Visualization and Measurement of Adsorption/Desorption Process of Ethanol in Activated Carbon Adsorber

Proceedings of the 10th World Conference on Neutron Radiography (WCNR-10) Grindelwald, Switzerland October 5–10, 2014Adsorption refrigerator is one of the efficient tools for waste heat recovery, because the system is driven by heat at relative low temperature. However, the coefficient of performance is low due to its batch operation and the heat capacity of the adsorber. In order to improve the performance, it is important to optimize the configuration to minimize the amount of driving heat, and to clarify adsorption/desorption phenomena in transient conditions. Neutron radiography was applied to visualize and measure the adsorption amount distribution in an adsorber. The visualization experiments had been performed at the neutron radiography facility of E-2 port of Kyoto University Research Reactor. Activated carbon and ethanol were used as the adsorbent and refrigerant. From the acquired radiographs, adsorption amount was quantitatively measured by applying the umbra method using a checkered neutron absorber with boron powder. Then, transient adsorption and desorption processes of a rectangular adsorber with 84 mm in width, 50 mm in height and 20 mm in depth were visualized. As the result, the effect of fins in the adsorbent layer on the adsorption amount distribution was clearly visualized

Application of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system for molecular breeding of orchids

Orchid is an important ornamental plant in Indonesia due to their natural beauty of flowers. In the tropical forest, orchids are being acquired for trading and commercial market. Thus, the effort is required to proliferate orchid in large quantities for conservation and improve the floral variation for plant breeding. The purpose of this study is to develop a firmed methodology of molecular breeding of orchids using CRISPR/Cas9 KO system. The plant material used was Phalaenopsis amabilis protocorms growth on NP medium+pepton (2 g/L). Protocorm were submerged in the culture of Agrobacterium tumefaciens that Ti‐plasmid had been filled with a T‐DNA construct of a pRGEB32 vector harboring sgRNA with PDS3 sequence. Detection for transformants was confirmed by PCR using HPT primers (545 bp), Cas9 primers (402 bp), PDS primers (280 bp) and trnL‐F (1200 bp) as an internal control. The results showed that 0.96% PDS transformants were obtained from PDS3T2 lines. Several transformant showed pale leaf color compared to non‐transformant plants. This study suggests that the target gene has successfully edited by CRISPR/Cas9 system and could be applied for that functional gene editing in orchids

Association between Serum Soluble Klotho Levels and Mortality in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients

Klotho is a single-pass transmembrane protein predominantly expressed in the kidney. The extracellular domain of Klotho is subject to ectodomain shedding and is released into the circulation as a soluble form. Soluble Klotho is also generated from alternative splicing of the Klotho gene. In mice, defects in Klotho expression lead to complex phenotypes resembling those observed in dialysis patients. However, the relationship between the level of serum soluble Klotho and overall survival in hemodialysis patients, who exhibit a state of Klotho deficiency, remains to be delineated. Here we prospectively followed a cohort of 63 patients with a mean duration of chronic hemodialysis of 6.7±5.4 years for a median of 65 months. Serum soluble Klotho was detectable in all patients (median 371 pg/mL, interquartile range 309–449). Patients with serum soluble Klotho levels below the lower quartile (<309 pg/mL) had significantly higher cardiovascular and all-cause mortality rates. Furthermore, the higher all-cause mortality persisted even after adjustment for confounders (hazard ratio 4.14, confidence interval 1.29–13.48). We conclude that there may be a threshold for the serum soluble Klotho level associated with a higher risk of mortality

Five isoforms of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase regulatory subunit exhibit different associations with receptor tyrosine kinases and their tyrosine phosphorylations

AbstractThere are five isoforms of the regulatory subunit for the heterodimeric type of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. These five regulatory subunit isoforms were overexpressed using an adenovirus transfection system, and their own tyrosine phosphorylations and associations with various tyrosine kinase receptors were investigated. When overexpressed in CHO-PDGFR cells, the associations of these regulatory subunit isoforms with the platelet-derived growth factor receptor were similar. However, when overexpressed in CHO-IR cells, p55γ exhibited a significantly lower ability to bind with IRS-1 upon insulin stimulation, as compared with other regulatory subunit isoforms. Furthermore, p55α and p55γ were found to be tyrosine-phosphorylated. Finally, interestingly, when overexpressed in CHO-EGFR cells or A431 cells and stimulated with epidermal growth factor (EGF), phosphorylated EGF receptor was detected in p85α, p85β and p50α immunoprecipitates, but not in p55α and p55γ immunoprecipitates. In addition, EGF-induced tyrosine phosphorylation was observed in p85α, p85β, p55α and p55γ, but not in p50α, immunoprecipitates. Thus, each regulatory subunit exhibits specific responses regarding both the association with tyrosine-phosphorylated substrates and its own tyrosine phosphorylation. These results suggest that each isoform possesses specific roles in signal transduction, based on its individual tyrosine kinase receptor

Palmitoylation of the canine histamine H2 receptor occurs at Cys305 and is important for cell surface targeting

