A low-temperature bonding process to form joints with high strength and ionic migration resistance using mixed Cu–Ag nanoparticles was studied. Although it was difficult to obtain strong joints using ...Cu nanoparticles, with the addition of Ag nanoparticles to the Cu nanoparticles the bonding strength of the Cu-to-Cu joints increased. The joints formed by the mixed Cu–Ag nanoparticles at 350°C exhibited a high bonding strength of ~50 MPa. Counterelectrodes made of the mixed Cu–Ag nanoparticles had four times higher ionic migration resistance compared with counterelectrodes made only of Ag nanoparticles.
The long-term use of opioid analgesics is limited by the development of unwanted side-effects, such as tolerance. The molecular mechanisms of morphine anti-nociceptive tolerance are still unclear. ...The mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) is involved in painful hyperalgesia, but the role of MCU in morphine tolerance has not been uncharacterised.
Rats received intrathecal injection of morphine for 7 days to induce morphine tolerance. The mechanical withdrawal threshold was measured using von Frey filaments, and thermal latency using the hotplate test. The effects of an MCU inhibitor, antisense oligodeoxynucleotide against cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element (CRE)-binding protein (CREB) or cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-binding protein 1 (CPEB1) in morphine tolerance were examined.
Spinal morphine tolerance was associated with an increased expression of neuronal MCU, phospho-CREB (pCREB), and CPEB1 in the spinal cord dorsal horn. MCU inhibition increased the mechanical threshold and thermal latency, and reduced the accumulation of mitochondrial calcium in morphine tolerance. Intrathecal antisense oligodeoxynucleotide against CREB or CPEB1 restored the anti-nociceptive effects of morphine compared with mismatch oligodeoxynucleotide in von Frey test and hotplate test. Chromatin immunoprecipitation with quantitative PCR assay showed that CREB knockdown reduced the interaction of pCREB with the ccdc109a gene (encoding MCU expression) promoter and decreased the MCU mRNA transcription. RNA immunoprecipitation assay suggested that CPEB1 binds to the MCU mRNA 3′ untranslated region. CPEB1 knockdown decreased the expression of MCU protein.
These findings suggest that spinal MCU is regulated by pCREB and CPEB1 in morphine tolerance, and that inhibition of MCU, pCREB, or CPEB1 may be useful in preventing the development of opioid tolerance.
It has been observed to appear a step-wise or duplex
S–
N curve under the test of rotary bending fatigue using high strength steel. This behavior was caused by the transition of fracture mode from ...surface-induced fracture to subsurface inclusion-induced fracture. The aim of this study is to clarify the
S–
N characteristic under an axial loading fatigue in the very high cycle fatigue regime. In order to investigate the mean-stress effects, fatigue tests were carried out in air at room temperature under three applied stress ratios of −1, 0 and 0.5 using a hour-glass shaped specimen of high carbon–chromium bearing steel, JIS SUJ2. From the results, three types of fracture mode were observed on the fracture surface, such as surface-induced fracture, subsurface inclusion-induced fracture without granular bright facet (GBF) area and that with GBF area around an inclusion. Fatigue lifetime for transition in the fracture mode depended on the applied stress ratio. Shape of the
S–
N curve was a smooth and continuous under three testing conditions in spite of the occurrence on the three types of fracture. Detail discussion for fatigue fracture behavior was made through the observation of fracture surface and from point in view of the fracture mechanics. In addition, an effect of residual stress in the specimen surface layer on the transition of fracture mode was discussed and compared with the experimental results.
The
Hinode
Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) is the first space-borne visible-light telescope that enables us to observe magnetic-field dynamics in the solar lower atmosphere with 0.2 – 0.3 arcsec ...spatial resolution under extremely stable (seeing-free) conditions. To achieve precise measurements of the polarization with diffraction-limited images, stable pointing of the telescope (<0.09 arcsec, 3
σ
) is required for solar images exposed on the focal plane CCD detectors. SOT has an image stabilization system that uses image displacements calculated from correlation tracking of solar granules to control a piezo-driven tip-tilt mirror. The system minimizes the motions of images for frequencies lower than 14 Hz while the satellite and telescope structural design damps microvibration in higher frequency ranges. It has been confirmed from the data taken on orbit that the remaining jitter is less than 0.03 arcsec (3
σ
) on the Sun. This excellent performance makes a major contribution to successful precise polarimetric measurements with 0.2 – 0.3 arcsec resolution.
