A Dietary Oxysterol, 7-Ketocholesterol,Exacerbates Imiquimod-Induced Psoriasis-like Dermatitis in Steatohepatitic Mice

Patients with psoriasis are at a higher risk of developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. We previously identified an oxidized derivative of cholesterol, 7-ketocholesterol (7KC), in diet-induced steatohepatitic mice. Here, we investigated whether 7KC exacerbates psoriasis-like dermatitis by accelerating steatohepatitis in mice. A high-fat/high-cholesterol/high-sucrose/bile salt diet (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) diet) with or without 0.0125% 7KC was fed to C57BL/6 mice (7KC or control group) for three weeks to induce steatohepatitis. A 5% imiquimod cream was then applied to the ears and dorsal skin for four days to induce psoriasis-like dermatitis. Hepatic lipid accumulation and inflammatory cell infiltration were exacerbated in the 7KC group compared with the control group after three weeks. Serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels were also elevated in the 7KC group (108.5 ± 9.8 vs. 83.1 ± 13.1 pg/mL, p < 0.005). Imiquimod cream increased the psoriasis area severity index (PASI) score in mice in the 7KC group (9.14 ± 0.75 vs. 5.17 ± 1.17, p < 0.0001). Additionally, Tnfa, Il23a, Il17a, and Il22 mRNA levels in the dorsal lesion were significantly upregulated. Finally, Th17 cell differentiation and the TNF signaling pathway were enhanced in the dorsal lesions and liver of mice in the 7KC group. These data suggest that steatohepatitis and psoriasis are linked by a potent, diet-related factor.     

Present Status of the Nd:YAG Thomson Scattering System Development for Time Evolution Measurement of Plasma Profile on Heliotron J

A new high repetition rate Nd:YAG Thomson scattering system is developed for the Heliotron J helical device.A main purpose of installing the new system is the temporal evolution measurement of a plasma profile for improved confinement physics such as the edge transport barrier (H-mode) or the internal transport barrier of the helical plasma.The system has 25 spatial points with ～10mm resolution.Two high repetition Nd:YAG lasers (>550mJ@ 50Hz) realize the measurement of the time evolution of the plasma profile with ～10ms time intervals.Scattered light is collected by a large concave mirror (D=800 mm,f/2.25) with a solid angle of ～100 mstr and transferred to interference filter polychromators by optical fiber bundles in a staircase form.The signal is amplified by newly designed fast preamplifiers with DC and AC output,which reduces the low frequency background noise.The signals are digitized with a multi-event QDC,fast gated integrators.The data acquisition is performed by a VME-based system operated by the CINOS.     

On constructing communication protocols from component-based service specifications

Constructing communication protocols from component service specifications, each of which specifies a subfunction of the target protocol, enables efficient development of a large and complex communication protocol. Concerning this construction, related techniques have been already proposed: integration of component protocol specifications into a single protocol specification and transformation of service specifications to protocol specifications. However, the integration needs special knowledge of communication protocols, and the transformation requires that a large and complex service specification should be developed as input to produce the target protocol. In order to cope with these problems, this paper proposes a new method which at first integrates component service specifications into a single service specification, and then transforms the service specification into the target protocol by a protocol synthesis technique. The most important point of view is that component integration is performed at the service specification level rather than the protocol specification level. Additionally, we define a class of ‘well-formed’ service specification which ensures correctness of the target protocol. As a result, the integration and transformation can be efficiently executed in small state space without special knowledge of communication protocols. Finally, we have shown the effectiveness of the proposed method by constructing a part of the real-life OSI protocol FTAM.     

A new type of nanocomposite in tetragonal zirconia polycrystal-molybdenum system

A ceramic/metal nanocomposite in tetragonal zirconia-molybdenum system possesses a novel microstructural feature composed of a mutual intragranular nanostructure, in which either nanometer sized Mo particles or equivalent sized zirconia particles are located within the zirconia grains or Mo grains, respectively. It achieves a simultaneous improvement in strength and toughness that overcomes the strength-toughness tradeoff relation.     

Finite element analysis of the magnetomechanical behavior of a toroidal coil with magnetic mirrors

A toroidal simulator is used to study the magnetomechanical behavior of a superconducting D-shaped coil set at the center between sectored ferromagnetic plates. Since the magnetic field distribution between the two plates is expected to be almost the same as that created by toroidal field coils arrayed in a torus, the toroidal simulator may be expected to show almost the same magnetomechanical behavior as that of the full torus coils. To verify its validity experimentally, buckling and vibration tests were carried out in a liquid helium cryostat. In addition numerical analyses were performed for the magnetic field distribution to reveal its similarity and for the experimental results from the toroidal simulator to confirm its validity. Its validity is fully demonstrated in the present study.     

Thermodynamic properties for the quaternary system H2O + CH3OH + LiBr + ZnCl2

The thermodynamic properties (solubility, vapour pressure, density, viscosity, heat capacity and heat of mixing) of the H₂O + CH₃OH + LiBr + ZnCl₂ (9:1 H₂O:CH₃OH and 1:1 LiBr:ZnCl₂ by mass) system using H₂O + CH₃OH as the working media and LiBr + ZnCl₂ as the absorbents were measured. The solubility data were obtained in the temperature range from 270.35 to 389.55 K. The measurements of vapour pressure, density, viscosity and heat capacity were carried out at various temperatures and absorbent concentrations. The differential heat of dilution and differential heat of solution at 298.15 K were measured for solutionw with absorbent concentrations from 0 to 75.2 wt%. The integral heat of mixing data at 298.15 K were obtained from both sets of experimental data. The integral heats of mixing for this quaternary system showed exothermic behaviour. The vapour pressure data were correlated with an Antoine-type equation. An empirical formula for the heat capacity was obtained from experimental data. The experimental data for the basic thermodynamic properties of this quaternary system were compared with those of the basic H₂O + LiBr system.     

GaAs varactor diode for u.h.f. t.v. tuners

The design and fabrication of a GaAs varactor diode for u.h.f. t.v. tuners were carried out using a GaAs double epitaxial layer. The capacitance ratio of diode. C3/C25, is 6.0 and the series resistance at 470 MHz is 0.24 ?. These characteristics are much better than those of an Si diode and well satisfy the requirements for t.v. tuners.     

Development of Molecular Sieves‐Supported Palladium Catalyst and Chemoselective Hydrogenation of Unsaturated Bonds in the Presence of Nitro Groups

The chemoselective hydrogenation of unsaturated bonds and azide functionalities is achieved in the presence of nitro groups by a heterogeneous palladium catalyst supported on molecular sieves (MS3A). The present method shows a wide‐range of applicability with regard to substrates and the catalyst can be easily prepared and reused at least three times without any loss of activity.