Deterioration of connectin/titin and nebulin filaments by an excess of protease inhibitors

OBJECTIVE: To investigate HLA class II allele associations with autoantibody responses to Ro/SS-A and La/SS-B among Japanese subjects. METHODS: Haplotype and allele distributions, along with molecular polymorphisms, of HLA class II genes were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism in 41 Japanese women with precipitating autoantibodies to Ro/SS-A and/or La/SS-B. RESULTS: Among women with both Ro/SS-A and La/SS-B antibodies, the HLA class II haplotype DRB1*08032/DQA1*0103/DQB1*0601 and DRB1*08032 allele showed significantly increased frequencies compared with patients with anti-Ro/SS-A alone or with normal controls. All women with both anti-Ro/SS-A and anti-La/SS-B, but not those with anti-Ro/SS-A alone, carried DRB1 alleles that shared the same amino acid residues at positions 14-31 and 71 of the hypervariable regions of the DRB1 chain. All anti-Ro/SS-A positive women carried 1 or 2 alleles of DQB1*06 and DQB1*03 subtypes that shared the same amino acid residues at positions 71-77 of the DQB1 chain. HLA class II allele distributions did not differ among 3 anti-Ro/SS-A positive groups with different disease expressions, i.e., patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, patients with primary Sj?gren's syndrome, and women with no apparent symptoms of rheumatic disease. CONCLUSION: HLA class II allele distributions differ among anti-Ro/SS-A positive subjects according to the presence or absence of coexisting anti-La/SS-B antibodies, but not according to disease expression. Our findings suggest that different HLA class II molecules might control the development of anti-Ro/SS-A and/or anti-La/SS-B antibodies in the autoimmune response to the Ro/SS-A-La/SS-B complex.     

Histo-pathological study of a glass-ionomer/resin (Geristore) restoration system

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate histo-pathologically the pulpal reaction to a glass-ionomer/resin (Geristore) restoration system in human teeth. Black's class I cavities were prepared in 22 human teeth; these were divided into 2 groups, one with the Geristore after cavity was cleaned with 10% NaOCl solution and 3% H2O2 solution (Group G) and the other with the Geristore after the cavity was applied with Mirage-Bond (Group MG). The treated teeth were observed clinically over 90 days after operation. They were then extracted for histological examination. No unpleasant symptoms were noted. A few pathological changes were observed. No histo-pathological score differences were observed between groups G and MG. The average evaluation score of pathological results in both groups G and MG were excellent. Microorganisms observed in the cavity dentin of the group G was fewer than in group MG. In some cases, microorganisms were observed along the dentin walls. In conclusion, the pulpal injury due to this Geristore restoration system was slight, and the system was considered to be safe for the pulp and clinically useful.     

Changes of biochemical markers during fracture healing

Clinical diagnosis of canine nasal mite (Pneumonyssoides caninum) infection is difficult due to the mite's location in the caudal nasal cavity and frontal sinuses. The current study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of milbemycin oxime in treating dogs with nasal mite infection. A prospective open uncontrolled study included 20 dogs with case histories indicating possible nasal mite infection. Inclusion criteria consisted of either nasal mites being demonstrated (group 1, four dogs), or suspicious clinical signs with no other apparent causes, combined with eosinophilia (group 2, 16 dogs). Milbemycin oxime 1 mg/kg was given orally three times at 10-day intervals. In 17 (85 per cent) dogs, clinical signs resolved completely following milbemycin therapy; within 10 days of the first treatment in 13 cases (group 1, four dogs; group 2, nine dogs) and within 14 days in four cases. In the remaining three dogs clinical signs persisted but were diminished.     

Effect of grain size on creep of Ti-53.4mol%Al intermetallics at 1100 K

Constant stress creep under compression stress, 100 to 316 MPa, at 1100 K was investigated on single-phase TiAl intermetallics. The material was ingot-cast, isothermally forged, and then annealed to produce stable equi-axed grain structures, whose average grain diameters were 25, 42 and 70m. Creep curves were very similar among the three specimens with different grain diameters and the creep rates at a given strain, as well as the minimum creep rates, depended little on grain size. Two regimes were observed on the stress dependence of the minimum creep rate. The stress exponent under high stresses was about 4.5, independent of grain size. Under stresses lower than about 150 MPa it became about 8.     

