Sensitivity analyses of OH missing sinks over Tokyo metropolitan area in the summer of 2007

OH reactivity is one of key indicators which reflect impacts of photochemical reactions in the atmosphere. An observation campaign has been conducted in the summer of 2007 at the heart of Tokyo metropolitan area to measure OH reactivity. The total OH reactivity measured directly by the laser-induced pump and probe technique was higher than the sum of the OH reactivity calculated from concentrations and reaction rate coefficients of individual species measured in this campaign. And then, three-dimensional air quality simulation has been conducted to evaluate the simulation performance on the total OH reactivity including "missing sinks", which correspond to the difference between the measured and calculated total OH reactivity. The simulated OH reactivity is significantly underestimated because the OH reactivity of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and missing sinks are underestimated. When scaling factors are applied to input emissions and boundary concentrations, a good agreement is observed between the simulated and measured concentrations of VOCs. However, the simulated OH reactivity of missing sinks is still underestimated. Therefore, impacts of unidentified missing sinks are investigated through sensitivity analyses. In the cases that unknown secondary products are assumed to account for unidentified missing sinks, they tend to suppress formation of secondary aerosol components and enhance formation of ozone. In the cases that unidentified primary emitted species are assumed to account for unidentified missing sinks, a variety of impacts may be observed, which could serve as precursors of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) and significantly increase SOA formation. Missing sinks are considered to play an important role in the atmosphere over Tokyo metropolitan area

PSR J1926-0652: A Pulsar with Interesting Emission Properties Discovered at FAST

We describe PSR J1926-0652, a pulsar recently discovered with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). Using sensitive single-pulse detections from FAST and long-term timing observations from the Parkes 64-m radio telescope, we probed phenomena on both long and short time scales. The FAST observations covered a wide frequency range from 270 to 800 MHz, enabling individual pulses to be studied in detail. The pulsar exhibits at least four profile components, short-term nulling lasting from 4 to 450 pulses, complex subpulse drifting behaviours and intermittency on scales of tens of minutes. While the average band spacing P3 is relatively constant across different bursts and components, significant variations in the separation of adjacent bands are seen, especially near the beginning and end of a burst. Band shapes and slopes are quite variable, especially for the trailing components and for the shorter bursts. We show that for each burst the last detectable pulse prior to emission ceasing has different properties compared to other pulses. These complexities pose challenges for the classic carousel-type models.Comment: 13pages with 12 figure

A novel PI3K inhibitor iMDK suppresses non-small cell lung Cancer cooperatively with A MEK inhibitor

The PI3K–AKT pathway is expected to be a therapeutic target for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment. We previously reported that a novel PI3K inhibitor iMDK suppressed NSCLC cells in vitro and in vivo without harming normal cells and mice. Unexpectedly, iMDK activated the MAPK pathway, including ERK, in the NSCLC cells. Since iMDK did not eradicate such NSCLC cells completely, it is possible that the activated MAPK pathway confers resistance to the NSCLC cells against cell death induced by iMDK. In the present study, we assessed whether suppressing of iMDK-mediated activation of the MAPK pathway would enhance anti-tumorigenic activity of iMDK. PD0325901, a MAPK inhibitor, suppressed the MAPK pathway induced by iMDK and cooperatively inhibited cell viability and colony formation of NSCLC cells by inducing apoptosis in vitro. HUVEC tube formation, representing angiogenic processes in vitro, was also cooperatively inhibited by the combinatorial treatment of iMDK and PD0325901. The combinatorial treatment of iMDK with PD0325901 cooperatively suppressed tumor growth and tumor-associated angiogenesis in a lung cancer xenograft model in vivo. Here, we demonstrate a novel treatment strategy using iMDK and PD0325901 to eradicate NSCLC

KIF2A silencing inhibits the proliferation and migration of breast cancer cells and correlates with unfavorable prognosis in breast cancer

Background; Kinesin family member 2a (KIF2A), a type of motor protein found in eukaryotic cells, is associated with development and progression of various human cancers. The role of KIF2A during breast cancer tumorigenesis and progression was studied. Methods; Immunohistochemical staining, real time RT-PCR and western blot were used to examine the expression of KIF2A in cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues from breast cancer patients. Patients’ survival in relation to KIF2A expression was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier survival and multivariate analysis. Breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231 was used to study the proliferation, migration and invasion of cells following KIF2A-siRNA transfection. Results; The expression of KIF2A in cancer tissues was higher than that in normal adjacent tissues from the same patient (P < 0.05). KIF2A expression in cancer tissue with lymph node metastasis and HER2 positive cancer were higher than that in cancer tissue without (P < 0.05). A negative correlation was found between KIF2A expression levels in breast cancer and the survival time of breast cancer patients (P < 0.05). In addition, multivariate analysis indicated that KIF2A was an independent prognostic for outcome in breast cancer (OR: 16.55, 95% CI: 2.216-123.631, P = 0.006). The proliferation, migration and invasion of cancer cells in vitro were suppressed by KIF2A gene silencing (P < 0.05). Conclusions; KIF2A may play an important role in breast cancer progression and is potentially a novel predictive and prognostic marker for breast cancer

The presence and regulation of connective tissue growth factor in the human endometrium

The potential of a solid-phase asymmetric resin-capture-release strategy for high-throughput synthesis has been evaluated. Fukuzawa's Sm(II)-mediated, asymmetric approach to γ-butyrolactones was selected to illustrate the feasibility of such a process. α,β-Unsaturated esters immobilised on an ephedrine chiral resin have been applied in an asymmetric approach to γ-butyrolactones. Lactone products are obtained in moderate isolated yields with selectivities up to 96% ee. In addition, we have shown that the ephedrine resin can be conveniently recovered and recycled although in some cases lower yields were obtained on reuse of the chiral resin. A short synthesis of a moderate DNA-binding microbial metabolite using asymmetric resin-capture-release is also described

Death of a tumor: targeting CCN in pancreatic cancer

The matricellular protein CCN2 (connective tissue growth factor, CTGF) has been previously implicated in tumorigenesis. In pancreatic cancer cells, CCN2 expression occurs downstream of ras/MEK/ERK. Direct evidence that CCN2 mediates tumor progression in pancreatic cancer has been lacking. An exciting recent report by Bennewith et al. (Cancer Res 69:775–784, 2009) has used shRNA knockdown of CCN2 to illustrate that CCN2 contributes to growth of pancreatic tumor cells, both in vitro and in vivo. This report briefly summarizes these findings