The use of electrical discharge for ignition and control of combustion of solid propellants

As the first step of the study of the combustion control of solid propellants by electrical discharges, the effects of an arc discharge, which flows along the burning surface, on the burning rate and on the increase of enthalpy of the combustion product were investigated. For specially devised composite propellants, which are composed of Al and Teflon powders, it was shown that the combination can be controlled by an arc discharge; the combustion continues when the arc discharge is applied and is interrupted when the arc discharge breaks. In the present investigation, it was also shown that an arc discharge coupled with a high-frequency electrical discharge has potential as an effective ignition method for solid propellants. For the application of this type of combustion control to an ignitor for a solid propellant rocket motor or to a control rocket motor, this method lacks flexibility in the configuration scale and needs relatively high electric power at the present stage

Gene expression profiling in rats with depressive-like behavior

Individual differences indicate stronger phenotypes than model animals especially in behavioral studies, and some animals show unexpected behaviors in control and animal model groups. High-throughput analysis including cDNA microarray analysis are more affected by individual differences, because more samples are needed to reduce the difference in multiple factor analysis than single factor analysis such as real-time PCR. We measured the depressive-like behavior of over 100 normal rats in the forced swimming test and selected the rats for control and depression group from them to minimize the individual difference using data of force swimming test. Here, we provided the detail of methods and quality control parameters for the cDNA microarray data. This dataset can reflect the increase of depressive-like behavior. The dataset is deposited in the gene expression omnibus (GEO), series GSE63377

Rap1 translates chemokine signals to integrin activation, cell polarization, and motility across vascular endothelium under flow

Chemokines arrest circulating lymphocytes within the vasculature through the rapid up-regulation of leukocyte integrin adhesive activity, promoting subsequent lymphocyte transmigration. However, the key regulatory molecules regulating this process have remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate that Rap1 plays a pivotal role in chemokine-induced integrin activation and migration. Rap1 was activated by secondary lymphoid tissue chemokine (SLC; CCL21) and stromal-derived factor 1 (CXCL4) treatment in lymphocytes within seconds. Inhibition of Rap1 by Spa1, a Rap1-specific GTPase-activating protein, abrogated chemokine-stimulated lymphocyte rapid adhesion to endothelial cells under flow via intercellular adhesion molecule 1. Expression of a dominant active Rap1V12 in lymphocytes stimulated shear-resistant adhesion, robust cell migration on immobilized intercellular adhesion molecule 1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, and transendothelial migration under flow. We also demonstrated that Rap1V12 expression in lymphocytes induced a polarized morphology, accompanied by the redistribution of CXCR4 and CD44 to the leading edge and uropod, respectively. Spa1 effectively suppressed this polarization after SLC treatment. This unique characteristic of Rap1 may control chemokine-induced lymphocyte extravasation

The role of cyclosporin A on antibody-dependent monocytemediated cytotoxicity against human multidrug-resistant cancer cells

A P-glycoprotein (P-gp) inhibitor, cyclosporin A (CsA) was found to enhance the susceptibility of multidrug resistant (MDR) cancer cells to anti-P-gp antibody-dependent cellular cytolysis (ADCC) by monocytes, but the exact mechanism is unknown. In this study, we examined whether CsA enhanced the susceptibility of MDR cells through its inhibitory effect of P-gp function by using anti-ganglioside GM2 (GM2) monoclonal antibody (Ab), KM966, instead of anti-P-gp Ab, MRK16. Monocyte-ADCC induced by both KM966 and MRK16 against P-gp positive human MDR ovarian cancer cells was significantly augmented by addition of CsA. KM966, but not MRK16, induced monocyte-ADCC against P-gp negative human ovarian cancer cells and CsA enhanced this ADCC activity, indicating that suppressive effect of P-gp function by CsA was not essential to the enhancement of ADCC. Moreover, pretreatment of tumor cells with CsA augmented their susceptibility to monocyte-ADCC irrespective of P-gp expression. Interestingly, KM966 or MRK16 induced monocyte-ADCC against various human lung cancer cells expressing either GM2 or P-gp, but CsA did not affect these ADCC. These findings suggest that CsA may enhance the susceptibility to the monocyte-ADCC of ovarian cancer cells, but not of lung cancer cells, irrespective of its suppressive effect of P-gp function

