Basic Study of a Ship Navigator's Stress Using Salivary Amylase Activity

Evaluation of ship handling mental workload/training has usually depended on professionals (captain, pilot) who have a lot of experience on board. We are attempting to evaluate a ship navigator's mental workload (stress) based on a physiological index. The physiological indices, heart rate variability (R-R interval) and nasal temperature, are good indices of the stress found in ship handling. It is best if we get response and evaluation results quickly on the spot. A recent study shows salivary amylase activity is induced by the sympathetic nervous system; however, a research on ship navigator has not yet accepted worldwide. This article proposes that salivary amylase activity shows a ship navigator's stress during ship handling. Copyright © 2009 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Analysis of Extensible Reinforcement Subject to Oblique Pull

A rational analysis of extensible sheet reinforcement subjected to an oblique end force has been presented that properly accounts for complex soil-reinforcement interaction and involves stress-deformation relationship implicitly. The results can be used for internal design of geosynthetic reinforced soil walls against pullout failure and tension failure. The pullout force and the end displacement at pullout for an extensible reinforcement are found to be almost the same as those for an inextensible reinforcement if the ratio of the reinforcement stiffness to the axial pullout capacity J* is greater than 15. With decrease in J* below 15, the maximum strain increases, the pullout failure becomes irrelevant, the tension failure dominates and the maximum allowable oblique force decreases. A minimum stiffness of about 25 times the axial pullout capacity is required to avoid the tension failure before the pullout provided the failure strain is 0.1. The predicted results have been calibrated against the finite-element analysis of pullout tests and detailed back analyses of published test data on model reinforced walls constructed with a wide range of extensible materials. The present analysis gives better predictions of the critical height against the pullout and the tension failure in model reinforced soil walls constructed with extensible reinforcements as compared to that of Rankine’s method.     

Amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O thin-film transistor with coplanar homojunction structure

Amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) with a coplanar homojunction structure are demonstrated. The coplanar source and drain regions made of a-IGZO were formed by depositing a hydrogenated silicon nitride (SiN_X:H) layer onto the a-IGZO layer. The a-IGZO regions on which the SiN_X:H layer was directly deposited showed the low resistivity of 4.7 × 10⁻³  Ω cm and degenerated conduction. The fabricated TFT showed excellent transfer and output characteristics with a field-effect mobility of 11 cm² V^− 1 s^− 1, a subthreshold swing of 0.17 V decade^− 1, and an on-to-off current ratio larger than 1 × 10⁹. The width-normalized source-to-drain resistance (R_sdW) calculated using a channel resistance method was 51 Ω cm. This TFT also showed good stability over environment change and under electrical stress.     

Cloning and expression of chitin deacetylase gene from a Deuteromycete, Colletotrichum lindemuthianum

The chitin deacetylase gene was cloned from cDNA of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum ATCC 56676, and the open reading frame consisted of a possible prepro-sequence of 27 amino acids at the N-terminus and a mature chitin deacetylase. The deduced amino acid sequence of the mature enzyme revealed 26% identity and 46% similarity with a chitin deacetylase from Mucor rouxii. The molecular mass of the protein estimated from the amino acid sequence data was 24.3 kDa, which was in good agreement with the MALDI-TOF MS analysis data of the purified protein (24.17-24.36 kDa). The gene product was overexpressed in Escherichia coli cells as a fusion protein with six histidine residues at its C-terminus. The fusion protein formed inclusion bodies, but chitin deacetylase activity was restored from the inclusion bodies by a simple renaturation step with 8 M urea treatment. The recombinant enzyme was purified by affinity chromatography and gel filtration steps, and had a final specific activity of 4.22 units mg(-1) of protein. Trypsin digestion of the recombinant enzyme resulted in 2.1-fold increase in activity, suggesting that the removal of the prepro-domain from the recombinant enzyme resulted in an increase in its activity.     

