Simple Synthesis of a Variety of Nano-structures Using Silicide Alloys with Ga Droplets

A variety of nano-structures, such as nanofibers, nanotubes, nanocapsules, nanoribbons and nanorods, were synthesized using silicide alloys with Ga droplets. It was found that the growth morphology and the structural property of the nanostructures significantly depended on the silicides seed materials. In addition, the amorphous SiO x nanofibers show strong ultraviolet and/or visible light emissions, and the PL spectra of the nanofibers depended on the seed materials. For some of the nanofiber syntheses, the formation of nanoflakes or nanoribbons of β-Ga 2 O 3 occurs, and a variety of growth morphologies for the β-Ga 2 O 3 nanostructures was obtained. The series of morphological and structural images are shown for a variety of nanostructures. The obtained SiO x nanofibers are expected to be materials for use in cheap, abundant and safe luminescent devices for visible light applications

Clinical and Genetic Characteristics of 18 Patients from 13 Japanese Families with CRX-associated retinal disorder: Identification of Genotype-phenotype Association

Inherited retinal disorder (IRD) is a leading cause of blindness, and CRX is one of a number of genes reported to harbour autosomal dominant (AD) and recessive (AR) causative variants. Eighteen patients from 13 families with CRX-associated retinal disorder (CRX-RD) were identified from 730 Japanese families with IRD. Ophthalmological examinations and phenotype subgroup classification were performed. The median age of onset/latest examination was 45.0/62.5 years (range, 15–77/25–94). The median visual acuity in the right/left eye was 0.52/0.40 (range, −0.08–2.00/−0.18–1.70) logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR) units. There was one family with macular dystrophy, nine with cone-rod dystrophy (CORD), and three with retinitis pigmentosa. In silico analysis of CRX variants was conducted for genotype subgroup classification based on inheritance and the presence of truncating variants. Eight pathogenic CRX variants were identified, including three novel heterozygous variants (p.R43H, p.P145Lfs*42, and p.P197Afs*22). A trend of a genotype-phenotype association was revealed between the phenotype and genotype subgroups. A considerably high proportion of CRX-RD in ADCORD was determined in the Japanese cohort (39.1%), often showing the mild phenotype (CORD) with late-onset disease (sixth decade). Frequently found heterozygous missense variants located within the homeodomain underlie this mild phenotype. This large cohort study delineates the disease spectrum of CRX-RD in the Japanese population

Genetic Spectrum of EYS-associated Retinal Disease in a Large Japanese Cohort: Identification of Disease-associated Variants with Relatively High Allele Frequency

Biallelic variants in the EYS gene are a major cause of autosomal recessive inherited retinal disease (IRD), with a high prevalence in the Asian population. The purpose of this study was to identify pathogenic EYS variants, to determine the clinical/genetic spectrum of EYS-associated retinal disease (EYS-RD), and to discover disease-associated variants with relatively high allele frequency (1%-10%) in a nationwide Japanese cohort. Sixty-six affected subjects from 61 families with biallelic or multiple pathogenic/disease-associated EYS variants were ascertained by whole-exome sequencing. Three phenotype groups were identified in EYS-RD: retinitis pigmentosa (RP; 85.94%), cone-rod dystrophy (CORD; 10.94%), and Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA; 3.12%). Twenty-six pathogenic/disease-associated EYS variants were identified, including seven novel variants. The two most prevalent variants, p.(Gly843Glu) and p.(Thr2465Ser) were found in 26 and twelve families (42.6%, 19.7%), respectively, for which the allele frequency (AF) in the Japanese population was 2.2% and 3.0%, respectively. These results expand the phenotypic and genotypic spectrum of EYS-RD, accounting for a high proportion of EYS-RD both in autosomal recessive RP (23.4%) and autosomal recessive CORD (9.9%) in the Japanese population. The presence of EYS variants with relatively high AF highlights the importance of considering the pathogenicity of non-rare variants in relatively prevalent Mendelian disorders

