Isolation and identification of compound from dropwort (Oenanthe javanica) with protective potential against oxidative stress in HepG2 cells

The protective effect of dropwort (Oenanthe javanica) was investigated in HepG2 cells under oxidative stress, and its active compound was identified. Compared to H₂O₂-alone treated cells, a drastic increase (35%) in protective activity was observed in the cells pretreated with 80% ethanol extract (OJE) of dropwort, suggesting that OJE possessed a potent hepatoprotectant. After a sequential procedure consisting of solvent-partitioning chromatography, TLC, and HPLC was conducted, the compound with proven hepatoprotective activity from OJE was isolated and identified as caffeic acid. Results indicated that caffeic acid in dropwort contributed to this herb’s protective profile against oxidative stress-induced liver damage.     

Investigating the effects of bulk supercooling and rapid solidification on Co–Ni–Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloys

In this study, Electromagnetic Levitation (EML) technique was utilized to explore the effect of bulk supercooling and rapid solidification in alloys with Co₄₆Ni₂₇Ga₂₇ and Co₄₈Ni₂₂Ga₃₀ (at.%) compositions. The effects of γ + β on the martensitic and austenitic transformation temperatures and magnetic properties were investigated. The presence of γ phase was found to suppress the martensitic and austenitic transformations to below room temperature. Bulk supercooling and rapid solidification led to the formation of homogeneous martensitic phase from the hyperperitectic Co₄₆Ni₂₇Ga₂₇ alloy. In contrast with pure martensite phase in Co₄₈Ni₂₂Ga₃₀, the hyperperitectic martensite in supercooled Co₄₆Ni₂₇Ga₂₇ sample showed no grain boundaries microsegregation and embrittlement that caused deep cracks along grain boundaries. The sample had a high Curie temperature about 400 K and good directional magnetic properties.     

Substituted Syndecan-2-Derived Mimetic Peptides Show Improved Antitumor Activity over the Parent Syndecan-2-Derived Peptide

We previously showed that a synthetic peptide (S2-P) corresponding to a portion of the human syndecan-2 (SDC2) sequence can bind to the pro-domain of matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) to inhibit colon cancer activities. Since S2-P had a relatively weak binding affinity for the MMP-7 pro-domain, we herein modified the amino acid sequence of S2-P to improve the anticancer potential. On the basis of the interaction structure of S2-P and MMP-7, four peptides were generated by replacing amino acids near Tyr 51, which is critical for the interaction. The SDC2-mimetic peptides harboring an Ala-to-Asp substitution at the C-terminal side of Tyr 51 (S2-D) or with an Ala-to-Phe substitution at the N-terminal side of Tyr 51 and an Ala-to-Asp substitution at the C-terminal side of Tyr 51 (S2-FE) showed improved interaction affinities for the MMP-7 pro-domain. Compared to S2-P, S2-FE was better able to inhibit the SDC2–MMP-7 interaction, the cell surface localization of MMP-7, the gelatin degradation activity of MMP-7, and the cancer activities (cell migration, invasion, and colony-forming activity) of human HCT116 colon cancer cells in vitro. In vivo, S2-FE inhibited the primary tumor growth and lung metastasis of CT26 mouse colon cancer cells in a xenograft mouse model. Together, these data suggest that S2-FE could be useful therapeutic anticancer peptides for colon cancer.     

NOT and NAND logic circuits composed of top-gate ZnO nanowire field-effect transistors with high-k Al(2)O(3) gate layers

Electrical characteristics of NOT and NAND logic circuits fabricated using top-gate ZnO nanowire field-effect transistors (FETs) with high-k?Al(2)O(3) gate layers were investigated in this study. To form a NOT logic circuit, two identical FETs whose I(on)/I(off) ratios were as high as ～10(8) were connected in series in a single ZnO nanowire channel, sharing a common source electrode. Its voltage transfer characteristics exhibited an inverting operation and its logic swing was?98%. In addition, the characteristics of a NAND logic circuit composed of three top-gate FETs connected in series in a single nanowire channel are discussed in this paper.     

Carbon‐Nanotube‐Templated,Sputter‐Deposited,Flexible Superconducting NbN Nanowire Yarns

Flexible superconducting yarns consisting of sputter‐deposited NbN nanowires on highly aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) array sheets are reported. In the microscopic view, the NbN nanowires are formed on top of individual CNT fibrils, and the superconductivity property of the twist‐spun NbN–CNT yarn system is comparable to that of a typical NbN thin film on a normal solid substrate. Because of its intrinsic porosity, the system exhibits superior mechanical flexibility with a small bending radius. It also remains a superconducting state even when subjected to severe mechanical deformations, primarily due to the proximity superconductivity through carbon nanotube bundles. The results demonstrate the possibility of fabricating flexible superconducting yarns in a conventional thin‐film deposition process, using ultraflexible free‐standing CNT sheets as a template. In addition, preliminary tests on reducing the normal‐state resistance toward superconducting cable applications are presented.     

Comparison of Two Target Selection Methods for Two-Thumb Touchpad Typing

As an option for remote text entry, the possibility of bimanual text entry was explored using a touchpad that is called two-thumb touchpad typing (4-T). The design of a 4-T interface presents a few important design options to examine, and one of them is a target selection method. In this study, two 4-T interfaces were designed, called SlideType and FlyType. These interfaces use two different target selection methods, slide-and-click and fly-and-touch, respectively, and their prototypes were implemented using an optical hover-tracking touchpad. An experiment with the prototypes showed that FlyType was faster than SlideType and could achieve a text entry speed over 24 words per minute after practicing 2 hr. In addition, a microanalysis of thumb movements during the experiment showed that there are clear quantitative differences between the two methods in the degree of ballisticity of finger motions, in the concurrency of the movements of the two thumbs, and in the degree of integration between reaching and selecting actions, and that FlyType supports a more integral, ballistic, and concurrent motor skill than SlideType.     

Goal-Based Automated Code Generation in Self-Adaptive System

System administrator deals with many problems, as computing environment becomes increasingly complex. Systems with an ability to recognize system states and adapt to resolve these problems offer a solution. Much experience and knowledge are required to build a self-adaptive system. Self-adaptive systems have inherent difficulties. This paper proposes a technique that automatically generates the code for the self-adaptive system. Thus the system is easier to build. Self-adaptive systems of previous research required high system resource usage. Incorrect operation could be invoked by external factors such as viruses. We propose an improved self-adaptive system approach and apply it to video conference system and robot system. We compared the lines of code, the number of classes created by the developers. We have confirmed this enhanced approach to be effective in reducing these development metrics.     

Combined task and motion planning system for the service robot using hierarchical action decomposition

Intelligent Service Robotics - A service robot needs integration of symbolic reasoning for high-level task planning and geometric computation for low-level motion planning to provide services in an...     

Analytical study on soot formation in a diesel engine

The soot formation inside a diesel engine was studied by the analytical model. The soot is formed from gaseous carbon atoms by the phase change under the saturation condition. This soot model is implemented into the KIVA-3V code. From the results of the model, it is found that the fuel rich core of spray inside a flame is the main source of soot. The effect of injection timing is investigated by the soot model. When the injection timing is advanced, the formation of soot is suppressed because of high saturation pressure. The soot formation is increased when the injection timing is retarded mainly due to the decreased soot oxidation at low cylinder temperature.