Mineralogy of the Asuka 87 and 88 eucrites and crustal evolution of the HED parent body

Mineralogical study of three apparently crystalline eucrites, Asuka (A)-87272,A-881388 and A-881394 revealed that their textures are not primary crystallization products from a magma. A-87272 is a monomict breccia, but the finegrained matrix is recrystallized to a granulitic texture with fine, rounded pyroxene crystals set in a plagioclase matrix. Large fragments of pyroxene are inverted to orthopyroxene with coarse exsolution lamellae on (001) and fine ones on (100). A-881388 contains a large, rounded opaque grain with a tail, and with an ilmenite-chromite-troilite-metal assemblage in fine-grained granulitic silicates, suggesting recrystallization. A-881394 is coarser grained than A-881388 and contains more magnesian pyroxene as in cumulate eucrites, but the plagioclase composition is extremely calcic (An 98) and the grains are composed with a few rounded grains. The A-881394 chromite, showing a pokilitic texture with rounded plagioclase and minor pyroxene, suggests a metamorphic texture. Our present interpretation for a common formation process among these eucrites is that despite their crystalline texture, they might have experienced extensive metamorphism after the initial crystallization in the early history of the crustal evolution

Retrograde ERK activation waves drive base-to-apex multicellular flow in murine cochlear duct morphogenesis

うずまき管の伸⻑を司る分子活性と細胞群の波を発見 --綱引きによる細胞群の流れと臓器の成長--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-03-09.A notable example of spiral architecture in organs is the mammalian cochlear duct, where the morphology is critical for hearing function. Genetic studies have revealed necessary signaling molecules, but it remains unclear how cellular dynamics generate elongating, bending, and coiling of the cochlear duct. Here, we show that extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation waves control collective cell migration during the murine cochlear duct development using deep tissue live-cell imaging, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based quantitation, and mathematical modeling. Long-term FRET imaging reveals that helical ERK activation propagates from the apex duct tip concomitant with the reverse multicellular flow on the lateral side of the developing cochlear duct, resulting in advection-based duct elongation. Moreover, model simulations, together with experiments, explain that the oscillatory wave trains of ERK activity and the cell flow are generated by mechanochemical feedback. Our findings propose a regulatory mechanism to coordinate the multicellular behaviors underlying the duct elongation during development

Stalling interkinetic nuclear migration in curved pseudostratified epithelium of developing cochlea

The bending of epithelial tubes is a fundamental process in organ morphogenesis, driven by various multicellular behaviours. The cochlea in the mammalian inner ear is a representative example of spiral tissue architecture where the continuous bending of the duct is a fundamental component of its morphogenetic process. Although the cochlear duct morphogenesis has been studied by genetic approaches extensively, it is still unclear how the cochlear duct morphology is physically formed. Here, we report that nuclear behaviour changes are associated with the curvature of the pseudostratified epithelium during murine cochlear development. Two-photon live-cell imaging reveals that the nuclei shuttle between the luminal and basal edges of the cell is in phase with cell-cycle progression, known as interkinetic nuclear migration, in the flat region of the pseudostratified epithelium. However, the nuclei become stationary on the luminal side following mitosis in the curved region. Mathematical modelling together with perturbation experiments shows that this nuclear stalling facilitates luminal-basal differential growth within the epithelium, suggesting that the nuclear stalling would contribute to the bending of the pseudostratified epithelium during the cochlear duct development. The findings suggest a possible scenario of differential growth which sculpts the tissue shape, driven by collective nuclear dynamics

Mineralogy of Yamato 983885 lunar polymict breccia with a KREEP basalt,a high-Al basalt, a very low-Ti basalt and Mg-rich rocks

Y983885 is a polymict regolith breccia with a KREEP basalt, Mg-rich troctolite/norite, a high-Al basalt, a very low-Ti basalt, a granulite originated from ferroan anorthosite, and Si, Na-rich impact spherules. An igneous KREEP basalt is first reported among lunar meteorites to date. The KREEP basalt is mineralogically distinct from Apollo KREEP basalts due to the lack of the typical Ca zoning from orthopyroxene to pigeonite, instead, the presence of the co-existing pigeonite/augite with chemical zonings and micron-scale exsolution. With these mineral characteristics, the KREEP basalt is probably cooled slightly slower than the Apollo KREEP basalts under the subsurface condition such as hypabyssal setting or lava pond. Further study of the additional samples is necessary to fully understand the petrogenesis of this new KREEP basalt. The troctolite and norite are also distinct in lower mg# of mafic minerals and higher modal abundance of olivine in norite, comparing to Apollo troctolites and norites, implying the existence of a rock type with intermediate modal abundance between norite and troctolite, and the compositional diversity of Mg-rich lithologies. Simultaneous occurrence of a KREEP basalt and a genetically KREEP-related, high-Al basalt, a Mg-rich troctolite/norite and the Si, Na-rich impact glasses can constrain the source region of Y983885 to the KREEP-rich Procellarum terrane in the northwestern hemisphere of the lunar nearside

Applying Surface Plasmon Resonance to Monitor the IgE-Mediated Activation of Human Basophils

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe histamine releasing test which detects histamine released from basophils in vitro is safe, sensitive and widely used for clinical examination in the field of allergy. However, basophils of certain individuals do not release histamine, because of dysfunctions in their intracellular signal transduction (non-responder). To overcome potential shortcomings of the histamine releasing test, we applied surface plasmon resonance (SPR) to detect the activation of basophils.MethodsBasophils of patients with allergy, and those of non-allergic volunteers were isolated from peripheral blood. A batch of basophils obtained from a healthy volunteer was treated with lactic acid and IgE of a patient with atopic dermatitis in order to replace their endogenous IgE. They were fixed on the sensor chip of the SPR apparatus, pretreated with or without various inhibitors for intracellular signal transduction, and exposed to the antigens or anti-IgE antibody.ResultsWhen basophils were sensitized with antigen specific IgE, they immediately caused the increase of resonance angle (AR) in response to either anti-IgE antibody or corresponding antigens, even when they did not release histamine. Moreover, the dose dependent reactions of basophils were reflected by the increase of AR as well as the release of histamine. The increase of AR in response to anti-IgE antibody was reduced by pre-treatment of basophils with inhibitors for intracellular signal transduction, but not more than the level for his- tamine release.ConclusionsSPR biosensors may be superior to the histamine release test for studying functions of human basophils including those not releasing histamine

Nanosurgery of sub-cellular organelles in living cells using a femtosecond laser oscillator

Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering, 2006, San Jose, California, United StatesWataru Watanabe, Tomoko Shimada, Sachihiro Matsunaga, Hiroshi Ishii, Tsunehito Higashi, Kiichi Fukui, Kazuyoshi Itoh, "Nanosurgery of sub-cellular organelles in living cells using a femtosecond laser oscillator," Proc. SPIE 6108, Commercial and Biomedical Applications of Ultrafast Lasers VI, 610804 (28 February 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.645474

Intracellular disruption of mitochondria in a living HeLa cell with a 76-MHz femtosecond laser oscillator

Shimada T., Watanabe W., Matsunaga S., et al. Intracellular disruption of mitochondria in a living HeLa cell with a 76-MHz femtosecond laser oscillator. Optics Express, 13, 24, 9869. https://doi.org/10.1364/OPEX.13.009869