Role of Metabolism in Bone Development and Homeostasis

Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are the underlying energy sources for animals and are catabolized through specific biochemical cascades involving numerous enzymes. The catabolites and metabolites in these metabolic pathways are crucial for many cellular functions; therefore, an imbalance and/or dysregulation of these pathways causes cellular dysfunction, resulting in various metabolic diseases. Bone, a highly mineralized organ that serves as a skeleton of the body, undergoes continuous active turnover, which is required for the maintenance of healthy bony components through the deposition and resorption of bone matrix and minerals. This highly coordinated event is regulated throughout life by bone cells such as osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and osteocytes, and requires synchronized activities from different metabolic pathways. Here, we aim to provide a comprehensive review of the cellular metabolism involved in bone development and homeostasis, as revealed by mouse genetic studies.     

InxGa1−xAs ohmic contacts to n-type GaAs with a tungsten nitride barrier

Significant reduction of the contact resistance of In_0.7Ga_0.3As/Ni/W contacts (which were previously developed by sputtering in our laboratory) was achieved by depositing a W₂N barrier layer between the Ni layer and W layer. The In_0.7Ga_0.3 As/Ni/W₂N/W contact prepared by the radio-frequency sputtering technique showed the lowest contact resistance of 0.2 Ωmm after annealing at 550°C for 10 s. This contact also provided a smooth surface, good reproducibility, and excellent thermal stability at 400°C. The polycrystalline W₂N layer was found to suppress the In diffusion to the contact surface, leading to improvement of the surface morphology and an increase in the total area of the In_xGa−As between metal and the GaAs substrate. These improvements are believed to reduce the contact resistance.     

Hot carrier magnetophonon spectroscopy of semiconductors in high magnetic fields up to 40 T

Hot carrier magnetophonon resonances of n-type Si, short channel InP and p-type InSb were investigated in pulsed high magnetic fields up to 40 T. Using a recently developed high resolution technique in pulsed high fields, many new features of the hot carrier-phonon interactions in high magnetic fields were found.     

Dietary effect of a symmetrical triacylglycerol, 1,3-biseicosapentaenoyl-2-γ-linolenoyl glycerol, on fatty acid composition of guinea pigs

The dietary effect of 1,3-biseicosapentaenoyl-2-γ-linolenoyl glycerol (STG) on the fatty acid composition of guinea pigs was examined and compared with that of an eicosapentaenoic acid ethyl ester (EPA-F) and of a soybean oil (SBO) diet. In terms of content of plasma lipid, EPA-E had a greater hypolipidemic effect than STG. On the other hand, in terms of EPA incorporation, contents of EPA in liver lipid were almost the same in the STG and EPA-E groups. Considering that the amount of EPA administered in the EPA-E group was almost 1.5 times that of the STG group, FPA may be absorbed more effectively as the glycerol ester than as the ethyl ester in guinea pigs. In all the tissue lipids, the STG group had a higher unsaturation index (UI) than the EPA-E group even though there is a lower UI in the STG diet than the EPA-E diet. These results suggest that greater amounts of desaturase products as a whole were synthesized in the STG group than in the other two groups. The dihomo-γ-linolenic acid/arachidonic acid (DGLA/AA) ratio in plasma total lipids in the STG group was 3.5 times that of SBO group, and the DGLA/AA ratio in the EPA-E group was half that of the SBO group. In liver lipid, the ratios of DGLA/AA and EPA/AA in the STG group were 0.687 and 0.488 (phosphatidylcholine fraction) and 0.237 and 0.752 (phosphatidylethanolamine fraction), respectively. The ratio of DGLA/AA as well as the high EPA/AA ratio obtained in the present study with the STG diet may lead to physiological alterations, including enhanced synthesis of 1-and 3-series eicosanoids.     

