CPUとGPUを用いた効率的な並列数値計算方式の提案と実装

電気通信大学200

Isolation of a Mutant ofArabidopsis thalianaCarrying Two Simultaneous Mutations Affecting Tobacco Mosaic Virus Multiplication within a Single Cell

AbstractTobacco mosaic virus strain Cg (TMV-Cg) infectsA. thalianasystemically. In order to identify host factors involved in the multiplication of TMV-Cg, we isolated a mutant ofA. thalianafrom an M2 population mutagenized by fast neutron irradiation, in which the accumulation of the coat protein in upper systemic leaves was reduced to low levels. The phenotype of the mutant, YS241, was controlled primarily by a single nuclear recessive mutation namedtom2-1,which was distinct fromtom1, a separate mutation which also affects TMV-Cg multiplication. Thetom2-1mutation affected the accumulation of TMV-related RNAs in protoplasts in a tobamovirus-specific manner, suggesting that the wild-typeTOM2gene product is necessary for efficient amplification of TMV-related RNAs within a single cell, through specific interaction with virus-coded factors. Furthermore, we found that YS241 contained a single dominant modifier namedttm1,which increased the efficiency of multiplication of TMV-Cg and a tomato strain of TMV in atom2-1genetic background, both in plants and in protoplasts. We propose that thettm1element might be a translocated form of theTOM2gene

Bayesian phase difference estimation algorithm for direct calculation of fine structure splitting: accelerated simulation of relativistic and quantum many-body effects

Despite rapid progress in the development of quantum algorithms in quantum computing as well as numerical simulation methods in classical computing for atomic and molecular applications, no systematic and comprehensive electronic structure study of atomic systems that covers almost all of the elements in the periodic table using a single quantum algorithm has been reported. In this work, we address this gap by implementing the recently-proposed quantum algorithm, the Bayesian Phase Difference Estimation (BPDE) approach, to compute accurately fine-structure splittings, which are relativistic in origin and it also depends on quantum many-body (electron correlation) effects, of appropriately chosen states of atomic systems, including highly-charged superheavy ions. Our numerical simulations reveal that the BPDE algorithm, in the Dirac--Coulomb--Breit framework, can predict the fine-structure splitting of Boron-like ions to within 605.3 cm$^{-1}$ of root mean square deviations from the experimental ones, in the (1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p) active space. We performed our simulations of relativistic and electron correlation effects on Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) by utilizing NVIDIA's cuQuantum, and observe a $\times 42.7$ speedup as compared to the CPU-only simulations in an 18-qubit active space.Comment: 7+4 pages, 2 figure

Effects of antioxidants and NO on TNF-α-induced adhesion molecule expression in human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells

SummaryPro-inflammatory cytokines initiate the vascular inflammatory response via upregulation of adhesion molecules on the endothelium. Recent observations suggest that reactive oxygen intermediates may play a pivotal role in TNF-α signaling and upregulate gene expression. We therefore evaluated the effects of pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC; 0.1 mM) and spermine NONOate (Sper-NO; 1mM) on adhesion molecule expression and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activation induced by TNF-α(10ng/ml) in cultured human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVEC). Treatment of cells with TNF-α for 4h significantly induced the surface expression of E-selectin and ICAM-1. Treatment with TNF-α for 8h significantly induced the surface expression of E-selectin, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1. The upregulation of these adhesion molecules was suppressed significantly by pretreatment with PDTC or Sper-NO for 1h. 8-Bromo-cyclic GMP (1mM) had no such effect, suggesting that the NO donor's effect was non-cGMP-dependent. The mRNA expression of E-selectin, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, and activation of NF-κB induced by TNF-α for 2h were decreased significantly by the above two pretreatments. N-acetylcysteine (10mM) and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (1mM) had little inhibitory effects on the cell surface and mRNA expression of these adhesion molecules stimulated by TNF-α. Treatment with TNF-α for 4h enhanced HL-60 leukocyte adhesion to human PMVEC, the effect of which was inhibited significantly by pretreatment with PDTC or Sper-NO. These findings indicate that both cell surface and mRNA expression of adhesion molecules in human PMVEC induced by TNF-α are inhibited significantly by pretreatment with PDTC or Sper-NO, possibly in part through blocking the activation of NF-κB. Although our in vitro results cannot be directly extrapolated to the in vivo situation, they suggest a potential therapeutic approach for intervention in cytokine-mediated inflammatory processes in the human lung

Probiotics into outer space: feasibility assessments of encapsulated freeze-dried probiotics during 1 month’s storage on the International Space Station

Suppression of immune function during long spaceflights is an issue that needs to be overcome. The well-established probiotic Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) could be a promising countermeasure, and we have launched a project to investigate the efficacy of its use on the International Space Station (ISS). As a first step, we developed a specialist probiotic product for space experiments, containing freeze-dried LcS in capsule form (Probiotics Package), and tested its stability through 1 month of storage on the ISS. The temperature inside the ISS ranged from 20.0 to 24.5 °C. The absorbed dose rate of the flight sample was 0.26 mGy/day and the dose equivalent rate was 0.52 mSv/day. The number of live LcS was 1.05 × 1011 colony-forming units/g powder (49.5% of the initial value) 6 months after the start of the study; this value was comparable to those in the two ground controls. Profiles of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA, sequence variant frequency, carbohydrate fermentation, reactivity to LcS-specific antibody, and the cytokine-inducing ability of LcS in the flight sample did not differ from those of the ground controls. We can therefore maintain the viability and basic probiotic properties of LcS stored as a Probiotics Package on the ISS

Expression of the oxygen-regulated protein ORP150 accelerates wound healing by modulating intracellular VEGF transport

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系Expression of angiogenic factors such as VEGF under conditions of hypoxia or other kinds of cell stress contributes to neovascularization during wound healing. The inducible endoplasmic reticulum chaperone oxygen-regulated protein 150 (ORP150) is expressed in human wounds along with VEGF. Colocalization of these two molecules was observed in macrophages in the neovasculature, suggesting a role of ORP150 in the promotion of angiogenesis. Local administration of ORP150 sense adenovirus to wounds of diabetic mice, a treatment that efficiently targeted this gene product to the macrophages of wound beds, increased VEGF antigen in wounds and accelerated repair and neovascularization. In cultured human macrophages, inhibition of ORP150 expression caused retention of VEGF antigen within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), while overexpression of ORP150 promoted the secretion of VEGF into hypoxic culture supernatants. Taken together, these data suggest an important role for ORP150 in the setting of impaired wound repair and identify a key, inducible chaperone-like molecule in the ER. This novel facet of the angiogenic response may be amenable to therapeutic manipulation