Heterodimerization preferences of thyroid hormone receptor alpha isoforms

Thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) are members of the steroid hormone receptor superfamily and are encoded by two different genes, alpha and beta. Three isoforms (alpha 1, alpha 2, and alpha 3) are created by alternative splicing of the TR alpha gene. In TR alpha 2 and alpha 3, the distal half of the putative dimerization domain is disrupted and the carboxy terminus of the protein is substituted with different amino acids. To evaluate the properties of these alterations in the dimerization region, DNA binding and dimerization of TR alpha isoforms were studied by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. TR alpha 1 formed a monomer or a homodimer on certain thyroid hormone responsive elements (TREs), whereas TR alpha 2 and alpha 3 did not bind effectively to any of the TREs studied. TR alpha 1 formed a heterodimer with 9-cis retinoic acid receptor alpha (RXR alpha) on all TREs studied. Although TR alpha 2 did not bind as a homodimer, it did bind as a heterodimer with RXR alpha to DR4 and MHC-TRE. TR alpha 3 bound as a heterodimer to a broader repertoire of TREs, including DR4, MHC, ME, and F2-TRE. These results indicate that the alterations in the dimerization region in TR alpha 2 and alpha 3 abrogated homodimer binding, but differentially affected heterodimerization with RXR alpha on various TREs.     

Evaporation characteristics of multi-component fuel

The maximum liquid phase penetration and evaporation behavior was investigated by using simultaneous measurement for mie-scattered light images and shadowgraph ones. The objective of this study was to analyze effect of variant parameters and fuel properties on evaporation behavior, and to investigate liquid phase penetration for the single- and multi-component fuels. The experiments were conducted in a constant-volume vessel with optical access. Fuel was injected into the vessel with electronically controlled common rail injector. It was observed that: liquid phase length is influenced by fuel properties. High-boiling point fuel within the multi-component fuel controls liquid phase length.     

Reliability consideration on a compound redundant system with repair

This paper considers a standby-redundant system consisting of 2 systems, in which one is main and the other is its standby-redundant system. These systems also consist of 2 subsystems connected in series.A feature of this system is that the system has 2 switching devices connecting subsystems, in addition to one connecting main and standby systems, in order to utilize surviving subsystem. In this consideration it is assumed that all the units are repairable.We shall obtain the system reliability, the mean time to system failure, the steady state availability, and examine numerically the effects of this model to the usual one without particular switching devices.     

Changes in capacitance and dielectric dissipation factor of water‐treed XLPE with applied voltage

The capacitance C and dielectric dissipation factor tan δ of a water‐treed XLPE sheet sample have been measured under the application of 100 V or 1 kV at 60 Hz. The values of C and tan δ at 1 kV are much larger than those at 100 V. The value of tan δ gradually decreases with the length of exposure to a voltage of 1 kV. On the other hand, C is almost constant versus the exposure time. The results have been discussed on the basis of a model in which filling of channels interconnecting voids by water is taken into account. It has been found that the increase of C and tan δ is caused by the growth of the water‐filled channel region on the application of voltage. The gradual decrease in tan δ with the exposure time is explained by the change in the conductivity of the water‐filled channel region, as a result of which the relaxation time shifts to higher frequencies. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 144(1): 12–20, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10160     

Synthesis of docosahexaenoic acid-rich triglyceride with immobilizedChromobacterium viscosum lipase

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the free fatty acid (FFA) derived from enzymically hydrolyzed tuna oil was concentrated by partial titration and precipitation of other FFA as sodium salts with acetone. A triglyceride containing up to 46.2% DHA was synthesized from the DHA-rich glyceride mixture and FFA by use of an immobilizedChromobacterium viscosum lipase.     

Preparation of ion exchange membranes by plasma polymerization. I

Plasma polymerizations of three kinds of amines, γ-aminopropylethoxydimethylsilane (APEMS), allylamine (AA), and pyrole (PY), were investigated by IR and XPS analysis. Plasma-polymerized films were deposited on porous substrates, and ion exchange abilities of the composite membranes were measured. When APEMS were used as the monomer, the polymer retained the chemical structure of the monomer, amino groups. However, when AA and PY were used as the monomers, the plasma polymers contained a larger amount of amido structures than did the polymer of APEMS. Each membrane had ion exchange ability. In particular, the membrane prepared from APEMS showed superior ion exchange ability, anion permselectivity and conductivity, in acidic solutions. This property was attributed to the chemical structure of the polymer from APEMS retenting amino groups. The ion exchange properties of the membranes depended on the pH of the solution. In particular, the membrane of APEMS showed high membrane potential and low electric resistance only in a narrow pH region due to the weak basicity of amines and the hydrophobic property of the polymer.     

Dynamic transmission torque of a flexible multiple-disc clutch and brake to intermittent loads

This paper is concerned with a transmission torque of a flexible multiple-disc clutch subjected to dynamic loads. The analysis has been developed on the problem of the clutch subjected to a dynamic load which varies as a half-rectified sine function with time. In the analysis, the elastodynamic theory of a circular plate has been extended to this problem by application of the Laplace transform method. The dynamic pressures and the reaction forces along the edge between discs have been obtained from the conditions of continuity between discs, and from which the transmission torque of the clutch has been concluded. Numerical results of the transmission torque versus time and the deflections and bending moments in the clutch have been given for some important cases     

Volume contraction and its significance in structural formation during the thermal stabilization of acrylic fibers

The length changes of acrylic fibers during isothermal treatment at temperatures from 208°C to 270°C were measured under constant tensile stresses. In order to elucidate the relation between the length and structural changes during heat treatment, the measurements of density, the elemental composition, and the aromatization index determined from X-ray diffraction were made for the fibers heat-treated at 252°C for various periods of time. It is shown that a contraction in length which accompanied a volume contraction occurred during extended heat treatment, even when the fibers were subjected to high tensile stresses. The volume contraction is attributed to the fact that planar cyclized polymer segments, formed by additional polymerization of the nitrile side groups, are built up and construct a stacking which is denser than the original fiber structure. The orientation of the stacking of the cyclized segments was measured for the fibers heat-treated in the fixed state giving a high orientation, which is comparable to that of the fibers heat-treated under a high tensile stress giving an extension to the fibers in the initial periods of heat treatment. These results were explained by considering the interaction of external constraint and volume contraction which occurs during heat treatment.     

Radiation-induced emulsion copolymerization of tetrafluoroethylene with propylene. V. Formation of acid and its effect

In the radiation-induced emulsion copolymerization of tetrafluoroethylene with propylene, it was found that hydrofluoric acid (HF) is formed in the course of polymerization. The amount of HF formed increased linearly with the irradiation time in all cases. The rate of HF formation was maximum at 0.3 wt-% emulsifier and increased linearly with tetrafluoroethylene content in the monomer mixture. On the other hand, the conversion and the molecular weight decreased remarkably by addition of 0.1M HF. The particle diameter of copolymer obtained in the presence of HF was larger than that obtained in the HF-free system. On the contrary, the number of polymer particles was less than that obtained in the HF-free system. The decrease in the conversion and the molecular weight was attributed mainly to the conversion of part of ammonium perfluorooctanoate to perfluorooctanoic acid by formation of acid or addition of acid.