Analgesic Mechanisms of Steroid Ointment against Oral Ulcerative Mucositis in a Rat Model

Despite the long history of use of steroid ointments for oral mucositis, the analgesic mechanism has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we examined the effects of triamcinolone acetonide (Tmc) on oral ulcerative mucositis-induced pain in conscious rats by our proprietary assay system. Based on evaluations of the physical properties and retention periods in the oral mucosa of human volunteers and rats, we selected TRAFUL^® ointment as a long-lasting base. In oral ulcerative mucositis model rats, TRAFUL^® with Tmc suppressed cyclooxygenase-dependent inflammatory responses with upregulations of glucocorticoid receptor-induced anti-inflammatory genes and inhibited spontaneous nociceptive behavior. When an ointment with a shorter residual period was used, the effects of Tmc were not elicited or were induced to a lesser extent. Importantly, TRAFUL^® with Tmc also improved oral ulcerative mucositis-induced mechanical allodynia, which has been reported to be independent of cyclooxygenase. Ca²⁺ imaging in dissociated trigeminal ganglion neurons showed that long-term preincubation with Tmc inhibited the hypertonic stimulation-induced Ca²⁺ response. These results suggest that the representative steroid Tmc suppresses oral ulcerative mucositis-induced pain by general anti-inflammatory actions and inhibits mechanical sensitivity in peripheral nerves. For drug delivery, long-lasting ointments such as TRAFUL^® are needed to sufficiently induce the therapeutic effects.     

Heat transfer and pressure loss characteristics of very compact heat sinks

High-performance compact heat sinks have been developed for the effective cooling of high-density LSI packaging. Heat transfer and pressure loss characteristics of the heat sinks in both air-cross-flow and air-jet cooling have been experimentally studied. The present heat sinks were of plate-fin and pin-fin arrays with a fin pitch of 0.7 mm. The plate-fin heat sinks had higher cooling performance than the pin-fin heat sinks in the range of large airflow rates both in air-cross-flow and air-jet cooling. The thermal conductance in cross-flow cooling was 20 or 40% larger than that in jet cooling. The correlation of Colburn j-factor/Fanning friction factor versus the Reynolds number for the present heat sinks was found to be very close to that of a conventional large-size heat exchanger. © Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Asian Res, 28(8): 687-705, 1999     

Learning and assimilation vs. M&A and innovation: Japan at the crossroads

Historically, Japan constructed its socio-cultural system so that it introduced, adopted, assimilated, and developed Western technology selectively without spoiling its own indigenous culture. And until recently, Japan learned and assimilated global best practices without being dependent on mergers and acquisitions (M&A). M&As in Japan were the lowest in the world until 2000, suggesting a low dependence on acquiring technology in this way. Recently, the number of M&As has increased dramatically among certain Japanese manufacturing firms. Prior to 2004, these firms were less profitable than their counterparts that did not depend on M&A. Today Japan's corporate technology and innovation strategy is at a crucial inflection point of maintaining the indigenous learning/assimilation function while also becoming more dependent on M&As. This paper explores the changing role of M&As in Japanese firms, and also considers the role of Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 in the innovation process. Using an empirical analysis of the trajectories of Japan's leading electrical machinery firms, this paper explores the changing role of M&A in the context of business innovation in Japan, and the ongoing dialectic between indigenous strengths and global best practices.     

Simultaneous Determination of Free Fatty Acids and Esterified Fatty Acids in Rice Oil by Gas Chromatography

Free fatty acids (FFA) in crude rice oil were selectively and stoichiometrically derivatized to fatty acid N,N-dimethylamides (FADMA) by catalytic condensation at 45 °C, and then esterified fatty acids (eFA) were directly converted to fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) at 37 °C. The mixture of FADMA and FAME formed in a single test tube was injected into the capillary column of a gas chromatograph (GC). No mutual contamination occurred between FFA and eFA, and reliability of the method was confirmed by comparison between GC data obtained by this method and by a conventional isolation method. The advantages of the present method are that no FFA isolation procedures are required, the reactions proceed under mild temperature conditions, and FFA and eFA can be analyzed simultaneously by GC.     

