Research and Development Work on Lithium-ion Batteries for Environmental Vehicles

Interest in electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) has risen dramatically on account of environmental and energy concerns. The biggest issues that must be addressed in order to popularize these advanced vehicles are related to the battery.We have been promoting vigorous R&amp D work on batteries for application to environmental vehicles since the beginning of the 1990s. Attention was focused on lithium-ion batteries early on as a fundamental solution to the critical issue mentioned above. The conclusion was reached that the development of those potentialities to their fullest extent would create completely new forms of value unobtainable with conventional batteries. As a result of extensive theoretical studies and many experimental demonstrations, we successfully showed ahead of others that those potentialities did in fact exist and could be achieved.This paper makes clear the various performance requirements of advanced batteries for EV or HEV application, focusing in particular on the critical aspects of the battery thermal design and construction for system stability. It also explains how the power output of the lithium-ion battery has been substantially improved for application to HEVs. Document type: Articl

Determination of Severity of Murine IgA Nephropathy by Glomerular Complement Activation by Aberrantly Glycosylated IgA and Immune Complexes

The pathogenic roles of glomerular deposition of components of the complement cascade in IgA nephropathy (IgAN) are not completely clarified. To investigate the pathologic role of complement pathways in IgAN, two IgAN-prone mouse models were examined. Grouped ddY (gddY) mice showed significant high proteinuria, severe glomerular lesions, and extracellular matrix expansion compared with high serum IgA (HIGA) mice but with similar intensity of glomerular IgA deposition. Glomerular activation of the classical, lectin, and alternative pathways was demonstrated by significantly stronger staining for complement (C)3, C5b-9, C1q, C4, mannose-binding lectin (MBL)-A/C, MBL-associated serine protease-2, and factor B and properdin in gddY mice than in HIGA mice. Similarly, the serum levels of IgA-IgG2a/IgM and IgA–MBL-A/C immune complexes and polymeric IgA were significantly higher in gddY mice than in HIGA mice. Moreover, the serum levels of aberrantly glycosylated IgA characterized by the binding of Sambucus nigra bark lectin and Ricinus communis agglutinin I were significantly higher in gddY mice than in HIGA mice. This aberrancy in glycosylation was confirmed by monosaccharide compositional analysis of purified IgA using gas-liquid chromatography. This study is the first to demonstrate that aberrantly glycosylated IgA may influence the formation of macromolecular IgA including IgA-IgG immune complexes and subsequent complement activation, leading to full progression of IgAN

Properdin has an ascendancy over factor H regulation in complement-mediated renal tubular damage

BACKGROUND: Urinary (U)-complement components have been detected in patients with proteinuric renal diseases, and complement activation via the alternative pathway (AP) is believed to play a role in renal tubular damage. The present study aimed to examine the regulation of complement AP activation in patients with renal tubular damage by focusing on the balance between properdin (P) and factor H (fH). METHODS: In the in vivo studies, U concentrations of P, fH and membrane attack complex (MAC) were measured in patients with renal diseases using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and their relationships with the clinical data were evaluated. In the in vitro studies, human proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTECs) were incubated with normal human serum (NHS), P-depleted serum (PDS), purified P and/or fH. Changes in cell morphology and phenotype were assessed by microscopy, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunostaining and a cell viability assay. RESULTS: The U-P, fH and MAC concentrations were significantly higher in patients with renal disease than in normal controls and correlated with the U-protein and tubular damage markers. Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed a relationship between P levels and tubular damage markers. There were no significant changes in morphology and mRNA expression in the AP components (P, fH, fB, C3, C5 and C9) after the addition of up to 25% NHS. Dose-dependent depositions of P or fH were observed after the addition of P or fH on PTECs. Depositions of P were not inhibited by fH in a mixture of a fixed concentration of P and a variable concentration of fH, and vice versa. Preincubation with the fixed concentration of P before the addition of NHS or PDS increased the depositions of P, C3 and MAC compared with incubation with intact NHS or intact PDS only; the depositions of C3 and MAC showed a serum-dependent trend. Preincubation with P before NHS addition significantly suppressed cell viability without causing morphological changes. CONCLUSIONS: In the pathogenesis of renal tubular damage, P can directly bind to PTECs and may accelerate AP activation by surpassing fH regulation

