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Prognostic and health management (PHM) of plastic gears has attracted attention due to an increasing performance of plastic gears, uncovering potential applications in the industry, especially in vehicle transmissions. Meanwhile, health indicator (HI) construction and remaining useful life (RUL) estimation are two key elements to efficiently perform PHM. In this paper, a health indicator generator (HIG) based on an artificial neural network (ANN) is constructed. The HIG is learned from training data extracted from plastic gears’ raw vibration data using the Fourier decomposition method (FDM) in a sensitive frequency band (SFB) and labeled using a change-point detection algorithm (CDA). Three prediction strategies, including linear regression (LR), estimation of parameters for Weibull distribution (EWD), HI combined average RUL (HI-ARUL), are deployed using HI generated from HIG to predict the RUL of the plastic gear. The results show that the generated HI is sensitive to the early failure of plastic gears and is capable of applying an efficient and precise diagnosis method, which can be performed during the whole working time of plastic gear with prediction errors smaller than 7%.

Our aim was to determine whether variant bile duct (BD) anatomy is associated with portal vein (PV) and/or hepatic artery (HA) anatomy. We examined the associations between BD anatomy and PV and/or HA anatomy in 407 living donor transplantation donors. We also examined whether the right posterior BD (RPBD) course was associated with the PV and/or HA anatomy. Variant PV, HA and BD anatomies were found in 11%, 25% and 25%, respectively, of 407 donors enrolled in this study. The presence of a variant BD was more frequently associated with a variant PV than with a normal PV (61% vs. 20%, p < 0.0001). By contrast, the presence of a variant HA was not associated with a variant BD. A supraportal RPBD was found in 357 donors (88%) and an infraportal RPBD was found in 50 donors (12%). An infraportal RPBD was significantly more common in donors with a variant PV than in donors with a normal PV (30% vs. 10%, p = 0.0004). Variant PV, but not variant HA, anatomies were frequently associated with variant BD anatomy. Additionally, an infraportal RPBD was more common in donors with a variant PV than in donors with a normal PV.

This study investigating the anatomy of 407 living liver donors indicates that variant portal vein, but not variant hepatic artery, anatomies are frequently associated with variant bile duct anatomy.

Two new bipyridine derivative ligands with an extended π electron system and a triple hydrogen bond group, 2,4-diaminopyrimido[5,6-b]dipyrido[2,3-f:2’,3’-h]quinoxaline (DAPQ) and 2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedion[5,6-b]dipyrido[2,3-f:2’3’-h]quinoxaline (PDPQ), were synthesized in order to construct high-performance Ru(II) complexes. The two Ru(II) complexes composed of dapq or pdpq and two 2,2’-bipyridine (BPY) ligands showed characteristic luminescent spectra with a peak maximum at ca. 610 nm. The octahedral Ru(II) complexes with a D-A-D (D: proton donor; A: proton acceptor) type triple hydrogen bond indicated intense luminescence in comparison with the corresponding Ru(II) complex composed of three BPY ligands. When the triple hydrogen bond was formed with a Co(III) complex with the D-A-D type hydrogen bonding group, the luminescence was quenched. This result was explained in terms of an energy transfer from an excited Ru(II) complex to the Co(III) complex.

The inorganic and organic hybrid compound, [O=VPd(2-Pyd-)4]n (2-Pyd- = 2-pyridonate) (1), was synthesized by assembling its monomer units in the organic solution. X-ray absorption spectroscopic (XAFS) studies indicated that oxidation states of the vanadium and palladium ions in 1 were +IV and +II, and the distance between them was estimated to be 2.698-2.700 Å. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation revealed that the compound 1 shapes in long columnar crystals with micrometer-sized cross section. EXAFS and IR studies suggested that the O=V oxygen atom interacted to the central palladium ion in the neighboring monomer unit, forming the inorganic infinite chain structure, -(O=V-Pd)n-, in the columnar crystals of 1.

The thermochemical stabilities of gas phase cluster ions C2H5⁺(Sol)n, s-C3H7⁺(Sol)n, and t-C4H9⁺(Sol)n (Sol = CO2 and N2O) were determined using a pulsed electron beam high-pressure mass spectrometer. The stabilities and structures of those cluster ions were studied theoretically by density functional theory calculations. For the free C2H5⁺ ion, not the classical but the nonclassical bridged form is likely to be the major component. B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,p) calculations showed that the classical structure is absent. In the clustering reaction of C2H5⁺ with Sol, a hydrogen bond type loose complex of the nonclassical C2H5⁺ with Sol is initially formed, which is followed by the intramolecular isomerization of C2H5⁺ to the classical structure forming the stronger bond with Sol. Surprisingly small bond energies of 4−5 kcal/mol for s-C3H7⁺···Sol and t-C4H9⁺···Sol arise from the hyperconjugation effect of methyl groups.