Effects of 2-Hz and 60-Hz electrical stimulation on the microstructure of beef

A comparative electron-microscope study was made of the structural changes brought about in bovine longissimus dorsi muscle by 2-Hz and 60-Hz electrical stimulation. Apart from the frequency difference, the two treatments were identical: 500V AC, 600 pulses (2Hz × 300s and 60 Hz × 10 s), and a time of application of about 40 min post mortem. The low-frequency current produced no detectable tissue disruption or irregularity in sarcomere length, whereas the 60-Hz treatment caused widespread supercontraction and the formation of contraction nodes; many sarcomeres in the internodal zones were stretched or fractured. The observations confirm and extend those of our earlier light-microscope study, and support the view that fiber disruption contributes significantly to the tenderizing effect of high-voltage electrical stimulation.     

Interdiffusion inα solid solutions of the Cu-Zn-Sn system

The interdiffusion coefficients in the f c c phase of Cu-Zn-Sn alloys, , have been determined at 1073 K. The concentration profiles indicate that the diffusion rate of tin is greater than that of zinc in the Cu-Zn-Sn alloy. The diffusion paths show the typical S-shaped curves. All of the four interdiffusion coefficients are positive and they are very sensitive to the solute concentration. The atomic mobilities of the three diffusing elements in Kirkendall planes increase in the order of Cu, Zn, Sn. The interaction energy of the Cu-Sn bond is much larger than that of the Zn-Sn bond. From the results of the present work it seems that the Onsager reciprocal relation holds in the a phase of the Cu-Zn-Sn system.     

Kinetics of hydrogen absorption and desorption of magnesium nickel alloy

Reaction rates in the Mg₂Ni---H₂ system are still unclear, although they are needed for the process/optimization of hydrogen storage reactors. In this article, the rates of hydrogen absorption and desorption of the magnesium nickel alloy were investigated at different pressures up to 2.0 MPa using a constant-temperature thermogravimetric method. The powder of the alloy was microencapsulated with copper to improve the alloy properties (such as cycling strength) as a pretreatment. In the experiments, weight changes of the smallest amount possible of samples were monitored with the help of an ultra-accurate thermobalance, in order to avoid changes of the sample temperature due to the heat of the reaction. The reaction curves obtained revealed unique dependence of temperature and pressure and influence of thermal hysterisis. It is also possible that hydrogen-absorption and-desorption rates of this hydrogen storage alloy are expressed by the rate equation of first-order reversible reaction.     

A New Process to Make a Porous PTFE Structure from Aqueous PTFE Dispersion with the Help of Hydrogel

A novel method to make a porous material having relatively large cell diameter (200–300 m), which consisted of mainly poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE), was developed from aqueous PTFE dispersion by using the characteristics of hydrogel with the addition of carbon nanofiber (CNF). The porous material was produced as follows: firstly, an aqueous agar gel containing PTFE and CNF was prepared; secondly, the gel was freeze-dried; thirdly, the dried gel was heat-treated at 400°C where the agar was almost decomposed and PTFE became molten. The porous material showed electric conductivity (about 50 ), high porosity (about 96 vol%), and relatively uniform cell structures without shrinkage during freeze drying and heat treatment. While the method without CNF resulted in large shrinkage during heat treatment, meaning that CNF prevented the shrinkage. It was explained by the idea that the existence of rigid CNF, which was dispersed in the cell wall, prohibited the shrinkage of PTFE during heat treatment. It was unexpectedly found by SEM analysis that the porous materials had another macro-porous structure inside the cell wall, suggesting that the developed materials had a double porous structure.     

Crystallographic Texture Development in Bismuth Sodium Titanate Prepared by Reactive-Templated Grain Growth Method

Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃ (BNT) and 0.94Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃·0.06BaTiO₃ (BNT–BT) bulk ceramics with extensive 〈100〉 texture were prepared by the reactive-templated grain growth method, using platelike Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ (BIT) particles as templates for BNT. Calcined compacts were composed of matrix grains with random orientation and 〈100〉-oriented grains transformed from aligned BIT particles, and the texture developed by the growth of oriented grains during sintering. Ceramics with extensive texture were obtained by using the starting mixture containing the maximum concentration of platelike BIT to form the maximum volume fraction of oriented grains.     

Kinetics of the methanation of carbon dioxide over a supported Ni-La2O3 catalyst

The kinetics of the methanation of carbon dioxide was investigated using an alumina supported Ni-La₂O₂ catalyst in a differential and integral reactor. In the differential reactor the molar ratio of H₂ to CO₂ was varied from 0.6 to 30. In the integral reactor the rates were measured with up to 90% conversion. Both reactor tests were carried out at temperatures between 513 and 593 K. The experimental results were described by a Langmuir-Hinshelwood type equation. The kinetics can be explained by assuming equilibrium of dissociative carbon dioxide and hydrogen adsorption, and assuming hydrogenation of surface carbon as the rate determining step.