Ingestion of plasmalogen markedly increased plasmalogen levels of blood plasma in rats

Plasmalogens, a subclass of phospholipids, are widely distributed in human and animals, and are taken into the body as food. However, no data exist on the intestinal absorption or fate of ingested plasmalogen. Here, we determined whether dietary plasmalogen is absorbed and whether blood and tissue concentrations increased in normal male Wistar rats by using four separate experiments. Phospholipids containing more than 20 wt% of plasmalogen extracted from the bovine brain were incorporated into test diets (10–15 wt%). In experiment 1, we estimated the absorption rate by measuring the plasmalogen vinyl ether bonds remaining in the alimentary tract of rats after the ingestion of 2 g of test diet containing 91 μmol plasmalogen. The absorption rate of plasmalogen was nearly 80 mol% after 4 h, comparable to the total phospholipid content in the test diet. In experiment 2, we observed no degradation of the plasmalogen vinyl ether bonds under in vitro conditions simulating those of the stomach and small intestinal lumen. In experiment 3 we confirmed a comparable absorption (36 mol%) by using a closed loop of the upper small intestine in anesthetized rats 90 min after injecting a 10 wt% brain phospholipid emulsion. Feeding a test diet containing 10 wt% brain phospholipids for 7 d increased plasmalogen concentration threefold in blood plasma and by 25% in the liver; however, no increases were seen in blood cells, skeletal muscle, brain, lungs, kidneys, or adipose tissue (experiment 4). We concluded that dietary plasmalogen is absorbed from the intestine and contributes to a large increase in plasmalogen levels in blood plasma.     

Effects of steroid hormones on vascular functions

The purpose of this review is to present reported findings of effects of steroids on vascular function and to discuss the biological significance in vascular physiology and pathology. Steroid hormones play various roles in vascular functions through the specific receptor localized in the endothelium and underlying vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Estrogen replacement therapy in postmenopausal women is in general associated with a reduction in mortality from cardiovascular disease and the beneficial effects of estrogens are caused by modulation of lipid metabolism, expression of leukocyte adhesion molecules, and migration of VSMCs in the vascular wall. Estrogens also play a role as vasodilators through an increment in nitric oxide (NO) production in endothelium or modulation of calcium homeostasis in VSMCs. Some progestin molecules partially oppose the effects of estrogens on vascular functions, but striking differences exist among the types of molecules. Testosterone shows a vasorelaxant response, but detailed actions of androgens on vascular functions remain unknown. Glucocorticoids act on vasoconstriction through reduced prostacyclin production, increased alpha-adrenoceptor numbers, and inhibition of NO synthase, while mineralocorticoids induce hypertrophy and hyperplasia of VSMCs and perivascular fibrosis and cause peripheral vascular resistance, in addition to changes in vascular electrocyte permeability. Some rapid actions of steroids are mediated by "nongenomic" responses in vascular tissues. Recent studies have also demonstrated that steroid-producing or -metabolizing enzymes are expressed in the vascular wall, suggesting the local regulation of steroids in the vascular system. Thus, steroid hormones greatly influence vascular functions and an understanding of the mechanisms may provide new means to prevent vascular diseases.     

中国液态锂铅包层材料研究进展

液态锂铅包层是国际上普遍关注和最有发展潜力的聚变堆包层概念设计之一,而包层材料是液态锂铅包层的核心问题之一.目前,液态锂铅包层普遍选用低活化铁素体/马氏体钢(RAFM钢)作为结构材料,液态锂铅作为中子倍增剂及氚增殖剂.另外,部分设计采用了耐高温、电绝缘流道插件作为功能材料,以降低磁流体动力学效应及提高冷却剂出口温度(高于700℃).为适应液态包层的发展需求,中国科学院等离子体物理研究所FDS团队联合国内外相关研究单位,进行了具有中国自主知识产权的中国低活化马氏体钢(CLAM钢)及液态锂铅包层功能材料研发,并开展了锂铅热对流及强迫对流回路的设计、研制及腐蚀实验研究,以研究液态金属锂铅的流动特性及其与结构和功能材料的相容性.同时建立了聚变堆材料数据库平台,为促进中国聚变堆液态包层及材料技术的研究和发展提供数据支持.     

Preparation of porous sheet composite impregnated with TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> photocatalyst by a papermaking technique

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) powder-containing sheet composites, called TiO₂ sheet, were prepared by a papermaking technique, and their photocatalytic efficiency was investigated. The TiO₂ powders were homogeneously scattered over the fiber-mix networks tailored within the catalyst sheet. Under UV irradiation, the TiO₂ paper could decompose p-hydroxyacetophenone (p-HAP), although the degradation efficiency by the TiO₂ sheet was lower than that by the TiO₂ powder. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that coverage of the TiO₂ particles inside the sheet by alumina binder which was used to improve the sheet strength caused the deterioration of the photocatalytic performance. Internal addition of alumina binder made the TiO₂ sheet porous and such a TiO₂ sheet exhibited high photocatalytic performance equivalent to that of TiO₂ powder. The porous structure of TiO₂ sheet might contribute to effective transport of p-HAP to the surface of TiO₂ particles inside the sheet, resulting in high degradation performance. In addition, TiO₂ sheet prepared using TiO₂ sol showed higher photocatalytic efficiency than TiO₂ powder and it was indicated that the porous sheet structure might provide suitable conditions for TiO₂ catalysis for photodecomposition.     

Benchmarks for psychotherapy efficacy in adult major depression.

