15-Deoxy-delta12,14-PGJ2 inhibits IL-6-induced Stat3 phosphorylation in lymphocytes

15-deoxy-delta(12,14)-PGJ(2)(15d-PGJ(2)) is a natural ligand that activates the peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma, a member of nuclear receptor family implicated in regulation of lipid metabolism and adipocyte differentiation. Recent studies have shown that 15d-PGJ(2) is the potent anti-inflammatory agent functioning via PPARgamma-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Most postulated mechanisms for anti-inflammatory action of PPARgamma agonists are involved in inhibiting NF-kappaB signaling pathway. We examined the possibility that IL-6 signaling via the Jak-Stat pathway is modulated by 15d-PGJ(2) in lymphocytes and also examined whether the inhibition of IL-6 signaling is dependent of PPARgamma. 15d-PGJ(2) blocked IL-6 induced Stat1 and Stat3 activation in primary human lymphocytes, Jurkat cells and immortalized rheumatoid arthritis B cells. Inhibition of IL-6 signaling was induced rapidly within 15 min after treatment of 15d-PGJ(2). Other PPARgamma-agonists, such as troglitazone and ciglitazone, did not inhibit IL-6 signaling, indicating that 15d-PGJ(2) affect the IL-6-induced Jak-Stat signaling pathway via PPARgamma-independent mechanism. Although cycloheximide reversed 15d-PGJ(2)-mediated inhibition of Stat3 activation, actinomycin D had no effect on 15d-PGJ(2)-mediated inhibition of IL-6 signaling, indicating that inhibition of IL-6 signaling occur independent of de novo gene expression. These results show that 15d-PGJ(2) specifically inhibit Jak-Stat signaling pathway in lymphocytes, and suggest that 15d-PGJ(2) may regulate inflammatory reactions through the modulation of different signaling pathway other than NF-kappaB in lymphocytes.     

Kaon condensation, black holes, and cosmological natural selection

It is argued that a well-measured double neutron-star binary in which the two neutron stars are more than 4% different from each other in mass or a massive neutron star with mass M > or approximately 2M(middle dot in circle) would put in serious doubt or simply falsify the following chain of predictions: (1) a nearly vanishing vector meson mass at chiral restoration, (2) kaon condensation at a density n-3n0, (3) the Brown-Bethe maximum neutron-star mass Mmax approximately 1.5M(middle dot in circle), and (4) Smolin's "cosmological natural selection" hypothesis.     

Effective field theories, Landau-Migdal Fermi liquid theory, and effective chiral Lagrangians for nuclear matter

We reinterpret Landau-Migdal Fermi liquid theory of nuclear matter as an effective chiral field theory with a Fermi surface. The effective field theory is formulated in terms of a chiral Lagrangian with its mass and coupling parameters scaling à la Brown-Rho and with the Landau-Migdal parameters identified as the fixed points of the field theory. We show how this mapping works out for response functions to the EM vector current and, then using the same reasoning, make a prediction on nuclear axial current, in particular on the enhanced axial-charge transitions in heavy nuclei. We speculate on how to extrapolate the resulting theory, which appears to be sound both theoretically and empirically up to normal nuclear-matter density r₀, to hitherto unexplored higher density regime relevant to relativistic heavy-ion processes and to cold compact (neutron) stars.     

Schlieren visualization of micro gas turbine exhaust plume with different shapes of nozzle

Journal of Visualization - Schlieren visualization of the plume ejected from the microgas turbine nozzle was conducted to understand infrared signal characteristics of various shapes of the exhaust...     

Observation of room temperature photoluminescence in proton irradiated SrTiO3 single crystal

We have irradiated SrTiO₃ single crystal with 3 MeV-proton (H⁺) beam and found that blue -, green - and infrared - frequency photoluminescence (PL) are induced simultaneously at room temperature. TEM and EELS analyses show that an oxygen-deficient amorphous layer is formed at the crystal surface by the proton irradiation. Possible origin of the PL-effect is discussed.     

Ru-Catalyzed Hydrogenolysis of Chiral Allylic and Propargylic Cyclic Carbonates: Synthesis of Optically Active (E)-Allylic and Allenic Alcohols

RuH₂(PPh₃)₄-catalyzed reductive cleavage reactions of chiral allylic cyclic carbonates with ammonium formate afforded optically active (E)-allylic alcohols with excellent regioselectivity. Alternatively, hydrogenolysis of propargylic cyclic carbonates in the presence of RuH₂(PPh₃)₄ catalyst afforded allenic alcohols as a sole products.     

Design of hybrid optical waveguide with a 90° bend structure for high density photonics integrated circuits

A hybrid optical waveguide having a 90° sharp bend structure, composed of a dielectric straight waveguide, tapered dielectric strip waveguide, and microscale metal gap waveguide, is proposed and simulated to improve the efficiency of light coupling between dielectric and plasmonic waveguides. Our simulation result is a critical step for the hybrid integration of plasmonic components with conventional dielectric components.