APT198K decreased the mean duration per crying episode significantly more than a lactase dietary supplement in infants with colic. Further evaluation in larger studies is warranted. Clinical trial registry: EudraCT number 2014-002860-334; https://eudract.ema.europa.eu .
Activated by bacterial peptides, phorbol esters, calcium ionophores and other agonists, neutrophils (PMNs) release the proinflammatory mediator, arachidonic acid (AA) via the intervention of phospholipase A2 (PLA2). AA may play an essential role in activation of NADPH‐oxidase, which is involved in the generation of superoxide anion by neutrophils. The present study is focused on the involvement of PLA2 in the respiratory burst developed by PMNs isolated from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). PLA2 exists in very high levels in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and may cause acute inflammatory and proliferative changes in synovial structures. The respiratory burst was evaluated as superoxide anion release, using an amplified chemiluminiscence method. The assays were performed using PMNs untreated or treated with different doses of stimulatory reagents (phorbol 12‐myristate‐13‐acetate (PMA), calcium ionophore (A23187)). Our data suggested that PMA stimulated the production of superoxid anion in a dose‐response manner, as compared with A23187, which did not induce a significant release of superoxide anion in PMNs‐RA. The exogenous addition of AA significantly amplified the superoxide anion release by PMNs‐RA stimulated with PMA and to a lesser extent, by PMNs stimulated with A23187. AA has also reversed the inhibitory effect of arachidonyl‐trifluorometylketone and E‐6‐(bromomethylene)tetrahydro‐3‐(1‐naph‐thalenyl)2H‐pyran‐2‐one (BEL) on the superoxide anion release by PMNs‐RA. In conclusion, the differential responses to these two agents suggested that different isoforms of PLA2 were activated by A23187 or PMA, and support the idea that activation of these different PLA2 served distinct functions of PMNs. Therefore, the inhibition of PLA2 enzymes might be of great importance in the immunotherapy of rheumatoid arthritis.
For environmental applications, nanosized TiO2-based materials are known as the most important photocatalyst and are intensively studied for their advantages such as their higher activity, lower price, and chemical and photoresist properties. Zn or Cu doped TiO2 nanoparticles with anatase crystalline structure were synthesized by sol−gel process. Titanium (IV) butoxide was used as a TiO2 precursor, with parental alcohol as a solvent, and a hydrolysing agent (ammonia-containing water) was added to obtain a solution with pH 10. The gels were characterized by TG/DTA analysis, SEM, and XPS. Based on TG/DTA results, the temperature of 500 °C was chosen for processing the powders in air. The structure of the samples thermally treated at 500 °C was analysed by XRD and the patterns show crystallization in a single phase of TiO2 (anatase). The surface of the samples and the oxidation states was investigated by XPS, confirming the presence of Ti, O, Zn and Cu. The antibacterial activity of the nanoparticle powder samples was verified using the gram−positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. The photocatalytic efficiency of the doped TiO2 nanopowders for degradation of methyl orange (MO) is here examined in order to evaluate the potential applications of these materials for environmental remediation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.