An investigation of intercalation-induced stresses generated during lithium transport through Li1 − δCoO2 film electrode using a laser beam deflection method

The stress change, Δσ, generated during lithium transport through the rf sputter-deposited Li_{1 − δ}CoO₂ film was exactly determined as a function of the lithium stoichiometry, (1 − δ), using a laser beam deflection method (LBDM) combined with cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic intermittent titration technique and potentiostatic current transient technique. Tensile and compressive stresses were generated during the lithium intercalation and deintercalation, respectively. Δσ varied remarkably with (1 − δ) in the single-α-phase region as well as in the two-phase region, but it remained almost constant in the single-β-phase region. Δσ generated during a real potential step between an initial electrode potential and a final applied potential was uniquely specified by (1 − δ). The value of Δσ coincided well with that value derived from the Δσ versus (1 − δ) curve (stress transient) measured simultaneously along with the galvanostatic intermittent titration discharge curve. From the comparison between the values of Δσ measured experimentally and calculated theoretically, it was suggested that Δσ in the single-α-phase region and the two-phase region originate from the molar volume change of the α-phase and from the lattice parameter mismatch between the α-phase and β-phase, respectively.     

IL-6 induces hepatic inflammation and collagen synthesis in vivo

IL-6 regulates the synthesis of a broad spectrum of acute phase proteins in the liver. Also, it is involved in the pathogenesis of many fibrogenic diseases. To study the inflammatory effects of IL-6 on the liver in vivo, human rIL-6, produced in Escherichia coli, was injected intraperitoneally into rats (25 micrograms/100 g body weight). The major fraction of injected IL-6 was accumulated in the liver within 40 min, and the number of platelets was increased during 72 h after injection. After 5 weeks of injection, the levels of serum glutamine pyruvic transaminase (GPT) and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) were not changed, but they were significantly elevated at 13 weeks of treatment. Meanwhile, serum albumin levels were slightly decreased compared with those of controls. The same phenomena were observed in carbon tetrachloride-treated rats. Collagen synthesis was increased in the liver tissues and in the culture supernatants of hepatic lipocytes isolated from the rats treated with IL-6 for 13 weeks. Histological analysis correlated well with biochemical analysis. At 5 weeks of treatment, only mild pathological changes were observed, but severe hepatocyte necrosis and the accumulation of fibres in necrotic area were developed in the liver of IL-6-treated rats after 13 weeks of treatment, confirming that hepatic inflammation and fibrosis were developed. IL-6 activities in the sera and in the culture supernatants of lipocytes from IL-6-treated rats were elevated compared with those in controls. These biochemical and pathological data indicate that IL-6 can induce hepatic inflammation, and it has important roles in the pathogenesis of fibrosis and diseases of the liver in vivo. In addition, these results will provide useful information for the clinical trials of IL-6.     

Development of a biosensor for E. coli based on a flexural plate wave (FPW) transducer

To fulfill the need for rapid, cost-effective and sensitive methods for the detection of bacteria in medical diagnostics, food technology, biotechnology and environmental monitoring, a development of a bacterial sensor was initiated. Our approach of a biosensor for E. coli is based on an acousto-gravimetric flexural plate wave (FPW) transducer (gravimetric detection limit of less than 6 ng in a 32 microns thick sensitive layer in aqueous media), and an immunoaffinity layer on the transducer membrane for the molecular recognition of the target bacteria. An intermediate layer of covalently coupled poly (acrylic acid) yielded a major reduction of the non-specific binding to the metal surface. Such a biosensor, using antibodies against E. coli K12 and E. coli 15 outer surface antigens, yielded a detection range of 3.0 x 10(5) to 6.2 x 10(7) cells/ml for samples with the corresponding bacteria. To increase the sensitivity further, an amplification method using microspheres coupled with antibodies against E. coli was tested as a sandwich assay, and up to now a five-fold amplification of the signal has been achieved.     

A cell surface display system using novel GPI-anchored proteins in Hansenula polymorpha

A cell surface display system was developed in yeast Hansenula polymorpha.The four genes HpSED1, HpGAS1, HpTIP1and HpCWP1, encoding glycosylphosphatidyl-inositol (GPI)-anchored cell surface proteins from H. polymorpha, were cloned, characterized and evaluated for their efficacies as cell surface display motifs of reporter proteins. Sequence analysis of these genes revealed that each encodes a typical GPI-anchored protein that is structurally similar to a counterpart gene in S. cerevisiae. The genes showed a high content of serine-threonine (alanine) and harboured a putative secretion signal in the N-terminus and the GPI-attachment signal in the C-terminus. The surface anchoring efficiency of these putative cell surface proteins was tested by fusion to the C-terminal of carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase) from Bacillus subtilis. In all cases, high CMCase activities were detected in intact cell fraction, indicating anchoring of CMCase to the cell surface. HpCwp1p, HpGas1p and the 40 C-terminal amino acids of HpTip1p from H. polymorpha exhibited a comparatively high CMCase surface anchoring efficiency. When these proteins were used as anchoring motifs for surface display of the glucose oxidase (GOD) from Aspergillus niger, most enzyme activity was detected at the cell surface. Fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis of cells displaying GOD on the cell surface demonstrated that GOD was well exposed on the cell surface. HpCwp1p showed the highest anchoring efficiency among others.     

