The effects of R-75,317 on antiglomerular basement membrane glomerulonephritis in rats

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is a potent inflammatory mediator which is released by various inflammatory cells and produced by certain tissues, including the kidney. PAF has been shown to increase glomerular permeability to protein and to decrease glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by contracting mesangium. On the basis of these observations, it has been suspected that PAF may play a role as mediator of glomerular damage in glomerular nephritis. To examine this possibility, we studied the effects of a specific PAF antagonist, R-75,317, on the development of an experimental model of anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) glomerulonephritis. Glomerulonephritis was initiated by injecting rabbit anti-rat GBM serum into rats. Proteinuria gradually developed after serum injection, plateaued at week 2, and remained at the high level of week 2 throughout the experimental period (6 wk). Chronic treatment with R-75,317 (10 mg/kg/day i.p.) tended to delay the onset of proteinuria and significantly accelerated the recovery phase. Creatinine clearance (Ccr) fell to 40% at week 3. R-75,317 treatment completely prevented this decline of Ccr. Histological changes in this model (glomerular hypertrophy, proliferation of mesangial matrix and interstitial fibrosis) were also ameliorated by the R-75,317 treatment. The results suggest that PAF may play a role in the development of glomerulonephritis and that PAF antagonists could be used in the treatment of human renal disease. Based on a paper presented at the Third International Conference on Platelet-Activating Factor and Structurally Related Alkyl Ether Lipids, May 1989.     

Activation of thymic B cells by signals of CD40 molecules plus interleukin-10

We have previously found that thymic B cells, particularly thymic CD5+ B cells, show low responsiveness to the usual B cell stimulants such as lipopolysaccharide or anti-IgM plus interleukin (IL)-4, although they proliferate and produce antibodies after direct interaction with major histocompatibility complex class II-restricted T blasts. These findings raise the possibility that a CD40-CD40 ligand (L) interaction is involved in the activation of thymic B cells. In the present study, we therefore examine this possibility using CD40L-transfected Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells or anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody (mAb). When B cells in the spleen and peritoneal cavity were stimulated, they proliferated and produced immunoglobulin (Ig) in the presence of CD40L-CHO cells or anti-CD40 mAb alone. However, another signal delivered by IL-10 in addition to CD40L-CHO cells or anti-CD40 mAb was found to be necessary for thymic B cells to proliferate and secrete Ig. Other interleukins acting on B cells, such as IL-4, IL-5, and IL-6, had no effect on the activation of thymic B cells, which thus have unique characteristics not found in peripheral B cells. This report discusses the physiological significance of IL-10- and CD40-driven signals in the activation of thymic B cells.     

Characteristics and classification of high-current fault arcs on distribution systems

When a fault occurs on transmission or distribution systems due to lightning or overvoltage, often an arc discharge occurs at the fault point. The arc discharge, which is caused by a fault current, has a high current, high temperature, strong light emission, etc., thus it sometimes causes heavy damages to electric power equipment. The arc discharge is influenced by the conditions around the arcs, i.e., gas, insulation materials, gap length, weather, etc. Also, the arc voltage along the arc column indicates the characteristics of the arc. If the voltage waveforms of the arcs caused by the fault on transmission or distribution systems are classified, it is possible to find the location and the equipment where the fault occurred. In this paper, the arc voltage data in 6-kV class XLPE cables and 6-kV class overhead lines are analyzed and an artificial neural network method is applied to classify the arc voltage waveforms. The results obtained from the six artificial neural networks developed show that the artificial neural network method is effective for classification of arc voltage waveforms if adequate input parameters are selected.     

Development and Evaluation of a Robust Sandwich Immunoassay System Detecting Serum WFA-Reactive IgA1 for Diagnosis of IgA Nephropathy

Aberrant glycosylation of IgA1 is involved in the development of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). There are many reports of IgAN markers focusing on the glycoform of IgA1. None have been clinically applied as a routine test. In this study, we established an automated sandwich immunoassay system for detecting aberrant glycosylated IgA1, using Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA) and anti-IgA1 monoclonal antibody. The diagnostic performance as an IgAN marker was evaluated. The usefulness of WFA for immunoassays was investigated by lectin microarray. A reliable standard for quantitative immunoassay measurements was designed by modifying a purified IgA1 substrate. A validation study using multiple serum specimens was performed using the established WFA-antibody sandwich automated immunoassay. Lectin microarray results showed that WFA specifically recognized N-glycans of agglutinated IgA1 in IgAN patients. The constructed IgA1 standard exhibited a wide dynamic range and high reactivity. In the validation study, serum WFA-reactive IgA1 (WFA+-IgA1) differed significantly between healthy control subjects and IgAN patients. The findings indicate that WFA is a suitable lectin that specifically targets abnormal agglutinated IgA1 in serum. We also describe an automated immunoassay system for detecting WFA+-IgA1, focusing on N-glycans.     