Establishment of Intestinal Organoid from Rousettus leschenaultii and the Susceptibility to Bat-Associated Viruses,SARS-CoV-2 and Pteropine Orthoreovirus

Various pathogens, such as Ebola virus, Marburg virus, Nipah virus, Hendra virus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and SARS-CoV-2, are threatening human health worldwide. The natural hosts of these pathogens are thought to be bats. The rousette bat, a megabat, is thought to be a natural reservoir of filoviruses, including Ebola and Marburg viruses. Additionally, the rousette bat showed a transient infection in the experimental inoculation of SARS-CoV-2. In the current study, we established and characterized intestinal organoids from Leschenault’s rousette, Rousettus leschenaultii. The established organoids successfully recapitulated the characteristics of intestinal epithelial structure and morphology, and the appropriate supplements necessary for long-term stable culture were identified. The organoid showed susceptibility to Pteropine orthoreovirus (PRV) but not to SARS-CoV-2 in experimental inoculation. This is the first report of the establishment of an expandable organoid culture system of the rousette bat intestinal organoid and its sensitivity to bat-associated viruses, PRV and SARS-CoV-2. This organoid is a useful tool for the elucidation of tolerance mechanisms of the emerging rousette bat-associated viruses such as Ebola and Marburg virus.     

Electron microscopic study on residual defects of Al+ or B+ implanted 4H-SiC

The residual defects of Al⁺- or B⁺-implanted 4H-SiC were studied in combination with annealing temperature and implantation temperature using cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy technique. Noticeable defects structure is not observed before post-implantation annealing. But after annealing, a lot of black spots appear in the implanted layer. These black spots are composed of a dislocation loop, parallel to {0001} of 4H-SiC, and strained area at the upper and lower sides of the dislocation loop. This defect structure and its size do not depend on implantation temperature and implanted ion species. The size of defect area depends only on post-implantation annealing temperature. The size grows, when post-annealing temperature is raised.     

IL-18 up-regulates perforin-mediated NK activity without increasing perforin messenger RNA expression by binding to constitutively expressed IL-18 receptor

IL-18 is a powerful inducer of IFN-gamma production, particularly in collaboration with IL-12. IL-18, like IL-12, also augments NK activity. Here we investigated the molecular mechanism underlying the up-regulation of killing activity of NK cells by IL-18. IL-18, like IL-12, dose dependently enhanced NK activity of splenocytes. This action was further enhanced by costimulation with IL-12. Treatment with anti-IL-2R Ab did not affect IL-18- and/or IL-12-augmented NK activity, and splenocytes from IFN-gamma-deficient mice showed enhanced NK activity following stimulation with IL-12 and/or IL-18. Splenocytes from the mice deficient in both IL-12 and IL-18 normally responded to IL-18 and/or IL-12 with facilitated NK activity, suggesting that functional NK cells develop in the absence of IL-12 and IL-18. IL-18R, as well as IL-12R mRNA, was constitutively expressed in splenocytes from SCID mice, which lack T cells and B cells but have intact NK cells, and in those from IL-12 and IL-18 double knockout mice. NK cells isolated from SCID splenocytes expressed IL-18R on their surface. IL-18, in contrast to IL-12, did not enhance mRNA expression of perforin, a key molecule for exocytosis-mediated cytotoxicity. However, pretreatment with concanamycin A completely inhibited this IL-18- and/or IL-12-augmented NK activity. Furthermore, IL-18, like IL-12, failed to enhance NK activity of splenocytes from perforin-deficient mice. These data suggested that NK cells develop and express IL-12R and IL-18R in the absence of IL-12 or IL-18, and that both IL-18 and IL-12 directly and independently augment perforin-mediated cytotoxic activity of NK cells.     

