A simple method to create a vortex in Bose-Einstein condensate of alkali atoms

Bose-Einstein condensation in alkali atoms has materialized quite an interesting system, namely a condensate with a spin degree of freedom. In analogy with the A-phase of the superfluid $^3$He, numerous textures with nonvanishing vorticity have been proposed. In the present paper, interesting properties of such spin textures are analyzed. We propose a remarkably simple method to create a vortex state of a BEC in alkali atoms.Comment: 2 pages, 1 eps figure. Proceedings of LT22. The title is changed from the submitted version: Vortices in Bose-Einstein condensate with spin degree of freedo

Outline of "A Training Course to Cultivate the Abilities Required for Teachers : Academic year 2014" To Cultivate the Practical Leadership Required for Teachers

　本年度の「教師力養成講座」は，７回の開催を計画した。８月末までに４回，１２～２月に３回を実施する。 本講座は，学校現場で今日的な課題に対して実践されている優れた取り組みを学生に伝えることで，学校現場へ 出ることへの不安を取り除き教師という仕事への意欲を高めるとともに，学生の実践的指導力の向上を図ること をねらいとしている。平成２１年に開始し，参加状況や受講者の意見を参考にしてテーマ設定や講師選定などに 工夫を加えながら，今年で６年目を迎えている。本年度実施している教師力養成講座の概要を報告し，併せて「教 師力養成講座」の運営上の課題と今後の展開についてもふれる

Development of “A Training Course to Cultivate the Abilities Required for Teachers (5) a Program to Bring on Teachers with a High Degree of Specialization and Practical Leadership – To Cultivate the Practical Leadership Required for Teachers –

　「教師力養成講座」の実施は，本年度で5年目を迎えた。採用試験に合格した学生は，昨今の教育現場で課題となっている学級崩壊，いじめ，不登校などの情報を耳にしたり，自分自身の指導力や経験の不足を自覚したりして，教壇に立つことへの不安感を強めている。一方，時代の流れの中で，教育現場や社会からは，即戦力としての新採用教員が求められている。この講座は，学校現場で実践されている前向きな取り組みをしっかりと伝えることで，学生の不安感を軽減し実践的指導力を高めることをねらいとして取り組んできた。少しずつ改善を図りながら歩んできた平成25 年度の本講座の内容を，受講者数や受講者のアンケートを手がかりにして振り返り，第6回講座までの内容を報告する

Provision of Guidance to Students Wishing to Become Teachers (7) : Status of How the Teaching Profession Consultation Office is Being Used

　教職相談室では，主に教職志望の学生を対象に，教員採用試験に向けての指導を中心とした様々な相談活動を 行っている。今年度は次の2 点について更なる指導体制の充実が図られた。1 点目は月曜から金曜まで常時2 人 体制での指導が可能となったということである。2 点目は教職相談室の利用を促す「教職ガイダンス」を新たに 開催したということである。これらの結果，年間利用延べ人数が995 人増加した。また昨年度までと同様に，教 員採用試験に最終合格した学生とそれ以外の学生では，教職相談室の利用回数に大きな差が見られた。採用試験 に合格した学生の教職相談室の平均利用回数は23.1 回であったのに対して，1 次試験のみ合格の学生は11.5 回， 合格しなかった学生は4.7 回であった。更に，教員採用試験を受験する前年の早い時期に利用開始した学生ほど 合格率が高くなる傾向にあった

A novel method to create a vortex in a Bose-Einstein condensate

It has been shown that a vortex in a BEC with spin degrees of freedom can be created by manipulating with external magnetic fields. In the previous work, an optical plug along the vortex axis has been introduced to avoid Majorana flips, which take place when the external magnetic field vanishes along the vortex axis while it is created. In the present work, in contrast, we study the same scenario without introducing the optical plug. The magnetic field vanishes only in the center of the vortex at a certain moment of the evolution and hence we expect that the system will lose only a fraction of the atoms by Majorana flips even in the absence of an optical plug. Our conjecture is justified by numerically solving the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, where the full spinor degrees of freedom of the order parameter are properly taken into account. A significant simplification of the experimental realization of the scenario is attained by the omission of the optical plug.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figure

SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain is internalized and promotes protein ISGylation in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes

Although an increased risk of myocarditis has been observed after vaccination with mRNA encoding severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 spike protein, its underlying mechanism has not been elucidated. This study investigated the direct effects of spike receptor-binding domain (S-RBD) on human cardiomyocytes differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC-CMs). Immunostaining experiments using ACE2 wild-type (WT) and knockout (KO) iPSC-CMs treated with purified S-RBD demonstrated that S-RBD was bound to ACE2 and internalized into the subcellular space in the iPSC-CMs, depending on ACE2. Immunostaining combined with live cell imaging using a recombinant S-RBD fused to the superfolder GFP (S-RBD-sfGFP) demonstrated that S-RBD was bound to the cell membrane, co-localized with RAB5A, and then delivered from the endosomes to the lysosomes in iPSC-CMs. Quantitative PCR array analysis followed by single cell RNA sequence analysis clarified that S-RBD-sfGFP treatment significantly upregulated the NF-kβ pathway-related gene (CXCL1) in the differentiated non-cardiomyocytes, while upregulated interferon (IFN)-responsive genes (IFI6, ISG15, and IFITM3) in the matured cardiomyocytes. S-RBD-sfGFP treatment promoted protein ISGylation, an ISG15-mediated post-translational modification in ACE2-WT-iPSC-CMs, which was suppressed in ACE2-KO-iPSC-CMs. Our experimental study demonstrates that S-RBD is internalized through the endolysosomal pathway, which upregulates IFN-responsive genes and promotes ISGylation in the iPSC-CMs.Okuno S., Higo S., Kondo T., et al. SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain is internalized and promotes protein ISGylation in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Scientific Reports 13, 21397 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-48084-7

TP53 codon 72 polymorphism is associated with FGFR3 and RAS mutation in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer

ObjectiveTP53, a well-known tumor-suppressor gene in bladder carcinogenesis, has a functional single-nucleotide polymorphism on codon 72. The aim of this study was to elucidate the association between TP53 codon 72 polymorphism and somatic mutations in bladder cancer.Material and methodsGermline TP53 codon 72 polymorphism and somatic mutations of 50 cancer-associated genes were analyzed in 103 bladder cancer patients (59 non-muscle-invasive and 44 muscle-invasive), using Taqman genotyping assay and target sequencing, respectively. The expression of FGF-FGFR signaling pathway genes was analyzed by RNA sequencing of frozen tissue.ResultsThe allele frequency of TP53 codon 72 in our cohort was 37, 42, and 21% for Arg/Arg, Arg/Pro, and Pro/Pro, respectively. Interestingly, the prevalence of FGFR3 mutation was higher in patients with the Arg allele, whereas that of the RAS mutation was higher in patients without the Arg allele. The same association was seen in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients and no differences were observed in muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients. In NMIBC, FGFR1 expression was higher in patients without the Arg allele and FGFR3 expression was higher in patients with the Arg allele.ConclusionThe germline TP53 codon 72 polymorphism was associated with mutations of FGFR3 or RAS and expression of FGFR1 and FGFR3 in NMIBC. These findings provide new insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the influence of the genetic background on carcinogenesis in bladder cancer