An integrated photodetector-amplifier using a-Si p-i-n photodiodesand poly-Si thin-film transistors

The authors propose a photodetector-amplifier circuit consisting of a bridge photodetector circuit and a CMOS differential amplifier, both monolithically integrated on a transparent substrate. A test circuit was fabricated using a-Si p-i-n photodiodes and poly-Si thin-film transistors on a quartz substrate. A clear effect of the differential amplifier was demonstrated in the test circuit. It is shown that the circuit performance can be controlled by changing the bias current of the differential amplifier. With a relatively low bias current on the order of 10^-11 A, the circuit works digitally with output voltages either close to 0 V or V_DD. The power consumption of the circuit is approximately 60 μW, which is low enough for use in two-dimensional arrays     

A modified power control scheme for remedying the effects of traffic nonuniformity in LEO satellite communications systems

It has been shown in our previous studies that the geographical traffic nonuniformity considerably affects the performance of the low earth orbit satellite communications systems. In this paper, a new scheme for improving the throughput characteristics of these systems at nonuniform traffic distribution is proposed. In this method, some parts of the users under the satellite which is flying over the area with high traffic load are assigned to its neighbor satellites with lower transmitting power levels. It is shown that the method equalizes the traffic loads of the satellites to some degree and, hence, can improve the throughput characteristics of the system.     

High performance 35 nm gate length CMOS with NO oxynitride gate dielectric and Ni salicide

The 35 nm gate length CMOS devices with oxynitride gate dielectric and Ni salicide have been fabricated to study the feasibility of higher performance operation. Nitrogen concentration in gate oxynitride was optimized to reduce gate current I/sub g/ and to prevent boron penetration in the pFET. The thermal budget in the middle of the line (MOL) process was reduced enough to realize shallower junction depth in the S/D extension regions and to suppress gate poly-Si depletion. Finally, the current drives of 676 /spl mu/A//spl mu/m in nFET and 272 /spl mu/A//spl mu/m in pFET at V/sub dd/=0.85 V (at I/sub off/=100 nA//spl mu/m) were achieved and they are the best values for 35 nm gate length CMOS reported to date.     

护毛法回收的猪毛通过爆发性膨胀处理的溶解性

本文报导了通过爆发性膨胀增加猪毛溶解度的方法,从而使得保毛脱毛法所回收的猪毛能够得到更有效的利用。     

Mutational analysis of structure--activity relationships in human tumor necrosis factor-alpha

To determine the region of human tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-), essential for cytotoxic activity against mouse L-M cells,single amino-acid-substituted TNF- mutant proteins (muteins)were produced in Escherichia coli by protein engineering techniques.An expression plasmid for TNF- was mutagenized by passage throughan E.coli mutD5 mutator strain and by oligonucleotide-directedmutagenesis. Approximately 100 single amino-acid-substitutedTNF- muteins were produced and assayed for cytotoxic activity.The cytotoxic activities of purified TNF- muteins, e.g. TNF-31T,-32Y, -82D, -85H, -115L, -141Y, -144K and -146E, were < 1%of that of parent TNF-. These results indicate that the integrityof at least four distinct regions of the TNF- molecule is requiredfor full biological activity. These regions are designated asfollows: region I, from position 30 to 32; region II, from position82 to 89; region III, from position 115 to 117; region FV, fromposition 141 to 146. In addition, TNF-141Y could not completelycompete with parent TNF- for binding to the receptor. This demonstratesthat region IV, and at least aspartk acid at position 141, mustbe involved in the TNF receptor binding site.     

Programmed High‐Hole‐Mobility Supramolecular Polymers from Disk‐Shaped Molecules

In this paper a simple, casting solution technique for the preparation of two‐dimensional (2D) arrays of very‐high molecular weight (MW) 1D‐Pc supramolecular inorganic polymers is described. The soluble fluoroaluminium tetra‐tert‐butylphthalocyanine (ttbPcAlF) is synthesized and characterized, which can be self‐assembled to form 2D arrays of very‐high‐MW 1D‐Pc supramolecular inorganic polymers. High‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) demonstrates that the 1D‐ttbPcAlF, having a cofacial ring spacing of ～0.36 nm and an interchain distance of ～1.7 nm, self‐assembles into 2D‐nanosheets (～140 nm in length, ～20 nm in width, and equivalent to MW of 3.2 × 10⁵ g mol^?1). The film cast from a 1,2‐dichloroethane (DCE) solution shows a minimum hole‐mobility of ～0.3 cm² V^?1 s^?1 at room temperature by flash‐photolysis time‐resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) measurements and a fairly high dark dc‐conductivity of ～1 × 10^?3 S cm^?1.