Osteoclast-mediated bone resorption is stimulated during short-term administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor but is not responsible for hematopoietic progenitor cell mobilization

The cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) mobilization from bone marrow (BM) into peripheral blood after administration of cytokines such as granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) are still unknown. In this study we show that high concentrations of soluble calcium induce the detachment of BM CD34(+) HPC adherent on fibronectin, a major component of BM extracellular matrix. Because G-CSF has been shown to induce osteoporosis in patients with congenital neutropenia and in G-CSF-overexpressing transgenic mice, we hypothesized that short-term G-CSF administration may be sufficient to induce bone resorption, resulting in the release of soluble calcium in the endosteum leading in turn to the inhibition of attachment to fibronectin and the egress of HPC from the BM. We show herein that in humans, serum osteocalcin concentration, a specific marker of bone formation, is strongly reduced after 3 days of G-CSF administration. Furthermore, in patients mobilized with G-CSF either alone or in association with stem cell factor or interleukin-3, the reduction of serum osteocalcin is significantly correlated with the number of HPC mobilized in peripheral blood. Urine levels of deoxypyridinoline (DPyr), a specific marker of bone resorption, gradually elevated during the time course of G-CSF administration until day 7 after cessation of G-CSF, showing a simultaneous stimulation of bone degradation during G-CSF-induced HPC mobilization. In an in vivo murine model, we found that the number of osteoclasts was dramatically increased paralleling the elevation of DPyr after G-CSF administration. When pamidronate, an inhibitor of osteoclast-mediated bone resorption, was administered together with G-CSF in mice, the G-CSF-induced increase of DPyr levels was completely abolished whereas the numbers of colony-forming cells mobilized in peripheral blood were not decreased, but unexpectedly increased relative to the numbers elicited by G-CSF alone. Collectively, our data therefore show that short-term administration of G-CSF induces bone degradation by a simultaneous inhibition of bone formation and an enhanced osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. This increased bone resorption is inhibited by pamidronate without reducing G-CSF-induced HPC mobilization, suggesting that the activation of bone resorption after G-CSF administration is not the direct cause of HPC mobilization as initially hypothesized, but a parallel event.     

Development of a sequential data correction method for isotope ratio analysis by resonance ionization mass spectrometry

A sequential data correction method using several experimental parameters of pulsed resonance ionization mass spectrometry was developed to reduce mass discrimination effects for isotope ratio analysis as well as fluctuations in the ion count rate. This correction method was applied to isotope ratio determination of stable titanium isotopes using a two-step, single color ionization scheme. A significant improvement of the precision of the measured isotopic ratio of stable titanium isotopes was demonstrated after correction with a parameter set consisting of laser power, atmospheric pressure, and laser frequency.     

Preparation of black-colored thin films from silica sol containing dissolved metal nitrates by the sol-gel method

Black-colored SiO₂-based films, containing colorant inorganic spinel crystals such as Cu₂MnO₄, CuMn₂O₄, CuMnCrO₄, CuMnFeO₄ or CuMnCoO₄, were prepared from a silica sol containing dissolved metal nitrates using the dipping-withdrawing technique. The inorganic colorants were formed in the SiO₂ matrix of the films by heat-treatment at temperatures from 600 to 660°C. The black-colored coating films were uniform and transparent with a low haze value (less than 1.0%) and with a thickness of 100–800 nm in the SiO₂-(Cu-Mn-Cr-O) system, for which the colorant was the spinel crystal of CuMnCrO₄. The visible light transmittance of the colored films was controlled in a relatively wide range of 15–65% by changing the film thickness or the colorant concentration in the coating solution. Optimization of the composition of the coating solution and the preparation conditions gave black-colored films with excellent durability and visible light transmittance of about 25%, which is similar to that of deeply black-colored glasses commonly produced by the melting method. For example, a black-colored film with a visible light transmittance of 24.6% and a film thickness of 160 nm was obtained from a coating solution with a nominal composition of 36SiO₂·64CuMnCrO₄. The durabilities of the glasses with black-colored coatings against scratching, abrasion and chemicals are good enough for the practical applications.     

