DETERMINATION OF ZINC IN VEHICLE EXHAUST PARTICULATES BY INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA ATOMIC EMISSION SPECTROMETRY WITH ELECTROTHERMAL VAPORIZATION

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

高効率モバイルビデオシステムに関する研究

電気通信大学200

Anti-adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma effects of indole-3-carbinol

Abstract Background Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is a malignancy derived from T cells infected with human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1), and it is known to be resistant to standard anticancer therapies. Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a naturally occurring component of Brassica vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprout, is a promising chemopreventive agent as it is reported to possess antimutagenic, antitumorigenic and antiestrogenic properties in experimental studies. The aim of this study was to determine the potential anti-ATLL effects of I3C both in vitro and in vivo. Results In the in vitro study, I3C inhibited cell viability of HTLV-1-infected T-cell lines and ATLL cells in a dose-dependent manner. Importantly, I3C did not exert any inhibitory effect on uninfected T-cell lines and normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells. I3C prevented the G1/S transition by reducing the expression of cyclin D1, cyclin D2, Cdk4 and Cdk6, and induced apoptosis by reducing the expression of XIAP, survivin and Bcl-2, and by upregulating the expression of Bak. The induced apoptosis was associated with activation of caspase-3, -8 and -9, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage. I3C also suppressed IκBα phosphorylation and JunD expression, resulting in inactivation of NF-κB and AP-1. Inoculation of HTLV-1-infected T cells in mice with severe combined immunodeficiency resulted in tumor growth. The latter was inhibited by treatment with I3C (50 mg/kg/day orally), but not the vehicle control. Conclusion Our preclinical data suggest that I3C could be potentially a useful chemotherapeutic agent for patients with ATLL.</p

High-pressure structures of methane hydrate observed up to 8 GPa at room temperature

Three high-pressure structures of methane hydrate, a hexagonal structure (str.A) and two orthorhombic structures (str.B and str.C), were found by in situ x-ray diffractometry and Raman spectroscopy. The well-known structure I (str.I) decomposed into the str.A and fluid at 0.8 GPa. The str.A transformed into the str.B at 1.6 GPa, and the str.B further transformed into the str.C at 2.1 GPa which survived above 7.8 GPa. The fluid solidified as ice VI at 1.4 GPa, and the ice VI transformed to ice VII at 2.1 GPa. The structural changes occurring with increasing pressure were observed reversibly with decreasing pressure. The symmetric stretching vibration, 1, of the methane molecule observed in the Raman spectra changed along with the structural changes. The bulk moduli, K0, for the str.I, str.A, and str.C were calculated to be 7.4, 9.8, and 25.0 GPa, respectively. The difference in the bulk moduli implies the difference in fundamental structure of the high-pressure structures

Dendritic retraction, but not atrophy, is consistent in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-comparison between Onuf’s neurons and other sacral motor neurons-

BACKGROUND: Fundamental cytological changes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) were looked for by comparing relatively preserved Onuf’s nucleus (ON) and severely affected neighboring motor neuron groups (dorsolateral alpha motoneurons (DL) and other anterior horn neurons (OAH)). The second sacral segments from 11 ALS patients and 5 controls were initially quadruple-labeled for phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated TAR DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP43), and p62 with DAPI to identify TDP43-related changes. After digital recording of these fluorescence data encompassing the entire specimen at a high resolution, the same sections were stained with Klüver-Barrera method to obtain their exact bright-field counterparts. This novel approach facilitated exact identification of ON. Furthermore, this cell to cell comparison enabled to correlate quantitative indices of the neuronal cell bodies: perimeter, area and circularity index (CI) i.e. the ratio of (perimeter/2π) divided by the square root of (area/π), which decreases with dendritic retraction, overall number of neurons and inclusions. RESULTS: In addition to known preservation of ON neuron number relative to DL and OAH, size reduction of ON neurons was not significant even in the advanced stage. Significant size reduction in DL was counteracted in the presence of TDP43-positive inclusions. Early increase of neuronal size in OAH was further enhanced by the presence of TDP43-positive inclusions. Even with these heterogeneous cytopathological changes, a decrease in CI was consistent in all groups at an early phase and was correlated with neuronal loss. CONCLUSIONS: Among variable cytological changes of ALS, a decrease in CI is a consistent early feature shared between non-atrophic ON neurons and other anterior horn neurons with either decreased (DL) or even increased (OAH) size and profounder neuronal loss. This decrease in CI, representative of dendritic retraction, is fundamental to ALS pathogenesis, not necessarily linked to cell size and pathological inclusions

Ludlings and Phonology in Tagalog

This paper presents an analysis of the Tagalog “G-word” ludling and addresses its implications in Tagalog phonology. It is shown that the G-word ludling is best analyzed as an iterative infixal ludling, where the sequence of -Vg- is inserted after every onset, rather than infixation of -gV-. Crucially, the G-word ludling reveals constraints on Tagalog phonology that otherwise would be difficult to observe: *C1 VC1 V, hiatus avoidance, and iambic stress. Furthermore, our analysis of the G-words raises an important issue in Tagalog phonology: the possible emergence of the disyllabic “perfect prosodic word” in the G-words. Taken together, this paper offers another case study supporting the important role that ludlings play in phonological theory

The impact of input mode on second language spoken vocabulary learning (OASIS Summary)

Uchihara, T. et al. (2022). The impact of input mode on second language spoken vocabulary learning. OASIS Summary of Uchihara, T. et al. (2022) in The Modern Language Journal. https://oasis-database.org/concern/summaries/q811kk18d?locale=e

Does hearing a word one, three, or six times help learners pronounce second language words? (OASIS Summary)

Uchihara, T. et al. (2022). Does hearing a word one, three, or six times help learners pronounce second language words?. OASIS Summary of Uchihara, T. et al. (2023) in Language Learning. https://oasis-database.org/concern/summaries/xs55mc819?locale=e

PART is part of Alzheimer disease

It has been proposed that tau aggregation confined to entorhinal cortex and hippocampus, with no or only minimal Aβ deposition, should be considered as a 'primary age-related tauopathy' (PART) that is not integral to the continuum of sporadic Alzheimer disease (AD). Here, we examine the evidence that PART has a pathogenic mechanism and a prognosis which differ from those of AD. We contend that no specific property of the entorhinal-hippocampal tau pathology makes it possible to predict either a limited progression or the development of AD, and that biochemical differences await an evidence base. On the other hand, entorhinal-hippocampal tau pathology is an invariant feature of AD and is always associated with its development. Rather than creating a separate disease entity, we recommend the continued use of an analytical approach based on NFT stages and Aβ phases with no inference about hypothetical disease processes.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe