Cultured leptomeningeal cells secrete cerebrospinal fluid proteins

To extrapolate the function of the leptomeninges, we examined the profile of the proteins secreted from the cultured leptomeningeal cells prepared from 1-2-day-old rats. In sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of the medium conditioned with the cultured cells, 20-25 differentially distinctive protein bands were noted. Through several chromatographic procedures (Sephadex G-75, Mono Q, and 7C8-300), altogether 18 proteins were purified to homogeneity, and the partial amino acid sequence of each protein was determined. Homology search revealed that the major proteins included prostaglandin-D-synthase or beta-trace protein, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-II, IGF-binding protein-2, apolipoprotein E, beta 2-microglobulin, cystatin C, transferrin, peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase or cyclophilin C, secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine, ubiquitin, lysozyme C, extracellular superoxide dismutase, and collagen alpha-1 (III). Most of these proteins are known to be the major brain-derived protein constituents of CSF and are thought to play important roles in certain biological events in the brain. Considering the morphological features, the present findings suggest the importance of the leptomeninges as an origin of such proteins in CSF.     

Treatment of radiotherapy-induced gastroparesis with erythromycin

HISTORY: A 75-year-old woman who had undergone a hysterectomy with adnexectomy followed by radiotherapy for endometrial carcinoma complained of postprandial nausea with vomiting after eating solid foods and of cramp-like abdominal pain, but her appetite was good. She had lost 25 kg in weight over 13 months. EXAMINATION: Physical examination, laboratory tests, radiology and gastroscopy were unremarkable. Gastric scintigraphy showed abnormally prolonged emptying. TREATMENT AND COURSE: Nausea and vomiting stopped at once after erythromycin (a motilin agonist) had been administered. It was at first given intravenously after meals (50 mg three times daily for 5 days), then orally for 10 weeks (250 mg three times daily before meals). Subsequent examination revealed normal gastric emptying. The symptoms did not recur after erythromycin had been discontinued. CONCLUSION: Erythromycin is an effective drug against gastroparesis caused by radiotherapy, because it acts even when the enteric nerves are damaged.     

Degradation of methyl orange using short-wavelength UV irradiation with oxygen microbubbles

A novel wastewater treatment technique using 8 W low-pressure mercury lamps in the presence of uniform-sized microbubbles (diameter = 5.79 microm) was investigated for the decomposition of methyl orange as a model compound in aqueous solution. Photodegradation experiments were conducted with a BLB black light blue lamp (365 nm), a UV-C germicidal lamp (254 nm) and an ozone lamp (185 nm+254 nm) both with and without oxygen microbubbles. The results show that the oxygen microbubbles accelerated the decolorization rate of methyl orange under 185+254 nm irradiation. In contrast, the microbubbles under 365 and 254 nm irradiation were unaffected on the decolorization of methyl orange. It was found that the pseudo-zero order decolorization reaction constant in microbubble system is 2.1 times higher than that in conventional large bubble system. Total organic carbon (TOC) reduction rate of methyl orange was greatly enhanced by oxygen microbubble under 185+254 nm irradiation, however, TOC reduction rate by nitrogen microbubble was much slower than that with 185+254 nm irradiation only. Possible reaction mechanisms for the decolorization and mineralization of methyl orange both with oxygen and nitrogen mirobubbles were proposed in this study.     

Reaction mechanism of coal hydrogenation. 3. Effect of coal type

Seven coals have been hydrogenated in naphthalene and phenanthrene under 10 MPa (initial pressure) of hydrogen with a stabilized niekel catalyst at 400°C for 15 min. Preasphaltene, asphaltene and oil conversions and solvent conversion were measured. The amounts of hydrogen absorbed by coal and by solvent were calculated. Coal conversion and the amount of hydrogen absorbed by coal decreased, while the amount of hydrogen absorbed by solvent increased, with increase in coal rank. The ratio of the amounts of hydrogen absorbed by coal and by solvent showed a good correlation with conversion to benzene- and n-hexanesoluble materials. Naphthalene and phenanthrene gave similar results, suggesting that the coal was hydrogenated directly by gaseous hydrogen.     

