The clinical and immunomodulatory effects of green soybean extracts

The present study was performed to investigate the immune-modulating activities of extracts from green soybean (Glycine max) in a 2,4-toluene diisocyanate (TDI)-inducing guinea pig rhinitis model and a human trial study for allergic rhinitis. Hot water extracts of green soybean were chosen for animal experimentation on the basis of their ability to regulate the production of B cell-activating factor of the TNF family and a proliferation-inducing ligand in mouse spleen cells. Green soybean extracts significantly decreased the levels of ovalubumin (OVA)-specific IgE in mice and significantly suppressed the TDI-induced nasal mucosa secretion. An open-label human pilot study was performed on 16 subjects, using Japanese cedar pollinosis. The symptom scores for Japanese cedar pollinosis were better in the long-term green soybean extracts intake group than in the withdrawal short-term intake group. Green soybean extracts had great potential as an orally active immune modulator for the treatment of various allergic diseases.     

A power smoothing control method for a photovoltaic generation system using a water electrolyzer and its filtering characteristics

This paper proposes a novel power smoothing control method for a photovoltaic generation (PV) system using a water electrolyzer (ELY). This method realizes that the long‐period components of the PV power fluctuation are supplied to the power grid and the short‐period components of the PV power fluctuation are supplied to the ELY. The power supplied to the ELY is converted to hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles. The results of the power smoothing control method are evaluated in terms of the power in the load frequency control (LFC) band and the ability of generating hydrogen. Furthermore, filtering characteristics of the proposed method are clarified. As the result, the proposed method has reduced the power in LFC band by 83.7% compared to the PV power without the power smoothing control. The filter characteristics of the proposed method have shown that fluctuating components with periods less than 1000 seconds, in which the step voltage regulator does not perform, can be sufficiently eliminated from the PV power fluctuation components. When applying the proposed method for a PV system rated at 800 kW, the ability of generating hydrogen was about 2.30% of the hydrogen required for one hydrogen station.     

Surface reflectance modeling of real objects with interreflections for augmented virtuality

In mixed reality, especially in augmented virtuality, in which real objects are virtualized, it is important to estimate object surface reflectance properties in order to render the objects under arbitrary illumination conditions. Although several methods have been explored, faithfully estimating surface reflectance parameters for complex objects having nonuniform surface reflectance properties or interreflections remains difficult. This article describes a new method for densely estimating the nonuniform surface reflectance properties of real objects constructed of convex and concave surfaces with interreflections. Registered range and surface color texture images are obtained using a laser rangefinder. In the proposed method, light source positions are first determined in order to obtain color images for discriminating diffuse and specular reflection components considering the object geometry. Surface reflectance parameters are then estimated based on radiosity and the Torrance–Sparrow model. The usefulness of the proposed method is shown experimentally. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 31, 38–47, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.20184     

Adaptive finite element meshing at each iterative calculation for electromagnetic field analysis of rotating machines

In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm of the nonlinear time‐stepping finite element method for analyses of rotating machines. In the method, the adaptive finite element meshing is applied at each nonlinear and time‐stepping iterative calculation with the interpolate calculations of the potentials from the previous step. The primary finite element mesh at each time step is obtained from the final mesh of the previous time step with minor modification due to the movement of the rotor. The proposed method is applied to the characteristics calculations of a permanent magnet motor and an induction motor to verify the method's validity and its usefulness. It is clarified that the proposed method gives almost identical results to the conventional adaptive meshing method whereas the calculation time is reduced to less than 1/10 in most cases. As a result, the proposed method can reduce not only the time of making mesh manually but also the calculation time compared with the usual finite element method without adaptive meshing. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 164(3): 78–91, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20308     

Preparation and In Vitro Properties of N-Succinylchitosan- or Carboxymethylchitin-Mitomycin C Conjugate Microparticles with Specified Size

