Role of Rho GTPase Interacting Proteins in Subcellular Compartments of Podocytes

The first step of urine formation is the selective filtration of the plasma into the urinary space at the kidney structure called the glomerulus. The filtration barrier of the glomerulus allows blood cells and large proteins such as albumin to be retained while eliminating the waste products of the body. The filtration barrier consists of three layers: fenestrated endothelial cells, glomerular basement membrane, and podocytes. Podocytes are specialized epithelial cells featured by numerous, actin-based projections called foot processes. Proteins on the foot process membrane are connected to the well-organized intracellular actin network. The Rho family of small GTPases (Rho GTPases) act as intracellular molecular switches. They tightly regulate actin dynamics and subsequent diverse cellular functions such as adhesion, migration, and spreading. Previous studies using podocyte-specific transgenic or knockout animal models have established that Rho GTPases are crucial for the podocyte health and barrier function. However, little attention has been paid regarding subcellular locations where distinct Rho GTPases contribute to specific functions. In the current review, we discuss cellular events involving the prototypical Rho GTPases (RhoA, Rac1, and Cdc42) in podocytes, with particular focus on the subcellular compartments where the signaling events occur. We also provide our synthesized views of the current understanding and propose future research directions.     

Generated output increase control with consideration of the influence of wake for wind farm

Presently, many wind turbine generators (WTGs) are connected to the power grid. While the penetration of wind power to the power system is increasing, FIT price is decreasing. Therefore, wind generation companies want to increase the electric power output from wind farms (WFs). In this article, we propose a control technique to reduce the influence of the wake by changing a power coefficient of each WTG in a WF for the purpose of improving electric power output of WFs. We showed the optimization technique of a power coefficient of each WTG and the effect of reducing the influence of the wake using measurement data from WFs. In addition, we formulated the wake effect as a function of distance between WTGs. We verified 1% improvement of generated energy in a year compared to the conventional control method by simulation. Furthermore, we quantified the improvement of generated energy output, using the distance between WTGs and the occurrence rate of the direction of the wind as a variable.     

γ-radiation effects on metal oxide particles and their wetted surfaces

ABSTRACT

Typical metal oxide corrosion products of structural materials have been irradiated with γ-rays in ultra-pure water to investigate the effect of radiation on the surface oxide and the nature of adsorbed water. Analysis techniques including thermal gravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis, diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy before and after γ-irradiation were employed to investigate surface structural effects and adsorbed water behaviour. The production of H₂ in the oxide nanoparticle mixtures was investigated by gas chromatography to probe the mechanism of radiolysis in the water/oxide mixtures and the relationship with surface water. The nature of water at the surface of the oxides was affected by γ-radiation and the relationship was dependent on the particle composition. The rate of H₂ production was shown to be oxide dependent, and higher rates of H₂ formation were attributed to the decomposition of surface adsorbed water. Changes to the surface chemistry and H₂ production rates were found to be highly dependent on the surface chemistry of the metal oxide nanoparticle and no bulk structural changes were observed.     

Iron Loss Calculation of AC Filter Inductor for Three‐Phase PWM Inverters

In recent years, remarkable advancement of new power semiconductor devices, such as SiC and GaN, enables the increase of switching frequency of power converters, and hence the volume of passive components, such as ac filters and transformers, can be reduced. However, temperature rise caused by the inductor loss is increasing, and hence iron loss evaluation of the inductor is one of the most important issues to realize high power density converters. Conventionally, an improved generalized Steinmetz equation (iGSE) has proposed in order to calculate the iron loss under a pulse voltage magnetizing condition. However, accurate iron loss calculation of the ac filter inductor used in a PWM inverter cannot be realized. The authors have proposed two methods of iron loss evaluation of ac filter inductors. The first one is a loss map method which can calculate the iron loss without using a real PWM inverter. Another one is an ILA (Inductor Loss Analyzer) which can measure the iron loss in every switching period in a real PWM inverter. In this paper, comparisons of the iron loss between the ILA and the loss map method on both the single‐phase and three‐phase inverters are studied. It is found that iron loss of the ac filter inductor in the three‐phase PWM inverter which is calculated by the loss map method cause a large error on a specific condition. In order to prevent the calculation error, the authors proposed a revised loss map method and proved the effectiveness of the method.     

Preparation of a Near-Infrared Ray Absorption Film from N-Phenylthiocarbamoyl Chitosan Derivative

We recently observed that the decanoylation of N-phenylthiocarbamoyl chitosan (2) with a mixture of decanoic anhydride and pyridine at 60 °C for 24 h afforded N,N-(decanoyl)phenythiocarbamoyl-/2-isothiocynato chitosan decanoate (3b) rather than the expected product N,N-(decanoyl)phenylthiocarbamoyl chitosan decanoate (3a). This result suggested that some of the N,N-(decanoyl)phenylthiocarmbamoyl groups had been converted to isothiocyanate groups during the decanoylation process. The subsequent reaction of compound 3b with aniline gave N,N-(decanoyl)phenylthiocarbamoyl/N-phenylthiocarbamoyl chitosan decanoate (4) in high yield. A solution of compound 4 in CHCl₃ was then added to a solution of copper decanoate (5) in the same solvent, and the resulting mixture was cast onto a glass plate to give a cast film. The film was annealed at 200 °C in an oven to give a greenish film, which showed good near-infrared absorption characteristic in the range of 800–2200 nm.     

