In order to reveal the origin of chiral discrimination, excess molar heat capacities (C
P
E
) of ((
R
)-(+)-limonene+(
S
)-(−)-limonene) were determined by using a differential scanning calorimeter ...at temperatures between
T
=293.15 and 303.15 K. All C
P
E
curves show S-shape. It was inferred that randomness appears in the (S)-(-)-limonene-rich region, and that non-randomness appears in the (
R
)-(+)-limonene-rich region. To clarify the differences in homochiral interactions and heterochiral interactions, molecular orbital calculations were carried out.
A single, 2 g/kg dose of immune globulin (IG), denoted 2 g-intravenous (IV)IG, has become a standard regimen for treating Kawasaki disease (KD) because of its highly preventive effect on coronary ...arterial lesions (CAL). However, IG is obtained from blood specimens, a drawback to many patients, and is also very expensive. This randomized prospective study reported here was carried out with the aim of developing a treatment regimen that would reduce the total dose of IG. The study tested two protocols (A: 2 g-IVIG; B: 1 g-IVIG) that included the strategy of administering additional IVIG to IVIG-resistant patients based on the criteria we described previously. In protocol A, an additional 2 g-IVIG was administered only once; in protocol B, the first additional IVIG was 1 g-IVIG and the second was 2 g-IVIG. One hundred and nine patients who were admitted before the seventh day of illness and had no CAL at the time of admission were enrolled in the study (protocol A: 54 patients; B: 55 patients). In the protocol A group, 7.4% (4/54) of the patients received 4 g/kg IG. In protocol B, 41.8% (23/55) were treated only with 1 g/kg IG, and 10.9% (6/55) received 4 g/kg IG. No significant differences were observed between the patients of the two subgroups receiving 4 g/kg IG in each protocol group. Discriminate analysis also suggested that 52.4% of the patients in the protocol A group could be treated only with 1 g/kg IG. On the other hand, no significant difference was observed in the incidence of aneurysms between patients in the protocol A group (1/54) and those in the protocol B group (4/55). Our protocol based on 1 g-IVIG, including additional IVIG, was assessed to be an effective treatment and to provide a considerably useful means to reduce the total dose of IG.
We have been developing a novel NMR spectrometer with two special features since 2003; the first is its superconducting split-magnet, and the second is its cryogenic solenoidal probe coil. Thus far, ...we have successfully developed the magnet with magnetic fields up to 14 T that has excellent field stability and homogeneity. The superconducting split-pair magnet has been operating for over two years without any quenching . This paper describes details on field stability and homogeneity under persistent-mode operation.
Abstract Molecular mechanism of mechanical stress-induced bone formation remains unclear. We demonstrate that mechanical unloading suppresses and reloading enhances Interleukin (IL)-11 gene ...expression in the hindlimb of mice in vivo . Mechanical stress to osteoblasts by fluid shear stress (FSS) in vitro rapidly and transiently enhances fosB gene transcription, stimulates binding of ΔFosB/JunD complex to activator protein (AP)-1 site of the IL-11 gene promoter, and enhances IL-11 gene transcription. Anti-IL-11 antibody blocks mechanical stress-induced enhancement of osteoblastogenesis and suppression of adipogenesis, suggesting the requirement of IL-11 for the stimulation of osteoblast differentiation by mechanical stress. Down-regulation of ΔFosB/JunD by small interfering RNA (siRNA) suppresses and overexpression of ΔFosB/JunD enhances IL-11 gene promoter activity. Consistent with our previous observations that up-regulation of ΔFosB depends upon activation of cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB) via Ca2+ -dependent activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) to phosphorylate CREB, mechanical stress-induced activation of IL-11 gene transcription is dependent upon Ca2+ -ERK pathway. Present results also demonstrated that FSS to osteoblasts enhances canonical Wnt signaling in vitro , and that mechanical unloading induces and reloading suppresses the expression of a canonical Wnt signal inhibitor, dickkopf2 (Dkk2), in vivo . In addition, IL-11 siRNA enhances Dkk2 expression suppressed by FSS, and osteoblasts from IL-11 transgenic mice show reduced Dkk2 mRNA expression than those from wild-type mice. These observations are consistent with the notion that mechanical stress stimulates IL-11 gene transcription via an enhanced ΔFosB/JunD binding to the IL-11 gene promoter, and that increased IL-11 enhances canonical Wnt signal at least in part via a reduction in Dkk2 expression to stimulate osteoblast differentiation.
