Molecular biology of histidine decarboxylase and prostaglandin receptors

Histamine and prostaglandins (PGs) play a variety of physiological roles as autacoids, which function in the vicinity of their sources and maintain local homeostasis in the body. They stimulate target cells by acting on their specific receptors, which are coupled to trimeric G proteins. For the precise understanding of the physiological roles of histamine and PGs, it is necessary to clarify the molecular mechanisms involved in their synthesis as well as their receptor-mediated responses. We cloned the cDNAs for mouse L-histidine decarboxylase (HDC) and 6 mouse prostanoid receptors (4 PGE(2) receptors, PGF receptor, and PGI receptor). We then characterized the expression patterns and functions of these genes. Furthermore, we established gene-targeted mouse strains for HDC and PG receptors to explore the novel pathophysiological roles of histamine and PGs. We have here summarized our research, which should contribute to progress in the molecular biology of HDC and PG receptors.     

Three-dimensional susceptibility-weighted imaging at 3 T using various image analysis methods in the estimation of grading intracranial gliomas

Object

Although three-dimensional (3D), high-spatial resolution susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) appears to be valuable in the evaluation of central nervous system gliomas, several evaluation methods are proposed in the literature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of 3D SWI for grading intracranial gliomas with various analysis methods.

Materials and Methods

Twenty-three patients suspected of having gliomas participated in this study. SWI was performed in addition to conventional MR sequences. In 15 cases, post-gadolinium enhanced SWI was also obtained. Imaging evaluation criteria were conventional grade, hypointensity ratio in the tumor-dominant structure of hypointensity on SWI (hemorrhage or vascular structure) and presence of abnormal enhancement surrounding the tumor.

Results

Mean grading scores of conventional grade showed no statistically significant difference among WHO grades. Mean grading scores of hypointensity ratios in the tumor were higher for WHO Grades 3 and 4 than for lower grade tumors (P=.05, Mann–Whitney U test). Hemorrhagic foci were more frequently seen in the higher grade tumor. Post-contrast susceptibility-weighted images of five of 11 WHO Grade 3 and 4 cases showed bright enhancement surrounding the tumor, suggesting a breakdown of the blood–brain barrier.

Conclusions

SWI at 3 T may be a useful method to analyze the structural characteristics of gliomas and to evaluate pathology in vivo. Assessment of hypointensity ratios in the glioma was the most preferable method in grading glioma. However, more studies, specifically concerning a suitable method for image analysis, are needed to establish SWI at 3 T as a useful tool in clinical routine.     

A new effect of ultrasonication on the formation of BaTiO3 nanoparticles

A new effect of ultrasonic irradiation on the formation of BaTiO₃ particles was identified. Ultrasonication caused the aggregation of the original 5–10 nm BaTiO₃ particles in the same crystal axis and accelerated the formation of BaTiO₃ particles significantly. Furthermore, narrow size distribution was obtained for the aggregated particles under ultrasonic irradiation.     

Growth of large La2−xSrxCuO4 single crystals using tilting-mirror-type infrared heating image furnace

Large single crystals of La_2−xSr_xCuO₄ (LSCO) high-T_c superconductors were grown by the infrared heating floating zone (IR-FZ) method using a tilting-mirror-type image furnace. The maximum diameter of the LSCO crystals increased to 10 mm in the tilting-mirror-type image furnace from 6 mm in the conventional image furnace. CuO rich feeds were required for the crystal growth using the tilting-mirror-type image furnace to compensate for the lack of CuO caused by the significant evaporation of CuO during the growth. The evaporation of CuO was affected by the tilting angle of the mirrors of the image furnace and by feed diameter. The optimized growth conditions were as follows: mirror tilting angle, 20°; feed diameter, 10 mm∅; and feed composition 50.7 mol% CuO.     

The mechanism for negative photochromism of spiropyran in silica

The mechanism for negative photochromism of spiropyran in silica was investigated. Prior to our study, the chemical origin of the high thermal stability of the photomerocyanine form (PMC‐form) dispersed in perhydropolysilazane (PHPS), which is converted to silica at ambient temperature, had been investigated. The high thermal stability of the PMC‐form is attributed to the protonated PMC‐form (H???PMC‐form), which is produced by intermolecular hydrogen bonding between oxide anions generated by the cleavage of the C ? O bonds and the partially uncondensed Si ? OH and O ? H bonds of silica. Furthermore, the H???PMC‐form could be thermally isomerized from the SP‐form without UV light irradiation. This specific phenomenon is caused by the so‐called negative photochromism. In this study, we proposed a mechanism for negative photochromism according to the relationship of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). The relationship between the HOMOs was determined using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). On the other hand, the relationship between the LUMOs was determined from the respective optical bandgap. As a result, the HOMO level of H???PMC‐form was ?6.1 eV and that of SP‐form was ?5.3 eV. Accordingly, the thermodynamic stabilization of H???PMC‐form was attributed to the thermal isomerization through negative photochromism from the SP‐form. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Storage and retrieval of a squeezed vacuum

