Element Material Exposure Experiment by EFFU

The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) is planning to perform an 'Element Material Exposure Experiment' using the Exposed Facility Flyer Unit (EFFU). This paper presents an initial design of experiments proposed for this project by our company. The EFFU is installed on the Space Flyer Unit (SFU) as a partial model of the Space Station JEM exposed facility. The SFU is scheduled to be launched by H-2 rocket in January or February of 1994, then various tests will be performed for three months, on orbit of 500 km altitude, and it will be retrieved by the U.S. Space Shuttle and returned to the ground. The mission sequence is shown

酸性尿酸アンモニウム結石を伴ったEncrusted cystitisの1例

88歳男, 間質性肺炎に対し他院で治療中血膿尿を認め紹介転院した.KUB・CT・膀胱鏡にて膀胱内面ほぼ3分の2に石灰化を認め病理所見にてbacterial colonyとそれに伴う炎症細胞の浸潤・石灰化を認めた.またその際の結石分析で酸性尿酸アンモニウム結石と診断されたWe present a case of encrusted cystitis with ammonium acid urate calculi. An 88-year-old man was referred to our hospital to determine the cause of hematopyuria. He was a patient at another hospital for treatment of interstitial pneumonia with predonisolone. After admission to our hospital, kidney, ureter, bladder X-ray, computed togography and cystoscopy revealed calcification of about two-thirds of the mucosa of the bladder, and biopsy of the bladder revealed bacterial colonies with inflammation and calcification. Calculographic analysis revealed ammonium acid urate calculi. After treatment with antibiotics and irrigation with solita T1, an acidic solution of pH 3.5-6.5, inflammation and calcification were significantly reduced

Charge-selective Permeability of Dermo-epidermal Junction: Tracer Studies with Cationic and Anionic Ferritins

To investigate quantitatively the charge-selective permeability of the basement membrane (BM) of the dermo-epidermal junction (DEJ), tracer experiments using anionic and cationic ferritins were performed on an epidermal sheet, whose lamina densa was exposed on the dermal surface; its dermis was removed with forceps after the treatment of newborn rat skin with 10 mM dithiothreitol. The lamina densa and epidermal components of the sheets were electron microscopically well preserved, and anionic sites were ultrastructurally demonstrated on both the dermal and epidermal aspects of the lamina densa in the DEJ as clusters of cationic ferritins (CF) [isoelectric point (pI) > 9.5] or polyethyleneimine particles, indicating that the epidermal sheets were suitable for study of permeability.In tracer experiments, a large number of CF (pI 8.0-9.4) passed the lamina densa and formed clusters on both aspects of the lamina densa and in the intercellular space. The number of native anionic ferritins (NF) (pI 4.1-4.6) passing it was apparently much smaller than that of CF. When the epidermal sheets were pre-treated with protamine sulfate to neutralize the negative charges in the tissue, the number of NF penetrating the lamina densa was significantly larger than the number of those in the untreated sheet.These results indicate that the BM of the DEJ plays a role in a charge-selective filtration, although it is not as selective a barrier as the glomerular basement membrane

Mutations in the Desmoglein 4 Gene Are Associated with Monilethrix-like Congenital Hypotrichosis

The gene encoding human desmoglein 4 (DSG4) was recently cloned, and a mutation in this gene has been reported in several consanguineous Pakistani families affected with localized autosomal recessive hypotrichosis (LAH). In addition, various mutations in the Dsg4 gene have been identified in animal models of hypotrichosis that share a characteristic phenotype called “lanceolate hair”. To date, the features of the hair-shaft anomaly in patients with LAH have not been well described. We report a Japanese patient affected with congenital hypotrichosis that was originally diagnosed as monilethrix because she had a hair-shaft abnormality that resembled moniliform hair. However, no mutations were found in the type II hair keratin genes, hHb1, hHb3, and hHb6, whose mutations cause monilethrix. Instead, we identified novel compound heterozygous mutations in the DSG4 gene of our patient. On the maternal allele is a novel S192P transition within the extracellular cadherin II domain of DSG4; on the paternal allele is a novel 2039insT mutation leading to the generation of unstable transcripts. Here we present the observation that mutations in the DSG4 gene can cause monilethrix-like congenital hypotrichosis. Based on our findings, we propose that LAH and monilethrix could overlap

