Method for black ice detection on roads using tri-wavelength backscattering measurements.

This paper provides a method of detecting black ice on a road surface by multiwavelength noncontact optical technology. The laser sources, wavelengths of 1310, 1430, and 1550 nm, were irradiated on the road surface. Then, we define the ratio of the backscattering power under a certain condition to the backscattering power under dry conditions as the normalized reflectance. It is found that the normalized reflectance under dry, water, black ice, icy, and snowy conditions is different. Therefore, the normalized reflectance can be used to identify black ice on a road surface.

Effect of HNO3 concentration on a novel silica-based adsorbent for separating Pd(II) from simulated high level liquid waste.

A new kind of silica-based (Crea + TODGA)/SiO2-P adsorbent with high selectivity adsorption for palladium (Pd) was synthesized to examined the applicability for partitioning process of high level liquid waste (HLLW). Adsorption behavior of Pd(II) towards (Crea + TODGA)/SiO2-P adsorbent and stability of adsorbent against HNO3 solution were investigated by batch method. The degradation parts of (Crea + TODGA)/SiO2-P dissolved in liquid phase were estimated by total organic carbon (TOC) analyzer. (Crea + TODGA)/SiO2-P adsorbent showed good selectivity adsorption for Pd(II) and reached equilibrium within 24 hr. The adsorption ability of (Crea + TODGA)/SiO2-P for Pd(II) and the content of TOC leaked decreased with the increasing of HNO3 concentration. In 3 M HNO3, the average of K d values were 85.03 cm3/g and 26.10 cm3/g after contact time one to 28 days at 298 K and 323 K, respectively. While the content of TOC leaked from the adsorbent after 28 days were 1095 ppm (298 K) and 2989 ppm (323 K), respectively. Therefore, the adsorbent showed good stability at 298 K after contact with nitric acid for a long time. All results indicated (Crea + TODGA)/SiO2-P can be proposed as an applicable and efficient absorbent for separation of Pd(II) in 3 M HNO3 at 298 K.

Characteristics and Mechanisms of Biosolubilization of Rock Phosphate by Aspergillus japonicus

ABSTRACT Rock phosphate (RP) is traditionally solubilized by chemical process causing high cost and environmental pollution. To reduce process cost and protect environment, RP solubilization by Aspergillus japonicus was studied and its mechanisms were discussed. Results show that A. japonicus could effectively solubilize RP in NBRIP medium. RP solubilization by A. japonicus included direct and indirect actions of the strain on RP. Cells of A. japonicus attached rapidly to RP surface and the RP surface was seriously corroded by the strain. A. japonicus excreted multiple organic acids, and followed by a significant increase of titratable acidity and decrease of pH in the culture. A positive correlation between content of soluble phosphate and quantity of titratable acidity but a negative correlation between content of soluble phosphate and pH were observed. Results of abiotic solubilization of RP using organic and inorganic acids indicated that the release of soluble phosphate was significantly lower than that of inoculated with A. japonicus. Higher release of soluble phosphate and pH reduction achieved when using ammonium nitrogen rather than nitrate nitrogen.

[Analysis of lorentzian line shape function broadened by non-sinusoidal wavelength modulation].

In the present work, the Fourier analysis of Lorentzian line shape broadened by non-sinusoidal wavelength modulation was investigated, in which the third order and above harmonic items were ignored. The analytical expression of n-order Fourier coefficient was brought out, where a variable K named harmonic distortion to characterize the ratio of the second harmonic to the first harmonic was introduced. Numerical simulations based on the cases of K > 0.01 and K < 0.01 were carried out, and the result shows: non-sinusoidal modulation has little effect compared with the sinusoidal modulation when K value is less than 0.01, however, if K value is about 0.1 or higher, the center of the Fourier amplitude curve would deviate from the origin of coordinates. With the increase in the harmonic distortion, the deviation of the curve grows, and high order harmonics are more sensitive to the non-sinusoidal modulation compared with the low order harmonics. In addition, when harmonic distortion cannot be ignored, for example K > 0.01, the effect of different depths of modulation on the odd and even order harmonic amplitude curve is significant. And the numerical simulation shows there exists an optimum value of modulation depth which could minimize the impact of the harmonic distortion, and both large K value and small K value would cause a great error. The conclusion of this work could be applied in error analysis of wavelength modulation spectroscopy system And the results are helpful to deepening understanding of WMS and would be the important reference for some kind of frequency stabilization technology in laser instrument.

