The effects of external magnetic fields on monopoles, spectra of the overlap Dirac operator, instantons, and the mass of the eta-prime meson are examined by conducting lattice QCD simulations. The ...uniform external magnetic field is applied to gauge field configurations with
flavor quarks. The bare quark masses are tuned in order to obtain the physical values of the pion mass and of the
ratio. Standard configurations and configurations with an applied external magnetic field are generated in the color confinement and deconfinement phases. The intensity of the external magnetic field varies from
to
. To examine the influence of the external magnetic field on monopoles, we first calculate the monopole density, measure the lengths of the monopole loops, and compare them with the absolute value of the Polyakov loops. Next, using the generated configurations, we compute the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the overlap Dirac operator, which preserves exact chiral symmetry. To investigate how external magnetic fields affect the spectra of the overlap Dirac operator, we compute spectral densities, compare fluctuations of the eigenvalues of the overlap Dirac operator with the predictions of random matrix theory, and estimate the number of instantons and anti-instantons from the topological charges. In addition, we analyze smearing effects on these observables and chiral symmetry breaking. Finally, we calculate the decay constant of the pseudoscalar meson, the chiral condensate, and the square mass of the eta-prime meson using the eigenvalues and eigenvectors. We then extrapolate the numerical results in the chiral limit and demonstrate the effects of external magnetic fields on the extrapolation results. This article presents preliminary results.
An emerging concept is the tight relationship between dysbiosis (microbiota imbalance) and disease. The increase in knowledge about alterations in microbial communities that reside within the host ...has made a strong impact not only on dental science, but also on immunology and microbiology as well as on our understanding of several diseases. Periodontitis is a well-characterized human disease associated with dysbiosis, characterized by the accumulation of multiple bacteria that play individual and critical roles in bone loss around the teeth. Dysbiosis is largely dependent on cooperative and competitive interactions among oral microbes during the formation of the pathogenic biofilm community at gingival sites. Oral pathobionts play different and synergistic roles in periodontitis development, depending on their host-damaging and immunostimulatory activities. Host immune responses to oral pathobionts act as a double-edged sword not only by protecting the host against pathobionts, but also by promoting alveolar bone loss. Recent studies have begun to elucidate the roles of individual oral bacteria, including a new type of pathobionts that possess strong immunostimulatory activity, which is critical for alveolar bone loss. Better understanding of the roles of oral pathobionts is expected to lead to a better understanding of periodontitis disease and to the development of novel preventive and therapeutic approaches for the disease.
Post-translational modifications diversify proteome activity to mediate complex hierarchical regulatory processes that are crucial to eukaryotic cell function. Protein modification by Ub (ubiquitin) ...and Ubls (ubiquitin-like proteins) in plants, as in yeast and metazoans, is necessary for numerous cellular and developmental processes and for the genetic reprogramming that occurs in response to hormonal stimuli, host–pathogen interaction-related stimuli and environmental stimuli. Ub and Ubl modifications, such as sumoylation, facilitate molecular interaction with specific substrates. Recent evidence has permitted inference of the mechanisms by which Ubl modifications regulate physiological processes such as cell-cycle progression, abscisic acid signaling, development, and biotic and abiotic stress responses. This review presents our current understanding of sumoylation and other Ubl conjugation processes in plant biology.
Transpiration and gas exchange occur through stomata. Thus, the control of stomatal aperture is important for the efficiency and regulation of water use, and for the response to drought. Here, we ...demonstrate that SIZ1‐mediated endogenous salicylic acid (SA) accumulation plays an important role in stomatal closure and drought tolerance. siz1 reduced stomatal apertures. The reduced stomatal apertures of siz1 were inhibited by the application of peroxidase inhibitors, salicylhydroxamic acid and azide, which inhibits SA‐dependent reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, but not by an NADPH oxidase inhibitor, diphenyl iodonium chloride, which inhibits ABA‐dependent ROS production. Furthermore, the introduction of nahG into siz1, which reduces SA accumulation, restored stomatal opening. Stomatal closure is generally induced by water deficit. The siz1 mutation caused drought tolerance, whereas nahG siz1 suppressed the tolerant phenotype. Drought stresses also induced expression of SA‐responsive genes, such as PR1 and PR2. Furthermore, other SA‐accumulating mutants, cpr5 and acd6, exhibited stomatal closure and drought tolerance, and nahG suppressed the phenotype of cpr5 and acd6, as did siz1 and nahG siz1. Together, these results suggest that SIZ1 negatively affects stomatal closure and drought tolerance through the accumulation of SA.
This review discusses charge transfer (CT) interactions in wholly aromatic polyimides (PI). Discussion was extended to the influence of CT interactions on PI properties, i.e. photophysics, ...photochemistry, optical properties, and other properties.
