Effects of ultrasonic treatment on the preparation of transparent glass-ceramic phosphor

The effects of ultrasonic surface treatment (UST) on the crystallization behavior and optical emission properties were investigated for the transparent glass-ceramics prepared from calcium aluminosilicate glasses co-doped with Eu(2+), Nd(3+). The glass-ceramics A were prepared by sintering a glass 45CaO・45Al(2)O(3)・10SiO(2) (mol%) containing 0.5Eu(2)O(3)+1Nd(2)O(3) under a 2% H(2)+98% Ar reducing atmosphere. In the glass-ceramics A, three crystalline phases, CaAl(2)O(4) (CA), CaAl(4)O(7) (CA2) and Ca(2)Al(2)SiO(7) (CAS) were commonly confirmed by X-ray diffraction. No drastic change in the amount of the precipitated crystalline phases was observed even in the case using UST of CA powders. It was suggested that the optical emission properties of the glass-ceramics A was responsible for the CA2 crystals. The glass-ceramics B were also prepared from a 51CaO・42Al(2)O(3)・7SiO(2) glass. The CA crystals were separately precipitated in the glass-ceramics B. In particular, a large amount of CA was successfully produced by stirring the UST suspension to prevent the sedimentation of the UST particles. The glass-ceramic B so-prepared showed strong photoluminescence but weak phosphorescence compared with other glass-ceramics B, indicating that the photoluminescence and phosphorescence were originated in different electron-trapping levels. The amount of the trap levels associated with the long lasting phosphorescence, such as oxygen vacancies, was probably small in the glass-ceramic B prepared with the stirring UST

Subtype-specific gout susceptibility loci and enrichment of selection pressure on ABCG2 and ALDH2 identified by subtype genome-wide meta-analyses of clinically defined gout patients

Objectives Genome-wide meta-analyses of clinically defined gout were performed to identify subtype-specific susceptibility loci. Evaluation using selection pressure analysis with these loci was also conducted to investigate genetic risks characteristic of the Japanese population over the last 2000–3000 years. Methods Two genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of 3053 clinically defined gout cases and 4554 controls from Japanese males were performed using the Japonica Array and Illumina Array platforms. About 7.2 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms were meta-analysed after imputation. Patients were then divided into four clinical subtypes (the renal underexcretion type, renal overload type, combined type and normal type), and meta-analyses were conducted in the same manner. Selection pressure analyses using singleton density score were also performed on each subtype. Results In addition to the eight loci we reported previously, two novel loci, PIBF1 and ACSM2B, were identified at a genome-wide significance level (p<5.0×10–8) from a GWAS meta-analysis of all gout patients, and other two novel intergenic loci, CD2-PTGFRN and SLC28A3-NTRK2, from normal type gout patients. Subtype-dependent patterns of Manhattan plots were observed with subtype GWASs of gout patients, indicating that these subtype-specific loci suggest differences in pathophysiology along patients’ gout subtypes. Selection pressure analysis revealed significant enrichment of selection pressure on ABCG2 in addition to ALDH2 loci for all subtypes except for normal type gout. Conclusions Our findings on subtype GWAS meta-analyses and selection pressure analysis of gout will assist elucidation of the subtype-dependent molecular targets and evolutionary involvement among genotype, phenotype and subtype-specific tailor-made medicine/prevention of gout and hyperuricaemia

Post-transcriptional downregulation of sarcolipin mRNA by triiodothyronine in the atrial myocardium

AbstractThyroid hormone-mediated positive cardiotropic effects are differently regulated between the atria and ventricles. This regulation is, at least in part, dependent on sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) proteins. Sarcolipin, a homologue of phospholamban, has been recently identified as an atrium-specific SR protein. The expression of sarcolipin mRNA was significantly decreased in the atria of mice with hyperthyroidism and in 3,5,3′-triiodo-l-thyronine-treated neonatal rat atrial myocytes. Promoter activity and mRNA stability analyses revealed that thyroid hormone post-transcriptionally downregulated the expression of sarcolipin mRNA. The atrium-specific effect of thyroid hormone may occur in part through the regulation of atrial sarcolipin gene expression

Development of Defective and Persistent Sendai Virus Vector: A UNIQUE GENE DELIVERY/EXPRESSION SYSTEM IDEAL FOR CELL REPROGRAMMING*

The ectopic expression of transcription factors can reprogram differentiated tissue cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. However, this is a slow and inefficient process, depending on the simultaneous delivery of multiple genes encoding essential reprogramming factors and on their sustained expression in target cells. Moreover, once cell reprogramming is accomplished, these exogenous reprogramming factors should be replaced with their endogenous counterparts for establishing autoregulated pluripotency. Complete and designed removal of the exogenous genes from the reprogrammed cells would be an ideal option for satisfying this latter requisite as well as for minimizing the risk of malignant cell transformation. However, no single gene delivery/expression system has ever been equipped with these contradictory characteristics. Here we report the development of a novel replication-defective and persistent Sendai virus (SeVdp) vector based on a noncytopathic variant virus, which fulfills all of these requirements for cell reprogramming. The SeVdp vector could accommodate up to four exogenous genes, deliver them efficiently into various mammalian cells (including primary tissue cells and human hematopoietic stem cells) and express them stably in the cytoplasm at a prefixed balance. Furthermore, interfering with viral transcription/replication using siRNA could erase the genomic RNA of SeVdp vector from the target cells quickly and thoroughly. A SeVdp vector installed with Oct4/Sox2/Klf4/c-Myc could reprogram mouse primary fibroblasts quite efficiently; ∼1% of the cells were reprogrammed to Nanog-positive induced pluripotent stem cells without chromosomal gene integration. Thus, this SeVdp vector has potential as a tool for advanced cell reprogramming and for stem cell research