Nanofiltration Hollow Fiber Membranes Made from Sulfonated Polysulfone having a Cyanophenylene Group

A nanofiltration hollow fiber membrane made from sulfonated polysulfone was proposed in this work to meet the demands of having tolerance against chemicals. The sulfonate group in the molecule is a source of highly hydrophilic properties and may increase the inter-molecular force acting between molecules on which it is attached. It also contributes to forming a tight structure in the membrane. The membrane may produce higher water flux than those of commercially available nanofiltration membranes made from polyamides. The state of water in the wet membrane was examined with a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer. The bonding force to confine water molecules in the membrane may be considered to control the water flux and salt rejection of membranes. It is revealed that there were two kinds of water in the membrane and the salt rejection was raised when the interaction to the water molecules from sulfonate groups in the sulfonated polysulfone molecule was increased. The salt rejection and water flux is highly correlated with the chemical shift of constrained water

A Pilot-Plant Test of a Membrane Bioreactor with a Novel Membrane Made from Chlorinated Poly (Vinyl Chloride) (CPVC) and Hydroxy-Propyl Cellulose

A pilot-plant test that can treat an amount of 30 ton per day of wastewater is performed. The purpose of this test is to prove the usefulness and applicability of newly developed microfiltration membranes made from chlorinated poly (vinyl chloride) and polyester nonwoven. Here, the hydrophilicity of membranes is important and hydroxyl-propyl cellulose is used to mitigate their hydrophobicity. The membrane consists of the novel structure in which small particles made from hydroxyl-propyl cellulose gel are homogeneously dispersed and attached on the surface of micro fibrils in the structure. The result of the pilot-plant test shows that the newly developed membrane has anti-fouling properties better than that of a conventional membrane made from chlorinated poly (vinyl chloride) by another company. It still shows high hydrophilicity after the use of one year, while the conventional one loses such properties. Saving electricity in producing water is one of important issues in developing membrane bioreactor systems and the case in use of newly-developed membranes is revealed to need 2.0 kWh of electricity to produce 1 m3 of filtered water. This amount is fairly good and reasonable when the pilot-plant test is considered to belong to a medium-size facility

Endoscopically treated cronkhite-canada syndrome associated with minute intramucosal gastric cancer: An analysis of molecular pathology

© 2011 The Authors. Digestive Endoscopy © 2011 Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society AuthorThere have been no reports of Cronkhite–Canada syndrome (CCS) associated gastric cancer resected with endoscopy because it is very difficult to identify small cancers that are candidates for endoscopic resection. We report a case of CCS with gastric cancer treated with endoscopic submucosal dissection, and we evaluate the molecular pathological analysis of malignant transformation in patients with CCS. A 74-year-old man had an advanced rectal cancer and gastrointestinal polyposis after presenting with hypoproteinemia, partial hair loss and atrophic nails as well as hyperpigmentation on the hands. He was diagnosed as having CCS. On upper endoscopy, a 7 mm discolored polyp with an irregular microvascular pattern revealed by magnified narrow-band imaging (NBI) was identified in gastric diffuse CCS polyposis. This lesion was treated with endoscopic submucosal dissection and diagnosed as a flat, elevated-type, mucosal well-differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma without lymphatic or venous infiltration, and with tumor-free margins. Microsatellite instability was detected in both the cancer and the surrounding CCS polyps. Mucin-histochemical analysis of the cancer area showed the complete intestinal type, and thus may have differentiated the CCS polyps from that of the common gastric hyperplastic polyps. This case illustrates that a clue to detecting small cancers may be to look for the discolored lesion among reddish CCS polyposis and thereafter to observe the irregular vascular pattern with NBI endoscopy. From the viewpoint of genetic alterations, patients with CCS polyps are considered to be at high risk for developing gastric cancer, and therefore careful follow-up examinations are necessary for the early detection of malignancies

CpG-ODN 2006 and human parvovirus B19 genome consensus sequences selectively inhibit growth and development of erythroid progenitor cells

Recent studies have shown that anemia is commonly observed after exposure to pathogens or pathogen-derived products, which are recognized via Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9). In the current study, we demonstrate that CpG oligodeoxynucleotide-2006, a TLR9 ligand with phosphodiester (PO; 2006-PO) but not with the phosphorothioate backbone, selectively inhibits the erythroid growth derived from human CD34+ cells. The 2006-PO was internalized by the erythroid progenitors within 30 minutes; however, expression of TLR9 mRNA was not detected in these cells. The 2006-PO directly inhibited burst-forming unit-erythroid growth, resulted in the accumulation of cells in S and G2/M phases, and increased cell size and frequency of apoptotic cells. These features were similar to those observed in erythroid progenitors infected with human parvovirus B19 that causes pure red cell aplasia. The consensus sequence of 2006-PO was defined as 5′-GTTTTGT-3′, which was located in the P6-promoter region of B19 and inhibited erythroid growth in a sequence-specific manner and down-regulated expression of erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) mRNA and EPOR. B19 genome extracted from serum also inhibited erythroid growth and down-regulated expression of EPOR on glycophorin A+ cells. These results provide a possible insight into our understanding of the mechanisms of human parvovirus B19-mediated inhibition of erythropoiesis