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We analyzed the FGF/FGFR and co-alteration cancer landscape, hypothesizing that combination therapy might be useful in the presence of co-drivers.We describe FGF/FGFR-altered pathways, prognosis, and co-alterations [cBioPortal (N = 7574)] and therapeutic outcomes [University of California San Diego Molecular Tumor Board (MTB) (N = 16)].Patients whose cancers harbored FGF/FGFR alterations (N = 1074) versus those without them (N = 6500) had shorter overall survival (OS) (median: 23.1 versus 26.4 months, P = 0.038) (cBioPortal). Only 6.1% (65/1074 patients) had no pathogenic co-alterations accompanying FGF/FGFR axis abnormalities. The most frequently co-altered pathways/genes involved: TP53 (70%); cell cycle (58%); PI3K (55%); and receptor tyrosine kinases and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) (65%). Harboring alterations in both FGF/FGFR and in the TP53 pathway or in the cell cycle pathway correlated with shorter OS (versus FGF/FGFR-altered without those co-altered signals) (P = 0.0001 and 0.0065). Four of 16 fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) inhibitor-treated patients presented at MTB attained durable partial responses (PRs) (9, 12, 22+, and 52+ months); an additional two, stable disease (SD) of ≥6 months (13+ and 15 months) [clinical benefit rate (SD ≥ 6 months/PR) = 38%]. Importantly, six patients with cyclin pathway co-alterations received the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib (75 mg p.o. 3 weeks on, 1 week off) and the multikinase FGFR inhibitor lenvatinib (10 mg p.o. daily); three (50%) achieved a PR [9 (ovarian), 12 (biliary), and 52+ months (osteosarcoma)]. Palbociclib and lenvatinib were tolerated well.FGF/FGFR alterations portend a poor prognosis and are frequently accompanied by pathogenic co-aberrations. Malignancies harboring co-alterations that activate both cyclin and FGFR pathways can be co-targeted by CDK4/6 and FGFR inhibitors.

A Ca-containing Mg-4Zn-1MM(mischmetal)-0.1Ca (wt.%, ZEX4101) alloy sheet shows Index Erichsen value of 6.7 mm, which is better than commercial Mg alloy sheets. The good formability is attributed to its weakened basal texture, in which the intensity of the (0001) poles of the recrystallized grains spreads towards the transverse direction. By monitoring the microstructural evolution during the hot rolling and the solution treatment, we found that Ca addition hinders the formation of strong basal texture during the rolling. During the subsequent solution treatment, static recrystallization mainly proceeds by the growth of dynamically recrystallized grains, and then the weak texture feature of the dynamically recrystallized grains is maintained in the ZEX4101 alloy sheet. It is hypothesized that co-segregation of Zn and Ca atoms to the grain boundaries prevents the rotation of the (0001) poles of the dynamically recrystallized grains toward the sheet normal direction, resulting in the development of weak basal texture in the ZEX4101 alloy sheet.

U Starogradskom polju smo obavili rekognosciranje na više lokaliteta te geofizikalno istraživanje na 5 lokaliteta: Kupinovik, Ježe, Mirak, Stagnjica i Carevac.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ plays an important role in various cellular functions and its activation exerts protective effects in kidney diseases. In the present study, chronic kidney disease in cats was examined, and changes in renal expression of PPARγ were observed by use of immunohistochemistry. In normal kidneys, nuclei of the superficial cortical tubules, medullary tubules and glomerular cells expressed PPARγ. The vascular walls (tunica media) also showed positive expression. In diseased kidneys, the expression of PPARγ varied between the cases. Some cases showed strong expression, while others had weak expression. PPARγ expression in the nuclei of infiltrating mononuclear cells was also detected in over half of the cases. Although there was no significant relationship between the expression of renal PPARγ and the severity of kidney disease, the fact that there were many cases where the expression of renal PPARγ was reduced was an important finding, and might be one of the possible mechanisms underlying feline chronic kidney diseases.