Complement in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis: functional screening and quantitative analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The complement system is vital for innate immunity and is implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases and the mechanism of host defense. Complement deficiencies occasionally cause life-threatening diseases. In hemodialysis (HD) patients, profiles on complement functional activity and deficiency are still obscure. The objectives of the present study were to measure the functional complement activities of the classical pathway (CP), lectin pathway (LP) and alternative pathway (AP) using a novel method and consequently to elucidate the rates of deficiencies among HD patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the present study, 244 HD patients at one dialysis center and 204 healthy controls were enrolled. Functional complement activities were measured simultaneously using the Wielisa^®-kit. The combination of the results of these three pathway activities allows us to speculate which candidate complement is deficient; subsequently, the deficient complement was determined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All three functional complement activities were significantly higher in the HD patients than in the control group (P < 0.01 for all cases). After identifying candidates in both groups with complement deficiencies using the Wielisa^®-kit, 16 sera (8.8%) with mannose-binding lectin (MBL) deficiency, 1 serum (0.4%) with C4 deficiency, 1 serum (0.4%) with C9 deficiency, and 1 serum (0.4%) with B deficiency were observed in the HD group, and 18 sera (8.8%) with MBL deficiency and 1 serum (0.5%) with B deficiency were observed in the control group. There were no significant differences in the 5-year mortality rate between each complement-deficient group and the complement-sufficient group among the HD patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is the first report that profiles complement deficiencies by simultaneous measurement of functional activities of the three complement pathways in HD patients. Hemodialysis patients frequently suffer from infections or malignancies, but functional complement deficiencies do not confer additional risk of mortality.</p

Dielectric Properties of Electrorheological Fluids Containing Zeolite Particles

Relationships between electrorheological (ER) effects and dielectric properties of suspensions are investigated from measurements of ER and dielectric properties of suspensions containing particles of type A zeolite such as 3A, 4A and 5A. In each suspension containing zeolite 3A or 4A particles, the ER effect is recognized, i.e., an increase in the apparent viscosity is observed when an electric field is applied, and the dielectric property is characterized by a dielectric dispersion in audio frequency region. On the other hand, the suspension containing zeolite 5A particles does not show a distinct ER effect and has a low dielectric constant without dielectric dispersion above 1 Hz. These results indicate that relaxation time of the induced polarization is associated with the ER effect; for the appearance of the ER effect the relaxation time should be shorter than a characteristic time. It is suggested that the characteristic time is associated with an angular velocity of rotating particles under a steady shear flow and also that the relaxation time of the polarization is mainly determined by the electric conductivity of the particle

Pathological Scenario with the Mannose-Binding Lectin in Patients with IgA Nephropathy

A deeper understanding of the mechanism of complement activation may help to elucidate the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). Traditionally, the activation of an alternative pathway (AP) has been recognized as an enhancer mechanism of glomerular damage. This paper documents contemporary information concerning the possible pathological mechanisms of the lectin pathway (LP) in the circulation and in the glomerulus. The circulating initiator of LP activation is not fully understood. However, ligands for mannose-binding lectin (MBL) which are among the starter molecules of the LP are aberrant glycosylated molecules-containing immune complex. Recent reports have focused on N-glycans on secretory IgA as a candidate ligand. Mesangial deposits of MBL are seen in 25% of patients with IgAN. Mesangial deposits of MBL and C4 and/or C4 breakdown products are implicated as markers for disease progression of IgAN. On the other hand, patients with MBL deficiency tend to show better clinical presentation and lower levels of urinary protein and serum creatinine than MBL-sufficient patients. It is now recognized that involvement of AP and LP constitutes an additional mechanism for explaining the progression of IgAN

Research and Development Work on Lithium-ion Batteries for Environmental Vehicles

Interest in electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) has risen dramatically on account of environmental and energy concerns. The biggest issues that must be addressed in order to popularize these advanced vehicles are related to the battery.We have been promoting vigorous R&amp D work on batteries for application to environmental vehicles since the beginning of the 1990s. Attention was focused on lithium-ion batteries early on as a fundamental solution to the critical issue mentioned above. The conclusion was reached that the development of those potentialities to their fullest extent would create completely new forms of value unobtainable with conventional batteries. As a result of extensive theoretical studies and many experimental demonstrations, we successfully showed ahead of others that those potentialities did in fact exist and could be achieved.This paper makes clear the various performance requirements of advanced batteries for EV or HEV application, focusing in particular on the critical aspects of the battery thermal design and construction for system stability. It also explains how the power output of the lithium-ion battery has been substantially improved for application to HEVs. Document type: Articl