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A simple model to reproduce strong enhancement of dielectric response near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) is proposed. This model consists of long-range dipole-dipole interaction and compositional chemical disorder incorporated by the variation in lengths of dipole moments. By applying Monte Carlo simulation, we show that there appears a ferroelectric boundary phase between two types of antiferroelectric phases at an optimal strength of randomness. In the boundary phase, ferroelectric domain becomes remarkably large and flexible to external electric fields, leading to huge dielectric response. This observation indicates that huge dielectric response near the MPB originates from {\it local} polarization rotation under suppressed anisotropy by phase competition., 5 pages, 4 figures

We identified novel cancer testis antigens (CTAs) including CDCA1, LY6K (URLC10) and KIF20A that are overexpressed in lung cancer, head and neck cancer (HNC), and other various malignancies, but not expressed in many adult normal tissues except for testis and fetal organs by using genome-wide cDNA microarray analyses. We identified CTAs-derived peptides that can activate tumor-reactive and HLA-A2 or -A24-restricted CTLs in both in vitro preclinical and in vivo clinical studies of peptide vaccine. It is well known that IL-2 and IFN-γ produced by Th1 cells have pivotal roles in efficient induction of memory CTLs and efficient infiltration of CTLs into the tumor. We identified these CTAs-derived promiscuous 20∼26-mer long peptides (LPs) that can induce both Th1 cells restricted by several frequent HLA class II and tumor-reactive CTLs restricted by HLA-A2 or -A24. The LPs were naturally processed from CTAs and presented by dendritic cells. In addition, these LPs induced propagation of CTA-specific CTLs by cross presentation in both human in vitro and HLA-class I transgenic mice in vivo. Furthermore, these LPs and Th1-cell clone enhanced induction of CTA-specific CTLs in vitro. Significant frequencies of CTA-specific Th1 cells were detected after short-term in vitro stimulation with LPs in HNC patients vaccinated with CTA-derived CTL-epitope peptides and cancer patients before vaccination but not in healthy donors; responses were augmented by repeated vaccinations. These results show for the first time the presence of novel CTAs-specific Th1 cell responses in cancer patients and suggest the potential utility of these LPs for propagation of CTAs-specific Th1 cells and CTLs. Citation Format: Yusuke Tomita, Akira Yuno, Yoshihiro Yoshitake, Hirotake Tsukamoto, Atsushi Irie, Satoru Senju, Koji Yoshida, Takuya Tsunoda, Yusuke Nakamura, Masanori Shinohara, Yasuharu Nishimura. Cancer testis antigens-specific CD4+ T-cell immunity augmented by CTL-epitopes vaccination in cancer patients. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2834. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2834

We study the finite-temperature transition to the 1/2 magnetization plateau in a model of interacting S = 1/2 spins with longer range interactions and strong exchange anisotropy on the geometrically frustrated Shastry-Sutherland lattice. In previous studies, it was obtained from Monte Carlo calculations that the transition to the plateau state occurs via two successive transitions with the two-dimensional Ising universality class, when the quantum exchange interactions are finite, while a single phase transition takes place in the purely Ising limit[l]. To understand these behaviors, we introduce the generalized four-state chiral clock model and perform Monte Carlo calculations for this model. By comparing the phase diagrams of the two models, we find that the topology of the thermal phase diagram is the same each other - the criticality of the thermal phase transition in the original model can be well explained by that of the generalized four-state chiral clock model.

We propose a non-disordered antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin model on a triangular lattice, which exhibits a critical state and a glassy state at low temperatures. The system has three phases, the paramagnetic, the intermediate critical, and the glassy phase. The intermediate phase is characterized by a quasi-long-range order, whereas only short-range order exists in the glassy phase. Using Monte Carlo simulation, the phase transitions and properties of the two phases at low temperatures are examined. Our spin model shows that the variable-length spin and the competition between bilinear and biquadratic interactions are essential for forming the critical and glassy phases.

In this paper, we summarized our preliminary results using two types of murine monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against human squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus for quantitative diagnosis and selection of the optimum therapy.

We review the recent progress in our understanding of the effect of B-site randomness on Pb(In 1/2 Nb 1/2 )O 3 (PIN) from the experimental and theoretical viewpoints. PIN is one of the ideal systems for investigating the effect of perovskite B-site randomness on relaxor formation, because it can be in the antiferroelectric (AFE), ferroelectric (FE), or relaxor state depending on B-site randomness. Lattice dynamics measured in ordered and disordered PINs indicates the existence of FE instability regardless of the B-site randomness of PIN. AFE is stabilized when the B-site is spatially ordered, overwhelming FE instability. The hidden FE state starts to appear as B-site randomness becomes stronger and suppresses AFE instability. Ultimately, the randomness competes with the development of FE regions and blocks long-range FE ordering, which yields polar nanoregions (PNRs) resulting in relaxor behavior. In order to investigate the interesting behavior of PIN, we constructed a minimal model that includes dipolar...

