Sensitive diagnosis of cardiac allograft rejection by detection of cytokine transcription in situ

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Interleukin 12 (IL-12) is a heterodimeric, macrophage-derived cytokine that is elevated in Crohn's disease (CD). Epstein-Barr virus-induced gene 3 (EBI3) is a recently characterized human glycoprotein that is homologous to the 40-kilodalton chain of IL-12 and forms a heterodimer with the 35-kilodalton chain of IL-12. We investigated the expression of EBI3 in colonic mucosa of normal control subjects, patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), and patients with CD. METHODS: Colonic tissue was analyzed for messenger RNA (mRNA) expression by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and for protein expression by immunohistology and Western blotting. RESULTS: EBI3 mRNA was present in intestinal biopsy specimens from healthy subjects and patients with CD but was elevated only in active UC. EBI3 levels in UC specimens correlated with histological scores of activity and T-cell infiltration. EBI3-positive cells that had a shape consistent with that of macrophages were identified in the lamina propria, and protein was detected by Western blotting. CONCLUSIONS: EBI3 is a novel IL-12-related cytokine that is expressed by macrophage-like cells in normal intestine and CD and has enhanced expression in active UC but not in active CD.     

An integro-differential formula on the Wiener kernels and its application to sandwich system identification

It is well known that a nonlinear system with a white Gaussian noise input can be characterized in terms of kernels using the celebrated Wiener theory. In a practical use of the method, however, one may encounter difficulty in obtaining higher order kernels except for the first few because of, for instance, the excessive computational requirement. In this paper, we give an integro-differential formula on the kernels and as its application, an algorithm to identify a cascade system of a linear, a memoryless nonlinear, and linear subsystems, which we call a sandwich system as a whole. According to the formula, kernels up to the second order for different power levels of the input noise are required to identify the subsystems. Impulse response functions of the two linear subsystems can be obtained under appropriate normalization conditions, while the nonlinear subsystem is estimated in the form of a truncated Hermite polynomial expansion. As illustrated examples, two such systems are identified using the algorithm.     

Metabolic disturbance of tryptophan-nicotinamide conversion pathway by putative endocrine disruptors, bisphenol A and styrene monomer

Bisphenol A, a monomer of polycarbonate plastics, disturbed the conversion pathway of the amino acid tryptophan to the vitamin nicotinamide. The conversion ratio of tryptophan to nicotinamide was reduced to 1/15 by feeding a diet containing 1% bisphenol A. A putative disturbing reaction is kynurenine-->3-hydroxykynurenine, which is catalyzed by kynurenine monohydroxylase. This is an FAD-enzyme and requires NADPH as a coenzyme. Styrene monomer (1% addition to a normal diet) did not affect the food intake or the body weight, but slightly reduced the conversion ratio of tryptophan-nicotinamide.     

Schmelzlinienbestimmungsmodell zur vergleichenden Leistungsbeurteilung von Hochofenperioden

Vergleich von Hochofenbetriebsergebnissen mittels Leistungs-Faktor-Definition. Bestimmung der Lage und Form der Schmelzlinie im Hochofen durch Betriebsdaten. Wärmeeinbringen durch Blasform und deren Übertragung durch Konvektion und Strahlung. Einfluß der Wärmebedingungen im Unterofen auf die Lage der Schmelzlinie. Vergleich und Überprüfung der Modellprofile durch Betriebsmessungen. Einfluß verschiedener Unterofenparameter auf Hochofenbetrieb und Schmelzlinie. Schmelzgeschwindigkeit bei W- und ∧-Profilen in Abhängigkeit der Strahlungstemperatur. Untere kritische Höhenlage der Schmelzlinie und dynamisches Verhalten der Schmelzlinie.     

Polymer film-type channel electron multipliers: Their characteristics and comparison with bulk-type flexible multipliers

Polymer film-type channel electron multipliers (CEMs) were developed and their characteristics investigated in comparison with bulk-type flexible CEM. As film-type CEMs, a paint-coating-type CEM and a solvent-etching-type CEM were fabricated. The paint-coating-type CEM is made by coating a “paint” which is prepared by dissolving in a solvent an electronically conductive polymeric composition having a high secondary electron emission yield. Up to the present study the mean gain of the film-type CEM, in spite of the lower resistivity of the dynode, seems to be slightly more dependent on the count rate than that of the bulk-type CEM made of the same material. However, the convenience of fabricating the dynode film by coating the dynode-forming paint on the internal surface of any shaped tube or a flexible polymer tube would overcome the slight disadvantage mentioned above.     

Gene expression within cell-sized lipid vesicles

Functional protein synthesis was observed in cell-sized lipid vesicles following encapsulation of a gene-expression system. Expression of rsGFP (red-shifted green fluorescent protein) within individual vesicles was observed by fluorescence microscopy. Interestingly, at the early stage of the reaction, the expression efficiency inside the vesicle was remarkably higher than that in the solution outside. The synthesized rsGFP in individual vesicles is safe from attack by proteinase K added to the external aqueous solution. Studies on cell-sized vesicles expressing protein should contribute to a fundamental understanding of certain aspects of living systems and will be useful for practical applications, such as the construction of microreactors.     

Three-Dimensional Numerical Simulation of Helically Propagating Combustion Waves

In the present paper, by using a mathematical model for self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, we reveal the three-dimensional structure of so-called spin combustion wave on the inside of cylindrical sample. It is shown that an isothermal surface of regular spin combustion wave has some wings of which number is the same as that of reaction spots on the cylindrical surface and that the isothermal surface with helical wings rotates down with time. Because of this propagating pattern, in this paper, we adopt the more suitable term helical wave. We also obtain the following existence conditions of a helical wave: If physical parameters are set so that a pulsating wave exists stably for the one-dimensional problem, then a helical wave takes the place of a pulsating wave when the radius of cylindrical sample becomes large.