To investigate the effect of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infection on the developing mouse brain in vitro, we developed an infection system using cerebral slice cultures. Using a micromanipulator, the cerebral slices from mouse embryos on day 18.5 of gestation were injected in the subventricular zone with recombinant MCMV in which the lacZ gene was inserted into a late gene, and were cultured for 7 days. Viral infection, detected by β-galactosidase reaction, was developed at the injection sites of the slices. The virus-infected spots in the slices were enhanced by adding tumor necrosis factor-α to the medium and inhibited by adding phosphonoacetic acid or ganciclovir. Sections from paraffin-embedded slices were subjected to immunohistochemical analyses. Neuronal cells, labeled with 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine 24 h before cutting the slices, migrated to the cerebral cortex in the slices. Virus-infected neuronal cells expressing only the early viral antigen migrated to the cortex, whereas glial cells expressing the immediate early and late antigens tended to remain at the injected sites. The neuronal migration of infected cells was not observed in the cerebral slices from 7-day-old mice and viral infection was not detected after injection in the cerebral slices from 14- and 21-day-old mice. These results from these cerebral slices may reflect the infectious dynamics in vivo, and this system may provide a useful model for analysis of disorders of brain development caused by CMV.

We have studied the pathogenesis of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) pneumonitis in immunocompetent ICR mice and in mice treated with cyclophosphamide (CP). Intranasal infection of immunocompetent mice with MCMV resulted in transient and self-limited pulmonary lesions. When mice were given 200 mg/kg of CP one day before virus infection, transient splenic atrophy and subsequent splenic hypertrophy were induced, and the lesions in the lung were markedly augmented in their number and size although there was no significant enhancement of the virus growth. The augmentation coincided with the period of splenic hypertrophy. A marked increase in the number of pulmonary lesions was also induced in mice given 100 mg/kg of CP every 4 days following the initial dose of 200 mg/kg. In these mice, however, continuous splenic atrophy and augmented replication of MCMV in the lung were observed. When the activity of xanthine oxidase (XO) in lung tissue homogenates was measured, the activity was found to significantly increase after intranasal infection with MCMV irrespective of CP administration and there was a good correlation between the elevation of XO activity and the degree of pathological changes in the lung. In addition, we found that the administration of allopurinol, a specific inhibitor of XO and superoxide dismutase, a superoxide radical scavenger, reduced the number of the pulmonary lesions. These results suggest that superoxide radicals are involved in the pathogenesis of MCMV-associated pneumonitis in ICR mice.

Summary The susceptibility of mice at different developmental stages to a relatively low titer of cell culture-passaged murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infection was compared in terms of the urinary excretion of MCMV examined by plaque assay and in terms of the distribution of viral infection, determined by immunohistochemistry, using antibodies specific to the early nuclear antigen of MCMV. Viral infection on day 8.5 of gestation (E8.5) into the conceptus and intraperitoneal infection on day 15.5 of gestation (E15.5), postnatal day 2 (P2), postnatal day 11 (P11), and 30 days after birth (P30), respectively, were performed. Embryonal and perinatal mice were more susceptible to MCMV in terms of urinary excretion of the virus and the presence of viral antigen-positive cells in the brain, lungs, and kidneys. In the embryonal and perinatal infection, the viral antigen-positive cells in the neurons of the cerebral cortex and hippocampus were retained late after birth, even though the positive cells in the lungs and kidneys had disappeared. In the mice infected on E8.5, small clusters of viral antigen-positive cells were detected only in the cortex and hippocampus late after birth, without the urinary excretion of virus. These results suggest that when mice are infected with MCMV at the embryonal and perinatal stages, elimination of the infected neurons is delayed compared with that of the other cells in the lungs and kidneys. These findings provide a model for the analysis of pathogenesis of the subclinical congenital CMV infection that manifested clinically late after birth in humans as brain disorders.

Summary Three human hybrid cell lines were generated by the fusion of D 98OR, a HeLa cell variant, and TIG human diploid fibroblasts. Chromosome numbers of the hybrid cells fell between that of D 98OR cells and the combined chromosome number of the two cell lines, with three marker chromosomes identical to those of D 98OR cells. One hybrid, B-3, produced large amounts of human fibronectin as analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Only human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infected B-3 cells showed positive fluorescence as detected by human antiserum to HCMV. Further cloning of B-3 by limiting dilution resulted in two cloned hybrids with markedly enhanced virus production as compared with B-3 cells. Treatment of these two clones with phorbol ester further enhanced virus production. These cloned hybrids may provide a tool to analyze host cell factors controlling the transcription and replication of HCMV.

