Optical Conductivity Study of f Electron States in YbCu2Ge2 at High Pressures to 20 GPa

Optical conductivity [σ(ω)] of YbCu2Ge2 has been measured at external pressures (P) to 20 GPa, to study the P evolution of f electron hybridized states. At P=0, σ(ω) shows a marked mid-infrared (mIR) peak at 0.37 eV, which is due to optical excitations from f14 (Yb2+) state located below the Fermi level. With increasing P, the mIR peak shows significant shifts to lower energy, reaching 0.18 eV at P=20 GPa. This result indicates that the f14 energy level increases toward the Fermi level with P. Such a shift of the f electron level with P has been expected from theoretical considerations, but had never been demonstrated by spectroscopic experiment under high P. The obtained results are also analyzed in terms of the P evolution of the conduction-f electron hybridization

Eicosapentaenoic Acid Suppresses the Proliferation of Synoviocytes from Rheumatoid Arthritis

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is essential for normal cell growth, and may play an important role in inflammatory and autoimmune disorders including rheumatoid arthritis. We investigate that EPA could suppress the proliferation of fibroblast like synoviocytes in vitro. We treated synoviocytes with 1 to 50 µM EPA and measured cell viabilities by the modified MTT assay. We sorted the number of them in sub G1 stage by fluorescence-activated cell sorting caliber. And we stained them by light green or Hoechst 33258, and investigate microscopic appearance. The cell viabilities were decreased at 30 µM, 40 µM, and 50 µM of EPA comparing to 0 µM of EPA. The half maximal concentration of synoviocytes inhibition was approximately 25 µM. At day 1 and day 3, cell number was also decreased at 50 µM EPA comparing to control. FACS caliber indicated the number of synoviocytes in sub G1 stage did not increase in each concentration of EPA. Hoechst staining indicated normal chromatin pattern and no change in a nuclear morphology both in EPA treated synoviocytes and in untreated synoviocytes. These findings suggest that EPA could suppress the proliferation of synoviocytes in vivo dose dependently and time dependently, however, the mechanism is not due to apoptosis

Platinum Atom Location on the Internal Walls of Nanocavities Investigated by Ion Channeling Analysis

Atomic locations of Pt trapped at hydrogen-induced cavities in Si have been investigated by ion channeling analysis. A Pt dose of 1 × 1014 cm-2, corresponding to a monolayer coverage of the internal walls of cavities, was implanted into cavity-containin

C3H/HeNSlc mouse with low phospholipid transfer protein expression showed dyslipidemia

Abstract High serum levels of triglycerides (TG) and low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) increase the risk of coronary heart disease in humans. Herein, we first reported that the C3H/HeNSlc (C3H-S) mouse, a C3H/HeN-derived substrain, is a novel model for dyslipidemia. C3H-S showed hypertriglyceridemia and low total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C, and phospholipid (PL) concentrations. To identify the gene locus causing dyslipidemia in C3H-S, we performed genetic analysis. In F2 intercrosses between C3H-S mice and strains with normal serum lipids, the locus associated with serum lipids was identified as 163–168 Mb on chromosome 2. The phospholipid transfer protein (Pltp) gene was a candidate gene within this locus. Pltp expression and serum PLTP activity were markedly lower in C3H-S mice. Pltp expression was negatively correlated with serum TG and positively correlated with serum TC and HDL-C in F2 mice. Genome sequencing analysis revealed that an endogenous retrovirus (ERV) sequence called intracisternal A particle was inserted into intron 12 of Pltp in C3H-S. These results suggest that ERV insertion within Pltp causes aberrant splicing, leading to reduced Pltp expression in C3H-S. This study demonstrated the contribution of C3H-S to our understanding of the relationship between TG, TC, and PL metabolism via PLTP