Design Strategy for Performance Enhancement of Vertical Plate Microdistillators

Microdevices have been actively implemented in chemical processes, such as in mixing and reactions. However, microseparation devices, excluding extraction devices, are still under development. In distillation, the use of microdevices has been expected to improve separation performance, as their large specific surface area enables a rapid vapor–liquid equilibrium and for large temperature gradients to be easily realized. In this study, improvements in throughput and product purities in microdistillation devices were achieved for ethyl acetate–toluene distillation. At low feedstock flow rates, ethyl acetate was successfully purified to 99.5 wt%. Although the performance decreased with increasing feedstock flow rate, by increasing the channel length, this performance decrease was suppressed even at high flow rates. The thickness of the channel was also important, and the highest performance was observed at the lowest thickness of 0.5 mm. A performance evaluation using the HETP showed that the efficiency was seven times higher than that of conventional packed column distillators

Novel Autologous Therapy for Long-Gap Peripheral Nerve Injury Using Human Sk-SCs

Losses in vital functions of the somatic motor and sensory nervous system are induced by severe long-gap peripheral nerve transection injury. In such cases, autologous nerve grafts are the gold standard treatment, despite the unavoidable sacrifice of other healthy functions, whereas the prognosis is not always favorable. Here, we use human skeletal muscle-derived stem cells (Sk-SCs) to reconstitute the function after long nerve-gap injury. Muscles samples were obtained from the amputated legs from 9 patients following unforeseen accidents. The Sk-SCs were isolated using conditioned collagenase solution, and sorted as CD34+/45- (Sk-34) and CD34-/45-/29+ (Sk-DN/29+) cells. Cells were separately cultured/expanded under optimal conditions for 2 weeks, then injected into the athymic nude mice sciatic nerve long-gap model (7-mm) bridging an acellular conduit. After 8-12 weeks, active cell engraftment was observed only in the Sk-34 cell transplanted group, showing preferential differentiation into Schwann cells and perineurial/endoneurial cells, as well as formation of the myelin sheath and perineurium/endoneurium surrounding regenerated axons, resulted in 87% of numerical recovery. Differentiation into vascular cell lineage (pericyte and endothelial cells) were also observed. A significant tetanic tension recovery (over 90%) of downstream muscles following electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve (at upper portion of the gap) was also achieved. In contrast, Sk-DN/29+ cells were completely eliminated during the first 4 weeks, but relatively higher numerical (83% vs. 41% in axon) and functional (80% vs. 60% in tetanus) recovery than control were observed. Noteworthy, significant increase in the formation of vascular networks in the conduit during the early stage (first 2 weeks) of recovery was observed in both groups with the expression of key factors (mRNA and protein levels), suggesting the paracrine effects to angiogenesis. These results suggested that the human Sk-SCs may be a practical source for autologous stem cell therapy following severe peripheral nerve injury

Yeast functional screen to identify genes conferring salt stress tolerance in Salicornia europaea

Salinity is a critical environmental factor that adversely affects crop productivity. Halophytes have evolved various mechanisms to adapt to saline environments. Salicornia europaea L. is one of the most salt-tolerant plant species. It does not have special salt-secreting structures like a salt gland or salt bladder, and is therefore a good model for studying the common mechanisms underlying plant salt tolerance. To identify candidate genes encoding key proteins in the mediation of salt tolerance in S. europaea, we performed a functional screen of a cDNA library in yeast. The library was screened for genes that allowed the yeast to grow in the presence of 1.3 M NaCl. We obtained three full-length S. europaea genes that confer salt tolerance. The genes are predicted to encode (1) a novel protein highly homologous to thaumatin-like proteins, (2) a novel coiled-coil protein of unknown function, and (3) a novel short peptide of 32 residues. Exogenous application of a synthetic peptide corresponding to the 32 residues improved salt tolerance of Arabidopsis. The approach described in this report provides a rapid assay system for large-scale screening of S. europaea genes involved in salt stress tolerance and supports the identification of genes responsible for such mechanisms. These genes may be useful candidates for improving crop salt tolerance by genetic transformation

Oligomeric Hsp33 with enhanced chaperone activity

Hsp33, an Escherichia coli cytosolic chaperone, is inactive under normal conditions but becomes active upon oxidative stress. It was previously shown to dimerize upon activation in a concentration- and temperature-dependent manner. This dimer was thought to bind to aggregation-prone target proteins, preventing their aggregation. In the present study, we report small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), steady state and time-resolved fluorescence, gel filtration, and glutaraldehyde cross-linking analysis of full-length Hsp33. Our circular dichroism and fluorescence results show that there are significant structural changes in oxidized Hsp33 at different temperatures. SAXS, gel filtration, and glutaraldehyde cross-linking results indicate, in addition to the dimers, the presence of oligomeric species. Oxidation in the presence of physiological salt concentration leads to significant increases in the oligomer population. Our results further show that under conditions that mimic the crowded milieu of the cytosol, oxidized Hsp33 exists predominantly as an oligomeric species. Interestingly, chaperone activity studies show that the oligomeric species is much more efficient compared with the dimers in preventing aggregation of target proteins. Taken together, these results indicate that in the cell, Hsp33 undergoes conformational and quaternary structural changes leading to the formation of oligomeric species in response to oxidative stress. Oligomeric Hsp33 thus might be physiologically relevant under oxidative stress

