Gelatin microspheres crosslinked with γ-ray : Preparation, sorption of proteins, and biodegradability

A new type of gelatin microspheres was manufactured with the crosslinking method by using γ-ray irradiation. Microspheres thus obtained were characterized by microscopic observation and enzymatic degradability. The mean diameter of the microspheres was in the range from 2.4 to 3.6 μm and the size distribution was quite small. The size decreased with increasing the shear rate of the emulsifier used in the preparation and was not affected by the radiation dose. The enzymatic degradability decreased with increasing the radiation dose and decreasing the gelatin concentration of the microsphere. In other words, the rate of the enzymatic decomposition of microspheres can be controlled by these two parameters. These trends were consistent with our previous results for the gel sheet made of gelatin. Their sorption of proteins was also investigated with the use of three types of proteins labeled by fluorescent pigment. From the fluorescence micrographs, it was observed that the gelatin microspheres adsorbed only proteins having the opposite charge.Terao, K., Karino, T., Nagasawa, N., Yoshii, F., Kubo, M. and Dobashi, T. (2004), Gelatin microspheres crosslinked with γ-ray: Preparation, sorption of proteins, and biodegradability. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 91: 3083-3087. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.13574

Characterising two-sided quantum correlations beyond entanglement via metric-adjusted f-correlations

We introduce an infinite family of quantifiers of quantum correlations beyond entanglement which vanish on both classical-quantum and quantum-classical states and are in one-to-one correspondence with the metric-adjusted skew informations. The `quantum $f-$correlations' are defined as the maximum metric-adjusted $f-$correlations between pairs of local observables with the same fixed equispaced spectrum. We show that these quantifiers are entanglement monotones when restricted to pure states of qubit-qudit systems. We also evaluate the quantum $f-$correlations in closed form for two-qubit systems and discuss their behaviour under local commutativity preserving channels. We finally provide a physical interpretation for the quantifier corresponding to the average of the Wigner-Yanase-Dyson skew informations.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure. Published versio

Protective effects of a water-soluble extract from cultured medium of Gall o de rIll a luciduln (Rei-shi) mycelia and Agaricus blazei murill against X-irradiation in B6C3Fl mice : Increased small intestinal crypt survival and prolongation of average time to anilnaI death

Radioprotective effects of a water-soluble extracts from cultured medium of Ganoderma lucidum (Rei-shi) mycelia (designed as MAK) and Agaricus blazei (Agaricus) against the shortening of survival time or the injury of crypt by X-irradiation were investigated in male B6C3F1 mice. MAK and Agaricus at three different doses were mixed into basal diet into biscuits at 5, 2.5 and 1.25% and administered from 1 week before irradiation. MAK (5% group) significantly prolonged animal survival as compared with basal diet group (control group) after 7 Gy of X-ray irradiation at a dose rate of 2 Gy min-1. At doses of 8, 10 and 12 Gy X-irradiation at a dose rate of 4 Gy min-1 MAK (5% group) significantly increased crypt survival as compared to other groups. These results suggest that MAK can act as a radioprotective agent

マイクロハ チョウオンパ ニヨル チョウデンドウ ハクマク ノ ケンキュウ リンカイ ジバ HC ノ カクド イゾンセイ

The angular dependence of the critical magnetic field H_c in superconductivity P_b films is studied by measuring the attenuation of GH_z ultrasonic wave. In the case of thin films (film thickness small compared to coherence length) the angular dependence of the critical magnetic field H_c shows good agreement with an interpolation formula derived by Tinkham. In thick films exhibiting the surface superconductivity in a magnetic field parallel to the film the experimantal results deviate from the theory. These results are discussed on the basis of the Gizburg-Landau theory

Hot fluids, burial metamorphism and thermal histories in the underthrust sediments at IODP 370 site C0023, Nankai Accretionary Complex

This research used samples and data provided by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). The authors are grateful to the IODP and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT). We thank crew, drilling team, geologists and lab technicians on D/V Chikyu and the staff of the Kochi Institute for Core Sample Research for supporting operations. This work was supported by the ECORD research grant [2017 to MYT]; and the NERC grant [NE/P015182/1 2017 to SAB]. ZW acknowledges technical support provided by Colin Taylor at the University of Aberdeen. Petromod 2017 was provided by Schlumberger. VBH and KUH acknowledge funding from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft through the Cluster of Excellence, The Ocean Floor – Earth’s Uncharted Interface“ and Project Grant HE8034/1-1 2019. This is a contribution to the Deep Carbon Observatory.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Identification of a novel uterine leiomyoma GWAS locus in a Japanese population

