327 research outputs found
Intrinsic Lipschitz graphs in Heisenberg groups and continuous solutions of a balance equation
In this paper we provide a characterization of intrinsic Lipschitz graphs in
the sub-Riemannian Heisenberg groups in terms of their distributional
gradients. Moreover, we prove the equivalence of different notions of
continuous weak solutions to the equation \phi_y+ [\phi^{2}/2]_t=w, where w is
a bounded function depending on \phi
Basic properties of nonsmooth Hormander's vector fields and Poincare's inequality
We consider a family of vector fields defined in some bounded domain of R^p,
and we assume that they satisfy Hormander's rank condition of some step r, and
that their coefficients have r-1 continuous derivatives. We extend to this
nonsmooth context some results which are well-known for smooth Hormander's
vector fields, namely: some basic properties of the distance induced by the
vector fields, the doubling condition, Chow's connectivity theorem, and, under
the stronger assumption that the coefficients belong to C^{r-1,1}, Poincare's
inequality. By known results, these facts also imply a Sobolev embedding. All
these tools allow to draw some consequences about second order differential
operators modeled on these nonsmooth Hormander's vector fields.Comment: 60 pages, LaTeX; Section 6 added and Section 7 (6 in the previous
version) changed. Some references adde
Kratom: The analytical challenge of an emerging herbal drug
Mitragyna speciosa or kratom is emerging worldwide as a “legal” herbal drug of abuse. An increasing number of papers is appearing in the scientific literature regarding its pharmacological profile and the analysis of its chemical constituents, mainly represented by alkaloids. However, its detection and identification are not straightforward as the plant material is not particularly distinctive. Hyphenated techniques are generally preferred for the identification and quantification of these compounds, especially the main purported psychoactive substances, mitragynine (MG) and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH-MG), in raw and commercial products. Considering the vast popularity of this recreational drug and the growing concern about its safety, the analysis of alkaloids in biological specimens is also of great importance for forensic and toxicological laboratories. The review addresses the analytical aspects of kratom spanning the extraction techniques used to isolate the alkaloids, the qualitative and quantitative analytical methods and the strategies for the distinction of the naturally occurring isomers
Proteomics Profiling of Heterozygous and Homozygous Patients with ABCA1 Gene Mutation: A Tangier Disease Molecular Map
Tangier Disease (TD) is a rare inherited disorder with approximately 100 worldwide identified cases. Alpha-lipoprotein deficiency is the main characteristic of this disease, associated with a virtual absence of High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) in blood. Additional symptoms are mild hypertriglyceridemia, neuropathy and enlarged, orange-colored tonsils. Genetically TD is caused by mutations in the ABCA1 gene, which prevent the release of cholesterol and phospholipids from cells, leading to the accumulation of lipids within cells and body tissues.
In this work a TD patient and his parental heterozygous were examined from a proteomics point of view. Plasma as well as proteome and secretome of circulating monocytes were analyzed.
Plasma proteins underlined in TD the imbalance of lipid trafficking and metabolism, associated with the stimulation of pro-inflammatory pathways. Proteome and secretome of monocytes highlighted an extensive down regulation of mitochondrial enzymes and vesicular trafficking agents along with a substantial cytoskeletal rearrangement, suggesting a reduced activation state of monocytes from TD homozygous patient.
This work is the first proteomics profiling of heterozygous and homozygous TD phenotypes and it suggests a TD case as a model to understand general mechanisms of lipid transport and metabolism and their linkage to inflammatory processes
Alternative acceptor materials for organic photovoltaic cells
Synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of perylene derivatives (perylene monoimides and diimides) are reported. The aim of the present work is to investigate the synthesis of these compounds in detail in order to highlight the crucial factors for obtaining a specific class of molecules. The final compounds of the synthetic pathway would be able to mimic the peculiar properties of fullerene derivatives, up to now the best candidates as accepting materials
Involvement of basic fibroblast growth factor in suramin-induced inhibition of V79/AP4 fibroblast cell proliferation.
The V79/AP4 Chinese hamster fibroblasts were densely stained with the anti-basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) antibody demonstrating an endogenous production of the peptide. The in vitro proliferation of these cells was stimulated by exogenous bFGF and the maximum growth (259% increase in 3H-thymidine incorporation into DNA) was reached with bFGF 10 ng ml-1. Inhibition of bFGF-mediated mitogenic pathway was obtained with a 15-mer antisense oligodeoxynucleotide targeted against bFGF mRNA and with suramin, a drug which blocks the biological activity of heparin-binding growth factors. bFGF antisense oligomer reduced the synthesis of DNA by 79.5 and 89.5% at 20 and 60 microM, respectively; this effect was reversed by the addition of exogenous bFGF to the culture medium. A short-term exposure to suramin 300 micrograms ml-1 produced a modest reduction in 3H-thymidine incorporation but suppressed the mitogenic effect of bFGF on V79/AP4 cells. In cells treated with suramin 300 micrograms ml-1 the drug concentration increased linearly over 3 days, reaching 13.15 micrograms mg-1 of protein; cell proliferation was inhibited in a dose-related manner as evaluated by the colony formation assay (IC50: 344.22 micrograms ml-1) and by the number of mitoses observed in culture. Furthermore, the drug induced ultrastructural alterations, consisting of perinuclear cisternae swelling, chromatin condensation, nucleolar segregation and cytoplasmic vacuolations. These findings demonstrated that the endogenous production of bFGF plays an important role in V79/AP4 fibroblasts proliferation, and the inhibition of bFGF-mediated mitogenic signalling with bFGF antisense oligomer or suramin is an effective mean of reducing cell growth
INVOLVEMENT OF BASIC FIBROBLAST GROWTH-FACTOR IN SURAMIN-INDUCED INHIBITION OF V79/AP4 FIBROBLAST CELL-PROLIFERATION
The V79/AP4 Chinese hamster fibroblasts were densely stained with the anti-basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) antibody demonstrating an endogenous production of the peptide. The in vitro proliferation of these cells was stimulated by exogenous bFGF and the maximum growth (259% increase in H-3-thymidine incorporation into DNA) was reached with bFGF 10 ng ml-1. Inhibition of bFGF-mediated mitogenic pathway was obtained with a 15-mer antisense oligodeoxynucleotide targeted against bFGF mRNA and with suramin, a drug which blocks the biological activity of heparin-binding growth factors. bFGF antisense oligomer reduced the synthesis of DNA by 79.5 and 89.5% at 20 and 60 muM, respectively; this effect was reversed by the addition of exogenous bFGF to the culture medium. A short-term exposure to suramin 300 mug ml-1 produced a modest reduction in H-3-thymidine incorporation but suppressed the mitogenic effect of bFGF on V79/AP4 cells. In cells treated with suramin 300 mug ml-1 the drug concentration increased linearly over 3 days, reaching 13.15 mug mg-1 of protein; cell proliferation was inhibited in a dose-related manner as evaluated by the colony formation assay (IC50: 344.22 mug ml-1) and by the number of mitoses observed in culture. Furthermore, the drug induced ultrastructural alterations, consisting of perinuclear cisternae swelling, chromatin condensation, nucleolar segregation and cytoplasmic vacuolations. These findings demonstrated that the endogenous production of bFGF plays an important role in V79/AP4 fibroblasts proliferation, and the inhibition of bFGF-mediated mitogenic signalling with bFGF antisense oligomer or suramin is an effective mean of reducing cell growth
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