Millimeter-Thick Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Forests: Hidden Role of Catalyst Support

A parametric study of so-called "super growth" of single-walled carbon nanotubes(SWNTs) was done by using combinatorial libraries of iron/aluminum oxide catalysts. Millimeter-thick forests of nanotubes grew within 10 min, and those grown by using catalysts with a thin Fe layer (about 0.5 nm) were SWNTs. Although nanotube forests grew under a wide range of reaction conditions such as gas composition and temperature, the window for SWNT was narrow. Fe catalysts rapidly grew nanotubes only when supported on aluminum oxide. Aluminum oxide, which is a well-known catalyst in hydrocarbon reforming, plays an essential role in enhancing the nanotube growth rates.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. (Express Letters) in pres

Methotrexate-associated lymphoproliferative disorder with multiple pulmonary nodules and bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy

As has been well recognized, methotrexate (MTX) leads to a state of immunosuppression and can provide a basis for the development of lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs). MTX-associated LPDs can affect nodal sites as well as extranodal sites, though the manifestation of an LPD in the form of multiple pulmonary nodules is rare. Here, we report two cases of MTX-associated LPD with multiple bilateral pulmonary nodules, which was a finding suggestive of lung cancer, and bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy. After withdrawal of MTX, the multiple bilateral pulmonary nodules and bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy disappeared without chemotherapy in both cases. From these results, patients with pulmonary nodules and cervical lymphadenopathy should be examined for head and neck malignant tumors. Also, physicians should carefully check the administration of MTX. In patients with an MTX-associated LPD, we need to make an early diagnosis and consider discontinuing the administration of MTX as soon as possible

The nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein CIZ reduces adult bone mass by inhibiting bone morphogenetic protein–induced bone formation

Osteoporosis is a major health problem; however, the mechanisms regulating adult bone mass are poorly understood. Cas-interacting zinc finger protein (CIZ) is a nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein that localizes at cell adhesion plaques that form where osteoblasts attach to substrate. To investigate the potential role of CIZ in regulating adult bone mass, we examined the bones in CIZ-deficient mice. Bone volume was increased and the rates of bone formation were increased in CIZ-deficient mice, whereas bone resorption was not altered. CIZ deficiency enhanced the levels of mRNA expression of genes encoding proteins related to osteoblastic phenotypes, such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP) as well as osterix mRNA expression in whole long bones. Bone marrow cells obtained from the femora of CIZ-deficient mice revealed higher ALP activity in culture and formed more mineralized nodules than wild-type cells. CIZ deficiency enhanced bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)–induced osteoblastic differentiation in bone marrow cells in cultures, indicating that BMP is the target of CIZ action. CIZ deficiency increased newly formed bone mass after femoral bone marrow ablation in vivo. Finally, BMP-2–induced bone formation on adult mouse calvariae in vivo was enhanced by CIZ deficiency. These results establish that CIZ suppresses the levels of adult bone mass through inhibition of BMP-induced activation of osteoblasts

The impact of chronic rhinosinusitis on long-term survival in lung transplantation recipients

CONCLUSIONS: Chronic rhinosinusitis diagnosed according to the European Position Paper on Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps 2012, not by computed tomography alone, is one of the prognostic factors affecting long-term survival in patients with lung transplantation. Endoscopic sinus surgery might play a beneficial role in the management of lung transplantation recipients with chronic rhinosinusitis. OBJECTIVE: To show the effect of paranasal sinus infection on post-lung transplantation survival. METHOD: Lung transplantation recipients were included in this study. Computed tomography was performed before and after lung transplantation. The severity of chronic rhinosinusitis was evaluated by Lund-Mackay scoring system. The survival rate was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-eight patients received lung transplantation for various indications. Chronic rhinosinusitis was found in 18.9% (28/148) of the lung transplantation recipients. Of 28 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, seven patients underwent endoscopic sinus surgery due to persistent post-nasal drip. The recipients with chronic rhinosinusitis who did not receive endoscopic sinus surgery (n = 21) showed a significantly lower survival rate as compared to the patients without chronic rhinosinusitis. There was no statistically significant difference in the survival rate between the recipients with (n = 50) and without (n = 98) paranasal sinus abnormality on computed tomography

Dynamical Gauge-Higgs Unification in the Electroweak Theory

$SU(2)_L$ doublet Higgs fields are unified with gauge fields in the $U(3)_s \times U(3)_w$ model of Antoniadis, Benakli and Quir\'{o}s' on the orbifold $M^4 \times (T^2/Z_2)$. The effective potential for the Higgs fields (the Wilson line phases) is evaluated. The electroweak symmetry is dynamically broken to $U(1)_{EM}$ by the Hosotani mechanism. There appear light Higgs particles. There is a phase transition as the moduli parameter of the complex structure of $T^2$ is varied.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, v.