Uterine leiomyoma is one of the most common gynaecologic benign tumours, but its genetic basis remains largely unknown. Six previous GWAS identified 33 genetic factors in total. Here, we performed a two-staged GWAS using 13,746 cases and 70,316 controls from the Japanese population, followed by a replication analysis using 3,483 cases and 4,795 controls. The analysis identified 9 significant loci, including a novel locus on 12q23.2 (rs17033114, P = 6.12 × 10−25 with an OR of 1.177 (1.141-1.213), LINC00485). Subgroup analysis indicated that 5 loci (3q26.2, 5p15.33, 10q24.33, 11p15.5, 13q14.11) exhibited a statistically significant effect among multiple leiomyomas, and 2 loci (3q26.2, 10q24.33) exhibited a significant effect among submucous leiomyomas. Pleiotropic analysis indicated that all 9 loci were associated with at least one proliferative disease, suggesting the role of these loci in the common neoplastic pathway. Furthermore, the risk T allele of rs2251795 (3q26.2) was associated with longer telomere length in both normal and tumour tissues. Our findings elucidated the significance of genetic factors in the pathogenesis of leiomyoma

Constraints on the energetics and plasma composition of relativistic jets in FR II sources

We explore the energetics and plasma composition in FR II sources using a new simple method of combining shock dynamics and radiation spectrum. The hot spots are identified with the reverse shocked region of jets. With the one-dimensional shock jump conditions taking account of the finite pressure of hot ICM, we estimate the rest mass and energy densities of the sum of thermal and non-thermal particles in hot spots. Independently, based on the Synchrotron Self-Compton (SSC) model, we estimate the number and energy densities of {\it non-thermal} electrons using the multi-frequency radiation spectrum of hot spots. We impose the condition that the obtained rest mass, internal energy, and number densities of non-thermal electrons should be lower than those of the total particles determined by shock dynamics. We apply this method to Cygnus A. We examine three extreme cases of pure electron-positron pair plasma (Case I), pure electron-proton plasma with separate thermalization (Case II), and pure electron-proton plasma in thermal-equilibrium (Case III). By detailed SSC analysis for Cygnus A and 3C123, we find that the energy density of non-thermal electrons is about 10 times larger than that of magnetic field. We find that the Case III is not acceptable because predicted photon spectra do not give a good fit to the observed one. We find that Case II can also be ruled out since the number density of non-thermal electrons exceeds that of the total number density. Hence, we find that only pure $e^{\pm}$ plasma (Case I) is acceptable among the three cases. Total kinetic power of jet and electron acceleration efficiency are also constrained by internal energy densities of non-thermal and total particles.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted to MNRA

Association between shift work and the risk of death from biliary tract cancer in Japanese men

Background: There is increasing evidence suggesting that shift work involving night work may increase cancer risk. Methods: We examined the association between working rotating shifts and the risk of death from biliary tract cancer among Japanese men who participated in the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study. Of the 46, 395 men recruited, 22, 224 men aged 40-65 at baseline (1988-1990) who reported working full-time or were self-employed were included in the present analysis. The study subjects were followed through December 31, 2009. Information regarding occupation and lifestyle factors was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI) for the risk of death from biliary tract cancer in relation to shift work. Results: During a mean 17-year follow-up, we observed 94 biliary tract cancer deaths, including 23 deaths from gallbladder cancer and 71 deaths from extrahepatic bile duct cancer. Overall, shift work was associated with a statistically non-significant increase in the risk of biliary tract cancer, with an HR of 1.50 (95 % CI: 0.81-2.77), among rotating shift workers. When the analysis was limited to extrahepatic bile duct cancer, a significant association appeared, with a multivariable-adjusted HR of 1.93 (95 % CI: 1.00-3.72) for rotating shift workers. Conclusion: Our data indicate that shift work may be associated with increased risk of death from extrahepatic bile duct cancer in this cohort of Japanese men. The association with gallbladder cancer remains unclear because of the small number of deaths