Magnetic Behavior of Some Rare-Earth Transition-Metal Perovskite Oxide Systems

Magnetic properties were investigated for the rare-earth 3d-transition metal oxides with the perovskite structure. Intriguing magnetic phenomena were reviewed for a few systems:magnetization peak effect in the titanates, magnetization reversal in the chromites and metallic ferromagnetism in the cobahites. The results suggest an important role of the rare-earth ions for the magnetic properties of such complex oxides.     

A Technique to Eliminate Redundant Inter-Processor Communication on Parallelizing Compiler TINPAR

Optimizing inter-processor (PE) communication is crucial for parallelizing compilers for message-passing parallel machines to achieve high performance. In this paper, we propose a technique to eliminate redundant inter-PE messages. This technique utilizes data-flow analysis to find a definition point that corresponds to a use point where the definition and the use occur in different PEs. If several read accesses occurred in the same PE use the data defined at the same definition point in another PE, redundant inter-PE messages are eliminated as follows: only one inter-PE communication is performed for the earliest read access and the previously received data are used for the following read. In order to guarantee the consistency of the data, a valid flag and a sent flag are provided for each chunk of received data. The control of these flags is equivalent to the coherence control by the self invalidation on a compiler aided cache coherence scheme.     

Focal calcium monitoring with targeted nanosensors at the cytosolic side of endoplasmic reticulum

Ca²⁺ distribution is spatially and temporally non-uniform inside cells due to cellular compartmentalization. However, Ca²⁺ sensing with small organic dyes, such as fura-2 and fluo-4, has been practically applied at a single cell level where the averaged signal from freely diffusing dye molecules is acquired. In this study, we aimed to target azide-functionalized fura-2 (N₃-fura-2) to a specific site of subcellular compartments to realize focal Ca²⁺ sensing. Using scAVD (single-chain avidin)–biotin interaction and a copper-free click reaction system, we linked N₃-fura-2 to specifically-targeted scAVD protein fused with a red fluorescent protein mCherry, so that Ca²⁺ sensors conjugated with four N₃-fura-2 dyes with dibenzocyclooctyne (DBCO)-PEG4-biotin as a linker were generated at subcellular compartments in living cells. In cytoplasm, N₃-fura-2 showed a prolonged retention period after binding to scAVD. Furthermore, the reacted N₃-fura-2 was retained inside cells even after free dyes were washed out by methanol fixation. When scAVD was overexpressed on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes, N₃-fura-2 was accumulated on ER membranes. Upon histamine stimulation, which increases cytosolic Ca²⁺ concentration, ER-localized N₃-fura-2 successfully sensed the Ca²⁺ level changes at the cytosolic side of ER membrane. Our study demonstrated specific targeting of N₃-fura-2 to subcellular compartments and the ability of sensing focal Ca²⁺ level changes with the specifically targeted Ca²⁺ sensors.     

Psychological Stress Exacerbates Inflammation of the Ileum via the Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone-Mast Cell Axis in a Mouse Model of Eosinophilic Enteritis

The effects of psychological stress on eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders have not been elucidated. This study investigated the effects of psychological stress in a mouse model of eosinophilic enteritis (EoN). BALB/c mice were treated with ovalbumin (OVA) to create an EoN model and subjected to either water avoidance stress (WAS) or sham stress (SS). Microscopic inflammation, eosinophil and mast cell counts, mRNA expression, and protein levels of type 2 helper T cell (Th2) cytokines in the ileum were compared between groups. We evaluated ex vivo intestinal permeability using an Ussing chamber. A corticotropin-releasing hormone type 1 receptor (CRH-R1) antagonist was administered before WAS, and its effects were analyzed. WAS significantly increased diarrhea occurrence and, eosinophil and mast cell counts, and decreased the villus/crypt ratio compared to those in the SS group. The mRNA expression of CRH, interleukin IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, eotaxin-1, and mast cell tryptase β2 significantly increased, and the protein levels of IL-5, IL-13, and OVA-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) also significantly increased in the WAS group. Moreover, WAS significantly increased the intestinal permeability. The CRH-R1 antagonist significantly inhibited all changes induced by WAS. Psychological stress exacerbated ileal inflammation via the CRH-mast cell axis in an EoN mouse model.     

Slc25a39 and Slc25a40 Expression in Mice with Bile Duct Ligation or Lipopolysaccharide Treatment

SLC25A39/40, involved in mitochondrial GSH (mGSH) import from the cytoplasm, is essential for protection against oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. We examined the effects of cholestasis, through bile duct ligation (BDL) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in mice, on Slc25a39/40 expression. Additionally, we used human clear cell renal carcinoma (KMRC-1) cells to elucidate the mechanism of regulation of SLC25A39/40 expression in the kidneys after LPS treatment. BDL resulted in a decrease in Slc25a39 mRNA in the liver and a decrease in Slc25a39/40 mRNA and protein in the kidneys. Consequently, there was a significant decrease in mGSH levels in the kidneys of BDL mice compared with those in sham mice. LPS treatment resulted in increased Slc25a40 expression in the kidneys. In KMRC-1 cells, the combination treatment of LPS-RS or FPS-ZM1 with LPS suppressed the LPS-induced increase in SLC25A40, suggesting that SLC25A40 expression could be regulated by the signaling pathway via toll-like receptor 4 and the receptor for advanced glycation end products, respectively. Our findings contribute to understanding the role of mGSH in the maintenance of the mitochondrial redox state. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that demonstrates the changes in Slc25a39/40 expression in mice with cholestasis-associated renal injury and LPS-induced inflammation.     

