Cardioprotective effect of ornitho-kinin in an anesthetized, open-chest chicken model of acute coronary occlusion

The generation of bradykinin (BK; Arg-Pro-Pro-Gly-Phe-Ser-Pro-Phe-Arg) in blood and kallidin (Lys-BK) in tissues by the action of the kallikrein-kinin system has received little attention in non-mammalian vertebrates. In mammals, kallidin can be generated by the coronary endothelium and myocytes in response to ischemia, mediating cardioprotective events. The plasma of birds lacks two key components of the kallikrein-kinin system: the low molecular weight kininogen and a prekallikrein activator analogous to mammalian factor XII, but treatment with bovine plasma kallikrein generates ornitho-kinin [Thr6,Leu8]-BK. The possible cardioprotective effect of ornitho-kinin infusion was investigated in an anesthetized, open-chest chicken model of acute coronary occlusion. A branch of the left main coronary artery was reversibly ligated to produce ischemia followed by reperfusion, after which the degree of myocardial necrosis (infarct size as a percent of area at risk) was assessed by tetrazolium staining. The iv injection of a low dose of ornitho-kinin (4 µg/kg) reduced mean arterial pressure from 88 ± 12 to 42 ± 7 mmHg and increased heart rate from 335 ± 38 to 402 ± 45 bpm (N = 5). The size of the infarct was reduced by pretreatment with ornitho-kinin (500 µg/kg infused over a period of 5 min) from 35 ± 3 to 10 ± 2% of the area at risk. These results suggest that the physiological role of the kallikrein-kinin system is preserved in this animal model in spite of the absence of two key components, i.e., low molecular weight kininogen and factor XII.

Endothelial dysfunction in cardiovascular and endocrine-metabolic diseases: an update

The endothelium plays a vital role in maintaining circulatory homeostasis by the release of relaxing and contracting factors. Any change in this balance may result in a process known as endothelial dysfunction that leads to impaired control of vascular tone and contributes to the pathogenesis of some cardiovascular and endocrine/metabolic diseases. Reduced endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and increased production of thromboxane A2, prostaglandin H2 and superoxide anion in conductance and resistance arteries are commonly associated with endothelial dysfunction in hypertensive, diabetic and obese animals, resulting in reduced endothelium-dependent vasodilatation and in increased vasoconstrictor responses. In addition, recent studies have demonstrated the role of enhanced overactivation ofβ-adrenergic receptors inducing vascular cytokine production and endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) uncoupling that seem to be the mechanisms underlying endothelial dysfunction in hypertension, heart failure and in endocrine-metabolic disorders. However, some adaptive mechanisms can occur in the initial stages of hypertension, such as increased NO production by eNOS. The present review focuses on the role of NO bioavailability, eNOS uncoupling, cyclooxygenase-derived products and pro-inflammatory factors on the endothelial dysfunction that occurs in hypertension, sympathetic hyperactivity, diabetes mellitus, and obesity. These are cardiovascular and endocrine-metabolic diseases of high incidence and mortality around the world, especially in developing countries and endothelial dysfunction contributes to triggering, maintenance and worsening of these pathological situations.

Secretory TAT-peptide-mediated protein transduction of LIF receptor α-chain distal cytoplasmic motifs into human myeloid HL-60 cells

The distal cytoplasmic motifs of leukemia inhibitory factor receptor α-chain (LIFRα-CT3) can independently induce intracellular myeloid differentiation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells by gene transfection; however, there are significant limitations in the potential clinical use of these motifs due to liposome-derived genetic modifications. To produce a potentially therapeutic LIFRα-CT3 with cell-permeable activity, we constructed a eukaryotic expression pcDNA3.0-TAT-CT3-cMyc plasmid with a signal peptide (ss) inserted into the N-terminal that codes for an ss-TAT-CT3-cMyc fusion protein. The stable transfection of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells via this vector and subsequent selection by Geneticin resulted in cell lines that express and secrete TAT-CT3-cMyc. The spent medium of pcDNA3.0-TAT-CT3-cMyc-transfected CHO cells could be purified using a cMyc-epitope-tag agarose affinity chromatography column and could be detected via SDS-PAGE, with antibodies against cMyc-tag. The direct administration of TAT-CT3-cMyc to HL-60 cell culture media caused the enrichment of CT3-cMyc in the cytoplasm and nucleus within 30 min and led to a significant reduction of viable cells (P < 0.05) 8 h after exposure. The advantages of using this mammalian expression system include the ease of generating TAT fusion proteins that are adequately transcripted and the potential for a sustained production of such proteins in vitro for future AML therapy.

