Physiological functions and regulation of K+ and Cl- channels in single smooth muscle cells

Solution- and solid-state c.d. spectra, as well as surface energetics values, were collected for a series of peptides derived from human salivary proline-rich glycoprotein (PRG). The acronyms and sequences for these peptides are as follows: PRG9-2 = NH2-G(1)-P(2)-CONH2, PRG9-3 = NH2-G(1)-P(2)-P(3)-CONH2, PRG9-4 = NH2-G(1)-P(2)-P(3)-P(4)-CONH2, PRG9-5 = NH2-G(1)-P(2)-P(3)-P(4)-H(5)-CONH2, PRG9-6 = NH2-G(1)-P(2)-P(3)-P(4)-H(5)-P(6)-CONH2, PRG9-7 = NH2-G(1)-P(2)-P(3)-P(4)-H(5)-P(6)-G(7)-CONH2, PRG9-8 = NH2-G(1)-P(2)-P(3)-P(4)-H(5)-P(6)-G(7)-K(8)-CONH2, and PRG9-9 = NH2-G(1)-P(2)-P(3)-P(4)-H(5)-P(6)-G(7)-K(8)-P(9)-CONH2. The presence of stable poly-L-proline II-like 'mini' helices in the solution state was found to be dependent on peptide chain length, pH, salt, and organic solvent type. Other conformational features such as kinks and beta-/gamma-turns were also found in the larger peptides. Solid-state peptide conformations were not necessarily related to their solution-state counterparts. Poly-L-proline II-like 'mini' helices, kinks, and beta-/gamma-turns were similarly found in the various substrate-bound PRG9 peptides. Surface energetics parameters suggested specific orientations for PRG9 peptides and their constituent acids and homopolymers.     

An ergonomics study of thumb movements on smartphone touch screen

This study investigated the relationships between thumb muscle activity and thumb operating tasks on a smartphone touch screen with one-hand posture. Six muscles in the right thumb and forearm were targeted in this study, namely adductor pollicis, flexor pollicis brevis, abductor pollicis brevis (APB), abductor pollicis longus, first dorsal interosseous (FDI) and extensor digitorum. The performance measures showed that the thumb developed fatigue rapidly when tapping on smaller buttons (diameter: 9 mm compared with 3 mm), and moved more slowly in flexion–extension than in adduction–abduction orientation. Meanwhile, the electromyography and perceived exertion values of FDI significantly increased in small button and flexion–extension tasks, while those of APB were greater in the adduction–abduction task. This study reveals that muscle effort among thumb muscles on a touch screen smartphone varies according to the task, and suggests that the use of small touch buttons should be minimised for better thumb performance.     

An integrated approach to concept evaluation in a new product development

A new product development (NPD) process can be thought as a comprehensive process in which the design is progressively detailed through a series of phases. At the end of each phase a design review is held to approve the design and release or not it to the next level. As one of these phases, concept selection aiming to select the most appropriate concept for further development, is conducted earlier in the process. As the further development progresses on a selected concept, it becomes more difficult to make design changes in terms of cost and schedule dimensions, and therefore, selecting the best concept among a set of available alternatives has been an important issue for companies. On the other hand, in the presence of many alternatives and selection criteria, the selection problem becomes a multiple-criteria decision making concept selection problem. To solve this problem, in this work, an integrated approach bringing two popular methods together: the modified technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and the analytical network process (ANP). The ANP method is used to determine the relative weights of a set of quantitative and qualitative evaluation criteria, as the modified TOPSIS method utilized to rank competing concept alternatives. In addition, a real example is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed approach for potential practitioners and readers.     

