Production of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and IGF-binding proteins by rat intestinal stromal cells in vitro

To determine if intestinal stromal cells secrete diffusible factors such as insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) capable of regulating epithelial cell growth in vitro, stromal cells were isolated by enzymatic digestion of rat intestine. Incorporation of [³H]thymidine into DNA and [¹⁴C]leucine into protein of IEC-6 cells, a model intestinal epithelial cell line, was significantly increased (two- to threefold) when the IEC-6 cells were co-cultured with stromal cells, relative to IEC-6 cells grown alone. Medium conditioned by stromal cells stimulated DNA synthesis of IEC-6 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Analysis of the conditioned medium revealed that intestinal stromal cells secreted IGF-I, but little IGF-II, in addition to an M _r 32,000 IGF-binding protein (IGFBP-2) and an IGFBP having M _r∼ 24,000. We conclude that rat intestinal stromal cells secrete one or more diffusible factors, which may include IGF-I and IGFBPs, capable of stimulating proliferation of IEC-6 cells in vitro. Received 25 August 1997; received after revision 7 November 1997; accepted 20 November 1997     

Giant magneto-elastic coupling in multiferroic hexagonal manganites

The motion of atoms in a solid always responds to cooling or heating in a way that is consistent with the symmetry of the given space group of the solid to which they belong. When the atoms move, the electronic structure of the solid changes, leading to different physical properties. Therefore, the determination of where atoms are and what atoms do is a cornerstone of modern solid-state physics. However, experimental observations of atomic displacements measured as a function of temperature are very rare, because those displacements are, in almost all cases, exceedingly small. Here we show, using a combination of diffraction techniques, that the hexagonal manganites RMnO3 (where R is a rare-earth element) undergo an isostructural transition with exceptionally large atomic displacements: two orders of magnitude larger than those seen in any other magnetic material, resulting in an unusually strong magneto-elastic coupling. We follow the exact atomic displacements of all the atoms in the unit cell as a function of temperature and find consistency with theoretical predictions based on group theories. We argue that this gigantic magneto-elastic coupling in RMnO3 holds the key to the recently observed magneto-electric phenomenon in this intriguing class of materials.     

Extraction and DNA Digestion of 5′-Phosphodiesterase from Malt Root

This study investigated the extraction of 5＇-phosphodiesterase from malt root and the degradation of nucleic acids by this enzyme. The extraction used grade precipitation with ammonium sulfate and enzymatic hydrolysis. Samples were assayed using the modified Bradford method and high performance liquid chromatography. The results show that 5＇-phosphodiesterase is isolated by grade precipitation with 30% and 80% saturation of ammonium sulfate and can be utilized to degrade deoxyribonucleic acid. The hydrolysate has four kinds of deoxynucleotides： 5＇-dCMP, 5＇-dTMP, 5＇-dAMP, and 5＇-dGMP. The optimum reaction temperature is 70℃, and the optimum pH is 5.5-6.0 for the reaction. The percentage of deoxynucleotides indicated by the China Pharmacopoeia （2000 edition） in the product is over 70%. The extraction of 5＇-phosphodiesterase from malt root is shown to be possible and economical. Products from the enzYmatic hydrolysate of DNA meet the pharmacopoeia.     

Indole-3-carbinol enhances ultraviolet B-induced apoptosis by sensitizing human melanoma cells

Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) has been found to act against several types of cancer, while ultraviolet B (UVB) is known to induce the apoptosis of human melanoma cells. Here, we investigated whether I3C can sensitize G361 human melanoma cells to UVB-induced apoptosis. We examined the effects of combined I3C and UVB (I3C/UVB) at various dosages. I3C (200 μM)/UVB (50 mJ/cm²) synergistically reduced melanoma cell viability, whereas I3C (200 μM) or UVB (50 mJ/cm²), separately, had little effect on cell viability. DNA fragmentation assays indicated that I3C/UVB induced apoptosis. Further results show that I3C/UVB activates caspase-8, −3, and Bid and causes the cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Moreover, I3C decreased the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-2, whereas UVB increased the translocation of Bax to mitochondria. Thus, an increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio by I3C/UVB may result in melanoma apoptosis. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that I3C sensitizes human melanoma cells by down-regulating Bcl-2. Received 5 July 2006; received after revision 25 August 2006; accepted 11 September 2006     

Flexible metal-oxide devices made by room-temperature photochemical activation of sol-gel films

Amorphous metal-oxide semiconductors have emerged as potential replacements for organic and silicon materials in thin-film electronics. The high carrier mobility in the amorphous state, and excellent large-area uniformity, have extended their applications to active-matrix electronics, including displays, sensor arrays and X-ray detectors. Moreover, their solution processability and optical transparency have opened new horizons for low-cost printable and transparent electronics on plastic substrates. But metal-oxide formation by the sol-gel route requires an annealing step at relatively high temperature, which has prevented the incorporation of these materials with the polymer substrates used in high-performance flexible electronics. Here we report a general method for forming high-performance and operationally stable metal-oxide semiconductors at room temperature, by deep-ultraviolet photochemical activation of sol-gel films. Deep-ultraviolet irradiation induces efficient condensation and densification of oxide semiconducting films by photochemical activation at low temperature. This photochemical activation is applicable to numerous metal-oxide semiconductors, and the performance (in terms of transistor mobility and operational stability) of thin-film transistors fabricated by this route compares favourably with that of thin-film transistors based on thermally annealed materials. The field-effect mobilities of the photo-activated metal-oxide semiconductors are as high as 14 and 7?cm(2)?V(-1)?s(-1) (with an Al(2)O(3) gate insulator) on glass and polymer substrates, respectively; and seven-stage ring oscillators fabricated on polymer substrates operate with an oscillation frequency of more than 340?kHz, corresponding to a propagation delay of less than 210?nanoseconds per stage.     

A Study of Power Loss for 3 Phase Voltage Source Converter of Elevator

In this paper,to study the power loss of converter for elevator,The analysis is to establish relationship between parameters(current,voltages and losses in the inverter and converter) relevant for sizing of major components of the drive was done.) For high PWM(pulse width modulation) frequency like in elevator applications of fpwm =10kHz,switching losses are dominant and are about 2/3 of the total losses on IGBT switch.Transition from continuous 3 phase to discontinuous 2 phase PWM results in 50% reduction of switching loses on IGBT devices providing that PWM is not done over 60deg angle in a particular phase when current has maximum value.Total losses on IGBT(conduction + switching) are reduced approximately by ～1/3 what is still a significant reduction.Two phase PWM with reduced losses can be used for applications when acoustic noise due to increased current ripple is not significant and fall back solution to regular 3 phase PWM when drive operates under rare extreme conditions resulting in increased heat sink temperature.The analysis will be examined by further laboratory testing simulating 60% duty cycle on a dynamometer.     

Design of child’s safety management system based on ontology using context information of home network

This paper presents a system to alert of dangerous a child situation of a child by applying context information collected from a home network to ontology that is capable of inference. Radio frequency Identification (RFID) and sensors were used for the configuration of a home network, to obtain the raw data to convert into context information. To express the ontology, web ontology language (OWL) was used to provide the inference of context information. Then, simple object access protocol (SOAP) messages were used to notify of the dangerous situations that a child may be involved in via mobile devices. The proposed system consists of Context Manager, Service Manager, and Notification Manager. The child's safety management system can proactively detect the context data of a child on the basis of context awareness. In the experiment, the Jena 2.0 by ontology reasoner and the OSGi(Open Service Gateway initiative) Gateway developed using open source software Knopflerfish 1.3.3 were used to implement the service frame work.