Colored Fluorescent Silk Made by Transgenic Silkworms

Silk is a protein fiber used to weave fabrics and as a biomaterial in medical applications. Recently, genetically modified silks have been produced from transgenic silkworms. In the present study, transgenic silkworms for the mass production of three colors of fluorescent silks, (green, red, and orange) are generated using a vector originating from the fibroin H chain gene and a classical breeding method. The suitability of the recombinant silks for making fabrics is investigated by harvesting large amounts of the cocoons, obtained from rearing over 20 thousand silkworms. The application of low temperature and a weakly alkaline solution for cooking and reeling enables the production of silk fiber without loss of color. The maximum strain tolerated and Young's modulus of the fluorescent silks are similar to those of ordinary silk, although the maximum stress value of the recombinant silk is slightly lower than that of the control. Fabrics with fluorescent color are demonstrated using the recombinant silk, with the color persisting for over two years. The results indicate that large amounts of genetically modified silk can be made by transgenic silkworms, and the silk is applicable as functional silk fiber for making fabrics and for use in medical applications.     

Engineering of Lipid Nanoparticles by the Multifunctionalization of the Surface with Amino Acid Derivatives for the Neutralization of a Target Toxic Peptide

Protein affinity reagents (e.g., antibodies) are often used for basic research, diagnostics, separations, and disease therapy. Although a lot of “synthetic” protein affinity reagents have been developed as a cost-effective alternative to antibodies, their low biocompatibility is a considerable problem for clinical application. Lipid nanoparticles (LNP) represent a highly biocompatible drug delivery agent. However, little has been reported that LNP itself works as a protein affinity reagent in living animals. Here, LNP is engineered for binding to and neutralizing a target toxic peptide in living animals by multifunctionalization with amino acid derivatives. Multifunctionalized LNP (MF-LNP) is prepared using amino acid derivative-conjugated lipids. Optimized MF-LNP exhibits nanomolar affinity to the target toxic peptide and inhibits toxic peptide-dependent hemolysis and cytotoxicity. In addition, MF-LNP captures and neutralizes the toxic peptide after intravenous injection in the bloodstream; in addition, MF-LNP does not release the toxic peptide in the accumulated organ. These results reveal the potential of using LNP as a highly biocompatible protein affinity reagent such as an antidote.     

High-cycle fatigue characteristics of quasi-isotropic CFRP laminates over 10 cycles (Initiation and propagation of delamination considering interaction with transverse cracks)

High-cycle fatigue features of over 10⁸ cycles, particularly the initiation and propagation of edge delamination considering the effects of transverse cracks, were investigated using quasi-isotropic carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates with a stacking sequence of [45/0/−45/90]_s in this study. In the relationship between a transverse crack density and initiation and growth of edge delamination, it was found that fatigue damage growth behavior varied depending on applied stress. It was observed that edge delamination initiated and grew at parts where transverse cracks were dense at ordinary applied stress, whereas it was observed that edge delamination grew before or simultaneously with transverse crack propagation at a low applied stress and high-cycle loading. In addition, the critical transverse crack density where delamination begins growing was calculated to evaluate the interaction between transverse crack and edge delamination growth.     

Broadband infrared fluorescence in Er-doped BaO–SiO2 glasses

Er³⁺-doped SiO₂ glasses with or without BaO were fabricated by containerless processing. Scanning electron microscope observations and the scan profiles of electron-probe microanalysis demonstrated that the Ba-silicate glass was homogeneous and no aggregation of Er³⁺ ions occurred. The infrared fluorescence at around 1.55 μm from Er³⁺ in the Ba-silicate glass excited by a 980-nm laser was broader and its lifetime was longer than that of the silica glass, indicating the difference in the local structures around Er³⁺ ions between the Ba-silicate and silica glasses; this was supported by Raman scattering measurements. These results demonstrated that the Ba-silicate-glass system might be a new candidate for a host glass for Er³⁺-doped fiber amplifiers.     

Theory of electrostatics and electrokinetics of soft particles

We investigate theoretically the electrostatics and electrokinetics of a soft particle, i.e. a hard particle covered with an ion-penetrable surface layer of polyelectrolytes. The electric properties of soft particles in an electrolyte solution, which differ from those of hard particles, are essentially determined by the Donnan potential in the surface layer. In particular, the Donnan potential plays an essential role in the electrostatics and electrokinetics of soft particles. Furthermore, the concept of zeta potential, which is important in the electrokinetics of hard particles, loses its physical meaning in the electrokinetics of soft particles. In this review, we discuss the potential distribution around a soft particle, the electrostatic interaction between two soft particles, and the motion of a soft particle in an electric field.     

