Chemical State Analysis of Al Contained in Iron and Steel Slag Using Chemical Shift of X-Ray Fluorescence Spectra

鉄鋼スラグに含まれるアルミニウムの化学状態を分析することを目的とし，X 線分光法を用いて，Al Kα線のケミカルシフトと配位数との相関からスラグ中に含まれるアルミニウムの化学状態分析を行った．スラグ試料としては，アルニミウムを約14 ～ 31[mass%] 含む高炉スラグ及び製鋼スラグを用いた．また，実際にスラグ試料を測定する前に，配位数の既知であるアルミニウム化合物について蛍光X線分光法により，配位数とケミカルシフトとの相関を確認した．これらの結果，本研究で用いたスラグ試料に含まれるアルミニウムはいずれも4 配位型（AlO4 型）の構造であることが結論された．　In order to analyze chemical state of aluminum in iron and steel slag, aluminum contained in slag is analyzed by X-ray spectrometry after the measurement of correlation between chemical shift of Al Kα lines and effective charges. We use blast furnace slag and steelmaking slag including approximately from 14 to 31 mass percent of aluminum as slag samples. Aluminum compounds, whose coordination numbers are known, are investigated with correlation between coordination number and chemical shift by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry before the measurement of slag samples. As a result of this study it can be concluded that aluminum contained in each of slag samples are 4-coordinated

Transcriptional activity of the 5′-flanking region of the thyroid transcription factor-1 gene in human thyroid cell lines

Thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1, NKX2-1) is a homeodomain-containing transcriptional factor that binds to and activates the promoters of thyroid and lung-specific genes, such as thyroglobulin, thyroid peroxidase, and thyroid stimulating hormone receptor. TTF-1 is known to play a key role in the development of the thyroid. However, the precise mechanism of TTF-1 gene transcription in human thyroid cells has not been studied. The expression of transcriptional activity in various lengths of the 5′-flanking region of the human TTF -1 gene was studied in TTF-1 positive and negative human thyroid cell lines. Increased transcriptional activity was observed in thyroid cell lines containing plasmids that coded for a sequence proximal to the transcription start site of exon 1 of the TTF-1 gene. However, we did not observe any difference in promoter activity in the region up to −2.6 kb from the proximal transcription start site of the TTF-1 gene between TTF-1 positive and negative cells. These results suggest that the proximal 5′-flanking region of the human TTF -1 gene does not contain sufficient cis-active regulatory information to direct gene expression in thyroid cells, and that other cis- or trans-acting factors participate in the thyroid specific gene expression of TTF-1

Osteoclasts are dispensable for hematopoietic stem cell maintenance and mobilization

The mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells does not require osteoclasts, which may even have an inhibitory effect

The Blimp1–Bcl6 axis is critical to regulate osteoclast differentiation and bone homeostasis

Controlling osteoclastogenesis is critical to maintain physiological bone homeostasis and prevent skeletal disorders. Although signaling activating nuclear factor of activated T cells 1 (NFATc1), a transcription factor essential for osteoclastogenesis, has been intensively investigated, factors antagonistic to NFATc1 in osteoclasts have not been characterized. Here, we describe a novel pathway that maintains bone homeostasis via two transcriptional repressors, B cell lymphoma 6 (Bcl6) and B lymphocyte–induced maturation protein-1 (Blimp1). We show that Bcl6 directly targets ‘osteoclastic’ molecules such as NFATc1, cathepsin K, and dendritic cell-specific transmembrane protein (DC-STAMP), all of which are targets of NFATc1. Bcl6-overexpression inhibited osteoclastogenesis in vitro, whereas Bcl6-deficient mice showed accelerated osteoclast differentiation and severe osteoporosis. We report that Bcl6 is a direct target of Blimp1 and that mice lacking Blimp1 in osteoclasts exhibit osteopetrosis caused by impaired osteoclastogenesis resulting from Bcl6 up-regulation. Indeed, mice doubly mutant in Blimp1 and Bcl6 in osteoclasts exhibited decreased bone mass with increased osteoclastogenesis relative to osteoclast-specific Blimp1-deficient mice. These results reveal a Blimp1–Bcl6–osteoclastic molecule axis, which critically regulates bone homeostasis by controlling osteoclastogenesis and may provide a molecular basis for novel therapeutic strategies

