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The Inner Graphic Formula Method (IGF) which was originally conceived by Professor Ishiketa and further developed by him and his associates was used to investigate the motivation of new company employees. Japanese companies traditionally recruit new employees from senior classes and notify successful candidates of their intention to employ them around the first of January. Since graduation is in March, April first is, then, the first day of work for almost all of these graduates in their new companies. The investigation period for this study covers the eleven months from January until the middle of November, and therefore includes the three month period after notification but prior to actual work, from January first until March thirty-first, and the first eight month of actual work, from April first to the middle of November. The subjects fell, naturally, into two groups; a 'Blue Collar' group and a 'White Collar' group. This paper deals with the motivation of these newly employed workers in general and, specifically, with the difference in motivational tendencies between 'Blue Collar' and 'White Collar' workers. As expected analysis showed that clear motivational differences appeared. Motivation in the white collar workers tended to raise after an initial downturn, while a general downward trend was detected for the blue collar workers. White collar worker's attitudes toward themselves and toward their work seemed to change for the better as a result of having the chance to become introspective while plotting the graph and writing the anecdotal responses needed to complete the investigative sheet for this study. KeyWords: Inner Graphic Formula Method (IGF), Salary Man Motivation and the will to work, Maintenance of high worker morale.

ABSTRACTKudoa septempunctata, a myxosporean parasite infecting the trunk muscles of olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), is reported to cause food poisoning in humans. The molecular mechanisms underlying the toxicity of K. septempunctataspores remain largely unknown. In the present study, we examine the molecular basis of such toxicity using DNA microarray analysis of K. septempunctata-inoculated human colon adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2). We observed that the transepithelial resistance of the K. septempunctata-inoculated Caco-2 cell monolayers decreased markedly. DNA microarray analysis revealed that the mRNA expression profiles of control and inoculated cells clearly differed. Inflammatory and bacteria-related pathways, such as interleukin-8 (IL-8) production and MAPK/NF-kappa B pathway, were enriched. The concentrations of IL-8 and serotonin (5-HT) were higher in inoculated cells than in controls. K. septempunctatainvasion damages the human intestinal epithelium, causing increased production of IL-8 and 5-HT, which likely results in the vomiting associated with K. septempunctatainvasion.AbbreviationsAP-1: activator protein 1; DAVID: Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery; ENS: enteric nervous system; FARMS: Factor Analysis for Robust Microarray Summarization; FDR: false discovery rate; GO: Gene Ontology; 5-HT: 5-hydroxytryptamine; IL-8: Interleukin-8; KEGG: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes; K. septempunctata: Kudoa septempunctata; NF-kappa B: nuclear factor-kappa B; TJ: tight junction; TER: transepithelial electrical resistance

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2006.10.907 Byline: Hiroshi Yokoyama, Haruki Kume, Aya Niimi, Kyoichi Tomota, Tadaichi Kitamura Keywords: extrapulmonary lesion; plasma cell granuloma; urethra; vulva Abstract: This report describes an unfamiliar vulval mass that looked unidentifiable initially, but then was determined histologically to be urethral plasma cell granuloma. The lung is most commonly involved in plasma cell granuloma, and extrapulmonary lesions are considered uncommon. In particular, urethral plasma cell granuloma seems to be extremely rare. Author Affiliation: Department of Urology, Tokyo University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. Article History: Received 3 July 2006; Revised 13 October 2006; Accepted 27 October 2006

Here, we report a very rare case of melanocytic nevus of the colon. A 54-year-old woman with an unremarkable medical history visited our hospital for screening colonoscopy. Colonoscopy revealed a pigmented flat lesion in the ascending colon. Histological evaluation of a biopsy specimen revealed proliferation of pigmented cells in the lamina muscularis propria. On immunohistochemical analysis, pigmented cells were positive for S-100 protein and Melan-A expression, and a diagnosis of colonic melanocytic nevus was made. Although the pathogenesis underlying colonic melanocytic nevi remains unclear, we speculate that colonic melanocytic nevi develop via abnormal migration or differentiation of neural crest cells during embryogenesis.

In automatic transmissions, hydraulic oil in the oil sump is strongly agitated by gears during operation; thus, the oil is mixed with great amounts of air. Air-mixed oil is sucked and discharged by a hydraulic pump to shift the gears. Although air bubbles mixed in the oil may affect the behavior of the rotors, driving torque, and discharge flow rate, they have hardly been measured. In this study, we measure them using a balanced vane pump and a gerotor pump used for automatic transmissions under varying air bubble contents and operating conditions. The experimental results revealed that the inclusion of air bubbles in the oil somewhat influenced the rotor behavior of both test pumps but it did not seem to increase the contact between the rotor and the surrounding stationary parts. Furthermore, as the bubble content increased, friction torque decreased to some degree, while discharge flow rate decreased to a great degree. This work proposed a new friction torque model, in which bubble content is included as a parameter, and the proposed model demonstrated relatively good agreement with the measured friction torque characteristics. The results also revealed that the rotor behavior and friction torque characteristic were mainly affected by bubble content and less so by bubble size.

Kudoa iwatai,a myxosporean parasite, has low host fish specificity, and consumers encounter commercial marine fish or marketed marine fish infected with this parasite in Japan. Although the presence of this parasite infection in fish samples is traditionally determined by the microscopic morphological examination of extracted spores, this method lacks sensitivity and specificity. In this study, we developed a real-time PCR assay for the detection of K. iwatai18S rDNA to achieve the rapid and specific identification of K. iwataiin foreign substance inspection. We also evaluated the usefulness of real-time PCR for Japanese seabass (Lateolabrax japonicus) with or without K. iwataicysts. Our real-time PCR assay was able to reliably detect the target plasmid DNA over a 7-log range (from 4.0 × 101to 4.0 × 107copies per reaction) and displayed a linear relationship, with a correlation of determination value of 0.9993 and slope of −3.3651. Moreover, the mean value of the intra-assay coefficient of variation was 0.89% in triplicate assays, and the detection limit of this method was 2.5 copies of K. iwatai18S rDNA per reaction. The sensitivity of the real-time PCR was the same or higher than that of an established conventional PCR when DNA extracts from eight Japanese seabass with or without K. iwataiwere used as templates. The specificity of the real-time PCR was comparable with that of conventional PCR by using DNA extracts from fish samples infected with nine Kudoaspecies. Together, these results indicate that our real-time PCR assay is highly sensitive, reproducible, and specific for detecting K. iwatai18S rDNA in foreign substance inspection. We believe that this highly sensitive real-time PCR may also be useful for understanding the gastrointestinal diseases associated with K. iwataiand for studying the yet unknown life cycle of K. iwatai.

AbstractKudoa septempunctata, a myxosporean parasite infecting the trunk muscles of olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), has been recently reported to be the causative agent of a type of food poisoning in humans. Patients exhibited acute diarrhea and vomiting after ingestion of the raw flesh of infected flounder. A recent increase in the number of food-poisoning cases has prompted us to develop a control strategy of this parasite. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of several temperature and chemical treatments for inactivating K. septempunctataspores in vitrousing the vital staining assay with the fluorescent dyes Hoechst 33342 and propidium iodide (PI). Screening tests of treatment methods against K. septempunctatasuggested that 25% ethanol for 5 min, 80°C for 10 s, limonene at 10 μL/mL for 5 min, and salinities at 0‰ and 160‰ for 5 min were effective for killing spores. To verify toxicity loss in K. septempunctataspores after the treatments, tight junction barrier integrity assays with Caco-2 cells were conducted. The results of the Caco-2 assays corresponded well with those of the Hoechst 33342-PI staining assay. Further studies are required to determine a practical treatment procedure for inactivating spores considering the treatment application in the production process of cultured olive flounder.

Most reflective LCDs so far proposed require a very thin cell gap of approximately 1.5 μm to satisfy the quarter-wave retardation condition when used with a half-wave retardation film to obtain an acceptable broadband performance over the entire visible range. On the other hand, the inevitable difficulty associated with precise manufacturing of thin cell gap devices is likely to deteriorate the yield, thereby increasing the production cost. This paper proposes a reflective LCD with a larger cell thickness to achieve better productivity. The proposed reflective LCD consists of a tactically arranged stack of a half-wave retardation film, a quarter-wave retardation film, and a liquid-crystal (LC) layer whose optical performance has been confirmed both by simulation and experiment. The optimal optical configuration to obtain an excellent dark state in the visible range was determined by the Mueller matrices calculus as applied to each optical component. The simulated and experimental results showed that the proposed reflective LC structure has excellent electro-optical properties and is expected to be useful for the next generation LCD industry.

Guidance and migration of cells in the nervous system is imperative for proper development, maturation, and regeneration. In the peripheral nervous system (PNS), it is challenging for axons to bridge critical-sized injury defects to achieve repair and the central nervous system (CNS) has a very limited ability to regenerate after injury because of its innate injury response. The photoreactivity of the coumarin polyester used in this study enables efficient micropatterning using a custom digital micromirror device (DMD) and has been previously shown to be biodegradable, making these thin films ideal for cell guidance substrates with potential for future in vivo applications. With DMD, we fabricated coumarin polyester thin films into 10 × 20 μm and 15 × 50 μm micropatterns with depths ranging from 15 to 20 nm to enhance nervous system cell alignment. Adult primary neurons, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes were isolated from rat brain tissue and seeded onto the polymer surfaces. After 24 h, cell type and neurite alignment were analyzed using phase contrast and fluorescence imaging. There was a significant difference (p< 0.0001) in cell process distribution for both emergence angle (from the body of the cell) and orientation angle (at the tip of the growth cone) confirming alignment on patterned surfaces compared to control substrates (unpatterned polymer and glass surfaces). The expected frequency distribution for parallel alignment (≤15°) is 14% and the two micropatterned groups ranged from 42 to 49% alignment for emergence and orientation angle measurements, where the control groups range from 12 to 22% for parallel alignment. Despite depths being 15 to 20 nm, cell processes could sense these topographical changes and preferred to align to certain features of the micropatterns like the plateau/channel interface. As a result this initial study in utilizing these new DMD micropatterned coumarin polyester thin films has proven beneficial as an axon guidance platform for future nervous system regenerative strategies.

Lipid transfer particle (LTP) is a high-molecular-weight, very high-density lipoprotein known to catalyze the transfer of lipids between a variety of lipoproteins, including both insects and vertebrates. Studying the biosynthesis and regulation pathways of LTP in detail has not been possible due to a lack of information regarding the apoproteins. Here, we sequenced the cDNA and deduced amino acid sequences for three apoproteins of LTP from the silkworm (Bombyx mori). The three subunit proteins of the LTP are coded by two genes, apoLTP-II/Iand apoLTP-III. ApoLTP-I and apoLTP-II are predicted to be generated by posttranslational cleavage of the precursor protein, apoLTP-II/I. Clusters of amphipathic secondary structure within apoLTP-II/I are similar to Homo sapiensapolipoprotein B (apoB) and insect lipophorins. The apoLTP-II/Igene is a novel member of the apoB/large lipid transfer protein gene family. ApoLTP-III has a putative conserved juvenile hormone-binding protein superfamily domain. Expression of apoLTP-II/Iand apoLTP-IIIgenes was synchronized and both genes were primarily expressed in the fat body at the stage corresponding to increased lipid transport needs. We are now in a position to study in detail the physiological role of LTP and its biosynthesis and assembly.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to compare the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption of three methods used to produce animal feed from concentrated rice‐washing water (CRW) and disposing of the rice‐washing water through wastewater treatment. Four scenarios were compared using LCA: (i) producing concentrated liquid feed by centrifugation (CC) of CRW with wastewater treatment and discharge of the supernatant, (ii) producing concentrated liquid feed by heating evaporation (HC) of CRW, (iii) producing dehydrated feed by dehydration (DH) of CRW, and (iv) wastewater treatment and discharge of nonconcentrated rice‐washing water (WT). The functional unit (FU) was defined as 1 metric ton of rice washed for cooking or processing. Our results suggested that the energy consumptions of CC, HC, DH, and WT were 108, 322, 739, and 242 MJ per FU, respectively, and the amounts of GHG emissions from CC, HC, DH, and WT were 6.4, 15.8, 45.5, and 22.5 kg of CO2equivalents per FU, respectively. When the produced feed prepared from CRW was assumed to be transported 200 km to farms, CC and HC still emitted smaller GHGs than the other scenarios, and CC consumed the smallest amount of energy among the scenarios. The present study indicates that liquid feed production from CRW by centrifugation has a remarkably reduced environmental impact compared with the wastewater treatment and discharge of rice‐washing water.

The nitrate-removal activity of a biofilm attached to a perlite carrier from an aerobic bioreactor used for treating dairy farm wastewater was examined by batch experiments under continuous aeration conditions. Despite aeration, the biofilm removed nitrate at a rate of 114.4 mg-N/kg-perlite/h from wastewater containing cow milk and manure. In a clone library analysis of the biofilm, bacteria showing high similarity to the denitrifying bacteria Thaueraspp. were detected.

The electrocatalytic reduction of nitrite to NO by [CuMe2bpa(H2O)(ClO4)]+(1), which is a model for the active site of copper‐containing nitrite reductase, incorporated in Nafion film was investigated. The Cu complex in the Nafion matrix exhibits an intense band at 267 nm and a broad band around 680 nm, assigned to d–d and ligand field transitions, respectively. The 77‐K EPR spectrum of 1in the Nafion matrix reveals the typical axial signals (g//=2.28, g$\rm{_\perp}$=2.08, A//=13.3 mT) of a tetragonal Cu2+chromophore. The redox potential, which is related to the Cu+/Cu2+couple, was −146 mV (ΔE=72 mV) at pH 5.5. The redox reaction of 1in Nafion was not dependent on pH and was a diffusion‐controlled process. The electronic structure and redox properties of 1in the negatively charged polymer matrix were almost the same as those in aqueous solution. In the presence of nitrite, an increase in the cathodic current was observed in the cyclic voltammogram of 1in the Nafion matrix. The current increase was dependent on the nitrite concentration and pH in solution. Upon reaching −400 mV, a linear generation of NO was observed for the 1/Nafion film coated electrode. The relationship between the rate of NO generation and the nitrite concentration in solution was analyzed with the Michaelis–Menten equation, where Vmax=45.1 nM s−1and Km=15.8 mM at pH 5.5. The Cu complex serves the function of both the catalyst and electron transport in the Nafion matrix. The sensitivity of the electrode was estimated to be 3.23 μA mM−1in the range of 0.1–0.4 mM nitrite.

There is increasing concern about feeds prepared from food residues (FFR) from an environmental viewpoint; however, various forms of energy are consumed in the production of FFR. Environmental impacts of three scenarios were therefore investigated and compared using life cycle assessment (LCA): production of liquid FFR by sterilization with heat (LQ), production of dehydrated FFR by dehydration (DH), and disposal of food residues by incineration (IC). The functional unit was defined as 1 kg dry matter of produced feed standardized to a fixed energy content. The system boundaries included collection of food residues and production of feed from food residues. In IC, food residues are incinerated as waste, and thus the impacts of production and transportation of commercial concentrate feeds equivalent to the FFR in the other scenarios are included in the analysis. Our results suggested that the average amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from LQ, DH, and IC were 268, 1073, and 1066 g of CO2equivalent, respectively. The amount of GHG emissions from LQ was remarkably small, indicating that LQ was effective for reducing the environmental impact of animal production. Although the average amount of GHG emissions from DH was nearly equal to that from IC, a large variation of GHG emissions was observed among the DH units. The energy consumption of the three scenarios followed a pattern similar to that of GHG emissions. The water consumption of the FFR‐producing units was remarkably smaller than that of IC due to the large volumes of water consumed in forage crop production.

