Radiocatalytic H2 production with gamma-irradiation and TiO2 catalysts

The radioactive concentrations of radionuclides were measured in the soil and groundwater below the 12 GeV proton beam-line tunnel at KEK. Various long-lived radionuclides, (⁷Be, ²²Na, ⁴⁶Sc, ⁵⁴Mn, ⁶⁰Co, ¹³⁴Cs, ¹⁵²Eu and ¹⁵⁴Eu) were observed in the soil samples by -ray spectra measurements, and ³H was also detected by liquid scintillation counting. On the other hand, ³H, ²²Na and ⁵⁴Mn, which were leached from the soil were measured in the groundwater below the EP2 beam line. ³H and ²²Na were also found in slight amounts in groundwater collected in a well dug beside the East Counter Hall. From a comparison with the radioactive concentration in soil and groundwater, the order of the leaching percentages were ³H>²²Na>⁵⁴Mn. This tendency was in agreement with an experimental result of the RI laboratory.     

Oligoindole-based foldamers with a helical conformation induced by chloride

As a new type of foldamers, oligoindoles containing 4, 6, and 8 indole rings were synthesized, and their folding properties were characterized by a combination of 1H NMR techniques and UV/visible titration experiments. When chloride was added, the NH signals of the oligoindoles were downfield shifted as a result of hydrogen-bond formation, and the aromatic signals were upfield shifted by stacking between two indoles. Moreover, the ROESY experiment provided definitive NOE evidence for the helical stacking in the presence of chloride. Finally, the UV/visible titration experiments demonstrated that the oligoindoles formed 1:1 complexes with chloride, and the association constants greatly increased with increasing the number of the indole NHs. These observations are all consistent with the fact that oligoindoles adopt a helical conformation when complexed with chloride by hydrogen-bonding interactions.     

Heat shock protein 27 interacts with vimentin and prevents insolubilization of vimentin subunits induced by cadmium

Vimentin is an intermediate filament that regulates cell attachment and subcellular organization. In this study, vimentin filaments were morphologically altered, and its soluble subunits were rapidly reduced via cadmium chloride treatment. Cadmium chloride stimulated three major mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs): extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38, and led apoptotic pathway via caspase-9 and caspase-3 activations. In order to determine whether MAPKs were involved in this cadmium-induced soluble vimentin disappearance, we applied MAPK-specific inhibitors (PD98059, SP600125, SB203580). These inhibitors did not abolish the cadmium-induced soluble vimentin disappearance. Caspase and proteosome degradation pathway were also not involved in soluble vimentin disappearance. When we observed vimentin levels in soluble and insoluble fractions, soluble vimentin subunits shifted to an insoluble fraction. As we discovered that heat-shock protein 27 (HSP27) was colocalized and physically associated with vimentin in unstressed cells, the roles of HSP27 with regard to vimentin were assessed. HSP27-overexpressing cells prevented morphological alterations of the vimentin filaments, as well as reductions of soluble vimentin, in the cadmium-treated cells. Moreover, HSP27 antisense oligonucleotide augmented these cadmium-induced changes in vimentin. These findings indicate that HSP27 prevents disruption of the vimentin intermediate filament networks and soluble vimentin disappearance, by virtue of its physical interaction with vimentin in cadmium-treated SK-N-SH cells.     

Ruthenium‐catalyzed synthesis of quinolines via reductive heteroannulation of nitroarenes with 3‐amino‐1‐propanols

Nitroarenes are reductively cyclized with 3‐amino‐1‐propanols in dioxane/H₂O in the presence of a ruthenium catalyst and tin(II) chloride dihydrate together with isopropanol to afford the corresponding quinolines. A reaction pathway involving initial reduction of nitroarenes to anilines, propanol group transfer from 3‐amino‐1‐propanols to anilines, N‐alkylation of anilines by 3‐anilino‐1‐propanols and heteroannulation of 1,3‐dianilinopropanes is proposed.     

Application of two-stage biofilter system for the removal of odorous compounds

Biofiltration is a biological process which is considered to be one of the more successful examples of biotechnological applications to environmental engineering, and is most commonly used in the removal of odoriferous compounds. In this study, we have attempted to assess the efficiency with which both single and complex odoriferous compounds could be removed, using one- or two-stage biofiltration systems. The tested single odor gases, limonene, α-pinene, and iso-butyl alcohol, were separately evaluated in the biofilters. Both limonene and α-pinene were removed by 90% or more EC (elimination capacity), 364 g/m³/h and 321 g/m³/h, respectively, at an input concentration of 50 ppm and a retention time of 30 s. The iso-butyl alcohol was maintained with an effective removal yield of more than 90% (EC 375 g/m³/h) at an input concentration of 100 ppm. The complex gas removal scheme was applied with a 200 ppm inlet concentration of ethanol, 70 ppm of acetaldehyde, and 70 ppm of toluene with residence time of 45 s in a one- or two-stage biofiltration system. The removal yield of toluene was determined to be lower than that of the other gases in the one-stage biofilter. Otherwise, the complex gases were sufficiently eliminated by the two-stage biofiltration system.     