In this study, we aimed to determine the relationship between thrust generation and fish fin shape. To compare the effect fin shape had on thrust generation, we categorized the morphological shapes of fish fins into equilateral polygonal shapes. Polygonal fins were used to generate thrust that depended only on shape. These fins were constructed of a hard elastic material to eliminate any influence of shape deformation. A servomotor with a reciprocal rotation moved a fin cyclically, and thrust was experimentally measured using a strain gage system. Thrust tended to be proportional to the inertia moment of a fin, which indicated difficulty with rotation. Moreover, this trend for thrust generation was directly related to the number of apexes of a polygonal fin. The force translated ratio, which was thrust divided by the force required for fin rotation, was evaluated to determine the hydrodynamic characteristics of fins. This finding showed that the force translated ratio of a fin increased with increased movable perimeter length. The greatest thrust was generated by a triangular fin rotated at its apex, which is often seen in general fish tail fins, whereas the hydrodynamic characteristics were the worst in polygonal fins.

Copper sulfide deposition on cellulosic insulating materials in oil-immersed transformers was investigated by heating tests stipulated by IEC 62535 with controlled atmospheres to which mineral insulating oils were exposed. Both oxygen in the atmosphere and 2,6-di-tert-butyl-p-cresol (DBPC) in the oil were found to accelerate the copper sulfide deposition on the insulating paper when the oil contains dibenzyl disulfide (DBDS). The weight of copper sulfide deposition on the insulating paper was found to increase when the oxygen concentration was increased up to 20 volume %. X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) analysis was applied to study the chemical bonding state of copper atoms in copper deposits on the insulating paper for the first time. It can be clarified the copper deposits on the insulating paper are mainly Cu2S and small amounts of CuO are contained.

Aims: Shopping carts and handheld shopping baskets in supermarkets are subject to accidental bacterial contamination through contacts with a variety of food. We investigated the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus on the handles of handheld shopping baskets in four supermarkets distantly located in Osaka district, Japan. Methods and Results: Fifty two strains of Staph. aureus were isolated from 760 basket handles. Among these, six strains were positive for staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) production, representing 12% of total. This SEB producer ratio is considerably higher than among Staph. aureus isolated from nasal swabs of the supermarket workers (2%) and from independently collected clinical specimens (4%). These SEB-producing Staph. aureus strains from the basket handles are clonal and belong to ST12. Coagulase typing showed that they are in group VII, which is the most common cause of food poisoning in Japan. Biofilm assays indicated that SEB gene (seb)-positive strains including this clone produced a significantly higher amount of biofilm than seb-negative strains. Conclusions: The frequent isolation of seb-positive Staph. aureus on shopping basket handles raises the possibility that they could be a hidden reservoir for Staph. aureus with a potential to cause food poisoning and draws attention to the importance of shopping basket sanitation.

We investigated whether the difference of insulin effect existed or not when insulin was administered at different times; just before the light phase (am 6:00) (L-NPH-DM) or just before the dark phase (pm 6:00) (D-NPH-DM) in streptozotocin (60 mg/kg, ip)-induced diabetic rats. Following results were obtained 7 days after STZ administration. Body weight: A significant increase compared to (D-NPH-DM) group was observed in (L-NPH-DM) group. Food intake: Food intake gradually increased after administration of STZ. A significant decrease compared to (saline-DM) group was observed only in the (L-NPH-DM) group. Total lipid content in the liver: A significant increase compared to (saline-control) group was seen in both the (D-saline-DM) and (L-saline-DM) group. In addition, a significant decrease compared to (D-NPH-DM) was observed in the (L-NPH-DM) group. Changes in blood glucose: Different patterns in decrease of blood glucose was observed between (D-NPH-DM) and (L-NPH-DM) groups. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates for the first time that there are differences of insulin effects on body weight, food intake, total lipid content in the liver and blood glucose level with insulin administration time.