玻璃纤维/大麻纤维增强聚丙烯混杂复合材料的力学性能和断裂特征(英文)

目前在土木工程,建筑,汽车等领域里使用的复合材料中,玻璃纤维是用量最大的增强材料。由于保护地球环境的呼声日趋高涨,天然纤维被期待着代替源于石油而且再利用困难的玻璃纤维,成为绿色复合材料的必要材料之一。本文通过注射成型工艺制作了玻璃短纤维,大麻短纤维以及混杂型纤维增强复合材料,并在拉伸实验中应用两种不同频率的声发射技术检测了拉伸断裂特性。实验发现,随着大麻纤维的加入和混杂复合材料绿色度的增加,复合材料的拉伸弹性模量随之线性增大,而拉伸强度基本保持不变。当大麻纤维的含量超过20wt%的时候,拉伸强度开始降低。在不同频率的声发射实验中,混杂型复合材料的声发射事件的产生都比单一纤维增强型复合材料要来的晚,也就是说,纤维的混杂有助于推迟微裂纹的产生。     

Nucleotide sequences of alcohol acetyltransferase genes from lager brewing yeast,Saccharomyces carlsbergensis

The nucleotide sequences of alcohol acetyltransferase genes isolated from lager brewing yeast, Saccharomyces carlsbergensis have been determined. S. carlsbergensis has one ATF1 gene and another homologous gene, the Lg-ATF1 gene. There was a high degree of homology between the amino acid sequences deduced for the ATF1 protein and the Lg-ATF1 protein (75·7%), but the N-terminal region has a relatively low degree of homology. Southern analysis and contour-clamped homogeneous electric field analysis of Saccharomyces strains suggest that the ATF1 gene is located on chromosome XV in S. cerevisiae and that the Lg-ATF1 gene might originate from the ‘non-S. cerevisiae’ genome of S. carlsbergensis, which is similar to that of S. bayanus and S. pastorianus. The nucleotide sequence data reported in this paper will appear in the DDBJ, EMBL and GenBank data banks with the Accession Numbers D63449 (ATF1) and D63450 (Lg-ATF1).     

Generalized warpage parameter

A warpage index (Δψ_m) was introduced for studying warpage characteristics of a plastic part injection molded from PA66 compounded with 30 wt% glass fiber. Δψ_m is defined as Δψ_m = (Δψ_m)_max – (Δψ_m)_min, where ψ_m = ψ(θ)_max, where ψ(θ) = (ε(θ) – α(θ)ΔT)/| α(θ)ΔT|, where ε is the total strain, α is the linear thermal expansion coefficient, ΔT is temperature difference, and θ is the angle along which ε and α are calculated. Finite element analysis was used for calculating flow field in injection, fiber orientation, material anisotropy and warpage. ψ_m is calculated in each finite element, and Δψ_m is calculated in a whole finite element model. Δψ_m is a measure of the ratio of actual shrinkage to the amount of shrinkage that would occur if an element freely shrank. The characteristics of Δψ_m were studied. It has been found that warpage is null if Δψ_m = 0, but that null warpage generally does not indicate Δψ_m = 0. It is shown that Δψ_m quantitatively represents the warped and unwarped state. Δψ_m distinguishes the null warpage state with possible buckling from the null warpage state without possible buckling. It has been shown that material anisotropy is possibly described with Δψ_m, and that the cause of warpage is self-restrictive deformation in an injection molded part. It has been deduced that it is generally not possible to eliminate warpage only by controlling material properties. Δψ_m is obtainable for a plastic part with complex geometry and complex fiber orientation state, and for arbitrary materials. Applications of Δψ_m are left for future study.     

Therapeutic Targets and Emerging Treatments in Advanced Chondrosarcoma

Simple SummaryChondrosarcomas develop chemoresistance to standard anticancer drugs, making it difficult to control unresectable or metastatic chondrosarcomas. To improve the clinical outcomes of chondrosarcoma, new treatment approaches, such as molecule-targeting agents and immunotherapy, are needed. Recent research has revealed promising biomarkers and therapeutic targets for chondrosarcoma. In addition, several molecule-targeting agents have shown favorable antitumor activities in several clinical studies in patients with advanced sarcomas, including chondrosarcoma. This review summarizes recent basic studies on biomarkers and therapeutic targets and recent clinical studies on treating chondrosarcomas.AbstractDue to resistance to standard anticancer agents, it is difficult to control the disease progression in patients with metastatic or unresectable chondrosarcoma. Novel therapeutic approaches, such as molecule-targeting drugs and immunotherapy, are required to improve clinical outcomes in patients with advanced chondrosarcoma. Recent studies have suggested several promising biomarkers and therapeutic targets for chondrosarcoma, including IDH1/2 and COL2A1. Several molecule-targeting agents and immunotherapies have shown favorable antitumor activity in clinical studies in patients with advanced chondrosarcomas. This review summarizes recent basic studies on biomarkers and molecular targets and recent clinical studies on the treatment of chondrosarcomas.     

Fracture and acoustic emission characteristics of glass fiber reinforced plastics panels for hot water

This study deals with the fracture process and acoustic emission (AE) characteristics of a randomly oriented E-glass fiber mat reinforcement with a crosslinked polyester. These panels were evaluated after they were immersed in hot water. The fiber volume content of the panel was 19%. Glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) panels wer immersed in water at 81°C. Bending and AE monitoring tests were Performed and after bending, the cross-section of the specimen was observed by an optical microscope and SEM. The influence of degradation, due to water immersion, on the changes of fracture process of GFRP is discussed. The dominant fracture mode of the virgin specimen was matrix cracks, whereas that of the immersed specimen was debondings at the fiber bundle/matrix and fiber/matrix interfaces. This change was caused by reduction of the bonding strength at the interface. The scale of fracture can be estimated by both AE amplitude and AE energy and this estimation method was used to estimate the fracture mode changes of GFRP panels immersed in hot water.