Demonstration of interleukin-1 (IL-1) as an autocrine growth inhibitor in renal cancer cell line, TC-1

In this report, we demonstrated that Interleukin-6 (IL-6) production could be induced by stimulating renal cell carcinoma cell lines, namely ACHN, Caki-1 and TC-1 cells with Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta). IL-1 beta had no effects on cell proliferation in ACHN cells. However, IL-1 beta could suppress cell proliferation in Caki-1 and TC-1 cells. Flow cytometric cell cycle analysis by double staining method with propidium iodide and Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) disclosed IL-1 beta caused cell accumulation at G1 phase. Fine granules were visualized in perinuclear area of TC-1 cells treated with IL-1 beta under microscopy. High electron density granules and spherically dilated rough endoplasmic reticula were observed by electron microscopic examinations. In TC-1 cell culture, IL-1 beta excretion into the supernatant was demonstrated by bioassay and ELISA. These results suggest that IL-1 beta functions as an "autocrine growth inhibitor" against TC-1 cells. Half-maximal inhibition of IL-1 beta and IFN-alpha was 6.5 pg/ml, and 720 U/ml, respectively for TC-1 proliferation and combination of these cytokines showed enhanced activity in cell growth inhibition.     

Growth of AgGaTe2 and AgAlTe2 Layers for Novel Photovoltaic Materials

AgGaTe₂ and AgAlTe₂ layers were grown on a-plane sapphire substrates by closed-space sublimation. These compounds replace Cd in CdTe with group I and III elements, and are, hence, expected to be ideal novel candidate materials for solar cells. The grown layers were confirmed to be stoichiometric AgGaTe₂ and AgAlTe₂ by x-ray diffraction (XRD). The AgAlTe₂ layers had strong preference for the (112) orientation. The XRD spectrum of the AgGaTe₂ layer was different from that of the AgAlTe₂ layer, and strong peaks were observed for (103) and (110) diffraction. The variation in orientations of the grown layers was analyzed in detail by use of XRD pole figures, which revealed that the AgGaTe₂ layers had an epitaxial relationship with the a-plane sapphire substrates.     

Low‐cost dye‐sensitized solar cells with ball‐milled tellurium‐doped graphene as counter electrodes and a natural sensitizer dye

This paper presents a facile and economic development of dye‐sensitized solar cells using a nonprecious counter electrode made from ball‐milled tellurium‐doped graphene (Te‐Gr) and a natural sensitizer extracted from Calotropis gigantea leaves. The prepared materials were characterized using various techniques, such as Raman spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), impedance spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy with built‐in energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (SEM with EDS). The electrochemical activity of the produced counter electrodes and the impedance of the fabricated cells were examined and discussed to devise plans for future enhancement of cell performance. A clear pattern of improvement was found when using cost‐effective Te‐Gr relative to the costly platinum counter electrodes, especially when compared with cells employing another natural sensitizer. The results show approximately 51% enhancement over chlorophyll‐based cells made from spinach, where the added advantage in our approach is the utilization of an abundant plant extract with little nutritional appeal.     

Effects of Mn and Gd Co-substituted into ZnO on Structural and Magnetic Properties

We have worked on the structural and magnetic properties of Zn_0.99?xMn_0.01Gd _x O _δ (for x = 0.02, 0.03, and 0.04) compounds prepared by using a sol–gel method. The x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy were used to understand the structural properties of the samples. We observed that co-substitution of Mn (1 %) and Gd (2–4 %) into the ZnO does not change the hexagonal structure. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images show us that the grain size decreases with the increasing amount of the Gd into the ZnO matrix. The magnetic properties of the samples have been investigated by using magnetic hysteresis and DC susceptibility measurements. The ZMG1 sample shows a weak ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature, whereas the ZMG2 and ZMG3 samples exhibit a paramagnetic nature. Furthermore, it is also found that the magnetizations of the samples decrease with increasing Gd content in the ZnMnO system due to the enhancing interaction between Gd ³⁺ ions. We summarize that the co-substitution of Mn and Gd into the ZnO generates a room-temperature ferromagnetism, but it still needs more work to obtain strong and high coercivity magnetic loops for applications.