We study magnetic properties of the S=l/2 Ising-like XXZ model on the Shastry-Sutherland lattices considering the effect of long range interactions. By performing quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we find that magnetization plateau phases appear at one-half and one-third of the saturation magnetization. We also study the finite temperature transition to the magnetic plateau phases and discuss the universality class of the transition.

Two-dimensional Heisenberg dipolar lattices are investigated by Monte Carlo simulations. Simulations are performed on triangular, square, honeycomb, and kagome lattices. Lattice-dependent magnetic structures and critical phenomena are observed. Although it is believed that two-dimensional Heisenberg dipolar lattices belong to the same universality class of two-dimensional XY dipolar lattices, results from the Monte Carlo simulations show considerable deviations in the critical exponent ν between the Heisenberg and XY models of triangular and square lattices. The Heisenberg dipolar honeycomb lattice exhibits unusual magnetic ordering in the form of arrays of vortices. Using finite-size scaling techniques, it is shown that the unusual order undergoes the Kosterlitz–Thouless transition. On the kagome lattice, geometric frustration produces a peculiar ferromagnetic ordered state that is macroscopically degenerate. The degeneracy is expected to explain the missing magnetic entropy in ferromagnetic kagome, pyro...

Recently, Fukui and Todo have proposed a new effective Monte Carlo algorithm for long-range interacting systems. Using the algorithm with the nonequilibrium relaxation method, we investigated long-range interacting one-dimensional Ising models both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic with the nearest-neighbor ferromagnetic interaction. For the antiferromagnetic model, we found the systems are paramagnetic at finite temperatures.

By means of the molecular dynamics simulation on gradual cooling processes, we investigate magnetic properties of classical spin systems only with the magnetic dipole-dipole interaction, which we call dipolar systems. Focusing on their finite-size effect, particularly their boundary geometry dependence, we study two finite dipolar squares cut out from a square lattice with $\Phi=0$ and $\pi/4$, where $\Phi$ is an angle between the direction of the lattice axis and that of the square boundary. Distinctly different results are obtained in the two dipolar squares. In the $\Phi=0$ square, the ``from-edge-to-interior freezing'' of spins is observed. Its ground state has a multi-domain structure whose domains consist of the two among infinitely (continuously) degenerated Luttinger-Tisza (LT) ground-state orders on a bulk square lattice, i.e., the two antiferromagnetically aligned ferromagnetic chains (af-FMC) orders directed in parallel to the two lattice axes. In the $\Phi=\pi/4$ square, on the other hand, the freezing starts from the interior of the square, and its ground state is nearly in a single domain with one of the two af-FMC orders. These geometry effects are argued to originate from the anisotropic nature of the dipole-dipole interaction which depends on the relative direction of sites in a real space of the interacting spins.

A male patient with hyper IgE syndrome was followed up for 15 years and was studied immunologically and histologically. Clinical symptoms started with furunclosis at 3 months of age, followed by pneumonia, laryngitis, paronychia, pyothorax, sepsis and osteomyelitis during the first decade. The characteristic coarse facial features appeared around 6 or 7 years of age. Furunclosis decreased thereafter, but purulent lymphadenitis and pneumonia due to staphylococcus aureus continued to repeat. Bronchitis and pneumonia increased the frequency since 17 years of age and chronic shortness of breath and clubbed fingers appeared at 23 years of age. Immunological studies revealed markedly increased serum IgE, decreased secretory IgA, moderately decreased chemotaxis of polymorphonuclear leukocytes, unresponsiveness to DNCB and increased anti staphylococcal IgE antibody, anti IgE autoantibody and FceR+ B-lymphocytes. Supernatant of leukocyte suspension from the patient stimulated by sonicated protein A negative staphylococci contained significant amount of histamine and had a strong inhibitory activity on chemotaxis of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. On a skin biopsy of the patient, spontaneous degranulation of mast cells was observed. Standing on these findings, the patient was treated with disodium cromoglycate, an nhibitor of mediator release from mast cells, and marked decrease of the frequency of his bronchial and/or pulmonary infection was obtained.