Hypoglycemic action of borapetoside A from the plant Tinospora crispa in mice.

AIM: This study explores the hypoglycemic effects of borapetoside A, the most active principle among three major diterpenoids (borapetosides A, B, and C) isolated from ethanol extract of Tinospora crispa vines. METHODS: We employed mouse mitogenic C2C12 and hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B cells in this study. Furthermore, the mice were divided into three groups, including streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetes mellitus, diet-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus, and normal control. The mice in each group were treated with assigned vehicle control, borapetoside A, or other active agents. RESULTS: Borapetoside A was shown to increase the glycogen content and decrease the plasma glucose concentration in a concentration or dose-dependent manner in vitro and in vivo. The hypoglycemic effects in the normal mice and the mice with type 2 diabetes mellitus were associated with the increases of the plasma insulin levels; whereas, the insulin levels remained unchanged in the mice with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Borapetoside A not only attenuated the elevation of plasma glucose induced by an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test, but also increased the glycogen synthesis of IL-6 treated C2C12 cells. Moreover, the elevated protein expression levels of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase were reversed after borapetoside A treatment twice a day for 7 days. CONCLUSIONS: The hypoglycemic effects of borapetoside A were mediated through both the insulin-dependent and the insulin-independent pathways. Furthermore, borapetoside A was shown to increase the glucose utilization in peripheral tissues, to reduce the hepatic gluconeogenesis, and to activate the insulin signaling pathway; they thereby contributed to the lowering of the plasma glucose. Comparison of the structures of three borapetosides suggests clearly that the C-8 stereochemistry plays a key role in hypoglycemic effect since the active borapetoside A and C possess 8R-chirality but the inactive borapetoside B possess 8S-chirality. The location of glycoside at C-3 for borapetoside A but C-6 for borapetoside C and the formation of lactone between C-4 and C-6 for borapetoside A, could account for the different potency in hypoglycemic action for these two compounds.

Borapetoside C from Tinospora crispa improves insulin sensitivity in diabetic mice.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) often leads to disability from vascular complications and neurological complications. Tinospora crispa has been widely used in Asia and Africa as a remedy for diabetes and other diseases. In this study, we investigated the hypoglycemic actions of borapetoside C isolated from T. crispa, and the mechanisms underlying its actions. Acute treatment with borapetoside C (5mg/kg, i.p.) attenuated the elevated plasma glucose induced by oral glucose in normal and type 2 DM (T2DM) mice. Compared to the effect of injected insulin (0.5 IU/kg), borapetoside C caused a more prominent increase of glycogen content in skeletal muscle of T2DM mice, but a less increase in type 1 DM (T1DM) mice. Combined treatment of a low dose borapetoside C (0.1mg/kg, i.p.) plus insulin enhanced insulin-induced lowering of the plasma glucose level and insulin-induced increase of muscle glycogen content. Continuous treatment with 5mg/kg borapetoside C (twice daily) for 7 days increased phosphorylation of insulin receptor (IR) and protein kinase B (Akt) as well as the expression of glucose transporter-2 (GLUT2) in T1DM mice. Combined treatment of a low dose borapetoside C (0.1mg/kg, twice daily) plus insulin for 7 days enhanced insulin-induced IR and Akt phosphorylation and GLUT2 expression in the liver of T1DM mice. This study proved that borapetoside C can increase glucose utilization, delayed the development of insulin resistance and enhanced insulin sensitivity. The activation of IR-Akt-GLUT2 expression and the enhancement of insulin sensitivity may contribute to the hypoglycemic action of borapetoside C in diabetic mice.

