targeting molecule for lipid delivery and storage in adipose tissue. © 2015 World Obesity.

  2. Improved safety and efficacy of 213Bi-DOTATATE-targeted alpha therapy of somatostatin receptor-expressing neuroendocrine tumors in mice pre-treated with L-lysine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Ho Sze; Konijnenberg, Mark W; Daniels, Tamara; Nysus, Monique; Makvandi, Mehran; de Blois, Erik; Breeman, Wouter A; Atcher, Robert W; de Jong, Marion; Norenberg, Jeffrey P

    2016-12-01

    Targeted alpha therapy (TAT) offers advantages over current β-emitting conjugates for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) of neuroendocrine tumors. PRRT with 177 Lu-DOTATATE or 90 Y-DOTATOC has shown dose-limiting nephrotoxicity due to radiopeptide retention in the proximal tubules. Pharmacological protection can reduce renal uptake of radiopeptides, e.g., positively charged amino acids, to saturate in the proximal tubules, thereby enabling higher radioactivity to be safely administered. The aim of this preclinical study was to evaluate the therapeutic effect of 213 Bi-DOTATATE with and without renal protection using L-lysine in mice. Tumor uptake and kinetics as a function of injected mass of peptide (range 0.03-3 nmol) were investigated using 111 In-DOTATATE. These results allowed estimation of the mean radiation absorbed tumor dose for 213 Bi-DOTATATE. Pharmacokinetics and dosimetry of 213 Bi-DOTATATE was determined in mice, in combination with renal protection. A dose escalation study with 213 Bi-DOTATATE was performed to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) with and without pre-administration of L-lysine as for renal protection. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) served as renal biomarker to determine kidney injury. The maximum mean radiation absorbed tumor dose occurred at 0.03 nmol and the minimum at 3 nmol. Similar mean radiation absorbed tumor doses were determined for 0.1 and 0.3 nmol with a mean radiation absorbed dose of approximately 0.5 Gy/MBq 213 Bi-DOTATATE. The optimal mass of injected peptide was found to be 0.3 nmol. Tumor uptake was similar for 111 In-DOTATATE and 213 Bi-DOTATATE at 0.3 nmol peptide. Lysine reduced the renal uptake of 213 Bi-DOTATATE by 50% with no effect on the tumor uptake. The MTD was <13.0 ± 1.6 MBq in absence of L-lysine and 21.7 ± 1.9 MBq with L-lysine renal protection, both imparting an LD 50 mean renal radiation absorbed dose of 20 Gy. A correlation was found between the

  3. Gradient Self-Doped CuBi2O4 with Highly Improved Charge Separation Efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Fuxian; Septina, Wilman; Chemseddine, Abdelkrim; Abdi, Fatwa F; Friedrich, Dennis; Bogdanoff, Peter; van de Krol, Roel; Tilley, S David; Berglund, Sean P

    2017-10-25

    A new strategy of using forward gradient self-doping to improve the charge separation efficiency in metal oxide photoelectrodes is proposed. Gradient self-doped CuBi 2 O 4 photocathodes are prepared with forward and reverse gradients in copper vacancies using a two-step, diffusion-assisted spray pyrolysis process. Decreasing the Cu/Bi ratio of the CuBi 2 O 4 photocathodes introduces Cu vacancies that increase the carrier (hole) concentration and lowers the Fermi level, as evidenced by a shift in the flat band toward more positive potentials. Thus, a gradient in Cu vacancies leads to an internal electric field within CuBi 2 O 4 , which can facilitate charge separation. Compared to homogeneous CuBi 2 O 4 photocathodes, CuBi 2 O 4 photocathodes with a forward gradient show highly improved charge separation efficiency and enhanced photoelectrochemical performance for reduction reactions, while CuBi 2 O 4 photocathodes with a reverse gradient show significantly reduced charge separation efficiency and photoelectrochemical performance. The CuBi 2 O 4 photocathodes with a forward gradient produce record AM 1.5 photocurrent densities for CuBi 2 O 4 up to -2.5 mA/cm 2 at 0.6 V vs RHE with H 2 O 2 as an electron scavenger, and they show a charge separation efficiency of 34% for 550 nm light. The gradient self-doping accomplishes this without the introduction of external dopants, and therefore the tetragonal crystal structure and carrier mobility of CuBi 2 O 4 are maintained. Lastly, forward gradient self-doped CuBi 2 O 4 photocathodes are protected with a CdS/TiO 2 heterojunction and coated with Pt as an electrocatalyst. These photocathodes demonstrate photocurrent densities on the order of -1.0 mA/cm 2 at 0.0 V vs RHE and evolve hydrogen with a faradaic efficiency of ∼91%.

  4. Alzheimer’s Disease, Brain Injury, and C.N.S. Nanotherapy in Humans: Sonoporation Augmenting Drug Targeting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph S. D’Arrigo

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Owing to the complexity of neurodegenerative diseases, multiple cellular types need to be targeted simultaneously in order for a given therapy to demonstrate any major effectiveness. Ultrasound-sensitive coated microbubbles (in a targeted nanoemulsion are available. Versatile small-molecule drug(s targeting multiple pathways of Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis are known. By incorporating such drug(s into the targeted lipid-coated microbubble/nanoparticle-derived (LCM/ND lipid nanoemulsion type, one obtains a multitasking combination therapeutic for translational medicine. This multitasking therapeutic targets cell-surface scavenger receptors (mainly scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI, making it possible for various Alzheimer’s-related cell types to be simultaneously sought for localized drug treatment in vivo. Besides targeting cell-surface SR-BI, the proposed LCM/ND-nanoemulsion combination therapeutic(s include a characteristic lipid-coated microbubble (LCM subpopulation (i.e., a stable LCM suspension; such LCM substantially reduce the acoustic power levels needed for accomplishing temporary noninvasive (transcranial ultrasound treatment, or sonoporation, if additionally desired for the Alzheimer’s patient.

  5. Scavenging and recombination kinetics in radiation chemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Samra, Eyad H; Green, Nicholas J B

    2017-08-02

    This work describes stochastic models developed to study the competition between radical scavenging and recombination for simple model systems typical of radiation chemistry, where the reactive particles are tightly clustered and reactions are assumed fully diffusion limited. Three models are developed: a Monte Carlo random flights model with a periodic boundary condition for scavengers, Monte Carlo simulations in which the scavenging rate is calculated from the Smoluchowski theory for diffusion-limited reactions and a modification of the independent reaction times method where the scavengers close to the spur are explicitly included and the scavengers further away are treated as a continuum. The results indicate that the Smoluchowski theory makes a systematic overestimate of the scavenging rate when such competition is present. A correction for the Smoluchowski rate constant is suggested, an analytical justification is presented and it is tested against the simulations, and shown to be a substantial improvement.

  6. The scavenger activity of the human P2X7 receptor differs from P2X7 pore function by insensitivity to antagonists, genetic variation and sodium concentration: Relevance to inflammatory brain diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ou, Amber; Gu, Ben J; Wiley, James S

    2018-04-01

    Activation of P2X7 receptors is widely recognised to initiate proinflammatory responses. However P2X7 also has a dual function as a scavenger receptor which is active in the absence of ATP and plasma proteins and may be important in central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Here, we investigated both P2X7 pore formation and its phagocytic function in fresh human monocytes (as a model of microglia) by measuring ATP-induced ethidium dye uptake and fluorescent bead uptake respectively. This was studied in monocytes expressing various polymorphic variants as well as in the presence of different P2X7 antagonists and ionic media. P2X7-mediated phagocytosis was found to account for about half of Latrunculin (or Cytochalasin D)-sensitive bead engulfment by fresh human monocytes. Monocytes harbouring P2X7 Ala348Thr or Glu496Ala polymorphic variants showed increase or loss of ethidium uptake respectively, but these changes in pore formation did not always correspond to the changes in phagocytosis of YG beads. Unlike pore function, P2X7-mediated phagocytosis was not affected by three potent selective P2X7 antagonists and remained identical in Na + and K + media. Taken together, our results show that P2X7 is a scavenger receptor with important function in the CNS but its phagocytic function has features distinct from its pore function. Both P2X7 pore formation and P2X7-mediated phagocytosis should be considered in the design of new P2X7 antagonists for the treatment of CNS diseases. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. P2X1 receptors and the endothelium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LS Harrington

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available Adenosine triphosphate (ATP is now established as a principle vaso-active mediator in the vasculature. Its actions on arteries are complex, and are mediated by the P2X and P2Y receptor families. It is generally accepted that ATP induces a bi-phasic response in arteries, inducing contraction via the P2X and P2Y receptors on the smooth muscle cells, and vasodilation via the actions of P2Y receptors located on the endothelium. However, a number of recent studies have placed P2X1 receptors on the endothelium of some arteries. The use of a specific P2X1 receptor ligand, a, b methylene ATP has demonstrated that P2X1 receptors also have a bi-functional role. The actions of ATP on P2X1 receptors is therefore dependant on its location, inducing contraction when located on the smooth muscle cells, and dilation when expressed on the endothelium, comparable to that of P2Y receptors.

  8. CD163: a signal receptor scavenging haptoglobin-hemoglobin complexes from plasma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Graversen, Jonas Heilskov; Madsen, Mette; Moestrup, Søren K

    2002-01-01

    as the endocytic receptor binding hemoglobin (Hb) in complex with the plasma protein haptoglobin (Hp). This specific receptor-ligand interaction leading to removal from plasma of the Hp-Hb complex-but not free Hp or Hb-now explains the depletion of circulating Hp in individuals with increased intravascular...

  9. Major Vault Protein Regulates Class A Scavenger Receptor-mediated Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Synthesis and Apoptosis in Macrophages*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben, Jingjing; Zhang, Yan; Zhou, Rongmei; Zhang, Haiyang; Zhu, Xudong; Li, Xiaoyu; Zhang, Hanwen; Li, Nan; Zhou, Xiaodan; Bai, Hui; Yang, Qing; Li, Donghai; Xu, Yong; Chen, Qi

    2013-01-01

    Atherosclerosis is considered a disease of chronic inflammation largely initiated and perpetuated by macrophage-dependent synthesis and release of pro-inflammatory mediators. Class A scavenger receptor (SR-A) expressed on macrophages plays a key role in this process. However, how SR-A-mediated pro-inflammatory response is modulated in macrophages remains ill defined. Here through immunoprecipitation coupled with mass spectrometry, we reported major vault protein (MVP) as a novel binding partner for SR-A. The interaction between SR-A and MVP was confirmed by immunofluorescence staining and chemical cross-linking assay. Treatment of macrophages with fucoidan, a SR-A ligand, led to a marked increase in TNF-α production, which was attenuated by MVP depletion. Further analysis revealed that SR-A stimulated TNF-α synthesis in macrophages via the caveolin- instead of clathrin-mediated endocytic pathway linked to p38 and JNK, but not ERK, signaling pathways. Importantly, fucoidan invoked an enrichment of MVP in lipid raft, a caveolin-reliant membrane structure, and enhanced the interaction among SR-A, caveolin, and MVP. Finally, we demonstrated that MVP elimination ameliorated SR-A-mediated apoptosis in macrophages. As such, MVP may fine-tune SR-A activity in macrophages which contributes to the development of atherosclerosis. PMID:23703615

  10. Oxidised LDL internalisation by the LOX-1 scavenger receptor is dependent on a novel cytoplasmic motif and is regulated by dynamin-2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Jane E; Vohra, Ravinder S; Dunn, Sarah; Holloway, Zoe G; Monaco, Anthony P; Homer-Vanniasinkam, Shervanthi; Walker, John H; Ponnambalam, Sreenivasan

    2008-07-01

    The LOX-1 scavenger receptor recognises pro-atherogenic oxidised low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) particles and is implicated in atherosclerotic plaque formation, but this mechanism is not well understood. Here we show evidence for a novel clathrin-independent and cytosolic-signal-dependent pathway that regulates LOX-1-mediated OxLDL internalisation. Cell surface labelling in the absence or presence of OxLDL ligand showed that LOX-1 is constitutively internalised from the plasma membrane and its half-life is not altered upon ligand binding and trafficking. We show that LOX-1-mediated OxLDL uptake is disrupted by overexpression of dominant-negative dynamin-2 but unaffected by CHC17 or mu2 (AP2) depletion. Site-directed mutagenesis revealed a conserved and novel cytoplasmic tripeptide motif (DDL) that regulates LOX-1-mediated endocytosis of OxLDL. Taken together, these findings indicate that LOX-1 is internalised by a clathrin-independent and dynamin-2-dependent pathway and is thus likely to mediate OxLDL trafficking in vascular tissues.

  11. Implication of scavenger receptors in the interactions between diesel exhaust particles and immature or mature dendritic cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lassalle Philippe

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The exposure to pollutants such as diesel exhaust particles (DEP is associated with an increased incidence of respiratory diseases. However, the mechanisms by which DEP have an effect on human health are not completely understood. In addition to their action on macrophages and airway epithelial cells, DEP also modulate the functions of dendritic cells (DC. These professional antigen-presenting cells are able to discriminate unmodified self from non-self thanks to pattern recognition receptors such as the Toll like Receptors (TLR and Scavenger Receptors (SR. SR were originally identified by their ability to bind and internalize modified lipoproteins and microorganisms but also particles and TLR agonists. In this study, we assessed the implication of SR in the effects of DEP associated or not with TLR agonists on monocyte-derived DC (MDDC. For this, we studied the regulation of CD36, CXCL16, LOX-1, SR-A1 and SR-B1 expression on MDDC treated with DEP associated or not with TLR2, 3 and 4 ligands. Then, the capacity of SR ligands (dextran sulfate and maleylated-ovalbumin to block the effects of DEP on the function of lipopolysaccharide (LPS-activated DC has been evaluated. Results Our data demonstrate that TLR2 agonists mainly augmented CXCL16, LOX-1 and SR-B1 expression whereas DEP alone had only a weak effect. Interestingly, DEP modulated the action of TLR2 and TLR4 ligands on the expression of LOX-1 and SR-B1. Pretreatment with the SR ligand maleylated-ovalbumin but not dextran sulfate inhibited the endocytosis of DEP by MDDC. Moreover, this SR ligand blocked the effect by DEP at low dose (1 μg/ml on MDDC phenotype (a decrease of CD86 and HLA-DR expression and on the secretion of CXCL10, IL-12 and TNF-α. In contrast, the decrease of IL-12 and CXCL10 secretion and the generation of oxygen metabolite induced by DEP at 10 μg/ml was not affected by SR ligands Conclusion Our results show for the first time that the modulation of

  12. Decreased immunostaining for macrophage scavenger receptor is associated with poor prognosis of prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takayama, Hitoshi; Nonomura, Norio; Nishimura, Kazuo; Oka, Daizo; Shiba, Masahiro; Nakai, Yasutomo; Nakayama, Masashi; Tsujimura, Akira; Aozasa, Katsuyuki; Okuyama, Akihiko

    2009-02-01

    The aim of this study is to evaluate the expression of the macrophage scavenger receptor (MSR) in prostate needle biopsy specimens as a possible prognostic factor for prostate cancer. As MSR reportedly has a role in recognizing foreign pathogenic substances, MSR-positive inflammatory cells are often detected in solid tumours, and there is a correlation between the relative risk of prostate cancer and polymorphism of the MSR gene. MSR was evaluated by immunostaining in needle biopsies of the prostate from 135 patients who were confirmed to have prostate cancer. Among these men, 70 were treated by radical prostatectomy or by radiotherapy as definitive therapy; the other 65 were treated by hormonal therapy because of advanced disease or age. Needle-biopsy specimens were sectioned at 5 microm and immunostained with a monoclonal antibody against MSR. Six microscopic (x400) fields around the cancer foci were selected in each case for analysis. The median number of MSR-positive cells (MSR count) in each case was 24. There was an inverse correlation between the MSR count and Gleason score and clinical stage. The MSR count was lower in patients with biochemical (prostate-specific antigen, PSA) failure than that in those with no PSA failure (P or =24) than that in those with low MSR count (<24, P < 0.001). Moreover, for patients treated by definitive or hormonal therapy, the RFS rates in those with a higher MSR count were higher than in those with a lower MSR count (P < 0.001 and 0.014, respectively). Cox multivariate analysis showed that the MSR count was a prognostic factor for prostate cancer in addition to extraprostatic extension and Gleason score (P = 0.002, 0.038 and 0.011, respectively). The results of immunostaining of MSR in needle-biopsy specimens is a prognostic factor for prostate cancer.

  13. Identification of the bacteria-binding peptide domain on salivary agglutinin (gp-340/DMBT1), a member of the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich superfamily

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bikker, Floris J; Ligtenberg, Antoon J M; Nazmi, Kamran

    2002-01-01

    Salivary agglutinin is encoded by DMBT1 and identical to gp-340, a member of the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich (SRCR) superfamily. Salivary agglutinin/DMBT1 is known for its Streptococcus mutans agglutinating properties. This 300-400 kDa glycoprotein is composed of conserved peptide motifs: 14...... containing exclusively SRCR and SID domains that binds to S. mutans. To define more closely the S. mutans-binding domain, consensus-based peptides of the SRCR domains and SIDs were designed and synthesized. Only one of the SRCR peptides, designated SRCRP2, and none of the SID peptides bound to S. mutans....... Strikingly, this peptide was also able to induce agglutination of S. mutans and a number of other bacteria. The repeated presence of this peptide in the native molecule endows agglutinin/DMBT1 with a general bacterial binding feature with a multivalent character. Moreover, our studies demonstrate...

  14. Dielectric polymer: scavenging energy from human motion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jean-Mistral, Claire; Basrour, Skandar; Chaillout, Jean-Jacques

    2008-03-01

    More and more sensors are embedded in human body for medical applications, for sport. The short lifetime of the batteries, available on the market, reveals a real problem of autonomy of these systems. A promising alternative is to scavenge the ambient energy such as the mechanical one. Up to now, few scavenging structures have operating frequencies compatible with ambient one. And, most of the developed structures are rigid and use vibration as mechanical source. For these reasons, we developed a scavenger that operates in a large frequency spectrum from quasi-static to dynamic range. This generator is fully flexible, light and does not hamper the human motion. Thus, we report in this paper an analytical model for dielectric generator with news electrical and mechanical characterization, and the development of an innovating application: scavenging energy from human motion. The generator is located on the knee and design to scavenge 0.1mJ per scavenging cycle at a frequency of 1Hz, enough to supply a low consumption system and with a poling voltage as low as possible to facilitate the power management. Our first prototype is a membrane with an area of 5*3cm and 31µm in thickness which scavenge 0.1mJ under 170V at constant charge Q.

  15. Lower Squalene Epoxidase and Higher Scavenger Receptor Class B Type 1 Protein Levels Are Involved in Reduced Serum Cholesterol Levels in Stroke-Prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michihara, Akihiro; Mido, Mayuko; Matsuoka, Hiroshi; Mizutani, Yurika

    2015-01-01

    A lower serum cholesterol level was recently shown to be one of the causes of stroke in an epidemiological study. Spontaneously hypertensive rats stroke-prone (SHRSP) have lower serum cholesterol levels than normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). To elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the lower serum cholesterol levels in SHRSP, we determined whether the amounts of cholesterol biosynthetic enzymes or the receptor and transporter involved in cholesterol uptake and efflux in the liver were altered in SHRSP. When the mRNA levels of seven cholesterol biosynthetic enzymes were measured using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase and squalene epoxidase (SQE) levels in the liver of SHRSP were significantly lower than those in WKY. SQE protein levels were significantly reduced in tissues other than the brain of SHRSP. No significant differences were observed in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor (uptake of serum LDL-cholesterol) or ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (efflux of cholesterol from the liver/formation of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)) protein levels in the liver and testis between SHRSP and WKY, whereas scavenger receptor class B type 1 (SRB1: uptake of serum HDL-cholesterol) protein levels were higher in the livers of SHRSP. These results indicated that the lower protein levels of SQE and higher protein levels of SRB1 in the liver were involved in the reduced serum cholesterol levels in SHRSP.

  16. Electron scavenging in ethylene glycol-water glass at 4 and 77 K: scavenging of trapped vs mobile electrons. [. gamma. -rays, x radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, D P; Kevan, L [Wayne State Univ., Detroit, Mich. (USA). Dept. of Chemistry; Steen, H B

    1976-01-01

    Electron scavenging efficiencies have been measured at 77 and 4 K in ethylene glycol-water glass for the following scavengers which span a 250-fold range of scavenger efficiencies at 77 K: HCl, NaNO/sub 3/ and K/sub 2/Cr0/sub 4/. The range of scavenging efficiencies decreases to 62 at 4 K with the largest relative change occurring for the less efficient scavengers. These results are suggested to be most consistent with a model in which scavenging occurs by tunneling from shallowly and deeply trapped electrons at 4 and 77 K, respectively.

  17. Scavenger receptor-mediated endocytosis by sinusoidal cells in rat bone marrow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geoffroy, J.S.

    1987-01-01

    Endocytosis of serum albumin by sinusoidal endothelial cells in rat bone marrow was investigated initially at the ultrastructural level with subsequent biochemical investigation of the specificity mediating this event. Bovine serum albumin adsorbed to 20nm colloidal gold particles (AuBSA) was chosen as the electron microscopic probe. Morphological data strongly suggested that a receptor was involved in uptake of AuBSA. Confirmation of receptor involvement in the uptake of AuBSA by marrow sinusoidal endothelial cells was achieved utilizing an in situ isolated hind limb perfusion protocol in conjunction with unlabeled, radiolabeled, and radio-/colloidal gold labeled probes. The major findings of competition and saturation experiments were: (1) endocytosis of AuBSA was mediated by a receptor for modified/treated serum albumin; (2) endocytosis of formaldehyde-treated serum albumin was mediated by a binding site which may be the same or closely related to the site responsible for the uptake of AuBSA; and (3) endocytosis of native untreated albumin was not mediated by receptor and probably represents fluid-phase pinocitosis

  18. Enhanced photocatalytic performance of BiVO_4 in aqueous AgNO_3 solution under visible light irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Chien-Kai; Wu, Tsunghsueh; Huang, Chang-Wei; Lai, Chi-Yung; Wu, Mei-Yao; Lin, Yang-Wei

    2017-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Ag"+ ions enhanced photocatalytic activity of BiVO_4 under visible light irradiation. - Highlights: • The presence of Ag"+ ions enhanced the photodegradation activity of BiVO_4. • Photoreduction of Ag deposited on the BiVO_4 surface was obtained. • Luminescence and electrochemical results elucidated the photocatalytic mechanism. • Holes and oxygen radicals were the main reactive species generated by BiVO_4/Ag"+. • Used BiVO_4/Ag"+ exhibited photocatalytic antibacterial activity toward E. coli. - Abstract: Monoclinic-phase bismuth vanadate (BiVO_4) with a 2.468 eV band gap exhibited enhanced synergic photodegradation activity toward methylene blue (MB) when combined with silver ions (Ag"+) in an aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The mass ratio of AgNO_3 to BiVO_4 and the calcination temperature were discovered to considerably affect the degradation activity of BiVO_4/Ag"+. Superior photocatalytic performance was obtained when BiVO_4 was mixed with 0.01%(w/v) AgNO_3 solution, and complete degradation of MB was achieved after 25 min visible light irradiation, outperforming BiVO_4 or AgNO_3 solution alone. The enhanced photodegradation was investigated using systematic luminescence measurements, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and scavenger addition, after which a photocatalytic mechanism for MB degradation under visible light irradiation was identified that involved oxygen radicals and holes. This study also discovered the two dominating processes involved in enhancing the electron–hole separation efficiency and reducing their recombination rate, namely photoreduction of Ag"+ and the formation of a BiVO_4/Ag heterojunction. The synergic effect between BiVO_4 and Ag"+ was discovered to be unique. BiVO_4/Ag"+ was successfully used to degrade two other dyes and disinfect Escherichia Coli. A unique fluorescent technique using BiVO_4 and a R6G solution to detect Ag"+ ions in water was discovered.

  19. Receptor targeting of hemoglobin mediated by the haptoglobins

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Marianne Jensby; Moestrup, Søren Kragh

    2009-01-01

    Haptoglobin, the haptoglobin-hemoglobin receptor CD163, and the heme oxygenase-1 are proteins with a well-established function in the clearance and metabolism of "free" hemoglobin released during intravascular hemolysis. This scavenging system counteracts the potentially harmful oxidative and NO......-scavenging effects associated with "free" hemoglobin, and, furthermore, elicits an anti-inflammatory response. In the late primate evolution, haptoglobin variants with distinct functions have arisen, including haptoglobin polymers and the haptoglobin-related protein. The latter associates with a subspecies of high......-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles playing a crucial role in the innate immunity against certain trypanosome parasites. Recent studies have elucidated this fairly sophisticated immune defense mechanism that takes advantage of a trypanosomal haptoglobin-hemoglobin receptor evolved to supply the parasite with heme...

  20. Comparative studies of vertebrate scavenger receptor class B type 1: a high-density lipoprotein binding protein

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Holmes RS

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Roger S Holmes,1,2 Laura A Cox11Department of Genetics and Southwest National Primate Research Center, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA; 2School of Biomolecular and Physical Sciences, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, AustraliaAbstract: Scavenger receptor class B type 1 protein (SCARB1 plays an essential role in cholesterol homeostasis and functions in binding high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL in liver and other tissues of the body. SCARB1 also functions in lymphocyte homeostasis and in the uptake of hepatitis C virus (HCV by the liver. A genetic deficiency of this protein results in autoimmune disorders and significant changes in blood cholesterol phenotype. Comparative SCARB1 amino acid sequences and structures and SCARB1 gene locations were examined using data from several vertebrate genome projects. Vertebrate SCARB1 sequences shared 50%–99% identity as compared with 28%–31% sequence identities with other CD36-like superfamily members, ie, SCARB2 and SCARB3 (also called CD36. At least eight N-glycosylation sites were conserved among most of the vertebrate SCARB1 proteins examined. Sequence alignments, key amino acid residues, and conserved predicted secondary structures were also studied, including: cytoplasmic, transmembrane, and exoplasmic sequences; conserved N-terminal and C-terminal transmembrane glycines which participate in oligomer formation; conserved cystine disulfides and a free SH residue which participates in lipid transport; carboxyl terminal PDZ-binding domain sequences (Ala507-Arg/Lys508-Leu509; and 30 conserved proline and 18 conserved glycine residues, which may contribute to short loop formation within the exoplasmic HDL-binding sequence. Vertebrate SCARB1 genes usually contained 12 coding exons. The human SCARB1 gene contained CpG islands, micro RNA binding sites, and several transcription factor binding sites (including PPARG which may contribute to the high level (13.7 times

  1. Dynamics of Transition Regime in Bi-stable Vibration Energy Harvesters

    KAUST Repository

    Ibrahim, Alwathiqbellah

    2017-04-20

    Vibration energy harvesting can be an effective method for scavenging wasted mechanical energy for use by wireless sensors that have limited battery life. Two major goals in designing energy harvesters are enhancing the power scavenged at low frequency and improving efficiency by increasing the frequency bandwidth. To achieve these goals, we derived a magneto-elastic beam operated at the transition between mono- and bi-stable regions. By improving the mathematical model of the interaction of magnetic force and beam dynamics, we obtained a precise prediction of natural frequencies as the distance of magnets varies. Using the shooting technique for the improved model, we present a fundamental understanding of interesting combined softening and hardening responses that happen at the transition between the two regimes. The transition regime is proposed as the optimal region for energy conversion in terms of frequency bandwidth and output voltage. Using this technique, low frequency vibration energy harvesting at around 17 Hz was possible. The theoretical results were in good agreement with the experimental results. The target application is to power wildlife bio-logging devices from bird flights that have consistent high power density around 16 Hz [1].

  2. Dynamics of Transition Regime in Bi-stable Vibration Energy Harvesters

    KAUST Repository

    Ibrahim, Alwathiqbellah; Towfighian, Shahrzad; Younis, Mohammad I.

    2017-01-01

    Vibration energy harvesting can be an effective method for scavenging wasted mechanical energy for use by wireless sensors that have limited battery life. Two major goals in designing energy harvesters are enhancing the power scavenged at low frequency and improving efficiency by increasing the frequency bandwidth. To achieve these goals, we derived a magneto-elastic beam operated at the transition between mono- and bi-stable regions. By improving the mathematical model of the interaction of magnetic force and beam dynamics, we obtained a precise prediction of natural frequencies as the distance of magnets varies. Using the shooting technique for the improved model, we present a fundamental understanding of interesting combined softening and hardening responses that happen at the transition between the two regimes. The transition regime is proposed as the optimal region for energy conversion in terms of frequency bandwidth and output voltage. Using this technique, low frequency vibration energy harvesting at around 17 Hz was possible. The theoretical results were in good agreement with the experimental results. The target application is to power wildlife bio-logging devices from bird flights that have consistent high power density around 16 Hz [1].

  3. ATP Synthase β-Chain Overexpression in SR-BI Knockout Mice Increases HDL Uptake and Reduces Plasma HDL Level

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kexiu Song

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available HDL cholesterol is known to be inversely correlated with cardiovascular disease due to its diverse antiatherogenic functions. SR-BI mediates the selective uptake of HDL-C. SR-BI knockout diminishes but does not completely block the transport of HDL; other receptors may be involved. Ectopic ATP synthase β-chain in hepatocytes has been previously characterized as an apoA-I receptor, triggering HDL internalization. This study was undertaken to identify the overexpression of ectopic ATP synthase β-chain on DIL-HDL uptake in primary hepatocytes in vitro and on plasma HDL levels in SR-BI knockout mice. Human ATP synthase β-chain cDNA was delivered to the mouse liver by adenovirus and GFP adenovirus as control. The adenovirus-mediated overexpression of β-chain was identified at both mRNA and protein levels on mice liver and validated by its increasing of DiL-HDL uptake in primary hepatocytes. In response to hepatic overexpression of β-chain, plasma HDL-C levels and cholesterol were reduced in SR-BI knockout mice, compared with the control. The present data suggest that ATP synthase β-chain can serve as the endocytic receptor of HDL, and its overexpression can reduce plasma HDL-C.

  4. Differential Scavenging Among Pig, Rabbit, and Human Subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steadman, Dawnie Wolfe; Dautartas, Angela; Kenyhercz, Michael W; Jantz, Lee M; Mundorff, Amy; Vidoli, Giovanna M

    2018-04-12

    Different animal species have been used as proxies for human remains in decomposition studies for decades, although few studies have sought to validate their use in research aimed at estimating the postmortem interval. This study examines 45 pig, rabbit, and human subjects placed in three seasonal trials at the Anthropology Research Facility. In an earlier paper, we found that overall decomposition trends did vary between species that could be due to differential insect and scavenger behavior. This study specifically examines if scavenger behavior differs by carrion species. Daily photographs, game camera photographs, written observations, and Total Body Score (TBS) documented scavenging and decomposition changes. Results show that raccoons were the most commonly observed vertebrate scavenger, that scavenging was most extensive in winter, and that certain human subjects were preferred over other humans and all non-human subjects. Finally, scavenging activity greatly reduces the accuracy of postmortem interval estimates based on TBS. © 2018 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  5. Boundary scavenging in the Pacific Ocean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, R.F.; Lao, Y.; Broecker, W.S.; Trumbore, S.E.; Hofmann, H.J.; Wolfli, W.

    1990-01-01

    Concentrations of U, Th, 231 Pa and 10 Be were measured in Holocene sediments from two cores collected off the west coast of South America, two cores from the East Pacific Rise, two from the equatorial Pacific and one from the south Pacific central gyre. Our results, together with data from 5 cores reported in the literature, show that boundary scavenging plays a major role in the removal of 10 Be from the Pacific Ocean. Deposition rates of 10 Be at three margin sites are more than an order of magnitude greater than at sites of red clay accumulation in the deep central Pacific. Deposition of 231 Pa is 4 to 5-fold greater at the margin sites. The residence time of 10 Be with respect to chemical scavenging, defined as its inventory in the water column divided by its rate of removal to the sediments, varies regionally from >1000 years at the red-clay sites in the deep central Pacific to ∝100 years at the margin sites. Different factors control boundary scavenging of Pa and Be. For example, scavenging of 231 Pa is enhanced by metal-oxide coatings of particles, whereas this seems to have little influence on the scavenging of 10 Be. (orig.)

  6. Enhanced photocatalytic performance of BiVO{sub 4} in aqueous AgNO{sub 3} solution under visible light irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, Chien-Kai [Department of Chemistry, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua City, Taiwan (China); Wu, Tsunghsueh [Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Platteville (United States); Huang, Chang-Wei [Department of Chemistry, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua City, Taiwan (China); Lai, Chi-Yung [Department of Biology, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua, Taiwan (China); Wu, Mei-Yao, E-mail: meiyaowu0919@gmail.com [Research Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung City, Taiwan (China); Lin, Yang-Wei, E-mail: linywjerry@cc.ncue.edu.tw [Department of Chemistry, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua City, Taiwan (China)

    2017-03-31

    Graphical abstract: Ag{sup +} ions enhanced photocatalytic activity of BiVO{sub 4} under visible light irradiation. - Highlights: • The presence of Ag{sup +} ions enhanced the photodegradation activity of BiVO{sub 4}. • Photoreduction of Ag deposited on the BiVO{sub 4} surface was obtained. • Luminescence and electrochemical results elucidated the photocatalytic mechanism. • Holes and oxygen radicals were the main reactive species generated by BiVO{sub 4}/Ag{sup +}. • Used BiVO{sub 4}/Ag{sup +} exhibited photocatalytic antibacterial activity toward E. coli. - Abstract: Monoclinic-phase bismuth vanadate (BiVO{sub 4}) with a 2.468 eV band gap exhibited enhanced synergic photodegradation activity toward methylene blue (MB) when combined with silver ions (Ag{sup +}) in an aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The mass ratio of AgNO{sub 3} to BiVO{sub 4} and the calcination temperature were discovered to considerably affect the degradation activity of BiVO{sub 4}/Ag{sup +}. Superior photocatalytic performance was obtained when BiVO{sub 4} was mixed with 0.01%(w/v) AgNO{sub 3} solution, and complete degradation of MB was achieved after 25 min visible light irradiation, outperforming BiVO{sub 4} or AgNO{sub 3} solution alone. The enhanced photodegradation was investigated using systematic luminescence measurements, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and scavenger addition, after which a photocatalytic mechanism for MB degradation under visible light irradiation was identified that involved oxygen radicals and holes. This study also discovered the two dominating processes involved in enhancing the electron–hole separation efficiency and reducing their recombination rate, namely photoreduction of Ag{sup +} and the formation of a BiVO{sub 4}/Ag heterojunction. The synergic effect between BiVO{sub 4} and Ag{sup +} was discovered to be unique. BiVO{sub 4}/Ag{sup +} was successfully used to degrade two other dyes and disinfect Escherichia Coli. A

  7. Efficient Visible Light Nitrogen Fixation with BiOBr Nanosheets of Oxygen Vacancies on the Exposed {001} Facets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hao; Shang, Jian; Ai, Zhihui; Zhang, Lizhi

    2015-05-20

    Even though the well-established Haber-Bosch process has been the major artificial way to "fertilize" the earth, its energy-intensive nature has been motivating people to learn from nitrogenase, which can fix atmospheric N2 to NH3 in vivo under mild conditions with its precisely arranged proteins. Here we demonstrate that efficient fixation of N2 to NH3 can proceed under room temperature and atmospheric pressure in water using visible light illuminated BiOBr nanosheets of oxygen vacancies in the absence of any organic scavengers and precious-metal cocatalysts. The designed catalytic oxygen vacancies of BiOBr nanosheets on the exposed {001} facets, with the availability of localized electrons for π-back-donation, have the ability to activate the adsorbed N2, which can thus be efficiently reduced to NH3 by the interfacial electrons transferred from the excited BiOBr nanosheets. This study might open up a new vista to fix atmospheric N2 to NH3 through the less energy-demanding photochemical process.

  8. Americans with Disabilities Act Scavenger Hunt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramsey, Ursula

    2018-01-01

    This article describes a scavenger hunt for Business Law students. Specifically, students compete in this scavenger hunt to identify accessible design features on campus to undergird their study of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Title III of the ADA prohibits public accommodations from discriminating on the basis of…

  9. Ternary reduced-graphene-oxide/Bi2MoO6/Au nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bi, Jinhong; Fang, Wei; Li, Li; Li, Xiaofen; Liu, Minghua; Liang, Shijing; Zhang, Zizhong; He, Yunhui; Lin, Huaxiang; Wu, Ling; Liu, Shengwei; Wong, Po Keung

    2015-01-01

    A novel ternary nanocomposite photocatalyst consisted of reduced-graphene-oxide (RGO), Bi 2 MoO 6 and plasmonic Au nanoparticles were successfully fabricated by multiple steps including a simple solvothermal process and photochemical reduction process. RGO/Bi 2 MoO 6 /Au was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction patterns, transmission electron microscopy, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In comparison with Bi 2 MoO 6 , RGO/Bi 2 MoO 6 and Au/Bi 2 MoO 6 , RGO/Bi 2 MoO 6 /Au exhibits an enhanced photocatalytic activity for decomposition of Rhodamine B under visible light. The separation efficiency of the photogenerated holes and electrons on Bi 2 MoO 6 is promoted by the combined effect of both RGO and Au in the ternary composite, and thus enhances photocatalytic activity. The scavenger study revealed that both hole and superoxide are the major reactive species for the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B using RGO/Bi 2 MoO 6 /Au photocatalyst. - Graphical abstract: A novel ternary nanocomposite photocatalyst consisted of reduced-graphene-oxide (RGO), Bi 2 MoO 6 and plasmonic Au nanoparticles were successfully fabricated by multiple steps including a simple solvothermal process and photochemical reduction process. The resulted ternary nanocomposites greatly enhanced the visible light photocatalytic properties compared to Bi 2 MoO 6 , RGO/Bi 2 MoO 6 or Au/Bi 2 MoO 6 binary systems. The improved photocatalytic activity was mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of Au and RGO with better separation of the photogenerated holes and electrons, resulting from the surface plasmonic resonance and extra strong electron magnetic field of Au nanoparticles and the high electron conductivity of RGO. - Highlights: • The ternary nanocomposites RGO/Bi 2 MoO 6 /Au were constructed for the first time. • RGO/Bi 2 MoO 6 /Au showed much higher visible photoactivity than RGO (Au)/Bi 2 MoO 6 . • The improved

  10. Extra-epitopic hepatitis C virus polymorphisms confer resistance to broadly neutralizing antibodies by modulating binding to scavenger receptor B1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Diwany, Ramy; Cohen, Valerie J; Mankowski, Madeleine C; Wasilewski, Lisa N; Brady, Jillian K; Snider, Anna E; Osburn, William O; Murrell, Ben; Ray, Stuart C; Bailey, Justin R

    2017-02-01

    Broadly-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (bNAbs) may guide vaccine development for highly variable viruses including hepatitis C virus (HCV), since they target conserved viral epitopes that could serve as vaccine antigens. However, HCV resistance to bNAbs could reduce the efficacy of a vaccine. HC33.4 and AR4A are two of the most potent anti-HCV human bNAbs characterized to date, binding to highly conserved epitopes near the amino- and carboxy-terminus of HCV envelope (E2) protein, respectively. Given their distinct epitopes, it was surprising that these bNAbs showed similar neutralization profiles across a panel of natural HCV isolates, suggesting that some viral polymorphisms may confer resistance to both bNAbs. To investigate this resistance, we developed a large, diverse panel of natural HCV envelope variants and a novel computational method to identify bNAb resistance polymorphisms in envelope proteins (E1 and E2). By measuring neutralization of a panel of HCV pseudoparticles by 10 μg/mL of each bNAb, we identified E1E2 variants with resistance to one or both bNAbs, despite 100% conservation of the AR4A binding epitope across the panel. We discovered polymorphisms outside of either binding epitope that modulate resistance to both bNAbs by altering E2 binding to the HCV co-receptor, scavenger receptor B1 (SR-B1). This study is focused on a mode of neutralization escape not addressed by conventional analysis of epitope conservation, highlighting the contribution of extra-epitopic polymorphisms to bNAb resistance and presenting a novel mechanism by which HCV might persist even in the face of an antibody response targeting multiple conserved epitopes.

  11. Investigation into Seasonal Scavenging Patterns of Raccoons on Human Decomposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Yangseung; Jantz, Lee Meadows; Smith, Jake

    2016-03-01

    Although raccoons are known as one of the most common scavengers in the U.S., scavenging by these animals has seldom been studied in terms of forensic significance. In this research, the seasonal pattern of raccoon scavenging and its effect on human decomposition was investigated using 178 human cadavers placed at the Anthropological Research Facility (ARF) of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) between February 2011 and December 2013. The results reveal that (i) the frequency of scavenging increases during summer, (ii) scavenging occurs relatively immediately and lasts shorter in summer months, and (iii) scavenging influences the decomposition process by hollowing limbs and by disturbing insect activities, both of which eventually increases the chance of mummification on the affected body. This information is expected to help forensic investigators identify raccoon scavenging as well as make a more precise interpretation of the effect of raccoon scavenging on bodies at crime scenes. © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  12. Shark scavenging behavior in the presence of competition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shannon P. GERRY, Andrea J. SCOTT

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available The distribution of organisms within a community can often be determined by the degree of plasticity or degree of specialization of resource acquisition. Resource acquisition is often based on the morphology of an organism, behavior, or a combination of both. Performance tests of feeding can identify the possible interactions that allow one species to better exploit a prey item. Scavenging behaviors in the presence or absence of a competitor were investigated by quantifying prey selection in a trophic generalist, spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias, and a trophic specialist, smooth-hounds Mustelus canis, in order to determine if each shark scavenged according to its jaw morphology. The diet of dogfish consists of small fishes, squid, ctenophores, and bivalves; they are expected to be nonselective predators. Smooth-hounds primarily feed on crustaceans; therefore, they are predicted to select crabs over other prey types. Prey selection was quantified by ranking each prey item according to the order it was consumed. Dietary shifts were analyzed by comparing the percentage of each prey item selected during solitary versus competitive scavenging. When scavenging alone, dogfish prefer herring and squid, which are easily handled by the cutting dentition of dogfish. Dogfish shift their diet to include a greater number of prey types when scavenging with a competitor. Smooth-hounds scavenge on squid, herring, and shrimp when alone, but increase the number of crabs in the diet when scavenging competitively. Competition causes smooth-hounds to scavenge according to their jaw morphology and locomotor abilities, which enables them to feed on a specialized resource [Current Zoology 56 (1: 100–108 2010].

  13. The layered double hydroxide route to Bi-Zn co-doped TiO₂ with high photocatalytic activity under visible light.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benalioua, Bahia; Mansour, Meriem; Bentouami, Abdelhadi; Boury, Bruno; Elandaloussi, El Hadj

    2015-05-15

    In this work, a co-doped Bi-Zn-TiO₂ photocatalist is synthesized by an original synthesis route of layered double hydroxide followed by heat treatment at 670 °C. After characterization the photocatalyst efficiency is estimated by the photo-discoloration of an anionic dye (indigo carmine) under visible light and compare to TiO₂-P25 as reference material. In this new photocatalyst, anatase and ZnO wurtzite are the only identified crystalline phase, rutile and Bi₂O₃ being undetected. Moreover, the binding energy of Bi determined (XPS analysis) is different from the one of Bi in Bi₂O₃. Compared to TiO₂-P25, the absorption is red shifted (UV-vis DRS) and the Bi-Zn-TiO₂ photocatalyst showed sorption capacity toward indigo carmine higher than that TiO₂-P25. The kinetics of the photo-discoloration is faster with Bi-Zn-TiO₂ than with TiO₂-P25. Indeed, a complete discoloration is obtained after 70 min and 120 min in the presence of Bi-Zn-TiO₂ and TiO₂-P25 respectively. The identification of the responsible species on photo-discoloration was carried out in the presence of different scavengers. The study showed that the first responsible is h(+) specie with a moderate contribution of superoxide anion radical and a minor contribution of the hydroxyl radical. The material showed high stability after five uses with the same rate of photo-discoloration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Carcass Type Affects Local Scavenger Guilds More than Habitat Connectivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olson, Zachary H; Beasley, James C; Rhodes, Olin E

    2016-01-01

    Scavengers and decomposers provide an important ecosystem service by removing carrion from the environment. Scavenging and decomposition are known to be temperature-dependent, but less is known about other factors that might affect carrion removal. We conducted an experiment in which we manipulated combinations of patch connectivity and carcass type, and measured responses by local scavenger guilds along with aspects of carcass depletion. We conducted twelve, 1-month trials in which five raccoon (Procyon lotor), Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), and domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus spp.) carcasses (180 trials total) were monitored using remote cameras in 21 forest patches in north-central Indiana, USA. Of 143 trials with complete data, we identified fifteen species of vertebrate scavengers divided evenly among mammalian (N = 8) and avian species (N = 7). Fourteen carcasses (9.8%) were completely consumed by invertebrates, vertebrates exhibited scavenging behavior at 125 carcasses (87.4%), and four carcasses (2.8%) remained unexploited. Among vertebrates, mammals scavenged 106 carcasses, birds scavenged 88 carcasses, and mammals and birds scavenged 69 carcasses. Contrary to our expectations, carcass type affected the assemblage of local scavenger guilds more than patch connectivity. However, neither carcass type nor connectivity explained variation in temporal measures of carcass removal. Interestingly, increasing richness of local vertebrate scavenger guilds contributed moderately to rates of carrion removal (≈6% per species increase in richness). We conclude that scavenger-specific differences in carrion utilization exist among carcass types and that reliable delivery of carrion removal as an ecosystem service may depend on robust vertebrate and invertebrate communities acting synergistically.

  15. Carcass Type Affects Local Scavenger Guilds More than Habitat Connectivity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zachary H Olson

    Full Text Available Scavengers and decomposers provide an important ecosystem service by removing carrion from the environment. Scavenging and decomposition are known to be temperature-dependent, but less is known about other factors that might affect carrion removal. We conducted an experiment in which we manipulated combinations of patch connectivity and carcass type, and measured responses by local scavenger guilds along with aspects of carcass depletion. We conducted twelve, 1-month trials in which five raccoon (Procyon lotor, Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana, and domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus spp. carcasses (180 trials total were monitored using remote cameras in 21 forest patches in north-central Indiana, USA. Of 143 trials with complete data, we identified fifteen species of vertebrate scavengers divided evenly among mammalian (N = 8 and avian species (N = 7. Fourteen carcasses (9.8% were completely consumed by invertebrates, vertebrates exhibited scavenging behavior at 125 carcasses (87.4%, and four carcasses (2.8% remained unexploited. Among vertebrates, mammals scavenged 106 carcasses, birds scavenged 88 carcasses, and mammals and birds scavenged 69 carcasses. Contrary to our expectations, carcass type affected the assemblage of local scavenger guilds more than patch connectivity. However, neither carcass type nor connectivity explained variation in temporal measures of carcass removal. Interestingly, increasing richness of local vertebrate scavenger guilds contributed moderately to rates of carrion removal (≈6% per species increase in richness. We conclude that scavenger-specific differences in carrion utilization exist among carcass types and that reliable delivery of carrion removal as an ecosystem service may depend on robust vertebrate and invertebrate communities acting synergistically.

  16. Carcass Type Affects Local Scavenger Guilds More than Habitat Connectivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olson, Zachary H.; Beasley, James C.; Rhodes, Olin E.

    2016-01-01

    Scavengers and decomposers provide an important ecosystem service by removing carrion from the environment. Scavenging and decomposition are known to be temperature-dependent, but less is known about other factors that might affect carrion removal. We conducted an experiment in which we manipulated combinations of patch connectivity and carcass type, and measured responses by local scavenger guilds along with aspects of carcass depletion. We conducted twelve, 1-month trials in which five raccoon (Procyon lotor), Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), and domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus spp.) carcasses (180 trials total) were monitored using remote cameras in 21 forest patches in north-central Indiana, USA. Of 143 trials with complete data, we identified fifteen species of vertebrate scavengers divided evenly among mammalian (N = 8) and avian species (N = 7). Fourteen carcasses (9.8%) were completely consumed by invertebrates, vertebrates exhibited scavenging behavior at 125 carcasses (87.4%), and four carcasses (2.8%) remained unexploited. Among vertebrates, mammals scavenged 106 carcasses, birds scavenged 88 carcasses, and mammals and birds scavenged 69 carcasses. Contrary to our expectations, carcass type affected the assemblage of local scavenger guilds more than patch connectivity. However, neither carcass type nor connectivity explained variation in temporal measures of carcass removal. Interestingly, increasing richness of local vertebrate scavenger guilds contributed moderately to rates of carrion removal (≈6% per species increase in richness). We conclude that scavenger-specific differences in carrion utilization exist among carcass types and that reliable delivery of carrion removal as an ecosystem service may depend on robust vertebrate and invertebrate communities acting synergistically. PMID:26886299

  17. Rain scavenging of radioactive particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, A.L.

    1975-01-01

    An assessment is made of the rainout of airborne radioactive particles from a nuclear detonation with emphasis on the microphysical removal processes. For submicron particles the scavenging processes examined are Brownian and turbulent diffusion to cloud droplets. For particles larger than 1 μm radius, nucleation scavenging is examined. For various particle size and radioactivity distributions, it is found that from 27 to 99 percent of the radioactivity is attached to cloud droplets and subject to rapid removal by rain. (U.S.)

  18. Salivary agglutinin, which binds Streptococcus mutans and Helicobacter pylori, is the lung scavenger receptor cysteine-rich protein gp-340.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prakobphol, A; Xu, F; Hoang, V M; Larsson, T; Bergstrom, J; Johansson, I; Frängsmyr, L; Holmskov, U; Leffler, H; Nilsson, C; Borén, T; Wright, J R; Strömberg, N; Fisher, S J

    2000-12-22

    Salivary agglutinin is a high molecular mass component of human saliva that binds Streptococcus mutans, an oral bacterium implicated in dental caries. To study its protein sequence, we isolated the agglutinin from human parotid saliva. After trypsin digestion, a portion was analyzed by matrix-assisted laser/desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), which gave the molecular mass of 14 unique peptides. The remainder of the digest was subjected to high performance liquid chromatography, and the separated peptides were analyzed by MALDI-TOF/post-source decay; the spectra gave the sequences of five peptides. The molecular mass and peptide sequence information showed that salivary agglutinin peptides were identical to sequences in lung (lavage) gp-340, a member of the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich protein family. Immunoblotting with antibodies that specifically recognized either lung gp-340 or the agglutinin confirmed that the salivary agglutinin was gp-340. Immunoblotting with an antibody specific to the sialyl Le(x) carbohydrate epitope detected expression on the salivary but not the lung glycoprotein, possible evidence of different glycoforms. The salivary agglutinin also interacted with Helicobacter pylori, implicated in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease, Streptococcus agalactiae, implicated in neonatal meningitis, and several oral commensal streptococci. These results identify the salivary agglutinin as gp-340 and suggest it binds bacteria that are important determinants of either the oral ecology or systemic diseases.

  19. Radical scavenging activity of crude polysaccharides from Camellia sinensis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Fan

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available A preparation of crude polysaccharides (TPS was isolated from Camellia sinensis by precipitation and ultrafiltration. TPS1, TPS2, and TPS3 had molecular weights of 240, 21.4, and 2.46 kDa, respectively. The radical scavenging activities of TPS were evaluated by DPPH free radical, hydroxyl radical and superoxide radical scavenging. These results revealed that TPS exhibited strong radical scavenging activity in a concentration-dependent manner. TPS3 with lowest molecular weight showed a higher radical scavenging activity.

  20. Weight savings in aerospace vehicles through propellant scavenging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Steven J.; Reed, Brian D.

    1988-01-01

    Vehicle payload benefits of scavenging hydrogen and oxygen propellants are addressed. The approach used is to select a vehicle and a mission and then select a scavenging system for detailed weight analysis. The Shuttle 2 vehicle on a Space Station rendezvous mission was chosen for study. The propellant scavenging system scavenges liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen from the launch propulsion tankage during orbital maneuvers and stores them in well insulated liquid accumulators for use in a cryogenic auxiliary propulsion system. The fraction of auxiliary propulsion propellant which may be scavenged for propulsive purposes is estimated to be 45.1 percent. The auxiliary propulsion subsystem dry mass, including the proposed scavenging system, an additional 20 percent for secondary structure, an additional 5 percent for electrical service, a 10 percent weight growth margin, and 15.4 percent propellant reserves and residuals is estimated to be 6331 kg. This study shows that the fraction of the on-orbit vehicle mass required by the auxiliary propulsion system of this Shuttle 2 vehicle using this technology is estimated to be 12.0 percent compared to 19.9 percent for a vehicle with an earth-storable bipropellant system. This results in a vehicle with the capability of delivering an additional 7820 kg to the Space Station.

  1. Weight savings in aerospace vehicles through propellant scavenging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Steven J.; Reed, Brian D.

    1988-05-01

    Vehicle payload benefits of scavenging hydrogen and oxygen propellants are addressed. The approach used is to select a vehicle and a mission and then select a scavenging system for detailed weight analysis. The Shuttle 2 vehicle on a Space Station rendezvous mission was chosen for study. The propellant scavenging system scavenges liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen from the launch propulsion tankage during orbital maneuvers and stores them in well insulated liquid accumulators for use in a cryogenic auxiliary propulsion system. The fraction of auxiliary propulsion propellant which may be scavenged for propulsive purposes is estimated to be 45.1 percent. The auxiliary propulsion subsystem dry mass, including the proposed scavenging system, an additional 20 percent for secondary structure, an additional 5 percent for electrical service, a 10 percent weight growth margin, and 15.4 percent propellant reserves and residuals is estimated to be 6331 kg. This study shows that the fraction of the on-orbit vehicle mass required by the auxiliary propulsion system of this Shuttle 2 vehicle using this technology is estimated to be 12.0 percent compared to 19.9 percent for a vehicle with an earth-storable bipropellant system. This results in a vehicle with the capability of delivering an additional 7820 kg to the Space Station.

  2. Bi-Force

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sun, Peng; Speicher, Nora K; Röttger, Richard

    2014-01-01

    of pairwise similarities. We first evaluated the power of Bi-Force to solve dedicated bicluster editing problems by comparing Bi-Force with two existing algorithms in the BiCluE software package. We then followed a biclustering evaluation protocol in a recent review paper from Eren et al. (2013) (A...... comparative analysis of biclustering algorithms for gene expressiondata. Brief. Bioinform., 14:279-292.) and compared Bi-Force against eight existing tools: FABIA, QUBIC, Cheng and Church, Plaid, BiMax, Spectral, xMOTIFs and ISA. To this end, a suite of synthetic datasets as well as nine large gene expression...

  3. The dual role of scavenger receptor class A in development of diabetes in autoimmune NOD mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mami Shimizu

    Full Text Available Human type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that results from the autoreactive destruction of pancreatic β cells by T cells. Antigen presenting cells including dendritic cells and macrophages are required to activate and suppress antigen-specific T cells. It has been suggested that antigen uptake from live cells by dendritic cells via scavenger receptor class A (SR-A may be important. However, the role of SR-A in autoimmune disease is unknown. In this study, SR-A-/- nonobese diabetic (NOD mice showed significant attenuation of insulitis, lower levels of insulin autoantibodies, and suppression of diabetes development compared with NOD mice. We also found that diabetes progression in SR-A-/- NOD mice treated with low-dose polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C was significantly accelerated compared with that in disease-resistant NOD mice treated with low-dose poly(I:C. In addition, injection of high-dose poly(I: C to mimic an acute RNA virus infection significantly accelerated diabetes development in young SR-A-/- NOD mice compared with untreated SR-A-/- NOD mice. Pathogenic cells including CD4+CD25+ activated T cells were increased more in SR-A-/- NOD mice treated with poly(I:C than in untreated SR-A-/- NOD mice. These results suggested that viral infection might accelerate diabetes development even in diabetes-resistant subjects. In conclusion, our studies demonstrated that diabetes progression was suppressed in SR-A-/- NOD mice and that acceleration of diabetes development could be induced in young mice by poly(I:C treatment even in SR-A-/- NOD mice. These results suggest that SR-A on antigen presenting cells such as dendritic cells may play an unfavorable role in the steady state and a protective role in a mild infection. Our findings imply that SR-A may be an important target for improving therapeutic strategies for type 1 diabetes.

