Exponents of 2-multiarrangements and multiplicity lattices

We introduce a concept of multiplicity lattices of 2-multiarrangements, determine the combinatorics and geometry of that lattice, and give a criterion and method to construct a basis for derivation modules effectively.Comment: 14 page

An Examination of the Oxygen Reduction Reaction on RuO2-based Oxide Coatings Formed on Titanium Substrates

The RuO2-based electrocatalysts were prepared by using a dip-coating method on Ti plate substrates at 400 degrees C. The catalytic activity of the oxide-coated electrodes for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry in 0.5 M H2SO4 at 60 degrees C in a stationary state. The examination was focused on the enhancement of the catalytic activity in the reaction by the enlargement of the surface area of the RuO2 coating with the help of lanthunum. The onset potential for the ORR, EORR-0, of the RuO2/Ti electrode showed that the highest value was 0.84 V vs. RHE.ArticleCatalysis Today. 146(1-2):248-252. (2009)journal articl

Chamber basis of the Orlik-Solomon algebra and Aomoto complex

We introduce a basis of the Orlik-Solomon algebra labeled by chambers, so called chamber basis. We consider structure constants of the Orlik-Solomon algebra with respect to the chamber basis and prove that these structure constants recover D. Cohen's minimal complex from the Aomoto complex.Comment: 16 page

Liquid phase immunoassay utilizing magnetic marker and high Tc superconducting quantum interference device

We have developed a liquid phase immunoassay system utilizing a magnetic marker and a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). In this system, the magnetic marker was used to detect the biological material called antigen. The magnetic marker was designed so as to generate a remanence, and the remanence field of the markers that bound to the antigens was measured with the SQUID. The measurement was performed in a solution that contained both the bound and free (or unbound) markers, i.e., without using the so-called bound/free (BF) separation process. The Brownian rotation of the free markers in the solution was used to distinguish the bound markers from the free ones. Using the system, we conducted the detection of biological material called IgE without BF separation. At present, we could detect the IgE down to 7 pg (or 39 amol

Different pathways in mechanical unfolding/folding cycle of a single semiflexible polymer

Kinetics of conformational change of a semiflexible polymer under mechanical external field were investigated with Langevin dynamics simulations. It is found that a semiflexible polymer exhibits large hysteresis in mechanical folding/unfolding cycle even with a slow operation, whereas in a flexible polymer, the hysteresis almost disappears at a sufficiently slow operation. This suggests that the essential features of the structural transition of a semiflexible polymer should be interpreted at least on a two-dimensional phase space. The appearance of such large hysteresis is discussed in relation to different pathways in the loading and unloading processes. By using a minimal two-variable model, the hysteresis loop is described in terms of different pathways on the transition between two stable states.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure

Contraction of cross-linked actomyosin bundles

Cross-linked actomyosin bundles retract when severed in vivo by laser ablation, or when isolated from the cell and micromanipulated in vitro in the presence of ATP. We identify the time scale for contraction as a viscoelastic time tau, where the viscosity is due to (internal) protein friction. We obtain an estimate of the order of magnitude of the contraction time tau ~ 10-100 s, consistent with available experimental data for circumferential microfilament bundles and stress fibers. Our results are supported by an exactly solvable, hydrodynamic model of a retracting bundle as a cylinder of isotropic, active matter, from which the order of magnitude of the active stress is estimated.Comment: To be published in Physical Biolog

Effects of upregulated indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase 1 by interferon γ gene transfer on interferon γ-mediated antitumor activity.

Interferon γ (IFN-γ), an anticancer agent, is a strong inducer of indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1), which is a tryptophan-metabolizing enzyme involved in the induction of tumor immune tolerance. In this study, we investigated the IDO1 expression in organs after IFN-γ gene transfer to mice. IFN-γ gene transfer greatly increased the mRNA expression of IDO1 in many tissues with the highest in the liver. This upregulation was associated with reduced L-tryptophan levels and increased L-kynurenine levels in serum, indicating that IFN-γ gene transfer increased the IDO activity. Then, Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) tumor-bearing wild-type and IDO1-knockout (IDO1 KO) mice were used to investigate the effects of IDO1 on the antitumor activity of IFN-γ. IFN-γ gene transfer significantly retarded the tumor growth in both strains without any significant difference in tumor size between the two groups. By contrast, the IDO1 activity was increased only in the wild-type mice by IFN-γ gene transfer, suggesting that cells other than LLC cells, such as tumor stromal cells, are the major contributors of IDO1 expression in LLC tumor. Taken together, these results imply that IFN-γ gene transfer mediated IDO1 upregulation in cells other than LLC cells has hardly any effect on the antitumor activity of IFN-γ