Synthesis and luminescent properties of SrTiO₃:Pr³⁺ phosphors prepared by sol-gel method

New red SrTiO₃:Pr³⁺ phosphor for the field emission displays application was prepared using the sol-gel method. The reaction between starting materials SrCl₂, Ti-(Oi-C₃H₇)₄ and PrCl₃ resulted in a mix of compounds transformed to single-phase SrTiO₃:Pr after its annealing in air. Optimal technological conditions for preparation of efficiently radiating SrTiO₃:Pr³⁺ phosphors were found. Both photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence spectra showed the high intensity red peaks at the wavelength λmax = 617 nm. The high luminance of 300 cd/m² was obtained at the anode voltage of 10 kV

SCF Ensures Meiotic Chromosome Segregation Through a Resolution of Meiotic Recombination Intermediates

The SCF (Skp1-Cul1-F-box) complex contributes to a variety of cellular events including meiotic cell cycle control, but its function during meiosis is not understood well. Here we describe a novel function of SCF/Skp1 in meiotic recombination and subsequent chromosome segregation. The skp1 temperature-sensitive mutant exhibited abnormal distribution of spindle microtubules in meiosis II, which turned out to originate from abnormal bending of the spindle in meiosis I. Bent spindles were reported in mitosis of this mutant, but it remained unknown how SCF could affect spindle morphology. We found that the meiotic bent spindle in skp1 cells was due to a hypertension generated by chromosome entanglement. The spindle bending was suppressed by inhibiting double strand break (DSB) formation, indicating that the entanglement was generated by the meiotic recombination machinery. Consistently, Rhp51/Rad51-Rad22/Rad52 foci persisted until meiosis I in skp1 cells, proving accumulation of recombination intermediates. Intriguingly bent spindles were also observed in the mutant of Fbh1, an F-box protein containing the DNA helicase domain, which is involved in meiotic recombination. Genetic evidence suggested its cooperation with SCF/Skp1. Thus, SCF/Skp1 together with Fbh1 is likely to function in the resolution of meiotic recombination intermediates, thereby ensuring proper chromosome segregation

Identification of Genes Affecting the Toxicity of Anti-Cancer Drug Bortezomib by Genome-Wide Screening in S. pombe

Bortezomib/PS-341/Velcade, a proteasome inhibitor, is widely used to treat multiple myeloma. While several mechanisms of the cytotoxicity of the drug were proposed, the actual mechanism remains elusive. We aimed to identify genes affecting the cytotoxicity of Bortezomib in the fission yeast S.pombe as the drug inhibits this organism's cell division cycle like proteasome mutants. Among the 2815 genes screened (covering 56% of total ORFs), 19 genes, whose deletions induce strong synthetic lethality with Bortezomib, were identified. The products of the 19 genes included four ubiquitin enzymes and one nuclear proteasome factor, and 13 of them are conserved in humans. Our results will provide useful information for understanding the actions of Bortezomib within cells

Polymorphisms of DNA damage response genes in radiation-related and sporadic papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) etiologically occurs as a radiation-induced or sporadic malignancy. Genetic factors contributing to the susceptibility to either form remain unknown. In this retrospective case-control study, we evaluated possible associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the candidate DNA damage response genes (ATM, XRCC1, TP53, XRCC3, MTF1) and risk of radiation-induced and sporadic PTC. A total of 255 PTC cases (123 Chernobyl radiation-induced and 132 sporadic, all in Caucasians) and 596 healthy controls (198 residents of Chernobyl areas and 398 subjects without history of radiation exposure, all Caucasians) were genotyped. The risk of PTC and SNPs interactions with radiation exposure were assessed by logistic regressions. The ATM G5557A and XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphisms, regardless of radiation exposure, associated with a decreased risk of PTC according to the multiplicative and dominant models of inheritance (odds ratio (OR) = 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.45-0.86 and OR = 0.70, 95% CI 0.59-0.93 respectively). The ATM IVS22-77 T > C and TP53 Arg72Pro SNPs interacted with radiation (P = 0.04 and P = 0.01 respectively). ATM IVS22-77 associated with the increased risk of sporadic PTC (OR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.10-3.24) whereas TP53 Arg72Pro correlated with the higher risk of radiogenic PTC (OR = 1.80, 95% CI 1.06-2.36). In the analyses of ATM/TP53 (rs1801516/rs664677/rs609429/rs1042522) combinations, the GG/TC/CG/GC genotype strongly associated with radiation-induced PTC (OR = 2.10, 95% CI 1.17-3.78). The GG/CC/GG/GG genotype displayed a significantly increased risk for sporadic PTC (OR = 3.32, 95% CI 1.57-6.99). The results indicate that polymorphisms of DNA damage response genes may be potential risk modifiers of ionizing radiation-induced or sporadic PTCs

Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set

We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity. We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2, -1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012

Suplatast tosilate alleviates nasal symptoms through the suppression of nuclear factor of activated T-cells-mediated IL-9 gene expression in toluene-2,4-diisocyanate-sensitized rats

Histamine H1 receptor (H1R) gene is upregulated in patients with pollinosis; its expression level is highly correlated with the nasal symptom severity. Antihistamines are widely used as allergy treatments because they inhibit histamine signaling by blocking H1R or suppressing H1R signaling as inverse agonists. However, long-term treatment with antihistamines does not completely resolve toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI)-induced nasal symptoms, although it can decrease H1R gene expression to the basal level, suggesting additional signaling is responsible for the pathogenesis of the allergic symptoms. Here, we show that treatment with suplatast tosilate in combination with antihistamines markedly alleviates nasal symptoms in TDI-sensitized rats. Suplatast suppressed TDI-induced upregulation of IL-9 gene expression. Suplatast also suppressed ionomycin/phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate-induced upregulation of IL-2 gene expression in Jurkat cells, in which calcineurin (CN)/nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) signaling is known to be involved. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that suplatast inhibited binding of NFAT to DNA. Furthermore, suplatast suppressed ionomycin-induced IL-9 mRNA upregulation in RBL-2H3 cells, in which CN/NFAT signaling is also involved. These data suggest that suplatast suppressed NFAT-mediated IL-9 gene expression in TDI-sensitized rats and this might be the underlying mechanism of the therapeutic effects of combined therapy of suplatast with antihistamine

Distinct Early Molecular Responses to Mutations Causing vLINCL and JNCL Presage ATP Synthase Subunit C Accumulation in Cerebellar Cells

Variant late-infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (vLINCL), caused by CLN6 mutation, and juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (JNCL), caused by CLN3 mutation, share clinical and pathological features, including lysosomal accumulation of mitochondrial ATP synthase subunit c, but the unrelated CLN6 and CLN3 genes may initiate disease via similar or distinct cellular processes. To gain insight into the NCL pathways, we established murine wild-type and CbCln6nclf/nclf cerebellar cells and compared them to wild-type and CbCln3Δex7/8/Δex7/8 cerebellar cells. CbCln6nclf/nclf cells and CbCln3Δex7/8/Δex7/8 cells both displayed abnormally elongated mitochondria and reduced cellular ATP levels and, as cells aged to confluence, exhibited accumulation of subunit c protein in Lamp 1-positive organelles. However, at sub-confluence, endoplasmic reticulum PDI immunostain was decreased only in CbCln6nclf/nclf cells, while fluid-phase endocytosis and LysoTracker® labeled vesicles were decreased in both CbCln6nclf/nclf and CbCln3Δex7/8/Δex7/8 cells, though only the latter cells exhibited abnormal vesicle subcellular distribution. Furthermore, unbiased gene expression analyses revealed only partial overlap in the cerebellar cell genes and pathways that were altered by the Cln3Δex7/8 and Cln6nclf mutations. Thus, these data support the hypothesis that CLN6 and CLN3 mutations trigger distinct processes that converge on a shared pathway, which is responsible for proper subunit c protein turnover and neuronal cell survival