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Context. Realistic synthetic observations of theoretical source models are essential for our understanding of real observational data. In using synthetic data, one can verify the extent to which source parameters can be recovered and evaluate how various data corruption effects can be calibrated. These studies are the most important when proposing observations of new sources, in the characterization of the capabilities of new or upgraded instruments, and when verifying model-based theoretical predictions in a direct comparison with observational data. Aims. We present the SYnthetic Measurement creator for long Baseline Arrays (SYMBA), a novel synthetic data generation pipeline for Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations. SYMBA takes into account several realistic atmospheric, instrumental, and calibration effects. Methods. We used SYMBA to create synthetic observations for the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a millimetre VLBI array, which has recently captured the first image of a black hole shadow. After testing SYMBA with simple source and corruption models, we study the importance of including all corruption and calibration effects, compared to the addition of thermal noise only. Using synthetic data based on two example general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD) model images of M 87, we performed case studies to assess the image quality that can be obtained with the current and future EHT array for different weather conditions. Results. Our synthetic observations show that the effects of atmospheric and instrumental corruptions on the measured visibilities are significant. Despite these effects, we demonstrate how the overall structure of our GRMHD source models can be recovered robustly with the EHT2017 array after performing calibration steps, which include fringe fitting, a priori amplitude and network calibration, and self-calibration. With the planned addition of new stations to the EHT array in the coming years, images could be reconstructed with higher angular resolution and dynamic range. In our case study, these improvements allowed for a distinction between a thermal and a non-thermal GRMHD model based on salient features in reconstructed images. © 2020 ESO., This work is supported by the ERC Synergy Grant "BlackHoleCam: Imaging the Event Horizon of Black Holes" (Grant 610058). I. Natarajan and R. Deane are grateful for the support from the New Scientific Frontiers with Precision Radio Interferometry Fellowship awarded by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), which is a facility of the National Research Foundation (NRF), an agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of South Africa. The authors of the present paper further thank the following organizations and programmes: the Academy of Finland (projects 274477, 284495, 312496); the Advanced European Network of E-infrastructures for Astronomy with the SKA (AENEAS) project, supported by the European Commission Framework Programme Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation action under grant agreement 731016; the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung; the Black Hole Initiative at Harvard University, through a grant (60477) from the John Templeton Foundation; the China Scholarship Council; Comision Nacional de Investigacio Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT, Chile, via PIA ACT172033, Fondecyt 1171506, BASAL AFB-170002, ALMAconicyt 31140007); Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT, Mexico, projects 104497, 275201, 279006, 281692); the Delaney Family via the Delaney Family John A. Wheeler Chair at Perimeter Institute; Direccion General de Asuntos del Personal Academico-Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (DGAPA-UNAM, project IN112417); the Generalitat Valenciana postdoctoral grant APOSTD/2018/177; the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (grants GBMF-3561, GBMF-5278); the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) sezione di Napoli, iniziative specifiche TEONGRAV; the GenT Program (Generalitat Valenciana) under project CIDEGENT/2018/021; the International Max Planck Research School for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Universities of Bonn and Cologne; the Jansky Fellowship program of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO); the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho: MEXT) Scholarship; the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Research Fellowship (JP17J08829); the Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS, grants QYZDJ-SSW-SLH057, QYZDJ-SSW-SYS008); the Leverhulme Trust Early Career Research Fellowship; the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG); the Max Planck Partner Group of the MPG and the CAS; the MEXT/JSPS KAKENHI (grants 18KK0090, JP18K13594, JP18K03656, JP18H03721, 18K03709, 18H01245, 25120007); the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) Funds; the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of Taiwan (105-2112-M-001-025-MY3, 106-2112-M-001-011, 106-2119-M-001027, 107-2119-M-001-017, 107-2119-M-001-020, and 107-2119-M-110-005); the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, Fermi Guest Investigator grant 80NSSC17K0649); NASA through the NASA Hubble Fellowship grant #HST-HF2-51431.001-A awarded by the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. , for NASA, under contract NAS5-26555; the National Institute of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan; the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant 2016YFA0400704, 2016YFA0400702); the National Science Foundation (NSF, grants AST-0096454, AST-0352953, AST-0521233, AST-0705062, AST-0905844, AST-0922984, AST-1126433, AST-1140030, DGE-1144085, AST-1207704, AST-1207730, AST-1207752, MRI-1228509, OPP-1248097, AST-1310896, AST-1312651, AST-1337663, AST-1440254, AST-1555365, AST-1715061, AST-1615796, AST-1716327, OISE-1743747, AST-1816420); the Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 11573051, 11633006, 11650110427, 10625314, 11721303, 11725312, 11933007); the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC, including a Discovery Grant and the NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships-Doctoral Program); the National Youth Thousand Talents Program of China; the National Research Foundation of Korea (the Global PhD Fellowship Grant: grants NRF-2015H1A2A1033752, 2015-R1D1A1A01056807, the Korea Research Fellowship Program: NRF-2015H1D3A1066561); the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) VICI award (grant 639.043.513) and Spinoza Prize SPI 78-409; the New Scientific Frontiers with Precision Radio Interferometry Fellowship awarded by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), which is a facility of the National Research Foundation (NRF), an agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of South Africa; the Onsala Space Observatory (OSO) national infrastructure, for the provisioning of its facilities/observational support (OSO receives funding through the Swedish Research Council under grant 2017-00648) the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (research at Perimeter Institute is supported by the Government of Canada through the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and by the Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science); the Princeton/Flatiron Postdoctoral Prize Fellowship; the Russian Science Foundation (grant 17-12-01029); the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (grants AYA2015-63939-C21-P, AYA2016-80889-P); the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the "Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa" award for the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (SEV-2017-0709); the Toray Science Foundation; the US Department of Energy (USDOE) through the Los Alamos National Laboratory (operated by Triad National Security, LLC, for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the USDOE (Contract 89233218CNA000001)); the Italian Ministero dell'Istruzione Universita e Ricerca through the grant Progetti Premiali 2012-iALMA (CUP C52I13000140001); the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 730562 RadioNet; ALMA North America Development Fund; the Academia Sinica; Chandra TM6-17006X. This work used the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), supported by NSF grant ACI-1548562, and CyVerse, supported by NSF grants DBI-0735191, DBI-1265383, and DBI1743442. XSEDE Stampede2 resource at TACC was allocated through TGAST170024 and TG-AST080026N. XSEDE JetStream resource at PTI and TACC was allocated through AST170028. The simulations were performed in part on the SuperMUC cluster at the LRZ in Garching, on the LOEWE cluster in CSC in Frankfurt, and on the HazelHen cluster at the HLRS in Stuttgart. This research was enabled in part by support provided by Compute Ontario (http://computeontario.ca), Calcul Quebec (http://www. calculquebec.ca) and Compute Canada (http://www.computecanada.ca).We thank the sta ff at the participating observatories, correlation centers, and institutions for their enthusiastic support. This paper makes use of the following ALMA data: ADS/JAO.ALMA#2017.1.00841.V. ALMA is a partnership of the European Southern Observatory (ESO; Europe, representing its member states), NSF, and National Institutes of Natural Sciences of Japan, together with National Research Council (Canada), Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST; Taiwan), Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA; Taiwan), and Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI; Republic of Korea), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI)/NRAO, and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). The NRAO is a facility of the NSF operated under cooperative agreement by AUI. APEX is a collaboration between the Max-Planck-Institut fur Radioastronomie (Germany), ESO, and the Onsala Space Observatory (Sweden). The SMA is a joint project between the SAO and ASIAA and is funded by the Smithsonian Institution and the Academia Sinica. The JCMT is operated by the East Asian Observatory on behalf of the NAOJ, ASIAA, and KASI, as well as the Ministry of Finance of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the National Key R&D Program (No. 2017YFA0402700) of China. Additional funding support for the JCMT is provided by the Science and Technologies Facility Council (UK) and participating universities in the UK and Canada. The LMT is a project operated by the Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica, y Electronica (Mexico) and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (USA). The IRAM 30m telescope on Pico Veleta, Spain is operated by IRAM and supported by CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France), MPG (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Germany) and IGN (Instituto Geografico Nacional, Spain). The SMT is operated by the Arizona Radio Observatory, a part of the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona, with financial support of operations from the State of Arizona and financial support for instrumentation development from the NSF. The SPT is supported by the National Science Foundation through grant PLR-1248097. Partial support is also provided by the NSF Physics Frontier Center grant PHY-1125897 to the Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago, the Kavli Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation grant GBMF 947. The SPT hydrogen maser was provided on loan from the GLT, courtesy of ASIAA. The EHTC has received generous donations of FPGA chips from Xilinx Inc., under the Xilinx University Program. The EHTC has benefited from technology shared under open-source license by the Collaboration for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research (CASPER). The EHT project is grateful to T4Science and Microsemi for their assistance with Hydrogen Masers. This research has made use of NASA's Astrophysics Data System. We gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the extended staff of the ALMA, both from the inception of the ALMA Phasing Project through the observational campaigns of 2017 and 2018. We would like to thank A. Deller and W. Brisken for EHT-specific support with the use of DiFX. We acknowledge the significance that Maunakea, where the SMA and JCMT EHT stations are located, has for the indigenous Hawaiian people. The software presented in this work makes use of the Numpy (van derWalt et al. 2011), Scipy (Jones et al. 2001), Astropy (Astropy Collaboration 2013, 2018) libraries and the KERN software bundle (Molenaar & Smirnov 2018).