Genetic Profiling of Malignant Melanoma Arising from an Ovarian Mature Cystic Teratoma: A Case Report

Ovarian mature cystic teratomas comprise tissues derived from all three germ layers. In rare cases, malignant tumors arise from ovarian mature cystic teratoma. A variety of tumors can arise from mature cystic teratoma, among which primary malignant melanoma (MM), for which no molecular analyses such as genomic sequencing have been reported to date, is exceedingly rare, thereby limiting possible therapeutic options using precision medicine. We used targeted gene sequencing to analyze the status of 160 cancer-related genes in a patient with MM arising from an ovarian mature cystic teratoma (MM-MCT). KRAS amplification and homozygous deletion in PTEN and RB1 were detected in tumor samples collected from the patient. No KRAS amplification has been previously reported in cutaneous MM, indicating that the carcinogenesis of MM-MCT differs from that of primary cutaneous melanomas. A better understanding of the underlying genetic mechanisms will help clarify the carcinogenesis of MM-MCT. In turn, this will enable treatment with novel targeting agents as well as the initial exploration of gene-based precision oncological therapies, which aim to improve treatment outcomes for patients with this disease.     

Non-slip-type restoring force characteristics of an exposed-type column base

This paper describes an experimental study on exposed-type column bases with new restoring force characteristics. Generally, an exposed-type column base consists of elastic/plastic anchor bolts and an elastic thick base plate. The restoring force characteristics of these column bases are observed to be slip-type due to the gap between the nut of the anchor bolt and the base plate, caused by the plastic elongation of the anchor bolt. These restoring force characteristics can be governed by elastic/plastic anchor bolts, an elastic/plastic base plate and/or a gap between the nut and the base plate. In particular, the gap between the nut and the base plate can be eliminated by means of a new device consisting of a wedge compressed by a spring and a counter-wedge. To show the fundamental characteristics of the new column base, two kinds of specimens were tested. The conclusions obtained are as follows. (1) The cyclic characteristics of conventional column bases with elastic/plastic anchor bolts and an elastic base plate became slip-type. (2) The cyclic characteristics of column bases with the gap between nut and base plate eliminated by use of the device became non-slip-type, that is, linear from the origin at each loading step.     

Enhancement of the Photocatalytic Activity Under Visible-Light Irradiation over N-doped TiO2 Modified by Platinum Chloride

N-doped TiO₂ adsorbed platinum chloride (PtCl _x /N-TiO₂, x being an unidentified number) was found to show much higher photocatalytic activity than either N-TiO₂ or PtCl _x /TiO₂ for the decomposition of acetic acid into CO₂ and H₂O under Visible-light irradiation, while neither PtCl _x /SiO₂, PtCl _x /Al₂O₃ nor an aqueous solution of H₂PtCl₆ was active. An enhancement of the photo-activity on PtCl _x /N-TiO₂ has been proposed as a Z-scheme mechanism.     

An Adaptive and Stable Method for Fitting Implicit Polynomial Curves and Surfaces

Representing 2D and 3D data sets with implicit polynomials (IPs) has been attractive because of its applicability to various computer vision issues. Therefore, many IP fitting methods have already been proposed. However, the existing fitting methods can be and need to be improved with respect to computational cost for deciding on the appropriate degree of the IP representation and to fitting accuracy, while still maintaining the stability of the fit. We propose a stable method for accurate fitting that automatically determines the moderate degree required. Our method increases the degree of IP until a satisfactory fitting result is obtained. The incrementability of QR decomposition with Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization gives our method computational efficiency. Furthermore, since the decomposition detects the instability element precisely, our method can selectively apply ridge regression-based constraints to that element only. As a result, our method achieves computational stability while maintaining fitting accuracy. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our method compared with prior methods.     

Stable deposition of silicon oxynitride thin films with intermediate refractive indices by reactive sputtering

The deposition stability of silicon oxynitride thin films with intermediate refractive indices was investigated as a function of argon concentration in the process gas mixture. The silicon oxynitride thin films were deposited by pulsed dc reactive magnetron sputtering in a mixture of argon, nitrogen and oxygen. The refractive indices of the silicon oxynitride thin films gradually decreased with oxygen percentage in the reactive gas mixture when high argon concentrations were used. It is proposed that many silicon atoms were sputtered from the target and reached the substrates in high argon concentrations; consequently, drastic oxidation of the thin films did not occur.