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Repeated column chromatography of solvent fractions extracted from the flowers of Lilium Asiatic hybrids ensured purification of three benzyl glycosides I – III, which were reliably identified based on the analysis of various spectroscopic data. Compounds I – III (20 μg/mL) reduced nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB) (p-p65/p-65) by 9.64 ± 0.66%, 30.98 ± 1.08%, and 54.04 ± 1.12%, respectively. Compounds II and III markedly inhibited the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) in tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-stimulated human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) by 38.68 ± 2.52% and 37.9 ± 2.76%, respectively. Compound III significantly suppressed U937 monocytes attachment to the TNF-α-stimulated HASMCs.

During the 2012 Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) experiment the National Science Foundation/National Center for Atmospheric Research Gulfstream V (GV) aircraft sampled the upper anvils of two storms that developed in eastern Colorado on 6 June 2012. A cloud particle imager (CPI) mounted on the GV aircraft recorded images of ice crystals at altitudes of 12.0 to 12.4 km and temperatures (T) from −61 to −55 ∘C. A total of 22 393 CPI crystal images were analyzed, all with maximum dimension (Dmax⁡)<433 µm and with an average Dmax⁡ of 80.7±45.4 µm. The occurrence of well-defined pristine crystals (e.g., columns and plates) was less than 0.04 % by number. Single frozen droplets and frozen droplet aggregates (FDAs) were the dominant habits with fractions of 73.0 % (by number) and 46.3 % (by projected area), respectively. The relative frequency of occurrence of single frozen droplets and FDAs depended on temperature and position within the anvil cloud. A new algorithm that uses the circle Hough transform technique was developed to automatically identify the number, size, and relative position of element frozen droplets within FDAs. Of the FDAs, 42.0 % had two element frozen droplets with an average of 4.7±5.0 element frozen droplets. The frequency of occurrence gradually decreased with the number of element frozen droplets. Based on the number, size, and relative position of the element frozen droplets within the FDAs, possible three-dimensional (3-D) realizations of FDAs were generated and characterized by two different shape parameters, the aggregation index (AI) and the fractal dimension (Df), that describe 3-D shapes and link to scattering properties with an assumption of spherical shape of element frozen droplets. The AI of FDAs decreased with an increase in the number of element frozen droplets, with larger FDAs with more element frozen droplets having more compact shapes. The Df of FDAs was about 1.20–1.43 smaller than that of black carbon (BC) aggregates (1.53–1.85) determined in previous studies. Such a smaller Df of FDAs indicates that FDAs have more linear chain-like branched shapes than the compact shapes of BC aggregates. Determined morphological characteristics of FDAs along with the proposed reconstructed 3-D representations of FDAs in this study have important implications for improving the calculations of the microphysical (e.g., fall velocity) and radiative (e.g., asymmetry parameter) properties of ice crystals in upper anvil clouds.

Daily total column ozone (TCO) measured using the Pandora spectrophotometer (no. 19) was compared with data from the Dobson (no. 124) and Brewer (no. 148) spectrophotometers, as well as from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) (with two different algorithms, Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) TOMS and differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) methods), over the 2-year period between March 2012 and March 2014 at Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea. Based on the linear-regression method, the TCO from Pandora is closely correlated with those from other instruments with regression coefficients (slopes) of 0.95 (Dobson), 1.00 (Brewer), 0.98 (OMI-TOMS), and 0.97 (OMI-DOAS), and determination coefficients (R2) of 0.95 (Dobson), 0.97 (Brewer), 0.96 (OMI-TOMS), and 0.95 (OMI-DOAS). The daily averaged TCO from Pandora has within 3 % differences compared to TCO values from other instruments. For the Dobson measurements in particular, the difference caused by the inconsistency in observation times when compared with the Pandora measurements was up to 12.5 % because of diurnal variations in the TCO values. However, the comparison with Brewer after matching the observation time shows agreement with large R2 and small biases. The TCO ratio between Brewer and Pandora shows the 0.98 ± 0.03, and the distributions for relative differences between two instruments are 89.2 and 57.1 % of the total data within the error ranges of 3 and 5 %, respectively. The TCO ratio between Brewer and Pandora also is partially dependent on solar zenith angle. The error dependence by the observation geometry is essential to the further analysis focusing on the sensitivity of aerosol and the stray-light effect in the instruments.

RISO (Korea Research Institute of Ship & Ocean Engineering) has started a project to develop the core algorithms for autonomous intervention using underwater robot from 2017, which is ROV type with one 7-function manipulator. In this paper, to identify the dynamic parameters of robot, the information of actuating force, acceleration, velocity will be secured through water tank tests, which is useful for control the motion and path tracking. First, the thrusting force of each thruster and the propulsion force of robot by thruster allocation are directly measured using load-cell and F/T(Force/Torque) sensor in the water. Next, for the propulsion force, the acceleration and velocity of robot are obtained from inner sensors such as IMU, DVL, pressure transmitter through the free acceleration experiment, which is performed toward surge, sway, and yaw direction respectively.

