A sensitive cloud chamber without radioactive sources

We present a sensitive diffusion cloud chamber which does not require any radioactive sources. A major difference from a commonly used chamber is use of a heat sink as its bottom plate. A result of a performance test of the chamber is given.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, iopart.cls, figures and references adde

Electrochemical performance of Sn4P3 negative electrode for Na-ion batteries in ether-substituted ionic liquid electrolyte

We have previously disclosed that the ionic-liquid electrolyte sodium bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide (NaFSA)/1-methyl-1-propylpyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide (Py13-FSA) can significantly improve the cycling stability of Sn4P3 negative electrodes for Na-ion batteries (NIBs). However, the strong electrostatic interaction between Na+ and FSA− in the electrolyte leads to high viscosity and low conductivity. In this study, we have tried to improve the conductivity of the electrolyte and enhance the rate capability of the Sn4P3 electrode by introducing an ether group in the side-chain of the ionic liquid cation to reduce said electrostatic interaction. Ether-substituted ionic liquid 1-methoxymethyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium (PyMOM)-FSA showed higher conductivity than Py13-FSA and the Sn4P3 electrode exhibited a higher rate capability. The differential capacity vs. potential plots suggest that the reaction between Na+ and Sn or P is promoted in the ether-substituted ionic liquid electrolyte. These results demonstrate that introduction of an ether moiety is an effective approach to improve the rate capability of the Sn4P3 electrode in NIBs

Development of a 1,3a,6a-triazapentalene derivative as a compact and thiol-specific fluorescent labeling reagent

For the fluorescence imaging of biologically active small compounds, the development of compact fluorophores that do not perturb bioactivity is required. Here we report a compact derivative of fluorescent 1,3a,6a-triazapentalenes, 2-isobutenylcarbonyl-1,3a,6a-triazapentalene (TAP-VK1), as a fluorescent labeling reagent. The reaction of TAP-VK1 with various aliphatic thiols proceeds smoothly to afford the corresponding 1,4-adducts in high yields, and nucleophiles other than thiols do not react. After the addition of thiol groups in dichloromethane, the emission maximum of TAP-VK1 shifts to a shorter wavelength and the fluorescence intensity is substantially increased. The utility of TAP-VK1 as a compact fluorescent labeling reagent is clearly demonstrated by the labeling of Captopril, which is a small molecular drug for hypertension. The successful imaging of Captopril, one of the most compact drugs, in this study demonstrates the usefulness of compact fluorophores for mechanistic studies

Silverrush. Xii. Intensity Mapping for Ly Α Emission Extending over 100-1000 Comoving Kpc Around Z ∼2-7 Laes with Subaru Hsc-Ssp and Chorus Data

We conduct intensity mapping to probe for extended diffuse Lyα emission around Lyα emitters (LAEs) at z ∼2-7, exploiting very deep (∼26 mag at 5σ) and large-area (∼4.5 deg2) Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam narrowband (NB) images and large LAE catalogs consisting of a total of 1540 LAEs at z = 2.2, 3.3, 5.7, and 6.6 obtained by the HSC-SSP and CHORUS projects. We calculate the spatial correlations of these LAEs with ∼1-2-billion-pixel flux values of the NB images, deriving the average Lyα surface brightness (SBLyα ) radial profiles around the LAEs. By carefully estimating systematics such as fluctuations of sky background and point-spread functions, we detect Lyα emission at 100-1000 comoving kpc around z = 3.3 and 5.7 LAEs at the 3.2σ and 3.7σ levels, respectively, and tentatively (=2.0σ) at z = 6.6. The emission is as diffuse as ∼10-20-10-19 erg s-1 cm-2 arcsec-2 and extended beyond the virial radius of a dark matter halo with a mass of 1011 M. While the observed SBLyα profiles have similar amplitudes at z = 2.2-6.6 within the uncertainties, the intrinsic SBLyα profiles (corrected for the cosmological dimming effect) increase toward high redshifts. This trend may be explained by increasing hydrogen gas density due to the evolution of the cosmic volume. Comparisons with theoretical models suggest that extended Lyα emission around an LAE is powered by resonantly scattered Lyα photons in the CGM and IGM that originate from the inner part of the LAE and/or neighboring galaxies around the LAE

