Local structures around Er atoms doped in GaAs by low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy

Er-doped GaAs samples were grown by molecular beam epitaxy at 400°C and 590°C. The samples were investigated by photoluminescence (PL) and fluorescence extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements in order to find the relationship between the local structures around the Er atoms and the PL properties. Er-related PL peaks were observed only for the samples grown at a low temperature (400°C). The fluorescence EXAFS measurements showed the Er atoms were located on tetrahedral interstitial site when the growth temperature was low. On the other hand, when the growth temperature was high (590°C), the Er atoms substituted the Ga site in GaAs lattice.     

Association of the missense Glu298Asp variant of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene with myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVES: We examined the possible association between the missense Glu298Asp variant of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene and myocardial infarction (MI). BACKGROUND: Endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO) plays a key role in the regulation of vascular tone. Recently, we reported that a missense Glu298Asp variant in exon 7 of the eNOS gene is a possible genetic factor involved in the pathogenesis of coronary spasm. Endothelium-derived NO also has vasoprotective effects by suppressing platelet aggregation, leukocyte adhesion and smooth muscle cell proliferation. METHODS: We screened 285 patients with an MI and 607 control subjects in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment-length polymorphism analysis. RESULTS: The frequency of the missense Glu298Asp variant was significantly higher in the MI group than in the control group (21.1% vs. 13.3%, p = 0.003, odds ratio 1.73 for the dominant effect of the eNOS T allele). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the missense Glu298Asp variant was an independent risk factor for MI, as was diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cigarette smoking, hypercholesterolemia and body mass index. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant association of the missense Glu298Asp variant of the eNOS gene with MI. This marker-disease association may be due to the impaired effects of NO on the cardiovascular system: dysregulation of vascular tone, platelet aggregation and leukocyte adhesion and smooth muscle cell proliferation, all of which promote coronary atherosclerosis and thrombosis.     

A concept of nitride fuel actinide recycle system based on pyrochemical reprocessing

A fuel cycle system coupled with nitride fuel fast reactors and a pyrochemical reprocessing has been investigated in order to establish an actinide transmutation recycle system with long-lived radioactive nuclides. Core performance of the nitride fuel fast reactor can provide design flexibility of excellent safety characteristics and a new concept of core composed with Na- and He- bonded fuel assemblies is proposed. The effect of ¹⁵N enrichment on nuclear characteristics and the evaluation of toxicity of ¹⁴C generated from ¹⁴N are appeared, and futhermore, excellent performance for the minor actinide (MA) transmutation is shown.

The study of the pyrochemical process shows that the actinides are reasonably separated from fission products in the nitride spent fuels, and that the high level wastes are of nearly actinide-free form.     

Augmented placental production of leptin in preeclampsia: possible involvement of placental hypoxia

Preeclampsia (PE) is a hypertensive disorder, which develops in late pregnancy and is usually associated with placental hypoxia and dysfunction. We have recently demonstrated that leptin is a novel placenta-derived hormone in humans and suggested its significance in human pregnancy (see Ref. 19). To explore the changes in the leptin production in placenta in PE, we measured the plasma leptin level and placental leptin messenger RNA expression in pregnant women with PE. Plasma leptin levels in preeclamptic women were elevated significantly, compared with gestational age- and body mass index-matched normal pregnant women (P < 0.0001). Plasma leptin levels in the severe PE group were significantly higher than those in the mild PE group (P < 0.0001). Plasma leptin levels in preeclamptic women were reduced, soon after the placental delivery, to those expected for their body mass indices. Northern blot analysis revealed that leptin messenger RNA levels are increased in the placentas from preeclamptic women, compared with normal pregnant women. Leptin secretion was increased significantly in a human trophoblastic cell line (BeWo cells) cultured under hypoxic conditions (5% O2), compared with those cultured under standard conditions (20% O2; P < 0.01). The present study demonstrated that placental production of leptin is augmented in severe PE, probably because of placental hypoxia, thereby suggesting the possible significance of leptin as a marker of placental hypoxia in severe PE.     

