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The Japanese black salamander, Hynobius nigrescens, is endemic to Japan and breeds in still water. Egg sacs of three colors (white, intermediate, and transparent) have been identified to date. However, the cause of this variation is not well understood. Therefore, we conducted a survey within the Ryohaku Mountains, where genetic differences are assumed to be small, and investigated egg sac color type in 10 spawning ponds. Our results confirmed that the ratio of the intermediate and transparent types increases with altitude. Regarding egg sac color type at each altitude, all egg sacs found above 740 m asl were white, whereas the transparent and intermediate types began to appear from at or above 740 m. As altitude increased, the incidence of the white type decreased and that of the transparent and intermediate types increased. In addition, a redundancy analysis was performed to determine the relationship between egg sac color and the topographical and meteorological conditions and to clarify the results for each pond. The analysis revealed that maximum snow depth was strongly correlated with an increase in the number of egg sacs of intermediate and transparent types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although skin permeability of an active ingredient can be severely affected by its ionization in a dose solution, most of the existing prediction models cannot predict such impacts. To provide reliable predictors, we curated a novel large dataset of in vitro human skin permeability coefficients for 322 entries comprising chemically diverse permeants whose ionization fractions can be calculated. Subsequently, we generated thousands of computational descriptors, including Log D (octanol–water distribution coefficient at a specific pH), and analyzed the dataset using nonlinear support vector regression (SVR) and Gaussian process regression (GPR) combined with greedy descriptor selection. The SVR model was slightly superior to the GPR model, with externally validated squared correlation coefficient, root mean square error, and mean absolute error values of 0.94, 0.29, and 0.21, respectively. These models indicate that Log D is effective for a comprehensive prediction of ionization effects on skin permeability. In addition, the proposed models satisfied the statistical criteria endorsed in recent model validation studies. These models can evaluate virtually generated compounds at any pH; therefore, they can be used for high-throughput evaluations of numerous active ingredients and optimization of their skin permeability with respect to permeant ionization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY This paper presents a novel type of flux-modulating synchronous machine (FMSM) in which permanent magnets (PMs) are embedded in the stator back-iron. The rotor has neither windings nor PMs. A prototype machine with an outer-rotor configuration was designed and manufactured to validate the operating principle of the FMSM. The characteristics in the motor mode of the prototype machine were also investigated with a vector control system. The results of the investigations show that, as in surface-mounted PM motors, the torque of the FMSM is predominantly generated by the PM flux and can be controlled using the armature current. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the appropriate permanent magnet (PM) arrangement of novel flux-modulating synchronous machines (FMSMs) in which PMs are embedded in the stator back iron. Using finite element analysis (FEA), three types of FMSMs with different PM arrangements are designed, and their performance characteristics are compared. As a result of the investigation, it was found that the FMSM with a V-shaped PM arrangement has a higher torque capability than do other FMSMs. The accuracy of the FEA simulations was confirmed through experiments on a prototype machine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study which examines the utility of gluconate as a taste improving substance. It states that general labelled magnitude scale method was used to determine the taste intensity and quality of potassium gluconate and Calcium gluconate. It mentions the result which reveals that in human sensory tests, gluconate successfully suppressed the bitter taste.

The conformation of a photoresponsive polymer bearing azo units in the main chain, poly(propionaldehyde azine) (PrAz), in telrahydrofuran was investigated by viscosily measurements before and after trans to-cis photoisomerization and also by the rotational isomeric state (RIS) model. Before photoisomerizalion (i.e., in the case of trans-pPrAz), viscosity data indicated that pPrAz look a more extended conformation than did a diene polymer analog poly(butadiene). The RIS model analysis revealed that the extended conformation of pPrAz arose mainly from the difficulty of gauche conformation around the carbon-carbon bond in the main chain, After trans-to-cis photoisomerization (i.e., in the case of pPrAz consisting of trans and cis units), viscosity data indicated that the photoisomerization led to a slight extension of the pPrAz chain. The RIS model analysis explained that the photoisomerization formed preferentially the anti-cis isomer, resulting in a larger characteristic ratio to avoid severe steric hindrance between the ethyl groups on neighboring main-chain carbon atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyaluronan (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan that associates with various molecules to assemble a specific HA-rich extracellular matrix. Low and intermediate-molecular-weight HA induces cytokines, chemokines, and other mediators of inflammation and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation. Hyaluronidases are a group of enzymes that degrade HA. As a model of patients with allergic diseases, we used egg albumin to induce high levels of IgE in rats and examined changes in the expression of hyaluronidase genes (Hyal1 and Hyal2) using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The expression of Hyal2 was not affected by the overproduction of IgE induced with egg albumin, whereas the expression of the Hyal1 gene was suppressed. High-molecular-weight HA might be degraded by Hyal2 into intermediate-molecular-weight HA, which can trigger inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strength of Earth's magnetic dipole field controls galactic cosmic ray (GCR) flux, and GCR-induced cloud formation can affect climate. Here, we provide the first evidence of the GCR-induced cloud effect on the East-Asian monsoon during the last geomagnetic reversal transition. Bicentennial-resolution monsoon records from the Chinese Loess Plateau revealed that the summer monsoon (SM) was affected by millennial-scale climate events that occurred before and after the reversal, and that the winter monsoon (WM) intensified independently of SM variations; dust accumulation rates increased, coinciding with a cooling event in Osaka Bay. The WM intensification event lasted about 5000 years across an SM peak, during which the Earth's magnetic dipole field weakened to <25% of its present strength and the GCR flux increased by more than 50%. Thus, the WM intensification likely resulted from the increased land–ocean temperature gradient originating with the strong Siberian High that resulted from the umbrella effect of increased low-cloud cover through an increase in GCR flux. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to elucidate the characteristics of the transport of lactone and carboxylate forms of SN-38 (SN-38L and SN-38C, respectively), a metabolite of irinotecan hydrochloride (CPT-11), with the human intestinal epithelial cell line, Caco-2. We examined SN-38L and SN-38C uptake from the apical side into Caco-2, and the effects of various compounds on the uptake of SN-38L. SN-38L and SN-38C in the cells were determined by HPLC with a fluorescence detector. When either SN-38L (0.5 µM) or SN-38C (0.5 µM) was added extracellularly at 37°C, the accumulation of SN-38L into the cells was about 10-fold higher than that of SN-38C, suggesting a dominant role of the lactone form in the uptake of SN-38 into Caco-2. The accumulation of SN-38L in Caco-2 increased time-dependently up to 10 min at 37°C, whereas the accumulation markedly decreased at 4°C. The initial uptake rate of SN-38L approached saturation at high concentrations with Michaelis-Menten constant and 'Hill coefficient,' 2.84±1.00 μM and 2.13±1.14, respectively (mean±S.E.). The accumulation of SN-38L was markedly inhibited by baicalin, an active ingredient of a Chinese herbal medicine, Hange-Shashin-To, as well as CPT-11. The type of inhibition by baicalin was competitive. In contrast, concomitant sulfobromophthalein, taurocholate and estrone 3-sulfate significantly increased SN-38L uptake. These results suggest that apical uptake of SN-38 by Caco-2 is dominantly performed as a lactone form through a specific transporter, which is competitively inhibited by baicalin.