Changes in hypothalamic monoamine metabolism were investigated in the genetically obese yellow (Ay/a) mouse. At the age of 6 weeks when there was no difference in body weight between black (a/a) and yellow (Ay/a) mice, the contents of norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) and their main metabolites (MHPG, DOPAC) were already significantly reduced in yellow (Ay/a) mice. Reduction of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) level and an increasing 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio has been observed. When a significant increase in body weight in the yellow (Ay/a) mouse at the age of 12 weeks was present, both NE and DA contents have been increased in the hypothalamus of the obese mouse. MHPG level was lower than in the lean mouse, resulting in an increase of MHPG/NE ratio. The present study suggests that the observed reduction in hypothalamic NE and DA metabolism might be involved in the development of overweight gain in the yellow (Ay/a) mouse.

1. Inter-breed morphological comparisons were made among 11 breeds of Japanese native chickens (Gifujidori, Hinaidori, Shokoku, Totenko, Tomaru, Satsumadori, Shamo, Koshamo, Koeyoshi, Chabo and Nagoya), White Leghorn, broiler chickens (Chunky) and red junglefowl collected in the Philippines, based on results of direct measurements and analysis by computer vision techniques of the skull. 2. Analysis of direct measurements identified two groups of chicken: a small type that included the Chabo, Koshamo, red junglefowl, Gifujidori and Shokoku and a large type that included the remaining breeds studied. These groupings were made based on size determined both in the first (PC1) and second principal component (PC2). The greatest length of the cranium and condylobasal length greatly contributed to the morphological differences between these two groups. 3. Analysis by computer vision techniques, however, identified three groups: the Bantam group (which includes red junglefowl), Shokoku group and Shamo group. White Leghorn clustered within the Shokoku group while the broiler chicken belonged to the Shamo group. The region around the junction of the neural cranium and the visceral cranium contributed greatly to the morphological differences among breeds, both in the PC1 and PC2.

Aims: To screen novel micro-organisms and enzymes capable of degrading 3-hydroxypalmitic acid methyl ester (3-OH PAME), the quorum-sensing signal molecule (quormone), which regulates the virulence of Ralstonia solanacearum. Methods and Results: Ideonella sp. 0-0013, a betaproteobacterium isolated from soil using the selective-enrichment culture method, was grown on plates containing 3-OH PAME as its main carbon source. β-Hydroxypalmitate methyl ester hydrolase (βHPMEH) purified from the supernatant of the Ideonella sp. 0-0013 culture exhibited high hydrolysing activity towards the ester bond of 3-OH PAME and eliminated the 3-OH PAME activity, thereby reducing the virulence of R. solanacearum. An Escherichia coli transformant of the βhpmeh gene expression vector degraded 3-OH PAME, and the crude enzyme from the transformant inhibited in vitro production of the R. solanacearum exopolysaccharide (EPS). Conclusions: The ability of βHPMEH to hydrolyse 3-OH PAME inhibited the production of EPS by the R. solanacearum wild-type strain, indicating that βHPMEH inhibits the effects of activation of virulence genes. This ability will be potentially useful for pest control of the wilt disease caused by this bacterium. Significance and Impact of the Study: This enzyme is the first protein that has been found to degrade a quormone other than N-acyl homoserine lactone.

著者人数：61名, 資料番号: SA1000181000

A search method using neural network algorithm and computer simulation was proposed to solve multi-variables problems such as injection molding process. In the injection molding of optical lenses, injection conditions have critical effects on the optical quality of molded lens. High-precision injection molding techniques are required for the fabrication of plastic optical lens. Therefore, the suggested technique in this study was constructed to search optimum conditions for improving surface profile of optical lenses through restraining porosity creation and minimizing thickness reduction. Simulation for injection molding was conducted focusing on the influence of various process parameters on defects such as porosity creation and thickness reduction. After the simulation, optimum injection molding conditions were predicted using a neural network program based on leaning data extracted from simulation results. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this technique, a series of injection molding experiments were carried out, and experimental results under selected injection conditions were compared with the results output predicted by the neural network.

It is known that under lubricated conditions, dimpled surfaces can show improved tribological properties under planar/planar contact. This study investigates the effect of dimpling on the tribological properties of a silicon nitride ceramic against hardened bearing steel under oil lubricated, planar to curved surface contact conditions. Block-on-ring friction tests under oil lubrication were carried out over a range of sliding velocities, with a silicon nitride ceramic whose surface was dimpled by abrasive jet machining (AJM). The dimpled surface showed better tribological properties in terms of reduced friction coefficient compared with a lapped surface.

