Low-Energy Effective Lagrangian in Unified Theories with Non-Universal Supersymmetry Breaking Terms

Supersymmetric grand unified theories with non-universal soft supersymmetry breaking terms are studied. By integrating out the superheavy fields at an unification scale, we compute their low-energy effective Lagrangian. We find new contributions to the scalar potential specific to the non-universal supersymmetry breaking. $D$-term contribution to the scalar masses is one example. The gauge hierarchy achieved by a fine-tuning in the superpotential would be violated in general due to the non-universal SUSY breaking terms. We show, however, it is preserved for a certain class of the soft terms derived from a {\em hidden} ansatz. We also discuss some phenomenological implications of the non-universal supersymmetry breaking, including predictions of the radiative electroweak symmetry breaking scenario and of no-scale type models.Comment: 29 pages, LaTeX, DPSU-9402,LBL-35731,UCB-PTH-94/16,TU-45

Study on the Force Field of Quartz

The values for infrared absorption of quartz cut along the definite direction have been rescrutinized within the range of 1500~400cm-1 through transmission and reflection techniques, being well agreeable with the data and assignment proposed by SCOTT and PORTO. On the basis of their in-frared and Raman spectra for α-quartz as well as the infrared data offered in the case of heating at 600°C by SIMON and McMAHON in association with the Raman data shown at 600°C by NARAYANA-SWAMY respectively for β-quartz the values of frequency for the fundamental vibration of quartz have been estimated in good harmony with those observed really in the experiments whereas it has become evident that the previous data for frequency were erroneously assigned to more or less extent. In view of the preceding works the data resulted from calculation of the wave-numbers of fundamental vibration for α- and β-quartz have been presented in this report

Prediction of transcriptional regulatory elements for plant hormone responses based on microarray data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Phytohormones organize plant development and environmental adaptation through cell-to-cell signal transduction, and their action involves transcriptional activation. Recent international efforts to establish and maintain public databases of <it>Arabidopsis </it>microarray data have enabled the utilization of this data in the analysis of various phytohormone responses, providing genome-wide identification of promoters targeted by phytohormones.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We utilized such microarray data for prediction of <it>cis</it>-regulatory elements with an octamer-based approach. Our test prediction of a drought-responsive RD29A promoter with the aid of microarray data for response to drought, ABA and overexpression of DREB1A, a key regulator of cold and drought response, provided reasonable results that fit with the experimentally identified regulatory elements. With this succession, we expanded the prediction to various phytohormone responses, including those for abscisic acid, auxin, cytokinin, ethylene, brassinosteroid, jasmonic acid, and salicylic acid, as well as for hydrogen peroxide, drought and DREB1A overexpression. Totally 622 promoters that are activated by phytohormones were subjected to the prediction. In addition, we have assigned putative functions to 53 octamers of the Regulatory Element Group (REG) that have been extracted as position-dependent <it>cis</it>-regulatory elements with the aid of their feature of preferential appearance in the promoter region.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our prediction of <it>Arabidopsis cis</it>-regulatory elements for phytohormone responses provides guidance for experimental analysis of promoters to reveal the basis of the transcriptional network of phytohormone responses.</p

Simulations of Surface X-ray Diffraction from a Monolayer 4He Film Adsorbed on Graphite

We carried out simulations of crystal truncation rod (CTR) scatterings, i.e., one of the surface X-ray diffraction techniques with atomic resolution, from a monolayer He film adsorbed on graphite. Our simulations reveal that the 00L rod scatterings from the He monolayer exhibit notable intensity modifications for those from a graphite surface in the ranges of approximately L = 0.6 - 1.7 and L = 2.2 - 3.5. The height of the He monolayer from the graphite surface largely affects the CTR scattering profiles, indicating that CTR scatterings have enough sensitivities to determine the surface structure of the various phases in the He layer. In particular, in the incommensurate solid phase, our preliminary experimental data show the intensity modulations that are expected from the present simulations.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to be published in JPS Conf. Pro

Development and analytical performance evaluation of an automated chemiluminescent immunoassay for pro-gastrin releasing peptide (ProGRP)

