Pivotal roles of shear stress in the microenvironmental changes that occur within sentinel lymph nodes

A sentinel lymph node (SLN) is the first lymph node that receives drainage from a primary tumor. According to their physiological and biomechanical characteristics, we hypothesized that SLN contains lymphatic endothelial cells (LEC) that are constantly loaded with high levels of shear stress, which might contribute to the production of a suitable environment for micrometastasis within them. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the effects of shear stress stimulation on the expression of adhesion molecules on human LEC isolated from the lymph vessels nearest the SLN of breast cancers, and on the release of ATP from human LEC. The study clarified that the shear stress stimulation produced a significant increase of ICAM-1 expression at protein and mRNA levels in human LEC. Next, we examined whether the shear stress-mediated increase of ICAM-1 expression accelerates the attachment of carcinoma cells to human LEC. Finally, in in vivo experiments, we evaluated whether exogenous ATP facilitates the expression of carcinoma cell-ligated adhesion molecules in rat SLN. In conclusion, shear stress stimulation induces ICAM-1 expression on human LEC by activating cell surface F1/FO ATP synthase, which might contribute to the development of a premetastatic environment within SLN. (Cancer Sci 2012; 103: 12451252)ArticleCANCER SCIENCE. 103(7):1245-1252 (2012)journal articl

Electronic structure of single-walled carbon nanotubes on ultrathin insulating films

The electronic structures of single-walled carbon nanotubes on Ag(100) and on ultrathin insulating NaCl(100)/Ag(100) were studied using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. The Fermi level of the nanotubes was shifted toward the conduction band on Ag(100), while it was shifted toward the valence band on NaCl films. We explain this opposite behavior by different basic mechanisms accounting for the Fermi level shifts. On the metal surface, the work function difference between the tube and the substrate determines the direction of the Fermi level shift. In the case of carbon nanotubes on insulating films, the electric field resulting from the dipole moment formed at the interface between the insulating film and the metal plays a decisive role in determining the Fermi level.open8

Controlling water dissociation on an ultrathin MgO film by tuning film thickness

Periodic density-functional theory calculations at the single-molecule level were used to study dissociation of water on ultrathin MgO films with varying thickness deposited on the Ag(100) surface. The enhanced chemical activity for water dissociation on MgO/Ag(100) originates from the greater stability of dissociated products, which is due in turn to the strong hybridization of their electronic states at the oxide-metal interface. Our results provide insights into the superiority of the monolayer MgO film surface over the bulk surface and the use of the film thickness to control heterogeneous catalysis in water dissociation.open11

Real-time imaging of the lymphatic channels and sentinel lymph nodes of the stomach using contrast-enhanced ultrasonography with Sonazoid in a porcine model

The contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS)-guided method in combination with Sonazoid has not been clinically or experimentally evaluated with regard to its use for identifying sentinel lymph node (SLN) in the stomach. Therefore, we attempted to evaluate the usefulness of the CEUS-guided method with Sonazoid for imaging of the lymphatic channels and SLN of the stomach in a porcine model by comparing it with the conventional Evans blue dye-guided method. Twenty-eight 2 to 3-month-old swine weighing 17-30 kg were used in this experiment. Anesthesia was maintained with 2.0-3.0% isoflurane/O(2) inhalation. Sonazoid was injected into the intra-and sub-mucosal layers of the stomach. The intragastric or transcutaneous CEUS-guided method was used to identify the lymphatic channels and SLN of the stomach. Contrast imaging using the CEUS-guided method with Sonazoid enabled us to produce clear images of the afferent lymph vessel and SLN of the stomach until 2 h after the injection of Sonazoid. In addition, intranodal flow of the microbubble agent could be clearly identified using tissue linear harmonic images of the SLN. The SLN detection rate was not significantly different between the CEUS- and dye-guided methods. However, the Evans blue dye flowed out quickly (similar to 15 min after the injection) through the true SLN into the next LN of stomach. In conclusion, the use of the CEUS-guided method with Sonazoid might be the most useful clinical procedure for producing real-time images of the SLN of the stomach, and the linear harmonic images are also useful for evaluating intranodal structure within the SLN. (Cancer Sci 2011; 102: 2073-2081)ArticleCANCER SCIENCE. 102(11):2073-2081 (2011)journal articl

Evolutionally conserved plant homologue of the Bax Inhibitor-1 (BI-1) gene capable of suppressing Bax-induced cell death in yeast11Accession numbers: OsBI-1, AB025926; AtBI-1, AB025927 for DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank.