The ascidian egg is a well-known mosaic egg. In order to investigate the molecular nature of the maternal genetic information stored in the egg, we have prepared cDNAs from the mRNAs in the ...fertilized eggs of the ascidian, Halocynthia roretzi. The cDNAs of the ascidian embryo were sequenced, and the localization of individual mRNA was examined in staged embryos by whole-mount in situ hybridization. The data obtained were stored in the database MAGEST (http://www.genome.ad.jp/magest) and further analyzed. A total of 4240 cDNA clones were found to represent 2221 gene transcripts, including at least 934 different protein-coding sequences. The mRNA population of the egg consisted of a low prevalence, high complexity sequence set. The majority of the clones were of the rare sequence class, and of these, 42% of the clones showed significant matches with known peptides, mainly consisting of proteins with housekeeping functions such as metabolism and cell division. In addition, we found cDNAs encoding components involved in different signal transduction pathways and cDNAs encoding nucleotide-binding proteins. Large-scale analyses of the distribution of the RNA corresponding to each cDNA in the eight-cell, 110-cell and early tailbud embryos were simultaneously carried out. These analyses revealed that a small fraction of the maternal RNAs were localized in the eight-cell embryo, and that 7.9% of the clones were exclusively maternal, while 40.6% of the maternal clones showed expression in the later stages. This study provides global insights about the genes expressed during early development.
We have developed a new configuration for a high-sensitivity NMR spectrometer, using a superconducting split magnet and a room temperature cross-bore. To achieve higher sensitivity, we selected a ...solenoid-shaped probe coil; the split-magnet system was adopted to get around the complex probe in the structure. The superconducting split magnet is divided into two multilayer coils, and the vertical bore is located between them. A sample tube is inserted into the vertical bore and a probe system is inserted into the horizontal bore. We have already fabricated these magnet systems in the 300MHz and 600MHz resonance frequency-classes. The systems are composed of a superconducting split magnet for the main field, with superconducting shim coils located inside and outside the split magnet. The 600MHz system has run for more than 13 months with less than 1Hz/h field drift. Recent results showed that the signal to noise ratio of a correlation sample (0.1% ethyl benzene) was 4523 for the 600MHz system with a cryogenic probe system.
We have developed a high-resolution NMR spectrometer with a superconducting split magnet and a cross-shaped bore. Because of the spatial limitations of the magnet's structural design, the split ...magnet requires many pairs of coils to generate a high magnetic field. For this reason, it is difficult to compare the high stability and homogeneity of its magnetic field to conventional NMR magnets. Therefore, we have developed advanced superconducting magnet technologies and successfully fabricated two types of self-shielded superconducting split-magnet systems: a 7 T (300 MHz) and a 14 T (600 MHz) magnet system. The 300 MHz system consists of 12 NbTi coils with 15 joints and a stored energy of 0.7 MJ; it achieved a field drift of about 0.1 Hz/h in persistent current mode operation. The 600 MHz magnet system consists of 12 Nb 3 Sn coils and 8 NbTi coils with 53 joints and a stored energy of 10 MJ. Its field drift was less than 1 Hz/h.
A highly sensitive NMR spectrometer with a superconducting split magnet and a solenoid-type probe coil is being developed. One of the most challenging tasks is to achieve high homogeneity of magnetic ...field in a measuring volume with this configuration, because inevitable structural asymmetry and limited production accuracy of the magnet cause larger inhomogeneity of magnetic field compared with a conventional solenoid-type NMR spectrometer. Numerical estimation revealed that field correction capability of conventional shim coils, i.e., superconducting solenoid and saddle coils placed outside main coils, is insufficient for the split NMR magnet. Therefore, we have designed and constructed superconducting shim coils with sufficiently high capability by adopting the following three novel ideas: (1) superconducting shim coils are placed not only outside main coils but also inside them in the vicinity of a measuring volume; (2) superconducting shim coils with ldquoperiodically wavyrdquo shape are utilized to correct non-axial inhomogeneous magnetic field; (3) the current of each superconducting shim coil is independently controlled to correct plural modes of magnetic field simultaneously.
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