Effect of intravenous omega-6 and omega-3 fat emulsions on nitrogen retention and protein kinetics in burned rats

The objective of the study was to evaluate the abrasion resistance of eroded enamel brushed with an acidified fluoride gel. Each enamel specimen was prepared from one of 64 bovine incisors. The specimens were embedded in acrylic resin, ground flat, polished and subsequently covered with a tape exposing an area of 1.8x10.0 mm in the center of the enamel specimens. The samples were alternatingly stored in a demineralizing solution (5 min) and a remineralizing solution (1min) four times. An acidic soft drink (Sprite Light(R)) served as a demineralizing solution and artificial saliva was used as a remineralizing solution. After each remineralization the specimens were brushed in an automatic brushing machine (2,000 strokes, 2.5 N load) and subsequently stored again in saliva (1 min). A mixture of artificial saliva (5 ml) with a gel (1 ml) based on the formulation of Elmex(R) gelée (Wybert, L?rrach, Germany) served as an abrasive slurry. Thirty seconds after brushing, the slurry was removed from the specimens by rinsing with destilled water. For each of 16 specimens the following gels (A-D) were used: gels A (pH 7.0) and B (pH 4.5) were unfluoridated; gels C (pH 7.0) and D (Elmex gelée; pH 4.5) contained 1.25% F-. After two cycles the specimens were kept in the saliva for 8 h. Finally the tape was removed and the abrasion was determined profilometrically. The following values (mean +/- SD) were obtained and statistically analyzed by analysis of variance and Wilcoxon two-sample tests (p相似文献   

Molecular cloning, sequencing, purification, and characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ribosome recycling factor

Ribosome recycling factor (RRF) is required for release of 70S ribosomes from mRNA on reaching the termination codon for the next cycle of protein synthesis. The RRF-encoding gene (frr) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 was functionally cloned by using a temperature-sensitive frr mutant of Escherichia coli and sequenced. The P. aeruginosa frr was mapped at 30 to 32 min of the P. aeruginosa chromosome. The deduced amino acid sequence of RRF showed a 64% identity to that of E. coli RRF. In an assay including E. coli polysome and elongation factor G, purified recombinant RRF of P. aeruginosa released monosomes from polysomes. This is the first case in which an RRF homologue was found to be active in heterogeneous ribosome recycling machinery. The genes for ribosomal protein S2 (rpsB), elongation factor Ts (tsf), and UMP kinase (pyrH) are located upstream of frr. The arrangement of the genes, rpsB-tsf-pyrH-frr, resembles those reported for E. coli and Bacillus subtilis. Even in the cyanobacterium genome, the arrangement pyrH-frr is conserved. Although RRF homologues are found in eukaryotic cells, phylogenetic analysis suggests that they were originally present within the members of the phylogenetic tree of prokaryotic RRF. This finding suggests that the ribosome recycling step catalyzed by RRF is specific for prokaryotic cells and that eukaryotic RRF is required for protein synthesis in organelles, which are believed to be phylogenetically originated from prokaryotes.     

Blood-Based Biomarkers in Hepatitis B Virus-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma,Including the Viral Genome and Glycosylated Proteins

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development and is a global public health issue. High performance biomarkers can aid the early detection of HCC development in HBV-infected individuals. In addition, advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis of HBV infection and in clinical laboratory techniques have enabled the establishment of disease-specific tests, prediction of the progression of liver diseases, including HCC, and auxiliary diagnosis of HCC, using blood-based methods instead of biopsies of liver or HCC tissues. Viral factors such as the HBV genotype, HBV genetic mutations, HBV DNA, and HBV-related antigens, as well as host factors, such as tumor-associated proteins and post-translational modifications, especially glycosylated proteins, can be blood-based, disease-specific biomarkers for HCC development in HBV-infected patients. In this review, we describe the clinical applications of viral biomarkers, including the HBV genome and glycosylated proteins, for patients at a risk of HBV-related HCC, based on their molecular mechanisms. In addition, we introduce promising biomarker candidates for practical use, including colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R), extracellular vesicles, and cell-free, circulating tumor DNA. The clinical use of such surrogate markers may lead to a better understanding of the risk of disease progression and early detection of HCC in HBV-infected patients, thereby improving their prognosis.