Purpose/Objective(s) Radiotherapy (RT) is performed not only to reduce pain but also to prevent pathological fractures due to bone metastases of the spine. However, it is unclear to what extent radiotherapy increases bone strength. Bone density is sometimes used as a marker for assessment of local response to RT in spinal bone metastases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes of bone strength using CT-based finite element (FE) methods in radiotherapy for metastases at the lumber vertebra in comparison with bone density. Materials/Methods Five patients with metastases to the lumber vertebra who could be followed for more than 6 months were included. Primary lesions were lung cancer in all patients. All patients had osteolytic changes of the bone cortex in the vertebral body. Median radiation dose was 37.8 Gy in 14 fractions. CT images were taken before and at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after irradiation. Bone density was measured in Hounsfield units (HU) in each CT scan. The regions of interest were set to include the whole vertebral body of the metastatic spine and that of a non-irradiated unaffected neighboring spine used for reference. The 3-dimensional FE models of the same vertebrae were constructed from each CT image. The models consisted of 1- or 2-mm linear tetrahedral elements and the cortical shell with a thickness of 0.1 mm. A uniaxial compressive load with uniform distribution was applied on the upper surface of the vertebral body with the lower surface completely restrained. The predicted fracture load was defined to be present when at least one element or cortical shell failed. The ratios of the values on the follow-up CT to the values on the pre-irradiation CT were calculated, and single regression equations were determined for these ratios. Results At one month after irradiation, the bone density decreased in all except one case of the affected vertebral bodies, and the predicted fracture load decreased in all except one case of the unaffected vertebral bodies. In the affected vertebral bodies, the slopes of the single regression equations of bone density were positive in 4 out of 5 cases. The slopes of those of predicted fracture loads were negative in 3 out of that 4 cases. In the unaffected vertebral bodies, the slopes of the single regression equations of bone density were positive in 3 out of 5 cases. The slopes of predicted fracture loads were positive in those 3 cases. Conclusion The bone strength might not improve in one month after irradiation. The predicted fracture load did not necessarily increase even if the bone density increased in the irradiated affected vertebral bodies. Bone density alone might not be sufficient as an indicator of bone strength. The FE method could evaluate the changes in bone strength in radiotherapy for bone metastases based on predicted fracture loads.

