Alleviation of pre-exposure of mouse brain with low-dose C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray on male reproductive endocrine damages induced by subsequent high-dose irradiation

Irradiation has been widely reported to damage organisms by attacking on proteins, nucleic acid and lipids in cells. However, radiation hormesis after low-dose irradiation has become the focus of research in radiobiology in recent years. To investigate the effects of pre-exposure of mouse brain with low-dose C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma (gamma)-ray on male reproductive endocrine capacity induced by subsequent high-dose irradiation, the brains of the B6C3F(1) hybrid strain male mice were irradiated with 0.05 Gy of C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray as the pre-exposure dose, and were then irradiated with 2 Gy as challenging irradiation dose at 4 h after pre-exposure. Serum pituitary gonadotropin hormones, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, testis weight, sperm count and shape were measured on the 35th day after irradiation. The results showed that there was a significant reduction in the levels of serum FSH, LH, testosterone, testis weight and sperm count, and a significant increase in sperm abnormalities by irradiation of the mouse brain with 2 Gy of C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray. Moreover, the effects were more obvious in the group irradiated by C-12(6+) ion than in that irradiated by Co-60 gamma-ray. Pre-exposure with low-dose C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray significantly alleviated the harmful effects induced by a subsequent high-dose irradiation.

Induction of cytogenetic adaptive response in spermatogonia and spermatocytes by pre-exposure of mouse testis to low-dose C-12(6+) ions

To investigate the effects of pre-exposure of mouse testis to low-dose C-12(6+) ions on cytogenetics of spermatogonia and spermatocytes induced by subsequent high-dose irradiation. the testes of outbred Kun-Ming strain mice were irradiated with 0.05 Gy of C-12(6+) ions as the pre-exposure dose, and then irradiated with 2 Gy as challenging dose at 4 h after per-exposure. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARPs) activity and PARP-1 protein expression were respectively measured by using the enzymatic and Western blot assays at 4 h after irradiation; chromosomal aberrations in spermatogonia and spermatocytes were analyzed by the air-drying method at 8 h after irradiation. The results showed that there was a significant increase in the frequency of chromosomal aberrations and significant reductions of PARP activity and PARP-1 expression level in the mouse testes irradiated with 2 Gy of C-12(6+) ions. However, pre-exposure of mouse testes to a low dose of C-12(6+) ions significantly increased PARPs activity and PARP-1 expression and alleviated the harmful effects induced by a subsequent high-dose irradiation. PARP activity inhibitor 3-aminobenzamide (3-AB) treatment blocked the effects of PARP-1 on cytogenetic adaptive response induced by low-dose C-12(6+) ion irradiation. The data suggest that pre-exposure of testes to a low dose of heavy ions can induce cytogenetic adaptive response to subsequent high-dose irradiation. The increase of PARP-1 protein induced by the low-dose ionizing irradiation may be involved in the mechanism of these observations. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pre-irradiation with low-dose C-12(6+) beam significantly enhances the efficacy of AdCMV-p53 gene therapy in human non-small lung cancer

The combination of ionizing radiation and gene therapy has been investigated. However, there are very few reports about the combination of heavy-ion irradiation and gene therapy. To determine if the pre-exposure to low-dose heavy ion beam enhances the suppression of AdCMV-p53 on non-small lung cancer (NSLC), the cells pre-irradiated or non-irradiated were infected with 20, 40 MOI of AdCMV-p53. Survival fraction and the relative biology effect (RBE) were determined by clonogenic assay. The results showed that the proportions of p53 positive cells in C-12(6+) beam induced AdCMV-p53 infected cells were more than 90%, which were significantly more than those in gamma-ray induced AdCMV-p53 infected cells. The pre-exposure to low-dose 12C6+ beam significantly prevented the G(0)/G(1) arrest and activated G(2)/M checkpoints. The pre-exposure to C-12(6+) beam significantly improved cell to apoptosis. RBEs for the C-12(6+)+ AdCMV-p53 infection groups were 30%-60%,20% -130% and 30%-70% more than those for the C-12(6+)_irradiated only, AdCMV-p53 infected only, and gamma-irradiation induced AdCMVp53 infected groups, respectively. The data suggested that the pre-exposure to low-dose C-12(6+) beam significantly promotes exogenous p53 expression in NSLC, and the suppression of AdCMV-p53 gene therapy on NSLC.

Adaptive hormetic response of pre-exposure of mouse brain with low-dose C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray on growth hormone (GH) and body weight induced by subsequent high-dose irradiation

The brain of the Kun-Ming strain mice were irradiated with 0.05 Gy of C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray as the pre-exposure dose, and were then irradiated with 2 Gy of 12C6+ ion or Co-60 gamma-ray as challenging irradiation dose at 4 h after per-exposure. Body weight and serum growth hormone (GH) concentration were measured at 35th day after irradiation. The results showed that irradiation of mouse brain with 2 Gy of C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray significantly diminished mouse body weight and level of serum GH. The relative biological effectiveness values of a 2 Gy dose of C-12(6+) ion calculated with respect to Co-60 gamma-ray were 1.47 and 1.34 for body weight and serum GH concentration, respectively. Pre-exposure with a low-dose (0.05 Gy) of C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray significantly alleviated reductions of mouse body weight and level of serum GH induced by a subsequent high-dose (2 Gy) irradiation. The data suggested that low-dose ionizing irradiation can induce adaptive hormetic responses to the harmful effects of pituitary by subsequent high-dose exposure.