Application of Mechanical Similarity Laws to the Collection Efficiencies of Geometrically Types of Uni—Flow Cyclone Dust Collectors

From the mechanical similarity point of view, the centrifugal effect, Ar, and the Stokes number, St, as well as the Reynolds number, Re_c for the motion of solid particles in the cyclone are the relevant parameters. In order to apply these similarity laws for the prediction of the characteristics of the collection efficiency, ηc, geometrically similar types of uni-flow cyclones were used. The body diameters of the cyclones were D_1=30, 50, 69 and 99 mm, respectively. The feed particle concentration of the fly-ash particles was up to C_o = 60g/m~3. From the experimental results: (1) the pressure drop, △pc, in the cyclones was a function of not only the Reynods number, Re_c, but also the body diameter, D_1; (2) the collection efficiency, η_c, did not always increase with decreasing body diameter but there existed an optimal body size; (3) application of the mechanical similarity laws to the collection efficiency was not always sufficient for estimating the collection efficiency, since the feed particle concentration was an additional important factor; (4) a new parameter which was the ratio, E_(pf), of the apparent separation energy, W_p, of the solid particles to the energy loss, E_c, of the gas flow in the cyclone was introduced for discussing the collection efficiency; (5) Fuchs theory, used to estimate the collection efficiency, was examined. Fuchs theory may be applied for high feed particle concentration.     

Electronic structure characterization of La incorporated Hf-based high-k gate dielectrics by NEXAFS

The electronic structures of lanthunum (La) incorporated hafnium (Hf)-based oxides (HfLaO) and their silicate (HfLaSiO) films were investigated by the Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) technique. The oxygen (O) K-edge spectra, which reflected the hybridized Hf 5d state with the O 2p orbital, were found to reveal features of the unoccupied state of the metal oxides, as well as the conduction-band edge. We also found that, while La incorporation into the Hf-based oxides simply changed the features of the conduction-band structure, subsequent thermal annealing of the La-incorporated films led to a conduction-band edge shift due to an interface silicate reaction and/or local bond rearrangement depending on the La concentration and annealing temperature. The impact of La incorporation into the Hf-based high-k materials on the electronic structure is discussed by taking into account the intrinsic nature of these metal oxides.     

Gelation mechanism of surimi studied by 1h NMR relaxation measurements

ABSTRACT:  In order to elucidate the gelation mechanism of surimi, the temperature dependence of water proton spin–spin relaxation time (¹H T ₂) has been described by a theoretical approach, in which the exposed protein surface is taken into account. Water ¹H T ₂ measured for horse mackerel surimi in the presence of 2.5% NaCl was analyzed on the basis of the consideration for the denaturation and the aggregation of protein in order to explain the macroscopic structural change during the heating and the cooling processes. The temperature dependence of water ¹H T ₂ and the fraction of rigid component gave a clear explanation for the gelation mechanism of surimi. Differential scanning calorimetry thermogram and dynamic viscoelastic measurements supported the results of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements. It has been demonstrated that the measurement of NMR relaxation times is useful to describe the gelation mechanism of surimi.     

A Strategy to Probe Air-Liquid Interfaces by Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy

Abstract

Confocal fluorescence microscopy has been seldom applied to air-liquid interfaces due to technical difficulties. Satellite lines of an excitation laser beam can be used as an inherent reference for a confocal microscope to align and calibrate the setup. This strategy is especially useful and important to a liquid surface, and makes it possible to observe very weak fluorescence without time-consuming alignment procedures.     

Ipragliflozin Ameliorates Diabetic Nephropathy Associated with Perirenal Adipose Expansion in Mice

Sodium glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors inhibit the development of diabetic nephropathy (DN). We determined whether changes in perirenal fat (PRAT) by a SGLT2 inhibitor ipragliflozin (Ipra) contribute to the suppression of DN development. High-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice were used as a DN model and were treated with or without Ipra for 6 weeks. Ipra treatment reduced urinary albumin excretion (UAE) and glomerular hypertrophy in HFD-fed mice. In the PRAT of Ipra-treated mice, adipocyte size was increased, and inflammation, fibrosis, and adipocyte death were suppressed. In conditioned medium made from PRAT (PRAT-CM) of Ipra-treated mice, the concentration of leptin was significantly lower than PRAT-CM of mice without Ipra treatment. Serum leptin concentration in renal vein positively correlated with UAE. PRAT-CM from HFD-fed mice showed greater cell proliferation signaling in mouse glomerular endothelial cells (GECs) than PRAT-CM from standard diet-fed mice via p38MAPK and leptin-dependent pathways, whose effects were significantly attenuated in PRAT-CM from Ipra-treated mice. These findings suggest that Ipra-induced PRAT expansion may play an important role in the improvement of DN in HFD-fed mice. In vitro experiments suggest that reduced PRAT-derived leptin by Ipra could inhibit GECs proliferation, possibly contributing to the suppression of DN development.