The Effects of Insulin on Immortalized Rat Schwann Cells,IFRS1

Schwann cells play an important role in peripheral nerve function, and their dysfunction has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy and other demyelinating diseases. The physiological functions of insulin in Schwann cells remain unclear and therefore define the aim of this study. By using immortalized adult Fischer rat Schwann cells (IFRS1), we investigated the mechanism of the stimulating effects of insulin on the cell proliferation and expression of myelin proteins (myelin protein zero (MPZ) and myelin basic protein (MBP). The application of insulin to IFRS1 cells increased the proliferative activity and induced phosphorylation of Akt and ERK, but not P38-MAPK. The proliferative potential of insulin-stimulated IFRS1 was significantly suppressed by the addition of LY294002, a PI3 kinase inhibitor. The insulin-stimulated increase in MPZ expression was significantly suppressed by the addition of PD98059, a MEK inhibitor. Furthermore, insulin-increased MBP expression was significantly suppressed by the addition of LY294002. These findings suggest that both PI3-K/Akt and ERK/MEK pathways are involved in insulin-induced cell growth and upregulation of MPZ and MBP in IFRS1 Schwann cells.     

Absorption spectra and tautomerism of aminonaphthazarins

2-n-Butylaminonaphthazarin (2) absorbs at 499 and 532 nm in ethanol but at 539 and 577 nm in alkali solution, while 2, 6-bis(n-butylamino)naphthazarin (3) absorbs at 461, 500 and 540 nm in ethanol but at 511 and 545 nm in alkali solution, with only a small bathochromic shift of 5 nm. The absorption curve of 3 was changed by addition of alkali and the λD_max at around 461 nm completely disappeared. In the case of 2-bromo-3, 6-bis(n-butylamino)naphthazarin (4), tautomerism between the 1, 4-quinone and 1, 5-quinone forms was observed and the isosbestic point was observed at 480 nm. Dye 2 easily deprotonated to give the 1, 4-dianion, but dyes 3 and 4 existed as tautomeric mixtures in solution and shifted to 1, 5-quinone forms in alkali solution.     

A simple approach to observe non-conductive hydrated materials with FE-SEM: Case study on porous hydroxyapatite green bodies

The purpose of this study is to develop a simple method to observe the surface morphology of non-conductive material in its hydrated condition. Here porous hydroxyapatite (HAp) green body prepared by gelcasting process was considered as a case study, and, the resultant body was subsequently treated with hydrophilic ionic liquid (IL). The surface morphology and the pore structure of the IL-treated porous HAp green body were successfully observed even in hydrated condition without any charging using field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Results showed that the pore diameter from 300 to 600 μm in as-prepared green body was reduced to 100–300 μm in the sample sintered at 1000 °C. Raman results showed that the IL forms weak hydrogen bond with water molecules within the sample and, that prevents from drying in vacuum condition. In addition, the IL acts as a conducting media for HAp ceramics to be observed under FE-SEM.     

Demonstrative drop tests of transport and storage full-scale canisters with high corrosion-resistant material

The concrete modular dry storage technologies are becoming widely used, aiming at better economic performances. With longer perspective, there are still key issues related to safety standards in operation and maintenance during storage and unloading/loading for transportation, long-term integrity of the storage components. On the other hands, due to the lack of the experimental studies related to tipping-over or drop event scenarios, it is very important to evaluate the characteristics of the behavior of the components, such as the multi-purpose canister (MPC) subjected to impact loads. Therefore, we executed the demonstration drop test program using double-lid welded MPCs, with the aim of obtaining basic data for regulating safety. This paper introduces the summary of our drop test program.     

Development of operational strategies to remove carbon dioxide in photobioreactors

The objective of this work was to evaluate different operational strategies for photobioreactors to remove carbon dioxide using the cyanobacteria, Aphanothece microscopica Nägeli. Two types of reactor configuration, bubble column and airlift were evaluated under three different operational conditions to treat air containing 15% carbon dioxide: simple operation, air recirculation and two sequential reactors. The results obtained showed that the reactor configuration and the operational mode were both determinant criteria for the performance of photobioreactors in the biological conversion of carbon dioxide. Operations with air recirculation showed possibilities for use in small-scale operations, but two-stage sequential photobioreactors (elimination capacity and removal efficiency of 12,217 g_carbon/m³_reactor day and 52.5%, respectively) were shown to be the operational mode with greatest potential for application on an industrial scale by the increased removal efficiency.     

Selective formation of CH3OH in the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 with H2O on titanium oxides highly dispersed within zeolites and mesoporous molecular sieves

Highly dispersed titanium oxide catalysts have been prepared within zeolite cavities as well as in the zeolite framework and utilized as photocatalysts for the reduction of CO₂ with H₂O to produce CH₄ and CH₃OH at 328 K. In situ photoluminescence, ESR, diffuse reflectance absorption and XAFS investigations indicate that the titanium oxide species are highly dispersed within the zeolite cavities and framework and exist in tetrahedral coordination. The charge transfer excited state of the highly dispersed titanium oxide species play a significant role in the reduction of CO₂ with H₂O with a high selectivity for the formation of CH₃OH, while the catalysts involving the aggregated octahedrally coordinated titanium oxide species show a high selectivity to produce CH₄, being similar to reactions on the powdered TiO₂ catalysts. Ti-mesoporous molecular sieves exhibit high photocatalytic reactivity for the formation of CH₃OH, its reactivity being much higher than the powdered TiO₂ catalysts. The addition of Pt onto the highly dispersed titanium oxide catalysts promotes the charge separation which leads to an increase in the formation of CH₄ in place of CH₃OH formation.     

Optical Amplification at 1.3 μm in a Praseodymium-Doped Sulfide-Glass Fiber

Praseodymium-doped glasses were prepared in the Ga-Na-S (GNS) system and their optical properties were studied. A single-mode fiber with an attenuation loss of 1.2 dB/m at a wavelength of 1.31 μm was fabricated using an extrusion method, and the amplification characteristics were measured in the bidirectional pumping configuration. We demonstrated a gain coefficient of 0.81 dB/mW at a wavelength of 1.34 μm, which is the highest we have ever reported, and achieved a net gain of 32 dB for a pump power of 90 mW. Highly efficient optical amplification at a wavelength of 1.3 μm was demonstrated in the praseodymium-doped GNS fiber.     

SteelStacks艺术文化园区的骨架：胡弗梅森栈桥

正伯利恒钢铁公司是20世纪的一个工业集团,在世界范围内运作工业设施。它于1857年在宾夕法尼亚州里海谷(Lehigh Valley)创立,逐渐占据了里海河沿线1 800英亩(约728hm2)的场地。1995年,伯利恒钢铁公司停止了炼钢业务,关闭了厂房,结束了当地悠久的工业历史,以及成千上万蓝领居民与工厂密不可分的生活模式。