A mobility model for submicrometer MOSFET simulations includinghot-carrier-induced device degradation

The model presented includes the quantum effects of electrons in the inversion layer proposed by S.A. Schwarz and S.E. Russek (1983) and the surface scattering effects due to the interfacial charges. By comparison with experimental data from scaled MOSFETs, the limitation of K. Yamaguchi's (1983) mobility model in submicrometer device simulations is implied, while the quantum channel broadening effects have been proven significant in turn. In addition, it is shown that the modeling of the screening effect of Coulomb scattering plays an important role in simulating the hot-carrier-induced MOSFET degradation. The model can predict the current-voltage characteristics within 5% accuracy for scaled MOSFETs down to 0.5-μm, as well as the degradation of electrical characteristics due to hot-carrier effects for submicrometer MOSFETs     

Simple assignment of partitioning & transmutation objectives to reduce the overall repository impacts due to thermal load and nuclide migration

Partitioning & Transmutation (P&T) technique is considered to reduce the potential radiotoxicity in high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal. The goal of the P&T process such as decontamination factors, transmutation rates, are often assigned from the hazard indices (HI) but not fully investigated from a view point of the radiological impact so far. It is pointed out that the removal and reduction of the insoluble nuclide such as Np-237 is insensitive to the total dose for the most probable scenario of the nuclide migration in underground water. This contradiction is caused by the difference of the performance measures used in the safety analysis of disposal (Dose) and P&T design procedures (HI). Simple analyses were thus conducted to assign the practical goal of the P&T to improve the repository performance. (1) As for partitioning, the nuclides were classified into several groups of similar properties of thermal load, migration impact, and chemical behavior. Then optimal nuclide groups were extracted using the cluster analysis of the above-mentioned factors. (2) For transmutation, the limit nuclide inventories corresponding to the 1 ALI/y hazard were calculated by assuming simplified geosphere conditions. The biosphere conditions were neglected to avoid the uncertainty of the parameters but the figures are easily converted to the dose rate afterwards by employing an appropriate biosphere model. The proposed nuclide grouping and the limit inventories are completely independent from process availability of P&T and purely reflect the factors affecting the repository performance. The comparison between the proposal and the existent P&T examples would resolve the contradiction and bring harmonized connection between the HLW disposal and the P&T.     

Integrated Risk Assessment for WFD Ecological Status classification applied to Llobregat river basin (Spain). Part II - Evaluation process applied to five environmental Lines of Evidence

Many indicators and indices related to a variety of biological, physico-chemical, chemical, and hydromorphological water conditions have been recently developed or adapted by scientists in order to support water managers in the Water Framework Directive (WFD) implementation. In this context, the achievement of a comprehensive and reliable Ecological Status classification of water bodies across Europe is hampered by the lack of harmonised procedures for selecting an appropriate set of indicators and integrating heterogeneous information in a flexible way.To this purpose, an Integrated Risk Assessment (IRA)² methodology was developed based on the Weight of Evidence approach. This method analyses and combines a set of environmental indicators grouped into five Lines of Evidence (LoE), i.e. Biology, Chemistry, Ecotoxicology, Physico-chemistry and Hydromorphology. The whole IRA methodology has been implemented as a specific module into a freeware GIS (Geographic Information System)-based Decision Support System, named MODELKEY DSS. This paper focuses on the evaluation of the four supporting LoE (i.e. Chemistry, Ecotoxicology, Physico-chemistry and Hydromorphology), and includes a procedure for a comparison of each indicator with proper thresholds and a subsequent integration process to combine the obtained output with the LoE Biology results in order to provide a single score expressing the Ecological Status classification. The approach supports the identification of the most prominent stressors, which are responsible for the observed alterations in the river basin under investigation. The results provided by the preliminary testing of the IRA methodology through application of the MODELKEY DSS to the Llobregat case study are finally reported and discussed.     

Feedforward operational stiffness modulation and external force estimation of planar robots equipped with variable stiffness actuators

A variable stiffness actuator (VSA) is considered a promising mechanism-based approach for realizing compliant robotic manipulators. By changing the stiffness of each joint, the robot can modulate the stiffness of the entire system to enhance safety and efficiency during physical interaction with other systems. This paper presents a feedforward method to modulate the operational stiffness of a parallel planar robot with multiple VSAs. A VSA utilizing a lever mechanism was developed, clearly presenting its mechanical design and kinematic model details. A computational model of joint-restoring torque was developed based on deformation measurements and hysteresis loop geometry to estimate the applied torque of each joint in real-time. An algorithm was proposed to compute the joint stiffness solution using the robot's kinematic model for modulating the operational stiffness of the parallel robot. Experiments were performed to evaluate the proposed method by comparing the performances of two DOF serial and parallel robot systems. The results demonstrated the capability of the VSA in both feedforward stiffness modulation and external force estimation.