The Diffusion of Sodium Ions into Tin Oxide Thin Films from Glass Substrates

Electrical resistance and X-ray photoelectron depth profile analysis are studied for antimony doped tin oxide films developed on silica, alkali-free and sodalime slide glass substrates. The sodium ions diffused from the substrates to the films prevented the crystal growth of rutile type tin oxide in the film, resulting in the high electrical resistance. A diffusion layer has been detected for each film with diffuse profiles of multi valent cations (Sn, Si or Ca) at the interface of the tin oxide film and substrate. A greater amount of sodium atoms have been detected in the film developed on the soda-lime glass while almost no sodium atoms have been found in those on the other substrates. This can be explained by the diffusion of the sodium ions in the substrate due to a drastic hydronium-sodium exchange mechanism under highly acidic conditions during the dipping and drying processes

Changepoint detection in base-resolution methylome data reveals a robust signature of methylated domain landscape

ABSTRACTLotta Dalenius Hahlin (2010) Mentorskap utifrån ett lösningsinriktat fokus. (Mentorship based on a solution-oriented focus. Skolutveckling och ledarskap, Lärarutbildningen halvfart/distans, Malmö HögskolaMånga elever hoppar av sin gymnasieutbildning pga. av olika orsaker. En av orsakerna kan vara att eleven inte har tillräckligt stöd i sin mentor på skolan. En mentor skall ju inte bara ta hand om elevens studiemässiga resultat utan får även ta hand om de många sociala frågor som ofta uppstår runt eleven. Kan det vara så att mentorn behöver en ram och metod att arbeta utifrån för att kunna stödja eleverna på bästa sätt?Syftet med arbetet är att beskriva den metodik som ligger bakom ett lösningsinriktat mentorskap,och att skapa ett kompendium av användbara verktyg utifrån lösningsinriktad pedagogik. Detta kompendium kan mentorn använda som mall/ram i sin arbetsuppgift som mentor.Forskningen tyder på att lyckade och bra samtal bygger på bra förberedelse, på öppna frågor och på ömsesidig respekt för varandra och att man använder sig av ett visst förhållningssätt gentemot varandra. Vidare pekar litteraturstudien på att mentorssamtalet bör ha tydliga mål och en gemensam uppfattning om vad man vill komma fram till för att eleven skall nå ökat ansvar, större självinsikt och önskat läge.Arbetet tar upp de olika verktyg som man främst använder inom lösningsinriktade metoder, och är utifrån litteraturen kommenterat för att ge en grundläggande kunskap och förförståelse för läsaren.Genom att som resultat skapa ett kompendium som mentorer kan använda i sitt arbete med det dagliga samtalet med eleverna, vill uppsatsen beskriva och ge grundläggande kunskap om de verktyg som finns i den lösningsinriktade verktygslådan. Syftet nås även med en enkätundersökning där mentorer som fått pröva på metoden plockat ut fördelar och nackdelar med metoden.Uppsatsen visar att regelbunden användning och övning krävs för att kunna tillgodogöra sig metoden, och även att mentorn genomgår en grundläggande utbildning. Den kommer också att visa att vinsterna och fördelarna med metoden överstiger de eventuella nackdelar som kan uppstå när man som mentor börjar arbeta med metoden

Meteorological Characteristics of Kasaoka Bay Polder and its Environmental Areas

本論文では,笠岡湾干拓地及び周辺地域の気象特性を,干拓地内の試験圃場,笠岡地域気象観測所,岡山地方気象台での測定値を基に論じるとともに,他のわが国の代表的干拓地近傍の気象官署である秋田(八郎潟),松江(中海),佐賀(有明湾)の気象資料との対比を通して,笠岡湾干拓地域の気象の特徴をより鮮明にした.その概要は以下の通りである.(1)笠岡湾干拓地のある岡山県南西部は,笠岡地域気象観測所での1980～1986年の7年間平均値で,年平均気温14.9℃,年降水量1,077mm,日照時間2,582時間,年平均風速1.0m/sと温暖で,少雨,年間を通して日照時間の多い典型的な瀬戸内型の気候を示している(Table2).(2)月平均気温から推定した10℃以上の期間は3月29日から11月21日の238日間,その間の積算温度は4,790℃,10℃以上の有効積算温度は2,410℃となった.(3)笠岡地域気象観測所での1980～1986年の月別の最多風向は,11-2月にかけては北西が,3～10月までは東北東ないし東が多い.風災害対策で重要である最大風速時の風向は,10～2月は西を中心として,3～9月には東西方向を中心とした風向は多いことが分った(Table3).(4)笠岡湾干拓地内の試験圃場で熱収支法により蒸発散量を測定し,ペンマン式による蒸発散位,大型蒸発計蒸発量,降水量,日照時間との関係を検討した.その結果,蒸発散量は,降雨の直後は蒸発散位に近い値を示し,晴天が続くと地表面の乾燥のため蒸発散位をはずれて低下した.月間値では,蒸発散量は蒸発散位,大型蒸発計蒸発量と11～3月には同等な値を示したが,4-10月にはかなり小さな値となった(Figs.3～4).(5〉わが国の代表的な干拓地近傍の気象官署(岡山,秋田,松江,佐賀)の30年間の測定値の比較では,岡山は気温は中庸,降水量は少なく,日照時間が年間を通して多いことが分かった(Fig.2,Table1),一年を通して日照時間が多く蒸発散位が大きいこと,降水量が少ないことから判断すれば,他地区と比較して,笠岡湾干拓地の気象特性がヘドロ土壌の乾燥収縮に最も有効に働くと考えられる.笠岡湾干拓地での農業を有利に展開するためには,以上のような気象特性を踏まえて営農にあたられんことを期待する.また,潜在的な乾燥能力が大きいことと土壌の除塩問題との関係は,圃場での水収支・土壌の物理性を踏まえて,今後農地工学的に詳細に検討しなければならない課題であろうと考えられる