Quencher-fluorophore ensemble for detection of pyrophosphate in water

We present a new example of on-off switching using a fluorescent PPi sensor system based on the quencher-fluorophore ensemble, which shows a moderate selectivity for PPi ions among other anions in an aqueous solvent.     

Bis induces growth inhibition and differentiation of HL-60 cells via up-regulation of p27

Bis (Bag-3, CAIR), a Bcl-2-interacting protein, promotes the anti-apoptotic activity of Bcl-2 and increased levels of Bis have been observed in several disease models. The involvement of Bcl-2 and some Bcl-2-binding proteins in differentiation has recently been reported. However, the relevance of Bis to cellular differentiation remains unknown. The findings herein show that Bis expression is up-regulated during the differentiation of HL-60 cells. To investigate the effect of Bis expression on differentiation, we established Bis-overexpressing HL-60 cells (HL-60-bis). HL-60-bis cells have a low nuclear: cytoplasmic ratio and indented nucleus in Wright- Giemsa staining, and an increased expression of CD11b in immunofluorescence study, indicating the promotion of differentiation. The overexpression of Bis also resulted in a retarded cell growth rate, accompanied by the accumulation of HL-60 cells at the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle, which was sustained during the differentiation process. Western blot analysis revealed that the expression of p27, a representative inducer of cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase, was increased 2.5-fold in HL-60-bis cells compared to HL-60-neo cells. These results suggest that the Bis induced growth inhibition of HL-60 cells promotes G0/G1 phase arrest via up-regulation of p27, which seems to be a prerequisite for differentiation. Further studies will be required to define the exact roles of Bis on cellular differentiation more precisely.     

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) microchip for precolumn reaction and micellar electrokinetic chromatography of biogenic amines

We have demonstrated that precolumn derivatization and capillary electrophoresis separation on a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microchip can be realized as efficient as those on glass microchips. In an optimized condition of micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC), using 25 mM sodium borate buffer (pH 10.0) with 25 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and 5% v/v methanol, the electroosmotic flow in an oxidized PDMS microchip is stabilized within 3% for days. By employing a fluorometric derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) in an optimally designed reaction chamber, four most important biogenic amines occurring in foods, histamine, tyramine, putrescine, and tryptamine, are quantitatively determined in less than 1 min at the levels applicable to real samples. The migration behaviors of anionic OPA-derivatized biogenic amines under the MEKC conditions are analyzed, and it has been found that under our separation conditions, the electrophoretic mobility of the SDS micelles is significantly greater than those of the anions in the aqueous phase. The channel manifold in a PDMS substrate is fabricated using replica molding against a thick photoresist, SU-8, pattern generated by photolithography. The plate with the microchannel pattern is strongly, irreversibly bonded to another PDMS plate by using a new bonding technique, which employs surface oxidation by corona discharge generated from a cheap, handy source, Tesla coil.     

Improved expression by cytomegalovirus promoter/enhancer and behavior of vascular endothelial growth factor gene after myocardial injection of naked DNA

Direct injection of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene plasmid DNA into the myocardium was shown to induce development of new blood vessels to increase the circulation in the heart of patients with coronary artery diseases. However, such angiogenic gene therapy (via naked DNA) was limited by low level of gene expression. Furthermore, the temporal and spatial characteristics of VEGF gene transfer in the heart are not known. In this study, we demonstrated that a plasmid vector, containing the human cytomegalovirus immediate early (HCMV IE) promoter and enhancer, induces greater expression of gene in the rat heart monitored by gene fused to the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) reporter, than four different viral and cellular promoters. Interestingly, expression of VEGF121 protein showed an earlier peak, a shorter duration, and a wider distribution than that of CAT only. Therefore, a plasmid vector with an HCMV IE promoter/enhancer provides clear advantages over other previously developed plasmids. Furthermore, expression profile of VEGF121 gene may provide useful information in the design of angiogenic gene therapy in the heart.     

Hydrodynamic microfabrication via"on the fly" photopolymerization of microscale fibers and tubes

A microfluidic apparatus capable of creating continuous microscale cylindrical polymeric structures has been developed. This system is able to produce microstructures (e.g. fibers, tubes) by employing 3D multiple stream laminar flow and "on the fly"in-situ photopolymerization. The details of the fabrication process and the characterization of the produced microfibers are described. The apparatus is constructed by merging pulled glass pipettes with PDMS molding technology and used to manufacture the fibers and tubes. By controlling the sample and sheath volume flow rates, the dimensions of the microstructures produced can be altered without re-tooling. The fiber properties including elasticity, stimuli responsiveness, and biosensing are characterized. Responsive woven fabric and biosensing fibers are demonstrated. The fabrication process is simple, cost effective and flexible in materials, geometries, and scales.