Dietary intake of toxic and essential trace elements by the children and parents living in Tokyo Metropolitan Area, Japan.

This study estimated the dietary intakes of 25 pairs of Japanese children and their parents to 12 toxic and essential trace elements using 7-day duplicate diet composites. The estimated intakes of lead (children = 5.34 microg day-1, adults = 6.74 microg day-1) and tin (162 and 152 microg day-1) were below tolerable limits, but large difference in aluminium intakes (7.32 and 12.1 mg day-1) among the subjects warranted further investigations. Intakes of cadmium in both children and adults (13.2 and 15.9 microg day-1) were high, but a low uranium (U) intake was observed (0.593 and 0.587 microg day-1). Intakes of copper (567 and 784 microg day-1), manganese (1.56 and 2.72 mg day-1), zinc (4.93 and 6.75 mg day-1), and molybdenum (103 and 131 microg day-1) were close to the recommended values. Concentrations of chromium, nickel and selenium were lower than the detection limits in most cases.     

Risk factors in dengue shock syndrome

Despite a growing body of evidence predominantly, but not exclusively, from Thailand suggesting that the risk of developing dengue shock syndrome (DSS) is greatest following an anamnestic dengue infection, particularly if the most recent infection was with dengue 2 virus, there continues to be debate about the justification for these claims. This report describes a five-year, prospective study in two townships (suburbs) in Yangon (Rangoon) Myanmar (Burma) in which attempts were made to confirm the data from an earlier prospective study in Thailand and to address some of the criticism of earlier studies. This investigation found the incidence of anamnestic dengue infections in DSS patients to be significantly higher than in the community from which they were drawn and a significantly higher risk of developing DSS following an anamnestic infection (particularly with dengue 2 virus) than following a primary infection with any serotype.     

MC180295 Inhibited Epstein–Barr Virus-Associated Gastric Carcinoma Cell Growth by Suppressing DNA Repair and the Cell Cycle

DNA methylation of both viral and host DNA is one of the major mechanisms involved in the development of Epstein–Barr virus-associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC); thus, epigenetic treatment using demethylating agents would seem to be promising. We have verified the effect of {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"MC180295","term_id":"1885105835","term_text":"MC180295"}}MC180295, which was discovered by screening for demethylating agents. {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"MC180295","term_id":"1885105835","term_text":"MC180295"}}MC180295 inhibited cell growth of the EBVaGC cell lines YCCEL1 and SNU719 in a dose-dependent manner. In a cell cycle analysis, growth arrest and apoptosis were observed in both YCCEL1 and SNU719 cells treated with {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"MC180295","term_id":"1885105835","term_text":"MC180295"}}MC180295. MKN28 cells infected with EBV were sensitive to {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"MC180295","term_id":"1885105835","term_text":"MC180295"}}MC180295 and showed more significant inhibition of cell growth compared to controls without EBV infection. Serial analysis of gene expression analysis showed the expression of genes belonging to the role of BRCA1 in DNA damage response and cell cycle control chromosomal replication to be significantly reduced after {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"MC180295","term_id":"1885105835","term_text":"MC180295"}}MC180295 treatment. We confirmed with quantitative PCR that the expression levels of BRCA2, FANCM, RAD51, TOP2A, and CDC45 were significantly decreased by {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"MC180295","term_id":"1885105835","term_text":"MC180295"}}MC180295. LMP1 and BZLF1 are EBV genes with expression that is epigenetically regulated, and {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"MC180295","term_id":"1885105835","term_text":"MC180295"}}MC180295 could up-regulate their expression. In conclusion, {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"MC180295","term_id":"1885105835","term_text":"MC180295"}}MC180295 inhibited the growth of EBVaGC cells by suppressing DNA repair and the cell cycle.     

A simplified in vivo drug sensitivity test for malaria in the field

Using a derivative of the plasmid pBR322 we have tested the dimer catastrophe hypothesis of plasmid instability. Most of the theory was confirmed by our observations, but our data suggest that some of the quantitative aspects need modification. In a recF strain of Escherichia coli we estimated the difference in loss rate between the plasmid in the monomeric and the dimeric state to be a factor of 13-14 and the difference in the loss rate between the plasmid in the monomeric and the trimeric state to be a factor of 14-50. We were able to confirm that plasmid oligomers were heterogeneously distributed within a rec+ population, but we were unable to detect any pronounced difference in the level of growth inhibition exerted by the plasmid when in the monomeric, dimeric, or trimeric state. This leaves open the question as to whether runaway plasmid multimerization was prevented (i) by a small correlation between the inhibition of growth and the 'multimeric status' of the plasmid, (ii) by intramolecular homologous recombination, or (iii) whether the process of runaway multimerization is too slow to be recognized within the duration of the experiments, i.e. 200 generations of growth.     