As a problem of theoretical and practical interest, anti-plane shear is mathematically simple and prone to analytical solutions. However, almost no analytical solutions have been reached for the pr...

3D8 scFv, a catalytic recombinant antibody developed in the MRL mouse, exhibits nucleic acid-hydrolyzing activity. Previous studies have demonstrated that tobacco plants harboring 3D8 scFv antibodies showed broad-spectrum resistance to infection by both DNA and RNA viruses. In this study, potatoes were transformed with the 3D8 scFv gene and screened by potato virus X (PVX) challenge. Starting with the T0 and T1 potato lines, PVX-tolerant T1 potatoes were identified in the field and characterized by ELISA and RT-PCR analysis. T2 potatoes were propagated for T3 generation and additional virus challenges in the field, and 44% of the 3D8 scFv T3 transgenic potatoes grown in GMO fields were found to be tolerant to PVX infection. Tubers from PVX-tolerant T3 lines were 60% bigger and 24% heavier, compared with tubers from PVX-susceptible transgenic lines and wild-type potatoes. Three-step virus challenge experiments and molecular characterization techniques were used for plants grown in growth chambers or fields to identify 3D8 scFv-transgenic, PVX-tolerant potatoes. These studies also revealed that the viral tolerance enabled by 3D8 scFv persisted during asexual propagation.

Summary The association between HBV infection and incident thrombocytopenia among subjects without cirrhosis or splenomegaly is unknown. Therefore, we sought to elucidate the association between HBV infection and the development of thrombocytopenia in a large cohort of apparently healthy men and women. A cohort study was performed in 122 200 participants without liver cirrhosis or splenomegaly who underwent comprehensive health examinations and were followed until December 2014. HBV infection was defined by the presence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) at baseline. Thrombocytopenia was defined as a platelet count

In this paper, a new method to analytically carry out the exterior elastic fields of a class of non-elliptical inclusions, i.e., those characterized by Laurent polynomials, is developed. Two complex variable fields, which exactly characterize the Eshelby’s tensor, are explicitly achieved for the hypocycloidal and the quasi-parallelogram inclusions. Numerical examples show that the exterior fields near the inclusion are dominated by the boundary shape, but the fields far away from the inclusion tend to be convergent and can be well approximated by those of its equivalent circular/elliptical inclusion. These solutions are firstly reported, and largely make up for the deficiency in the list of the analytical results of non-elliptical inclusions in 2D isotropic elasticity.

Eshelby's inclusion problem in an isotropic elastic half-plane is revisited in this paper. Following Zou et al. (2012, Int. J. Solids Struct. 49(13), 1627-1636), the general solution for Eshelby's inclusion problem in a half-plane is decomposed into the fundamental solution of Eshelby's problem with the same inclusion but in a full-plane, and the solution of an auxiliary boundary value problem of the half-plane. By virtue of the Kolosov–Muskhelishvili potentials of 2D isotropic elasticity, the auxiliary solution of the half-plane problem is derived in terms of the boundary integrals in the inclusion domain. For some inclusions of particular geometries, i.e., an arbitrary N -sided polygon, an arbitrary oriented ellipse and a circle (as a special case of the ellipse), the integrals involved are carried out explicitly, and eventually the potential functions are given with elementary functions. Some specified displacement, stress and strain energy density fields are illustrated and discussed. The obtained solutions are verified in more than one ways. Compared with the known methods, the one presented in this paper is more compact and more versatile, and will no doubt be helpful in achieving more explicit solutions besides those listed in this paper. Another feature of the present work is that both the Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions are accounted for in a unified form.

Poly(1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene isosorbide terephthalate) (PICT) copolymers were synthesized by melt condensation with various contents of the corn derived monomer isosorbide (ISB). Since poly(1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate) (PCT) has disadvantageous thermal processing properties as well as a high melting temperature, ISB could be used to control Tg and Tm simultaneously. An increased content of ISB can increase the Tg and lower the Tm by affecting the crystallization behavior and structural properties of PCT. The composition of PICT was confirmed using 1H-NMR spectroscopy, and the detailed structure was analyzed with correlation spectroscopy (COSY) and heteronuclear single-quantum correlation spectroscopy (HSQC). 13C-NMR spectroscopy was used for investigating the sequence distribution and from these results, the effect of the ISB-TPA dyad on the thermal properties was revealed. Solid state cross polarization/magic angle spinning (CPMAS) 13C-NMR spectroscopy was used to investigate the free space of an atom due to environment dependent relaxation behavior, which determines whether ISB is excluded from the crystal structure. Then, WAXD was used to analyze the crystal structure, representing the effect of ISB on the crystallization. Finally, polarized optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to visualize the morphological change of the crystallite resulting from ISB.

