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Background. Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is commonly misdiagnosed as type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Common reasons for misdiagnosis are related to limitations in genetic testing. A precise molecular diagnosis is essential for the optimal treatment of patients and allows for early diagnosis of their asymptomatic family members. Objective. The aim of this study was to identify rare monogenic variants of common MODY genes in Japanese pediatric patients. Methods. We investigated 45 Japanese pediatric patients based on the following clinical criteria: development of diabetes before 17 years of age, a family history of diabetes, testing negative for glutamate decarboxylase-65 (GAD 65) antibodies and insulinoma-2-associated autoantibodies (IA-2A), no significant obesity, and evidence of endogenous insulin production. Genetic screening for MODY1 (HNF4α), MODY2 (GCK), MODY3 (HNF1α), and MODY5 (HNF1β) was performed by direct sequencing followed by multiplex ligation amplification assays. Results. We identified 22 missense variants (3 novel variants) in 27 patients (60.0%) in the GCK, HNF4α, and HNF1α genes. We also detected a whole exon deletion in the HNF1β gene and an exon 5–6 aberration in the GCK gene, each in one proband (4.4%). There were a total of 29 variations (64.4%), giving a relative frequency of 53.3% (24/45) for GCK, 2.2% (1/45) for HNF4α, 6.7% (3/45) for HNF1α, and 2.2% (1/45) for HNF1β genes. Conclusions. Clinicians should consider collecting and assessing detailed clinical information, especially regarding GCK gene variants, in young antibody-negative patients with diabetes. Correct molecular diagnosis of MODY better predicts the clinical course of diabetes and facilitates individualized management.

Intractable neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury (NP-SCI) reduces a patient's quality of life. Excessive release of ATP into the extracellular space evokes neuroinflammation via purinergic receptor. Neuroinflammation plays an important role in the initiation and maintenance of NP. However, little is known about whether or not extracellular ATP cause NP-SCI. We found in the present study that excess of intracellular ATP at the lesion site evokes at-level NP-SCI. No significant differences in the body weight, locomotor function, or motor behaviors were found in groups that were negative and positive for at-level allodynia. The intracellular ATP level at the lesion site was significantly higher in the allodynia-positive mice than in the allodynia-negative mice. A metabolome analysis revealed that there were no significant differences in the ATP production or degradation between allodynia-negative and allodynia-positive mice. Dorsal horn neurons in allodynia mice were found to be inactivated in the resting state, suggesting that decreased ATP consumption due to neural inactivity leads to a build-up of intracellular ATP. In contrast to the findings in the resting state, mechanical stimulation increased the neural activity of dorsal horn and extracellular ATP release at lesion site. The forced production of intracellular ATP at the lesion site in non-allodynia mice induced allodynia. The inhibition of P2X4 receptors in allodynia mice reduced allodynia. These results suggest that an excess buildup of intracellular ATP in the resting state causes at-level NP-SCI as a result of the extracellular release of ATP with mechanical stimulation.

Objective Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) influences hepatic cholesterol transportation. Accumulation of hepatic cholesterol leads to fatty liver disease, which is improved by glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) in diabetes. Therefore, we analyzed the molecular mechanism in the regulation of hepatic ABCA1 by GLP-1 analogue exendin-4. Methods Hepatic ABCA1 expression and transcription were checked by western blotting, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and luciferase assay in HepG2 cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and site-directed mutagenesis were employed to determine transcriptional regulation of the ABCA1 gene. Prolactin regulatory element-binding (PREB)-transgenic mice were generated to access the effect of exendin-4 on improving lipid accumulation caused by a high-fat diet (HFD). Results Exendin-4 stimulated hepatic ABCA1 expression and transcription via the Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase kinase/CaM-dependent protein kinase IV (CaMKK/CaMKIV) pathway, whereas GLP-1 receptor antagonist exendin9-39 cancelled this effect. Therefore, exendin-4 decreased hepatic lipid content. ChIP showed that PREB could directly bind to the ABCA1 promoter, which was enhanced by exendin-4. Moreover, PREB stimulated ABCA1 promoter activity, and mutation of PREB-binding site in ABCA1 promoter cancelled exendin-4-enhanced ABCA1 promoter activity. Silencing of PREB attenuated the effect of exendin-4 and induced hepatic cholesterol accumulation. Blockade of CaMKK by STO-609 or siRNA cancelled the upregulation of ABCA1 and PREB induced by exendin-4. In vivo, exendin-4 or overexpression of PREB increased hepatic ABCA1 expression and decreased hepatic lipid accumulation and high plasma cholesterol caused by a HFD. Conclusions Our data shows that exendin-4 stimulates hepatic ABCA1 expression and decreases lipid accumulation by the CaMKK/CaMKIV/PREB pathway, suggesting that ABCA1 and PREB might be the therapeutic targets in fatty liver disease., Graphical abstract Image 1, Highlights • The GLP-1R agonist exendin-4 suppressed lipid accumulation by upregulating ABCA1 expression in hepatocytes. • Exendin-4 regulated the expression and transcription of hepatic ABCA1 via the CaMKK/CaMKIV/PREB pathway. • Overexpression of PREB or exendin-4 protected mouse liver from fatty liver by upregulation of ABCA1.

Adiponectin (APN) is an adipokine that protects against diabetes and atherosclerosis. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) mediates reverse cholesterol transport, which also protects against atherosclerosis. In this process, the human homolog of the B class type I scavenger receptor (SR-BI/CLA-1) facilitates the cellular uptake of cholesterol from HDL. The level of circulating APN is positively correlated with the serum level of HDL-cholesterol. In this study, we investigated whether HDL stimulates the gene expression of APN through the Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase IV (CaMKIV) cascade. APN expression was examined using real-time PCR and western blot analysis in 3T3-L1 cells incubated with HDL. CaMKIV activity was assessed by the detection of activation loop phosphorylation (at Thr196 residue), and the effect of the constitutively active form, CaMKIVc, on APN promoter activity was investigated. Our results showed that HDL stimulated APN gene expression via hSR-BI/CLA-1. Furthermore, we explored the signaling pathways by which HDL stimulated APN expression in 3T3-L1 cells. The stimulation of APN gene expression by HDL appears to be mediated by CaMKK, as STO-609, a specific inhibitor of CaMKK2, prevents this effect. We revealed that CaMKIVc increased APN gene transcriptional activity, and the CaMKIV-dominant negative mutant blocked the effect of HDL on APN promoter activity. Finally, knockdown of hSR-BI/CLA-1 also canceled the effect of HDL on APN gene expression. These results suggest that HDL has an important role to improve the function of adipocytes by activating hSR-BI/CLA-1, and CaMKK/CaMKIV pathway is conceivable as one of the signaling pathways of this activation mechanism.

Background Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is commonly misdiagnosed as type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Common reasons for misdiagnosis are related to limitations in genetic testing. A precise molecular diagnosis is essential for the optimal treatment of patients and allows for early diagnosis of their asymptomatic family members. Objective The aim of this study was to identify rare monogenic variants of common MODY genes in Japanese pediatric patients. Methods We investigated 45 Japanese pediatric patients based on the following clinical criteria: development of diabetes before 17 years of age, a family history of diabetes, testing negative for glutamate decarboxylase-65 (GAD 65) antibodies and insulinoma-2-associated autoantibodies (IA-2A), no significant obesity, and evidence of endogenous insulin production. Genetic screening for MODY1 (HNF4α), MODY2 (GCK), MODY3 (HNF1α), and MODY5 (HNF1β) was performed by direct sequencing followed by multiplex ligation amplification assays. Results We identified 22 missense variants (3 novel variants) in 27 patients (60.0%) in the GCK, HNF4α, and HNF1α genes. We also detected a whole exon deletion in the HNF1β gene and an exon 5–6 aberration in the GCK gene, each in one proband (4.4%). There were a total of 29 variations (64.4%), giving a relative frequency of 53.3% (24/45) for GCK, 2.2% (1/45) for HNF4α, 6.7% (3/45) for HNF1α, and 2.2% (1/45) for HNF1β genes. Conclusions Clinicians should consider collecting and assessing detailed clinical information, especially regarding GCK gene variants, in young antibody-negative patients with diabetes. Correct molecular diagnosis of MODY better predicts the clinical course of diabetes and facilitates individualized management.

Exendin-4 (Exenatide), a long-acting agonist of the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R), has been confirmed to protect the cardiovascular system from atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes. However, the detailed mechanism of this process is not clear. Activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) to produce nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in endothelial homeostasis. Previous study shows that HDL activates eNOS via its receptor scavenger receptor type B class I (SR-BI). In this study, we checked the effect of exendin-4 on HDL/SR-BI-mediated eNOS activation in HUVECs. Firstly, we demonstrated the expression of GLP-1R in HUVECs and exendin-4 significantly induced HDL-mediated eNOS activation. Next, we found exendin-4 increased the expression and promoter activity of SR-BI, and then blocking of PKA or AMPK by its specific inhibitor cancelled this effect. Consistently, cAMP enhanced SR-BI promoter activity while domain negative AMPK inhibited the effect of exendin-4 on SR-BI promoter activity. Blocking of GLP-1R by exendin 9-39 cancelled exendin-4-induced SR-BI promoter activity and AMPK phosphorylation. As a downstream of AMPK, a transcription factor FoxO1 was confirmed to directly bind to the SR-BI promoter region by Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay and overexpression of FoxO1 enhanced SR-BI promoter activity. Moreover, exendin-4 markedly increased the expression and nuclear recruitment of FoxO1 by decreasing its phosphorylation. As well as, mutation of FoxO1-binding site in the SR-BI promoter region or silence of FoxO1 cancelled exendin-4-induced SR-BI expression. In summary, our results show that exendin-4 upregulates the expression and transcription of SR-BI via PKA/AMPK/FoxO1 pathway, which contributes to HDL-mediated eNOS activation and NO generation in human endothelial cells. Disclosure J. Lyu: None. H. Imachi: None. K. Fukunaga: None. S. Sato: None. T. Dong: None. T. Ibata: None. T. Kobayashi: None. M. Matsumoto: None. K. Murao: None.

A major complication of blood donation is vasovagal reaction (VVR) with or without syncope. VVR occurs not only in the early phase, but also in the late phase after blood donation. We previously reported the hemodynamic characteristics of blood donors susceptible to early phase VVR. In the present study, we investigated the hemodynamic characteristics of those who developed late VVR. Ninety-six healthy volunteers donating 400 ml of whole blood were studied. After asking about their physical condition or routine questions for blood donation, blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were recorded while the donors were kept standing up for 3 min before and after blood collection. Questionnaires were distributed to all donors for reporting late VVR symptoms within 24 h. Those with younger age and lower diastolic blood pressure were more susceptible to late VVR (both p

Novel nonvolatile programmable switch for low-power and high-speed field-programmable gate array (FPGA) where flash memory is adjacently integrated to CMOS logic is demonstrated. The flash memory and the high-speed switching transistor (SwTr) are fabricated close to each other without deteriorating their respective performance. Furthermore, programming schemes to write and erase the flash memory are optimized so that the memory is successfully programmed without any damage to the SwTrs. Flash-based configuration memory in the nonvolatile programmable switch has only half the area of the conventional static random-access memory-based one, and it can be placed in each block in FPGA, enabling efficient power gating that offers low-power FPGA operation.

Novel crossbar antifuse for high-density user programmable logic array (PLA) is presented. Circuit area reduction and routability increase of PLA are achieved by crossbar architecture based on pure-CMOS antifuse adjacently integrated into low-voltage and high-speed logic transistors. In addition, since our crossbar antifuse technique can be fabricated according to the standard design rule of advanced CMOS process, it is easy to implement our PLA as a user-customizable embedded logic in SoC. The logic density of our test chip in 65 nm process technology is 1835 lookup-tables (LUTs)/mm2, which is larger than any previous reports.

This study was conducted to examine instances of conformity behavior, anxiety, public self?consciousness, and approval motivation in adolescent friendships. First, a conformity behavior scale was constructed based on 6 ifferent scales that measure conformity motivation, conformity tendency, conformity orientation and conformity behavior. The subjects comprised 83 male and 72 female university students. They were exposed to item analysis and factor analysis exercises, and a twenty?four?items conformity behavior scale was developed. Second, the hypothesis that adolescents with high anxiety, high public consciousness and high approval motivation have a tendency to conform to others was tested. A total of 57 items were tested on 123 male and 171 female high school students. The results showed that both the internal conformity factor and the external conformity factor are related to anxiety and approval motivation. Therefore, a part of the hypothesis that says that high school students tend to conform to others because of their anxiety and motivation to secure the approval of others was verified in this study. Some studies, however, showed that conforming behavior causes stress in adolescents. In our conclusion, with the view to releasing adolescents from such stress, we suggested that they practice self?assertive behavior.

BACKGROUND: One of the serious complications of blood donation is vasovagal reaction (VVR) with syncope. This study was performed to determine if the measurement of hemodynamic responses to standing before blood collection (BC) was useful to identify the high-risk donors for VVR and also examined the effect of 300 mL of water ingestion in the prevention of VVR. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Blood pressure and heart rate (HR) during 5 minutes of standing were examined before and after BC in 93 donors. Because HR increase of 6 of 7 donors who developed syncopal VVR during standing after BC was 15 beats per minute (bpm) or greater, those with HR increase of 15 bpm or greater were determined as high-risk donors (n = 31). In another group (n = 117), 45 donors were identified as high risk based on the HR response before BC (≥15 bpm). The effect of 300 mL of water ingestion 15 minutes before BC on hemodynamic responses to standing and the rate of VVR after BC were analyzed. RESULTS: Water ingestion given to the high-risk donors of the second group reduced HR increase with standing before BC (−6.6 ± 13.6 bpm, p

The demand for random numbers for security applications is increasing. A conventional random number generator using thermal noise can generate unpredictable high-quality random numbers, but the circuit is extremely large because of large amplifier circuit for a small thermal signal. On the other hand, a pseudo-random number generator is small but the quality of randomness is bad. For a small circuit and a high quality of randomness, we purpose a non-stoichiometric SixN metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) noise source device. This device generates a very large noise signal without an amplifier circuit. As a result, it is shown that, utilizing a SiN MOSFET, we can attain a compact random number generator with a high generation rate near 1 Mbit/s, which is suitable for almost all security applications.

� Background and Aims Methyl CpG-binding proteins are considered to play critical roles in epigenetic control of gene expression by recognizing and interacting with 5-methylcytosine (m 5 C) in eukaryotes. However, among 13 corresponding genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, designated as featuring a methyl-binding domain (MBD), only four have so far been shown actually to bind to m 5 C. One example, AtMBD5, was selected here to screen for interacting proteins. � Methods Yeast two-hybrid assays were used for screening, and physical interaction was confirmed by pulldown and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays. Cellular localization was analysed by fluorescence-tagged fusion proteins using tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cultured bright yellow 2 cells. � Key Results A gene finally identified was found to encode AtRAN3, a protein that belongs to the Ran GTPase family, which plays a critical role in nucleocytoplasmic transport and spindle bipolarization during cell division. AtMBD5 and AtRAN3 were clearly shown to interact in the nucleus by BiFC. On co-expression of AtMBD5-cyan fluorescence protein and yellow fluorescence protein-AtRAN3 in tobacco cells, both localized to the nucleus in the resting stage, migrating to the cytoplasm, primarily around chromatin, during mitosis, particularly at metaphase. � Conclusions These results suggest that AtMBD5 becomes localized to the vicinity of chromosomes with the aid of AtRAN3 during cell division, and may play an important role not only in maintenance of chromatin structures by binding to m 5 C, but also in progress through mitosis by detaching from m 5 C. The present findings also shed light on the physiological function of Ran GTPases, direct target proteins of which have not thus far been well defined, suggesting their key role in chromatin movements in plant cells.

本研究は，重症慢性閉塞性肺疾患（chronic obstructive pulmonary disease，以下COPD）患者の希望を脅かす要素を抽出，記述することを目的とした．10名の研究参加者に対し，半構造化面接を実施し，得られたデータを質的帰納的に分析した．その結果，重症COPD患者の希望を脅かす要素として，《七転八倒の息苦しさの持続》，《衰え・悪化を知る兆しや証拠》，《活動を妨げる感覚》，《個人としての価値や人格を無視した周囲の対応》の4つのカテゴリーが抽出された．COPD患者が絶望に苛まれることのないよう，このような体験にともなう重症COPD患者の苦痛や苦悩に関心を向け，寄り添う看護師の態度は重要である．看護師は希望を脅かす要素の可能な限りの除去や最小化，あるいは適切な対処へと導くこと，また，それが困難な場合に生じた苦痛や苦悩の緩和をはかることにより，重症COPD患者が絶望を回避，希望を維持できるよう助ける必要がある．

We present a case report of a 63-year-old male who underwent lung resections for metastases originating from gastric cancer 18-year after total gastrectomy with lymphadenectomy. The gastrectomy was performed in 1994; histological examination of the original tumor revealed stage II poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma [pT2 (MP), N0, M0]. Chest X-ray and computed tomography in 2012 showed a well-defined tumor, 9 mm in size, at the left S3 of the lung. Thoracoscopic partial resection was performed. The tumor was diagnosed as poorly differentiated carcinoma, most likely metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma. Although rarely performed, resection of pulmonary metastases from carcinoma of the stomach was done to improve the patient’s chances for long-term survival.

In order to determine the factors of origin of Sick House Syndrome (SHS), data of indoor air quality in the sick houses and field survey were collected and carried out respectively, over three summ...

Novel nonvolatile programmable switch for low-power and high-speed FPGA where MONOS flash is adjacently integrated to CMOS logic is demonstrated. The MONOS transistors (MTrs.) and low-voltage switching transistors (SwTrs.) are fabricated close to each other without deteriorating each performance. Furthermore, memory programming scheme is optimized to realize selective writing with no damage in the SwTrs. MONOS-based configuration memory has a half area of conventional SRAM, and it can be placed in each block in FPGA. That enables efficient power gating (PG) that offers low-power FPGA operation.

Campylobacter jejuni causes foodborne disease associated with abdominal pain, gastroenteritis, and diarrhea. These symptoms are induced by bacterial adherence and invasion of host epithelial cells. C. jejuni infection can occur with a low infective dose, suggesting that C. jejuni may have evolved strategies to cope with the bacterial clearance system in the gastrointestinal tract. The mucosa layer is the first line of defense against bacteria. Mucus conditions are maintained by water and anion (especially Cl(-)) movement. Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is the main Cl(-) channel transporting Cl(-) to the lumen. Mutations in CFTR result in dehydrated secreted mucus and bacterial accumulation in the lungs, and recent studies suggest that closely related pathogenic bacteria also may survive in the intestine. However, the relationship between C. jejuni infection and CFTR has been little studied. Here, we used an (125)I(-) efflux assay and measurement of short-circuit current to measure Cl(-) secretion in C. jejuni-infected T-84 human intestinal epithelial cells. The basic state of Cl(-) secretion was unchanged by C. jejuni infection, but CFTR activator was observed to induce Cl(-) secretion suppressed in C. jejuni-infected T-84 cells. The suppression of activated Cl(-) secretion was bacterial dose-dependent and duration-dependent. A similar result was observed during infection with other C. jejuni strains. The mechanism of suppression may occur by affecting water movement or mucus condition in the intestinal tract. A failure of mucus barrier function may promote bacterial adhesion or invasion of host intestinal epithelial cells, thereby causing bacterial preservation in the host intestinal tract.

Introduction and Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between plasma D-dimer level at admission and infarct size in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients. Methods: We identified 124 patients with consecutive ischemic stroke and NVAF who were admitted within 48 hours of symptom onset. We measured infarction volume from CT taken after 3±1 days from the onset. Relationships were analysed between infarction volume, risk factors, preadmission medications and admission conditions. We also assessed the functional outcome by tertile of D-dimer level (≦ 0.83, 0.83-2.16, ≧ 2.16 μg/mL) in patients with preadmission modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0-1. Results: Infarction volume significantly correlated with D-dimer level (r=0.309, p < 0.001) (Figure 1), systolic blood pressure (r=0.201, p=0.026), diastolic blood pressure (r=0.283, p=0.002), National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score on admission (r=0.546, p < 0.001) and mRS score at discharge (r=0.557, p Conclusions: Plasma D-dimer level on admission is significantly related to infarction volume and functional outcome, following cardioembolic stroke in NVAF patients.

Plasma D-dimer level may reflect the activity of thrombus formation in the left atrium of patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Proper anticoagulation with warfarin dramatically decreases the rate of cerebral embolism, reduces stroke severity and subsequent risk of death, as well as the level of D-dimer in NVAF patients. However, the predictive value of D-dimer level on cerebral embolism severity has not been examined. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the association between plasma D-dimer level at admission and infarct size in NVAF patients.We identified 124 patients with consecutive ischemic stroke and NVAF who were admitted within 48 h of symptom onset. We measured infarction volume from CT taken after 3 ± 1 days from the onset. Plasma D-dimer levels were measured at the time of admission. Relationships were analyzed between infarction volume and plasma D-dimer levels, cardiovascular risk factors, preadmission medications and admission conditions. We also assessed the influence of D-dimer level on functional outcome in patients with preadmission modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0-1 and patients by tertile of D-dimer level (≤0.83, 0.83-2.16 and ≥2.16 µg/ml).Infarction volume significantly correlated with D-dimer level (r = 0.309, p0.001), systolic blood pressure (r = 0.201, p = 0.026), diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.283, p = 0.002), National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score on admission (r = 0.546, p0.001) and mRS score at discharge (r = 0.557, p0.001). Multivariate regression analyses showed that the D-dimer level was significantly associated with infarction volume after adjusting for age, sex, current smoker or not, prothrombin time-international normalized ratio ≥1.6, diastolic blood pressure, CHADS(2) score and NIHSS score on admission. In patients with a preadmission mRS score of 0-1 (n = 108), D-dimer level was significantly associated with NIHSS score at admission (r = 0.318, p0.001) and mRS score at discharge (r = 0.310, p = 0.001). Patients in the highest D-dimer tertile group showed worse outcome than those in the middle (p = 0.041) and lowest (p0.001) tertiles.Plasma D-dimer level on admission is significantly related to infarction volume and functional outcome, following cardioembolic stroke in NVAF patients.

An ethanologenic microorganism capable of fermenting all of the sugars released from lignocellulosic biomass through a saccharification process is essential for secondary bioethanol production. We therefore genetically engineered the ethanologenic bacterium Zymomonas mobilis such that it efficiently produced bioethanol from the hydrolysate of wood biomass containing glucose, mannose, and xylose as major sugar components. This was accomplished by introducing genes encoding mannose and xylose catabolic enzymes from Escherichia coli. Integration of E. coli manA into Z. mobilis chromosomal DNA conferred the ability to co-ferment mannose and glucose, producing 91 % of the theoretical yield of ethanol within 36 h. Then, by introducing a recombinant plasmid harboring the genes encoding E. coli xylA, xylB, tal, and tktA, we broadened the range of fermentable sugar substrates for Z. mobilis to include mannose and xylose as well as glucose. The resultant strain was able to ferment a mixture of 20 g/l glucose, 20 g/l mannose, and 20 g/l xylose as major sugar components of wood hydrolysate within 72 h, producing 89.8 % of the theoretical yield. The recombinant Z. mobilis also efficiently fermented actual acid hydrolysate prepared from cellulosic feedstock containing glucose, mannose, and xylose. Moreover, a reactor packed with the strain continuously produced ethanol from acid hydrolysate of wood biomass from coniferous trees for 10 days without accumulation of residual sugars. Ethanol productivity was at 10.27 g/l h at a dilution rate of 0.25 h(-1).

A high-speed random number generator (RNG) circuit based on magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) using an error-correcting code (ECC) post processing circuit is presented. ECC post processing increases the quality of randomness by increasing the entropy of random number. { We experimentally show that a small error-correcting capability circuit is sufficient for this post processing. It is shown that the ECC post processing circuit powerfully improves the quality of randomness with minimum overhead, ending up with high-speed random number generation. We also show that coupling with a linear feedback shift resistor is effective for improving randomness, 5 pages, 11 figures

A novel nonvolatile memory tunnel layer structure is proposed in which a Si nanocrystalline layer lies between double tunnel oxides. By Si nanocrystal size downscaling to 2 nm, the new double junction tunnel attains a remarkable 3×106 times retention improvement while keeping high-speed write/erase compared to single tunnel oxide. Based on Si nanocrystal size confirmation by transmission electron microscope (TEM), we show quantitatively that the advantage is due to Coulomb blockade and quantum confinement, and smaller Si nanocrystal will lead to greater improvement. We clarify a characteristic effect in double junction tunnel, tunnel penetration disappearance, which is extremely advantageous for nonvolatile memory applications and never occurs in other multilayer dielectrics structures. The double tunnel junction using Si nanocrystalline layer is very promising for future memory.

Adherence of diarrhea-associated Escherichia coli was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) adherence factor-positive (EAF+) E. coli of EPEC serotypes (class I EPEC) adhered to plastic and human jejunal and ileal mucosa, similar to case and HeLa cells. Localized adherence, elongation of cell microvilli, and "locking" of the bacterial aggregates by the elongated microvilli were evident after incubation for 20 min. EAF+ E. coli adhered strikingly to mucus but rarely to M cells in Peyer's patch-associated epithelium. Most enteroaggregative E. coli (EAggEC) strains adhered to plastic, similar to HeLa cells. Some diffuse-adhering E. coli (DAEC) strains displayed no adherence to plastic but formed "dimples" on HeLa cells. Both EAggEC and DAEC adhered at lower levels to human small intestines (except M cells) than did EAF+ E. coli. In all cases of EAF+ E. coli, EAggEC, and DAEC, strains were found with atypical characteristics. The data demonstrate the unique adherence characteristics of EAF+ E. coli, EAggEC, and DAEC.