Cardiac and skeletal muscle abnormality in taurine transporter-knockout mice

Taurine, a sulfur-containing β-amino acid, is highly contained in heart and skeletal muscle. Taurine has a variety of biological actions, such as ion movement, calcium handling and cytoprotection in the cardiac and skeletal muscles. Meanwhile, taurine deficiency leads various pathologies, including dilated cardiomyopathy, in cat and fox. However, the essential role of taurine depletion on pathogenesis has not been fully clarified. To address the physiological role of taurine in mammalian tissues, taurine transporter-(TauT-) knockout models were recently generated. TauTKO mice exhibited loss of body weight, abnormal cardiac function and the reduced exercise capacity with tissue taurine depletion. In this chapter, we summarize pathological profile and histological feature of heart and skeletal muscle in TauTKO mice

Buckling-restrained braces using high performance hard polyurethane foam

The authors developed a buckling‐restrained brace for using steel framed houses．The buckling‐restrained brace is small‐sized and light‐weighted with a restraining part of hard polyurethane or mortar．Conducting static and cyclic axial loading tests，elastoplastic and stiffening properties are difined．Specimens with the restraining parts of various restraining forces were fabricated．The authors considere the test data on cumulative ductility factors and cumulative plastic strain energy，and evaluate its performance

クロイ ヒツジ コウカ ト ナイシュウダン ヒイキ リロンテキ ケントウ

Black sheep effect and ingroup favoritism can both be explained by social identity theory (Tajfel, 1978), although there appears to be a contradiction regarding the evaluations of inferior ingroup members. This paper discusses the salient factors of social ..