Predictable Synthesis of 3D Polymer Networks Using Crystal Component-Linking.

Controlled synthesis of 3D polymer networks presents a significant challenge because of the complexity of the polymerization reaction in solution. In this study, a polymerization system that facilitates the prediction of a polymer network structure via percolation simulations is realized. The most significant difference between general percolation simulations and experimental polymerization systems is the mobility of the molecules during the reaction.

Enhanced Orientation of Liquid Crystals Inside Micropores of Metal-Organic Frameworks Having Thermoresponsivity.

With the aim of controlling the orientation of liquid crystals (LCs) toward realizing external stimuli-responsive materials with tunable functionalities, we synthesized a composite of LCs and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) by filling LCs into the pores of MOFs (LC@MOFs) for the first time. The included LCs interact with the MOFs through coordination bonds between the cyano groups of the LCs and the metal ions of the MOFs, enabling the orientation of the LC molecules inside the pores of the MOFs and the realization of birefringence of LC@MOFs. The three-dimensional nanometer interstice frameworks maintained the LC orientation even at temperatures much higher than the isotropic phase transition temperature of bulk LCs.

Effects of replacing inorganic salts of trace minerals with organic trace minerals in the pre- and postpartum diets on mineral status, antioxidant biomarkers, and health of dairy cows.

Our objectives were to evaluate the effects of complete replacement of supplementary inorganic salts of trace minerals (ITM; cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn) sulfates and sodium (Na) selenite) by organic trace minerals (OTM; Co, Cu, Mn, Zn proteinates, and selenized yeast) in both pre- and postpartum diets on trace minerals (TM) concentrations in body fluids and liver, antioxidant and inflammation biomarkers in blood, and postpartum health of dairy cows. Pregnant cows were blocked by parity and body condition score and randomly assigned to ITM (n = 136) or OTM (n = 137) 45 d before expected calving. Both groups received the same pre- and postpartum diets except for the source of supplementary TM.

Fluid Layered Ferroelectrics with Global C Symmetry.

Ferroelectricity in fluid materials, which allows free rotation of molecules, is an unusual phenomenon raising cutting-edge questions in science. Conventional ferroelectric liquid crystals have been found in phases with low symmetry that permit the presence of spontaneous polarization. Recently, the discovery of ferroelectricity with high symmetry in the nematic phase has attracted considerable attention.

Research and Development of an IoT-Based Remote Asthma Patient Monitoring System.

This paper presents the research and development of an Internet of Things- (IoT-) based remote health monitoring system for asthmatic patients. Asthma is an inflammatory disease. Asthma causes the lungs to swell and get narrower, making it difficult to carry air in and out of the lungs.

Image Defogging Framework Using Segmentation and the Dark Channel Prior.

Foggy images suffer from low contrast and poor visibility problem along with little color information of the scene. It is imperative to remove fog from images as a pre-processing step in computer vision. The Dark Channel Prior (DCP) technique is a very promising defogging technique due to excellent restoring results for images containing no homogeneous region.

Step-Growth Copolymerization Between an Immobilized Monomer and a Mobile Monomer in Metal-Organic Frameworks.

The A-A/B-B step-growth copolymerization between a monomer immobilized in the crystalline state and a monomer mobile in the solution state is demonstrated. One of the two monomers was immobilized as organic ligands of the metal-organic framework (MOF) and polymerized with the mobile guest monomer, resulting in the formation of linear polymers. The polymerization behavior was completely different from that of the solution polymerizations.

Construction of artificial cilia from microtubules and kinesins through a well-designed bottom-up approach.

Self-organized structures of biomolecular motor systems, such as cilia and flagella, play key roles in the dynamic processes of living organisms, like locomotion or the transportation of materials. Although fabrication of such self-organized structures from reconstructed biomolecular motor systems has attracted much attention in recent years, a systematic construction methodology is still lacking. In this work, through a bottom-up approach, we fabricated artificial cilia from a reconstructed biomolecular motor system, microtubule/kinesin.

