First-principles study on scanning tunneling microscopy images of hydrogen-terminated Si(110) surfaces

Scanning tunneling microscopy images of hydrogen-terminated Si(110) surfaces are studied using first-principles calculations. Our results show that the calculated filled-state images and local density of states are consistent with recent experimental results, and the empty-state images appear significantly different from the filled-state ones. To elucidate the origin of this difference, we examined in detail the local density of states, which affects the images, and found that the bonding and antibonding states of surface silicon atoms largely affect the difference between the filled- and empty-state images.Comment: 4 pages, and 4 figure

Discotic liquid crystals of transition metal complexes 50(dagger): spiranthes-like supramolecular structure of phthalocyanine-fullerene dyads

We have synthesized novel liquid crystalline Pc-C-60 dyads (CnS)(6)PcCu-C-60 (n = 14, 16, 18: 1a-1c) by using our developed synthetic method in order to investigate the mesomorphism and alignment behavior. Each of the (CnS)(6)PcCu-C-60 dyads shows perfect homeotropic alignment in the Col(ho) mesophase between two glass plates for n = 14, 16, 18 and also on a glass plate for n = 14, although none of the parent Pc compounds (CnS)(8)PcCu and the Pc precursors (CnS)(6)PcCu-OH and (CnS)(6)PcCu-OFBA shows homeotropic alignment. It may be attributed to the strong affinity between fullerene and glass surface. Although the reason is not so clear at the present time, this is very useful guideline for the molecular design to prepare homeotropic alignment-showing discotic liquid crystals. Very interestingly, the spherical C-60 parts form a helical structure around the column formed by the disk-like Pc parts. This supramolecular structure very resembles spiranthes. The spiranthes-like supramolecular structure is compatible with one-dimensional nano-array expecting the high conversion efficiency of solar cells.ArticleJOURNAL OF PORPHYRINS AND PHTHALOCYANINES. 18(5):366-379 (2014)journal articl

Clinicopathological Features and Surgical Outcomes of Small Bowel Metastasis from Renal Cell Carcinoma

Small bowel metastasis from renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is rare, and its clinicopathological characteristics are unclear; thus, we revisited the concept of this tumor and reviewed its diagnostic and treatment modalities. We filtered MEDLINE searches of articles published in English between 1950 and 2019, and identified 100 patients who had undergone treatment, including 1 patient from our clinic. We extracted patient characteristics, treatment, and prognostic data, resulting in clinicopathological data on 100 patients (83 men, 17 women). Mean age was 63 years (range, 16-86 years). Tumor sites were duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and multiple sites in 30, 37, 25, and 7 patients, respectively. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates after diagnosis were 53.0%, 36.0%, and 36.0%. Curative resection patients showed 62.1% 5-year survival after surgery, vs. 27.5% in noncurative surgical management cases. Good prognoses can be expected if these tumors are identified early for complete removal. Surgery is the only curative option. To determine the best management strategy and improve prognostic accuracy, we continue to collect and analyze epidemiological and pathological data. Although this condition is rare, surgery should be considered if curative resection is expected. Prognosis after curative resection is not poor, but recurrence is not unlikely