Background: Pro-gastrin releasing peptide ( ProGRP) concentrations in blood play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The automated quantitative ARCHITECT (R) ProGRP assay was developed to aid in the differential diagnosis and in the management of SCLC. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the analytical performance of this chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay at multiple sites. Methods: ARCHITECT ProGRP measures ProGRP using a two-step sandwich using monoclonal anti-ProGRP antibodies coated on paramagnetic microparticles and labeled with acridinium. Analytical performance of the assay was evaluated at four sites: Abbott Japan, Denka Seiken, the Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Munich. Results: Total precision (%CV) for nine analyte concentrations was between 2.2 and 5.7. The analytical sensitivity of the assay was between 0.20 pg/mL and 0.88 pg/mL. The functional sensitivity at 20% CV was between 0.66 pg/mL and 1.73 pg/mL. The assay was linear up to 50,000 pg/mL using a 1:10 autodilution protocol. The calibration curve was stable for 30 days. Comparison with the Fujirebio microtiter plate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (EIA) ProGRP assay gave a slope of 0.93 and a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.99. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that the ARCHITECT ProGRP assay has excellent sensitivity, precision, and correlation to a reference method. This assay provides a convenient automated method for ProGRP measurement in serum and plasma in hospitals and clinical laboratories. Clin Chem Lab Med 2009;47:1557-63

Herbal medicine Ninjinyoeito ameliorates ribavirin-induced anemia in chronic hepatitis C: A randomized controlled trial

金沢大学がん研究所Aim: Ribavirin (RBV) shows a strong antiviral effect on hepatitis C virus when used in combination with interferon. However, RBV-induced anemia is a major problem in this therapy. It would be of great clinical importance to ameliorate the anemia without reducing the RBV dose. We report here that, Ninjinyoeito (NYT), a herbal medicine can reduce the RBV-induced anemia. Methods: Twenty-three patients with chronic hepatitis C were treated with interferon alpha 2b plus RBV with (NYT group) or without (control group) NYT by a randomized selection. Eighteen patients completed the treatment schedule, and hemato-biochemical and virological effects were evaluated. Results: There was no significant difference in biochemical and virological responses between the two groups. However, anemia was significantly reduced in the NYT group compared with the control group. The maximal decrease of Hb in the NYT group (2.59±1.10 g/dL) was significantly (P= 0.026) smaller than that in the control group (3.71±0.97 g/dL). There was no significant difference in serum glutathione peroxidase activity, serum RBV concentration, and Th1/Th2 balance between the two groups. There was no specific adverse effect in NYT administration. Conclusion: These results suggest that NYT could be used as a supportive remedy to reduce the RBV-induced anemia in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. © 2005 The WJG Press and Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Probing Symmetry-Breaking Pattern Using Sfermion Masses

We study the mass spectrum of superparticles within supersymmetric grand unified models. For gaugino masses, it is pointed out that the GUT-relation in the $SU(5)$ model is applicable to a more general case where a grand-unified gauge group breaks down to the standard model gauge group by several steps. We also show that the mass spectrum of squarks and sleptons carries the information on the breaking pattern of the gauge symmetry. It is demonstrated in some $SO(10)$ models how the scalar mass spectrum distinguishes various $SO(10)$ breaking patterns from each other.Comment: LaTeX file, 11 pages, 5 PostScript figures, appended in uuencoded format. Tohoku University preprint TU-439, June 1993, final version accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.

Multiple factors influencing the release of hTERT mRNA from pancreatic cancer cell lines in in vitro culture

Since telomerase expression is highly prevalent in human cancers, the quantitation of serum/plasma hTERT (human telomerase reverse transcriptase) mRNA levels may be useful for early detection of PCa (pancreatic cancer). To analyse the correspondence between exhTERT (extracellular hTERT) mRNA levels and hTERT expression, we designed a cell culture system to investigate factors modulating the extracellular levels of hTERT mRNA in media conditioned by eight PCa cell lines. We found that the level of exhTERT mRNA was dependent on cell growth rate. MIAPaCa-2, PANC-1, KLM-1 and PK-9 cells expressed high levels of exhTERT mRNA, independent of cell density, whereas proliferating PK-59, BxPC-3 and PK-45H cells released low levels of exhTERT mRNA. The augmented release of mRNA by spontaneous dead MIAPaCa-2 cells was further increased at postconfluence. In Capan-1 cells, low correspondence of marker was also due to RNase secretion. Upon reaching confluence, some PCa cell lines showed down-regulation of hTERT expression. Following cell-cell adhesion, as shown by E-cadherin engagement, PK-59 cells showed levels of extracellular message below the limits of detection, a loss not due to an increase in message degradation. These results suggest that the levels of exhTERT mRNA in the medium of PCa cell lines are altered not only in response to cell growth rate and cell destruction, but are responsive to extracellular cues such as RNases and cell density. A cell-free assay for exhTERT mRNA may therefore not be useful for early detection of PCa. © The Author(s) Journal compilation © 2012 International Federation for Cell Biology