The role of vermiculite in the fixation of potassium in soils and the availability of potassium for vine nutrition in some Niagara vineyards

The Niagara P e n i n s u l a Supports a f l o u r i s h i n g grape and wine i n d u s t r y , where much of the potassium f e r t i l i z e r a p p l i e d to the vineyard s o i l s may not show up in the f r u i t or vines but is fixed by the clay m i n e r a l s in the s o i l . Soil samples were c o l l e c t e d on a n o r t h - s o u t h l i ne through a high d e n s i t y of v i n e y a r d s and examined by x - r a y d i f f r a c t i o n to determine the r e l a t i o n s h i p of potassium with r e s p e c t to c l a y minerals p r e s e n t . The i n v e s t i g a t i o n shows the p h y l l o s i l i c a t e m i n e r a l s present t o be i l l i t e , c h l o r i t e and v e r m i c u l i t e . The v e r m i c u l i t e p r e s e n t is not t h e usual M g - v e r m i c u l i t e , but a K - v e r m i c u l i t e which can be c o n s i d e r e d as a degraded i l l i t e - - t h a t i s , an i l l i t e which has l o s t potassium i o n s . The r e s u l t i n g K - d e f i c i e n t mineral possesses a very l i m i t e d expansion l a t t i ce and is capable of c a p t u r i n g potassium ions and c o n v e r t i n g back t o the i l l i t e form. A g r i c u l t u r a l l y , t h i s causes potassium d e f i c i e n c y in p l a n t s.

J.W. Spencer fonds, 1866, 1881-1921

Joseph William Winthrop Spencer (commonly known as J.W. Spencer) was a geologist and geomorphologist best known for his work on the geology of southern Ontario and the Great Lakes. He was born in Dundas, Upper Canada in 1851, but moved to Hamilton, Ontario in 1867. In 1871, he began studies in geology at McGill College in Montreal. In 1875 he worked in the Michigan copper mines and shortly afterwards prepared a thesis on the copper deposits. He submitted this thesis to the University of Gottingen in Germany in 1877 and was awarded a doctorate in geology, the second Canadian to earn a doctorate in this field. In 1880, he became a professor of geology and chemistry at King���s College in Windsor, N.S. Subsequently, he taught at the University of Missouri, and then the University of Georgia, but moved to Washington, D.C. in 1894, where he worked as a consultant geologist. Spencer spent much of his life studying preglacial river valleys in Ontario and the origins of the Great Lakes, as well as the Niagara River and Falls. In 1907, he published a book titled The Falls of Niagara: their evolution and varying relations to the Great Lakes. His opinions in these areas differed from some of his contemporaries, namely the American geologist Grove Karl Gilbert. Gilbert published a review of the The Falls of Niagara that exposed some flaws and inaccuracies in Spencer’s estimate of the age of the falls. Spencer’s studies also took him to the Caribbean and Central America. In 1920 he moved back to Canada, but died the following year.

Niagara Parks Commission School of Gardening Graduation Program, 1956

The Niagara Parks Commission School of Gardening was organized in 1935 in order to help fill the Commission’s need for skilled gardeners to maintain the extensive parkland owned by the Commission. In 1959 the School was renamed the Niagara Parks Commission School of Horticulture. The name changed again in 1990 to the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens and School of Horticulture to better reflect the development of the program.

Fuzzy Topological Games and Related Topics

The main purpose of study is to extend the concept of the topological game G(K, X) and some other kinds of games into fuzzy topological games and to obtain some results regarding them. Owing to the fact that topological games have plenty of applications in covering properties, it made an attempt to explore some inter relations of games and covering properties in fuzzy topological spaces. Even though the main focus is on fuzzy para-meta compact spaces and closure preserving shading families, some brief sketches regarding fuzzy P-spaces and Shading Dimension is also provided. In a topological game players choose some objects related to the topological structure of a space such as points, closed subsets, open covers etc. More over the condition on a play to be winning for a player may also include topological notions such as closure, convergence, etc. It turns out that topological games are related to the Baire property, Baire spaces, Completeness properties, Convergence properties, Separation properties, Covering and Base properties, Continuous images, Suslin sets, Singular spaces etc.