Vitamin D-3 induces expression of human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide 18 in newborns

This research was originally published in International Journal of Hematology. Authors. Misawa, Y; Baba, A; Ito, S; Tanaka, M; Shiohara, Title. Vitamin D-3 induces expression of human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide 18 in newborns, IJH. Year 2009;Vol. 90, Issue. 5:pp561-pp570. Copyright (c) 2009 by The Japanese Society of Hematology.Bactericidal activities of neutrophils occur by two distinctive mechanisms that are oxygen-dependent and -independent. Human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide 18 (hCAP18), also known as LL-37/FALL-39, is a neutrophil-specific granule protein. We compared the content of hCAP18 and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), another neutrophil-specific granule protein, in neutrophils of both neonates and adults by flow cytometry. The percentage as well as fluorescence intensity ratio of hCAP18 and NGAL expression in neonate neutrophils were significantly lower than in adults. Expression of hCAP18 in monocytes, however, was not significantly different between neonates and adults. Both hCAP18 and NGAL expression increased in an age-dependent fashion. Plasma concentration of these peptides measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was not significantly different between neonates and adults. Oral intake of 1 alpha hydroxy vitamin D-3 (1 alpha(OH)D-3) in rickets patients for 4 weeks significantly increased hCAP18 expression in neutrophils compared to age-matched healthy controls without 1 alpha(OH)D-3, indicating the potential of vitamin D-3 as a regulator of the innate immune response of neonates.ArticleINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEMATOLOGY. 90(5):561-570 (2009)journal articl

Reaction in photofuel cells using allophane-titania nanocomposite electrodes

Allophane-titania nanocomposite electrodes for photofuel cells were prepared from titanium alkoxide sols dispersing the natural clay mineral allophane. The electrochemical measurements indicated that the oxidative degradation of starch in the solutions and suspensions enhanced the generation of electricity during UV irradiation. CO2 was observed as the degradation product. A higher photocurrent was observed using the allophane titania nanocomposite electrode adsorbing a greater amount of the starch molecules. Allophane increased the capacity of the electrode to adsorb the starch molecules, even from the suspensions. This brought the molecules close to the titania nanoparticles, on which their oxidation induced the generation of electricity.ArticleAPPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL. 147:246-250 (2014)journal articl

Petrography of Yamato 984028 lherzolitic shergottite and its melt vein: Implications for its shock metamorphism and origin of the vein

AbstractYamato 984028 (Y984028) is a newly identified lherzolitic shergottite, recovered from the Yamato Mountains, Antarctica, in 1999. As part of a consortium study, we conducted petrographic observations of Y984028 and its melt vein in order to investigate its shock metamorphism. The rock displays the typical non-poikilitic texture of lherzolitic shergottite, characterized by a framework of olivine, minor pyroxene (pigeonite and augite), and interstitial maskelynite. Shock metamorphic features include irregular fractures in olivine and pyroxene, shock-induced twin-lamellae in pyroxene, and the complete conversion of plagioclase to maskelynite, features consistent with those found in other lherzolitic shergottites. The melt vein is composed of coarse mineral fragments (mainly olivine) entrained in a matrix of fine-grained euhedral olivine (with several modes of compositional zoning) and interstitial glassy material. Some coarse olivine fragments consist of an assemblage of fine-grained euhedral to subhedral olivine crystals, suggesting shock-induced fragmentation, recrystallization, and/or a process of sintering. The implication is that the fine-grained olivine crystals in the matrix of the melt vein represent complicated crystallization environments and histories