Spectral detection of grazing degradation in the Xilingol Steppe, Inner Mongolia

In order to detect the grazing degradation of steppe vegetation, spectral reflectance was measured using a portable spectral radiometer in the Xilingol steppe, Inner Mongolia. There is only one main drinking place for animals, which is supplied by a water tank at the center of Branch No.4 site-00. In addition to the measurement of surface reflectance, vegetation surveys were carried out involving floristic composition and plant growth parameters as a function of the distance from site-00 at every 1-km interval until the 5-km point. It becomes clear that the effects of grazing on vegetation and soil mitigated according to the distance from site-00. Negative plant indicators of grazing intensity such as Stipa grandis and Filifolium sibiricum increased in dominance with distance from site-00, whereas positive indicators of grazing intensity, such as Cleistogenens squarrosa and Agropyron cristatum, decreased in dominance. Changes in growth parameters along the environmental gradients were reflected on NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), in which NDVI was positively correlated with the aboveground biomass (r=0.77, P<0.001), plant height (r=0.69, P<0.001) and coverage (r=0.89, P<0.001), respectively. These results suggested that a spectral vegetation index is effective in the detection of the degradation of grazing grassland in a non-destruction way.Original Pape

Intersubband electronic Raman scattering in narrow GaAs single quantum wells dominated by single-particle excitations

We measured resonant Raman scattering by intersubband electronic excitations in GaAs/AlAs single quantum wells (QWs) with well widths ranging from 8.5 to 18 nm. In narrow (less than 10 nm) QWs with sufficiently high electron concentrations, only single-particle excitations (SPEs) were observed in intersubband Raman scattering, which was confirmed by the well-width dependence of Raman spectra. We found characteristic variations in Raman shift and line shape for SPEs with incident photon energy in the narrow QWs.Comment: 5 pages including 4 figure

A Z-scheme type photoelectrochemical cell consisting of porphyrin-containing polymer and dye-sensitized TiO2 electrodes

In photosynthesis, two photosystems are exquisitely located for uphill electron transport with redox species to bridge these photosystems and this is called Z-scheme type structure. This smart photoenergy conversion system must be modeled in highlyefficient artificial photoenergy conversion. Our strategy here is to cooperate a couple of photoactive electrodes for mimicking a Z-scheme type structure using two different photoelectrodes and bridging redox couple. An early study implied the possibility of a tandem-type photoelectric conversion system, though the cell performance had been considerably low. 1 Later, Bach&apos;s group also proposed a similar structure consisting of nand p-type dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) electrodes and achieved high conversion efficiency. Recently, we reported a simple fabrication method of photoactive polymer electrode consisting of 5,10,15,20-tetra(3-thienyl)-21H,23H-porphyrin (TThP) and 2,2¢-bithiophene (BiTh) by electropolymerization (Scheme 1a). 6-9 As the photoactive electrode for a solar cell, it could generate 32% of photon-to-electron conversion efficiency under the monochromatic light. Since this polymer electrode functions as a photocathode and has a good affinity with the I -/I 3 -redox couple, it is very fascinating to use in a Z-scheme type photoelectrochemical cell with a smart choice of a good compatible photoanode. In this paper, we found that the combination of the above-described polymer electrode and the electrode for DSC successfully acted as a Z-scheme type photoelectrochemical cell with higher photovoltage TThP was synthesized by condensation of pyrrole (Aldrich) and 3-thiophenecarboxyaldehyde (Aldrich) according to the previous procedures. 6 TThP was identified by 1 H-NMR, absorption spectroscopy, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and elemental analysis; impurities in the TThP were found to be negligible. (TThP+polythiophene (pTh)) thin films were fabricated on the surface of an indium-tin-oxide (ITO) glass by electrochemical polymerization of TThP and BiTh (Wako pure chemicals) in a similar manner as before. 6 The ITO glass (Sanyo Vacuum Industries, 2 ¥ 2 ¥ 0.3 cm), cleaned ultrasonically in 2-propanol and then dichloromethane, was used as a working electrode. A platinum wire and a silver wire were used as the counter and reference electrodes, respectively. A dichloromethane solution This journal i

Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition of β-FeSi2 on β-FeSi2 seed crystals formed on Si substrates

We have fabricated a β-FeSi2 film by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on a Si(001) substrate with β-FeSi2 seed crystals grown by molecular beam epitaxy, and investigated the crystallinity, surface morphology and temperature dependence of photoresponse properties of the β-FeSi2 film. The surface of the grown β-FeSi2 film was atomically flat, and step-and-terrace structure was clearly observed. Multi-domain structure of β-FeSi2 whose average size was approximately 200 nm however was revealed. The photoresponse was obtained in an infrared light region (~ 0.95 eV) at temperatures below 200 K. The external quantum efficiency reached a maximum, being as large as 25% at 100 K when a bias voltage was 2.0 V

Penetration of the sigmoid colon to the posterior uterine wall secondary to diverticulitis: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Penetration of the colon to the posterior uterine wall secondary to diverticulitis is unusual, with diagnostic methods not yet established. Non-invasive imaging, such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging may help to establish a proper diagnosis, but confirmation may be reached only after surgical exploration.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a 78-year-old Japanese woman who presented with a low grade fever and mild diarrhea which occurred two or three times a week. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a capsular lesion including an air structure with a diameter of 5 cm, between the posterior aspect of the uterine body and the sigmoid colon. A gastrograffin enema and colonoscopy demonstrated a giant diverticulum of the sigmoid colon with no evidence of malignancy. These data confirmed the diagnosis of diverticulitis complicated by a giant diverticulum. Because of a relapsing fever after therapy with antibiotics, the patient had en bloc surgical treatment of the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and sigmoid colon, the organs involved in the diverticulitis, followed by an uneventful recovery.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is a rare case report of penetration of the sigmoid colon to the posterior uterine wall secondary to diverticulitis.</p