The human MAS-related G protein-coupled receptor X1 (MRGPRX1) is a member of the GPCR family. The receptor is primate specific and expressed in the sensory neurons of dorsal root ganglion and trigeminal ganglion, where it is considered to be involved in the pain perception. The MRGPRX1 has unusual binding mechanism, as it is activated by several different ligands as well as several different fragments of precursor proteins. Thus, we hypothesize that it is activated by several unknown compounds as well since the receptor is still classified as orphan. Here, we describe the isolation of two novel endogenous ligands for the MRGPRX1 from human platelet preparation. The isolated ligands are hemoglobin β-chain fragments, known members of the hemorphin family.

Oxygen consumption rate of in vivo-derived porcine embryos was measured, and its value as an objective method for the assessment of embryo quality was evaluated. Embryos were surgically collected 5 or 6 days after artificial insemination (AI), and oxygen consumption rate of embryos was measured using an embryo respirometer. The average oxygen con- sumption rate (F � 10 14 /mol s � 1 ) of the embryos that developed to the compacted morula stage on Day 5 (Day 0 ¼ the day of artificial insemination) was 0.58 � 0.03 (meanstandard error of the mean). The Day-6 embryos had consumption rates of 0.56 � 0.13, 0.87 � 0.06, and 1.13 � 0.07 at the early blastocyst, blastocyst, and expanded blastocyst stages, respectively, showing a gradual increase as the embryos developed. Just after collection, the average oxygen consumption rates of embryos that hatched and of those that did not hatch after culture were 0.60 � 0.04 and 0.50 � 0.04 for Day 5 (P ¼ 0.08) and 1.05 � 0.09 and 0.77 � 0.05 for Day 6 (P < 0.05), respectively. The value and proba- bility of discrimination by measuring the oxygen consumption rates of embryos to predict their hatching ability after culture were 0.56 and 63.6% for Day-5 embryos and 0.91 and 68.4% for Day-6 blastocysts, respectively. When Day-5 embryos were classified based on the oxygen consumption rate and then transferred non-surgically to recipient sows, three of the seven sows, to which embryos having a high oxygen consumption rate (� 0.59) were transferred, became pregnant and farrowed a total of 20 piglets. However, none of the four sows, to which embryos having low oxygen consumption rate (

Background Mast cells are important modulators of the human immune system via their release of several inflammatory mediators and proteases. The release can be activated by different pathways: the classical immunoglobulin E-dependent pathway and by the non-immunological immunoglobulin E-independent pathway. MAS-related G protein-coupled receptor X2 (MRGPRX2) is expressed in mast cells and it is one of the endogenous receptor responsible for the IgE-independent activation of human mast cell. The MRGPRX2 is classified as orphan receptor and unlike most GPCRs, the MRGPRX2 recognizes a wide range of basic molecules. Thus, there still might be several unknown ligands for the receptor. Methods MRGPRX2 activating peptides were isolated from human plasma using consecutive HPLC purification steps. The isolation process was monitored with MRGPRX2 transfected HEK 293 cells. The isolated peptides were sequenced by MS and synthetized. The synthetic peptides were used to determine degranulation of the human LAD 2 mast cell line by measuring β-hexosaminidase release. Results Three endogenous MRGPRX2 activating peptides were isolated from human plasma. These peptides are identified as fragments of albumin. The isolated fragments activate MRGPRX2 and degranulate MRGPRX2 expressing LAD 2 cells in dose-dependent manner. Conclusions The isolated basic peptides generated from human albumin are able to degranulate mast cells via the MRGPRX2. General significance These endogenous albumin fragments, cleaved from albumin by mast cell secreted proteases, provide a possible pathway for self-perpetuating mast cell dependent inflammation.

Background High-dose cytarabine (HDAC) is used to treat hematologic malignancies. Eye disorders are common side effects caused by cytarabine (AraC) being transported from the blood into tear fluid. In our institution, four times a day (FM4) or six times a day (FM6) of 0.1% fluorometholone eye drops are used to prevent AraC-induced eye disorders. In this study, we investigated the prophylactic effects of FM6 or FM4 to prevent AraC-induced eye disorders retrospectively. Methods We targeted the patients who were hospitalized and administered with HDAC twice a day at a dose of 1 g/m2 or more between April 2011 and March 2018. The patients received 0.1% fluorometholone eye drops in a both eyes from the start of HDAC dose to 48 hours after the end of HDAC dose. We investigated the incidence of eye disorders or grade based on the medical records from the start of HDAC dose until 7 days after the end of HDAC dose, retrospectively. Results There were 36 patients of FM4 and 44 of FM6 for prevention of AraC-induced eye disorders, respectivity. The incidence of eye disorders was 6 (16.7%) in FM4 and 7 (15.9%) in FM6. No Grade 3 eye disorders occurred in both groups. The number of courses of the eye disorder appeared for FM4 and FM6 were 1 and 2 courses. In addition, the median of AraC cumulative dose at the time of the eye disorders appeared for FM4 and FM6 was 10 (4-20) g/m2 and 20 (6-42) g/m2. Conclusions There is no difference in preventive effect between FM4 and FM6 for AraC-induced eye disorders. Further, FM4 is considered useful and a convenient method for the prevention of AraC-induced eye disorders. Legal entity responsible for the study The authors. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Intramembrane-cleaving proteases (I-CLiPs) are a group of membrane-associated proteases with a unique feature: they are believed to cleave their substrate within the hydrophobic lipid bilayer, even though peptide bond hydrolysis requires a water molecule. Escherichia coli RseP, which belongs to the S2P zinc metalloprotease family of I-CLiPs, plays an essential role in activation of a cell envelope stress response through cleavage of anti-σ

