Association between duration of obesity and risk of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The Sotetsu Study

The authors investigated the association between duration of obesity (ordinary obesity as body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2) > or = 25.0 and extreme obesity as BMI > or = 27.8) and the risk of diabetes mellitus. Male employees of a railway company, aged 30 years or older, observed for 10 years or more, free from serious disease conditions, with initial BMI <25.0, aged 30 years or more at the time diabetes was diagnosed, and with complete data, were examined by univariate and multivariate analyses (n = 1,598). Age-adjusted odds ratios for diabetes were significantly increased among males who were obese for 10-19.9 years and >20 years (odds ratios = 2.10 and 2.84 for ordinary obesity and 6.14 and 4.15 for extreme obesity, respectively). Additional adjustment for current obesity, physical activity, smoking, drinking, family history, and observation period did not change the findings remarkably. In conclusion, > or = 10 years duration of ordinary obesity or > or = 1 year of extreme obesity was an important predictor for diabetes independent of age, current obesity, physical activity, smoking, drinking, family history, and observation period.     

Methotrexate Alters the Expression of microRNA in Fibroblast-like Synovial Cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis

We aimed to investigate the effect of methotrexate (MTX) on microRNA modulation in rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synovial cells (RA-FLS). RA-FLS were treated with MTX for 48 h. We then performed miRNA array analysis to investigate differentially expressed miRNAs. Transfection with miR-877-3p precursor and inhibitor were used to investigate the functional role of miR-877-3p in RA-FLS. Gene ontology analysis was used to investigate the cellular processes involving miR-877-3p. The production of cytokines/chemokines was screened by multiplex cytokine/chemokine bead assay and confirmed by ELISA and quantitative real-time PCR. The migratory and proliferative activities of RA-FLS were analyzed by wound healing assay and MKI-67 expression. MTX treatment altered the expression of 13 miRNAs (seven were upregulated and six were downregulated). Among them, quantitative real-time PCR confirmed that miR-877-3p was upregulated in response to MTX (1.79 ± 0.46-fold, p < 0.05). The possible target genes of miR-877-3p in RA-FLS revealed by the microarray analysis were correlated with biological processes. The overexpression of miR-877-3p decreased the production of GM-CSF and CCL3, and the overexpression of miR-877-3p inhibited migratory and proliferative activity. MTX altered the miR-877-3p expression on RA-FLS, and this alteration of miR-877-3p attenuated the abundant production of cytokines/chemokines and proliferative property of RA-FLS.     

Risk indicators for harboring periodontal pathogens

Mutations in the Agr locus of Arabidopsis thaliana impair the root gravitropic response. Root growth of agr mutants is moderately resistant to ethylene and to an auxin transport inhibitor. Vertically placed agr roots grow into agar medium containing IAA or naphthalene-1-acetic acid, but not into medium containing 2,4-D. Positional cloning showed that AGR encodes a root-specific member of a novel membrane-protein family with limited homology to bacterial transporters.     

Effects of boundary conditions on the end-of-life treatment of LCD TVs

Differences in legislation and markets for recycled materials result in the national implementation of distinct end-of-life treatment strategies. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the boundary conditions in Belgium and Japan that cause the adoption of diverse treatment strategies for the rapidly increasing number of end-of-life flat screen TVs. In addition, both treatment strategies are evaluated from an ecological and economic perspective and opportunities for improvement are identified.     

Depletion- and enhancement-mode modulation-doped field-effecttransistors for ultrahigh-speed applications: an electrochemicalfabrication technology

This paper is devoted to an electrochemical-etching-based technology for fabricating high-performance MODFETs for high-speed applications. The electrochemical etching in the gate openings is induced by the exposure of the Ni surface metal on the ohmic electrodes; it results in very slender gate-recess grooves, which are desirable for high-speed MODFETs because of the resulting achievable small gate-to-channel separation and low parasitic resistance. The technology is easy to implement, and is effective for enhancing the aspect ratio. Good control of aspect ratio is essential for achieving excellent device performance and limiting deleterious short channel effects. Successful vertical scaling, together with minimization of gate length by well-established electron-beam lithography using fullerene-incorporated electron-beam resist, leads to the realization of both optimal D- and E-mode MODFET's with ultrahigh extrinsic transconductance values and current gain cut-off frequencies. Fully passivated 0.07-μm D-MODFET's with 2.25 S/mm extrinsic transconductance and current gain cut-off frequency exceeding 300 GHz have been successful fabricated. In addition, 0.03 μm E-MODFETs with 2 S/mm transconductance and 300 GHz current gain cut-off frequency have been demonstrated. This electrochemical-etching-based technology provides both high-performance D- and E-MODFET's and, therefore, opens up the possibility to achieve ultrahigh-speed ICs based on DCFL configurations     

Highly c-axis oriented AlN layers grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by radio-frequency sputter epitaxy at 1080 °C

Aluminum nitride (AlN) single-crystalline layers were grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by radio-frequency magnetron sputter epitaxy using N₂/Ar mixture ambient gas and 5-N grade Al target. The crystalline structures of the AlN layers depending on substrate temperature and N₂ composition ratio in ambient gas, were predominantly studied. The crystalline quality of the AlN layer was improved by elevating substrate temperature, and the full-widths at half-maximum (FWHMs) of X-ray rocking curves (XRC) for both symmetric and asymmetric planes of AlN layers grown at N₂ composition ratio of around 25%, became low. The FWHMs of XRC for (0002) diffraction of the AlN layers grown at 1080 °C, were less than 20 arcsec. The surface root-mean-square roughness of such highly c-axis oriented AlN layer was determined by atomic force microscopy, and was increased from 0.6 nm to 1.3 nm when AlN layer thickness was varied from 0.15 to 0.7 μm.     