Objective
Diabetes is often associated with increased prevalence and severity of periodontal disease. We hypothesized that gingival epithelial cells modify periodontal disease progression and ...predicted that hyperglycemia would activate an inflammatory response in human gingival epithelial cells (HGECs).
Materials and Methods
We tested our hypothesis in immortalized HGECs (epi 4 cells) isolated from periodontal tissue and transfected with the simian virus 40 T antigen. The epi 4 cells were cultured in high (25 mM, HG) and normal (6 mM, NG) glucose conditions.
Results
The epi 4 cells showed increased interleukin‐8 (IL‐8) protein secretion and mRNA expression when cultured in HG, compared with in NG. These effects were not associated with increased cell proliferation and were not observed in a hyperosmolar control group (normal glucose with 19 mM mannitol). Increased IL‐8 secretion in HG was inhibited by pretreatment with an antioxidant, N‐acetylcysteine, or a protein kinase C inhibitor, Ro31‐8220. Hyperglycemia did not affect IL‐8 secretion by gingival fibroblasts or periodontal ligament cells. In epi 4 cells, hyperglycemia also induced expression of toll‐like receptor 2 (TLR2) but not TLR4.
Conclusion
These findings suggest a potential participation of epithelial cells in periodontal disease during diabetes by evoking an excessive host inflammatory response.
A low-temperature pressureless bonding process using a mixture of trimodal-sized Ag nanoparticles was proposed to form excellent Cu-to-Cu joints. Cu-to-Cu joints formed using the mixed Ag ...nanoparticles at 350°C for 5 min showed bonding strength of 13.7 MPa, in spite of the bonding process without pressure. Elongated dimples observed on the fracture surface of the Cu-to-Cu joint strongly support the effect of the trimodal mixture system of Ag nanoparticles in the low-temperature pressureless bonding process.
Morphine appears to be the most active metabolite of heroin; therefore, the effects of morphine are important in understanding the ramifications of heroin abuse. Opioid physical dependence ...(withdrawal response) may have very long-lasting effects on the motivation for reward, including the incubation of cue-induced drug-seeking behavior. However, the exact mechanisms of morphine withdrawal (MW) are not clear yet, and its treatment remains elusive. Periaqueductal gray (PAG) is one of the important sites in the pathogenesis of MW. Here, we used recombinant herpes simplex virus (HSV) vectors that encode the sod2 gene expressing manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) to evaluate its therapeutic potential in MW. Microinjection of HSV vectors expressing MnSOD into the PAG reduced the MW syndrome. MnSOD vectors suppressed the upregulated mitochondrial superoxide, and endoplasmic reticulum stress markers (glucose-related protein 78 (GRP78) and activating transcription factor 6 alpha (ATF6α)) in the PAG induced by MW. Immunostaining showed that mitochondrial superoxide, GRP78 and ATF6α were colocalized with neuronal nuclei (a neuronal-specific marker), suggesting that they are located in the neurons in the PAG. These results suggest that overexpression of MnSOD by HSV vectors may relieve opioid dependence. This study may provide a novel therapeutic approach to morphine physical withdrawal response.
We report the systemic cytokine and chemokine response in children with the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus infection. In patients with pneumonia, the serum levels of IFN-γ and IL-5 were ...significantly higher than those in patients without pneumonia. This tendency was also present for IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-13, and MCP-1 in patients with pneumonia. Among patients with pneumonia, the levels of MCP-1 were significantly higher in the group of patients with pneumonia with severe respiratory failure than patients with mild pneumonia.
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