The present work focuses on the synthesis of lithium ionic conductors based on a Li2S-Al2S3-GeS-P2S5 system due to the high ionic conductivity exhibited by the constituents of this system. Mechanical milling for a short duration and a single step heat treatment at a moderate temperature of 550 °C resulted in crystalline powders with high lithium ionic conductivity at room temperature that are comparable to the organic liquid electrolytes. The effect of various aluminum to germanium ratios was studied. Among the samples containing Al : Ge, the ratio of 30 : 70 was found to show high ionic conductivities of 1.7 × 10(-3) S cm(-1) at 25 °C and ∼ 6 × 10(-3) S cm(-1) at 100 °C equivalent. The activation energy of this material was significantly less (Ea = 17 kJ mol(-1)), which can be considered to be the best value among solid electrolytes. The electrochemical stability was analyzed using cyclic voltammetry between -0.3 and 5.0 V and it was found that the voltammetric profile was smooth without any additional current response, due to electrolyte decomposition, or any other side reaction, except a pair of lithium deposition and stripping peaks.

We report the synthesis and optimization of metal (Mn, Fe and Al) doped NASICON type Li3V2(PO4)3 by solid-state reaction method. Among the metal doping, 0.02 mol concentration of Al is found better performing electrode while approaching the removal of three moles of lithium between 3-4.8 V vs. Li. Adipic acid with various concentrations is used to generate in-situ carbon layer over the 0.02 mol Al doped Li3V2(PO4)3 particulates (Li3V1.98Al0.02(PO4)3). Presence of carbon on the surface of particulates is confirmed by TEM and Raman analysis. Half-cell Li/C-Li3V1.98Al0.02(PO4)3 (0.15 mol of adipic acid) exhibited the highest reversible capacity of ∼182 mAh g−1 (2.77 moles of lithium) at a current density of 0.1 mA cm−2 compared to rest of the adipic acid concentrations. Further, the cell retained 83% of capacity after 50 galvanostatic charge-discharge cycles at ambient conditions. Li-insertion/extraction mechanism and improvement in electronic conductivity profiles are validated through cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, respectively. © 2012 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/2.039301jes] All rights reserved.

An experimental study has been performed on spray combustion and two-dimensional soot concentration in diesel (ULSD), GTL and GTL-biodiesel fuel jets under high-pressure, high-temperature quiescent conditions. Instantaneous images of the fuel jets were obtained with a high-speed camera. It was confirmed that by blending GTL with 20% rapeseed biodiesel, certain fuel properties such as kinematic viscosity, density, surface tension, volatility, lower heating value and others may be designed and improved to be more like those of conventional diesel fuel but with considerable decrease in the amount of sulfur, PAH, cold filter plugging point, etc. The results showed that the spray tip penetration increased and the spray cone angle decreased when 20% biodiesel fuel was added to GTL fuel. Autoignition of the GTL-biodiesel blend occurred slightly earlier than that of diesel fuel. Experiments under high-pressure, high-temperature conditions showed that higher injection pressure induced a lower soot formation rate. The integrated flame luminosity, which serves as an indicator of soot concentration in the fuel jet, was slightly higher for the GTL-biodiesel blend than for pure GTL fuel due to the slightly higher sulfur content of pure biodiesel fuel.

Case–control study. To investigate changes of biomechanical skin properties and their relationship with paralysis following spinal cord injury (SCI). South Korea. A total of 48 male subjects with chronic SCI and 48 age-matched healthy controls were enrolled into this study. The C4 shoulder group and L2 thigh group were prescribed by two measured anatomical regions that represented the C4 and L2 American Spinal Injury Association sensory dermatomes. Each anatomical group was comprised of one control subgroup and three SCI subgroups determined by sympathetic paralysis at the measured region and somatic completeness. The following biomechanical skin properties were compared between the subgroups in each anatomical group by using Cutometer, a non-invasive suction device: distensibility (Uf), elasticity (Ua/Uf and Ur/Uf) and viscoelasticity (Uv/Ue and H). The impact of sympathetic and somatic sensory paralysis, somatic completeness, age, smoking, body mass index and duration of injury on the indices of skin properties were analyzed. In each anatomical group, sympathetic paralyzed subgroups regardless of somatic sensory completeness showed lower value of skin distensibility (Uf), and higher values of elasticity (Ua/Uf and Ur/Uf) and viscoelasticity (Uv/Ue and H), compared with other subgroups. Age and duration of injury had significant impact on biomechanical skin properties. The non-invasive suction method is useful for quantitative evaluation of skin affected by SCI. In chronic SCI patients, biomechanical skin properties are significantly altered in the skin with sympathetic paralysis rather than somatic sensory paralysis.

