A novel type hypertriglyceridemia observed in FLS mice

The unique inborn hypertriglyceridemia seen in FLS (fatty liver Shionogi) mice was relieved by the administration of purified apolipoprotein (apo) C-II. Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and its cofactor, apoC-II, play a pivotal role in VLDL metabolism. Therefore, we investigated the genetic background involved in this hypertriglyceridemia. Plasma levels of TG and total cholesterol as well as LPL activity were measured in male FLS mice and C57/BL6J mice. Agarose gel electrophoresis and fast protein liquid chromatography were used to analyze the lipoprotein profile. A cross experiment was done to determine the genetic background of hypertriglyceridemia observed in FLS mice. cDNA sequences of apoC-II and apoC-III of FLS mice were determined. Preα-lipoprotein was the predominant lipoprotein class in FLS mouse plasma. LPL activity remained in the range observed in C57/BL6J mice, and purified apoC-II transiently relieved FLS mice from hypertriglyceridemia. Preα-lipoproteinemia was inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. ApoC-III appeared to be a causal factor for this unique hypertriglyceridemia. Microsatellite analysis, however, revealed that the responsible chromosome was not 7; rather, apoC-III mapped onto chromosome 9. Therefore, we suggest apoC-III as a candidate causative factor for the hypertriglyceridemia observed in FLS mice because an excessive amount of apoC-III attenuates LPL activity in vivo and in vitro.     

Calibration method for the lidar-observed stratospheric depolarization ratio in the presence of liquid aerosol particles

A fine calibration of the depolarization ratio is required for a detailed interpretation of lidar-observed polar stratospheric clouds. We propose a procedure for analyzing data by using atmospheric depolarization lidar. The method is based on a plot of deltaT versus (1 - RT(-1)), where deltaT is the total depolarization ratio and RT is the total backscattering ratio. Assuming that there are only spherical particles in some altitude ranges of the lidar data, the characteristics of the plot of deltaT versus (1 - RT(-1)) lead to a simple but effective calibration method for deltaT. Additionally, the depolarization of air molecules deltam can be determined in the process of deltaT calibration. We compared determined values with theoretically calculated values for the depolarization of air to test the proposed method. The deltam value was calculated from the lidar data acquired at Ny-Alesund (79 degrees N, 12 degrees E), Svalbard in winter 1994-1995. When only sulfate aerosols were present on 24 December 1994, deltam was 0.46 +/- 0.35%. When the particles consisted of sulfate aerosols and spherical particles of polar stratospheric clouds on 4 January 1995, deltam was 0.45 +/- 0.07%. Both deltam values were in good agreement with the theoretically calculated value, 0.50 +/- 0.03%.     

Consolidation of machined magnesium alloy chips by hot extrusion utilizing superplastic flow

An examination of consolidation conditions by hot extrusion of AZ31 magnesium alloy machined chips was conducted to enhance the bonding of individual chips, in order to improve the mechanical properties. Hot extrusions were carried out in the superplastic and non-superplastic region. Microstructural observations revealed that grain refinement was attained by extruding machined chips, and the grain sizes of the chip-extruded materials were smaller than 5 m. The interfaces of individual chips of extruded materials were not identified when the chips were extruded in the superplastic region. The ultimate tensile strength was about 300 MPa and elongation-to-failure was about 10% for chip-extruded materials that were extruded in the superplastic region. These materials were comparable with the as-received alloy with respect to the room temperature strength, although the ductility was reduced to half. It was confirmed that chip consolidation utilizing superplastic flow is useful to enhance the bonding of individual grains.     

Fundamental study of the radiation monitoring system based on evaluation of DNA lesions

The biological dosemeter that measures biological responses to ionising radiation is useful for radiation protection. This paper presents the development and characterisation of a gamma ray irradiation dosimetry system based on real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) methodology. Real-time PCR is used to amplify and simultaneously quantify a targeted DNA molecule. If there are no limitations due to limiting substrates or reagents, at each extension step, the amount of DNA target is doubled, leading to exponential (geometric) amplification of the specific DNA fragment. The essential point of this assay is that DNA lesions caused by ionising radiation block DNA synthesis by DNA polymerase, resulting in a decrease in the amplification of a damaged DNA template compared with that of non-damaged DNA templates.     

Damping properties in Mg–Zn–Y alloy with dispersion of quasicrystal phase particle

The effect of the interface structure between the matrix and the particle on the damping capacity was investigated using Mg–Zn and Mg–Zn–Y alloys in this study. The damping capacity was not affected by the interface structure at room temperature. However, the onset of temperature, which was higher in the Mg–Zn–Y alloy than in the Mg–Zn alloy despite their similar grain sizes, increased the damping capacity through grain boundary relaxation by grain boundary sliding. Compared to the Mg–Zn alloy, the existence of the quasicrystal phase particles, which had the coherent interface with low interface energy, was likely to have suppressed and delayed the grain boundary sliding in the Mg–Zn alloy.     

Melt memory effects on recrystallization of polyamide 6 revealed by depolarized light scattering and small‐angle X‐ray scattering

Melt memory effects on recrystallization of polyamide 6 were studied in a length scale from nm to μm using small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) and depolarized light scattering (DPLS). The memory effects on recrystallization rate were discussed in terms of the incubation period before nucleation and the half time of the crystallization, which were measures of the nucleation rate and the growth rate, respectively. Both rates are almost independent of the annealing temperature of the melt in the remelting process for the short term annealing below ～ 3 min while they are slowed as the annealing temperature increases for the long term annealing, showing that the relaxation of melt memory takes very long even above the equilibrium melting temperature T. Extrapolating the incubation period to infinite annealing, time we found that it was very hard to attain the fully relaxed state in polyamide 6 even above the equilibrium melting temperature. This must be due to the strong hydrogen bonding in polyamide 6. We also discuss the memory effects on the final structure after recrystallization based on the SAXS and DPLS profiles. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Application of high speed slurry flow finishing method for finishing of inner wall of fine hole die: Effects of the hardness of die material on the polishing characteristics

In order to warrant the quality of drawn metal wires, the inner wall of the hole die which has been used in the drawing of metal wire, has been usually finished by hand work for a long time using a bar daubed the kneaded paste containing diamond powder. High speed slurry flow finishing method which has been recently developed for the finishing of inner wall of capillary has been applied to the finishing of the hole die. It is found that the surface roughness of inner wall of the hole decreases with the increasing number of slurry flow pass in a relatively short finishing time, and that surface roughness reduction rate depends on the hardness of die materials. Experiments show that the bell mouth shape is spontaneously formed in the high speed slurry flow finishing.     

Asymptotic stabilization and synchronization of parametric LCR resonant circuit using the characteristics of its coefficients

In this paper, we analyze stability of a time‐varying system represented by second‐order vector differential equations based on the characteristics of their coefficient matrices. New sufficient conditions for asymptotic stability of the equilibrium points are derived. Then, an asymptotic stabilizing control method of parametric LCR resonant system is discussed by using the obtained sufficient conditions. A method synchronizing two parametric LCR resonant systems is also given. The effectiveness of the results is illustrated by numerical examples. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 154(3): 48–55, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20142