1,178 research outputs found

    Amyloid A Amyloidosis Secondary to Rheumatoid Arthritis

    Get PDF

    Developments in the Treatment of Amyloid A Amyloidosis Secondary to Rheumatoid Arthritis

    Get PDF
    Amyloidosis refers to a heterogeneous group of diseases in which a soluble precursor, misfolded protein, and subsequently aggregates into highly structured protein fibrils with a cross-β-pleated structure. Of these diseases, amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis is a complication of long-standing inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Treatment of this amyloidosis with RA aims to stop serum AA protein production. Immunosuppressants have reportedly been useful for both RA inflammation and AA amyloidosis. Also, biologics are effective for these specific pathological processes by targeting key players in each inflammation. In addition to the above-mentioned medications, agents both inhibiting AA fibrillogenesis and destabilizing AA fibrils have recently been employed. Phagocytes play important roles in the regression of AA fibrils. Renal involvement is the most common complication in AA amyloidosis. Peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis, and even renal transplantation are available for patients with end-stage renal disease and AA amyloidosis. This chapter thus discusses current developments in the treatment of AA amyloidosis secondary to RA

    Local density of states and superconducting gap in the iron chalcogenide superconductor Fe1+δ_{1+\delta}Se1x_{1-x}Tex_{x} observed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy

    Full text link
    We report on the first investigation of the quasiparticle local density of states and superconducting gap in the iron chalcogenide superconductor Fe1+δ_{1+\delta}Se1x_{1-x}Tex_{x} (Tc14T_{\mathrm{c}} \sim 14 K). The surface of a cleaved crystal revealed an atomic square lattice, superimposed on the inhomogeneous background, with a lattice constant of 3.8\sim 3.8 \AA without any reconstruction. Tunneling spectra measured at 4.2 K exhibit the superconducting gap, which completely disappears at 18 K, with a magnitude of 2.3\sim 2.3 meV, corresponding to 2Δ/kBTc=3.82\Delta / k_{\mathrm{B}}T_{\mathrm{c}}=3.8.In stark contrast to the cuprate superconductors, the value of the observed superconducting gap is relatively homogeneous, following a sharp distribution with a small standard deviation of 0.23 meV. Conversely, the normal-state local density of states observed above TcT_{\mathrm{c}} shows spatial variation over a wide energy range of more than 1 eV, probably due to the excess iron present in the crystal.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

    An Efficient, One-Pot Synthesis of Fosfomycin Dialkyl Esters from (R)-2-Tosyloxypropanal

    Get PDF
    (R)-2-Tosyloxypropanal (4) was prepared from D-mannitol in a 7-step sequence (51% overall yield). Addition of dialkyl phosphonates to 4 in the presence of titanium isopropoxide and the subsequent treatment with DBU stereoselectively afforded, in one-pot, fosfomycin dimethyl (5a) and dibenzyl (5b) esters both in 58% isolated yield

    Direct immunological identification of full-length cDNA clones for plant protein without gene fusion to E. coli protein

    Get PDF
    AbstractBy immunological screening of a cDNA library constructed from potato tuber poly(A)+ RNA and Escherichia coli expression vector pUC8 by the vector-primer and linker procedure of Okayama and Berg [(1982) Mol. Cell Biol. 2, 161-170], nearly full-length cDNA clones for patatin, a major protein of potato tuber, were identified. The cDNA carrying part of the 5'-noncoding region of the patatin mRNA, in addition to entire coding and 3'-noncoding regions, expressed prepatatin in E. coli cells by translational initiation inside cDNA. These results suggest that nearly full-length cDNA clones with entire coding region can be identified directly by immunological screening without gene fusion to E. coli proteins at least for some plant mRNAs

    Filtering effect of cone oil droplets detected in the P-111 response spectra of japanese quail

    Get PDF
    AbstractWhile absorption spectra of bird cone visual pigments have been well studied, physiological study of bird cone cells has been less advanced owing to their small sizes. We measured the P-III components of electroretinograms (ERG) from isolated retinas of Japanese quail. We recorded responses to monochromatic flashes of equal photon numbers, and found that the shape of the response spectrum is dependent on the incident direction of the flashes. The spectrum obtained with the flashes from the cornea side had a steeper peak around 500 nm than that with flashes from the receptor side. This is clear electrophysiological evidence of the filtering effect of the oil droplets in the cone cells, which has long been suspected. We analyzed these spectra with respect to the absorption spectra of cone pigments and transmittance spectra of oil droplets
    corecore