The concept of Low Temperature Combustion (LTC) has been advancing rapidly because it may reduce emissions of NOx and soot simultaneously. Various LTC regimes that yield specific emissions have been investigated by a great number of experiments. To accelerate the evaluation of the spray combustion characteristics of LTC, to identify the soot formation threshold in LTC, and to implement the LTC concept in real diesel engines, LTC is modeled and simulated. However, since the physics of LTC is rather complex, it has been a challenge to precisely compute LTC regimes by applying the available diesel combustion models and considering all spatial and temporal characteristics as well as local properties of LTC. In this paper, LTC regimes in a constant-volume chamber with n-Heptane fuel were simulated using the ECFM3Z model implemented in a commercial STAR-CD code. The simulations were performed for different ambient gas O2 concentrations, ambient gas temperatures and injection pressures. The simulation results showed very good agreement with available experimental data, including similar trends in autoignition and flame evolution. In the selected range of ambient temperatures and O2 concentrations, soot and NOx emissions were simultaneously reduced.

In this study, a visual investigation of sprays and flames is performed, and soot formation in Diesel-GTL fuel blends is studied in a specially designed quiescent constant-volume chamber under various ambient gas temperatures and O2 concentrations. Similar to the case of soot formation during diesel fuel combustion, the sooting zone during the mixing-controlled combustion of Diesel-GTL blends is located in the leading portion of the jet boundaries. Auto-ignition delay and soot concentration decrease with an increase of GTL content in the fuel blend. Soot also decreases with lower O2 concentration, higher injection pressure, and lower ambient gas temperature. The lack of soot formation at lower O2 concentrations and lower temperatures suggests that Diesel-GTL fuel blends can be successfully utilized in low-temperature diesel combustion technologies that are currently being developed. Furthermore, this mixing controlled combustion method with Diesel-GTL blends can be used to modulate various engine operation parameters, and therefore to simultaneously reduce the formation of soot and NOx within a wide range of diesel engine loads.

A failure of components or a disturbance of systems can cause a lot of nuisance alarms because of physical or logical connections between components or systems. And so many nuisance alarms can lead to a serious human burden for an operator like the TMI accident. After the TMI accident, many alarm reduction systems and diagnostic systems have been studied to reduce nuisance alarms and to detect the causes of an abnormal state. These systems provide an operator with information on significant alarms or causes of an abnormal state for an operator to identify that state. So, most of these studies have focused on high level information like physical or logical states of a failure rather than the state of process signals as detailed causes of an alarm. In this paper, an operator-aid system is proposed for tracking the logics of an alarm, finding the causes of an alarm, displaying the highlighted alarm procedure related to the causes, and suppressing and filtering nuisance alarms due to the physical or logical connections between components or systems in an abnormal state. The system can be used by an operator to identify the detailed causes of an alarm without checking all the causes of the candidates by alarms. The proposed system will be applied to a nuclear power plant of a CANDU type, Wolsong 3 & 4 Nuclear Power Plant.

A film speaker was fabricated with 0–3 type piezoelectric composite. The 0–3 type composite was developed to incorporate the advantages of both ceramic and polymer. The pastes of PZT-PVDF composite were made with various mixing ratio. The paste was printed by conventional screen-printing method on ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) bottom electrode which was deposited on PET (polyethylene terephthalate) polymer film. The prepared composite film was about 80 μm in thickness. After printing the top-electrode of silver-paste, 4 kV/mm of DC field was applied at 120°C for an hour to align the electric dipole in the 0–3 composite film. The piezoelectric charge constant of d33 was increased with increasing the PZT weight percent. The maximum value was 24 pC/N at 70 wt% of PZT. But the piezoelectric voltage constant of g33 had the maximum value about 32 mV · m/N at 65 wt% of PZT. The SPL (Sound Pressure Level) of the speaker fabricated with the 65:35 composite film was tested at various driving voltages of 1 ∼ 100Vr...