  4. Multiple free-radical scavenging capacity in serum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oowada, Shigeru; Endo, Nobuyuki; Kameya, Hiromi; Shimmei, Masashi; Kotake, Yashige

    2012-01-01

    We have developed a method to determine serum scavenging-capacity profile against multiple free radical species, namely hydroxyl radical, superoxide radical, alkoxyl radical, alkylperoxyl radical, alkyl radical, and singlet oxygen. This method was applied to a cohort of chronic kidney disease patients. Each free radical species was produced with a common experimental procedure; i.e., uv/visible-light photolysis of free-radical precursor/sensitizer. The decrease in free-radical concentration by the presence of serum was quantified with electron spin resonance spin trapping method, from which the scavenging capacity was calculated. There was a significant capacity change in the disease group (n = 45) as compared with the healthy control group (n = 30). The percent values of disease’s scavenging capacity with respect to control group indicated statistically significant differences in all free-radical species except alkylperoxyl radical, i.e., hydroxyl radical, 73 ± 12% (p = 0.001); superoxide radical, 158 ± 50% (p = 0.001); alkoxyl radical, 121 ± 30% (p = 0.005); alkylperoxyl radical, 123 ± 32% (p>0.1); alkyl radical, 26 ± 14% (p = 0.001); and singlet oxygen, 57 ± 18% (p = 0.001). The scavenging capacity profile was illustrated using a radar chart, clearly demonstrating the characteristic change in the disease group. Although the cause of the scavenging capacity change by the disease state is not completely understood, the profile of multiple radical scavenging capacities may become a useful diagnostic tool. PMID:22962529

  5. Free Radical Scavenging Properties of Annona squamosa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vikas, Biba; Akhil B, S; P, Remani; Sujathan, K

    2017-10-26

    Annona squamosa has extensively been used in the traditional and folkloric medicine and found to possess many biological activities. Different solvents, petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of Annona squamosa seeds (ASPE, ASCH, ASEA, ASME) have been used to prepare plant extracts. The present investigations dealt with the free radical scavenging activity of four extracts using various techniques such as total reducing power estimation, total phenolic count, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging effect, evaluation of ABTS cation decolorisation capacity, FRAP assay, hdroxyl radical scavenging assay, super oxide assay and Nitric oxide radical scavenging assay of the extracts. The results showed that the four extracts of Annona squamosa showed significant reducing power in four extracts. The total phenolic contents in petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol extracts and positive control were 0.64±0.17, 0.54±0.27, 0.49±0.24, 0.57±0.22 and 0.66±0.33. The antioxidant capacity by ABTS assay of ASPE, ASCH, ASEA, ASME and positive control, trolox showed 77.75±0.5,73.25±1.7,78.5± 1.2 , 80 ± 0.8 μg/ml and 94.2 ± 0.9 respectively. The (50 % scavenging activity) SA50 of ASPE and ASCH, ASEA and ASME was found to be 34.4 μg/ml, 43.8 μg/ml 34.7 μg/m and 28.8 μg/ml respectively by DPPH assay. The percentage of hydroxyl radical scavenging increased with the increasing concentration of the extracts. ASPE, ASCH, ASEA and ASME showed superoxide radical scavenging activity, as indicated by their values 66 ± 0.5, 68 ± 1 ,63 ± 1 and 70 ± 0.5 μg/ml respectively compared to gallic acid which was 97 ± 0.5 μg/ml. The values for scavenging of nitric oxide for ASPE, ASCH, ASEA and ASME were 91.0 ± 1.0, 66.75 ± 0.5, 71.75 ± 1.1 and 75.75 ± 1.15 μg/ml while value for standard ascorbic acid was 91.0 ± 1.0 μg/ml. The results revealed strong antioxidants in four extracts may lead to the development of potent

  6. To scavenge or not to scavenge: that is the question

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nowak, Elzbieta; Brzuszkiewicz, Anna [Synchrotron Radiation Research Section, MCL, National Cancer Institute, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Dauter, Miroslawa [SAIC-Frederick Inc., Basic Research Program, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Dauter, Zbigniew, E-mail: dauter@anl.gov [Synchrotron Radiation Research Section, MCL, National Cancer Institute, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Rosenbaum, Gerd, E-mail: dauter@anl.gov [Department of Biochemistry, University of Georgia, SER-CAT at the APS, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Synchrotron Radiation Research Section, MCL, National Cancer Institute, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States)

    2009-09-01

    Analysis of a series of diffraction data sets measured from several native as well as nicotinic acid-soaked crystals of trypsin suggests that this potential scavenger does not have any statistically significant effect on the amount of radiation damage incurred in the crystals on X-ray irradiation at 100 K. Analysis of a series of diffraction data sets measured from four native as well as four nicotinic acid-soaked crystals of trypsin at 100 K shows a high variability in radiation-sensitivity among individual crystals for both nicotinic acid-soaked and native crystals. The level of radiation-sensitivity and the extent of its variability is statistically indistinguishable between the two conditions. This suggests that this potential scavenger does not have any statistically significant effect on the amount of radiation damage incurred in the crystals on X-ray irradiation. This is in contrast to previous results [Kauffmann et al. (2006 ▶), Structure, 14, 1099–1105] where only one crystal specimen was used for each condition (native and nicotinic acid-soaked)

  7. Habitat of in vivo transformation influences the levels of free radical scavengers in Clinostomum complanatum: implications for free radical scavenger based vaccines against trematode infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zafar, Atif; Rizvi, Asim; Ahmad, Irshad; Ahmad, Masood

    2014-01-01

    Since free radical scavengers of parasite origin like glutathione-S-transferase and superoxide dismutase are being explored as prospective vaccine targets, availability of these molecules within the parasite infecting different hosts as well as different sites of infection is of considerable importance. Using Clinostomum complanatum, as a model helminth parasite, we analysed the effects of habitat of in vivo transformation on free radical scavengers of this trematode parasite. Using three different animal models for in vivo transformation and markedly different sites of infection, progenetic metacercaria of C. complanatum were transformed to adult ovigerous worms. Whole worm homogenates were used to estimate the levels of lipid peroxidation, a marker of oxidative stress and free radical scavengers. Site of in vivo transformation was found to drastically affect the levels of free radical scavengers in this model trematode parasite. It was observed that oxygen availability at the site of infection probably influences levels of free radical scavengers in trematode parasites. This is the first report showing that habitat of in vivo transformation affects levels of free radical scavengers in trematode parasites. Since free radical scavengers are prospective vaccine targets and parasite infection at ectopic sites is common, we propose that infections at different sites, may respond differently to free radical scavenger based vaccines.

  8. Bi-induced band gap reduction in epitaxial InSbBi alloys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rajpalke, M. K.; Linhart, W. M.; Birkett, M.; Alaria, J.; Veal, T. D., E-mail: T.Veal@liverpool.ac.uk [Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy and Department of Physics, School of Physical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZF (United Kingdom); Yu, K. M. [Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Bomphrey, J. J.; Jones, T. S.; Ashwin, M. J., E-mail: M.J.Ashwin@warwick.ac.uk [Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Sallis, S.; Piper, L. F. J. [Materials Science and Engineering, Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York 13902 (United States)

    2014-11-24

    The properties of molecular beam epitaxy-grown InSb{sub 1−x}Bi{sub x} alloys are investigated. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry shows that the Bi content increases from 0.6% for growth at 350 °C to 2.4% at 200 °C. X-ray diffraction indicates Bi-induced lattice dilation and suggests a zinc-blende InBi lattice parameter of 6.626 Å. Scanning electron microscopy reveals surface InSbBi nanostructures on the InSbBi films for the lowest growth temperatures, Bi droplets at intermediate temperatures, and smooth surfaces for the highest temperature. The room temperature optical absorption edge was found to change from 172 meV (7.2 μm) for InSb to ∼88 meV (14.1 μm) for InSb{sub 0.976}Bi{sub 0.024}, a reduction of ∼35 meV/%Bi.

  9. Spatial complexity of carcass location influences vertebrate scavenger efficiency and species composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Joshua B; Laatsch, Lauren J; Beasley, James C

    2017-08-31

    Scavenging plays an important role in shaping communities through inter- and intra-specific interactions. Although vertebrate scavenger efficiency and species composition is likely influenced by the spatial complexity of environments, heterogeneity in carrion distribution has largely been disregarded in scavenging studies. We tested this hypothesis by experimentally placing juvenile bird carcasses on the ground and in nests in trees to simulate scenarios of nestling bird carrion availability. We used cameras to record scavengers removing carcasses and elapsed time to removal. Carrion placed on the ground was scavenged by a greater diversity of vertebrates and at > 2 times the rate of arboreal carcasses, suggesting arboreal carrion may represent an important resource to invertebrate scavengers, particularly in landscapes with efficient vertebrate scavenging communities. Nonetheless, six vertebrate species scavenged arboreal carcasses. Rat snakes (Elaphe obsolete), which exclusively scavenged from trees, and turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) were the primary scavengers of arboreal carrion, suggesting such resources are potentially an important pathway of nutrient acquisition for some volant and scansorial vertebrates. Our results highlight the intricacy of carrion-derived food web linkages, and how consideration of spatial complexity in carcass distribution (i.e., arboreal) may reveal important pathways of nutrient acquisition by invertebrate and vertebrate scavenging guilds.

  10. Dispersion interactions between neighboring Bi atoms in (BiH3 )2 and Te(BiR2 )2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haack, Rebekka; Schulz, Stephan; Jansen, Georg

    2018-03-13

    Triggered by the observation of a short Bi⋯Bi distance and a BiTeBi bond angle of only 86.6° in the crystal structure of bis(diethylbismuthanyl)tellurane quantum chemical computations on interactions between neighboring Bi atoms in Te(BiR 2 ) 2 molecules (R = H, Me, Et) and in (BiH 3 ) 2 were undertaken. Bi⋯Bi distances atoms were found to significantly shorten upon inclusion of the d shells of the heavy metal atoms into the electron correlation treatment, and it was confirmed that interaction energies from spin component-scaled second-order Møller-Plesset theory (SCS-MP2) agree well with coupled-cluster singles and doubles theory including perturbative triples (CCSD(T)). Density functional theory-based symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (DFT-SAPT) was used to study the anisotropy of the interplay of dispersion attraction and steric repulsion between the Bi atoms. Finally, geometries and relative stabilities of syn-syn and syn-anti conformers of Te(BiR 2 ) 2 (R = H, Me, Et) and interconversion barriers between them were computed. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Free Radical Scavenging Activities of Methanol Extract and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Michael Horsfall

    fractions were subjected to in vitro antioxidant evaluation using the DPPH free radical scavenging ... The crude extract has IC-50 value for radical scavenging activity of 5μg/mL which was .... effective concentration of the sample that is required.

  12. Experimental Treatment of Bladder Cancer with Bi-213-anti-EGFR MAb

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seidl, Christof; Pfost, Birgit; Müller, Felix

    2013-01-01

    Therapy of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (carcinoma in situ) comprises transurethral resection of the tumour and subsequent instillation of the chemotherapeutic drug mitomycin C in order to eradicate remaining tumour cells. Yet 15 – 40% of treated patients relapse within 5 years. Therefore, new therapeutic strategies to combat tumour recurrence are needed. Alpha-particle emitting radionuclides efficiently kill single tumour cells or small tumour cell clusters. Because the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is overexpressed on bladder cancer cells, conjugates composed of the alpha-emitter Bi-213 and the anti-EGFR antibody matuzumab should provide a powerful drug to eliminate disseminated bladder cancer cells. Therefore, the aims of our study were (i) to analyse the cytotoxic effects of Bi-213-anti-EGFR radioimmunoconjugates at the cellular level, (ii) to evaluate therapeutic efficacy of intravesically applied Bi-213- anti-EGFR-Mab in a nude mouse model with intravesical human bladder cancer xenografts, (iii) to compare Bi- 213-anti-EGFR-Mab efficacy with chemotherapy using mitomycin C and (iv) to demonstrate that radioimmunotherapy is not toxic to cells of the bladder wall and of the kidneys

  13. Free radical scavenging injectable hydrogels for regenerative therapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Komeri, Remya [Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Polymer Science Division, BMT Wing, Thiruvananthapuram 695 012, Kerala State (India); Thankam, Finosh Gnanaprakasam [Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha NE68178 (United States); Muthu, Jayabalan, E-mail: mjayabalan52@gmail.com [Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Polymer Science Division, BMT Wing, Thiruvananthapuram 695 012, Kerala State (India)

    2017-02-01

    Pathological free radicals generated from inflamed and infarcted cardiac tissues interferes natural tissue repair mechanisms. Hypoxic microenvironment at the injured zone of non-regenerating cardiac tissues hinders the therapeutic attempts including cell therapy. Here we report an injectable, cytocompatible, free radical scavenging synthetic hydrogel formulation for regenerative therapy. New hydrogel (PEAX-P) is prepared with D-xylitol-co-fumarate-co-poly ethylene adipate-co-PEG comaromer (PEAX) and PEGDiacrylate. PEAX-P hydrogel swells 4.9 times the initial weight and retains 100.07 kPa Young modulus at equilibrium swelling, which is suitable for cardiac applications. PEAX-P hydrogel retains elastic nature even at 60% compressive strain, which is favorable to fit with the dynamic and elastic natural tissue counterparts. PEAX-P hydrogel scavenges 51% DPPH radical, 40% hydroxyl radicals 41% nitrate radicals with 31% reducing power. The presence of hydrogel protects 62% cardiomyoblast cells treated with stress inducing media at LD 50 concentration. The free hydroxyl groups in sugar alcohols of the comacromer influence the free radical scavenging. Comparatively, PEAX-P hydrogel based on xylitol evinces slightly lower scavenging characteristics than with previously reported PEAM-P hydrogel containing mannitol having more hydroxyl groups. The possible free radical scavenging mechanism of the present hydrogel relies on the free π electrons associated with uncrosslinked fumarate bonds, hydrogen atoms associated with sugar alcohols/PEG and radical dilution by free water in the matrix. Briefly, the present PEAX-P hydrogel is a potential injectable system for combined antioxidant and regenerative therapy. - Graphical abstract: Injectable hydrogel with inherent free radical scavenging property for regenerative tissue engineering application. - Highlights: • Novel injectable hydrogel (PEAX-P) is prepared using D-xylitol-co-fumarate-co-poly ethylene adipate-co-PEG comaromer

  14. Free radical scavenging injectable hydrogels for regenerative therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Komeri, Remya; Thankam, Finosh Gnanaprakasam; Muthu, Jayabalan

    2017-01-01

    Pathological free radicals generated from inflamed and infarcted cardiac tissues interferes natural tissue repair mechanisms. Hypoxic microenvironment at the injured zone of non-regenerating cardiac tissues hinders the therapeutic attempts including cell therapy. Here we report an injectable, cytocompatible, free radical scavenging synthetic hydrogel formulation for regenerative therapy. New hydrogel (PEAX-P) is prepared with D-xylitol-co-fumarate-co-poly ethylene adipate-co-PEG comaromer (PEAX) and PEGDiacrylate. PEAX-P hydrogel swells 4.9 times the initial weight and retains 100.07 kPa Young modulus at equilibrium swelling, which is suitable for cardiac applications. PEAX-P hydrogel retains elastic nature even at 60% compressive strain, which is favorable to fit with the dynamic and elastic natural tissue counterparts. PEAX-P hydrogel scavenges 51% DPPH radical, 40% hydroxyl radicals 41% nitrate radicals with 31% reducing power. The presence of hydrogel protects 62% cardiomyoblast cells treated with stress inducing media at LD 50 concentration. The free hydroxyl groups in sugar alcohols of the comacromer influence the free radical scavenging. Comparatively, PEAX-P hydrogel based on xylitol evinces slightly lower scavenging characteristics than with previously reported PEAM-P hydrogel containing mannitol having more hydroxyl groups. The possible free radical scavenging mechanism of the present hydrogel relies on the free π electrons associated with uncrosslinked fumarate bonds, hydrogen atoms associated with sugar alcohols/PEG and radical dilution by free water in the matrix. Briefly, the present PEAX-P hydrogel is a potential injectable system for combined antioxidant and regenerative therapy. - Graphical abstract: Injectable hydrogel with inherent free radical scavenging property for regenerative tissue engineering application. - Highlights: • Novel injectable hydrogel (PEAX-P) is prepared using D-xylitol-co-fumarate-co-poly ethylene adipate-co-PEG comaromer

  15. An illicit economy: scavenging and recycling of medical waste.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patwary, Masum A; O'Hare, William Thomas; Sarker, M H

    2011-11-01

    This paper discusses a significant illicit economy, including black and grey aspects, associated with medical waste scavenging and recycling in a megacity, considering hazards to the specific group involved in scavenging as well as hazards to the general population of city dwellers. Data were collected in Dhaka, Bangladesh, using a variety of techniques based on formal representative sampling for fixed populations (such as recycling operatives) and adaptive sampling for roaming populations (such as scavengers). Extremely hazardous items (including date expired medicines, used syringes, knives, blades and saline bags) were scavenged, repackaged and resold to the community. Some HCE employees were also observed to sell hazardous items directly to scavengers, and both employees and scavengers were observed to supply contaminated items to an informal plastics recycling industry. This trade was made possible by the absence of segregation, secure storage and proper disposal of medical waste. Corruption, a lack of accountability and individual responsibility were also found to be contributors. In most cases the individuals involved with these activities did not understand the risks. Although motivation was often for personal gain or in support of substance abuse, participants sometimes felt that they were providing a useful service to the community. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Facile synthesis of Bi/BiOCl composite with selective photocatalytic properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Dongling; Zhang, Min; Lu, Qiuju; Chen, Junfang; Liu, Bitao; Wang, Zhaofeng

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a novel and facile method to fabricate Bi/BiOCl composites with dominant (001) facets in situ via a microwave reduction route. Different characterization techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission scanning electron microscopy (TEM), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectrometry (DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR), cathodoluminescence spectrum (CL), and lifetime, have been employed to investigate the structure, optical and electrical properties of the Bi/BiOCl composites. The experimental results show that the introduction of Bi particles can efficiently enhance the photocatalytic performance of BiOCl for the degradation of several dyes under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation, especially for negative charged methyl orange (MO). Unlike the UV photocatalytic performance, such Bi/BiOCl composite shows higher degradation efficiency towards rhodamine B (RhB) than MO and methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. This special photocatalytic performance can be ascribed to the synergistic effect between oxygen vacancies and Bi particles. This work provides new insights about the photodegradation mechanisms of MO, MB and RhB under UV and visible light irradiation, which would be helpful to guide the selection of an appropriate catalyst for other pollutants. - Highlights: • Bi/BiOCl composites were synthesized via a microwave reduction. • Tunable selectivity photocatalytic activity can be achieved. • Photodegradation mechanism under UV and visible light were proposed

  17. Bismuth-boron multiple bonding in BiB_2O"- and Bi_2B"-

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jian, Tian; Cheung, Ling Fung; Chen, Teng-Teng; Wang, Lai-Sheng

    2017-01-01

    Despite its electron deficiency, boron is versatile in forming multiple bonds. Transition-metal-boron double bonding is known, but boron-metal triple bonds have been elusive. Two bismuth boron cluster anions, BiB_2O"- and Bi_2B"-, containing triple and double B-Bi bonds are presented. The BiB_2O"- and Bi_2B"- clusters are produced by laser vaporization of a mixed B/Bi target and characterized by photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. Well-resolved photoelectron spectra are obtained and interpreted with the help of ab initio calculations, which show that both species are linear. Chemical bonding analyses reveal that Bi forms triple and double bonds with boron in BiB_2O"- ([Bi≡B-B≡O]"-) and Bi_2B"- ([Bi=B=Bi]"-), respectively. The Bi-B double and triple bond strengths are calculated to be 3.21 and 4.70 eV, respectively. This is the first experimental observation of Bi-B double and triple bonds, opening the door to design main-group metal-boron complexes with multiple bonding. (copyright 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  18. The modulation and reconstruction of a BiO layer of cuprate Bi2212

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fan Wei; Zeng, Z

    2011-01-01

    Studies based on ab initio density functional theory show that the modulated structures of BiO surfaces of cuprate Bi2212 superconductors are spontaneously formed and closely related to the reconstructions of BiO surfaces. The reconstructions of BiO layers occur both on the surface and in the bulk, accompanied with the formations of BiO-zigzag chains and Bi 2 O 2 quadrilaterals. The structural modulations of the BiO surface are along the b axis, perpendicular to the BiO-zigzag chains along the a axis. Our calculations provide a unified understanding of the formation of modulating structures in Bi2212. Another interesting result is that electronic structures of BiO surfaces are significantly influenced by the CuO 2 layer beneath because of the structural modulations and reconstructions.

  19. Novel Bi/BiOBr/AgBr composite microspheres: Ion exchange synthesis and photocatalytic performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyu, Jianchang; Li, Zhenlu; Ge, Ming

    2018-06-01

    Novel Bi/BiOBr/AgBr composite microspheres were prepared by a rational in situ ion exchange reaction between Bi/BiOBr microspheres and AgNO3. The characteristic of the as-obtained ternary microspheres was tested by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS) and photoluminescence (PL). Under visible light irradiation, Bi/BiOBr/AgBr microspheres exhibited an excellent photocatalytic efficiency for rhodamine B (RhB) degradation, which was about 1.4 and 4.9 times as high as that of Bi/BiOBr and BiOBr/AgBr, demonstrating that the highest separation efficiency of charge carriers in the heterostructured Bi/BiOBr/AgBr. The photocatalytic activity of Bi/BiOBr/AgBr microspheres just exhibited a slight decrease after three consecutive cycles. The photocatalytic mechanism investigation confirmed that the superoxide radicals (O2•-) were the dominant reactive oxygen species for RhB degradation in Bi/BiOBr/AgBr suspension.

  20. Effects of vulture exclusion on carrion consumption by facultative scavengers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Jacob E; DeVault, Travis L; Beasley, James C; Rhodes, Olin E; Belant, Jerrold L

    2018-03-01

    Vultures provide an essential ecosystem service through removal of carrion, but globally, many populations are collapsing and several species are threatened with extinction. Widespread declines in vulture populations could increase the availability of carrion to other organisms, but the ways facultative scavengers might respond to this increase have not been thoroughly explored. We aimed to determine whether facultative scavengers increase carrion consumption in the absence of vulture competition and whether they are capable of functionally replacing vultures in the removal of carrion biomass from the landscape. We experimentally excluded 65 rabbit carcasses from vultures during daylight hours and placed an additional 65 carcasses that were accessible to vultures in forested habitat in South Carolina, USA during summer (June-August). We used motion-activated cameras to compare carrion use by facultative scavenging species between the experimental and control carcasses. Scavenging by facultative scavengers did not increase in the absence of competition with vultures. We found no difference in scavenger presence between control carcasses and those from which vultures were excluded. Eighty percent of carcasses from which vultures were excluded were not scavenged by vertebrates, compared to 5% of carcasses that were accessible to vultures. At the end of the 7-day trials, there was a 10.1-fold increase in the number of experimental carcasses that were not fully scavenged compared to controls. Facultative scavengers did not functionally replace vultures during summer in our study. This finding may have been influenced by the time of the year in which the study took place, the duration of the trials, and the spacing of carcass sites. Our results suggest that under the warm and humid conditions of our study, facultative scavengers would not compensate for loss of vultures. Carcasses would persist longer in the environment and consumption of carrion would likely shift from

  1. Photocatalytic activity of Bi_2WO_6/Bi_2S_3 heterojunctions: the facilitation of exposed facets of Bi_2WO_6 substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan, Long; Wang, Yufei; Shen, Huidong; Zhang, Yu; Li, Jian; Wang, Danjun

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Bi_2S_3/Bi_2WO_6 hybrids with exposed (020) Bi_2WO_6 facets have been synthesized. • X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that a small amount of Bi_2S_3 was formed. • The enhanced photoactivity of hybrids is due to heterojunction and (020) facets. • A possible photocatalytic degradation mechanism is proposed. - Abstract: Bi_2S_3/Bi_2WO_6 hybrid architectures with exposed (020) Bi_2WO_6 facets have been synthesized via a controlled anion exchange approach. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) reveals that a small amount of Bi_2S_3 was formed on the surface of Bi_2WO_6 during the anion exchange process, thus leading to the transformation from the Bi_2WO_6 to Bi_2S_3/Bi_2WO_6. A rhodamine B (RhB) aqueous solution was chosen as model organic pollutants to evaluate the photocatalytic activities of the Bi_2S_3/Bi_2WO_6 catalysts. Under visible light irradiation, the Bi_2S_3/Bi_2WO_6-TAA displayed the excellent visible light photoactivities compared with pure Bi_2S_3, Bi_2WO_6 and other composite photocatalysts. The efficient photocatalytic activity of the Bi_2S_3/Bi_2WO_6-TAA composite microspheres was ascribed to the constructed heterojunctions and the inner electric field caused by the exposed (020) Bi_2WO_6 facets. Active species trapping experiments revealed that h"+ and O_2·"− are the main active species in the photocatalytic process. Furthermore, the as-obtained photocatalysts showed good photocatalytic activity after four recycles. The results presented in this study provide a new concept for the rational design and development of highly efficient photocatalysts.

  2. Inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome attenuates foam cell formation of THP-1 macrophages by suppressing ox-LDL uptake and promoting cholesterol efflux.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Liang; Yao, Qiying; Xu, Siwei; Wang, Hongyan; Qu, Peng

    2018-01-01

    The NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis. The activated NLRP3 inflammasome has been reported to promote macrophage foam cell formation, but not all studies have obtained the same result, and how NLRP3 inflammasome is involved in the formation of foam cells remains elusive. We used selective NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors and NLRP3-deficient THP-1 cells to assess the effect of NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition on macrophage foam cell formation, oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) uptake, esterification, and cholesterol efflux, as well as the expression of associated proteins. Inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome attenuated foam cell formation, diminished ox-LDL uptake, and promoted cholesterol efflux from THP-1 macrophages. Moreover, it downregulated CD36, acyl coenzyme A: cholesterol acyltransferase-1 and neutral cholesterol ester hydrolase expression; upregulated ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) and scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) expression; but had no effect on the expression of scavenger receptor class A and ATP-binding cassette transporter G1. Collectively, our findings show that inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome decreases foam cell formation of THP-1 macrophages via suppression of ox-LDL uptake and enhancement of cholesterol efflux, which may be due to downregulation of CD36 expression and upregulation of ABCA1 and SR-BI expression, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Heterojunction BiOI/Bi2MoO6 nanocomposite with much enhanced photocatalytic activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Wen Ting; Zheng, Yi Fan; Yin, Hao Yong; Song, Xu Chun

    2015-01-01

    BiOI/Bi 2 MoO 6 heterostructures with different amounts of BiOI were successfully prepared via a facile deposition method. The obtained BiOI/Bi 2 MoO 6 photocatalysts exhibited much higher visible light (λ > 420 nm) induced photocatalytic activity compared with single Bi 2 MoO 6 and BiOI photocatalysts. 20 % BiOI/Bi 2 MoO 6 nanocomposite exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity with almost all RhB decomposed within 70 min. However, excess BiOI covering on the surface of Bi 2 MoO 6 can inversely reduce the photocatalytic activity. The enhanced photocatalytic activities could be resulted from the function of the novel p–n heterojunction interface between Bi 2 MoO 6 and BiOI, which could separate photoinduced carriers efficiently. Possible mechanisms on the basis of the relative band positions were also discussed

  4. Multiferroic BiFeO3-BiMnO3 Nanocheckerboard From First Principles

    OpenAIRE

    Palova, L.; Chandra, P.; Rabe, K. M.

    2010-01-01

    We present a first principles study of an unusual heterostructure, an atomic-scale checkerboard of BiFeO3-BiMnO3, and compare its properties to the two bulk constituent materials, BiFeO3 and BiMnO3. The "nanocheckerboard" is found to have a multiferroic ground state with the desired properties of each constituent: polar and ferrimagnetic due to BiFeO3 and BiMnO3, respectively. The effect of B-site cation ordering on magnetic ordering in the BiFeO3-BiMnO3 system is studied. The checkerboard ge...

  5. Characterization and DPPH Radical Scavenging Activity of Gallic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Characterization and DPPH Radical Scavenging Activity of Gallic Acid-Lecithin Complex. C Liu, C Chen, H Ma, E Yuan, Q Li. Abstract. Purpose: To investigate the physicochemical properties and DPPH radical scavenging activity of gallic acid–lecithin complex. Methods: The complex of gallic acid with lecithin was prepared ...

  6. Radical scavenging propensity of Cu2 +, Fe3 + complexes of flavonoids and in-vivo radical scavenging by Fe3 +-primuletin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jabeen, Erum; Janjua, Naveed Kausar; Ahmed, Safeer; Murtaza, Iram; Ali, Tahir; Hameed, Shahid

    2017-01-01

    Cu2 + and Fe3 + complexes of three flavonoids (morin or mo, quercetin or quer and primuletin or prim) were synthesized with the objective of improving antioxidant capacities of flavonoids. The radical scavenging activities of pure flavonoids and their metal complexes were assayed to monitor their tendencies towards sequestering of radicals at physiological conditions. The scavenger potencies of metal-flavonoid complexes were significantly higher than those of the parent flavonoids. Further, influence of the solvent polarity on the radical capturing by flavonoids and their metal complexes was in favor for the polar solvent. Fe3 +-prim displayed its radical scavenging ability via up gradation of CAT and SOD activities in in-vivo antioxidant assays.

  7. Integrated Analysis of the Scavenging Process in Marine Two-Stroke Diesel Engines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Fredrik Herland

    Large commercial ships such as container vessels and bulk carriers are propelledby low-speed, uniow scavenged two-stroke diesel engines. An integralin-cylinder process in this type of engine is the scavenging process, where the burned gases from the combustion process are evacuated through...... receiver fora two-stroke diesel engine. Time resolved boundary conditions corresponding to measurements obtained from an operating engine as well as realistic initial conditions are used in the simulations. The CFD model provides a detailed description of the in-cylinder ow from exhaust valve opening (EVO...... in the scavenge and exhaust receivers increase while the scavenge port exposure time, tscav, decrease. Further the scavenging pressure is varied while the engine speed is kept constant. From the perspective of the scavenging process this will resemble a load sweep following a generator curve. The scavenge port...

  8. Free Radical Scavenging and Cellular Antioxidant Properties of Astaxanthin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dose, Janina; Matsugo, Seiichi; Yokokawa, Haruka; Koshida, Yutaro; Okazaki, Shigetoshi; Seidel, Ulrike; Eggersdorfer, Manfred; Rimbach, Gerald; Esatbeyoglu, Tuba

    2016-01-14

    Astaxanthin is a coloring agent which is used as a feed additive in aquaculture nutrition. Recently, potential health benefits of astaxanthin have been discussed which may be partly related to its free radical scavenging and antioxidant properties. Our electron spin resonance (ESR) and spin trapping data suggest that synthetic astaxanthin is a potent free radical scavenger in terms of diphenylpicryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and galvinoxyl free radicals. Furthermore, astaxanthin dose-dependently quenched singlet oxygen as determined by photon counting. In addition to free radical scavenging and singlet oxygen quenching properties, astaxanthin induced the antioxidant enzyme paroxoanase-1, enhanced glutathione concentrations and prevented lipid peroxidation in cultured hepatocytes. Present results suggest that, beyond its coloring properties, synthetic astaxanthin exhibits free radical scavenging, singlet oxygen quenching, and antioxidant activities which could probably positively affect animal and human health.

  9. In-situ synthesis of nanofibers with various ratios of BiOCl{sub x}/BiOBr{sub y}/BiOI{sub z} for effective trichloroethylene photocatalytic degradation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Yifan [Department of Chemistry, Inha University, 100 Inharo, Incheon 402-751 (Korea, Republic of); Park, Mira [Department of Organic Materials and Fiber Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Hak Yong [Department of BIN Convergence Technology, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, 561-756 (Korea, Republic of); Ding, Bin [College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620 (China); Park, Soo-Jin, E-mail: sjpark@inha.ac.kr [Department of Chemistry, Inha University, 100 Inharo, Incheon 402-751 (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-30

    Highlights: • BiOCl{sub x}/BiOBr{sub y}/BiOI{sub z}/PAN fibers were synthesized by in-situ method. • Photodegradation behavior of BiOCl{sub x}/BiOBr{sub y}/BiOI{sub z}/PAN fibers was measured under solar light irradiation. • BiOCl{sub 0.3}/BiOBr{sub 0.3}/BiOI{sub 0.4}/PAN fibers exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity. • Photocatalytic mechanism was discussed in detail. - Abstract: In this work, BiOCl{sub x}/BiOBr{sub y}/BiOI{sub z} (x + y + z = 1) composite nanofibers were prepared through electrospinning and the sol-gel methods. Photocatalytic degradation of trichloroethylene (TCE) by BiOCl{sub x}/BiOBr{sub y}/BiOI{sub z}/PAN nanofibers was systematically investigated via gas chromatography (GC). Optimum photocatalytic activity was achieved with BiOCl{sub 0.3}/BiOBr{sub 0.3}/BiOI{sub 0.4} fibers under solar light irradiation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) peaks due to C−O and C=O were observed at 286.0 and 288.3 eV, respectively, it indicated that the BiOCl{sub x}/BiOBr{sub y}/BiOI{sub z} mixture had been successfully doped on the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction (XRD) results also confirmed that we had synthesized the as-prepared composite nanofibers successfully. Photocatalytic activities of BiOCl{sub 0.3}/BiOBr{sub 0.3}/BiOI{sub 0.4} were up to 3 times higher than the pure BiOCl, BiOBr and BiOI samples, respectively.

  10. Radical Scavenging Efficacy of Thiol Capped Silver Nanoparticles

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    aSchool of Studies in Chemistry, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur 492 010, India. bDepartment of ... of nanosilver in foods, health care and consumer products as antimi- ... of the radical scavenging behavior of thiolated antiox- idants (alone) and ..... case of GSH@AgNPs; DPPH scavenging activity was found to be ...

  11. Facile Fabrication of BiOI/BiOCl Immobilized Films With Improved Visible Light Photocatalytic Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yingxian Zhong

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available HIGHLIGHTSA facial method was used to fabricate BiOI/BiOCl film at room temperature.30% BiOI/BiOCl showed an excellent photocatalytic activity and stability.Improvement of photocatalytic activity was owed to expanded visible light absorption and high separation efficiency of charge.Photocatalysis has been considered to be one of the most promising ways to photodegrade organic pollutants. Herein, a series of BiOI/BiOCl films coating on FTO were fabricated through a simple method at room temperature. The photocatalytic efficiency of 30%BiOI/BiOCl could reach more than 99% aiming to degrading RhB and MB after 90 and 120 min, respectively. Compared with BiOCl, 30%BiOI/BiOCl showed 12 times higher efficiency when degrading RhB. In comparison with BiOI, 30%BiOI/BiOCl showed 5 and 6 times higher efficiency when degrading RhB and MB, respectively. These obvious enhancements were attributed to expanded visible light absorption and high separation performance of photoinduced charge. Moreover, the photocatalytic activity of 30%BiOI/BiOCl had no obvious decrease after five recycles, suggesting that it was a promising photocatalyst for the removal of MB and RhB pollutants. Finally, the possible growth process for the BiOI/BiOCl thin films and photocatalysis mechanism were investigated in details. This work would provide insight to the reasonable construction of BiOX heterojunction and the photocatalytic mechanism in degrading organic pollutants.

  12. The macrophage scavenger receptor CD163 functions as an innate immune sensor for bacteria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fabriek, B.O.; van Bruggen, R.; Deng, D.M.; Ligtenberg, A.J.M.; Nazmi, K.; Schornagel, K.; Vloet, R.P.M.; Dijkstra, C.D.; van den Berg, T.K.

    2009-01-01

    The plasma membrane glycoprotein re- ceptor CD163 is a member of the scaven- ger receptor cystein-rich (SRCR) super- family class B that is highly expressed on resident tissue macrophages in vivo. Pre- viously, the molecule has been shown to act as a receptor for hemoglobin- haptoglobin complexes

  13. Influence of photoinduced Bi-related self-doping on the photocatalytic activity of BiOBr nanosheets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Dan [School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR (China); Yue, Songtao; Wang, Wei [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074 (China); An, Tiacheng, E-mail: antc99@gig.ac.cn [Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Li, Guiying [Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Ye, Liqun [School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR (China); College of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061 (China); Yip, Ho Yin [School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR (China); Wong, Po Keung, E-mail: pkwong@cuhk.edu.hk [School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR (China)

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Bi{sup 5+} self-doped BiOBr nanosheets are achieved under UV irradiation. • Bi{sup 5+} is formed due to the oxidation of surface Bi{sup 3+} by photoexcited h{sup +} of BiOBr. • Two photoinduced h{sup +} mediated oxidation processes happen simultaneously. • Self-doped BiOBr is superior in phenol degradation and bacterial inactivation. • Bi{sup 5+} electron trapping induced photocatalytic enhancement mechanism is proposed. - Abstract: Under UV irradiation, self-doped Bi{sup 5+} is evidenced to be generated on the surface of BiOBr nanosheets, but with well-preserved crystal structure and morphology compared with pure counterpart. Bi{sup 5+} self-doping BiOBr (BiOBr-4) exhibits distinct photocatalytic mode for dyes degradation, as compared with pure BiOBr nanosheets. These photodegradation distinctions are mainly due to the simultaneous occurrence of two photoinduced hole (h{sup +}) mediated oxidation processes on the BiOBr surfaces: (1) a portion of photoexcited h{sup +} participates in the photocatalytic oxidation of dyes, and (2) partial h{sup +} involves the oxidation of Bi{sup 3+} to Bi{sup 5+}. Notably, BiOBr-4 nanosheets comparatively show superior photocatalytic activity for the phenol decomposition as well as the bacterial inactivation. Besides Bi{sup 5+} induced narrowed bandgap and enhanced light adsorption capacity, significantly, the oxidative Bi{sup 5+} acts as electron traps to promote the photoexcited electron-hole separation and accelerate h{sup +} migration, resulting in the considerable photocatalytic enhancement of BiOBr-4 nanosheets. These novel findings will not only give new insights into the photocatalytic mechanism but also explore new route to enhance photocatalytic performance of Bi-based materials.

  14. Multiple free-radical scavenging (MULTIS) capacity in cattle serum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sueishi, Yoshimi; Kamogawa, Erisa; Kimura, Anna; Kitahara, Go; Satoh, Hiroyuki; Asanuma, Taketoshi; Oowada, Shigeru

    2017-01-01

    Multiple free-radical scavenging (MULTIS) activity in cattle and human sera was evaluated with electron spin resonance spectroscopy. Scavenging rates against six active species, namely hydroxyl radical, superoxide anion, alkoxyl radical, alkylperoxyl radical, methyl radical, and singlet oxygen were quantified. The difference in the electron spin resonance signal intensity in the presence and absence of the serum was converted into the scavenging rates. Comparative MULTIS measurements were made in sera from eight beef cattle, three fetal calves and fifteen healthy human volunteers. Further, we determined the MULTIS value of albumin, the most abundant component in serum. MULTIS values in cattle sera indicated higher scavenging activity against most free radical species tested than human sera. In particular, cattle serum scavenging activities against superoxide and methyl radical were higher than human serum by 2.6 and 3.7 fold, respectively. In cattle serum, albumin appears to play a dominant role in MULTIS activity, but in human serum that is not the case. Previous data indicated that the abundance of uric acid in bovine blood is nearly 80% less than humans; however, this difference does not explain the deviation in MULTIS profile.

  15. Bi3+–Pr3+ energy transfer processes and luminescent properties of LuAG:Bi,Pr and YAG:Bi,Pr single crystalline films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zorenko, Y.; Gorbenko, V.; Savchyn, V.; Zorenko, T.; Nikl, M.; Mares, J.A.; Beitlerova, A.; Jary, V.

    2013-01-01

    Absorption, cathodoluminescence, excitation spectra of photoluminescence (PL) and PL decay kinetics were studied at 300 K for the double doped with Bi 3+ –Pr 3+ and separately doped with Bi 3+ and Pr 3+ Lu 3 Al 5 O 12 (LuAG) and Y 3 Al 5 O 12 (YAG) single crystalline film (SCF) phosphors grown by the liquid phase epitaxy method. The emission bands in the UV range arising from the intrinsic radiative transitions of Bi 3+ based centers, and emission bands in the visible range, related to the luminescence of excitons localized around Bi 3+ based centers, were identified both in Bi–Pr and Bi-doped LuAG and YAG SCFs. The energy transfer processes from the host lattice simultaneously to Bi 3+ and Pr 3+ ions and from Bi 3+ to Pr 3+ ions were investigated. Competition between Pr 3+ and Bi 3+ ions in the energy transfer processes from the LuAG and YAG hosts was evidenced. The strong decrease of the intensity of Pr 3+ luminescence both in LuAG:Pr and YAG:Pr SCFs phosphors, grown from Bi 2 O 3 flux, is observed due to the quenching influence of Bi 3+ flux related impurity. Due to overlap of the UV emission band of Bi 3+ centers with the f–d absorption bands of Pr 3+ ions in the UV range and the luminescence of excitons localized around Bi ions with the f–f absorption bands of Pr 3+ ions in the visible range, an effective energy transfer from Bi 3+ ions to Pr 3+ ions takes place in LuAG:Bi,Pr and YAG:Bi,Pr SCFs, resulting in the appearance of slower component in the decay kinetics of the Pr 3+ d–f luminescence. -- Highlights: • Bi and Pr doped film phosphor grown by liquid phase epitaxy method. • Energy transfer from Bi 3+ to Pr 3+ ions. • Strong quenching of the Pr 3+ luminescence by Bi 3+ co-dopant

  16. Facile Fabrication of BiOI/BiOCl Immobilized Films with Improved Visible Light Photocatalytic Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Yingxian; Liu, Yuehua; Wu, Shuang; Zhu, Yi; Chen, Hongbin; Yu, Xiang; Zhang, Yuanming

    2018-03-01

    Photocatalysis has been considered to be one of the most promising ways to photodegrade organic pollutants. Herein, a series of BiOI/BiOCl films coating on FTO were fabricated through a simple method at room temperature. The photocatalytic efficiency of 30%BiOI/BiOCl could reach more than 99% aiming to degrading RhB and MB after 90 and 120 min, respectively. Compared with BiOCl, 30%BiOI/BiOCl showed 12 times higher efficiency when degrading RhB. In comparison with BiOI, 30%BiOI/BiOCl showed 5 and 6 times higher efficiency when degrading RhB and MB, respectively. These obvious enhancements were attributed to expanded visible light absorption and high separation performance of photoinduced charge. Moreover, the photocatalytic activity of 30%BiOI/BiOCl had no obvious decrease after 5 recycles, suggesting that it was a promising photocatalyst for the removal of MB and RhB pollutants. Finally, the possible growth process for the BiOI/BiOCl thin films and photocatalysis mechanism were investigated in details. This work would provide insight to the reasonable construction of BiOX heterojunction and the photocatalytic mechanism in degrading organic pollutants.

  17. Synthesis and Free Radical Scavenging Activity of New Hydroxybenzylidene Hydrazines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sersen, Frantisek; Gregan, Fridrich; Kotora, Peter; Kmetova, Jarmila; Filo, Juraj; Loos, Dusan; Gregan, Juraj

    2017-05-29

    Hydroxybenzylidene hydrazines exhibit a wide spectrum of biological activities. Here, we report synthesis and free radical scavenging activity of nine new N-(hydroxybenzylidene)-N'-[2,6-dinitro-4-(trifluoromethyl)]phenylhydrazines. The chemical structures of these compounds were confirmed by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, 19F-NMR, IR spectroscopy, LC-MS, and elemental analysis. The prepared compounds were tested for their activity to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), galvinoxyl radical (GOR), and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) radicals. The free radical scavenging activity expressed as SC50 values of these compounds varied in a wide range, from a strong to no radical scavenging effect. The most effective radical scavengers were hydroxybenzylidene hydrazines containing three hydroxyl groups in the benzylidene part of their molecules. The prepared compounds were also tested for their activity to inhibit photosynthetic electron transport in spinach chloroplasts. IC50 values of these compounds varied in wide range, from an intermediate to no inhibitory effect.

  18. Chlordecone altered hepatic disposition of [14C]cholesterol and plasma cholesterol distribution but not SR-BI or ABCG8 proteins in livers of C57BL/6 mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Junga; Scheri, Richard C.; Curtis, Lawrence R.

    2008-01-01

    Organochlorine (OC) insecticides continue to occur in tissues of humans and wildlife throughout the world although they were banned in the United States a few decades ago. Low doses of the OC insecticide chlordecone (CD) alter hepatic disposition of lipophilic xenobiotics and perturb lipid homeostasis in rainbow trout, mice and rats. CD pretreatment altered tissue and hepatic subcellular distribution of exogenous [ 14 C]cholesterol (CH) equivalents 4 and 16 h after a bolus intraperitoneal (ip) injection of 5 ml corn oil/kg that contained 10 mg CH/kg. CD pretreatment altered tissue distribution of exogenously administered [ 14 C]CH by decreased hepatic and renal accumulation, and increased biliary excretion up to 300%. Biliary excretion of polar [ 14 C]CH metabolites was not altered by CD. CD pretreatment decreased subcellular distribution of [ 14 C]CH equivalents in hepatic cytosol and microsomes and lipoprotein-rich fraction-to-homogenate ratio. CD pretreatment increased the ratio of [ 14 C]CH equivalents in high density lipoprotein (HDL) to that in plasma and reduced [ 14 C]CH equivalents in the non-HDL fraction 4 h after a bolus lipid dose. CD pretreatment increased plasma non-HDL total CH by 80% 4 h after a bolus lipid dose. Scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) and ATP-binding cassette transporter G8 (ABCG8) proteins were quantified by western blotting in hepatic membranes from control and CD treated mice. Liver membrane contents of SR-BI and ABCG8 proteins were unchanged by CD pretreatment. The data demonstrated that a single dose of CD altered CH homeostasis and lipoprotein metabolism

  19. Chlordecone altered hepatic disposition of [14C]cholesterol and plasma cholesterol distribution but not SR-BI or ABCG8 proteins in livers of C57BL/6 mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Junga; Scheri, Richard C; Curtis, Lawrence R

    2008-06-15

    Organochlorine (OC) insecticides continue to occur in tissues of humans and wildlife throughout the world although they were banned in the United States a few decades ago. Low doses of the OC insecticide chlordecone (CD) alter hepatic disposition of lipophilic xenobiotics and perturb lipid homeostasis in rainbow trout, mice and rats. CD pretreatment altered tissue and hepatic subcellular distribution of exogenous [(14)C]cholesterol (CH) equivalents 4 and 16 h after a bolus intraperitoneal (ip) injection of 5 ml corn oil/kg that contained 10 mg CH/kg. CD pretreatment altered tissue distribution of exogenously administered [(14)C]CH by decreased hepatic and renal accumulation, and increased biliary excretion up to 300%. Biliary excretion of polar [(14)C]CH metabolites was not altered by CD. CD pretreatment decreased subcellular distribution of [(14)C]CH equivalents in hepatic cytosol and microsomes and lipoprotein-rich fraction-to-homogenate ratio. CD pretreatment increased the ratio of [(14)C]CH equivalents in high density lipoprotein (HDL) to that in plasma and reduced [(14)C]CH equivalents in the non-HDL fraction 4 h after a bolus lipid dose. CD pretreatment increased plasma non-HDL total CH by 80% 4 h after a bolus lipid dose. Scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) and ATP-binding cassette transporter G8 (ABCG8) proteins were quantified by western blotting in hepatic membranes from control and CD treated mice. Liver membrane contents of SR-BI and ABCG8 proteins were unchanged by CD pretreatment. The data demonstrated that a single dose of CD altered CH homeostasis and lipoprotein metabolism.

  20. On the electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of BiTeBr and BiTeI single crystals and of BiTeI with the addition of BiI3 and CuI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kulbachinskii, Vladimir A.; Kytin, Vladimir G.; Kudryashov, Alexey A.; Kuznetsov, Alexei N.; Shevelkov, Andrei V.

    2012-01-01

    The electronic structures were calculated for BiTeBr and BiTeI using the density-functional theory approach and accounting for the strong spin–orbital interaction. Qualitatively, the band structures for two compounds are similar, showing strong mixing of the p states of all elements in vicinity of the Fermi level, with the band gaps of 0.595 and 0.478 eV for BiTeBr and BiTeI, respectively. The optimized crystal structures show a tendency for the Bi–X (X=Br, I) bond elongation compared to the Bi–Te one. Both compounds are intrinsic n-type semiconductors but display a metallic-like conductivity coupled to rather large thermopower, which is rationalized within the frames of the acoustic phonons scattering model. Because of larger thermopower BiTeBr exhibits a twice higher thermoelectric figure-of-merit near room temperature, ZT=0.17, compared to BiTeI. The addition of 1 mass% of BiI 3 or CuI to BiTeI decreases the mobility of electrons by two orders of magnitude, leading to significantly lower electrical conductivity, but at the same time effectively reduces the thermal conductivity. The prospects of further enhancing the thermoelectric efficiency are briefly discussed. - Graphical abstract: View of the crystal structure of BiTeBr is shown in the figure The optimized crystal structures show a tendency for the Bi–X (X=Br, I) bond elongation compared to the Bi–Te one. The electronic structures were calculated for BiTeBr and BiTeI using the density-functional theory approach and accounting for the strong spin–orbital interaction. Qualitatively, the band structures for two compounds are similar, showing strong mixing of the p states of all elements in vicinity of the Fermi level, with the band gaps of 0.595 and 0.478 eV for BiTeBr and BiTeI, respectively. Both compounds are intrinsic n-type semiconductors but display a metallic-like conductivity coupled to rather large thermopower, which is rationalized within the frames of the acoustic phonons scattering

  1. Bergenin Content and Free Radical Scavenging Activity of Bergenia Extracts. .

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hendrychová, Helena; Martin, Jan; Tůmová, Lenka; Kočevar-Glavač, Nina

    2015-07-01

    Our research was focused on the evaluation of bergenin content and free radical scavenging activity of extracts prepared from three different species of Bergenia - B. crassifolia (L.) Fritsch., B. ciliata (Haw.) Sternb. and B. x ornata Stein. collected during different seasons. Using an HPLC method, the highest total amount of bergenin was revealed in the leaves of B. x ornata and B. crassifolia (4.9 - 5.1 mg x g(-1)). Free radical scavenging power was determined by two methods--FRAP and NADH. The best free radical scavengers were B. crassifolia (FRAP: 6.7 - 15.9 mg GAE. 100g(-1); NADH: 20.3 - 50.9%) and B. ornata (FRAP: 13.7 - 15.2 mg GAE. 100g(-1); NADH: 29.3 - 31.1%). The lowest content of bergenin and the weakest radical scavenger was B. ciliata (bergenin: 3.1 mg x g(-1); FRAP: 5.5 - 11.0 mg GAE.100g(-1); NADH: 23.2 - 25.6%). The presence of a large percentage of bergenin is responsible for the radical scavenging activity, as shown by the results from the FRAP and NADH assays. Significant, positive correlation was found between bergenin content and radical scavenging activity in both methods.

  2. Identification of Radical Scavengers in Sweet Grass (Hierochloe odorata)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pukalskas, A.; Beek, van T.A.; Venskutonis, R.P.; Linssen, J.P.H.; Veldhuizen, van A.; Groot, de Æ.

    2002-01-01

    Extracts from aerial parts of sweet grass (Hierochloe odorata) were active DPPH free radical scavengers, The active compounds were detected in extract fractions using HPLC with on-line radical scavenging detection. After multistep fractionation of the extract, two new natural products possessing

  3. Nano Ag@AgBr surface-sensitized Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} photocatalyst: oil-in-water synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic degradation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Shuanglong; Liu, Li; Hu, Jinshan; Liang, Yinghua, E-mail: liangyh@heuu.edu.cn; Cui, Wenquan, E-mail: wkcui@163.com

    2015-01-01

    }WO{sub 6}. Additionally, studies performed using radical scavengers indicated that O{sub 2}{sup −•} , • OH and Br{sup 0} acted as the main reactive species. Based on above, a photocatalytic mechanism for organics degradation over Ag@AgBr/Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} was proposed.

  4. A Geospatial Scavenger Hunt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez, Adriana E.; Williams, Nikki A.; Metoyer, Sandra K.; Morris, Jennifer N.; Berhane, Stephen A.

    2009-01-01

    With the use of technology such as Global Positioning System (GPS) units and Google Earth for a simple-machine scavenger hunt, you will transform a standard identification activity into an exciting learning experience that motivates students, incorporates practical skills in technology, and enhances students' spatial-thinking skills. In the…

  5. Artesunate Reduces Serum Lipopolysaccharide in Cecal Ligation/Puncture Mice via Enhanced LPS Internalization by Macrophages through Increased mRNA Expression of Scavenger Receptors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bin Li

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Innate immunity is the first line of defense in human beings against pathogen infection; monocytes/macrophages are the primary cells of the innate immune system. Recently, macrophages/monocytes have been discovered to participate in LPS clearance, and the clearance efficiency determines the magnitude of the inflammatory response and subsequent organ injury. Previously, we reported that artesunate (AS protected sepsis mice against heat-killed E. coli challenge. Herein, we further confirmed that AS protected cecal ligation/puncture (CLP sepsis mice. Its protection on sepsis mice was related to not only reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and serum LPS levels but also improvement of liver function. Based on the fact that AS did not directly bind and neutralize LPS, we hypothesized that the reduction of serum LPS level might be related to enhancement of LPS internalization and subsequent detoxification. Our results showed that AS increased FITC-LPS internalization by peritoneal macrophage and liver Kupffer cell, but enhancement of LPS internalization by AS was not related to the clathrin-dependent pathway. However, AS induced mRNA expression of important scavenger receptors (SRs; SR-A and MARCO mRNA expression was upregulated, suggesting that AS enhancement of LPS internalization and inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines was related to changes in mRNA expression of SRs.

  6. Modeling of an Integrated Electromagnetic Generator for Energy Scavenging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lu, J.; Kovalgin, Alexeij Y.; Schmitz, Jurriaan

    2007-01-01

    The ubiquitous deploying of wireless electronic devices due to pervasive computing results in the idea of Energy Scavenging, i.e., harvesting ambient energy from surroundings of the electronic devices. As an approach to possible practical realization of such an energy scavenger, we aim at the

  7. Reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation product-scavenging ability of yogurt organisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, M Y; Yen, C L

    1999-08-01

    The antioxidative activity of the intracellular extracts of yogurt organisms was investigated. All 11 strains tested, including five strains of Streptococcus thermophilus and six strains of Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus, demonstrated an antioxidative effect on the inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation. The antioxidative effect of intracellular extracts of 10(8) cells of yogurt organisms was equivalent to 25 to 96 ppm butylated hydroxytoluene, which indicated that all strains demonstrated excellent antioxidative activity. The scavenging of reactive oxygen species, hydroxyl radical, and hydrogen peroxide was studied for intracellular extracts of yogurt organisms. All strains showed reactive oxygen species-scavenging ability. Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus Lb demonstrated the highest hydroxyl radical-scavenging ability at 234 microM. Streptococcus thermophilus MC and 821 and L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus 448 and 449 scavenged the most hydrogen peroxide at approximately 50 microM. The scavenging ability of lipid peroxidation products, t-butylhydroperoxide and malondialdehyde, was also evaluated. Results showed that the extracts were not able to scavenge the t-butylhydroperoxide. Nevertheless, malondialdehyde was scavenged well by most strains.

  8. Preparation, characterization and enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activities of BiPO4/BiVO4 composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Siyuan; Zheng, Hong; Lian, Youwei; Wu, Yiying

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • BiPO 4 /BiVO 4 composites were successfully prepared by the hydrothermal method. • BiPO 4 /BiVO 4 composites exhibited broad absorption in the visible region. • Visible-light photocatalytic activities of BiPO 4 /BiVO 4 composites were enhanced. • P/V molar ratio and pH value of the reaction affect photocatalytic activity. • The mechanism of enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activities was discussed. - Abstract: BiPO 4 /BiVO 4 composites with different P/V molar ratios were prepared by the hydrothermal method and the effect of pH values of hydrothermal reaction on photocatalytic activity of BiPO 4 /BiVO 4 composite was investigated. The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photocatalytic property of BiPO 4 /BiVO 4 was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of Methylene blue under visible light irradiation. The results showed that the photocatalytic activity of the composites was much higher than that of pure BiPO 4 and BiVO 4 . The rate constant of Methylene blue degradation over BiPO 4 /BiVO 4 (P/V molar ratio of 5:1 and hydrothermal reaction pH value of 1.5) is 1.7 times that of pure BiVO 4 . The photocatalytic activity enhancement of BiPO 4 /BiVO 4 composite is closely related to the BiVO 4 functioning as a sensitizer to adsorb visible light and the heterojunction of BiPO 4 /BiVO 4 acting as an active center for hindering the rapid recombination of electron–hole pairs during the photocatalytic reaction

  9. Occurrence and distribution of nitrogen-scavenging bacteria in marine environment

    OpenAIRE

    Sugahara, Isao; Kimura, Toshio; Hayashi, Koichiro

    1987-01-01

    The occurrence and distribution nitrogen-scavenging bacteria in the water of coastal and oceanic of Japan were studied during the Seisui-Maru cruises from 1986 to 1987. Nitroben-scavenging bacteria in the water usually occurred at the level of 10-104 cfu/ml.This value was almost comparable to that of aerobic heterotrophic bacteria. It seems that nitrogen-scavenging bacteria play an important role in the efficient uptake of low levels of nitrogenous compounds in marine enviroment.

