Dual Mkk4 and Mkk7 Gene Deletion in Adult Mouse Causes an Impairment of Hippocampal Immature Granule Cells

(1) Background: The c-Jun-NH2-terminal protein kinase (JNK) is a mitogen-activated protein kinase involved in regulating physiological processes in the central nervous system. However, the dual genetic deletion of Mkk4 and Mkk7 (upstream activators of JNK) in adult mice is not reported. The aim of this study was to induce the genetic deletion of Mkk4/Mkk7 in adult mice and analyze their effect in hippocampal neurogenesis. (2) Methods: To achieve this goal, Actin-Cre^ERT2 (Cre^+/−), Mkk4^flox/flox, Mkk7^flox/flox mice were created. The administration of tamoxifen in these 2-month-old mice induced the gene deletion (Actin-Cre^ERT2 (Cre^+/−), Mkk4^∆/∆, Mkk7^∆/∆ genotype), which was verified by PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry techniques. (3) Results: The levels of MKK4/MKK7 at 7 and 14 days after tamoxifen administration were not eliminated totally in CNS, unlike what happens in the liver and heart. These data could be correlated with the high levels of these proteins in CNS. In the hippocampus, the deletion of Mkk4/Mkk7 induced a misalignment position of immature hippocampal neurons together with alterations in their dendritic architecture pattern and maturation process jointly to the diminution of JNK phosphorylation. (4) Conclusion: All these data supported that the MKK4/MKK7–JNK pathway has a role in adult neurogenic activity.     

Evaluation of DCX converters for off-grid photovoltaic-based green hydrogen production

Photovoltaic (PV) to electrolyzer power systems are an attractive research topic since the PV produced power can be optimized by skipping power conversion into AC and producing a direct DC-DC interface. Existing DC-DC power conversion systems to directly interface the PV generation and Hydrogen (H₂) electrolyzer are mainly based in interleaved structures or multi-resonant converters. Soft-switching characteristics are also suitable for these conversion topologies and DCX converters are then serious candidates to be used. DCX provides an isolated high efficiency solution but the DCX-based two-stage converter topology must be optimized in order to obtain better efficiency and energy yield. In this work a detailed comparison of DCX topologies is given for a PV to H₂ application. The proposed optimized system is validated through simulation in a multi-string electrolysis system, showing the relevance of the solution for this application. The proposed approach reaches a global maximum efficiency of 98.2%.     

Compressing heap data for improved memory performance

We introduce a class of transformations that modify the representation of dynamic data structures used in programs with the objective of compressing their sizes. Based upon a profiling study of data value characteristics, we have developed the common‐prefix and narrow‐data transformations that respectively compress a 32 bit address pointer and a 32 bit integer field into 15 bit entities. A pair of fields that have been compressed by the above compression transformations are packed together into a single 32 bit word. The above transformations are designed to apply to data structures that are partially compressible, that is, they compress portions of data structures to which transformations apply and provide a mechanism to handle the data that is not compressible. The accesses to compressed data are efficiently implemented by designing data compression extensions (DCX) to the processor's instruction set. We have observed average reductions in heap allocated storage of 25% and average reductions in execution time and power consumption of 30%. If DCX support is not provided the reductions in execution times fall from 30% to 18%. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Double resonant tank LLC‐DCX based two‐stage power supply for magnetic levitation control system applications

Magnetic levitation train power supply systems, or Maglev, are most commonly powered by 330‐V high‐voltage direct current power systems. The power supply for maglev control system is used to provide a stable voltage to the suspension control circuit, which is the key part of Maglev trains. The suspension control power supply is typically a DC–DC converter with a high voltage input and multiple low voltage outputs. The traditional solutions typically lead to the following issues, such as uncontrolled duty ratio, poor cross‐regulation capability, and low reliability. In order to solve these problems, a novel two‐stage solution employing a double resonant tank LLC DC transformer (LLC‐DCX) is proposed and developed in this paper. The proposed solution not only increases the overall conversion efficiency significantly because of the achieved soft‐switching over the entire operation range, but also realizes the low input current ripple and high reliability owing to a uniform thermal distribution. A 210‐W, 220–380‐V input laboratory prototype with four outputs is fabricated and tested, and the experimental results are presented in this paper. The declared features of the proposed solution are well demonstrated by the experimental results. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nanoporous organic polymer networks

Nanoporous organic polymer networks are a class of materials consisting solely of the lighter elements in the periodic table. These materials have potential uses in areas such as storage, separation, and catalysis. Here, we review the different classes of nanoporous polymer networks including covalent organic frameworks, hypercrosslinked polymers, conjugated microporous polymers, and polymers of intrinsic microporosity. The growing variety in synthetic routes to these materials allows a range of different polymer networks to be formed, including crystalline and amorphous structures. It is also possible to incorporate many different kinds of functional groups in a modular fashion. So far, most networks have been examined from the perspective of gas sorption, and this area is discussed critically and in depth in this review. The use of nanoporous organic polymers for applications such as catalysis and separations is an important developing area, and we discuss recent developments as well as highlighting potential future opportunities.     

Highly Efficient dc–dc Transformer Based on Multicell Converter Topology for Next Generation dc Distribution System

A multicell dc–dc transformer (DCX) with an efficiency of 98.0% is developed for a next generation dc distribution system. Input series output parallel (ISOP) and input parallel output series (IPOS) connection topologies of highly efficient dc–dc cell converters have been applied to realize DCXs that have arbitrary I/O voltages and a high transfer factor. The behavior of a DCX based on multicell topology using nonregulated dc–dc converters is analyzed, and the voltage stress in each cell converter is discussed quantitatively considering the variation in converter circuit parameters. Further, the availability of the applied topology and the validity of the analysis are confirmed by fabricating a prototype of a 384 V to 12 V 2400 W DCX. The multicell topology contributes to realizing a low‐carbon society pushing the promotion of highly efficient, space‐saving, and low cost dc power supplies with standardized, highly efficient cell converter modules.     

Microarray screening of differentially expressed genes in DCX transfected U87 cells before and after irradiation

Radiation therapy plays a critical role in the treatment of neurogliocytoma and it is known that doublecortin (DCX)-transfected U87 cells can inhibit tumor cell growth. Microarray analysis to screen for differentially expressed genes in DCX-transfected U87 cells before and after radiation uncovered DCX-related genes, the functions of DCX, and downstream genes in radiation therapy of neurogliocytoma. Stably transfected U87 cells were constructed (DCX-U87) and the differentially expressed genes were screened by microarray analysis to compare U87 cells with DCX-U87 cells in both non-irradiated and irradiated conditions. Cells were irradiated using 60Co γ-ray at a dose rate of 1.0 Gy/min. Mean values were subject to paired comparison analysis and genes with a p-value of less than 0.05 were analyzed. Differentially expressed genes can correlate with radiation sensitivity and DCX transfection. DCX and SPN proteins in DCX-U87 cells were detected by two groups of 0 and 10 Gy, but not the U87 cells, and their expression levels were higher in the 10 Gy group than in the 0 Gy group. The differential gene expression in DCX-U87 cells before and after radiation is helpful for future investigations into the mechanisms of radiation therapy in neurogliocytoma cells.