The preparation of cross-linked conjugate microparticles of N succinyl-chitosan (Suc) or 6-O-carboxymethylchitin (CM) with mitomycin C (MMC), which showed an adequate size for liver targeting (0.2-3 μm), was attempted by a combination of water-soluble carbodiimide (EDC) coupling and emulsification technique. As for Suc, microparticles with a diameter less than a few micrometers could be obtained easily, while the preparation of CM microparticles (CM-MPs) of the same diameter was not necessarily easy. First, preparation conditions were compared for CM-MPs, and some conditions gave CM-MPs with a diameter less than a few micrometers. As to CM-MMC conjugate microparticles, the method by addition of EDC after emulsification using CM with low molecular weight (CM_L) gave more appropriate microparticles with a mean diameter of 0.97 μm (CM_L-MP-MMC). Suc-MMC conjugate microparticles adequate for liver targeting could be produced by the addition of EDC both before and after emulsification; especially, the conjugate microparticles with a mean diameter of 0.45 μm (Suc-MP-MMC) were derived by the addition of EDC before emulsification. Suc-MP-MMC exhibited a higher drug content than CM_L-MP-MMC. CM_L-MP-MMC and Suc-MP-MMC exhibited 50% drug release times of 2.87 h and 42.1 h, respectively.     

Novel Mucoadhesive Oral Patch Containing Diazepam

The oral patch of diazepam (DZ) was developed to achieve a rapid absorption of DZ for the emergency treatment of epileptic seizure or anxiety disorder. The patch was composed of the outer mucoadhesive Carbopol 934 region, central drug region, and Tegaderm backing film. DZ (3 mg) was dissolved in propylene glycol (PG) alone or PG containing oleic acid (OA) at 5.6% (w/w), and used as the drug region. The patches with and without OA were attached to the mucosa of cheek in rats. The patch with OA exhibited the plasma level of more than 200 ng/mL at 10 min after administration, then the plasma concentration decreased gradually. The patch without OA displayed a plasma level of less than 30 ng/mL during 40 min after administration. To the contrary, in the in vitro drug permeation using a cellulose membrane, the patch without OA showed a three times faster permeation rate than the patch with OA, suggesting that the direct action of OA to mucosa might be associated with absorption enhancement. It was demonstrated that the patch with OA showed a good adhesion to oral mucosa and worked efficiently for rapid absorption of DZ.     

Preparation and In Vitro Evaluation of Chitosan Microspheres Containing Prednisolone: Comparison of Simple and Conjugate Microspheres

The purpose of the present study was to obtain a novel microparticulate formulation of prednisolone, which was adequate for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The formulations prepared were evaluated in vitro. Two types of chitosan microspheres containing prednisolone, named Ch-Pred and Ch-SP-MS, were prepared by an emulsification-solvent evaporation method using a chitosan-prednisolone mixture and a chitosan-succinyl-prednisolone conjugate (Ch-SP), respectively. Ch-Pred and Ch-SP-MS were obtained in almost spherical shape. Ch-Pred showed a relatively high drug content of 13.2% (w/w), but the particle size was distributed from 10 to 45 µm, and a large initial burst release of approximately 60% was observed. On the other hand, although Ch-SP-MS exhibited a fairly low drug content of 3.5% (w/w), their particle size ranged from several hundred nanometers to 20 µm, with the mean diameter of 5 µm, and a gradual drug release profile was achieved. These characteristics on particle size and in vitro release suggested that Ch-SP-MS should have good potential as a microparticulate system for the treatment of IBD.     

Evaluation of crack nucleation site and mechanical properties for friction stir welded butt joint in 2024-T3 aluminum alloy

In this paper, metallographic observations, hardness measurement, and static and fatigue tests were conducted to investigate the discontinuity states which become crack nucleation sites in friction stir welded butt joints in 2-mm-thick 2024-T3 aluminum alloy and static and fatigue properties of the joint. Because different types of surface finish can be used depending on the application of the joint, several types of surface conditions were tested to evaluate their effect on crack nucleation sites and static and fatigue life. Indentation hardness tests revealed that typical hardness reduction is not necessarily observed on the section of the welding line. Based on fatigue test results, it was confirmed that there are several types of crack nucleation sites for friction stir welding (FSW) joints depending on the surface finish, and the features of the fracture surface also differ depending on the site. Furthermore, the type of discontinuity state affects the fatigue life of the FSW joint.