最先端手術への教育とクリニカルアナトミーラボ

Recently, endoscopic surgery is the most common procedurein the field of thoracic surgery. The newestthoracic surgeryapproaches are the video-assisted thoracic surgery（VATS）, the one-port video-assisted thoracic surgery, and the robotic surgery. The individual advantages and disadvantages of these procedures have been discussed. VATS covers a field of view of the surgical field from the leg to the head. The basic method in performing VATS is that the surgeon operates on the abdominal area of the patient and the assistant expands the surgical field from the patient’s back. It is currently the standard surgical procedure. The advantage of one-port VATS is the one port itself and its cosmetic advantages and pain reduction. The advantage of robotic surgery is that it has a clear three-dimensional enlarged field of view and can be performed using the delicate moving robotic arm. However, a good surgical training system should be established for the familiarization of these procedures. The clinical anatomy laboratory is the most efficient surgical training in addition to dry and wet lab training. Our institution has fresh-frozen cadavers, which are rare in Japan. The participating thoracic surgeons underwent training for VATS lobectomy, subxiphoid extended thymectomy, and pleurectomy decortication. This training is beneficial for educational and clinical purposes. In the future, we must obtain consistent surgical education before and after graduation using fresh-frozen cadavers. At the same time, a good organ model for training is also necessary. The surgeon has to cooperate with anatomy doctors for the development of a good surgical organ model. For the development of future surgical medicine, surgical training programs should be implemented

The effect of bisulfite modification on the template activity of DNA for DNA polymerase I(1)

Cytosine residues of poly(C) and heat-denatured calf thymus DNA were transformed into 5,6-dihydrouracil-6-sulfonate (U(SO(−)(3))) residues by treatment with bisulfite. The poly(U(SO(−)(3))(2), C(3)) and poly(U(SO(−)(3))(9), C(1)) prepared did not form inter-base binding with either poly(A) or poly(I) as judged by the absence of hypochromicity in ultraviolet absorbance. U(SO(−)(3)) residues in the DNA inactivated it to serve as template for E.coli DNA polymerase I, while the template activity was restored by conversion of the U(SO(−)(3)) residues into U

Akt/Protein Kinase B-Dependent Phosphorylation and Inactivation of WEE1Hu Promote Cell Cycle Progression at G(2)/M Transition

The serine/threonine kinase Akt is known to promote cell growth by regulating the cell cycle in G(1) phase through activation of cyclin/Cdk kinases and inactivation of Cdk inhibitors. However, how the G(2)/M phase is regulated by Akt remains unclear. Here, we show that Akt counteracts the function of WEE1Hu. Inactivation of Akt by chemotherapeutic drugs or the phosphatidylinositide-3-OH kinase inhibitor LY294002 induced G(2)/M arrest together with the inhibitory phosphorylation of Cdc2. Because the increased Cdc2 phosphorylation was completely suppressed by wee1hu gene silencing, WEE1Hu was associated with G(2)/M arrest induced by Akt inactivation. Further analyses revealed that Akt directly bound to and phosphorylated WEE1Hu during the S to G(2) phase. Serine-642 was identified as an Akt-dependent phosphorylation site. WEE1Hu kinase activity was not affected by serine-642 phosphorylation. We revealed that serine-642 phosphorylation promoted cytoplasmic localization of WEE1Hu. The nuclear-to-cytoplasmic translocation was mediated by phosphorylation-dependent WEE1Hu binding to 14-3-3θ but not 14-3-3β or -σ. These results indicate that Akt promotes G(2)/M cell cycle progression by inducing phosphorylation-dependent 14-3-3θ binding and cytoplasmic localization of WEE1Hu