Crystal Structure of the Complex between Calyculin A and the Catalytic Subunit of Protein Phosphatase 1

AbstractThe crystal structure of the catalytic subunit of the protein phosphatase 1 (PP1), PP1γ, in complex with a marine toxin, calyculin A, was determined at 2.0 Å resolution. The metal binding site contains the phosphate group of calyculin A and forms a tight network via the hydrophilic interactions between PP1 and calyculin A. Calyculin A is located in two of the three grooves, namely, in the hydrophobic groove and the acidic groove on the molecular surface. This is the first observation to note that the inhibitor adopts not a pseudocyclic conformation but an extended conformation in order to form a complex with the protein. The amino acid terminus of calyculin A contributes, in a limited manner, to the binding to PP1γ, which is consistent with findings from the studies of dose-inhibition analysis

Large Kinetic Power in FRII Radio Jets

We investigate the total kinetic powers (L_{j}) and ages (t_{age}) of powerful jets of four FR II radio sources (Cygnus A, 3C 223, 3C 284, and 3C 219) by the detail comparison of the dynamical model of expanding cocoons with observed ones. It is found that these sources have quite large kinetic powers with the ratio of L_{j} to the Eddington luminosity (L_{Edd}) resides in $0.02 <L_{j}/L_{Edd} <10$. Reflecting the large kinetic powers, we also find that the total energy stored in the cocoon (E_{c}) exceed the energy derived from the minimum energy condition (E_{min}): $2< E_{c}/E_{min} <160$. This implies that a large amount of kinetic power is carried by invisible components such as thermal leptons (electron and positron) and/or protons.Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

The MAXI Mission on the ISS: Science and Instruments for Monitoring All Sky X-Ray Images

The MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image) mission is the first astronomical payload to be installed on the Japanese Experiment Module-Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) on the ISS. It is scheduled for launch in the middle of 2009 to monitor all-sky X-ray objects on every ISS orbit. MAXI will be more powerful than any previous X-ray All Sky Monitor (ASM) payloads, being able to monitor hundreds of AGN. MAXI will provide all sky images of X-ray sources of about 20 mCrab in the energy band of 2-30 keV from observation on one ISS orbit (90 min), about 4.5 mCrab for one day, and about 1 mCrab for one month. A final detectability of MAXI could be 0.2 mCrab for 2 year observations.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japa

The estimate of kinetic powers of jets in FRII radio galaxies: existence of invisible components?

We investigate the total kinetic powers (L_j) and ages (t_age) of powerful jets in FR II radio galaxies by comparison of the dynamical model of expanding cocoons with observations. We select four FR II radio sources (Cygnus A, 3C 223, 3C 284, and 3C 219), for which the mass-density profiles of intracluster medium (ICM) are known in the literature. It is found that large fractions > 0.02 - 0.7 of the Eddington luminosity (L_Edd) are carried away as a kinetic power of jet. The upper limit of estimated 2 L_j / L_Edd are larger than unity (< 10) for some sources, suggesting a possibility of super-Eddington mass accretions. As a consequence of the large powers, we also find that the total energy stored in the cocoon (E_c) exceeds the energy derived from the minimum energy condition for the energy of radiating non-thermal electrons and magnetic fields (E_min): 4< E_c /E_min <310. This implies that most of the energy in cocoon is carried by invisible components such as thermal leptons (electron and positron) and/or protons.Comment: 28 pages, accepted for publication in Ap

Extension of the operational regime of the LHD towards a deuterium experiment

As the finalization of a hydrogen experiment towards the deuterium phase, the exploration of the best performance of hydrogen plasma was intensively performed in the large helical device. High ion and electron temperatures, Ti and Te, of more than 6 keV were simultaneously achieved by superimposing high-power electron cyclotron resonance heating onneutral beam injection (NBI) heated plasma. Although flattening of the ion temperature profile in the core region was observed during the discharges, one could avoid degradation by increasing the electron density. Another key parameter to present plasma performance is an averaged beta value $\left\langle \beta \right\rangle$ . The high $\left\langle \beta \right\rangle$ regime around 4% was extended to an order of magnitude lower than the earlier collisional regime. Impurity behaviour in hydrogen discharges with NBI heating was also classified with a wide range of edge plasma parameters. The existence of a no impurity accumulation regime, where the high performance plasma is maintained with high power heating  >10 MW, was identified. Wide parameter scan experiments suggest that the toroidal rotation and the turbulence are the candidates for expelling impurities from the core region

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Clearly transparent nanopaper from highly concentrated cellulose nanofiber dispersion using dilution and sonication

Kasuga, T.; Isobe, N.; Yagyu, H.; Koga, H.; Nogi, M. Clearly Transparent Nanopaper from Highly Concentrated Cellulose Nanofiber Dispersion Using Dilution and Sonication. Nanomaterials 2018, 8, 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano8020104