Summary Syncytium formation in a rat tumor cell line (XC) induced bySuncus murinus mammary tumor virus (Sm-MTV) was studied. Multinucleate giant cells containing 20–30 nuclei were formed in a monolayer of XC cells by cocultivation with X-ray-irradiated Sm-MTV producing cells (Sm-MT-1). By fluorescent antibody staining, Sm-MTV antigens were demonstrated in the cytoplasm of syncytia, and budding particles and intracytoplasmic A particles were found in syncytial giant cells by electron microscopy. Cell-free supernatant of Sm-MT-1 was capable of inducing syncytia at a much lower incidence than cocultivation of Sm-MT-1 cells. Syncytium formation was completely inhibited when anti-Sm-MTV bovine serum was added to the coculture medium. Pretreatment of XC cells with actinomycin-D caused a partial reduction of Sm-MTV-induced cell fusion, but syncytium formation did occur at a reduced rate even when cellular RNA synthesis was completely inhibited. Dexamethasone increased virus production in Sm-MT-1 cells, resulting in the enhancement of Sm-MTV mediated syncytium formation. Sm-MTV was found to have a unique characteristic of cell fusion activity on XC cells with striking enhancement by dexamethasone.

Aphidicolin specifically inhibits eukaryotic DNA polymerase α, while 2',3'-dideoxythymidine 5'-triphosphate (d2TTP) inhibits DNA polymerase β and γ but not α. 1-β-D-Arabinofuranosylcytosine 5'-triphosphate (araCTP) inhibits both DNA polymerase α and β although to a different extent. Here we measured the effects of these inhibitors on repair DNA synthesis of U.V.-irradiated HeLa cells by two different methods. Firstly, aphidicolin, 1-β-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (araC, a precursor of araCTP) and 2',3'-dideoxythimidine (d2Thd, a precursor of d2TTP) were added directly to the culture medium. In this case, aphidicolin and araC strongly inhibited replicative DNA synthesis of HeLa cells, and they also inhibited repair synthesis after U.V.-irradiation but to a much lesser extent. In contrast, high concentrations of d2Thd inhibited repair DNA synthesis to a higher extent than replicative DNA synthesis. Secondly, the active form of inhibitor, d2TTP, was microinjected directly into cytoplasm or nuclei or U.V.-irradiated HeLa cells. Microinjection of d2TTP effectively inhibited repair synthesis. The microinjection of d2TTP, into either cytoplasm or nucleus, strongly inhibited replicative synthesis. These results might indicate that multiple DNA polymerases are involved in repair synthesis as well as in replicative synthesis.

The structure parameters around the Cu(I) ion in pyridine (PY), 4-methylpyridine (4MPY), 2-methylpyridine (2MPY), 2,6-dimethylpyridine (26DMPY), and acetonitrile (AN) were determined by the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) method. The solvation structures of the Cu(I) ion in PY, 4MPY, and AN are 4-coordinate tetrahedral with Cu-N bond lengths of 205, 205, and 200 pm, respectively. In the case of 2MPY and 26DMPY, the Cu(I) ion has a 3-coordinate triangular structure with a Cu-N bond length of 201 pm. Such a decrease in the coordination number was interpreted in terms of the bulkiness of the solvent molecules. In order to clarify the most stable solvation structure of the Cu(I) ion, we carried out ab initio molecular orbital calculations for the solvation system of [Cu(NCH)n]+(n = 1 - 6 ) where the steric effect is negligible. The Gibbs free energy of solvation was the smallest in the case of n = 4 and the 4-coordinate tetrahedral solvation of the Cu(I) ion was theoretically evaluated as most stable. The enthalpy of solvation monotonously decreases with increasing n, while the entropy of solvation proportionally increases. Although a larger gain of enthalpy is observed for the octahedral structure rather than the tetrahedral one, the entropic loss for the former overcomes the enthalpic gain.

