994 research outputs found
Systematic evolution of the magnetotransport properties of Bi_{2}Sr_{2-x}La_{x}CuO_{6} in a wide doping range
Recently we have succeeded in growing a series of high-quality
Bi_{2}Sr_{2-x}La_{x}CuO_{6} crystals in a wide range of carrier concentrations.
The data of \rho_{ab}(T) and R_H(T) of those crystals show behaviors that are
considered to be "canonical" to the cuprates. The optimum zero-resistance T_c
has been raised to as high as 38 K, which is almost equal to the optimum T_c of
La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4}.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, to be published in Physics C (Proceedings of the
International Conference on Materials and Mechanisms of Superconductivity,
High Temperature Superconductors VI (M2S-HTSC-VI), Houston, Feb 20-25, 2000
Statistical mechanics of semiflexible polymers
We present the statistical-mechanical theory of semiflexible polymers based
on the connection between the Kratky-Porod model and the quantum rigid rotator
in an external homogeneous field, and treatment of the latter using the quantum
mechanical propagator method. The expressions and relations existing for
flexible polymers can be generalized to semiflexible ones, if one replaces the
Fourier-Laplace transform of the end-to-end polymer distance, ,
through the matrix , where and are
related to the spectrum of the quantum rigid rotator, and considers an
appropriate matrix element of the expression under consideration. The present
work provides also the framework to study polymers in external fields, and
problems including the tangents of semiflexible polymers. We study the
structure factor of the polymer, the transversal fluctuations of a free end of
the polymer with fixed tangent of another end, and the localization of a
semiflexible polymer onto an interface. We obtain the partition function of a
semiflexible polymer in half space with Dirichlet boundary condition in terms
of the end-to-end distribution function of the free semiflexible polymer, study
the behaviour of a semiflexible polymer in the vicinity of a surface, and
adsorption onto a surface.Comment: 30 pages, 7 figures, changed conten
Epstein-Barr Virus latent membrane protein 1 induces Snail and epithelial–mesenchymal transition in metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Background:Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is distinctive among head-and-neck cancers in its undifferentiated histopathology and highly metastatic character. We have recently investigated the involvement of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in NPC. In a previous study, we found a close association of expression of LMP1, the principal EBV oncoprotein, with expression of Twist and induction of EMT.Methods:We analysed expression of Snail in 41 NPC tissues by immunohistochemistry. The role of Twist as well as Snail in EMT of NPC was investigated by using NP69SV40T human nasopharyngeal cells.Results:In NPC tissues, overexpression of Snail is associated with expression of LMP1 in carcinomatous cells. In addition, expression of Snail positively correlated with metastasis and independently correlated inversely with expression of E-cadherin. Expression of Twist had no association with expression of E-cadherin. Further, in a human nasopharyngeal cell line, LMP1 induces EMT and its associated cellular motility and invasiveness. Expression of Snail is induced by LMP1 in these cells, and small hairpin RNA (shRNA) to Snail reversed the cellular changes. By contrast, Twist did not produce EMT in these nasopharyngeal cells.Conclusions:This study strengthens the association of EMT with the metastatic behaviour of NPC. These results suggest that induction of Snail by the EBV oncoprotein LMP1 has a pivotal role in EMT in NPC
Ribonucleotide reductase inhibitors enhance cidofovir-induced apoptosis in EBV-positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma xenografts
金沢大学医学部附属病院耳鼻咽喉科In nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is mainly latent, and the tumor cells contain episomal viral DNA. We have shown that the acyclic nucleoside phosphonate analog, cidofovir [(S)-1-(3-hydroxy-2- (phosphonylmethoxypropyl)cytosine] (HPMPC), inhibits growth of NPC xenografts in nude mice by causing apoptosis. The ribonucleotide reductase (RR) inhibitors, hydroxyurea and didox (3,4-dihydroxybenzohydroxamic acid), have been demonstrated to inhibit neoplastic growth and are used as antiviral and anticancer agents. Here we show that RR inhibitors enhance the antitumor effect of cidofovir in EBV-transformed epithelial cells. MTT assays indicate that hydroxyurea and didox enhance cidofovir-induced cell toxicity in NPC-KT cells, an EBV-positive epithelial cell line derived from NPC. The effect is due to enhancement of apoptosis through the caspase cascade as shown by pronounced cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Finally, hydroxyurea strikingly enhanced the cidofovir-induced growth-inhibitory effect on NPC grown in athymic mice. The results suggest that RR inhibitors should enhance the antitumor effect of acyclic nucleoside phosphonate analogs on NPC. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc
Non-Universal Power Law of the "Hall Scattering Rate" in a Single-Layer Cuprate Bi_{2}Sr_{2-x}La_{x}CuO_{6}
In-plane resistivity \rho_{ab}, Hall coefficient, and magnetoresistance (MR)
are measured in a series of high-quality Bi_{2}Sr_{2-x}La_{x}CuO_{6} crystals
with various carrier concentrations, from underdope to overdope. Our crystals
show the highest T_c (33 K) and the smallest residual resistivity ever reported