A novel indole compound MA-35 attenuates renal fibrosis by inhibiting both TNF-α and TGF-β1 pathways

Renal fibrosis is closely related to chronic inflammation and is under the control of epigenetic regulations. Because the signaling of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) play key roles in progression of renal fibrosis, dual blockade of TGF-β1 and TNF-α is desired as its therapeutic approach. Here we screened small molecules showing anti-TNF-α activity in the compound library of indole derivatives. 11 out of 41 indole derivatives inhibited the TNF-α effect. Among them, Mitochonic Acid 35 (MA-35), 5-(3, 5-dimethoxybenzyloxy)-3-indoleacetic acid, showed the potent effect. The anti-TNF-α activity was mediated by inhibiting IκB kinase phosphorylation, which attenuated the LPS/GaIN-induced hepatic inflammation in the mice. Additionally, MA-35 concurrently showed an anti-TGF-β1 effect by inhibiting Smad3 phosphorylation, resulting in the downregulation of TGF-β1-induced fibrotic gene expression. In unilateral ureter obstructed mouse kidney, which is a renal fibrosis model, MA-35 attenuated renal inflammation and fibrosis with the downregulation of inflammatory cytokines and fibrotic gene expressions. Furthermore, MA-35 inhibited TGF-β1-induced H3K4me1 histone modification of the fibrotic gene promoter, leading to a decrease in the fibrotic gene expression. MA-35 affects multiple signaling pathways involved in the fibrosis and may recover epigenetic modification; therefore, it could possibly be a novel therapeutic drug for fibrosis

Inhibition of translation initiation factor eIF4a inactivates heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) and exerts anti-leukemia activity in AML

Eukaryotic initiation factor 4A (eIF4A), the enzymatic core of the eIF4F complex essential for translation initiation, plays a key role in the oncogenic reprogramming of protein synthesis, and thus is a putative therapeutic target in cancer. As important component of its anticancer activity, inhibition of translation initiation can alleviate oncogenic activation of HSF1, a stress-inducible transcription factor that enables cancer cell growth and survival. Here, we show that primary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells exhibit the highest transcript levels of eIF4A1 compared to other cancer types. eIF4A inhibition by the potent and specific compound rohinitib (RHT) inactivated HSF1 in these cells, and exerted pronounced in vitro and in vivo anti-leukemia effects against progenitor and leukemia-initiating cells, especially those with FLT3-internal tandem duplication (ITD). In addition to its own anti-leukemic activity, genetic knockdown of HSF1 also sensitized FLT3-mutant AML cells to clinical FLT3 inhibitors, and this synergy was conserved in FLT3 double-mutant cells carrying both ITD and tyrosine kinase domain mutations. Consistently, the combination of RHT and FLT3 inhibitors was highly synergistic in primary FLT3-mutated AML cells. Our results provide a novel therapeutic rationale for co-targeting eIF4A and FLT3 to address the clinical challenge of treating FLT3-mutant AML.R01 CA175744 - NCI NIH HHS; R35 GM118173 - NIGMS NIH HHS; P30 CA016672 - NCI NIH HHSPublished versionSupporting documentationAccepted manuscrip

Alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of erosive esophagitis and Barrett's epithelium in Japanese men

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Evidence regarding the association between alcohol consumption and the gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) spectrum has been conflicting. We examined the association between alcohol consumption and erosive esophagitis and Barrett's epithelium in Japanese men.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study population comprised 463 men subjects who had undergone an upper endoscopy at the Gastroenterology Division of Yokohama City University Hospital between August 2005 and July 2006. The presence of erosive esophagitis and Barrett's epithelium was diagnosed based on the Los Angeles Classification and the Prague C and M Criteria, respectively. We divided the study population into four groups: never drinkers, light drinkers (less than 25.0 g of ethanol per day), moderate drinkers (25.0 to 50.0 g of ethanol per day), and heavy drinkers (more than 50.0 g of ethanol per day). A linear regression of the logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the dose-response trends.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared with never drinkers, light drinkers (less than 25.0 g ethanol per day), moderate drinkers (25.0 to 50.0 g per day), and heavy drinkers (more than 50.0 g per day) had ORs for erosive esophagitis of 1.110 (95% CI: 0.553 – 2.228, p = 0.7688), 1.880 (95% CI: 1.015 – 3.484, p = 0.0445) and 1.988 (95% CI: 1.120 – 3.534, p = 0.0190), respectively. These groups had ORs for Barrett's epithelium of 1.278 (95% CI: 0.752 – 2.170, p = 0.3643), 1.458 (95% CI: 0.873 – 2.433, p = 0.1500), and 1.912 (95% CI: 1.185 – 3.086, p = 0.0079), respectively. The odds ratios/grams (alcohol)/day of dose response trends for erosive esophagitis and Barrett's epithelium were 1.015 (95% CI: 1.004–1.026, p = 0.0066) and 1.012 (95% CI: 1.003–1.021, p = 0.0079), respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings suggest that alcohol consumption in Japanese men tends to be associated with an increased risk of erosive esophagitis and Barrett's epithelium.</p