401 research outputs found
A Case of Possible Concurrence of Dermatitis Herpetiformis and Linear Immunoglobulin A / Immunoglobulin G Bullous Dermatosis.
Linear immunoglobulin (Ig) A bullous dermatosis
(LABD), one subtype of subepidermal autoimmune
bullous skin diseases (AIBDs), is characterized by linear
deposit of only IgA along the basement membrane
zone (BMZ) on direct immunofluorescence (DIF) (1,2).
Patients showing linear deposits of both IgA and IgG
are diagnosed with linear IgA/IgG bullous dermatosis
(LAGBD) (3,4). Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) is another
type of subepidermal AIBD characterized by clinically
pruritic erythematous skin lesions with vesicles on the
elbows, knees, and buttocks with granular IgA deposits
of IgA by DIF (5). In this study, we report a Japanese
case of a patient who showed possible concurrence of
DH and LAGBD based on clinical, histological, and immunological
findings
Spearmint Extract Containing Rosmarinic Acid Suppresses Amyloid Fibril Formation of Proteins Associated with Dementia
Neurological dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia are thought to be caused in part by the formation and deposition of characteristic insoluble fibrils of polypeptides such as amyloid beta (Aβ), Tau, and/or α-synuclein (αSyn). In this context, it is critical to suppress and remove such aggregates in order to prevent and/or delay the progression of dementia in these ailments. In this report, we investigated the effects of spearmint extract (SME) and rosmarinic acid (RA; the major component of SME) on the amyloid fibril formation reactions of αSyn, Aβ, and Tau proteins in vitro. SME or RA was added to soluble samples of each protein and the formation of fibrils was monitored by thioflavin T (ThioT) binding assays and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We also evaluated whether preformed amyloid fibrils could be dissolved by the addition of RA. Our results reveal for the first time that SME and RA both suppress amyloid fibril formation, and that RA could disassemble preformed fibrils of αSyn, Aβ, and Tau into non-toxic species. Our results suggest that SME and RA may potentially suppress amyloid fibrils implicated in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia in vivo, as well
New group of stable icosahedral quasicrystals: structural properties and formation conditions
Structural studies on the icosahedral quasicrystals in Zn-Mg-Sc, Cu-Ga-Mg-Sc,
and Zn-Mg-Ti alloys as well as their corresponding 1/1 cubic approximants, have
revealed that these quasicrystals belong to a new structural group similar to
Cd-based quasicrystals. This group is characterized by a triple-shell
icosahedral cluster different from both Mackay- and Bergman-types. The presence
of the atomic cluster has been deduced from the structure model of the
approximant crystal, Zn17Sc3, in which the clusters are embedded in a periodic
network of so-called "glue atoms". Density measurement suggested the presence
of at least 2.7 Zn atoms in the first shell of the cluster in this approximant.
The substitutional relationship in these three quasicrystals indicates the
important role of Hume-Rothery rule for the formation of this type of
quasicrystal. The occurrence of a P-type icosahedral quasicrystal in Zn-Mg-Yb
alloy is also reported.Comment: 11 pages, 1 table, 6 figure
Black hole tidal problem in the Fermi normal coordinates
We derive a tidal potential for a self-gravitating fluid star orbiting Kerr
black hole along a timelike geodesic extending previous works by Fishbone and
Marck. In this paper, the tidal potential is calculated up to the third and
fourth-order terms in , where is the stellar radius and the
orbital separation, in the Fermi-normal coordinate system following the
framework developed by Manasse and Misner. The new formulation is applied for
determining the tidal disruption limit (Roche limit) of corotating Newtonian
stars in circular orbits moving on the equatorial plane of Kerr black holes. It
is demonstrated that the third and fourth-order terms quantitatively play an
important role in the Roche limit for close orbits with R/r \agt 0.1. It is
also indicated that the Roche limit of neutron stars orbiting a stellar-mass
black hole near the innermost stable circular orbit may depend sensitively on
the equation of state of the neutron star.Comment: Correct typo
Frequent Loss of Genome Gap Region in 4p16.3 Subtelomere in Early-Onset Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
A small portion of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is familial, but the majority occurs as sporadic disease. Although causative genes are found in some rare forms, the genetic basis for sporadic T2DM is largely unknown. We searched for a copy number abnormality in 100 early-onset Japanese T2DM patients (onset age <35 years) by whole-genome screening with a copy number variation BeadChip. Within the 1.3-Mb subtelomeric region on chromosome 4p16.3, we found copy number losses in early-onset T2DM (13 of 100 T2DM versus one of 100 controls). This region surrounds a genome gap, which is rich in multiple low copy repeats. Subsequent region-targeted high-density custom-made oligonucleotide microarray experiments verified the copy number losses and delineated structural changes in the 1.3-Mb region. The results suggested that copy number losses of the genes in the deleted region around the genome gap in 4p16.3 may play significant roles in the etiology of T2DM
Hybridization Mechanism for Cohesion of Cd-based Quasicrystals
Cohesion mechanism of cubic approximant crystals of newly discovered binary
quasicrystals, CdM (M=Yb and Ca), are studied theoretically. It is found
that stabilization due to alloying is obtained if M is an element with
low-lying unoccupied states. This leads to conclusion that the cohesion of
the Cd-based compounds is due to the hybridization of the states of Yb and
Ca with a wide band. %unlike known stable quasicrystals without transition
elements %such as Al-Li-Cu and Zn-Mg-RE (RE:rare earth). Although a diameter of
the Fermi sphere coincides with the strong Bragg peaks for Cd-Yb and Cd-Ca, the
Hume-Rothery mechanism does not play a principal role in the stability because
neither distinct pseudogap nor stabilization due to alloying is obtained for
isostructural Cd-Mg. In addition to the electronic origin, matching of the
atomic size is very crucial for the quasicrystal formation of the Cd-based
compounds. It is suggested that the glue atoms, which do not participate in the
icosahedral cluster, play an important role in stabilization of the compound.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
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