Structome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae determined by freeze-substitution and serial ultrathin-sectioning electron microscopy

The cell structure has been studied using light and electron microscopies for centuries, and it is assumed that the whole structure is clarified by now. Little quantitative and three-dimensional analysis of cell structure, however, has been undertaken. We have coined a new word, 'structome', by combining 'structure' and '-ome', and defined it as the 'quantitative and three-dimensional structural information of a whole cell at the electron microscopic level'. In the present study, we performed structome analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, one of the most widely researched biological materials, by using freeze-substitution and serial ultrathin-sectioning electron microscopy. Our analysis revealed that there were one to three mitochondria, ~220 000 ribosomes in a cell, and 13-28 endoplasmic reticula/Golgi apparatus which do not form networks in the cytoplasm in the G1 phase. Nucleus occupied ~10.5% of the cell volume; cell wall occupied ~17%; vacuole occupied ~5.8%; cytoplasm occupied ~64%; and mitochondria occupied only ~1.7% in the G1 phase. Structome analysis of cells would form a base for the post-genome research.     

Effect of acoustic resonance phenomenon on fluid flow with light dust

In the present paper,the attention is focused on the characteristics of lightweight materials collection in the duct using acoustic resonance phenomena.The acoustic resonance was excited by using a controlled speaker at the middle of a test duct.We measured the sound pressure level,frequency response characteristics,acoustic damping ratio,mode shape,and lightweight materials response to acoustic resonance excited by a speaker.As a result,the acoustic damping ratio decreased as the mode number of acoustic re...     

Ultra Accelerated Quantum Chemical Molecular Dynamics Study on Ethylene Polymerization Reaction Using CpSiH2NHTiCl2—Constrained Geometry Catalyst

The ethylene polymerization process using constrained geometry catalyst CpSiH₂-NH-TiCl₂ (CGC) was investigated by ultra accelerated quantum chemical molecular dynamics (UA-QCMD). We observed that the co catalyst MAO reacted with Ti CGC and forms ion pair within 85 fs. With the coordination of ethylene monomer the MAO-CGC ion pair dissociated and once the initial ethylene insertion has taken place, the further ethylene insertion occurring with a less energy barrier, is in good agreement with experimental findings.     

Route selection by pigeons (Columba livia) in “traveling salesperson” navigation tasks presented on an LCD screen.

Navigation tasks using the “traveling salesperson problem (TSP)” were presented to pigeons (Columba livia) to determine their strategy on spatial tasks with 2 to 3 goals. In Experiment 1, a simple TSP task with 2 goals was presented. In Experiment 2, 3 goals were presented so that each of the goals and the starting location of the target held each corner of a square. In Experiment 3, 3 goals were aligned along a straight line. In Experiment 4, 3 goals were placed so that the 2 of them were in close proximity to each other to form a group. In all of these experiments, the pigeons showed tendencies to visit the nearest goal first, which may suggest that the pigeons mainly used local or inflexible strategies in determining the routes to take. However, further evidence was also found that in Experiment 2, the pigeons frequently selected routes with short traveling distances while traveling either counterclockwise or clockwise, not necessarily relying on the “nearest neighbor” algorithm. Results from these experiments are discussed in relation to the pigeons' foraging ecology and adaptation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High-dose rate and low-dose rate intracavitary therapy for carcinoma of the uterine cervix. Final results of Osaka University Hospital

BACKGROUND: High-dose rate (HDR) intracavitary radiation therapy for carcinoma of the uterine cervix has gradually found wider acceptance. In 1983, the authors first presented the results of prospective randomized comparative study of HDR versus low-dose rate (LDR) therapy. In the current study, the final results of this study with a longer follow-up are presented. METHODS: From January 1975 through August 1983, 430 previously untreated patients with carcinoma of the uterine cervix in Stages I-III were treated with either HDR 60Co therapy or LDR 137Cs therapy at our department. HDR was administered to a total of 259 patients: 32 patients in Stage I, 80 in Stage II, and 147 in Stage III. LDR was administered to a total of 171 patients: 28 patients in Stage I, 61 in Stage II, and 82 in Stage III. RESULTS: The 5-year cause-specific survival rates of Stage I-III patients treated with HDR were 85%, 73%, and 53%, respectively. The corresponding figures for LDR were 93%, 78%, and 47%, respectively. There was no significant difference between these survival rates. Moderate-to-severe complications developed in 10% of the patients treated with HDR and 4% of those with LDR. This difference in the incidence of complications was statistically significant (P = 0.023). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment results in terms of cause-specific survival were equivalent for HDR and LDR treatment. However, the incidence of complications was higher for the HDR group, although within acceptable levels, than for the LDR group.     

Structure of Na2O·2TiO2 glass

X-ray radial distribution analysis and Raman spectroscopic measurement were carried out on Na₂O-2TiO₂ glass prepared by twin-roller quenching method. It is found that four-coordinated Ti⁴⁺ ions may be predominant over six-coordinated ones in the present glass. It is also found that the fraction of six-coordinated Ti⁴⁺ ions is larger in the present glass than in K₂O·2TiO₂ and Cs₂O·2TiO₂ glasses. Poorer glass-forming ability of the Na₂O-TiO₂ system compared with the K₂O-TiO₂ and Cs₂O-TiO₂ systems is ascribed to a larger fraction of TiO₆ octahedron for the former system.     

Gastric gland metaplasia in the small and large intestine

Fifty-six surgical specimens with various ulcerative intestinal disorders were microscopically investigated for evidence of gastric gland metaplasia. Thiry-one specimens (55-4%) showed pyloric gland metaplasia. Among the 31 patients with pyloric gland metaplasia, five showed true gastric metaplasia, consisting of parietal cells, chief cells, and mucous neck cells. The percentage of true gastric metaplasia among pyloric gland metaplasia was as high as 16%, an overall frequency of 9% among various ulcerative intestinal disorders. The mechanism of pyloric gland metaplasia and true gastric metaplasia is not understood, but may occur secondary to submucosal response to ulcer healing and subsequent alteration of the intraluminal condition in the intestine.     

Structure of acid-stable carmine

Acid-stable carmine has recently been distributed in the U.S. market because of its good acid stability, but it is not permitted in Japan. We analyzed and determined the structure of the major pigment in acid-stable carmine, in order to establish an analytical method for it. Carminic acid was transformed into a different type of pigment, named acid-stable carmine, through amination when heated in ammonia solution. The features of the structure were clarified using a model compound, purpurin, in which the orientation of hydroxyl groups on the A ring of the anthraquinone skeleton is the same as that of carminic acid. By spectroscopic means and the synthesis of acid-stable carmine and purpurin derivatives, the structure of the major pigment in acid-stable carmine was established as 4-aminocarminic acid, a novel compound.     

Identification of actors drawn in Ukiyoe pictures

This paper presents the development of line image keywords for the identification of actors drawn in Japanese traditional painting pictures known as Ukiyoe pictures. The system is based on visual features of the face from the image database files and is organized as a set of classifiers whose outputs are integrated after a normalization step. Line profile from the picture has been extracted in this investigation and has been approximated by Bézier curves. A learning algorithm has been developed to obtain the control points at high accuracy. A new curve matching method has been developed based on the feature points, rather than the corresponding points. This method can automatically fit a set of data points with piecewise geometrically continuous third order Bézier curves. Last of all, a new approach for distance calculation, namely “apple-node distance” has been introduced here for similarity calculation in image retrieval systems. The computation of similarity between curves has been established on the basis of this “apple-node” distance. The effectiveness of our method has been confirmed through computer simulation. The method developed here can be expanded to one of three dimensional shape-analyzing tools.