miRNA and mRNA Expression Profiles Associated with Lymph Node Metastasis and Prognosis in Penile Carcinoma

Penile cancer (PeC) is a rare disease, and no prognostic biomarkers have been adopted in clinical practice yet. The objective of the present study was to identify differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRs) and genes (DEGs) as potential biomarkers for lymph node metastasis and other prognostic factors in PeC. Tumor samples were prospectively obtained from 24 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the penis. miRNA microarray analysis was performed comparing tumors from patients with inguinal lymph node metastatic and localized disease, and the results were validated by qRT-PCR. Eighty-three gene expression levels were also compared between groups through qRT-PCR. Moreover, DEmiRs and DEGs expression levels were correlated with clinicopathological variables, cancer-specific (CSS), and overall survival (OS). TAC software, TM4 MeV 4.9 software, SPSS v.25.0, and R software v.4.0.2 were used for statistical analyses. We identified 21 DEmiRs in microarray analysis, and seven were selected for validation. miR-744-5p and miR-421 were overexpressed in tissue samples of metastatic patients, and high expression of miR-421 was also associated with lower OS. We found seven DEGs (CCND1, EGFR, ENTPD5, HOXA10, IGF1R, MYC, and SNAI2) related to metastatic disease. A significant association was found between increased MMP1 expression and tumor size, grade, pathological T stage, and perineural invasion. Other genes were also associated with clinicopathological variables, CSS and OS. Finally, we found changes in mRNA–miRNA regulation that contribute to understanding the mechanisms involved in tumor progression. Therefore, we identified miRNA and mRNA expression profiles as potential biomarkers associated with lymph node metastasis and prognosis in PeC, in addition to disruption in mRNA–miRNA regulation during disease progression.     

Lagrangian‐based equivalent circuit of basic electric‐field coupling wireless power transfer system

Electric‐field coupling wireless power transfer has been commonly analyzed using the circuit model. However, the circuit behavior of this model is not necessarily apparent because their resonant modes can be far complicated than the basic LC oscillation. This issue is addressed in this paper by proposing a novel equivalent circuit for a basic wireless power transfer system. This equivalent circuit has a simpler topology than the conventional circuit model. Furthermore, the equivalent circuit allows intuitive understanding of three types of the resonant modes. Along with theoretical derivation of the proposed equivalent circuit, this paper also presents simulation results, which verified the appropriateness of the equivalent circuit. © 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effect of Raw and Heat‐Moisture Treated High‐Amylose Corn Starch on Fermentation by the Rat Cecal Bacteria

Resistant starch content of high‐amylose corn starch (HAS) was doubled by heat‐moisture treatment. Resistant starch content of HAS and heat‐moisture treated high‐amylose corn starch (HMT‐HAS) were 31.8 and 67.3%, respectively, as determined by enzymatic‐gravimetric method. Effects of the two types of high‐amylose corn starches, HAS and HMT‐HAS, on starch fermentation, microflora, pH, short chain fatty acid (SCFA) content and β‐glucuronidase activity in the cecal content have been investigated. Rats were given ordinary corn starch (OCS; control), HAS or HMT‐HAS at 10% level for 10 13 days. The cecal and colorectal content s weights were larger in HAS and HMT‐HAS groups than in the OCS group. The cecal content s weight did not differ between HAS and HMT‐HAS groups, while the colorectal content s weight was higher in the HMT‐HAS group than in the HAS group. The upper and lower small intestinal and cecal starch contents were significantly higher in the HAS and HMT‐HAS groups than in the OCS group, whereas there were no differences between colorectal starch content in group OCS and HAS. Starch excretion in feces was significantly higher in groups HAS and HMT‐HAS than in group OCS, the increase in the HMT‐HAS group was especially remarkable. The composition of the cecal microflora was not effected by the diet. β‐Glucuronidase activities in rats fed HAS or HMT‐HAS decreased. SCFA concentration was higher in groups HAS and HMT‐HAS than in group OCS, and the cecal pH was lower in groups HAS and HMT‐HAS than in group OCS.     

Common mode conductive noise cancellation for multiphase converter using auxiliary winding

A multiphase DC-DC converter consisting of a coupled inductor and fast switching devices enables power electronics equipment to achieve a high-power density. However, with such devices, the fast voltage transition generates substantial common mode (CM) noise. However, there are very few studies on CM noise reduction for multiphase converters using a coupled inductor. Therefore, in this paper, a CM noise reduction method is proposed for a multiphase DC-DC converter that hardly lowers the power density.     

SiC SBDs selection method based on loss analysis of boost converter

Silicon carbide schottky barrier diodes (SiC SBDs) have much better characteristic than Si PiN diode in high voltage applications because SiC SBDs do not have recovery effect. However, simple replacing is not the most effective way. In a boost converter, the power loss caused by the SiC SBD can be divided into the conduction loss of the SiC SBD and the loss caused by the energy stored in the junction capacitance of the SiC SBD. Therefore analysis of not only the conduction loss but also the loss caused by the energy stored in the junction capacitance of the SiC SBD can realize the SiC SBD selection to improve the efficiency of the boost converter. © 2016 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The effect of lubricants on deep drawability of zinc-coated steel sheets

The effect of lubricants on deep drawability was studied for two types of zinc-coated steel sheets on a high-speed deep-drawing machine. The drawability of galvannealed steel sheet, GA, at low speeds is significantly improved by friction modifiers, due to reduction in frictional forces around the die radius. In contrast to the results for GA, double layered steel, GAE, which has an Fe-rich alloy coating on the top, and is superior to GA in terms of drawability, is insensitive to changes in the additives. This is mainly because the hardness of the upper coating layer of GAE decreases frictional resistance through a decline in the boundary contact area.