Objective: We recently reported that eating glutinous brown rice (GBR) for 1 day improved the whole-day glucose profile and postprandial plasma glucose level compared with eating white rice (WR) or standard brown rice. However, it was unknown whether eating GBR could maintain improvement of glycemic control for a longer period. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of GBR intake for 8 weeks on glycemic control in outpatients with diabetes mellitus. Methods: This was an open-label randomized crossover study in outpatients with type 2 diabetes. Among the 18 subjects registered in this study, 2 were excluded from analysis. After a 1-week observation period while eating WR twice a day, the patients were randomly assigned to two groups. One group ate GBR as a staple food twice a day for 8 weeks and then switched to WR for the next 8 weeks, while the other group ate WR first and then switched to GBR. A mixed meal tolerance test was performed at baseline and after 8 and 16 weeks of dietary intervention to evaluate plasma glucose and serum C-peptide. Results: None of the subjects failed to complete the study because of disliking the taste of GBR. Hemoglobin A1c (7.5–7.2%, P=0.014) and glycoalbumin (20.4–19.4%, P=0.029) both decreased significantly when the patients were eating GBR. Additionally, the 30-min postprandial plasma glucose level (194–172 mg dl−1, P=0.031) and the incremental area under the concentration vs time curve of serum C-peptide (31.3–22.1 ng min ml−1, P=0.023) during the mixed meal tolerance test were also decreased significantly by intake of GBR. In contrast, there were no changes of glycemic control during the WR period. Conclusions: We confirmed that GBR was well tolerated for 8 weeks and improved glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes.

We first examined two lines of transgenic mouse, gpt delta and Muta, for sensitivity of radiation-induced mutations in spleen. The gpt delta mouse could detect mutations induced by 2 to 8 Gy of gam...

Few studies have tried to characterize the efficacy of parenteral support of critically ill infants during short period of intensive care. We studied seventeen infants during five days of total parenteral hyperalimentation. Subsequently, according to the clinical conditions, the patients received nutritional support by parenteral, enteral route or both up to the 10th day. Evaluations were performed on the 1st, 5th, and 10th days. These included: clinical data (food intake and anthropometric measurements), haematological data (lymphocyte count), biochemical tests (albumin, transferrin, fibronectin, prealbumin, retinol-binding protein) and hormone assays (cortisol, insulin, glucagon). Anthropometric measurements revealed no significant difference between the first and second evaluations. Serum albumin and transferrin did not change significantly, but mean values of fibronectin (8.9 to 16 mg/dL), prealbumin (7.7 to 18 mg/dL), and retinol-binding protein (2.4 to 3.7 mg/dL) increased significantly (p < 0.05) from the 1st to the 10th day. The hormonal study showed no difference for insulin, glucagon, and cortisol when the three evaluations were compared. The mean value of the glucose/insulin ratio was of 25.7 in the 1st day and 15.5 in the 5th day, revealing a transitory supression of this hormone. Cortisol showed values above normal in the beginning of the study. We conclude that the anthropometric parameters were not useful due to the short time of the study; serum proteins, fibronectin, prealbumin, and retinol-binding protein were very sensitive indicators of nutritional status, and an elevated glucose/insulin ratio, associated with a slight tendency for increased cortisol levels suggest hypercatabolic state. The critically ill patient can benefit from an early metabolic support. A avaliação nutricional seqüencial é muito importante para a adequação e monitoramento da terapia nutricional. Raros estudos caracterizaram a eficácia da terapia nutricional parenteral em lactentes gravemente doentes. Foram estudados 17 lactentes submetidos à terapia nutricional parenteral total por cinco dias. Posteriormente, de acordo com as condições clínicas, os pacientes recebiam terapia nutricional parenteral, enteral ou mista até o décimo dia de internação. As avaliações nutricionais eram realizadas no primeiro, quinto e décimo dias e constavam de: dados clínicos ( história alimentar e medidas antropométricas), dado hematológico (contagem de linfócitos), testes bioquímicos (albumina, transferrina, fibronectina, pré-albumina e proteína ligada ao retinol) e dosagens hormonais (cortisol, relação glicemia/insulina, glucagon). As medidas antropométricas não revelaram diferença significante entre a primeira e seguunda avaliações. Os níveis de albumina e transferrina não se modificaram significativamente, mas os valores médios de fibronectina (8.9 a 16mg/dL), pré-albumina (7.7 a 18mg/dL) e proteína ligada ao retinol (2.4 a 3.7mg/dL) aumentaram significativamente (p < 0.05) do primeiro ao décimo dia. O estudo hormonal não revelou diferenças para insulina, glucagon e cortisol nas três comparações. O valor médio da relação glicemia/insulina foi de 25.7 no primeiro dia e 15.5 no quinto dia, revelando supressão transitória deste hormônio. O cortisol mostrou valores acima do normal no início do estudo. Neste estudo concluiu-se que os parâmetros antropométricos não foram úteis no curto período de avaliação. As proteínas viscerais foram de boa sensibilidade e a relação glicemia/insulina aumentada, associada com uma tendência de elevação do cortisol, sugerem estado hipercatabólico. Os lactentes gravemente doentes podem se beneficiar de uma terapia nutricional precoce.