AbstractThe plant homologue of Bax Inhibitor-1, a gene described to suppress the cell death induced by Bax gene expression in yeast, was isolated from Oryza sativa L. (rice) and Arabidopsis. The amino acid sequence of the predicted protein was well conserved in both animal and plant (45% in amino acids) and contained six or seven membrane-spanning segments. Northern blot analysis showed that OsBI-1 transcripts were present in all tissues examined. The OsBI-1 cDNA suppressed cell death induced by mammalian Bax in yeast, suggesting functional conservation of this BI-1 homologue in the plant kingdom

Lateral Hopping of CO on Ag(110) by Multiple Overtone Excitation

A novel type of action spectrum representing multiple overtone excitations of the upsilon(M-C) mode was observed for lateral hopping of a CO molecule on Ag(110) induced by inelastically tunneled electrons from the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope. The yield of CO hopping shows sharp increases at 261 +/- 4 mV, corresponding to the C-O internal stretching mode, and at 61 +/- 2, 90 +/- 2, and 148 +/- 7 mV, even in the absence of corresponding fundamental vibrational modes. The mechanism of lateral CO hopping on Ag (110) was explained by the multistep excitation of overtone modes of upsilon(M-C) based on the numerical fitting of the action spectra, the nonlinear dependence of the hopping rate on the tunneling current, and the hopping barrier obtained from thermal diffusion experiments.ope

The distinct vibrational signature of grain-boundary water in nano-crystalline ice films

We have characterized the vibrational response of grain-boundary water in crystalline ice films consisting of nanometer-sized crystalline domains. The crystalline ice is grown isothermally on Ru(0 0 0 1), and the crystalline domain size is controlled by varying the crystallization temperature. A distinct vibrational feature in the OD stretching region is observed, which we attribute to grain-boundary water. The relative contribution of the grain-boundary vibrational response to the overall spectrum increases with decreasing crystal domain size. Its central frequency is located around 2500 cm−1, between that of amorphous solid water and crystalline ice

Environment Improvement for Promoting Exchange Activities and Collaborative Learning: Building the Inclusive Education System

インクルーシブ教育システムの構築において，鍵となる取り組みの１つとして交流及び共同学習が挙げられる。交流及び共同学習に関する研究はこれまでも多く実施されているが，これを推進していく上での課題として，「実施相手校の意識・理解について」「実施相手校の受け入れ体制について」「交流先の学級の担任や児童生徒の理解について」といった，交流する教員や児童生徒間の共通理解に関する課題が挙げられている。特に教員間の共通理解に関する課題の原因には，打ち合わせの時間の無さ，担当者の変更のため積み重ねができないこと，相手校の授業数確保の問題などが挙げられており，教員同士の交流の機会が少ないことが窺える。このことは対象児童の個々のニーズの把握の難しさへとつながる。そこで本研究では，これまで実施されてきた交流及び共同学習や関連する授業実践の好事例を概観することにより，インクルーシブ教育システムの構築を目指した交流及び共同学習の推進に向けた環境整備の在り方について考察した。その結果，児童生徒の実態把握や支援の充実のためには校種間を超えた教員間の連携を推進することが重要であり，そのためには，地域や保護者を巻き込んだコラボレーションとコンサルテーションを生かした連携の充実，連携モデルによる実践研究・交流の実施が重要であることが分かった。The field of the Exchange Activities and Collaborative Learning is one of the key approaches to promote the Inclusive Education System. Although many research studies on this topic have been conducted, the following problems “awareness and understanding of partner schools,” “counterpart schools’ preparedness of accepting students with disabilities,” and “understanding of students with disabilities by regular classroom teachers and students” still remain, which are the issues of common understanding between regular classroom teachers and students who exchange. Particularly, the causes of limited common understanding among faculty members include (a) lack of meeting time, (b) limited accumulation of strategies to teach this field due to staff reassignment, (c) difficulty with securing the number of classes at the counterpart school, and (d) the limited exchange opportunities among faculty members. This leads to the difficulty of grasping individual needs of students with disabilities and without disabilities who exchange each other. Therefore, the current study summarizes how to improve school environment to promote the Exchange Activities and Collaborative Learning aimed at constructing the Inclusive Education System by analyzing good practices of the Exchange Activities and Collaborative Learning and related lesson practices that have been carried out. As the result, it was found to be important to promote strong collaboration among teachers beyond the type of schools in order to better grasp educational needs of students, to lead collaboration and consultation among different stakeholders such as teachers, specialists, parents and students, and community members. It was also found to be important to enhance utilization of cooperation to implement practical research studies and exchange via a cooperation model which fits with the current status of the Exchange Activities and Collaborative Learning conducted locally