Lepton flavor violation via four-Fermi contact interactions at the International Linear Collider

Lepton flavor violating (LFV) process $e^+ e^- \to e^+ \tau^-$ induced by the four-Fermi contact interactions at the International Linear Collider (ILC) is studied. Taking account of the event selection conditions, it is shown that the ILC is sensitive to smaller LFV couplings as compared to the measurement of $\tau\to 3e$ process at the B-factory experiment. The upper bounds on some of the LFV couplings are improved by several factors using polarized $e^-/e^+$ beams at $\sqrt{s}=250~\mathrm{GeV}$ and by an order of magnitude at $\sqrt{s}=1~\mathrm{TeV}$.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures. Version to appear in Phys.Lett.

Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Regenerated from iPS Cells Have Therapeutic Efficacy in a Patient-Derived Xenograft Solid Tumor Model

Current adoptive T cell therapies conducted in an autologous setting are costly, time consuming, and depend on the quality of the patient's T cells. To address these issues, we developed a strategy in which cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are regenerated from iPSCs that were originally derived from T cells and succeeded in regenerating CTLs specific for the WT1 antigen, which exhibited therapeutic efficacy in a xenograft model of leukemia. In this study, we extended our strategy to solid tumors. The regenerated WT1-specific CTLs had a strong therapeutic effect in orthotopic xenograft model using a renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell line. To make our method more generally applicable, we developed an allogeneic approach by transducing HLA-haplotype homozygous iPSCs with WT1-specific TCR α/β genes that had been tested clinically. The regenerated CTLs antigen-specifically suppressed tumor growth in a patient-derived xenograft model of RCC, demonstrating the feasibility of our strategy against solid tumors

Spatiotemporal Control of Ice Crystallization in Supercooled Water via an Ultrashort Laser Impulse

Takahashi H., Kono T., Sawada K., et al. Spatiotemporal Control of Ice Crystallization in Supercooled Water via an Ultrashort Laser Impulse. Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 14(19), 4394-4402, 18 May 2023: © 2023 American Chemical Society. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c00414.Focused irradiation with ultrashort laser pulses realized the fine spatiotemporal control of ice crystallization in supercooled water. An effective multiphoton excitation at the laser focus generated shockwaves and bubbles, which acted as an impulse for inducing ice crystal nucleation. The impulse that was localized close to the laser focus and accompanied by a small temperature elevation allowed the precise position control of ice crystallization and its observation with spatiotemporal resolution of micrometers and microseconds using a microscope. To verify the versatility of this laser method, we also applied it using various aqueous systems (e.g., plant extracts). The systematic study of crystallization probability revealed that laser-induced cavitation bubbles play a crucial role in inducing ice crystal nucleation. This method can be used as a tool for studying ice crystallization dynamics in various natural and biological phenomena

Circadian protection against bacterial skin infection by epidermal CXCL14-mediated innate immunity

体内時計は夜間に自然免疫を発動 --皮膚ケモカインによる自然免疫機構--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-06-16.Biological clocks set for skin immunity. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-06-21.The epidermis is the outermost layer of the skin and the body’s primary barrier to external pathogens; however, the early epidermal immune response remains to be mechanistically understood. We show that the chemokine CXCL14, produced by epidermal keratinocytes, exhibits robust circadian fluctuations and initiates innate immunity. Clearance of the skin pathogen Staphylococcus aureus in nocturnal mice was associated with CXCL14 expression, which was high during subjective daytime and low at night. In contrast, in marmosets, a diurnal primate, circadian CXCL14 expression was reversed. Rhythmically expressed CXCL14 binds to S. aureus DNA and induces inflammatory cytokine production by activating Toll-like receptor (TLR)9-dependent innate pathways in dendritic cells and macrophages underneath the epidermis. CXCL14 also promoted phagocytosis by macrophages in a TLR9-independent manner. These data indicate that circadian production of the epidermal chemokine CXCL14 rhythmically suppresses skin bacterial proliferation in mammals by activating the innate immune system

Comparison of nitrate content and antioxidant capacity in beetroot juice made in Japan and the UK

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Lepton flavor violation via four-Fermi contact interactions at the International Linear Collider

Lepton flavor violating (LFV) process e+e−→e+τ− induced by the four-Fermi contact interactions at the International Linear Collider (ILC) is studied. Taking account of the event selection conditions, it is shown that the ILC is sensitive to smaller LFV couplings as compared to the measurement of τ→3e process at the B-factory experiment. The upper bounds on some of the LFV couplings are improved by several factors using polarized e−/e+ beams at s=250GeV and by an order of magnitude at s=1TeV