Analysis of aromatic amines by high-performance liquid chromatography with pre-column derivatization by 2-(9-carbazole)-ethyl-chloroformate

2-(9-Carbazole)-ethyl-chloroformate (CEOC), a novel pre-column fluorescence derivatization reagent, has been developed for the analysis of aromatic amines. Taking five monocyclic aromatic amines (o-toluidine, aniline, 3,4-dimethylaniline, N-ethyl-p-toluidine, and p-phenylenediamine) as testing compounds, derivatization conditions such as pH of borate buffer, reaction time and fluorescent tagging reagent concentration have been investigated. By a one-step procedure, CEOC reacts readily with the aromatic amines to form stable derivatives with excitation and emission wavelengths, respectively, at 293 and 360 nm. This derivatization reaction could be finished within 20 min even at room temperature. The peak shapes of the derivatized aromatic amines can be improved greatly without any addition of competition amines into the mobile phase. Furthermore, this method can offer excellent quantitative precision with high tolerance of the matrix of samples. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Grafting acrylic acid onto polypropylene by reactive extrusion with pre-irradiated PP as initiator

In this paper, the modification of polypropylene (PP) with acrylic acid (AA) by reactive extrusion using pre-irradiated PP (rPP) as initiator was investigated. It was found the relatively high graft degree (Gd) and slight degradation of modified PP was obtained when 20 wt% rPP was used. This result can be explained in terms of effective concentration of free radicals.

Preparation and Characterization of Melt Grafting 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic Acid onto Pre-Irradiated Linear Low Density Polyethylene

Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) was functionalized with 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) by using -ray pre-irradiation in air in a twin-screw extruder. Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) were used to characterize the formation of LLDPE-g-AMPS copolymers. The content of AMPS in LLDPE-g-AMPS was determined by using element analysis instrument. The effects of concentrations of monomer, reaction temperature and pre-irradiation dose on degree of grafting were investigated. The critical surface tension of LLDPE-g-AMPS was measured by using contact angle method. The influences of the degree of grafting on crystallization properties were studied by using DSC. Compared with neat LLDPE, the crystallization temperature increased about 4C, and crystallinity decreased with increasing degree of grafting. Crystallization rates of grafted LLDPE were faster than that of plain LLDPE at the same crystallization temperature.

Synthesis of dodecenyl succinic anhydride (DDSA) corn starch

Dodecenly succinic anhydride (DDSA) starches were prepared commercially by the base catalyzed reaction of DDSA in pre-emulsion with starch granular in aqueous slurry. The results indicated that the degree of substitution and reaction efficiency were 0.0256% and 42.7%, respectively, at the parameters for the preparation of DDSA starches in starch slurry 30%, DDSA/starch radio 10% (wt/wt), pH 8.5-9.0, reaction temperature 313 K. After modification, product surface chemical composite had been changed which was prone to migrate into less polar solution. The chemical structural characteristics were investigated by methods of FTIR and H-1 NMR. The results of X-ray diffraction showed the native A-type crystalline pattern, indicating that reaction of corn starch with DDSA caused no change in the crystalline structure. Compared to native starch, the hydrophobic performance of esters was greatly increased. With the DS increasing, contact angles were gradually increased, however, the adhesion works were decreased. The maximum contact angle of DDSA starch could attend to 123 degrees, and the corresponding adhesion work was 33.2 mJ m(-2).

Assemble of poly(aniline-co-o-aminobenzenesulfonic acid) three-dimensional tubal net-works onto ITO electrode and its application for the direct electrochemistry and electrocatalytic behavior of cytochrome c

Stable electroactive film of poly(aniline-co-o-aminobenzenesulfonic acid) three-dimensional tubal net-works was assembled on indium oxide glass (ITO) successfully, and the cytochrome c was immobilized on the matrix by the electrostatic interactions. The adsorbed cytochrome c showed a good electrochemical activity with a pair of well-defined redox waves in pH 6.2 phosphate buffer solution, and the adsorbed protein showed more faster electron transfer rate (12.9 s(-1)) on the net-works matrix than those of on inorganic porous or even nano-materials reported recently. The immobilized cytochrome c exhibited a good electrocatalytic activity and amperometric response (2 s) for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The detection limit for H2O2 was 1.5 mu M, and the linear range was from 3 mu M to 1 mM. Poly(aniline-co-o-aminobenzenesulfonic acid) three-dimensional tubal net-works was proved to be a good matrix for protein immobilization and biosensor preparation.