High-pressure droplet combustion studies

This is a joint research program, pursued by investigators at the University of Tokyo, UCSD, and NASA Lewis Research Center. The focus is on high-pressure combustion of miscible binary fuel droplets. It involves construction of an experimental apparatus in Tokyo, mating of the apparatus to a NASA-Lewis 2.2-second drop-tower frame in San Diego, and performing experiments in the 2.2-second tower in Cleveland, with experimental results analyzed jointly by the Tokyo, UCSD, and NASA investigators. The project was initiated in December, 1990 and has now involved three periods of drop-tower testing by Mikami at Lewis. The research accomplished thus far concerns the combustion of individual fiber-supported droplets of mixtures of n-heptane and n-hexadecane, initially about 1 mm diameter, under free-fall microgravity conditions. Ambient pressures ranged up to 3.0 MPa, extending above the critical pressures of both pure fuels, in room-temperature nitrogen-oxygen atmospheres having oxygen mole fractions X of 0.12 and 0.13. The general objective is to study near-critical and super-critical combustion of these droplets and to see whether three-stage burning, observed at normal gravity, persists at high pressures in microgravity. Results of these investigations will be summarized here; a more complete account soon will be published

Physiological Activities of Perilla Frutescens Var. Frutescens Leaf Extracts and Storage Stability in Kneaded Noodles

Perilla (Perilla frutescens var. frutescens) leaves were fractionated based on their chemical properties, and the physiological activities of the fractions were evaluated. The acidic fraction had high radical scavenging ability, whereas the superoxide dismutase-like activities of all fractions were low. A positive correlation was observed between scavenging activity and polyphenol content. The inhibitory effects of the extracts on a-amylase and on a-glucosidase activities were low, indicating a weak suppressive effect of the leaf extracts on diabetes. The acidic and phenolic fractions suppressed pancreatic lipase activity and accelerated lipid hydrolysis in adipocytes differentiated from 3T3-L1 cells. Flour noodles kneaded with leaf powder were prepared, and storage stability was examined. The functional compounds in the leaves were heat-sensitive in the flour noodles. We fractionated perilla leaves to isolate and identify valuable components to provide functionality to processed food and determined that some conditions, such as storage temperature, must be considered to effectively use the compounds

Gene expression in nontumoral liver tissue and recurrence-free survival in hepatitis C virus-positive hepatocellular carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The goal of this study was to understand gene expression signatures of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence in subjects with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) following curative resection of HCC in subjects with HCV is highly variable. Traditional clinico-pathological endpoints are recognized as weak predictors of RFS. It has been suggested that gene expression profiling of HCC and nontumoral liver tissue may improve prediction of RFS, aid in understanding of the underlying liver disease, and guide individualized patient management. Frozen samples of the tumors and nontumoral liver were obtained from 47 subjects with HCV-associated HCC. Additional nontumoral liver samples were obtained from HCV-free subjects with metastatic liver tumors. Gene expression profiling data was used to determine the molecular signature of HCV-associated HCC and to develop a predictor of RFS.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The molecular profile of the HCV-associated HCC confirmed central roles for MYC and TGFβ1 in liver tumor development. Gene expression in tumors was found to have poor predictive power with regards to RFS, but analysis of nontumoral tissues yielded a strong predictor for RFS in late-recurring (>1 year) subjects. Importantly, nontumoral tissue-derived gene expression predictor of RFS was highly significant in both univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard model analyses.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Microarray analysis of the nontumoral tissues from subjects with HCV-associated HCC delivers novel molecular signatures of RFS, especially among the late-recurrence subjects. The gene expression predictor may hold important insights into the pathobiology of HCC recurrence and <it>de novo </it>tumor formation in cirrhotic patients.</p

High-pressure combustion of binary fuel sprays

The ultimate objective of this study is to obtain fundamental information relevant to combustion processes that occur in fuel sprays of practical interest at high pressures in internal combustion engines. Since practical fuels are multicomponent and derived from petroleum, the present work involves the model alkane mixture of n-heptane and n-hexadecane. Since burning droplets in sprays can interact with each other, the present work involves investigation of the effects of this interaction on flame shapes and droplet burning times. The small droplets in practical combustion chambers are not significantly influenced by buoyancy. Since such small droplets are difficult to study experimentally, the present work takes advantage of microgravity to lessen buoyancy and enable information about droplet interactions to be obtained by studying larger droplets. The results are intended to provide fundamental understanding that can be used in improving descriptions of practical spray combustion

Intestinal Nature in Gallbladder Carcinoma with Reference to its Histogenesis

Forty advanced cases of gallbladder carcinoma were examined by the use of histochemical and immunohistological methods, in which attention was focused on intestinal metaplasia seen in and around the lesions. Twenty-nine percent for cases of well-differentiated adenocarcinoma displayed goblet cell-type carcinoma cells within the lesions, while no similar cell was evident in cases of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Ten percent for cases of gallbladder carcinoma included endocrine cells within neoplastic tissues, all of which consisted of well-differentiated adenocarcinoma and mucosal areas adjacent to which also contained similar cells. Mucosal areas in the proximity to foci of well-differentiated adenocarcinoma demonstrated a marked increase in the amount of non-sulfated acid mucin, but no such tendency was discernible around foci of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Lysozyme immunoreactivity was identifiable in a high percent of well-differentiated adenocarcinoma foci and their surrounding mucosal areas, while similar reactivity was rarely present in cases of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. It may be suggested from these results that an intimate relationship would exist in between intestinal metaplasia and well-differentiated adenocarcinoma occurring in the gallbladder. It is, however, to be determined whether or not intestinal metaplasia alone would act as a precancerous lesion like adenoma, dysplasia and possibly hyperplastic polyp for the histogenesis of gallbladder carcinomas