Mouse embryos were infected with murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) by injecting the virus into the cerebral ventricles at the late gestation. After deliveries, offspring were fed by the mothers until 4 weeks. Cystic brain lesions, regarded as porencephaly or paraventricular cysts, were observed in about 20% of the MCMV-injected offspring 3 to 4 weeks after birth. The porencephaly involved the cerebral cortex and the white matter, and sometimes opened to the ventricles, while the paraventricular cysts involved the white matter. The inner surfaces of the cysts were covered with thin monolayer cells. Around the cystic lesions, perivascular cuffings were sometimes observed in the meninges and the basal regions. Viral antigen-positive cells were observed in the cortex and the hippocampus but were hardly observed along the cystic walls. Immunohistochemical double staining using antibodies specific for the viral antigen and specific for factor VIII-related antigen showed that the brain capillary endothelial cells had susceptibility to MCMV infection, and in addition that some neurons in the cortex and the hippocampus had the same susceptibility. These findings suggest that there are at least two ways by which MCMV induce abnormalities in the developing mouse brains; migration of MCMV-infected neurons and affinity to the endothelial cells of the brain vessels to this virus.

Summary Nuclear matrix was prepared from Vero cells infected with herpes simplex virus type 2. In the early stage of infection, both 155K and 110K viral proteins were associated with the nuclear matrix, while in the late stage, 155K protein, presumably a viral capsid protein, was predominantly associated with the matrix. Electron microscopic study showed that empty capsids were bound to the filamentous networks of the nuclear matrix of the late stage. Neither viral DNA nor viral DNA polymerase activity was associated with the nuclear matrix. These results may indicate that the nuclear matrix plays some role in the growth of herpes simplex virus, especially during the morphogenesis.

An amphipathic ruthenium complex in the photoactivated state was found to serve as a good catalyst for electrontransfer across the interface between water and hydrophobic interior of micelles or liposomes. The reaction proceeded via oxidative quenching of the photoexcited complex by methylviologen homologues, if EDTA was used as the final electron source (reducing agent). Reductive quenching was observed, however, when either NTA (in CTAC system) or triethylamine (in loposome system) was the electron source of the reaction under similar conditions. The mechanism was discussed and the possible application to the energy conversion process was suggested.

Abstract: Microcephaly is the most prominent symptom of the developmental brain abnormalities induced by congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. To investigate the effect of CMV infection on neuronal migration in developing brains, mouse embryos on one side of uteri received, on day 15.5 of gestation (E15.5), an injection of murine CMV (MCMV) into the cerebral ventricles, and the embryos on the other side of the uteri were injected with minimum essential medium (MEM). Labeling with 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) was accomplished by intraperitoneal injection of BrdU 6 h later. Disturbance of the neuronal migration and loss of neurons were observed postnatally in the brains of MCMV-infected mice, which were identified by immunohistochemical staining of viral antigen. Double staining of BrdU-labeled and viral antigen-positive cells in brains on the 7th postnatal day showed that the migration of BrdU-single-labeled cells mainly localized in cerebral layers II–III, mostly preceded that of the viral antigen-positive cells. However, about 7.5% of the cells observed were double-labeled, especially in the layers III–IV, and a few double-stained cells were markedly disturbed in migration. In the brains of offspring labeled with BrdU 72 h after infection with MCMV on E15.5, most of the double-stained cells were seen around the ventricular and subventricular zones. These findings suggest that a disturbance of neuronal migration in addition to neuronal loss may play a crucial role in the development of microcephaly in congenital CMV infection in humans.

Abstract: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common cause of congenital infection, resulting in birth defects such as microcephaly. In this study, we found that apoptosis is induced in the developing mouse brain infected with murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) in an association with neuronal cell loss. With the combination of the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) technique and immunohistochemical staining, 3.8% of the TUNEL-positive cells were double-stained with the antibody to neuron-specific enolase, while none of the TUNEL-positive cells were stained with antibodies to the immediate early and early viral antigens of MCMV. Furthermore, distribution pattern of the TUNEL-positive cells was different from that of viral DNA-positive cells detected by the in situ DNA-DNA hybridization. More than 30% of the TUNEL-positive cells were double-stained with the F4/80 antibody specific for microglia/macrophages, which were sometimes swollen, presumably the consequence of engulfment of the neuronal apoptotic cells. In the primary neuronal cultures, MCMV infection inhibited the induction of apoptosis either by serum deprivation or by glutamate treatment. It was also confirmed by the double-staining method that apoptosis was not induced in the viral-infected neuronal cultures. These results suggest that MCMV infection induces apoptosis in non-infected neuronal cells, presumably by indirect mechanisms, and that apoptotic cells are engulfed by microglia/macrophages. The induction and blocking of neuronal apoptosis by viral infection may be important for morphological and functional brain disorders in the congenital CMV infection.

