formation of a laminar electron flow for 300GHz high-power pulsed gyrotron

This paper describes the design of a triode magnetron injection gun for use in a 200 kW, 300 GHz gyrotron. As power and frequency increase, the performance of the gyrotron becomes quite sensitive to the quality of the electron beam. Formation of a laminar electron flow is essential for the realization of a high quality beam with a small velocity spread. In this study, a new method is developed for a quantitative evaluation of the laminarity and is applied to optimize the electrode design. The laminarity depends not only on conventional design parameters such as the cathode slant angle but also on the spatial distribution of the electric field along the beam trajectory. In the optimized design, the velocity pitch factors, a, larger than 1.2 are obtained at 65 kV, 10A with spreads, Da, less than 5%

Eye contrast polarity is critical for face recognition by infants

Just as faces share the same basic arrangement of features, with two eyes above a nose above a mouth, human eyes all share the same basic contrast polarity relations, with a sclera lighter than an iris and a pupil, and this is unique among primates. The current study examined whether this bright-dark relationship of sclera to iris plays a critical role in face recognition from early in development. Specifically, we tested face discrimination in 7- and 8-month-old infants while independently manipulating the contrast polarity of the eye region and of the rest of the face. This gave four face contrast polarity conditions: fully positive condition, fully negative condition, positive face with negated eyes ( negative eyes ) condition, and negated face with positive eyes ( positive eyes ) condition. In a familiarization and novelty preference procedure, we found that 7- and 8-month-olds could discriminate between faces only when the contrast polarity of the eyes was preserved (positive) and that this did not depend on the contrast polarity of the rest of the face. This demonstrates the critical role of eye contrast polarity for face recognition in 7- and 8-month-olds and is consistent with previous findings for adults

Observation of Dynamic Interactions between Fundamental and Second-Harmonic Modes in a High-Power Sub-Terahertz Gyrotron Operating in Regimes of Soft and Hard Self-Excitation

Dynamic mode interaction between fundamental and second-harmonic modes has been observed in high-power sub-terahertz gyrotrons [T. Notake et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 225002 (2009); T. Saito et al. Phys. Plasmas 19, 063106 (2012)]. Interaction takes place between a parasitic fundamental or firstharmonic (FH) mode and an operating second-harmonic (SH) mode, as well as among SH modes. In particular, nonlinear excitation of the parasitic FH mode in the hard self-excitation regime with assistance of a SH mode in the soft self-excitation regime was clearly observed. Moreover, both cases of stable twomode oscillation and oscillation of the FH mode only were observed. These observations and theoretical analyses of the dynamic behavior of the mode interaction verify the nonlinear hard self-excitation of the FH mode

Novel protein extraction approach using micro-sized chamber for evaluation of proteins eluted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections

We describe a novel antigen-retrieval method using a micro-sized chamber for mass spectrometry (MS) analysis to identify proteins that are preferentially eluted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples. This approach revealed that heat-induced antigen retrieval (HIAR) from an FFPE sample fixed on a glass slide not only improves protein identification, but also facilitates preferential elution of protein subsets corresponding to the properties of antigen-retrieval buffers. Our approach may contribute to an understanding of the mechanism of HIAR

Fusarium phytotoxin trichothecenes have an elicitor-like activity in Arabidopsis thaliana, but the activity differed significantly among their molecular species

金沢大学学際科学実験センター遺伝子研究施設Phytopathogenic fungi such as Fusarium spp. synthesize trichothecene family phytotoxins. Although the type B trichothecene, deoxynivalenol (DON), is thought to be a virulence factor allowing infection of plants by their trichothecene-producing Fusarium spp., little is known about effects of trichothecenes on the defense response in host plants. Therefore, in this article, we investigated these effects of various trichothecenes in Fusarium-susceptible Arabidopsis thaliana. Necrotic lesions were observed in Arabidopsis leaves infiltrated by 1 μM type A trichothecenes such as T-2 toxin. Trichothecene-induced lesions exhibited dead cells, callose deposition, generation of hydrogen peroxide, and accumulation of salicylic acids. Moreover, infiltration by trichothecenes caused rapid and prolonged activation of two mitogen-activated protein kinases and induced expression of both PR-1 and PDF1.2 genes. Thus, type A trichothecenes trigger the cell death by activation of an elicitor-like signaling pathway in Arabidopsis. Although DON did not have such an activity even at 10 μM, translational inhibition by DON was observed at concentrations above 5 μM. These results suggested that DON is capable of inhibiting translation in Arabidopsis cells without induction of the elicitor-like signaling pathway. © 2006 The American Phytopathological Society.

Soluble LR11/SorLA represses thermogenesis in adipose tissue and correlates with BMI in humans.

Thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT) is an important component of energy expenditure in mammals. Recent studies have confirmed its presence and metabolic role in humans. Defining the physiological regulation of BAT is therefore of great importance for developing strategies to treat metabolic diseases. Here we show that the soluble form of the low-density lipoprotein receptor relative, LR11/SorLA (sLR11), suppresses thermogenesis in adipose tissue in a cell-autonomous manner. Mice lacking LR11 are protected from diet-induced obesity associated with an increased browning of white adipose tissue and hypermetabolism. Treatment of adipocytes with sLR11 inhibits thermogenesis via the bone morphogenetic protein/TGFβ signalling pathway and reduces Smad phosphorylation. In addition, sLR11 levels in humans are shown to positively correlate with body mass index and adiposity. Given the need for tight regulation of a tissue with a high capacity for energy wastage, we propose that LR11 plays an energy conserving role that is exaggerated in states of obesity.AW and AVP were supported by FP7 – BetaBAT, BBSRC (BB/J009865/1), the British Heart Foundation (PG/12/53/29714) and MDU MRC. MJ and HB were supported by Japan Health and Labour Sciences Research grant (H22-rinkensui-ippan-001) and Grants-in–aid for Scientific Research from Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (24390231 and 24790907). VP was supported by Wellcome Trust and the Cambridge Overseas Trust. JR was supported by Ministerio de Educación, through “Programa Nacional de Movilidad de Recursos Humanos del Plan Nacional de I-D+i 2008-2011 (Subprograma de Estancias de Movilidad en el Extranjero “José Castillejo” para jóvenes Doctores, ref: JC2011-0248). SV was supported by MRC. WJS was supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF P-20218 and P-20455). Animal work was performed at the MDU DMC Core facilities.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from NPG via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms995

Soluble LR11/SorLA represses thermogenesis in adipose tissue and correlates with BMI in humans

Thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT) is an important component of energy expenditure in mammals. Recent studies have confirmed its presence and metabolic role in humans. Defining the physiological regulation of BAT is therefore of great importance for developing strategies to treat metabolic diseases. Here we show that the soluble form of the low-density lipoprotein receptor relative, LR11/SorLA (sLR11), suppresses thermogenesis in adipose tissue in a cell-autonomous manner. Mice lacking LR11 are protected from diet-induced obesity associated with an increased browning of white adipose tissue and hypermetabolism. Treatment of adipocytes with sLR11 inhibits thermogenesis via the bone morphogenetic protein/TGFb signalling pathway and reduces Smad phosphorylation. In addition, sLR11 levels in humans are shown to positively correlate with body mass index and adiposity. Given the need for tight regulation of a tissue with a high capacity for energy wastage, we propose that LR11 plays an energy conserving role that is exaggerated in states of obesity