In association with the property of the 1/2+ state observed just above the 8Be(0+)+n threshold energy in 9Be, we investigate the photo-disintegration cross section of an s-state in a schematic ...two-body system using the complex scaling method.
Previous studies have indicated that gata5, a zinc-finger transcription factor gene, is required for the development of the zebrafish gut tube. Here, we show that gata5 mutants also display defects ...in the development of other endodermal organs such as the liver, pancreas, thyroid and thymus. gata5 is expressed in the endodermal progenitors from late blastula stages, suggesting that it functions early during endoderm development. We indeed find that during gastrulation stages, gata5 mutants form fewer endodermal cells than their wild-type siblings. In addition, the endodermal cells that form in gata5 mutants appear to express lower than wild-type levels of endodermal genes such as sox17 and axial/foxA2. Conversely, overexpression of gata5 leads to expanded endodermal gene expression. These data indicate that Gata5 is involved both in the generation of endodermal cells at late blastula stages and in the maintenance of endodermal sox17 expression during gastrulation. We have also analyzed the relationship of Gata5 to other factors involved in endoderm formation. Using complementary mutant and overexpression analyses, we show that Gata5 regulates endoderm formation in cooperation with the Mix-type transcription factor Bon, that Gata5 and Bon function downstream of Nodal signaling, and that cas function is usually required for the activity of Gata5 in endoderm formation. Finally, we show that fau/gata5, bon and cas exhibit dominant genetic interactions providing additional support that they function in the same pathway. Together, these data demonstrate that Gata5 plays multiple roles in endoderm development in zebrafish, and position Gata5 relative to other regulators of endoderm formation.
Damage of fuzzy tungsten surfaces due to a transient plasma load is characterized in terms of mass loss, surface morphology, and optical properties. A single D pulsed (∼0.1–0.2ms) plasma shot with ...surface absorbed energy density of ∼1.1MJm−2 leads to a mass loss of ∼80μg, which cannot be explained by physical sputtering. Thus, macroscopic erosion processes such as droplets and dust release as well as arcing are thought to be responsible for the mass loss. In fact, scanning electron microscopy observations reveal the melting of the tips of fuzz and arc tracks. The optical reflectivity of the damaged (melted) surface is measured to be higher than that of an undamaged fuzzy surface (below ∼0.01%). Spectroscopic ellipsometry shows that the refractive index, n, and extinction coefficient, k, increase from n≈1 and k≈0 for an undamaged fuzzy surface with an increase in the degree of damage of fuzz.
Background The mental health of nurses is an important issue. Aims To examine relationships between effort–reward imbalance (ERI) and depression and anxiety in nurses of a Japanese general hospital. ...Methods A self-report survey was conducted among 406 nurses. Work stress was measured using a Japanese version of the ERI scale. Depression and anxiety were assessed by an item of the QOL-26. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent contribution of the effort–reward ratios or overcommitment to the depressive state. Results Both higher effort–money ratio and higher overcommitment significantly correlated with the depressive state (OR: 2.75; 95% CI: 1.34–5.66 and OR: 1.27; 95% CI: 1.15–1.41, respectively). Conclusions These findings suggest that in addition to effort–money ratio, overcommitment at work is an especially important issue that may be able to be managed in health promotion services for nurses in general hospitals.
We study the resonance spectroscopy of the He isotopes and their mirror, proton- rich nuclei with an α + N + N + N + N cluster model. Many-body resonances are treated with the correct boundary ...condition as the Gamow states using the complex scaling method. We obtain the resonances up to the five-body decaying states in 8He and 8 C. The spectrum agrees with the recent experiment systematically for energies and decay widths and we predict several resonances. We also discuss the mirror symmetry breaking of He isotopes and their mirror nuclei for the configurations and the spatial distributions of the valence nucleons.
Sequential exposures of W surfaces to steady-state and pulsed (∼0.5 ms) plasmas have been performed in a linear divertor plasma simulator and a magnetized coaxial plasma gun to investigate effects of ...D blisters, nano-sized He bubbles, and He-induced W fuzz on surface cracking by pulsed plasma loads. Surface cracks appeared on samples containing D blisters or He bubbles following 10 shots at ∼0.5 MJ/m
2
per shot, while a mirror-polished sample with no pre-plasma exposure did not exhibit cracks after similar transient exposures. Note that the cracking is limited to the edge region for a sample with D blisters. This means that the energy density threshold for surface cracking is lowered by the existence of D blisters and, especially, He bubbles. On the other hand, it is found that fuzzy surfaces possess a good resistance to surface cracking, although arcing is prone to occur.
Cancer stem cells have been proposed to be responsible for tumorigenesis and recurrence in various neoplastic diseases, including multiple myeloma (MM). We have previously reported that MM cells ...specifically express HLA class I at high levels and that single-chain Fv diabody against this molecule markedly induces MM cell death. Here we investigated the effect of a new diabody (C3B3) on cancer stem cell-like side population (SP) cells. SP fraction of MM cells highly expressed ABCG2 and exhibited resistance to chemotherapeutic agents; however, C3B3 induced cytotoxicity in both SP cells and main population (MP) cells to a similar extent. Moreover, C3B3 suppressed colony formation and tumorigenesis of SP cells in vitro and in vivo. Crosslinking of HLA class I by C3B3 mediated disruption of lipid rafts and actin aggregation, which led to inhibition of gene expression of β-catenin and pluripotency-associated transcription factors such as Sox2, Oct3/4 and Nanog. Conversely, knockdown of Sox2 and Oct3/4 mRNA reduced the proportion of SP cells, suggesting that these factors are essential in maintenance of SP fraction in MM cells. Thus, our findings reveal that immunotherapeutic approach by engineered antibodies can overcome drug resistance, and provide a new basis for development of cancer stem cell-targeted therapy.
Summary
The present study focused on the sexual dimorphism of yellow baboon (Papio cynocephalus) to clarify its relationship with social behaviour. The degree of sexual dimorphism in the endocranial ...volume is the lowest among the investigated measurements. Among the facial measurements, the degree value of sexual dimorphism was the maximum (38.4%) for palate length and the minimum for palate breadth at the upper second molar (M2) (16.8%). Reduced major axis (RMA) regression analysis indicated that most positive allometry in relation to body mass was barely shown in the endocranial volume, palate length, palate breadth at M2 and mandibular ramal width. On the other hand, most negative allometry in relation to body mass was barely indicated in the bizygomatic breadth, skull length, humeral length and femoral length. The plate breadth at M2 in males was smaller than that in females in equivalent to body mass. The results of the present study suggest that more males have longer pointed muzzles than females, which is considered to create an impressive view of large canine teeth. This contributes to display among males and agonistic encounters rather than to necessity of increased facial size due to larger body size or dietary influences.
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