Suppression of Potential Oscillations in PEFCs by Using Anode Catalyst Prepared by Polygonal Barrel‐Sputtering Method

In this study, we investigated the suppression of potential oscillations that occur while feeding H₂ gas including a large amount of CO to polymer electrolyte fuel cells. A carbon‐supported Pt–Ru alloy (Pt–Ru/C) sample was prepared by the polygonal barrel‐sputtering method. Electrochemical measurement was conducted in 1 N H₂SO₄ electrolyte solution saturated with H₂ gas including CO of 1,000 ppm. From the measurement, it was found that the prepared Pt–Ru/C sample showed higher CO tolerance than a commercially available sample, and therefore, potential oscillations in the case of the prepared sample occurred for slightly longer intervals. Additional samples were prepared by sputtering different amounts of Ru on the prepared Pt–Ru/C sample, and it was observed that the average interval of potential oscillations increased with the amount of Ru. This result suggests that in the case of the polygonal barrel‐sputtering method, Ru plays an important role in suppressing potential oscillations and influences the CO tolerance of Pt–Ru/C.     

Anodic Pt dissolution in concentrated trifluoromethanesulfonic acid

We investigated the anodic Pt dissolution in concentrated trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TFMSA). The dependence of the Pt dissolution rate on the TFMSA concentration was first measured from the weight difference of a Pt-flag electrode before and after successive potential cycles. From this measurement, the Pt dissolution rate in 10 mol dm^?3 TFMSA is found to be over 40 times greater than those in 1 and 4 mol dm^?3 TFMSA. Next, the anodic Pt dissolution was assessed in 10 mol dm^?3 TFMSA by a potential step technique using a Pt dual microelectrode having generator and collector electrodes. The obtained result shows that the anodic Pt dissolution in 10 mol dm^?3 TFMSA occurs when the Pt generator electrode potential is stepped from 0.25 to 1.0–2.0 V vs. Ag/Ag₂SO₄. Furthermore, the absolute steady-state current-based coulomb charges obtained at the generator (|Q_G|) and collector (|Q_C|) reflect the anodic Pt dissolution and the reduction of the dissolved Pt, respectively. The magnitude of |Q_G| and |Q_C| linearly increase when the generator potential shifts from 1.0 to 2.0 V vs. Ag/Ag₂SO₄. The absolute ratio, |Q_C/Q_G|, also gradually increases according to the shift in the generator electrode potential. These results demonstrate that the anodic Pt dissolution in 10 mol dm^?3 TFMSA occurs at ≥1.0 V vs. Ag/Ag₂SO₄ and that the ratio of the anodic Pt dissolution per total reaction charges increases according to the positive shift of the Pt electrode potential.     

Mitochondrial phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase plays a major role in preventing oxidative injury to cells

Phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) is synthesized as a long form (L-form; 23 kDa) and a short form (S-form; 20 kDa). The L-form contains a leader sequence that is required for transport to mitochondria, whereas the S-form lacks the leader sequence. A construct encoding the leader sequence of PHGPx tagged with green fluorescent protein was used to transfect RBL-2H3 cells, and the fusion protein was transported to mitochondria. The L-form of PHGPx was identified as the mitochondrial form of PHGPx and the S-form as the non-mitochondrial form of PHGPx since preferential enrichment of mitochondria for PHGPx was detected in M15 cells that overexpressed the L-form of PHGPx, whereas no similar enrichment was detected in L9 cells that overexpressed the S-form. Cell death caused by mitochondrial injury due to potassium cyanide (KCN) or rotenone (chemical hypoxia) was considerably suppressed in the M15 cells, whereas the L9 cells and control RBL-2H3 cells (S1 cells, transfected with the vector alone) succumbed to the cytotoxic effects of KCN. Flow cytometric analysis showed that mitochondrial PHGPx suppressed the generation of hydroperoxide, the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, and the loss of plasma membrane integrity that are induced by KCN. Mitochondrial PHGPx might prevent changes in mitochondrial functions and cell death by reducing intracellular hydroperoxides. Mitochondrial PHGPx failed to protect M15 cells from mitochondrial injury by carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, which directly reduces membrane potential without the generation of hydroperoxides. M15 cells were more resistant than L9 cells to cell death caused by direct damage to mitochondria and to extracellular oxidative stress. L9 cells were more resistant to tert-butylhydroperoxide than S1 cells, whereas resistance to t-butylhydroperoxide was even more pronounced in M15 cells than in L9 cells. These results suggest that mitochondria might be a target for intracellular and extracellular oxidative stress and that mitochondrial PHGPx, as distinct form non-mitochondrial PHGPx, might play a primary role in protecting cells from oxidative stress.     

Bayesian Approach for Morphology-Based 2-D Human Motion Capture

This paper presents a novel technique for 2D human motion capture using a single non calibrated camera. The user's five extremities (head, hands and feet) are extracted, labeled and tracked after silhouette segmentation. As they are the minimal number of points that can be used in order to enable whole body gestural interaction, we henceforth refer to these features as crucial points. The crucial point candidates are defined as the local maxima of the geodesic distance with respect to the center of gravity of the actor region that lie on the silhouette boundary. In order to disambiguate the selected crucial points into head, left and right foot and left and right hand classes, we propose a Bayesian framework that combines a MAP approach weighted by a prior model and the intensities of the tracked crucial points. Due to its low computational complexity, the system can run at real-time paces on standard personal computers, with an average error rate range between 2% and 7% in realistic situations, depending on the context and segmentation quality