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The electrodissolution rates of polycrystalline Sb and InSb in Cl--free acid perchlorate and acid chloride solutions have been investigated. The rest potentials of Sb and InSb in these solutions were linear functions of pH and chloride ions. Furthermore, Tafel behavior was observed for both Sb and InSb in these solutions and electrodissolution rates increased with increase in pH and Cl-. Reaction orders of the electrodissolution rates with respect to pH (or H+) and Cl- were determined. Solution analyses indicate that within the Tafel region InSb electrodissolution is non-selective.

Nitrified HfO 2 /Si substrate was used to grow GaN-based film with molecular beam epitaxy. Four-period InGaN/GaN layered structure and p/n junction were deposited on the nitrified HfO 2 /Si. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) result shows that N was effectively incorporated into the HfO 2 . The crystallographic relationship of the GaN/HfO 2 /Si is GaN(0 0 0 2)∥HfO 2 (1 1 1)∥Si(1 1 1). Temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL), PL peak wavelength, PL peak intensity, and PL full-width at half-maximum of the p/n junction were investigated. Light-emitting diode was fabricated from the p/n junction. Red light was emitted at low voltage and yellow light was emitted when increasing the voltage.

The calcinations of an yttrium-O-phenylene-O–ytterbium-O-phenylene-O hybrid copolymer under an argon atmosphere gave the composite material of nano-sized yttrium oxide and ytterbium oxide in the matrix of carbon clusters. The material was found to show a visible-light responsive oxidation–reduction function, possibly through an electron transfer in the process of ytterbium oxide → carbon clusters → yttrium oxide → carbon clusters.

We present results of the CO2/carbonate system from the BIOSOPE cruise in the Eastern South Pacific Ocean, in an area not sampled previously. In particular, we present estimates of the anthropogenic carbon (C>TrOCAant) distribution in the upper 1000 m of this region using the TrOCA method. The highest concentrations of CTrOCAant found around 13° S, 132° W and 32° S, 91° W, are higher than 80 μmol.kg−1 and 70 μmol.kg−1, respectively. The lowest concentrations are observed below 800 m depth (≤2 μmol.kg−1) and within the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ), mainly around 140° W (−1). As a result of the anthropogenic carbon penetration there has been decrease in pH by over 0.1 on an average in the upper 200 m. This work further improves our understanding on the penetration of anthropogenic carbon in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Background The primary end points of this study were to determine the dose-limiting toxic effects (DLTs), maximum tolerated dose, and a recommended phase II dose of a synthetic serine protease inhibitor, nafamostat mesilate, in combination with full-dose gemcitabine in patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer. The secondary end point was to assess therapeutic response. Patients and methods Patients with previously untreated pancreatic cancer received gemcitabine (1 000 mg/m2 i.v. for 30 min) on days 1, 8, and 15, with nafamostat mesilate (continuous regional arterial infusion for 24 h through a port-catheter system) on days 1, 8, and 15; this regimen was repeated at 28-day intervals. The initial dose of nafamostat mesilate was 2.4 mg/kg and was escalated in increments of 1.2 mg/kg until a dose of 4.8 mg/kg was achieved. A standard ‘3+3’ phase I dose-escalation design was used. Therapeutic response and clinical benefit response were assessed. Results Twelve patients were enrolled in this study. None of the patients experienced DLTs, and nafamostat mesilate was well tolerated at doses up to 4.8 mg/kg in combination with full-dose gemcitabine. This combination chemotherapy yielded a reduction of a high serum level of the tumor marker CA19-9. Pain was reduced in three of seven patients without oral morphine sulfate. Overall survival was 7.1 months for all patients. Conclusion This phase I study was carried out safely. This combination chemotherapy showed beneficial improvement in health-related quality of life. The recommended phase II dose of nafamostat mesilate in combination with full-dose gemcitabine is 4.8 mg/kg.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common forms of chronic liver disease, with a prevalence ranging from 10% to 30%. The use of thyroid hormone receptor (TR) agonists for the treatment of NAFLD has not been considered viable because thyroid hormones increase free fatty acid (FFA) flux from the periphery to the liver, induce hepatic lipogenesis, and therefore could potentially cause steatosis. MB07811 is an orally active HepDirect prodrug of MB07344, a liver-targeted TR-β agonist. The purpose of these studies was to assess the effects of MB07811 on whole body and liver lipid metabolism of normal rodents and rodent models of hepatic steatosis. In the current studies, MB07811 markedly reduced hepatic steatosis as well as reduced plasma FFA and triglycerides. In contrast to MB07811, T3 induced adipocyte lipolysis in vitro and in vivo and had a diminished ability to decrease hepatic steatosis. This suggests the influx of FFA from the periphery to the liver may partially counteract the antisteatotic activity of T3. Clearance of liver lipids by MB07811 results from accelerated hepatic fatty acid oxidation, a known consequence of hepatic TR activation, as reflected by increased hepatic mitochondrial respiration rates, changes in hepatic gene expression, and increased plasma acyl-carnitine levels. Transaminase levels remained unchanged, or were reduced, and no evidence for liver fibrosis or other histological liver damage was observed after treatment with MB07811 for up to 10 weeks. Additionally, MB07811, unlike T3, did not increase heart weight or decrease pituitary thyroid-stimulating hormone beta (TSHβ) expression. Conclusion: MB07811 represents a novel class of liver-targeted TR agonists with beneficial low-density lipoprotein cholesterol-lowering properties that may provide additional therapeutic benefit to hyperlipidemic patients with concomitant NAFLD. (HEPATOLOGY 2009.)

