Abstract To assess the micrometeorological consequences of rice variety choices in relation to rising CO 2 associated to climate change, we quantified the interplay between rice architecture, physiology, and microclimate in current (~385 μmol mol −1 ) and future (~580 μmol mol −1 ) CO 2 microenvironments. Two rice varieties contrasting in canopy structure and physiology were grown embedded in irrigated rice paddies, under elevated CO 2 (using a Free‐Air CO 2 Enrichment facility) and ambient CO 2 conditions. The high‐yielding indica variety Takanari is more photosynthetically active and characterized by a more open canopy than a commonly cultivated variety Koshihikari . Our results show a strong diurnal interplay between solar angle, canopy structure, plant physiology, and the overlying atmosphere. Plant architecture was identified as a strong determinant of the relation between plant physiology and microclimate that in turn affects the surface forcing to the overlying atmosphere. Takanari was able to maintain lower canopy temperature both in current and future CO 2 owing to the greater atmospheric mixing and stomatal conductance than Koshihikari. In the perspective of food security, a shift to such a higher‐yielding variety would have consequences on the regional surface energy balance, which subsequently might alter regional weather.
Abstract ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
The structures of PDE-I and PDE-II, inhibitors of cyclic adenosine-3′,5′-monophosphate phosphodiesterase, were established as 3-carbamoyl-l,2-dihydro-4-hydroxy-5-methoxy-3-H-pyrrolo[3,2-e]indole-7-carboxylic acid and its 3-acetyl homologue, by X-ray diffraction study of monomethyl derivatives.
Abstract The influence of residual stress on fatigue crack growth was experimentally and analytically investigated for surface cracks. Fatigue tests were performed on straight pipes of low-carbon steel with a circumferential inner surface crack in laboratory air environment. Some of the test pipes had been subjected to special heat treatments so as to have compressive or tensile residual stresses along inner surface. The results show that the compressive residual stress remarkably suppresses the surface crack growth, while the tensile residual stress does not accelerate the crack growth very much. The crack growth analyses were conducted by the application of power relationship between ΔK and da/dN. The stress intensity factors due to the nonlinear stress field were calculated by the weight function method. The analyses resulted in a confirmation of the behavior of the crack growth observed in the experiments.
The relationship between the antitumor activity and the inhibition of thymidylate synthase after oral administration of 5-FU, FT-207 or UFT was examined. The inhibition of tumor growth on sarcoma-180 after oral administration of 5-FU (20 mg/kg), FT-207 (120 mg/kg) or UFT (30 mg/kg) was 40%, 50% or 70%, respectively. It was found that the inhibition of thymidylate synthase in sarcoma-180 tumor tissue after single oral administration of 5-FU (20 mg/kg), FT-207 (30 or 120 mg/kg) or UFT (30 mg/kg) were about 45%, 20%, 50% or 65%, respectively, but the activities of other enzymes involved in DNA synthesis were not almost inhibited. Thymidylate synthase was inhibited more severely by oral administration of UFT (30 mg/kg). The activities of other enzymes were not inhibited even by continuous oral administration of these drugs for 6 or 11 days. The extent of inhibition of thymidylate synthase seemed to be parallel to that of inhibition of tumor growth. These results suggest that the inhibition of thymidylate synthase by FdUMP converted from 5-FU, FT-207 or UFT plays a major role in their antitumor actions.
Granisetron, a potent 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, has been reported to be mainly metabolized to 7-hydroxygranisetron and a lesser extent to 9'-desmethylgranisetron in humans. A previous study indicated that cytochrome P450 (CYP)3A4 is a major catalyst of 9'-demethylation, although the major CYP isoform(s) responsible for 7-hydroxylation are unknown. To clarify granisetron 7-hydroxylase, the in vitro metabolism of granisetron using expressed human CYPs and human liver microsomes was investigated. 7-Hydroxygranisetron was produced almost exclusively by CYP1A1, while, apparently, 9'-desmethylgranisetron was preferentially produced by CYP3A4. Marked inter-individual differences in the ratio of the formation of 7-hydroxygranisetron and 9'-desmethylgranisetron in human liver microsomes was observed. Granisetron 7-hydroxylase activity was strongly correlated with benzo[a]pyrene 3-hydroxylase activity (p<0.0001), but not with testosterone 6beta-hydroxylase activity in human liver microsomes. Furthermore, an anti-human CYP1A1 antibody completely inhibited 7-hydroxylation in human liver microsomes, however, the reaction was not inhibited at all by an anti-CYP3A4 antibody. On the other hand, granisetron 9'-demethylase activity correlated significantly not only with testosterone 6beta-hydroxylase activity (p<0.0001) but also with benzo[a]pyrene 3-hydroxylase activity (p<0.01). Consistent with this, both the anti-CYP1A1 and anti-human CYP3A4 antibodies inhibited the 9'-demethylase activity. These data indicate that CYP1A1 is a major enzyme responsible for the metabolism of granisetron via a main 7-hydroxylation pathway and an alternative 9'-demethylation route. This is the first report demonstrating the substantial contribution of CYP1A1 to the metabolism of a drug, although its role in the metabolism of environmental compounds is well established.
This article presents the results of an experimental program on two-way flat slabs with central loading. The slabs were designed according to the American Concrete Institute code. One slab without any modification was used as the control and four were strengthened with different carbon fiber–reinforced polymer (CFRP) grid configurations including one with preinstalled and three with postinstalled fiber–reinforced polymer (FRP) strengtheners. For strengthening, 8, 16, and 24 strengtheners were used. A method was developed for predicting maximum loading capacity in slabs strengthened with CFRP grids and epoxy resin used in drilled holes. The results of the experiments show that the proposed strengthening method enhances maximum loading and deformation capacities. Furthermore, the proposed strengthening method prevents brittle failures that may occur under vertical concentrated loadings. The dominant failure mode for flat slabs strengthened with FRP grids is found to be deboning of FRP grids due to the small slab depth. In addition to the increased shear capacity of the slab up to a reasonable value, this method of strengthening is capable of changing slab failure from the shear mode to the flexure mode.
An analytical investigation focusing on the concrete damage progress of the PBL shear connector under the influence of various lateral pressures, employing a coupled RBSM and solid FEM model was carried out. The analytical model succeeded in simulating the test shear capacities and the failure modes adequately. The internal failure process was also clarified; the two horizontal cracks occurred near the top of the concrete dowels through the hole of the perforated steel plate, and afterward, the two vertical cracks also initiated and propagated along with the shear surface. In a low lateral pressure case, the shear strength was determined by the vertical cracks propagated along the shear surface. While as the amount of applied lateral pressure increased, the shear strength of the two vertical cracked surfaces was enhanced, and the shear strength of the PBL was characterized by the occurrence of the splitting cracks and caused the splitting failure into the side concrete blocks. Moreover, the combined effects of lateral pressure and hole diameters were also evaluated numerically, and it was found that the increase in shear strength was more in a large diameter case subjected to high lateral pressure because of the wide compressive regions generated around the concrete dowel.
Background and purpose Internal carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) are risk factors of cerebrovascular disease and coronary artery disease. They are known as independent predictors of arteriosclerotic disease. It has been reported that IMT and PWV are useful factors for predicting stroke subtype and/or outcome. Coronary artery disease onset is proportional to atherosclerosis progression, and the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) and Suita score (SS) are standard risk predictors. This study examined whether FRS and SS can be useful for patient outcomes with acute infarction in the lenticulostriate artery (LSA) region without special tests or invasive procedures while using IMT or PWV as predictive factors. Methods We screened 629 consecutive patients with ischemic stroke and reviewed 84 patients with acute infarction in the LSA region who were admitted between January 2018 and December 2020. An early deterioration (ED) group was defined. In addition, the clinical characteristics, FRS, SS, treatment therapy, and neurovascular findings were evaluated. Results FRS and SS (FRS: 11.6 vs. 8.3, p < 0.01, SS: 58.2 vs. 53.7, p = 0.01, respectively), pre-symptomatic modified Rankin Scale (mRS) (p = 0.03), mRS at discharge (p < 0.01), and deterioration of manual muscle test (MMT) (<0.01) were significantly higher in patients in the ED (34 patients) group than in the no-ED group (54 patients). FRS and SS were correlated with mRS deterioration (FRS: r = 0.47; p < 0.01, SS: r = 0.23; p = 0.03). Among the laboratory parameters, total cholesterol (TC) (p < 0.01) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (p < 0.01) were significantly higher in the ED group, and no significant differences in any acute therapeutic interventions. Conclusion Atherosclerosis risk scores, such as FRS and SS, may be useful for predicting outcomes in patients with acute LSA-region infarctions within 48 hours of onset.
In order to investigate the influence of crack through section, which is often generated under cyclic loading, on the shear behavior and strength of RC beam, an experimental method was attempted to introduce a 0.5 mm and 1.0 mm-wide pre-crack, respectively, in beam cross section. The two pre-cracked beams were tested and the shear behav-iors were compared with a non-cracked one. As the experimental result, it was found that the section pre-cracks led to a significant degradation of shear strength. Secondly, the different shear behaviors between pre-cracked and non-cracked beams were simulated by 3-D RBSM, and the developments of shear resistances were decomposed into the shear con-tributions provided by beam action and arch action. Based on the decomposition result, it became clear that the arch actions governed the grades of shear strengths and the section pre-cracks played a primary role in inducing extra crack behaviors and obstructing the longitudinal compressive stress transfer in concrete.
