Characteristics of DSSC Panels with Silicone Encapsulant

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) allow light transmission and the application of various colors that make them especially suitable for building-integrated PV (BIPV) application. In order to apply DSSC modules to windows, the module has to be panelized: a DSSC module should be protected with toughened glass on the entire surface. Up to the present, it seems to be common to use double glazing with DSSC modules, with air gaps between the glass pane and the DSSC modules. Few studies have been conducted on the characteristics of various glazing methods with DSSC modules. This paper proposes a paneling method that uses silicone encapsulant, analyzing the performance through experimentation. Compared to a multilayered DSSC panel with an air gap, the encapsulant-applied panel showed 6% higher light transmittance and 7% higher electrical efficiency. The encapsulant also prevented electrolyte leakage by strengthening the seals in the DSSC module

PPM1A Controls Diabetic Gene Programming through Directly Dephosphorylating PPAR?? at Ser273

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma) is a master regulator of adipose tissue biology. In obesity, phosphorylation of PPAR gamma at Ser273 (pSer273) by cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) orchestrates diabetic gene reprogramming via dysregulation of specific gene expression. Although many recent studies have focused on the development of non-classical agonist drugs that inhibit the phosphorylation of PPAR gamma at Ser273, the molecular mechanism of PPAR gamma dephosphorylation at Ser273 is not well characterized. Here, we report that protein phosphatase Mg2+/Mn2+-dependent 1A (PPM1A) is a novel PPAR gamma phosphatase that directly dephosphorylates Ser273 and restores diabetic gene expression which is dysregulated by pSer273. The expression of PPM1A significantly decreases in two models of insulin resistance: diet-induced obese (DIO) mice and db/db mice, in which it negatively correlates with pSer273. Transcriptomic analysis using microarray and genotype-tissue expression (GTEx) data in humans shows positive correlations between PPM1A and most of the genes that are dysregulated by pSer273. These findings suggest that PPM1A dephosphorylates PPAR gamma at Ser273 and represents a potential target for the treatment of obesity-linked metabolic disorders

A NUMERICAL STUDY ON THE OPEN WATER PERFORMANCE OF A PROPELLER WITH SINUSOIDAL PITCH MOTION

When a ship operates in waves, the ship moves with 6 degrees-of-freedom, and a propeller at the stern of the ship cannot avoid moving due to the ship motion. Therefore, it is important to analyse the propulsion performance while considering the ship motion in waves for efficient ship operation. The pitch motion of the ship has a dominant effect on the variation of the propeller performance and results in sinusoidal pitch motion of the propeller. In this study, a numerical analysis was done using a KP458 model propeller with a diameter of 10 cm, which was designed for the KLVCC2 body plan. The propeller performance was calculated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) at several constant tilt angles. Numerical simulations were then conducted with sinusoidal pitch motion in several conditions of varying pitch angle. The variations of the thrust and torque of the propeller in sinusoidal pitch motion were compared with the results obtained in constant tilt angles

Role of the pleckstrin homology domain of PLCγ1 in its interaction with the insulin receptor

A thiol-reactive membrane-associated protein (TRAP) binds covalently to the cytoplasmic domain of the human insulin receptor (IR) β-subunit when cells are treated with the homobifunctional cross-linker reagent 1,6-bismaleimidohexane. Here, TRAP was found to be phospholipase C γ1 (PLCγ1) by mass spectrometry analysis. PLCγ1 associated with the IR both in cultured cell lines and in a primary culture of rat hepatocytes. Insulin increased PLCγ1 tyrosine phosphorylation at Tyr-783 and its colocalization with the IR in punctated structures enriched in cortical actin at the dorsal plasma membrane. This association was found to be independent of PLCγ1 Src homology 2 domains, and instead required the pleckstrin homology (PH)–EF-hand domain. Expression of the PH–EF construct blocked endogenous PLCγ1 binding to the IR and inhibited insulin-dependent phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), but not AKT. Silencing PLCγ1 expression using small interfering RNA markedly reduced insulin-dependent MAPK regulation in HepG2 cells. Conversely, reconstitution of PLCγ1 in PLCγ1−/− fibroblasts improved MAPK activation by insulin. Our results show that PLCγ1 is a thiol-reactive protein whose association with the IR could contribute to the activation of MAPK signaling by insulin

Can manipulation under anesthesia alone provide clinical outcomes similar to arthroscopic circumferential capsular release in primary frozen shoulder (FS)?: the necessity of arthroscopic capsular release in primary FS

Background We evaluated the need for arthroscopic capsular release (ACR) in refractory primary frozen shoulder (FS) by comparing clinical outcomes of patients treated with ACR and manipulation under anesthesia (MUA). Methods We assessed patients with refractory primary FS, 57 patients (group A) who were treated with MUA and 22 patients (group B) who were treated with ACR. In group A, manipulation including a backside arm-curl maneuver was performed under interscalene brachial block. In group B, manipulation was performed only to release the inferior capsule before arthroscopic circumferential capsular release, which was carried out for the unreleased capsule after manipulation. Pain, range of shoulder motion, and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score were recorded at 1 week, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after surgery. We compared outcome variables between treatment groups and between diabetics and non-diabetics and also evaluated the numbers of patients receiving additional intra-articular steroid injection. Results Outcome variables at 3 months after surgery and improvements in outcome variables did not differ between groups. Group A showed significantly better results than group B in the evaluation of pain and range of motion at 1 week. Diabetics showed comparable outcomes to non-diabetics for most variables. Eleven patients required additional steroid injections between 8 to 16 weeks after surgery: 12.2% in group A, 18.2% in group B. Additional injections were given three times more often in diabetics compared to non-diabetics. Conclusions MUA alone can yield similar clinical outcomes to ACR in refractory FS