Impact of Serum Chemerin Levels on Liver Functional Reserves and Platelet Counts in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Obesity-related metabolic abnormalities, including adipokine imbalance and chronic inflammation, are involved in liver carcinogenesis. Chemerin, a novel adipokine, plays a critical role in adipogenesis, energy metabolism, and inflammation. We evaluated the impact of serum chemerin levels on liver functional reserves in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and on the recurrence and prognosis of HCC. This study included 44 patients with any stage of HCC who underwent curative treatment at Gifu Municipal Hospital (Gifu, Japan) between 2006 and 2007. Recurrence-free survival and overall survival were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Serum albumin levels (Pearson’s correlation coefficient; r = 0.3110, p = 0.0399), platelet counts (r = 0.4159, p = 0.0050), and prothrombin times (r = 0.3775, p = 0.0115) were significantly correlated with serum chemerin levels in patients with HCC, and they were inversely correlated with Child-Pugh scores (r = −0.3732, p = 0.0126), serum alanine aminotransferase levels (r = −0.3864, p = 0.0105), and total bilirubin levels (r = −0.4023, p = 0.0068). Among these variables, a multiple comparison test identified that platelet counts and total bilirubin levels were associated with serum chemerin levels (p < 0.0083). No significant correlation was found between serum chemerin levels and recurrence-free survival (p = 0.3691) or overall survival (p = 0.7916). In HCC patients, serum chemerin concentrations were correlated with liver functional reserves and platelet counts, but not with recurrence or prognosis.     

Shape memory properties of polypeptide hydrogels having hydrophobic alkyl side chains

Polypeptide hydrogels were prepared by cross-linking of hydrophobically-modified poly[N⁵-(2-hydroxyethyl) l-glutamine] having alkyl side chains –C_nH_2n+1. Chain length of the alkyl group was n = 8, 16, and 18, and their mole fractions in the polypeptide were varied in the range of 0.05–0.16. Shape memory ability of the prepared polypeptide hydrogels was investigated. After deformation at 60 °C, the hydrogel was cooled in order to fix the temporary deformed shape. It was found that crystallization of the alkyl side chains did not occur, and the fixation ability of the hydrogel at 0 °C was low. In the subsequent heating process, the deformed temporary shape spontaneously recovered to the original shape gradually with increasing temperature, in other words, the shape recovery ratio varied with depending on the recovery temperature. From these observations, it was proposed that the shape fixation of the polypeptide hydrogel was achieved by strong segregation of the hydrophobic alkyl chains at low temperature, and the shape recovery of the deformed hydrogel was accompanied by the gradual decrease of the segregation strength with the temperature increase.     

Design of AVS/RS under group constraint

Distribution centers, which are essential to our society, are becoming increasingly important. Although the efficiency of an AVS/RS (Autonomous vehicle storage and retrieval system) makes it a promising system, there is still much to be studied regarding its effective use and design. This paper proposes a method of designing AVS/RSs through a quantitative consideration of group constraint by utilizing probability theory. The proposed algorithm also deals with the problem of designing the sizes of several buffers, and considers the effect of load fluctuations, which are important for real-world operation, by use of queuing network theory. Effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is shown with simulations of various number of groups, those of various safety factors for fluctuations, and those of various evasion rates for buffer overflow. The design results are shown to be much different from those which do not consider those factors. The results prove that the proposed method provides an accurate quantitative assessment of the AVS/RS’s constraints.     

Block Copolymer Permeable Membrane with Visualized High‐Density Straight Channels of Poly(ethylene oxide)

A simple fabrication, scalable to centimeter scale, of a permeable membrane made of block copolymer containing molecular transport channels is demonstrated by coating photo‐crosslinkable liquid‐crystalline block copolymer, consisting of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(methacrylate) (PMA) bearing stilbene (Stb) mesogens in the side chains (PEO₁₁₄‐b‐PMA(Stb)₅₂), onto a sacrificial cellulose acetate film substrate. After thermal annealing, perpendicularly aligned and hexagonally arranged PEO cylindrical domains with a surface density of 10¹¹ cm^?2 were formed and then fixed efficiently by photo‐crosslinking the stilbene moieties in the PMA(Stb) domains by [2 + 2] dimerization. The fully penetrating straight PEO cylindrical domains across the 480‐nm‐thick membrane were well‐defined and visualized as molecule‐transport channels. After exfoliated by removal of the cellulose acetate layer, the membrane could be transferred onto another substrate by either scooping or a horizontal lifting method. Throughout the processes, the fully penetrating PEO channels across the membrane are preserved to open at both ends. A simple permeation experiment demonstrates that rhodamine dyes permeate efficiently through the PEO cylindrical channels of the annealed membrane but not across a non‐annealed one.     

Predictive Simulation of Deformation and Failure of Peat-Calcareous Soil Layered Ground Due to Multistage Test Embankment Loading

The continuous behaviour of a ground-embankment system from the stage of deformation up to failure was predicted with respect to an actual test embankment that had been constructed in stages on a soft ground made up of peat and calcareous soil. The behaviour prediction was carried out by employing soil-water coupled finite deformation analysis, which also included simulation of the embankment construction process. The information used in the analysis was limited to such things as the results of soil tests on soil materials (peat and calcareous soil) sampled from the ground, including their sensitivity ratios, and the embankment's construction history. The SYS Cam-clay model was used in the constitutive equations of the soils to determine the material constants of the soils and the initial conditions of the ground, and the computations were performed under plane strain conditions. As a result, the computed profiles of W-type ground settlement and of slip surfaces running through the embankment were found to be in good overall agreement with the actual profiles measured at the site. Furthermore, we found that this slippage is attributable to the undrained shear response of the soil elements in the calcareous soil layer, where slippage begins to occur during embankment loading. In other words, the slippage is caused by the rapid softening behaviour caused by the degradation of structure after the effective stress ratio reaches the vicinity of the critical state line.     

Contribution of different bitter-sensitive taste cells to feeding inhibition in a caterpillar (Manduca sexta).

Many compounds that taste bitter to humans also inhibit feeding in insects. Caterpillars (e.g., Manduca sexta) detect these compounds with a few bitter-sensitive taste cells. This study examined the role of these taste cells in feeding inhibition. Behavioral studies demonstrated that 3 bitter compounds (caffeine, salicin, and aristolochic acid) all inhibited feeding rapidly in Manduca sena. Electrophysiological studies revealed that each pair of bitter-sensitive taste cell differs in responsiveness to the bitter compounds. Ablation studies indicated that (a) those pairs of bitter-sensitive taste cells that responded vigorously to a particular bitter compound were sufficient to inhibit feeding on diets containing the same compound, but that (b) no pair of bitter-sensitive taste cells was necessary for inhibiting feeding. Thus, the different pairs of bitter-sensitive taste cells appear to make partially redundant contributions to feeding inhibition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A highly stable and efficient catalyst for direct synthesis of LPG from syngas

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel was directly synthesized from syngas over a hybrid catalyst which contained a methanol synthesis catalyst and zeolite. The new hybrid catalyst composed of (Pd–Ca/SiO₂) and β-zeolite, showed a high activity and selectivity for LPG production. X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization of the catalyst was used to analyze the deactivation of (Pd–Ca/SiO₂)/β-zeolite.     

Mechanisms of hydrogen sulfide removal with steel making slag

In the present study, we experimentally investigated the removal of hydrogen sulfide using steel-making slag (SMS) and clarified the mechanism of hydrogen sulfide removal with the SMS. The results proved that SMS is able to remove hydrogen sulfide dissolved in water, and the maximum removal amount of hydrogen sulfide per unit weight of the SMS for 8 days was estimated to be 37.5 mg S/g. The removal processes of hydrogen sulfide were not only adsorption onto the SMS, but oxidation and precipitation as sulfur. The chemical forms of sulfide adsorbed onto the SMS were estimated to be sulfur and manganese sulfide in the ratio of 81% and 19%, respectively. It is demonstrated here that the SMS is a promising material to remediate organically enriched coastal sediments in terms of removal of hydrogen sulfide. Furthermore, using SMS is expected to contribute to development of a recycling-oriented society.