Detectability of stress-induced martensite phase in ferromagnetic shape memory alloy Fe-30.2at.%Pd by Barkhausen noise method

The possibility to detect the phase transformation of stress-induced martensite in ferromagnetic shape memory alloy Fe–30.2at.%Pd thin foil was investigated by using Barkhausen noise (BHN) method. Stress-induced martensite twin was observed by laser microscope above loading stress of 25 MPa. BHN caused by grain boundaries appears in the lower frequency range and BHN by martensite twin in the higher frequency range. The envelope of the BHN voltage as a function of time of magnetization shows a peak due to austenite phase at weak magnetic field. The BHN envelope due to martensite twins creates additional two peaks at intermediate magnetic field. BHN method turns out to be a powerful technique for non-destructive evaluation of the phase transformation of ferromagnetic shape memory alloy

In vitro antioxidant activities of sulfated polysaccharide ascophyllan isolated from Ascophyllum nodosum

Antioxidant activities of sulfated polysaccharide ascophyllan from Ascophyllum nodosum was investigated in vitro by various assays, and compared with those of fucoidan. A chemiluminescence (CL) analysis using a luminol analog, L-012, showed that ascophyllan scavenges superoxide, and the activity is greater than fucoidan. However, in the presence of 10μg/ml of ascophyllan or 10μg/ml and 100μg/ml of fucoidan, slightly enhanced CL-responses were observed. Since EDTA-treatment resulted in disappearance of the enhancement effects, it was suggested that metal ions especially iron ions in the polysaccharides might be involved in this phenomenon. In fact, metal element analysis revealed that ascophyllan and fucoidan inherently contain iron and other metal elements. EDTA-treatment resulted in significant increase in Fe2+-chelating activities of these polysaccharides. In an electron spin resonance (ESR)-spin trapping analysis in which direct UV-radiation to hydrogen peroxide was used as a source of hydroxyl radical, ascophyllan and fucoidan showed potent hydroxyl radical scavenging activity with similar extent. Reducing power of ascophyllan was stronger than that of fucoidan. Our results indicate that ascophyllan can exhibit direct and potent antioxidant activity

Stimulatory effect of the sulfated polysaccharide ascophyllan on the respiratory burst in RAW264.7 macrophages

In this study, we investigated the bioactivity of ascophyllan in terms of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. In RAW264.7 cells, we found that ascophyllan induced ROS generation in a concentration-dependent manner, but with bell-shaped profile. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that ascophyllan promoted the translocation of cytosolic subunits (p67phox and p47phox) of NADPH oxidase to the plasma membrane. Among mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinase inhibitors tested, JNK inhibitor showed the most potent inhibitory effect on ascophyllan-induced ROS production. Consistently, significant level of phosphorylated JNK MAP kinase was detected in ascophyllan-treated RAW264.7 cells. Our findings suggest for the first time that ascophyllan can stimulate macrophages to produce ROS through the activations of NADPH oxidase and JNK MAP kinase