We study the intrinsic anisotropy of the superconducting state in KFe sub(2) As sub(2) by using small-angle neutron scattering to image the vortex lattice as the applied magnetic field is rotated ...towards the FeAs crystalline planes. The anisotropy is found to be strongly field dependent, indicating multiband superconductivity. Furthermore, the high-field anisotropy significantly exceeds that of the upper critical field, providing further support for Pauli limiting in KFe sub(2) As sub(2) for fields applied in the basal plane. The effect of Pauli paramagnetism on the unpaired quasiparticles in the vortex cores is directly evident from the ratio of scattered intensities due to the longitudinal and transverse vortex lattice field modulation.
Streptavidin derived from Streptomyces avidinii was displayed on the cell surface of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae by cell-surface engineering using two types of plasmid for the expression of a ...native subunit and an anchored subunit fused with the C-terminus of 318 amino acids of Flolp containing a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor attachment signal. The displayed streptavidin had the binding ability for biotinylated compounds. This was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy after the adsorption of yeast cells displaying streptavidin and biotinylated fluorescein isothiocyanate. On the other hand, streptavidin produced by cells harboring only the plasmid for the expression of the anchored subunit showed a very low binding activity for biotinylated compounds. Cells displaying streptavidin may constitute novel whole-cell affinity adsorbents widely used for immunoassay and biosensing. This coexpression method will ensure that proteins, such as homo- and hetero-oligomeric proteins, are displayed on the cell surface in an active form.
The differentiating cavernous body (CB) of postnatal rabbit penises was examined with a special reference to immunolocalizations for fibronectin (FN) and endothelin-1 (ET-1). At postnatal day 1, the ...CBs were embedded by an abundance of mesenchymal cells (MCs), and some of them were closely associated with endothelial cells of preexisting capillaries. Our electron micrographs indicated that such MCs are successively incorporated into the capillary endothelium as vasoformative cells. At this period, vascular sprouts of the helicine artery (HA), which were associated with the MCs, arose from the deep penile artery, and the transformation of such cells to endothelial and medial muscle ones was also indicated, and some MCs appeared to differentiate to epithelioid cells in the media. Immunoreactions for FN were preferentially localized in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER) and along the plasma membrane of such vasoformative MCs, and on the extracellular matrix components which connect these MCs with sprouts of both growing capillaries and HA. These findings suggest that FN, which is produced in the rER of the MCs, plays a crucial role in the mechanical linkage during the incorporation of vasoformative MCs into these penile vessels. Immunoreactions for ET-1 were preferentially localized on Weibel-Palade bodies in endothelial cells of the HA, implying the involvement of this peptide in the regulation of the local blood flow in this vessel.
We developed, for the first time to our knowledge, a 640-Gbit/s/port optical packet switch prototype consisting of multiple optical label processors, polarization-independent plomb lanthanum ...zirconate titanate waveguide optical switches, optical fiber-delay-line buffers, and a parallel pipeline buffer manager. We achieved the error-free switching and buffering operation with bit error rates of less than 10-9 for 640 (64 wavelengths times10) Gbit/s wide-colored optical packets by the prototype. This demonstration shows the potential of high performance per energy of an optical packet switch.
We demonstrated variable-length optical packet switching and buffering by an asynchronous FPGA-based buffer manager. The optical packets with different payload length and DQPSK format could be ...optical-label switched and buffered through fiber delay lines with integral multiple unit length.
A low distortion GaAs power MESFET has been developed by employing a semi-insulating setback layer under the gate. The setback region was obtained by diffusing chromium from the Cr/Pt/Au gate metal ...in self-aligned manner. The novel power FET with the setback layer was found to be insensitive to surface trapping effects. They showed only 5-6 percent frequency dispersion of drain current at 1 MHz compared to DC condition. Because of this small frequency dispersion, the typical measurement FET, which has a surface setback layer, with a gate width of 36 mm exhibited 1.5 dB larger output power at 1 dB gain compression point than that of the FET without the setback layer. Moreover, in the /spl pi//4 shift-QPSK modulation that has been most popular in digital mobile communication system, the FET exhibited 11 dB smaller adjacent channel leakage power than the conventional one at the output power of 31.5 dBm.
There is an increasing body of evidence that prostanoids modulate mast cell functions and contribute to the development of allergic inflammation. The present study aimed to identify an undetermined ...function of prostaglandin (PG) F sub(2) sub( alpha ) in mast cell activation and the signaling mechanism involved in it. Simultaneous quantification of prostanoids by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry revealed the constitutive release of PGF sub(2) sub( alpha ), thromboxane B sub(2), and 6-keto-PGF sub(1) sub( alpha ) from bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs). Upon activation of BMMCs by lipopolysaccharide, the cytokine production in BMMCs was enhanced when the culture was supplemented with PGF sub(2) sub( alpha ). However, F prostanoid receptor-a selective receptor for PGF sub(2) sub( alpha )-was not detected in BMMCs. Further investigations performed using prostanoid receptor antagonists revealed an alternative mechanism wherein the receptors for PGE species-E prostanoid receptors-mediated the PGF sub(2) sub( alpha ) signal in BMMCs. The present study provides an insight into a novel function of PGF sub(2) sub( alpha ), i.e., an autocrine accelerator for mast cell activation.
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