Time Resolved Investigation of Fast Phase- Change Phenomena in Rewritable Optical Recording Media

Non

Thermal Degradation Behavior of Poly(Lactic Acid) in a Blend with Polyethylene

Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) is a candidate for feedstock recycling materials, because it easily depolymerizes back into the cyclic monomer, L,L-lactide. To examine the recycling of PLLA from blends with other kinds of polymers, a polymer blend of PLLA and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) was prepared and thermally degraded with a degradation catalyst: magnesium oxide (MgO) in a thermogravimeter/differential thermal analyzer (TG/DTA) and pyrolysis-gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (Py-GC/MS). To clarify the influence of the LLDPE ingredient in the blend, the thermal degradation data were analyzed kinetically using two simulation methods: integration and random degradation analytical methods. From the results, it was found that PLLA was effectively depolymerized in the presence of MgO into L,L-lactide with a low racemization ratio and that LLDPE had no effect on the feedstock recycling of PLLA

Technetium-99m sestamibi single photon emission computed tomography findings correlated with P-glycoprotein expression in pituitary adenoma.

The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the technetium-99m sestamibi (99mTc-MIBI) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) characteristics of pituitary adenomas might be correlated with cavernous sinus invasion, proliferative potential or the multidrug-resistance (MDR-1) gene product P-glycoprotein (Pgp) expression in pituitary adenomas. Fifteen patients with pituitary adenomas, including 10 nonfunctioning adenomas, two prolactinomas, two GH producing adenomas, and one ACTH producing adenomas was investigated for this study. SPECT images with 99mTc-MIBI were acquired 15 minutes (early) and 3 hours (delayed) after injection. The tumor-to-normal brain ratio was calculated both early (ER) and delayed (DR) images. Retention index (RI) was calculated using the following formula : (DR-ER)/ER×100%. The pituitary adenomas specimens were examined by immunohistochemistry using anti-Pgp and MIB-1 monoclonal antibodies. 99mTc-MIBI SPECT findings were not related to MIB-1 labeling index or cavernous sinus invasion. 99mTc-MIBI SPECT RI (-38.55±20.77) of the Pgp-positive group was significantly lower than that (-15.78±19.40) of Pgp-negative group (p=0.0494). No siginificant difference was observed in the ER and DR of 99mTc-MIBI SPECT between Pgp-positive and negative groups. Our study suggests that although99mTc-MIBI SPECT is not useful to evaluate the proliferative potential or cavernous sinus invasion of pituitary adenomas. 99mTc-MIBI SPECT could predict anti-cancer drug resistance related to the expression of Pgp in pituitary adenomas

Sulfur assimilation using gaseous carbonyl sulfideby the soil fungus Trichoderma harzianum

Fungi have the capacity to assimilate a diverse range of both inorganic and organic sulfur compounds. It has been recognized that all sulfur sources taken up by fungi are in soluble forms. In this study, we present evidence that fungi can utilize gaseous carbonyl sulfide(COS) for the assimilation of a sulfur compound. We found that the filamentousfungus Trichoderma harzianum strain THIF08, which has constitutively high COS-degrading activity, was able to grow with COS as the sole sulfur source. Cultivation with 34S-labeled COS revealed that sulfur atom from COS was incorporated into intracellular metabolites such as glutathione and ergothioneine. COS degradation by strain THIF08, in which as much of the moisture derived from the agar medium as possible was removed, indicated that gaseous COS was taken up directly into the cell. Escherichia coli transformed with a COS hydrolase (COSase) gene, which is clade D of the β-class carbonic anhydrase subfamily enzyme with high specificity for COS but low activity for CO2 hydration, showed that the COSase is involved in COS assimilation. Comparison of sulfur metabolites of strain THIF08 revealed a higher relative abundance of reduced sulfur compounds under the COS-supplemented condition than the sulfate-supplemented condition, suggesting that sulfur assimilation is more energetically efficient with COS than with sulfate because there is no redox change of sulfur. Phylogenetic analysis of the genes encoding COSase, which are distributed in a wide range of fungal taxa, suggests that the common ancestor of Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Mucoromycota acquired COSase at about 790-670 Ma. © 2024 Iizuka et al

Oral delivery of Lactococcus lactis that secretes bioactive heme oxygenase-1 alleviates development of acute colitis in mice