Analysis of Valence for Chromium in Soil and Plastic Samples Using Laboratory XAFS Spectrometer

Hexavalent {Cr(VI)} and trivalent chromium {Cr(III)} in environmental materials such as soil and plastics were investigated using a laboratory X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectrometer equipped a W anode X-ray tube. The Cr-K X-ray absorption edges were observed on the XANES spectra of soil (total chromium 606 ppm) and plastic (213 ppm) samples with a fluorescence mode, while the signal-to-noise (SN) ratios of these spectra were too low to determine the height of pre-edge peak of Cr(VI) and the value of the energy on the Cr-K X-ray absorption edge. The XANES spectra of reference samples prepared by Cr2O3 {Cr(III)} and CrO3 {Cr(VI)} particle reagents were also recorded with the transmission mode. In order to improve the SN ratios of XANES spectra, a smoothing treatment by Savitzky-Golay method was applied to the XANES spectra of the soil and plastic samples. By the smoothing treatment, SN ratios of these spectra were improved, though the height of pre-edge peak on the XANES spectra of Cr(VI) reference sample had decreased less than 5%. The height of pre-edge peak and the value of the energy on the Cr-K X-ray absorption edge of soil and plastic samples were given by smoothed XANES spectra. Using the height of pre-edge peak and the value of the energy on the Cr-K X-ray absorption edge of reference samples, the ratios of Cr(VI)/Cr(III) on the soil and plastic samples were calculated

A New Family of Heparin Binding Growth/Differentiation Factors: Differential Expression of the Midkine (MK) and HB-GAM Genes during Mouse Development

MK (midkine) and HB-GAM (heparin-binding growth-associated molecule) constitute a new family of heparin-binding growth differentiation factors. The modes of expression of MK and HB-GAM during mouse development were quantitatively examined by mRNA hybridization. The following three distinct patterns of expression were observed in the brain/head region. On the 11th-13th days of gestation, MK was intensely, but HB-GAM relatively weakly expressed; on the 15th-19th days, both MK and HB-GAM expression became weaker; and in the neonatal period, HB-GAM was intensely expressed and MK expression increased slightly. The level of HB-GAM expression was lower than that of MK in the whole embryo on the 11th to 13th days of gestation. HB-GAM mRNA was detected in the kidney of newborn and young mice, where MK was more highly expressed. The identity of the weakly expressed MK and HB-GAM signals was confirmed by means of the polymerase chain reaction in the neonatal brain (MK), the head of 13-day embryos (HB-GAM), and the kidney of 7-day-old mice (HB-GAM). In conclusion, MK and HB-GAM are frequently co-expressed in the same cells and anatomic regions of the fetus or new born mouse, while their modes of expression differ

Analysis of Valence for Chromate Conversion Coatings Using Laboratory XAFS Spectrometer and a Comparison with X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

We performed a nondestructive and in laboratory evaluation technique of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in chromate conversion coatings using a laboratory X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectrometer equipped with W anode X-ray tube. The recorded XANES spectrum of a chromate conversion coating sample with fluorescence mode possessed the Cr–K X-ray absorption edge. We have obtained calibration curves of the ratio of Cr(VI)/Cr(III) by the height of pre-edge peak and the Cr–K X-ray absorption edge energy of the reference samples prepared by Cr2O3 (Cr(III)) and CrO3 (Cr(VI)) particle reagents. The calibration curves showed the high correlation coefficients such as 1.00 for the height of pre-edge peak and 0.99 for the value of the energy on the Cr–K X-ray absorption edge. The ratio of Cr(VI)/Cr(III) in the chromate conversion coating has also been evaluated by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and 1,5-diphenyl-carbazide absorption spectrometry (DPC) methods. The ratio of Cr(VI)/Cr(III) evaluated by the laboratory XAFS spectrometer was almost identical to that by XPS method