Complete Genome Sequencing of a Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ψUSA300 Strain JICS127, a Uniquely Evolved USA300 Lineage in Japan

A ψUSA300 clone of MRSA, a derivative of USA300, is uniquely found in Japan and has 12-bp deletion on ccrB2 in type IVa staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec element. We hereby present the complete genome of ψUSA300 strain JICS127

Effect of nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium fertilizations on the yield and quality of Fj-hybrid tomato seed

The effect of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and calcium (Ca) fertilizations on the seed yield and quality of F ^hybrid tomato seed grown by NFT were investigated. Higher N application (8 me/I) at the onset of flowering increased seed yield. Increasing N level at later growth stage increased seed yield of upper cluster, therefore total seed per plant also high. Four me/I ofCa level combined with 8 me/I ofP level increased in the weight of fruit and seed. However, at the case of 8 me/I ofCa, increasing P level declined fruit and seed yield severely. Especially when both P and Ca level were high (8 me/I), fruit and seed yield markedly decreased into about 60 %. Effect ofN content in the seed will reflect to the N compounds constituent there and consequently may influence seed germination. Keywords: F-hybrid tomato seed production - nutrient film technique (NFT) - nitrogen - phosphorus - calcium â

Effects of surface step and substrate temperature on nanostructure of L1₀-FePt nanoparticles

An investigation on the variation of the particle size, particle density and its relation to the hard magnetic properties of FePt nanoparticles with respect to substrate surface morphologies and substrate temperatures was performed. At a substrate temperature below 573 K, densely dispersed FePt nanoparticles with a particle density of 1012 cm -2 were obtained. It was found that for obtaining well-oriented and well-isolated L10-FePt nanoparticles with large coercivity, substrate temperatures between 623 and 823 K were necessary.Kazuhisa Sato, Takenori Kajiwara, Masaru Fujiyoshi, Manabu Ishimaru, and Yoshihiko Hirotsu, "Effects of surface step and substrate temperature on nanostructure of L10–FePt nanoparticles", Journal of Applied Physics 93, 7414-7416 (2003) https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1541641

Deposition of transparent conducting Al-doped ZnO thin films by ICP-assisted sputtering

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) is one of the promising transparent conductive oxide materials, which is expected to be an alternative to tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) that for long has been widely used in industry. The authors have been engaged in the development of AZO deposition process using inductively-coupled plasma assisted sputtering in a couple of years. This paper reports the results showing effectiveness of inductively coupled plasma (ICP) assisted sputtering in AZO film deposition process.2010 IEEE Region 10 Conference (TENCON 2010) : Fukuoka, 2010.11.21-2010.11.2

カンセン コンカン チリョウ ノ カンガエカタ

It is a well-established fact that bacterial infection of the dental pulp ultimately results in the formation of apical periodontitis. And apical periodontitis may develop periapical leisons consisting granulomas and cysts. In this article, we show the pathologic condition of infected root canal systems and periapical lesions immunohistologically. We also describe the possible causes of refractory apical periodontitis that conventional root canal therapy could not work effectively. Finally, we explain our newly developing treatment for refractory apical periodontitis named electro-magnetic apical treatment, and illustrate clinical efficacy of this treatment

Dok-1 and Dok-2 are negative regulators of lipopolysaccharide-induced signaling

Endotoxin, a bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), causes fatal septic shock via Toll-like receptor (TLR)4 on effector cells of innate immunity like macrophages, where it activates nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases to induce proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. Dok-1 and Dok-2 are adaptor proteins that negatively regulate Ras–Erk signaling downstream of protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs). Here, we demonstrate that LPS rapidly induced the tyrosine phosphorylation and adaptor function of these proteins. The stimulation with LPS of macrophages from mice lacking Dok-1 or Dok-2 induced elevated Erk activation, but not the other MAP kinases or NF-κB, resulting in hyperproduction of TNF-α and nitric oxide. Furthermore, the mutant mice showed hyperproduction of TNF-α and hypersensitivity to LPS. However, macrophages from these mutant mice reacted normally to other pathogenic molecules, CpG oligodeoxynucleotides, poly(I:C) ribonucleotides, or Pam3CSK4 lipopeptide, which activated cognate TLRs but induced no tyrosine phosphorylation of Dok-1 or Dok-2. Forced expression of either adaptor, but not a mutant having a Tyr/Phe substitution, in macrophages inhibited LPS-induced Erk activation and TNF-α production. Thus, Dok-1 and Dok-2 are essential negative regulators downstream of TLR4, implying a novel PTK-dependent pathway in innate immunity