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) whole powder reduces accumulation of visceral fat mass and increases hepatic oxidative stress in rats fed a high-fat diet

Turmeric powder (TP) containing approximately 5.15% curcumin was evaluated for reduction of development of high-fat diet-induced obesity. Rats were fed a 30% fat diet containing 5, 10, and 20 g of TP/100 g of diet (TP-5, TP-10, and TP-20 groups) for 30 days. Body weight gain, energy intake, and the visceral fat mass for the TP-10 and TP-20 groups were lower than for the control group. Serum triglyceride and hepatic total lipid levels for the TP-10 and TP-20 groups were lower than for the control group. The hepatic glutathione concentration and the glutathione-S-transferase activity for all TP groups, and the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances level for the TP-20 group, were higher than for the control group. A high dose of turmeric powder apparently reduces development of high-fat diet-induced obesity, but also causes the adverse effect of increasing oxidative stress in rats.     

Image segmentation using hidden Markov Gauss mixture models.

Image segmentation is an important tool in image processing and can serve as an efficient front end to sophisticated algorithms and thereby simplify subsequent processing. We develop a multiclass image segmentation method using hidden Markov Gauss mixture models (HMGMMs) and provide examples of segmentation of aerial images and textures. HMGMMs incorporate supervised learning, fitting the observation probability distribution given each class by a Gauss mixture estimated using vector quantization with a minimum discrimination information (MDI) distortion. We formulate the image segmentation problem using a maximum a posteriori criteria and find the hidden states that maximize the posterior density given the observation. We estimate both the hidden Markov parameter and hidden states using a stochastic expectation-maximization algorithm. Our results demonstrate that HMGMM provides better classification in terms of Bayes risk and spatial homogeneity of the classified objects than do several popular methods, including classification and regression trees, learning vector quantization, causal hidden Markov models (HMMs), and multiresolution HMMs. The computational load of HMGMM is similar to that of the causal HMM.     

An integrated hybrid device for binary-phase-shift-keyingsubcarrier modulation

We propose an integrated optical/radio frequency (RF) hybrid device for binary-phase-shift-keying subcarrier modulation that is based on optical amplitude modulation and interference with phase delay. The device consists of two multiple-quantum-well (MQW) electroabsorption (EA) modulators branched with two multimode interference (MMI) couplers. When an RF carrier was applied to one modulator and a digital signal to the other one, the phase modulation of the RF subcarrier was realized     

Anti-diabetic effect of the soybean extract fermented by Bacillus subtilis MORI in db/db mice

This study investigated the effects of soy bean extract fermented by Bacillus subtilis MORI (BTD-1) on blood glucose, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), plasma insulin, and pancreatic β islets in db/db mice. The BTD-1 (500 mg/kg) group showed significantly lower fasting blood glucose level (p<0.01) and postprandial 2 h blood glucose level (p<0.01) compared with the db control group. The BTD-1 (500 mg/kg) group showed significantly lower HbA1c level compared with the db control group (p<0.01). After 8 weeks of BTD-1 administration, the pancreatic islet architecture was preserved and the immunofluorescent intensities of insulin in BTD-1 (500mg/kg) group apparently increased compared to in the db control group. Plasma insulin levels were found to be significantly higher in the BTD-1 (500 mg/kg) group than in the db control group (p<0.05). In summary, our results suggest that BTD-1 has an anti-diabetes effect in a non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus mouse model.     

Construction of an Inexpensive Subnanosecond Fluoriheter Using a Microcomputer

ABSTRACT

We describe a simple construction of a data acquisition system using an APPLE 11+ Microcomputer. The system uses a commercially available plug-in Interface board containing an analog/digital converter, a digital/analog converter, and a user dedicated 6522 Versatile Interface Adaptor (VIA). The microcomputer controls the time base and digitizes the vertical output of a sampling oscilloscope through the Interface card. Software has been developed for the data acquisition and manipulation. The system was applied to the determination of subnanosecond fluorescence lifetimes. It is pointed out that the system can be very versatile as a data acquisition and manipulation system despite its lower cost.     

Synthesis and characterization of sulfonated bromo-poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide)-co-(2,6-diphenyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) copolymer as proton exchange membrane

Novel polymer electrolyte membranes containing the sulfonic acid groups attached on polymer backbone and side group simultaneously were synthesized. The bromo-poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide)-co-(2,6-diphenyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) copolymer (BrcoPPO) was prepared by oxidative coupling polymerization with 2,6-dimethyl phenol, 2,6-diphenyl phenol, CuCl(I) and pyridine, and followed by bromination with bromine. Copolymer was maintained in 2,6-diphenyl phenol 10 mol% and 2,6-dimethyl phenol 90 mol%. Sulfonation of BrcoPPO (S-BrcoPPO) was carried out in a chlorobenzene solvent using chlorosulfonic acid. The polymeric membranes were cast from dimethylsulfoxide solution. The membranes were studied by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Sorption experiments were conducted to observe the interaction of sulfonated polymers with water and methanol. S-BrcoPPO membranes exhibited proton conductivities from 2.3 × 10⁻³ to 1.4 × 10⁻² S/cm, water uptake from 7.00 to 49.43%, IEC from 0.58 to 1.38 mequiv./g, methanol permeability from 1.9 × 10⁻⁷ to 3.5 × 10⁻⁷ cm²/S.