Suzaku Observations of the Great Annihilator and the Surrounding Diffuse Emissions

We report the Suzaku observation of 1E 1740.7-2942, a black hole candidate called the "Great Annihilator" (GA). The high-quality spectrum of Suzaku provides the severest constraints on the parameters of the GA. Two clumpy structures are found around the GA in the line images of FeI Kalpha at 6.4 keV and SXV Kalpha at 2.45 keV. One clump named M359.23-0.04 exhibits the 6.4-keV line with an equivalent width of ~ 1.2 keV, and is associated with a molecular cloud in the radio CS(J=1-0) map. Thus the 6.4-keV line from M359.23-0.04 is likely due to X-ray fluorescence irradiated by an external X-ray source. The irradiating X-rays would be either the past flare of Sagittarius A* or the bright nearby source, the GA. The other clump named G359.12-0.05 is associated with the radio supernova remnant candidate G359.07-0.02. We therefore propose that G359.12-0.05 is an X-ray counterpart of G359.07-0.02. G359.12-0.05 has a thin thermal plasma spectrum with a temperature of kT ~ 0.9 keV. The plasma parameters of G359.12-0.05 are consistent with those of a single supernova remnant in the Galactic center region.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ (Vol.62, No.4

A SIMULATION OF STROKE EFFICIENCY DURING FRONT CRAWL BY USING THE SWIMMING HUMAN SIMULATION MODEL

Nakashima et al. (2005) have developed a swimming human simulation model (SWUM) considering rigid body dynamics and unsteady fluid for the whole body. By using this model, it comes to be able to estimate the mechanical efficiency during human swimming which has been difficult to obtain its actual measurement value. The purpose of this study was to estimate the mechanical efficiency during front crawl in varied swimming velocity. If this estimation is considered reasonable and proper, the SWUM may become a useful tool to create a new efficient stroke movement in the water

Developing a methodology for estimating the drag in front-crawl swimming at various velocities

We aimed to develop a new method for evaluating the drag in front-crawl swimming at various velocities and at full stroke. In this study, we introduce the basic principle and apparatus for the new method, which estimates the drag in swimming using measured values of residual thrust (MRT). Furthermore, we applied the MRT to evaluate the active drag (Da) and compared it with the passive drag (Dp) measured for the same swimmers. Da was estimated in five-stages for velocities ranging from 1.0 to 1.4 m s−1; Dp was measured at flow velocities ranging from 0.9 to 1.5 m s−1 at intervals of 0.1 m s−1. The variability in the values of Da at MRT was also investigated for two swimmers. According to the results, Da (Da = 32.3 v3.3, N = 30, R2 = 0.90) was larger than Dp (Dp = 23.5 v2.0, N = 42, R2 = 0.89) and the variability in Da for the two swimmers was 6.5% and 3.0%. MRT can be used to evaluate Da at various velocities and is special in that it can be applied to various swimming styles. Therefore, the evaluation of drag in swimming using MRT is expected to play a role in establishing the fundamental data for swimming

Role of N-terminal His-rich Domain of Oscillatoria brevis Bxa1 in Both Ag(I)/Cu(I) and Cd(II)/Zn(II) Tolerance

A CPx-ATPase (named Bxa1) is induced in the cyanobacterium Oscillatoria brevis upon exposure to multiple heavy metal ions. The function of the bxa1 gene was examined by heterologous expression in both Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) and Escherichia coli. Expression of bxa1 in E. coli caused Ag, Cd and Zn tolerance, but in yeast became sensitive to those metals. To reveal the role of the N-terminal His-rich domain (first 35 amino acids) of Bxa1, we constructed E. coli and yeast transformants carrying the bxa1 (Δ35bxa1). The E. coli transformant with Δ35bxa1 was sensitive to heavy metals. On the other hand, the yeast Δ35bxa1 transformant increased heavy-metal tolerance than bxa1 transformant. Fluorescence microscopy suggested that the two fusion proteins Bxa1::mGFP and Δ35Bxa1::mGFP are mainly localized in yeast endoplasmic reticulum (ER). These results imply that the function of Bxa1 was lost by the N-terminus deletion in both E. coli and yeast transformants. This is the first report that the His-rich domain in O. brevis Bxa1 is essential not only to monovalent (Ag+ and Cu+) but also to divalent (Cd2+ and Zn2+) heavy metal tolerance. Moreover, we clarified the toxicity mechanism against Cd using yeast transformants

Japanese verbal conjugation and the theory of underspecification

In this joint research we discussed the well-known phenomenon called Onbin observed in the past and the gerund forms of Japanese consonant-final verbs. See the examples below: ..

Small Cell Carcinoma of the Tonsil Treated with Irinotecan and Cisplatin: A Case Report and Literature Review

We report a rare case of extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma arising in the palatine tonsil treated by combined chemotherapy with irinotecan/cisplatin following irradiation therapy. This chemotherapy regimen was recently found to be effective for small cell lung carcinoma. Our case is the first report of combined irinotecan/cisplatin chemotherapy to treat extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma of the oropharynx

Mechanisms of the inhibition of reverse transcription by unmodified and modified antisense oligonucleotides

AbstractWe demonstrated that unmodified and modified (phosphorothioate) oligonucleotides prevent cDNA synthesis by AMV or HIV reverse transcriptases. Antisense oligonucleotide/RNA hybrids specifically arrest primer extension. The blockage involves the degradation of the RNA fragment bound to the antisense oligonucleotide by the reverse transcriptase-associated RNase H activity. However, the phosphorothioate oligomer inhibited polymerization by binding to the AMV RT rather than to the template RNA, whereas there was no competitive binding of the phosphorothioate oligomer on the HIV RT during reverse transcription

Advanced Maxillary Sinus Cancer Treated with Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy with Intra-Arterial Cisplatin/Docetaxel and Oral S-1: Own Experience and Literature Review

Intra-arterial (IA) chemotherapy for head and neck cancer is effective and multiple IA concurrent chemoradiation (CCRT) protocols have been reported. However, the role of IA CCRT in the multimodality treatment of head and neck cancer is still controversial. We have treated 5 cases of unresectable T4 maxillary sinus squamous cell carcinoma with IA cisplatin (CDDP) and docetaxel (DOC) and CCRT with oral S-1. We report our experience and the effectiveness and feasibility of this combination as an alternative choice of treatment for inoperable head and neck cancer. The patients received an IA infusion of CDDP (50–70 mg/m2) and DOC (50–60 mg/m2) through the femoral artery, followed by CCRT with oral S-1. The IA infusion was repeated up to 3 times and the radiation was dosed at up to 60–70 Gy. Complete response was achieved in 4 patients and partial response in one, giving an overall response rate of 100%. The most common grade 3 or 4 toxicities were anorexia (80%), mucositis (80%) and leukopenia (80%), all of which were manageable. CCRT with IA CDDP/DOC and oral S-1 was effective and tolerated. Although preliminary, the response rate encourages further pursuit and definitive evaluation of this combination for the treatment of inoperable advanced head and neck cancer