Effects of heated seat and foot heater on thermal comfort and heater energy consumption in vehicle

Subjective experiments involving 12 different conditions were conducted to investigate the effects of heated seats and foot heaters in vehicles on thermal sensation and thermal comfort. The experimental conditions involved various combinations of the operative temperature in the test room (10 or 20°C), a heated seat (on/off) and a foot heater (room operative temperature?+10 or?+20°C). The heated seat and foot heater improved the occupant's thermal sensation and comfort in cool environments. The room operative temperature at which the occupants felt a 'neutral' overall thermal sensation was decreased by about 3°C by using the heated seat or foot heater and by about 6°C when both devices were used. Moreover, the effects of these devices on vehicle heater energy consumption were investigated using simulations. As a result, it was revealed that heated seats and foot heaters can reduce the total heater energy consumption of vehicles. Statement of Relevance: Subjective experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of heated seats and foot heaters in vehicles on thermal comfort. The heated seat and foot heater improved the occupant's thermal sensation and comfort in cool environments. These devices can reduce the total heater energy consumption in vehicles.     

The convex-concave characteristics of Gaussian channel capacity functions

In this correspondence, we give several inherent properties of the capacity function of a Gaussian channel with and without feedback by using some operator inequalities and matrix analysis. We give a new proof method which is different from the method appearing in: K. Yanagi and H. W. Chen, "Operator inequality and its application to information theory," Taiwanese J. Math., vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 407-416, Sep. 2000. We obtain the following results: C/sub n,Z/(P) and C/sub n,FB,Z/(P) are both concave functions of P, C/sub n,Z/(P) is a convex function of the noise covariance matrix and C/sub n,FB,Z/(P) is a convex-like function of the noise covariance matrix. This new proof method is very elementary and the results shall help study the capacity of Gaussian channel. Finally, we state a conjecture concerning the convexity of C/sub n,FB,/spl middot//(P).     

Microstructure of Aluminum/Glass Joint Bonded by Ultrasonic Wire Welding

An Al/glass joint created by using ultrasonic welding was analyzed by means of multiscale observation techniques. A cross-sectional analysis of the microstructure revealed that a directly joined interface without reaction phases formed at the periphery of a round joined region. The size of Al grains markedly decreased after ultrasonic welding and some subgrains were observed along the interface. The finer Al grains observed around the periphery of the joined interface showed active plastic flow that promoted welding.     

Finite Element Analysis of Precursors to Macroscopic Stick–Slip Motion in Elastic Materials: Analysis of Friction Test as a Boundary Value Problem

In this study, we apply the finite element method to investigate precursor to frictional sliding phenomena arising immediately prior to macroscopic stick–slip transitions in elastic bodies within the framework of a continuum theory. Using a numerical model that mimics an actual experimental system, we study the behavior of contact surface nodes to assess the influence of stiffness, driving velocity, initial conditions, and discretization conditions on the propagation characteristics of microscopic slips. In particular, we show that the initial distribution of frictional stress arising due to the Poisson effect has a significant effect on the propagation characteristics in slip regions. Next, based on the results of a finite element analysis of precursor phenomena that accounts for the influence of bulk compliance, we consider the determination of parameters in rate-dependent friction models. With regard to the behavior of sliding friction, we show that the relationship between friction tests and friction models is fundamentally different from the relationship between material tests and constitutive models for material deformation. We conclude that a proper understanding and classification of friction tests, friction models, and the relationship between these tests and boundary value problems are crucial ingredients in the application of computer-aided engineering techniques to sliding-friction phenomena; indeed, friction tests must ultimately be treated as boundary value problems.     

Condensation of organic binary mixtures flowing horizontally in a horizontal tube bundle

Both heat and mass transfer in the gas phase and heat transfer in the liquid phase are examined experimentally for film condensation of organic binary mixtures such as ethanol-water and methanol-water. Experimental results on the average heat flux, vapor-liquid interface temperature and liquid-phase Nusselt number are compared with analytical solutions based on stagnant film theory and heat-transfer relationships for film condensation from a pure vapor. Experimental heat transfer results agree well with the analytical solutions, except that the experimental liquid-phase Nusselt numbers under conditions of low mass fraction of water are considerably higher than predicted by the analytical solutions. This high value of the liquid-phase Nusselt number is considered to be caused by dropwise condensation in the liquid phase. However, its effect on the tube bundle is not so remarkable compared with that in gravity-controlled condensation on a vertical surface. This is considered to be caused by the condensate inundation effect. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Heat Trans Jpn Res, 25(6): 342–361, 1996