Amphiphilic liquid-crystalline oligomers composed of a semiperfluorinated alkyl chain and cyanobiphenyl mesogenic moieties were prepared. Their physical properties were investigated using optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction measurements. The oligomers were found to show an unusual phase sequence of lamellar-columnar-bicontinuous cubic phases when the number of cyabobiphenyl moieties was increased. Results of the XRD study suggest that the smectic A phase of the oligomer with a SmA to Cub phase transition has an undulated layer structure. We discuss effects of the molecular structure on the appearance of the columnar and cubic phases of the novel liquid crystal oligomers.

Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at increased risk of developing gastrointestinal cancer. Here, we have tested the possibility that chronic inflammation could trigger mutations. For this, we have used IL-10-deficient (IL-10−/−) mice, which spontaneously develop intestinal inflammation, in combination with a transgenic gpt gene and red/gam gene (gpt+IL-10−/−), which is a well-characterized mutation reporter locus. The total mutation frequency in the colon of gpt+IL-10−/− mice was about five times higher than that in normal gpt+IL-10+/+ mice. In the particular case of G:C to A:T transitions, the frequency of mutations in gpt+IL-10−/− mice was 4.1 times higher than that in control mice. Interestingly, the frequency of small deletions and insertions was also strikingly increased (∼10 times). The majority of the deletion or insertion mutations were observed in the monotonous base runs or adjacent repeats of short tandem sequences. In contrast, the frequency of large deletions, detected by loss of the Spi marker present in the red/gam transgene, was similar among the mouse strains. Finally, as a control, the mutation frequency in non-inflamed tissues, such as the liver, were similar between gpt+IL-10−/− mice and gpt+IL-10+/+ mice. Our data demonstrate that the chronic inflammatory environment in the colon promotes the generation of mutations.

Abstract: We have developed an ink-jet system which allows arrangements of dots with a submicron minimum size. Using an ultra-fine silver paste, we achieved the direct print of metallic wires of only a few micrometers in width without any pre-patterning treatment of the substrate, hydrophobic/hydrophilic patterning, bank patterning etc. We also propose an application, such as direct printing of ultra-fine redistribution wiring for a build-up board and/or package. Since all of these processes can be carried out at atmospheric pressure on the desktop without special treatment of the substrate. The direct fabrication process using ink-jet printing can be expected to be a powerful tool for both nanotechnology research and applications such as micro electronics, etc.

CuIand CuIIcomplexes containing a tridentate aromatic amine compound [bis(6‐methyl‐2‐pyridylmethyl)amine, Me2bpa] in the absence and presence of nitrite have been prepared as models for the active site of dissimilatory copper‐containing nitrite reductase (CuNIR). [CuII(Me2bpa)(H2O)(ClO4)]ClO4(1), [CuII(Me2bpa)(NO2)(ClO4)] (2), [CuI(Me2‐bpa)(CH3CN)]PF6(3) and [CuI(Me2bpa)(NO2)]2·[(Ph3P)2‐NPF6] (4) were prepared. The X‐ray crystal structural analyses of 1, 2, and 4reveal that the geometries of the Cu centers are distorted square pyramidal, distorted octahedral, and tetrahedral, respectively. The coordination modes of the nitrite ligands in 2and 4depend on the oxidation state of the copper ion: nitrite is coordinated to CuIIand CuIthrough two oxygen atoms (O,O'‐coordination mode) and one nitrogen atom (N‐coordination mode), respectively. A comparison of the absorption spectra of 1and 2in acetone solution indicates that the 387‐nm absorption band (ϵ= 780 M–1cm–1) of 2is a charge‐transfer transition. The broad absorption band at around 320 nm (ϵ≈ 5000 M–1cm–1) of 4in dichloromethane is also due to a charge‐transfer transition. Functional modeling of CuNIR has been accomplished by treating solutions of 4with acid; the nitrite‐binding CuIcomplex quantitatively gives the one‐electron reduction product,NO. The nitrite reduction of 4in dichloromethane obeys a second‐order rate law, suggesting that the rate‐determining step would be protonation of the nitrite ligand of 4. Electronic structure calculations of the CuIand CuIIcomplexes containing Me2bpa and nitrite by the density functional theory method demonstrate that the net charge of nitrite in CuI(Me2bpa)(nitro) is larger than that in CuI(Me2bpa)(nitrito). The mechanism of the nitrite reduction is discussed in comparison with the enzyme reaction mechanism of CuNIR. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2005)

It has been reported that transected spinal cord shows signs of axonal regeneration after peripheral nerve (PN) graft. We studied the membrane excitability and ion distribution in axons from transected rat spinal cord 3 weeks after PN graft using the spinal cord evoked potential, electron probe X-ray microanalysis, and the patch-clamp technique. Axonal structures were also observed using conventional electron microscopy. At the Th11 level, laminectomy was performed (=control) and the left thoracic segments of the spinal cord 2 mm in length were excised (=nongrafted group). PN sections from 8-week-old male Wistar rats were grafted into the spinal cord gap (=PN-grafted group). The spinal cord evoked potential in the PN-grafted group partly recovered in contrast to that in the nongrafted group, which showed no recovery. Higher Na, Cl, and Ca peaks and lower K peaks in the PN-grafted group were demonstrated compared with those in the nongrafted group. In the PN-grafted group, a higher current signal appeared in the axonal membrane of the spinal cord, suggesting a greater membrane activity compared with that in the nongrafted group. Unlike the nongrafted group, in which no myelinated axons were found, demyelinated axons that were myelinated by Schwann cells from the grafted peripheral nerve were observed in the PN-grafted group. These findings suggested that Schwann cells from the transplanted PN contributed to the repair of the transected spinal cord.

Summary: The orientation behavior of a smectic A elastomer is investigated by applying a biaxial mechanical field to the elastomer in a swollen state. The network is composed of a siloxane-polymer backbone, a bi-functional cross-linker, and a monomer with a perfluorinated tail. In this work, biaxial deformation is successfully achieved to macroscopically orient the smectic A phase in a uniform, homeotropic fashion. We describe the orientation process in detail and discuss the microstructure of the smectic A phase organized in the monomer, the linear polymer, and the elastomer determined by using X-ray diffraction data. A photograph of the oriented smectic A elastomer E4F (above) and a schematic model of its homeotropic orientation (below).

A homologous series of novel λ-shaped mesogenic compounds in which three mesogenic groups are connected to 3, 4-dihydroxybenzoic acid has been prepared and their physical properties investigated by means of optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction measurements. The λ-shaped compounds studied showed unusual smectic phases. 4-Cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl 3,4-bis6-4-5-octylpyrimidin-2-ylphenyloxyhexyloxybenzoate was found to realize an incommensurate SmA SmAinc phase. A “uniform planarly” aligned sample of 2-4-octylphenylpyrimidin-5-yl 3,4-bis6-4-5-octylpyrimidin-2-ylphenyloxyhexyloxy benzoate showed a Schlieren-like texture in the smectic phase. We discuss structural effects of the λ-shaped compounds on molecular organization in liquid-crystalline phases.

Successful attempts to manufacture synthetic molecular motors have recently been reported. However, compared with natural systems such as motor proteins, synthetic motors are smaller molecules and are therefore subject to thermal fluctuations that prevent them from performing any useful function. A mechanism is needed to amplify the single molecular motion to such a level that it becomes distinguishable from the thermal background. Condensation of molecular motors into soft ordered phases (such as liquid crystals) will be a feasible approach, because there is evidence that they support molecularly driven non-equilibrium motions. Here we show that a chiral liquid-crystalline monolayer spread on a glycerol surface acts as a condensed layer of molecular rotors, which undergo a coherent molecular precession driven by the transmembrane transfer of water molecules. Composed of simple rod-like molecules with chiral propellers, the monolayer exhibits a spatiotemporal pattern in molecular orientations that closely resembles 'target patterns' in Belousov–Zhabotinsky reactions. Inversion of either the molecular chirality or the transfer direction of water molecules reverses the rotation direction associated with switching from expanding to converging target patterns. Endowed only with the soft directional order, the liquid crystal is an optimal medium that helps molecular motors to manifest their individual motions collectively.

The relation between the liquid crystalline textures and the steady shear viscosity has been investigated in cholesteric emulsions, composed of water, surfactants, and cholesteric liquid crystals. Both at the substrate surface and at the surfactant-coated droplet surface, a homeotropic anchoring is enforced to the adjacent liquid crystal. Under a steady shear flow with the shear rate below 100 s -1, we observed that point defects spontaneously appear, and tend to adopt a regular hexagonal arrangement in the low shear-rate range of 1–20 s -1. In viscosity measurements, the shear-thinning behavior was found, showing a clear correspondence to the texture change. We estimated the height of point defects in the hexagonal array from the viscosity increase in the shear-thinning, assuming that the shear-thinning behavior is caused by the reduction of the effective gap between cone and plate, owing to the presence of the hexagonal array anchored on the plate. The relation between the estimated height and the measured lateral size of point defects agreed with that of the quadrilateral array, which is formed after termination of the shear. This agreement informs that the shape of a point defect is preserved in both defect arrays, independently of shearing conditions.

IL-1 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine consisted of two molecular species, IL-1alpha and IL-1beta, and the IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) is a natural inhibitor of both molecules. Although it is suggested that IL-1 potentiates immune responses mediated by T(h)2 cells, the role of IL-1 in asthma still remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that the ovalbumin (OVA)-induced airway hypersensitivity response (AHR) in IL-1alpha/beta-deficient (IL-1alpha/beta(-/-)) mice was significantly reduced from the levels seen in wild-type mice, whereas the responses seen in IL-1Ra(-/-) mice were profoundly exacerbated, suggesting that IL-1 is required for T(h)2 cell activation during AHR. OVA-specific T cell proliferation, IL-4 and IL-5 production by T cells, and IgG1 and IgE production by B cells in IL-1alpha/beta(-/-) mice were markedly reduced compared with these responses in wild-type mice; such responses were enhanced in IL-1Ra(-/-) mice. Using IL-1alpha(-/-) and IL-1beta(-/-) mice, we determined that both IL-1alpha and IL-1beta are involved in this reaction. Both IgG1 and IgE levels were reduced in IL-1beta(-/-) mice, while only IgE levels were affected in IL-1alpha(-/-) mice, indicating a functional difference between IL-1alpha and IL-1beta. These observations indicate that IL-1 plays important roles in the development of AHR.

The human Rad51B protein is involved in the recombinational repair of damaged DNA. Chromosomal rearrangements of the Rad51B gene have been found in uterine leiomyoma patients, suggesting that the Rad51B gene suppresses tumorigenesis. In the present study, we found that the purified Rad51B protein bound to single-stranded DNA and double-stranded DNA in the presence of ATP and either Mg(2+) or Mn(2+) and hydrolyzed ATP in a DNA-dependent manner. When the synthetic Holliday junction was present along with the half-cruciform and double-stranded oligonucleotides, the Rad51B protein only bound to the synthetic Holliday junction, which mimics a key intermediate in homologous recombination. In contrast, the human Rad51 protein bound to all three DNA substrates with no obvious preference. Therefore, the Rad51B protein may have a specific function in Holliday junction processing in the homologous recombinational repair pathway in humans.

A homogeneous series of chiral trimeric compounds, possessing three biphenyl mesogenic cores connected by flexible alkyl spacers, were prepared and the liquid-crystalline properties investigated. The trimers were designed to have chiral moieties at both peripheral ends of the molecular structure and the properties were compared with those of the related dimeric and monomeric systems. Some of the optically active trimers showed stable antiferroelectric smectic C and I phases. The racemic mixture of optical isomers also showed anticlinic versions of the smectic C and I phases, however, synclinic structures were not observed. The optical isomers and the racemic mixture showed quite similar transition temperatures, suggesting that the chirality-induced properties have little effect on the stability of the anticlinic structures. The trimers showed a third-order X-ray diffraction peak indicating the formation of a higher order smectic layer structure, which is considered to stabilize the anticlinic molecular ordering.

Both peripheral ends of some straight-shaped mesogenic compounds, possessing a biphenyl or azobenzene moiety as the central rigid core, were systematically modified, and the effect on the liquid-crystalline properties investigated. Introduction of phenyl rings into the middle of the flexible chains was found to produce a well-defined smectic layered structure. Further introduction of another phenyl ring at each terminal end of the peripheral chain had a significant effect on the determination of the molecular tilt direction in the smectic phase, i.e., synclinic or anticlinic. Thus, novel molecular architecture for stabilizing the anticlinic smectic phase was introduced and the origin of the anticlinic ordering discussed.

A polycatenar mesogen consisting of a stiff, four ring aromatic core with three long alkoxy chains and a bulky, perfluorinated substituent has been synthesized and the phase behavior investigated. Due to strong incompatibility among the constitutional moieties, the material can be expected to self-organize into nano-segregated structures. It has been found that the material shows the unique liquid crystalline polymorphism of a cubic phase, a columnar phase and a smectic A phase as a function of temperature. By analyzing small-angle reflection patterns, the cubic phase is assigned as Im3m symmetry with a unit cell parameter of a ≈ 28 nm, the columnar phase as tetragonal symmetry with a ≈ 11 nm and the smectic A phase as an interdigitated one with a layer separation of 8.2 nm. Interestingly a small-angle reflection is clearly observed far above the smectic A to isotropic phase transition temperature, which reveals that the isotropic phase is not a normal liquid phase, but rather a structured, fluid, optically isotropic (Iso) phase. Moreover the d-spacing and the half-width of the small-angle reflection are observed to continuously change at the smectic A to Iso phase transition, which indicates that the phase transition takes place continuously at the microscopic level.

A novel strategy for preparing non-symmetric chiral twin liquid crystals was proposed, where two identical chiral moieties were designed to be located at both peripheral ends and the non-symmetric character was introduced by the non-symmetric central connecting structure. Thus, optically active chiral non-symmetric twin homologues, [4'-(1-methylheptyloxycarbonyl)-1,1'-biphenyl-4-yl] 4""-[ω-[{4"-(1-methylheptyloxycarbonyl)-1",1"'-biphenyl-4"'-yl}oxycarbonyl]alkyloxy]benzoate, were prepared, which were found to exhibit the antiferro-, ferri-, and ferroelectric phases. Furthermore, two more phases were observed between the ferroelectric and isotropic liquid phases. The lower-temperature phase was optically isotropic under the polarized light microscopy for both of the homogeneously and pseudo-homeotropically aligned thin samples, whereas the high-temperature phase showed a mosaic texture. Both of these anomalous phases were found to have a layered structure with a smaller layer spacing than the smectic phase. The stability of these phases was quite sensitive to the optical activity. With reduction of the optical purity, these phases disappeared but the Twist Grain Boundary phase was observed. A 1 ∶ 1 mixture of (S,S)- and (R,R)-isomers just showed the smectic A phase instead of these anomalous phases.

Locally rubbing the surface of a polymer using the stylus of an atomic force microscope (AFM nano-rubbing) has recently found extensive applications in prototyping novel micro- and nano-structured liquid crystal (LC) electro-optic devices. We report here on the detailed characteristics of the AFM nano-rubbed polyimide in terms of the friction force and the LC alignment capability. A unidirectionally rubbed polyimide by the contact mode AFM showed anisotropic friction, along and against the rubbing direction, even at a rubbing load as small as 1 nN and yielded a finite pretilt angle reflecting the asymmetry. Rubbing at high loads generated conspicuous scratches on the polyimide surface; when annealed at temperatures well below the glass transition or soaked into an organic solvent, however, these scratches quickly relaxed and completely disappeared while maintaining the capability of aligning LCs. When the load was small, the LC alignment also disappeared altogether. These experimental observations suggest that although the top thin layer might be sufficient to initially orient LCs, persistent surface alignment entails deeper cultivation of anisotropic structures.