for Bi-2201 at optimum doping. It is found that the temperature dependence of
the Hall angle obeys a power law T^n with n systematically decreasing with
increasing doping, which questions the universality of the Fermi-liquid-like
T^2 dependence of the "Hall scattering rate". In particular, the Hall angle of
the optimally-doped sample changes as T^{1.7}, not as T^2, while \rho_{ab}
shows a good T-linear behavior. The systematics of the MR indicates an
increasing role of spin scattering in underdoped samples.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Prebiotic Organic Microstructures
Micro- and sub-micrometer spheres, tubules and fiber-filament soft structures have been synthesized in our experiments conducted with 3 MeV proton irradiations of a mixture of simple inorganic constituents, CO, N2 and H2O. We analysed the irradiation products, with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). These laboratory organic structures produced wide variety of proteinous and non-proteinous amino acids after HCl hydrolysis. The enantiomer analysis for D-, L- alanine confirmed that the amino acids were abiotically synthesized during the laboratory experiment. Considering hydrothermal activity, the presence of CO2 and H2, of a ferromagnesian silicate mineral environment, of an Earth magnetic field which was much less intense during Archean times than nowadays and consequently of a proton excitation source which was much more abundant, we propose that our laboratory organic microstructures might be synthesized during Archean times. We show similarities in morphology and in formation with some terrestrial Archean microstructures and we suggest that some of the observed Archean carbon spherical and filamentous microstructures might be composed of abiogenic organic molecules. We further propose a search for such prebiotic organic signatures on Mars. This article has been posted on Nature precedings on 21 July 2010 [1]. Extinct radionuclides as source of excitation have been replaced by cosmic radiations which were much more intense 3.5 Ga ago because of a much less intense Earth magnetic field. The new version of the article has been presented at the ORIGINS conference in Montpellier in july 2011 [2] and has since been published in Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres 42 (4) 307-316, 2012. 
DOI: 10.1007/s11084-012-9290-5 


Upregulation of special AT-rich-binding protein 1 by Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein 1 in human nasopharyngeal cells and nasopharyngeal cancer
A global regulator of chromatin remodelling and gene expression, special AT-rich-binding protein 1 (SATB1) has been implicated in promotion of growth and metastasis of a number of cancers. Here, we demonstrate that the principal oncogene of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) upregulates SATB1 RNA and protein expression in human nasopharyngeal cell lines. Silencing of endogenously expressed SATB1 with specific short hairpin RNA decreases cell proliferation and resistance to apoptosis induced by growth factor withdrawal. Additionally, we provide evidence that LMP1-mediated expression of Survivin, a multifunctional protein involved in promoting cell growth and survival, is mediated at least in part by SATB1 in human nasopharyngeal cells. Finally, we show that SATB1 protein levels are elevated in tissue samples from patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and are directly correlated with the expression of LMP1. Taken together, our results suggest that SATB1 functions as a pro-metastatic effector of LMP1 signalling in EBV-positive NPC
Linear approaches to intramolecular Förster Resonance Energy Transfer probe measurements for quantitative modeling
Numerous unimolecular, genetically-encoded Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) probes for monitoring biochemical activities in live cells have been developed over the past decade. As these probes allow for collection of high frequency, spatially resolved data on signaling events in live cells and tissues, they are an attractive technology for obtaining data to develop quantitative, mathematical models of spatiotemporal signaling dynamics. However, to be useful for such purposes the observed FRET from such probes should be related to a biological quantity of interest through a defined mathematical relationship, which is straightforward when this relationship is linear, and can be difficult otherwise. First, we show that only in rare circumstances is the observed FRET linearly proportional to a biochemical activity. Therefore in most cases FRET measurements should only be compared either to explicitly modeled probes or to concentrations of products of the biochemical activity, but not to activities themselves. Importantly, we find that FRET measured by standard intensity-based, ratiometric methods is inherently non-linear with respect to the fraction of probes undergoing FRET. Alternatively, we find that quantifying FRET either via (1) fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) or (2) ratiometric methods where the donor emission intensity is divided by the directly-excited acceptor emission intensity (denoted R<sub>alt</sub>) is linear with respect to the fraction of probes undergoing FRET. This linearity property allows one to calculate the fraction of active probes based on the FRET measurement. Thus, our results suggest that either FLIM or ratiometric methods based on R<sub>alt</sub> are the preferred techniques for obtaining quantitative data from FRET probe experiments for mathematical modeling purpose
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