Sol-Gel Nanocrystalline Catalytic Titania Powders and Functional Coatings

In the present work Titania bulk powders and coatings were prepared by subjecting titanium isopropoxide solution to a controlled hydrolysis-condensation process. The powders were characterized using techniques such as FTIR for their chemical interactions, TG-DTA for the thermal decomposition features, XRD for the phase assemblage, BET specific surface area analysis for the textural features. The study discusses the preparation methods and the characterization techniques employed and a detailed discussion on the physico-chemical characterization of the prepared systems. The influence of dopants and leaching on the physico-chemical properties as well as their influence on photo activity is also included. The structural/functional coatings of different Titania compositions includes in this study. Coatings on pre-treated glass surfaces with the best compositions prepared showed 90 % transmittance in the visible region.

Macrobenthos of Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep

In this present study macro benthos of minicoy island lakshadweep, an attempt has been made to study the distribution and community structure of benthos at different ecosystems. The main objectives of the study include the identification of benthic fauna, their distribution and composition, standing stock, qualitative and quantitative nature in relation to hydrography,seasons and sediment texture, community structure analysis and tropic relationships. This base line study at Minicoy,thus establishes that the benthos of sea grass and mangrove ecosystems(nursery grounds) determines the richness and diversity of demersal fish fauna at the nearby lagoon and reef areas to a great extent. Any serious stress on these ecosystems may lead to disappearance of certain fish species in the nearby future

Laser-induced thermal characterization of nano Ag metal dispersed ceramic alumina matrix

In this paper, we report the measurements of thermal diffusivity of nano Ag metal dispersed ceramic alumina matrix sintered at different temperatures using laser induced non-destructive photoacoustic technique. Measurements of thermal diffusivity also have been carried out on specimens with various concentration of nano metal. Analysis of the data is done on the basis of one-dimensional model of Rosencwaig and Gersho. The present measurements on the thermal diffusivity of nano metal dispersed ceramic alumina shows that porosity has a great influence on the heat transport and the thermal diffusivity value. The present analysis also shows that the inclusion of nano metal into ceramic matrix increases its interconnectivity and hence the thermal diffusivity value. The present study on the samples sintered at different temperature shows that the porosity of the ceramics varies considerably with the change in sintering temperature. The results are interpreted in terms of phonon assisted heat transfer mechanism and the exclusion of pores with the increase in sintering temperature.

Laser-induced thermal characterization of nano Ag metal dispersed ceramic alumina matrix

In this paper, we report the measurements of thermal diffusivity of nano Ag metal dispersed ceramic alumina matrix sintered at different temperatures using laser induced non-destructive photoacoustic technique. Measurements of thermal diffusivity also have been carried out on specimens with various concentration of nano metal. Analysis of the data is done on the basis of one-dimensional model of Rosencwaig and Gersho. The present measurements on the thermal diffusivity of nano metal dispersed ceramic alumina shows that porosity has a great influence on the heat transport and the thermal diffusivity value. The present analysis also shows that the inclusion of nano metal into ceramic matrix increases its interconnectivity and hence the thermal diffusivity value. The present study on the samples sintered at different temperature shows that the porosity of the ceramics varies considerably with the change in sintering temperature. The results are interpreted in terms of phonon assisted heat transfer mechanism and the exclusion of pores with the increase in sintering temperature

Laser-induced thermal characterization of nano Ag metal dispersed ceramic alumina matrix

In this paper, we report the measurements of thermal diffusivity of nano Ag metal dispersed ceramic alumina matrix sintered at different temperatures using laser induced non-destructive photoacoustic technique. Measurements of thermal diffusivity also have been carried out on specimens with various concentration of nano metal. Analysis of the data is done on the basis of one-dimensional model of Rosencwaig and Gersho. The present measurements on the thermal diffusivity of nano metal dispersed ceramic alumina shows that porosity has a great influence on the heat transport and the thermal diffusivity value. The present analysis also shows that the inclusion of nano metal into ceramic matrix increases its interconnectivity and hence the thermal diffusivity value. The present study on the samples sintered at different temperature shows that the porosity of the ceramics varies considerably with the change in sintering temperature. The results are interpreted in terms of phonon assisted heat transfer mechanism and the exclusion of pores with the increase in sintering temperature