Rapid and economical indicator for evaluating arsenic removal with minimum aluminum residual during coagulation process

Detection of various types of contaminants in water treatment plant by sophisticated analytical methods such as inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry requires hours to days to provide the results. Because naturally occurring ultraviolet (UV) active compounds are commonly present in almost all source waters and can be rapidly monitored by UV absorbance at 260 nm (E260), the extent of correlation between the removal efficiency of E260 and the removal efficiency of As(V) with minimum soluble residual Al by coagulation process was investigated. Percentage removals for E260 were well correlated to those of As(V). When sufficient alum or polyaluminum chloride (PACl) was added for 60-65% removal of E260, 90-95% removal of As(V) was achieved with minimum soluble residual Al regardless of the initial level of turbidity, E260, and As(V). As E260 analysis is precisely available even by an unskilled plant operator in a few minutes, E260 removal efficiency appears to be the promising economical indicator for monitoring the effectiveness of the coagulation process for the removal of contaminants with minimum residual Al.     

A 56-nm CMOS 99-mm2 8-Gb Multi-Level NAND Flash Memory With 10-MB/s Program Throughput

A single 3.3-V only, 8-Gb NAND flash memory with the smallest chip to date, 98.8 mm², has been successfully developed. This is the world's first integrated semiconductor chip fabricated with 56-nm CMOS technologies. The effective cell size including the select transistors is 0.0075 mum² per bit, which is the smallest ever reported. To decrease the chip size, a very efficient floor plan with one-sided row decoder, one-sided page buffer, and one-sided pad is introduced. As a result, an excellent 70% cell area efficiency is realized. The program throughput is drastically improved to twice as large as previously reported and comparable to binary memories. The best ever 10-MB/s programming is realized by increasing the page size from 4kB to 8kB. In addition, noise cancellation circuits and the dual VDD-line scheme realize both a small die size and a fast programming. An external page copy achieves a fast 93-ms block copy, efficiently using a 1-MB block size     

Resonance characteristics and identification of modes of electromagnetic waves excited by partial discharges in GIS

Electromagnetic waves are used for detection of partial discharges (PD) in GIS (gas‐insulated substations). A very wide frequency band up to 1.5 GHz is utilized for detection. There are three categories of electromagnetic wave which can be excited and propagate in coaxial cylindrical structures like GIS, namely, TEM, TE, and TM modes. The characterization and identification of each mode is indispensable to understanding the partial discharge phenomena in GIS. In this paper, peaks in the frequency spectrum excited by PD are identified in each mode and the resonant characteristics of each mode are studied. The following are the major results: (1) The resonance peaks appear at the frequencies defined by the spacer distance. (2) The intensity of each mode depends on the position of discharge source along the radial direction. The lower‐order modes including TEM are excited when a discharge source is located near the center conductor. On the other hand, higher‐order modes are excited when the discharge source is at the enclosure surface. (3) The experimental profile of each mode excited by PD along the radial direction approximately agrees with the general theory of electromagnetic wave propagation in coaxial cylindrical cavity. © 2000 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 131(2): 1–11, 2000     

Low chirp observed in directly modulated quantum dot lasers

We have examined the dynamic properties of high-aspect-ratio InAs-quantum-dot (QD) lasers at room temperature. A novel characteristic of low chirp in the lasing wavelength under 1-GHz current modulation was found in the quantum dot lasers. This is more than one order of magnitude less than the typical chirp (0.2-nm) found in a conventional quantum well laser that we used as a reference. Low chirp was obtained not only in the ground state lasing but in the second level lasing of quantum dots as well.     

A Splice Switch in SIGIRR Causes a Defect of IL-37-Dependent Anti-Inflammatory Activity in Cystic Fibrosis Airway Epithelial Cells

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a hereditary disease typically characterized by infection-associated chronic lung inflammation. The persistent activation of toll-like receptor (TLR) signals is considered one of the mechanisms for the CF hyperinflammatory phenotype; however, how negative regulatory signals of TLRs associate with CF inflammation is still elusive. Here, we showed that the cell surface expression of a single immunoglobulin interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R)-related molecule (SIGIRR), a membrane protein essential for suppressing TLRs- and IL-1R-dependent signals, was remarkably decreased in CF airway epithelial cells compared to non-CF cells. Notably, CF airway epithelial cells specifically and highly expressed a unique, alternative splice isoform of the SIGIRR that lacks exon 8 (Δ8-SIGIRR), which results in the production of a C-terminal truncated form of the SIGIRR. Δ8-SIGIRR was expressed intracellularly, and its over-expression abolished the cell surface expression and function of the full-length SIGIRR (WT-SIGIRR), indicating its dominant-negative effect leading to the deficiency of anti-inflammatory activity in CF cells. Consistently, IL-37, a ligand for the SIGIRR, failed to suppress viral dsRNA analogue poly(I:C)-dependent JNK activation and IL-8 production, confirming the reduction in the functional WT-SIGIRR expression in the CF cells. Together, our studies reveal that SIGIRR-dependent anti-inflammatory activity is defective in CF airway epithelial cells due to the unique splicing switch of the SIGIRR gene and provides the first evidence of IL-37-SIGIRR signaling as a target of CF airway inflammation.     