The molecular mechanisms mediating cylindromatosis (CYLD) tumor suppressor function appear to be manifold. Here, we demonstrate that, in contrast to the increased levels of phosphorylated c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (pJNK), CYLD was decreased in a majority of the melanoma cell lines and tissues examined. Exogenous expression of CYLD but not its catalytically deficient mutant markedly inhibited melanoma cell proliferation and migration in vitro and subcutaneous tumor growth in vivo. In addition, the melanoma cells expressing exogenous CYLD were unable to form pulmonary tumor nodules following tail-vein injection. At the molecular level, CYLD decreased β1-integrin and inhibited pJNK induction by tumor necrosis factor-α or cell attachment to collagen IV. Moreover, CYLD induced an array of other molecular changes associated with modulation of the "malignant" phenotype, including a decreased expression of cyclin D1, N-cadherin, and nuclear Bcl3, and an increased expression of p53 and E-cadherin. Most interestingly, coexpression of the constitutively active MKK7 or c-Jun mutants with CYLD prevented the above molecular changes, and fully restored melanoma growth and metastatic potential in vivo. Our findings demonstrate that the JNK/activator protein 1 signaling pathway underlies the melanoma growth and metastasis that are associated with CYLD loss of function. Thus, restoration of CYLD and inhibition of JNK and β1-integrin function represent potential therapeutic strategies for treatment of malignant melanoma.

The T-box transcription factor, Tbx1, an important regulatory gene in development, is highly expressed in hair follicle (HF) stem cells in adult mice. Because mouse models of skin carcinogenesis have demonstrated that HF stem cells are a carcinogen target population and contribute significantly to tumor development, we investigated whether Tbx1 plays a role in skin carcinogenesis. We first assessed Tbx1 expression levels in mouse skin tumors, and found down-regulation in all tumors examined. To study the effect of Tbx1 expression on growth and tumorigenic potential of carcinoma cells, we transfected mouse Tbx1 cDNA into a mouse spindle cell carcinoma cell line that did not express endogenous Tbx1. Following transfection, two cell lines expressing different levels of the Tbx1/V5 fusion protein were selected for further study. Intradermal injection of the cell lines into mice revealed that Tbx1 expression significantly suppressed tumor growth, albeit with no change in tumor morphology. In culture, ectopic Tbx1 expression resulted in decreased cell growth and reduced development into multilayered colonies, compared to control cells. Tbx1-transfectants exhibited a reduced proliferative rate compared to control cells, with fewer cells in S and G2/M phases. The Tbx1 transfectants developed significantly fewer colonies in soft agar, demonstrating loss of anchorage-independent growth. Taken together, our data show that ectopic expression of Tbx1 restored contact inhibition to the skin tumor cells, suggesting that this developmentally important transcription factor may have a novel dual role as a negative regulator of tumor growth. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Arachidonic acid, a dietary cis-polyunsaturated fatty acid, stimulates adhesion and migration of human cancer cells on the extracellular matrix by activation of intracellular signaling pathways. Polyubiquitin chains bearing linkages through different lysine residues convey distinct structural and functional information that is important for signal transduction. We investigated whether ubiquitination was required for arachidonic acid-induced cellular adhesion and migration of MDA-MB-435 cells on collagen type IV. An E1 (ubiquitin-activating enzyme) inhibitor, PYR-431, completely abrogated arachidonic acid-stimulated adhesion. Additionally, expression of a lysine null mutant ubiquitin prevented activation of cellular adhesion. Cells expressing ubiquitin in which lysine 63 (K63) was mutated to arginine (K63R) were unable to adhere to collagen upon exposure to arachidonic acid. When K63 was the only lysine present, the cells retained the ability to adhere, indicating that K63-linked ubiquitin is both necessary and sufficient. Moreover, K63-linked ubiquitin was required for the induction of cell migration by arachidonic acid. The ubiquitin mutants and PYR-431 did not prevent arachidonic acid-induced phosphorylation of TGF-β activated kinase-1 (TAK1) and p38 MAPK, suggesting K63-linked ubiquitination occurs downstream of MAPK. These novel findings are the first to demonstrate a role for K63-linked ubiquitination in promoting cell adhesion and migration.