Based on the hypothesis that the complex pathological and immunological manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the related diseases are under the control of multiple gene loci with allelic polymorphism, a recombinant congenic mouse strain was prepared between an MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr (MRL/lpr) strain, which develops arthritis resembling RA, and a non-arthritic strain C3H/HeJ-lpr/lpr (C3H/lpr). In MRL/lpr x (MRL/lpr x C3H/lpr) F1 mice, the mice developing severe arthritis were selected based on joint swelling to further continue intercrosses, and then an McH-lpr/lpr-RA1 (McH/lpr-RA1) strain was established and its histopathological phenotypes of joints and autoimmune traits were analyzed. Arthritis in McH/lpr-RA1 mice developed at a higher incidence by 20 weeks of age, compared with that in the MRL/lpr mice, who had severe synovitis (ankle, 60.3%; knee, 65.1%), and also fibrous and fibrocartilaginous lesions of articular ligamenta resembling enthesopathy (ankle, 79.4%; knee, 38.1%), resulting in ankylosis. The lymphoproliferative disorder was less, and serum levels of IgG and IgG autoantibodies including anti-dsDNA and rheumatoid factor were lower than those of both MRL/lpr and C3H/lpr strains. McH/lpr-RA1 mice may provide a new insight into the study of RA regarding the common genomic spectrum of seronegative RA and enthesopathy.

A novel approach to molecular knots is described. This method may allow access to smaller and more complex knots. Two knot precursors, 1a and 1b, are efficiently prepared in overall yields of 9.6 % and 8.7 %, respectively. The convergent six-step syntheses utilize Frechet-type etherifications, alkyne/azide click cycloadditions, and bis-macrolactonizations.(© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2008)

A fifth-order LPF with a quality factor (Q) tuning circuit has been implemented for draft IEEE802.11n in a 0.13 CMOS technology. The proposed Q tuning technique realizes a low-power 19.7 MHz, active-RC Chebyshev LPF. The filter has dB gain, 30 nV/Hz1/2 input-referred noise, 113 dBmuV input , P 1dB,draws 7.5 mA current from 1.5 V supply, and occupies an area of 0.2 mm2.

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant neurocutaneous disease. Cortical tubers are one of the standard intracranial hallmarks of TSC, they comprise subependymal hamartomas protruding into the ventricles, cortical and white matter hamartomas, and giant cell tumors. The clinical course of TSC varies from asymptomatic to severe, with epileptic seizures and psychomotor retardation. We discuss here the correlation between clinical manifestation and features on 1H-MR spectroscopy ( 1H-MRS) of the white matter involving cortical tubers in patients with TSC. Statistical analysis of the N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline (Cho) and myoinositol (mI)/creatinine (Cr) ratios between tubers and normal controls showed decreased NAA/Cr and increased mI/Cr ratios (P

The effective mass m eff of the Pauli–Fierz Hamiltonian with ultraviolet cutoff Λ and the bare mass m in non-relativistic quantum electrodynamics (QED) with spin ½ is investigated. Analytic properties of m eff in coupling constant e are shown. Let us set [Formula: see text]. The explicit form of constant a2(Λ/m) depending on Λ/m is given. It is shown that the spin interaction enhances the effective mass and that there exist strictly positive constants c1 and c2 such that [Formula: see text] In particular though it is known that a1(Λ/m) diverge log (Λ/m) as Λ → ∞, a2(Λ/m) does not diverge as ± [ log (Λ/m)]2 but -(Λ/m)2.

Loss control is an essential issue for video transportation over IP networks. Buffer management is a traditional network technique to protecting video data against IP packet loss. In this paper, a new innovative use of packet scheduling to meet the loss constraints of video communication is proposed. A packet-scheduling scheme at a router that assures that intra and inter-stream loss requests for video transportation are met was developed and evaluated using real video data. The results demonstrate the advantages of the proposed scheme, in terms of loss performance and fairness.

c-Myc N-terminal conserved domains, MbI and MbII, are essential for c-Myc-mediated transformation and transactivation. These domains recruit the STAGA (SPT3-TAF9-GCN5-acetyltransferase) coactivator complex, but not TFTC (TATA-binding protein-free TAF-containing) to the target gene promoter. Although components of this complex are well conserved between yeast and mammals, four mammalian orthologs of yeast SPT8, SPT20, SGF11 and SGF29 remain to be identified. Here, we isolated a rat ortholog of yeast SGF29, a component of yeast SAGA (SPT-ADA-GCN5-acetyltransferase) complex. Both rat (r) SGF29 and c-myc mRNAs were overexpressed in five out of the eight tested rodent tumor cells. rSGF29 directly interacted with rADA3 and co-immunoprecipitated with two other TFTC/STAGA components, rGCN5 and rSPT3. rSGF29 was recruited to the c-Myc target gene promoters together with c-Myc, and it activated c-Myc target gene expressions. Downregulation of rSGF29 suppressed the expression of c-Myc target genes and inhibited anchorage-independent growth and tumorigenicity and lung metastasis of rat hepatoma K2 cells when injected into nude mice. These results show that rSGF29 is a novel component of TFTC/STAGA complexes and could be involved in the c-Myc-mediated malignant transformation.

Our Hospital focus on providing excellent care for surgical patients, with approximately 9000 surgeries happening in our Operating Rooms (OR) every year.

We have designed a prototype wireless power feeding system to the ornamental robot fish, considering it also as a preliminary experiment for application to the capsule endoscope. We insert a solenoidal resonator instead of the button battery in a robot fish, and send power wirelessly from the resonators which are placed above and below the aquarium. In order to mitigate the high voltage induced in the power transmitting coil due to the low coupling coefficient to the receiving resonator, the effect of operation frequency is studied, resulting in the choice of lower frequency. So as to comply with the EMC problems, electric/magnetic field distributions are measured being compared with ICNIRP recommendation. In addition, we have the real goldfish swim at the same time as the robot fish in the demo experiment for qualitative safety evidence.

金沢大学大学院自然科学研究科機能開発システム, 金沢大学工学部, We introduce the boson and the fermion point processes from the elementary quantum mechanical point of view. That is, we consider quantum statistical mechanics of the canonical ensemble for a fixed number of particles which obey Bose-Einstein, Fermi-Dirac statistics, respectively, in a finite volume. Focusing on the distribution of positions of the particles, we have point processes of the fixed number of points in a bounded domain. By taking the thermodynamic limit such that the particle density converges to a finite value, the boson/fermion processes are obtained. This argument is a realization of the equivalence of ensembles, since resulting processes are considered to describe a grand canonical ensemble of points. Random point processes corresponding to para-particles of order two are discussed as an application of the formulation. Statistics of a system of composite particles at zero temperature are also considered as a model of determinantal random point processes.