Monoclinic Li3V2(PO4)2.99Cl0.01 was synthesized using the conventional solid state method and the X-ray diffraction pattern was indexed based on P2(1)/n space group. The sharp cyclic voltammetric curves clearly revealed three lithium extraction/insertion processes at approximately 3.64, 3.72, 4.13, and 4.58 V during the anodic scan and 3.96, 3.58, and 3.48 V during the cathodic scan. Charge/discharge studies showed reduced electrolyte decomposition contribution in the case of the chlorine doped Li3V2(PO4)2.99Cl0.01 sample with an initial capacity of 176 mA h g(-1) at a 0.1 C current rate. The chlorine doped Li3V2(PO4)3 sample showed an increased capacity retention with an increase in current rate, even at a very high C-rate (20 C), than the pristine and carbon coated samples. The pristine and carbon coated Li3V2(PO4)3 samples showed a lower capacity retention of 71% and 84%, respectively, at a current rate of 0.1 C. In contrast, the chlorine doped Li3V,(PO4)3 sample retained 87% of the initial capacity (176 mA h g(-1)) at the same current rate but with a higher coulombic efficiency of 91%. The enhanced capacity retention for the chlorine doped Li3V2(PO4)3 was attributed to the reduction in polarization and decreased charge transfer resistance of the electrode.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectra have been obtained from imidazole adsorbed on Cu and Ag electrodes, and on Cu, Ag, and Au colloids at pH ranging from 5.6 to 11.0. For these pHs, the imidazole molecule is coordinated through its unshared electron pair on its ‘pyridine’ nitrogen to the metal surfaces. On the Cu and Au colloidal systems, the imidazole molecule adsorbs with the ring perpendicular to the metal surface since only in-plane vibrations are observed. On the other hand, both the in-plane and out-of-plane vibrations are observed on the Cu and Ag electrodes, and on the Ag colloid, therefore the adsorbed imidazole is tilted at an angle with respect to the surface normal. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An overview of the Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evalation (JACIE) team is presented. JACIE, composed of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), was formed to leverage government agencies' capabilities for the characterization of commercial remote sensing data. Each JACIE agency purchases, or plans to purchase, commercial imagery to support its research and applications. It is critical that the data be assessed for its accuracy and utility. Through JACIE, NASA, NIMA, and USGS jointly characterized image products from Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite. Each JACIE agency performed an aspect of the characterization based on its expertise. NASA and its university partners performed a system characterization focusing on radiometric calibration, geopositional accuracy, and spatial resolution assessment; NIMA performed image interpretability and feature extraction evaluations; and USGS assessed geopositional accuracy of several IKONOS products. The JACIE team purchased IKONOS imagery of several study sites to perform the assessments and presented results at an industry-government workshop. Future plans for JACIE include the characterization of DigitalGlobe's QuickBird-2 image products.

A joint assembly of lead-free solder/intermetallic layers/copper was prepared by hot-dipped solder coated on a copper substrate and then by thermal ageing at 100, 125, 150, and 170°C for 50, 100, 200, and 600 h, respectively. Results of interfacial morphologies and concentration profiles on the solder/copper joint were presented. Optical and scanning electron microscope (OM and SEM) were used to measure the thickness of intermetallic layers and then to illucidate the development of microstructure at the joint assembly. The phases of intermetallic compound were identified to be Cu3Sn and Cu6Sn5 by both X-ray mapping in electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA), and X-ray diffraction. The intermetallic layers, subtracted from the initial thickness formed by hot dipping, showed a linear dependence on the square root of ageing time at various ageing temperatures. The diffusion coefficients of intermetallic compounds are estimated by an Arrhenius equation, and the pre-exponential terms of Cu3Sn layer and Cu6Sn5 layer are 7.10×10-7cm2s-1 and 6.1×10-3cm2s-1, respectively. The associated activation energies of Cu3Sn layer and Cu6Sn5 layer are 57.03kJmol-1 and 83.76kJmol-1, respectively. A model of a diffusion-controlled mechanism is used to fit the concentration profiles of the joint assembly, and exhibits a fairly good quantitative agreement with the measured data. The initial thickness formed as soldering proceeds is also taken into account to evaluate the apparent thickness by introducing a term of corrected ageing time. ©1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers

A solder/intermetallic layers/copper joint assembly was prepared by the dipping process and then aged thermally for an accelerating aging test. The phase transformation of the assembly was compared to the phase diagram of binary alloy, Cu–Sn, and it showed an agreement with the resultant intermetallic phases formed between the pure tin and pure copper. Two theoretical models proposed by Gosele and Shatynski were developed and then employed to characterize the assembly. The Gosele's model was used to predict whether the intermetallic layers grew or shrank during aging, while the Shatynski's model was employed to estimate the related reactive thicknesses and hence the ratios of the interdiffusivities in the joint assembly. After a series of calculations, the Gosele's model predicted that Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn intermetallic layers became thicker; the orders of the intermetallic interdiffusivities were also proven to approach theoretical values from the Shatynski's model.

In this study, a modified transfer matrix approach, valid for complex rotor-bearing systems, was developed to analyze the instability in unsymmetrical rotor-bearing systems. Specifically, the transfer matrices of non-axisymmetrical shaft segments were derived by using a continuous-system sense to obtain an accurate formulation. The influences of bearing characteristics and shaft asymmetry on the transition curves of T -type and 2T -type solutions were evaluated by using Bolotin's method.

Ten novel microsatellite loci were isolated from giant scallop Mizuhopecten yessoensis, and the polymorphisms were examined to estimate genetic variability. The genetic variabilities varied depending on the locus. The number of alleles ranged from two to 17, and the observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.17 to 0.99 and 0.33 to 0.90, respectively. Six loci showed significant Hardy–Weinberg disequilibrium. The high variabilities revealed in this study suggest that microsatellites should prove useful for various genetic investigations.