Leg venous pressure markedly falls during upright exercise via a muscle pump effect, creating de novo perfusion pressure. We examined physiological roles of this mechanism in increasing femoral artery blood flow (FABF) and its alterations in chronic heart failure (CHF). In 10 normal subjects and 10 patients with CHF, standard hemodynamic variables, mean ankle vein pressure (MAVP), and FABF with Doppler techniques were obtained during graded upright bicycle exercise. To evaluate a nonspecific blood flow response, normal subjects also performed supine exercise. In normal subjects, MAVP rapidly declined by 45 mmHg and FABF correspondingly increased 5.3-fold without a systemic pressor response during 10 s of light upright exercise at 5 W. Approximately 67% of the blood flow response was attributed to the venous pressure drop-dependent mechanism. In CHF patients, MAVP declined by only 36 mmHg and FABF increased only 1.7-fold during the same upright exercise. The muscle venous pump has an ability to increase FABF at least threefold via the venous pressure drop-dependent mechanism. This mechanism is impaired in CHF patients.

Zigzag defects in surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals (SSFLCs) originate from the structural transformation from C1 to C2 chevrons during the cooling process. This transformation occurs so as to accommodate the increasing tilt angle of the FLC under the constraint of the surface anchoring. Based on this scenario of zigzag defect formation, we propose a new scheme to obtain defect-free SSFLCs in which the C1-C2 transformation is suppressed by the use of an interfacial layer that has a gradually decreasing SmA-SmC* transition temperature toward the substrate.

Chiral twin compounds, possessing two chiral moieties in such a way that the chiral centres are located at the both peripheral sides of a molecular twin structure, have been prepared and the liquid-crystalline properties investigated. The chiral twins showed stable ferrielectric and antiferroelectric phases. A twist grain boundary phase was found to appear by mixing the twin and the analogous monomer.

In this article we report the first example of a pair of symmetrically substituted chiral twin enantiomers that exhibit stable wide temperature range ferrielectric and antiferroelectric phases, and which have large tilt angles of over 45°. In addition, both of the enantiomers exhibited an isotropic–isotropic liquid transition just above the transition to the liquid crystalline state.

AbstractThe alignment of the liquid crystal on the alignment layer is determined by the anchoring energy and the elastic energy. In the case of uniform alignment, the anchoring energy generally overwhelms the elastic energy to make an uniform alignment over all the area. But the behavior of the liquid crystal on artificially designed multi-domains system with competing directions of easy axis can be different. The competition between two factors is expected to force the system to stabilize in the balanced configuration that could be different from which is induced microscopically by the anchoring energy.We used an atomic force microscopy (AFM) to create micron and nanometer size multi-domains with two alignment directions. With changing the domain size, we observed a variety of different behavior of the liquid crystal texture.

AbstractIn previous molecular theories of nematic liquid crystals, rotational entropy, or the entropy loss due to molecular alignment, has been believed to make no contribution to Frank elasticity. We show that this is not true, using a field-theoretical method developed in polymer physics. We also give an exact expression of the contribution of rotational entropy to Frank elasticity for rod-like liquid crystals in terms of the orientational tensor order parameter.

AbstractTo obtain the true thermodynamic equilibrium of systems of anisotropic molecules is difficult because of the complicated potential lanscape. There is a high probability that simulated system may be caught in one of the many local minima. Especially, simulated systems of anisotropic molecules often yield anisotropic pressure under periodic boundary conditions. The situation is especially critical for high density phases such as crystal and smectic.We discuss how to simulate the thermodynamic equilibrium under hydrostatic pressure, and investigate the properties of crystal-smectic transition.

AbstractHydrogen bonded complexes between 4-(oligodimethylsiloxyl)alkoxy benzoic acids and 4,4′-dipyridyl were found to exhibit a thermotropic liquid crystalline cubic phase. One of the important factors to realize the cubic structure could be the incompatibility between the flexible, bulky siloxane moiety and the rigid mesogenic core, which probably causes nanophase separation. We have investigated benzoic acid derivatives having a polar, relatively rigid perfluorinated alkyl segment that also exhibits incompatibility with hydrocarbon parts. The neat acids and their hydrogen bonded complexes with 4,4′-dipyridyl does, however, not show thermotropic liguid crystalline cubic phase, but a smectic A phase. In this paper we will consider the chemical prerequisite to realize a thermotropic cubic phase.

AbstractMonolayer structures of a chiral mesogen, (R)- or (S)-[4′-(1-methylheptyloxy)-3′-nitrobipheny1-4yl] 4-(trans-5-decenyloxy) benzoate, adsorbed on graphite were investigated with molecular dynamics simulations to clarify the mechanism of chiral supermolecular structure formation. We proposed a mechanism model that is based on the coupling between up-down symmetry breaking and the molecular tilt direction symmetry breaking of the monolayer.

AbstractNovel side-chain type liquid crystalline (LC) polythienylene derivatives were synthesized by introducing fluorine-containing chiral LC substituents into the 3-position of thiophene rings, to achieve a quick response to electric field by virtue of ferroelectric liquid crystallinity (FLC). The polymers synthesized were fusible and soluble in ordinary organic solvents. UV-Vis absorption bands were observed in the region from 350 to 400 nm. Measurements of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarizing optical microscope (POM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that the polymers have various LC phases. Particularly, one of the polymer showed chiral smectic C (Sc*) phase, that is characteristic of the FLC mesophase. It was found that the effective conjugation length of main chain increased after the spontaneous orientation of the LC side chains. The polymer showed a drastic increase of dielectric constant in the temperature region of SC* phase, which can be regarded as typical FLC behavior.