An examination of pp elastic analyzing power is conducted using a semi-phenomenological approach based on the diquark cluster model. It is shown that the structures observed empirically can be closely reproduced using the present approach. The elastic pp differential cross-section at θc.m. = 90 ° is also calculated and compared with the experimental data.

The resonating part of the ΔσL (I = 0) is calculated using the parameters which were extracted from pp elastic analyzing power data and compared with the structure in the ΔσL (I = 0) data. We discuss the mass spectrum of the dibaryons withI = 0 on the basis of the diquark cluster model.

The interferometric monitor for greenhouse gases (IMG) was the precursor of the high-resolution FTIR aboard on the satellite for Earth observation. The IMG sensor was aboard the advance Earth observing satellite (ADEOS) launched on August 17, 1996. The IMG operated for only eight months; however, the high-resolution thermal infrared spectra obtained provided abundant information on global atmospheric phenomena and the first global maps of greenhouse gases retrieved from the spectra. This paper describes the operation experience in orbit and the evaluation results for the hardware and the products obtained from the IMG observations.

Leptin, ob gene product, inhibits feeding behavior and stimulates energy expenditure in rodents. Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and neuropeptide Y (NPY), which act in the hypothalamus to influence energy homeostasis, may mediate the anorexic effect of leptin. The present studies were undertaken to examine the possible involvement of hypothalamic CRH in the anorexigenic action of leptin in male Wistar rats. Recombinant leptin (2 microg/rat), microinjected into the third ventricle, inhibited food intake at 2 h by 33.3% (P < 0.01) in rats that were deprived of food for 18 h. The intracerebroventricular injection of 2 microg leptin also increased hypothalamic CRH content (P < 0.05) at 2 h after its administration. Simultaneous intracerebroventricular administration of 5 microg/rat alpha-helical CRH 9-41 (alpha-hCRH), a CRH antagonist, with 2 microg/rat leptin attenuated the anorexic effect of leptin by 2 h. In contrast, single intracerebroventricular injection of alpha-hCRH did not affect food consumption in food-deprived rats. These results implicate hypothalamic CRH as an important mediator of the anorexic effect of leptin in food-deprived rats.

We propose a model for a magnetic recording channel to estimate the influences of the nonlinear distortion of an MR head on the performance of the PRML system, using a superposition of a magnetic field and a transfer curve obtained by a micro-magnetic model. A readback signal was simulated using a nonlinear model. The simulated signal was compared with an actual readback signal in the analysis of the isolated pulse, frequency response, and extracted dipulse response. We found that the nonlinear model represents actual MR head output satisfactorily, and that the performance of the PR4ML system was affected by the nonlinear distortion of the MR head for a 5% loss of the amplitude margin when the asymmetry was within 10%.

and L2 resonances, especially strong at the L3 resonance, while inelastic peaks were observed from well below the resonance and showed complex features at the excitation energies between the Ti L3 and L2 resonances. The measured spectra were explained based on radiative and non-radiative electronic processes near the Ti-L2,3 edge in the titanate.

