A potent retrovirus packaging cell line named Platinum-E (Plat-E) was generated based on the 293T cell line. Plat-E is superior to existing packaging cell lines regarding efficiency, stability and ...safety. The novel packaging constructs utilized in establishment of Plat-E ensure high and stable expression of viral structural proteins. Conventional packaging constructs made use of the promoter of MuLV-LTR for expression of viral structural genes gag-pol and env, while our packaging constructs utilized the EF1alpha promoter, which is 100-fold more potent than the MuLV-LTR in 293T cells in combination with the Kozak's consensus sequence upstream of the initiation codon resulting in high expression of virus structural proteins in Plat-E cells. To maintain the high titers of retroviruses under drug selection pressure, we inserted the IRES (internal ribosome entry site) sequence between the gene encoding gag-pol or env, and the gene encoding a selectable marker in the packaging constructs. Plat-E cells can stably produce retroviruses with an average titer of 1 x 107/ml for at least 4 months. In addition, as we used only the coding sequences of viral structural genes to avoid inclusion of unnecessary retrovirus sequences in the packaging constructs, the probability of generating the replication competent retroviruses (RCR) by recombination can virtually be ruled out.
Abstract The purpose of this study was to clarify the impact of orthognathic surgery on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) in patients with jaw deformities. The subjects were 65 patients ...(21 males and 44 females) who underwent orthognathic surgery. The mean age of the patients was 23.6 years. Forty-seven patients had skeletal class III malocclusions, eight patients had skeletal class II, and 10 patients had skeletal class I with facial asymmetry and/or open bite. OHRQOL was assessed using the Japanese version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-J54) before and 6 months after surgery. While OHIP-J54 scores in the patients before surgery were significantly higher than those in the control subjects, OHIP-J54 scores after surgery were significantly lower than those before surgery. OHIP-J54 scores in older patients were significantly higher than those in younger patients. In conclusion, most patients with jaw deformities have lower OHRQOL than individuals with normal occlusion, and orthognathic surgery has a positive impact on OHRQOL. The determination of OHRQOL in patients with jaw deformities seems to be very useful for understanding the patients’ problems and for assessing the extent of changes in terms of patient well-being.
Summary
Background
Interleukin (IL)‐33 is a novel member of the IL‐1 cytokine family and a ligand for the orphan IL‐1 family receptor ST2. The IL‐33 induces T helper 2‐type inflammatory responses and ...is considered to play a crucial rule in allergic inflammations, such as asthma and atopic dermatitis. However, the role of IL‐33 and its receptor ST2 in allergic rhinitis remains unknown.
Objective
We investigated expression of IL‐33 and ST2 in the nasal epithelium of patients with allergic rhinitis and the mechanisms of the production of cytokines/chemokines induced by treatment with IL‐33 using normal human nasal epithelial cells (HNECs) in vitro.
Methods
Expression of IL‐33 and ST2 in normal and allergic rhinitis nasal mucosa was evaluated by reverse transcription‐ and real‐time polymerase chain reactions and immunohistochemical methods. The IL‐33 in serum, and IL‐8 and GM‐CSF were measured by ELISA. For in vitro experiments, HNECs in primary culture were used.
Results
The IL‐33 levels in the sera of patients with allergic rhinitis were significantly higher than that in normal controls. Expression of IL‐33 and ST2 was significantly elevated in the epithelium from patients with allergic rhinitis. The IL‐33 mRNA in HNECs in vitro was significantly induced by treatment with IFN‐γ and the toll‐like receptor 9 ligand ODN2006. The IL‐33‐induced production of IL‐8 and GM‐CSF from HNECs in vitro was significantly suppressed by corticosteroid treatment and distinct signal transduction inhibitors of ERK, p38 MAPK, JNK, NF‐κB and epidermal growth factor receptor.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance
The IL‐33 and its receptor ST2 play important roles in allergic rhinitis. The IL‐33‐mediated inflammatory responses via ST2 are regulated by distinct signalling pathways in HNECs and the IL‐33/ST2 pathway may provide new therapeutic targets for allergic rhinitis.
