Correlation between serum levels of alanine aminotransferase and ferritin in male blood donors with antibody to hepatitis C virus

Chronic hepatitis C has been demonstrated to be associated with hepatic iron overload, and the hypothesis that the disease activity of hepatitis C is associated with iron cytotoxicity was tested in male volunteer blood donors. Sera with either antibody to hepatitis C virus or hepatitis B surface antigen were selected for determination of ferritin concentration and alanine aminotransferase activity. A correlation between serum ferritin concentration (Y; microgram/l) and alanine aminotransferase activity (X; IU/l) was found in donors with antibody to hepatitis C (log Y = 0.65 x log X + 0.98, r = 0.53, and P < 0.01). The correlation was lower in donors with hepatitis B surface antigen (r = 0.37; P < 0.01). Hepatitis C virus infection probably induces time-dependent iron accumulation associated with the progression of disease activity, while hepatitis B virus infection results in a variety of iron loads with different clinical features. The high disease activity related to hyperferritinemia suggests the presence of iron-induced liver damage in donors with hepatitis C.     

Electrochemical performance of RuOx/activated carbon black composite for supercapacitors

Hydrous ruthenium oxide/activated carbon black (RuO_x/ACB) composite was synthesized for the first time for supercapacitors by a chemical impregnation method. The RuO_x/ACB composite is characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results of TGA and TEM characterization showed that the reaction temperature of composite moved to lower temperature due to the catalytic effect of RuO_x. XRD characterization of RuO_x/AC illustrated that amorphous hydrous RuO_x structure maintained in the composite heated at 150 °C. The equivalent series resistance (ESR) of the composite almost increased with the increase of RuO_x content in the composite. The specific capacitance (C_sp) of the composite increased with increasing RuO_x content in the composite while the C_sp of RuO_x decreased from 1255.8 to 533.7 F g^?1. The above results showed that the utilization of RuO_x decreased with higher loading RuO_x on ACB.     

Superpett 3000 time-of-flight PET tomograph: optimization offactors affecting quantitation

In positron-emission tomography (PET), to certify that the observed radioactivity in the organ of interest represents the true underlying radioactivity concentration, an experimental/theoretical treatment of factors such as scatter, randoms, reconstruction parameters, recovery coefficients and the cross-calibration procedure is required. Dual isotope experiments used to check the overall tomograph performance are described. It is found that the inclusion of a real-time calibration tube standard in the tomograph field-of-view during scanning compensates for any temporal variation in the machine sensitivity and provides a built-in dead time correction. Reconstruction parameters and recovery coefficients were optimized through phantom experiments. It is shown that results similar to other head and whole body scanners have been achieved     

TDEG in In0.53Ga0.47As-InP heterojunction grown by chloride VPE

We report the first successful growth of selectively doped In0.53Ga0.47As-InP hcterojunctions by the chloride vapour phase epitaxy, and the observation of TDEG with a maximum electron mobility of 106 000 cm2 V?1 s?1 at 4.2 K.     

Enhanced Hole‐Transporting Behavior of Discotic Liquid‐Crystalline Physical Gels

Discotic liquid‐crystalline (LC) physical gels have been prepared by combining the self‐assembled fibers of a low‐molecular‐weight gelator and semiconducting LC triphenylene derivatives. The hole mobilities of the discotic LC physical gels measured by a time‐of‐flight method become higher than those of LC triphenylenes alone. The introduction of the finely dispersed networks of the gelator in the hexagonal columnar phases may affect the molecular dynamics of the liquid crystals, resulting in the enhancement of hole transporting behavior in the LC gel state.     

Actuation and blocking force of stacked nanocarbon polymer actuators

We have developed stacked nanocarbon polymer actuators that are composed of several nanocarbon polymer actuator films using nonwoven fabric as insulation layers. The nonwoven fabric prepared through electrospinning methods has extremely-low-density structures, which do not significantly prevent the motions of each nanocarbon actuator layer. Therefore, stacking several thin nanocarbon polymer actuators using nonwoven fabric as insulation layers is expected to increase generated force without decreasing the displacement of a one-layer actuator. We have prepared stacked actuators with one, two, three, four, and seven layers using this method. The displacement and blocking force of these actuators are measured and compared with those of one-layer actuators of different thicknesses. Displacement is weakly dependent on the thickness of the actuator films of the stacked actuators. On the contrary, it decreases considerably as the thickness of the actuator film of the one-layer actuator increases. In both cases, blocking force is proportional to the thickness of actuator films. We have developed a stacked actuator model based on a trilayer actuator model and confirmed the experimental results using the model.     

Antimicrobial activity of nutmeg against Escherichia coli O157

We examined the difference between Escherichia coli O157 and non-pathogenic E. coli in their tolerance to spices. Various spices (5 g each) were homogenized at 25 degrees C for 10 min with 5 ml of 70% ethyl alcohol, and the supernatant solutions obtained by centrifugation were used as spice extracts. When the E. coli strains were incubated with each spice extract at concentrations of 0.01% and 0.1%, a noteworthy difference was observed between the O157 and non-pathogenic strains in their tolerance to nutmeg. The populations of the non-pathogenic strains could not be reduced, but those of the O157 strains were remarkably reduced. Antibacterial activity by the nutmeg extract was also found against the enteropathogenic E. coli O111, but not against enterotoxigenic (O6 and O148) and enteroinvasive (O29 and O124) E. coli. When we examined the antibacterial effect of volatile oils in nutmeg on the O157 and non-pathogenic E. coli strains, all O157 strains tested were found to be more sensitive to beta-pinene than non-pathogenic E. coli strains.     

Difference between Escherichia coli O157:H7 and non-pathogenic E. coli: survival and growth in seasonings

We examined the survival and growth of Escherichia coli O157:H7 cells incubated with several seasonings, in comparison with those of non-pathogenic E. coli. The cells were incubated at 25 degrees C for 24 h with several concentrations of NaCl, sucrose, soy sauce, worcester sauce and tomato ketchup, and their survival ratios were determined. The E. coli O157:H7 strains showed relatively higher survival ratios in 0.5-1.0 M sucrose, 25% soy sauce and 12.5-50% worcester sauce than the non-pathogenic strains, but slightly lower survival ratios in 0.5-2.0 M NaCl. A noteworthy difference between E. coli O157:H7 and the non-pathogenic strains was that incubation in the presence of 12.5% soy sauce allowed the growth of E. coli O157:H7 strains but reduced the viable cell numbers of non-pathogenic E. coli strains.     

Fabrication of transparent hydroxyapatite and application to bone marrow derived cell/hydroxyapatite interaction observation in-vivo

Transparent hydroxyapatite (HA), 99.6% relative density, was prepared by hot isostatic pressing. Optical transmittance of 1 mm thick HA was greater than 60% at 700 nm. Twenty transparent HA plates (10×7×1 mm) were implanted into the medullary cavities of two dogs' femora. At 1 and 2 weeks after implantation the bone marrow derived cells that adhered to the HA surfaces were histochemically examined by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Four types of enzymatic reactions were employed to identify cell types. Alkaline phosphatase was used as a marker for osteoblasts, acid phosphatase and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase as a marker for osteoclasts and non-specific esterase as a marker for macrophages. Cells adhered to the HA surfaces were a mixed population of osteoblasts, osteoclasts and macrophages. By 2 weeks, the number of osteoblasts increased and formed a bone-like matrix. A small number of osteoclasts formed resorption lacunae on the HA after 2 weeks. By utilizing the transparency of the HA, whole-view of bone matrix formation by osteoblasts and simultaneous resorption of HA by osteoclasts was observed simply and dynamically by light microscopy.