Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α-independent peroxisome proliferation

Hepatic peroxisome proliferation, increases in the numerical and volume density of peroxisomes, is believed to be closely related to peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) activation; however, it remains unknown whether peroxisome proliferation depends absolutely on this activation. To verify occurrence of PPARα-independent peroxisome proliferation, fenofibrate treatment was used, which was expected to significantly enhance PPARα dependence in the assay system. Surprisingly, a novel type of PPARα-independent peroxisome proliferation and enlargement was uncovered in PPARα-null mice. The increased expression of dynamin-like protein 1, but not peroxisome biogenesis factor 11α, might be associated with the PPARα-independent peroxisome proliferation at least in part.ArticleBIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS 346(4): 1307-1311(2006)journal articl

On Ultrasmall Silicate Grains in the Diffuse Interstellar Medium

The abundance of both amorphous and crystalline silicates in very small grains is limited by the fact that the 10 micron silicate emission feature is not detected in the diffuse ISM. On the basis of the observed IR emission spectrum for the diffuse ISM, the observed ultraviolet extinction curve, and the 10 micron silicate absorption profile, we obtain upper limits on the abundances of ultrasmall (a < 15 Angstrom) amorphous and crystalline silicate grains. Contrary to previous work, as much as ~20% of interstellar Si could be in a < 15 Angstrom silicate grains without violating observational constraints. Not more than ~5% of the Si can be in crystalline silicates (of any size).Comment: Submitted to ApJ Letters, 11 pages, 4 figures, Late

Significance of chemokine receptor expression in aggressive NK cell leukemia

ArticleLEUKEMIA. 19(7): 1169-1174 (2005)journal articl

Wavefront compensation method using novel index in holographic data storage

Photopolymer media that uses holographic data storage generally causes volume shrinkage. This volume shrinkage distorts the recorded interference fringes. We propose an adaptive optics using novel index to compensate this distortion. The SNR value is improved from 2.1 dB to 3.4 dB in the worst part of a reproduced image and the peak intensity and the full width of the half maximum of an angle are improved by 6% and 10%, respectively. These results prove that adaptive optics using this novel index worked effectively

COVID-19-Related Factors Delaying Dental Visits of Workers in Japan

BACKGROUND: The aim of this research was to investigate the factors associated with postponing dental attendance amongst Japanese workers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: We conducted an internet-based survey in Japan from November 24 to 29, 2021. The participants were selected from people registered with an online research company. The inclusion criteria for this study were full-time or part-time workers aged 20 to 69 years. Participants filled out a questionnaire about their oral health, behaviour, and working conditions. RESULTS: A total of 1840 participants were included in the analysis. Three hundred ninety-eight participants (21.5%) answered that they postponed dental attendance due to COVID-19. Multiple logistic regression showed that women were more likely to postpone dental attendance (odds ratio [OR], 1.74; 95% confidence interval, 1.33–2.26). Moreover, employment status, household income, changes in income, working at home, interdental cleaning device use, regular dental attendance, awareness of untreated teeth, and dental pain were also associated with postponing dental attendance. The results of decision tree analysis showed that regular dental attenders with dental pain were the most likely to postpone dental attendance. CONCLUSIONS: The characteristics of postponed dental visits for Japanese workers differ depending on whether one is a regular dental attender or not. Amongst regular dental attenders, worsening oral health due to interruptions in dental attendance is concerning. Meanwhile, untreated teeth might be neglected amongst nonregular dental attenders. Preventing patients from refraining from dental attendance, regardless of whether or not they are regular dental attenders, is important during the COVID-19 pandemic

Compensation of hologram distortion by controlling defocus component in reference beam wavefront for angle multiplexed holograms

Holographic memory has the potential to function as a recording system with a large capacity and high data-transfer-rate. Photopolymer materials are typically used as a write-once recording medium. When holograms are recorded on this medium, they can distort due to shrinkage or expansion of the materials, which degrades the reconstructed image and causes a higher bit error rate (bER) of the reproduced data. We propose optically compensating for hologram distortion by controlling aberration components in the reference beam wavefront while reproducing data, thereby improving the reproduced data quality. First, we investigated the relation between each aberration component of the reference beam and the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the reproduced data using numerical simulation and found that horizontal tilt and the defocus component affect the SNR. Next, we experimentally evaluated the reproduced data by controlling the defocus component in the reference beam and found that the bER of the reproduced data could be decreased by controlling the defocus center with respect to the hologram position and phase modulation depth of the defocus component. Then, we investigated a practical control method of the defocus component using an evaluation value similar to the definition of the SNR for actual data reproduction from holograms. Using a defocus controlled wavefront enabled us to decrease the bER from 3.54 x 10^-3 with a plane wave to 3.14 x 10^-4. We also investigated how to reduce the bERs of reproduced data in angle multiplexed holograms. By using a defocus controlled wavefront to compensate for hologram distortion on the 40th data page in 80-page angle multiplexed holograms, the bERs of all pages could be decreased to less than 1x10^-3. We showed that controlling the defocus component is an effective way to compensate for hologram distortion and to decrease the bER of reproduced data in holographic memory