Section 2 deals with the electronic states and photophysics in PIs. Most of the experimental and theoretical data evidenced the presence of both intra- and interchain CT interactions in wholly aromatic PIs. A model compound approach made it possible to understand the detailed intramolecular photophysics including the intramolecular CT process. However, it is still a long way from obtaining quantitative information such as the concentration (population) and thermodynamic parameters of intermolecular CT complex (CTC) present in the PI solids. Wholly aromatic PIs show a broad/structureless fluorescence in a long-wavelength range, originating from intermolecular CTC. A few papers revealed that the CT fluorescence intensity increased corresponding to the degree of chain packing/staking. Thus, the CT fluorescence was applied to studies on local ordering and binary PI blend miscibility.
In Section 3, the influence of CTC on photoconductivity, mechanical and other properties is discussed. Low molecular weight donor-loaded PI exhibited prominent photoconductivity enhancement. Transient absorption measurements revealed that the CTC formed between the added donor and the acceptor moiety in the PI chains is responsible for the photoinduced charge generation process. The donor-free PI film also showed a similar transient absorption spectrum to the donor-loaded PI film, suggesting that even wholly aromatic PI itself can form CTC. The CTC sites in PIs may act as physical crosslinks. But it is not yet clear how the thermal and mechanical properties (glass transition temperature, thermoplasticity or melt viscosity, modulus, etc.) of PI films are affected by CTC formation. A paper reported that CT-inhibited PIs, such as semi-aromatic PIs, tend to show a much higher voltage holding ratio, which is desirable for liquid crystal displays, than the corresponding wholly aromatic PIs.
Section 4 reviews photosensitive PIs and their precursor systems. In this section, photochemistry in an intrinsically photosensitive polyimide containing a benzophenone unit and photodegradation in fluorine-containing PIs are also described. For benzophenone-containing PIs, the model compound approach was carried out to depict a detailed energy diagram including some photochemical kinetic parameters. The use of a series of model compounds elucidated a prominent conformation effect on the photoinduced hydrogen abstraction efficiency.
The control of transparency and refractive indices and birefringence of PI films and molecular-design were focused in Section 5. This section also describes why the control of such optical properties has been demanding for practical applications. Finally, non-linear optical (NLO) properties of several PIs and their related systems, modified by attaching NLO chromophores, were reviewed.
We reported a 69-year-old female who discontinued denosumab due to dental treatment and subsequently suffered rebound-associated vertebral fractures 10 months after the last injection. This case ...raised an alarm regarding the discontinuation of denosumab for dental treatment. Denosumab, a human monoclonal antibody administered by subcutaneous injection, to the best of our knowledge, is the only fully investigated inhibitor of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand. Discontinuation of denosumab leads to bone turnover rebound and rapid bone mineral density loss. Several studies have reported rebound-associated vertebral fractures after discontinuation of denosumab. We report on a new case of rebound-associated vertebral fractures after discontinuation of denosumab. A 69-year-old female, who withdrew from denosumab treatment after 3 years due to maxillitis, presented to our hospital with severe low back pain without any history of trauma. Ten months had passed since the last injection. Magnetic resonance imaging showed five acute vertebral fractures, which appeared to be rebound-associated vertebral fractures caused by discontinuation of denosumab due to dental treatment. This case clearly demonstrates the risk of discontinuation of denosumab for dental treatment.
Among atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is attracting considerable attention because of its direct bandgap in the 2H-semiconducting phase. On the other hand, ...a 1T-metallic phase has been revealed, bringing complementary application. Recently, thanks to top-down fabrication using electron beam (EB) irradiation techniques, in-plane 1T-metal/2H-semiconductor lateral (Schottky) MoS2 junctions were demonstrated, opening a path toward the co-integration of active and passive two-dimensional devices. Here, we report the first transport measurements evidencing the formation of a MoS2 Schottky barrier (SB) junction with barrier height of 0.13–0.18 eV created at the interface between EB-irradiated (1T)/nonirradiated (2H) regions. Our experimental findings, supported by state-of-the-art simulation, reveal unique device fingerprint of SB-based field-effect transistors made from atom-thin 1T layers.
SUMO (small ubiquitin-related modifier) conjugation (i.e., sumoylation) to protein substrates is a reversible posttranslational modification that regulates signaling by modulating transcription ...factor activity. This paper presents evidence that the SUMO E3 ligase SIZ1 negatively regulates abscisic acid (ABA) signaling, which is dependent on the bZIP transcription factor ABI5. Loss-of-function T-DNA insertion siz1-2 and siz1-3 mutations caused ABA hypersensitivity for seed germination arrest and seedling primary root growth inhibition. Furthermore, expression of genes that are ABA-responsive through ABI5-dependent signaling (e.g., RD29A, Rd29B, AtEm6, RAB18, ADM) was hyperinduced by the hormone in siz1 seedlings. abi5-4 suppressed ABA hypersensitivity caused by siz1 (siz1-2 abiS-4), demonstrating an epistatic genetic interaction between SIZ1 and ABI5. A K391R substitution in ABI5 ABI5(K391R) blocked SIZ1-mediated sumoylation of the transcription factor in vitro and in Arabidopsis protoplasts, indicating that ABI5 is sumoylated through SIZ1 and that K391 is the principal site for SUMO conjugation. In abi5-4 plants, ABI5(K391R) expression caused greater ABA hypersensitivity (gene expression, seed germination arrest and primary root growth inhibition) compared with ABI5 expression. Together, these results establish that SIZ1-dependent sumoylation of ABI5 attenuates ABA signaling. The double mutant siz1-2 afp-1 exhibited even greater ABA sensitivity than the single mutant siz1, suggesting that SIZ1 represses ABI5 signaling function independent of AFP1.
Summary
Background
Antimelanoma differentiation‐associated protein (anti‐MDA)5 antibodies are associated with rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP‐ILD) in patients with clinically ...amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM) or dermatomyositis (DM).
Objectives
We aimed to evaluate the relevance of monitoring anti‐MDA5 antibody levels for the management of RP‐ILD in patients with CADM or DM.
Methods
Twelve patients with CADM (n = 10) or DM (n = 2) accompanied by RP‐ILD were included. Baseline characteristics and outcomes were recorded. Serial measurements of anti‐MDA5 antibody levels were measured. All patients were treated with corticosteroids, tacrolimus and intravenous cyclophosphamide.
Results
All patients achieved RP‐ILD remission after combined immunosuppressive therapy for a mean of 6·8 months, with significant decreases noted in the mean anti‐MDA5 antibody levels at remission. Six (50%) patients became anti‐MDA5 antibody negative after therapy. After a mean follow‐up of 31 months, RP‐ILD relapse was observed in four (33%) patients in both the anti‐MDA5 antibody sustained positive group and the negative conversion group. However, relapsed patients in the sustained positive group relapsed earlier than those in the negative conversion group. Thus, a decrease in anti‐MDA5 antibody levels during remission was associated with longer remission. Relapses were associated with a reincrease of anti‐MDA5 antibody levels in four of four (100%) patients. In contrast, none of the patients without reincrease in anti‐MDA5 antibody exhibited symptoms of relapse during follow‐up. Therefore, reincrease in anti‐MDA5 antibody levels was associated with relapse.
Conclusions
The anti‐MDA5 antibody level is a novel parameter for monitoring and a good predictor of RP‐ILD relapse in patients with CADM or DM.
What's already known about this topic?
Myositis‐specific autoantibodies are strongly associated with distinct clinical phenotypes; thus, they can be used to classify patients into groups with more homogeneous clinical features.
Antimelanoma differentiation‐associated protein (anti‐MDA)5 antibodies are specifically expressed in patients with clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM) or dermatomyositis (DM), and are associated with rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP‐ILD).
What does this study add?
Anti‐MDA5 antibody levels correlate with disease activity.
Relapse is associated with a reincrease in anti‐MDA5 antibody levels.
What is the translational message?
Anti‐MDA5 antibody levels are a novel parameter for monitoring and a good predictor of RP‐ILD relapse in patients with CADM/DM.
Linked Comment: Jordan and Ghoreschi. Br J Dermatol 2017; 176:294–295.
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•Salinity adversely affects crop yield and agricultural expansion.•Ion transport systems facilitate Na+ homeostasis and salt tolerance.•HKT1 is a model for translation of basic knowledge to crop salt ...tolerance.•Halophytes are sources for unique alleles and loci of ion homeostasis determinants.
Soil and water salinity substantially constrain crop and biomass production. Research over the last two plus decades, facilitated by advances in molecular genetics and biotechnology, and with genetic model systems, has identified genes involved in salt acclimation or adaptation and linked these to critical mechanisms and processes. A case in point is present understanding of critical transport determinants that facilitate intra- and intercellular Na+ homeostasis of plants in saline environments predominated by NaCl. Pumps in the plasma membrane (H+-ATPase), and the tonoplast (H+-ATPase) and H+ pyrophosphatases (AVP1) generate proton electrochemical gradients necessary to energize Na+ efflux to the apoplast and influx into vacuoles, respectively. The plasma membrane Na+/H+ antiporter SOS1 is responsible for apoplastic efflux, and NHX type Na+/H+ antiporters for vacuolar and endosomal compartmentalization. Ca2+ext reduces passive intracellular Na+ influx cells by decreasing Na+ transport through high affinity K+ uptake systems and what are presumed to be nonselective cation channels, and activating, through the SOS signal pathway, the SOS1 plasma membrane Na+/H+ antiporter. Moreover, there is greater understanding about how cellular transport systems functionally integrate to facilitate tissue and organismal Na+ homeostasis. Notable in this process are HKT1 Na+ transporters, which regulate Na+ loading into the root xylem, limiting flux to and accumulation in the shoot. This review will summarize ion transport systems that facilitate plant Na+ homeostasis. Halophyte and glycophyte salinity responses and transport determinant function are compared and contrasted. The potential of halophytes as genetic resources for unique alleles or loci of transport protein genes and transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of transport protein function are discussed in the context of crop salt tolerance.
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