Storage and retrieval of a squeezed vacuum was successfully demonstrated using electromagnetically induced transparency. The squeezed vacuum pulse having a temporal width of 930 ns was incident on the laser cooled 87Rb atoms with an intense control light in a coherent state. When the squeezed vacuum pulse was slowed and spatially compressed in the cold atoms, the control light was switched off. After 3 mus of storage, the control light was switched on again, and the squeezed vacuum was retrieved, as was confirmed using the time-domain homodyne method.     

Local crystal structure of nano-manganese-oxide gold adsorbent

The local crystal structure of dried and deuterated nano-manganese-oxide powder samples was studied via atomic pair distribution function analysis of X-ray and neutron powder diffraction data. The protonated sample shows ultrahigh efficiency as a gold adsorbent even from ppt-level aqueous solutions such as seawater. We show that the nano-manganese-oxide particles have an R-MnO₂-type local crystal structure. The possible role of the protons on the surface of the nano-particles is discussed.     

Effect of phosphorus and copper additions on the structure of Pt and Pt–Cu nanoparticles in a radiation-induced reduction method

A facile chemical process has been developed for the preparation of magnetic FeCo nanoparticles. The FeCo nanoparticles were mono-dispersed, obtained by the safe and ecofriendly method, possessed saturation magnetization up to 187 emu/g, and demonstrated excellent chemical stability. In this work, we have studied how to control Fe/Co ratio by variation of precursor ratio, and how to vary particle size from 9.3 to 12.3 nm by surfactant amount used. The cytotoxicity of as-synthesized nanoparticles was investigated after coating with the poly(methyl methacrylate-co-butyl acrylate) by the emulsion process and the results demonstrated high biocompatibility. Similarly, the same synthesis method was used with the single precursor FeO(OH) or Co₃O₄. The results showed that this method can also fabricate 10 nm mono-dispersed spherical Fe₃O₄ particles and self-assembly Co nanoneedles.     

On the Theory of Gravitational Field in Finsler Spaces

Some structural considerations are made on the Finslerian gravitational field: A Finslerian metrical structure such as g_λχ(x, y) = γ_λχ(x) + h_λχ(x, y) is proposed, where γ_λχ denotes the Riemann metric of Einstein's gravitational field, while hλχ the Finsler metric induced by the Riemann metric h_ij(y) of the internal field; The intrinsic behaviour of the internal variable y, which is expressed as ?ⁱ = K(x, y) y^j in the internal field, is grasped by the Finslerian parallelism δyⁱ (=0), which is reflected in the spatial structure of the external gravitational field by the mapping relation δy^χ = e(x) δyⁱ. The whole metrical Finsler connection D for g_λχ(i.e., Dg_λχ = 0) is determined by taking account of the intrinsic behaviour δy^χ.     

The unstable behavior of cellular premixed flames induced by intrinsic instability

The unstable behavior of cellular premixed flames induced by intrinsic instability is studied by two-dimensional unsteady calculations of reactive flows. In the present numerical simulation, the compressible Navier–Stokes equation including a one-step irreversible chemical reaction is employed. We consider two basic types of phenomena to account for the intrinsic instability of premixed flames, i.e., hydrodynamic and diffusive-thermal effects. The hydrodynamic effect is caused by the thermal expansion through the flame front; the diffusive-thermal effect is caused by the preferential diffusion of mass versus heat. A disturbance with several wavelength components is superimposed on a planar flame, and the formation of a cellular flame induced by hydrodynamic and diffusive-thermal effects is numerically simulated. After the cellular-flame formation, the combination and division of cells are observed. The behavior of cellular-flame fronts becomes more unstable when the Lewis number is lower than unity, since the diffusive-thermal effect has a great influence on the unstable behavior. The cell size changes with time, and its average is greater than the critical wavelength and becomes smaller by decreasing the Lewis number. The flame velocity of cellular flames depends strongly on the length of computational domain in the direction tangential to the flame front. As the length of computational domain increases, the flame velocity becomes larger. This is because the long-wavelength components of disturbances play an important role in the shape of cellular flames, i.e., in the flame-surface area.