AbstractCertain class of amphiphilic derivatives of azobenzene form a stable monolayer analog of single-layer smectic-C (SmC) phase at the air-water interface. Due to the broken up-down symmetry, this two-dimensional liquid crystal shows intriguing static orientation structures such as the stripe and higher-order point defects in equilibrium. We found that weak excitation of isomerization reaction of azobenzene core results in a persistent generation of orientational waves and solitons propagating in the plane of the monolayer. This is the first example of purely light-driven nonequilibrium pattern formation. Analysis of the static structures has revealed the essential significance of the coupling between the orientational order and molecular density. Although no definite explanation as yet exists for the dynamic behavior, we believe the density-orientation coupling should play an important role.

Abstract: Ceratomyxa seriolae n. sp. and C. buri n. sp. (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) were found in the gall-bladder of cultured yellowtail Seriola quinqueradiata Temminck & Schlegel (Carangidae) in Japan. Mature spores of C. seriolae n. sp. were elongate and 6.5 (6.0-7.5) mgrm long and 33.7 (28.0-41.5) mgrm thick. Disporous plasmodia of C. seriolae n. sp., 40-100 mgrm in size, were amoeboid to spherical. C. buri n. sp. were elliptical with a flattened posterior end, 6.5 (5.5-7.5) mgrm long and 14.3 (11.0-16.5) mgrm thick. Spherical plasmodia of C. buri n. sp., 15-20 mgrm in diameter, were disporous. In periodical sampling of yellowtail bile from August, 1999 to February, 2000, the two new species of Ceratomyxa, as well as Myxobolus spirosulcatus Maeno, Sorimachi, Ogawa & Kearn 1995, first appeared in October, and the prevalences were very variable (20-100%) during the study period.

AbstractRecent development in scanning probe microscope techniques has made it possible to investigate, not only microscopic surface topography, but also physical and chemical properties on the nanometer-scale. We observed the surface potential distribution and molecular ordering in monolayers. The SMM surface potential image clearly shows the existence of micron-sized domains in the polymer monolayers with a good correspondence to the topographical features. This is a first step towards understanding electrical phenomena in organic and inorganic materials with SMM.

Alignment of molecules and hindered rotation of molecular segments in SmCp* and SmC* of antiferroelectric and ferroelectric liquid crystals were studied by the polarized infrared absorption spectroscopy. The experimental results show that the apparent molecular tilt angle in SmCβ* increases not monotonously but as a two-step staircase with increasing dc bias field, and the characteristics of hindered rotation of carbonyl groups in unwound state of helix are the same as that of SmC*.

A gene, Le.paa, encoding a regulatory subunit A (PR65) homologue of protein phosphatase 2A was isolated from the basidiomycete mushroom Lentinus edodes. The deduced Le.paagene product (Le.PR65) had the highest sequence similarity to the Schizosaccharomyces pombePR65 protein (54.1% similarity). The Le.paagene was shown to be transcribed more actively during the late stages of fruiting development of the fungus. Gill tissue in which basidiospores are formed contained abundant Le.paatranscript as compared with gill-depleted pileus and stipe.

We present the results of a recent attempt to extend scanning Maxwell-stress microscopy (SMM) to aqueous environments. Scanning Maxwell-stress microscopy is a type of scanning probe microscopy designed to image microscopic electrical properties, such as the local surface potential distribution. In particular, the non-resonant behaviour of SMM makes it fundamentally suitable for underwater operations, in contrast to other resonant-type electric force microscopes. From underwater operations of SMM, the high viscosity of an aqueous solution can be made immaterial by making the driving frequency sufficiently low, whereas the large dielectric permitivity of water is always quite advantageous in enhancing the electric forces. Furthermore, the electrochemical potentials of stylus and sample are controlled independently and simultaneously during SMM by using a dual potentiostat. This makes it possible for in situ observation of charge on the electrode surface during an electrochemical reaction. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We present the results of a recent attempt to extend scanning Maxwell‐stress microscopy (SMM) to aqueous environments. Scanning Maxwell‐stress microscopy is a type of scanning probe microscopy designed to image microscopic electrical properties, such as the local surface potential distribution. In particular, the non‐resonant behaviour of SMM makes it fundamentally suitable for underwater operations, in contrast to other resonant‐type electric force microscopes. From underwater operations of SMM, the high viscosity of an aqueous solution can be made immaterial by making the driving frequency sufficiently low, whereas the large dielectric permitivity of water is always quite advantageous in enhancing the electric forces. Furthermore, the electrochemical potentials of stylus and sample are controlled independently and simultaneously during SMM by using a dual potentiostat. This makes it possible for in situobservation of charge on the electrode surface during an electrochemical reaction. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

AbstractScanning Maxwell stress Microscopy (SMM), which is a type of scanning probe microscopy designed to image microscopic electrical properties, has been applied to cyanine dye Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) monolayers. In combination of epifluorescence microscope technique with SMM, the cyanine J-aggregate formation way was clearly observed. Further the light induced electron transfer between cyanine and viologen in LB film system could be detected as a surface potential change by SMM technique.

A new type of sensor for proteins has been developed by utilizing a liposome which contains molecules chemically reactive with protein on the membrane surface of the liposome. The covalently bound aggregation of proteins with liposomes has been observed by a quasi-elastic light scattering measurement at the concentration down to about 10-8mol dm-3

Intramolecular cyclization of enynes induced by organic seleno radicals has been investigated. Alkaneselenols serve as excellent mediators even under the conditions of fairly high concentration of the substrates, whereas the dilution conditions are essential for the radical cyclization using areneselenols.