Solution Mapping Tools: Identifying a Bottom-Up Approach to Social Innovation

A bottom-up approach to social innovation arises from the issues at the root of the innovation, which usually originates in the lower middle class. An essential approach to design for social innovation is to manage projects with identifiable organizational stakeholders considering relationships in the context of power holders and empowering socially vulnerable and marginalized communities. In local contexts, community participation processes can support grassroots movements toward sustainable systems where the focus is on more complex situations. For a better understanding, the Solution Mapping Tool is explored in this paper through a case study of a workshop held in the least-developed region of Indonesia. The workshop focused on inventing a bamboo distillation device for Moke, a traditional alcoholic beverage made from fermented palm fruits. Using the Solution Mapping Tools, learners were inspired to explore and discover the diverse solutions that communities use and generate daily. The tool helps everyday solutions become visible and identifiable regarding needs, assets, problems and challenges, benefits, and opportunities for the future. The Solution Mapping Tools can also increase learners’ empathy towards people, including communities, by providing a place to learn about their daily lives, experiential knowledge, and context. This paper extends existing publications on distributing and learning about local assets as a pre-design process before applying a participatory-based approach.Desain telah memperluas maknanya melalui inovasi sosial dengan memahami dan menerapkan solusi untuk masalah sosial dan kompleksitasnya. Kolaborasi berbagai pemangku kepentingan dan identifikasi aset diperlukan untuk memahami masalah secara holistik dan mendorong inovasi yang sesuai dengan konteksnya. Pendekatan bawah-atas terhadap inovasi sosial muncul dari masalah yang menjadi akar dari inovasi tersebut, yang biasanya berasal dari masyarakat menengah ke bawah. Pendekatan penting dalam mendesain inovasi sosial adalah mengelola proyek dengan pemangku kepentingan organisasi yang dapat diidentifikasi, mempertimbangkan hubungan dalam konteks pemegang kekuasaan, dan memberdayakan masyarakat yang rentan dan terpinggirkan. Proses partisipasi masyarakat dalam konteks lokal dapat mendukung gerakan akar rumput menuju sistem yang berkelanjutan, yang berfokus pada masalah dan kepentingan bersama. Design Ethnography Lab Institut Teknologi Bandung berkolaborasi dengan UNDP Accelerator Lab Indonesia untuk merancang sebuah alat pemetaan solusi yang dibuat dan digunakan oleh masyarakat. Alat Pemetaan Solusi bertujuan untuk membangun hubungan dan empati dengan masyarakat dan komunitas di suatu tempat untuk belajar tentang kehidupan sehari-hari, pengetahuan pengalaman, dan konteks mereka. Untuk pemahaman yang lebih baik, Alat Pemetaan Solusi dieksplorasi dalam makalah ini melalui studi kasus lokakarya yang diadakan di daerah tertinggal, khususnya di Desa Riangkotek, Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur. Lokakarya ini berfokus pada penemuan alat penyulingan Moke yang terbuat dari bambu, minuman beralkohol tradisional yang terbuat dari buah aren yang difermentasi. Makalah ini bertujuan untuk memperluas penelitian yang sudah ada dalam memahami kebutuhan dan aset lokal sebagai proses pra-desain sebelum melakukan pendekatan berbasis partisipatoris

Solution Mapping Tools: Identifying a Bottom-Up Approach to Social Innovation

A bottom-up approach to social innovation arises from the issues at the root of the innovation, which usually originates in the lower middle class. An essential approach to design for social innovation is to manage projects with identifiable organizational stakeholders considering relationships in the context of power holders and empowering socially vulnerable and marginalized communities. In local contexts, community participation processes can support grassroots movements toward sustainable systems where the focus is on more complex situations. For a better understanding, the Solution Mapping Tool is explored in this paper through a case study of a workshop held in the least-developed region of Indonesia. The workshop focused on inventing a bamboo distillation device for Moke, a traditional alcoholic beverage made from fermented palm fruits. Using the Solution Mapping Tools, learners were inspired to explore and discover the diverse solutions that communities use and generate daily. The tool helps everyday solutions become visible and identifiable regarding needs, assets, problems and challenges, benefits, and opportunities for the future. The Solution Mapping Tools can also increase learners’ empathy towards people, including communities, by providing a place to learn about their daily lives, experiential knowledge, and context. This paper extends existing publications on distributing and learning about local assets as a pre-design process before applying a participatory-based approach.Desain telah memperluas maknanya melalui inovasi sosial dengan memahami dan menerapkan solusi untuk masalah sosial dan kompleksitasnya. Kolaborasi berbagai pemangku kepentingan dan identifikasi aset diperlukan untuk memahami masalah secara holistik dan mendorong inovasi yang sesuai dengan konteksnya. Pendekatan bawah-atas terhadap inovasi sosial muncul dari masalah yang menjadi akar dari inovasi tersebut, yang biasanya berasal dari masyarakat menengah ke bawah. Pendekatan penting dalam mendesain inovasi sosial adalah mengelola proyek dengan pemangku kepentingan organisasi yang dapat diidentifikasi, mempertimbangkan hubungan dalam konteks pemegang kekuasaan, dan memberdayakan masyarakat yang rentan dan terpinggirkan. Proses partisipasi masyarakat dalam konteks lokal dapat mendukung gerakan akar rumput menuju sistem yang berkelanjutan, yang berfokus pada masalah dan kepentingan bersama. Design Ethnography Lab Institut Teknologi Bandung berkolaborasi dengan UNDP Accelerator Lab Indonesia untuk merancang sebuah alat pemetaan solusi yang dibuat dan digunakan oleh masyarakat. Alat Pemetaan Solusi bertujuan untuk membangun hubungan dan empati dengan masyarakat dan komunitas di suatu tempat untuk belajar tentang kehidupan sehari-hari, pengetahuan pengalaman, dan konteks mereka. Untuk pemahaman yang lebih baik, Alat Pemetaan Solusi dieksplorasi dalam makalah ini melalui studi kasus lokakarya yang diadakan di daerah tertinggal, khususnya di Desa Riangkotek, Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur. Lokakarya ini berfokus pada penemuan alat penyulingan Moke yang terbuat dari bambu, minuman beralkohol tradisional yang terbuat dari buah aren yang difermentasi. Makalah ini bertujuan untuk memperluas penelitian yang sudah ada dalam memahami kebutuhan dan aset lokal sebagai proses pra-desain sebelum melakukan pendekatan berbasis partisipatoris