We have previously shown that P-selectin binding to Colo-320 human colon carcinoma cells induces specific activation of the alpha(5)beta(1) integrin with a concomitant increase of cell adhesion and spreading on fibronectin substrates in a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K) and p38 MAPK-dependent manner. Here, we identified by affinity chromatography and characterized nucleolin as a P-selectin receptor on Colo-320 cells. Nucleolin mAb D3 significantly decreases the Colo-320 cell adhesion to immobilized P-selectin-IgG-Fc. Moreover, nucleolin becomes clustered at the external side of the plasma membrane of living, intact cells when bound to cross-linked P-selectin-IgG-Fc chimeric protein. We have also found P-selectin binding to Colo-320 cells induces tyrosine phosphorylation specifically of cell-surface nucleolin and formation of a signaling complex containing cell-surface nucleolin, PI3-K and p38 MAPK. Using siRNA approaches, we have found that both P-selectin binding to Colo-320 cells and formation of the P-selectin-mediated p38 MAPK/PI3-K signaling complex require nucleolin expression. These results show that nucleolin (or a nucleolin-like protein) is a signaling receptor for P-selectin on Colo-320 cells and suggest a mechanism for linkage of nucleolin to P-selectin-induced signal transduction pathways that regulate the adhesion and the spreading of Colo-320 on fibronectin substrates.

A magnetic recording head for 600 Gb/in with a gh recording head field, which is called a ldquostandard model,rdquo is proposed after deep consideration by utilizing the numerical analysis. In order to improve the topology of the having a higher writing field and higher field gradient, the introduction of a 3-D topology optimization method, which is called the ldquoon/off methodrdquo, is indispensable. In this paper, an advanced topology of the standard head model is obtained using the on/off method. The recording field of 1.7 T and the field gradient of 0.0314 T/nm with low stray field of 0.1 T at the center of an adjacent track are obtained. The leakage flux in the adjacent track, which is the cause of the crosstalk, is reduced to 50%, which is the most significant improvement.

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) was epitaxially grown on both Si(0 0 1) and Si(1 1 1) substrates using a RF magnetron sputtering method. While YSZ(0 0 1) was grown on Si(0 0 1) with a cubic on cubic relation, YSZ(1 1 1) film on Si(1 1 1) with six-fold symmetry on surface showed two variants; cubic on cubic (type A) and 180° rotation about surface normal along [1 1 1] (type B). X-ray diffraction method confirmed single domain YSZ with type B structure when samples were prepared with the relatively slow deposition rate and low substrate temperature. Interestingly, in a reverse pairing of substrate and film, Si deposited on YSZ(1 1 1) substrates showed single domain with type A structure.

Functional probes for scanning probe microscopy (SPM) were fabricated with focused ion beam (FIB) method. Metal-tip cantilevers were fabricated for Kelvin probe force microscopy (KFM) and glass-coated tungsten tips were fabricated for scanning tunneling microscopy under irradiation of synchrotron-radiation light (SR-STM). Here we report the fabrication process and the characterization of those functional probes.

The extraction behavior of rutherfordium (Rf) into tributylphosphate (TBP) from hydrochloric acid (HCl) has been studied together with those of the lighter group-4 elements Zr and Hf. The extractability of261Rf,169Hf, and85Zr into TBP was investigated under identical conditions in 7.2–8.0 M HCl by on-line reversed-phase extraction chromatography. The percent extractions of Rf, Hf, and Zr into the TBP resin increase steeply with increasing HCl concentration, and the order of extraction is Zr > Hf ≈ Rf. By considering the order of chloride complexation among these elements, it is suggested that the stability of the TBP complex of Rf tetrachloride is lower than those of Zr and Hf.

It is necessary to develop a write head having a large recording field and small stray field in adjacent tracks and adjacent bits in perpendicular magnetic recording systems. In this paper, a practical three-dimensional topology optimization technique combined with the edge-based finite-element method is proposed. A technique for obtaining a smooth topology is also shown. The optimization of single-pole-type head having a magnetic shield is performed by using the topology optimization technique so that the leakage flux in the adjacent bit can be reduced. A useful shape of the magnetic shield obtained by the proposed technique is illustrated.