We report a rare case demonstrating the relationship between secondary amyloidosis and uterine leiomyosarcoma. A 59-year-old female with high fever was referred to our hospital. Laboratory tests revealed increased white blood cells, eosinophilia and an accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Endoscopic examination of the stomach and colon revealed amyloid deposits in their mucosa. The patient showed no symptoms that suggested amyloidosis. No other organs or tissues were surveyed for amyloid deposition. Ga scintigraphy, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging suggested necrotic infectious leiomyoma of the uterus, which was considered to be the cause of the fever. The patient underwent total hysterectomy. The histological diagnosis of the mass revealed a low-grade uterine leiomyosarcoma with necrosis. Amyloid deposits in the gastric mucosa disappeared 1 year after the operation. In this case, amyloid deposition was detected by endoscopic biopsy before clinical manifestations. The deposition was reversible and was successfully treated. Thus, it is logical and useful to undertake endoscopic mucosa biopsy to check for amyloid deposition in patients with systemic inflammation, whose serum amyloid A protein level has been high for several months. In addition, peripheral eosinophilia was also detected in this case. Although eosinophilia associated with malignant tumor has been recognized, it is an uncommon occurrence.

When a 800 MPa grade ultra-fine grained steel with ferrite grains less than 1 μm and dispersed fine cementite is welded, fine ferrite grains are coarsened resulting in remarkable softening in the heat affected zone (HAZ). The peak temperature at an arbitrary location in HAZ during welding was calculated by heat conduction analysis and the effect of welding thermal history on the microstructure of the UFG steel HAZ was examined by microscopic observation. Softening as a result of ferrite grain coarsening was observed in the region where the peak temperature reaches between 920 and 1300 K for the ultra-fine grained steel with an Ac 1 temperature of 980 K and Ac 3 of 1150 K. The formation of martensite–austenite constituents started as a second phase above the Ac 1 temperature and they curbed HAZ softening in the peak temperature range between 1000 and 1250 K.

Previously developed and practically employed low-carbon low-alloy high-strength steels for welded structures are broadly classified into: 1) steels containing few alloying elements and manufactured with an as-hot-rolled or normalised structure (such as eg SM steels); 2) thermomechanically processed steels with a reduced content of alloying elements (such as eg TMCP steels); 3) steels strengthened by addition of alloying elements and conditioning treatment (eg high-strength low-carbon low-alloy steels such as HT780 steel). Previously used 800 MPa class steels for welded structures, while manufactured by the technique noted in (3), face problems such as weldability, cost, recyclability, etc. To overcome these problems, research has been increasingly focused on the development of 800 MPa class high-strength steels for welded structures with mild steel-equivalent contents of alloying elements.1–3 The basic concept underlying high strengthening involves the ferrite grains being ultra-refined to a gra...

An important issue for video transmission over IP networks is the preservation of perceived video quality despite packet loss. Packet loss can be detrimental to compressed video. However, reducing packet loss to a very low level is difficult with current techniques. Furthermore, even a very low objective loss probability can still seriously distort perceived video quality. This paper presents a packet scheduling scheme at a router which addresses the loss issues of networked video. Experiments using real video data show that the proposed scheme can significantly improve the visual quality of video and network efficiency. Moreover, it can provide different classes of videos with different levels of loss guarantees, while maintaining service fairness among the same class of videos.

