Electromagnetic lateral control system of floating strip

Strip floating system is effective to avoid strip wrinkles and defects caused by roll contact, and to keep high quality of steel strip in the continuous processing lines.In development of the floating system, challenging point is its controller against lateral instability of the floating strip supported by air cushion devices. We developed the electromagnetic control system, whose response is much quicker than that of the conventional center position control (CPC) system using rollers. This paper shows validity of our new control system

Characterization of halogen-bridged binuclear metal complexes as hybridized two-band materials

We study the electronic structure of halogen-bridged binuclear metal (MMX) complexes with a two-band Peierls-Hubbard model. Based on a symmetry argument, various density-wave states are derived and characterized. The ground-state phase diagram is drawn within the Hartree-Fock approximation, while the thermal behavior is investigated using a quantum Monte Carlo method. All the calculations conclude that a typical MMX compound Pt_2(CH_3CS_2)_4I should indeed be regarded as a d-p-hybridized two-band material, where the oxidation of the halogen ions must be observed even in the ground state, whereas another MMX family (NH_4)_4[Pt_2(P_2O_5H_2)_4X] may be treated as single-band materials.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures embedded, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Reversible and Irreversible Interactions of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) with Oxygen Studied by Spin-Sensitive Methods

Understanding of degradation mechanisms in polymer:fullerene bulk-heterojunctions on the microscopic level aimed at improving their intrinsic stability is crucial for the breakthrough of organic photovoltaics. These materials are vulnerable to exposure to light and/or oxygen, hence they involve electronic excitations. To unambiguously probe the excited states of various multiplicities and their reactions with oxygen, we applied combined magneto-optical methods based on multifrequency (9 and 275 GHz) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), photoluminescence (PL), and PL-detected magnetic resonance (PLDMR) to the conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunctions (P3HT:PCBM; PCBM = [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester). We identified two distinct photochemical reaction routes, one being fully reversible and related to the formation of polymer:oxygen charge transfer complexes, the other one, irreversible, being related to the formation of singlet oxygen under participation of bound triplet excitons on the polymer chain. With respect to the blends, we discuss the protective effect of the methanofullerenes on the conjugated polymer bypassing the triplet exciton generation

Magnetic Field Effect on Crossover Temperature from Non-Fermi Liquid to Fermi Liquid Behavior in f^2-Impurity Systems with Crystalline-Electric-Field Singlet State Competing with Kondo-Yosida Singlet State

We investigate the magnetic field dependence of the physical properties of f^2-configuration systems with a crystalline-electric field (CEF) singlet ground state, which gives rise to a non- Fermi liquid (NFL) fixed point due to the competition between the Kondo-Yosida singlet and CEF singlet states. On the basis of the numerical renormalization group method, we find that the magnetic field breaks this NFL fixed point via two mechanisms: one causing the polarization of f-electrons and the other giving the "channel" anisotropy. These two mechanisms induce a difference in the magnetic field dependence of the characteristic temperature T_F^{*}(H), the crossover temperature from NFL to Fermi-liquid behavior. While the polarization of f-electrons gives T_F^{*}(H) \propto H^x (x\sim2.0), the "channel" anisotropy gives the H-independent T_F^{*}(H). These two mechanisms cross over continuously at approximately the crossover magnetic field H_c, where an anomalous H-dependence of T_F^{*}(H) appears. Such T_F^{*}(H) well reproduces the NFL behaviors observed in Th_{1-x}U_xRu_2Si_2. We also find that the H-dependence of the resistivity and the magnetic susceptibility are in good agreement with the experimental results of this material. These results suggest that the NFL behaviors observed in Th_{1-x}U_xRu_2Si_2 can be understood if this material is located in the CEF singlet side near the critical phase boundary between the two singlet states.Comment: 8 pages, 8figure

Status and prospects of liver cirrhosis treatment by using bone marrow-derived cells and mesenchymal cells

In 2003, we started autologous bone marrow cell infusion (ABMi) therapy for treating liver cirrhosis. ABMi therapy uses 400 mL of autologous bone marrow obtained under general anesthesia and infused mononuclear cells from the peripheral vein. The clinical study expanded and we treated liver cirrhosis induced by HCV and HBV infection and alcohol consumption. We found that the ABMi therapy was effective for cirrhosis patients and now we are treating patients with combined HIV and HCV infection and with metabolic syndrome-induced liver cirrhosis. Currently, to substantiate our findings that liver cirrhosis can be successfully treated by the ABMi therapy, we are conducting randomized multicenter clinical studies designated "Advanced medical technology B" for HCV-related liver cirrhosis in Japan. On the basis of our clinical study, we developed a proof-of-concept showing that infusion of bone marrow cells (BMCs) improved liver fibrosis and sequentially activated proliferation of hepatic progenitor cells and hepatocytes, further promoting restoration of liver functions. To treat patients with severe forms of liver cirrhosis, we continued translational research to develop less invasive therapies by using mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow. We obtained a small quantity of BMCs under local anesthesia and expanded them into mesenchymal stem cells that will then be used for treating cirrhosis. In this review, we present our strategy to apply the results of our laboratory research to clinical studies. Copyright © 2014, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc

The antioxidant enzyme peroxiredoxin-2 is depleted in lymphocytes seven days after ultra-endurance exercise

Purpose: Peroxiredoxin-2 (PRDX-2) is an antioxidant and chaperone-like protein critical for cell function. This study examined whether the levels of lymphocyte PRDX-2 are altered over one month following ultra-endurance exercise. Methods: Nine middle-aged men undertook a single-stage, multi-day 233 km (145 mile) ultra-endurance running race. Blood was collected immediately before (PRE), upon completion/retirement (POST), and following the race at DAY 1, DAY 7 and DAY 28. Lymphocyte lysates were examined for PRDX-2 by reducing SDS-PAGE and western blotting. In a sub-group of men who completed the race (n = 4) PRDX-2 oligomeric state (indicative of redox status) was investigated. Results: Ultra-endurance exercise caused significant changes in lymphocyte PRDX-2 (F (4,32) 3.409, p=0.020, ?(2) =0.299): seven-days after the race, PRDX-2 levels in lymphocytes had fallen to 30% of pre-race values (p=0.013) and returned to near-normal levels at DAY 28. Non-reducing gels demonstrated that dimeric PRDX-2 (intracellular reduced PRDX-2 monomers) was increased in 3 of 4 race completers immediately post-race, indicative of an "antioxidant response". Moreover, monomeric PRDX-2 was also increased immediately post-race in 2 of 4 race-completing subjects, indicative of oxidative damage, which was not detectable by DAY 7. Conclusions: Lymphocyte PRDX-2 was decreased below normal levels 7 days after ultra-endurance exercise. Excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species induced by ultra-endurance exercise may underlie depletion of lymphocyte PRDX-2 by triggering its turnover after oxidation. Low levels of lymphocyte PRDX-2 could influence cell function and might, in part, explain reports of dysregulated immunity following ultra-endurance exercise

Quantitative assessment on the cloning efficiencies of lentiviral transfer vectors with a unique clone site

Lentiviral vectors (LVs) are powerful tools for transgene expression in vivo and in vitro. However, the construction of LVs is of low efficiency, due to the large sizes and lack of proper clone sites. Therefore, it is critical to develop efficient strategies for cloning LVs. Here, we reported a combinatorial strategy to efficiently construct LVs using EGFP, hPlk2 wild type (WT) and mutant genes as inserts. Firstly, site-directed mutagenesis (SDM) was performed to create BamH I site for the inserts; secondly, pWPI LV was dephosphorylated after BamH I digestion; finally, the amounts and ratios of the insert and vector DNA were optimized to increase monomeric ligation. Our results showed that the total percentage of positive clones was approximately 48%±7.6%. Using this method, almost all the vectors could be constructed through two or three minipreps. Therefore, our study provided an efficient method for constructing large-size vectors

Constitutive Phosphorylation of Aurora-A on Ser51 Induces Its Stabilization and Consequent Overexpression in Cancer

The serine/threonine kinase Aurora-A (Aur-A) is a proto-oncoprotein overexpressed in a wide range of human cancers. Overexpression of Aur-A is thought to be caused by gene amplification or mRNA overexpression. However, recent evidence revealed that the discrepancies between amplification of Aur-A and overexpression rates of Aur-A mRNA were observed in breast cancer, gastric cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and ovarian cancer. We found that aggressive head and neck cancers exhibited overexpression and stabilization of Aur-A protein without gene amplification or mRNA overexpression. Here we tested the hypothesis that aberration of the protein destruction system induces accumulation and consequently overexpression of Aur-A in cancer.Aur-A protein was ubiquitinylated by APC(Cdh1) and consequently degraded when cells exited mitosis, and phosphorylation of Aur-A on Ser51 was observed during mitosis. Phosphorylation of Aur-A on Ser51 inhibited its APC(Cdh1)-mediated ubiquitylation and consequent degradation. Interestingly, constitutive phosphorylation on Ser51 was observed in head and neck cancer cells with protein overexpression and stabilization. Indeed, phosphorylation on Ser51 was observed in head and neck cancer tissues with Aur-A protein overexpression. Moreover, an Aur-A Ser51 phospho-mimetic mutant displayed stabilization of protein during cell cycle progression and enhanced ability to cell transformation.Broadly, this study identifies a new mode of Aur-A overexpression in cancer through phosphorylation-dependent inhibition of its proteolysis in addition to gene amplification and mRNA overexpression. We suggest that the inhibition of Aur-A phosphorylation can represent a novel way to decrease Aur-A levels in cancer therapy

Mechanism of Cancer Cell Death Induced by Depletion of an Essential Replication Regulator

Background: Depletion of replication factors often causes cell death in cancer cells. Depletion of Cdc7, a kinase essential for initiation of DNA replication, induces cancer cell death regardless of its p53 status, but the precise pathways of cell death induction have not been characterized. Methodology/Principal Findings: We have used the recently-developed cell cycle indicator, Fucci, to precisely characterize the cell death process induced by Cdc7 depletion. We have also generated and utilized similar fluorescent cell cycle indicators using fusion with other cell cycle regulators to analyze modes of cell death in live cells in both p53-positive and-negative backgrounds. We show that distinct cell-cycle responses are induced in p53-positive and-negative cells by Cdc7 depletion. p53-negative cells predominantly arrest temporally in G2-phase, accumulating CyclinB1 and other mitotic regulators. Prolonged arrest at G2-phase and abrupt entry into aberrant M-phase in the presence of accumulated CyclinB1 are followed by cell death at the post-mitotic state. Abrogation of cytoplasmic CyclinB1 accumulation partially decreases cell death. The ATR-MK2 pathway is responsible for sequestration of CyclinB1 with 14-3-3s protein. In contrast, p53-positive cancer cells do not accumulate CyclinB1, but appear to die mostly through entry into aberrant S-phase after Cdc7 depletion. The combination of Cdc7 inhibition with known anti-cancer agents significantly stimulates cell death effects in cancer cells in a genotype-dependent manner, providing a strategic basis for future combination therapies

Significance of Aurora B overexpression in hepatocellular carcinoma. Aurora B Overexpression in HCC

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To investigate the significance of Aurora B expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The <it>Aurora B </it>and <it>Aurora A </it>mRNA level was measured in 160 HCCs and the paired nontumorous liver tissues by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Mutations of the <it>p53 </it>and <it>β-catenin </it>genes were analyzed in 134 and 150 tumors, respectively, by direct sequencing of exon 2 to exon 11 of <it>p53 </it>and exon 3 of <it>β-catenin</it>. Anticancer effects of AZD1152-HQPA, an Aurora B kinase selective inhibitor, were examined in Huh-7 and Hep3B cell lines.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>Aurora B </it>was overexpressed in 98 (61%) of 160 HCCs and in all 7 HCC cell lines examined. The overexpression of <it>Aurora B </it>was associated with <it>Aurora A </it>overexpression (<it>P </it>= 0.0003) and <it>p53 </it>mutation (<it>P </it>= 0.002) and was inversely associated with <it>β</it>-<it>catenin </it>mutation (<it>P </it>= 0.002). <it>Aurora B </it>overexpression correlated with worse clinicopathologic characteristics. Multivariate analysis confirmed that <it>Aurora B </it>overexpression was an independent poor prognostic factor, despite its interaction with Aurora A overexpression and mutations of <it>p53 </it>and <it>β</it>-<it>catenin</it>. In Huh-7 and Hep3B cells, AZD1152-HQPA induced proliferation blockade, histone H3 (Ser10) dephosphorylation, cell cycle disturbance, and apoptosis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>Aurora B </it>overexpression is an independent molecular marker predicting tumor invasiveness and poor prognosis of HCC. Aurora B kinase selective inhibitors are potential therapeutic agents for HCC treatment.</p