In vivo metabolism of a new anticancer agent, 6-N-formylamino-12, 13-dihydro-1,11-dihydroxy-13-(beta-D-glucopyranosil)5H-indolo [2,3-a]pyrrolo [3,4-c]carbazole-5,7(6H)-dione (NB-506) in rats and dogs: pharmacokinetics, isolation, identification, and quantification of metabolites

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies have shown alcohol consumption to be inversely as well as positively related to body weight and body fat. Metabolic studies have shown an increase in energy intake as well as compensation after alcohol consumption. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to assess the effects on energy intake of an apéritif compared with those of a water appetizer and 3 fruit juice appetizers. DESIGN: Fifty-two men and women aged 20-45 y with a body mass index (in kg/m2) between 20 and 32 were randomly given 1 MJ (340 mL) alcohol (wine or beer), fat (cream fruit juice), protein (protein fruit juice), carbohydrate (grape juice), or water, or no preload 30 min before an ad libitum lunch consumed from the universal eating monitor. RESULTS: Energy intake (3.5+/-0.3 MJ compared with 2.7+/-0.2 MJ, P < 0.001) and eating rate were higher (44+/-3 g/min compared with 38+/-3 g/min, P < 0.01), meal duration was longer (14 min compared with 12.0 min, P < 0.01), satiation started to increase later (3.5 min compared with 1.5 min, P < 0.01), and eating was prolonged after maximum satiation (2.5 min compared with 0.6 min, P < 0.01) after an apéritif than after a fat, protein, or carbohydrate appetizer,. Twenty-four-hour energy intake was higher on a day that an apéritif was consumed than after water or no preload. CONCLUSION: Twenty-four-hour energy intake was elevated with a 1-MJ apéritif but not with a 1-MJ liquid carbohydrate, fat, or protein appetizer.     

Plasma HDL Reduces Nonesterified Fatty Acid Hydroperoxides Originating from Oxidized LDL: a Mechanism for Its Antioxidant Ability

The antioxidant property of plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is thought to be involved in potential anti-atherogenic effects but the exact mechanism is not known. We aimed to reveal the contribution of HDL on the elimination of lipid hydroperoxides (LOOH) derived from oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Oxidized LDL prepared by copper ion-induced oxidation contained nonesterified fatty acid hydroperoxides (FFA-OOH) and lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPtdCho), in addition to cholesteryl ester hydroperoxides (CE-OOH) and phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxides (PtdCho-OOH). A platelet-activating factor-acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH) inhibitor suppressed formation of FFA-OOH and lysoPtdCho in oxidized LDL. Among LOOH species, FFA-OOH was preferentially reduced by incubating oxidized LDL with HDL. HDL exhibited selective FFA-OOH reducing ability if it was mixed with a liposomal solution containing FFA-OOH, CE-OOH and PtdCho-OOH. Two-electron reduction of the hydroperoxy group to the hydroxy group was confirmed by the formation of 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid from 13-hydroperoxyoctadecadienoic acid in HPLC analyses. This reducing effect was also found in apolipoprotein A-1 (apoA-1). FFA-OOH released from PtdCho-OOH due to PAF-AH activity in oxidized LDL undergo two-electron reduction by the reducing ability of apoA1 in HDL. This preferential reduction of FFA-OOH may participate in the mechanism of the antioxidant property of HDL.     

Electrical Characteristics of Ultrahigh-Voltage Thyristors and Related Problems

Ultrahigh-voltage thyristors with a blocking voltage of 4-10 kV were developed by double diffusion technique. A new surface contouring technique realized in this development gives excellent blocking characteristics and is effective in minimizing the reduction of current-carrying area. To study the feasibility of ultrahigh-voltage thyristors, their electrical characteristics were estimated. According to the experimental results, the blocking voltage is restricted by their dynamic properties, especially turn-off time. The limit for the rated voltage may be about 5 kV at the present stage.     

Pretreatment with protein kinase C activator phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate attenuates the antinociception induced by mu- but not epsilon-opioid receptor agonist in the mouse

The effects of pretreatment with a protein kinase C activator, phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate, on antinociception induced by i.c.v.-administered mu-opioid receptor agonist (D-Ala2, NMePhe4, Gly(ol)5) enkephalin (DAMGO) or morphine and epsilon-opioid receptor agonist beta-endorphin were studied in male ICR mice. The tail-flick responses were used for antinociceptive tests. I.c.v. pretreatment with phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (50 pmol) for 30 or 60 but not 10 min attenuated antinociception induced by i.c.v.-administered DAMGO. I.c.v. pretreatment with phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (10 and 50 pmol) for 60 min caused a dose-dependent attenuation of DAMGO (19.5 pmol)- or morphine (6.0 nmol)-induced antinociception. The dose-response curve for DAMGO-induced antinociception was shifted to the right by 7.3-fold by i.c.v. pretreatment with phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (50 pmol) for 60 min. However, the i.c.v.-administered beta-endorphin-induced antinociception was not affected by the same pretreatment with phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate. The attenuation of i.c.v.-administered DAMGO- and morphine-induced antinociception by phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate was reversed by concomitant i.c.v. pretreatment with a selective protein kinase C inhibitor calphostin C. These results suggest that activation of protein kinase C by phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate leads to the desensitization of mu-, but not epsilon-opioid receptor-mediated antinociception. These findings also provide additional evidence for differential intracellular modulation on antinociceptive action of mu- and epsilon-opioid receptor agonists.