It is important to understand the dynamics of red blood cells (RBCs) in blood flow. This requires the formulation of coarse-grained RBC models that reproduce the hydrodynamic properties of blood ...accurately. One of the models that successfully reproduces the rheology and morphology of blood has been proposed by Fedosov et al. Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 199, 1937-1948 (2010). The proposed RBC model contains several parameters whose values are determined by either various experiments or physical requirements. In this study, we developed a new method of determining parameter values precisely from the fluctuations of the RBC membrane. Specifically, we studied the relationship between the spectra of the fluctuations and model parameters. Characteristic peaks were observed in the spectra, whose peak frequencies were dependent on the parameter values. In addition, we investigated the spectra of the radius of gyration. We identified the peaks originating from the spring potential and the volume-conserving potential appearing in the spectra. These results lead to the precise experimental determination of the parameters used in the RBC model.
Pre-ribosomal RNAs are synthesized during the transcription by RNA polymerase I molecules localized at the surfaces of a nucleolus subcompartment. Inspired by the ribosomal RNA transcription, we here ...develop a scaling theory of a brush of polymers, where monomers are added to their grafted ends in the steady state. Our theory predicts that monomers newly added to the polymers stay at the vicinity of the surface due to the slow dynamics of the polymers and thus the polymer volume fraction increases with increasing the polymerization rate. The excluded volume interaction between polymers and reactant monomers suppresses the diffusion of reactant monomers and thus decreases the polymerization rate. The extent of the suppression of monomer diffusion increases with increasing the polymerization rate because the diffusion length decreases, rather than the condensation of polymers due to their slow dynamics.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Synthesizing polymer nanoparticles have required large amounts of surfactants, which increase environmental pollution. It is indispensable to develop a synthesis method for polymer nanoparticles that ...does not require surfactants. In the present study, a methylcellulose (MC) gel was used as a polymerization field to prepare polymer nanoparticles with a particle diameter less than 100 nm. MC gel was a biocompatible hydrophilic polymer and low environmental load. This was used as a reactor to carry out the soap-free emulsion polymerization of styrene. The mesh width of the gel decreased with increasing MC concentrations. The three-dimensional network structure of the MC gel prevented the coagulation growth of the particles due to Brownian and thermal motions to decrease the size of the polystyrene particles. Polystyrene particles with the average size of 31 nm were obtained at an MC concentration of 1.0 wt%. In addition, curdlan and melamine foam, which had also three-dimensional network structures, were used as reaction fields of soap-free emulsion polymerization of styrene to make polystyrene particles nanosized.
Soap-free emulsion polymerization of styrene using oil-soluble initiators and electrolytes was investigated to synthesize micron-sized polystyrene particles. It was clear that an oil-soluble ...initiator, such as AIBN, worked like a water-soluble initiator in soap-free emulsion polymerization of styrene to prepare monodispersed particles with negative charges, probably because of the polarization of the electron-attractive functional groups decomposed from the initiators and the pi electron cloud of benzene in a styrene monomer. The addition of an electrolyte enabled secondary particles to effectively promote hetero-coagulation for particle growth by reduction of an electrical double layer and prevention of self-growth. Changing the concentration and type of electrolyte enabled us to control the size up to 12 μm in soap-free emulsion polymerization of styrene using AIBN. Conventionally, organic solvents and surfactants have been used to prepare micron-sized polymeric particles, but this method enabled the synthesis of micron-sized polymeric particles in water using electrolytes without surfactants.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Purpose of review
To trace the influence of disc hemorrhage studies on our understanding of glaucoma.
Sources
Major articles published during the last 50 years since the rediscovery of disc ...hemorrhage were identified. A total of 196 articles were selected from 435 articles retrieved using the keywords
glaucoma
and
disc hemorrhage
as of August 9 2018 from PubMed.
Recent findings
The main characteristics of disc hemorrhage, including its morphology, recurrence rate, duration, increased incidence in glaucoma, and role in the progression of normal tension glaucoma was well understood by the year 2000. Since then, studies have focused on more sophisticated and accurate methods of elucidating both structural and functional progression, with special attention to the role of the lamina cribrosa. Nevertheless, both the mechanism of disc hemorrhage development and its fuller relationship with glaucoma remain unclear.