  10. Spatial profile of thermoelectric effects during Peltier pulsing in Bi and Bi/MnBi eutectic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silberstein, R. P.; Larson, D. J., Jr.

    1987-01-01

    The spatial profile of the thermal transients that occur during and following the current pulsing associated with Peltier Interface Demarcation during directional solidification is studied. Results for pure Bi are presented in detail and compared with corresponding results for the Bi/MnBi eutectic. Significant thermal transients occur throughout the sample that can be accounted for by the Peltier effect, the Thomson effect, and Joule heating. These effects are separated and their behavior is studied as a function of time, current density, and position with respect to the solid/liquid interface.

  11. Energy scavenging sources for biomedical sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romero, E; Warrington, R O; Neuman, M R

    2009-01-01

    Energy scavenging has increasingly become an interesting option for powering electronic devices because of the almost infinite lifetime and the non-dependence on fuels for energy generation. Moreover, the rise of wireless technologies promises new applications in medical monitoring systems, but these still face limitations due to battery lifetime and size. A trade-off of these two factors has typically governed the size, useful life and capabilities of an autonomous system. Energy generation from sources such as motion, light and temperature gradients has been established as commercially viable alternatives to batteries for human-powered flashlights, solar calculators, radio receivers and thermal-powered wristwatches, among others. Research on energy harvesting from human activities has also addressed the feasibility of powering wearable or implantable systems. Biomedical sensors can take advantage of human-based activities as the energy source for energy scavengers. This review describes the state of the art of energy scavenging technologies for powering sensors and instrumentation of physiological variables. After a short description of the human power and the energy generation limits, the different transduction mechanisms, recent developments and challenges faced are reviewed and discussed. (topical review)

  12. State diagram of Pr-Bi system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abulkhaev, V.L.; Ganiev, I.N.

    1994-01-01

    By means of thermal differential analysis, X-ray and microstructural analysis the state diagram of Pr-Bi system was studied. Following intermetallic compounds were defined in the system: Pr 2 Bi, Pr 5 Bi 3 , Pr 4 Bi 3 , Pr Bi, PrBi 2 , Pr 2 Bi, Pr 5 Bi 3 , Pr 4 Bi 3 and PrBi 2 . The data analysis on Ln-Bi diagram allowed to determine the regularity of change of properties of intermetallic compounds in the line of rare earth elements of cerium subgroup.

  13. Synthesis and Free Radical Scavenging Activity of New Hydroxybenzylidene Hydrazines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frantisek Sersen

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Hydroxybenzylidene hydrazines exhibit a wide spectrum of biological activities. Here, we report synthesis and free radical scavenging activity of nine new N-(hydroxybenzylidene-N′-[2,6-dinitro-4-(trifluoromethyl]phenylhydrazines. The chemical structures of these compounds were confirmed by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, 19F-NMR, IR spectroscopy, LC-MS, and elemental analysis. The prepared compounds were tested for their activity to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH, galvinoxyl radical (GOR, and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS radicals. The free radical scavenging activity expressed as SC50 values of these compounds varied in a wide range, from a strong to no radical scavenging effect. The most effective radical scavengers were hydroxybenzylidene hydrazines containing three hydroxyl groups in the benzylidene part of their molecules. The prepared compounds were also tested for their activity to inhibit photosynthetic electron transport in spinach chloroplasts. IC50 values of these compounds varied in wide range, from an intermediate to no inhibitory effect.

  14. Cholesterol trafficking and raft-like membrane domain composition mediate scavenger receptor class B type 1-dependent lipid sensing in intestinal epithelial cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morel, Etienne; Ghezzal, Sara; Lucchi, Géraldine; Truntzer, Caroline; Pais de Barros, Jean-Paul; Simon-Plas, Françoise; Demignot, Sylvie; Mineo, Chieko; Shaul, Philip W; Leturque, Armelle; Rousset, Monique; Carrière, Véronique

    2018-02-01

    Scavenger receptor Class B type 1 (SR-B1) is a lipid transporter and sensor. In intestinal epithelial cells, SR-B1-dependent lipid sensing is associated with SR-B1 recruitment in raft-like/ detergent-resistant membrane domains and interaction of its C-terminal transmembrane domain with plasma membrane cholesterol. To clarify the initiating events occurring during lipid sensing by SR-B1, we analyzed cholesterol trafficking and raft-like domain composition in intestinal epithelial cells expressing wild-type SR-B1 or the mutated form SR-B1-Q445A, defective in membrane cholesterol binding and signal initiation. These features of SR-B1 were found to influence both apical cholesterol efflux and intracellular cholesterol trafficking from plasma membrane to lipid droplets, and the lipid composition of raft-like domains. Lipidomic analysis revealed likely participation of d18:0/16:0 sphingomyelin and 16:0/0:0 lysophosphatidylethanolamine in lipid sensing by SR-B1. Proteomic analysis identified proteins, whose abundance changed in raft-like domains during lipid sensing, and these included molecules linked to lipid raft dynamics and signal transduction. These findings provide new insights into the role of SR-B1 in cellular cholesterol homeostasis and suggest molecular links between SR-B1-dependent lipid sensing and cell cholesterol and lipid droplet dynamics. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Water structure versus radical scavenger theories as explanations for the suppressive effects of DMSO and related compounds on radiation-induced transformation in vitro

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kennedy, A.R.; Symons, M.C.

    1987-05-01

    We report here that dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO): suppresses radiation-induced transformation in vitro, even when DMSO treatments begin as late as 10 days post-irradiation (when cells are in the confluent, stationary phase of growth); inhibits the 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) enhancement of radiation-induced transformation in vitro; does not affect the expression of transformed cells as foci (when surrounded by non-transformed cells); and may be affecting radiation-induced transformation through its solvent properties (i.e. the Water Structure theory), while its effects on the TPA enhancement of radiation transformation may be mediated by its free radical scavenging abilities. DMSO, dimethylformamide (DMF) and dimethylacetamide (DMA) are similar solvents which are all very effective in their ability to suppress radiation-induced transformation in vitro (at concentrations in the cellular media down to 0.01%). As DMSO is known to be an extremely effective OH. free-radical scavenging agent, while DMF and DMA are not as efficient at scavenging free radicals, our results suggest that properties other than free-radical scavenging ability may be important in the suppressive effects of these compounds on radiation-induced transformation in vitro. It is known that low concentrations of such basic aprotic solvents modify water structure so as to suppress the protic (H-bond donor) reactivity of water and enhance its basic (H-bond receptor) reactivity. These reactivity changes may well be responsible for the effects noted above. DMSO, DMF and DMA are also capable of suppressing the TPA enhancement of radiation transformation (at concentrations of the compounds of 0.1% or higher). For this effect, the ability of these compounds to scavenge OH. shows a general correlation with their ability to suppress the TPA enhancement of transformation, suggesting that the Radical Scavenger theory may explain the ability of DMSO to suppress promotion in vitro.

  16. Free radical scavenging injectable hydrogels for regenerative therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Komeri, Remya; Thankam, Finosh Gnanaprakasam; Muthu, Jayabalan

    2017-02-01

    Pathological free radicals generated from inflamed and infarcted cardiac tissues interferes natural tissue repair mechanisms. Hypoxic microenvironment at the injured zone of non-regenerating cardiac tissues hinders the therapeutic attempts including cell therapy. Here we report an injectable, cytocompatible, free radical scavenging synthetic hydrogel formulation for regenerative therapy. New hydrogel (PEAX-P) is prepared with D-xylitol-co-fumarate-co-poly ethylene adipate-co-PEG comaromer (PEAX) and PEGDiacrylate. PEAX-P hydrogel swells 4.9 times the initial weight and retains 100.07kPa Young modulus at equilibrium swelling, which is suitable for cardiac applications. PEAX-P hydrogel retains elastic nature even at 60% compressive strain, which is favorable to fit with the dynamic and elastic natural tissue counterparts. PEAX-P hydrogel scavenges 51% DPPH radical, 40% hydroxyl radicals 41% nitrate radicals with 31% reducing power. The presence of hydrogel protects 62% cardiomyoblast cells treated with stress inducing media at LD 50 concentration. The free hydroxyl groups in sugar alcohols of the comacromer influence the free radical scavenging. Comparatively, PEAX-P hydrogel based on xylitol evinces slightly lower scavenging characteristics than with previously reported PEAM-P hydrogel containing mannitol having more hydroxyl groups. The possible free radical scavenging mechanism of the present hydrogel relies on the free π electrons associated with uncrosslinked fumarate bonds, hydrogen atoms associated with sugar alcohols/PEG and radical dilution by free water in the matrix. Briefly, the present PEAX-P hydrogel is a potential injectable system for combined antioxidant and regenerative therapy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Electron beam treatment with radical scavengers/enhancers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gehringer, P.

    1994-08-01

    E-beam treatment of low level contaminated groundwater is best apt to demonstrate the role of scavengers and enhancers, respectively because groundwater already contains some scavengers as natural solutes. The action of ionizing radiation to water is known to result in the formation of ions, molecular and free radical species. For low level contaminations of groundwater (pollutant concentration aqu - and H are of interest for pollutant decomposition. The pollutants have to compete for the free radical species with the natural solutes. 10 figures are discussed. (author)

  18. One-step growth of nanosheet-assembled BiOCl/BiOBr microspheres for highly efficient visible photocatalytic performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jinfeng; Lv, Jiali; Dai, Kai; Liang, Changhao; Liu, Qi

    2018-02-01

    In this work, we have developed a simple synthetic approach of nanosheet-assembled BiOCl/BiOBr microspheres by an ethylene glycol (EG)-assisted hydrothermal method. The crystalline form, morphology, chemical composition, optical performance and surface area of BiOCl/BiOBr microspheres were identified using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution TEM (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy spectra (EDX), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) analysis, high resolution X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms. BiOCl/BiOBr microspheres were nanosheet-assembled particles, which possessed visible light absorption under LED light irridation. Additionally, the methylene blue (MB) photodegradation performance of different BiOCl/BiOBr microspheres irradiated under 410 nm LED light arrays were investigated, the results exhibited that as-prepared BiOCl/BiOBr products showed higher catalytic effiency than pure BiOCl or BiOBr. By optimizing the composition ration of the BiOCl and BiOBr, up to 93% degradation rate can be obtained in the 40%BiOCl/BiOBr microspheres. Finally, the photocatalytic mechanism of BiOCl/BiOBr microspheres had been proposed.

  19. New actualistic data on the ecology and energetics of hominin scavenging opportunities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pobiner, Briana L

    2015-03-01

    For decades, the 'hunting-scavenging debate' has been an important research focus in Plio-Pleistocene hominin behavioral ecology. Here I present new data on potential scavenging opportunities from fresh carnivore kills on a conservancy in central Kenya. This ecosystem is dominated by felids (mainly lions) and has a different carnivore guild than in many earlier studies of scavenging opportunities that took place in areas such as Ngorongoro and Serengeti in Tanzania and Maasai Mara in Kenya, where lions face high levels of inter-specific competition from bone-crunching hyenas. I found that while scavenging opportunities vary among carcasses, most carcasses retained some scavengeable resources. Excluding within-bone resources, even the scavengeable meat on 'defleshed' larger sized prey carcasses is usually substantial enough to meet the total daily caloric requirements of at least one adult male Homo erectus individual. I argue, as others have before me, that scavenging opportunities in a particular ecosystem will vary in part due to carnivore taxon, density and guild composition; prey size, biomass and community structure; and habitat (e.g., vegetation, physiography). We should expect variability in scavenging opportunities in different locales and should focus our research efforts on identifying which variables condition these differences in order to make our findings applicable to the diversity of ecological settings characterizing the past. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  20. Deer carcass decomposition and potential scavenger exposure to chronic wasting disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jennelle, C.S.; Samuel, M.D.; Nolden, C.A.; Berkley, E.A.

    2009-01-01

    Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy afflicting the Cervidae family in North America, causing neurodegeneration and ultimately death. Although there are no reports of natural cross-species transmission of CWD to noncervids, infected deer carcasses pose a potential risk of CWD exposure for other animals. We placed 40 disease-free white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) carcasses and 10 gut piles in the CWD-affected area of Wisconsin (USA) from September to April in 2003 through 2005. We used photos from remotely operated cameras to characterize scavenger visitation and relative activity. To evaluate factors driving the rate of carcass removal (decomposition), we used KaplanMeier survival analysis and a generalized linear mixed model. We recorded 14 species of scavenging mammals (6 visiting species) and 14 species of scavenging birds (8 visiting species). Prominent scavengers included American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos), raccoons (Procyon lotor), and Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana). We found no evidence that deer consumed conspecific remains, although they visited gut piles more often than carcasses relative to temporal availability in the environment. Domestic dogs, cats, and cows either scavenged or visited carcass sites, which could lead to human exposure to CWD. Deer carcasses persisted for 18 days to 101 days depending on the season and year, whereas gut piles lasted for 3 days. Habitat did not influence carcass decomposition, but mammalian and avian scavenger activity and higher temperatures were positively associated with faster removal. Infected deer carcasses or gut piles can serve as potential sources of CWD prions to a variety of scavengers. In areas where surveillance for CWD exposure is practical, management agencies should consider strategies for testing primary scavengers of deer carcass material.

  1. Nitric oxide radical scavenging potential of some Elburz medicinal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Some plants scavenge nitric oxide (NO) with high affinity. For this purpose, forty extracts from 26 medicinal plants, growing extensively in Elburz mountains, were evaluated for their NO scavenging activity. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of these extracts were also measured by Folin Ciocalteu and AlCl3 colorimetric ...

  2. The research progress of several kinds of free radical scavengers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qian Liren; Huang Yuecheng; Cai Jianming

    2009-01-01

    Ionization radiation can generate free radicals in biological system, which could induce lipid peroxi-dation, biomacromolecule and biomembrane damage, lost of cell function, cell cycle disturbance, genetic mutation and so on. The scavenging free radicals can protect organism from radiation damage. Many radio-protective agents, such as amylase, hydroxyl-benzene derivatives, hormone, vitamin, have great abilities to protect organism from radiation via scavenging free radicals. In this paper, we mainly review the free radical scavenging effects of several kinds of radio-protective agents. (authors)

  3. Scavenging efficiency and red fox abundance in Mediterranean mountains with and without vultures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morales-Reyes, Zebensui; Sánchez-Zapata, José A.; Sebastián-González, Esther; Botella, Francisco; Carrete, Martina; Moleón, Marcos

    2017-02-01

    Vertebrate scavenging assemblages include two major functional groups: obligate scavengers (i.e., vultures), which depend totally on carrion and are undergoing severe declines around the globe, and facultative scavengers, which exploit carrion opportunistically and are generally ubiquitous. Our goal was to investigate the hypothesis that vultures can indirectly regulate the abundance of mesopredators (i.e., facultative scavengers) through modulating their access to carrion resources. We studied scavenging efficiency and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) abundance in two neighbouring areas of South-eastern Spain where vultures (mainly griffon vultures Gyps fulvus) are present (Cazorla) and absent (Espuña). To do so, we monitored ungulate carcasses consumption during winter and summer, and counted red fox scats along walking transects as a proxy of fox density. Our results confirmed that scavenging efficiency was higher in Cazorla and in carcasses visited by vultures. This resulted in increasing scavenging opportunities for facultative scavengers where vultures were absent. Accordingly, mean red fox abundance was higher in Espuña. These results suggest the existence of a vulture-mediated mesopredator release (i.e., an increase of mesopredator numbers following vulture loss), which could trigger important indirect ecological effects. Also, our study demonstrates that facultative scavengers are hardly able to functionally replace vultures, mainly because the former exploit carrion on a slower time scale.

  4. Precipitation scavenging of aerosol particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Radke, L.F.; Eltgroth, M.W.; Hobbs, P.V.

    1978-01-01

    The paper presents the results of precipitation scavenging measurements of particles in the atmosphere and in plumes which were obtained using an airborne measuring system. Attention is given to the so-called 'Greenfield gap' and collection efficiencies for submicron particles

  5. Development of MnBi permanent magnet: Neutron diffraction of MnBi powder

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cui, J., E-mail: jun.cui@pnnl.gov; Choi, J. P.; Li, G.; Polikarpov, E.; Darsell, J. [Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99354 (United States); Kramer, M. J.; Zarkevich, N. A.; Wang, L. L.; Johnson, D. D. [Materials Sciences and Engineering Division, Ames Laboratory, Ames, Iowa 50011 (United States); Marinescu, M. [Electron Energy Corporation, Landisville, Pennsylvania 17538 (United States); Huang, Q. Z.; Wu, H. [NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-6102 (United States); Vuong, N. V.; Liu, J. P. [Department of Physics, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas 76019 (United States)

    2014-05-07

    MnBi attracts great attention in recent years for its great potential as permanent magnet materials. MnBi phase is difficult to obtain because of the rather drastic peritectic reaction between Mn and Bi. In this paper, we report our effort on synthesizing high purity MnBi compound using conventional powder metallurgical approaches. Neutron diffraction was carried out to investigate the crystal and nuclear structure of the obtained powder. The result shows that the purity of the obtained powder is about 91 wt. % at 300 K, and the magnetic moment of the Mn atom in MnBi lattice is 4.424 and 4.013 μ{sub B} at 50 K and 300 K, respectively.

  6. Development of MnBi permanent magnet: Neutron diffraction of MnBi powder

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cui, J; Choi, JP; Li, G; Polikarpov, E; Darsell, J; Kramer, MJ; Zarkevich, NA; Wang, LL; Johnson, DD; Marinescu, M; Huang, QZ; Wu, H; Vuong, NV; Liu, JP

    2014-05-07

    MnBi attracts great attention in recent years for its great potential as permanent magnet materials. MnBi phase is difficult to obtain because of the rather drastic peritectic reaction between Mn and Bi. In this paper, we report our effort on synthesizing high purity MnBi compound using conventional powder metallurgical approaches. Neutron diffraction was carried out to investigate the crystal and nuclear structure of the obtained powder. The result shows that the purity of the obtained powder is about 91 wt. % at 300 K, and the magnetic moment of the Mn atom in MnBi lattice is 4.424 and 4.013 mu(B) at 50 K and 300 K, respectively. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

  7. Changes in free-radical scavenging ability of kombucha tea during fermentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jayabalan, R; Subathradevi, P; Marimuthu, S; Sathishkumar, M; Swaminathan, K

    2008-07-01

    Kombucha tea is a fermented tea beverage produced by fermenting sugared black tea with tea fungus (kombucha). Free-radical scavenging abilities of kombucha tea prepared from green tea (GTK), black tea (BTK) and tea waste material (TWK) along with pH, phenolic compounds and reducing power were investigated during fermentation period. Phenolic compounds, scavenging activity on DPPH radical, superoxide radical (xanthine-xanthine oxidase system) and inhibitory activity against hydroxyl radical mediated linoleic acid oxidation (ammonium thiocyanate assay) were increased during fermentation period, whereas pH, reducing power, hydroxyl radical scavenging ability (ascorbic acid-iron EDTA) and anti-lipid peroxidation ability (thiobarbituric assay) were decreased. From the present study, it is obvious that there might be some chances of structural modification of components in tea due to enzymes liberated by bacteria and yeast during kombucha fermentation which results in better scavenging performance on nitrogen and superoxide radicals, and poor scavenging performance on hydroxyl radicals. Copyright © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. The Impact of Flight Hardware Scavenging on Space Logistics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oeftering, Richard C.

    2011-01-01

    For a given fixed launch vehicle capacity the logistics payload delivered to the moon may be only roughly 20 percent of the payload delivered to the International Space Station (ISS). This is compounded by the much lower flight frequency to the moon and thus low availability of spares for maintenance. This implies that lunar hardware is much more scarce and more costly per kilogram than ISS and thus there is much more incentive to preserve hardware. The Constellation Lunar Surface System (LSS) program is considering ways of utilizing hardware scavenged from vehicles including the Altair lunar lander. In general, the hardware will have only had a matter of hours of operation yet there may be years of operational life remaining. By scavenging this hardware the program, in effect, is treating vehicle hardware as part of the payload. Flight hardware may provide logistics spares for system maintenance and reduce the overall logistics footprint. This hardware has a wide array of potential applications including expanding the power infrastructure, and exploiting in-situ resources. Scavenging can also be seen as a way of recovering the value of, literally, billions of dollars worth of hardware that would normally be discarded. Scavenging flight hardware adds operational complexity and steps must be taken to augment the crew s capability with robotics, capabilities embedded in flight hardware itself, and external processes. New embedded technologies are needed to make hardware more serviceable and scavengable. Process technologies are needed to extract hardware, evaluate hardware, reconfigure or repair hardware, and reintegrate it into new applications. This paper also illustrates how scavenging can be used to drive down the cost of the overall program by exploiting the intrinsic value of otherwise discarded flight hardware.

  9. Global EiBI-monopole

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    JIN Xinghua

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available A global EiBI-monopole problem is studied under EiBI gravitational theory.The equations of global EiBI-monopole are derived in the curved spacetime and the relation between the spacetime metric and auxiliary metric is found.In the case of a very small parameter,an asymptotic form of equations is given.The series solutions of global EiBI-monopole at infinity are found.

  10. Influence of various scavengers of •OH radicals on the radiation sensitivity of yeast and bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Múčka, Viliam; Bláha, Pavel; Čuba, Václav; Červenák, Jaroslav

    2013-12-01

    To quantitatively investigate the influence of various •OH (hydroxyl radical) scavengers on the radiation sensitivity of yeast and bacteria, particularly to define the relationship between the protective effect of a scavenger and its •OH scavenging efficiency. In order to study the protective effect of •OH scavengers we used various concentrations of four scavengers (methanol, potassium formate, ethanol and ascorbic acid) in isotonic salt solutions. These solutions containing live yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) or bacteria (Escherichia coli) were irradiated with (60)Co isotope γ -radiation using two different doses and dose rates. The number of surviving cells was determined prior to and after irradiation both in suspension with and without scavengers. The surviving fractions after irradiation with and without the scavenger were evaluated. The main results of the paper were: The surviving fraction increased approximately linearly within the measured interval with increasing concentration of the scavenger. The same dependences were found for the protecting effect depending on the scavenging efficiency. The slopes of these dependences (k) were found to be characteristic for each scavenger. The k value determined the degree in which the scavenging of •OH radicals participated in the protection of living cells. The protective effects of scavengers at the same scavenging efficiency were different and unique for each scavenger. No simple relation was found between the efficiency of scavenger k and the rate constant kOH of the reactions between scavengers and •OH radicals. Our results suggest that the studied scavengers effectively protected yeast and bacteria against ionizing radiation. Although the scavenging of •OH radicals seems to be important for protection of living cells, it is clearly not the only process on which the protection is based.

  11. High throughput assay for evaluation of reactive carbonyl scavenging capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vidal, N; Cavaille, J P; Graziani, F; Robin, M; Ouari, O; Pietri, S; Stocker, P

    2014-01-01

    Many carbonyl species from either lipid peroxidation or glycoxidation are extremely reactive and can disrupt the function of proteins and enzymes. 4-hydroxynonenal and methylglyoxal are the most abundant and toxic lipid-derived reactive carbonyl species. The presence of these toxics leads to carbonyl stress and cause a significant amount of macromolecular damages in several diseases. Much evidence indicates trapping of reactive carbonyl intermediates may be a useful strategy for inhibiting or decreasing carbonyl stress-associated pathologies. There is no rapid and convenient analytical method available for the assessment of direct carbonyl scavenging capacity, and a very limited number of carbonyl scavengers have been identified to date, their therapeutic potential being highlighted only recently. In this context, we have developed a new and rapid sensitive fluorimetric method for the assessment of reactive carbonyl scavengers without involvement glycoxidation systems. Efficacy of various thiol- and non-thiol-carbonyl scavenger pharmacophores was tested both using this screening assay adapted to 96-well microplates and in cultured cells. The scavenging effects on the formation of Advanced Glycation End-product of Bovine Serum Albumin formed with methylglyoxal, 4-hydroxynonenal and glucose-glycated as molecular models were also examined. Low molecular mass thiols with an α-amino-β-mercaptoethane structure showed the highest degree of inhibitory activity toward both α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and dicarbonyls. Cysteine and cysteamine have the best scavenging ability toward methylglyoxal. WR-1065 which is currently approved for clinical use as a protective agent against radiation and renal toxicity was identified as the best inhibitor of 4-hydroxynonenal.

  12. High throughput assay for evaluation of reactive carbonyl scavenging capacity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Vidal

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Many carbonyl species from either lipid peroxidation or glycoxidation are extremely reactive and can disrupt the function of proteins and enzymes. 4-hydroxynonenal and methylglyoxal are the most abundant and toxic lipid-derived reactive carbonyl species. The presence of these toxics leads to carbonyl stress and cause a significant amount of macromolecular damages in several diseases. Much evidence indicates trapping of reactive carbonyl intermediates may be a useful strategy for inhibiting or decreasing carbonyl stress-associated pathologies. There is no rapid and convenient analytical method available for the assessment of direct carbonyl scavenging capacity, and a very limited number of carbonyl scavengers have been identified to date, their therapeutic potential being highlighted only recently. In this context, we have developed a new and rapid sensitive fluorimetric method for the assessment of reactive carbonyl scavengers without involvement glycoxidation systems. Efficacy of various thiol- and non-thiol-carbonyl scavenger pharmacophores was tested both using this screening assay adapted to 96-well microplates and in cultured cells. The scavenging effects on the formation of Advanced Glycation End-product of Bovine Serum Albumin formed with methylglyoxal, 4-hydroxynonenal and glucose-glycated as molecular models were also examined. Low molecular mass thiols with an α-amino-β-mercaptoethane structure showed the highest degree of inhibitory activity toward both α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and dicarbonyls. Cysteine and cysteamine have the best scavenging ability toward methylglyoxal. WR-1065 which is currently approved for clinical use as a protective agent against radiation and renal toxicity was identified as the best inhibitor of 4-hydroxynonenal.

  13. Free radical scavenging properties of some wine probes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stasko, A.; Liptakova, M.; Malik, F.

    1999-01-01

    There are preliminary results of investigation of scavenging properties of 8 probes of Slovak wines (consisting of one reference, 3 probes of white wine and 4 probes of red wine). According to the literature so far, wine probes contain paramagnetic species (Mn 2+ , characterised with sextet spectrum, and a singlet line around g=2,00). In our probes we observed Mn 2+ signals, but no significant evidence for a single line of free radical was found. We can conclude that Mn 2+ content in the red wines is generally higher than in the white ones. Further, we investigated the scavenging activities of the probes adding solution of dinitropicryl hydrazyl (DPPH-stable radical) to them. Their ability to terminate free radicals resulted in the decrease of the final DPPH concentrations in the probes. The red wines have significantly higher capability to scavenge free radicals than the probes of white wines. (authors)

  14. Kinin B1 receptor blockade and ACE inhibition attenuate cardiac postinfarction remodeling and heart failure in rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, Xinchun; Bernloehr, Christian; Hildebrandt, Tobias; Stadler, Florian J.; Doods, Henri; Wu, Dongmei

    2016-01-01

    Introduction: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of the novel kinin B1 receptor antagonist BI113823 on postinfarction cardiac remodeling and heart failure, and to determine whether B1 receptor blockade alters the cardiovascular effects of an angiotensin 1 converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor in rats. Methods and results: Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to permanent occlusion of the left coronary artery. Cardiovascular function was determined at 6 weeks postinfarction. Treatment with either B1 receptor antagonist (BI113823) or an ACE inhibitor (lisinopril) alone or in combination significantly reduced the heart weight-to-body weight and lung weight-to-body weight ratios, and improved postinfarction cardiac function as evidenced by greater cardiac output, the maximum rate of left ventricular pressure rise (± dP/dtmax), left ventricle ejection fraction, fractional shorting, better wall motion, and attenuation of elevated left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP). Furthermore, all three treatment groups exhibited significant reduction in cardiac interstitial fibrosis, collagen deposition, CD68 positive macrophages, neutrophils, and proinflammatory cytokine production (TNF-α and IL-1β), compared to vehicle controls. Conclusion: The present study shows that treatment with the novel kinin B1 receptor antagonist, BI113823, reduces postinfarction cardiac remodeling and heart failure, and does not influence the cardiovascular effects of the ACE inhibitor. - Highlights: • We examined the role of kinin B1 receptors in the development of heart failure. • Kinin B1 receptor blockade attenuates post-infarction cardiac remodeling. • Kinin B1 receptor blockade improves dysfunction, and prevented heart failure. • B1 receptor blockade does not affect the cardio-protection of an ACE inhibitor.

  15. Kinin B1 receptor blockade and ACE inhibition attenuate cardiac postinfarction remodeling and heart failure in rats

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Xinchun [Department of Research, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL 33140 (United States); Bernloehr, Christian; Hildebrandt, Tobias [Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach (Germany); Stadler, Florian J., E-mail: fjstadler@szu.edu.cn [Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology of Ceramics, Shenzhen 518060 (China); Doods, Henri [Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach (Germany); Wu, Dongmei, E-mail: dongmeiwu@bellsouth.net [Department of Research, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL 33140 (United States); Department of BIN Convergence Technology, Chonbuk National University (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-08-15

    Introduction: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of the novel kinin B1 receptor antagonist BI113823 on postinfarction cardiac remodeling and heart failure, and to determine whether B1 receptor blockade alters the cardiovascular effects of an angiotensin 1 converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor in rats. Methods and results: Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to permanent occlusion of the left coronary artery. Cardiovascular function was determined at 6 weeks postinfarction. Treatment with either B1 receptor antagonist (BI113823) or an ACE inhibitor (lisinopril) alone or in combination significantly reduced the heart weight-to-body weight and lung weight-to-body weight ratios, and improved postinfarction cardiac function as evidenced by greater cardiac output, the maximum rate of left ventricular pressure rise (± dP/dtmax), left ventricle ejection fraction, fractional shorting, better wall motion, and attenuation of elevated left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP). Furthermore, all three treatment groups exhibited significant reduction in cardiac interstitial fibrosis, collagen deposition, CD68 positive macrophages, neutrophils, and proinflammatory cytokine production (TNF-α and IL-1β), compared to vehicle controls. Conclusion: The present study shows that treatment with the novel kinin B1 receptor antagonist, BI113823, reduces postinfarction cardiac remodeling and heart failure, and does not influence the cardiovascular effects of the ACE inhibitor. - Highlights: • We examined the role of kinin B1 receptors in the development of heart failure. • Kinin B1 receptor blockade attenuates post-infarction cardiac remodeling. • Kinin B1 receptor blockade improves dysfunction, and prevented heart failure. • B1 receptor blockade does not affect the cardio-protection of an ACE inhibitor.

  16. High photocatalytic performance of BiOI/Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} toward toluene and Reactive Brilliant Red

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li Huiquan [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Fuyang Normal College, Fuyang 236041 (China); Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry of MOE, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanotechnology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Cui Yumin, E-mail: cuiyumin0908@163.com [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Fuyang Normal College, Fuyang 236041 (China); Hong Wenshan [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Fuyang Normal College, Fuyang 236041 (China)

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: When BiOI/Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} catalyst was exposed to UV or visible light, the electrons in the valence band of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} would be excited into the conduction band and then injected into the more positive conduction band of BiOI. Therefore, the photoelectrons were generated from Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} and transferred across the interface between BiOI and Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} to the surface of BiOI, leaving the photogenerated holes in the valence band of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}. In this way, the photoinduced electron-hole pairs were effectively separated. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer BiOI sensitized Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} catalysts were successfully prepared by a facile method. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The 13.2% BiOI/Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} catalyst exhibits higher photoactivities than P25. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A possible transfer process of photogenerated carriers was proposed. - Abstract: BiOI sensitized nano-Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} photocatalysts with different BiOI contents were successfully synthesized by a facile deposition method at room temperature, and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), photoluminescence (PL) spectra, UV-vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurements. The photocatalytic activity of BiOI/Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} was evaluated by the photo-degradation of Reactive Brilliant Red (X-3B) in suspended solution and toluene in gas phase. It has been shown that the BiOI/Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} catalysts exhibit a coexistence of both tetragonal BiOI and orthorhombic Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} phases. With increasing BiOI content, the absorption intensity of BiOI/Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} catalysts increases in the 380-600 nm region and the absorption edge shifts significantly to longer wavelengths as compared to pure Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}. The 13.2% BiOI/Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} catalyst exhibits

  17. MLED_BI: a new BI Design Approach to Support Multilingualism in Business Intelligence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nedim Dedić

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Existing approaches to support Multilingualism (ML in Business Intelligence (BI create problems for business users, present a number of challenges from the technical perspective, and lead to issues with logical dependence in the star schema. In this paper, we propose MLED_BI (Multilingual Enabled Design for Business Intelligence, a novel BI design approach to support the application of ML in BI Environment, which overcomes the issues and problems found with existing approaches. The approach is based on a revision of the data warehouse dimensional modelling approach and treats the Star Schema as a higher level entity. This paper describes MLED_BI and the validation and evaluation approach used.

  18. Ga-Bi-Te system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rustamov, P.G.; Seidova, N.A.; Shakhbazov, M.G.; AN Azerbajdzhanskoj SSR, Baku. Inst. Neorganicheskoj i Fizicheskoj Khimii)

    1976-01-01

    To elucidate the nature of interaction in the system Ga-Bi-Te, a study has been made of sections GaTe-Bi 2 Te 3 , Ga 2 Te 3 -Bi, GaTe-Bi and Bi 2 Te 3 -Ga. The alloys have been prepared by direct melting of the components or their alloys with subsequent homogenizin.o annealing at 400 deg C. The study has been made by the methods of differential thermal, microstructural analysis and by microhardness measurements. On the basis of literature data and data obtained a projection of the liquidus surface of the phase diagram for the system Ga-Bi-Te has been constructed. In the ternary system there are 17 curves of monovariant equilibrium dividing the liquidus into 10 fields of primary crystallization of phases, 9 points of non-variant equilibrium of which 4 points are triple eutectics and 5 points are triple peritectics

  19. Scavenging energy from human motion with tubular dielectric polymer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jean-Mistral, Claire; Basrour, Skandar

    2010-04-01

    Scavenging energy from human motion is a challenge to supply low consumption systems for sport or medical applications. A promising solution is to use electroactive polymers and especially dielectric polymers to scavenge mechanical energy during walk. In this paper, we present a tubular dielectric generator which is the first step toward an integration of these structures into textiles. For a 10cm length and under a strain of 100%, the structure is able to scavenge 1.5μJ for a poling voltage of 200V and up to 40μJ for a poling voltage of 1000V. A 30cm length structure is finally compared to our previous planar structure, and the power management module for those structures is discussed.

  20. Forensically significant scavenging guilds in the southwest of Western Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Brien, R Christopher; Forbes, Shari L; Meyer, Jan; Dadour, Ian

    2010-05-20

    Estimation of time since death is an important factor in forensic investigations and the state of decomposition of a body is a prime basis for such estimations. The rate of decomposition is, however, affected by many environmental factors such as temperature, rainfall, and solar radiation as well as by indoor or outdoor location, covering and the type of surface the body is resting upon. Scavenging has the potential for major impact upon the rate of decomposition of a body, but there is little direct research upon its effect. The information that is available relates almost exclusively to North American and European contexts. The Australian faunal assemblage is unique in that it includes no native large predators or large detrivorous avians. This research investigates the animals that scavenge carcasses in natural outdoor settings in southern Western Australia and the factors which can affect each scavenger's activity. The research was conducted at four locations around Perth, Western Australia with different environmental conditions. Pig carcasses, acting as models for the human body, were positioned in an outdoor environment with no protection from scavengers or other environmental conditions. Twenty-four hour continuous time-lapse video capture was used to observe the pattern of visits of all animals to the carcasses. The time of day, length of feeding, material fed upon, area of feeding, and any movement of the carcass were recorded for each feeding event. Some species were observed to scavenge almost continually throughout the day and night. Insectivores visited the carcasses mostly during bloat and putrefaction; omnivores fed during all stages of decomposition and scavenging by carnivores, rare at any time, was most likely to occur during the early stages of decomposition. Avian species, which were the most prolific visitors to the carcasses in all locations, like reptiles, fed only during daylight hours. Only mammals and amphibians, which were seldom seen

  1. Free radical-scavenging delta-lactones from Boletus calopus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jin-Woo; Yoo, Ick-Dong; Kim, Won-Gon

    2006-12-01

    The methanol extracts from the fruiting body of the mushroom Boletus calopus showed free radical-scavenging activity. Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the methanol extracts led to a new hydroxylated calopin named calopin B, along with the known delta-lactones calopin and cyclocalopin A. The structure of the new calopin analogue was elucidated by spectroscopic methods. All compounds showed potent free radical-scavenging activity against superoxide, DPPH, and ABTS radicals with IC (50) values of 1.2 - 5.4 microg/mL.

  2. Electronic structures and stability of Ni/Bi2Te3 and Co/Bi2Te3 interfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiong Ka; Wang Weichao; Alshareef, Husam N; Gupta, Rahul P; Gnade, Bruce E; Cho, Kyeongjae; White, John B

    2010-01-01

    We investigate the electronic structures and stability for Ni/Bi 2 Te 3 , NiTe/Bi 2 Te 3 , Co/Bi 2 Te 3 and CoTe 2 /Bi 2 Te 3 interfaces by first-principles calculations. It is found that the surface termination strongly affects the band alignment. Ni and Co are found to form Ohmic contacts to Bi 2 Te 3 . The interface formation energy for Co/Bi 2 Te 3 interfaces is much lower than that of Ni/Bi 2 Te 3 interfaces. Furthermore, we found that NiTe on Bi 2 Te 3 is more stable than Ni, while the formation energies for Co and CoTe 2 on Bi 2 Te 3 are comparable.

  3. pH-dependent radical scavenging capacity of green tea catechins

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Muzolf, M.; Szymusiak, H.; Gliszczynska-Swiglo, A.; Rietjens, I.M.C.M.; Tyrakowska, B.

    2008-01-01

    The effect of pH on the radical scavenging capacity of green tea catechins was investigated using experimental as well as theoretical methods. It was shown that the radical scavenging capacity of the catechins, quantified by the TEAC value, increases with increasing pH of the medium. Comparison of

  4. Scavenging Capacities of Some Wines and Wine Phenolic Extracts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioannis G. Roussis

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to assess the ability of different wines – a sweet red, a dry red, a sweet white, and a dry white – to scavenge the stable 1,1’-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl radical (DPPH. and to determine their phenolic composition. Both red wines contained, apart from anthocyanins, also higher concentration of total phenolics, tartaric esters, and flavonols than the two white wines. All wines exhibited scavenging activity analogous to their total phenolic content. However, their phenolics differed in antiradical potency, which was visible in their EC50 values. The dry red wine, Xinomavro, had a lower EC50 value, indicating the higher antiradical potency of its phenolics. The scavenging capacities of phenolic extracts from Xinomavro red wine on hydroxyl radicals, superoxide radicals, and singlet oxygen were also assessed. Wine total extract was fractionated by extraction, and each of the three fractions was then subfractionated by column chromatography into two subfractions. Wine total extract, and its fractions and subfractions exhibited scavenging capacity on hydroxyl radicals, superoxide radicals, and singlet oxygen, indicating the activity of many wine phenolics. The most active wine extracts towards hydroxyl radicals were characterized by the high peaks of flavanols, anthocyanins and flavonols in their HPLC-DAD chromatograms. The most active extract towards superoxide radicals was rich in flavanols and anthocyanins. The characteristic phenolics of the most active wine extracts towards singlet oxygen were flavanols, flavonols and phenolic acids. The ability of all red wine phenolic extracts to scavenge singlet oxygen, along with hydroxyl and superoxide radicals, emphasizes its health functionality.

  5. {delta}-Opioid receptor-stimulated Akt signaling in neuroblastoma x glioma (NG108-15) hybrid cells involves receptor tyrosine kinase-mediated PI3K activation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heiss, Anika; Ammer, Hermann [Institute of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich Koeniginstrasse 16 80539 Muenchen Federal Republic of Germany (Germany); Eisinger, Daniela A., E-mail: eisinger@pharmtox.vetmed.uni-muenchen.de [Institute of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich Koeniginstrasse 16 80539 Muenchen Federal Republic of Germany (Germany)

    2009-07-15

    {delta}-Opioid receptor (DOR) agonists possess cytoprotective properties, an effect associated with activation of the 'pro-survival' kinase Akt. Here we delineate the signal transduction pathway by which opioids induce Akt activation in neuroblastoma x glioma (NG108-15) hybrid cells. Exposure of the cells to both [D-Pen{sup 2,5}]enkephalin and etorphine resulted in a time- and dose-dependent increase in Akt activity, as measured by means of an activation-specific antibody recognizing phosphoserine-473. DOR-mediated Akt signaling is blocked by the opioid antagonist naloxone and involves inhibitory G{sub i/o} proteins, because pre-treatment with pertussis toxin, but not over-expression of the G{sub q/11} scavengers EBP50 and GRK2-K220R, prevented this effect. Further studies with Wortmannin and LY294002 revealed that phophoinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) plays a central role in opioid-induced Akt activation. Opioids stimulate Akt activity through transactivation of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK), because pre-treatment of the cells with inhibitors for neurotrophin receptor tyrosine kinases (AG879) and the insulin-like growth factor receptor IGF-1 (AG1024), but not over-expression of the G{beta}{gamma} scavenger phosducin, abolished this effect. Activated Akt translocates to the nuclear membrane, where it promotes GSK3 phosphorylation and prevents caspase-3 cleavage, two key events mediating inhibition of cell apoptosis and enhancement of cell survival. Taken together, these results demonstrate that in NG108-15 hybrid cells DOR agonists possess cytoprotective properties mediated by activation of the RTK/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

  6. δ-Opioid receptor-stimulated Akt signaling in neuroblastoma x glioma (NG108-15) hybrid cells involves receptor tyrosine kinase-mediated PI3K activation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heiss, Anika; Ammer, Hermann; Eisinger, Daniela A.

    2009-01-01

    δ-Opioid receptor (DOR) agonists possess cytoprotective properties, an effect associated with activation of the 'pro-survival' kinase Akt. Here we delineate the signal transduction pathway by which opioids induce Akt activation in neuroblastoma x glioma (NG108-15) hybrid cells. Exposure of the cells to both [D-Pen 2,5 ]enkephalin and etorphine resulted in a time- and dose-dependent increase in Akt activity, as measured by means of an activation-specific antibody recognizing phosphoserine-473. DOR-mediated Akt signaling is blocked by the opioid antagonist naloxone and involves inhibitory G i/o proteins, because pre-treatment with pertussis toxin, but not over-expression of the G q/11 scavengers EBP50 and GRK2-K220R, prevented this effect. Further studies with Wortmannin and LY294002 revealed that phophoinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) plays a central role in opioid-induced Akt activation. Opioids stimulate Akt activity through transactivation of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK), because pre-treatment of the cells with inhibitors for neurotrophin receptor tyrosine kinases (AG879) and the insulin-like growth factor receptor IGF-1 (AG1024), but not over-expression of the Gβγ scavenger phosducin, abolished this effect. Activated Akt translocates to the nuclear membrane, where it promotes GSK3 phosphorylation and prevents caspase-3 cleavage, two key events mediating inhibition of cell apoptosis and enhancement of cell survival. Taken together, these results demonstrate that in NG108-15 hybrid cells DOR agonists possess cytoprotective properties mediated by activation of the RTK/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

  7. Optimum injection dose rate of hydrogen sulfide scavenger for treatment of petroleum crude oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T.M. Elshiekh

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Hydrogen sulfide H2S scavengers are chemicals that favorably react with hydrogen sulfide gas to eliminate it and produce environmental friendly products. These products depend on the type and composition of the scavenger and the conditions at which the reaction takes place. The scavenger should be widely available and economical for industry acceptance by having a low unit cost. The optimum values of H2S scavenger injection dose rate of scavenging hydrogen sulfide from the multiphase fluid produced at different wells conditions in one of the Petroleum Companies in Egypt were studied. The optimum values of H2S scavenger injection dose rate depend on pipe diameter, pipe length, gas molar mass velocity, inlet H2S concentration and pressure. The optimization results are obtained for different values of these parameters using the software program Lingo. In general, the optimum values of H2S scavenger injection dose rate of the scavenging of hydrogen sulfide are increased by increasing of the pipe diameter and increasing the inlet H2S concentration, and decreased by increasing the pipe length, gas molar mass velocity and pressure.

  8. Trophic facilitation or limitation? Comparative effects of pumas and black bears on the scavenger community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Maximilian L; Elbroch, L Mark; Wilmers, Christopher C; Wittmer, Heiko U

    2014-01-01

    Scavenging is a widespread behaviour and an important process influencing food webs and ecological communities. Large carnivores facilitate the movement of energy across trophic levels through the scavenging and decomposition of their killed prey, but competition with large carnivores is also likely to constrain acquisition of carrion by scavengers. We used an experimental approach based on motion-triggered video cameras at black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) carcasses to measure the comparative influences of two large carnivores in the facilitation and limitation of carrion acquisition by scavengers. We found that pumas (Puma concolor) and black bears (Ursus americanus) had different effects on their ecological communities. Pumas, as a top-level predator, facilitated the consumption of carrion by scavengers, despite significantly reducing their observed sum feeding times (165.7 min ± 21.2 SE at puma kills 264.3 min ± 30.1 SE at control carcasses). In contrast, black bears, as the dominant scavenger in the system, limited consumption of carrion by scavengers as evidenced by the observed reduction of scavenger species richness recorded at carcasses where they were present (mean = 2.33 ± 0.28 SE), compared to where they were absent (mean = 3.28 ± 0.23 SE). Black bears also had large negative effects on scavenger sum feeding times (88.5 min ± 19.8 SE at carcasses where bears were present, 372.3 min ± 50.0 SE at carcasses where bears were absent). In addition, we found that pumas and black bears both increased the nestedness (a higher level of order among species present) of the scavenger community. Our results suggest that scavengers have species-specific adaptions to exploit carrion despite large carnivores, and that large carnivores influence the structure and composition of scavenger communities. The interactions between large carnivores and scavengers should be considered in future studies of food webs and ecological communities.

  9. Electronic structures and stability of Ni/Bi2Te3 and Co/Bi2Te3 interfaces

    KAUST Repository

    Xiong, Ka; Wang, Weichao; Alshareef, Husam N.; Gupta, Rahul P.; White, John B.; Gnade, Bruce E.; Cho, Kyeongjae

    2010-01-01

    We investigate the electronic structures and stability for Ni/Bi 2Te3, NiTe/Bi2Te3, Co/Bi 2Te3 and CoTe2/Bi2Te3 interfaces by first-principles calculations. It is found that the surface termination strongly affects the band alignment. Ni and Co are found to form Ohmic contacts to Bi2Te3. The interface formation energy for Co/Bi2Te3 interfaces is much lower than that of Ni/Bi2Te3 interfaces. Furthermore, we found that NiTe on Bi2Te3 is more stable than Ni, while the formation energies for Co and CoTe2 on Bi2Te3 are comparable. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.

  10. Electronic structures and stability of Ni/Bi2Te3 and Co/Bi2Te3 interfaces

    KAUST Repository

    Xiong, Ka

    2010-03-04

    We investigate the electronic structures and stability for Ni/Bi 2Te3, NiTe/Bi2Te3, Co/Bi 2Te3 and CoTe2/Bi2Te3 interfaces by first-principles calculations. It is found that the surface termination strongly affects the band alignment. Ni and Co are found to form Ohmic contacts to Bi2Te3. The interface formation energy for Co/Bi2Te3 interfaces is much lower than that of Ni/Bi2Te3 interfaces. Furthermore, we found that NiTe on Bi2Te3 is more stable than Ni, while the formation energies for Co and CoTe2 on Bi2Te3 are comparable. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.

  11. Bismuth-boron multiple bonding in BiB{sub 2}O{sup -} and Bi{sub 2}B{sup -}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jian, Tian; Cheung, Ling Fung; Chen, Teng-Teng; Wang, Lai-Sheng [Department of Chemistry, Brown University, Providence, RI (United States)

    2017-08-01

    Despite its electron deficiency, boron is versatile in forming multiple bonds. Transition-metal-boron double bonding is known, but boron-metal triple bonds have been elusive. Two bismuth boron cluster anions, BiB{sub 2}O{sup -} and Bi{sub 2}B{sup -}, containing triple and double B-Bi bonds are presented. The BiB{sub 2}O{sup -} and Bi{sub 2}B{sup -} clusters are produced by laser vaporization of a mixed B/Bi target and characterized by photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. Well-resolved photoelectron spectra are obtained and interpreted with the help of ab initio calculations, which show that both species are linear. Chemical bonding analyses reveal that Bi forms triple and double bonds with boron in BiB{sub 2}O{sup -} ([Bi≡B-B≡O]{sup -}) and Bi{sub 2}B{sup -} ([Bi=B=Bi]{sup -}), respectively. The Bi-B double and triple bond strengths are calculated to be 3.21 and 4.70 eV, respectively. This is the first experimental observation of Bi-B double and triple bonds, opening the door to design main-group metal-boron complexes with multiple bonding. (copyright 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  12. Microstructure Of MnBi/Bi Eutectic Alloy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilcox, William R.; Eisa, G. F.; Baskaran, B.; Richardson, Donald C.

    1988-01-01

    Collection of three reports describes studies of directional solidification of MnBi/Bi eutectic alloy. Two of the reports, "Influence of Convection on Lamellar Spacing of Eutectics" and "Influence of Convection on Eutectic Microstructure," establish theoretical foundation for remaining document. Reports seek to quantify effect of convection on concentration field of growing lamellar eutectic. Remaining report, "Study of Eutectic Formation," begins by continuing theoretical developments. New technique under development by one of the authors helps to reveal three-dimensional microstructures of alloys.

  13. Photocatalytic activity of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}/Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} heterojunctions: the facilitation of exposed facets of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yan, Long [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yulin University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Low Metamorphic Coal Clean Utilization, Yulin 71900 (China); School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yan’an University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Chemical Reaction Engineering, Yan’an 716000 (China); Wang, Yufei [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yulin University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Low Metamorphic Coal Clean Utilization, Yulin 71900 (China); Shen, Huidong; Zhang, Yu [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yan’an University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Chemical Reaction Engineering, Yan’an 716000 (China); Li, Jian [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yulin University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Low Metamorphic Coal Clean Utilization, Yulin 71900 (China); Wang, Danjun, E-mail: yulyanlong@aliyun.com [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yan’an University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Chemical Reaction Engineering, Yan’an 716000 (China)

    2017-01-30

    Highlights: • Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} hybrids with exposed (020) Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} facets have been synthesized. • X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that a small amount of Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} was formed. • The enhanced photoactivity of hybrids is due to heterojunction and (020) facets. • A possible photocatalytic degradation mechanism is proposed. - Abstract: Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} hybrid architectures with exposed (020) Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} facets have been synthesized via a controlled anion exchange approach. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) reveals that a small amount of Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} was formed on the surface of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} during the anion exchange process, thus leading to the transformation from the Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} to Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}. A rhodamine B (RhB) aqueous solution was chosen as model organic pollutants to evaluate the photocatalytic activities of the Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} catalysts. Under visible light irradiation, the Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}-TAA displayed the excellent visible light photoactivities compared with pure Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3}, Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} and other composite photocatalysts. The efficient photocatalytic activity of the Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}-TAA composite microspheres was ascribed to the constructed heterojunctions and the inner electric field caused by the exposed (020) Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} facets. Active species trapping experiments revealed that h{sup +} and O{sub 2}·{sup −} are the main active species in the photocatalytic process. Furthermore, the as-obtained photocatalysts showed good photocatalytic activity after four recycles. The results presented in this study provide a new concept for the rational design and development of highly efficient photocatalysts.

  14. Optimization of excess Bi doping to enhance ferroic orders of spin casted BiFeO3 thin film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gupta, Surbhi; Gupta, Vinay; Tomar, Monika; James, A. R.; Pal, Madhuparna; Guo, Ruyan; Bhalla, Amar

    2014-01-01

    Multiferroic Bismuth Ferrite (BiFeO 3 ) thin films with varying excess bismuth (Bi) concentration were grown by chemical solution deposition technique. Room temperature multiferroic properties (ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, and piezoelectricity) of the deposited BiFeO 3 thin films have been studied. High resolution X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy studies reveal that the dominant phases formed in the prepared samples change continuously from a mixture of BiFeO 3 and Fe 2 O 3 to pure BiFeO 3 phase and, subsequently, to a mixture of BiFeO 3 and Bi 2 O 3 with increase in the concentration of excess Bi from 0% to 15%. BiFeO 3 thin films having low content (0% and 2%) of excess Bi showed the traces of ferromagnetic phase (γ-Fe 2 O 3 ). Deterioration in ferroic properties of BiFeO 3 thin films is also observed when prepared with higher content (15%) of excess Bi. Single-phased BiFeO 3 thin film prepared with 5% excess Bi concentration exhibited the soft ferromagnetic hysteresis loops and ferroelectric characteristics with remnant polarization 4.2 μC/cm 2 and saturation magnetization 11.66 emu/g. The switching of fine spontaneous domains with applied dc bias has been observed using piezoresponse force microscopy in BiFeO 3 thin films having 5% excess Bi. The results are important to identify optimum excess Bi concentration needed for the formation of single phase BiFeO 3 thin films exhibiting the improved multiferroic properties.

  15. Topotactic synthesis of a new BiS2-based superconductor Bi2(O,F)S2

    OpenAIRE

    Okada, Tomoyuki; Ogino, Hiraku; Shimoyama, Jun-ichi; Kishio, Kohji

    2015-01-01

    A new BiS2-based superconductor Bi2(O,F)S2 was discovered. This is a layered compound consisting of alternate stacking structure of rock-salt-type BiS2 superconducting layer and fluorite-type Bi(O,F) blocking layer. Bi2(O,F)S2 was obtained as the main phase by topotactic fluorination of undoped Bi2OS2 using XeF2, which is the first topotactic synthesis of an electron-doped superconductor via reductive fluorination. With increasing F-content, a- and c-axis length increased and decreased, respe...

  16. Computational study of the structure-free radical scavenging relationship of procyanidins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendoza-Wilson, Ana María; Castro-Arredondo, Sergio Ivan; Balandrán-Quintana, René Renato

    2014-10-15

    Procyanidins (PCs) are effective free radical scavengers, however, their antioxidant ability is variable because they have different degrees of polymerisation, are composed by distinct types of subunits and are very susceptible to changes in conformation. In this work the structure-free radical scavenging relationship of monomers, dimers and trimers of PCs was studied through the hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), sequential proton-loss electron-transfer (SPLET) and single electron transfer followed by proton transfer (SET-PT) mechanisms in aqueous phase, employing the Density Functional Theory (DFT) computational method. The structure-free radical scavenging relationship of PCs showed a very similar behaviour in HAT and SET-PT mechanisms, but very different in the SPLET mechanism. The structural factor that showed more effects on the ability of PCs to scavenge free radicals in aqueous phase was the conformation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. The scavenger activities of tea polyphenol and quercetin against oxygen radicals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang Ruoying; Cheng Jiwu; Hu Tianxi; Tu Tiecheng; Dong Jirong; Wang Wenfeng; Lin nianyun

    1992-01-01

    Studies of free radical biology and medicine have shown that carcinogenesis, vascular diseases of heart and brain, radiation injuries, ageing etc are strictly correlated with free radical injury of tissues. Thus, pharmacologists and biologists are focusing attention on searching for scavengers, especially naturally occurring antioxidant of oxidizing free radicals. Previous studies have indicated that phenolic antioxidants have efficient scavenger activities. Utilizing following methods including chemical luminescence, ESR spectroscopy and pulse radiolysis techniques the scavenger activities of tea polyphenols and quercetin against active species of oxygen have been studied

  18. Atypical chemokine receptors in cancer: friends or foes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Massara, Matteo; Bonavita, Ornella; Mantovani, Alberto; Locati, Massimo; Bonecchi, Raffaella

    2016-06-01

    The chemokine system is a fundamental component of cancer-related inflammation involved in all stages of cancer development. It controls not only leukocyte infiltration in primary tumors but also angiogenesis, cancer cell proliferation, and migration to metastatic sites. Atypical chemokine receptors are a new, emerging class of regulators of the chemokine system. They control chemokine bioavailability by scavenging, transporting, or storing chemokines. They can also regulate the activity of canonical chemokine receptors with which they share the ligands by forming heterodimers or by modulating their expression levels or signaling activity. Here, we summarize recent results about the role of these receptors (atypical chemokine receptor 1/Duffy antigen receptor for chemokine, atypical chemokine receptor 2/D6, atypical chemokine receptor 3/CXC-chemokine receptor 7, and atypical chemokine receptor 4/CC-chemokine receptor-like 1) on the tumorigenesis process, indicating that their effects are strictly dependent on the cell type on which they are expressed and on their coexpression with other chemokine receptors. Indeed, atypical chemokine receptors inhibit tumor growth and progression through their activity as negative regulators of chemokine bioavailability, whereas, on the contrary, they can promote tumorigenesis when they regulate the signaling of other chemokine receptors, such as CXC-chemokine receptor 4. Thus, atypical chemokine receptors are key components of the regulatory network of inflammation and immunity in cancer and may have a major effect on anti-inflammatory and immunotherapeutic strategies. © Society for Leukocyte Biology.