Objective Lupus nephritis is characterized by immune complex deposition and inflammatory cell infiltration into the renal glomeruli. Local generation of chemokines and the presence of chemokine receptors on the infiltrating cells may be involved in this process. Fractalkine (Fkn)/CX3CL1 and its receptor, CX3CR1, form one such chemokine system. We therefore undertook this study to investigate whether Fkn antagonist inhibits the initiation and progression of lupus nephritis in MRL/lpr mice. Methods NH2-terminally truncated Fkn/CX3CL1 analogs were transfected into a nonmetastatic fibroblastoid cell line, MRL/N-1, and injected subcutaneously into MRL/lpr mice. Results Fkn analogs truncated by ≥4 amino acid residues from the N-terminus failed to induce chemotaxis and calcium influx by CX3CR1-expressing cells. Of these, the most potent antagonist (Fkn-AT) lacked the 4 N-terminal amino acid residues. Fkn expression in the glomerulus was significantly increased in 12-week-old MRL/lpr mice. Expression was localized predominantly in the glomerular endothelial cells, but was occasionally observed in the mesangial cells and, to a lesser extent, in the interstitial microvasculature. Inoculation of MRL/lpr mice with Fkn-AT before the onset or during the early stages of lupus nephritis significantly reduced glomerular hypercellularity, glomerulosclerosis, crescent formation, and vasculitis compared with control mice. This seemed to be due to a marked reduction in macrophage accumulation. In contrast, Fkn antagonist did not affect pneumonitis, sialadenitis, lymphadenopathy, or splenomegaly. Conclusion We prepared a novel potent Fkn antagonist and demonstrated its ability to delay the initiation and ameliorate the progression of lupus nephritis. This agent may therefore provide a new therapeutic approach to lupus nephritis.

A one-parameter symplectic group {etÂ}t∈ℝ derives proper canonical transformations indexed by t on a Boson–Fock space. It has been known that the unitary operator Ut implementing such a proper canonical transformation gives a projective unitary representation of {etÂ}t∈ℝ on the Boson–Fock space and that Ut can be expressed as a normal-ordered form. We rigorously derive the self-adjoint operator Δ(Â) and a local exponent [Formula: see text] with a real-valued function τÂ(·) such that [Formula: see text].

Cardiac fibroblasts (CF) express adenosine (ADO) receptors, and pharmacological evidence suggests the possible involvement of the A2(A2aand A2b) receptor (A2aR and A2bR) subtypes in inhibiting cell functions involved in fibrosis. The main objective of this study was to define the contributions of A2aand/or A2breceptors in modulating ADO-induced decreases in CF functions. For this purpose, CF were either treated pharmacologically or had the A2aR or A2bR levels modified through the use of recombinant adenovirus or siRNA. The assessment of mRNA expression in adult rat CF yielded evidence for A1R, A2bR, A2aR, and A3R. Endogenously or exogenously enhanced ADO significantly inhibits CF proliferation, collagen, and protein synthesis. A2R and A2aR agonists, although capable of inhibiting CF protein and collagen synthesis, were unable to define the contributions derived from A2aR or A2bR. Overexpression of A2bR in CF yielded significant decreases in basal levels of collagen and protein synthesis and correlated with increases in cAMP levels. However, at higher doses of ADO receptor agonists, significant increases in protein and collagen synthesis were observed. CF with underexpression of A2bR yielded increases in protein and collagen synthesis. In contrast, A2aR underexpression did not modify ADO-induced decreases in CF protein or collagen synthesis. In conclusion, results derived from the molecular manipulation of receptor levels indicate that A2bR are critically involved in ADO-mediated inhibition of CF functions.

A 54-year-old woman with a 21-year history of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was admitted to the Matsuyama Red Cross Hospital due to subcutaneous and gingival hemorrhaging. She was diagnosed with acquired factor VIII inhibitors based on a prolonged activated partial-thromboplastin time (APTT) and factor VIII inhibitors. Steroid pulse and factor VIII plasma concentrate were administered to her, not long after which she was transferred to Ehime University Hospital due to gallbladder hematoma. Although her APTT and factor VIII activity were improved after treatment with human factor VIII, she died of multiple organ failure. The autopsy demonstrated a ruptured gallbladder.

MRL/MpTn-gld/gld (MRL/gld) mice, which are deficient in a functional Fas ligand (FasL), spontaneously develop autoimmune diseases involving both lethal glomerulonephritis and systemic arteritis, while MRL/Mp-+/+ (MRL/+) and C3H/HeJ-gld/gld (C3H/gld) do not. To determine the cells responsible for the development of glomerulonephritis and arteritis, we transferred bone marrow cells from MRL/gld mice to undiseased MHC-compatible gld/gld or +/+ mice. In bone marrow irradiation chimeras, MRL/gld bone marrow cells were transferred to lethally irradiated MRL/+ or C3H/HeJ-+/+ (C3H/+) mice, and both recipients developed glomerulonephritis associated with hypergammaglobulinemia without causing graft-versus-host (GVH)-like diseases. However, a striking difference between them was that MRL/+ recipients developed arteritis, but C3H/+ recipients did not. In bone marrow mixed chimeras formed by transferring MRL/gld bone marrow cells to unirradiated mice, the MRL/gld bone marrow cells induced glomerulonephritis in C3H/gld mice, but not in C3H/+ and MRL/+ mice. These results indicate that bone marrow cells from MRL/gld mice can cause glomerulonephritis in mice, even in those with a C3H background, possibly if they survive longer by escaping from Fas-mediated apoptosis, while the development of arteritis requires the MRL genetic background in the re-cipients. This is the first report of the transfer of arteritis in lupus mice to undiseased recipients.

Objective To clarify the mode of inheritance of the tissue distribution of vasculitis in MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr (MRL/lpr) lupus-prone mice and to identify the susceptibility loci. Methods Vasculitis in individual MRL/lpr, C3H/HeJ-lpr/lpr (C3H/lpr), (MRL/lpr × C3H/lpr)F1, and (MRL/lpr × C3H/lpr)F2 intercross mice was analyzed by histopathologic grading of main branches of the aorta and of medium-sized arteries in the lower limbs. Genomic DNA samples from F2 intercross mice were examined by simple sequence-length polymorphism analysis, and the polymorphic microsatellite markers highly associated with vasculitis in each tissue were determined as vasculitis susceptibility loci. Results A susceptibility locus with significant linkage to vasculitis of main branches of the aorta was mapped on chromosome 4 at D4Mit213 (map position 13.3cM) selectively in males, while vasculitis of medium-sized arteries in the lower limbs was mapped to different chromosomes: at D8Mit31 on chromosome 8 (map position 33.0) selectively in females and at D5Mit36 on chromosome 5 (map position 65.0). All of these were different from the previously defined loci governing susceptibility to vasculitis involving the kidneys. Conclusion Systemic vasculitis in MRL/lpr mice is genetically controlled with cumulative effects of multiple gene loci, each of which has tissue specificity.

The increasing incidence of congestive heart failure has stimulated efforts to develop pharmacologic strategies to prevent or reverse the associated process of adverse cardiac remodeling. The possibility of utilizing endogenously generated factors that are capable of inhibiting this process is beginning to be explored. Adenosine, has been described as a retaliatory autacoid with homeostatic activities in the regulation of myocardial blood flow, catecholamine release, and reduction of injury resulting from periods of ischemia. Adenosine exerts a variety of actions that are consistent with the concept that it can reduce or inhibit the process of cardiac remodeling. In this manuscript, the basics of adenosine metabolism, its cell surface receptors and beneficial actions on the cardiovascular system are reviewed. In addition new, in vitro and in vivo data will be presented supporting the concept that adenosine exerts actions that may ameliorate adverse cardiac remodeling.

Circulating leukocytes, particularly neutrophils and monocytes, are important effector cells in the induction of many forms of glomerulonephritis. Adhesion molecules, especially selectins, are also thought to be critical for the development of this disease. We examined the possible suppressive effect of soluble E-selectin on the development of experimental lupus nephritis induced by the injection of a hybridoma clone (2B11.3) derived from an MRL/MpJ-lpr/lpr lupus mouse. This clone produces IgG3 antibodies that induce severe proliferative glomerulonephritis resembling lupus nephritis when injected into normal mice. Transgenic mice with a soluble E-selectin gene were injected intraperitoneally with the hybridoma cells and histopathologically examined on day 15. As a result, the development of glomerulonephritis was significantly suppressed. This suppression was characterized by fewer inflammatory cell infiltrates, compared with non-transgenic litter mates, despite the fact that there were no remarkable differences in immunoglobulin deposits or expression of E-selectin between the two groups. These findings suggest that by controlling inflammatory cell infiltration, soluble E-selectin plays a preventative role in the development of a particular type of lupus nephritis.

Renormalization group recursion formulas for classical O(N) spin models in two dimensions are obtained. The main part of the recursion formulas is solved and yields the flows which are very close to those of the hierarchical model approximations of Dyson–Wilson type. Spontaneous mass generations also take place under our approximation.

