NKX2-1/TTF-1: An Enigmatic Oncogene that Functions as a Double-Edged Sword for Cancer Cell Survival and Progression

Emerging evidence indicates that NKX2-1, a homeobox-containing transcription factor also known as TTF-1, plays a role as a “lineage-survival” oncogene in lung adenocarcinomas. In T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, gene rearrangements lead to aberrant expression of NKX2-1/TTF-1. Despite accumulating evidence supporting its oncogenic role, it has become apparent that NKX2-1/TTF-1 expression also has biological and clinical functions in the opposite direction that act against tumor progression. Herein, we review recent findings showing these enigmatic double-edged characteristics, with special attention given to the roles of NKX2-1/TTF-1 in lung development and carcinogenesis

Revisiting Permutation Symmetry for Merging Models between Different Datasets

Model merging is a new approach to creating a new model by combining the weights of different trained models. Previous studies report that model merging works well for models trained on a single dataset with different random seeds, while model merging between different datasets is difficult. Merging knowledge from different datasets has practical significance, but it has not been well investigated. In this paper, we investigate the properties of merging models between different datasets. Through theoretical and empirical analyses, we find that the accuracy of the merged model decreases more significantly as the datasets diverge more and that the different loss landscapes for each dataset make model merging between different datasets difficult. We also show that merged models require datasets for merging in order to achieve a high accuracy. Furthermore, we show that condensed datasets created by dataset condensation can be used as substitutes for the original datasets when merging models. We conduct experiments for model merging between different datasets. When merging between MNIST and Fashion- MNIST models, the accuracy significantly improves by 28% using the dataset and 25% using the condensed dataset compared with not using the dataset.Comment: 18 pages; comments are welcom

Ultrafast single-channel machine vision based on neuro-inspired photonic computing

High-speed machine vision is increasing its importance in both scientific and technological applications. Neuro-inspired photonic computing is a promising approach to speed-up machine vision processing with ultralow latency. However, the processing rate is fundamentally limited by the low frame rate of image sensors, typically operating at tens of hertz. Here, we propose an image-sensor-free machine vision framework, which optically processes real-world visual information with only a single input channel, based on a random temporal encoding technique. This approach allows for compressive acquisitions of visual information with a single channel at gigahertz rates, outperforming conventional approaches, and enables its direct photonic processing using a photonic reservoir computer in a time domain. We experimentally demonstrate that the proposed approach is capable of high-speed image recognition and anomaly detection, and furthermore, it can be used for high-speed imaging. The proposed approach is multipurpose and can be extended for a wide range of applications, including tracking, controlling, and capturing sub-nanosecond phenomena.Comment: 30 pages, 12 figure

Frequency ratios of Sr, Yb and Hg based optical lattice clocks and their applications

This article describes the recent progress of optical lattice clocks with neutral strontium ($^{87}$Sr), ytterbium ($^{171}$Yb) and mercury ($^{199}$Hg) atoms. In particular, we present frequency comparison between the clocks locally via an optical frequency comb and between two Sr clocks at remote sites using a phase-stabilized fibre link. We first review cryogenic Sr optical lattice clocks that reduce the room-temperature blackbody radiation shift by two orders of magnitude and serve as a reference in the following clock comparisons. Similar physical properties of Sr and Yb atoms, such as transition wavelengths and vapour pressure, have allowed our development of a compatible clock for both species. A cryogenic Yb clock is evaluated by referencing a Sr clock. We also report on a Hg clock, which shows one order of magnitude less sensitivity to blackbody radiation, while its large nuclear charge makes the clock sensitive to the variation of fine-structure constant. Connecting all three types of clocks by an optical frequency comb, the ratios of the clock frequencies are determined with uncertainties smaller than possible through absolute frequency measurements. Finally, we describe a synchronous frequency comparison between two Sr-based remote clocks over a distance of 15 km between RIKEN and the University of Tokyo, as a step towards relativistic geodesy.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, invited review article in Comptes Rendus de Physique 201

Phosphorylation by Cdk1 induces Plk1-mediated vimentin phosphorylation during mitosis

Several kinases phosphorylate vimentin, the most common intermediate filament protein, in mitosis. Aurora-B and Rho-kinase regulate vimentin filament separation through the cleavage furrow-specific vimentin phosphorylation. Cdk1 also phosphorylates vimentin from prometaphase to metaphase, but its significance has remained unknown. Here we demonstrated a direct interaction between Plk1 and vimentin-Ser55 phosphorylated by Cdk1, an event that led to Plk1 activation and further vimentin phosphorylation. Plk1 phosphorylated vimentin at ∼1 mol phosphate/mol substrate, which partly inhibited its filament forming ability, in vitro. Plk1 induced the phosphorylation of vimentin-Ser82, which was elevated from metaphase and maintained until the end of mitosis. This elevation followed the Cdk1-induced vimentin-Ser55 phosphorylation, and was impaired by Plk1 depletion. Mutational analyses revealed that Plk1-induced vimentin-Ser82 phosphorylation plays an important role in vimentin filaments segregation, coordinately with Rho-kinase and Aurora-B. Taken together, these results indicated a novel mechanism that Cdk1 regulated mitotic vimentin phosphorylation via not only a direct enzyme reaction but also Plk1 recruitment to vimentin

A Molecular Line Observation toward Massive Clumps Associated with Infrared Dark Clouds

We have surveyed the N2H+ J=1-0, HC3N J=5-4, CCS J_N=4_3-3_2, NH3 (J, K) = (1, 1), (2, 2), (3, 3), and CH3OH J=7-6 lines toward the 55 massive clumps associated with infrared dark clouds by using the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45 m telescope and the Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment 10 m telescope. The N2H+, HC3N, and NH3 lines are detected toward most of the objects. On the other hand, the CCS emission is detected toward none of the objects. The [CCS]/[N2H+] ratios are found to be mostly lower than unity even in the Spitzer 24 micron dark objects. This suggests that most of the massive clumps are chemically more evolved than the low-mass starless cores. The CH3OH emission is detected toward 18 out of 55 objects. All the CH3OH-detected objects are associated with the Spitzer 24 micron sources, suggesting that star formation has already started in all the CH3OH-detected objects. The velocity widths of the CH3OH J_K=7_0-6_0 A+ and 7_{-1}-6_{-1} E lines are broader than those of N2H+ J=1-0. The CH3OH J_K=7_0-6_0 A+ and 7_{-1}-6_{-1} E lines tend to have broader linewidth in the MSX dark objects than in the others, the former being younger or less luminous than the latter. The origin of the broad emission is discussed in terms of the interaction between an outflow and an ambient cloud.Comment: Accepted to Ap

Splenic Infarction in Acute Cytomegalovirus and Human Parvovirus Concomitant Infection

We present a case report of a 35-year-old woman who had splenic infarction. She had persistent high fever, systemic joint pain, and abnormal liver function. She was diagnosed with cytomegalovirus and human parvovirus B19 concomitant infection. Her coagulopathy test revealed no abnormal results. She was treated with intravenous ganciclovir for 13 days; consequently, her splenic infarction improved after 7 weeks. As per our knowledge, this is the first case of cytomegalovirus and parvovirus B19 coinfection complicated by splenic infarction. Cytomegalovirus and parvovirus B19 may induce a hypercoagulation state during the acute phase