Near-normalization of glycemia reduces the risks of chronic diabetic complications but increases the risk of serious hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia can impair neuronal function in the brain and diminish awareness of subsequent hypoglycemic episodes, yet little is known about how neurons adapt to hypoglycemia. This study tests the hypothesis that isoform-specific alterations in brain glucose transport proteins occur in response to chronic hypoglycemia. To study this, groups of rats were injected with approximately 25 U/kg ultralente insulin daily at 1700 for 8 days to maintain hypoglycemia. Vascular-free and microvessel membrane fractions from brain were prepared for immunoblot analysis of GLUT-1 and GLUT-3 by use of isoform-specific antisera. Insulin treatment reduced blood glucose levels from 4.0 +/- 0.1 (vehicle-injected controls) to 1.7 +/- 0.1 mmol/l on day 8 (P < 0.001) and increased GLUT-3 protein expression (175.6% of control; P < 0.05). Microvascular GLUT-1 (55 kDa) tended to increase (195.6% of controls; P = 0.08) variably, whereas nonvascular GLUT-1 (45 kDa) was unchanged. We conclude that neuronal glucose transport protein (GLUT-3) expression adapts to chronic hypoglycemia. This adaptation may spare neuronal energy metabolism but could dampen neuronal signaling of glucose deprivation.

Based on the diquark cluster model, the widths and branching ratios of the q 2 q 2 states, which consist of u and d quarks, as well as the mass spectrum are predicted. The mass spectrum is calculated using a mass formula in which all of the parameters are determined using known baryon masses and experimental data for dibaryon resonances: no free parameters remain. The widths and branching ratios are also estimated by the use of an approximated formula in which experimental data for the masses and widths of the meson q q are used and again no free parameters remain. It is shown that the present model can explain in a satisfactory fashion the masses and the widths of many exotic mesons discovered recently in s s - depleted reactions.

Initiation of an adoptive immune response against pathogenic organisms, such as bacteria and fungi, may involve phagocytic activity of dendritic cells (DC) or their immature precursors as a prelude to antigen processing and presentation. After intravenous injection of rats with particulate matter, particle-laden cells were detected in the peripheral hepatic lymph. Since it has been known there is a constant efflux of DC from nonlymphoid organs into the draining peripheral lymph, we examined whether these particle-laden cells belonged to the DC or macrophage lineage. The majority of particle-laden cells in lymph showed immature monocyte-like cytology, and the amount of ingested particles was small relative to typical macrophages. We identified these particle-laden cells as DC based on a number of established criteria: (a) they had a phenotype characteristic of rat DC, that is, major histocompatibility complex class Ihigh+ and IIhigh+, intercellular adhesion molecule 1+ and 80% positive with the rat DC-specific mAb OX62; (b) they showed strong stimulating capacity in primary allogeneic mixed leukocyte reaction; (c) in vitro, they had little phagocytic activity; and (d) the kinetics of translocation was similar to that of lymph DC in that they migrated to the thymus-dependent area of the regional nodes. Furthermore, bromodeoxyuridine feeding studies revealed that most of the particle-laden DC were recently produced by the terminal division of precursor cells, at least 45% of them being

Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a common sleep disorder in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). Non-ergot dopamine agonists increase the risk of unanticipated sleep episodes. We aimed to assess the influence of renal function on EDS in patients with PD.Sixty-two patients treated with ropinirole or pramipexole were recruited for this study. We evaluated the historical and clinical characteristics including the motor symptom rating scales, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). An ESS score of 10 or greater was defined as EDS. Participants with eGFR60 ml/min/1.73 m(2) were determined to have chronic kidney disease (CKD). Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the predictive factors of EDS.Chronic kidney disease was found to be a significant predictive factor for EDS in all patients (P = 0.014). We observed a negative correlation between the severity of daytime sleepiness and renal function in patients treated with pramipexole alone (r(s) = -0.637, P0.001).Chronic kidney disease may be a risk factor for EDS, especially in patients treated with pramipexole, which is directly excreted in the urine.

