The shielding effect of HTS power cable based on E-J power law

A method for analysing the current distribution in high-T/sub c/ superconducting (HTS) power cable is examined by the aid of the novel use of anisotropic conductivity and 3-D finite element method considering E-J power law characteristic. The detailed current distribution in the cable is illustrated and the shielding effect of HTS shield layer with intervals is also examined. It is shown that AC losses in shield layer with intervals are increased when the interval between wires becomes large

ClipCrop: a tool for detecting structural variations with single-base resolution using soft-clipping information

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Structural variations (SVs) change the structure of the genome and are therefore the causes of various diseases. Next-generation sequencing allows us to obtain a multitude of sequence data, some of which can be used to infer the position of SVs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We developed a new method and implementation named ClipCrop for detecting SVs with single-base resolution using soft-clipping information. A soft-clipped sequence is an unmatched fragment in a partially mapped read. To assess the performance of ClipCrop with other SV-detecting tools, we generated various patterns of simulation data – SV lengths, read lengths, and the depth of coverage of short reads – with insertions, deletions, tandem duplications, inversions and single nucleotide alterations in a human chromosome. For comparison, we selected BreakDancer, CNVnator and Pindel, each of which adopts a different approach to detect SVs, e.g. discordant pair approach, depth of coverage approach and split read approach, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our method outperformed BreakDancer and CNVnator in both discovering rate and call accuracy in any type of SV. Pindel offered a similar performance as our method, but our method crucially outperformed for detecting small duplications. From our experiments, ClipCrop infer reliable SVs for the data set with more than 50 bases read lengths and 20x depth of coverage, both of which are reasonable values in current NGS data set.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>ClipCrop can detect SVs with higher discovering rate and call accuracy than any other tool in our simulation data set.</p

Low energy indium or gallium ion implantations to SiO2 thin films for development of novel catalysts

It has been demonstrated that indium (In) implanted silicon dioxide (SiO thin films catalyze a reaction of benzhydrol with acetylacetone. In this study, it is found that the threshold In ion incident energy for manifestation of the catalytic effect exists between 400 and 470 eV. Furthermore, a technique to implant gallium (Ga) to SiOfilms has been developed with highly controlled doses and injection energies for the formation of thin films that promote Ga catalysts. The efficiency of catalytic reactions by Ga implanted SiOthin films is yet to be improved. Unlike In implanted SiO2, the reason why no significant reaction was observed in the case of Ga implanted SiOfilms examined in this study seems that the Ga ion energy was so low that deposited surface Ga atoms should lack interactions with Si atoms for the manifestation of catalytic reaction. © 2014 The Surface Science Society of Japan.Satoru Yoshimura, Masato Kiuchi, Yoshihiro Nishimoto, Makoto Yasuda, Akio Baba, Satoshi Hamaguchi, Low Energy Indium or Gallium Ion Implantations to SiO2 Thin Films for Development of Novel Catalysts, e-Journal of Surface Science and Nanotechnology, 2014, Volume 12, Pages 197-202, Released April 26, 2014, Online ISSN 1348-0391, https://doi.org/10.1380/ejssnt.2014.197, https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ejssnt/12/0/12_197/_article/-char/e

Palliative Percutaneous Jejunal Stent for Patients with Short Bowel Syndrome

Gastrointestinal obstruction is a common preterminal event in patients with gastric and pancreatic cancer who often undergo palliative bypass surgery. Although endoscopic palliation with self-expandable metallic stents has emerged as a safe and effective alternative to surgery, experience with this technique remains limited. In particular, a proximal jejunal obstruction requires more technical expertise than a duodenal obstruction. Palliative treatment modalities include both surgical and nonsurgical approaches. In this report, we describe the successful placement of self-expandable metallic stents at the proximal jejunum using a combination of percutaneous endoscopic, intraoperative, and transstomal stenting. Usually endoscopy is not indicated in cases of proximal jejunal obstruction, but some cases may require palliative endoscopy instead of bypass operation

Generation of Stratified Squamous Epithelial Progenitor Cells from Mouse Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Background: Application of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells in regenerative medicine will bypass ethical issues associated with use of embryonic stem cells. In addition, patient-specific IPS cells can be useful to elucidate the pathophysiology of genetic disorders, drug screening, and tailor-made medicine. However, in order to apply iPS cells to mitotic tissue, induction of tissue stem cells that give rise to progeny of the target organ is required. Methodology/Principal Findings: We induced stratified epithelial cells from mouse iPS cells by co-culture with PA6 feeder cells (SDIA-method) with use of BMP4. Clusters of cells positive for the differentiation markers KRT1 or KRT12 were observed in KRT14-positive colonies. We successfully cloned KRT14 and p63 double-positive stratified epithelial progenitor cells from iPS-derived epithelial cells, which formed stratified epithelial sheets consisting of five- to six-polarized epithelial cells in vitro. When these clonal cells were cultured on denuded mouse corneas, a robust stratified epithelial layer was observed with physiological cell polarity including high levels of E-cadherin, p63 and K15 expression in the basal layer and ZO-1 in the superficial layer, recapitulating the apico-basal polarity of the epithelium in vivo. Conclusions/Significance: These results suggest that KRT14 and p63 double-positive epithelial progenitor cells can b

RGMa inhibition promotes axonal growth and recovery after spinal cord injury

Repulsive guidance molecule (RGM) is a protein implicated in both axonal guidance and neural tube closure. We report RGMa as a potent inhibitor of axon regeneration in the adult central nervous system (CNS). RGMa inhibits mammalian CNS neurite outgrowth by a mechanism dependent on the activation of the RhoA–Rho kinase pathway. RGMa expression is observed in oligodendrocytes, myelinated fibers, and neurons of the adult rat spinal cord and is induced around the injury site after spinal cord injury. We developed an antibody to RGMa that efficiently blocks the effect of RGMa in vitro. Intrathecal administration of the antibody to rats with thoracic spinal cord hemisection results in significant axonal growth of the corticospinal tract and improves functional recovery. Thus, RGMa plays an important role in limiting axonal regeneration after CNS injury and the RGMa antibody offers a possible therapeutic agent in clinical conditions characterized by a failure of CNS regeneration

Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor producing rectal cancer

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