Implementasi manajemen sarana dan prasarana dalam meningkatkan mutu pendidikan pada madrasah tsanawiyah negeri (MTSN) Rantauprapat Kabupaten Labuhanbatu

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui perencanaan, pengorganisasian, pelaksanaan, pengawasan manajemen sarana dan prasarana dalam meningkatkan mutu pendidikan pada Madrasah Tsanawiyah Negeri (MTsN) Rantauprapat Kabupaten Labuhanbatu. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif, Teknik pengumpulan data dalam penelitian ini menggunakan observasi, wawancara dan dokumen. Data yang didapat kemudian dianalisis dengan menggunakan analisis data kualitatif yang terdiri dari: (a).reduksi data, (b).penyajian data, dan (c) penarikan kesimpulan. Temuan penelitian: (1) perencanaan manajemen sarana dan prasarana di Madrasah Tsanawiyah Negeri (MTsN) Rantauprapat Kabupaten Labuhanbatu terlebih dahulu dilakukan analisis kebutuhan riil baik yang menyangkut kebutuhan administrasi maupun pendukung kegiatan proses pembelajaran, seperti ruang kelas, moubilair, dan lain sebagainya. Yang melibatkan: Kepala Madrasah, KTU, bendahara, PKM, dan bahkan utusan dari komite sekolah. (2).Pengorganisasian manajemen sarana dan prasarana pada Madrasah Tsanawiyah Negeri (MTsN) Rantauprapat Kabupaten Labuhanbatu dilakukan berdasarkan rumpun (kelompok) dari setiap jenis sarana itu sendiri, misalnya: bangunan fisik, moubilair, ATK, lingkungan, dan lain sebagainya yang kesemuanya itu di arsiparis berdasarkan ketentuan yang berlaku. (3) Pelaksanaan manajemen sarana dan prasarana di Madrasah Tsanawiyah Negeri (MTsN) Rantauprapat Kabupaten Labuhanbatu berjalan baik dan lancar. Pelaksanaannya masing-masing pihak bekerja sesuai job/pekerjaan masing-masing dan sesuai kepentingannya, sehingga sistem kerja tidak ada tumpang tindih antara satu sama lain. Dan pertanggung jawabannya langsung kepada Kepala madrasah MTsN Rantauprapat walaupun tetap di bawah koordinasi PKM sarana dan prasarana. (4).Pengawasan manajemen sarana dan prasarana pada Madrasah Tsanawiyah Negeri (MTsN) Rantauprapat Kabupaten Labuhanbatu dilakukan dengan cara: a) Pengawasan rutin setiap harinya yang dilakukan oleh PKM sarana jika menyangkut persoalan sarana pendukung pembelajaran, sedangkan yang menyangkut administrasi dilakukan oleh KTU. b) Secara berkala yakni setiap 6 (enam) bulan sekali diadakan rapat evaluasi tentang keadaan sarana dan prasarana. (5) Terkait dengan evaluasi diketahui bahwa sarana dan prasarana di Madrasah Tsanawiyah Negeri (MTsN) Rantauprapat Kabupaten Labuhanbatu sudah terpenuhi dan sesuai dengan standar pendidikan nasional.

The ASTRO-H X-ray Observatory

The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy universe via a suite of four instruments, covering a very wide energy range, from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. These instruments include a high-resolution, high-throughput spectrometer sensitive over 0.3-2 keV with high spectral resolution of Delta E < 7 eV, enabled by a micro-calorimeter array located in the focal plane of thin-foil X-ray optics; hard X-ray imaging spectrometers covering 5-80 keV, located in the focal plane of multilayer-coated, focusing hard X-ray mirrors; a wide-field imaging spectrometer sensitive over 0.4-12 keV, with an X-ray CCD camera in the focal plane of a soft X-ray telescope; and a non-focusing Compton-camera type soft gamma-ray detector, sensitive in the 40-600 keV band. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral resolution, will enable the pursuit of a wide variety of important science themes.Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, Proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical Instrumentation "Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray Astronomy Satellite

The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E  >  2  keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. The paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month

Rapid Mixing Methods for Exploring the Kinetics of Protein Folding

Information on the time-dependence of molecular species is critical for elucidating reaction mechanisms in chemistry and biology. Rapid flow experiments involving turbulent mixing of two or more solutions continue to be the main source of kinetic information on protein folding and other biochemical processes, such as ligand binding and enzymatic reactions. Recent advances in mixer design and detection methods have opened a new window for exploring conformational changes in proteins on the microsecond time scale. These developments have been especially important for exploring early stages of protein folding