The aim of the DCBA (Drift Chamber Beta-ray Analyzer) experiment is to search for neutrinoless double beta decay ( 0 ν β β ). The half-life of 0 ν β β is expected to give us the information of Majorana nature and the absolute mass scale of neutrinos. A prototype test apparatus DCBA-T2 has the energy resolution of about 150 keV (FWHM) around 1 MeV. In order to check the detector performance, engineering runs detecting double beta decay of 100Mo started in May 2009 using natural Mo, which contains 9.6% of 100Mo. Ten candidates of the double beta decay ( β β ) have been detected so far. It has been found that the background events due to 214Bi decay are distinguishable from the double beta decays by detecting α -particles from 214Po.

Introduction: Macroautophagy (autophagy) is highly responsive to nutrient/energy status and cellular stress. It plays an adaptive role in limiting ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in the heart. Nutrient depletion is a potent inducer of autophagy and is mediated by reciprocal regulation of AMPK and mTOR pathways which in turn regulate autophagy initiation via ULK1/Atg1. Autophagy is reduced in the setting of obesity, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS). The purpose of this study was determine whether impaired autophagy in MetS is due to altered upstream signaling or a disruption in the autophagic pathway. Methods: Mice were ad-lib fed a chow (Lean) or a high fat diet (HFD) (D12492, 60% fat) for 18 weeks. In both groups, half of the mice were freely fed with the other half fasted for 24 hours prior to cardiac harvest. Protein levels were determined with Western blotting and gene expression with quantitative PCR. Results: Consistent with previous data, HFD animals exhibited obesity and insulin resistance as reflected by increased body weight, and elevated serum insulin/HOMA compared to Lean animals. Fasting resulted in a marked reduction in serum insulin in both Lean (p=0.013) and HFD (p =0.002) animals. This was accompanied by marked increases in cardiac AMPK activation as reflected by increased phosphorylation in both Lean (p =0.002) and HFD (p=0.002) groups with parallel reciprocal suppression of mTOR activity as reflected by decreased pS6K and pS6. As expected, the Lean group exhibited a fasting-induced increase in LC3-II (p=0.020) indicating an increase in autophagy. This did not occur in the HFD group despite a similar induction in LC3B and p62 gene expression. This lack of autophagy stimulation with fasting in HFD animals was not explained by differences in autophagy initiation as the phosphorylation status of ULK1 decreased similarly with fasting in both groups. Conclusions: These data indicate that the impairment of cardiac autophagy in the presence of MetS is not attributable to abnormal upstream nutrient sensing pathways. The findings suggest a MetS-associated defect in the autophagy/lysosomal fusion pathway. This could explain the increased vulnerability of the heart to I/R injury in the setting of MetS.

One of the most important problems in elementary particle physics is whether neutrino has Majorana nature or not. If neutrino has Majorana nature, Leptogenesis based on See-saw Mechanism is considered to be a hopeful theory in early universe. Neutrinoless double beta decay (0) experiment is only one practical method to investigate the neutrino Majorana nature. Since the half-life of 0 is theoretically expected so long as 10 26 y, the experimental detector has to have not only at least 1000 mol of decay source, but also excellent capabilities to eliminate backgrounds from natural radio activities including decay chains and cosmic rays. And also the excellent energy resolution is required at the Q-value of decay nucleus in order to distinguish 0 events from the tough backgrounds of conventional double beta decay (2). Drift Chamber Beta-ray Analyzer (DCBA) is an R&D for the future experiment temporarily called Magnetic Tracking Detector (MTD) which will realize conditions mentioned above. Both are momentum analyzers using the decay source of 100 Mo and 150 Nd and in progress at KEK. DCBA/MTD can identify -ray in the backgrounds of -, and cosmic rays. Since a module of MTD will accommodate 32 kg decay source, we can search for 0 events with several ten modules down to about 30 meV neutrino mass, corresponding to the half-life of 10 26 y.

Brain diffusion tensor MRI of 11 boys with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy was performed. The authors determined quantitative isotropic apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC(i)) and fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the white matter. ADC(i) and FA values in the affected white matter were significantly different from those in normal-appearing white matter. Zonal ADC(i) and FA gradations, which might originate from well-established histopathologic zonal changes, existed within affected white matter.

