Ethylene carbonate/ether solvents for electrolytes in lithium secondary batteries

An examination has been made of the effectiveness of ethylene carbonate(EC)/2-methyltetrahydrofuran(2-MeTHF) solvents incorporating LiAsF₆ as the solute as electrolytes in secondary lithium batteries. From —10 to 30 °C, the conductivities of EC/2-MeTHF are higher than those of 2-MeTHF and EC/propylene carbonate (PC). For lithium-on-lithium cycling in a half cell, the FOM (figure of merit) of lithium in EC/2-MeTHF has a value 2.2 to 2.7 times higher than that in 2-MeTHF and EC/PC. A coin cell of Li/amorphous V₂O ₅-P₂O₅ with EC/2-MeTHF clearly exhibits higher capacity and longer cycle life than cells with 2-MeTHF or EC/PC. It is concluded that EC/2-MeTHF is a promising electrolyte system for secondary lithium battery applications.     

Trans-activator Tax of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 enhances mutation frequency of the cellular genome

Two principles are presented that describe directional confounds associated with baseline differences: Principle 1: Change scores are confounded with baseline whenever data are skewed. Principle 2: When baseline differences are real, ANCOVA has a directional bias that magnifies differences in one direction and masks those in the other direction. Both principles involve a directional bias that is related to the direction of baseline difference and the direction of the hypothesized difference in change. Ethical dilemmas arise if decisions (whether or not to transform, whether or not to use ANCOVA) are chosen in order to maximize power by capitalizing on the directional bias and Type 1 error.     

A real-time PCR method targeting a gene sequence encoding 16S rRNA processing protein,rimM, for detection and enumeration of Streptococcus thermophilus in dairy products

A real-time PCR method targeting a gene sequence encoding 16S rRNA processing protein, rimM, for specific detection of Streptococcus thermophilus was developed. The designed real-time PCR primers and probe were specific for S. thermophilus JCM20026, LMG6896, LMG18311, OJT101, OJT102 but not Enteroccocus spp., Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, and Streptococcus salivarius which are phylogenetically closely related to S. thermophilus and are difficult to identify using culture-based methods. The linear range of the developed real-time PCR method was from 2.7 to 8.6 log CFU ml^?1 with an amplification efficiency of 96%. Minor differences (about 0.4 log CFU ml^?1) were observed between counts of S. thermophilus obtained by culture and real-time PCR method in plain yoghurt and yoghurt containing fruits. Therefore, the developed real-time PCR method could be of potential application in specific detection and accurate enumeration of S. thermophilus in a wide range of dairy products.     

Cytochemical energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy of mitochondrial free radical formation in paraquat cytotoxicity.

The generation of oxygen free radicals was investigated using cytochemistry and its energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy in reference to the toxic mediator for the herbicide paraquat. When isolated intact mitochondria from rat livers were incubated in a medium containing paraquat and NADH, a mitochondrial NADH-quinone oxidoreductase activity generated superoxide anions to cause the destruction of mitochondria which resulted in cell death. The superoxide anions were immediately converted into hydrogen peroxide, which then formed cerium perhydroxide deposits in the presence of cerium ions and precipitated on the outer surface of the mitochondrial outer membrane. This localization was also specifically identified by energy spectral imaging and image-electron energy loss spectral analyses. Precipitation reaction was scavenged by the addition of either cytochrome c or catalase and inhibited by dicoumarol (an inhibitor of NAD(P)H-quinone oxidoreductases). These cytochemical energy-filtering transmission electron microscopic results indicated that paraquat generated free radicals from the outer membrane of mitochondria.     

An ecological perspective on smoking among Asian American college students: The roles of social smoking and smoking motives.

Using electronic diaries, the present study examined the roles of social smoking and smoking motives in relation to cigarette use patterns among Asian American college smokers. Multilevel modeling results showed that participants smoked more cigarettes when smoking with peers than when smoking alone. Participants' coping (but not social) motives moderated the within-person associations between smoking with peers and the cigarettes smoked during a smoking episode. The findings support the utility of an ecological perspective in examining the dynamic interaction between smoking motives and the social settings of cigarette use, and call for further research on the social smoking behaviors in diverse populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of a recombinant 27-kDa outer membrane protein of Coxiella burnetii as an immunodiagnostic reagent

The 27-kDa outer membrane protein from eight strains of Coxiella burnetii was expressed in the pET-21c protein expression system. Two fusion proteins with molecular masses of 30 and 32 kDa were evident in all eight of the recombinants by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting. A protein having an approximate size of 30 kDa was purified from the Escherichia coli lysates by one-step affinity purification. The utility of the purified recombinant protein in ELISA was also evaluated by testing its reactivity with human sera and comparing this reactivity with that of Nine Mile phase II antigen. All of the 40 IF-positive serum samples were ELISA-positive for both the Nine Mile phase II and recombinant antigens, and negative serum controls were negative for both antigens. These results suggest that ELISA with the 27-kDa recombinant antigen is a sensitive and specific method for detecting anti-C. burnetii antibodies in human sera.     