  19. One step synthesis of Bi@Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}@carboxylate-rich carbon spheres with enhanced photocatalytic performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qu, Lingling [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013 (China); Luo, Zhijun, E-mail: lzj@ujs.edu.cn [School of the Environment, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013 (China); State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Tang, Chao [Maple Leaf International High School, Zhenjiang 212013 (China)

    2013-11-15

    Graphical abstract: Functional groups of sodium gluconate play synergetic roles in the formation of Bi@Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}@carboxylate-rich carbon core–shell nanosturctures (Bi@Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}@CRCSs). Bi@Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}@CRCSs exhibits significant enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. - Highlights: • One step synthesis of Bi@Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}@carboxylate-rich carbon spheres. • Functional groups of sodium gluconate play synergetic roles in the formation of Bi@Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}@CRCSs. • Bi@Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}@CRCSs exhibits enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. - Abstract: Bi@Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}@carboxylate-rich carbon core-shell nanosturctures (Bi@Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}@CRCSs) have been synthesized via a one-step method. The core–shell nanosturctures of the as-prepared samples were confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Raman spectroscopy. The formation of Bi@Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}@CRCSs core–shell nanosturctures should attribute to the synergetic roles of different functional groups of sodium gluconate. Bi@Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}@CRCSs exhibits significant enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm) and shows an O{sub 2}-dependent feature. According to trapping experiments of radicals and holes, hydroxyl radicals were not the main active oxidative species in the photocatalytic degradation of MB, but O{sub 2}·{sup −} are the main active oxidative species.

  20. Trophic facilitation or limitation? Comparative effects of pumas and black bears on the scavenger community.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maximilian L Allen

    Full Text Available Scavenging is a widespread behaviour and an important process influencing food webs and ecological communities. Large carnivores facilitate the movement of energy across trophic levels through the scavenging and decomposition of their killed prey, but competition with large carnivores is also likely to constrain acquisition of carrion by scavengers. We used an experimental approach based on motion-triggered video cameras at black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus carcasses to measure the comparative influences of two large carnivores in the facilitation and limitation of carrion acquisition by scavengers. We found that pumas (Puma concolor and black bears (Ursus americanus had different effects on their ecological communities. Pumas, as a top-level predator, facilitated the consumption of carrion by scavengers, despite significantly reducing their observed sum feeding times (165.7 min ± 21.2 SE at puma kills 264.3 min ± 30.1 SE at control carcasses. In contrast, black bears, as the dominant scavenger in the system, limited consumption of carrion by scavengers as evidenced by the observed reduction of scavenger species richness recorded at carcasses where they were present (mean = 2.33 ± 0.28 SE, compared to where they were absent (mean = 3.28 ± 0.23 SE. Black bears also had large negative effects on scavenger sum feeding times (88.5 min ± 19.8 SE at carcasses where bears were present, 372.3 min ± 50.0 SE at carcasses where bears were absent. In addition, we found that pumas and black bears both increased the nestedness (a higher level of order among species present of the scavenger community. Our results suggest that scavengers have species-specific adaptions to exploit carrion despite large carnivores, and that large carnivores influence the structure and composition of scavenger communities. The interactions between large carnivores and scavengers should be considered in future studies of food webs and ecological communities.

  1. Topotactic synthesis of a new BiS2-based superconductor Bi2(O,F)S2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okada, Tomoyuki; Ogino, Hiraku; Shimoyama, Jun-ichi; Kishio, Kohji

    2015-02-01

    A new BiS2-based superconductor, Bi2(O,F)S2, was discovered. It is a layered compound consisting of alternately stacked structure of rock-salt-type BiS2 superconducting layers and fluorite-type Bi(O,F) blocking layers. Bi2(O,F)S2 was obtained as the main phase by topotactic fluorination of undoped Bi2OS2 using XeF2. This is the first topotactic synthesis of an electron-doped superconductor via reductive fluorination. With increasing F-content, a- and c-axis lengths increased and decreased, respectively, and Tc increased to 5.1 K.

  2. Mobile vapor recovery and vapor scavenging unit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stokes, C.A.; Steppe, D.E.

    1991-01-01

    This patent describes a mobile anti- pollution apparatus, for the recovery of hydrocarbon emissions. It comprises a mobile platform upon which is mounted a vapor recovery unit for recovering vapors including light hydrocarbons, the vapor recovery unit having an inlet and an outlet end, the inlet end adapted for coupling to an external source of hydrocarbon vapor emissions to recover a portion of the vapors including light hydrocarbons emitted therefrom, and the outlet end adapted for connection to a means for conveying unrecovered vapors to a vapor scavenging unit, the vapor scavenging unit comprising an internal combustion engine adapted for utilizing light hydrocarbon in the unrecovered vapors exiting from the vapor recovery unit as supplemental fuel

  3. Sodium citrate-assisted anion exchange strategy for construction of Bi2O2CO3/BiOI photocatalysts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, Peng-Yuan; Xu, Ming; Zhang, Wei-De

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Heterostructured Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 /BiOI microspheres were prepared via anion exchange. • Sodium citrate-assisted anion exchange for construction of composite photocatalysts. • Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 /BiOI composites show high visible light photocatalytic activity. - Abstract: Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 /BiOI heterojuncted photocatalysts were constructed through a facile partial anion exchange strategy starting from BiOI microspheres and urea with the assistance of sodium citrate. The content of Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 in the catalysts was regulated by modulating the amount of urea as a precursor, which was decomposed to generate CO 3 2− in the hydrothermal process. Citrate anion plays a key role in controlling the morphology and composition of the products. The Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 /BiOI catalysts display much higher photocatalytic activity than pure BiOI and Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 towards the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and bisphenol A (BPA). The enhancement of photocatalytic activity of the heterojuncted catalysts is attributed to the formation of p–n junction between p-BiOI and n-Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 , which is favorable for retarding the recombination of photoinduced electron-hole pairs. Moreover, the holes are demonstrated to be the main active species for the degradation of RhB and BPA

  4. Scavenging of radionuclides in the marine environment, (1)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahara, Yasunori

    1989-01-01

    It is very important to predict diffusion, scavenging and accumulation of the long lives radionuclides which may be discharged from the reprocessing plant in the marine environment, for the purpose of polishing up methods of the radiation does estimation to the high quality stage. This study reports that distribution and behavior of transuranic elements, which are extremely harmful for the human beings and are discharged probably from the reprocessing plant, are investigated in both the survey of bibliography and the in-situ observation. Results of the field observation on the distribution of transuranic elements in the marine show that plutonium and americium are easily scavenged from the sea water and are accumulated on the sea bottom. Transuranic elements, which are originated from fallout and are discharged from the reprocessing plant, have generally the similar distribution in the marine and the same chemical behavior. This facts suggest that the fallout data which are probably and easily collected in the world are available for fabrication of the scavenging model for transuranic elements discharged from the reprocessing plants. (author)

  5. Environment, urban poverty and scavenging: review of relationship and its effectiveness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chamhuri Siwar; Amzad Hossain; Norshamleeda Chamhuri

    2001-01-01

    Urban poverty and environment is interrelated to each other. Environmental degradation is a crucial factor for urban poverty and vice-versa. The generation of solid waste all over the world has reached an alarming proportion and constitutes one of the world's greatest sources of environmental degradation (fagan, 1974). Solid waste is one of the three major environmental problems faced by municipalities in Malaysia (World Bank, 1993) which is one of the major cause or contributor to urban poverty. However, urban solid waste consists of two strata such as source of environmental degradation and income generating agents for urban poor scavengers. In Malaysia, full-time and part-time scavengers are recycling 6% of total generated residential solid waste in some selected areas other wise its emitted or disposed to the environment. On the other hand, by doing this work full-time scavengers are earning wages of RM750 per month which is equal to that of the majority of Third world urbanities; part-time scavengers are earning 33% of their daily income. This paper discusses a theoretical framework of the relationship of environment and urban poverty. Policies, issues and some case studies of scavenging as a means of urban poverty reduction and environmental improvements of sustainable urban development are also explored. (Author)

  6. Neuroendocrine-immune interaction: regulation of inflammation via G-protein coupled receptors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verburg-van Kemenade, B.M.L.; Aa, van der L.M.; Chadzinska, M.K.

    2013-01-01

    Neuroendocrine- and immune systems interact in a bi-directional fashion to communicate the status of pathogen recognition to the brain and the immune response is influenced by physiological changes. The network of ligands and their receptors involved includes cytokines and chemokines,

  7. Scavenger Receptor B1 is a Potential Biomarker of Human Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma and Its Growth is Inhibited by HDL-mimetic Nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Ying; Liu, Yanyan; Jin, Honglin; Pan, Shaotao; Qian, Yuan; Huang, Chuan; Zeng, Yixin; Luo, Qingming; Zeng, Musheng; Zhang, Zhihong

    2013-01-01

    Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a very regional malignant head and neck cancer that has attracted widespread attention for its unique etiology, epidemiology and therapeutic options. To achieve high cure rates in NPC patients, theranostic approaches are actively being pursued and improved efforts remain desirable in identifying novel biomarkers and establishing effective therapeutic approaches with low long-term toxicities. Here, we discovered that the scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-B1) was overexpressed in all investigated NPC cell lines and 75% of NPC biopsies, demonstrating that SR-B1 is a potential biomarker of NPC. Additional functional analysis showed that SR-B1 has great effect on cell motility while showing no significant impact on cell proliferation. As high-density lipoproteins (HDL) exhibit strong binding affinities to SR-B1 and HDL mimetic peptides are reportedly capable of inhibiting tumor growth, we further examined the SR-B1 targeting ability of a highly biocompatible HDL-mimicking peptide-phospholipid scaffold (HPPS) nanocarrier and investigated its therapeutic effect on NPC. Results show that NPC cells with higher SR-B1 expression have superior ability in taking up the core constituents of HPPS. Moreover, HPPS inhibited the motility and colony formation of 5-8F cells, and significantly suppressed the NPC cell growth in nude mice without inducing tumor cell necrosis or apoptosis. These results indicate that HPPS is not only a NPC-targeting nanocarrier but also an effective anti-NPC drug. Together, the identification of SR-B1 as a potential biomarker and the use of HPPS as an effective anti-NPC agent may shed new light on the diagnosis and therapeutics of NPC. PMID:23843895

  8. Enhanced protection of PDMS-embedded palladium catalysts by co-embedding of sulphide-scavengers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comandella, Daniele; Ahn, Min Hyung; Kim, Hojeong; Mackenzie, Katrin

    2017-12-01

    For Pd-containing hydrodechlorination catalysts, coating with poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) was proposed earlier as promising protection scheme against poisoning. The PDMS coating can effectively repel non-permeating poisons (such as SO 3 2- ) retaining the hydrodechlorination Pd activity. In the present study, the previously achieved protection efficiency was enhanced by incorporation of sulphide scavengers into the polymer. The embedded scavengers were able to bind permeating non-ionic poisons (such as H 2 S) during their passage through PDMS prior to Pd contact which ensured an extended catalyst lifetime. Three scavenger types forming non-permeable sulphur species from H 2 S - alkaline, oxidative or iron-based compounds - were either incorporated into single-layer coats around individual Pd/Al 2 O 3 particles or into a second layer above Pd-containing PDMS films (Pd-PDMS). Hydrodechlorination and hydrogenation were chosen as model reactions, carried out in batch and continuous-flow reactors. Batch tests with all scavenger-containing catalysts showed extended Pd protection compared to scavenger-free catalysts. Solid alkaline compounds (Ca(OH) 2 , NaOH, CaO) and MnO 2 showed the highest instantaneous scavenger efficiencies (retained Pd activity=30-60%), while iron-based catalysts, such as nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) or ferrocene (FeCp 2 ), proved less efficient (1-10%). When stepwise poisoning was applied, the protection efficiency of iron-based and oxidizing compounds was higher in the long term than that of alkaline solids. Long-term experiments in mixed-flow reactors were performed with selected scavengers, revealing the following trend of protection efficiency: CaO 2 >Ca(OH) 2 >FeCp 2 . Under field-simulating conditions using a fixed-bed reactor, the combination of sulphide pre-oxidation in the water phase by H 2 O 2 and local scavenger-enhanced Pd protection was successful. The oxidizing agent H 2 O 2 does not disturb the Pd-catalysed reduction, while the

  9. Postmortem scavenging by the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana): Impact on taphonomic assemblages and progression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Kama A; Lord, Wayne D; Ketchum, Heather R; O'Brien, R Christopher

    2016-09-01

    The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is a highly active scavenger whose behavior has significant impacts on rates of decomposition and skeletonization, which have previously not been addressed. In this study, scavenging by the opossum led to the skeletonization of carcasses in half of the accumulated degree days (ADD) of a comparable non-scavenged control carcass. Opossums used body orifices, as well as natural tears caused by the decomposition process, to access internal tissues and consume them. This activity resulted in little movement of the carcass and the retained appearance of natural undisturbed decomposition. This concealed activity has the potential to cause drastically incorrect estimates of time since deposition and post-mortem interval. Scavenging by opossums was also found to leave distinct tooth mark and other defects on bone, which have not been previously distinguished in the literature. This research suggests, beyond effects on PMI, that scavenging by opossums has been historically overlooked and misattributed to canid scavengers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Optimization of excess Bi doping to enhance ferroic orders of spin casted BiFeO{sub 3} thin film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gupta, Surbhi; Gupta, Vinay, E-mail: drguptavinay@gmail.com [Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi (India); Tomar, Monika [Department of Physics, Miranda Housea, University of Delhi, Delhi (India); James, A. R. [Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Hyderabad (India); Pal, Madhuparna; Guo, Ruyan; Bhalla, Amar [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Texas at SanAntonio, San Antonio 78249 (United States)

    2014-06-21

    Multiferroic Bismuth Ferrite (BiFeO{sub 3}) thin films with varying excess bismuth (Bi) concentration were grown by chemical solution deposition technique. Room temperature multiferroic properties (ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, and piezoelectricity) of the deposited BiFeO{sub 3} thin films have been studied. High resolution X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy studies reveal that the dominant phases formed in the prepared samples change continuously from a mixture of BiFeO{sub 3} and Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} to pure BiFeO{sub 3} phase and, subsequently, to a mixture of BiFeO{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} with increase in the concentration of excess Bi from 0% to 15%. BiFeO{sub 3} thin films having low content (0% and 2%) of excess Bi showed the traces of ferromagnetic phase (γ-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}). Deterioration in ferroic properties of BiFeO{sub 3} thin films is also observed when prepared with higher content (15%) of excess Bi. Single-phased BiFeO{sub 3} thin film prepared with 5% excess Bi concentration exhibited the soft ferromagnetic hysteresis loops and ferroelectric characteristics with remnant polarization 4.2 μC/cm{sup 2} and saturation magnetization 11.66 emu/g. The switching of fine spontaneous domains with applied dc bias has been observed using piezoresponse force microscopy in BiFeO{sub 3} thin films having 5% excess Bi. The results are important to identify optimum excess Bi concentration needed for the formation of single phase BiFeO{sub 3} thin films exhibiting the improved multiferroic properties.

  11. Investigation of the electronic structure of the BiSBr and BiSeBr clusters by density functional method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Audzijonis, A.; Gaigalas, G.; Zigas, L.; Pauliukas, A.; Zaltauskas, R.; Kvedaravicius, A.; Cerskus, A.

    2008-01-01

    The energy levels of valence bands (VB) of the BiSBr and BiSeBr crystals have been calculated for investigation of the photoelectron emission spectra of BiSBr, BiSeBr and BiSI crystals. The molecular model of this crystal has been used for the calculation of VB by the Density Functional Theory (DFT) method. The molecular cluster, consisting of 20 molecules of BiSBr, BiSeBr, has been used for calculations of averaged total density of states, including atom vibrations. The spectra of the averaged total density of states from VB of BiSBr and BiSeBr clusters have been compared with the experimental photoelectron emission spectra from VB of BiSI crystals. The results clarify that the atomic vibrations in A 5 B 6 C 7 type crystals with chain structure create a smoother appearance of the averaged total density of state spectrum and the experimental X-ray photoemission spectra (XPS)

  12. Process for scavenging hydrogen sulfide from hydrocarbon gases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fox, I.

    1981-01-01

    A process for scavenging hydrogen sulfide from hydrocarbon gases utilizes iron oxide particles of unique chemical and physical properties. These particles have large surface area, and are comprised substantially of amorphous Fe 2 O 3 containing a crystalline phase of Fe 2 O 3 , Fe 3 O 4 and combinations thereof. In scavenging hydrogen sulfide, the iron oxide particles are suspended in a liquid which enters into intimate mixing contact with hydrocarbon gases; the hydrogen sulfide is reacted at an exceptional rate and only acid-stable reaction products are formed. Thereafter, the sweetened hydrocarbon gases are collected

  13. Luminescence of Bi3+ ions in Y3Al5O12:Bi single crystalline films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zorenko, Yu.; Gorbenko, V.; Voznyak, T.; Vistovsky, V.; Nedilko, S.; Nikl, M.

    2007-01-01

    The absorption and cathodoluminescence spectra of single crystalline films (SCF) of Y 3 Al 5 O 12 :Bi garnet depending on Bi concentration were analyzed. For consideration of the nature of the UV and visible Bi-related emission bands the time-resolved luminescence of Bi 3+ (ns 2 ) ions in YAG:Bi SCF was studied at 10 K under excitation by synchrotron radiation. The difference in the excitation spectra and emission decay of the UV and visible bands has been explained via radiative relaxation from the 3 P 1,0 excited states to the 1 S 0 ground state of the isolated and pair/clustered Bi 3+ emission centers in the garnet lattice, respectively

  14. A multistep continuous-flow system for rapid on-demand synthesis of receptor ligands

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Trine P; Ritzén, Andreas; Ulven, Trond

    2009-01-01

    A multistep continuous-flow system for synthesis of receptor ligands by assembly of three variable building blocks in a single unbroken flow is described. The sequence consists of three reactions and two scavenger steps, where a Cbz-protected diamine is reacted with an isocyanate, deprotected, an......, and reacted further with an alkylating agent....

  15. Scavenging rate ecoassay: a potential indicator of estuary condition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porter, Augustine G; Scanes, Peter R

    2015-01-01

    Monitoring of estuary condition is essential due to the highly productive and often intensely impacted nature of these ecosystems. Assessment of the physico-chemical condition of estuaries is expensive and difficult due to naturally fluctuating water quality and biota. Assessing the vigour of ecosystem processes is an alternative method with potential to overcome much of the variability associated with physico-chemical measures. Indicators of estuary condition should have small spatial and temporal variability, have a predictable response to perturbation and be ecologically relevant. Here, we present tests of the first criterion, the spatio-temporal variability of a potential ecoassay measuring the rate of scavenging in estuaries. We hypothesised that the proposed scavenging ecoassay would not vary significantly among A) sites in an estuary, B) trips separated by weeks, or C) days in a trip. Because not all habitats are present in all estuaries, this test was undertaken in two habitats. When conducted over bare substrate there were occasional significant differences, but no discernible patterns, within levels of the experiment. When conducted over vegetated substrate, days within a trip did not vary significantly, but later trips experienced greater scavenging. This scavenging ecoassay shows potential as a tool for assessing the condition of estuarine ecosystems, and further exploration of this protocol is warranted by implementation in estuaries across a gradient of anthropogenic stress.

  16. Contrasting Boundary Scavenging in two Eastern Boundary Current Regimes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, R. F.; Fleisher, M. Q.; Pavia, F. J.; Vivancos, S. M.; Lu, Y.; Zhang, P.; Cheng, H.; Edwards, R. L.

    2016-02-01

    We use data from two US GEOTRACES expeditions to compare boundary scavenging intensity in two eastern boundary current systems: the Canary Current off Mauritania and the Humboldt Current off Peru. Boundary scavenging refers to the enhanced removal of trace elements from the ocean by sorption to sinking particles in regions of greater than average particle abundance. Both regimes experience high rates of biological productivity and generation of biogenic particles, with rates of productivity potentially a little greater off Peru, whereas dust fluxes are an order of magnitude greater off NW Africa (see presentation by Vivancos et al., this meeting). Despite greater productivity off Peru, we find greater intensity of scavenging off NW Africa as measured by the residence time of dissolved 230Th integrated from the surface to a depth of 2500 m (10-11 years off NW Africa vs. 15-17 years off Peru). Dissolved 231Pa/230Th ratios off NW Africa (Hayes et al., Deep Sea Res.-II 116 (2015) 29-41) are nearly twice the values observed off Peru. We attribute this difference to the well-known tendency for lithogenic phases (dust) to strongly fractionate in favor of Th uptake during scavenging and removal, leaving the dissolved phase enriched in Pa. This behavior needs to be considered when interpreting sedimentary 231Pa/230Th ratios as a paleo proxy.

  17. Response of MnBi-Bi eutectic to freezing rate changes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nair, M.; Fu, T.-W.; Wilcox, W. R.; Doddi, K.; Ravishankar, P. S.; Larson, D.

    1982-01-01

    Reference is made to a study by Fu and Wilcox (1981), which treated theoretically the influence on freezing rate of sudden changes in translation rate in the Bridgman-Stockbarger technique. This treatment is extended here to a linear ramped translation rate and an oscillatory freezing rate. It is found that oscillations above a few hertz are highly damped in small-diameter apparatus. An experimental test is carried out of the theoretical predictions for a sudden change of translation rate. The MnBi-Bi eutectic is solidified with current-induced interface demarcation. The experimental results accord reasonably well with theory if the silica ampoule wall is assumed to either (1) contribute only a resistance to heat exchange between the sample and the furnace wall or (2) transmit heat effectively in the axial direction by radiation. In an attempt to explain the fact that a finer microstructure is obtained in space, MnBi-Bi microstructure is determined when the freezing rate is increased or decreased rapidly. Preliminary results suggest that fiber branching does not occur as readily as fiber termination.

  18. Scavenger and antioxidant properties of prenylflavones isolated from Artocarpus heterophyllus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ko, F N; Cheng, Z J; Lin, C N; Teng, C M

    1998-07-15

    The antioxidant properties of prenylflavones, isolated from Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam., was evaluated in this study. Among them, artocarpine, artocarpetin, artocarpetin A, and cycloheterophyllin diacetate and peracetate had no effect on iron-induced lipid peroxidation in rat brain homogenate. They also did not scavenge the stable free radical 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl. In contrast, cycloheterophyllin and artonins A and B inhibited iron-induced lipid peroxidation in rat brain homogenate and scavenged 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl. They also scavenged peroxyl radicals and hydroxyl radicals that were generated by 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride and the Fe3+-ascorbate-EDTA-H2O2 system, respectively. However, they did not inhibit xanthine oxidase activity or scavenge superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, carbon radical, or peroxyl radicals derived from 2,2'-azobis(2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile) in hexane. Moreover, cycloheterophyllin and artonins A and B inhibited copper-catalyzed oxidation of human low-density lipoprotein, as measured by fluorescence intensity, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance and conjugated-diene formations and electrophoretic mobility. It is concluded that cycloheterophyllin and artonins A and B serve as powerful antioxidants against lipid peroxidation when biomembranes are exposed to oxygen radicals.

  19. Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Radical Scavengers from Thymus vulgaris Leaves

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dapkevicius, A.; Beek, van T.A.; Lelyveld, G.P.; Veldhuizen, van A.; Groot, de Æ.; Linssen, J.P.H.; Venskutonis, R.

    2002-01-01

    2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH*) scavenging activity-guided fractionation of a leaf extract of Thymus vulgaris led to the isolation of the radical scavengers rosmarinic acid 1, eriodictyol, taxifolin, luteolin 7-glucuronide, p-cymene 2,3-diol, p-cymene 2,3-diol 6-6'-dimer, carvacrol,

  20. Photoreduction of non-noble metal Bi on the surface of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} for enhanced visible light photocatalysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Xiaojing [State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, No. 8, Xindu Road, Xindu District, Chengdu 610500 (China); The Center of New Energy Materials and Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, No. 8, Xindu Road, Xindu District, Chengdu 610500 (China); Yu, Shan; Liu, Yang; Zhang, Qian [The Center of New Energy Materials and Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, No. 8, Xindu Road, Xindu District, Chengdu 610500 (China); Zhou, Ying, E-mail: yzhou@swpu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, No. 8, Xindu Road, Xindu District, Chengdu 610500 (China); The Center of New Energy Materials and Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, No. 8, Xindu Road, Xindu District, Chengdu 610500 (China)

    2017-02-28

    Highlights: • Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}-Bi composite was synthesized by in situ photoreduction of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}. • Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}-Bi exhibits improved photocatalytic efficiency towards degradation of Rhodamine B. • The generation of elemental Bi in Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}-Bi induces vacancy and structure distortion of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}. • The surface oxygen adsorption mode changes from hydroxyl group on Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} to molecular oxygen on Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}-Bi. - Abstract: In this report, Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}-Bi composite was prepared through an in situ photoreduction method and was characterized systematically by X-Ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The as-prepared Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}-Bi maintains the same crystal structure with the pristine Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} regardless of some surface defects. Nevertheless, these surface defects result in the change of surface oxygen adsorption mode from hydroxyl to molecular oxygen on Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}. Photocatalytic activity over Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}-Bi is 2.4 times higher than that of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} towards the degradation of organic dye Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). A deep study shows that cleavage of benzene ring is the main pathway for RhB degradation over Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}, but both the benzene cleavage and de-ethylation pathway coexist for RhB decomposition in the presence of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}-Bi as the photocatalyst. Photoelectrochemical study including transient photocurrent tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements shows that Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}-Bi could facilitate the charge transfer process compared to Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}. These data above has indicated a new insight into the promotion mechanism based on Bi related heterostructures.

  1. S1P in HDL promotes interaction between SR-BI and S1PR1 and activates S1PR1-mediated biological functions: calcium flux and S1PR1 internalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Mi-Hye; Appleton, Kathryn M; El-Shewy, Hesham M; Sorci-Thomas, Mary G; Thomas, Michael J; Lopes-Virella, Maria F; Luttrell, Louis M; Hammad, Samar M; Klein, Richard L

    2017-02-01

    HDL normally transports about 50-70% of plasma sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), and the S1P in HDL reportedly mediates several HDL-associated biological effects and signaling pathways. The HDL receptor, SR-BI, as well as the cell surface receptors for S1P (S1PRs) may be involved partially and/or completely in these HDL-induced processes. Here we investigate the nature of the HDL-stimulated interaction between the HDL receptor, SR-BI, and S1PR1 using a protein-fragment complementation assay and confocal microscopy. In both primary rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells and HEK293 cells, the S1P content in HDL particles increased intracellular calcium concentration, which was mediated by S1PR1. Mechanistic studies performed in HEK293 cells showed that incubation of cells with HDL led to an increase in the physical interaction between the SR-BI and S1PR1 receptors that mainly occurred on the plasma membrane. Model recombinant HDL (rHDL) particles formed in vitro with S1P incorporated into the particle initiated the internalization of S1PR1, whereas rHDL without supplemented S1P did not, suggesting that S1P transported in HDL can selectively activate S1PR1. In conclusion, these data suggest that S1P in HDL stimulates the transient interaction between SR-BI and S1PRs that can activate S1PRs and induce an elevation in intracellular calcium concentration.

  2. Fatal embryo chondral damage associated with fluoroquinolones in eggs of threatened avian scavengers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lemus, J.A.; Blanco, G.; Arroyo, B.; Martinez, F.; Grande, J.

    2009-01-01

    Stabled livestock reared in housed conditions are often subjected to intensive treatments with veterinary drug, which residues may be present in livestock meat ingested by scavengers, but nothing is known about their presence in eggs of wild birds and their potential detrimental effects on breeding success. We searched for residues of veterinary drugs and other toxicants in infertile and embryonated unhatched eggs of griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) and red kites (Milvus milvus), two threatened avian scavengers. Quinolones (ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin) were found in most unhatched eggs of both scavenger species clearly associated with severe alterations in the development of embryo cartilage and bones that could preclude embryo movements and subsequently normal development, pre-hatch position and successful hatching. The detrimental effects on developing eggs of veterinary drugs from livestock operations may help to explain reduced breeding success of avian scavengers. - Fluoroquinolones used in livestock farming and found in eggs of avian scavenger caused severe alterations in embryo cartilage and bone development.

  3. Fatal embryo chondral damage associated with fluoroquinolones in eggs of threatened avian scavengers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lemus, J.A. [Departamento de Ecologia Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), J. Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid (Spain); Blanco, G., E-mail: gublanco2@yahoo.e [Departamento de Ecologia Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), J. Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid (Spain); Arroyo, B.; Martinez, F.; Grande, J. [Departamento de Ecologia Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), J. Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid (Spain)

    2009-08-15

    Stabled livestock reared in housed conditions are often subjected to intensive treatments with veterinary drug, which residues may be present in livestock meat ingested by scavengers, but nothing is known about their presence in eggs of wild birds and their potential detrimental effects on breeding success. We searched for residues of veterinary drugs and other toxicants in infertile and embryonated unhatched eggs of griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) and red kites (Milvus milvus), two threatened avian scavengers. Quinolones (ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin) were found in most unhatched eggs of both scavenger species clearly associated with severe alterations in the development of embryo cartilage and bones that could preclude embryo movements and subsequently normal development, pre-hatch position and successful hatching. The detrimental effects on developing eggs of veterinary drugs from livestock operations may help to explain reduced breeding success of avian scavengers. - Fluoroquinolones used in livestock farming and found in eggs of avian scavenger caused severe alterations in embryo cartilage and bone development.

  4. Modelling the effect of boundary scavenging on Thorium and Protactinium profiles in the ocean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roy-Barman, M.

    2009-01-01

    The 'boundary scavenging' box model is a cornerstone of our understanding of the particle-reactive radionuclide fluxes between the open ocean and the ocean margins. However, it does not describe the radionuclide profiles in the water column. Here, I present the transport-reaction equations for radionuclides transported vertically by reversible scavenging on settling particles and laterally by horizontal currents between the margin and the open ocean. Analytical solutions of these equations are compared with existing data. In the Pacific Ocean, the model produces 'almost' linear 230 Th profiles (as observed in the data) despite lateral transport. However, omitting lateral transport biases the 230 Th based particle flux estimates by as much as 50%. 231 Pa profiles are well reproduced in the whole water column of the Pacific Margin and from the surface down to 3000 m in the Pacific subtropical gyre. Enhanced bottom scavenging or inflow of 231 Pa-poor equatorial water may account for the model-data discrepancy below 3000 m. The lithogenic 232 Th is modelled using the same transport parameters as 230 Th but a different source function. The main source of the 232 Th scavenged in the open Pacific is advection from the ocean margin, whereas a net flux of 230 Th produced in the open Pacific is advected and scavenged at the margin, illustrating boundary exchange. In the Arctic Ocean, the model reproduces 230 Th measured profiles that the uni-dimensional scavenging model or the scavenging-ventilation model failed to explain. Moreover, if lateral transport is ignored, the 230 Th based particle settling speed may by underestimated by a factor 4 at the Arctic Ocean margin. The very low scavenging rate in the open Arctic Ocean combined with the enhanced scavenging at the margin accounts for the lack of high 231 Pa/ 230 Th ratio in arctic sediments. (authors)

  5. Radical Scavenging Capacity of Wine Anthocyanins Is Strongly pH-Dependent

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Borowski, T.; Tyrakowska, B.; Oszmianski, J.; Rietjens, I.M.C.M.

    2005-01-01

    The radical scavenging capacity of red wine anthocyanins was quantified by the so-called TEAC assay with special emphasis on the influence of pH and conjugation on this activity. The pH appears to be a dominant factor in the radical scavenging capacity of wine anthocyanins, with higher pH values

  6. Numerical Investigation of the Scavenging Process in Marine Two-Stroke Diesel Engines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Fredrik Herland; Hult, Johan; Nogenmyr, Karl-Johan

    2013-01-01

    The scavenging process is an integral part of any two-stroke internal combustion engine cycle whether it is spark ignited or compression ignited. The scavenging process is responsible for transporting the burned gases from the previous working stroke out of the combustion chamber to allow...... for the fresh charge or fresh air to enter for the next combustion/working stroke. This implies that the scavenging process is responsible for setting the initial condition for the combustion process, consequently affecting fuel economy, power output and emission of hazardous gases. Two-stroke diesel engines...

  7. S1P in HDL promotes interaction between SR-BI and S1PR1 and activates S1PR1-mediated biological functions: calcium flux and S1PR1 internalization[S

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Mi-Hye; Appleton, Kathryn M.; El-Shewy, Hesham M.; Sorci-Thomas, Mary G.; Thomas, Michael J.; Lopes-Virella, Maria F.; Luttrell, Louis M.; Hammad, Samar M.; Klein, Richard L.

    2017-01-01

    HDL normally transports about 50–70% of plasma sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), and the S1P in HDL reportedly mediates several HDL-associated biological effects and signaling pathways. The HDL receptor, SR-BI, as well as the cell surface receptors for S1P (S1PRs) may be involved partially and/or completely in these HDL-induced processes. Here we investigate the nature of the HDL-stimulated interaction between the HDL receptor, SR-BI, and S1PR1 using a protein-fragment complementation assay and confocal microscopy. In both primary rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells and HEK293 cells, the S1P content in HDL particles increased intracellular calcium concentration, which was mediated by S1PR1. Mechanistic studies performed in HEK293 cells showed that incubation of cells with HDL led to an increase in the physical interaction between the SR-BI and S1PR1 receptors that mainly occurred on the plasma membrane. Model recombinant HDL (rHDL) particles formed in vitro with S1P incorporated into the particle initiated the internalization of S1PR1, whereas rHDL without supplemented S1P did not, suggesting that S1P transported in HDL can selectively activate S1PR1. In conclusion, these data suggest that S1P in HDL stimulates the transient interaction between SR-BI and S1PRs that can activate S1PRs and induce an elevation in intracellular calcium concentration. PMID:27881715

  8. Receptor-Mediated Drug Delivery to Macrophages in Chemotherapy of Leishmaniasis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukhopadhyay, Amitabha; Chaudhuri, Gautam; Arora, Sunil K.; Sehgal, Shobha; Basu, Sandip K.

    1989-05-01

    Methotrexate coupled to maleylated bovine serum albumin was taken up efficiently through the ``scavenger'' receptors present on macrophages and led to selective killing of intracellular Leishmania mexicana amazonensis amastigotes in cultured hamster peritoneal macrophages. The drug conjugate was nearly 100 times as effective as free methotrexate in eliminating the intracellular parasites. Furthermore, in a model of experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis in hamsters, the drug conjugate brought about more than 90% reduction in the size of footpad lesions within 11 days. In contrast, the free drug at a similar concentration did not significantly affect lesion size. These studies demonstrate the potential of receptor-mediated drug delivery in the therapy of macrophage-associated diseases.

  9. DFT study on the interfacial properties of vertical and in-plane BiOI/BiOIO3 hetero-structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Wen-Wu; Zhao, Zong-Yan

    2017-04-12

    Composite photocatalysts with hetero-structures usually favor the effective separation of photo-generated carriers. In this study, BiOIO 3 was chosen to form a hetero-structure with BiOI, due to its internal polar field and good lattice matching with BiOI. The interfacial properties and band offsets were focused on and analyzed in detail by DFT calculations. The results show that the charge depletion and accumulation mainly occur in the region near the interface. This effect leads to an interfacial electric field and thus, the photo-generated electron-hole pairs can be easily separated and transferred along opposite directions at the interface, which is significant for the enhancement of the photocatalytic activity. Moreover, according to the analysis of band offsets, the vertical BiOI/BiOIO 3 belongs to the type-II hetero-structure, while the in-plane BiOI/BiOIO 3 belongs to the type-I hetero-structure. The former type of hetero-structure has more favorable effects to enhance the photocatalytic activity of BiOI than that of the latter type of hetero-structure. In the case of the vertical BiOI/BiOIO 3 hetero-structure, photo-generated electrons can move from the conduction band of BiOI to that of BiOIO 3 , while holes can move from the valence band of BiOIO 3 to that of BiOI under solar radiation. In addition, the introduced internal electric field functions as a selector that can promote the separation of photo-generated carriers, resulting in the higher photocatalytic quantum efficiency. These findings illustrate the underlying mechanism for the reported experiments, and can be used as a basis for the design of novel highly efficient composite photocatalysts with hetero-structures.

  10. Polyphenolic Compounds and Free Radical Scavenging Activity in Eight Lamiaceae Herbs of Manipur

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandhyarani Devi KHOMDRAM

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Eight plants of Lamiaceae under subfamily Nepetoideae found in Manipur, India were selected for estimation of their polyphenolic compounds and free radical scavenging activity which is expressed on dry weight basis. In this present study, the total phenol and flavonoid contents as well as the free radical scavenging activity were studied using spectrophotometric method. The total phenol content was determined based on Folin-Ciocalteau reagent, flavonoid was determined by aluminium chloride spectrophotometric method and tannin by Folin Dennis Method. The free radical scavenging activity was determined by using DPPH radical which is expressed as IC50 (μg/ml. The total phenolic content varied from 21.39±0.927 to 46.28±0.543 mg/g, flavonoids content in the selected samples varied from 13.30±0.684 to 26.03±0.217 mg/g and tannin content varied from 8.72±0.160 to 17.04±0.206 mg/g. The free radical scavenging activity among the selected samples varied from 11.67±0.221 to 38.29±0.532 μg/ml. The correlation between the free radical scavenging activity with total phenol content (R2=0.511, with flavonoids (R2=0.241 and with tannin (R2=0.690 was calculated and maximum correlation value was found between tannin content and the free radical scavenging activity of the plant samples. The result supports that tannins were more responsible for free radical scavenging activity in the presently selected plants.

  11. Highly functionalized piperidines: Free radical scavenging, anticancer activity, DNA interaction and correlation with biological activity

    OpenAIRE

    Suvankar Das; Cristiane J. da Silva; Marina de M. Silva; Maria Dayanne de A. Dantas; Ângelo de Fátima; Ana Lúcia T. Góis Ruiz; Cleiton M. da Silva; João Ernesto de Carvalho; Josué C.C. Santos; Isis M. Figueiredo; Edeildo F. da Silva-Júnior; Thiago M. de Aquino; João X. de Araújo-Júnior; Goutam Brahmachari; Luzia Valentina Modolo

    2018-01-01

    Twenty-five piperidines were studied as potential radical scavengers and antitumor agents. Quantitative interaction of compounds with ctDNA using spectroscopic techniques was also evaluated. Our results demonstrate that the evaluated piperidines possesses different abilities to scavenge the radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and the anion radical superoxide (·O2−). The piperidine 19 was the most potent radical DPPH scavenger, while the most effective to ·O2− scavenger was piperidine...

  12. Strongly compressed Bi (111) bilayer films on Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} studied by scanning tunneling microscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, K. F.; Yang, Fang; Song, Y. R. [Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Liu, Canhua; Qian, Dong; Gao, C. L.; Jia, Jin-Feng [Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing 210093 (China)

    2015-09-21

    Ultra-thin Bi films show exotic electronic structure and novel quantum effects, especially the widely studied Bi (111) film. Using reflection high-energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy, we studied the structure and morphology evolution of Bi (111) thin films grown on Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3}. A strongly compressed, but quickly released in-plane lattice of Bi (111) is found in the first three bilayers. The first bilayer of Bi shows a fractal growth mode with flat surface, while the second and third bilayer show a periodic buckling due to the strong compression of the in-plane lattice. The lattice slowly changes to its bulk value with further deposition of Bi.

  13. Flavonoids as scavengers of nitric oxide radical.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Acker, S.A.B.E.; Tromp, M.N.J.L.; Haenen, G.R.M.M.; van der Vijgh, W.J.F.; Bast, A.

    1995-01-01

    Flavonoids are a group of naturally occurring compounds used, e.g., in the treatment of vascular endothelial damage. They are known to be excellent scavengers of oxygen free radicals. Since the nitric oxide radical (

  14. Role of antioxidant scavenging enzymes and extracellular ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ChithrashreeGS

    2012-08-23

    Aug 23, 2012 ... peroxidase are two important antioxidant scavenging enzymes involved in ... Catalase was assayed using the method of Beers and Sizer. (1951) with .... yeast dextrose calcium carbonate agar (YDC) medium. Catalase and ...

  15. An ion exchange strategy to BiOI/CH{sub 3}COO(BiO) heterojunction with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Qiaofeng, E-mail: hanqiaofeng@njust.edu.cn; Yang, Zhen; Wang, Li; Shen, Zichen; Wang, Xin; Zhu, Junwu; Jiang, Xiaohong

    2017-05-01

    Highlights: • BiOI/BiOAc heterojunction was firstly synthesized by an ion exchange route. • BiOI/BiOAc exhibited enhanced visible-light-driven photoreactivity for the dyes degradation in comparison with individuals. • Photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared BiOI/BiOAc is better than that prepared by precipitation-deposition method. • Photosensitization effect of BiOI to BiOAc was superior to that of Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} due to suitable solubility constant. - Abstract: It is very significant to develop CH{sub 3}COO(BiO) (denoted as BiOAc) based photocatalysts for the removal of pollutants due to its non-toxicity and availability. We previously reported that BiOAc exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity for rhodamine B (RhB) degradation under UV light irradiation. Herein, by an ion exchange approach, BiOI/BiOAc heterojunction could be easily obtained. The as-prepared heterojunction possessed enhanced photodegradation activity for multiple dyes including RhB and methyl orange (MO) under visible light illumination in comparison with individual materials. Good visible-light photocatalytic activity of the heterojunction could be attributed to the increased visible light response, effective charge transfer from the modified band position and close interfacial contact due to partial ion exchange method.

  16. Synthesis of chemically bonded BiOCl@Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} microspheres with exposed (0 2 0) Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} facets and their enhanced photocatalytic activities under visible light irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ma, Yongchao [Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109 (China); Chen, Zhiwei [School of Life Sciences, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255049 (China); Qu, Dan [Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109 (China); Shi, Jinsheng, E-mail: jsshiqn@aliyun.com [Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109 (China)

    2016-01-15

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • BiOCl@Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} composites were prepared via a controlled anion exchange method. • The shell of composites was composed of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} sheets with exposed (0 2 0) facets. • The BiOCl@Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} composites showed efficient photocatalytic activity. • A possible photocatalytic degradation mechanism is proposed. - Abstract: Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} photocatalysts has been extensively studied for its photocatalytic activity. However, few works have been conducted on hierarchical Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} composite photocatalysts with specifically exposed facets. In this work, we report a facile method to synthesize BiOCl@Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} hierarchical composite microspheres. Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} nanosheets with specifically exposed (0 2 0) facet were directly formed on the surface of BiOCl precursor microspheres via a controlled anion exchange route between BiOCl and Na{sub 2}WO{sub 4}. The visible-light photocatalytic activity of the BiOCl@Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} heterojunction with exposed (0 2 0) facets (denoted as BiOCl@Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}) was investigated by degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The experimental results indicated that the BiOCl@Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} composite microsphere with intimate interfacial contacts exhibited improved efficiency for RhB photodegradation in comparison with pure BiOCl and Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}. The BiOCl@Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} composite microsphere also shows high photocatalytic activity for degradation of CIP under visible light irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic performance of BiOCl@Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}-020 hierarchical microspheres can be ascribed to the improved visible light harvesting ability, high charge separation and transfer. This work will make significant contributions toward the exploration of novel heterostructures with high potential in photocatalytic applications.

  17. Local variation in Bi crystal sites of epitaxial GaAsBi studied by photoelectron spectroscopy and first-principles calculations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Laukkanen, P., E-mail: pekka.laukkanen@utu.fi [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku (Finland); Punkkinen, M.P.J., E-mail: marko.punkkinen@utu.fi [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku (Finland); Lahti, A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku (Finland); Puustinen, J. [Optoelectronics Research Centre, Tampere University of Technology, FI-33101 Tampere (Finland); Tuominen, M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku (Finland); Hilska, J. [Optoelectronics Research Centre, Tampere University of Technology, FI-33101 Tampere (Finland); Mäkelä, J.; Dahl, J.; Yasir, M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku (Finland); Kuzmin, M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku (Finland); Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg 194021, Russian Federation (Russian Federation); Osiecki, J.R.; Schulte, K. [The MAX IV laboratory, P. O. Box 118, Lund University, SE-221 00 Lund (Sweden); Guina, M. [Optoelectronics Research Centre, Tampere University of Technology, FI-33101 Tampere (Finland); Kokko, K. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku (Finland)

    2017-02-28

    Highlights: • XPS is used to study bulk-like properties of GaAsBi crystals. • Surface effects are removed from XPS signal by an epitaxial AlAs cap film. • Local variation of Bi composition is found. • The result is consistent with photoluminescence and theoretical results. • Ga vacancies and Bi crystallites are suggested to be dominating defects. - Abstract: Epitaxial Bi-containing III–V crystals (III-V{sub 1-x}Bi{sub x}) have attracted increasing interest due to their potential in infrared applications. Atomic-scale characterization and engineering of bulk-like III-V{sub 1-x}Bi{sub x} properties (e.g., Bi incorporation and defect formation) are challenging but relevant to develop applications. Toward that target, we report here that the traditional surface-science measurement of photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) is a potential, non-destructive method to be combined in the studies of bulk-like properties, when surface effects are properly removed. We have investigated epitaxial GaAs{sub 1-x}Bi{sub x} films, capped by epitaxial AlAs layers, with high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy. The Bi5d core-level spectra of GaAs{sub 1-x}Bi{sub x} together with ab-initio calculations give direct evidence of variation of Bi bonding environment in the lattice sites. The result agrees with photoluminescence (PL) measurement which shows that the studied GaAs{sub 1-x}Bi{sub x} films include local areas with higher Bi content, which contribute to PL but do not readily appear in x-ray diffraction (XRD). The measured and calculated Bi core-level shifts show also that Ga vacancies and Bi clusters are dominant defects.

  18. Precipitation scavenging of tritiated water vapour (HTO)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ogram, G.L.

    1985-10-01

    Precipitation scavenging (or washout) is an important mechanism for the removal of HTO from the atmosphere. Methods of parameterizing the depletion of a plume of HTO released to the atmosphere are examined. Simple approaches, commonly used for atmospheric transport modelling purposes, such as the use of a constant washout coefficient or washout ratio, or the use of parameters based on equilibrium assumptions, are often not justified. It is shown that these parameters depend strongly on ambient temperature and plume dimensions, as well as rainfall rate. An approximate expression for washout ratio, as a function of these variables, is developed, and it is shown that near equilibrium washout conditions are only expected to hold at long plume travel distances. A possible method of treating scavenging by snow is also suggested

  19. PDZK1 prevents neointima formation via suppression of breakpoint cluster region kinase in vascular smooth muscle.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wan Ru Lee

    Full Text Available Scavenger receptor class B, type I (SR-BI and its adaptor protein PDZK1 mediate responses to HDL cholesterol in endothelium. Whether the receptor-adaptor protein tandem serves functions in other vascular cell types is unknown. The current work determined the roles of SR-BI and PDZK1 in vascular smooth muscle (VSM. To evaluate possible VSM functions of SR-BI and PDZK1 in vivo, neointima formation was assessed 21 days post-ligation in the carotid arteries of wild-type, SR-BI-/- or PDZK1-/- mice. Whereas neointima development was negligible in wild-type and SR-BI-/-, there was marked neointima formation in PDZK1-/- mice. PDZK1 expression was demonstrated in primary mouse VSM cells, and compared to wild-type cells, PDZK1-/- VSM displayed exaggerated proliferation and migration in response to platelet derived growth factor (PDGF. Tandem affinity purification-mass spectrometry revealed that PDZK1 interacts with breakpoint cluster region kinase (Bcr, which contains a C-terminal PDZ binding sequence and is known to enhance responses to PDGF in VSM. PDZK1 interaction with Bcr in VSM was demonstrated by pull-down and by coimmunoprecipitation, and the augmented proliferative response to PDGF in PDZK1-/- VSM was abrogated by Bcr depletion. Furthermore, compared with wild-type Bcr overexpression, the introduction of a Bcr mutant incapable of PDZK1 binding into VSM cells yielded an exaggerated proliferative response to PDGF. Thus, PDZK1 has novel SR-BI-independent function in VSM that affords protection from neointima formation, and this involves PDZK1 suppression of VSM cell proliferation via an inhibitory interaction with Bcr.

  20. A bi-paratopic anti-EGFR nanobody efficiently inhibits solid tumour growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roovers, Rob C.; Vosjan, Maria J.W.D.; Laeremans, Toon; el Khoulati, Rachid; de Bruin, Renée C.G.; Ferguson, Kathryn M.; Verkleij, Arie J.; van Dongen, Guus A.M.S.; van Bergen en Henegouwen, Paul M. P.

    2014-01-01

    The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been shown to be a valid cancer target for antibody-based therapy. At present, several anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been successfully used, among which cetuximab and matuzumab. X-ray crystallography data show that these antibodies bind to different epitopes on the ecto-domain of EGFR, providing a rationale for the combined use of these two antibody specificities. We have previously reported on the successful isolation of antagonistic anti-EGFR nanobodies. In the present study, we aimed to improve on these molecules by combining nanobodies with specificities similar to both cetuximab and matuzumab into a single bi-paratopic molecule. Carefully designed phage nanobody selections resulted in two sets of nanobodies that specifically blocked the binding of either matuzumab or of cetuximab to EGFR and that did not compete for each others binding. A combination of nanobodies from both epitope groups into the bi-paratopic nanobody CONAN-1 was shown to block EGFR activation more efficiently than monovalent or bivalent (monospecific) nanobodies. In addition, this bi-paratopic nanobody potently inhibited EGF-dependent cell proliferation. Importantly, in an in vivo model of athymic mice bearing A431 xenografts, CONAN-1 inhibited tumour outgrowth with an almost similar potency as the whole mAb cetuximab, despite the fact that CONAN-1 is devoid of an Fc portion that could mediate immune effector functions. Compared to therapy using bivalent, mono-specific nanobodies, CONAN-1 was clearly more potent in tumour growth inhibition. These results show that the rational design of bi-paratopic nanobody-based anti-cancer therapeutics may yield potent lead molecules for further development. PMID:21520037

  1. Scavenging in the genus Natrix

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cesar Ayres

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Scavenging is reported as an unusual behaviour of snakes. However, it is likely more common than is supposed. Here I report the use of dead newts as prey source by water snakes of the genus Natrix at a dam in north-western Spain. Juveniles and adults viperine snakes (Natrix maura, and also an adult grass snake (Natrix natrix were found feeding on newt carcasses.

  2. Predatory blue crabs induce stronger nonconsumptive effects in eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica than scavenging blue crabs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avery E. Scherer

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available By influencing critical prey traits such as foraging or habitat selection, predators can affect entire ecosystems, but the nature of cues that trigger prey reactions to predators are not well understood. Predators may scavenge to supplement their energetic needs and scavenging frequency may vary among individuals within a species due to preferences and prey availability. Yet prey reactions to consumers that are primarily scavengers versus those that are active foragers have not been investigated, even though variation in prey reactions to scavengers or predators might influence cascading nonconsumptive effects in food webs. Oysters Crassostrea virginica react to crab predators by growing stronger shells. We exposed oysters to exudates from crabs fed live oysters or fed aged oyster tissue to simulate scavenging, and to controls without crab cues. Oysters grew stronger shells when exposed to either crab exudate, but their shells were significantly stronger when crabs were fed live oysters. The stronger response to predators than scavengers could be due to inherent differences in diet cues representative of reduced risk in the presence of scavengers or to degradation of conspecific alarm cues in aged treatments, which may mask risk from potential predators subsisting by scavenging.

  3. In vitro free radical scavenging activity of Ixora coccinea L

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moni Rani Saha

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Antioxidant activity of the methanol extract of Ixora coccinea L. was determined by DPPH free radical scavenging assay, reducing power and total antioxidant capacity using phosphomolybdenum method. Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed that the extract of the flower of I. coccinea possesses flavonoids, steroids and tannin materials. The extract showed significant activities in all antioxidant assays compared to the standard antioxidant in a dose dependent manner and remarkable activities to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS may be attributed to the high amount of hydrophilic phenolics. In DPPH radical scavenging assay the IC50 value of the extract was found to be 100.53 μg/mL while ascorbic acid had the IC50 value 58.92 μg/mL. Moreover, I. coccinea extract showed strong reducing power and total antioxidant capacity.

  4. Performance of zeolite scavenge column in Xe monitoring system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Qian; Wang Hongxia; Li Wei; Bian Zhishang

    2010-01-01

    In order to improve the performance of zeolite scavenge column, its ability of removal of humidity and carbon dioxide was studied by both static and dynamic approaches. The experimental results show that various factors, including the column length and diameter, the mass of zeolite, the content of water in air, the temperature rise during adsorption, and the activation effectiveness all effect the performance of zeolite column in scavenging humanity and carbon dioxide. Based on these results and previous experience, an optimized design of the zeolite column is made for use in xenon monitoring system. (authors)

  5. Calorimetric investigations of U-Bi system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agarwal, Renu; Joshi, A.R.

    2013-01-01

    U 0.333 Bi 0.667 is a compound that may form on breach of clad during reactor operation with metallic fuel and lead-bismuth coolant. Therefore, enthalpy of mixing of U-Bi liquid solution in limited composition range and enthalpy of formation of U 0.333 Bi 0.667 compound were measured by high temperature calorimetry. The enthalpy of mixing follows subregular solution model and enthalpy of formation U 0.333 Bi 0.667 from U(l) and Bi(l) at 843 K was -52.5 kJ/mol and -40.8 kJ/mol from U(s) and Bi(s) at 298.15 K. Both enthalpy of mixing and enthalpy of formation of intermetallic compound obtained experimentally were compared with Miedema model values. (author)

  6. Exploratory Bi-factor Analysis: The Oblique Case

    OpenAIRE

    Jennrich, Robert L.; Bentler, Peter M.

    2011-01-01

    Bi-factor analysis is a form of confirmatory factor analysis originally introduced by Holzinger and Swineford (1937). The bi-factor model has a general factor, a number of group factors, and an explicit bi-factor structure. Jennrich and Bentler (2011) introduced an exploratory form of bi-factor analysis that does not require one to provide an explicit bi-factor structure a priori. They use exploratory factor analysis and a bi-factor rotation criterion designed to produce a rotated loading mat...

  7. Influences of in-cloud aerosol scavenging parameterizations on aerosol concentrations and wet deposition in ECHAM5-HAM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Croft

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available A diagnostic cloud nucleation scavenging scheme, which determines stratiform cloud scavenging ratios for both aerosol mass and number distributions, based on cloud droplet, and ice crystal number concentrations, is introduced into the ECHAM5-HAM global climate model. This scheme is coupled with a size-dependent in-cloud impaction scavenging parameterization for both cloud droplet-aerosol, and ice crystal-aerosol collisions. The aerosol mass scavenged in stratiform clouds is found to be primarily (>90% scavenged by cloud nucleation processes for all aerosol species, except for dust (50%. The aerosol number scavenged is primarily (>90% attributed to impaction. 99% of this impaction scavenging occurs in clouds with temperatures less than 273 K. Sensitivity studies are presented, which compare aerosol concentrations, burdens, and deposition for a variety of in-cloud scavenging approaches: prescribed fractions, a more computationally expensive prognostic aerosol cloud processing treatment, and the new diagnostic scheme, also with modified assumptions about in-cloud impaction and nucleation scavenging. Our results show that while uncertainties in the representation of in-cloud scavenging processes can lead to differences in the range of 20–30% for the predicted annual, global mean aerosol mass burdens, and near to 50% for accumulation mode aerosol number burden, the differences in predicted aerosol mass concentrations can be up to one order of magnitude, particularly for regions of the middle troposphere with temperatures below 273 K where mixed and ice phase clouds exist. Different parameterizations for impaction scavenging changed the predicted global, annual mean number removal attributed to ice clouds by seven-fold, and the global, annual dust mass removal attributed to impaction by two orders of magnitude. Closer agreement with observations of black carbon profiles from aircraft (increases near to one order of magnitude for mixed phase clouds

  8. Investigation of the chemistry of liquid H{sub 2}S scavengers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Buhaug, Janne Bjoerntvedt

    2002-07-01

    The production of natural gas in the North Sea is facing a growing problem: contamination of the natural gas with dihydrogen sulfide, H{sub 2}S. As a gas reservoir is emptied, seawater containing sulfates is pumped into it, and the sulfates are reduced to dihydrogen sulfide by sulfate-reducing bacteria. Dihydrogen sulfide is then pumped up along with the oil, gas and water from the reservoir, causing severe corrosion of pipelines and contamination of the final natural gas product. Dihydrogen sulfide is extremely toxic, and in fields with especially large concentrations of H{sub 2}S this is a severe health risk for the platform workers. Hence, it is desirable to remove the dihydrogen sulfide at the earliest stage possible. There are four main methods for removing H{sub 2}S from natural gas: (1) Liquid scavengers, (2) Solid scavengers, (3) Liquid redox processes, (4) Amine / Claus catalyst. Liquid scavengers are widely used in the natural gas industry, especially at sites with relatively low concentrations of H{sub 2}S. As a rule of thumb, liquid scavengers are economically favourable at sites with a removal of less than 50 kg/day of H{sub 2}S. This thesis is concerned with the cyclic amine 1,3,5 -tris(2-hydroxyethyl)-1,3,5-triazinane, often referred to as Triazine. This is used in fields with relatively low concentration of H{sub 2}S and dominates the liquid scavenger market.