Super-vector coding features extracted from both depth buffer and view-normal-angle images for part-based 3D shape retrieval

We have witnessed 3D shape models abundant in many application fields including 3D CAD/CAM, augmented/mixed reality (AR/MR), and entertainment. Creating 3D shape models from scratch is still very expensive. Efficient and accurate methods for shape retrieval is essential for 3D shape models to be reused. To retrieve similar 3D shape models, one must provide an arbitrary 3D shape as a query. Most of the research on 3D shape retrieval has been conducted with a “whole” shape as a query (aka whole-to-whole shape retrieval), while a “part” shape (aka part-to-whole shape retrieval) is more practically requested as a query especially by mechanical engineering with 3D CAD/CAM applications. A “part” shape is naturally constructed by a 3D range scanner as an input device. In this paper, we focus on the efficient method for part-to-whole shape retrieval where the “part” shape is assumed to be given by a 3D range scanner. Specifically, we propose a Super-Vector coding feature with SURF local features extracted from the View-Normal-Angle image, or the image synthesized by taking account of the angle between the view vector and the surface normal vector, together with the depth-buffered image, for part-to-whole shape retrieval. In addition, we propose a weighted whole-to-whole re-ranking method taking advantage of global information based on the result of part-to-whole shape retrieval. Through experiments we demonstrate that our proposed method outperforms the previous methods with or without re-ranking.     

Photoluminescence Analysis of Iron Contamination Effect in Multicrystalline Silicon Wafers for Solar Cells

We investigated the effect of Fe contamination on the electronic properties of dislocation clusters in relation to oxygen precipitation in multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si). Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and mapping were performed at room and liquid-He temperatures on mc-Si wafers before and after Fe contamination. PL spectra consisted of the band-edge emission, the 0.78-eV emission associated with oxygen precipitates, and the dislocation-related D-lines. The Fe contamination increased the electrically active dislocation clusters. Part of these clusters acted as preferential oxygen precipitation sites, and their electronic properties were not further influenced by the Fe contamination.     

Properties of Starch Films and their Improvement

The tensile strengths and elongations of starch films prepared from various unmodified and modified starches were measured. These properties were improved by addition of urea and polyvinyl alcohol to the starch paste. The results obtained were as follows.

• 1 The heating temperature greatly affected the tensile strength and elongation of various unmodified starches. Potato starch gave the best film.
• 2 Introduction of hydroxyethyl groups into corn starch had unexpectedly little affect on the properties of the films.
• 3 A combination of hydroxyethylation and acid-modification slightly improved the properties of the films.
• 4 No film could be obtained after combinations of hydroxyethylation and hypochlorite-oxidation, pyrodextrinization or α-amylase-dextrinization. However, addition of urea to these modified starches resulted in good films.
• 5 On addition of urea the elongation of starch films increased and the pastes adhered uniformly to water repellent surfaces.
• 6 A film with the best properties was prepared from a mixture of 67% acid-modified hydroxyethyl starch, 13% urea and 20% polyvinyl alcohol.

     

Tunable Terahertz Device Using Refractive Index Control

We measured the thermal dependencies of the refractive index and the absorption coefficient of high-resistivity silicon. We found that the refractive index varied slightly with temperature, and the absorption coefficient was very low and remained approximately constant as the temperature was changed. As a result, the conditions for terahertz propagation in silicon could be controlled by changing the refractive index without any absorption loss. As one application of this effect, we developed a terahertz time delay generator that can generate a terahertz time delay by changing the temperature of the medium through which the terahertz beam passes, without the need for any mechanical delay. We demonstrated generation of a terahertz time delay of approximately 6.6 ps.     

Development and Evaluation of a Robust Sandwich Immunoassay System Detecting Serum WFA-Reactive IgA1 for Diagnosis of IgA Nephropathy

Aberrant glycosylation of IgA1 is involved in the development of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). There are many reports of IgAN markers focusing on the glycoform of IgA1. None have been clinically applied as a routine test. In this study, we established an automated sandwich immunoassay system for detecting aberrant glycosylated IgA1, using Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA) and anti-IgA1 monoclonal antibody. The diagnostic performance as an IgAN marker was evaluated. The usefulness of WFA for immunoassays was investigated by lectin microarray. A reliable standard for quantitative immunoassay measurements was designed by modifying a purified IgA1 substrate. A validation study using multiple serum specimens was performed using the established WFA-antibody sandwich automated immunoassay. Lectin microarray results showed that WFA specifically recognized N-glycans of agglutinated IgA1 in IgAN patients. The constructed IgA1 standard exhibited a wide dynamic range and high reactivity. In the validation study, serum WFA-reactive IgA1 (WFA+-IgA1) differed significantly between healthy control subjects and IgAN patients. The findings indicate that WFA is a suitable lectin that specifically targets abnormal agglutinated IgA1 in serum. We also describe an automated immunoassay system for detecting WFA+-IgA1, focusing on N-glycans.