Stimulatory effect of calcium administration on regucalcin mRNA expression is attenuated in the kidney cortex of rats ingested with saline

The expression of calcium-binding protein regucalcin mRNA in the kidney cortex of rats ingested with saline was investigated. The alteration in regucalcin mRNA levels was analyzed by Northern blotting using liver regucalcin complementary DNA (0.9 kb of open reading frame). Rats were freely given saline as drinking water for 7 days. Regucalcin mRNA levels in the kidney cortex were suppressed by saline ingestion. When calcium chloride (10 mg Ca/100 g body weight) was intraperitoneally administered to rats ingested with saline for 7 days, the effect of calcium administration to increase regucalcin mRNA levels was weakened by saline ingestion. Such effect was also seen by the administration of 2.5 and 5 mg Ca/100 g. Regucalcin mRNA levels in the kidney cortex of spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR) were not appreciably increased by the administration of calcium (10 mg/100 g). Meanwhile, calcium content in the kidney cortex was significantly elevated by the administration of calcium (10 mg/100 g) to normal rats. This increase was weakened in saline-ingested rats. Moreover, Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase activity in the cytosol of kidney cortex was significantly decreased by saline ingestion. These results suggest the possibility that saline ingestion-induced suppression of regucalcin mRNA expression in the kidney cortex is partly involved in the attenuation of Ca2+ signalling.     

Characteristics of pterional routes to basilar bifurcation aneurysm

In an attempt to clarify the characteristics of the pterional routes to the basilar bifurcation aneurysm, 65 consecutive surgical cases were retrospectively analyzed concerning the size of the aneurysm, the height of the aneurysm neck, the length of the clip blades, and the direction of clip application. Clipping was performed through the pterional route in 59 cases consisting of 14 opticocarotid and 45 retrocarotid routes. A subtemporal approach was performed for six low-positioned aneurysms. The opticocarotid approach was undertaken because of the following situations: 1) laterally protruded and/or highly sclerotic internal carotid artery (n = 8); 2) long, redundant A1 segment (n = 3); 3) an associated aneurysm of the internal carotid artery obstructing the retrocarotid space (n = 2); and 4) a short and/or large posterior communicating artery obstructing the retrocarotid space (n = 1). The range in height of the aneurysm neck was narrower in the opticocarotid approach (1-10 mm) than in the retrocarotid approach (-7-15 mm). The direction of clip application on the axial plane was more anteriorly deviated in the opticocarotid approach (41.4 +/- 12.8 degrees from the glabella-inion line) than in the retrocarotid approach (58.8 +/- 11.1 degrees; P = 0.01). The retrocarotid route (n = 45) was further subdivided into the medial or lateral retrocarotid routes, depending on the medial or lateral side to the posterior communicating artery, respectively. The medial retrocarotid approach (n = 9) made it possible to reach relatively high-positioned aneurysms (7.0 +/- 3.9 mm) compared with the lateral retrocarotid approach (4.2 +/- 4.7 mm; n = 29).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The deformation of beams structured by thin walls

Nowadays our society demands the reuse of industrial products. Then we should not only re-investigate the materials of products but also originate a new design method of industrial products. We have investigated the cellular structure by using abandoned paper, because the cell's shape can be proposed arbitrarily by folding a paper. As examples, we have proposed the structure constructed by connecting many folded cells formed in a hexagonal cross area. This structure will have characteristics such as almost high rigidity, high stiffness, crushing stress, relative insensitivity to the overall loss of stability. To estimate the characteristics of these structures, we must analyze the deformation in loading. When the structure with thin walls formed by paper is loaded, the shape of deformation is different from that of the metal, wall swells and does not maintain its flatness. Therefore, we cannot apply the traditional theory of elasticity for the analysis. In this paper, we propose a new estimation method by analyzing the swelling.     

Structural Relaxation Behaviors of Three Different Asphaltenes Using MD Calculations

For asphaltene obtained from vacuum residues of three different kinds of crude oils (Khafji, Maya, and Iranian-Light), the energy-minimum conformation calculated by molecular mechanics-dynamics simulations showed that aggregated structures of asphaltene molecules through noncovalent interactions are the most stable conformation. Changes of aggregated structures by heating or solvent treatment were investigated by using the molecular dynamics calculation. For Khafji and Iranian-Light asphaltenes, the simulation showed that the aggregated structure was dissociated at 673K, while for Maya asphaltene the dissociation behavior was not observed, showing that Maya asphaltene seems difficult to be dissociated by heating, compared to other asphaltenes. In contrast, the simulation of relaxation of the Maya aggregates in quinoline showed that at 573K a part of aggregates was dissociated more easily than Khafji and Iranian-Light asphaltenes. These results above suggest that the effects of heating and solvent treatment on the structural relaxation of asphaltene aggregates can be different.     