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis of the dihydroflavonol-4-reductase-B (DFR-B) locus in the Japanese morning glory Ipomoea (Pharbitis) nil

CRISPR/Cas9 technology is a versatile tool for targeted mutagenesis in many organisms, including plants. However, this technique has not been applied to the Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea [Pharbitis] nil), a traditional garden plant chosen for the National BioResource Project in Japan. We selected dihydroflavonol-4-reductase-B (DFR-B) of I. nil, encoding an anthocyanin biosynthesis enzyme, as the target gene, and changes in the stem colour were observed during the early stages of plant tissue culture by Rhizobium [Agrobacterium]-mediated transformation. Twenty-four of the 32 (75%) transgenic plants bore anthocyanin-less white flowers with bi-allelic mutations at the Cas9 cleavage site in DFR-B, exhibiting a single base insertion or deletions of more than two bases. Thus, these results demonstrate that CRISPR/Cas9 technology enables the exploration of gene functions in this model horticultural plant. To our knowledge, this report is the first concerning flower colour changes in higher plants using CRISPR/Cas9 technology

Relationship between DNA Mismatch Repair Deficiency and Endometrial Cancer

Some cases of endometrial cancer are associated with a familial tumor and are referred to as hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC or Lynch syndrome). Lynch syndrome is thought to be induced by germline mutation of the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) gene. An aberration in the MMR gene prevents accurate repair of base mismatches produced during DNA replication. This phenomenon can lead to an increased frequency of errors in target genes involved in carcinogenesis, resulting in cancerization of the cell. On the other hand, aberrant DNA methylation is thought to play a key role in sporadic endometrial carcinogenesis. Hypermethylation of unmethylated CpG islands in the promoter regions of cancer-related genes associated with DNA repair leads to the cell becoming cancerous. Thus, both genetic and epigenetic changes are intricately involved in the process through which cells become cancerous. In this review, we introduce the latest findings on the DNA mismatch repair pathway in endometrial cancer

Organoids with cancer stem cell-like properties secrete exosomes and HSP90 in a 3D nanoenvironment

Ability to form cellular aggregations such as tumorspheres and spheroids have been used as a morphological marker of malignant cancer cells and in particular cancer stem cells (CSC). However, the common definition of the types of cellular aggregation formed by cancer cells has not been available. We examined morphologies of 67 cell lines cultured on three dimensional morphology enhancing NanoCulture Plates (NCP) and classified the types of cellular aggregates that form. Among the 67 cell lines, 49 cell lines formed spheres or spheroids, 8 cell lines formed grape-like aggregation (GLA), 8 cell lines formed other types of aggregation, and 3 cell lines formed monolayer sheets. Seven GLA-forming cell lines were derived from adenocarcinoma among the 8 lines. A neuroendocrine adenocarcinoma cell line PC-3 formed asymmetric GLA with ductal structures on the NCPs and rapidly growing asymmetric tumors that metastasized to lymph nodes in immunocompromised mice. In contrast, another adenocarcinoma cell line DU-145 formed spheroids in vitro and spheroid-like tumors in vivo that did not metastasize to lymph nodes until day 50 after transplantation. Culture in the 3D nanoenvironment and in a defined stem cell medium enabled the neuroendocrine adenocarcinoma cells to form slowly growing large organoids that expressed multiple stem cell markers, neuroendocrine markers, intercellular adhesion molecules, and oncogenes in vitro. In contrast, the more commonly used 2D serum-contained environment reduced intercellular adhesion and induced mesenchymal transition and promoted rapid growth of the cells. In addition, the 3D stemness nanoenvironment promoted secretion of HSP90 and EpCAM-exosomes, a marker of CSC phenotype, from the neuroendocrine organoids. These findings indicate that the NCP-based 3D environment enables cells to form stem cell tumoroids with multipotency and model more accurately the in vivo tumor status at the levels of morphology and gene expression