C 60 fullerene was detected in the deposit produced by the laser ablation of graphite rod in the superfluid helium at 1.5 K. From the mass spectrometry, it was found that the ratio, 12 C 60 / 12 C 59 13 C, differs from statistical one calculated by Poisson distribution for natural graphite. Assuming the recombination of atomic carbons to C 2 molecules as an initial stage for C 60 formation, the different isotopic ratio within C 60 from Poisson statistics was ascribed to the tunneling recombination between 12 C and 13 C atoms in the bubble state.

This paper explains the PMR-2R (prototype mobile robot –2 revised), the mobile robot with the eyeball expression as the preliminary-announcement and display of the robot’s following motion. Firstly, we indicate the importance of the preliminary-announcement and display function of the mobile robot’s following motion for the informational affinity between human being and a robot, with explaining the conventional methods and the related works. We show the proposed four methods which are categorized into two types: one type which indicates a state just after the moment and the other type which displays from the present to some future time continuously. Then we introduce the PMR-2R, which has the omni-directional display, the magicball, on which the eyeball expresses the robot’s following direction of motion and the speed of motion at the same time. From the evaluation experiment, we confirmed the efficiency of the eyeball expression to transfer the information. We also obtained the announcement at around one or two second before the actual motion may be appropriate. And finally we compare the four types of eyeball expression: the one-eyeball type, the two-eyeball type, the will-o’-the-wisp type, and the armor-helmet type. From the evaluation experiment, we have declared the importance to make the robot’s front more intelligible especially to announce the robot’s direction of motion.

Chemical studies of the transactinide elements ( Z ≥ 104) at JAERI (Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute) are reviewed and prospects for extending the studies are briefly considered. Aqueous chemistry of element 104, rutherfordium (Rf), and element 105, dubnium (Db), produced in the 248 Cm( 18 O, 5 n ) 261 Rf and 24 m( 19 F, 5 n ) 262 Db reactions, respectively, has been studied by ion-exchange chromatography on an atom-at-a-time basis. Characteristic ion-exchange behavior of Rf and Db in acidic solution is discussed.

The present status of heavy element nuclear chemistry research at JAERI (Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute) is reviewed. Production of the transactinide nuclei 261Rf and 262Db via the reactions of 248Cm(18O,5n) and 248Cm(19F, 5n), respectively, at the JAERI tandem accelerator is reported. Study of the aqueous chemistry of Rf is being carried out with a newly developed rapid ion-exchange separation apparatus. Anion-exchange behavior of Rf in acidic solution is briefly discussed. Recent experimental results on decay studies of neutron-deficient actinide nuclei using the gas-jet coupled JAERI-ISOL are given. We also discuss characteristics of nuclear deformation properties at scission in symmetric and asymmetric fission of actinides. Prospects for studies in the near future are briefly considered.

We fabricated a new magnetic thin film sensor using a large Barkhausen effect. The sensor consists of a Ni-Fe thin film stripe, 0.7 mm by 4.6 mm, on a glass substrate and an aluminum thin film search coil of 400 turns on the other side of the substrate. The Ni-Fe thin film is a bi-layer composed of a soft magnetic layer and a semi-hard magnetic layer. The aluminum thin film search coil size is 6 mm by 10 mm; the line width and space are 5 μm. As a result, the sensor generated an induced pulse of about 1.4 mV by the large Barkhausen jump under asymmetrical ac magnetic fields in the frequency range from 1 to 100 Hz.

The present status of transactinide nuclear chemistry research at JAERI (Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute) is reviewed. Successful production of the transactinide nuclei, 261Rf and 262Db in the reactions of 248Cm(18O,5n) and 248Cm(19F,5n), respectively, at the JAERI tandem accelerator is reported. Aqueous chemistry of element 104, Rf, is being performed with a newly developed rapid ion-exchange separation apparatus. Anion-exchange behaviour of Rf in acidic solutions is outlined. Research plans for the near future are briefly discussed.

We report on a systematic scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS) study on 1T–TaS2-x Se x (x = 0, 0.3, 1.0) at 4.2 K. While the compounds with x = 0 and 0.3, which undergoes the Mott transition, showed the commensurate charge density wave (CDW) with the period of (a 0 is in-plane lattice constant), the compound with x=1, which shows superconductivity at 3.5 K, exhibits anomalous domain structure: The domain structure consists of regions with regular array of David-stars divided by bright contrasted walls at positive bias voltage. We found the domain wall showed the different electronic state from that of the domain.

