186 research outputs found
Unidirectional control of optically induced spin waves
Unidirectional control of optically induced spin waves in a rare-earth iron
garnet crystal is demonstrated. We observed the interference of two spin-wave
packets with different initial phases generated by circularly polarized light
pulses. This interference results in unidirectional propagation if the
spin-wave sources are spaced apart at 1/4 of the wavelength of the spin waves
and the initial phase difference is set to pi/2. The propagating direction of
the spin wave is switched by the polarization helicity of the light pulses.
Moreover, in a numerical simulation, applying more than two spin-wave sources
with a suitable polarization and spot shape, arbitrary manipulation of the spin
wave by the phased array method was replicated
Helical dichroism for hybridized quadrupole plasmon modes in twisted metal nanorods
Helical dichroism (HD), based on the interaction between chiral plasmonic
nanostructures and light with orbital angular momentum (OAM), has attracted
researchers in a wide range of fields from the viewpoint of fundamental physics
and applications. However, the relation between the HD and the excited plasmon
modes has been poorly understood in experiments. Because of the weak chiral
interaction between the chiral structures and OAM light, the structure size
must be much larger than the incident light wavelength to obtain sufficient HD
signal, resulting in the complex superposition of higher-order plasmon modes.
Recently, we experimentally demonstrated that a twisted gold nanorod dimer, one
of the simplest 3D chiral plasmonic structures, exhibits giant circular
dichroism due to strong plasmon coupling between the nanorods, followed by the
hybridization of dipole mode. In this study, we reveal that the HD of this
nanorod dimer appears due to the hybridization of quadrupole plasmon mode
rather than dipole mode. Furthermore, the measurement of the HD signal can be
achieved by using the array of the twisted dimers. The dependence of the HD on
the incident light wavelength exhibits that the HD sign changes around the
quadrupole plasmon resonance, which is in good agreement with the simulation.
These results pave the way to novel insights into the profound understanding of
the light-matter interaction with respect to angular momentum.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Involvement of oxidative stress and mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1 (MAdCAM-1) in inflammatory bowel disease
The pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel disease involves excessive immune effects of inflammatory cells against gut microbes. In genetically predisposed individuals, these effects are considered to contribute to the initiation and perpetuation of mucosal injury. Oxidative stress is a fundamental tissue-destructive mechanisms that can occur due to the reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen metabolites which are released in abundance from numerous inflammatory cells that have extravasated from lymphatics and blood vessels to the lamina propria. This extravasation is mediated by interactions between adhesion molecules including mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 on the surface of lymphocytes or neutrophils and their ligands on endothelial cells. Thus, reactive oxygen species and adhesion molecules play an important role in the development of inflammatory bowel disease. The present review focuses on the involvement of oxidative stress and adhesion molecules, in particular mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1, in inflammatory bowel disease
Spectral dependence of photoinduced spin precession in DyFeO3
Spin precession was nonthermally induced by an ultrashort laser pulse in
orthoferrite DyFeO3 with a pump-probe technique. Both circularly and linearly
polarized pulses led to spin precessions; these phenomena are interpreted as
the inverse Faraday effect and the inverse Cotton-Mouton effect, respectively.
For both cases, the same mode of spin precession was excited; the precession
frequencies and polarization were the same, but the phases of oscillations were
different. We have shown theoretically and experimentally that the analysis of
phases can distinguish between these two mechanisms. We have demonstrated
experimentally that in the visible region, the inverse Faraday effect was
dominant, whereas the inverse Cotton-Mouton effect became relatively prominent
in the near-infrared region.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figure
Nuclear translocation of the cytoplasmic domain of HB-EGF induces gastric cancer invasion
BACKGROUND: Membrane-anchored heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor (proHB-EGF) yields soluble HB-EGF, which is an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) ligand, and a carboxy-terminal fragment of HB-EGF (HB-EGF-CTF) after ectodomain shedding. We previously reported that HB-EGF-CTF and unshed proHB-EGF which has the cytoplasmic domain of proHB-EGF (HB-EGF-C), translocate from the plasma membrane to the nucleus and regulate cell cycle after shedding stimuli. However, the significance of nuclear exported HB-EGF-C in human gastric cancer is unclear. METHODS: We investigated the relationship between intracellular localization of HB-EGF-C and clinical outcome in 96 gastric cancer patients treated with gastrectomy. Moreover, we established stable gastric cancer cell lines overexpressing wild-type HB-EGF (wt-HB-EGF) and mutated HB-EGF (HB-EGF-mC), which prevented HB-EGF-C nuclear translocation after shedding. Cell motility between these 2 gastric cancer cell lines was investigated using a transwell invasion assay and a wound healing assay. RESULTS: Of the 96 gastric cancer cases, HB-EGF-C immunoreactivity was detected in both the nucleus and cytoplasm in 19 cases (19.8 %) and in the cytoplasm only in 25 cases (26.0 %). The nuclear immunoreactivity of HB-EGF-C was significantly increased in stage pT3/4 tumors compared with pT1/2 tumors (T1/2 vs. T3/4: 11.1 % vs. 36.4 %, P < 0.01). The growth of wt-HB-EGF- and HB-EGF-mC-expressing cells significantly increased compared with control cells, but the growth of HB-EGF-mC-expressing cells was significantly decreased compared with wt-HB-EGF-expressing cells. Gastric cancer cell invasion obviously increased in wt-HB-EGF-expressing cells, but invasion in HB-EGF-mC-expressing cells showed a slight increase compared with control cells. Moreover, wt-HB-EGF overexpression increased the effectiveness of wound healing, but had no significant effect in HB-EGF-mC-expressing cells. CONCLUSIONS: Both the function of HB-EGF as an EGFR ligand and a novel signal for HB-EGF-C nuclear translocation induce gastric cancer growth, whereas HB-EGF-C nuclear translocation independently plays a critical role in gastric cancer invasion. The present study demonstrated that HB-EGF-C nuclear translocation might be crucial in gastric cancer invasion. HB-EGF-C nuclear translocation may offer a prognostic marker and a new molecular target for gastric cancer therapy
A Complicated Case of Tacrolimus-Induced Rapid Remission after Cesarean Section in the Early Third Trimester for Refractory Severe Ulcerative Colitis Flaring in the Initial Period of Gestation
A 36-year-old woman who had been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at the age of 17 years was referred to our hospital because of severe abdominal pain and repeated bloody diarrhea that persisted during pregnancy despite combination therapy with high-dose corticosteroids and weekly granulocyte and monocyte adsorptive apheresis (GMA). She underwent combination therapy consisting of high-dose corticosteroids, intensive GMA (two sessions per week) and vancomycin, which was used to eradicate Clostridium difficile, under total parenteral nutrition control until the estimated weight of her fetus reached 1,000 g. This combination therapy was partially successful, resulting in almost complete disappearance of abdominal pain and a marked decrease in stool frequency. However bloody diarrhea persisted and the patient developed anemia and hypoalbuminemia and was unable to prolong her gestation time. Cesarean section was conducted at 28 weeks of gestation without any congenital abnormalities or neurological defects. Oral administration of tacrolimus was begun 7 days after cesarean section, which was followed by rapid induction of remission. Corticosteroids were then gradually tapered off. Tacrolimus is one therapeutic option after cesarean section in pregnant patients who do not respond well to GMA and high-dose corticosteroids for persistent active ulcerative colitis
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