  9. Investigation of genetic variation in scavenger receptor class B, member 1 (SCARB1) and association with serum carotenoids

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKay, Gareth J; Loane, Edward; Nolan, John M; Patterson, Christopher C; Meyers, Kristin J; Mares, Julie A; Yonova-Doing, Ekaterina; Hammond, Christopher J; Beatty, Stephen; Silvestri, Giuliana

    2013-01-01

    Objective To investigate association of scavenger receptor class B, member 1 (SCARB1) genetic variants with serum carotenoid levels of lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) and macular pigment optical density (MPOD). Design A cross-sectional study of healthy adults aged 20-70. Participants 302 participants recruited following local advertisement. Methods MPOD was measured by customized heterochromatic flicker photometry. Fasting blood samples were taken for serum L and Z measurement by HPLC and lipoprotein analysis by spectrophotometric assay. Forty-seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across SCARB1 were genotyped using Sequenom technology. Association analyses were performed using PLINK to compare allele and haplotype means, with adjustment for potential confounding and correction for multiple comparisons by permutation testing. Replication analysis was performed in the TwinsUK and CAREDS cohorts. Main outcome measures Odds ratios (ORs) for macular pigment optical density area, serum lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations associated with genetic variations in SCARB1 and interactions between SCARB1 and sex. Results Following multiple regression analysis with adjustment for age, body mass index, sex, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), triglycerides, smoking, dietary L and Z levels, 5 SNPs were significantly associated with serum L concentration and 1 SNP with MPOD (P<0.01). Only the association between rs11057841 and serum L withstood correction for multiple comparisons by permutation testing (P<0.01) and replicated in the TwinsUK cohort (P=0.014). Independent replication was also observed in the CAREDS cohort with rs10846744 (P=2×10−4), a SNP in high linkage disequilibrium with rs11057841 (r2=0.93). No significant interactions by sex were found. Haplotype analysis revealed no stronger association than obtained with single SNP analyses. Conclusions Our study has identified association between rs11057841 and

  10. Placental Chemokine Receptor D6 Is Functionally Impaired in Pre-Eclampsia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chiara Tersigni

    Full Text Available Pre-eclampsia (PE is a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is defined by new onset of hypertension and proteinuria after the 20th week of gestation and characterized by systemic exaggerated inflammatory response. D6 is a chemokines scavenger receptor that binds with high affinity CC chemokines, internalizes and targets the ligands for degradation. It is expressed in trophoblast-derived tissues and prevents excessive placenta leukocyte infiltration.The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and function of D6 in human placentae from pre-eclamptic and healthy pregnant women.Plasma levels of D6-binding CC chemokines (CCL-2, CCL-3, CCL-4, CCL-7, CCL-11 and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α, CRP were analyzed in 37 healthy pregnant women and 38 patients with PE by multiplex bead assay. Higher circulating levels of CCL7, CCL11, IL-6, (p<0.0001 and CRP (p<0.05 were observed in PE women compared to controls. Levels of circulating CCL4 were decreased in PE (p<0.001, while no significant differences of CCL2, CCL3 or TNF-α levels were detected. Immunofluorescent staining of placental sections showed higher expression of D6 receptor in the PE syncytiotrophoblast. Confocal and Western blot (WB analyses revealed a prevalent distribution of D6 in trophoblast cells membranes in PE. Increased activation of D6 intracellular pathway was observed by Western blot analyses of p-LIMK and p-cofilin in trophoblast cell lysates. D6 functional assays showed reduced scavenging of CCL2 in PE cells compared to controls. Since actin filaments spatial assembling is essential for D6 intracellular trafficking and scavenging activity, we investigated by confocal microscopy trophoblast cytoskeleton organization and we observed a dramatic disarrangement in PE compared to controls.our results suggest membrane distribution of D6 receptor on trophoblast cell membranes in PE, together with reduced functionality, probably due

  11. Free radical scavenging potential and HPTLC analysis of Indigofera tinctoria linn (Fabaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sakthivel Srinivasan

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate the free radical scavenging potential and high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC fingerprinting of Indigofera tinctoria (I. tinctoria. Phytochemical analysis was carried out using standard methods, and free radical scavenging activity of the plant was determined using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazy (DPPH, nitric oxide (NO and superoxide anion (O2− radical scavenging capacities. HPTLC plate was kept in CAMAG TLC Scanner 3 and the Rf values at fingerprint data were recorded by WINCATS software. Aqueous extract of I. tinctoria reliably showed the total phenolics (267.2±2.42 mg/g, flavonoids (75.43±3.36 mg/g and antioxidants (349.11±8.04 mg/g. The extract was found to have DPPH (52.08%, NO (23.12% and O2− (26.79% scavenging activities at the concentration of 250 μg/mL and the results were statistically significant compared with ascorbic acid standard (p<0.05. HPTLC results confirmed that the extract contained several potential active components such as phenols, flavonoids, saponins and terpenoids as the slides revealed multi-colored bands of varying intensities. This study confirmed that the plant had multipotential antioxidant and free radicals scavenging activities.

  12. Unusual Concentration Induced Antithermal Quenching of the Bi(2+) Emission from Sr2P2O7:Bi(2.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Liyi; Peng, Mingying; Viana, Bruno; Wang, Jing; Lei, Bingfu; Liu, Yingliang; Zhang, Qinyuan; Qiu, Jianrong

    2015-06-15

    The resistance of a luminescent material to thermal quenching is essential for the application in high power LEDs. Usually, thermal luminescence quenching becomes more and more serious as the activator concentration increases. Conversely, we found here that a red phosphor Sr2P2O7:Bi(2+) is one of the exceptions to this as we studied the luminescence properties at low (10-300 K) and high (300-500 K) temperatures. As Bi(2+) ions are incorporated into Sr2P2O7, they exhibit the emissions at ∼660 and ∼698 nm at room temperature and are encoded, hereafter, as Bi(1) and Bi(2) due to the substitutions for two different crystallographic sites Sr(1) and Sr(2), respectively, in the compound. However, they will not substitute for these sites equally. At lower dopant concentration, they will occupy preferentially Sr(2) sites partially due to size match. As the concentration increases, more Bi(2+) ions start to occupy the Sr(1) sites. This can be verified by the distinct changes of emission intensity ratio of Bi(2) to Bi(1). As environment temperature increases, the thermal quenching happens, but it can be suppressed by the Bi(2+) concentration increase. This becomes even more pronounced in Bi(2+) heavily doped sample as we decompose the broad emission band into separated Bi(1) and Bi(2) Gaussian peaks. For the sample, the Bi(1) emission at ∼660 nm even shows antithermal-quenching particularly at higher temperatures. This phenomenon is accompanied by the blue shift of the overall emission band and almost no changes of lifetimes. A mechanism is proposed due to volume expansion of the unit cell, the increase of Bi(1) content, and temperature dependent energy transfer between Bi(2) and Bi(1). This work helps us better understand the complex luminescent behavior of Bi(2+) doped materials, and it will be helpful to design in the future the heavily doped phosphor for WLEDs with even better resistance to thermal quenching.

  13. A method for nitric oxide radical scavenging properties of sulfur containing compounds.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vriesman, M.F.; Haenen, G.R.M.M.; Westerveld, G.J.; Paquay, J.B.G.; Voss, H.P.; Bast, A.

    1997-01-01

    A new method for the quantification of the nitric oxide (NO) scavenging activity of compounds in aqueous solutions is described using an amperometric NO sensor. After correction for the spontaneous degradation of NO, second-order rate kinetics of the scavenging reaction are observed.

  14. Modelling the effect of boundary scavenging on Thorium and Protactinium profiles in the ocean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Roy-Barman

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The "boundary scavenging" box model is a cornerstone of our understanding of the particle-reactive radionuclide fluxes between the open ocean and the ocean margins. However, it does not describe the radionuclide profiles in the water column. Here, I present the transport-reaction equations for radionuclides transported vertically by reversible scavenging on settling particles and laterally by horizontal currents between the margin and the open ocean. Analytical solutions of these equations are compared with existing data. In the Pacific Ocean, the model produces "almost" linear 230Th profiles (as observed in the data despite lateral transport. However, omitting lateral transport biaises the 230Th based particle flux estimates by as much as 50%. 231Pa profiles are well reproduced in the whole water column of the Pacific Margin and from the surface down to 3000 m in the Pacific subtropical gyre. Enhanced bottom scavenging or inflow of 231Pa-poor equatorial water may account for the model-data discrepancy below 3000 m. The lithogenic 232Th is modelled using the same transport parameters as 230Th but a different source function. The main source of the 232Th scavenged in the open Pacific is advection from the ocean margin, whereas a net flux of 230Th produced in the open Pacific is advected and scavenged at the margin, illustrating boundary exchange. In the Arctic Ocean, the model reproduces 230Th measured profiles that the uni-dimensional scavenging model or the scavenging-ventilation model failed to explain. Moreover, if lateral transport is ignored, the 230Th based particle settling speed may by underestimated by a factor 4 at the Arctic Ocean margin. The very low scavenging rate in the open Arctic Ocean combined with the enhanced scavenging at the margin accounts for the lack of high 231Pa/230Th ratio in arctic

  15. Cellular receptors for human enterovirus species A

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yorihiro eNishimura

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Human enterovirus species A (HEV-A is one of the four species of HEV in the genus Enterovirus in the family Picornaviridae. Among HEV-A, coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16 and enterovirus 71 (EV71 are the major causative agents of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD. Some other types of HEV-A are commonly associated with herpangina. Although HFMD and herpangina due to HEV-A are common febrile diseases among infants and children, EV71 can cause various neurological diseases, such as aseptic meningitis and fatal encephalitis.Recently, two human transmembrane proteins, P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1 and scavenger receptor class B, member 2 (SCARB2, were identified as functional receptors for EV71 and CVA16. In in vitro infection experiments using the prototype HEV-A strains, PSGL-1 and SCARB2 could be responsible for the specific receptors for EV71 and CVA16. However, the involvement of both receptors in the in vitro and in vivo infections of clinical isolates of HEV-A has not been clarified yet. To elucidate a diverse array of the clinical outcome of HEV-A-associated diseases, the identification and characterization of HEV-A receptors may provide useful information in understanding the HEV-A pathogenesis at a molecular level.

  16. ApoA-I induces S1P release from endothelial cells through ABCA1 and SR-BI in a positive feedback manner.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xing; Ren, Kun; Suo, Rong; Xiong, Sheng-Lin; Zhang, Qing-Hai; Mo, Zhong-Cheng; Tang, Zhen-Li; Jiang, Yue; Peng, Xiao-Shan; Yi, Guang-Hui

    2016-12-01

    Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), which has emerged as a pivotal signaling mediator that participates in the regulation of multiple cellular processes, is derived from various cells, including vascular endothelial cells. S1P accumulates in lipoproteins, especially HDL, and the majority of free plasma S1P is bound to HDL. We hypothesized that HDL-associated S1P is released through mechanisms associated with the HDL maturation process. ApoA-I, a major HDL apolipoprotein, is a critical factor for nascent HDL formation and lipid trafficking via ABCA1. Moreover, apoA-I is capable of promoting bidirectional lipid movement through SR-BI. In the present study, we confirmed that apoA-I can facilitate the production and release of S1P by HUVECs. Furthermore, we demonstrated that ERK1/2 and SphK activation induced by apoA-I is involved in the release of S1P from HUVECs. Inhibitor and siRNA experiments showed that ABCA1 and SR-BI are required for S1P release and ERK1/2 phosphorylation induced by apoA-I. However, the effects triggered by apoA-I were not suppressed by inhibiting ABCA1/JAK2 or the SR-BI/Src pathway. S1P released due to apoA-I activation can stimulate the (ERK1/2)/SphK1 pathway through S1PR (S1P receptor) 1/3. These results indicated that apoA-I not only promotes S1P release through ABCA1 and SR-BI but also indirectly activates the (ERK1/2)/SphK1 pathway by releasing S1P to trigger their receptors. In conclusion, we suggest that release of S1P induced by apoA-I from endothelial cells through ABCA1 and SR-BI is a self-positive-feedback process: apoA-I-(ABCA1 and SR-BI)-(S1P release)-S1PR-ERK1/2-SphK1-(S1P production)-(more S1P release induced by apoA-I).

  17. Scavenging by spiders (Araneae) and its relationship to pest management of the brown recluse spider.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vetter, Richard S

    2011-06-01

    Experiments reported in Sandidge (2003; Nature 426: 30) indicated that the brown recluse spider, Loxosceles reclusa Gertsch & Mulaik, preferred to scavenge dead prey over live prey and that the spiders were not detrimentally affected when fed insecticide-killed crickets. Extrapolations made in subsequent media coverage disseminating the results of this research made counter-intuitive statements that pesticide treatment in houses would increase brown recluse populations in homes. This information was presented as if the scavenging behavior was specialized in the brown recluse; however, it was more likely that this behavior has not been well studied in other species. To provide a comparison, the current laboratory study examined the likelihood of non-Loxosceles spiders to scavenge dead prey. Of 100 non-Loxosceles spiders that were tested (from 11 families, 24 genera, and at least 29 species from a variety of spider hunting guilds), 99 scavenged dead crickets when offered in petri dishes. Some of the spiders were webspinners in which real-world scavenging of dead prey is virtually impossible, yet they scavenge when given the opportunity. Therefore, scavenging is a flexible opportunistic predatory behavior that is spread across a variety of taxa and is not a unique behavior in brown recluses. These findings are discussed in relation to pest management practices.

  18. High pressure synthesis of BiS2

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søndergaard-Pedersen, Simone; Nielsen, Morten Bormann; Bremholm, Martin

    crystal structures and electrical properties.1,2 Up until now, the most sulfur rich phase in the Bi-S phase diagram was Bi2S3.3 For BiS2 the Bi atoms have anisotropic charge distribution and more complex structures are expected when comparing the layered structures of transition metal dichalcogenides....... The possibilities of using high pressure synthesis to discover new phases in the Bi-S binary system were investigated as early as the 1960’s.4 The research led to discovery of a compound with BiS2 stoichiometry, but no structure solution of BiS2 was reported. A reason behind making this new phase is to study...... the physical properties since the related compound Bi2S3 is known to be a thermoelectric material.5 In this research the BiS2 compound was synthesized by a high pressure and high temperature method using a multi-anvil large volume press and the structure was solved by single crystal diffraction. The structure...

  19. Aerosol size-dependent below-cloud scavenging by rain and snow in the ECHAM5-HAM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Posselt

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Wet deposition processes are highly efficient in the removal of aerosols from the atmosphere, and thus strongly influence global aerosol concentrations, and clouds, and their respective radiative forcings. In this study, physically detailed size-dependent below-cloud scavenging parameterizations for rain and snow are implemented in the ECHAM5-HAM global aerosol-climate model. Previously, below-cloud scavenging by rain in the ECHAM5-HAM was simply a function of the aerosol mode, and then scaled by the rainfall rate. The below-cloud scavenging by snow was a function of the snowfall rate alone. The global mean aerosol optical depth, and sea salt burden are sensitive to the below-cloud scavenging coefficients, with reductions near to 15% when the more vigorous size-dependent below-cloud scavenging by rain and snow is implemented. The inclusion of a prognostic rain scheme significantly reduces the fractional importance of below-cloud scavenging since there is higher evaporation in the lower troposphere, increasing the global mean sea salt burden by almost 15%. Thermophoretic effects are shown to produce increases in the global and annual mean number removal of Aitken size particles of near to 10%, but very small increases (near 1% in the global mean below-cloud mass scavenging of carbonaceous and sulfate aerosols. Changes in the assumptions about the below-cloud scavenging by rain of particles with radius smaller than 10 nm do not cause any significant changes to the global and annual mean aerosol mass or number burdens, despite a change in the below-cloud number removal rate for nucleation mode particles by near to five-fold. Annual and zonal mean nucleation mode number concentrations are enhanced by up to 30% in the lower troposphere with the more vigourous size-dependent below-cloud scavenging. Closer agreement with different observations is found when the more physically detailed below-cloud scavenging parameterization is employed in the ECHAM5

  20. Internal friction behavior of liquid Bi-Sn alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu Aiqing; Guo Lijun; Liu Changsong; Jia Erguang; Zhu Zhengang

    2005-01-01

    Pure Bi and Sn and four Bi-Sn alloys distributed on the entire concentration range were selected for internal-friction investigation over a wide temperature range. There exist two peaks in the plots of internal friction versus temperature for liquid Sn, Bi-Sn60 and Bi-Sn90 alloys, one peak being located at about 480 - bar Cand another at about 830 - bar C. Only a single internal-friction peak at about 830 - bar C occurs in liquid Bi-Sn43 (eutectic composition). No internal-friction peak appears in liquid Bi-Sn20 alloy and pure Bi. The height of the internal-friction peaks depends on the content of Sn. The present finding suggests that Sn-rich Bi-Sn alloys may inherit the internal-friction behaviors of pure Sn, whereas Bi-rich Bi-Sn alloy seems to be like pure Bi. The position of the internal-friction peaks is frequency dependent, which resembles the internal-friction feature in structure transition in solids

  1. Internal friction behavior of liquid Bi-Sn alloys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu Aiqing [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1129, Hefei 230031 (China); Guo Lijun [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1129, Hefei 230031 (China); Liu Changsong [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1129, Hefei 230031 (China); Jia Erguang [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1129, Hefei 230031 (China); Zhu Zhengang [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1129, Hefei 230031 (China)]. E-mail: zgzhu@issp.ac.cn

    2005-12-01

    Pure Bi and Sn and four Bi-Sn alloys distributed on the entire concentration range were selected for internal-friction investigation over a wide temperature range. There exist two peaks in the plots of internal friction versus temperature for liquid Sn, Bi-Sn60 and Bi-Sn90 alloys, one peak being located at about 480{sup -}bar Cand another at about 830{sup -}bar C. Only a single internal-friction peak at about 830{sup -}bar C occurs in liquid Bi-Sn43 (eutectic composition). No internal-friction peak appears in liquid Bi-Sn20 alloy and pure Bi. The height of the internal-friction peaks depends on the content of Sn. The present finding suggests that Sn-rich Bi-Sn alloys may inherit the internal-friction behaviors of pure Sn, whereas Bi-rich Bi-Sn alloy seems to be like pure Bi. The position of the internal-friction peaks is frequency dependent, which resembles the internal-friction feature in structure transition in solids.

  2. Solvothermal modification of BiOCl nanosheets with Bi nanoparticles using ascorbic acid as reductant and the superoxide radicals dominated photocatalytic performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Zhankui; Gao, Keke; Ge, Suxiang; Fa, Wenjun

    2017-11-01

    BiOCl nanosheets were solvothermally modified with Bi nanoparticles (NPs) using ascorbic acid as the reductant. The structures of Bi/BiOCl composites were characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy and SEM. The light absorption properties were measured by UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performances were evaluated by photodegrading methyl orange (MO) and the photocatalytic mechanism was investigated using trapping experiments and a fluorescent probe method. The results show that Bi NPs are uniformly distributed on the surfaces of BiOCl nanosheets and the modification amount of Bi NPs could be well controlled because of the mild property of ascorbic acid as reducing agent. The photocatalytic activities for the composites are improved obviously and the best photocatalytic performance is obtained when the weight ratio of Bi and BiOCl is1:10 and the photochemical reaction rate is 3.5 times that of pure BiOCl nanosheets and 19.7 times of Bi powders. The enhanced photocatalytic efficiency is ascribed to the favorable formation of dominant \\cdot O2- radicals caused by the increased photoinduced electrons from both Bi NPs and BiOCl nanosheets.

  3. Uses and flock management practices of scavenging chickens in Wolaita Zone of southern Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desta, Takele Taye; Wakeyo, Oli

    2012-03-01

    Rearing of scavenging chickens is among the most commonly practiced farm activities in Ethiopia. This system is dominated by indigenous chickens. Output from indigenous chickens is low due to poor management and absence of intense selection that is intended to improve economically important traits. This showed that village chickens are rather evolved for adaptation traits. However, the level of risk is low, and this has made rearing of scavenging chickens a choice of farm activity for smallholder farmers. The objective of this study was to characterize the scavenging chickens' production system in Wolaita Zone. Single-visit survey involving individual interview of 119 farmers and 6 focus group discussions was used to collect the data. Our results showed that rearing of scavenging chickens was constrained especially by disease and predation problems. However, farmers proposed a set of solutions to minimize the effect of these problems. Rearing of scavenging chickens fulfils the multi-functional need of the society. This system has special features because it can sustain in its own without the need for modern commercial chicken farming facilities. However, farmers also reported the drawbacks of rearing of scavenging chickens and these mainly include uproot of garden crops and tiresomeness of the night watching. Selection of chickens was mainly depending on physically observed traits like body size and plumage colour. The initial foundation flock was mainly obtained from the local market. The ideal place for scavenging chickens production is the one that has intermediate weather condition and has some trees that can be used as shade; however, it was substantiated that it has to be free from bush and shrubs, weeds and wet lands. Therefore, these pieces of knowledge embedded among smallholder farmers need to be well documented and synthesized to design an appropriate type of technology packages that can be communicated back to farmers to improve productivity of the

  4. Energy scavenging strain absorber: application to kinetic dielectric elastomer generator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jean-Mistral, C.; Beaune, M.; Vu-Cong, T.; Sylvestre, A.

    2014-03-01

    Dielectric elastomer generators (DEGs) are light, compliant, silent energy scavengers. They can easily be incorporated into clothing where they could scavenge energy from the human kinetic movements for biomedical applications. Nevertheless, scavengers based on dielectric elastomers are soft electrostatic generators requiring a high voltage source to polarize them and high external strain, which constitutes the two major disadvantages of these transducers. We propose here a complete structure made up of a strain absorber, a DEG and a simple electronic power circuit. This new structure looks like a patch, can be attached on human's wear and located on the chest, knee, elbow… Our original strain absorber, inspired from a sailing boat winch, is able to heighten the external available strain with a minimal factor of 2. The DEG is made of silicone Danfoss Polypower and it has a total area of 6cm per 2.5cm sustaining a maximal strain of 50% at 1Hz. A complete electromechanical analytical model was developed for the DEG associated to this strain absorber. With a poling voltage of 800V, a scavenged energy of 0.57mJ per cycle is achieved with our complete structure. The performance of the DEG can further be improved by enhancing the imposed strain, by designing a stack structure, by using a dielectric elastomer with high dielectric permittivity.

  5. Analysis of the Scavenging Process of a Two-Stroke Free-Piston Engine Based on the Selection of Scavenging Ports or Valves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boru Jia

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The free-piston engine generator (FPEG is a linear energy conversion device with the objective of utilisation within a hybrid-electric automotive vehicle power system. In this research, the piston dynamic characteristics of an FPEG is compared with that of a conventional engine (CE of the same size, and the difference in the valve timing is compared for both port scavenging type and valve scavenging type, with the exhaust valve closing timing is selected as the parameter. A zero-dimensional simulation model is developed in Ricardo WAVE software (2016.1, with the piston dynamics obtained from the simulation model in Matlab/SIMULINK (R2017a. For the CE and FEPG using scavenging ports, in order to improve its power output to the same level as that of a CE, the inlet gas pressure is suggested to be improved to above 1.2 bar, approximately 0.2 bar higher than that used for a CE. If a CE cylinder with exhaust valves is adopted or referred to during the development of an FPEG prototype, the exhaust valve is suggested to be closed earlier to improve its power output, and a higher intake pressure is also suggested if its output power is expected to be the same or higher than that of a CE.

  6. Free radical scavenging activity and lipid peroxidation inhibition of Hypericum helianthemoides (spach Boiss

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soheila Moein

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Antioxidants are compounds that obstruct the oxidation of macromolecules in the body. In general, there are two categories of antioxidants, natural and synthetic. Recently, interest has been increased considerably for obtaining new natural antioxidants. In this study, the scavenging of free radicals such as DPPH, NO and OH by Hypericum helianthemoides extract was evaluated. Also, the antioxidant properties of this extract were evaluated by FRAP, FTC methods and determination phenolic compounds. The plant was collected from north of Fars Province and plant extraction was obtained using ethanol. In DPPH radical scavenging, different concentrations of the Hypericum extract were added to DPPH radical. In hydroxyl radical scavenging, Fenton reaction mixture, TCA and TBA were mixed with Hypericum extract. In nitric radical scavenging, nitropruside was mixed with Hypericum extract and then sulphanilic acid, naphthylene diamine were added. In determination of phenolic compounds, Folin-ciocalteu and sodium carbonate were added to Hypericum extract. In DPPH radical scavenging, the IC50 of Hypericum extract (309.35±6.5μg/ml was higher than the antioxidant standards, BHT (IC50=81.9±2.6 μg/ml and quercetin (IC50=60.04±6.48 μg/ml. The highest scavenging of hydroxyl radicals was observed in Hypericum extract (70.3±0.8%, 125 μg/ml. In gallic acid it was (73.8±3.3%. In 200 μg/ml of Hypericum extract scavenged NO radical (85.2±2.7%. In FRAP method, the IC50 of this extract was 109.7±10.5 μg/ml. In FTC method, the inhibition of lipid peroxidation by Hypericum extract, BHT and ascorbic acid were 59.2±2.2, 66.9±0.15, 64.06±0.02 respectively. Total phenol of the plant extract was 3±0.4 mg/g.

  7. In vivo heme scavenging by Staphylococcus aureus IsdC and IsdE proteins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mack, John; Vermeiren, Christie; Heinrichs, David E.; Stillman, Martin J.

    2004-01-01

    We report the first characterization of the in vivo porphyrin scavenging abilities of two components of a newly discovered heme scavenging system involving iron-regulated surface determinant (Isd) proteins. These proteins are present within the cell envelope of the Gram-positive human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. IsdC and IsdE, when expressed heterologously in Escherichia coli, efficiently scavenged intracellular heme and resulted in de novo heme synthesis in excess of 100-fold above background. Magnetic circular dichroism analyses showed that the heme-binding properties of the two proteins differ significantly from one another. IsdC bound almost exclusively free-base protoporphyrin IX, whereas the IsdE protein was associated with low spin Fe(III) and Fe(II) heme. These properties provide important insight into the possible mechanisms of iron scavenging from bound heme by Isd proteins

  8. Free radical scavenging activity of Eagle tea and their flavonoids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiong Meng

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available In this study, an online HPLC-DAD-MS coupled with 2,2′-azinobis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid diammonium salt (ABTS assay was employed for evaluating free radical scavenging activity of Eagle tea and their active components. Twenty-three chromatographic peaks were detected, and nineteen components had free radical scavenging activity. Among them, eight compounds were identified as flavonoids (hyperin, isoquercitrin, quercitrin, quercetin, kaempferol, catechins, chlorogenic acid and epicatechin based on MS data and standard chromatographic characters.

  9. Low frequency energy scavenging using sub-wave length scale acousto-elastic metamaterial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Riaz U. Ahmed

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available This letter presents the possibility of energy scavenging (ES utilizing the physics of acousto-elastic metamaterial (AEMM at low frequencies (<∼3KHz. It is proposed to use the AEMM in a dual mode (Acoustic Filter and Energy Harvester, simultaneously. AEMM’s are typically reported for filtering acoustic waves by trapping or guiding the acoustic energy, whereas this letter shows that the dynamic energy trapped inside the soft constituent (matrix of metamaterials can be significantly harvested by strategically embedding piezoelectric wafers in the matrix. With unit cell AEMM model, we experimentally asserted that at lower acoustic frequencies (< ∼3 KHz, maximum power in the micro Watts (∼35µW range can be generated, whereas, recently reported phononic crystal based metamaterials harvested only nano Watt (∼30nW power against 10KΩ resistive load. Efficient energy scavengers at low acoustic frequencies are almost absent due to large required size relevant to the acoustic wavelength. Here we report sub wave length scale energy scavengers utilizing the coupled physics of local, structural and matrix resonances. Upon validation of the argument through analytical, numerical and experimental studies, a multi-frequency energy scavenger (ES with multi-cell model is designed with varying geometrical properties capable of scavenging energy (power output from ∼10µW – ∼90µW between 0.2 KHz and 1.5 KHz acoustic frequencies.

  10. Scavenging capacity of strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) leaves on free radicals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Ivo; Coelho, Valentim; Baltasar, Raquel; Pereira, José Alberto; Baptista, Paula

    2009-07-01

    Despite strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) leaves had a long use in traditional medicine due to its antiseptic, diuretic, astringent and depurative properties, the potential of their antioxidant activity are still lacking. Our study goals to assess the antioxidant and free radical scavenging potential of water, ethanol, methanol and diethyl ether extracts of A. unedo leaves. Total phenols content was achieved spectrophotometrically using Folin-Ciocalteau reagent with gallic acid as standard. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using three different methods: reducing power of iron (III)/ferricyanide complex assay, scavenging effect on DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radicals and scavenging effect on superoxide radicals by using the PMS-NADH-nitroblue tetrazolium system. Ethanol extracts of A. unedo leaves were the highest in reducing power (IC(50) 232.7 microg/mL) and DPPH scavenging effect (IC(50) 63.2 microg/mL) followed by water extracts (with IC(50) of 287.7 and 73.7 microg/mL, respectively); whereas diethyl ether extracts were the lowest. In the scavenging on superoxide radical assay, methanol extracts obtained the best results (IC(50) 6.9 microg/mL). For all the methods tested the antioxidant activity was concentration dependent. In accordance with antioxidant activity, highest total phenols content were found in ethanol, followed by water, methanol and diethyl ether extract. The results indicated that A. unedo leaves are a potential source of natural antioxidants.

  11. Increasing land-use intensity reverses the relative occupancy of two quadrupedal scavengers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua P Twining

    Full Text Available Human land use is continuously altering the natural environment, yet the greater ecological implications of this change for many groups that are key to healthy ecosystem functioning remains uncharacterised in the tropics. Terrestrial scavenging vertebrates are one such group, providing integral ecosystem services through the removal of carrion which is a crucial component of both nutrient cycling and disease dynamics. To explore how anthropogenic processes may affect forest scavengers, we investigated the changes in the relative occupancy of two important terrestrial scavengers along a gradient of land use intensity, ranging from protected forest to oil palm plantation in Borneo. We found the Malay civet (Viverra tangalunga had highest, albeit variable, occupancy in areas of low land use intensity and the Southeast Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator macromaculatus had highest occupancy in areas of high land use intensity. Land use had no effect on the combined occupancy of the two species. In high land use intensity sites, individual water monitors were larger and had better body condition, but at population level had a highly biased sex ratio with more males than females and increased signs of intraspecific conflict. We did not assess scavenging rate or efficiency as a process, but the high occupancy rates and apparent health of the scavengers in high land use intensity landscapes suggests this ecological process is robust to land use change.

  12. Phonons of single quintuple Bi 2 Te 3 and Bi 2 Se 3 films and bulk materials

    KAUST Repository

    Cheng, Wei; Ren, Shang-Fen

    2011-01-01

    Phonons of single quintuple films of Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 and corresponding bulk materials are calculated in detail by MedeA (a trademark of Materials Design) and Vienna ab initio simulation package (VASP). The calculated results with and without spin-orbit couplings are compared, and the important roles that the spin-orbit coupling plays in these materials are discussed. A symmetry breaking caused by the anharmonic potentials around Bi atoms in the single quintuple films is identified and discussed. The observed Raman intensity features in Bi 2Te3 and Bi2Se3 quintuple films are explained. © 2011 American Physical Society.

  13. Phonons of single quintuple Bi 2 Te 3 and Bi 2 Se 3 films and bulk materials

    KAUST Repository

    Cheng, Wei

    2011-03-10

    Phonons of single quintuple films of Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 and corresponding bulk materials are calculated in detail by MedeA (a trademark of Materials Design) and Vienna ab initio simulation package (VASP). The calculated results with and without spin-orbit couplings are compared, and the important roles that the spin-orbit coupling plays in these materials are discussed. A symmetry breaking caused by the anharmonic potentials around Bi atoms in the single quintuple films is identified and discussed. The observed Raman intensity features in Bi 2Te3 and Bi2Se3 quintuple films are explained. © 2011 American Physical Society.

  14. Demonstration of surface transport in a hybrid Bi2Se3/Bi2Te3 heterostructure

    OpenAIRE

    Zhao, Yanfei; Chang, Cui-Zu; Jiang, Ying; DaSilva, Ashley; Sun, Yi; Wang, Huichao; Xing, Ying; Wang, Yong; He, Ke; Ma, Xucun; Xue, Qi-Kun; Wang, Jian

    2013-01-01

    In spite of much work on topological insulators (TIs), systematic experiments for TI/TI heterostructures remain absent. We grow a high quality heterostructure containing single quintuple layer (QL) of Bi2Se3 on 19 QLs of Bi2Te3 and compare its transport properties with 20 QLs Bi2Se3 and 20 QLs Bi2Te3. All three films are grown on insulating sapphire (0001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). In situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) provides direct evidence that the su...

  15. Effect of oxidant on resputtering of Bi from Bi--Sr--Ca--Cu--O films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grace, J.M.; McDonald, D.B.; Reiten, M.T.; Olson, J.; Kampwirth, R.T.; Gray, K.E.

    1992-01-01

    The type and partial pressure of oxidant mixed with argon can affect the selective sputtering of Bi in composite-target, magnetron-sputtered Bi--Sr--Ca--Cu--O films. Comparative studies using oxygen and ozone show that ozone is a more potent oxidant, as well as a more potent source of resputterers than is oxygen. Severe resputtering from ozone is significantly reduced by a -40 V potential on the sample block. We suggest that oxygen causes resputtering by forming O + 2 , which interacts with the target to produce energetic O - . In contrast, ozone may form lower-energy O - by electron impact in the dark space. Negative oxygen ions from the target itself may be responsible for a background resputtering effect. Our results and those found for Y--Ba--Cu--O by others are comparable. Bi in Bi--Sr--Ca--Cu--O behaves as Ba in Y--Ba--Cu--O, with regard to selective resputtering; furthermore, the response of Sr, Ca, and Cu to oxygen in sputtered Bi--Sr--Ca--Cu--O is similar to what is observed for Cu in Y--Ba--Cu--O

  16. Comparative study of phase structure and dielectric properties for K0.5Bi0.5TiO3-BiAlO3 and LaAlO3-BiAlO3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hou, Yudong; Zheng, Mupeng; Si, Meiju; Cui, Lei; Zhu, Mankang; Yan, Hui

    2013-01-01

    In this work, two perovskite-type compounds, K 0.5 Bi 0.5 TiO 3 and LaAlO 3 , have been selected as host material to incorporate with BiAlO 3 using a solid-state reaction route. The phase evolution and dielectric properties for both systems have been investigated in detail. For the K 0.5 Bi 0.5 TiO 3 -BiAlO 3 system, it is interesting to find that when using Bi 2 O 3 , Al 2 O 3 , K 2 CO 3 , and TiO 2 as starting materials, the formed compounds are K 0.5 Bi 0.5 TiO 3 -K 0.5 Bi 4.5 Ti 4 O 15 and Al 2 O 3 only plays a dopant role. There are two distinct dielectric peaks appearing in the patterns of temperature dependence of dielectric constant, corresponding to the phase-transition points of perovskite-type K 0.5 Bi 0.5 TiO 3 and Aurivillius-type K 0.5 Bi 4.5 Ti 4 O 15 , independently. In comparison, using Bi 2 O 3 , Al 2 O 3 , and La 2 O 3 as starting materials, the pure perovskite phase LaAlO 3 -BiAlO 3 can be obtained. Compared to the inherent paraelectric behavior in LaAlO 3 , the diffuse phase-transition phenomena can be observed in the LaAlO 3 -BiAlO 3 binary system, which corresponds well to the Vogel-Fulcher (VF) relationship. Moreover, compared to pure LaAlO 3 , the synthesized LaAlO 3 -BiAlO 3 compound shows enhanced dielectric properties, which are promising in application as gate dielectric materials. (copyright 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  17. Superoxide scavenging activity of pirfenidone-iron complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitani, Yoshihiro; Sato, Keizo; Muramoto, Yosuke; Karakawa, Tomohiro; Kitamado, Masataka; Iwanaga, Tatsuya; Nabeshima, Tetsuji; Maruyama, Kumiko; Nakagawa, Kazuko; Ishida, Kazuhiko; Sasamoto, Kazumi

    2008-01-01

    Pirfenidone (PFD) is focused on a new anti-fibrotic drug, which can minimize lung fibrosis etc. We evaluated the superoxide (O 2 ·- ) scavenging activities of PFD and the PFD-iron complex by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, luminol-dependent chemiluminescence assay, and cytochrome c reduction assay. Firstly, we confirmed that the PFD-iron complex was formed by mixing iron chloride with threefold molar PFD, and the complex was stable in distillated water and ethanol. Secondary, the PFD-iron complex reduced the amount of O 2 ·- produced by xanthine oxidase/hypoxanthine without inhibiting the enzyme activity. Thirdly, it also reduced the amount of O 2 ·- released from phorbor ester-stimulated human neutrophils. PFD alone showed few such effects. These results suggest the possibility that the O 2 ·- scavenging effect of the PFD-iron complex contributes to the anti-fibrotic action of PFD used for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

  18. Function of macrophage scavenger receptor 1 gene polymorphisms in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with and without lung cancer in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Liang; Chen, Wei; Dong, Ran; He, Bin; Zhao, Kaishun; Zhang, Li; Zhou, Min; He, Ping

    2018-05-01

    The present study assessed the association between the variants of macrophage scavenger receptor (MSR)1 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with or without lung cancer in China. COPD and lung cancer were previously regarded as two separate diseases. However, it has since been reported that there are close associations between COPD and lung cancer. Lung cancer may be an outcome of COPD. COPD may also coexist with lung cancer, and patients with COPD with lung cancer tend to have increased mortality. It is important to have a better understanding of the pathogenesis of COPD and the reason why it develops into lung cancer. MSR1 serves a crucial function in phagocytosis, which may be associated with the pathogenesis of COPD and lung cancer in patients with COPD. From 1 July 2015 to 20 February 2016, 100 patients with COPD and lung cancer, 100 patients with COPD without lung cancer and 100 healthy smokers were enrolled at the Shanghai Ruijin Hospital (Shanghai, China) for the genotyping of eight single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; ex3P36A_C>G, ex3S41Y_C>A, ex4V113A_T>C, ex4P174Y_G>T, ex6P275A_C>G, ex6R293×_C>T, ex10G369S_G>A and ex11H441R_A>G) via gene sequencing. The genotype frequencies of these SNPs did not significantly differ between patients with COPD with and without lung cancer, and the healthy controls. However, during DNA sequencing, the SNP rs13306550 (IVS4+3A>G) was identified in the splice donor site and was significantly associated with an increased risk of COPD compared with the healthy smokers (P=0.0053). The present study demonstrated that the variant rs13306550 was a risk factor for COPD susceptibility, but that did not influence lung cancer pathogenesis in patients with COPD. However, the mechanisms underlying the influence of rs13306550 on COPD development and progression remain to be elucidated and require further study.

  19. Crystalline structure and XMCD studies of Co40Fe40B20 grown on Bi2Te3, BiTeI and Bi2Se3

    OpenAIRE

    Kaveev, A. K.; Sokolov, N. S.; Suturin, S. M.; Zhiltsov, N. S.; Golyashov, V. A.; Tereshchenko, O. E.; Prosvirin, I. P.; Kokh, K. A.; Sawada, M.

    2018-01-01

    Epitaxial films of Co40Fe40B20 (further - CoFeB) were grown on Bi2Te3(001) and Bi2Se3(001) substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy (LMBE) technique at 200-400C. Bcc-type crystalline structure of CoFeB with (111) plane parallel to (001) plane of Bi2Te3 was observed, in contrast to polycrystalline CoFeB film formed on Bi2Se3(001) at RT using high-temperature seeding layer. Therefore, structurally ordered ferromagnetic thin films were obtained on the topological insulator surface for the firs...

  20. Thermal analysis and phase diagrams of the LiF BiF{sub 3} e NaF BiF{sub 3} systems; Analise termica e diagramas de fase dos sistemas LiF-BiF{sub 3} e NaF-BiF{sub 3}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nakamura, Gerson Hiroshi de Godoy

    2013-07-01

    Investigations of the binary systems LiF-BiF{sub 3} and NaF-BiF{sub 3} were performed with the objective of clarifying the thermal behavior and phase equilibria of these systems and their intermediary phases, an important requisite for high-quality crystal growth. Several samples in the entire range of compositions (0 to 100 mol% BiF{sub 3}) of both systems were subjected to experiments of differential thermal analysis (DTA) and thermogravimetry (TG), and also of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). A few specific compositions were selected for X-ray diffraction to supplement the experimental data. Due to the high vulnerability of BiF{sub 3} to oxygen contamination, its volatility and propensity to destroy metal parts upon heating, it was necessary to determine the optimal conditions for thermal analysis before investigating the systems themselves. Phase relations in the system LiF-BiF{sub 3} were completely clarified and a phase diagram was calculated and evaluated via the commercial software Factsage. The diagram itself consists in a simple peritectic system in which the only intermediary compound, LiBiF{sub 4}, decomposes into LiF and a liquid phase. The NaF-BiF{sub 3} system could not be completely elucidated and the phase relations in the NaF poor side (> 50% BiF{sub 3}) are still unknown. In the NaF rich side, however, the possible peritectoid decomposition of the compound NaBiF{sub 4} was identified. In both systems X-ray diffraction yielded crystal structures discrepant with the literature for the intermediary phases, LiBiF{sub 4}, NaBiF{sub 4} and a solid solution of NaF and BiF{sub 3} called {sup I.} The observed structures remain unknown and explanations for the discrepancies were proposed. (author)

  1. Applying Knowledge of Species-Typical Scavenging Behavior to the Search and Recovery of Mammalian Skeletal Remains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Alexandria; Stillman, Richard; Smith, Martin J; Korstjens, Amanda H

    2016-03-01

    Forensic investigations involving animal scavenging of human remains require a physical search of the scene and surrounding areas. However, there is currently no standard procedure in the U.K. for physical searches of scavenged human remains. The Winthrop and grid search methods used by police specialist searchers for scavenged remains were examined through the use of mock red fox (Vulpes vulpes) scatter scenes. Forty-two police specialist searchers from two different regions within the U.K. were divided between those briefed and not briefed with fox-typical scavenging information. Briefing searchers with scavenging information significantly affected the recovery of scattered bones (χ(2) = 11.45, df = 1, p = 0.001). Searchers briefed with scavenging information were 2.05 times more likely to recover bones. Adaptions to search methods used by searchers were evident on a regional level, such that searchers more accustom to a peri-urban to rural region recovered a higher percentage of scattered bones (58.33%, n = 84). © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  2. Highly efficient visible-light-induced photocatalytic activity of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}/BiVO{sub 4} heterojunction photocatalysts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chaiwichian, Saranyoo [Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai50200 (Thailand); Inceesungvorn, Burapat [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Wetchakun, Khatcharin [Program of Physics, Faculty of Science, Ubon Ratchathani Rajabhat University, Ubon Ratchathani 34000 (Thailand); Phanichphant, Sukon [Materials Science Research Center, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Kangwansupamonkon, Wiyong [National Nanotechnology Center, Thailand Science Park, Phahonyotin Road, Klong 1, Klong Luang, Phathumthani 12120 (Thailand); Wetchakun, Natda, E-mail: natda_we@yahoo.com [Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai50200 (Thailand)

    2014-06-01

    Highlights: • Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}/BiVO{sub 4} heterojunction photocatalysts were obtained using hydrothermal method. • Physicochemical properties played a significant role on photocatalytic efficiency. • Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}/BiVO{sub 4} heterogeneous structures were greatly enhanced for degradation of MB. • A tentative mechanism of charge transfer process in MB degradation was proposed. - Abstract: The Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}/BiVO{sub 4} heterojunction photocatalysts were synthesized by hydrothermal method. Physical properties of the heterojunction photocatalyst samples were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The XRD results indicated that BiVO{sub 4} retain monoclinic and tetragonal structures, while Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} presented as orthorhombic structure. The Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) adsorption–desorption of nitrogen gas for specific surface area determination at the temperature of liquid nitrogen was performed on all samples. UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–vis DRS) were used to identify the absorption range and band gap energy of the heterojunction photocatalysts. The photocatalytic performance of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}/BiVO{sub 4} heterojunction photocatalysts was studied via the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The results indicated that the heterojunction photocatalyst at 0.5:0.5 mole ratio of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6}:BiVO{sub 4} shows the highest photocatalytic activity.

  3. Exploratory Bi-Factor Analysis: The Oblique Case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jennrich, Robert I.; Bentler, Peter M.

    2012-01-01

    Bi-factor analysis is a form of confirmatory factor analysis originally introduced by Holzinger and Swineford ("Psychometrika" 47:41-54, 1937). The bi-factor model has a general factor, a number of group factors, and an explicit bi-factor structure. Jennrich and Bentler ("Psychometrika" 76:537-549, 2011) introduced an exploratory form of bi-factor…

  4. In-Situ Hydrothermal Synthesis of Bi-Bi2O2CO3 Heterojunction Photocatalyst with Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kar, Prasenjit; Maji, Tuhin Kumar; Nandi, Ramesh; Lemmens, Peter; Pal, Samir Kumar

    2017-04-01

    Bismuth containing nanomaterials recently received increasing attention with respect to environmental applications because of their low cost, high stability and nontoxicity. In this work, Bi-Bi2O2CO3 heterojunctions were fabricated by in-situ decoration of Bi nanoparticles on Bi2O2CO3 nanosheets via a simple hydrothermal synthesis approach. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) were used to confirm the morphology of the nanosheet-like heterostructure of the Bi-Bi2O2CO3 composite. Detailed ultrafast electronic spectroscopy reveals that the in-situ decoration of Bi nanoparticles on Bi2O2CO3 nanosheets exhibit a dramatically enhanced electron-hole pair separation rate, which results in an extraordinarily high photocatalytic activity for the degradation of a model organic dye, methylene blue (MB) under visible light illumination. Cycling experiments revealed a good photochemical stability of the Bi-Bi2O2CO3 heterojunction under repeated irradiation. Photocurrent measurements further indicated that the heterojunction incredibly enhanced the charge generation and suppressed the charge recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs.

  5. Role of antioxidant scavenging enzymes and extracellular ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In the present work, we studied the role of antioxidant scavenging enzymes of plant pathogenic bacteria: catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and a virulence factor; extracelluar polysaccharide production in determining the virulence of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) isolates and its differential reaction to rice cultivars.

  6. Facile synthesis of BiOF/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}/reduced graphene oxide photocatalyst with highly efficient and stable natural sunlight photocatalytic performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Limin; Dong, Shuying; Li, Qilu; Feng, Jinglan; Pi, Yunqing; Liu, Menglin [School of Environment, Henan Normal University, Key Laboratory for Yellow River and Huai River Water Environmental and Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Henan Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Control, Xinxiang, Henan 453007 (China); Sun, Jingyu, E-mail: sunjy-cnc@pku.edu.cn [Center for Nanochemistry (CNC), College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Sun, Jianhui, E-mail: sunjh@htu.cn [School of Environment, Henan Normal University, Key Laboratory for Yellow River and Huai River Water Environmental and Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Henan Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Control, Xinxiang, Henan 453007 (China)

    2015-06-05

    Highlights: • A dual Bi-based ball-shaped material BiOF/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} were facilely synthesized. • The composition effect of BiOF/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}/RGO hybrid were probed for the first time. • The photocatalytic performances were evaluated upon natural sunlight irradiation. • The composites showed a twofold augmentation in the degradation efficiency. • The hybrid photocatalyst can be easily recycled for three times. - Abstract: A facile and efficient route for the controllable synthesis of BiOF/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanostructures by hydrolysis method was reported, where the as-prepared BiOF/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} was subsequently incorporated with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets to form BiOF/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}/RGO composites. The obtained BiOF/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} and BiOF/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}/RGO composites were well characterized with the aid of various techniques to probe their crystallographic, morphological, chemical and optical properties. Photocatalytic capacities of the pure BiOF/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} and BiOF/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}/RGO composites have been investigated by the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB)-contained wastewater under natural sunlight irradiation. A twofold augmentation of degradation efficiency was in turn observed for BiOF/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}/RGO composites compared with that of pure BiOF/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} under the natural sunlight irradiation. The optimum conditions, the effects of the active species and stabilities in photocatalytic performances of the BiOF/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}/RGO composites have also been probed.

  7. Multi-dimensional scavenging analysis of a free-piston linear alternator based on numerical simulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mao, Jinlong; Zuo, Zhengxing; Li, Wen; Feng, Huihua [School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (China)

    2011-04-15

    A free-piston linear alternator (FPLA) is being developed by the Beijing Institute of Technology to improve the thermal efficiency relative to conventional crank-driven engines. A two-stroke scavenging process recharges the engine and is crucial to realizing the continuous operation of a free-piston engine. In order to study the FPLA scavenging process, the scavenging system was configured using computational fluid dynamics. As the piston dynamics of the FPLA are different to conventional crank-driven two-stroke engines, a time-based numerical simulation program was built using Matlab to define the piston's motion profiles. A wide range of design and operating options were investigated including effective stroke length, valve overlapping distance, operating frequency and charging pressure to find out their effects on the scavenging performance. The results indicate that a combination of high effective stroke length to bore ratio and long valve overlapping distance with a low supercharging pressure has the potential to achieve high scavenging and trapping efficiencies with low short-circuiting losses. (author)

  8. Tl, Bi, and Pb doping in Ba4BiPb2TlO12-δ

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sutto, T.E.; Averill, B.A.

    1992-01-01

    To determine the effects of different 6s metal concentrations on the superconducting nature of Ba 4 BiPb 2 TlO 12-δ , materials produced via four doping schemes were examined: Ba 4 Bi(Pb, Tl) 3 O 12-δ , Ba 4 -(BiPb) 3 TlO 12-δ , Ba 4 (Bi,Tl) 2 Pb 2 O 12-δ , and Ba 4 Bi x Pb 4-2x Tl x O 12-δ . For the parent compound a value of δ = 0.91 was observed, indicating that approximately 1/4 oxygen atom was missing per cubic subsection of the unit cell. For all samples, the symmetry of the parent compound changed from orthorhombic to tetragonal as the system moved away from the ideal composition. This was usually accompanied by the loss of superconductivity, which exhibited a maximum T c of 10.5 K for the parent compound Ba 4 BiPb 2 TlO 12-δ . Also reported are high-temperature magnetic susceptibility results, which are used to determine the effect of metal substitution on the density of states at the Fermi level. For each set of variants on the parent composition, the onset of superconductivity was accompanied by a significant decrease in the size of the Pauli paramagnetic signal. 16 refs., 6 figs

  9. Considerations about using OLAP Cubes and Self-Service BI Tools for BI Systems’ Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gianina MIHAI

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, the decision-making process must be an extremely fast one. This is why any decision-maker in a company must obtain information from the multiple available data source used in its transactional systems as easily and as quickly as possible. Business Intelligence (BI systems are the ones that provide the tools necessary for obtaining this information. In this article, we shall present the strengths and weaknesses regarding data analyses in a BI system using OLAP cubes and self-service BI tools.

  10. Using Scavenger Hunts to Familiarize Students with Scientific Journal Articles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lijek, Rebeccah S; Fankhauser, Sarah C

    2016-03-01

    Primary scientific literature can be difficult to navigate for anyone unfamiliar with its foreign, formal structure. We sought to create a fun, easy learning tool to help familiarize students of all ages with the structure of a scientific article. Our main learning objective was for the student to realize that science writing is formulaic-that specific information is found in predictable locations within an article-and that, with an understanding of the formula, anyone can comfortably navigate any journal article and accurately predict what to expect to find in each section. To this end, we designed a Journal Article Scavenger Hunt that requires the user to find and identify a series of commonplace features of a primary research article. The scavenger hunt activity is quick and easy to implement, and is adaptable to various ages and settings, including the classroom, lab, and at outreach events. The questions in the scavenger hunt can be scaled in difficulty and specificity to suit the instructor's needs. Over many years of using this activity, we have received positive feedback from students of all ages, from elementary school students to lay adult-learners as well as science teachers themselves. By making the unknown seem predictable and approachable, the scavenger hunt helps a variety of audiences feel more comfortable with science and more confident in their ability to engage directly with the scientific literature. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education.

  11. Bismuth oxychloride homogeneous phasejunction BiOCl/Bi12O17Cl2 with unselectively efficient photocatalytic activity and mechanism insight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Lin; Huang, Hongwei; Guo, Yuxi; Du, Xin; Zhang, Yihe

    2017-10-01

    Fabrication of homo/hetero-junctions by coupling of wide-band gap semiconductor and narrow-band gap semiconductor is desirable as they can achieve a decent balance between photoabsorption and photo-redox ability. Herein, a n-n type bismuth oxychloride homogeneous phasejunction BiOCl/Bi12O17Cl2 was developed by facilely manipulating the basicity in a one-pot hydrothermal process. Compared with BiOCl which only responds to UV light, the photo-responsive range is remarkably extended to visible region. The BiOCl/Bi12O17Cl2 phasejunctions show much higher photocatalytic activity than the single BiOCl and Bi12O17Cl2 toward degradation of methyl orange (MO) under simulated solar light. In particular, it presented a high photo-oxidation ability in degrading diverse industrial contaminants including 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), phenol, bisphenol A (BPA) and tetracycline hydrochloride. Based on a series of photoelectrochemical and photoluminescence measurements, the fortified photocatalytic performance of BiOCl/Bi12O17Cl2 phasejunctions was manifested to be attributed to the efficient separation and transfer efficiencies of photoinduced electron-hole pairs because of the junctional interface formed between BiOCl and Bi12O17Cl2. The study may not only furnish a high-effective photocatalyst in the application of environment purification, but also pave a path to fabricate agnate phase-junctional photocatalyst.