H. Haba,∗,a K. Tsukada,a M. Asai,a S. Goto,a,b A. Toyoshima,a,c I. Nishinaka,a K. Akiyama,a M. Hirata,a S. Ichikawa,a Y. Nagame,a Y. Shoji,c M. Shigekawa,c T. Koike,c M. Iwasaki,c A. Shinohara,c T. Kaneko,b T. Maruyama,b S. Ono,b H. Kudo,b Y. Oura,d K. Sueki,d H. Nakahara,a,d M. Sakama,e A. Yokoyama,f J. V. Kratz,g M. Schadel,h and W. Bruchleh Advanced Science Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Tokai-mura, Ibaraki 3191195, Japan Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Niigata University, Niigata-shi, Niigata 950-2181, Japan Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka-shi, Osaka 5600043, Japan Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan Department of Radiologic Science and Engineering, School of Health Sciences, University of Tokushima, Tokushima-shi, Tokushima 770-8509, Japan Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan Institut fur Kernchemie, Universitat Mainz, D-55099 Mainz, Germany Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung, D-64291 Darmstadt, Germany

The present status of heavy element nuclear chemistry research at JAERI (Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute) is reviewed. Successful production of the transactinide nuclei, Rf and Db via the reactions of Cm(O, 5n) and Cm(F, 5n), respectively at the JAERI tandem accelerator is presented. Aqueous chemistry of Rf is being carried out with a newly developed rapid ion-exchange separation apparatus. Anion-exchange behavior of Rf in HCl solution is shortly discussed. Recent experimental results on decay studies of neutron-deficient actinide nuclei using the gas-jet coupled JAERI-ISOL are also given. Prospects for the near future studies are briefly considered.

Background Cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLTs) have been implicated as important contributors in the pathophysiology of asthma and their biological effects are mediated by at least two distinct G-protein-coupled receptors, cDNA sequences of cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 (CysLTR 1 ) and cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 2 (CysLTR 2 ) have recently been elucidated. Objectives Our aim is to explore gene expression and the comparative expression of CysLTR 1 mRNA and CysLTR 2 mRNA in human peripheral blood leucocytes. Methods Gene expression of CysLTR 1 and CysLTR 2 mRNAs in human peripheral blood eosinophils, neutrophils, monocytes and T lymphocytes has been measured by competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reactions using RNA or DNA competitors. Results (a) When cellular levels of CysLTR 1 mRNA were normalized to those of G3PDH mRNA, the relative concentration of CysLTR 1 mRNA in eosinophils (43.8 ± ± 37.2, n = 29) was significantly higher than that in neutrophils (18.7 ± 23.3, n = 11), monocytes (0.93 ± 1.1, n = 10) and T lymphocytes (3.4 ± 2.4, n = 11). (b) When measured using each DNA competitor, mRNAs for both types of CysLTR coexisted in each type of leucocyte. The ratio of CysLTR 1 mRNA to CysLTR 2 mRNA was significantly lower in eosinophils (0.65 ± 0.42, n = 12) than in neutrophils (6.9 ± 4.9, n = 12), monocytes (1.8 ± 0.9, n = 10) and T lymphocytes (4.5 ± 5.7, n = 10). (c) Human umbilical vein endothelial cells expressed CysLTR 2 mRNA, but not CysLTR 1 mRNA. Conclusion These studies reveal that CysLTR 1 mRNA and, in particular, CysLTR 2 mRNA are abundantly expressed at high levels in eosinophils, raising the possibility that CysLTR 2 may have an important physiological role in eosinophils and a CysLTR 2 antagonist may be a good target for preventing signal transduction by CysLTs in eosinophils.

In many cases, there are a lot of noise sources in an office and particularly, telephone ringing often irritates the office workers. Effects of aircraft noise on the mental work of pupils were reported by Ando et al. [1]. In spite of its serious effect, it has not yet been found how the physical parameters of the wave form influence the perception of noise. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of telephone ringing on two mental tasks. This investigation is based on the human auditory–brain model consisting of the auto-correlation function (ACF) of sound source, the interaural cross-correlation function (IACF) for sound signals arriving at the two ears, and the specialization of the cerebral hemispheres. Under the stimulus of a telephone ringing, an adding task and a drawing task were performed. Results show that telephone ringing influences differently the two tasks: the V-type relaxation was observed only during the drawing task. It is revealed that the interference effect between the drawing task and the noise may occur in the right hemisphere.