Large Coercive Field of 45 kOe in a Magnetic Film Based on Metal-Substituted ε-Iron Oxide.

Magnetic ferrites are stable, sustainable, and economical. Consequently, they have been used in various fields. The development of large coercive field (large H) magnetic ferrites is a very important but challenging issue to accelerate the spread of use and to expand practical applications.

Loboschiza Diakonoff (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) from Thailand with descriptions of four new species.

Four new species of Loboschiza Diakonoff collected from the Nakhon Ratchasima, Chanthaburi, Nakhon Nayok, Sa Kaeo, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and Nakhon Pathom provinces of Thailand are described: Loboschiza spiniforma Anan and Pinkaew, n. sp.; Loboschiza bisulca Anan and Pinkaew, n.

Mesoscopic bar magnet based on ε-Fe2O3 hard ferrite.

Ferrite magnets have a long history. They are used in motors, magnetic fluids, drug delivery systems, etc. Herein we report a mesoscopic ferrite bar magnet based on rod-shaped ε-Fe2O3 with a large coercive field (>25 kOe).

An adolescent case of familial hyperparathyroidism with a germline frameshift mutation of the CDC73 gene.

A 13-yr-old boy who complained of persistent nausea, vomiting and weight loss had hypercalcemia and an elevated intact PTH level. Computed tomography confirmed two tumors in the thyroid gland. The tumors were surgically removed and pathologically confirmed as parathyroid adenoma.

Carboxymethyldextran/magnetite hybrid microspheres designed for hyperthermia.

Recently, organic-inorganic hybrids composed of derivatives of dextran, a polysaccharide, and magnetite nanoparticles have attracted much attention as novel thermoseeds. If they can be fabricated into microspheres of size 20-30 μm, they are expected to show not only hyperthermia effects but also embolization effects in human liver and kidney cancers. In this study, we examined the fabrication of carboxymethyldextran/magnetite microspheres using a water/oil emulsion as the reaction medium.

Toxoplasmosis in piglets.

Seventeen-day-old piglets in a small holding farm in southern Thailand manifested signs of convulsion, fever, and death. The morbidity and mortality rate were approximately 26.09% (6/23) and 4.

Erythropoietin-producing cells in the liver of ICR-derived glomerulonephritis (ICGN) mice.

The ICR-derived glomerulonephritis (ICGN) mouse is an appropriate model for anemia associated with chronic renal disorder (CRD). Insufficient renal production of erythropoietin (EPO) induces the anemia associated with CRD. EPO mRNA is expressed in both kidneys and liver of progressing-stage ICGN mice.

Dysfunction of erythropoietin-producing interstitial cells in the kidneys of ICR-derived glomerulonephritis (ICGN) mice.

Anemia is a major secondary symptom in chronic renal disorder (CRD), but the precise cause of insufficient production of erythropoietin (EPO) remains unclear owing to the controversial localization of EPO-producing cells in the kidneys. The ICR-derived glomerulonephritis (ICGN) mouse, a new hereditary nephrotic mouse, is an appropriate model of anemia associated with CRD. By using an amplified in situ hybridization technique, we detected and counted the renal EPO-producing cells under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions.

Reproductive health status, knowledge, and access to health care among female migrants in Shanghai, China.

As the largest labour flow in human history, the recent rise in migration in China has opened up unprecedented opportunities for millions of Chinese to rearrange their lives. At the same time, this process has also posed great challenges to Chinese migrants, especially female migrants, who not only face a bias against 'outsiders' but also have a greater need for reproductive health-related services in their migratory destinations. Based on data collected via multiple sources in Shanghai, China's largest metropolis, this study profiles the changing characteristics of female migrants, presents data on self-reported symptoms of reproductive health-related problems and knowledge on reproductive health issues, compares maternal and child health measures between migrants and local residents, and examines factors related to reproductive health knowledge and migrants' access to health care in urban China.

Transforming growth factor-beta1 mediated up-regulation of lysyl oxidase in the kidneys of hereditary nephrotic mouse with chronic renal fibrosis.