Interstrain differences in liver injury and one-carbon metabolism in alcohol-fed mice

Alcoholic liver injury is a major public health issue worldwide. Even though the major mechanisms of this disease have been established over the past decades, little is known about genetic susceptibility factors that may predispose individuals who abuse alcoholic beverages to liver damage and subsequent pathological conditions. We hypothesized that a panel of genetically diverse mouse strains may be used to examine the role of ER stress and one-carbon metabolism in the mechanism of inter-individual variability in alcoholic liver injury. We administered alcohol (up to 27 mg/kg/d) in high fat diet using intragastric intubation model for 28 days to male mice from 14 inbred strains (129S1/SvImJ, AKR/J, BALB/cJ, BALB/cByJ, BTBR T+tf/J, C3H/HeJ, C57BL/10J, DBA/2J, FVB/NJ, KK/HIJ, MOLF/EiJ, NZW/LacJ, PWD/PhJ, and WSB/EiJ). Profound inter-strain differences (more than 3-fold) in alcohol-induced steatohepatitis were observed among the strains in spite of consistently high levels of urine alcohol that was monitored throughout the study. We found that endoplasmic reticulum stress genes were induced only in strains with the highest liver injury. Liver glutathione and methyl donor levels were affected in all strains, albeit to a different degree. Most pronounced effects that were closely associated with the degree of liver injury were hyperhomocysteinemia and strain-dependent differences in expression patterns of one-carbon metabolism-related genes

Efficacy of SGLT2 inhibitors in IgA nephropathy associated with alcoholic liver cirrhosis accompanied by nephrotic syndrome: a case report

We present a 51-year-old male patient with a history of Child-Pugh Grade B alcoholic liver cirrhosis (ALC) who developed renal impairment (serum creatinine of 2.00 mg/dL) and nephrotic syndrome (a urinary protein level of 4.35 g/gCr). The patient was diagnosed with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) associated with ALC based on findings from comprehensive evaluations, including markedly elevated serum IgA levels (883.7 mg/dL), a kidney biopsy revealing significant IgA deposition in the para-mesangial area, and a liver diagnosis showing long-standing advanced ALC. Our treatment approach involved initiating dapagliflozin therapy, a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, alongside strict alcohol abstinence. Remarkably, the patient demonstrated a dramatic reduction in proteinuria within one week of dapagliflozin administration. No hypoglycemic events were observed. This case adds valuable clinical insights into the potential therapeutic role of SGLT2 inhibitors in IgAN associated with ALC. Specifically, in cases where conventional steroid therapies may be contraindicated due to coexisting comorbidities such as diabetes or obesity, dapagliflozin emerges as a potentially efficacious alternative. Further investigations are warranted to validate these preliminary observations

胆嚢癌および胆嚢前癌性病変における血液型物質の免疫組織学的検討

胆嚢癌および胆嚢前癌性病変における血液型物質の消長を知る目的で,胆嚢粘膜癌11例,進行癌23例,腺腫9例,異型上皮5例および胆石症13例を用い,免疫組織学的に血液型物質の組織内局在を検討した.その結果,胆石症では血液型物質は胆嚢固有上皮および新生粘液腺にみられ,化生性杯細胞では陽性から陰性まで種々であった.腺腫および異型上皮の大部分は血液型物質陽性であった.また粘膜癌(すべて高分化腺癌)や高分化型進行癌では血液型物質が比較的よく残存していたが,低分化型進行癌では完全に消失したものが多く,組織型との関連性がつよくみられた.なお化生性変化が癌巣内にみられた粘膜癌では,全例血液型物質が残存していた.また血液型物質と粘液組成との関連を知る目的でhigh iron diamine-Alcian blue染色を重染色すると,血液型物質が消失した部にはnon-sulfated acid mucinが多く出現していた.血液型物質の検索は,良悪境界病変の鑑別や胆嚢癌の組織発生の解明に有用と思われ,その意義につき若干の考察を加えた.A.B.O. type blood group antigens in human gallbladders were studied immunohistologically in 11 cases with mucosal carcinoma, 23 cases with advanced carcinoma, 9 cases with adenoma, 5 cases with dysplasia and 13 cases with cholecystolithiasis. Blood group antigens were always detected in proper epithelia and mucous glands in cases with cholecystolithiasis, but were sometimes also detected in metaplastic goblet cells. Most adenoma and dysplasia were positive for these antigens. Mucosal carcinomas and well differentiated advanced carcinomas were occasionally positive for blood group antigens, but poorly differentiated advanced carcinomas were almost always negative. All mucosal carcinomas with metaplastic changes were positive for these antigens. Double staining with blood group antigens and high iron diamine-Alcian blue revealed non-sulfated acid mucin in areas where blood group antigens were lost. Immunohistological investigation of blood group antigens may be useful in differentiating border line lesions and in study of cancer histogenesis