  12. Thermal analysis and phase diagrams of the LiF BiF3 e NaF BiF3 systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakamura, Gerson Hiroshi de Godoy

    2013-01-01

    Investigations of the binary systems LiF-BiF 3 and NaF-BiF 3 were performed with the objective of clarifying the thermal behavior and phase equilibria of these systems and their intermediary phases, an important requisite for high-quality crystal growth. Several samples in the entire range of compositions (0 to 100 mol% BiF 3 ) of both systems were subjected to experiments of differential thermal analysis (DTA) and thermogravimetry (TG), and also of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). A few specific compositions were selected for X-ray diffraction to supplement the experimental data. Due to the high vulnerability of BiF 3 to oxygen contamination, its volatility and propensity to destroy metal parts upon heating, it was necessary to determine the optimal conditions for thermal analysis before investigating the systems themselves. Phase relations in the system LiF-BiF 3 were completely clarified and a phase diagram was calculated and evaluated via the commercial software Factsage. The diagram itself consists in a simple peritectic system in which the only intermediary compound, LiBiF 4 , decomposes into LiF and a liquid phase. The NaF-BiF 3 system could not be completely elucidated and the phase relations in the NaF poor side (> 50% BiF 3 ) are still unknown. In the NaF rich side, however, the possible peritectoid decomposition of the compound NaBiF 4 was identified. In both systems X-ray diffraction yielded crystal structures discrepant with the literature for the intermediary phases, LiBiF 4 , NaBiF 4 and a solid solution of NaF and BiF 3 called I. The observed structures remain unknown and explanations for the discrepancies were proposed. (author)

  13. Adenosine A2A receptors in the nucleus accumbens bi-directionally alter cocaine seeking in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, Casey E; LeTendre, McKenzie L; Bachtell, Ryan K

    2012-04-01

    Repeated cocaine administration enhances dopamine D(2) receptor sensitivity in the mesolimbic dopamine system, which contributes to drug relapse. Adenosine A(2A) receptors are colocalized with D(2) receptors on nucleus accumbens (NAc) medium spiny neurons where they antagonize D(2) receptor activity. Thus, A(2A) receptors represent a target for reducing enhanced D(2) receptor sensitivity that contributes to cocaine relapse. The aim of these studies were to determine the effects of adenosine A(2A) receptor modulation in the NAc on cocaine seeking in rats that were trained to lever press for cocaine. Following at least 15 daily self-administration sessions and 1 week of abstinence, lever pressing was extinguished in daily extinction sessions. We subsequently assessed the effects of intra-NAc core microinjections of the A(2A) receptor agonist, CGS 21680 (4-[2-[[6-amino-9-(N-ethyl-b-D-ribofuranuronamidosyl)-9H-purin-2-yl]amino]ethyl]benzenepropanoic acid hydrochloride), and the A(2A) receptor antagonist, MSX-3 (3,7-dihydro-8-[(1E)-2-(3-methoxyphenyl)ethenyl]-7-methyl-3-[3-(phosphonooxy)propyl-1-(2-propynyl)-1H-purine-2,6-dione disodium salt hydrate), in modulating cocaine- and quinpirole-induced reinstatement to cocaine seeking. Intra-NAc pretreatment of CGS 21680 reduced both cocaine- and quinpirole-induced reinstatement. These effects were specific to cocaine reinstatement as intra-NAc CGS 21680 had no effect on sucrose seeking in rats trained to self-administer sucrose pellets. Intra-NAc treatment with MSX-3 modestly reinstated cocaine seeking when given alone, and exacerbated both cocaine- and quinpirole-induced reinstatement. Interestingly, the exacerbation of cocaine seeking produced by MSX-3 was only observed at sub-threshold doses of cocaine and quinpirole, suggesting that removing tonic A(2A) receptor activity enables behaviors mediated by dopamine receptors. Taken together, these findings suggest that A(2A) receptor stimulation reduces, while A(2A) blockade

  14. Adenosine A2A Receptors in the Nucleus Accumbens Bi-Directionally Alter Cocaine Seeking in Rats

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, Casey E; LeTendre, Mckenzie L; Bachtell, Ryan K

    2012-01-01

    Repeated cocaine administration enhances dopamine D2 receptor sensitivity in the mesolimbic dopamine system, which contributes to drug relapse. Adenosine A2A receptors are colocalized with D2 receptors on nucleus accumbens (NAc) medium spiny neurons where they antagonize D2 receptor activity. Thus, A2A receptors represent a target for reducing enhanced D2 receptor sensitivity that contributes to cocaine relapse. The aim of these studies were to determine the effects of adenosine A2A receptor modulation in the NAc on cocaine seeking in rats that were trained to lever press for cocaine. Following at least 15 daily self-administration sessions and 1 week of abstinence, lever pressing was extinguished in daily extinction sessions. We subsequently assessed the effects of intra-NAc core microinjections of the A2A receptor agonist, CGS 21680 (4-[2-[[6-amino-9-(N-ethyl-b--ribofuranuronamidosyl)-9H-purin-2-yl]amino]ethyl]benzenepropanoic acid hydrochloride), and the A2A receptor antagonist, MSX-3 (3,7-dihydro-8-[(1E)-2-(3-methoxyphenyl)ethenyl]-7-methyl-3-[3-(phosphonooxy)propyl-1-(2-propynyl)-1H-purine-2,6-dione disodium salt hydrate), in modulating cocaine- and quinpirole-induced reinstatement to cocaine seeking. Intra-NAc pretreatment of CGS 21680 reduced both cocaine- and quinpirole-induced reinstatement. These effects were specific to cocaine reinstatement as intra-NAc CGS 21680 had no effect on sucrose seeking in rats trained to self-administer sucrose pellets. Intra-NAc treatment with MSX-3 modestly reinstated cocaine seeking when given alone, and exacerbated both cocaine- and quinpirole-induced reinstatement. Interestingly, the exacerbation of cocaine seeking produced by MSX-3 was only observed at sub-threshold doses of cocaine and quinpirole, suggesting that removing tonic A2A receptor activity enables behaviors mediated by dopamine receptors. Taken together, these findings suggest that A2A receptor stimulation reduces, while A2A blockade amplifies, D2 receptor

  15. Ultrahigh vacuum STM/STS studies of the Bi-O surface in Bi2Sr2CuOy single crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ikeda, Kazuto; Tomeno, Izumi; Takamuku, Kenshi; Yamaguchi, Koji; Itti, Rittaporn; Koshizuka, Naoki

    1992-01-01

    Scanning tunneling microscopic and spectroscopic studies were made on cleaved surfaces of Bi 2 Sr 2 CuO y single crystals using an ultrahigh-vacuum scanning tunneling microscope (UHV-STM). The modulation structures of the Bi-O surface were observed at room temperature with atomic resolution. The tunneling spectra showed electronic gap structures similar to those observed for the Bi-O surface of superconducting Bi-2212 single crystals. This suggests that superconductivity is not directly related to the electronic structure observed in the Bi-O plane. (orig.)

  16. Annealing-Induced Bi Bilayer on Bi2Te3 Investigated via Quasi-Particle-Interference Mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schouteden, Koen; Govaerts, Kirsten; Debehets, Jolien; Thupakula, Umamahesh; Chen, Taishi; Li, Zhe; Netsou, Asteriona; Song, Fengqi; Lamoen, Dirk; Van Haesendonck, Chris; Partoens, Bart; Park, Kyungwha

    2016-09-27

    Topological insulators (TIs) are renowned for their exotic topological surface states (TSSs) that reside in the top atomic layers, and hence, detailed knowledge of the surface top atomic layers is of utmost importance. Here we present the remarkable morphology changes of Bi2Te3 surfaces, which have been freshly cleaved in air, upon subsequent systematic annealing in ultrahigh vacuum and the resulting effects on the local and area-averaging electronic properties of the surface states, which are investigated by combining scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) experiments with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our findings demonstrate that the annealing induces the formation of a Bi bilayer atop the Bi2Te3 surface. The adlayer results in n-type doping, and the atomic defects act as scattering centers of the TSS electrons. We also investigated the annealing-induced Bi bilayer surface on Bi2Te3 via voltage-dependent quasi-particle-interference (QPI) mapping of the surface local density of states and via comparison with the calculated constant-energy contours and QPI patterns. We observed closed hexagonal patterns in the Fourier transform of real-space QPI maps with secondary outer spikes. DFT calculations attribute these complex QPI patterns to the appearance of a "second" cone due to the surface charge transfer between the Bi bilayer and the Bi2Te3. Annealing in ultrahigh vacuum offers a facile route for tuning of the topological properties and may yield similar results for other topological materials.

  17. Phytochemical screening, free radical scavenging and antibacterial ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Cassia sieberiana is a tropical plant, widely distributed throughout Sudan and Guinea savannah. It is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of malarial, cancer and stomach ache. The study was conducted to screen for phytochemicals, free radical scavenging and antibacterial potentials of the root bark.

  18. Recovery of Li from alloys of Al- Li and Li- Al using engineered scavenger compounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riley, W. D.; Jong, B. W.; Collins, W. K.; Gerdemann, S. J.

    1994-01-01

    A method of producing lithium of high purity from lithium aluminum alloys using an engineered scavenger compound, comprising: I) preparing an engineered scavenger compound by: a) mixing and heating compounds of TiO2 and Li2CO3 at a temperature sufficient to dry the compounds and convert Li.sub.2 CO.sub.3 to Li.sub.2 O; and b) mixing and heating the compounds at a temperature sufficient to produce a scavenger Li.sub.2 O.3TiO.sub.2 compound; II) loading the scavenger into one of two electrode baskets in a three electrode cell reactor and placing an Al-Li alloy in a second electrode basket of the three electrode cell reactor; III) heating the cell to a temperature sufficient to enable a mixture of KCl-LiCl contained in a crucible in the cell to reach its melting point and become a molten bath; IV) immersing the baskets in the bath until an electrical connection is made between the baskets to charge the scavenger compound with Li until there is an initial current and voltage followed by a fall off ending current and voltage; and V) making a connection between the basket electrode containing engineered scavenger compound and a steel rod electrode disposed between the basket electrodes and applying a current to cause Li to leave the scavenger compound and become electrodeposited on the steel rod electrode.

  19. Phase relations and crystal structures in the systems (Bi,Ln)2WO6 and (Bi,Ln)2MoO6 (Ln=lanthanide)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berdonosov, Peter S.; Charkin, Dmitri O.; Knight, Kevin S.; Johnston, Karen E.; Goff, Richard J.; Dolgikh, Valeriy A.; Lightfoot, Philip

    2006-01-01

    Several outstanding aspects of phase behaviour in the systems (Bi,Ln) 2 WO 6 and (Bi,Ln) 2 MoO 6 (Ln=lanthanide) have been clarified. Detailed crystal structures, from Rietveld refinement of powder neutron diffraction data, are provided for Bi 1.8 La 0.2 WO 6 (L-Bi 2 WO 6 type) and BiLaWO 6 , BiNdWO 6 , Bi 0.7 Yb 1.3 WO 6 and Bi 0.7 Yb 1.3 WO 6 (all H-Bi 2 WO 6 type). Phase evolution within the solid solution Bi 2- x La x MoO 6 has been re-examined, and a crossover from γ(H)-Bi 2 MoO 6 type to γ-R 2 MoO 6 type is observed at x∼1.2. A preliminary X-ray Rietveld refinement of the line phase BiNdMoO 6 has confirmed the α-R 2 MoO 6 type structure, with a possible partial ordering of Bi/Nd over the three crystallographically distinct R sites. - Graphical abstract: A summary of phase relations in the lanthanide-doped bismuth tungstate and bismuth molybdate systems is presented, together with some additional structural data on several of these phases

  20. Fuzzy Bi-level Decision-Making Techniques: A Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guangquan Zhang

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Bi-level decision-making techniques aim to deal with decentralized management problems that feature interactive decision entities distributed throughout a bi-level hierarchy. A challenge in handling bi-level decision problems is that various uncertainties naturally appear in decision-making process. Significant efforts have been devoted that fuzzy set techniques can be used to effectively deal with uncertain issues in bi-level decision-making, known as fuzzy bi-level decision-making techniques, and researchers have successfully gained experience in this area. It is thus vital that an instructive review of current trends in this area should be conducted, not only of the theoretical research but also the practical developments. This paper systematically reviews up-to-date fuzzy bi-level decisionmaking techniques, including models, approaches, algorithms and systems. It also clusters related technique developments into four main categories: basic fuzzy bi-level decision-making, fuzzy bi-level decision-making with multiple optima, fuzzy random bi-level decision-making, and the applications of bi-level decision-making techniques in different domains. By providing state-of-the-art knowledge, this survey paper will directly support researchers and practitioners in their understanding of developments in theoretical research results and applications in relation to fuzzy bi-level decision-making techniques.

  1. A plate-on-plate sandwiched Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst: BiOBr-Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} with enhanced photocatalytic performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Shengyao [College of Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070 (China); Key Laboratory of Environment Correlative Dietology, Ministry of Education, Wuhan 430070 (China); Yang, Xianglong; Zhang, Xuehao; Ding, Xing; Yang, Zixin [College of Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070 (China); Dai, Ke [College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070 (China); Chen, Hao, E-mail: hchenhao@mail.hzau.edu.cn [College of Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070 (China); Key Laboratory of Environment Correlative Dietology, Ministry of Education, Wuhan 430070 (China)

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A visible light heterojunction photocatalyst of BiOBr-Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} was simply synthesized. • Carriers transferred efficiently in sandwiched layers causing an enhance activity. • A possible direct Z-scheme charge transfer mechanism of BiOBr-Bi2MoO6 is proposed. - Abstract: In this study, a direct Z-scheme heterojunction BiOBr-Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} with greatly enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance was fabricated via a two-step coprecipitation method. It was indicated that a plate-on-plate heterojunctions be present between BiOBr and Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} through different characterization techniques including X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and photoelectrochemical measurements. The crystal structure and morphology analysis revealed that the heterointerface in BiOBr-Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} occurred mainly on the (001) facets of BiOBr and (001) facets of Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6}. The photocatalytic activity of the BiOBr-Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} was investigated by degradation of RhB and about 66.7% total organic carbon (TOC) could be removed. Ciprofloxacin (CIP) was employed to rule out the photosensitization. It was implied that the higher activity of BiOBr-Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} could be attribute to the strong redox ability in the Z-scheme system, which was subsequently confirmed by photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and active spices trapping experiments. This study provides a promising platform for Z-scheme heterojunction constructing and also sheds light on highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts designing.

  2. DIALIGN: multiple DNA and protein sequence alignment at BiBiServ.

    OpenAIRE

    Morgenstern, Burkhard

    2004-01-01

    DIALIGN is a widely used software tool for multiple DNA and protein sequence alignment. The program combines local and global alignment features and can therefore be applied to sequence data that cannot be correctly aligned by more traditional approaches. DIALIGN is available online through Bielefeld Bioinformatics Server (BiBiServ). The downloadable version of the program offers several new program features. To compare the output of different alignment programs, we developed the program AltA...

  3. [sup 205]Bi/[sup 206]Bi cyclotron production from Pb-isotopes for absorption studies in humans

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fischer, R.; Dresow, B.; Heinrich, H.C. (Universitaetskrankenhaus Eppendorf, Hamburg (Germany). Abt. Medizinische Biochemie); Wendel, J.; Bechtold, V. (Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH (Germany). Inst. fuer Kernphysik)

    1993-12-01

    Pb(p,xn) thick target excitation functions were measured in the energy range 10-38 MeV in order to optimize the production of isotopically pure radiobismuth from [sup nat]Pb, [sup 206]Pb, and [sup 207]Pb. Additionally, the decay of Po-isotopes from deuteron irradiation of natural bismuth ([sup 209]Bi) was exploited for radiobismuth production. [sup 205]Bi was produced from [sup 206]Pb at 20 MeV with only 2% of [sup 206]Bi at 4 weeks post irradiation. Bismuth compounds as used in the treatment of peptic ulcer were labeled with [sup 205]Bi for absorption studies in animals and subjects. (Author).

  4. Consumption of Big Game Remains by Scavengers: A Potential Risk as Regards Disease Transmission in Central Spain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Carrasco-Garcia

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the role that facultative scavenger species may play in spreading infectious pathogens, and even becoming reservoirs for humans, domestic and wild ungulates or, on the contrary, preventing the spread of disease, requires a prior understanding of the pattern of carrion scavenging in specific scenarios. The objectives of this paper are (i to describe the guild of vertebrate scavengers and (ii to study the species-specific, habitat, and management-related factors involved in the usage of gut piles in South Central Spain (SCS, a tuberculosis (TB endemic area. We used camera trapping at 18 hunting piles on seven hunting estates. A total of eight bird and five mammal taxa were detected at the remains of hunting piles. The most frequently detected species in terms of number of gut piles visited (78% and scavenged (61% was the red fox Vulpes vulpes, followed by the griffon vulture Gyps fulvus (56% as regards both presence and scavenging and the raven Corvus corax (61 and 39% as regards presence and scavenging, respectively. We evidenced that griffon vultures accounted for most of the scavenging activity in open habitats, while facultative mammal scavengers, red fox, and wild boar Sus scrofa made the highest contribution to scavenging in vegetation-covered habitats. In the case of wild boar, the gut piles deposited during the evening and night favored higher rates of scavenging, while the opposite pattern was observed for griffons. Overall, our findings suggest that when disposing of hunting remains in areas of risk as regards disease transmission it is particularly important to consider the access that facultative mammals, and especially wild boar, have to material, while the presence of the resource needs to be safeguarded to protect specialist scavengers of conservation value. These results are of particular relevance in the case of wild boar in the current context of re-emerging TB and emerging African swine fever (ASF in Europe.

  5. 21 CFR 868.5430 - Gas-scavenging apparatus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ...) Identification. A gas-scavenging apparatus is a device intended to collect excess anesthetic, analgesic, or trace gases or vapors from a patient's breathing system, ventilator, or extracorporeal pump-oxygenator, and to conduct these gases out of the area by means of an exhaust system. (b) Classification. Class II...

  6. Antioxidant Capacity, Radical Scavenging Kinetics and Phenolic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Antioxidant Capacity, Radical Scavenging Kinetics and Phenolic Profile of Methanol Extracts of Wild Plants of Southern Sonora, Mexico. EF Moran-Palacio, LA Zamora-Álvarez, NA Stephens-Camacho, GA Yáñez- Farías, A Virgen-Ortiz, O Martínez-Cruz, JA Rosas-Rodríguez ...

  7. In vitro free radical scavenging activity of ethanolic extract of the whole plant of Evolvulus alsinoides (L.) L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomathi, Duraisamy; Ravikumar, Ganesan; Kalaiselvi, Manokaran; Vidya, Balasubramaniam; Uma, Chandrasekar

    2015-06-01

    To identify the free radical scavenging activity of ethanolic extract of Evolvulus alsinoides. The free radical scavenging activity was evaluated by in vitro methods like reducing power assay, total antioxidant activity, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) reduction, superoxide radical scavenging activity, 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS(+)) scavenging activity, hydroxyl radical scavenging assay, and nitric oxide radical scavenging assay, which were studied by using ascorbic acid as standard. The extract showed significant activities in all antioxidant assays compared with the reference antioxidant ascorbic acid. The total antioxidant activity as well as the reducing power was also found to increase in a dose-dependent manner. Evolvulus alsinoides may act as a chemopreventive agent, providing antioxidant properties and offering effective protection from free radicals.

  8. Body Size as a Driver of Scavenging in Theropod Dinosaurs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kane, Adam; Healy, Kevin; Ruxton, Graeme D; Jackson, Andrew L

    2016-06-01

    Theropod dinosaurs dominated Earth's terrestrial ecosystem as a diverse group of predators for more than 160 million years, yet little is known about their foraging ecology. Maintaining a balanced energy budget presented a major challenge for therapods, which ranged from the chicken-sized Microraptor up to the whale-sized Giganotosaurus, in the face of intense competition and the demands of ontogenetic growth. Facultative scavenging, a behavior present in almost all modern predators, may have been important in supplementing energetically expensive lifestyles. By using agent-based models based on the allometric relationship between size and foraging behaviors, we show that theropods between 27 and 1,044 kg would have gained a significant energetic advantage over individuals at both the small and large extremes of theropod body mass through their scavenging efficiency. These results were robust to rate of competition, primary productivity, and detection distance. Our models demonstrate the potential importance of facultative scavenging in theropods and the role of body size in defining its prevalence in Mesozoic terrestrial systems.

  9. Turbulent swirling flow in a dynamic model of a uniflow-scavenged two-stroke engine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingvorsen, K. M.; Meyer, K. E.; Walther, J. H.; Mayer, S.

    2014-06-01

    It is desirable to use computational fluid dynamics for optimization of the in-cylinder processes in low-speed two-stroke uniflow-scavenged marine diesel engines. However, the complex nature of the turbulent swirling in-cylinder flow necessitates experimental data for validation of the used turbulence models. In the present work, the flow in a dynamic scale model of a uniflow-scavenged cylinder is investigated experimentally. The model has a transparent cylinder and a moving piston driven by a linear motor. The flow is investigated using phase-locked stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV) and time-resolved laser Doppler anemometry (LDA). Radial profiles of the phase-locked mean and rms velocities are computed from the velocity fields recorded with PIV, and the accuracy of the obtained profiles is demonstrated by comparison with reference LDA measurements. Measurements are carried out at five axial positions for 15 different times during the engine cycle and show the temporal and spatial development of the swirling in-cylinder flow. The tangential velocity profiles in the bottom of the cylinder near the end of the scavenge process are characterized by a concentrated swirl resulting in wake-like axial velocity profiles and the occurrence of a vortex breakdown. After scavenge port closing, the axial velocity profiles indicate that large transient swirl-induced structures exist in the cylinder. Comparison with profiles obtained under steady-flow conditions shows that the scavenge flow cannot be assumed to be quasi-steady. The temporal development of the swirl strength is investigated by computing the angular momentum. The swirl strength shows an exponential decay from scavenge port closing to scavenge port opening corresponding to a reduction of 34 %, which is in good agreement with theoretical predictions.

  10. Calorimetric investigation of Pb-Bi system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agarwal, Renu; Jat, Ram Avtar; Sen, B.K.

    2008-01-01

    Enthalpy increment of Pb 0.71 Bi 0.29 compound was determined using high temperature Calvet calorimeter. The data was fit into the following polynomial equation. ΔH(T-298.15 K) J/mol = -10384.96 + 39.23 T - 0.014T 2 - 18970/T. By precipitation method, the enthalpy of formation of the compound of composition Pb 0.68 Bi 0.32 at 448 K, from Pb(l) and Bi(l) was determined to be -2450± 50 J/mol and from Pb(s) and Bi(s) at 298.15 K was calculated to be 4047 J/mol. (author)

  11. Characterization of a novel human scavenger receptor cysteine-rich molecule SCART1 expressed by lymphocytes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, D.; Fink, D. R.; Steffensen, M. A.

    2013-01-01

    a member of the SRCR superfamily, mSCART1, which primarily is expressed on a large subset of γδ T cells in mice. Here we report the cloning and characterization of human SCART1 (hSCART1) mainly expressed by CD4(+) and CD8(+) T lymphocytes. The hSCART1 gene maps to chromosome 10, region q26.3, a region...... domain. Shorter splice forms have also been isolated. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis on human blood-fractions has shown that hSCART1 is expressed primarily by CD4(+) and CD8(+) T lymphocytes with either αβ or γδ T cell receptors, and real-time PCR on 22 different human tissues showed high expression...... that the protein plays a role in the immune system, perhaps as a co-receptor on αβ and γδ T cells....

  12. Effect of ultraviolet irradiation on free radical scavenging activity of immunosuppressants used in lung transplantation and comparative electron paramagnetic resonance study of kinetics of their interactions with model free radicals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanjek-Cichoracka, A; Żegleń, S; Ramos, P; Pilawa, B; Wojarski, J

    2018-06-01

    The immunosuppressive drugs used in solid organ transplantation or autoimmunological processes were studied by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to estimate their free radical scavenging activity. The interactions of immunosuppressants with free radicals were examined by an X-band (9.3 GHz) EPR spectroscopy and a model of DPPH free radicals. The EPR spectra of DPPH and DPPH interacting with individual drugs were compared. Kinetic studies were performed, and the effect of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation on the free radical scavenging activity of the tested drugs was determined. The free radical scavenging activity of non-irradiated drugs decreased in the order: rapamycin > mycophenolate mofetil > ciclosporin > tacrolimus. UV irradiation increased the free radical scavenging activity of all the tested immunosuppressive drugs, and the effect was highest for tacrolimus. For the non-irradiated samples, the speed of free radical interactions decreased in the order: ciclosporin > tacrolimus > mycophenolate mofetil > rapamycin. UV irradiation only slightly affected the speed of interactions of the immunosuppressive drugs with the model DPPH free radicals. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy is useful for obtaining information on interactions of immunosuppressive drugs with free radicals. We hypothesized that the long-term immunosuppressive effects of these drugs after transplantation or during autoimmune disorders may be mediated by anti-inflammatory action in addition to the known receptor/cell cycle inhibition. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. X-ray standing wave study of the Bi/GaAs and Bi/GaP interfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herrera-Gomez, A.

    1994-04-01

    Interfaces are one of the most important elements determining the characteristics of electronic devices. Composite semiconductors, specifically the III-V family, are technologically attractive because of their mobility and optical properties, and also because they offer the possibility of engineering such properties as the size of the band gap. Nevertheless, Si has remained the most utilized semiconductor material, primarily because the fabrication of practical MOSFETs with III-V semiconductors remains elusive. Examples of such complex interfaces are the structures formed by one monolayer of Bi on the (110) surface of GaAs and GaP. While better matched Column V elements form epitaxial continuous monolayers on III-V semiconductor (110) surfaces, Bi is too large to accommodate on GaAs and GaP surfaces with long range order, and vacancies appear to allow relaxation. For the ideal systems, symmetry imposes the presence of only two nonequivalent adatom sites. However, for Bi/GaAs and Bi/GaP, more than two different sites are present because the position of Bi atoms next to a vacancy is not necessarily equivalent to that between other Bi atoms. The geometry of the Bi/GaAs and Bi/GaP systems was determined here by triangulating XSW results from three Bragg planes. A methodology was developed that provides an intrinsic check of the validity of assuming two sites for the overlayer structures. An experimental method was developed that allows the three reflections to be measured on the same sample, thus reducing the number of experimental variables, such as the degree of disorder. The traditional method of analysis was not accurate enough for this data, so a more reliable and faster method of data fitting was developed. A configuration used in the present work, which previously has been widely used, presents an intrinsic multireflection problem. This issue is discussed in depth, and the appropriate method is determined for analyzing the data obtained with this configuration

  14. Sigma-1 receptor chaperones at the ER-mitochondrion interface regulate Ca(2+) signaling and cell survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayashi, Teruo; Su, Tsung-Ping

    2007-11-02

    Communication between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondrion is important for bioenergetics and cellular survival. The ER supplies Ca(2+) directly to mitochondria via inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) at close contacts between the two organelles referred to as mitochondrion-associated ER membrane (MAM). We found here that the ER protein sigma-1 receptor (Sig-1R), which is implicated in neuroprotection, carcinogenesis, and neuroplasticity, is a Ca(2+)-sensitive and ligand-operated receptor chaperone at MAM. Normally, Sig-1Rs form a complex at MAM with another chaperone, BiP. Upon ER Ca(2+) depletion or via ligand stimulation, Sig-1Rs dissociate from BiP, leading to a prolonged Ca(2+) signaling into mitochondria via IP3Rs. Sig-1Rs can translocate under chronic ER stress. Increasing Sig-1Rs in cells counteracts ER stress response, whereas decreasing them enhances apoptosis. These results reveal that the orchestrated ER chaperone machinery at MAM, by sensing ER Ca(2+) concentrations, regulates ER-mitochondrial interorganellar Ca(2+) signaling and cell survival.

  15. Mechanisms of foam cell formation in atherosclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chistiakov, Dimitry A; Melnichenko, Alexandra A; Myasoedova, Veronika A; Grechko, Andrey V; Orekhov, Alexander N

    2017-11-01

    Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and cholesterol homeostasis in the peripheral blood is maintained by specialized cells, such as macrophages. Macrophages express a variety of scavenger receptors (SR) that interact with lipoproteins, including SR-A1, CD36, and lectin-like oxLDL receptor-1 (LOX-1). These cells also have several cholesterol transporters, including ATP-binding cassette transporter ABCA1, ABCG1, and SR-BI, that are involved in reverse cholesterol transport. Lipids internalized by phagocytosis are transported to late endosomes/lysosomes, where lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) digests cholesteryl esters releasing free cholesterol. Free cholesterol in turn is processed by acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase (ACAT1), an enzyme that transforms cholesterol to cholesteryl esters. The endoplasmic reticulum serves as a depot for maintaining newly synthesized cholesteryl esters that can be processed by neutral cholesterol ester hydrolase (NCEH), which generates free cholesterol that can exit via cholesterol transporters. In atherosclerosis, pro-inflammatory stimuli upregulate expression of scavenger receptors, especially LOX-1, and downregulate expression of cholesterol transporters. ACAT1 is also increased, while NCEH expression is reduced. This results in deposition of free and esterified cholesterol in macrophages and generation of foam cells. Moreover, other cell types, such as endothelial (ECs) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), can also become foam cells. In this review, we discuss known pathways of foam cell formation in atherosclerosis.

  16. Intracellular ROS protection efficiency and free radical-scavenging activity of curcumin.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abolfazl Barzegar

    Full Text Available Curcumin has many pharmaceutical applications, many of which arise from its potent antioxidant properties. The present research examined the antioxidant activities of curcumin in polar solvents by a comparative study using ESR, reduction of ferric iron in aqueous medium and intracellular ROS/toxicity assays. ESR data indicated that the steric hindrance among adjacent big size groups within a galvinoxyl molecule limited the curcumin to scavenge galvinoxyl radicals effectively, while curcumin showed a powerful capacity for scavenging intracellular smaller oxidative molecules such as H₂O₂, HO•, ROO•. Cell viability and ROS assays demonstrated that curcumin was able to penetrate into the polar medium inside the cells and to protect them against the highly toxic and lethal effects of cumene hydroperoxide. Curcumin also showed good electron-transfer capability, with greater activity than trolox in aqueous solution. Curcumin can readily transfer electron or easily donate H-atom from two phenolic sites to scavenge free radicals. The excellent electron transfer capability of curcumin is because of its unique structure and different functional groups, including a β-diketone and several π electrons that have the capacity to conjugate between two phenyl rings. Therfore, since curcumin is inherently a lipophilic compound, because of its superb intracellular ROS scavenging activity, it can be used as an effective antioxidant for ROS protection within the polar cytoplasm.

  17. In vitro free radical scavenging activity of platinum nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Watanabe, Aki; Kajita, Masashi; Kim, Juewon; Kanayama, Atsuhiro; Miyamoto, Yusei [Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Bioscience Building 402, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8562 (Japan); Takahashi, Kyoko; Mashino, Tadahiko, E-mail: yusei74@k.u-tokyo.ac.j [Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Keio University, 1-5-30 Shibakoen, Minato, Tokyo 105-8512 (Japan)

    2009-11-11

    A polyacrylic acid (PAA)-protected platinum nanoparticle species (PAA-Pt) was prepared by alcohol reduction of hexachloroplatinate. The PAA-Pt nanoparticles were well dispersed and homogeneous in size with an average diameter of 2.0 {+-} 0.4 nm (n = 200). We used electron spin resonance to quantify the residual peroxyl radical AOO. generated from 2,2-azobis (2-aminopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH) by thermal decomposition in the presence of O{sub 2} and a spectrophotometric method to quantify the residual 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical. PAA-Pt scavenged these two radicals in a dose-dependent manner. Platinum was the functional component. PAA-Pt reduced the rate of oxygen consumption required for linoleic acid peroxidation initiated by AOO. generated from AAPH, indicating inhibition of the propagation of linolate peroxidation. A thiobarbituric acid test also revealed dose-dependent inhibition of the linolate peroxidation by PAA-Pt. Fifty micromolar platinum, as PAA-Pt, completely quenched 250 {mu}M DPPH radical for 5 min. Even when twice diluted in half, the PAA-Pt still quenched 100% of the 250 {mu}M DPPH radical. The scavenging activity of PAA-Pt is durable. These observations suggest that PAA-Pt is an efficient scavenger of free radicals.

  18. Performance of Chickens under Semi-scavenging Conditions: A ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Performance of Chickens under Semi-scavenging Conditions: A Case Study of ... per household was lost per year due to diseases, predators, accidents, and theft. ... as well as chicken house construction so as to avoid the risks of predators.

  19. Quantum interference effects in [Co/Bi]n thin films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Athanasopoulos P.

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Magnetoconductivity (MC, Δσ(Β, and Hall coefficient, RH(B, measurements have been performed in polycrystalline thin films of Bi(15nm, Bi(10nm/Co(1nm/Bi(10nm trilayer and [Co(0.7nm/Bi(2nm]10 multilayer, grown by magnetron scattering. The temperature dependence of RH(B curves reveal the existence of a second conduction channel below 250K, that can be assigned to surface states. MC measurements between ±0.4T show at 5K an interplay between weak-antilocalization (WAL in Bi and Bi/Co/Bi films and weal-localization (WL in [Co/Bi]10 multilayer.

  20. Attempting to realize n-type BiCuSeO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaoxuan; Feng, Dan; He, Jiaqing; Zhao, Li-Dong

    2018-02-01

    As an intrinsic p-type semiconductor, BiCuSeO has been widely researched in the thermoelectric community, however, n-type BiCuSeO has not been reported so far. In this work, we successfully realized n-type BiCuSeO through carrying out several successive efforts. Seebeck coefficient of BiCuSeO was increased through introducing extra Bi/Cu to fill the Bi/Cu vacancies that may produce holes, and the maximum Seebeck coefficient was increase from +447 μVK-1 for undoped BiCuSeO to +638 μVK-1 for Bi1.04Cu1.05SeO. The Seebeck coefficient of Bi1.04Cu1.05SeO was changed from p-type to n-type through electron doping through introducing Br/I in Se sites, the maximum negative Seebeck coefficient can reach ∼ -465 μVK-1 and -543 μVK-1 for Bi1.04Cu1.05Se1-xIxO and Bi1.04Cu1.05Se1-xBrxO, respectively. Then, after compositing Bi1.04Cu1.05Se0.99Br0.01O with Ag, n-type BiCuSeO can be absolutely obtained in the whole temperature range of 300-873 K, the maximum ZT 0.05 was achieved at 475 K in the Bi1.04Cu1.05Se0.99Br0.01O+15% Ag. Our report indicates that it is possible to realize n-type conducting behaviors in BiCuSeO system.

  1. Bi[NC5H3(CO2)2](OH2)xF (x=1 and 2): New one-dimensional Bi-coordination materials—Reversible hydration and topotactic decomposition to α-Bi2O3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeon, Hye Rim; Lee, Dong Woo; Ok, Kang Min

    2012-01-01

    Two one-dimensional bismuth-coordination materials, Bi[NC 5 H 3 (CO 2 ) 2 ](OH 2 ) x F (x=1 and 2), have been synthesized by hydrothermal reactions using Bi 2 O 3 , 2,6-NC 5 H 3 (CO 2 H) 2 , HF, and water at 180 °C. Structures of the two materials were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Although they have different crystal structures, both Bi-organic materials shared a common structural motif, a one-dimensional chain structure consisting of Bi 3+ cations and pyridine dicarboxylate linkers. Detailed structural analyses include infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and reversible hydration reactions for the coordinated water molecules were reported. Also, thermal decomposition of the rod-shaped Bi[NC 5 H 3 (CO 2 ) 2 ](OH 2 )F single crystals at 800 °C led to α-Bi 2 O 3 that maintained the same morphology of the original crystals. - Graphical abstract: Calcination of the Bi[NC 5 H 3 (CO 2 ) 2 ](OH 2 )F single crystals at 800 °C results in the α-Bi 2 O 3 rods that maintain the original morphology of the crystals. Highlights: ► Synthesis of one-dimensional chain Bi-organic frameworks. ► Reversible hydration reactions of Bi[NC 5 H 3 (CO 2 ) 2 ](OH 2 )F. ► Topotactic decomposition maintaining the same morphology of the original crystals.

  2. Antimicrobial and free radical scavenging activities of five ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Extracts from five indigenous Palestinian medicinal plants including Rosmarinus officinalis, Pisidium guajava, Punica granatum peel, grape seeds and Teucrium polium were investigated for antimicrobial and free radical scavenging activities against eight microorganisms, using well diffusion method. The microorganisms ...

  3. Effect of concentration and molecular weight of chitosan and its derivative on the free radical scavenging ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Huili; Xu, Qing; Chen, Yun; Wan, Ajun

    2014-03-01

    Chitosan is a biodegradable and biocompatible natural scaffold material, which has numerous applications in biomedical sciences. In this study, the in vitro antioxidant activity of chitosan scaffold material was investigated by the chemiluminescence signal generated from the hydroxyl radical (•OH) scavenging assay. The scavenging mechanism was also discussed. The results indicated that the free radical scavenging ability of chitosan scaffold material significantly depends on the chitosan concentration and shows interesting kinetic change. Within the experimental concentration range, the optimal concentration of chitosan was 0.2 mg/mL. The molecular weight of chitosan also attributed to the free radical scavenging ability. Comparison between chitosan and its derivative found that carboxymethyl chitosan possessed higher scavenging ability. Copyright © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers.

  4. Effect of Silver Doping on Transport Properties of Bi2Se3: AgxBi2Se3 and Bi2-xAgxSe3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Min; Wei, Zhan-Tao

    2018-03-01

    Ag-doped Bi2Se3 with the formula AgxBi2Se3 and Bi2-xAgxSe3 were prepared and their electrical and magnetic transport properties have been investigated to study the influence of silver doping on transport properties of Bi2Se3 with different Ag-doped method. All samples exhibited metallic resistivity and the resistivity increased with increasing Ag concentration. The lattice parameter c of Ag-substituted and Ag-intercalated samples displays a contrary change as the Ag concentration increased. For the Ag-intercalated samples, both the resistance upturn were observed in the curves of temperature dependent of resistivity and temperature dependent of magnetoresistance, respectively, indicating that the enhanced surface effect was obtained in those samples. Monotonously, field-induced MR peaks around 200 K were also observed in those samples. Similar behaviors were not observed in the Ag-substituted samples.

  5. Effect of Silver Doping on Transport Properties of Bi2Se3: AgxBi2Se3 and Bi2-xAgxSe3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Min; Wei, Zhan-Tao

    2018-05-01

    Ag-doped Bi2Se3 with the formula AgxBi2Se3 and Bi2-xAgxSe3 were prepared and their electrical and magnetic transport properties have been investigated to study the influence of silver doping on transport properties of Bi2Se3 with different Ag-doped method. All samples exhibited metallic resistivity and the resistivity increased with increasing Ag concentration. The lattice parameter c of Ag-substituted and Ag-intercalated samples displays a contrary change as the Ag concentration increased. For the Ag-intercalated samples, both the resistance upturn were observed in the curves of temperature dependent of resistivity and temperature dependent of magnetoresistance, respectively, indicating that the enhanced surface effect was obtained in those samples. Monotonously, field-induced MR peaks around 200 K were also observed in those samples. Similar behaviors were not observed in the Ag-substituted samples.

  6. Reduction in thermal conductivity of BiSbTe lump

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahmad, Kaleem [King Saud University, Sustainable Energy Technologies Center, College of Engineering, PO Box 800, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia); Wan, C. [Tsinghua University, State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing (China); Al-Eshaikh, M.A.; Kadachi, A.N. [King Saud University, Research Center, College of Engineering, PO Box 800, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)

    2017-03-15

    In this work, systematic investigations on the thermal conductivities of BiSbTe lump, microstructured pristine BiSbTe bulk and single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)/BiSbTe bulk nanocomposites were performed. BiSbTe lumps were crushed to form a coarse powder (200 μm) and effect of particle size reduction on the effective thermal conductivity of BiSbTe (200 μm) bulk were analyzed. For further reduction in the conductivity, a two pronged strategy has been employed. First, additional refinement of BiSbTe (200 μm) were performed through ball milling in an inert environment. Second, SWCNTs in 0.75, and 1.0 vol% were distributed uniformly in the fine BiSbTe ball milled powder. The results showed that the effective thermal conductivities decrease with the reduction in the particle size from lump to BiSbTe (200 μm) bulk as well as with the addition of SWCNTs accompanied by further refinement of BiSbTe particles. The significant reduction in thermal conductivities of the lump was achieved for pure BiSbTe (200 μm) bulk and 0.75 vol% of SWCNTs/BiSbTe composite. This can be ascribed to the enhanced phonon scattering by the grain boundaries between the nanostructured BiSbTe particles as well as the interfaces between BiSbTe and the low dimensional carbon nanotubes. (orig.)

  7. A facile approach to pure-phase Bi{sub 2}Fe{sub 4}O{sub 9} nanoparticles sensitive to visible light

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, X., E-mail: xiongwang@njust.edu.cn [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094 (China); Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, 117543 (Singapore); Zhang, M.; Tian, P. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094 (China); Chin, W.S. [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, 117543 (Singapore); Zhang, C.M. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094 (China)

    2014-12-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Pure-phase Bi{sub 2}Fe{sub 4}O{sub 9} nanoparticles were prepared by a facile and environmentally benign sol–gel method. • The multiband characteristic of the nanoparticles greatly expands the visible light absorption. • The visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity of the obtained nanoparticles was improved by 30-fold as compared to the bulk. - Abstract: Pure-phase Bi{sub 2}Fe{sub 4}O{sub 9} nanoparticles with mullite-type structure were successfully fabricated through a facile and environmentally benign sol–gel process. According to the UV–Vis diffuse reflection spectrum, the multiband structure and the band edge position of the nanoparticles were confirmed, indicating the prominent absorption in the expanded visible-light region. As compared to the bulk, the visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity of the obtained nanoparticles was improved by 30-fold. The much improved photocatalytic efficiency of the sample mainly owed to the small crystal size and the multiband characteristic as well as the adding of H{sub 2}O{sub 2} as electron scavenger and a source of hydroxide free radicals instead of Fenton-like reaction, leading to a low recombination of the photogenerated e{sup −}/h{sup +} pairs.

  8. The effect of oxidant on resputtering of Bi from Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grace, J. M.; McDonald, D. B.; Reiten, M. T.; Olson, J.; Kampwirth, R. T.; Gray, K. E.

    1991-09-01

    The type and partial pressure of oxidant mixed with argon can affect the selective resputtering of Bi in composite-target, magnetron-sputtered Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O films. Comparative studies using oxygen and ozone show that ozone is a more potent oxidant, as well as a more potent source of resputterers, than is oxygen. Severe resputtering from ozone is significantly reduced by a -40 V potential on the sample block. We suggest that oxygen causes resputtering by forming O2(+)p , which interacts with the target to produce energetic O(-). In contrast, ozone may form lower-energy O(-) by electron impact in the dark space. Negative oxygen ions from the target itself may be responsible for a background resputtering effect. Our results and those found for Y-Ba-Cu-O by others are comparable. Bi in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O behaves as Ba in Y-Ba-Cu-O, with regard to selective resputtering; furthermore, the response of Sr, Ca, and Cu to oxygen in sputtered Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O is similar to what is observed for Cu in Y-Ba-Cu-O.

  9. Ultimate Scaling of High-κ Gate Dielectrics: Higher-κ or Interfacial Layer Scavenging?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takashi Ando

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Current status and challenges of aggressive equivalent-oxide-thickness (EOT scaling of high-κ gate dielectrics via higher-κ ( > 20 materials and interfacial layer (IL scavenging techniques are reviewed. La-based higher-κ materials show aggressive EOT scaling (0.5–0.8 nm, but with effective workfunction (EWF values suitable only for n-type field-effect-transistor (FET. Further exploration for p-type FET-compatible higher-κ materials is needed. Meanwhile, IL scavenging is a promising approach to extend Hf-based high-κ dielectrics to future nodes. Remote IL scavenging techniques enable EOT scaling below 0.5 nm. Mobility-EOT trends in the literature suggest that short-channel performance improvement is attainable with aggressive EOT scaling via IL scavenging or La-silicate formation. However, extreme IL scaling (e.g., zero-IL is accompanied by loss of EWF control and with severe penalty in reliability. Therefore, highly precise IL thickness control in an ultra-thin IL regime ( < 0.5 nm will be the key technology to satisfy both performance and reliability requirements for future CMOS devices.

  10. Preparation and Faraday rotation of Bi-YIG/PMMA nanocomposite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, H. P.; Hong, R. Y.; Wu, Y. J.; Di, G. Q.; Xu, B.; Zheng, Y.; Wei, D. G.

    Bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi-YIG) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by coprecipitation and subsequent heating treatment. Thermal gravity-differential thermal analysis was performed to investigate the thermal behavior of the Bi-YIG precursors and to decide the best annealing temperature. Phase formation of garnet NPs was investigated by X-ray powder diffraction. The size of Bi-YIG NPs was investigated by transmission electron microscopy, and the magnetic properties of Bi-YIG NPs were measured using a vibrating sample magnetometer. The results show that the temperature needed for the transformation of Bi-YIG from the amorphous phase to the garnet phase decreases with increasing Bi content, and Bi-YIG NPs with sizes of 28-78 nm are obtained after heating treatment at 650-1000 °C. The saturation magnetization of Bi-YIG NPs increases as the Bi content increases. Moreover, the Faraday rotation of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) slices doped with Bi-YIG NPs was investigated. The results indicate that the angle of Faraday rotation increases with increasing Bi content in PMMA composites, and the maximum value of the figure of merit is 1.46°, which is comparable to the value of a sputtered film. The Bi-YIG NPs-doped PMMA slices are new promising materials for magneto-optical devices.

  11. Facile synthesis of AgI/BiOI-Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} multi-heterojunctions with high visible light activity for Cr(VI) reduction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Qi [School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018 (China); The Brook Byer Institute for Sustainable Systems and School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332 (United States); Shi, Xiaodong; Liu, Enqin [School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018 (China); Crittenden, John C. [The Brook Byer Institute for Sustainable Systems and School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332 (United States); Ma, Xiangjuan; Zhang, Yi [School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018 (China); Cong, Yanqing, E-mail: yqcong@hotmail.com [School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018 (China)

    2016-11-05

    Graphical abstract: Highly visible-light-active AgI/BiOI-Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} with multi-heterojunctions was developed. - Highlights: • Visible-light-active AgI/BiOI-Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} with multi-heterojunctions was prepared. • Highly enhanced photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) was observed. • k{sub Cr(VI)} on AgI/BiOI-Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} increased by ca.16 times relative to Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}. • Decreased E{sub g}, shifted E{sub fb} and reduced charge transfer resistance were observed. • Simultaneous reduction of Cr(VI) and degradation of organics were achieved. - Abstract: AgI sensitized BiOI-Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} composite (AgI/BiOI-Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}) with multi-heterojunctions was prepared using simple etching-deposition process. Different characterization techniques were performed to investigate the structural, optical and electrical properties of the as-prepared photocatalysts. It was found that the ternary AgI/BiOI-Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} composite exhibited: (1) improved photocurrent response, (2) smaller band gap, (3) greatly reduced charge transfer resistance and (4) negative shift of flat band potential, which finally led to easier generation and more efficient separation of photo-generated electron-hole pairs at the hetero-interfaces. Thus, for the reduction of Cr(VI), AgI/BiOI-Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation at near neutral pH. AgI/BiOI-Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} was optimized when the initial molar ratio of KI to Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} and AgNO{sub 3} to Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} was 1:1 and 10%, respectively. The estimated k{sub Cr(VI)} on optimized AgI/BiOI-Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} was about 16 times that on pure Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}. Good stability was also observed in cyclic runs, indicating that the current multi-heterostructured photocatalyst is highly desirable for the remediation of Cr(VI)-containing wastewater.

  12. Study of anti-oxidation and scavenging effects on free radicals of quercetin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Chongdao; Qiang Yizhong; Lao Qinhua; Shao Yuan

    1999-01-01

    The effects of Quercetin on the contents of lipid peroxides (LPO) in the mice caused by γ-whole-body irradiation by method of the modified spectrophotometry of TBA, and the scavenging effects of Quercetin on the free radicals of DNA induced by radiation exposure by means of ESR technique were investigated. The results demonstrates that Quercetin has a good anti-oxidation effect and is very effective in scavenging of free radicals

  13. Increasing land-use intensity reverses the relative occupancy of two quadrupedal scavengers

    OpenAIRE

    Twining, Joshua P.; Bernard, Henry; Ewers, Robert M.

    2017-01-01

    Human land use is continuously altering the natural environment, yet the greater ecological implications of this change for many groups that are key to healthy ecosystem functioning remains uncharacterised in the tropics. Terrestrial scavenging vertebrates are one such group, providing integral ecosystem services through the removal of carrion which is a crucial component of both nutrient cycling and disease dynamics. To explore how anthropogenic processes may affect forest scavengers, we inv...

  14. 213Bi-DOTATOC receptor-targeted alpha-radionuclide therapy induces remission in neuroendocrine tumours refractory to beta radiation: a first-in-human experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kratochwil, C.; Giesel, F.L.; Mier, W.; Haberkorn, U.; Bruchertseifer, F.; Apostolidis, C.; Morgenstern, A.; Boll, R.; Murphy, K.

    2014-01-01

    Radiopeptide therapy using a somatostatin analogue labelled with a beta emitter such as 90 Y/ 177 Lu-DOTATOC is a new therapeutic option in neuroendocrine cancer. Alternative treatments for patients with refractory disease are rare. Here we report the first-in-human experience with 213 Bi-DOTATOC targeted alpha therapy (TAT) in patients pretreated with beta emitters. Seven patients with progressive advanced neuroendocrine liver metastases refractory to treatment with 90 Y/ 177 Lu-DOTATOC were treated with an intraarterial infusion of 213 Bi-DOTATOC, and one patient with bone marrow carcinosis was treated with a systemic infusion of 213 Bi-DOTATOC. Haematological, kidney and endocrine toxicities were assessed according to CTCAE criteria. Radiological response was assessed with contrast-enhanced MRI and 68 Ga-DOTATOC-PET/CT. More than 2 years of follow-up were available in seven patients. The biodistribution of 213 Bi-DOTATOC was evaluable with 440 keV gamma emission scans, and demonstrated specific tumour binding. Enduring responses were observed in all treated patients. Chronic kidney toxicity was moderate. Acute haematotoxicity was even less pronounced than with the preceding beta therapies. TAT can induce remission of tumours refractory to beta radiation with favourable acute and mid-term toxicity at therapeutic effective doses. (orig.)

  15. In situ grown hierarchical 50%BiOCl/BiOI hollow flowerlike microspheres on reduced graphene oxide nanosheets for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Xiangde; Yang, Jinjin; Yu, Xiang; Zhu, Yi; Zhang, Yuanming

    2018-03-01

    50%BiOCl/BiOI/reduced graphene oxide (50%BiOCl/BiOI/rGO) composite photocatalyst was synthesized successfully by a facile one-step solvothermal route in this work. Reduction of graphene oxide (GO) took place in the process of solvothermal reaction and a new Bi-C bond between rGO and 50%BiOCl/BiOI was formed. The introduction of rGO affected the morphology of 50%BiOCl/BiOI, resulting in the transformation of 50%BiOCl/BiOI from solid microspheres to hollow microspheres. Both the introduction of rGO and formation of 50%BiOCl/BiOI hollow microspheres can facilitate the light absorption. The strong interaction between 50%BiOCl/BiOI and rGO and the electrical conductivity of rGO greatly improved the effective separation of photogenerated carriers. Hence, GOB-5 demonstrated the highest photocatalytic activity which was over twice of the pristine 50%BiOCl/BiOI in the presence of visible light. Mechanism study revealed that 50%BiOCl/BiOI generated electrons and holes in the presence of visible light, and holes together with rad O2- generated from reduction of O2 by electrons degraded the pollutant directly. Overall, this work provides an excellent reference to the synthesis of chemically bonded BiOX/BiOY (X, Y = Cl, Br, I)/rGO nanocomposite and helps to promote their applications in environmental protection and photoelectric conversion.

  16. alpha-decay spectroscopy of light odd-odd Bi isotopes - II sup 1 sup 8 sup 6 Bi and the new nuclide sup 1 sup 8 sup 4 Bi

    CERN Document Server

    Andreyev, A N; Ackermann, D; Münzenberg, G; Hessberger, F P; Hofmann, S; Kojouharov, I; Kindler, B; Lommel, B; Huyse, M; Vel, K V D; Duppen, P V; Heyde, Kris L G

    2003-01-01

    Alpha-decay of the new nuclide sup 1 sup 8 sup 4 Bi has been studied in the complete-fusion reaction sup 9 sup 3 Nb( sup 9 sup 4 Mo, 3n) sup 1 sup 8 sup 4 Bi at the velocity filter SHIP. The evaporation residues were separated in-flight and subsequently identified on the basis of recoil-alpha, recoil-alpha-gamma analysis and excitation functions measurements. Two alpha-decaying isomeric states in sup 1 sup 8 sup 4 Bi with half-life values of 13(2) ms and 6.6(1.5) ms were identified. The alpha-branching ratio of sup 1 sup 8 sup 0 Tl was deduced for the first time as b subalpha = (2-12)%. Improved data on the fine-structure alpha-decay of sup 1 sup 8 sup 6 Bi were obtained in the sup 9 sup 3 Nb( sup 9 sup 5 Mo, 2n) sup 1 sup 8 sup 6 Bi reaction. A similarity of the decay energies and half-life values of sup 1 sup 8 sup 4 sup , sup 1 sup 8 sup 6 Bi is pointed out and a possible explanation for this effect is suggested.

  17. Precipitation Scavenging of Aerosol Particles at a Rural Site in the Czech Republic.

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Zíková, Naděžda; Ždímal, Vladimír

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 67, č. 2016 (2016), s. 27343 ISSN 0280-6509 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP209/11/1342 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 654109 - ACTRIS-2; European Commission(XE) 262254 - ACTRIS Institutional support: RVO:67985858 Keywords : below- cloud scavenging * in- cloud scavenging * hydrometeors Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 2.402, year: 2015

  18. Apoptotic and free radical scavenging properties of the methanolic extract of Gentianella alborosea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acero, Nuria; Llinares, Francisco; Galán de Mera, Antonio; Oltra, Beatriz; Muñoz-Mingarro, Dolores

    2006-09-01

    Gentianella alborosea ("Hercampure") is a Peruvian species used in folk medicine for the treatment of a variety of health disorders. We tested the free radical scavenging (DPPH) and induction of apoptosis on a human uterus tumor cell line (HeLa) by its methanolic extract. The results showed a noticeable radical scavenging activity and a dose-dependent apoptotic effect.

  19. [In vitro anti-inflammatory and free radical scavenging activities of flavans from Ilex centrochinensis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Lu-jun; Yu, Li-juan; Li, Yan-ci; Liu, Meng-yuan; Wu, Zheng-zhi

    2015-04-01

    This study was carried out to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and free radical scavenging activities of flavans from flex centrochinensis S. Y. Hu in vitro and their structure-activity relationship. LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage was used as inflammatory model. MTT assay for cell availability, Griess reaction for nitric oxide (NO) production, the content of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6 and PGE, were detected with ELISA kits; DPPH, superoxide anion and hydroxyl free radicals scavenging activities were also investigated. According to the result, all flavans tested exhibited anti-inflammatory effect in different levels. Among them, compounds 1, 3, 4 and 6 showed potent anti-inflammatory effect through the inhibition of NO, TNF-alpha, IL-lp and IL-6, of which 1 was the most effective inhibitor, however, 2 and 5 were relatively weak or inactive. The order of free radical scavenging activities was similar to that of anti-inflammatory activities. Therefore, these results suggest that 3, 4 and 6, especially of 1, were,in part responsible for the anti-inflammatory and free radical scavenging activity of Ilex centrochinensis. Hydroxyl group at 4'-position of B-ring plays an important role in the anti-inflammatory and free radical scavenging capacities.

  20. Superstrengthening Bi2Te3 through Nanotwinning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Guodong; Aydemir, Umut; Morozov, Sergey I.; Wood, Max; An, Qi; Zhai, Pengcheng; Zhang, Qingjie; Goddard, William A.; Snyder, G. Jeffrey

    2017-08-01

    Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3 ) based thermoelectric (TE) materials have been commercialized successfully as solid-state power generators, but their low mechanical strength suggests that these materials may not be reliable for long-term use in TE devices. Here we use density functional theory to show that the ideal shear strength of Bi2Te3 can be significantly enhanced up to 215% by imposing nanoscale twins. We reveal that the origin of the low strength in single crystalline Bi2Te3 is the weak van der Waals interaction between the Te1 coupling two Te 1 - Bi - Te 2 - Bi - Te 1 five-layer quint substructures. However, we demonstrate here a surprising result that forming twin boundaries between the Te1 atoms of adjacent quints greatly strengthens the interaction between them, leading to a tripling of the ideal shear strength in nanotwinned Bi2Te3 (0.6 GPa) compared to that in the single crystalline material (0.19 GPa). This grain boundary engineering strategy opens a new pathway for designing robust Bi2Te3 TE semiconductors for high-performance TE devices.

  1. Comparison of growth texture in round Bi2212 and flat Bi2223 wires and its relation to high critical current density development

    OpenAIRE

    Kametani, F.; Jiang, J.; Matras, M.; Abraimov, D.; Hellstrom, E. E.; Larbalestier, D. C.

