From the Department of Pediatrics, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan (KH, AM, IU, SH, ST, TS); Department of Pediatrics, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Ehime Japan ...(EI); Department of Pediatrics, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan (HI); Division of Pediatrics, Takasago-Seibu Hospital, Takasago, Japan (SI)
Correspondence: Kanako Hatta, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi, Hirokoji, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan, 602-8566 E-mail: mayi{at}iris.eonet.ne.jp
Background and Objectives: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is etiologically associated with various hematologic disorders, including primary acute infectious mononucleosis (IM), hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (EBV-HLH), chronic active EBV infection (CAEBV) and malignant lymphomas. Although cytokines play a central role in EBV-related immune responses, the exact mechanisms causing different clinical responses remain unclear. In this study, the pattern of cytokine gene polymorphisms was comparatively analyzed in EBV-related diseases.
Design and Methods: Eighty-nine patients with EBV-related disease were analyzed; 30 with IM, 28 with EBV-HLH and 31 with CAEBV. Eighty-one EBV-seropositive healthy adults were also used as controls. Associations with polymorphisms of various cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1 and IL-1ß were evaluated. The gene polymorphisms were typed by polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers.
Results: A significant difference of polymorphisms was found for transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß1; the frequency of TGF-ß1 codon 10 C allele was significantly higher in patients with EBV-related diseases than in controls ( p <0.001). The difference was significant in patients with IM or HLH ( p <0.001), but not in those with CAEBV ( p =0.127), compared with controls. As regards other cytokines, the frequency of the IL-1 –889 C allele was significantly lower in patients with IM than in controls ( p <0.05).
Interpretation and Conclusions: Our results suggests that TGF-ß1 codon 10 C allele plays a role in the development of EBV-related diseases and that the IL-1 –889 C allele may be involved in response failure and sequential progression into the development of HLH.
Key words: Epstein-Barr virus, cytokine gene polymorphism, IL-1, TGF-ß1.
A high-power, continuous-wave 0.6% Nd-doped ceramic Y3Al5O12 (Nd:YAG) laser has been developed. 110 W laser output at 1064 nm was obtained, with a slope efficiency of about 41%. The M factor was ...found to be around 6. The laser performance of the ceramic laser material was found to compare favorably with that obtained with single crystal Nd:YAG.
Nd:Y 2 O 3 ceramic materials have been synthesized using the vacuum sintering technique with the raw materials prepared by the nanocrystalline methods. The TEM measurements reveal the excellent ...optical quality of the ceramic with low pore volume and narrow grain boundary. The radiative spectral properties of Nd:Y 2 O 3 ceramic have been evaluated by fitting the Judd-Ofelt model with the absorption and emission data. Individual Stark levels for 2s+1 L J manifolds are obtained from the absorption and fluorescence spectra and are analyzed to identify the stimulated emission channels possible in the Nd:Y 2 O 3 ceramic. Laser performance studies reveal two stimulated emission channels at 1074.6- and 1078.6-nm wavelengths with stimulated emission cross sections of 7.63times10 -20 and 6.35times10 -20 cm 2 . With 1.5 at % Nd:Y 2 O 3 ceramic acting as a laser medium, we obtained a slope efficiency of 32% with 160-mW output power and pump threshold of 200 mW at 1078.6 nm
The Simulation suite for ATLAS is in a mature phase, ready to cope with the challenge of the 2009 data. The simulation framework, which is integrated to the ATLAS framework (Athena) offers a set of ...pre-configured applications for the full simulation of ATLAS, combined test beam setups, cosmic ray setups and old standalone test-beams. Each detector component has been carefully described in detail and monitored for performance. The few pieces of the apparatus (forward and very forward detectors), inert material and services (toroid supports, support rails, detector feet) that are still missing are about to be integrated in the current simulation suite. Detailed descriptions of the ideal and real geometries for each ATLAS subcomponent allow optimization studies and validation. Small scale productions are monitored daily through a set of tests for different samples of physics events, and large scale productions on the Grid verify the robustness of the implementation as well as possible errors only visible on large statistics. The conditions used in the simulation process are now stored in the output file as metadata, and can be utilized to process the data properly. A fast shower simulation suite has also been developed in ATLAS and performance comparisons are part of the overall evaluation.
F$_0$F$_1$, found in mitochondria or bacterial membranes, synthesizes adenosine 5′triphosphate (ATP) coupling with an electrochemical proton gradient and also reversibly hydrolyzes ATP to form the ...gradient. An actin filament connected to a c subunit oligomer of F$_0$ was able to rotate by using the energy of ATP hydrolysis. The rotary torque produced by the c subunit oligomer reached about 40 piconewtonnanometers, which is similar to that generated by the γ subunit in the F$_1$ motor. These results suggest that the γ and c subunits rotate together during ATP hydrolysis and synthesis. Thus, coupled rotation may be essential for energy coupling between proton transport through FO and ATP hydrolysis or synthesis in F$_1$.
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