A 650-MW(electric) deuterium-tritium fusion reactor, KARIN-I, has ten moving plasma rings, which are produced by relativistic electron beam injection, heated by a major radius compression, and transported into a linear cylindrical burning section by annularly flowing liquid lithium outside the silicon carbide first wall. The liquid lithium not only stabilizes the tilting motion of the rings but also works as the tritium breeder and the main coolant. Energy from the ash-accumulated rings is efficiently recovered at the exit during the major radius expansion. The linear alignment of reactor components ensures easy assembly and disassembly, and also provides for easy maintenance. These features of the reactor result in a net electric output power of 650 MW(electric) with overall plant efficiency of 30%.

The content of 3′,5′-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in free bronchial respiratory cells (RC) from dogs and rhesus monkeys was determined and compared with that of human peripheral blood leukocytes. The effects of β-adrenergic stimulating agents and concanavalin A on RC obtained from the bronchi of dogs was studied. Isoproterenol (I) resulted in an increase in production of 3′,5′-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in these cells. Theophylline (T) did not significantly elevate cAMP levels in the RC when these levels were compared with those of frozen control cells, but when the levels of T-treated cells were compared with the normal decline of cAMP in untreated, incubated RC, the results showed that T was effective in inhibition of the decline of cAMP, presumably due to its activity as a phosphodiesterase inhibitor. I and T together resulted in higher levels of cAMP in RC than either agent alone. I resulted in inhibition of ragweed-induced histamine release from the RC of ragweed-sensitive dogs. Concanavalin A reduced the level of cAMP in RC and resulted in increased release of histamine from cells which was not potentiated by antigen. Levels of cAMP in RC appeared to correlate with the number of macrophages. This does not imply that other RC do not contain cAMP, but that respiratory macrophages may have a higher cAMP content than other types of cells found free in the bronchi.

Expression of Fc-epsilon-receptors (Fc epsilon R) on peripheral blood lymphocytes was examined in patients with clonorchiasis. Mean serum IgE levels in these patients was 2,518 IU/ml. Fc epsilon R was detected by flow cytometry analysis with monoclonal antibody. The frequency of Fc epsilon R+ lymphocytes and the density of Fc epsilon R on the cells in the patients were similar to those in normal subjects. Most of the Fc epsilon R+ lymphocytes were B cells. The number of Fc epsilon R+ cells decreased after incubation in serum-free medium at 37 degrees C for 3 h. The amount of regulatory molecules of IgE production, IgE binding factor, was not significantly different between the patients and normal subjects. The number of Fc gamma R bearing T or B cells in the patients was also similar to that of normal subjects. These results indicate that the mechanisms of elevated serum IgE in patients with clonorchiasis might be different from other diseases with hyperglobulinemia E.

Based on the connection between the Ising model and a correlated percolation model, we calculate the distribution function for the fraction ($c$) of lattice sites in percolating clusters in subgraphs with $n$ percolating clusters, $f_n(c)$, and the distribution function for magnetization ($m$) in subgraphs with $n$ percolating clusters, $p_n(m)$. We find that $f_n(c)$ and $p_n(m)$ have very good finite-size scaling behavior and they have universal finite-size scaling functions for the model on square, plane triangular, and honeycomb lattices when aspect ratios of these lattices have the proportions 1:$\sqrt 3$/2:$\sqrt 3$. The complex structure of the magnetization distribution function $p(m)$ for the system with large aspect ratio could be understood from the independent orientations of two or more percolation clusters in such system., 5 pages including 10 eps figures, RevTeX, to appear in Phys. Rev. E

It is impossible to obtain and amplify live neurons from Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. To establish the neurons harboring AD abnormality, we constructed mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, in which the AD-causative V642I mutation was introduced to the endogenous amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene, in combination with a protocol to efficiently differentiate ES cells into postmitotic neurons without using a cell sorter. By this protocol, ES cells differentiated into >90% of the central type of adult postmitotic neurons. Neurons derived from V642I–APP knock-in ES cells were indistinguishable from wild-type ES-derived neurons, as determined by the expression of various markers for neuronal differentiation. Notably, V642I–APP knock-in ES cell-derived neurons exhibited significantly increased secretion of Aβ42 without AD-related hyperphosphorylation of tau, indicating that the direct output of the AD-causative mutation is increased Aβ42 secretion. In this study, we analyze created neurons with wild-type and AD genotypes and propose a new strategy for generating neurons for any dominantly inherited neurodegenerative diseases. The strategy can be applied to create human neurons with AD or any other neurodegenerative disease by using human ES cells.

Meeting abstracts Levels of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been associated with overall survival (OS) in metastatic breast [[1][1]] and prostate cancer [[2][2]]. Here we report the preliminary associations between CTCs and OS in subjects receiving an autologous adenoviral transduced dendritic