High PTX3 expression is associated with a poor prognosis in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are associated with a poor prognosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). As macrophages are heterogeneous, the immune polarization and their pathological role warrant further study. We characterized the microenvironment of DLBCL by immunohistochemistry in a training set of 132 cases, which included 10 Epstein–Barr virus-encoded small RNA (EBER)-positive and five high-grade B-cell lymphomas, with gene expression profiling in a representative subset of 37 cases. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma had a differential infiltration of TAMs. The high infiltration of CD68 (pan-macrophages), CD16 (M1-like), CD163, pentraxin 3 (PTX3), and interleukin (IL)-10-positive macrophages (M2c-like) and low infiltration of FOXP3-positive regulatory T lymphocytes (Tregs) correlated with poor survival. Activated B cell-like DLBCL was associated with high CD16, CD163, PTX3, and IL-10, and EBER-positive DLBCL with high CD163 and PTX3. Programmed cell death-ligand 1 positively correlated with CD16, CD163, IL-10, and RGS1. In a multivariate analysis of overall survival, PTX3 and International Prognostic Index were identified as the most relevant variables. The gene expression analysis showed upregulation of genes involved in innate and adaptive immune responses and macrophage and Toll-like receptor pathways in high PTX3 cases. The prognostic relevance of PTX3 was confirmed in a validation set of 159 cases. Finally, in a series from Europe and North America (GSE10846, R-CHOP-like treatment, n = 233) high gene expression of PTX3 correlated with poor survival, and moderately with CSF1R, CD16, MITF, CD163, MYC, and RGS1. Therefore, the high infiltration of M2c-like immune regulatory macrophages and low infiltration of FOXP3-positive Tregs is associated with a poor prognosis in DLBCL, for which PTX3 is a new prognostic biomarker

Lipocalin function of E.coli zinT (yodA) protein.

重金属やアミトロール(AT)で発現誘導され、大腸菌ストレス応答タンパク質の一種であるzinT (yodA)は、一次構造比較やX線結晶構造解析による三次元立体構造などから、C末端領域に金属結合部位を持つこと、ABC transporter やlipocalinファミリーと一部相同なアミノ酸配列を持つことが明らかとなっているが、zinTの金属以外の低分子結合能については報告がない。そこで本研究では、大腸菌zinTタンパク質の種々の物質との結合能を、野生型zinTおよびN末端22残基欠損体(ΔN22)を用いて検討した。 まず、zinTの分子内TyrまたはTrp蛍光を指標として、種々の物質を添加に伴う蛍光強度の減少を測定した。低分子化合物としては、(1)ATおよびdNTP(2) 脂肪酸および脂質5種、(3) 複素式化合物3種、(4)芳香族化合物3種を検討し、zinTに対しそれぞれ添加し、30℃、10分間保温後、蛍光スペクトルを測定した。その結果、化合物添加によりzinTの最大蛍光強度は濃度依存的に減少し、特にdNTP, Qurcetinおよび8-ANSで顕著に見られた。また、野生型とΔN22において、蛍光減少の濃度依存性に顕著な差異は見られなかった。以上より、zinTは疎水性低分子化合物結合能(lipocalin活性)を有し、N末端領域のlipocalin活性に対する寄与は少ないことが明らかとなった

High TNFRSF14 and low BTLA are associated with poor prognosis in Follicular Lymphoma and in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma transformation

The microenvironment influences the behavior of follicular lymphoma (FL) but the specific roles of the immunomodulatory BTLA and TNFRSF14 (HVEM) are unknown. Therefore, we examined their immunohistochemical expression in the intrafollicular, interfollicular and total histological compartments in 106 FL cases (57M/49F; median age 57-years), and in nine relapsed-FL with transformation to DLBCL (tFL). BTLA expression pattern was of follicular T-helper cells (TFH) in the intrafollicular and of T-cells in the interfollicular compartments. The mantle zones were BTLA+ in 35.6% of the cases with similar distribution of IgD. TNFRSF14 expression pattern was of neoplastic B lymphocytes (centroblasts) and "tingible body macrophages". At diagnosis, the averages of total BTLA and TNFRSF14-positive cells were 19.2%±12.4STD (range, 0.6%-58.2%) and 46.7 cells/HPF (1-286.5), respectively. No differences were seen between low-grade vs. high-grade FL but tFL was characterized by low BTLA and high TNFRSF14 expression. High BTLA correlated with good overall survival (OS) (total-BTLA, Hazard Risk=0.479, P=0.022) and with high PD-1 and FOXP3+Tregs. High TNFRSF14 correlated with poor OS and progression-free survival (PFS) (total-TNFRSF14, HR=3.9 and 3.2, respectively, P<0.0001), with unfavorable clinical variables and higher risk of transformation (OR=5.3). Multivariate analysis including BTLA, TNFRSF14 and FLIPI showed that TNFRSF14 and FLIPI maintained prognostic value for OS and TNFRSF14 for PFS. In the GSE16131 FL series, high TNFRSF14 gene expression correlated with worse prognosis and GSEA showed that NFkB pathway was associated with the "High-TNFRSF14/dead-phenotype". In conclusion, the BTLA-TNFRSF14 immune modulation pathway seems to play a role in the pathobiology and prognosis of FL