Evidence for Altered Phosphoinositide Signaling-Associated Molecules in the Postmortem Prefrontal Cortex of Patients with Schizophrenia

Phosphoinositides (PIs) play important roles in the structure and function of the brain. Associations between PIs and the pathophysiology of schizophrenia have been studied. However, the significance of the PI metabolic pathway in the pathology of schizophrenia is unknown. We examined the expression of PI signaling-associated proteins in the postmortem brain of schizophrenia patients. Protein expression levels of phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase type-1 gamma (PIP5K1C), phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase alpha (PIK4CA, also known as PIK4A), phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted from chromosome 10 (PTEN), protein kinase B (Akt), and glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and multiplex fluorescent bead-based immunoassays of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of postmortem samples from 23 schizophrenia patients and 47 normal controls. We also examined the association between PIK4CA expression and its genetic variants in the same brain samples. PIK4CA expression was lower, whereas Akt expression was higher, in the PFC of schizophrenia patients than in that of controls; PIP5K1C, PTEN, and GSK3β expression was not different. No single-nucleotide polymorphism significantly affected protein expression. We identified molecules involved in the pathology of schizophrenia via this lipid metabolic pathway. These results suggest that PIK4CA is involved in the mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and is a potential novel therapeutic target.     

Applications of in-line oxygen monitoring to a rapid thermal processing tool: diagnosing gas flow dynamics and silicidation processes

Two types of application of real-time oxygen monitoring on a production-type rapid thermal processor (RTP) are reported. Diagnosing of gas flow dynamics in an RTP chamber is described by using a tracer technique. Deviation from plug flow, which decreases purge efficiency, was observed as a function of gas flow rate. Purge design is performed on the basis of the gas flow dynamics, and the efficiency of several purge patterns was comparatively studied. Monitoring of a typical two-step RTP process for silicidation of Ti or Co was then demonstrated. Both adsorption and desorption were found to take place during annealing. Oxygen desorbs first at lower temperature (during temperature ramp) and then starts to adsorb at higher temperature. A few monolayers of oxygen is adsorbed to Ti during annealing, while less oxygen is adsorbed during Co RTP.     

Determination of optimal sending voltage profile in distribution systems with distributed generators

Sending voltage profile of distribution feeder is controlled by changing a tap of distribution transformer. In a distribution network with distributed generators, for reasons of effect of reversed flows from them and existence of a great number of sending voltage profile candidates, it is not easy to control sending voltage profile within the acceptable voltage limit. In this paper, in order to determine the optical sending voltage profile of distribution transformer in a distribution network with distributed generators, the authors propose a new method to determine the optimal sending voltage profile so as to minimize the total number of tap position's change per day under constraints of acceptable voltage limit. In the proposed method, after calculating acceptable range of three‐phase voltage of distribution feeder, the optimal profile of tap position within the calculated acceptable voltage range is determined among these candidates by using reduced ordered binary decision diagram (ROBDD) which is an efficient enumeration algorithm. In order to check the validity of the proposed method, numerical simulations are carried out for a distribution network model with a distributed generator. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 161(2): 16–24, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20393     

Macrophage Activation Markers Predict Liver-Related Complications in Primary Biliary Cholangitis

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) has a wide variation in clinical presentation and course. There is no significant correlation between these symptoms and the disease stage, although patients with more advanced stages generally have more symptoms. It is important to develop biomarkers in order to identify patients with an increased risk of complications and end-stage liver disease. This study investigated surrogate markers for risk estimation of PBC-related complications, including a study population of 77 patients with PBC who underwent liver biopsy and were measured for serum levels of macrophage activation markers, soluble CD163 (sCD163), soluble mannose receptor (sMR), and zonulin. Patients with PBC were divided into symptomatic (Group S, n = 20) and asymptomatic (Group A, n = 57) groups. The correlations of histological stages based on both Scheuer and Nakanuma classifications with the three serum markers were investigated. The Nakanuma classification involves grading for liver fibrosis and bile duct loss. The three biomarkers were assessed for their diagnostic ability to identify patients with PBC having high risk of developing complications. The predictive factors of these complications were examined as well. Group S had significantly higher serum sMR (p = 0.011) and sCD163 (p = 0.048) levels versus Group A. A composite index of sMR and sCD163 measurements had significantly better prediction performance than sCD163 alone (p = 0.012), although not when compared to sMR alone (p = 0.129). Serum sMR was an independent factor for developing complications on both univariate (Odds ratio (OR) = 30.20, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 3.410–267.0, p = 0.00220), and multivariate (OR = 33.70, 95% CI: 3.6600–311.0, p = 0.0019) analyses. Patients with PBC having sMR of ≥56.6 had a higher incidence of clinical complications versus those with a sMR of <56.6. Serum sMR predicts the development of complications in patients with PBC. sMR plus sCD163 showed better predictive power than either marker alone, although the addition of sCD163 did not improve the predictive power of sMR. Future prospective studies are required in order to validate the findings of the present study.     

Beta-decay half-lives calculated on the gross theory

Beta-decay half-lives have been calculated by the use of the gross theory which was formulated by Takahashi, Yamada, and Koyama. Both allowed and first-forbidden transitions have been taken into account, and consideration also has been given to the possibility that all the transitions to the levels near the ground states may be highly forbidden. The Q-values used in the calculation have been taken from the mass formula of Myers and Swiatecki. The calculated half-lives are shown in the PLOTS together with the experimental data and the Q-values. The PLOTS cover all the isotopes between the proton-drip and neutron-drip lines with Z = 3 to Z = 100.     

竹笋膳食纤维对猪肉盐溶性蛋白热诱导凝胶特性的影响

通过提取猪肉盐溶性蛋白,添加不同比例（0%、1%、2%、3%、4%（猪肉盐溶性蛋白为100 g添加竹笋膳食纤维））的竹笋膳食纤维,应用质构仪、流变仪、低场核磁共振成像分析仪和扫描电镜测定分析竹笋膳食纤维-猪肉盐溶性蛋白形成的凝胶体系的凝胶强度、动态流变学特性、保水性、水分分布和微观结构,研究竹笋膳食纤维对凝胶体系的凝胶特性和保水性的影响。结果发现：添加竹笋膳食纤维显著增强凝胶体系的凝胶强度（P＜0.05）,当添加量为3%时,凝胶强度最高;随着竹笋膳食纤维添加量增加,猪肉盐溶性蛋白体系的储能模量（G’）和损失模量（G”）明显增加,凝胶体系的蒸煮损失和离心损失显著降低（P＜0.05）;低场核磁显示竹笋膳食纤维的添加显著提高了不易流动水的相对百分比并且降低了其弛豫时间T2（P＜0.05）;扫描电镜观察发现竹笋膳食纤维增加了凝胶体系的三维网络结构致密度和均一度。结果显示竹笋膳食纤维能够明显改善猪肉盐溶性蛋白的凝胶功能特性,在肉制品加工中有广阔的应用前景。