Background: Mucosal delivery of therapeutic proteins using genetically modified strains of lactic acid bacteria (gmLAB) is being investigated as a new therapeutic strategy. Methods: We developed a strain of gmLAB, Lactococcus lactis NZ9000 (NZ-HO), which secretes the anti-inflammatory molecule recombinant mouse heme oxygenase-1 (rmHO-1). The effects of short-term continuous oral dosing with NZ-HO were evaluated in mice with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced acute colitis as a model of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Results: We identified the secretion of rmHO-1 by NZ-HO. rmHO-1 was biologically active as determined with spectroscopy. Viable NZ-HO was directly delivered to the colon via oral administration, and rmHO-1 was secreted onto the colonic mucosa in mice. Acute colitis in mice was induced by free drinking of 3 % DSS in water and was accompanied by an increase in the disease activity index score and histopathological changes. Daily oral administration of NZ-HO significantly improved these colitis-associated symptoms. In addition, NZ-HO significantly increased production of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-10 and decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1 alpha and IL-6 in the colon compared to a vector control strain. Conclusions: Oral administration of NZ-HO alleviates DSS-induced acute colitis in mice. Our results suggest that NZ-HO may be a useful mucosal therapeutic agent for treating IBD.ArticleMICROBIAL CELL FACTORIES. 14:189 (2015)journal articl

Dinuclear manganese and cobalt complexes with cyclic polyoxovanadate ligands: Synthesis and characterization of [Mn2V10O 30]6- and [Co2(H2O) 2V10O30]6-

金沢大学理工研究域物質化学系An all-inorganic complex, [Mn2{(CVO3) 5}2]6- (1), was synthesized, and the structure determination reveals a dinuclear manganese complex coordinated by two cyclic pentavanadate ligands. The cyclic pentavanadate units sandwich the edge-sharing octahedral dimanganese core through, coordination of the oxido group of the pentavanadate. A. dinuclear cobalt complex with, a cyclic decavanadate, [Co 2(OH2)2(VO3)10]6- (2), was also synthesized. The structure analysis reveals a dinuclear cobalt complex with a macrocyclic decavanadate, which is composed of 10 VO4 units joined by the vertex. Sharings. The CoO6 octahedrons are edge-shared, with each cobalt octahedron coordinated to five oxido groups from the decavanadate. The remaining site is occupied by - water. The coordinated water molecules are supported with hydrogen bonds in two directions. Complex 2 in acetonitrile shows no reactivity with dioxygen even at low temperature, and the cyclic voltammogram of 2 shows no redox chemistry in acetonitrile. Complex 2 exhibits chromism by water exposure both, in the solid state and. in acetonitrile. Complex 2 is green-yellow in color, and. the addition of water causes the complex to turn brown. After heating the sample, it returns to its original color in a reversible manner. The EXAFS data in acetonitrile is also reported, and is consistent with the solid-state structure. © Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA

High Temperature Magnetic Properties of Fe–Cu–Nb–Si–B Cores With Creep-Induced Anisotropy

Fe-Cu-Nb-Si-B ribbons with creep-induced anisotropy fabricated by continuous stress-annealing were formed into toroidal cores. The temperature dependence of their magnetic loss and relative permeability at Bm = 0.1 T was evaluated in the frequency range of 0.5-1 MHz and temperature range from room temperature to 523 K. We found that the cores can be used up to 523 K without magnetic property deterioration. This suggests that the proposed cores have superior high temperature properties compared with conventional gapped-ferrite cores allowing use at high temperature

X-ray diffractometry for the structure determination of a submicrometre single powder grain

A high-precision diffractometer with a synchrotron radiation microfocusing technique has been developed to investigate the crystal structure of a submicrometre-scale single grain of powder sample. The structure of a BaTiO3 single powder grain, of dimensions ∼600 × 600 × 300 nm, was determined

Accelerated production of multiple cytokines and chemokines by Epstein-Barr virus-infected natural killer cells and T cells

金沢大学医薬保健研究域保健学系[Originals][原著]平成22年10月28日受付, 平成22年12月3日受理

Matrix metalloproteinase 2 and 9 expression correlated with cavernous sinus invasion of pituitary adenomas

Object :Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2 and 9 are important for tissue breakdown in the process of tumor invasion. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9,MIB-1 LI and cavernous sinus invasion in pituitary adenomas. Methods : Tissue samples from54 patients with pituitary adenomas were studied. Expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, and MIB-1 labeling index (LI) were evaluated by immunohistochemical method. In sixteen cases, the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 mRNA was also examined by RT-PCR assay. Results : Thirty-four patients were women and 20 were men, with a mean age of 49.9 years old (range 18-76 years). There were 12 cases with cavernous sinus invasion, and 42 were noninvasive cases. MMP-2 and MMP-9 score of invasive case (3.9±0.5, 4.1±0.4)were significantly higher than those (2.3±0.2 p＜0.01 2.6±0.2 p＜0.01) without invasion. The MIB-1 LI of this study presented no significantly difference between the invasive and noninvasive pituitary adenomas. The percentage of MMP-2 mRNA/β-actin mRNA and MMP-9 mRNA/β-actin mRNA were also observed significantly higher in invasive pituitary adenomas (68.2±15.3 % 59.7±12.5 %) than noninvasive pituitary adenomas (21.8±8.2 % , p＜0.05 33.3±5.4 % , p＜0.05). Conclusions : Our study suggests that the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 may have a value to assess the invasive pituitary adenomas, and proliferation and invasion of pituitary adenomas may present a different mechanism