We develop a new block spin transformation and apply it to the 2D O(N) spin model. The transformation does not yield complicated non-local terms and then the transformation recursion formula seems to be controllable for any initial inverse temperature β > 0. The main part of the block spin transformation of the model with large N converges to a massive state, no matter how low the initial temperature 1/β is, and is close to the flow of the hierarchical model advocated by Dyson and Wilson several decades ago.

Cytotoxicity of Ni ions were examined using C3H mouse derived 10T1/2 fibroblast cells. It became evident that Ni ions had dose-dependent cytotoxicity. The cell number incubated in DME medium containing 0.04 mM/L Ni ion for 6 days was reduced to half that in control DME medium without Ni. The cell totally disappeared in DME medium containing 2 mM/L Ni ion. The dissolution of Ni ions from Ni-containing metallic restorations must be lower than these concentration levels so that oral tissues might not be damaged. No neoplastic transformation was found on all cells examined.

SUMMARYMRL/Mp-lpr/lpr (MRL/lpr) mice develop glomerular lesions with regular variations in their histopathological manifestations, similar to those in lupus nephritis. These lesions are mainly either cell-proliferative or wire loop-like and are associated with glomerular deposits of immunoglobulins, most frequently IgG and IgM. We previously established a nephritogenic IgG3-producing hybridoma clone, B1, from an MRL/lpr mouse, which induces only a ‘wire loop-like’ type of glomerular lesion when injected into SCID mice. Injection of SCID mice with an anti-trinitrophenyl IgM antibody-producing hybridoma clone, Sp6, following injection of the B1 clone, however, resulted in the development of a ‘cell-proliferative’ type of glomerular lesion, associated with an accumulation of both antibodies in glomeruli. This accumulation occurred even though Sp6 IgM antibodies did not react with B1 IgG3 antibodies and vice versa. A mutant clone of Sp6, T/13μE/3.1, which produces antibodies deficient in C1q binding, produced a similar effect as that of the Sp6 clone, i.e. ‘cell-proliferative’ lesions. Again the B1 antibodies did not react with T/13μE/3.1-IgM antibodies and vice versa. We therefore conclude that bystander IgM antibodies contribute to the remodelling of glomerular lesions in situ, following glomerular injury by the nephritogenic antibodies.

An MRL strain of mice bearing a Fas-deletion mutant gene, lpr, MRL/MpJ-lpr/lpr (MRL/lpr) develops collagen disease involving vasculitis, glomerulonephritis, arthritis and sialoadenitis, each of which has been studied as a model for polyarteritis, lupus nephritis, rheumatoid arthritis and Sjögren's syndrome, respectively. Development of such lesions seems dependent on host genetic background since the congenic C3H/HeJ-lpr/lpr (C3H/lpr) mice rarely develop them. To identify the gene loci affecting each lesion, a genetic dissection of these complex pathological manifestations was carried out. First, histopathological features in MRL/lpr, C3H/lpr, (MRL/lpr x C3H/lpr) F1 intercross, and MRL/lpr x (MRL/lpr x C3H/lpr) F1 backcross mice were analyzed. Genomic DNA of the backcross mice were subjected to association studies by Chi-squared analysis for determining which polymorphic microsatellite locus occurs at higher frequency among affected compared to unaffected individuals for each lesion. As a result, gene loci recessively associated with each lesion were mapped on different chromosomal positions. We concluded that each of these lesions in MRL/lpr mice is under the control of a different set of genes, suggesting that the complex pathological manifestations of collagen disease result from polygenic inheritance.

A full system of 1 kWh/1 MW superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) has been completed early this year. This SMES is the first step to the realization of practical SMES system for power line stabilization. Main points in its design are two module type arrangement of six coils having three coils and one converter as one unit of module, modified-D-shaped coils with mechanical supports, liquid helium vessel type cooling of coils, and high-temperature superconducting current leads. The first test experiment was carried out on the site recently. The above design points were examined. A preliminary test for power line control was also made in the distribution line at the site. Satisfactory results were obtained.