Effect of Talc Size on Surface Roughness and Glossiness of Polypropylene Injection Molding Application to Automotive Plastics

Talc-containing polypropylene (PP) resin is extensively employed in automobiles. Herein, considering the microstructure transfer process in injection molding, the effect of the talc's dispersibility and particle size on this process and its impact on the gloss level of the product were investigated. Results show that a fine unevenness of about several micrometers was self-formed by the shrinkage of PP in nontransferred areas due to the blending of talc. Additionally, the amount of self-formed unevenness tended with an increase in the average particle size of talc. Furthermore, due to PP shrinkage and different densities of talc, it was observed that a fine tiger-stripe pattern was self-formed using special molds with modified microstructure. This self-formed fine unevenness changes the gloss level owing to the diffused light reflection effect. This study proposes controlling this change by controlling the average particle size of talc and structure of the mold. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 60:132–139, 2020. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Verification of Iron Loss Calculation Method Using a High‐Precision Iron Loss Analyzer

Because of the improved performance of power devices, the volume of the ac filter inductors used in high‐frequency PWM inverters has been reduced. However, the temperature rise in the filter inductor due to this miniaturization has become more pronounced. Therefore, we have proposed an iron loss calculation method for the ac filter inductor. However, the accuracy of the value calculated via the loss map method cannot be verified, because the iron loss arising during each switching period cannot be measured with conventional power measuring instruments. In order to resolve this problem, we developed an inductor loss analyzer (ILA), which allows precise measurement of the iron loss in the inductor during each switching period. The accuracy of the calculation of iron loss in the filter inductor by the loss map method was verified with the ILA. We found that the value calculated by the loss map method differed slightly from the value measured with the ILA. However, these differences can be reduced if we take into account the accurate flux density calculation and the effect of the duty ratio of PWM pulses on the loss. Finally, we verified that the loss map method can provide accurate iron loss calculations.     

Photocatalytic Synthesis of p-Anisaldehyde in a Mini Slurry-Bubble Reactor under Solar Light Irradiation

Dense photocatalyst slurry was employed for the synthesis of p-anisaldehyde under solar light irradiation. An Fe-modified rutile TiO ₂ (Fe-TiO _2, 34.5 m ²/g) photocatalyst was used as a visible-light-responsive photocatalyst. A conventional TiO ₂ (P25, 35 m ²/g) photocatalyst was also examined as a reference catalyst. XRD patterns and diffuse reflectance spectra showed that Fe-TiO ₂ consists of 100 % rutile phase and absorbs more visible light compared to P25, respectively. The catalyst powder was suspended in an ethyl acetate solution of p-methoxytoluene in the mini-reactor, with oxygen bubbling, under a solar simulator, visible light, and UV LEDs. p-anisaldehyde, as a reaction product, was analyzed by sampling using gas-chromatograph. Regardless of the light source, Fe-TiO ₂ always outperformed P25 in terms of both generation rates (GR) of p-anisaldehyde and energy requirements (ER). It was demonstrated that the highly dense Fe-TiO ₂ slurry was efficient for the synthesis under solar light owing to the small size of the reactor. The small amount of Pt and ZrO ₂ cocatalysts significantly enhanced the GR under solar light. By adopting a visible light responsive Fe-TiO ₂ photocatalyst, the mini slurry-bubble reactor under solar light achieved a high GR per catalyst mass (CM), which is one to two orders higher than that reported by most previous studies with high-power lamps.     

Influence of design and operating conditions on the performance of tandem photoelectrochemical reactors

Solar-driven photoelectrochemical water splitting technology is a promising avenue for a sustainable hydrogen production. In this work, a comprehensive 2-dimensional model is developed and numerically simulated with hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) as the principal photoelectrode. The model evaluates light absorption, charge transport and electrochemical reactions to elucidate the effects of light transmitting materials, electrolyte height and electrolyte velocity on hydrogen and oxygen gas production. Results indicated that major losses in photocurrents are attributed to the transparent conducting oxide while losses due to the electrolyte increase with its height. Gas concentrations increase with increasing photocurrent densities and also in the direction of the flow. Gas bubbles however decrease with increasing electrolyte velocity. From these results, light reception in the reactor is uneven and poses a bigger challenge due to the bias in gas bubble distribution. Prospects of upscaling tandem schemes hence not only lie in the semiconductor material combinations but rather in the proper integration of system components and operating conditions.     

Two Triterpene Synthases from Imperata cylindrica Catalyzing the Formation of a Pair of Diastereoisomers through Boat or Chair Cyclization

Imperata cylindrica is known to produce a pair of triterpenes, isoarborinol and fernenol, that exhibit identical planar structures but possess opposite stereochemistry at six of the nine chiral centers. These differences arise from a boat or a chair cyclization of the B-ring of the substrate. Herein, we report the characterization of three OSC genes from I. cylindrica. IcOSC1 and IcOSC5 were identified as isoarborinol and fernenol synthases, respectively, while IcOSC3 was characterized as a multifunctional enzyme that produces glutinol and friedelin as its major products. Mutational studies of isoarborinol and fernenol synthases revealed that the residues surrounding the DCTAE motif partially affected the conformation of the B-ring during cyclization. Additionally, the IcOSC1-W255H mutant produced the rare triterpene boehmerol. The introduced histidine residue presumably abstracted a proton from the intermediary carbocation at C18 during the 1,2-rearrangement. Expression analysis indicated that all OSC genes were highly expressed in stems.