AbstractTo determine the presence and functional role of the histamine H2 receptor (H2R) palmitoylation, a receptor with a Cys305 to Ala (A305 receptor) mutation was generated. Wild-type (WT) and A305 receptors were tagged at their N-termini with a hemagglutinin (HA) epitope. WT, but not A305, receptors incorporated [3H]palmitate by metabolic labeling, indicating that the H2R is palmitoylated at Cys305. Immunocytochemistry of WT and A305 receptors expressed in COS7 cells revealed WT receptors to be distributed at the plasma membrane, while the majority of A305 receptors were localized intracellularly with only a small portion being at the plasma membrane. However, the affinity of the A305 receptor for tiotidine was comparable to that of the WT receptor. In addition, when the amounts of cell surface receptors as determined by anti-HA antibody binding were equivalent, A305 receptors mediated production of more cAMP than WT receptors. Preincubation of COS7 cells expressing each receptor with 10−5 M histamine for 30 min reduced subsequent cAMP production in response to histamine via the receptors to similar extents, indicating that palmitoylation is not necessary for desensitization. In addition, cell surface A305 receptors were capable of being internalized from the cell surface at a rate and extent similar to those of WT receptors. Finally, CHO cell lines stably expressing either WT or A305 receptors were incubated with 10−5 M histamine for 1, 6, 12 and 24 h. Total amounts of WT and A305 receptors, as determined by tiotidine binding, were reduced by incubation, indicating downregulation. Downregulation of the A305 receptor was more extensive than that of the WT receptor. Thus, palmitoylation of the H2R might be important for targeting to the cell surface and stability

Right Atrial Volume Calculated by Multi-detector Computed Tomography: Useful Predictor of Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence after Pulmonary Vein Catheter Ablation

We investigated whether right atrial (RA) volume could be used to predict the recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after pulmonary vein catheter ablation (CA). We evaluated 65 patients with paroxysmal AF (mean age, 60+10 years, 81.5% male) and normal volunteers (57 ± 14 years, 41.7% male). Sixty-four-slice multi-detector computed tomography was performed for left atrial (LA) and RA volume estimations before CA. The recurrence of AF was assessed for 6 months after the ablation. Both left and right atrial volumes were larger in the AF patients than the normal volunteers (LA: 99.7+33.2ml vs. 59.7+17.4ml; RA: 82.9+35.7ml vs. 43.9+12ml; P100ml) for predicting the recurrence of AF was 81.3% in 13 of 16 patients with AF recurrence, and the specificity was 69.4% in 34 of 49 patients without recurrence. The sensitivity with large RA volumes (>87ml) was 81.3% in 13 of 16 patients with AF recurrence, and the specificity was 75.5% in 37 of 49 patients without recurrence. RA volume is a useful predictor of the recurrence of AF, similar to LA volume

Clinical characteristics of aseptic meningitis induced by intravenous immunoglobulin in patients with Kawasaki disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Aseptic meningitis is a serious adverse reaction to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy. We studied the clinical characteristics of patients with acute Kawasaki disease (KD) who developed IVIG-induced aseptic meningitis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A retrospective analysis of the medical records of patients with KD who developed aseptic meningitis after IVIG treatment was performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During the 10-year period from 2000 through 2009, among a total of 384 patients with Kawasaki disease, 4 (3 females and 1 male; age range, 19-120 months) developed aseptic meningitis after IVIG. All 4 developed aseptic meningitis within 48 hours (range, 25-40 hours) of initiation of IVIG. The analyses of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) revealed elevated white blood cell counts (22-1,248/μL) in all 4 patients; a predominance of polynuclear cells (65%-89%) was noted in 3. The CSF protein level was elevated in only 1 patient (59 mg/dL), and the glucose levels were normal in all 4 patients. Two patients were treated with intravenous methylprednisolone; the other 2 children were observed carefully without any special therapy. All patients recovered without neurological complications.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In our patients with Kawasaki disease, aseptic meningitis induced by IVIG occurred within 48 hours after initiation of IVIG, resolved within a few days, and resulted in no neurological complications, even in patients who did not receive medical treatment.</p

Temporal differences of onset between primary skin lesions and regional lymph node lesions for tularemia in Japan: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 19 skin cases and 54 lymph node cases

For tularemia, a zoonosis caused by the gram-negative coccobacillus Francisella tularensis, research of the relation between skin lesions and lymph node lesions has not been reported in the literature. This report describes skin lesions and lymph node lesions and their mutual relation over time for tularemia in Japan. Around the second day after infection (DAI), a subcutaneous abscess was observed (abscess form). Hand and finger skin ulcers formed during the second to the fourth week. Subcutaneous and dermal granulomas were observed with adjacent monocytoid B lymphocytes (MBLs) (abscess–granulomatous form). From the sixth week, large granulomas with central homogeneous lesions emerged diffusely (granulomatous form). On 2–14 DAI, F. tularensis antigen in skin lesions was detected in abscesses. During 7–12 DAI, abscesses with adjacent MBLs appeared without epithelioid granuloma (abscess form) in regional lymph nodes. During the second to fifth week, granulomas appeared with necrosis (abscess–granulomatous form). After the sixth week, large granulomas with a central homogeneous lesion (granulomatous form) appeared. F. tularensis antigen in lymph node lesions was observed in the abscess on 7–92 DAI. Apparently, F. tularensis penetrates the finger skin immediately after contact with infected hares. Subsequently, the primary lesion gradually transfers from skin to regional lymph nodes. The regional lymph node lesions induced by skin lesion are designated as dermatopathic lymphadenopathy. This study revealed temporal differences of onset among the skin and lymph node lesions