Effects of Surface-Deacetylated Chitin Nanofibers in an Experimental Model of Hypercholesterolemia

This study evaluated the effects of oral administration of surface-deacetylated chitin nanofibers (SDACNFs) on hypercholesterolemia using an experimental model. All rats were fed a high cholesterol diet with 1% w/w cholesterol and 0.5% w/w cholic acid for 28 days. Rats were divided equally into four groups: the control group was administered 0.05% acetic acid dissolved in tap water, and the SDACNF, chitosan (CS), and cellulose nanofiber (CLNF) groups were administered 0.1% CNF, CS, or CLNF dissolved in the tap water, respectively, during the experimental period. Changes in body weight, intake of food and water, and organ weight were measured. Serum blood chemistry and histopathological examination of the liver were performed. Administration of SDACNF did not affect body weight change, food and water intake, or organ weights. Administration of SDACNF and CS decreased the diet-induced increase in serum total cholesterol, chylomicron, very-low-density lipoprotein, and phospholipid levels on day 14. Moreover, oral administration of SDACNFs suppressed the increase of alanine transaminase levels on day 29 and suppressed vacuolar degeneration and accumulation of lipid droplets in liver tissue. These data indicate that SDACNF has potential as a functional food for patients with hypercholesterolemia.     

Tribological Properties of Water Glass Lubricant for Hot Metalworking

Tribological properties of water glass (sodium silicate aqueous solution) with graphite powders, a lubricant for hot metalworking, were studied by means of pin-on-disk type tribotesting at a wide variety of temperature ranges. The lubricant is a water suspension consisting of water glass with graphite powders at room temperature. It becomes solid or a suspension state consisting of solid or liquid glass with the graphite powders owing to evaporation of the water inside. The frictional behavior of the lubricant over 100°C was strongly affected by the state of the glass, which is a factor of temperature, and was categorized into the following three regions in accordance with the state of the glass: solid film lubrication by the powder glass and the graphite (Region I), fluid film lubrication by the viscous liquid glass (Region II), and fluid film lubrication by the low-viscosity liquid glass and solid film lubrication by the graphite (Region III). The lowest friction coefficient was obtained in Region III.     

Non-Destructive Evaluation Method of Pharmaceutical Tablet by Terahertz-Time-Domain Spectroscopy: Application to Sound-Alike Medicines

To evaluate terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) as a promising tool for discriminating pharmaceutical tablets, THz-TDS has been applied for discrimination between pharmaceutical tablets with sound-alike names. Two sets of medicine tablets with sound-alike names, that is, Amaryl and Almarl, Zyloric and Zantac, are examined in this study. Based on the difference in THz absorption spectra, we have succeeded in distinguishing between sound-alike medicine tablets clearly for each set. The results in this study suggest that THz-TDS is a useful tool that is indispensable for medical security maintenance, such as a non-destructive way to prevent mix-up of medicine.     

Effect of ozone on corrosion behavior of mild steel in seawater

The effect of ozone on corrosion of mild steel in flowing seawater was investigated by using immersion test and electrochemical techniques including potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It is found that the weight loss of the steel specimens in the seawater containing 2 ppm ozone is significantly less than that in natural seawater. Localized corrosion occurs in the specimens exposed to ozonated seawater, while general corrosion happens to the specimens in natural seawater. Ozone facilitates the formation of corrosion-protective film on steel surface, which increases the charge transfer resistance and decreases the anodic current of steel in seawater.     

Enhanced activities of lipase pretreated with organic solvents

The catalytic activities of lipases derived from Pseudomonas sp and pretreated with various organic solvents were investigated. The activity of the solvent‐pretreated lipase was greater than that of native lipase in both the esterification reaction in an organic medium and the hydrolysis reaction in an aqueous medium. With esterification calalysed by pretreated lipase, the product, benzyl octanoate, was detected without time‐lag. Conversions at equilibrium state were correlated with the hydrophobicities of the solvents used. In the hydrolysis reaction, most pretreated lipases yielded increased acid production compared with native lipase. A linear correlation was observed between the solvent hydrophobicity and the relative initial reaction rate of the hydrolysis reaction when using pretreated lipases. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

Ultra intense glass laser system and laser–plasma interactions

The 30 TW GEKKO MII short pulse laser (25 J in 0.71 ps at 1 μm) is completed and is used for fast ignitor and particle accelerator research. The photon pressure of the laser at 10¹⁷-10¹⁸ W/cm² pushed the critical and quarter critical density plasmas forward, resulting in the strong red shifts of the second (2ω₀) and three-halves (3ω₀/2) harmonic emissions backscattered from CH or CD planes. A few hundred keV proton and deuteron emissions are also observed from CD planes.     

A 4.1-ns compact 54×54-b multiplier utilizing sign-selectBooth encoders

A 54×54-b multiplier with only 60 K transistors has been fabricated by 0.25-μm CMOS technology. To reduce the total transistor count, we have developed two new approaches: sign-select Booth encoding and 48-transistor 4-2 compressor circuits both implemented with pass transistor logic. The sign-select Booth algorithm simplifies the Booth selector circuit and enables us to reduce the transistor count by 45% as compared with that of the conventional one. The new compressor reduces the count by 20% without speed degradation. By using these new circuits, the total transistor count of the multiplier is reduced by 24%. The active size of the 54×54-b multiplier is 1.04×1.27 mm and the multiplication time is 4.1 ns at a 2.5-V power supply     

Low-power SRAM design using half-swing pulse-mode techniques

This paper describes a half-swing pulse-mode gate family that uses reduced input signal swing without sacrificing performance. These gates are well suited for decreasing the power in SRAM decoders and write circuits by reducing the signal swing on high-capacitance predecode lines, write bus lines, and bit lines. Charge recycling between positive and negative half-swing pulses further reduces the power dissipation. These techniques are demonstrated in a 2-K×16-b SRAM fabricated in a 0.25-μm dual-V_t CMOS technology that dissipates 0.9 mW operating at 1 V, 100 MHz, and room temperature. On-chip voltage samplers were used to probe internal nodes     

Evaluation of Ag-based gas-diffusion electrode for two-compartment cell used in novel chlor-alkali membrane process

The oxygen-depolarized cathode has become attractive by reducing energy consumption and also CO₂ emissions. The initial gas-diffusion electrode was for a three-compartment cell in which the alkaline electrolyte was separated from the oxygen feeder. During the electrolysis, the electrolyte penetrated into the hydrophobic gas-diffusion layer. Thus the pores in the diffusion layer were flooded with the electrolyte and the performance decreased.We proposed a new gas-diffusion electrode (GDE) having a large pore radius for a two-compartment cell in which the GDE was pressed on the membrane, and the electrolyte was transported through the GDE. The previous electrode was used for a three-compartment cell, which contained the anolyte, catholyte and oxygen-feeder compartments. First, a model analysis was made to simulate the cathodic overpotential curves of the GDE's for the two-compartment and three-compartment cells. Experiments were made using a half cell for the cathodic polarization curve and a zero-gap cell for testing the increased durability. The two-compartment cell with Ag–CC (carbon cloth) had the highest performance among the GDE's. However, the decrease in performance during a longer period, such as 600 days, was considered to be due to catalyst aggregation and not flooding the pores based on the cathodic potential curve and the SEM images.     

Long Non-Coding RNA CRNDE Is Involved in Resistance to EGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor in EGFR-Mutant Lung Cancer via eIF4A3/MUC1/EGFR Signaling

(1) Background: Acquired resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) is an intractable problem for many clinical oncologists. The mechanisms of resistance to EGFR-TKIs are complex. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) may play an important role in cancer development and metastasis. However, the biological process between lncRNAs and drug resistance to EGFR-mutated lung cancer remains largely unknown. (2) Methods: Osimertinib- and afatinib-resistant EGFR-mutated lung cancer cells were established using a stepwise method. A microarray analysis of non-coding and coding RNAs was performed using parental and resistant EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells and evaluated by bioinformatics analysis through medical-industrial collaboration. (3) Results: Colorectal neoplasia differentially expressed (CRNDE) and DiGeorge syndrome critical region gene 5 (DGCR5) lncRNAs were highly expressed in EGFR-TKI-resistant cells by microarray analysis. RNA-protein binding analysis revealed eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4A3 (eIF4A3) bound in an overlapping manner to CRNDE and DGCR5. The CRNDE downregulates the expression of eIF4A3, mucin 1 (MUC1), and phospho-EGFR. Inhibition of CRNDE activated the eIF4A3/MUC1/EGFR signaling pathway and apoptotic activity, and restored sensitivity to EGFR-TKIs. (4) Conclusions: The results showed that CRNDE is associated with the development of resistance to EGFR-TKIs. CRNDE may be a novel therapeutic target to conquer EGFR-mutant NSCLC.