Electrical properties of MREGeO<Subscript>4</Subscript> (M = Li,Na, K; RE = rare earth) ceramics

Fourteen kinds of alkali-metal rare earth germanate ceramics, MREGeO₄ (M = Li, Na, K; RE = rare earth), were synthesized and their electrical properties were investigated. The crystal structures of the major phases of MREGeO₄ could be classified into four groups; hexagonal (apatite type), tetragonal, orthorhombic (olivine type) and orthorhombic (-K₂SO₄ type). The tetragonal group exhibited higher ionic conductivity than the other groups in the range 300 to 700°C. The highest conductivity was achieved for the LiNdGeO₄ having a tetragonal structure (2.95 × 10^–2 S cm^–1 at 700°C). Analyses on the basis of the Nernsts equation indicated that the two electron reaction associated with carbon dioxide molecule takes place at the detection electrode above 400°C regardless of the kind of electrolyte. The electromotive force, EMF, of the potentiometric CO₂ gas sensors designed using MLaGeO₄ (M = Li, Na, K) increased linearly with an increase in the logarithmic value of CO₂ partial pressure, in accordance with the Nernst equation.     

The effect of acid dextrinisation on enzyme-resistant starch content in extruded maize starch

The enzyme-resistant starch (ERS) content in processed high amylose and regular maize starches has been studied, with and without acid dextrinisation. The physicochemical and structural characteristics of the starches were analysed using a variety of techniques. The increase in ERS in high amylose maize starch with dextrinisation was related to the formation of a critical molecular weight fraction (MW ∼ 20,000) that could rearrange structurally. Further dextrinisation reduced the processed starch MW to below where it could still form ERS. Regular maize starch containing less than 30% amylose did not increase its resistance to amylase digestibility with acid dextrinisation, probably due to impairment of amylose rearrangement by the numerous branched amylopectin chains. The ERS, which is likely to form during the enzyme-digestion process, is a linear molecule with a maximum degree of polymerisation (DP) of 30, irrespective of the starch source, processing conditions applied or type and amount of acid used.     

Lancing Drug Reservoirs into Subcutaneous Fat to Combat Obesity and Associated Metabolic Diseases

Obesity is a serious epidemic health problem that can cause many other diseases including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Current approaches to combat obesity suffer from low effectiveness and adverse side effects. Here, a new self‐administrable and minimally invasive transdermal drug delivery strategy for home‐based long‐term treatment of obesity and other diseases is developed. Specifically, ultrathin, core‐shelled, and lance‐shaped polymeric drug reservoirs (micro‐lances [MLs]) are readily fabricated by a thermal pressing molding method and totally implanted into subcutaneous fat by lancing through the skin. Using a diet‐induced obese mouse model, it is shown that the development of obesity and associated metabolic disorders is effectively inhibited by applying therapeutic core‐shelled MLs once every 2 weeks. The outstanding therapeutic effects are attributable to highly localized and biphasic drug release, as well as combination therapy based on browning transformation of white fat and enhanced insulin sensitivity.     

High‐Performance Inverted Planar Perovskite Solar Cells Enhanced by Thickness Tuning of New Dopant‐Free Hole Transporting Layer

A new hole transporting material (HTM) named DMZ is synthesized and employed as a dopant‐free HTM in inverted planar perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Systematic studies demonstrate that the thickness of the hole transporting layer can effectively enhance the morphology and crystallinity of the perovskite layer, leading to low series resistance and less defects in the crystal. As a result, the champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.61% with J_SC = 22.62 mA cm^?2, V_OC = 1.02 V, and FF = 81.05% (an average one is 17.62%) is achieved with a thickness of ≈13 nm of DMZ (2 mg mL^?1) under standard global AM 1.5 illumination, which is ≈1.5 times higher than that of devices based on poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS). More importantly, the devices based on DMZ exhibit a much better stability (90% of maximum PCE retained after more than 556 h in air (relative humidity ≈ 45%–50%) without any encapsulation) than that of devices based on PEDOT:PSS (only 36% of initial PCE retained after 77 h in same conditions). Therefore, the cost‐effective and facile material named DMZ offers an appealing alternative to PEDOT:PSS or polytriarylamine for highly efficient and stable inverted planar PSCs.     

Improving the Summer Power Generation of a Hydropower Reservoir Using the Modified Multi-Step Ahead Time-Varying Hedging Rule

This paper aims to improve summer power generation of the Yeywa Hydropower Reservoir in Myanmar using the modified multi-step ahead time-varying hedging (TVH) rule as a case study. The results of the TVH rules were compared with the standard operation policy (SOP) rule, the binary standard operation policy (BSOP) rule, the discrete hedging (DH) rule, the standard hedging (SH) rule, the one-point hedging (OPH) rule, and the two-point hedging (TPH) rule. The Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm (MOGA) was utilized to drive the optimal Pareto fronts for the hedging rules. The results demonstrated that the TVH rules had higher performance than the other rules and showed improvements in power generation not only during the summer period but also over the entire period.