Inactivation of multiple tumor-suppressor genes involved in negative regulation of the cell cycle, MTS1/p16INK4A/CDKN2, MTS2/p15INK4B, p53, and Rb genes in primary lymphoid malignancies

It is now evident that the cell cycle machinery has a variety of elements negatively regulating cell cycle progression. However, among these negative regulators in cell cycle control, only 4 have been shown to be consistently involved in the development of human cancers as tumor suppressors: Rb (Retinoblastoma susceptibility protein), p53, and two recently identified cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, p16INK4A/MTS1 and p15INK4B/MTS2. Because there are functional interrelations among these negative regulators in the cell cycle machinery, it is particularly interesting to investigate the multiplicity of inactivations of these tumor suppressors in human cancers, including leukemias/lymphomas. To address this point, we examined inactivations of these four genes in primary lymphoid malignancies by Southern blot and polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism analyses. We also analyzed Rb protein expression by Western blot analysis. The p16INK4A and p15INK4B genes were homozygously deleted in 45 and 42 of 230 lymphoid tumor specimens, respectively. Inactivations of the Rb and p53 genes were 27 of 91 and 9 of 173 specimens, respectively. Forty-one (45.1%) of 91 samples examined for inactivations of all four tumor suppressors had one or more abnormalities of these four tumor-suppressor genes, indicating that dysregulation of cell cycle control is important for tumor development. Statistical analysis of interrelations among impairments of these four genes indicated that inactivations of the individual tumor-suppressor genes might occur almost independently. In some patients, disruptions of multiple tumor-suppressor genes occurred; 4 cases with p16INK4A, p15INK4B, and Rb inactivations; 2 cases with p16INK4A, p15INK4B, and p53 inactivations; and 1 case with Rb and p53 inactivations. It is suggested that disruptions of multiple tumor suppressors in a tumor cell confer an additional growth advantage on the tumor.     

Ejection of Clusters from Liquid Beam Surface by IR Laser Irradiation

A continuous liquid flow of an aqueous solution of phenol (Phe) in a vacuum (a liquid beam) was irradiated with an IR laser at 2.85 μm, which is resonant to the vibrational absorption band of the liquid water. The Phe (H₂O)_N, ejected from the liquid beam surface into the gas phase, was ionized by a UV laser at 270 nm into hydrated phenol cluster ions, Phe⁺ (H₂O)_n (n = 0 − 30), and analyzed by a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The velocity distributions of the product cluster ions were derived from the spatial distributions measured at different elapsed times after the IR laser irradiation. The results and the analysis show that dense neutral clusters are ejected from surface regions locally heated by the intense IR laser.     

Culture and egocentric perceptions of fairness in conflict and negotiation.

In this article, the authors advanced a cultural view of judgment biases in conflict and negotiation. The authors predicted that disputants' self-serving biases of fairness would be more prevalent in individualistic cultures, such as the United States, in which the self is served by focusing on one's positive attributes to "stand out" and be better than others, yet would be attenuated in collectivistic cultures, such as Japan, where the self is served by focusing on one's negative characteristics to "blend in" (S. J. Heine, D. R. Lehman, H. R. Markus, & S. Kitayama. 1999). Four studies that used different methodologies (free recall, scenarios, and a laboratory experiment) supported this notion. Implications for the science and practice of negotiation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The mechanism of metal removal by an abrasive tool

To study the basic mechanism of metal removal with abrasive tools, the cutting action of a simulated tool was arrested by a quick stop device. The material behavior ahead of the tool face during cutting was observed by examining the cross section along the cutting groove microscopically. Variation of the stagnant region during the metal removal process was observed. It was found that the initial position of the stagnant tip determined whether or not chips were produced and the chip size.     

Local structure of metal ions in arachidate Langmuir-Blodgett film

The fluorescence extended X-ray absorption fine structures near the Ba-L₃ edge of a Ba-arachidate (CH₃(CH₂)₁₈COO₂Ba) Langmuir-Blodgett film are investigated by using polarized X-rays from a synchrotron radiation source. From the analysis of the observed spectra for different incident angles, the absorption-site geometries are obtained. The distance from the Ba ion to the nearest neighbor oxygen atoms, lying almost in the Ba plane, is found to be 0.278 nm. Taking account of the reported structural data, a local structure model around the Ba ion is proposed.     

Interaction of dyes with chitosan derivatives

The states of water in N-acylated, both aliphatic and aromatic, chitosan gels were investigated by DSC technique. The amounts of two states of water, freezable and nonfreezable water, were found to depend on the chemical and physical structure of the gels. The interaction between these hydrophobic gels and the dyes which have been designed and prepared to carry the ionic, hydrophilic, and hydrophobic nature was determined in detail. The dyes having ? OH, ? N(C₄H₉)₂, and naphthalene nucleus show a remarkable increase of the equilibrium sorption to compare with that of methyl orange. The contribution of the electrostatic, hydrophobic, and hydrogen bonding interaction in the sorption was discussed. The predominant contribution of the hydrophobic interaction in the systems of butyl orange/N-octanoyl chitosan gels has been made clear by means of the temperature dependence of the sorption.     

Morphological studies on wettability and tackiness of pressure-sensitive adhesives

The surface structure of pressure-sensitive adhesives consisting of natural rubber and pentaerythritol ester of hydrogenated rosin has been studied using the single-stage replica method. The fibril structure with average diameter of about 50 Å was observed on the surface of an adhesive consisting of 40 to 60 wt-% resin at which maximum tack is obtained. The role of fibrils in adhesion is discussed.     

Interfacial mixed-crystal layer in CdS/CdTe heterostructure elucidated by electroreflectance spectroscopy

Electroreflectance (ER) spectroscopy has been carried out on the CdS/CdTe thin-film solar cells to reveal the CdS/CdTe interfacial properties, which is believed to play a crucial role in determining the photovoltaic performances. The ER feature at around 1.46 eV is to be ascribed as due to the mixed-crystal CdTe_0.95S_0.05 layer unintentionally formed at the CdS/CdTe interface during CdTe deposition on CdS. Comparing the ER spectrum with the quantum efficiency (QE) response of the solar cell, the indication is that the n-p junction locates itself in the mixed-crystal layer, because no pronounced response due to the CdTe layer is observed in the ER spectrum whereas it is observed in the QE spectrum.