    2015-01-01

    Why Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox (Bi2212) allows high critical current density Jc in round wires rather than only in the anisotropic tape form demanded by all other high temperature superconductors is important for future magnet applications. Here we compare the local texture of state-of-the-art Bi2212 and Bi2223 ((Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10), finding that round wire Bi2212 generates a dominant a-axis growth texture that also enforces a local biaxial texture (FWHM

  2. Variations of Antioxidant Properties and NO Scavenging Abilities during Fermentation of Tea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yang; Zhao, Hang; Zhang, Min; Li, Chun-Jie; Lin, Xue-Zhen; Sheng, Jun; Shi, Wei

    2011-01-01

    Tea is known as one of the most popular beverages in the world, which is believed to be beneficial for health. The main components in tea will change a lot depending on the different processes of fermentation, and thus the effects of different teas on human health may differ. The aim of this study is to explore the varied abilities of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) scavenging during the fermentation of tea. In this study, we conducted the in vitro experiments which involved some reaction systems indicating the abilities of scavenging ROS and NO. We also investigated the effects of tea and their components (catechins, theabrownins, caffeine) on the intracellular levels of ROS and NO, using Raw 264.7 cells as the model. We found that regardless of whether it was out of cell system or in Raw 264.7 cells, the abilities of scavenging ROS would decrease during the fermentation of tea. Further, the post-fermented pu-erh tea showed the best effect on inhibiting the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of NO. These findings indicated that the fermentation process caused a change of the components which might be due to the changes of their antioxidant properties and NO scavenging abilities. PMID:21845097

  3. Reward Your Students with an Online Scavenger Hunt!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Board, Keith

    2013-01-01

    Do you have a class of students who do excellent work and whom you would like to give an enjoyable reward? Try an "Internet scavenger hunt" for a fun and educational change of pace! This article shares how to run the activity.

  4. Estudio de la región rica en Bi2O3 en el sistema binario ZnO-Bi2O3

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caballero, A. C.

    2004-08-01

    Full Text Available Ceramic materials based in the ZnO- Bi2O3 system have their principal application as varistors. The binary system ZnO-Bi2O3 is specially relevant to the formation of the microstructure responsable of the varistor behaviour. The study of the different equilibrium phases at high temperatures at the Bi2O3-rich region of the ZnO-Bi2O3 will allow a correct understanding of the microstructural development. Equilibrium phases have been analyzed by XRD, SEM and DTA. Different temperature treatments of samples formulated in the Bi2O3 rich region of the ZnO-Bi2O3 binary system have allowed to determine the phase 19Bi2O3•ZnO as the equilibrium one instead of the 24Bi2O3•ZnO phase.Los materiales cerámicos basados en el sistema binario ZnO-Bi2O3 tienen su principal aplicación en el campo de los varistores. El sistema binario ZnO-Bi2O3 resulta especialmente relevante para la formación de la microestructura funcional de varistores. La determinación de las diferentes fases en equilibrio a alta temperatura en la región rica en Bi2O3 en el sistema binario ZnO-Bi2O3 permitirá interpretar correctamente el desarrollo microestructural. El estudio de las fases en equilibrio se ha llevado a cabo mediante difracción de rayos X, microscopía electrónica de barrido (MEB y análisis térmico diferencial (ATD. Tratamientos a diferentes temperaturas, en la zona rica en Bi2O3 del sistema, han permitido determinar la presencia del compuesto 19Bi2O3•ZnO como fase estable en equilibrio, en lugar del compuesto 24Bi2O3•ZnO.

  5. TiO2/Bi2(BDC)3/BiOCl nanoparticles decorated ultrathin nanosheets with excellent photocatalytic reaction activity and selectivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Shu-Mei; Ma, De-Kun; Cai, Ping; Chen, Wei; Huang, Shao-Ming

    2014-01-01

    Graphical abstract: TiO 2 /Bi 2 (BDC) 3 /BiOCl nanoparticles decorated ultrathin nanosheets showed excellent photocatalytic reaction activity and selectivity. - Highlights: • TiO 2 /Bi 2 (BDC) 3 /BiOCl nanoparticles decorated ultrathin nanosheets were synthesized through a facile hydrothermal process. • The products showed excellent photocatalytic activities for the degradation of various dyes. • The photocatalytic activities of the composite materials could be easily adjusted through tuning the content of TiO 2 . • TiO 2 /Bi 2 (BDC) 3 /BiOCl displayed obvious photocatalytic selectivity in mixed dyes systems of rhodamine B and eosin Y. - Abstract: Photocatalysts with excellent photocatalytic reaction activity and ideal selectivity are highly desirable for pollutants clearance and purification of targeted organics from a mixture. Continued efforts toward the goal, we here present a facile hydrothermal route to synthesize TiO 2 /Bi-benzenedicarboxylate/BiOCl nanoparticles decorated ultrathin nanosheets with a thickness less than 5 nm on a large scale. The as-synthesized products showed excellent photocatalytic activities for the degradation of various dyes such as rhodamine B, eosin Y and methylene blue in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic activities of TiO 2 /Bi-benzenedicarboxylate/BiOCl nanocomposites for the degradation of rhodamine B and eosin Y could be adjusted through tuning the content of TiO 2 . With increasing the amount of TiO 2 , the composites showed declining photocatalytic activities in decomposing of rhodamine B while on the contrary they displayed enhanced photocatalytic activities in decomposing of eosin Y. Interestingly, TiO 2 /Bi-benzenedicarboxylate/BiOCl composite nanosheets showed obvious photocatalytic selectivity in a mixed dyes system. The photocatalytic reaction and selectivity mechanisms of the nanocomposites for the degradation of the dyes were discussed on the basis of experimental results. The

  6. Effect of an inefficient electron scavenger on infrared- and visible-absorbing electrons in an ethanol matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noda, S.; Yoshida, K.; Ogasawara, M.; Yoshida, H.

    1980-01-01

    In order to obtain a deeper insight into the initial localization and the subsequent stabilization of electrons and to unravel the detailed mechanism of the electron scavenging reaction in a glassy ethanol matrix, spectrophotometric studies have been made on this matrix with toluene, an inefficient electron scavenger, γ irradiated at 4.2 0 K. Inhomogeneous depletion of the trapped electron spectrum by toluene indicates that IR-absorbing (lambda/sub max/ = 1500 nm) and visible-absorbing (lambda/sub max/ = 640 nm) electrons are initially generated, but that the former are unstable at higher temperature. Toluene scavenges the IR-absorbing electrons more efficiently by a factor of 10 than the visible-absorbing electrons. This selectivity is much higher than that of an efficient scavenger, such as benzyl chloride, as previously reported. The electron scavenging reaction results in the formation of the transient radical anion of toluene, which is readily protonated to yield the methylcyclohexadienyl radical at 77 0 K. 3 figures

  7. Thermoelectric power of Bi and Bi{sub 1{minus}x}Sb{sub x} alloy thin films and superlattices grown by MBE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, S; DiVenere, A; Wong, G K; Ketterson, J B; Meyer, J R; Hoffman, C A

    1997-07-01

    The authors have measured the thermoelectric power (TEP) of MBE-grown epitaxial Bi and Bi{sub 1{minus}x} alloy thin films and superlattices as a function of temperature in the range 20--300 K. They have observed that the TEP of a Bi thin film of 1 {micro}m thickness is in good agreement with the bulk single crystal value and that the TEPs for superlattices with 400 {angstrom} and 800 {angstrom} Bi well thicknesses are enhanced over the bulk values. For x = 0.072 and 0.088 in Bi{sub 1{minus}x}Sb{sub x} thin films showing semiconducting behavior, TEP enhancement was observed by a factor of two. However as Bi or Bi{sub 1{minus}x}Sb{sub x} well thickness decreases in superlattice geometry, the TEP decreases, which may be due to unintentional p-type doping.

  8. Computational studies of free radical-scavenging properties of phenolic compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alov, Petko; Tsakovska, Ivanka; Pajeva, Ilza

    2015-01-01

    For more than half a century free radical-induced alterations at cellular and organ levels have been investigated as a probable underlying mechanism of a number of adverse health conditions. Consequently, significant research efforts have been spent for discovering more effective and potent antioxidants / free radical scavengers for treatment of these adverse conditions. Being by far the most used antioxidants among natural and synthetic compounds, mono- and polyphenols have been the focus of both experimental and computational research on mechanisms of free radical scavenging. Quantum chemical studies have provided a significant amount of data on mechanisms of reactions between phenolic compounds and free radicals outlining a number of properties with a key role for the radical scavenging activity and capacity of phenolics. The obtained quantum chemical parameters together with other molecular descriptors have been used in quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analyses for the design of new more effective phenolic antioxidants and for identification of the most useful natural antioxidant phenolics. This review aims at presenting the state of the art in quantum chemical and QSAR studies of phenolic antioxidants and at analysing the trends observed in the field in the last decade.

  9. Shape similarities and differences in the skulls of scavenging raptors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guangdi, S I; Dong, Yiyi; Ma, Yujun; Zhang, Zihui

    2015-04-01

    Feeding adaptations are a conspicuous feature of avian evolution. Bill and cranial shape as well as the jaw muscles are closely related to diet choice and feeding behaviors. Diurnal raptors of Falconiformes exhibit a wide range of foraging behaviors and prey preferences, and are assigned to seven dietary groups in this study. Skulls of 156 species are compared from the dorsal, lateral and ventral views, by using geometric morphometric techniques with those landmarks capturing as much information as possible on the overall shape of cranium, bill, orbits, nostrils and attachment area for different jaw muscles. The morphometric data showed that the skull shape of scavengers differ significantly from other raptors, primarily because of different feeding adaptations. As a result of convergent evolution, different scavengers share generalized common morphology, possessing relatively slender and lower skulls, longer bills, smaller and more sideward orbits, and more caudally positioned quadrates. Significant phylogenetic signals suggested that phylogeny also played important role in shape variation within scavengers. New World vultures can be distinguished by their large nostrils, narrow crania and small orbits; Caracaras typically show large palatines, crania and orbits, as well as short, deep and sharp bill.

  10. A photoaffinity ligand for dopamine D2 receptors: azidoclebopride.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niznik, H B; Guan, J H; Neumeyer, J L; Seeman, P

    1985-02-01

    In order to label D2 dopamine receptors selectively and covalently by means of a photosensitive compound, azidoclebopride was synthesized directly from clebopride. The dissociation constant (KD) of clebopride for the D2 dopamine receptor (canine brain striatum) was 1.5 nM, while that for azidoclebopride was 21 nM. The affinities of both clebopride and azidoclebopride were markedly reduced in the absence of sodium chloride. In the presence of ultraviolet light, azidoclebopride inactivated D2 dopamine receptors irreversibly, as indicated by the inability of the receptors to bind [3H]spiperone. Maximal photoinactivation of about 60% of the D2 dopamine receptors occurred at 1 microM azidoclebopride; 30% of the receptors were inactivated at 80 nM azidoclebopride (pseudo-IC50). Dopamine agonists selectively protected the D2 receptors from being inactivated by azidoclebopride, the order of potency being (-)-N-n-propylnorapomorphine greater than apomorphine greater than (+/-)-6,7-dihydroxy-2-aminotetralin greater than (+)-N-n-propylnorapomorphine greater than dopamine greater than noradrenaline greater than serotonin. Similarly, dopaminergic antagonists prevented the photoinactivation of D2 receptors by azidoclebopride with the following order of potency: spiperone greater than (+)-butaclamol greater than haloperidol greater than clebopride greater than (-)-sulpiride greater than (-)-butaclamol. The degree of D2 dopamine receptor photoinduced inactivation by azidoclebopride was not significantly affected by scavengers such as p-aminobenzoic acid and dithiothreitol. Furthermore, irradiation of striatal membranes with a concentration of azidoclebopride sufficient to inactivate dopamine D2 receptors by 60% did not significantly reduce dopamine D1, serotonin (S2), benzodiazepine, alpha 1- or beta-noradrenergic receptors. This study describes the use of a novel and selective photoaffinity ligand for brain dopamine D2 receptors. The molecule, in radiolabeled form, may aid in the

  11. BiP Negatively Affects Ricin Transport

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirsten Sandvig

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available The AB plant toxin ricin binds both glycoproteins and glycolipids at the cell surface via its B subunit. After binding, ricin is endocytosed and then transported retrogradely through the Golgi to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER. In the ER, the A subunit is retrotranslocated to the cytosol in a chaperone-dependent process, which is not fully explored. Recently two separate siRNA screens have demonstrated that ER chaperones have implications for ricin toxicity. ER associated degradation (ERAD involves translocation of misfolded proteins from ER to cytosol and it is conceivable that protein toxins exploit this pathway. The ER chaperone BiP is an important ER regulator and has been implicated in toxicity mediated by cholera and Shiga toxin. In this study, we have investigated the role of BiP in ricin translocation to the cytosol. We first show that overexpression of BiP inhibited ricin translocation and protected cells against the toxin. Furthermore, shRNA-mediated depletion of BiP enhanced toxin translocation resulting in increased cytotoxicity. BiP-dependent inhibition of ricin toxicity was independent of ER stress. Our findings suggest that in contrast to what was shown with the Shiga toxin, the presence of BiP does not facilitate, but rather inhibits the entry of ricin into the cytosol.

  12. Simulation Modeling Method and Experimental Investigation on the Uniflow Scavenging System of an Opposed-Piston Folded-Cranktrain Diesel Engine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fukang Ma

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The scavenging process for opposed-piston folded-cranktrain (OPFC diesel engines can be described by the time evolution of the in-cylinder and exhaust chamber residual gas rates. The relation curve of in-cylinder and exhaust chamber residual gas rate is called scavenging profile, which is calculated through the changes of in-cylinder and exhaust chamber gas compositions determined by computational fluid dynamics (CFD simulation. The scavenging profile is used to calculate the scavenging process by mono-dimensional (1D simulation. The tracer gas method (TGM is employed to validate the accuracy of the scavenging profile. At the same time, the gas exchange performance under different intake and exhaust state parameters was examined based on the TGM. The results show that the scavenging process from 1D simulation and experiment match well, which means the scavenging model obtained by CFD simulation performs well and validation of its effectiveness by TGM is possible. The difference between intake and exhaust pressure has a significant positive effect on the gas exchange performance and trapped gas mass, but the pressure difference has little effect on the scavenging efficiency and the trapped air mass if the delivery ratio exceeds 1.4.

  13. The scavenging effects of tea polyphenol and quercetin on active oxygen species

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang Ruoying; Cheng Jiwu; Hu Tianxi; Tu Tiechen; Dong Jirong; Wang Wenfeng; Lin Nianyun

    1993-01-01

    The abilities of scavenging active oxygen species, O 2 free radical and OH., by tea polyphenols and quercetin have been studied by chemiluminescence, ESR and pulse radiolysis. Tea polyphenols and quercetin are all phenolic antioxidants. The synergetic studies show that both tea polyphenols and quercetin are strong free radical scavengers. Tea polyphenols are better than quercetin. the results from CL studies are in good accord with those from ESR and PR studies

  14. Human SR-BII mediates SAA uptake and contributes to SAA pro-inflammatory signaling in vitro and in vivo.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irina N Baranova

    Full Text Available Serum amyloid A (SAA is an acute phase protein with cytokine-like and chemotactic properties, that is markedly up-regulated during various inflammatory conditions. Several receptors, including FPRL-1, TLR2, TLR4, RAGE, class B scavenger receptors, SR-BI and CD36, have been identified as SAA receptors. This study provides new evidence that SR-BII, splice variant of SR-BI, could function as an SAA receptor mediating its uptake and pro-inflammatory signaling. The uptake of Alexa Fluor488 SAA was markedly (~3 fold increased in hSR-BII-expressing HeLa cells when compared with mock-transfected cells. The levels of SAA-induced interleukin-8 secretion by hSR-BII-expressing HEK293 cells were also significantly (~3-3.5 fold higher than those detected in control cells. Moderately enhanced levels of phosphorylation of all three mitogen-activated protein kinases, ERK1/2, and p38 and JNK, were observed in hSR-BII-expressing cells following SAA stimulation when compared with control wild type cells. Transgenic mice with pLiv-11-directed liver/kidney overexpression of hSR-BI or hSR-BII were used to assess the in vivo role of each receptor in SAA-induced pro-inflammatory response in these organs. Six hours after intraperitoneal SAA injection both groups of transgenic mice demonstrated markedly higher (~2-5-fold expression levels of inflammatory mediators in the liver and kidney compared to wild type mice. Histological examinations of hepatic and renal tissue from SAA-treated mice revealed moderate level of damage in the liver of both transgenic but not in the wild type mice. Activities of plasma transaminases, biomarkers of liver injury, were also moderately higher in hSR-B transgenic mice when compared to wild type mice. Our findings identify hSR-BII as a functional SAA receptor that mediates SAA uptake and contributes to its pro-inflammatory signaling via the MAPKs-mediated signaling pathways.

  15. Nature or Nurture? Gender Roles Scavenger Hunt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whalen, Shannon; Maurer-Starks, Suanne

    2008-01-01

    The examination of gender roles and stereotypes and their subsequent impact on sexual behavior is a concept for discussion in many sex education courses in college and sex education units in high school. This analysis often leads to a discussion of the impact of nature vs. nurture on gender roles. The gender roles scavenger hunt is an interactive…

  16. Gugulipid causes hypercholesterolemia leading to endothelial dysfunction, increased atherosclerosis, and premature death by ischemic heart disease in male mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Leiva

    Full Text Available For proper cholesterol metabolism, normal expression and function of scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI, a high-density lipoprotein (HDL receptor, is required. Among the factors that regulate overall cholesterol homeostasis and HDL metabolism, the nuclear farnesoid X receptor plays an important role. Guggulsterone, a bioactive compound present in the natural product gugulipid, is an antagonist of this receptor. This natural product is widely used globally as a natural lipid-lowering agent, although its anti-atherogenic cardiovascular benefit in animal models or humans is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of gugulipid on cholesterol homeostasis and development of mild and severe atherosclerosis in male mice. For this purpose, we evaluated the impact of gugulipid treatment on liver histology, plasma lipoprotein cholesterol, endothelial function, and development of atherosclerosis and/or ischemic heart disease in wild-type mice; apolipoprotein E knockout mice, a model of atherosclerosis without ischemic complications; and SR-B1 knockout and atherogenic-diet-fed apolipoprotein E hypomorphic (SR-BI KO/ApoER61h/h mice, a model of lethal ischemic heart disease due to severe atherosclerosis. Gugulipid administration was associated with histological abnormalities in liver, increased alanine aminotransferase levels, lower hepatic SR-BI content, hypercholesterolemia due to increased HDL cholesterol levels, endothelial dysfunction, enhanced atherosclerosis, and accelerated death in animals with severe ischemic heart disease. In conclusion, our data show important adverse effects of gugulipid intake on HDL metabolism and atherosclerosis in male mice, suggesting potential and unknown deleterious effects on cardiovascular health in humans. In addition, these findings reemphasize the need for rigorous preclinical and clinical studies to provide guidance on the consumption of natural products and regulation of their use in the

  17. Free radical scavenging potential, reducing power, phenolic and biochemical constituents of Porphyra species from India

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Pise, N.M.; Jena, K.B.; Maharana, D.; Gaikwad, D.; Jagtap, T.G.

    . Antioxidant potentials of algae were assessed through phenolic content, 2, 2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) activity, hydrogen peroxide (H sub(2)O sub(2)), scavenging power and reducing potential. A dose-dependent free radical scavenging action against DPPH...

  18. Thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 base solid solutions in the Bi2Te3-InS system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Safarov, M.G.; Rustamov, P.G.; Alidzhanov, M.A.

    1979-01-01

    The rich Bi 2 Te 3 part ot the Bi 2 Te 3 -InS constitutional diagram has been studied with a view to produce new Bi 2 Te 3 -based solid solutions and to establish the maximum solubility of InS in Bi 2 Te 3 . The methods of differential-thermal, X-ray phase and microstructural analysis have been used. The alloys microhardness, density and thermal electric properties have been measured. A large region of Bi 2 Te 3 -based restricted solid solutions has been detected; it reaches 14.0 mol.% InS at room temperature. Studied have been the thermoelectromotive forces, electric and thermal conductivity of the alloys, containing up to 5 mol.% InS in the 300-700 K temperature range

  19. Optical spectroscopy and Fermi surface studies of BiTeCl and BiTeBr

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Catalin; Suslov, A. V.; Buvaev, S.; Hebard, A. F.; Bugnon, Philippe; Berger, Helmuth; Magrez, Arnaud; Tanner, D. B.

    2014-03-01

    The observation of a large bulk Rashba effect in the non-centrosymmetric semiconductors BiTeX(X=Cl, Br, I) has stimulated the interest in these sys- tems, as promising candidates for studying spin related phenomena and for the realization of spin devices. Here we present a comparative study of the electronic properties of BiTeCl and BiTeBr, determined from temperature dependent infrared spectroscopy and Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. In par- ticular, we compare the angle dependence of quantum oscillations between the two compounds and discuss possible differences between the topology of their Fermi surfaces. Supported by NSF Cooperative Agreement DMR-1157490 to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.

  20. The French Paradox: Determining the Superoxide-Scavenging Capacity of Red Wine and Other Beverages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Logan, Barry A.; Hammond, Matthew P.; Stormo, Benjamin M.

    2008-01-01

    Plant-derived phenolic compounds such as those found in red wine, tea, and certain fruit juices may protect against cardiovascular disease by detoxifying (scavenging) superoxide and other unstable reactive oxygen species. We present a laboratory exercise that can be used to assess the superoxide-scavenging capacity of beverages. Among the…

  1. Serum Hydroxyl Radical Scavenging Capacity as Quantified with Iron-Free Hydroxyl Radical Source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Endo, Nobuyuki; Oowada, Shigeru; Sueishi, Yoshimi; Shimmei, Masashi; Makino, Keisuke; Fujii, Hirotada; Kotake, Yashige

    2009-01-01

    We have developed a simple ESR spin trapping based method for hydroxyl (OH) radical scavenging-capacity determination, using iron-free OH radical source. Instead of the widely used Fenton reaction, a short (typically 5 seconds) in situ UV-photolysis of a dilute hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution was employed to generate reproducible amounts of OH radicals. ESR spin trapping was applied to quantify OH radicals; the decrease in the OH radical level due to the specimen’s scavenging activity was converted into the OH radical scavenging capacity (rate). The validity of the method was confirmed in pure antioxidants, and the agreement with the previous data was satisfactory. In the second half of this work, the new method was applied to the sera of chronic renal failure (CRF) patients. We show for the first time that after hemodialysis, OH radical scavenging capacity of the CRF serum was restored to the level of healthy control. This method is simple and rapid, and the low concentration hydrogen peroxide is the only chemical added to the system, that could eliminate the complexity of iron-involved Fenton reactions or the use of the pulse-radiolysis system. PMID:19794928

  2. [Correlation Between Functional Groups and Radical Scavenging Activities of Acidic Polysaccharides from Dendrobium].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Ying; Yuan, Wen-yu; Zheng, Wen-ke; Luo, Ao-xue; Fan, Yi-jun

    2015-11-01

    To compare the radical scavenging activity of five different acidic polysaccharides, and to find the correlation with the functional groups. Alkali extraction method and Stepwise ethanol precipitation method were used to extract and concentrate the five Dendrobium polysaccharides, and to determine the contents of sulfuric acid and uronic acid of each kind of acidic polysaccharides, and the scavenging activity to ABTS+ radical and hydroxyl radical. Functional group structures were examined by FTIR Spectrometer. Five kinds of Dendrobium polysaccharides had different ability of scavenging ABTS+ free radical and hydroxyl free radical. Moreover, the study had shown that five kinds of antioxidant activity of acidic polysaccharides had obvious correlation withuronic acid and sulfuric acid. The antioxidant activity of each sample was positively correlated with the content of uronic acid, and negatively correlated with the content of sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid can inhibit the antioxidant activity of acidic polysaccharide but uronic acid can enhance the free radical scavenging activity. By analyzing the structure characteristics of five acidic polysaccharides, all samples have similar structures, however, Dendrobium denneanum, Dendrobium devonianum and Dendrobium officinale which had β configuration have higher antioxidant activity than Dendrobium nobile and Dendrobium fimbriatum which had a configuration.

  3. Bi-cooperative games in bipolar fuzzy settings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hazarika, Pankaj; Borkotokey, Surajit; Mesiar, Radko

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, we introduce the notion of a bi-cooperative game with Bipolar Fuzzy Bi-coalitions and discuss the related properties. In many decision-making situations, players show bipolar motives while cooperating among themselves. This is modelled in both crisp and fuzzy environments. Bi-cooperative games with fuzzy bi-coalitions have already been proposed under the product order of bi-coalitions where one had memberships in [0, 1]. In the present paper, we adopt the alternative ordering: ordering by monotonicity and account for players' memberships in ?, a break from the previous formulation. This simplifies the model to a great extent. The corresponding Shapley axioms are proposed. An explicit form of the Shapley value to a particular class of such games is also obtained. Our study is supplemented with an illustrative example.

  4. Gallic acid as an oxygen scavenger in bio-based multilayer packaging films

    OpenAIRE

    Pant, Astrid; Sängerlaub, Sven; Müller, Kajetan

    2017-01-01

    Oxygen scavengers are used in food packaging to protect oxygen-sensitive food products. A mixture of gallic acid (GA) and sodium carbonate was used as an oxygen scavenger (OSc) in bio-based multilayer packaging films produced in a three-step process: compounding, flat film extrusion, and lamination. We investigated the film surface color as well as oxygen absorption at different relative humidities (RHs) and temperatures, and compared the oxygen absorption of OSc powder, monolayer films, and ...

  5. Development of nitroxide radicals–containing polymer for scavenging reactive oxygen species from cigarette smoke

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshitomi, Toru; Kuramochi, Kazuhiro; Binh Vong, Long; Nagasaki, Yukio

    2014-01-01

    We developed a nitroxide radicals–containing polymer (NRP), which is composed of poly(4-methylstyrene) possessing nitroxide radicals as a side chain via amine linkage, to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) from cigarette smoke. In this study, the NRP was coated onto cigarette filters and its ROS-scavenging activity from streaming cigarette smoke was evaluated. The intensity of electron spin resonance signals of the NRP in the filter decreased after exposure to cigarette smoke, indicating consumption of nitroxide radicals. To evaluate the ROS-scavenging activity of the NRP-coated filter, the amount of peroxy radicals in an extract of cigarette smoke was measured using UV–visible spectrophotometry and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). The absorbance of DPPH at 517 nm decreased with exposure to cigarette smoke. When NRP-coated filters were used, the decrease in the absorbance of DPPH was prevented. In contrast, both poly[4-(cyclohexylamino)methylstyrene]- and poly(acrylic acid)-coated filters, which have no nitroxide radical, did not show any effect, indicating that the nitroxide radicals in the NRP scavenge the ROS in cigarette smoke. As a result, the extract of cigarette smoke passed through the NRP-coated filter has a lower cellular toxicity than smoke passed through poly[4-(cyclohexylamino)methylstyrene]- and poly(acrylic acid)-coated filters. Accordingly, NRP is a promising material for ROS scavenging from cigarette smoke. (papers)

  6. Free radical scavenging activity and phenolic contents of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Anthocleista djalonensis extract is widely used in Nigerian folk medicine to treat conditions whose pathogenesis implicate oxidative stress, such as diabetes and hepatitis. However, little is known of the mechanism underlying these activities. In this study, the free radical scavenging potential of a methanol extract of A.

  7. The significance of cooking for early hominin scavenging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Alex R; Carmody, Rachel N; Dutton, Rachel J; Wrangham, Richard W

    2015-07-01

    Meat scavenged by early Homo could have contributed importantly to a higher-quality diet. However, it has been suggested that because carrion would normally have been contaminated by bacteria it would have been dangerous and therefore eaten rarely prior to the advent of cooking. In this study, we quantified bacterial loads on two tissues apparently eaten by hominins, meat and bone marrow. We tested the following three hypotheses: (1) the bacterial loads on exposed surfaces of raw meat increase within 24 h to potentially dangerous levels, (2) simple roasting of meat on hot coals kills most bacteria, and (3) fewer bacteria grow on marrow than on meat, making marrow a relatively safe food. Our results supported all three hypotheses. Our experimental data imply that early hominins would have found it difficult to scavenge safely without focusing on marrow, employing strategies of carrion selection to minimize pathogen load, or cooking. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Chlorine dioxide as phenol and H2S scavenger - formation of halogenated phenols and subsequent environmental risk

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Melbye, Alf G.; Faksness, Liv-Guri; Knudsen, Boerre Leif

    2006-03-15

    Formation of halogenated phenols as side products from treatment of produced water with aqueous chlorine dioxide has been investigated. The literature describes formation of halogenated hydrocarbons in effluent treatment using chlorine, hypochlorite and chlorine dioxide. A new chlorine dioxide product, originally intended as a H2S scavenger in the oil and gas industry, has been tested both as a phenol scavenger and H2S-scavenger for produced water applications. The concern about the possible formation of halogenated by-products initiated laboratory testing of chlorine dioxide as phenol and H2S scavenger for produced water applications. The tests also included synthetic matrixes containing phenols, and the tests show that halogenated phenols, mainly brominated species, are found in produced water after treatment with chlorine dioxide. Due to potential environmental risk from halogenated organic contaminants, the use of chlorine dioxide as phenol and H2S scavenger is not recommended. (Author)

  9. Evaluation of Free Radical Scavenging Activity in Ethanolic Extract from Promising Accessions of Curcuma aeruginosa RoxB.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Waras Nurcholis

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This study evaluated the free radical scavenging activity in ethanolic extracts from 20 accessions of Curcuma aeruginosa. The radical scavenging activity of the extract accessions was investigated with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH radical. IC50 values for DPPH radical scavenging activity ranged from 89.81 to 505.65 µg mL-1. Based on IC50 values, twenty accessions of C. aeruginosa can be divided into three groups: strong (two accessions; moderate (seventeen accessions; and low (one accession of DPPH scavenger. Sukoharjo (SH and Muara Bungo (MB showed promising accessions for antioxidant potential, thus these accessions important to selection for future breeding program in pharmaceutical products.

  10. Radical scavenging potentials of single and combinatorial herbal formulations in vitro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Okey A. Ojiako

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS are involved in deleterious/beneficial biological processes. The present study sought to investigate the capacity of single and combinatorial herbal formulations of Acanthus montanus, Emilia coccinea, Hibiscus rosasinensis, and Asystasia gangetica to act as superoxide radicals (SOR, hydrogen peroxide (HP, nitric oxide radical (NOR, hydroxyl radical (HR, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH radical antagonists using in vitro models. The herbal extracts were single herbal formulations (SHfs, double herbal formulations (DHfs, triple herbal formulations (THfs, and a quadruple herbal formulation (QHf. The phytochemical composition and radical scavenging capacity index (SCI of the herbal formulations were measured using standard methods. The flavonoids were the most abundant phytochemicals present in the herbal extracts. The SCI50 defined the concentration (μg/mL of herbal formulation required to scavenge 50% of the investigated radicals. The SHfs, DHfs, THfs, and QHf SCI50 against the radicals followed the order HR > SOR > DPPH radical > HP > NOR. Although the various herbal formulations exhibited ambivalent antioxidant activities in terms of their radical scavenging capabilities, a broad survey of the results of the present study showed that combinatorial herbal formulations (DHfs, THfs, and QHf appeared to exhibit lower radical scavenging capacities than those of the SHfs in vitro.

  11. Nitric oxide radical scavenging potential of some Elburz medicinal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONOS

    2010-08-09

    Aug 9, 2010 ... NO is also implicated in inflammation and other pathological ... adhesion and prevention of smooth muscle cell prolife- ... reduce NO levels is making use of NO scavengers. For ..... human nutrition and health are considerable.

  12. Identification, characterisation and composition of scavengeable feed resources for rural poultry production in Central Tanzania

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Goromela, E.H.; Kwakkel, R.P.; Verstegen, M.W.A.; Katule, A.M.

    2007-01-01

    A participatory study was carried out in four villages of central Tanzania to appraise existing and potential scavengeable feed resources available for rural poultry. In addition, proximate analysis of selected scavengeable feed resources including chicken crop and gizzards contents was carried out

  13. Host scavenger receptor SR-BI plays a dual role in the establishment of malaria parasite liver infection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rodrigues, Cristina D.; Hannus, Michael; Prudencio, Miguel; Martin, Cecilie; Goncalves, Ligia A.; Portugal, Silvia; Epiphanio, Sabrina; Akinc, Akin; Hadwiger, Philipp; Jahn-Hofmann, Kerstin; Roehl, Ingo; van Gemert, Geert-Jan; Franetich, Jean-Francois; Luty, Adrian J. F.; Sauerwein, Robert; Mazier, Dominique; Koteliansky, Victor; Vornlocher, Hans-Peter; Echeverri, Christophe J.; Mota, Maria M.

    2008-01-01

    An obligatory step of malaria parasite infection is Plasmodium sporozoite invasion of host hepatocytes, and host lipoprotein clearance pathways have been linked to Plasmodium liver infection. By using RNA interference to screen lipoprotein-related host factors, we show here that the class B, type I

  14. Tourism in protected areas: Disentangling road and traffic effects on intra-guild scavenging processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donázar, José Antonio; Ceballos, Olga; Cortés-Avizanda, Ainara

    2018-07-15

    The expansion of road networks and the increase in traffic have emerged in recent years as key threats to the conservation of biodiversity. This is particularly concerning in many protected areas because the increase of recreational activities requiring the use of vehicles. Effects of roads and traffic within guild scenarios and ecological processes remain however poorly known. Here we examined how road proximity and traffic intensity influence patterns of resource use in an Old-World avian scavenger guild living in a protected natural park in northern Spain. We experimentally placed 130 carcasses at different distances from a scenic road in the centre of the park. Vehicles were recorded by means of traffic counters which revealed that maximum numbers were reached during weekends and holidays and during the middle hours of the day. Avian scavenger attendance at carcasses was recorded by means of camera-traps. Obligated scavengers, Eurasian griffon (Gyps fulvus) and Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) were frequently observed (59.4% and 37.7% of the consumed carcasses) together with five other facultative scavenger species. We found that the richness (number of species) and the probability of consumption of the resource were reduced the smaller the distance to the road and in days with higher traffic intensity. The same factors affected the probability of presence of all the scavenger species. Moreover, some of them, notably griffon vultures, showed hourly patterns of carcass attendance suggesting avoidance of maximum traffic levels. Our results highlight that roads and traffic would trigger consequences on the structure and functioning of scavenger food webs, which may be particularly concerning in protected areas with remarkable levels of biodiversity. Future regulations at protected areas should couple both traffic and tourist affluence with wildlife conservation. In this way important ecological processes would be preserved while maintaining a good

  15. Layer structured bismuth selenides Bi2Se3 and Bi3Se4 for high energy and flexible all-solid-state micro-supercapacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Chunxue; Wang, Lidan; Wen, Fusheng; Xiang, Jianyong; Li, Lei; Hu, Wentao; Liu, Zhongyuan

    2018-02-01

    In this work, bismuth selenides (Bi2Se3 and Bi3Se4), both of which have a layered rhombohedral crystal structure, have been found to be useful as electrode materials for supercapacitor applications. In a liquid electrolyte system (6M KOH), Bi2Se3 nanoplates exhibit much better performance as an electrode material than Bi3Se4 nanoparticles do, delivering a higher specific capacitance (272.9 F g-1) than that of Bi3Se4 (193.6 F g-1) at 5 mV s-1. This result may be attributed to the fact that Bi2Se3 nanoplates possess more active electrochemical surfaces for the reversible surface redox reactions owing to their planar quintuple stacked layers (septuple layers for Bi3Se4). To meet the demands of electronic skin, we used a novel flexible annular interdigital structure electrode to support the all-solid-state micro-supercapacitors (AMSCs). The Bi2Se3 AMSC device delivers a much better supercapacitor performance, exhibits a large stack capacitance of 89.5 F cm-3 at 20 mV s-1 (Bi3Se4: 79.1 F cm-3), a high energy density of 17.9 mWh cm-3 and a high power density of 18.9 W cm-3. The bismuth selenides also exhibit good cycle stability, with 95.5% retention after 1000 c for Bi2Se3 (Bi3Se4:90.3%). Clearly, Bi2Se3 nanoplates can be promising electrode materials for flexible annular interdigital AMSCs.

  16. {sup 213}Bi-DOTATOC receptor-targeted alpha-radionuclide therapy induces remission in neuroendocrine tumours refractory to beta radiation: a first-in-human experience

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kratochwil, C.; Giesel, F.L.; Mier, W.; Haberkorn, U. [University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); Bruchertseifer, F.; Apostolidis, C.; Morgenstern, A. [European Commission, Institute for Transuranium Elements, Karlsruhe (Germany); Boll, R.; Murphy, K. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2014-11-15

    Radiopeptide therapy using a somatostatin analogue labelled with a beta emitter such as {sup 90}Y/{sup 177}Lu-DOTATOC is a new therapeutic option in neuroendocrine cancer. Alternative treatments for patients with refractory disease are rare. Here we report the first-in-human experience with {sup 213}Bi-DOTATOC targeted alpha therapy (TAT) in patients pretreated with beta emitters. Seven patients with progressive advanced neuroendocrine liver metastases refractory to treatment with {sup 90}Y/{sup 177}Lu-DOTATOC were treated with an intraarterial infusion of {sup 213}Bi-DOTATOC, and one patient with bone marrow carcinosis was treated with a systemic infusion of {sup 213}Bi-DOTATOC. Haematological, kidney and endocrine toxicities were assessed according to CTCAE criteria. Radiological response was assessed with contrast-enhanced MRI and {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC-PET/CT. More than 2 years of follow-up were available in seven patients. The biodistribution of {sup 213}Bi-DOTATOC was evaluable with 440 keV gamma emission scans, and demonstrated specific tumour binding. Enduring responses were observed in all treated patients. Chronic kidney toxicity was moderate. Acute haematotoxicity was even less pronounced than with the preceding beta therapies. TAT can induce remission of tumours refractory to beta radiation with favourable acute and mid-term toxicity at therapeutic effective doses. (orig.)

  17. Enhanced photosensitization process induced by the p–n junction of Bi2O2CO3/BiOCl heterojunctions on the degradation of rhodamine B

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, Haijing; Xu, Lingling; Wei, Bo; Zhang, Mingyi; Gao, Hong; Sun, Wenjun

    2014-01-01

    Herein, we report the enhanced photosensitization process in the nanosheet Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 /BiOCl heterojunctions photocatalyst. The combined XRD, FT-IR and Raman results have confirmed the co-existence of Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 and BiOCl phases in the composites. Although both Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 and BiOCl are wide bandgap semiconductors, the composites showed an unexpectedly high catalytic activity in decomposing RhB (rhodamine B) aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The mechanism of enhanced photocatalytic activity was ascribed to the inner electric field formed in the Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 /BiOCl p–n junction.

  18. Simulation Modeling and Optimization of Uniflow Scavenging System Parameters on Opposed-Piston Two-Stroke Engines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fukang Ma

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Based on the introduction of opposed-piston two-stroke (OP2S gasoline direct injection (GDI engines, the OP2S-GDI engine working principle and scavenging process were analyzed. GT-Power software was employed to model the working process based on the structural style and principle of OP2S-GDI engine. The tracer gas method and OP2S-GDI engine experiment were employed for model validation at full load of 6000 rpm. The OP2S-GDI engine scavenging system parameters were optimized, including intake port height stroke ratio, intake port circumference ratio, exhaust port height stroke ratio, exhaust port circumference ratio, and opposed-piston motion phase difference. At the same time, the effect of the port height stroke ratio and opposed-piston motion phase difference on effective compression ratio and expansion ratio were considered, and the indicated work was employed as the optimization objective. A three-level orthogonal experiment was applied in the calculation process to reduce the calculation work. The influence and correlation coefficient on the scavenging efficiency and delivery ratio were investigated by the orthogonal experiment analysis of intake and exhaust port height stroke ratio and circular utilization. The effect of the scavenging system parameters on delivery ratio, scavenging efficiency and indicated work were calculated to obtain the best parameters. The results show that intake port height stroke ratio is the main factor for the delivery ratio, while exhaust port height stroke ratio is the main factor to engine delivery ratio and scavenging efficiency.

  19. High-temperature abnormal behavior of resistivities for Bi-In melts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xi Yun; Zu Fangqiu; Li Xianfen; Yu Jin; Liu Lanjun; Li Qiang; Chen Zhihao

    2004-01-01

    The patterns of electrical resistivities versus temperature in large temperature range have been studied, using the D.C. four-probe method, for liquid Bi-In alloys (Bi-In(33 wt%), Bi-In(38 wt%), Bi-In(50.5 wt%), Bi-In(66 wt%)). The clear turning point of each resistivity-temperature curves of the liquid Bi-In alloys is observed at the temperature much above the melting point, in which temperature range the resistivity-temperature coefficient increases rapidly. Except for the turning temperature range, the resistivities of Bi-In alloys increase linearly with temperature. Because resistivity is sensitive to the structure, this experiment shows the structural transition in Bi-In melts at the temperature much higher than the liquidus. And it is suggested that there are different Bi-In short-range orderings in different Bi-In melts, so the resistivity-temperature curves have the turns at different temperatures and the resistivity-temperature coefficients are also different

  20. Antioxidant and Nitrite-Scavenging Capacities of Phenolic Compounds from Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L. Tops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian Sun

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Sugarcane tops were extracted with 50% ethanol and fractionated by petroleum ether, ethyl acetate (EtOAc, and n-butyl alcohol successively. Eight phenolic compounds in EtOAc extracts were purified through silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies, and then identified by nuclear magnetic resonance and electrospray ionization mass spectra. The results showed that eight phenolic compounds from EtOAc extracts were identified as caffeic acid, cis-p-hydroxycinnamic acid, quercetin, apigenin, albanin A, australone A, moracin M, and 5'-geranyl-5,7,2',4'-tetrahydroxyflavone. The antioxidant and nitrite-scavenging capacities of different solvent extracts correlated positively with their total phenolic (TP contents. Amongst various extracts, EtOAc extracts possessed the highest TP content and presented the strongest oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC, 1,1'-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH radical-scavenging capacity, 2,2'-azobis-3-ethylbenthiaazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS radical-scavenging capacity, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP and nitrite-scavenging capacity. Thus, sugarcane tops could be promoted as a source of natural antioxidant.

  1. Diet and scavenging habits of the smooth skate Dipturus innominatus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forman, J S; Dunn, M R

    2012-04-01

    The diet of smooth skate Dipturus innominatus was determined from examination of stomach contents of 321 specimens of 29·3-152·0 cm pelvic length, sampled from research and commercial trawlers at depths of 231-789 m on Chatham Rise, New Zealand. The diet was dominated by the benthic decapods Metanephrops challengeri and Munida gracilis, the natant decapod Campylonotus rathbunae and fishes from 17 families, of which hoki Macruronus novaezelandiae, sea perch Helicolenus barathri, various Macrouridae and a variety of discarded fishes were the most important. Multivariate analyses indicated the best predictors of diet variability were D. innominatus length and a spatial model. The diet of small D. innominatus was predominantly small crustaceans, with larger crustaceans, fishes and then scavenged discarded fishes increasing in importance as D. innominatus got larger. Scavenged discards were obvious as fish heads or tails only, or skeletal remains after filleting, often from pelagic species. Demersal fish prey were most frequent on the south and west Chatham Rise, in areas where commercial fishing was most active. Dipturus innominatus are highly vulnerable to overfishing, but discarding practices by commercial fishing vessels may provide a positive feedback to populations through improved scavenging opportunities. © 2012 NIWA. Journal of Fish Biology © 2012 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  2. Separation of nanoparticles: Filtration and scavenging from waste incineration plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Förster, Henning; Thajudeen, Thaseem; Funk, Christine; Peukert, Wolfgang

    2016-06-01

    Increased amounts of nanoparticles are applied in products of everyday life and despite material recycling efforts, at the end of their life cycle they are fed into waste incineration plants. This raises the question on the fate of nanoparticles during incineration. In terms of environmental impact the key question is how well airborne nanoparticles are removed by separation processes on their way to the bag house filters and by the existing filtration process based on pulse-jet cleanable fibrous filter media. Therefore, we investigate the scavenging and the filtration of metal nanoparticles under typical conditions in waste incineration plants. The scavenging process is investigated by a population balance model while the nanoparticle filtration experiments are realized in a filter test rig. The results show that depending on the particle sizes, in some cases nearly 80% of the nanoparticles are scavenged by fly ash particles before they reach the bag house filter. For the filtration step dust cakes with a pressure drop of 500Pa or higher are found to be very effective in preventing nanoparticles from penetrating through the filter. Thus, regeneration of the filter must be undertaken with care in order to guarantee highly efficient collection of particles even in the lower nanometre size regime. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. High-pressure studies of superconductivity in BiO0. 75F0. 25BiS2

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    ). We have investigated the effect of pressure on magnetization measurements. Our studies suggest improved superconducting properties in polycrystalline samples of BiO 0.75 F 0.25 BiS 2 . The Tc in our sample is 5.3 K, at ambient pressure, ...

  4. An investigation of red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and Eurasian badger (Meles meles) scavenging, scattering, and removal of deer remains: forensic implications and applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Alexandria; Márquez-Grant, Nicholas; Stillman, Richard; Smith, Martin J; Korstjens, Amanda H

    2015-01-01

    Within northwest Europe, especially the United Kingdom, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the Eurasian Badger (Meles meles) are the largest wild scavengers capable of modifying a set of remains through scavenging. Knowledge of region-specific and species-typical scavenging behaviors of scavengers within the crime scene area and surroundings can aid in more efficient and accurate interpretations. The scavenging behaviors of captive and wild foxes and badgers were recorded and compared through actualistic methods and direct observation. The scavenging by wild foxes and badgers of surface-deposited baits and whole deer (Cervus nippon; Capreolus capreolus) in a woodland was observed and analyzed. Wild foxes were found to scavenge deer more frequently than badgers. The scavenging of deer remains by foxes was also compared with forensic cases. The scavenging pattern and recovery distances of deer and human remains scavenged by foxes were similar but were potentially affected by the condition and deposition of a body, and the presence of clothing. © 2014 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  5. Potential barrier behavior in BiCuVOX materials Comportamento da barreira de potencial em materiais BiCuVOX

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. M. Gheno

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The BiMeVOX materials appear being high attractive for applications at low temperatures when the ionic conductivity is the determining parameter. The occurrence of many types substitution was confirmed for numerous Me ions, but the greatest interest have been focused on the BiCuVOX materials. The objective of this study was to image the potential barriers in BiCuVOX. The sample was sintered for 4 h at 750 °C and the results show that the high density compound can be obtained. Simultaneously, topography and electric force microscopy (EFM images are viewed side-by-side. EFM experiments were performed and the results show the maps of the electric field distribution on the surface of BiCuVOX. The formation of potential barrier was observed and the width and intensity were measured.Materiais do tipo BiMeVOX são muito atrativos para aplicações em baixas temperaturas quando a condutividade iônica for o parâmetro determinante. A ocorrência de muitos tipos de substituições foi confirmada para numerosos íons Me, dentre os quais, existe um grande interesse no estudo de materiais BiCuVOX. O objetivo deste estudo foi realizar o imageamento das barreiras de potencial em uma amostra de material BiCuVOX. A amostra foi sinterizada 4 h a 750 °C e apresentou alta densidade. Imagens da superfície topográfica e de microscopia de força elétrica (EFM foram obtidas simultaneamente em um microscópio de varredura por sonda. Os experimentos EFM mostraram um mapa da distribuição do campo elétrico na superfície do material BiCuVOx. A formação da barreira de potencial foi observada e tanto a largura quanto a altura foram medidas.

  6. Gd-substituted Bi-2223 superconductor

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The effects of gadolinium doping at calcium site on the normal and super- conducting properties of Bi-2223 system were ... quantities of the metal oxides and the carbonates were taken and thoroughly mixed. The calcination of the mixture after .... Therefore, Gd has higher solubility in (BiPb)-2223 as compared to Pr, and is, ...

  7. Bi[NC5H3(CO2)2](OH2)xF (x=1 and 2): New one-dimensional Bi-coordination materials—Reversible hydration and topotactic decomposition to α-Bi2O3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeon, Hye Rim; Lee, Dong Woo; Ok, Kang Min

    2012-03-01

    Two one-dimensional bismuth-coordination materials, Bi[NC5H3(CO2)2](OH2)xF (x=1 and 2), have been synthesized by hydrothermal reactions using Bi2O3, 2,6-NC5H3(CO2H)2, HF, and water at 180 °C. Structures of the two materials were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Although they have different crystal structures, both Bi-organic materials shared a common structural motif, a one-dimensional chain structure consisting of Bi3+ cations and pyridine dicarboxylate linkers. Detailed structural analyses include infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and reversible hydration reactions for the coordinated water molecules were reported. Also, thermal decomposition of the rod-shaped Bi[NC5H3(CO2)2](OH2)F single crystals at 800 °C led to α-Bi2O3 that maintained the same morphology of the original crystals.

  8. The highly enhanced visible light photocatalytic degradation of gaseous o-dichlorobenzene through fabricating like-flowers BiPO{sub 4}/BiOBr p-n heterojunction composites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zou, Xuejun [Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian, 116600 (China); Dong, Yuying, E-mail: dongy@dlnu.edu.cn [Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian, 116600 (China); Zhang, Xiaodong, E-mail: fatzhxd@126.com [Environment and Low-Carbon Research Center, School of Environment and Architecture, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200093 (China); Cui, Yubo; Ou, Xiaoxia [Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian, 116600 (China); Qi, Xiaohui [College of Life Science, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian, 116600 (China)

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Like-flowers BiPO{sub 4}/BiOBr was fabricated by mixing in solvent method. • o-Dichlorobenzene removal efficiency was 53.6% using BiPO{sub 4}/BiOBr. • The p–n junction improved o-dichlorobenzene degradation activity. - Abstract: In this paper, in order to enhance photo-induced electron-hole pairs separation of BiOBr, flowers-like BiPO{sub 4}/BiOBr p-n heterojunction composites was fabricated by a mixing in solvent method. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), UV–vis absorption spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and N{sub 2} adsorption-desorption. Meanwhile, their photocatalytic properties were investigated by the degradation of gaseous o-dichlorobenzene under visible light irradiation. Due to its strong adsorption capacity and the formation of p-n heterojunction, compared with BiPO{sub 4} and BiOBr, the BiPO{sub 4}/BiOBr composites showed higher photocatalytic activity in the degradation of gaseous o-DCB under visible light. Among them, 2% BiPO{sub 4}/BiOBr showed the maximum value of the activity, whose degradation rate was about 2.6 times as great as the pure BiOBr. Furthermore, the OH· was confirmed the main active species during the photocatalytic process by the trapping experiments. The outstanding performance indicated that the photocatalysts could be applied to air purification for chlorinated volatile organic compound.

  9. Identification of Radical Scavenging Compounds in Rhaponticum carthamoides by Means of LC-DAD-SPE-NMR

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Miliauskas, G.; Beek, van T.A.; Waard, de P.; Venskutonis, R.P.; Sudhölter, E.J.R.

    2005-01-01

    A hyphenated LC-DAD-SPE-NMR setup in combination with on-line radical scavenging detection has been applied for the identification of radical scavenging compounds in extracts of Rhaponticum carthamoides. After NMR measurements, the pure compounds were infused into a mass spectrometer. The technique

  10. Smooth Interfacial Scavenging for Resistive Switching Oxide via the Formation of Highly Uniform Layers of Amorphous TaOx.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsurumaki-Fukuchi, Atsushi; Nakagawa, Ryosuke; Arita, Masashi; Takahashi, Yasuo

    2018-02-14

    We demonstrate that the inclusion of a Ta interfacial layer is a remarkably effective strategy for forming interfacial oxygen defects at metal/oxide junctions. The insertion of an interfacial layer of a reactive metal, that is, a "scavenging" layer, has been recently proposed as a way to create a high concentration of oxygen defects at an interface in redox-based resistive switching devices, and growing interest has been given to the underlying mechanism. Through structural and chemical analyses of Pt/metal/SrTiO 3 /Pt structures, we reveal that the rate and amount of oxygen scavenging are not directly determined by the formation free energies in the oxidation reactions of the scavenging metal and unveil the important roles of oxygen diffusibility. Active oxygen scavenging and highly uniform oxidation via scavenging are revealed for a Ta interfacial layer with high oxygen diffusibility. In addition, the Ta scavenging layer is shown to exhibit a highly uniform structure and to form a very flat interface with SrTiO 3 , which are advantageous for the fabrication of a steep metal/oxide contact.

  11. Trypsin Binding with Copper Ions Scavenges Superoxide: Molecular Dynamics-Based Mechanism Investigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin Li

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Trypsin is a serine protease, which has been proved to be a novel superoxide scavenger. The burst of superoxide induced by polychlorinated biphenyls can be impeded by trypsin in both wild type and sod knockout mutants of Escherichia coli. The experimental results demonstrated that the activities of superoxide scavenging of trypsin were significantly accelerated by Cu ions. Also, with the addition of Cu ions, a new β-sheet (β7 transited from a random coil in the Cu(II-trypsin (TP system, which was favorable for the formation of more contacts with other sheets of trypsin. Residue–residue network analysis and the porcupine plots proved that the Cu ion in trypsin strengthened some native interactions among residues, which ultimately resulted in much greater stability of the Cu(II-TP system. Moreover, compact and stable trypsin structures with Cu ions might be responsible for significantly provoking the activity of superoxide scavenging.

  12. Free radical scavenging window of infertile patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: correlation with embryo quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Bo; Li, Zhou; Ren, Xinling; Ai, Jihui; Zhu, Lixia; Jin, Lei

    2017-06-01

    The activity of free radicals in follicular fluid was related to ovarian responsiveness, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and embryo transfer success rate. However, studies analyzing the relationship between the free radical scavenging capacity and embryo quality of infertile women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) were lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the free radical scavenging window of women with PCOS and their embryo quality. The free radical scavenging capacity of follicular fluid from women with PCOS was determined by a,a-diphenyl-b-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-azinobis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) assay, superoxide radical, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay. In the DPPH and ROS assays, the follicular fluid from grades I and II embryos was significantly higher than the follicular fluid from grades III and IVembryos. The lower control limit of DPPH radical scavenging capacity and upper control limit of ROS level were 13.2% and 109.0 cps, respectively. The calculated lower control limit and upper control limit were further confirmed in the follicular fluid of embryos of all grades. These cut-off values of free radical scavenging activity of follicular fluid could assist embryologists in choosing the development of embryos in PCOS patients undergoing IVF.

  13. Electron diffraction study of the sillenites Bi12SiO20, Bi25FeO39 and Bi25InO39: Evidence of short-range ordering of oxygen-vacancies in the trivalent sillenites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Craig A. Scurti

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available We present an electron diffraction study of three sillenites, Bi12SiO20, Bi25FeO39, and Bi25InO39 synthesized using the solid-state method. We explore a hypothesis, inspired by optical studies in the literature, that suggests that trivalent sillenites have additional disorder not present in the tetravalent compounds. Electron diffraction patterns of Bi25FeO39 and Bi25InO39 show streaks that confirm deviations from the ideal sillenite structure. Multi-slice simulations of electron-diffraction patterns are presented for different perturbations to the sillenite structure - partial substitution of the M site by Bi3+, random and ordered oxygen-vacancies, and a frozen-phonon model. Although comparison of experimental data to simulations cannot be conclusive, we consider the streaks as evidence of short-range ordered oxygen-vacancies.

  14. The effect of FR enhancement in reactive ion beam sputtered Bi, Gd, Al-substituted iron- garnets: Bi2O3 nanocomposite films

    OpenAIRE

    Berzhansky, V.; Shaposhnikov, A.; Karavainikov, A.; Prokopov, A.; Mikhailova, T.; Lukienko, I.; Kharchenko, Yu.; Miloslavskaya, O.; Kharchenko, N.

    2012-01-01

    The effect of considerable Faraday rotation (FR) and figure of merit (Q) enhancement in Bi, Gd, Al-substituted iron garnets: Bi2O3 nano-composite films produced by separate reactive ion beam sputtered Bi:YIG and Bi2O3 films was found. It reached threefold enhancement of the FR and twofold of the Q one on GGG substrates.

  15. Overexpression of BiP in tobacco alleviates endoplasmic reticulum stress

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leborgne-Castel, N.; Jelitto- Dooren, E.P.W.M. van; Crofts, A.J.; Denecke, J.

    1999-01-01

    To study the role of the lumenal binding protein (BiP) in the transport and secretion of proteins, we have produced plants with altered BiP levels. Transgenic plants overexpressing BiP showed dramatically increased BiP mRNA levels but only a modest increase in BiP protein levels. The presence of

  16. Bi:Ge substitution - its effect on the structural and electrical properties of the Bi2212 superconductor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saligan, P.P.

