BACKGROUND/AIMS Increased nitric oxide (NO) production or inducible form of NO synthase activity have been documented in patients suffering from urinary tract infection (UTI), but the role of NO in this infection is unclear. We investigated whether NO can affect the host response in human renal epithelial cells by modulating IL-6 production and mRNA expression. METHODS The human renal epithel...

Surfactant protein B (SP-B) is essential for the surface tension-lowering function of pulmonary surfactant. Surfactant dysfunction and reduced SP-B levels are associated with elevated nitric oxide (NO) in inflammatory lung diseases, such as acute respiratory distress syndrome. We previously found that NO donors decreased SP-B expression in H441 and MLE-12 lung epithelial cells by reducing SP-B ...

We investigated efficacy of nitric oxide (NO) against Leishmania donovani. NO is a mediator of host response to infection, with direct parasiticidal activity in addition to its role in signalling to evoke innate macrophage responses. However, it is short-lived and volatile, and is therefore difficult to introduce into infected cells and maintain inracellular concentrations for meaningful period...

Among thermosetting polymers, epoxy resins are major components of adhesives, sealants, paints and composites. Polymerization is often achieved by reaction monomers like DGEBA with amine hardeners such as DETA. Previous works showed that polyamines interact metal (hydr/oxide) substrates leading to the formation an interphase involving chelation surface ions. In this work, we further explored in...

Two layered V-B-O contained polyoxometalate (POM) net structures, denoted as SUT-12 and SUT-13, are reported here. SUT-12 was synthesized by the boric acid flux method, and it represents the first 2D structure constructed from the V6B20 vanadoborate cluster. SUT-13 was synthesized by the hydrothermal method and constructed from V12B6P12 vanadium borophosphate clusters. In both structures, the v...

Pregnancy is characterized by plasma volume expansion and renal sodium retention with loss of natriuretic response to atrial natriuretic peptide due to increased medullary phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5). Here, we determined whether natriuretic responses to nitric oxide (NO) are also blunted in pregnancy due to increased PDE5. Anesthetized 16-day pregnant and virgin rats were studied at baseline and...

Composite photocatalysts are crucial for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. In this work, ZrO2/CdSe-diethylenetriamine (ZrO2/CdSe-DETA) heterojunction nanocomposites synthesized, and efficiently stably catalyzed evolution under visible light. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) confirm the formation of heterojunctions between ZrO2 (ZO)...

We investigated the effect of a nitric oxide (NO)-releasing derivative of aspirin (NCX-4016) on a mitochondria-dependent model of apoptosis in human umbilical endothelial cells (HUVEC). Exposure of HUVEC to staurosporine caused a progressive fall in mitochondrial membrane potential (DeltaPsi(m)) and apoptosis. Exposure to an NO donor, (z)-1-[2-(2-aminoethyl)-N-(2-ammonioethyl)amino]diazen-1-ium...

We investigated the mechanisms by which nitric oxide (NO) from an NO donor (DETA/NO) regulates proliferation of pheochromocytoma PC12 cells. The NO donor stimulated proliferation at low concentrations, but reversibly and completely inhibited proliferation at higher concentrations. The stimulation (but not the inhibition) of proliferation was apparently due to NO stimulation of soluble guanylate...

Let A,B,C be n× n positive semidefinite matrices. It is known that det(A+ B + C) + detC ≥ det(A+ C) + det(B + C), which includes det(A+B) ≥ detA+ detB as a special case. In this article, a relation between these two inequalities is proved, namely, det(A+ B + C) + detC − (det(A+ C) + det(B + C)) ≥ det(A+ B)− (detA+ detB).