This study estimates pretreatment-posttreatment effect size benchmarks for the treatment of major depression in adults that may be useful in evaluating psychotherapy effectiveness in clinical practice. Treatment efficacy benchmarks for major depression were derived for 3 different types of outcome measures: the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (M. A. Hamilton, 1960, 1967), the Beck Depression Inventory (A. T. Beck, 1978; A. T. Beck & R. A. Steer, 1987), and an aggregation of low reactivity-low specificity measures. These benchmarks were further refined for 3 conditions: treatment completers, intent-to-treat samples, and natural history (wait-list) conditions. The study confirmed significant effects of outcome measure reactivity and specificity on the pretreatment-posttreatment effect sizes. The authors provide practical guidance in using these benchmarks to assess treatment effectiveness in clinical settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Numerical Study of C–V Characteristics of Double-Gate Ultrathin SOI MOSFETs

Capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of double-gate ultrathin silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOSFETs are numerically investigated in detail. The measured back-gate bias dependence is reproduced by the Poisson-Schrodinger solver including the highly precise physical models for many-body interactions of carrier-carrier and carrier-ion, and for incomplete ionization of doping impurities in whole semiconductor regions of n⁺poly-Si/oxide/SOI/oxide/p-Si capacitor including the volume inversion. In addition, we study the higher subband effect at higher temperature in detail, in order to deduce the impacts of self-heating and nonstatic transport     

Breakdown Characteristics of N2O Gas Mixtures for Quasiuniform Electric Field under Lightning Impulse Voltage

From the viewpoint of mitigating global warming by SF₆ gas, this paper discusses breakdown (BD) characteristics of different electronegative gas mixtures with N₂O gas as SF₆ gas substitutes for quasi-uniform electric field under lightning impulse voltage applications. Experimental results revealed the positive synergism in breakdown strength of binary N₂O / CO₂ and ternary N₂O / CO₂ / O₂ gas mixtures, respectively. Furthermore, N₂ gas as a retardant gas was also mixed with the electronegative gas mixtures in order to reduce the electron energy into the effective levels of electron attachment ability by the electronegative gas mixtures. As the result, ternary N₂O / CO₂ / N₂ and quaternary N₂O / CO₂ / O₂ / N₂ gas mixtures could exhibit the significant synergistic effect in breakdown strength. The optimum mixture rate of quaternary N₂O / CO₂ / O₂ / N₂ gas mixtures was consistent with that estimated by assuming the independent contribution of component gases to the improvement of impulse BD characteristics.     

Trunk motion control during the flight phase while hopping considering angular momentum of a humanoid

In previous studies, various stabilizing control methods for humanoids during the stance phase while hopping and running were proposed. Although these methods contribute to stability while hopping and running, it is possibility that the control during the flight phase could also affect the stability. In this study, we investigated whether the control during the flight phase can affect the stability of a humanoid while running. To achieve stable hopping, we developed a control system that accounts for the angular momentum of the whole body during the flight phase. In this system, the angular momentum generated by the motion of the lower body in each time interval is calculated during the flight phase, and the trunk joints are controlled to generate the angular momentum necessary to compensate for the deviation of the waist posture, which is used as the reference point for the motion coordinate system of the robot. Once the proposed control system was developed and simulated, we found that the hopping duration in the unconstrained state was extended.     

Pore-scale visualization of gas trapping in porous media by X-ray CT scanning

Entrapment of the non-wetting phase in porous media has been observed in a variety of fields such as petroleum engineering, geological storage of carbon dioxide, and remediation of ground water. We investigated gas trapping in porous media from a microscopic point of view. High-resolution, three-dimensional images of pore structure and trapped gas bubbles in Berea sandstones were obtained using a micro-focused X-ray CT scanner. We used vertical and horizontal Berea sandstone cores, 8 mm in diameter and 15 mm long. Based on the three-dimensional image analysis, the statistical distribution of the trapped gas volume was estimated. Trapped bubbles have a pore-network scale size and distribute over several pores. In the case of the vertical core, the porosity fluctuates along the flow direction due to the layered structure. The residual gas saturation also fluctuates with porosity along the flow direction. The higher gas saturation in porous layers at the end of gas injection results in a higher trapped gas saturation compared to dense layers. On the other hand, in dense layers the gas saturation at the end of gas injection is almost the same as residual gas saturation. Therefore, most of the gas injected into the dense layers would be trapped. In the case of the horizontal core, the gas saturation at the irreducible water condition is lower than that for the vertical core, because the injected gas selectively passes through the more permeable layers. However, the residual gas saturation is 29.2% for the horizontal core, which is comparable with that for the vertical core (30.9%). Finally, the effect of capillary number on stability of trapped gas bubbles has been estimated. Trapped gas bubbles are stable against the increased flow rate up to a capillary number of 1.0×10^?5.     

Co-continuous monolithic titania prepared by organic polymer monolith as pore template

We achieved preparation of co-continuous titania based monolithic materials using several organic polymer monoliths as pore templates. Firstly, the organic polymer monoliths that had well controlled structures were prepared, and filled the pores of polymer monolith with tetra-n-butyl titanate (titan monomer). The following hydrolysis of the titan monomer resulted in titanium dioxide. The polymer monolith was removed by calcination at elevated temperature. We carefully studied the utility of polymer monolithic template, filling method of the titan monomer, and calcination conditions to realize co-continuous titania monolith. In addition, by the change of domain size (size of a skeleton + size of through a pore) of template, we were able to control domain size of the resulting titania monoliths.