Relationship between the response to treatment and the prognosis of patients with aggressive lymphomas treated with chemotherapy followed by involved-field radiotherapy: Radiographic assessment

This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in JAPANESE JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY 38(1): 43-48, 2008 following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at:http://jjco.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/38/1/43.ArticleJAPANESE JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY. 38(1): 43-48 (2008)journal articl

A new study of the N=32N=32 and N=34N=34 shell gap for Ti and V by the first high-precision MRTOF mass measurements at BigRIPS-SLOWRI

The atomic masses of $^{55}$Sc, $^{56,58}$Ti, and $^{56-59}$V have been determined using the high-precision multi-reflection time-of-flight technique. The radioisotopes have been produced at RIKEN's RIBF facility and delivered to the novel designed gas cell and multi-reflection system (ZD MRTOF), which has been recently commissioned downstream of the ZeroDegree spectrometer following the BigRIPS separator. For $^{56,58}$Ti and $^{56-59}$V the mass uncertainties have been reduced down to the order of $10\,\mathrm{keV}$, shedding new light on the $N=34$ shell effect in Ti and V isotopes by the first high-precision mass measurements of the critical species $^{58}$Ti and $^{59}$V. With the new precision achieved, we reveal the non-existence of the $N=34$ empirical two-neutron shell gaps for Ti and V, and the enhanced energy gap above the occupied $\nu p_{3/2}$ orbit is identified as a feature unique to Ca. We perform new Monte Carlo shell model calculations including the $\nu d_{5/2}$ and $\nu g_{9/2}$ orbits and compare the results with conventional shell model calculations, which exclude the $\nu g_{9/2}$ and the $\nu d_{5/2}$ orbits. The comparison indicates that the shell gap reduction in Ti is related to a partial occupation of the higher orbitals for the outer two valence neutrons at $N=34$

Diversity in the Architecture of ATLs, a Family of Plant Ubiquitin-Ligases, Leads to Recognition and Targeting of Substrates in Different Cellular Environments

Ubiquitin-ligases or E3s are components of the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) that coordinate the transfer of ubiquitin to the target protein. A major class of ubiquitin-ligases consists of RING-finger domain proteins that include the substrate recognition sequences in the same polypeptide; these are known as single-subunit RING finger E3s. We are studying a particular family of RING finger E3s, named ATL, that contain a transmembrane domain and the RING-H2 finger domain; none of the member of the family contains any other previously described domain. Although the study of a few members in A. thaliana and O. sativa has been reported, the role of this family in the life cycle of a plant is still vague. To provide tools to advance on the functional analysis of this family we have undertaken a phylogenetic analysis of ATLs in twenty-four plant genomes. ATLs were found in all the 24 plant species analyzed, in numbers ranging from 20–28 in two basal species to 162 in soybean. Analysis of ATLs arrayed in tandem indicates that sets of genes are expanding in a species-specific manner. To get insights into the domain architecture of ATLs we generated 75 pHMM LOGOs from 1815 ATLs, and unraveled potential protein-protein interaction regions by means of yeast two-hybrid assays. Several ATLs were found to interact with DSK2a/ubiquilin through a region at the amino-terminal end, suggesting that this is a widespread interaction that may assist in the mode of action of ATLs; the region was traced to a distinct sequence LOGO. Our analysis provides significant observations on the evolution and expansion of the ATL family in addition to information on the domain structure of this class of ubiquitin-ligases that may be involved in plant adaptation to environmental stress

Shell evolution of N = 40 isotones towards 60Ca: First spectroscopy of 62Ti

Excited states in the N=40 isotone 62Ti were populated via the 63V(p,2p)62Ti reaction at ∼200 MeV/nucleon at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory and studied using γ-ray spectroscopy. The energies of the 21+→0gs+ and 41+→21+ transitions, observed here for the first time, indicate a deformed 62Ti ground state. These energies are increased compared to the neighboring 64Cr and 66Fe isotones, suggesting a small decrease of quadrupole collectivity. The present measurement is well reproduced by large-scale shell-model calculations based on effective interactions, while ab initio and beyond mean-field calculations do not yet reproduce our findings. The shell-model calculations for 62Ti show a dominant configuration with four neutrons excited across the N=40 gap. Likewise, they indicate that the N=40 island of inversion extends down to Z=20, disfavoring a possible doubly magic character of the elusive 60Ca

Gamma-ray spectroscopy of exotic neutron-rich nuclei in the doubly magic 132Sn region

An experiment with the aim to obtain information on the excited states of neutron-rich nuclei with N∼82 was performed at RIBF/RIKEN as part of the HiCARI campaign. The method to identify nuclei on ion-by-ion basis, including charge-state identification, is presented. The Doppler correction technique was validated using the test case of 131In, based on the prompt πp3/2 → πp1/2 transition at 988 keV. Preliminary analysis of the 130Cd spectrum is also presented

Mirror energy differences above the 0f7/2 shell: First γ-ray spectroscopy of the Tz = −2 nucleus 56Zn

Excited states in 56Zn were populated following one-neutron removal from a 57Zn beam impinging on a Be target at intermediate energies in an experiment conducted at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory at RIKEN. Three γ rays were observed and tentatively assigned to the 6+→4+→2+→0+ yrast sequence. This turns 56Zn into the heaviest Tz=−2 nucleus in which excited states are known. The excitation-energy differences between these levels and the isobaric analogue states in the Tz=+2 mirror partner, 56Fe, are compared with large-scale shell-model calculations considering the full pf valence space and various isospin-breaking contributions. This comparison, together with an analysis of the mirror energy differences in the A=58, Tz=±1 pair 58Zn and 58Ni, provides valuable information with respect to the size of the monopole radial and the isovector multipole isospin-breaking terms in the region above doubly-magic 56Ni

Spectroscopy of 98Cd^{98}\mathrm{Cd} by two-nucleon removal from 100In^{100}\mathrm{In}

International audienceLow-lying states of Cd98 have been populated by the two-nucleon removal reaction (In100,Cd98+γ) and studied using in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory at RIKEN. Two new γ transitions were identified and assigned as decays from a previously unknown state. This state is suggested to be based on a π1g9/2−12p1/2−1 configuration with Jπ=5−. The present observation extends the systematics of the excitation energies of the first 5− state in N=50 isotones toward Sn100. The determined energy of the 5− state in Cd98 continues a smooth trend along the N=50 isotones. The systematics are compared with shell-model calculations in different model spaces. Good agreement is achieved when considering a model space consisting of the π(1f5/2, 2p3/2, 2p1/2, 1g9/2) orbitals. The calculations with a smaller model space omitting the orbitals below the Z=38 subshell could not reproduce the experimental energy difference between the ground and first 5− states in N=50 isotones, because proton excitations across Z=38 subshell yield a large amount of correlation energy that lowers the ground states

Adequate nutrition status important for bone mineral density improvement in a patient with anorexia nervosa

Yukio Nakamura,1,2 Mikio Kamimura,3 Hidefumi Koiwai,4 Hiroyuki Kato1 1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Japan; 2Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Showa-Inan General Hospital, Komagane, Japan; 3Center of Osteoporosis and Spinal Disorders, Kamimura Orthopedic Clinic, Matsumoto, Japan; 4Koiwai Orthopedic Clinic, Komoro, Japan Abstract: Low bone mineral density (BMD) is one of the most frequent complications of anorexia nervosa (AN). We report the clinical outcomes of a female patient with severe AN, whose chest had become deformed due to thoracic fracture. Lumbar BMD was 0.358 g/cm2 (T-score = −6.3), and total hip BMD was 0.411 g/cm2 (T-score = −4.4). Active vitamin D increased these parameters by 81.0% and 57.4%, respectively, but a drop in her nutrition status afterward resulted in a sharp decrease in BMD values. These findings suggest that adequate nutrient intake is essential for effective osteoporosis treatment in patients with AN. Keywords: anorexia nervosa, bone mineral density, daily teriparatide, osteoporosi