Summary
Disc hemorrhage research requires careful study of glaucomatous optic neuropathy. This has been facilitated by recent advances in optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography and other OCT technologies. Furthermore, animal studies of disc hemorrhage promise new insights into glaucomatous optic neuropathy.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The recent status of Japan's government-driven project to establish carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites (CFRTP) technology for automotive applications conducted in the National ...Composites Center (NCC) Japan is introduced first. The baseline technology is discontinuous carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites (C-LFT-D: carbon – long fiber thermoplastic-direct) using press compaction. All the components of the target car chassis made of aluminum alloy are replaced by C-LFT-D components and a 10% weight reduction with the same rigidity has been verified. The basic physics of the fiber length distribution mechanism and the experimental procedures to measure fiber length distributions are proposed. A basic theory to predict the flow behavior of extruded raw material of the mixture of melted resin and thermoplastics is proposed, and sophisticated CAE software to predict the flow patterns of the raw material is established. Measured elastic moduli of processed LFT-D plates show strong dependency on local fiber orientations and strong correlations between bending strengths and bending modulus are found. Hence, prediction of fiber orientation in the press compaction is a key point of the design of LFT-D components. The viscoelastic properties of C-LFT-D materials are characterized by using established theories. Certain important parameters, such as the shift factors, are identified by theory and experiments. The basic concepts of joining technology are also established, where ultrasonic fusion bonding is selected as the primary method. Joining procedures are defined and mechanical properties of the joints are evaluated. The essence of the other project conducted in the University of Tokyo for CFRTP applications to automobiles is also introduced. Several new composites are developed and evaluation technologies are developed.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Interoception, which pertains to the physiological state of the body, is associated with subjective emotional experiences. In particular, the accuracy of perceiving interoceptive signals ...(interoceptive accuracy IAcc) is linked to the intensity of emotional arousal, known as arousal focus (AF). IAcc is believed to influence the granularity of emotional experiences. Here, we examined the relationship between IAcc and assessment and verbalisation of one's own or others' emotions. Study I demonstrated that individuals with higher IAcc exhibited significantly greater AF when evaluating their own positive emotions. Furthermore, although no correlation between IAcc and AF was found in free descriptions of emotions, a significant positive correlation was found between IAcc and the number of emotion-related words. Study II showed that individuals with higher IAcc displayed significantly higher AF when assessing the positive emotions of characters in videos. Additionally, in free descriptions of these characters, a significant positive correlation was observed between predicted verbal IQ and the number of emotion-related words. These findings support the notion that interoception is associated with AF during assessment of one's own or others' positive emotions as well as the abundance of emotion-related words. This study demonstrates the relationship between bodily sensations and social aspects of human embodiment.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
In recent years, advances in drug therapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have progressed rapidly. In addition to cytotoxic anti-cancer agents such as platinum-based drug (cisplatin ...and carboplatin) and taxane-based drugs (docetaxel and paclitaxel), epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (cetuximab) and immune checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) antibodies (nivolumab and pembrolizumab) have come to be used. The importance of anti-cancer drug therapy is increasing year by year. Therefore, we summarize clinical trials of molecular targeted therapy and biomarkers in HNSCC from previous studies. Here we show the current trends and future prospects of molecular targeted therapy in HNSCC.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Methacrylic monomer was used in soap-free emulsion polymerization in order to obtain a stable dispersion containing particles of the polymerized monomer. 2,2′-Azobis(2-methylpropionitrile) (AIBN) or ...1,1′-azobis(1-acetoxy-1-phenylethane) (OT
AZO
-15) were used as the radical initiator. Although particles with a size of about 1.0 μm were obtained when using methyl methacrylate as the monomer and AIBN as the initiator, the particles did not exhibit good dispersion stability. When OT
AZO
-15, which has phenyl rings, was used as the initiator, the monomer phase solidified instead of forming particles in the aqueous phase. Benzyl methacrylate (BMA) monomer, which contains a phenyl ring, was polymerized using AIBN. Negatively charged particles with a size of 0.90 μm were formed. These particles exhibited good dispersion stability probably because of the pi electrons of the phenyl ring in the BMA monomer. The method in this study allows the synthesis of nearly micron-sized particles without surfactant, organic solvent, and electrolyte.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Exosomes are 30-100 nm-sized membranous vesicles, secreted from a variety of cell types into their surrounding extracellular space. Various exosome components including lipids, proteins, and nucleic ...acids are transferred to recipient cells and affect their function and activity. Numerous studies have showed that tumor cell-derived exosomes play important roles in tumor growth and progression. However, the effect of exosomes released from oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) into the tumor microenvironment remains unclear. In the present study, we isolated exosomes from OSCC cells and investigated the influence of OSCC cell-derived exosomes on the tumor cell behavior associated with tumor development. We demonstrated that OSCC cell-derived exosomes were taken up by OSCC cells themselves and significantly promoted proliferation, migration, and invasion through the activation of the PI3K/Akt, MAPK/ERK, and JNK-1/2 pathways in vitro. These effects of OSCC cell-derived exosomes were obviously attenuated by treatment with PI3K, ERK-1/2, and JNK-1/2 pharmacological inhibitors. Furthermore, the growth rate of tumor xenografts implanted into nude mice was promoted by treatment with OSCC cell-derived exosomes. The uptake of exosomes by OSCC cells and subsequent tumor progression was abrogated in the presence of heparin. Taken together, these data suggest that OSCC cell-derived exosomes might be a novel therapeutic target and the use of heparin to inhibit the uptake of OSCC-derived exosomes by OSCC cells may be useful for treatment.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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