Synthesis of secretory protein in regenerating liver of rat after partial hepatectomy

Albumin immunoreactivity in the liver was examined on days 2, 5 and 10 after two-thirds partial hepatectomy by light and ultrastructural immunoperoxidase methods and the ultrastructural area of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in hepatocytes was measured. Albumin immunoreactivity was seen in the rough ER and Golgi apparatus of all hepatocytes in the hepatectomized liver and ultrastructural analysis showed a significantly greater area of rough ER on day 5 than on days 2 or 10. Albumin mRNA was studied by the in situ hybridization technique using radioisotopes and their numbers were determined visually. Albumin mRNA was present as grains in all hepatocytes and the grains varied in number during regeneration of the liver, being more abundant on day 5 than on days 2 or 10. The activity of [3H]-leucine incorporated into albumin synthesis, an indicator of translational activity, was higher on days 5 and 10 than on day 2 and was highest on day 5. In conclusion, albumin synthesis varied during liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy, being reduced at the peak of cell proliferation on day 2 and being most active on day 5.     

Application of thiol‐ene photopolymerization for injectable intraocular lenses: A preliminary study

The thiol‐ene photopolymerization, which could be achieved with less ultraviolet (UV) intensity and photoinitiator content was first introduced into the application of injectable intraocular lenses (IOLs), thus the damages to the eye from the UV radiation and photoinitiator toxicity were greatly reduced. The bulk samples were obtained from the mixture of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) and pentaerythritol tetrakis(3‐mercaptopropionate) (PTMP) by the thiol‐ene photopolymerization. It was found that PEGDA‐PTMP bulk samples had the similar transparency and the hydrophilicity as the ones from PEGDA by homophotopolymerization. Meanwhile, when PTMP was added into PEGDA, the elastic modulus of the bulk samples was decreased and their flexibility was improved. The experimental results indicated that the thiol‐ene photopolymerization was one potential method to obtain the ideal injectable IOLs, although many works have to be done in the future study, such as selecting proper monomers and testing the biocompatibility of polymerized samples. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Crystal structures of L201A mutant of D-amino acid aminotransferase at 2.0 A resolution: implication of the structural role of Leu201 in transamination

The leucine-to-alanine mutation at residue 201 of D-amino acidaminotransferase provides a unique enzyme which gradually loses itsactivity while catalyzing the normal transamination; the co-enzyme form isconverted from pyridoxal 5'-phosphate to pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate upon theinactivation [Kishimoto,K., Yoshimura,T., Esaki,N., Sugio,S., Manning,J.M.and Soda,K. (1995) J. Biochem., 117, 691-696]. Crystal structures of bothco-enzyme forms of the mutant enzyme have been determined at 2.0 Aresolution: they are virtually identical, and are quite similar to that ofthe wild-type enzyme. Significant differences in both forms of the mutantare localized only on the bound co-enzyme, the side chains of Lys145 andTyr31, and a water molecule sitting on the putative substrate binding site.Detailed comparisons of the structures of the mutant, together with that ofthe pyridoxamine-5'- phosphate form of the wild-type enzyme, imply thatLeu201 would play a crucial role in the transamination reaction by keepingthe pyridoxyl ring in the proper location without disturbing itsoscillating motion, although the residue seems to not be especiallyimportant for the structural integrity of the enzyme.     

Dynamic properties of FP-LD transmitters using side-mode injection locking for LANs and WDM-PONs

In this paper, the dynamic properties of Fabry-Perot laser diode (FP-LD) transmitters using side-mode injection locking, which are intended to be applied in wavelength-division-multiplexed passive optical networks (WDM-PON) and local area networks (LANs), have been investigated. Both the direct modulation properties and wavelength switching properties of the transmitters have been clarified theoretically and experimentally, as well as the important direct modulation characteristics, such as injection power dependence, side-mode dependence, and wavelength detuning dependence. To confirm the transmission ability, fundamental transmission experiments of the transmitters in both continuous and discontinuous injection cases have been made. The experiments clarified that the error-free transmission was possible in both cases. Falling and rising times during wavelength switching actions in LAN applications have been calculated and measured. A high-speed switching method was proposed in this paper, and the effectiveness of the proposed method has been confirmed theoretically and experimentally.     

A Hamiltonian-based solution to the mixed sensitivity optimization problem for stable pseudorational plants

This paper considers the mixed sensitivity optimization problem for a class of infinite-dimensional stable plants. This problem is reducible to a two- or one-block H^∞ control problem with structured weighting functions. We first show that these weighting functions violate the genericity assumptions of existing Hamiltonian-based solutions such as the well-known Zhou–Khargonekar formula. Then, we derive a new closed form formula for the computation of the optimal performance level, when the underlying plant structure is specified by a pseudorational transfer function.     

Broad spectrum InGaAsP edge-emitting light-emitting diode usingselective-area metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy

We studied the effects of a composition-changing emission region on the emission spectrum using an InGaAsP multiple-quantum-well edge-emitting light-emitting diode (ELED). The ELED was fabricated by selective-area growth using a gradually changing mask stripe width. The spectral half-width exceeded 120 nm at an ambient temperature of 25°C, offering a wider spectrum than that of conventional light-emitting diodes     

Clinical features, image analysis, and laparoscopic and histological liver findings in Budd-Chiari syndrome

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Clinical manifestations and histological features of the liver in Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS), with or without idiopathic membranous obstruction of the inferior vena cava (MOVC), vary according to whether BCS is acute, subacute or chronic. We clarified the diagnostic features in 6 patients with MOVC and in 1 without MOVC. METHODOLOGY: Five patients with subacute or chronic type BCS with MOVC complaining of epigastric pain, hematemesis and encephalopathy, and signs of portal hypertension or collateral circulation were seen. There was 1 asymptomatic patient with MOVC. One patient with acute type BCS without MOVC revealed hepatic and multi-organ failure. Liver function tests in BCS with MOVC were similar to those in liver cirrhosis, and laboratory data in acute type without MOVC were quite the same as those seen in fulminant hepatitis. Non-invasive image analysis by US, CT and MRI showed thrombi and obstruction of the IVC, and extrahepatic vasculature or communication between hepatic veins and IVC. Vena cavography showed the length of obstruction in IVC and collateral circulation in the extrahepatic or intrahepatic veins. Liver biopsy demonstrated massive hemorrhagic necrosis in acute type without MOVC, and laparoscopy with liver biopsy in asymptomatic, subacute and chronic type with MOVC showed subcapsular hemorrhage, congestion, fibrosis, and cirrhotic features. CONCLUSIONS: The non-invasive image analysis was complementary to vena cavography, and liver biopsy with or without laparoscopy was essential not only for diagnosis of acute, subacute, and chronic BCS, but also for therapeutic decision-making.