    1997-03-01

    The critical temperature determined from dc resistance and ac magnetic susceptibility measurements, and the coherence length obtained from the of fluctuation conductivity of polycrystalline Bi 2-x Ge x Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8 +δ were studied. The effect of sample quality was also studied by making two kinds of pellet samples: (1) by conventional sintering process and (2) by conventional sintering process followed annealing at high temperature. The rough phase diagram of Bi 2-x Ge x Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8 +δ was constructed and it was found that from x=0 to x=0.3 a predominantly Bi2212 phase can be obtained. The critical temperature of the unsubstituted Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8 +δ is sensitive to the cold press and anneal method. The resistive transition T c based on the maximum dR(T)dT of the as-sintered Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8 +δ is about 74 K. The resistive T c of the cold-pressed-annealed samples either (1) remain near 74 K or (2) increase to approximately 85 K or (3) show two values at about 74 K and 85 K. A structural relaxation is observed in the Bi 2-x Ge x Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8 +δ the c-axis decreases with increasing x and the a-axis increases at x=0.1 then settles back to its unsubstituted value at higher x. The as-sintered samples show an increasing resistive T c with x, 74 K for x=0 and 79 K for x>0. The resistive T c 's of the cold-pressed-annealed samples are almost independent of x, 85 K for x=0 and 87 K for x>0. The increase in the magnetic critical temperature induced by the cold press and anneal method is considerably larger compared to the increase in the resistive critical temperature, independent of the Bi:Ge substitution. An analysis of fluctuation conductivity just above T c using the Aslamasov-Larkin model for two-dimensional superconductors and the Lawrence-Doniach model for layered superconductors was done. The Aslamasov-Larkin model gives the thickness of the two dimensional superconductor to be ∼34 A also independent of the Bi:Ge substitution. The Lawrence

  17. Antioxidant properties of a radical-scavenging peptide purified from enzymatically prepared fish skin gelatin hydrolysate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendis, Eresha; Rajapakse, Niranjan; Kim, Se-Kwon

    2005-02-09

    Hoki (Johnius belengerii) skin gelatin was hydrolyzed with three commercial enzymes to identify radical-scavenging potencies of derived peptides. Peptides derived from tryptic hydrolysate exhibited the highest scavenging activities on superoxide, carbon-centered 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals assessed by ESR spectroscopy. Following consecutive chromatographic separations of tryptic hydroolysate, the peptide sequence His-Gly-Pro-Leu-Gly-Pro-Leu (797 Da) acted as a strong radical scavenger under studied conditions. Further, this peptide could act as an antioxidant against linoleic acid peroxidation and the activity was closer to the highly active synthetic antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). In addition, antioxidative enzyme levels in cultured human hepatoma cells were increased in the presence of this peptide and it was presumed to be the peptide involved in maintaining the redox balance in the cell environment. Present data indicate that free-radical-scavenging activities of hoki skin gelatin peptides substantially contribute to their antioxidant properties measured in different oxidative systems.

  18. Bi-amalgamations subject to the arithmetical property

    OpenAIRE

    Kabbaj, S.; Mahdou, N.; Moutui, M. A. S.

    2016-01-01

    This paper establishes necessary and sufficient conditions for a bi-amalgamation to inherit the arithmetical property, with applications on the weak global dimension and transfer of the semihereditary property. The new results compare to previous works carried on various settings of duplications and amalgamations, and capitalize on recent results on bi-amalgamations. All results are backed with new and illustrative examples arising as bi-amalgamations.

  19. Chemical Constituents with Free-Radical-Scavenging Activities from the Stem of Microcos paniculata

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Chen

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available The free-radical-scavenging activities of various solvent extracts of Microcos paniculata were evaluated through in vitro model systems, such as 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH, 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate (ABTS and Co (II EDTA-induced luminol chemiluminescence by flow injection. In all three of these systems the ethyl acetate (EtOAc extract showed the highest free-radical-scavenging activity compared with the other three (n-BuOH, water and petroleum ether extracts. Free-radical-scavenging assay-guided chromatographic separation of the EtOAc extract, using a normal-phase and reverse-phase silica gel column chromatography yielded five compounds: a new triterpene named methyl 3b-O-p-hydroxy-E-cinnamoyloxy-2a,23-dihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oate (1, whose spectral data are presented for the first time, together with four known compounds, epicatechin (2, 3-trans-feruloyl maslinic acid (3, maslinic acid (4 and sucrose (5. All of the compounds were isolated from Microcos paniculata for the first time. The compounds were identified by spectroscopic methods. Among them, compound 2 displayed significant free-radical-scavenging activity which is similar to that of standard antioxidant ascorbic acid (VC and therefore may be a promising natural antioxidant.

  20. BiOCl nanowire with hierarchical structure and its Raman features

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tian Ye; Guo Chuanfei; Guo Yanjun; Wang Qi; Liu Qian

    2012-01-01

    BiOCl is a promising V-VI-VII-compound semiconductor with excellent optical and electrical properties, and has great potential applications in photo-catalysis, photoelectric, etc. We successfully synthesize BiOCl nanowire with a hierarchical structure by combining wet etch (top-down) with liquid phase crystal growth (bottom-up) process, opening a novel method to construct ordered bismuth-based nanostructures. The morphology and lattice structures of Bi nanowires, β-Bi 2 O 3 nanowires and BiOCl nanowires with the hierarchical structure are investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transition electron microscope (TEM). The formation mechanism of such ordered BiOCl hierarchical structure is considered to mainly originate from the highly preferred growth, which is governed by the lattice match between (1 1 0) facet of BiOCl and (2 2 0) or (0 0 2) facet of β-Bi 2 O 3 . A schematic model is also illustrated to depict the formation process of the ordered BiOCl hierarchical structure. In addition, Raman properties of the BiOCl nanowire with the hierarchical structure are investigated deeply.

  1. The macrophage CD163 surface glycoprotein is an erythroblast adhesion receptor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fabriek, Babs O; Polfliet, Machteld M J; Vloet, Rianka P M

    2007-01-01

    Erythropoiesis occurs in erythroblastic islands, where developing erythroblasts closely interact with macrophages. The adhesion molecules that govern macrophage-erythroblast contact have only been partially defined. Our previous work has implicated the rat ED2 antigen, which is highly expressed...... on the surface of macrophages in erythroblastic islands, in erythroblast binding. In particular, the monoclonal antibody ED2 was found to inhibit erythroblast binding to bone marrow macrophages. Here, we identify the ED2 antigen as the rat CD163 surface glycoprotein, a member of the group B scavenger receptor...... that it enhanced erythroid proliferation and/or survival, but did not affect differentiation. These findings identify CD163 on macrophages as an adhesion receptor for erythroblasts in erythroblastic islands, and suggest a regulatory role for CD163 during erythropoiesis....

  2. Perovskite BaBiO3 Transformed Layered BaBiO2.5 Crystals Featuring Unusual Chemical Bonding and Luminescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hong; Zhao, Qing; Liu, Bo-Mei; Zhang, Jun-Ying; Li, Zhi-Yong; Guo, Shao-Qiang; Ma, Ju-Ping; Kuroiwa, Yoshihiro; Moriyoshi, Chikako; Zheng, Li-Rong; Sun, Hong-Tao

    2018-04-14

    Engineering oxygen coordination environments of cations in oxides has received intense interest thanks to the opportunities for the discovery of novel oxides with unusual properties. Here we present the successful synthesis of stoichiometric layered BaBiO2.5 enabled by a non-topotactic phase transformation of perovskite BaBiO3. By analysing the synchrotron X-ray diffraction data using the maximum entropy method/Rietveld technique, we find that Bi forms unusual chemical bondings with four oxygen atoms, featuring one ionic bonding and three covalent bondings that results in an asymmetric coordination geometry. A broad range of photophysical characterizations reveal that this peculiar structure shows near-infrared luminescence differing from conventional Bi-bearing systems. Experimental and theoretical results lead us to propose the excitonic nature of luminescence. Our work highlights that synthesizing materials with uncommon Bi-O bonding and Bi coordination geometry provides a pathway to the discovery of systems with new functionalities. We envisage that this work could inspire interest for the exploration of a range of materials containing heavier p-block elements, offering prospects for the finding of systems with unusual properties. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. CCR5 signalling, but not DARC or D6 regulatory, chemokine receptors are targeted by herpesvirus U83A chemokine which delays receptor internalisation via diversion to a caveolin-linked pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catusse, Julie; Clark, David J; Gompels, Ursula A

    2009-07-30

    Herpesviruses have evolved chemokines and chemokine receptors, which modulate the recruitment of human leukocytes during the inflammatory response to infection. Early post-infection, human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) infected cells express the chemokine receptor U51A and chemokine U83A which have complementary effects in subverting the CC-chemokine family thereby controlling anti-viral leukocyte recruitment. Here we show that, to potentiate this activity, the viral chemokine can also avoid clearance by scavenger chemokine receptors, DARC and D6, which normally regulate an inflammatory response. Conversely, U83A delays internalisation of its signalling target receptor CCR5 with diversion to caveolin rich membrane domains. This mechanism can redirect displaced human chemokines to DARC and D6 for clearance of the anti-viral inflammatory response, leaving the viral chemokine unchecked. Cell models for competitive binding assays were established using radiolabeled human chemokines and cold U83A on CCR5, DARC or D6 expressing cells. Flow cytometry was used to assess specific chemotaxis of CCR5 bearing cells to U83A, and internalisation of CCR5 specific chemokine CCL4 after stimulation with U83A. Internalisation analyses were supported by confocal microscopy of internalisation and co-localisation of CCR5 with caveosome marker caveolin-1, after virus or human chemokine stimulation. U83A displaced efficiently human chemokines from CCR5, with a high affinity of 0.01nM, but not from DARC or D6. Signalling via CCR5 resulted in specific chemoattraction of primary human leukocytes bearing CCR5. However, U83A effective binding and signalling to CCR5 resulted in delayed internalisation and recycling up to 2 hours in the absence of continual re-stimulation. This resulted in diversion to a delayed caveolin-linked pathway rather than the rapid clathrin mediated endocytosis previously shown with human chemokines CCL3 or CCL4. U83A diverts human chemokines from signalling, but not

  4. CCR5 signalling, but not DARC or D6 regulatory, chemokine receptors are targeted by herpesvirus U83A chemokine which delays receptor internalisation via diversion to a caveolin-linked pathway

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gompels Ursula A

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Herpesviruses have evolved chemokines and chemokine receptors, which modulate the recruitment of human leukocytes during the inflammatory response to infection. Early post-infection, human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A infected cells express the chemokine receptor U51A and chemokine U83A which have complementary effects in subverting the CC-chemokine family thereby controlling anti-viral leukocyte recruitment. Here we show that, to potentiate this activity, the viral chemokine can also avoid clearance by scavenger chemokine receptors, DARC and D6, which normally regulate an inflammatory response. Conversely, U83A delays internalisation of its signalling target receptor CCR5 with diversion to caveolin rich membrane domains. This mechanism can redirect displaced human chemokines to DARC and D6 for clearance of the anti-viral inflammatory response, leaving the viral chemokine unchecked. Methods Cell models for competitive binding assays were established using radiolabeled human chemokines and cold U83A on CCR5, DARC or D6 expressing cells. Flow cytometry was used to assess specific chemotaxis of CCR5 bearing cells to U83A, and internalisation of CCR5 specific chemokine CCL4 after stimulation with U83A. Internalisation analyses were supported by confocal microscopy of internalisation and co-localisation of CCR5 with caveosome marker caveolin-1, after virus or human chemokine stimulation. Results U83A displaced efficiently human chemokines from CCR5, with a high affinity of 0.01nM, but not from DARC or D6. Signalling via CCR5 resulted in specific chemoattraction of primary human leukocytes bearing CCR5. However, U83A effective binding and signalling to CCR5 resulted in delayed internalisation and recycling up to 2 hours in the absence of continual re-stimulation. This resulted in diversion to a delayed caveolin-linked pathway rather than the rapid clathrin mediated endocytosis previously shown with human chemokines CCL3 or CCL4

  5. Free radical scavenging and cytotoxic activity of five commercial ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Polygonum cuspidatum), and pomegranate (Punica granatum). It shows radical scavenging activity in the following order, according to their median effective concentration (EC

  6. Invertebrates outcompete vertebrate facultative scavengers in simulated lynx kills in the Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ray, R.–R.

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the role of scavengers in ecosystems is important for species conservation and wildlife management. We used road–killed animals, 15 in summer 2003 (June–August and nine in winter 2003/2004 (from November to January, to test the following hypotheses: (1 vertebrate scavengers such as raven (Corvus corax, red fox (Vulpes vulpes and wild boar (Sus scrofa consume a higher proportion of the carcasses than invertebrates; (2 the consumption rate is higher in winter than in summer due to the scarcity of other food resources; and (3 vertebrate scavengers are effective competitors of Eurasian lynx. We monitored 65 animals belonging to eight different mammal and bird species with camera traps. Surprisingly, Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx was the most important vertebrate scavenger. However, in both seasons, the consumption of vertebrate scavengers was of minor impact. In summer, the carcasses were completely consumed within 10 days, mostly by invertebrates. In winter, only 5% of the carcasses were consumed within 10 days and 16% within 15 days. We conclude that vertebrates in the Bavarian Forest National Park are not strong competitors for lynx.

  7. Efficient scavenging of β-carotene radical cations by antiinflammatory salicylates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cheng, Hong; Liang, Ran; Han, Rui-Min

    2014-01-01

    by the anion of salicylic acid with 2.2 × 10 L mol s, but still of possible importance for light-exposed tissue. Surprisingly, acetylsalicylate, the aspirin anion, reacts with an intermediate rate in a reaction assigned to the anion of the mixed acetic-salicylic acid anhydride formed through base induced......The radical cation generated during photobleaching of β-carotene is scavenged efficiently by the anion of methyl salicylate from wintergreen oil in a second-order reaction approaching the diffusion limit with k = 3.2 × 10 L mol s in 9:1 v/v chloroform-methanol at 23 °C, less efficiently...... rearrangements. The relative scavenging rate of the β-carotene radical cation by the three salicylates is supported by DFT-calculations....

  8. Free radical scavengers and antioxidants from Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheel, José; Theoduloz, Cristina; Rodríguez, Jaime; Schmeda-Hirschmann, Guillermo

    2005-04-06

    Methanol, MeOH/water extracts, infusion, and decoction of Cymbopogon citratus were assessed for free radical scavenging effects measured by the bleaching of the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical, scavenging of the superoxide anion, and inhibition of the enzyme xanthine oxidase (XO) and lipid peroxidation in human erythrocytes. The extracts presented effect in the DPPH and superoxide anion assay, with values ranging between 40 and 68% and 15-32% at 33 and 50 microg/mL, respectively, inhibited lipid peroxidation in erythrocytes by 19-71% at 500 microg/mL and were inactive toward the XO at 50 microg/mL. Isoorientin, isoscoparin, swertiajaponin, isoorientin 2' '-O-rhamnoside, orientin, chlorogenic acid, and caffeic acid were isolated and identified by spectroscopic methods. Isoorientin and orientin presented similar activities toward the DPPH (IC(50): 9-10 microM) and inhibited lipid peroxidation by 70% at 100 microg/mL. Caffeic and chlorogenic acid were active superoxide anion scavengers with IC(50) values of 68.8 and 54.2 microM, respectively, and a strong effect toward DPPH. Caffeic acid inhibited lipid peroxidation by 85% at 100 microg/mL.

  9. Layer Structured Bismuth Selenides of Bi2Se3 and Bi3Se4 for High Energy and Flexible All-Solid-State Micro-Supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Chunxue; Wang, Lidan; Wen, Fusheng; Xiang, Jianyong; Li, Lei; Hu, Wentao; Liu, Zhongyuan

    2017-12-20

    Bismuth selenides (Bi2Se3 and Bi3Se4), both of which have the layered rhombohedral crystal structure, and found to be useful as electrode materials for supercapacitor application in this work. Bi2Se3 nanoplates as electrode material exhibit much better performance than that of Bi3Se4 nanoparticles in liquid electrolyte system (6 M KOH), which delivers a higher specific capacitance (272.9 F/g) than that of Bi3Se4 (193.6 F/g) at 5 mV/s. This result would may be attributed to that Bi2Se3 nanoplates possess more active electrochemical surfaces for the reversible surface redox reactions owing to its planar quintuple stacked layers (septuple layers for Bi3Se4). For the demand of electronic skin, we used a novel flexible annular interdigital structure electrode applying for all-solid-state micro-supercapacitors (AMSCs). Bi2Se3 AMSCs device delivers a much more excellent supercapacitor performance, exhibits a large stack capacitance 89.5 F/cm3 (Bi3Se4: 79.1 F/cm3) at 20 mV/s, a high energy density 17.9 mWh/cm3 and high power density 18.9 W/cm3. The bismuth selenides also exhibit good cycle stability, retention 95.5% (90.3%) after 1000 c for Bi2Se3 (Bi3Se4). Obviously, Bi2Se3 nanoplates can be promising electrode materials for flexible annular interdigital all-solid-sate supercapacitor. © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd.

  10. Estimation of Bi induced changes in the direct E{sub 0} band gap of III–V-Bi alloys and comparison with experimental data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Samajdar, D.P., E-mail: dipprakash010@gmail.com; Dhar, S.

    2016-03-01

    Quantum dielectric Theory (QDT) is used to explain the band gap bowing effect observed in III–V-Bismides such as InSb{sub 1−x}Bi{sub x}, InAs{sub 1−x}Bi{sub x}, InP{sub 1−x}Bi{sub x}, GaSb{sub 1−x}Bi{sub x}, GaAs{sub 1−x}Bi{sub x} and GaP{sub 1−x}Bi{sub x.} The dependence of the direct E{sub 0} band gap for these alloys on Bi mole fraction is calculated using QDT which requires the evaluation of the bowing parameter c. The bowing parameter gives the deviation of the direct E{sub 0} band gap from the linear relationship of E{sub 0} with Bi mole fraction. The band gap reduction values obtained using QDT are compared with those calculated using Virtual Crystal approximation (VCA) and Valence Band Anticrossing (VBAC) model as well as with the reported experimental data and the results of the comparison shows excellent agreement.

  11. One-pot solvothermal synthesis of three-dimensional (3D) BiOI/BiOCl composites with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activities for the degradation of bisphenol-A

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiao, Xin; Hao, Rong; Liang, Min; Zuo, Xiaoxi; Nan, Junmin; Li, Laisheng; Zhang, Weide

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Synthesis of 3D BiOI/BiOCl microspheres by a one-pot template-free solvothermal method. ► Photocatalyst is BiOI/BiOCl composites. ► BiOI/BiOCl composites have enhanced visible-light photocatalytic ability to bisphenol-A. ► A simple and direct photodegradation pathway of bisphenol-A is proposed. - Abstract: Three-dimensional (3D) BiOI/BiOCl composite microspheres with enhanced visible-light photodegradation activity of bisphenol-A (BPA) are synthesized by a simple, one-pot, template-free, solvothermal method using BiI 3 and BiCl 3 as precursors. These 3D hierarchical microspheres with heterojunction structures are composed of 2D nanosheets and have composition-dependent absorption properties in the ultraviolet and visible light regions. The photocatalytic oxidation of BPA over BiOI/BiOCl composites followed pseudo first-order kinetics according to the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model. The highest photodegradation efficiency of BPA, i.e., nearly 100%, was observed with the BiOI/BiOCl composite (containing 90% BiOI) using a catalyst dosage of 1 g L −1 in the BPA solution (C 0 = 20 mg L −1 , pH = 7.0) under visible light irradiation for 60 min. Under these conditions, the reaction rate constant was more than 4 and 20 times greater than that of pure BiOI and the commercially available Degussa P25, respectively. The superior photocatalytic activity of this composite catalyst is attributed to the suitable band gap energies and the low recombination rate of the photogenerated electron–hole pairs due to the presence of BiOI/BiOCl heterostructures. Only one intermediate at m/z 151 was observed in the photodegradation process of BPA by liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (LC–MS) analysis, and a simple and hole-predominated photodegradation pathway of BPA was subsequently proposed. Furthermore, this photocatalyst exhibited a high mineralization ratio, high stability and easy separation for recycling use, suggesting that it is a

  12. International Union of Pharmacology. LXXXIX. Update on the Extended Family of Chemokine Receptors and Introducing a New Nomenclature for Atypical Chemokine Receptors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bachelerie, Francoise; Ben-Baruch, Adit; Burkhardt, Amanda M.; Combadiere, Christophe; Farber, Joshua M.; Graham, Gerard J.; Horuk, Richard; Sparre-Ulrich, Alexander Hovard; Locati, Massimo; Luster, Andrew D.; Mantovani, Alberto; Matsushima, Kouji; Nibbs, Robert; Nomiyama, Hisayuki; Power, Christine A.; Proudfoot, Amanda E. I.; Rosenkilde, Mette M.; Rot, Antal; Sozzani, Silvano; Thelen, Marcus; Yoshie, Osamu; Zlotnik, Albert

    2014-01-01

    Sixteen years ago, the Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Pharmacology approved a system for naming human seven-transmembrane (7TM) G protein-coupled chemokine receptors, the large family of leukocyte chemoattractant receptors that regulates immune system development and function, in large part by mediating leukocyte trafficking. This was announced in Pharmacological Reviews in a major overview of the first decade of research in this field [Murphy PM, Baggiolini M, Charo IF, Hébert CA, Horuk R, Matsushima K, Miller LH, Oppenheim JJ, and Power CA (2000) Pharmacol Rev 52:145–176]. Since then, several new receptors have been discovered, and major advances have been made for the others in many areas, including structural biology, signal transduction mechanisms, biology, and pharmacology. New and diverse roles have been identified in infection, immunity, inflammation, development, cancer, and other areas. The first two drugs acting at chemokine receptors have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), maraviroc targeting CCR5 in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS, and plerixafor targeting CXCR4 for stem cell mobilization for transplantation in cancer, and other candidates are now undergoing pivotal clinical trials for diverse disease indications. In addition, a subfamily of atypical chemokine receptors has emerged that may signal through arrestins instead of G proteins to act as chemokine scavengers, and many microbial and invertebrate G protein-coupled chemokine receptors and soluble chemokine-binding proteins have been described. Here, we review this extended family of chemokine receptors and chemokine-binding proteins at the basic, translational, and clinical levels, including an update on drug development. We also introduce a new nomenclature for atypical chemokine receptors with the stem ACKR (atypical chemokine receptor) approved by the Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Pharmacology and the Human

  13. SR-B1 Is a Silica Receptor that Mediates Canonical Inflammasome Activation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Misato Tsugita

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The inhalation of silica dust is associated with fibrosis and lung cancer, which are triggered by macrophage inflammatory responses; however, how macrophages recognize silica remains largely unknown. Here, we identify by functional expression cloning the class B scavenger receptor SR-B1 as a silica receptor. Through an extracellular α-helix, both mouse and human SR-B1 specifically recognized amorphous and crystalline silica, but not titanium dioxide nanoparticles, latex nanoparticles, or monosodium urate crystals, although all particles exhibited negative surface potentials. Genetic deletion of SR-B1 and masking of SR-B1 by monoclonal antibodies showed that SR-B1-mediated recognition of silica is associated with caspase-1-mediated inflammatory responses in mouse macrophages and human peripheral blood monocytes. Furthermore, SR-B1 was involved in silica-induced pulmonary inflammation in mice. These results indicate that SR-B1 is a silica receptor associated with canonical inflammasome activation.

  14. In vitro studies of immunoglobulin heavy-chain binding protein (BiP, GRP78). Interactions of BiP with newly synthesized proteins and adenine nucleotides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kassenbrock, C.K.

    1988-01-01

    Here we examine the interaction of BiP with newly synthesized polypeptides in an in vitro protein translations-translocation system. We find that BiP forms tight complexes with nonglycosylated yeast invertase and incorrectly disulfide-bonded prolactin but not with glycosylated invertase or correctly disulfide-bonded prolactin. Moreover, BiP associates detectably only with completed chains of prolactin, not with chains undergoing synthesis. We conclude that BiP recognizes and binds with high affinity to aberrantly folded or aberrantly glycosylated polypeptides in vitro, but not to all nascent chains as they are folding. BiP also binds APT and can be purified by APT affinity chromatography. We show that submicromolar levels of ATP or ADP decrease the rate of absorption of 125 I-BiP to nitrocellulose filters coated with protein or nonionic detergents. ATP and ADP also protect portions of BiP from proteolytic degradation. In contrast, micromolar levels of AMP increase the rate of adsorption and the rate of proteolytic degradation of BiP. We also show that an ATPase activity co-purifies with BiP, but its slow turnover number suggests a regulatory, rather than a functional role. The BiP-associated ATPase shares several properties with the related cytoplasmic protein, HSC70/clathrin uncoating ATPase

  15. Effects of Scavenging System Configuration on In-Cylinder Air Flow Organization of an Opposed-Piston Two-Stroke Engine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fukang Ma

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In-cylinder air flow is very important from the point of view of mixture formation and combustion. In this direction, intake chamber structure and piston crown shape play a very crucial role for in-cylinder air pattern of opposed-piston two-stroke (OP2S engines. This study is concerned with the three-dimensional (3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD analysis of in-cylinder air motion coupled with the comparison of predicted results with the zero-dimensional (0D parametric model. Three configurations viz., a flat piston uniform scavenging chamber, a flat piston non-uniform scavenging chamber and a pit piston non-uniform scavenging chamber have been studied. 0D model analysis of in-cylinder air flow is consistent with 3D CFD simulation. It is concluded that a pit piston non-uniform scavenging chamber is the best design from the point of view of tumble ratio, turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent intensity, which play very important roles in imparting proper air motion. Meanwhile a flat piston uniform scavenging chamber can organize a higher swirl ratio and lower tumble ratio which is important to improve the scavenging process.

  16. Scavenging of particulate elemental carbon into stratus cloud

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaneyasu, Naoki; Maeda, Takahisa [National Inst. for Resources and Environment, Tsukuba (Japan)

    1995-12-31

    The role of atmospheric aerosols on the alternation of cloud radiative properties has widely been recognized since 1977 when Tomey and his coworkers have numerically demonstrated the effect of increased cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). At the same time, cloud processes are one of the most important factor in controlling the residence time of atmospheric aerosols through the wet removal process. The redistribution of the size and the composition of pre-cloud aerosols is also the important role of cloud process on the nature of atmospheric aerosols. In order to study these cloud-aerosol interaction phenomena, the incorporation of aerosols into cloud droplets is the first mechanism to be investigated. Among the several mechanisms for the incorporation of aerosols into cloud droplets, nucleation scavenging, is the potentially important process in the view of cloud-aerosol interactions. This critical supersaturation for a given radius of a particle can be theoretically calculated only for pure species, e.g., NaCl. However, a significant portion of the atmospheric aerosols is in the form of internal mixture of multiple components, such as SO{sub 4}{sup 2-}, NO{sub 3}{sup -}, NH{sub 4}{sup +} and particulate elemental carbon. The knowledge acquired by field measurements is therefore essential on this subject. The present study focuses on the scavenging of major components of urban atmospheric aerosols, in particular the incorporation of particulate elemental carbon into stratus cloud. Particulate elemental carbon is the strongest light absorbing species in visible region, and has potential to change the optical property of cloud. On the basis of the measurements conducted at a mountain located in the suburb of Tokyo Metropolitan area, Japan, some insights on the scavenging of particulate elemental carbon into cloud droplet will be presented

  17. Scavenging of particulate elemental carbon into stratus cloud

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaneyasu, Naoki; Maeda, Takahisa [National Inst. for Resources and Environment, Tsukuba (Japan)

    1996-12-31

    The role of atmospheric aerosols on the alternation of cloud radiative properties has widely been recognized since 1977 when Tomey and his coworkers have numerically demonstrated the effect of increased cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). At the same time, cloud processes are one of the most important factor in controlling the residence time of atmospheric aerosols through the wet removal process. The redistribution of the size and the composition of pre-cloud aerosols is also the important role of cloud process on the nature of atmospheric aerosols. In order to study these cloud-aerosol interaction phenomena, the incorporation of aerosols into cloud droplets is the first mechanism to be investigated. Among the several mechanisms for the incorporation of aerosols into cloud droplets, nucleation scavenging, is the potentially important process in the view of cloud-aerosol interactions. This critical supersaturation for a given radius of a particle can be theoretically calculated only for pure species, e.g., NaCl. However, a significant portion of the atmospheric aerosols is in the form of internal mixture of multiple components, such as SO{sub 4}{sup 2-}, NO{sub 3}{sup -}, NH{sub 4}{sup +} and particulate elemental carbon. The knowledge acquired by field measurements is therefore essential on this subject. The present study focuses on the scavenging of major components of urban atmospheric aerosols, in particular the incorporation of particulate elemental carbon into stratus cloud. Particulate elemental carbon is the strongest light absorbing species in visible region, and has potential to change the optical property of cloud. On the basis of the measurements conducted at a mountain located in the suburb of Tokyo Metropolitan area, Japan, some insights on the scavenging of particulate elemental carbon into cloud droplet will be presented

  18. Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of BiFeO3 modified Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-Bi0.5K0.5TiO3 lead-free piezoelectric ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Changrong; Liu Xinyu; Li Weizhou

    2008-01-01

    The (0.82 - x)Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 TiO 3 -0.18Bi 0.5 K 0.5 TiO 3 -xBiFeO 3 (x = 0-0.07) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics were fabricated by a conventional solid-state reaction method and the effect of BiFeO 3 addition on microstructure and electrical properties of the ceramics was investigated. The specimens with x ≤ 0.05 maintained a rhombohedral-tetragonal phase coexistence and changed into a rhombohedral phase when x > 0.05 in crystal structure. The addition of BiFeO 3 caused a promoted grain growth. All the specimens reveal a low-frequency dielectric dispersion in the frequency range of 40-1 MHz. The piezoelectric constant d 33 and the electromechanical coupling factor k p show an obvious improvement by the addition of small amount of BiFeO 3 , which shows optimum values of d 33 = 170 pC/N and k p = 0.366 at x = 0.03. Contrary to the enhancement of piezoelectric properties, Q m decreases with increasing BiFeO 3 content. The mechanisms of intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to the dielectric and piezoelectric responses have been proposed. Intrinsic contributions are from the relative ion/cation shift that preserves the ferroelectric crystal structure. The remaining extrinsic contributions are from the domain-wall motion and point defects

  19. Crystal Structure of AgBi2I7 Thin Films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Zewen; Meng, Weiwei; Mitzi, David B; Yan, Yanfa

    2016-10-06

    Synthesis of cubic-phase AgBi 2 I 7 iodobismuthate thin films and fabrication of air-stable Pb-free solar cells using the AgBi 2 I 7 absorber have recently been reported. On the basis of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and nominal composition, it was suggested that the synthesized films have a cubic ThZr 2 H 7 crystal structure with AgBi 2 I 7 stoichiometry. Through careful examination of the proposed structure and computational evaluation of the phase stability and bandgap, we find that the reported "AgBi 2 I 7 " films cannot be forming with the ThZr 2 H 7 -type structure, but rather more likely adopt an Ag-deficient AgBiI 4 type. Both the experimental X-ray diffraction pattern and bandgap can be better explained by the AgBiI 4 structure. Additionally, the proposed AgBiI 4 structure, with octahedral bismuth coordination, removes unphysically short Bi-I bonding within the [BiI 8 ] hexahedra of the ThZr 2 I 7 model. Our results provide critical insights for assessing the photovoltaic properties of AgBi 2 I 7 iodobismuthate materials.

  20. Electronic structure of the BiSI cluster

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Audzijonis, A. [Department of Physics, Vilnius Pedagogical University, Studentu 39, LT-08106 Vilnius (Lithuania); Gaigalas, G. [Department of Physics, Vilnius Pedagogical University, Studentu 39, LT-08106 Vilnius (Lithuania); Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, Vilnius University, A. Gostauto 12, LT-01108 Vilnius (Lithuania); Zigas, L. [Department of Physics, Vilnius Pedagogical University, Studentu 39, LT-08106 Vilnius (Lithuania)]. E-mail: kkol@vpu.lt; Pauliukas, A. [Department of Physics, Vilnius Pedagogical University, Studentu 39, LT-08106 Vilnius (Lithuania); Zaltauskas, R. [Department of Physics, Vilnius Pedagogical University, Studentu 39, LT-08106 Vilnius (Lithuania); Cerskus, A. [Department of Physics, Vilnius Pedagogical University, Studentu 39, LT-08106 Vilnius (Lithuania); Narusis, J. [Department of Physics, Vilnius Pedagogical University, Studentu 39, LT-08106 Vilnius (Lithuania); Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, Vilnius University, A. Gostauto 12, LT-01108 Vilnius (Lithuania); Kvedaravicius, A. [Department of Physics, Vilnius Pedagogical University, Studentu 39, LT-08106 Vilnius (Lithuania)

    2007-03-15

    The energy levels of valence bands (VB) and core levels (CL) of the BiSI crystals have been investigated theoretically. The molecular model of this crystal was used for calculation of VB and CL by the unrestricted Hartree-Fock method using GAMESS program, with Hw and MINI basis set. The molecular cluster consisting of 20 molecules of BiSI was used for calculations of averaged total density of states including atom vibrations. The spectra of averaged total density of states from VB of BiSI cluster has been compared with experimental X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) of VB of SbSI crystal. The results clarify that the atomic vibrations is one of possible reasons for the smoother appearance of the experimental XPS. The investigation of vibrational spectrum reveals new experimental information about the reflection spectrum of BiSI crystals. The cluster model calculations have shown that the splitting of the CL in the BiSI may be caused by the photoelectron emission from the atoms at the surface that is in different valence states. The cluster model calculation showed that splitting energy of CL depends on difference of ionic charges of the same atoms at the edges of BiSI cluster.

  1. Electronic structure of the BiSI cluster

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Audzijonis, A.; Gaigalas, G.; Zigas, L.; Pauliukas, A.; Zaltauskas, R.; Cerskus, A.; Narusis, J.; Kvedaravicius, A.

    2007-01-01

    The energy levels of valence bands (VB) and core levels (CL) of the BiSI crystals have been investigated theoretically. The molecular model of this crystal was used for calculation of VB and CL by the unrestricted Hartree-Fock method using GAMESS program, with Hw and MINI basis set. The molecular cluster consisting of 20 molecules of BiSI was used for calculations of averaged total density of states including atom vibrations. The spectra of averaged total density of states from VB of BiSI cluster has been compared with experimental X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) of VB of SbSI crystal. The results clarify that the atomic vibrations is one of possible reasons for the smoother appearance of the experimental XPS. The investigation of vibrational spectrum reveals new experimental information about the reflection spectrum of BiSI crystals. The cluster model calculations have shown that the splitting of the CL in the BiSI may be caused by the photoelectron emission from the atoms at the surface that is in different valence states. The cluster model calculation showed that splitting energy of CL depends on difference of ionic charges of the same atoms at the edges of BiSI cluster

  2. Demonstration of physical phenomenas and scavenging activity from d-psicose and methionine maillard reaction products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arum Tiyas Suminar

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Maillard reaction has been well understood as a non-enzymatic reaction between reducing sugars and amino acids to generate the Maillard reaction products (MRPs. This study is aimed to demonstrate the browning intensity, color development, spectra measurements, scavenging activity, and the correlation between browning intensity and scavenging activity of the MRPs generated from D-Psicose and Methionine (Psi-Met at 50℃. The browning intensity of MRPs was investigated based on the absorbance using spectrophotometer at 420 nm, the color development was observed using digital colorimeter to gained L*a*b* value then calculated as browning index, the spectra development was analyzed using spectrophotometer at 190 - 750 nm, and the scavenging activity was determined with ABTS method using spectrophotometer at 734 nm. The browning intensity, color development, and scavenging activity were improved along with the increase in heating process. Based on spectra analysis, MRPs from Psi-Met was initially detected at 21 h and Psi at 24 h of heating treatment, which indicating that Psi-Met have faster and better reaction than Psi during heating process. Positive non-linear and significant correlation between browning intensity and scavenging activity were assigned. This finding may provide beneficial information of D-psicose and MRPs to the next scientific research and to the food industries which applies MRPs in their products.

  3. Modification of photosensing property of CdS–Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} bi-layer by thermal annealing and swift heavy ion irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shaikh, Shaheed U.; Siddiqui, Farha Y. [Thin Film and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Physics (India); Department of Nanotechnology, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad 431004 (India); Singh, Fouran; Kulriya, Pawan K. [Inter University Accelerator Center, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110 067 (India); Phase, D.M. [UGC DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, Khandwa Road, Indore 452017 (India); Sharma, Ramphal, E-mail: ramphalsharma@yahoo.com [Thin Film and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Physics (India); Department of Nanotechnology, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad 431004 (India)

    2016-02-01

    The CdS–Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} bi-layer thin films have been deposited on Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) glass substrates at room temperature by Chemical Bath Deposition Technique (CBD) and bi-layer thin films were annealed in air atmosphere for 1 h at 250 {sup °}C. The air annealed sample was irradiated using Au{sup 9+} ions at the fluence 5 × 10{sup 11} ion/cm{sup 2} with 120 MeV energy. Effects of Swift Heavy Ion (SHI) irradiation on CdS–Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} bi-layer thin films were studied. The results are explained on the basis annealing and high electronic excitation, using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Selective Electron Area Diffraction (SEAD), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Raman Spectroscopy, UV spectroscopy and I–V characteristics. The photosensing property after illumination of visible light over the samples is studied. These as-deposited, annealed and irradiated bi-layer thin films are used to sense visible light at room temperature. - Graphical abstract: Schematic illustration of CdS–Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} bi-layer thin film (a) As-deposited (b) Annealed (c) irradiated sample respectively (d) Model of bi-layer photosensor device (e) Graph of illumination intensity verses photosensitivity. - Highlights: • CdS–Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} bi-layer thin film prepared at room temperature. • Irradiated using Au{sup 9+} ions at the fluence of 5 × 10{sup 11} ion/cm{sup 2} with 120 MeV energy. • Study of modification induced by irradiations. • Study of Photosensitivity after annealing and irradiation.

  4. BiDil: from another vantage point.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puckrein, Gary

    2006-01-01

    In a recent Health Affairs Web Exclusive, Pamela Sankar and Jonathan Kahn argue against the Food and Drug Administration's approval of BiDil as a new drug for the treatment of heart failure in African Americans. Their paper questions the existence of disparities between African American and other heart-failure patients and the motivations of BiDil's developers and manufacturer. The disparities are confirmed and persistent, however, and BiDil's effectiveness is proven. If the authors' logic were to prevail, patients would be denied life-saving therapy. Continued investigation will likely narrow identification of patients who will benefit.

  5. Effect of Bi on the corrosion resistance of zirconium alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yao Meiyi; Zhou Bangxin; Li Qiang; Zhang Weipeng; Zhu Li; Zou Linghong; Zhang Jinlong; Peng Jianchao

    2014-01-01

    In order to investigate systematically the effect of Bi addition on the corrosion resistance of zirconium alloys, different zirconium-based alloys, including Zr-4 (Zr-l.5Sn-0.2Fe-0.1Cr), S5 (Zr-0.8Sn-0.35Nb-0.4Fe-0.1Cr), T5 (Zr-0.7Sn-l.0Nb-0.3Fe-0.1Cr) and Zr-1Nb, were adopted to prepare the zirconium alloys containing Bi of 0∼0.5% in mass fraction. These alloys were denoted as Zr-4 + xBi, S5 + xBi, T5 + xBi and Zr-1Nb + xBi, respectively. The corrosion behavior of these specimens was investigated by autoclave testing in lithiated water with 0.01 M LiOH or deionized water at 360 ℃/18.6 MPa and in superheated steam at 400 ℃/10.3 MPa. The microstructure of the alloys was examined by TEM and the second phase particles (SPPs) were analyzed by EDS. Microstructure observation shows that the addition of Bi promotes the precipitation of Sn as second phase particles (SPPs) because Sn is in solid solution in α-Zr matrix in Zr-4, S5 and T5 alloys. The concentration of Bi dissolved in α-Zr matrix increase with the increase of Nb in the alloys, and the excess Bi precipitates as Bi-containing SPPs. The corrosion results show that the effect of Bi addition on the corrosion behavior of different zirconium-based alloys is very complicated, depending on their compositions and corrosion conditions. In the case of higher Bi concentration in α-Zr, the zirconium alloys exhibit better corrosion resistance. However, in the case of precipitation of Bi-containing SPPs, the corrosion resistance gets worse. This indicates that the solid solution of Bi in α-Zr matrix can improve the corrosion resistance, while the precipitation of the Bi-containing SPPs is harmful to the corrosion resistance. (authors)

  6. Preparation of 2D square-like Bi2S3-BiOCl heterostructures with enhanced visible light-driven photocatalytic performance for dye pollutant degradation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing-jing Xu

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available A series of Bi2S3-BiOCl composites with two-dimensional (2D square-like structures were prepared via a two-step anion exchange route. X-ray diffraction (XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, transmission electron microscopy (TEM, and diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS were used to investigate the properties of the as-prepared Bi2S3-BiOCl heterostructures. The coupling of BiOCl and Bi2S3 induced enhanced photoabsorption efficiency and bandgap narrowing. A reactive brilliant red X-3B dye was used as a contaminant to test the photocatalytic activity of the obtained Bi2S3-BiOCl samples under visible light irradiation. The sample Bi2S3-BiOCl with a mass ratio of 8:4 exhibited the highest photodegradation efficiency, which was six times higher than that of pure BiOCl. In addition, a mechanism for the enhancement of photocatalytic activity is proposed.

  7. Studies on free radical scavenging activity in Chinese seaweeds part I. Screening results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Xiao-Jun; Fang, Guo-Ming; Lou, Qing-Xiang

    1999-09-01

    Antioxidants have attracted the attention of researchers due to their beneficial effects as free radical scavengers. Application of a stable free radical named 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) to screen the free radical scavenging activity in 27 species of Chinese seaweed showed that 15 of them had significant activity in at least one of the organic solvent extracts. The most interesting seaweed species were Gelidium amansii, Gloiosiphonia capillaris, Polysiphonia urceolata, Sargassum kjellmanianum, Desmarestia viridis, and Rhodomela teres.

  8. Synthesis and melting behaviour of Bi, Sn and Sn–Bi nanostructured alloy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frongia, F.; Pilloni, M.; Scano, A.; Ardu, A.; Cannas, C.; Musinu, A. [Università di Cagliari, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche and Cagliari Research Unit of the National Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM), Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, 09042 Monserrato, CA (Italy); Borzone, G.; Delsante, S. [Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, Genoa University and Genoa Research Unit of the National Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM), Via Dodecaneso 31, I-16146 Genoa (Italy); Novakovic, R. [National Research Council (CNR), Institute for Energetics and Interphases (IENI), Via De Marini 6, 16149 Genoa (Italy); Ennas, G., E-mail: ennas@unica.it [Università di Cagliari, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche and Cagliari Research Unit of the National Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM), Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, 09042 Monserrato, CA (Italy)

    2015-02-25

    Highlights: • Aqueous solution route is used to produce Bi, Sn and Bi–Sn nanoparticles. • HRTEM revealed core–shell and Janus type structures of Bi–Sn nanoparticles. • Melting temperature depression of Bi and Bi–Sn nanoparticles were measured by DSC. • DSC data on Bi melting temperature depression agrees with theoretical values. - Abstract: Lead-free solders based on Bi–Sn bimetallic nanoclusters with eutectic composition (Bi{sub 43}Sn{sub 57}) were synthesized at low temperature by simultaneous reduction reaction from aqueous solution containing bismuth and tin chlorides, using potassium borohydride as a reducing agent. By the same processing route, pure bismuth and tin nanoparticles have also been prepared. Microstructure, morphology and composition of the samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). TEM images of Bi–Sn nanoparticles show average size ranging from 30 to 100 nm. Thermal behaviour of Bi–Sn nanopowders was studied by DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) and a melting temperature (135 °C) lower than that of the corresponding microcrystalline sample (139 °C) was observed. SEM micrographs of the thermally treated sample up to 400 °C show fine spherical grains in the micrometer range with finer powder particles on the surface. XRD powder diffraction analysis indicates the formation of bismuth and tin nanophases with an average particle size of 85 and 126 nm, respectively. The oxidation behaviour of the samples was also investigated. The results obtained have been analyzed in view of theoretical models describing the melting temperature depression of nanoparticles.

  9. Structural properties of superconducting Bi-2223/Ag tapes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gottschalck Andersen, L.

    2001-05-01

    The structural properties of silver clad high-T{sub c} superconducting ceramic tapes of (Bi,Pb){sub 2}Sr{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub x} (Bi-2223) have been investigated by means of synchrotron X-ray diffraction (including the 3DXRD microscope setup), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS). By synchrotron X-ray diffraction in situ studies of the phase development during the transformation of (Bi,Pb){sub 2}Sr{sub 2}Ca{sub 1}Cu{sub 2}O{sub x} (Bi-2212) into Bi-2223, the stoichiometry changes and the texture have been performed during annealing in 8% O{sub 2} and in air. Furthermore, an annealing with two high temperature cycles has been performed to study the equilibrium phenomena. During heating (Ca,Sr){sub 2}PbO{sub 4} decomposes at temperatures between 700 deg. C and 840 deg.C. Simultaneously, the Bi-2212 lattice contracts, indicating an incorporation of Pb. Moreover, the grain mis-alignment decreases significantly. In air we have observed that Bi-2212 partly dissociates into (Ca,Sr){sub 2}CuO{sub 3} and a liquid at temperatures above 812 deg. C. At the annealing temperature Bi-2212 and (Ca,Sr){sub 2}CuO{sub 3} react with the liquid to form Bi-2223. The transformation mechanism is discussed. During cooling below {approx}750 deg.C (Ca,Sr){sub 2}CuO{sub 3} and the liquid mainly transform into Bi-2201. Below {approx}780 deg. C Bi-2223 decomposes to 3221. In addition, a two-step cooling experiment and a decomposition study have been performed in 8% O{sub 2}. By TEM the grain and colony size in the c-axis direction, the angles of c-axis tilt grain boundaries and the intergrowth content are investigated. A fully processed tape has on average 50% thicker grains than a tape after the 1st annealing. The angles of c-axis tilt grain boundaries are on average 14 deg. and 26 deg. for the fully processed tape and the tape after the 1st annealing, respectively. The intergrowth content (15%) and

  10. Contact interaction of the Bi12GeO20, Bi12SiO20, and Bi4Ge3O12 melts with noble metals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denisov, V. M.; Podkopaev, O. I.; Denisova, L. T.; Kuchumova, O. V.; Istomin, S. A.; Pastukhov, E. A.

    2014-02-01

    The sessile drop method is used to study the contact interaction of Ag, Au, Pd, Pt, and Ir with the Bi2O3-GeO2 and Bi2O3-SiO2 melts. These melts spread over Ag and Pd and, in some cases, over Au and Pt at a rather high speed and form equilibrium contact angles on Ir.

  11. Determination of the impact of Bi content on the valence band energy of GaAsBi using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Collar

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available We investigate the change of the valence band energy of GaAs1-xBix (0Bi concentration, x, using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS. The change in the valence band energy per addition of 1 % Bi is determined for strained and unstrained thin films using a linear approximation applicable to the dilute regime. Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE was used as a complementary technique to determine the change in GaAsBi bandgap resulting from Bi addition. Analysis of SE and XPS data together supports the conclusion that ∼75% of the reduction in the bandgap is in the valence band for a compressively strained, dilute GaAsBi thin film at room temperature.

  12. On atomic mechanisms governing the oxidation of Bi2Te3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Music, Denis; Chang, Keke; Schmidt, Paul; Braun, Felix N.; Heller, Martin; Hermsen, Steffen; Pöllmann, Peter J.; Schulzendorff, Till; Wagner, Cedric

    2017-12-01

    Oxidation of Bi2Te3 (space group R \\overline{3} m) has been investigated using experimental and theoretical means. Based on calorimetry, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermodynamic modelling, Bi2Te3 is at equilibrium with Bi2O3 and TeO2, whereby the most stable compound is Bi2Te3, followed by Bi2O3. The reactivity of Bi towards oxygen is expected to be higher than that of Te. This notion is supported by density functional theory. The strongest bond is formed between Bi and Te, followed by Bi-O. This gives rise to unanticipated atomic processes. Dissociatively adsorbed oxygen diffuses through Bi and Te basal planes of Bi2Te3(0 0 0 1) and preferably interacts with Bi. The Te termination considerably retards this process. These findings may clarify conflicting literature data. Any basal plane off-cut or Bi terminations trigger oxidation, but a perfect basal cleavage, where only Te terminations are exposed to air, may be stable for a longer period of time. These results are of relevance for applications in which surfaces are of key importance, such as nanostructured Bi2Te3 thermoelectric devices.

  13. Chemical casting of high-Tc superconducting BiSCCO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toth, L.E.; Das, B.N.; Rayne, R.J.; Bender, B.A.; Lechter, W.L.; Hoff, H.A.; Osofsky, M.S.; Soulen, R.J. Jr.

    1989-01-01

    BiSCCO has been successfully cast into a number of useful shapes. This casting process differs significantly from traditional casting in that the process includes a change in the oxygen content of the melt. A heat treatment is required to restore the original chemistry, properly form the BiSCCO crystal structure and develop the superconducting properties. This paper emphasizes the microstructures of as-cast and heat treated BiSCCO. Casting causes considerable grain alignment of the BiSCCO platelets. The platelets align preferentially along the thermal gradients which exist during the solidification process

  14. Synthesis, crystal structure, and physical properties of the Gd{sub 3}BiO{sub 3} and Gd{sub 8}Bi{sub 3}O{sub 8} phases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Forbes, Scott; Yuan, Fang [Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4M1 (Canada); Kosuda, Kosuke; Kolodiazhnyi, Taras [Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044 (Japan); Mozharivskyj, Yurij, E-mail: mozhar@mcmaster.ca [Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4M1 (Canada)

    2016-01-15

    The second and third known rare-earth bismuthide oxides, Gd{sub 3}BiO{sub 3} and Gd{sub 8}Bi{sub 3}O{sub 8}, have been discovered via high temperature reactions at 1300 °C. Like its Gd–Sb–O counterparts, the Gd{sub 3}BiO{sub 3} and Gd{sub 8}Bi{sub 3}O{sub 8} phases crystallize in the monoclinic C2/m space group, with the latter containing disordered Bi atoms along the b direction of the unit cell. Unlike the RE{sub 8}Sb{sub 3}O{sub 8} series, the formation of the Gd{sub 3}BiO{sub 3} phase does not necessarily precede the formation of Gd{sub 8}Bi{sub 3}O{sub 8}, which is likely due to the difficulty of accommodating bismuth in the RE–O framework due to its larger size. Physical property measurements performed on a pure Gd{sub 8}Bi{sub 3}O{sub 8} sample reveal semiconducting behavior. Although electronic structure calculations predict metallic behavior due to an unbalanced electron count, the semiconducting behavior originates from the Anderson localization of the Bi p states near the Fermi level as a result of atomic disorder. - Graphical abstract: Reaction of GdBi and Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} at high temperatures yields Gd–Bi–O phases. - Highlights: • Gd{sub 3}BiO{sub 3} and Gd{sub 8}Bi{sub 3}O{sub 8}, the second and third rare-earth bismuthide oxides, have been discovered. • Gd{sub 3}BiO{sub 3} and Gd{sub 8}Bi{sub 3}O{sub 8} are isostructural with RE{sub 3}SbO{sub 3} and RE{sub 8}Sb{sub 3}O{sub 8}. • Gd{sub 8}Bi{sub 3}O{sub 8} displays semiconducting behavior despite an unbalanced electron count. • Anderson localization of Bi p states results in semiconducting behavior in Gd{sub 8}Bi{sub 3}O{sub 8}.

  15. How Predictability of Feeding Patches Affects Home Range and Foraging Habitat Selection in Avian Social Scavengers?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Monsarrat, S.; Benhamou, S.; Sarrazin, F.; Bessa-Gomes, C.; Bouten, W.; Duriez, O.

    2013-01-01

    Feeding stations are commonly used to sustain conservation programs of scavengers but their impact on behaviour is still debated. They increase the temporal and spatial predictability of food resources while scavengers have supposedly evolved to search for unpredictable resources. In the Grands

  16. High-pressure studies of superconductivity in BiO0. 75F0. 25BiS2

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Bulletin of Materials Science; Volume 40; Issue 6. High-pressure studies of superconductivity in BiO 0.75 F 0.25 BiS 2. ZEBA HAQUE GOHIL S THAKUR GANESAN KALAI SELVAN SONACHALAM ARUMUGAM L C GUPTA A K GANGULI. Volume 40 Issue 6 October 2017 pp 1121-1125 ...

  17. The Scavenger Protein Apoptosis Inhibitor of Macrophages (AIM) Potentiates the Antimicrobial Response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Enhancing Autophagy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanjurjo, Lucía; Amézaga, Núria; Vilaplana, Cristina; Cáceres, Neus; Marzo, Elena; Valeri, Marta; Cardona, Pere-Joan; Sarrias, Maria-Rosa

    2013-01-01

    Apoptosis inhibitor of macrophages (AIM), a scavenger protein secreted by tissue macrophages, is transcriptionally regulated by the nuclear receptor Liver X Receptor (LXR) and Retinoid X Receptor (RXR) heterodimer. Given that LXR exerts a protective immune response against M. tuberculosis, here we analyzed whether AIM is involved in this response. In an experimental murine model of tuberculosis, AIM serum levels peaked dramatically early after infection with M. tuberculosis, providing an in vivo biological link to the disease. We therefore studied the participation of AIM in macrophage response to M. tuberculosis in vitro. For this purpose, we used the H37Rv strain to infect THP-1 macrophages transfected to stably express AIM, thereby increasing infected macrophage survival. Furthermore, the expression of this protein enlarged foam cell formation by enhancing intracellular lipid content. Phagocytosis assays with FITC-labeled M. tuberculosis bacilli indicated that this protein was not involved in bacterial uptake; however, AIM expression decreased the number of intracellular cfus by up to 70% in bacterial killing assays, suggesting that AIM enhances macrophage mycobactericidal activity. Accordingly, M. tuberculosis-infected AIM-expressing cells upregulated the production of reactive oxygen species. Moreover, real-time PCR analysis showed increased mRNA levels of the antimicrobial peptides cathelicidin and defensin 4B. These increases were concomitant with greater cellular concentrations of the autophagy-related molecules Beclin 1 and LC3II, as well as enhanced acidification of mycobacterial phagosomes and LC3 co-localization. In summary, our data support the notion that AIM contributes to key macrophage responses to M. tuberculosis. PMID:24223991

  18. Spectroscopy of 214Bi and systematics of 210,212,214Pb(0+) long->β-210,212,214Bi(0-)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berant, Z.; Schuhmann, R.B.; Alburger, D.E.; Chou, W.T.; Gill, R.L.; Warburton, E.K.; Wesselborg, C.

    1991-01-01

    Experiments designed to provide more information on the spectroscopy of 214 Bi, and on 214 Pb(β - ) 214 Bi in particular, were undertaken because of interest in first-forbidden β decay in the lead region. The experiments consisted of γ-γ coincidences and angular correlations, conversion electron measurements, level lifetime determinations, and precision γ-ray energy measurements. The 352-keV level of 214 Bi was found to be a strong candidate (and the only candidate) for the 0 1 - state. Recent additions to the 214 Pb decay scheme are confirmed by γ-γ coincidence measurements. A careful evaluation of the 214 Bi level scheme is made with emphasis on separating experimentally based conclusions from speculations based on systematics and other ''weak'' arguments. Shell-model calculations of the spectroscopy of 210,212 Bi and 210,212 Pb(β - ) 210,212 Bi were performed using a modification of the Kuo-Herling realistic interaction. These calculations and a generalized seniority model provide a basis for an examination of the systematics of the A=210, 212, 214 spectroscopy and β decay. The generalized seniority model is found to be a quite good approximation which provides a quantitative understanding of the 214 Pb decay rates

  19. Novel Water Soluble Chitosan Derivatives with 1,2,3-Triazolium and Their Free Radical-Scavenging Activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Qing; Sun, Xueqi; Gu, Guodong; Guo, Zhanyong

    2018-03-28

    Chitosan is an abundant and renewable polysaccharide, which exhibits attractive bioactivities and natural properties. Improvement such as chemical modification of chitosan is often performed for its potential of providing high bioactivity and good water solubility. A new class of chitosan derivatives possessing 1,2,3-triazolium charged units by associating "click reaction" with efficient 1,2,3-triazole quaternization were designed and synthesized. Their free radical-scavenging activity against three free radicals was tested. The inhibitory property and water solubility of the synthesized chitosan derivatives exhibited a remarkable improvement over chitosan. It is hypothesized that triazole or triazolium groups enable the synthesized chitosan to possess obviously better radical-scavenging activity. Moreover, the scavenging activity against superoxide radical of chitosan derivatives with triazolium (IC 50 radical-scavenging assay, the same pattern were observed, which should be related to the triazolium grafted at the periphery of molecular chains.

  20. Radical scavenging compounds from the aerial parts of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Results: The ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions were the most active fractions and contained apigenin, apigenin glucuronide, luteolin, caffeic acid, methyl caffeate, rosmarinic acid and methyl rosmarinate as the radical scavenging compounds with EC50 values of 26.67 ± 0.31, 185.89 ± 1.02, 5.35 ± 0.31, 3.92 ± 0.06, ...