The fluorescence photobleaching recovery (FPR) technique was used to measure the translational mobility of a glycoprotein recognized by the monoclonal antibody (mAb) S75 in plasma membranes of mouse oocytes, zygotes, and two-cell embryos. Glycoprotein fractional mobility (f) was significantly decreased in membranes of unfertilized oocytes compared to zygotes or two-cell embryos (f values, 46 +/- 2 and 65 +/- 2%, respectively; p < 0.0001). Reduced apparent glycoprotein mobility was also observed in morphologically degenerated zygotes and two-cell embryos compared to viable zygotes and two-cell embryos (f values, 8 +/- 1 and 60 +/- 3%, respectively; p < 0.0001). These results indicate that the FPR technique can be used to assess oocyte fertilization and preimplantation embryonic viability. This method may be useful in the evaluation of embryonic viability following in vitro fertilization and in the detection of toxic effects of novel compounds on embryonic development.

This paper presents a new PSS design process and associated design support systems being developed by the PSS Design Project Consortium sponsored by the Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy. Six procedural steps are included in the PSS design process. For design support systems, the activity modelling system is developed for a complete description of activity with context elements. The PSS function modelling system can support the definition of functions and service providers/receivers and their decompositions. The modified service blueprint system is also developed to address relations among activities and functions. Finally, the PSS DesignScape is used to capture and visualize the PSS design process. Sample case example is presented to show the effectiveness of the PSS design support systems.

Effects of subchronic administration of antioxidants against pulmonary damage mediated by cigarette smoke were investigated in rats. Rats were continuously received ascorbic acid, N-acetylcysteine and ginseng extract together drinking water from day 25 after birth. After 30 days of antioxidant supplementation, rats were exposed to cigarette smoke generated from six cigarettes (11 mg tar) for 20 min per day throughout 30 days, and then several biochemical markers related to the redox status in vivo were analyzed in the respiratory system. The cigarette smoke induced mild histological changes in trachea and lungs. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the lung was significantly increased, and catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities were increased less than SOD, but total sulfhydryl compounds (Total-SH) content was decreased by cigarette smoking. In spite of the increase in activities of antioxidant enzymes, the inhibitory capacity of lung preparations on in vitro lipid peroxidation using ox brain homogenates was decreased and the change in the capacity was not related to the changes of these intracellular enzymes activities, but with the content of Total-SH. On the other hand, the content of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and the ratio of elastase to anti-protease in the lung homogenates were significantly increased. Supplementation of antioxidants, however, effectively attenuated all of such alterations induced by cigarette smoke. These results indicate that although cigarette smoking induces antioxidant enzymes in the lung as a self defense mechanism, it seems to be not sufficient to protect the pulmonary system, and that chronic antioxidant feeding could be effective to reduce pulmonary damage induced by free radicals.

The mechanism we propose for the cyclopentane annulation is the following one. The allylic reagent (5D) attacks the siloxypyrylium salts (2a,b) at the C2 position, giving the intermediate carbocation (B) which is stabilized by the trimethylsilyl and the methyl group. Attack by the emerging enolate at C 3 , forms the five-membered ring compound (8a,b). Generally, electrophiles attack allylic silanes anti to the silyl group. Since there is undoubtedly interaction with the silicon in the transition state, the stereochemistry of the bridged intermediate (B) should be trans geometry due to stereoelectronic effect and allylic 1,3-strain. In the reaction of 2a, the favored pathway is cyclization. However, competition between cyclization and desilylation was observed in 2b due to steric hindrance between the two methyl groups at the step of cyclization

The reactions of allylstannanes with 4-siloxy-1-benzopyrylium salts gave the corresponding allylated derivatives more smoothly than allylsilanes. Similar reactions with 3-trimethylsilyl-1-butene afforded unexpected five-membered ring adducts in 87% and 37% yields, respectively.

The mechanism we propose for the cyclopentane annulation is the following one. The allylic reagent (5D) attacks the siloxypyrylium salts (2a,b) at the C2 position, giving the intermediate carbocation (B) which is stabilized by the trimethylsilyl and the methyl group. Attack by the emerging enolate at C 3 , forms the five-membered ring compound (8a,b). Generally, electrophiles attack allylic silanes anti to the silyl group. Since there is undoubtedly interaction with the silicon in the transition state, the stereochemistry of the bridged intermediate (B) should be trans geometry due to stereoelectronic effect and allylic 1,3-strain. In the reaction of 2a, the favored pathway is cyclization. However, competition between cyclization and desilylation was observed in 2b due to steric hindrance between the two methyl groups at the step of cyclization

Although p73alpha induces many of the same cellular events as p53, it is structurally distinct from p53 in that it possesses a unique COOH-terminal domain. To dissect the function of this domain, we performed yeast two-hybrid screening of a HeLa cDNA library using residues 552-636 of p73alpha as bait. Among the clones that showed a specific interaction with p73alpha was AMP-activated protein kinase alpha (AMPKalpha). Additional yeast two-hybrid assays indicated that the betagamma-binding domain of AMPKalpha is critical for the interaction with p73alpha. The interaction was further confirmed in vitro by glutathione S-transferase pull-down, and in vivo by immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence microscopy. Transient coexpression of AMPKalpha resulted in downregulation of the effect of p73alpha, but not of p53, on various p53-responsive promoters. Chromatin immunoprecipitation indicated p73alpha-dependent recruitment of AMPKalpha to the p21WAF1 promoter. Treatment with 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide, an agonist of AMPKalpha, and expression of dominant-negative versions of AMPKalpha revealed that the repression of p73alpha was independent of AMPKalpha kinase activity. In addition, cisplatin-induced growth repression was impaired when AMPKalpha was overexpressed. Upon the knock down of AMPKalpha by siRNA, the induction of p21WAF1 by p73alpha was significantly increased. Taken together, these data indicate that AMPKalpha specifically regulates p73alpha by a direct interaction without affecting its phosphorylation status. From these data, we speculate that AMPKalpha may provide a molecular clue to understand the repressive role of the C-terminus of p73alpha in transcription and DNA damage response.

