Pith parenchyma cells store water in various plant organs. These cells are especially important for producing sugar and ethanol from the sugar juice of grass stems. In many plants, the death of pith ...parenchyma cells reduces their stemwater content. Previous studies proposed that a hypothetical D gene might be responsible for the death of stem pith parenchyma cells in Sorghum bicolor, a promising energy grass, although its identity and molecular function are unknown. Here, we identify the D gene and note that it is located on chromosome 6 in agreement with previous predictions. Sorghum varieties with a functional D allele had stems enriched with dry, dead pith parenchyma cells, whereas those with each of six independent nonfunctional D alleles had stems enriched with juicy, living pith parenchyma cells. D expression was spatiotemporally coupled with the appearance of dead, air-filled pith parenchyma cells in sorghum stems. Among D homologs that are present in flowering plants, Arabidopsis ANAC074 also is required for the death of stem pith parenchyma cells. D and ANAC074 encode previously uncharacterized NAC transcription factors and are sufficient to ectopically induce programmed death of Arabidopsis culture cells via the activation of autolytic enzymes. Taken together, these results indicate that D and its Arabidopsis ortholog, ANAC074, are master transcriptional switches that induce programmed death of stem pith parenchyma cells. Thus, targeting the D gene will provide an approach to breeding crops for sugar and ethanol production.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Lymphomatosis cerebri is a rare variant of primary central nervous system lymphoma. We present a case involving a 56-year-old immunocompetent woman who complained of rapid deterioration of her higher ...brain function over a 4-month period. Magnetic resonance imaging showed extensive white-matter lesions. During brain biopsy, a diffusely infiltrating lymphoma with distinctive immunohistochemical features was detected. Awareness of this unique presentation and early tissue diagnosis provide the best hope for instituting appropriate treatments.
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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
•Development of a novel nuclear laser spectroscopy method using superfluid helium.•Observation of the Zeeman resonance with the 85Rb beam introduced into helium.•Demonstration of deducing the nuclear ...spins from the observed resonance spectrum.
We have been developing a novel nuclear laser spectroscopy method “OROCHI” for determining spins and moments of exotic radioisotopes. In this method, we use superfluid helium as a stopping material of energetic radioisotope beams and then stopped radioisotope atoms are subjected to in situ laser spectroscopy in superfluid helium. To confirm the feasibility of this method for rare radioisotopes, we carried out a test experiment using a 85Rb beam. In this experiment, we have successfully measured the Zeeman resonance signals from the 85Rb atoms stopped in superfluid helium by laser-RF double resonance spectroscopy. This method is efficient for the measurement of spins and moments of more exotic nuclei.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Purpose
A three-dimensional (3D) image viewing experiment was performed using a new 3D scenography system. The influence on visual function was investigated both in adults and in children employing ...both objective and subjective methods.
Methods
The subjects were 21 healthy adults (mean age ± standard deviation: 42.1 ± 10.0 years) and 21 healthy children (7.8 ± 1.5 years). The 3D image viewing time was set at 90 min for adults and 60 min for children, and the visual function was objectively evaluated using an accommodative microfluctuation analysis system both before and after 3D image viewing. In addition, subjective symptoms were surveyed employing a questionnaire both before and after viewing in the adult group to subjectively evaluate the visual function.
Results
No significant difference was noted in accommodative microfluctuation between the before and after viewing in either the adult or child group, nor was there a significant difference in subjective symptoms in the adult group based on the questionnaire. However, accommodative microfluctuation tended to increase after viewing in some subjects.
Conclusions
Under the conditions of this study, 3D image viewing did not influence visual function, or only very slightly influenced it, if at all, but there are many unknown problems, requiring further surveys using 3D image viewing.
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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
Two astrophysical reactions, 22Mg(p,gamma)23Al and 26Si(p,gamma)27P, were investigated by using the Coulomb breakup of proton-rich isotopes 23Al and 27P. The radiative widths determined from the ...cross sections suggest that the beta+ decay of 22Mg is favored over the 22Mg(p,gamma)23Al reaction, while 26Si(p,gamma)27P reaction is faster than the beta+ decay of 26Si around the peak temperature of heavy novae. Two-neutron knockout reactions of the proton-rich sd-shell isotopes 26Si, 30S, and 34Ar were also studied. The measured branching ratios are well reproduced by a theoretical calculation which takes into account nucleon-nucleon correlation in a nucleus.
This study sought to precisely evaluate striatal oxidative stress and its relationship with the disease severity in Parkinson's disease (PD) using double brain imaging, 62Cu-diacetyl-bis ...(N4-methylthiosemicarbazone) (62Cu-ATSM) PET and 123I-FP-CIT SPECT.
Nine PD patients were studied with brain 62Cu-ATSM PET for oxidative stress and 123I-FP-CIT SPECT for the density of striatal dopamine transporter. Standardized uptake values (SUVs) were obtained from the delayed phase of dynamic 62Cu-ATSM PET, and striatum-to-cerebellum SUV ratio (SUVR) was calculated. To correct the effect of neuronal loss in the striatum, 62Cu-ATSM SUVR was corrected for striatal specific binding ratio (SBR) values of 123I-FP-CIT (SUVR/SBR).
62Cu-ATSM SUVR without correction was not significantly correlated with disease severity estimated by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) scores or 123I-FP-CIT SBR. In contrast, the SUVR/SBR showed significant correlations with the UPDRS total and motor scores, and 123I-FP-CIT SBR.
Oxidative stress in the remaining striatal dopaminergic neurons estimated by SUVR/SBR was increased with disease severity in PD patients, suggesting that oxidative stress based on mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to promoting dopaminergic neuronal degeneration in PD. 62Cu-ATSM PET with 123I-FP-CIT SPECT correction would be a promising tool to evaluate dopaminergic neuronal oxidative stress in PD.
This study proposed a robust estimation of thermal sensation for vehicle occupants using seat-belt-type sensors and thermal cameras. The estimation of thermal sensation of a vehicle faces challenges, ...including the difficulty in measuring the clothing insulation value of vehicle occupants and influence of airflow from a car air conditioner. To obtain clothing insulation, we applied a dual-heat-flux method using two heat flux sensors mounted on a seat belt. To overcome the influence of airflow, we proposed a new air flow robust model by utilizing the clothing insulation value and skin temperature of the belt-type sensor, and the clothing surface temperature obtained by a thermal camera. The clothing insulation value estimated by the belt-type sensor showed good agreement with a T-shirt (0.39 clo) and sweatshirt (0.83 clo), with errors of 0.01 or less. An experiment with 11 subjects was also conducted in an environment with variable airflow that simulated a passenger compartment. The estimated thermal sensation showed high accuracy with subjective values (R=0.74, RMSE=1.19), compared to the conventional method (R=0.63, RMSE=1.36), and a significant difference was obtained using Student's t-test (t=4.49, p<0.01). Thus, the proposed method is likely to be employed for vehicle occupants in the future.
Spectroscopy of an unbound nucleus
17
C was performed using the SAMURAI spectrometer at RIBF of RIKEN. Six resonances were observed for the
16
C+n system with relative energies of 0.52, 0.77, 1.36, ...1.91, 2.22 and 3.20 MeV. The excitation energies (
E
x
) of the observed resonances were deduced, by taking into account the states of the
16
C fragments identified by coincident
γ
rays, as
E
x
=(3.02), 1.51, (3.86), 2.65, (4.72) and 3.94 MeV. The orbital angular momenta of the two observed states in
17
C at
E
x
=2.65 and 3.94 MeV were determined as 1 by comparing parallel momentum distributions with theoretical predictions.
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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, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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