Sarcomere shortening and contraction nodes in stretched-restrained ovine myofibres during post mortem storage

Myofibres of muscles removed from the carcass shorten during rigor mortis. Whether myofibres of stretched and restrained muscle tissues shorten during post mortem storage was examined. Muscle strips removed from the semimembranosus muscle of sheep before rigor onset were stretched and restrained. The muscle strips were fixed separately in formalin solution from 1.5 hr to 12 days post mortem, and embedded in paraffin. Sections were stained with Mallory-azan. Some myofibres in the pre-rigor-excised and stretched-restrained muscle strips had contraction nodes at 1 day post mortem. The contraction node did not increase in frequency hereafter. Two to several successive sarcomeres shortened regularly to form the nodes parallel to the Z-line. In addition, several successive sarcomeres shortened partly and successively from one side to the other side to form the nodes oblique to the Z-line. Oblique and irregular contraction nodes appear to cause kinks or bends of myofibres. Sarcomere lengths were not always uniform in individual myofibres. Formation of contraction nodes and shortening of partial sarcomeres in the stretched-restrained myofibres indicate that the myofibres shorten individually during rigor mortis and vary in shortening states as in muscles left on the carcass.     

Promoting scientodiversity inspired by biodiversity

Diversity of science (variety in and balance among research subjects) is often regarded as a key driver of innovation, but it is typically understood by means of heuristics, given the lack of precise formulations such as those found in biodiversity studies. From the policy perspective, a standard methodology for characterization of diversity of science is needed to enable the efficient management and breeding of diverse research responsive to socio-economic demands. We investigated the distribution of research subjects in a bibliographic database to develop a framework of diversity of science analogous to that of biodiversity. Our analysis of the distribution of research subjects among countries suggests that diversity of science has similar statistical characteristics as biodiversity. We find that number of research subjects follows log-normal distribution for almost all countries and indicates linear dependency on research budget in log–log plot. We also identify an inflection point in the subject–budget relationship curve. The results may validate the adoption of sophisticated concepts and techniques from biodiversity work in “scientodiversity” studies.     

Development of integrated whole body counter

Instead of conventional human counter using NaI(Tl) scintillator in scanning bed geometry, integrated whole body counter was developed. This is constituted by 10 detectors that are located just above the objective organs in order to improve the identification of nuclides. Two sets of p-type arrayed planar HPGe detectors composed of two crystals are used for lungs, and two sets of p-type high efficiency coaxial HPGe detectors are used for gastrointestinal tract. Similarly n-type HPGe is used for chest or thyroid or skull and the other p-types are used for the liver and kidney, respectively. An electric cooling system by adiabatic expansion was adapted as cooling apparatus for all detectors with the object of asphyxia prevention and continuous operation. In the efficiency calibration, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) phantom with newly designed tissue equivalent lungs, which contain 241Am homogeneously distributed, was applied to lung detector, and Bottle Manikin Absorbtion (BOMAB) phantom regulated by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) was also applied to detectors for trunk.     

Affinities of various mammalian arachidonate lipoxygenases and cyclooxygenases for molecular oxygen as substrate

In an attempt to study affinities for molecular oxygen of mammalian arachidonate oxygenases, which remain unclarified at present, we determined activities of platelet-type 12-lipoxygenase, leukocyte-type 12-lipoxygenase, 5-lipoxygenase, 15-lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 at various oxygen concentrations. Activities of all the tested enzymes were assessed by oxygenation of radioactive arachidonic acid under hypoxic conditions, and part of the enzymes were also assayed by monitoring oxygen consumption. Their Km values for oxygen ranged between 10 and 26 microM. These results should be considered in investigations of arachidonic acid metabolism in pathophysiological processes associated with hypoxia.     

OpenWebServer: an adaptive Web server using software patterns

The explosive growth of the Web requires servers to be extensible and configurable. This article describes our adaptive Web server, OpenWebServer, which uses the Reflection architectural pattern. The server supports the dynamic adoption of functionality, such as introducing additional protocols, modifying execution policies, and tuning system performance. This is achieved by specifying and coordinating metaobjects that represent various aspects within the Web server. We present a Java version of OpenWebServer, and describe its design using Reflection and other design patterns: Singleton, Bridge, Mediator, Observer, and Decorator. These patterns provide a better-factored design and allow the Web server to evolve continually beyond static and monolithic servers     

A simple formula for the dielectric relaxation time—temperature—pressure relationship of lubricating oils and its application to viscosity prediction

The dielectric constant and the loss factor for several lubricating oils were both measured within the frequency range of 100 Hz–1.5 MHz. Measurements were made at atmospheric pressure with varying temperature, and at fixed temperature with varying pressure. The temperature dependence of the dielectric relaxation time could be expressed by the Vogel—Fulcher—Tammann (VFT) equation. In order to express the dielectric relaxation time as a function of temperature and pressure, a pressure‐dependent term was introduced into the characteristic temperature of the VFT equation. The experimental relaxation time could then be represented by a simple formula. Moreover, high‐pressure viscosity was calculated from the dielectric relaxation data by introducing the pressure dependence of the bulk modulus. The predicted results showed fairly good agreement with the viscosity data.