Prediction of slippage onset condition between web and steel roller

This paper describes the theoretical modeling for the prediction of slippage onset condition between the paper web and steel roller with experimental verifications. For the first step of modeling, the occurrence of slippage is observed for the cases of uncoated paper (newsprint) and coated paper, and the relation between the slip ratio and roller velocity is measured by changing web tension. Two kinds of theoretical model are proposed, and the applicability of the models is confirmed experimentally.     

Kinetics of trichloroethene dechlorination with iron powder

The dechlorination of trichloroethene (TCE) with metallic iron is an advantageous method for the remediation of contaminated groundwater and soil. The toxic reaction intermediates such as dichloroethenes (DCEs) and vinyl chloride (VC), however, occasionally accumulate in the pathway of the reaction. We have been trying to suppress these intermediates by using metallic iron powder containing impurities. In order to investigate the reaction pathways, we measured the production rates of the intermediates and the final products of the dechlorination of TCE such as DCEs, VC, ethyne or ethene. Ethyne, ethene, ethane and cis-DCE were observed as the major products, and trans-DCE, 1,1-DCE, VC, C3-hydrocarbons (such as propane, propylene), C4-hydrocarbons (such as n-butane) and methane were observed as the minors. Also the rate constants of TCE to ethyne and ethyne to ethene were larger than any other constants. These fact show the production of ethene/ethane via ethyne is the main pathway of the dechlorination of TCE using the metallic iron powder.     

Identification of crack path of inter- and transgranular fractures in sintered silicon nitride by in situ TEM

Inter- and/or transgranular crack paths in sintered silicon nitride (Si3N4) during fracture were investigated by in situ straining experiments in a transmission electron microscope at room temperature, using a high-precision micro-indenter. By this technique, cracks introduced in an in situ manner were observed to propagate in the grain interior and along grain boundaries. High-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) observation revealed that the crack propagation takes place at an interface between Si3N4 grains and an intergranular glassy film (IGF) in the case of intergranular fractures. According to the results by previous molecular dynamics simulations, a number of dangling bonds are present at the Si3N4/IGF interface, which should result in the observed fracture behavior at the interface. On the other hand, the crack path introduced during transgranular fracture of Si3N4 grains was found to be sharp and straight. The observed crack propagated towards [1120] inside the Si3N4 grain with the crack surface parallel to the (1100) plane. The HREM observations of crack walls revealed them to be atomically flat. The atomic termination of the crack walls was identified in combination with image simulations based on atomic models of the cleaved crack walls.     

Efficient production of a heterologous peroxidase, DyP from Geotrichum candidum Dec 1, on solid-state culture of Aspergillus oryzae RD005

The productivity of a peroxidase (DyP) originating from Geotrichum candidum Dec 1 was enhanced in the solid-state culture using Aspergillus oryzae RD005. When the humidity, water content, and temperature were adjusted to 60%, 50% and 27°C, respectively, the productivity of DyP reached 5.3 g per kilogram wheat bran, which was used as the solid medium. The yield of 5.3 g per kg wheat bran corresponded to the yield of a 56 kg submerged culture. The productivity per gram carbon of the medium in the solid-state culture was 4.1-fold that in the submerged culture.     

Propane gas leak detection by infrared absorption using carbon infrared emitter and infrared camera

The present study investigated the ability of a system using a carbon infrared emitter (CIE) and an infrared (IR) camera to detect a combustible gas, propane. The CIE transmitted infrared at wavelengths ranging from 1 to 5 μm, and the infrared absorption band of propane gas (3.37 μm) was obtained using a bandpass filter to remove other infrared wavelengths. The intensity of infrared radiation passing through the propane gas decreased as a result of infrared absorption. A clear, real-time image of the gas leak was also obtained using this system. Furthermore, a hazard evaluation of the leakage propane gas was made from a correlation between infrared intensity and the concentration–pathlength product.     

Photovoltaic deployment strategy in Japan and the USA—an institutional appraisal

Photovoltaic (PV) is a renewable energy technology, along side with other modular energy generation technologies such as micro-turbines, fuel cells, etc., which will enable the alternative distributed generation paradigm compared to the incumbent fossil fuel based centralized generation paradigm. Distributed generation utilizing renewable energy resources offers opportunities for significant carbon dioxide and emissions reductions thus contributing solutions to broader climate change issues.