Convex Grid Drawings of Plane Graphs with Rectangular Contours

In a convex drawing of a plane graph, all edges are drawn as straight-line segments without any edge-intersection and all facial cycles are drawn as convex polygons. In a convex grid drawing, all vertices are put on grid points. A plane graph G has a convex drawing if and only if G is internally triconnected, and an internally triconnected plane graph G has a convex grid drawing on an n × n grid if G is triconnected or the triconnected component decomposition tree T (G) of G has two or three leaves, where n is the number of vertices in G. In this paper, we show that an internally triconnected plane graph G has a convex grid drawing on a 2n × n 2 grid if T (G) has exactly four leaves. We also present an algorithm to find such a drawing in linear time. Our convex grid drawing has a rectangular contour, while most of the known algorithms produce grid drawings having triangular contours

Differential responses of normal human coronary artery endothelial cells against multiple cytokines comparatively assessed by gene expression profiles

AbstractEndothelial cells play an important role in terms of biological functions by responding to a variety of stimuli in the blood. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism involved in rendering the variety in the cellular response. To investigate the variety of the cellular responses against exogenous stimuli at the gene expression level, we attempted to describe the cellular responses with comprehensive gene expression profiles, dissect them into multiple response patterns, and characterize the response patterns according to the information accumulated so far on the genes included in the patterns. We comparatively analyzed in parallel the gene expression profiles obtained with DNA microarrays from normal human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) stimulated with multiple cytokines, interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, interferon-β, interferon-γ, and oncostatin M, which are profoundly involved in various functional responses of endothelial cells. These analyses revealed that the cellular responses of HCAECs against these cytokines included at least 15 response patterns specific to a single cytokine or common to multiple cytokines. Moreover, we statistically extracted genes contained within the individual response patterns and characterized the response patterns with the genes referring to the previously accumulated findings including the biological process defined by the Gene Ontology Consortium (GO). Out of the 15 response patterns in which at least one gene was successfully extracted through the statistical approach, 11 response patterns were differentially characterized by representing the number of genes contained in individual criteria of the biological process in the GO only. The approach to dissect cellular responses into response patterns and to characterize the pattern at the gene expression level may contribute to the gaining of insight for untangling the diversity of cellular functions

A stem cell-derived gene (Sddr) negatively regulates differentiation of embryonic stem cells

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系Embryonic stem (ES) cells, derived from the inner cell mass of blastocysts, are pluripotent and continue to self-renew. To better understand the molecular mechanisms under-lying self-renewal, we have been searching for a gene(s) which is specifically expressed in self-renewing ES cells. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a novel gene, Sddr (stem cell-derived differentiation regulator). Sddr was highly expressed in undifferentiated ES cells, and its expression was downregulated upon differentiation. In addition to ES cells, Sddr expression was observed strongly in ovary, and weakly in lung. Immunostaining and cellular fractionation analyses suggested that Sddr is a cytoplasmic protein associated with the cytoskeleton. Sddr-null ES cells showed no remarkable abnormalities in their undifferentiated state. In contrast, in differentiating Sddr-null cells, induction of several differentiation-associated markers was enhanced, and downregulation of self-renewal marker genes was accelerated, as compared with wild-type cells. These results suggest that although it is dispensable for ES cell self-renewal, Sddr is a negative regulator of ES cell differentiation. © 2009 UBC Press

Feasibility of methotrexate discontinuation following tocilizumab and methotrexate combination therapy in patients with long-standing and advanced rheumatoid arthritis: a 3-year observational cohort study

Objectives: Methotrexate (MTX) is associated with extensive side effects, including myelosuppression, interstitial pneumonia, and infection. It is, therefore, critical to establish whether its administration is required after achieving remission with tocilizumab (TCZ) and MTX combination therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Therefore, the aim of this multicenter, observational, cohort study was to evaluate the feasibility of MTX discontinuation for the safety of these patients. Methods: Patients with RA were administered TCZ, with or without MTX, for 3 years; those who received TCZ+MTX combination therapy were selected. After remission was achieved, MTX was discontinued without flare development in one group (discontinued [DISC] group, n = 33) and continued without flare development in another group (maintain [MAIN] group, n = 37). The clinical efficacy of TCZ+MTX therapy, patient background characteristics, and adverse events were compared between groups. Results: The disease activity score in 28 joints-erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-ESR) at 3, 6, and 9 months was significantly lower in the DISC group (P < .05, P < .01, and P < .01, respectively). Further, the DAS28-ESR remission rate at 6 and 9 months and Boolean remission rate at 6 months were significantly higher in the DISC group (P < .01 for all). Disease duration was significantly longer in the DISC group (P < .05). Furthermore, the number of patients with stage 4 RA was significantly higher in the DISC group (P < .01). Conclusions: Once remission was achieved, MTX was discontinued in patients who responded favorably to TCZ+MTX therapy, despite the prolonged disease duration and stage progression