Increased intestinal macromolecular permeability and urine nitrite excretion associated with liver cirrhosis with ascites

AIM： To determine intestinal permeability, the serum tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α level and urine nitric oxide （NO） metabolites are altered in liver cirrhosis （LC） with or without ascites. METHODS： Fifty-three patients with LC and 26 healthy control subjects were enrolled in the study. The intestinal permeability value is expressed as the percentage of polyethylene glycol （PEG） 400 and 3350 retrieval in 8-h urine samples as determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Serum TNF-α concentrations and urine NO metabolites were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） and Greiss reaction method, respectively. RESULTS： The intestinal permeability index wassignificantly higher in patients with LC with ascites than in healthy control subjects or patients with LC without ascites （0.88 ± 0.12 vs 0.52 ± 0.05 or 0.53 ± 0.03, P 〈 0.05） and correlated with urine nitrite excretion （r = 0.98）. Interestingly, the serum TNF-α concentration was significantly higher in LC without ascites than in control subjects or in LC with ascites （198.9 ± 55.8 pg/mL vs 40.9 ± 12.3 pg/mL or 32.1 ± 13.3 pg/mL, P 〈 0.05）. Urine nitrite excretion was significantly higher in LC with ascites than in the control subjects or in LC without ascites（ 1170.9± 28.7 μmol/L vs 903.1 ± 55.1 μmol/L or 956.7 ± 47.7 μmol/L, P 〈 0.05）. COMCLUSIOM： Increased intestinal macromolecular permeability and NO is probably of importance in the pathophysiology and progression of LC with ascites, but the serum TNF-α concentration was not related to LC with ascites.

Distribution of electric field for carbon nanotube assembly: Simulation (I)

The distribution of electric field for the alignment and attachment of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was simulated. To be attached at the desired place, the aligned and attracted CNTs should be stayed in the desired area called the stable region or the quasi-stable region for an instant where the change of electric field is minimized. Since the conical electrode has the very narrow sized quasi-stable region, few CNTs can be attached. The rectangular electrodes have a wide stable region, so lots of CNTs can be attached. The results indicate that the round electrode which has a proper sized quasi-stable region is more effective for aligning and attaching a single CNT than the conical or rectangular shaped electrodes.

Glutathione-S-transferase (GSTM1,GSTT1) and the risk of gastrointestinal cancer in a Korean population

AIM： To evaluate the association of glutathione S-trans-ferase mu （GSTM1） and glutathione S-transferase theta （GSTT1） null genotypes with the risk of gastric cancer （GC） and colorectal cancer （CRC） in a South Korean population. METHODS： We conducted a population-based, large- scale case-control study including 2213 GCs, 1829 CRCs, and 1699 controls. Null and non-null genotypes of GSTM1 and GSI-F1 were determined using realtime PCR. RESULTS： The null genotypes of GSTM1 and GSTT1 were not significantly associated with elevated risk of gastric （OR = 1.070, 95% CI = 0.935-1.224; OR = 1.101, 95% CI = 0.963-1.259, respectively） or colorectal cancer （OR = 1.065, 95% CI = 0.923-1.228; OR = 1.041, 95% CI = 0.903-1.200, respectively）. The frequency of the combined null GST genotype was not different between the two cancer groups and controls. Moreover, smoking, drinking, and age did not modify the association between these genotypes and the risk of gastric or colorectal cancer. CONCLUSION： GSTM1 and GSCI-1 null genotypes were not associated with increased risk of GC or CRC in Koreans.

Distribution of electric field for carbon nanotube assembly: Experiments (II)

The distribution effect of electric field on the alignment and attachment of carbon nanotubes （CNTs） were investigated. The experimental results were compared with the simulation results according to three different shaped electrodes. In previous simulation, the round shaped electrodes were expected to be more effective for aligning and attaching a single CNT between two electrodes than conical or rectangular shaped electrodes. To verify the simulation results, three different shaped electrodes were introduced and a single multi-walled carbon nanotube （MWNT） was attached. The optimal conditions for aligning and attaching MWNTs such as the frequency, applied voltage and concentration of MWNTs solution were investigated. Through repeated experiments, frequency of 100 kHz-10 MHz, applied voltage of 0.3-1.3 V^s/~m, concentration of 5 ktg/mL in MWNTs solution were obtained as a possible condition range to attach MWNTs. Under these conditions, the yield of MWNTs attachment between two electrodes was up to 70%. In previous simulation, furthermore, it was verified that the size of the stable or quasi-stable region made CNTs aligned and attached on different shaped electrodes from the comparison of the experimental and simulation results. Most single MWNT attachment was accomplished on the round shaped electrodes.

Mechanical properties and flame retardancy of surface modified magnesium oxysulfate(5Mg(OH)_(2)·MgSO_(4)·3H_(2)O)whisker for polypropylene composites

Magnesium oxysulfate(MOS)whisker is considered as a promising inorganic material recently attracting a great attention for being used as a reinforcing filler for polymer composites due to high aspect ratio and extremely-low bulk density.In this study,the MOS was treated with 3-methacryloyloxypropyl-trimethoxy silane(MPS)via sol-gel condensation reactions,which successfully allowed melt mixing with polypropylene(PP)up to 30 wt%of MOS.The tensile strength at yield and modulus of the MOS/PP composites were substantially increased by 50.8%and 362%,respectively,when compared with the pristine PP.As a novel finding,the flame retardancy of MOS was proved by identifying water evolution at elevated temperatures giving out 9 wt%of water in 250-320℃and 14 wt%in 350-420℃in two steps.This work demonstrated that the MOS could be an excellent filler for PP not only increasing the mechanical properties in a great extent but also imposing flame retarding capability.

Development of RuS_(2) for near-infrared photodetector by atomic layer deposition and post-sulfurization

The chalcogenides of platinum-group metals(PGMs)have been known to be present in minerals and the intermediate products of refining.Over recent years,their applications in various fields,including catalysis,have been explored.Given that certain PGM chalcogenides behave as compound semiconductors,they can be used as materials for photodetectors.In this study,RuS_(2),featuring a bandgap suitable for near-infrared photodetectors,was prepared by forming Ru on a SiO_(2)/Si substrate via the atomic layer deposition method using[Ru(TMM)(CO)_(3)]as the precursor.Annealing was conducted at 800℃ for 1 h under H_(2)S flow.High-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM)and X-ray diffraction(XRD)analysis clearly confirmed that the as-deposited hexagonal close-packed(hcp)Ru transformed to cubic RuS_(2) after post-annealing.The surface morphologies,chemical states,and electrical and optical properties of RuS_(2) were investigated.The influence of the metallic Ru surface morphology prior to sulfurization on the reaction between Ru and H_(2)S was also discussed.To evaluate the potential of using RuS_(2) as a photodetector,a photodetector was fabricated by forming electrodes on RuS_(2) to measure its photocurrent under near-infrared light.Thus,RuS_(2) was proven to exhibit a short response time(59μs)and generate a photocurrent of 84 nA under near-infrared light at 940 nm.