We report on a 275–500 GHz heterodyne receiver system in combination with a wideband intermediate-frequency (IF) backend to realize 17 GHz instantaneous bandwidth. The receiver frontend implements a ...heterodyne mixer module that integrates a superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer chip and a cryogenic low-noise preamplifier. The SIS mixer is developed based on high-current-density junction technologies to achieve a wideband radio frequency (RF) and IF bandwidth. The IF backend comprises an IF chain divided into two channels for 4.0–11.5 GHz and 11.3–21.0 GHz and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) module that is capable of high-speed sampling at 32 Giga samples per second with 12.5 GHz bandwidth per channel and an effective number of bits of 6.5. The IF backend allows us to simultaneously cover the full 4–21 GHz IF range of the receiver frontend. The measured noise temperature of the receiver frontend was below three times the quantum noise (
hf
/
k
B
) over the entire RF band. A dual-polarization sideband-separating receiver based on this technique could provide up to 64 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth, which demonstrates the possibility of future wideband radio astronomical observations with advanced submillimeter-wave heterodyne receivers.
The atomic masses of ^{55}Sc, ^{56,58}Ti, and ^{56-59}V have been determined using the high-precision multireflection time-of-flight technique. The radioisotopes have been produced at RIKEN's ...Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory (RIBF) and delivered to the novel designed gas cell and multireflection system, which has been recently commissioned downstream of the ZeroDegree spectrometer following the BigRIPS separator. For ^{56,58}Ti and ^{56-59}V, the mass uncertainties have been reduced down to the order of 10 keV, shedding new light on the N=34 shell effect in Ti and V isotopes by the first high-precision mass measurements of the critical species ^{58}Ti and ^{59}V. With the new precision achieved, we reveal the nonexistence of the N=34 empirical two-neutron shell gaps for Ti and V, and the enhanced energy gap above the occupied νp_{3/2} orbit is identified as a feature unique to Ca. We perform new Monte Carlo shell model calculations including the νd_{5/2} and νg_{9/2} orbits and compare the results with conventional shell model calculations, which exclude the νg_{9/2} and the νd_{5/2} orbits. The comparison indicates that the shell gap reduction in Ti is related to a partial occupation of the higher orbitals for the outer two valence neutrons at N=34.
This paper discusses evaluation of influence of microscopic uncertainty on a homogenized macroscopic elastic property of an inhomogeneous material. In order to analyze the influence, the ...perturbation-based homogenization method is used. A higher order perturbation-based analysis method for investigating stochastic characteristics of a homogenized elastic tensor and an equivalent elastic property of a composite material is formulated.
As a numerical example, macroscopic stochastic characteristics such as an expected value or variance, which is caused by microscopic uncertainty in material properties, of a homogenized elastic tensor and homogenized equivalent elastic property of unidirectional fiber reinforced plastic are investigated. The macroscopic stochastic variation caused by microscopic uncertainty in component materials such as Young’s modulus or Poisson’s ratio variation is evaluated using the perturbation-based homogenization method. The numerical results are compared with the results of the Monte-Carlo simulation, validity, effectiveness and a limitation of the perturbation-based homogenization method is investigated. With comparing the results using the first-order perturbation-based method, effectiveness of a higher order perturbation is also investigated.
Abstract
Magnetic reconnection is a universal process in space, astrophysical, and laboratory plasmas. It alters magnetic field topology and results in energy release to the plasma. Here we report ...the experimental results of a pure electron outflow in magnetic reconnection, which is not accompanied with ion flows. By controlling an applied magnetic field in a laser produced plasma, we have constructed an experiment that magnetizes the electrons but not the ions. This allows us to isolate the electron dynamics from the ions. Collective Thomson scattering measurements reveal the electron Alfvénic outflow without ion outflow. The resultant plasmoid and whistler waves are observed with the magnetic induction probe measurements. We observe the unique features of electron-scale magnetic reconnection simultaneously in laser produced plasmas, including global structures, local plasma parameters, magnetic field, and waves.
The ligand receptor activator of NFκB (RANKL) plays an important role in osteoclast
formation. However, very little is known about the relationship between external
apical root resorption during ...orthodontic treatment and RANKL. We hypothesized that
compressive force is responsible for RANKL formation and up-regulation of
osteoclastogenesis in periodontal ligament (PDL) cells from patients with severe
orthodontically induced external apical root resorption. RANKL and osteoprotegerin
(OPG) production, TRAP-positive cells, and resorptive pits were determined. The
increase of RANKL and the decrease of OPG were greater in the severe root resorption
group than in the non-resorption group. The numbers of TRAP-positive cells and
resorptive pits were also increased in the severe root resorption group than in the
non-resorption group. These results support the hypothesis that the compressed PDL
cells obtained from tissues with severe external apical root resorption may produce a
large amount of RANKL and up-regulate osteoclastogenesis.
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