Expression of 5-lipoxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein mRNAs in the peripheral blood leukocytes of asthmatics

Hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) catalyzes the rate-limiting step in adipocyte lipolysis. We have studied the effect of glucose and long chain fatty acids on the HSL mRNA content of 3T3-F442A adipocytes. Exposure of the cells for 32 h to a medium without glucose led to a decrease by a factor of 2.5-3 in the HSL mRNA without a change in C/EBP alpha mRNA or triglyceride content of the adipocytes. The reduction in HSL mRNA level was accompanied by a decrease in HSL total activity. The effect of glucose exposure was observed after 24 h of exposure and was reversible. Treatment of the adipocytes with oleate did not affect HSL expression. These data show that glucose modulates HSL gene expression and hence could participate in the regulation of adipose tissue lipolysis.     

Combined study with FDG PET and Tl SPECT in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy

This study aimed to determine whether combined examinations of myocardial 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) and stress-redistribution 201Tl single-photon emission computed tomography (Tl SPECT) were useful in clarifying myocardial ischaemia and evaluating the prognosis in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM). Twenty-two patients with IDCM underwent echocardiography, cardiac catheterization, FDG PET, and Tl SPECT. In scintigraphic analysis, the total defect score (TDS) was semiquantitatively determined as the sum of scores of the 17 left ventricular (LV) segments with a 5-point scale (0 as normal to 4 as absent). Patients were classified according to the scintigraphic findings as follows: eight patients with small defects on Tl and FDG (TDS < or = 20) (group I), eight patients with small defects on FDG (TDS < or = 20) with FDG uptake increased relative to Tl or 'mismatch' (group II), and six patients with large defects on FDG and Tl (TDS >20) (group III). Eleven patients (50%) showed reversible defects on Tl and all showed preserved FDG uptake. The patients in group III had significantly lower LV ejection fraction (LVEF) (P<0.05, respectively) and a poorer prognosis as shown by the Kaplan-Meier event-free curve compared with those in groups I and II (P<0.01, respectively). Although patients in group II had significantly greater TDS on Tl compared with those in group I (P<0.01), no significant differences in LVEF and prognosis were found between patients in groups I and II. In multivariate analysis, a TDS on FDG revealed an independent predictor of subsequent cardiac events. In conclusion, such mismatched areas can be assumed to consist of impaired but viable myocardium, and may be associated with ischaemia of the microvasculature. Impaired myocardial glucose metabolism is a more powerful predictor of future cardiac events than perfusion abnormality in patients with IDCM.     

Epitopes for thyroid stimulating and blocking autoantibodies on the extracellular domain of the human thyrotropin receptor

The majority (97%) of functional epitopes for stimulating thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) antibodies (stimulating TSHRAbs) in a large cohort (n = 59) of Japanese Graves' patients exists on the N-terminal region of the extracellular domain of TSHR, between residues 25 and 165 numbering from the methionine start site. This was determined by measuring the loss of stimulating activity in the Cos-7 cells transfected with TSHR/lutropin-choriogonadotropin receptor (LH-CGR) chimeras wherein TSHR residues 89-165 (Mc2) or 8-165 (Mc1 + 2) are replaced by comparable LH-CGR residues. There is no comparable loss when stimulating TSHRAb activity is measured in an Mc4 chimera, wherein TSHR residues 261 to 370 are replaced. In contrast, immunoglobulin (IgG) preparations from 35 patients with Hashimoto's disease or idiopathic myxedema, who have blocking TSHRAbs causing hypothyroidism, loose blocking TSHRAb activity in the Mc4 chimera, but not the Mc2 or Mc1 + 2 chimeras. Thus, in a large population of Japanese patients with autoimmune thyroid disease caused by TSHR autoantibodies, the major functional epitope for stimulating TSHRAbs is on the N-terminal portion of the TSHR extracellular domain, whereas that for blocking TSHRAbs is on the C-terminal portion of the extracellular domain. To further evaluate the nature of the critical functional epitope between residues 90 to 165, we divided this region approximately in half, creating chimeras Mc2a and Mc2b with, respectively, residues 90-124 or 125-165 replaced by comparable LH-CGR residues. IgGs from all patients tested lost significant stimulating activity using the Mc2a and Mc2b chimeras; however, when present, residual stimulating TSHRAb activity was evident on one or the other half of the region or on both halves, indicating that both segments are required for expression of the stimulating TSHRAb epitope within residues 90-165. Finally, we have identified a complex epitope involving both the N- and C-terminal portion of the extracellular domain that appears to account for the small fraction of stimulating TSHRAbs whose activity is not solely dependent on residues 25 to 165. Thus, using chimeras Mc1 + 2 + 4, with TSHR residues 8-165 and 261-370 substituted, or chimera Mc1 + 2 + 3 + 4, with residues 8-370 substituted, as well as Mc2, Mc1 + 2, and Mc4, we show that the Graves' IgGs which maintain stimulating TSHRAb activity when residues 8-165 of the TSHR are replaced by LH-CGR residues have an epitope involving residues 90-165 and the immunogenic 15mer peptide (YYVFFEEQEDEIIGF), residues, 352-366. Because that peptide can decrease the stimulating TSHRAb activity of these Graves IgGs in assays with the Mc2 chimera alone, we speculate that this complex epitope may be important in an epitope spreading process involved in the formation of stimulating TSHRAbs.