Mushrooms are popular both as food and as a source of natural compounds of biopharmaceutical interest. Some mushroom-derived compounds such as beta-glucan have been shown to be immunostimulatory; this study explores the anti-inflammatory properties of hispidin analogues derived from the mushroom, Inonotus xeranticus. We sought to identify the molecular mechanism of action of these hispidin analogues by determining their effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated inflammatory responses in a macrophage cell line.The production of inflammatory mediators was determined by Griess assay, reverse transcription-PCR and ELISA. The inhibitory effect of davalliactone on LPS-induced activation of signalling cascades was assessed by western blotting, immunoprecipitation and direct kinase assay.In activated RAW264.7 cells, davallialactone strongly downregulated LPS-mediated inflammatory responses, including NO production, prostaglandin E2 release, expression of proinflammatory cytokine genes and cell surface expression of co-stimulatory molecules. Davallialactone treatment did not alter cell viability or morphology. Davallialactone was found to exert its anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting a signalling cascade that activates nuclear factor kappa B via PI3K, Akt and IKK, but not mitogen-activated protein kinases. Treatment with davallialactone affected the phosphorylation of these signalling proteins, but not their level of expression. These inhibitory effects were not due to the interruption of toll-like receptor 4 binding to CD14. In particular, davallialactone strongly inhibited the LPS-induced phosphorylation and kinase activity of Src, implying that Src may be a potential pharmacological target of davallialactone.Our data suggest that davallialactone, a small molecule found in edible mushrooms, has anti-inflammatory activity. Davallialactone can be developed as a pharmaceutically valuable anti-Src kinase agent.

The reactions of allylstannanes with 4-siloxy-1-benzopyrylium salts gave the corresponding allylated derivatives more smoothly than allylsilanes. Similar reactions with 3-trimethylsilyl-1-butene afforded unexpected five-membered ring adducts in 87% and 37% yields, respectively.

Two constant-volume combustion chambers and a 2.3L SI engine were used to investigate the effects of spark plug electrode configurations on flame kernel formation and development, and on engine performance. The results showed performance differences between the spark plug types tested in terms of lean ignitability limit and 0-2% MFB time. Overall, the spark plugs with 0.6 mm diameter center electrode, referred to as Finewire spark plugs, were able to ignite the leanest mixtures and were the only spark plug type to demonstrate the lowest predicted 0-2% MFB times for both 0% and 20% EGR. The Schlieren images support the results of better ignitability confirming the fastest flame kernel development with Finewire spark plugs and demonstrating the benefits of J-gap design and fine center electrode. The results explain significant advantages in engine performance in terms of engine stability and fuel consumption rate. The difference becomes small as average equivalence ratio approaches 1.0 but it is likely to affect, at a reduced scale, engine performance even in the stoichiometric operating condition through spatial and temporal variations of air/fuel ratio in vicinity of the spark plugs.

The hypothalamic neuropeptide gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) serves a key role in regulating mammalian reproductive function. An extrapituitary role for GnRH in the normal and malignant reproductive tissues has been postulated. The purpose of our study is to demonstrate the presence and levels of GnRH receptor (RGnRH) protein and its mRNA in normal and malignant tissues of ovary. Normal human ovarian tissues (n = 13), as well as epithelial ovarian cancer specimens from stages I–IV (n = 39), were obtained from appropriate patients at operation room. Monoclonal antibodies against RGnRH were used for immunohistochemical evaluation of paraffin-embedded ovarian tissue sections by methods of streptavidin–biotin immunostaining. The molecular size and levels of RGnRH were determined by enhanced chemiluminescence-Western blot assay. The amount of RGnRH mRNA was detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The rate of positive immunostaining in ovarian cancers was 53.8% (21/39). The rate of positive staining in the late stage (stages III and IV) was significantly higher than that in the early stage (stages I and II). A single band of molecular weight of about 60 kDa was detected from protein extracts of ovarian cancer as well as from normal ovary. The mean values of fold increase of signal intensities of 60 kDa detected by Western blots in stages I–IV ovarian cancers were 2.39, 2.42, 2.78, and 3.62, respectively, as compared with normal ovarian tissues. The overall positive rate of Western blot analysis for ovarian cancers was 59% (23/39). The mean values of signal intensity of RT-PCR products of RGnRH mRNA in stages I–IV were 2.24, 2.58, 3.10, and 3.20, respectively. The positive rate of overexpression of RGnRH mRNA in ovarian cancer was 70% (21/30). The differences of mean values of signal intensities of Western blot staining (2.41 versus 2.85) as well as RT-PCR products (2.40 versus 3.11) between the early stage and the late stage of ovarian cancers were statistically nonsignificant. Mechanism of autocrine regulation of tumor growth in human epithelial ovarian cancer can be explained by the coexistence of GnRH, RGnRH, and its mRNA, according to our own and other studies. The level of RGnRH expressed by ovarian cancer might be used for targeting chemotherapeutic agents to those patients who harbor RGnRH-positive tumors.