We have developed a procedure that gives a very high efficiency of transfection in mammalian cells with low-molecular-weight DNA (approximately 10(4) base pairs). The procedure uses cells in suspension that are shocked with polyethylene glycol 4 h after replating. We compared this transfection technique to the standard technique involving manual microinjection of DNA into the nuclei of mammalian cells, using recombinant plasmids containing the simian virus 40 A gene or the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene or both. The efficiency of transfection depends on a number of variables, the most important of which is the difference in transfectability of different cell lines. In our laboratory, the cell line that had the highest efficiency of transfection was tk-ts13, which is derived from baby hamster kidney cells that are deficient in thymidine kinase and temperature sensitive for growth. Under the appropriate conditions, as many as 70% of these cells can be transfected so that transient gene expression can be detected. With the manual microinjection technique, gene expression is independent of the cell line used and occurs faster than after transfection. The results suggest that the critical stage in transfection is the delivery of DNA molecules to the nucleus. Our experiments also indicate that an enzymatic function, in our case, thymidine kinase activity, gives a higher percentage of positive transfectants than when proteins are visualized only by indirect immunofluorescence. The transfection procedure described in this paper is simple and reproducible and, although less efficient than microinjection, ought to be useful in phenotypic and genotypic studies in which transfer of genes to a large number of cells is desirable.

Mouse embryos were infected with murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) by injecting the virus into the cerebral ventricles in the late stage of gestation; the brains of the offspring were then analyzed using the histological and immunohistochemical methods. Brains of the offspring, which were injected with relatively high titers of MCMV [1×104plaque-forming units (pfu)] on day 13 of gestation exo utero or on day 15 of gestation in utero, showed massiv necrosis of the cerebral cortex with gliomesodermal proliferation around 9 to 10 days after birth. In these brains, viral antigen-positive cells were observed in zonal arrangement in the lesion-free cortex and in the hippocampus. Immunohistochemical double staining showed that some of the viral antigen-positive cells had also reacted with antibody to neuron-specific enolase at the same time, but had hardly reacted with antibodies to braintype creatine kinase or glial fibrillary acidic protein. Brains of the offspring, which were injected with relatively low titers of virus (1×103pfu) on day 15 of gestation, showed zonal arrangement of viral antigenpositive cells mainly in the cerebral cortex and in the hippocampus 7 days after birth, although the numbers of the positive cells were low. Fourteen days after birth, some of these offspring showed atrophy of the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus. These results suggest that some of the neuronal cells in the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus have special susceptibility to MCMV infection.

Structure parameters of solvated silver(I) ions in eight neat solvents were determined by extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. The coordination geometry of the solvated silver(I) ion is four-coordinate tetrahedral at the Ag−O bond distances of 239 pm in trimethylphosphate, 239 pm in N,N-dimethylformamide, 238 pm in 1,1,3,3-tetramethylurea, and 238 pm in dimethyl sulfoxide as oxygen-donating solvents, and at the Ag−N bond distances of 229 pm in acetonitrile, 230 pm in 2-methylpyridine, 229 pm in n-propylamine, and 231 pm in ethylenediamine as nitrogen-donating solvents. According to our present ab initio molecular orbital calculations concerning the structure of the silver(I) ion bound by n molecules of hydrogen cyanide (n = 1−6) and acetonitrile (n = 1−5) in the gas phase, the maximal stabilization for the solvation is observed at n = 4. The results of the theoretical calculations in the gas phase are consistent with the experimental observations in solution.

An N-acyliminium ion pool was found to undergo cycloaddition reaction with a variety of dienophiles such as alkenes and alkynes. A concerted mechanism seems to be most likely for alkyl-substituted alkenes as suggested by the DFT calculations, whereas a stepwise mechanism plays the major role for aryl-substituted alkenes. It is also noteworthy that the present study demonstrates the potential of the combination of the cation pool method and the micromixing in both mechanistic and synthetic aspects.

The synthesis of 3 polypeptides with molecular weights of 103-, 80- and 78-kdalton (K) was dramatically accelerated when the cultures of human embryonic fibroblasts were transferred from 37 to 40°C. The induction of these polypeptides was not observed if actinomycin D was added to the cultures at the beginning of the rising of the temperature, indicating that this response may be mediated by increased transcription of their messenger RNA.

A highly sensitive sandwich enzyme immunoassay for the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) is described. The assay can detect 3 ng/ml of MMTV. The enzyme used is ß-D-galactosidase fromEscherichia coliand the solid phase used is a piece of silicon rubber.

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.

Electrochemical oxidation of the 2‐substituted furans (I) in methanol produces the E‐dimethoxy‐2‐butenoates (II).

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.