Since absence of expression of the c-src gene product in mice indicates that the pp60c-src tyrosine kinase is required and essential for osteoclastic bone resorption, we tested the effects of the antibiotic herbimycin A, which is an inhibitor of pp60c-src on osteoclastic bone resorption in vitro and on hypercalcemia in vivo. We examined the effects of herbimycin A on the formation of bone resorbing osteoclasts in mouse long-term marrow cultures, on isolated rodent osteoclasts and on bone resorption in organ cultures of fetal rat long bones stimulated by parathyroid hormone. We found that herbimycin A in concentrations of 1-100 ng/ml inhibited bone resorption in each of these systems. We determined the effects of herbimycin A (100 ng/ml) on src tyrosine kinase activity in mouse marrow cultures and found that it was decreased. Herbimycin A also decreased elevated blood calcium levels that were induced either by repeated subcutaneous injections of recombinant human interleukin-1 alpha or by a human tumor. There was no evidence for toxicity in any of these culture systems or in mice treated with herbimycin A. A different tyrosine kinase inhibitor that does not inhibit pp60c-src was used as a control and caused none of these effects. These data suggest that pp60c-src tyrosine kinase inhibitors may be useful pharmacologic inhibitors of osteoclastic bone resorption and hypercalcemia.

The energy distribution of photoelectrons emitted from NEA-GaAs has been measured with a very high energy resolution (ΔE ≈ 5 meV). The sample consists of epitaxially grown p-type GaAs (hole concentration 1 × 1019 cm−3) with a (100) surface. After cleaning the surface by heating in UHV (7 × 10−11 Torr), Cs and O2 were coadsorbed to obtain a NEA surface. A pulsed GaAlAs laser (λ = 820 nm, pulsewidth = 60 ps) was used for the light source, and the photoelectron energy distribution was measured by a high resolution time-of-flight electron spectrometer. A series of peaks with an approximately regular energy interval of 50 meV was observed in the spectra. Theoretical considerations reveal that the origin of the regular structure are the two-dimensional subbands of electrons at the X-point in the band-bending region near the surface.

We have investigated the relation between the scanning-tunneling-microscope (STM) tip shape and the efficiency of STM light emission. The light intensity radiated by a current source placed in the tip-sample gap of the STM was calculated for various shapes of the tip using the finite differential time domain method. We found that the highest emission efficiency is obtained for the pyramidal tip with the flat top of 4 nm width and the apex angle of 90 °C.

Niobium tips for use in scanning tunneling microscope (STM) light emission measurements have been fabricated by an electrochemical etching method. The typical radius of curvature of the tip is less than 100 nm. The Nb tip has been demonstrated to be capable of producing STM images of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite and Au(110)-(2×1) surfaces with atomic spatial resolution. It has been confirmed by STM light emission spectroscopy that the front of the Nb tip becomes superconducting for temperatures below the superconducting transition temperature of Nb.

Shopping carts and handheld shopping baskets in supermarkets are subject to accidental bacterial contamination through contacts with a variety of food. We investigated the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus on the handles of handheld shopping baskets in four supermarkets distantly located in Osaka district, Japan.Fifty two strains of Staph. aureus were isolated from 760 basket handles. Among these, six strains were positive for staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) production, representing 12% of total. This SEB producer ratio is considerably higher than among Staph. aureus isolated from nasal swabs of the supermarket workers (2%) and from independently collected clinical specimens (4%). These SEB-producing Staph. aureus strains from the basket handles are clonal and belong to ST12. Coagulase typing showed that they are in group VII, which is the most common cause of food poisoning in Japan. Biofilm assays indicated that SEB gene (seb)-positive strains including this clone produced a significantly higher amount of biofilm than seb-negative strains.The frequent isolation of seb-positive Staph. aureus on shopping basket handles raises the possibility that they could be a hidden reservoir for Staph. aureus with a potential to cause food poisoning and draws attention to the importance of shopping basket sanitation.