Simultaneous analysis of 2-aminopyridine-derivatized neutral and sialylated oligosaccharides from human serum in the negative-ion mode by sonic spray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry

Neutral and acidic (sialylated) 2-aminopyridine-derivatized (PA) oligosaccharides were analyzed by using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography/ion trap mass spectrometry (RP-HPLC/IT MS) with a sonic spray ionization (SSI) source. Under the RP-HPLC separation using a buffer of 1 mM ammonium acetate (pH4.3) at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min, both PA-oligosaccharides in the negative-ion mode showed a comparable degree of ionization efficiency, differing from that of the positive-ion mode, which exhibits a wide gap between their ionization efficiencies. In addition, the ion intensities of both PA-oligosaccharides were higher in the negative-ion mode than in the positive-ion mode. These results strongly suggest that the negative-ion mode of SSI-MS is suitable for simultaneous analysis of neutral and acidic (sialylated) oligosaccharides in RP-HPLC/MS. In the present study, RP-HPLC/SSI-IT MS in the negative-ion mode was used in the analysis of PA-oligosaccharides from human serum and its usefulness was investigated. As a result, 32 neutral and sialylated PA-oligosaccharides from human serum were identified with differentiating isomeric oligosaccharides and relatively quantified by a single HPLC/MS run. This method is useful for simple and rapid analysis of the overall distribution of neutral and sialylated oligosaccharides in a complex sample such as serum.     

A kinetic study of nonoxidative dissolution of galena in aqueous acid solution

This paper presents the results obtained through a kinetic study of the nonoxidative dissolution of natural galena in hydrochloric acid and perchloric acid solutions with and without the addition of sodium chloride. Under the experimental conditions employed in this study, the dissolution rates were controlled by a chemical reaction on the surface of the galena sample. The galena dissolution rate is of the first order with respect to hydrochloric ion activity in hydrochloric acid and perchloric acid solutions. The addition of sodium chloride to the acid solutions greatly enhanced the dissolution rate. The effect of sodium chloride has two possible interpretations: First, it may be the result of an increase in hydrogen ion activity. Second, the enhancement of the dissolution rate observable at high sodium chloride concentration may be due to the specific adsorption of chloride ions or the surface complexing of chloride ions on the galena surface.     

Activities of oxygen in liquid thallium and indium from electrochemical measurements

Modified coulometric titrations on the galvanic cell;O in liquid Tl or In/ZrO₂(+CaO)/Air, Pt, were performed at 973, 1073, and 1173 K to determine the oxygen activities in liquid thallium and liquid indium. The standard Gibbs energies of solution of oxygen in liquid thallium and liquid indium for l/2 O₂ →O (1 at. pct) were determined respectively to be δG‡(in Tl) = -22000 + 0.74T (±300) cal/g-atom = -92000 + 3.10T (±1300) J/g-atom, δG‡(in In) = -42450+ 3.30T (±350) cal/g-atom = -177600 + 13.8T (±1500) J/g-atom, where the reference state for dissolved oxygen was an infinitely dilute solution. It was reconfirmed that the apparent initial oxygen concentration observed in the range of very low oxygen concentration in liquid metal was attributed to the oxygen released from the solid electrolyte.     

The effect of cold working on creep rupture properties for helium-injected austenitic stainless steel

In order to study the effect of helium on the high temperature embrittlement of stainless steel, helium $\text{(7.5 × 10}{}^{\mathrm{?6}}\text{atomic fraction)}$ was injected into cold-worked stainless steels by using a cyclotron. At 650°C, it appeared that the reduction in creep-rupture strength due to helium was larger as cold-working was increased, but a loss of rupture elongation was less for a particular degree of cold-working. The 10% cold-worked material showed particularly good creep-rupture properties in the presence of helium. The loss of ductility was more pronounced in the creep test than in the tensile test.     

Activities of oxygen in liquid copper and silver from electrochemical measurements

Modified coulometric titrations on the galvanic cell:O in liquid Cu or Ag / ZrO₂( + CaO) / Air, Pt, were performed to determine precisely the oxygen activities in liquid copper and silver in the range of relatively low oxygen concentration. The present experimental results were remarkably reproducible in comparison with the published data. The standard Gibbs energies of solution of oxygen in liquid copper and liquid silver for 1/2 O₂(l atm) → O(l at. pct) were determined respectively to be ΔG° (in Cu) = −18040 −0.03 T(K) (± 120) cal · g-atom−1 = −75500 −0.12 T(K)(± 500) J · g-atom−1, ΔG°(inAg)= -3860+ 1.56 T(K) (±90) cal · g-atom−1 = −16140 + 6.52 T(K)(±380) J · g-atom−1 where the reference state for dissolved oxygen was an infinitely dilute solution. The present value of the partial entropy of oxygen dissolved in liquid copper differs significantly from that suggested by many investigators. Further, the present equation for liquid copper has been found to be consistent with a correlation proposed previously by the present authors. The equation for liquid silver is in good agreement with the published ones.     

Validation of MAAP model enhancement for Fukushima Dai-ichi accident analysis with Phenomena Identification and Ranking Table (PIRT)

The Modular Accident Analysis Program (MAAP) model enhancement items to improve the simulation capability for molten corium behavior in the accidents at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plants were validated with the Phenomena Identification and Ranking Table (PIRT). The importance ranks of the identified phenomena were evaluated for each time phase through brainstorming and discussion with the experts in the Atomic Energy Society of Japan and the members of the MAAP model enhancement project. When the current MAAP evaluation models were reviewed with the PIRT, it is found that 95 of the 386 high-ranked phenomena were not considered in MAAP 5.0.1. While 62 of these phenomena will have been addressed in the MAAP enhancement project and 25 others are not suitable to be analyzed by MAAP, 8 important phenomena should be considered in post-MAAP enhancement project with additional experiments or fundamental studies.