The lack of appropriate, clinically relevant, cell-based model systems has limited prostate cancer research and the development of new therapeutic modalities. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a new adherent prostate cancer cell line, derived from the dura mater of a cancer patient.Prostate cancer tissue was harvested at autopsy from a metastatic lesion to the dura mater of a patient with hormone refractory prostate cancer. This tissue was xenografted into SCID mice and later harvested and plated on tissue culture dishes. For characterization, soft agar clonegenic assay, in vivo xenograft growth, in vitro doubling time, karyotype analysis, immunocytochemistry for cytokeratin-18, androgen receptor, and PAP (prostatic acid phosphatase) expression, RT PCR for PAP, PSMA (prostate specific membrane antigen), expression and northern and western blot analysis to determine expression of Rb and p53, were performed.DuCap grows in vitro (passage 55), forms colonies in soft agar, produces tumors in SCID mice (xenograft passage 12), and is androgen sensitive. DNA content was hypertriploid. PSA was detected in mouse serum and media. Cells were AR, PAP and cytokeratin-18 positive by immunocytochemistry. PSMA and PAP were detected by RT-PCR. AR, P53, and Rb were expressed in Northern blot analysis. P53 protein was detected in Western blot analysis but Rb protein was not.This cell line exhibits many phenotypic characteristics of clinical prostate carcinoma, including expression of PSA, PSMA, PAP and AR.

To determine differences of corneal wound healing and haze after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) using either mechanical epithelial debridement or laser-scrape epithelial removal in human subjects.A 6-month randomized, masked, prospective, paired-eye clinical study.Twenty eyes in 10 myopic patients treated between March 1999 and May 1999.Photorefractive keratectomy treatments with two different epithelial removal techniques. Continuous z-scan of confocal image, termed confocal microscopy through focusing (CMTF), was performed before surgery and at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after surgery.Epithelial and stromal thickness measurement, achieved stromal ablation depth, and objective assessment of corneal light-backscattering (corneal haze) were obtained from digital image analysis of the CMTF scans. Manifest refraction was also measured. Student's paired t test or two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance after rank transformation were performed to evaluate statistical differences between groups.Comparison of the mean posttreatment spherical equivalent between the two techniques showed no statistically significant difference. In preoperative corneas, mean epithelial thickness was 50.08+/-3.70 microm in the mechanical debridement group and 50.49+/-4.01 microm in laser-scrape group (not significant). For both groups, the epithelium was significantly thinner at 3 weeks, but returned to preoperative values by 6 months, with no difference between groups. Planned stromal ablation depth by PRK was 59.38+/-11.48 microm (39-73 microm; n = 8) in the mechanical group and 57.75 +/- 7.21 microm (48-70 microm; n = 8) in the laser-scrape group. Achieved stromal ablation depth was not significantly different between the two groups. Most importantly, in both groups CMTF-measured corneal haze increased significantly after surgery, peaked at 3 months, and then decreased at 6 months, with no significant difference between groups. (Power = 0.96).There is no significant difference in the corneal wound healing response between mechanical epithelial debridement versus laser-scrape technique in human myopic eyes undergoing PRK.

To determine the prophylactic effect of 0.2% brimonidine in reducing the elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients undergoing Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomy.The 81 patients (81 eyes), who underwent Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomy, were allocated to two treatment groups. One drop of 0.2% brimonidine or vehicle was instilled 1 hour preoperatively and one drop immediately after capsulotomy. IOPs were measured preoperatively and 1, 2, 3, and 24 hours postoperatively.Intraocular pressure decreased from the baseline in the brimonidine group by the third postoperative hour (P0.05), while the vehicle group exhibited an increase. Intraocular pressure elevations of 5 mm Hg or greater occurred in 7.3% (3/41) in the brimonidine group compared to 20.0% (8/40) in the vehicle group. IOP elevations of 10 mm Hg or greater occurred in 2.4% (1/41) in the brimonidine group compared to 7.5% (3/40) in the vehicle group.One drop of 0.2% brimonidine instilled 1 hour preoperatively and immediately after capsulotomy was found to be efficacious and safe in preventing IOP elevations that frequently follow Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomy.