Particle-confinement criteria for axisymmetric field-reversed magnetic configurations

The general conditions for particle confinement are derived for an axisymmetric system and specialized to a general class of vortex-type field-reversed magnetic configurations. The criteria for closed-field and open-field confinements are obtained, including both the lower and upper bounds of P/sub theta//q where q is the charge of the particle. The constraint on P/sub theta//q represents a necessary condition for particle confinement. In certain limits, the commonly used criterion for Hamiltonian, H < ..omega../sub 0/P/sub theta/, where ..omega../sub 0/ identical with qB/sub 0//mc, is deduced from a more general form as a special case. In addition, a new criterion, -B/sub 0/R/sub w//sup 2//2c < P/sub theta//q < 0, where R/sub w/ = wall radius, and B/sub 0/ = vacuum field, is found necessary to be imposed, which reduces the confined region in (E, P/sub theta) space. These results can be applied to calculations for Field-Reversed Mirrors and Field-Reversed Theta Pinches

One-dimensional transport code for field-reversed configurations

A radial transport code for Field-Reversed Configurations (FRCs) is described. Assuming quasi-neutrality and neglecting inertia and viscous force, the evolution of particle densities, temperatures, and magnetic field through a series of equilibrium states is simulated. To solve the equations, transformations of all dependent variables and the one independent variable are carried out. The processes of interest can be decoupled into two distinctive sets of equations that describe adiabatic and nonadiabatic processes. These sets of equations are then solved by two alternating steps adiabatic and nonadiabatic

Superior long-term stability of a glucose biosensor based on inserted barrel plating gold electrodes

Disposable one shot usage blood glucose strips are routinely used in the diagnosis and management of diabetes mellitus and their performance can vary greatly. In this paper we critically evaluated the long-term stability of glucose strips made of barrel plating gold electrodes. Compared to other glucose biosensing platforms of vapor deposited palladium and screen printed carbon electrodes, the proposed glucose biosensor was found to show the best stability among the three biosensing platforms in thermal acceleration experiments at 40 degrees C for 6 months with an average bias of 3.4% at glucose concentrations of 5-20 mM. The precision test of this barrel plating gold glucose biosensor also showed the best performance (coefficients of variation in the range of 1.4-2.4%) in thermal acceleration experiments at 40 degrees C, 50 degrees C and 70 degrees C for 27 days. Error grid analysis revealed that all measurements fell in zone A and zone B. Regression analysis showed no significant difference between the proposed biosensor and the reference method at 99% confidence level. The amperometric glucose biosensor fabricated by inserting two barrel plating gold electrodes onto an injection-molding plastic base followed by immobilizing with a bio-reagent layer and membrane was very impressive with a long-term stability up to 2.5 years at 25 degrees C. Overall, these results indicated that the glucose oxidase/barrel plating gold biosensing platform is ideal for long-term accurate glycemic control. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Stability of fungal immunomodulatory protein, FIP-gts and FIP-fve, in IFN- production

Fungal immunomodulatory proteins (FIPs) are a group of novel proteins, purified from medicinal fungi or edible mushrooms that possess immunomodulatory properties. FIP-gts and FIP-fve have been isolated and purified from Ganoderma tsugae and Flammunlina velutipes, respectively. The evaluation of FIP immunomodulatory activity was based on their ability to stimulate human peripheral blood lymphocytes to release interferon-gamma (IFN-). We found that FIP-gts exhibited better immunomodulatory activity than FIP-fve. Activities were both greatly reduced with duration of heating. For digestibility, FIP-fve was more resistant than FIP-gts to digestive enzymes in simulated gastric fluid and simulated intestinal fluid. IFN- production is only detectable in dimers of FIP-gts as opposed to polymer of FIP-fve. These results suggest that FIP-gts and FIP-fve have activities that are stable and have a strong potential of being applied to food or pharmaceutical products for commercial development

Fabrication of a Glucose Biosensor Based on Inserted Barrel Plating Gold Electrodes

We demonstrate here the application of barrel plating gold electrodes for fabricating a new type of disposable amperometric glucose biosensor. It is prepared by inserting two barrel plating gold electrodes onto an injection molding plastic base followed by immobilizing with a bioreagent layer and membrane on the electrode surface. The primary function of barrel plating is to provide an economical way to electroplate manufactured parts. The manufacture procedure is simple and can increase the fabrication precision for automation in mass production. At the two-electrode system, the detection of glucose is linear up to 800 mg/dL (i.e., 44.5 mM, r(2) > 0.99) in pH 7.4 PBS with a sensitivity of 0.71 mu A/mM. Excellent sensor-to-sensor reproducibility shows coefficients of variation of only 0.8-1.4% for the detection of 56.5-561.0 mg/dL glucose. In laboratory trials 176 capillary blood samples with a range of 30-572 mg/dL glucose are used to evaluate the clinical application of the biosensor. A good linear correlation is observed between the measured values of the proposed biosensor and laboratory reference. Error grid analysis verifies that the proposed technique is promising in fabricating biosensor strips on a mass scale. As successfully demonstrated by using whole blood glucose as a model analyte, the fabrication technique can extend into other barrel plating noble metal electrodes for various applications

FIP-fve Stimulates Interferon-Gamma Production via Modulation of Calcium Release and PKC-alpha Activation

Fungal immunomodulatory protein, FIP-fve, has been isolated from Flammulina velutipes, and its immunomodulatory effects are believed to be associated with the enhanced activation of IFN-gamma-releasing Th1 cells. However, the mechanisms of FIP-fve-mediated signal transduction in the regulation of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) gene expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are still poorly understood. Using fluo-3 AM, we found that FIP-fve induces a rapid elevation in calcium concentration. ELISA, RT-PCR and Western blot assays demonstrated significant increases in the production and mRNA expression of IFN-gamma and protein kinase C-alpha (PKC-alpha) activation in activated PBMCs, which were abolished by EGTA, nifedipine and GO6976. In conclusion, Ca(2+) release and PKC-alpha activation are required for IFN-gamma production induced by FIP-fve in PBMCs

Transcriptionally mediated inhibition of telomerase of fungal immunomodulatory protein from Ganoderma tsugae in A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cell line

Telomerase expression is the hallmark of tumor cells, and activation of this ribonucleoprotein complex may be a rate-limiting or critical step in cellular immortalization and oncogenesis. Fungal immunomodulatory protein, FIP-gts, has been isolated from Ganoderma tsugae. In the present study, we expressed and purified the recombinant fungal immunomodulatory protein reFIP-gts in E. coli. We found that reFIP-gts significantly and selectively inhibits the growth of A549 cancer cells while not affecting the growth of normal MRC-5 fibroblasts. The reFIP-gts suppression of telomerase activity is concentration-dependent, due to the downregulation of the telomerase catalytic subunit (hTERT). It also happens at the mRNA level. These results were confirmed by transient transfections of A549 cells with pGL3-Basic plasmid constructs containing the functional hTERT promoter and its E-box-deleted sequences cloned upstream of a luciferase reporter gene. With electrophoretic mobility shift assays and Western blotting, we demonstrated that in response to reFIP-gts, binding of c-myc transcriptional factor to the E-box sequence on the hTERT promoter is inhibited. These results show that reFIP-gts suppresses telomerase activity and inhibits transcriptional regulation of hTERT via a c-myc-responsive element-dependent mechanism. Our findings provide new insight into both the anticancer function of reFIP-gts and the regulation of hTERT/telomerase expression, which may be valuable in the development of a promising chemopreventive agent. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Gene families encoding isoforms of two major sesame seed storage proteins, 11S globulin and 2S albumin

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) seed has been recognized as a nutritional protein source owing to its richness in methionine. Storage proteins have been implicated in allergenic responses to sesame consumption. Two abundant storage proteins, 11S globulin and 2S albumin, constitute 60-70 and 15-25% of total sesame proteins, respectively. Two gene families separately encoding four 11S globulin and three 2S albumin isoforms were identified in a database search of 3328 expresssed sequence tag (EST) sequences from maturing sesame seeds. Full-length cDNA sequences derived from these two gene families were completed by PCR using a maturing sesame cDNA library as the template. The amino acid compositions of these deduced storage proteins revealed that the richness in methionine is attributed mainly to two 2S albumin isoforms and partly to one 11S globulin isoform. The presence of four 11S globulin and three 2S albumin isoforms resolved in SDS-PAGE was confirmed by MALDI-MS analyses. The abundance of these isoforms was in accord with the occurrence frequency of their EST sequences in the database. A comprehensive understanding of these storage proteins at the molecular level may also facilitate the identification of allergens in crude sesame products that have caused severe allergic reactions increasingly reported in the past decade

Effects of osteoporosis and nutrition supplements on structures and nanomechanical properties of bone tissue

In this study, the bone structures, nanomechanical properties and fracture behaviors in different groups of female C57BL/6 mice (control, sham operated, ovariectomized, casein supplemented, and fermented milk supplemented) were examined by micro-computed tomography, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and nanoindentation. The control and sham operated mice showed dense bone structures with high cortical bone mineral densities of 544 mg/cm(3) (average) and high hardness of 0.9-1.1 GPa; resistance to bone fracture was conferred by microcracking, crack deflections and ligament bridging attributed to aligned collagen fibers and densely packed hydroxyapatite crystals. Bone mineral density, hardness and fracture resistance in ovariectomized mice markedly dropped due to loose bone structure with randomly distributed collagens and hydroxyapatites. The acidic casein supplemented mice with blood acidosis exhibited poor mineral absorption and loose bone structure, whereas the neutralized casein or fermented milk supplemented mice were resistant to osteoporosis and had high bone mechanical properties. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved