Characteristics of Skeletal Muscle Fibers of SOD1 Knockout Mice

Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) knockout (KO) mice are known as an aging model in some aspects, but the damage and regeneration process of each fiber type have not been sufficiently studied. In this study, we investigated the damage and satellite cell state of the gastrocnemius muscle in SOD1 KO mice (6 months old) using immunohistochemical staining and real-time RT-PCR. The proportion of central nuclei-containing Type IIx/b fibers in the deep and superficial portions of the gastrocnemius muscle was significantly higher in SOD1 KO than control mice. The number of satellite cells per muscle fiber decreased in all muscle fiber types in the deep portion of the gastrocnemius muscle in SOD1 KO mice. In addition, the mRNA expression levels of Pax7 and myogenin, which are expressed in satellite cells in the activation, proliferation, and differentiation states, significantly increased in the gastrocnemius muscle of SOD1 KO mice. Furthermore, mRNA of myosin heavy chain-embryonic, which is expressed in the early phase of muscle regeneration, significantly increased in SOD1 KO mice. It was suggested that muscle is damaged by reactive oxygen species produced in the mitochondrial intermembrane space in Type IIxb fibers, accelerating the proliferation and differentiation of satellite cells through growth factors in SOD1 KO mice

Coupled spin-charge-phonon fluctuation in the all-in/all-out antiferromagnet Cd2Os2O7

We report on a spin-charge fluctuation in the all-in/all-out pyrochlore magnet Cd2Os2O7, where the spin fluctuation is driven by the conduction of thermally excited electrons/holes and associated fluctuation of Os valence. The fluctuation exhibits an activation energy significantly greater than the spin-charge excitation gap and a peculiar frequency range of 10(6)-10(10) s(-1). These features are attributed to the hopping motion of carriers as small polarons in the insulating phase, where the polaron state is presumably induced by the magnetoelastic coupling via the strong spin-orbit interaction. Such a coupled spin-charge-phonon fluctuation manifests as a part of the metal-insulator transition that is extended over a wide temperature range due to the modest electron correlation comparable with other interactions characteristic for 5d-subshell systems

EFFECTS OF ALUMINUM OVER-LAYER THICKNESS ON CHARACTERISTICS OF NIOBIUM TUNNEL-JUNCTIONS FABRICATED BY DC MAGNETRON SPUTTERING

We have fabricated Nb/AlOX/Nb Josephson tunnel junctions using a sputtering apparatus with a load-lock system. The junctions that had 50 mu m x 50 mu m area showed a V-m value (the product of the critical current and the subgap resistance at 2 mV) as high as 50 mV at a current density of 160 A/cm(2). Moreover, junctions having different thicknesses of the Al over-layer were concurrently fabricated on one wafer to study the dependence of the current-voltage characteristics on this Al over-layer. The I-V characteristics were also calculated by McMillan\u27s tunneling model and were compared with the measured I-V characteristics

Expanding the Repertoire of Optogenetically Targeted Cells with an Enhanced Gene Expression System

Optogenetics has been enthusiastically pursued in recent neuroscience research, and the causal relationship between neural activity and behavior is becoming ever more accessible. Here, we established knockin-mediated enhanced gene expression by improved tetracycline-controlled gene induction (KENGE-tet) and succeeded in generating transgenic mice expressing a highly light-sensitive channelrhodopsin-2 mutant at levels sufficient to drive the activities of multiple cell types. This method requires two lines of mice: one that controls the pattern of expression and another that determines the protein to be produced. The generation of new lines of either type readily expands the repertoire to choose from. In addition to neurons, we were able to manipulate the activity of nonexcitable glial cells in vivo. This shows that our system is applicable not only to neuroscience but also to any biomedical study that requires understanding of how the activity of a selected population of cells propagates through the intricate organic systems

High Expression of Dihydropyrimidine Dehydrogenase in Lung Adenocarcinoma is Associated With Mutations in Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor: Implications for the Treatment of Non?Small-Cell Lung Cancer Using 5-Fluorouracil

BackgroundIt has been shown that 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) sensitivity in patients with non?small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is associated with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status. However, the relationship between dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), a 5-FU degrading enzyme, and EGFR mutation status is unknown. Here, we focus on clinicopathologic factors and in vitro correlations between DPD expression and EGFR mutation status.Patients and MethodsEGFR mutations and messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of DPD and thymidylate synthase (TS) were analyzed in 47 resected NSCLC tumors by laser-capture microdissection. In addition, relationships between EGFR mutation status and the immunohistochemical expression of DPD and TS in 49 patients with primary NSCLC who were treated with a 5-FU derivative of S-1 postoperatively were examined. Correlations among clinicopathologic factors were evaluated. The effect of epidermal growth factor on DPD expression was also investigated in vitro in various cell lines.ResultsAdenocarcinoma in situ showed significantly higher DPD mRNA levels and more EGFR mutation frequency than other histological types (P < .05). DPD immunopositive cases were more frequently observed in adenocarcinoma, in females, and in nonsmokers. DPD immunopositive cases were correlated with EGFR mutation status (P < .003). The prognoses of wild-type EGFR and mutated EGFR populations were similarly favorable with postoperative S-1 treatment, which overcomes the problem of 5-FU degradation in mutated EGFR. In vitro, EGFR-mutated cell lines showed high DPD mRNA and protein expression.ConclusionHigh DPD expression was shown to be correlated with EGFR mutation in adenocarcinoma cells and tissues. Clinicians should take this finding into consideration when using 5-FU to treat patients with NSCLC

各地の深海底に存在する褐色変色域での微生物調査

BE11-P72ポスター要旨 / ブルーアース2011（2011年3月7日～8日, 東京海洋大学品川キャンパス）http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/darwin/cruise/natsushima/nt05-18/ehttp://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/darwin/cruise/natsushima/nt10-06_leg2/ehttp://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/darwin/cruise/natsushima/nt10-13_leg2/ehttp://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/darwin/cruise/yokosuka/yk10-10/

EFFECTS OF ALUMINUM OVER-LAYER THICKNESS ON CHARACTERISTICS OF NIOBIUM TUNNEL-JUNCTIONS FABRICATED BY DC MAGNETRON SPUTTERING

We have fabricated Nb/AlOX/Nb Josephson tunnel junctions using a sputtering apparatus with a load-lock system. The junctions that had 50 mu m x 50 mu m area showed a V-m value (the product of the critical current and the subgap resistance at 2 mV) as high as 50 mV at a current density of 160 A/cm(2). Moreover, junctions having different thicknesses of the Al over-layer were concurrently fabricated on one wafer to study the dependence of the current-voltage characteristics on this Al over-layer. The I-V characteristics were also calculated by McMillan's tunneling model and were compared with the measured I-V characteristics

Error-reduced channeled spectroscopic ellipsometer with palm-size sensing head

This paper describes a newly developed prototype system of the channeled spectroscopic ellipsometer (CSE). The new system has a feature that the major systematic and random error sources of the previous CSEs are effectively reduced or compensated for. In addition, the prototype preserves the advantageous features of the CSE in that it has a palm-size sensing head and that its acquisition time is as fast as 20 ms. Its performance is experimentally examined by use of 12 films whose thicknesses are ranging approximately from 3 to 4000 nm. The film thicknesses measured by the new CSE show good agreements with the ones by the rotating-compensator spectroscopic ellipsometer. The stability of the film-thickness measurement of the new CSE against the temperature change from 5 to 45℃ is less than 0.11 nm. The CSE can open up new applications of the spectroscopic ellipsometers in which the compactness, the simplicity, and the rapid response are important

APPROXIMATE CALCULATIONS OF LAMINAR JETS (continued)

§ 1. Introduction / § 2. The plane Jet / § 3. The Circular Jet第6巻第2号59ページに正誤表あり