Lysyl oxidase (LOX), an extracellular enzyme, plays a key role in the post-translational modification of collagens and elastin, catalyzing inter- and intra-crosslinking reactions. Because the crosslinked extracellular matrices (ECMs) are highly resistant to degradative enzymes, it is considered that the over-expression of LOX may cause severe fibrotic degeneration. In the present study, we addressed the role of LOX-mediated crosslinking in chronic renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis using an animal model of hereditary nephrotic syndrome, the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR)-derived glomerulonephritis (ICGN) mouse.

Improvement of anemia associated with chronic renal failure by recombinant human erythropoietin treatment in ICR-derived glomerulonephritis (ICGN) mice.

The ICR-derived glomerulonephritis (ICGN) mouse, a novel inbred mouse strain with a hereditary nephrotic syndrome, develops severe anemia associated with chronic renal failure. To reveal the pathogenic mechanism of anemia in ICGN mice, we subcutaneously administered recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO; 5 IU/mouse/day) or saline for 5 days to ICGN mice. In terminal-stage ICGN mice with severe anemia, rhEPO significantly increased hematocrit (Ht), red blood cells (RBC) and hemoglobin levels.

Immunoglobulins and their receptors on epidermal Langerhans cells in atopic dermatitis.

To elucidate the etiological role of immunoglobulin molecules on Langerhans cells (LCs) in atopic dermatitis, we conducted immuno-histochemical studies on the localization of immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1), IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgA and IgM on epidermal LCs from 30 patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and five non-atopic healthy volunteers. We also investigated the types of receptors for the immunoglobulins (Fc epsilon RI, Fc epsilon RII, Fc gamma RI, Fc gamma RII, and Fc gamma RIII) on epidermal LCs in the patients. IgE positive epidermal LCs were observed in 28 of 30 AD patients, and 46.

Affinity-purified Dermatophagoides farinae antigen induces CD23 on T and B lymphocytes and monocytes specifically in patients with atopic dermatitis.

The purpose of this work is to analyze CD23 expression on subpopulations of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from the patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) after stimulation with affinity-purified Dermatophagoides farinae antigen (Af-DF). PBMC from mite-allergic AD patients stimulated with Af-DF induced striking expression of CD23 after the culture. The frequencies of CD23-positive (CD23+) PBMC in the culture were significantly higher than those without stimulation.

High affinity IgE receptor-mediated prostaglandin E2 production by monocytes in atopic dermatitis.

High affinity IgE receptor (Fc epsilon R I) expression on monocytes and its upregulation on monocytes from patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have been recently reported. In this study, we investigated whether prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) release from AD monocytes was Fc epsilon R I-dependent or not. The monocytes were stimulated with anti-Fc epsilon R I monoclonal antibody (mAb) and anti-Fc epsilon R II mAb.

High affinity IgE receptor (Fc epsilon RI) expression on eosinophils infiltrating the lesions and mite patch tested sites in atopic dermatitis.

Expression of the high affinity IgE receptor (Fc epsilon RI) on eosinophils has recently been reported. This led us to evaluate Fc epsilon RI expression on eosinophils in atopic dermatitis (AD). Double immunofluorescence stainings with an anti-Fc epsilon RI monoclonal antibody (mAb) and a polyclonal antieosinophil cationic protein (ECP) antibody were performed on lesional biopsy specimens from patients with AD and from patients with bullous pemphigoid (BP) as controls.

Contact hypersensitivity reaction to ovalbumin in newborn guinea pigs from maternally sensitized animals.

An animal study was conducted to elucidate the role of ovalbumin (OA) in the development of eczematous lesions in intrauterine sensitized newborns. Four groups of pregnant guinea pigs were used: group A, immunized by oral administration of 1% OA in drinking water until parturition; group B, immunized by intradermal injection of OA with Freund's complete adjuvant; group C, immunized by both methods; and group D (control), not immunized. The newborn guinea pigs of each group were patch tested with 10% OA in white petrolatum.