Hypoglycemic diterpenoids from Tinospora crispa.

Three new diterpenoids, 2-O-lactoylborapetoside B (1), 6'-O-lactoylborapetoside B (2), and tinocrispol A (3), and nine known diterpenoids (4-12) were isolated from an EtOH extract of Tinospora crispa vines. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses. The C-6 glucosyloxy group in borapetoside C (6) was revised to be α-oriented. The in vivo hypoglycemic activities of the major components, borapetosides A-C (4-6), were examined. Intraperitoneal injection of 4 and 6 (5 mg/kg) showed significant lowering of plasma glucose levels in normal and streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic mice. Borapetoside C increased glucose utilization in peripheral tissues and reduced hepatic gluconeogenesis, accounting for the hypoglycemic effect.

The intracellular domain of amyloid precursor protein interacts with flotillin-1, a lipid raft protein.

Amyloid beta (Abeta) is a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is derived from the amyloid precursor protein (APP) by two sequential proteolytic cleavages, which also generate the APP intracellular domain (AICD). The precise cellular function(s) of AICD still remain obscure. To elucidate the roles of AICD in the development of AD, a yeast two-hybrid system was used to screen a human brain cDNA library for proteins interacting directly with AICD. One of the potential AICD-interacting proteins identified from our screening result is a lipid raft-associated protein, flotillin-1. The interaction was confirmed by glutathione S-transferase pull-down and coimmunoprecipitation studies. Since lipid raft has been suggested to play an important role in signal transduction as well as the pathogenic development of neurodegenerative diseases, it is proposed that flotillin-1 may recruit APP to lipid rafts and therefore participate in the localization and processing of APP.

Alterations and reversibility in the chromatin, cytoskeleton and development of pig oocytes treated with roscovitine.

Germinal vesicle (GV) breakdown in mammalian oocytes is regulated by the activation of maturation promoting factor (MPF). We investigated a specific cdc2 kinase inhibitor, roscovitine, to maintain pig oocytes in the GV stage. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were aspirated from slaughterhouse ovaries and cultured for 44 hr in NCSU#23 medium containing different levels of roscovitine (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 microM in Experiment 1 and 0, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 microM in Experiment 2). The COCs were cultured for another 44 hr after removal of the chemical. Twenty oocytes in each group were fixed at 44 hr for immunocytochemical labeling of the cytoskeleton and the rest (approximately 20/group) were fixed at the end of 88 hr after culture. Results showed that the inhibition of the oocyte in the GV stage was not effective when 10-50 microM (Experiment 1) of roscovitine were used (19-34%). When oocytes were released from the inhibitor, similar proportions (70-83%) of oocytes were observed in the MII or advanced stages among treatments. However, when higher concentrations of roscovitine were used (Experiment 2), significantly greater inhibitory effect was observed at the levels of 80-120 microM with 83-91% oocytes being blocked in the GV stage when compared to the control (9%) and the 40-60 microM (27-43%) groups (P < 0.05). Although 15-21% of the oocytes showed abnormal MII morphology with aberrant meiotic spindles and/or formation of cytoplasmic microtubules, a substantial number of oocytes resumed meiosis and reached MII stage at 44 hr after removal of this chemical. In Experiment 3, different concentrations of roscovitine (0, 20, 40, and 80 microM) were tested to examine the length of intervals (0, 11, 22, 33, and 44 hr) for an effective inhibition. Results showed that the inhibitory effect was significantly more prominent at 22 hr than that at 33 and 44 hr after roscovitine treatment in all treatment groups (P < 0.05). This study demonstrated that roscovitine-treated oocytes resumed meiosis after removal of the inhibitor. This could provide flexibility for studying porcine oocyte development and embryo cloning and may have application in other species.