Reporting a new class of divanadium(V) compounds connected by an unsupported hydroxo bridge.

Dinuclear oxovanadium(V) compounds [LV(V)O(mu-OH)OV (V)L](PF6) [H2L = N,N'-tert-ethylene bis(salicylideneimine) (H 2Salen) and its derivatives] ( 1- 3) have been obtained by aerial oxidation of V (IV)OL precursors in THF in the presence of added NH 4PF 6. The oxidized vanadium(V) probably extracts an OH (-) ligand from the residual moisture in the solvent and is retained as an unsupported hydroxo-bridge between the metal centers of these compounds as confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. The molecules of 1- 3 have centrosymmetric structures with each vanadium center having a distorted octahedral geometry.

DO-increasing effects of a microscopic bubble generating system in a fish farm.

We have developed a "microscopic bubble generating system for the fish farm" and evaluated its ability to improve the quality of seawater and costs of it in marine cages of red sea bream (Pagrus major) in Kusuura Bay, Japan. Our results revealed that DO concentration of bubbling net pens increased and became significantly higher than the level outside the net pen (between 0.52 and 0.

Global analysis of della direct targets in early gibberellin signaling in Arabidopsis.

Bioactive gibberellins (GAs) are phytohormones that regulate growth and development throughout the life cycle of plants. DELLA proteins are conserved growth repressors that modulate all aspects of GA responses. These GA-signaling repressors are nuclear localized and likely function as transcriptional regulators.

Predictors of target lesion revascularization and documented stent thrombosis beyond 30 days after sirolimus-eluting stent implantation: retrospective analysis in consecutive 1,070 angiographic follow-up lesions.

Background: Outcomes after sirolimus-eluting stent (SES: Cypher) implantation remained to be elucidated in Japan.

Methods And Results: Among 1,070 consecutive angiographic follow-up lesions, 99 lesions underwent target lesion revascularization (TLR) with in-stent restenosis (ISR). Retrospective estimation by multivariate analysis including 50 variables showed that the ostiums of right coronary and left circumflex arteries, hemodialysis, calcification, non-direct stenting, ISR of SES, and non-eccentric lesion were the predictors of TLR.

Targeted synthesis of mu-oxo divanadium(V) compounds with asymmetry in coordination environments.

Isovalent mu-oxo divanadium(V) compounds [L1VO(mu-O)VO(salen)] (1) and its bromo derivative [L2VO(mu-O)VO(salen)].CH3CN (2) (both H2L1 and H2L2 are tridentate dithiocarbazate-based ONS ligands) with ligands providing donor set and coordination number asymmetry in tandem have been synthesized for the first time; confirmations in favor of these unsymmetrical molecular structures have come from single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, as well as from NMR (both 1H and 51V) spectroscopy.

[Initial and mid-term effects of > or = 30 mm long sirolimus-eluting stents in patients with diffuse long coronary lesions: comparison with bare metal stents].

Objectives And Methods: Sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) can reduce restenosis and reintervention compared with bare metal stents (BMS). However, the safety and efficacy of SES for diffuse long lesions remain unknown. This study compared the efficacy of SES and BMS using the initial and mid-term outcomes of 124 patients with 130 long coronary lesions (SES lengths > or = 30 mm) compared to 141 patients with 146 lesions treated with BMS.

Ectopic expression of ABSCISIC ACID 2/GLUCOSE INSENSITIVE 1 in Arabidopsis promotes seed dormancy and stress tolerance.

Abscisic acid (ABA) is an important phytohormone that plays a critical role in seed development, dormancy, and stress tolerance. 9-cis-Epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase is the key enzyme controlling ABA biosynthesis and stress tolerance. In this study, we investigated the effect of ectopic expression of another ABA biosynthesis gene, ABA2 (or GLUCOSE INSENSITIVE 1 [GIN1]) encoding a short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana).

Regulation of hormone metabolism in Arabidopsis seeds: phytochrome regulation of abscisic acid metabolism and abscisic acid regulation of gibberellin metabolism.

In a wide range of plant species, seed germination is regulated antagonistically by two plant hormones, abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellin (GA). In the present study, we have revealed that ABA metabolism (both biosynthesis and inactivation) was phytochrome-regulated in an opposite fashion to GA metabolism during photoreversible seed germination in Arabidopsis. Endogenous ABA levels were decreased by irradiation with a red (R) light pulse in dark-imbibed seeds pre-treated with a far-red (FR) light pulse, and the reduction in ABA levels in response to R light was inhibited in a phytochrome B (PHYB)-deficient mutant.

Molecular dynamics study of hydrated faujasite-type zeolites.

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of hydrated zeolite NaX (Si/Al = 1.0) and NaY (Si/Al = 2.0) were done at a temperature of 300 K.

Minimization method for balancing continuous prognostic variables between treatment and control groups using Kullback-Leibler divergence.

This paper proposes a method for balancing prognostic variables between treatment and control groups in design of clinical trials. It assumes that some of prognostic variables are continuous and others are categorical and that they are independently distributed. The proposed method uses the Kullback-Leibler divergence (KLD) as the index of difference in distribution between two groups.

Interpretation of structure formation during the sol-gel transition of a resorcinol-formaldehyde solution by population balance.

Growth of colloidal particles formed during the sol-gel transition of a resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) solution was simulated based on the population balance equation by using the discrete-sectional model (DSM). During the early stage of the sol-gel transition, the transient change of sizes of colloidal particles estimated by this method agreed well with the previous experimental observation by dynamic light scattering (DLS), which confirmed the influence of the catalyst concentration of a starting RF solution on the growth rate of the particles. From the size distribution of colloidal particles predicted at the gelation time, the surface area of a RF hydrogel after the completion of the sol-gel transition was estimated, which coincided with the BET surface area of a RF aerogel because the porous structure of a hydrogel was maintained and few micropores were formed during supercritical drying.

Evaluation of pore size distribution in boundary region of micropore and mesopore using gas adsorption method.

This paper discusses an accurate method of pore size distribution evaluation in boundary regions of micropores and mesopores using the gas adsorption process on the basis of the capillary condensation theory, which is liable to be underestimated with the existing BJH and DH methods. A typical nitrogen adsorption isotherm for highly ordered mesoporous silica, which has cylindrical pores with diameter smaller than 4 nm, is considered to be type IV and it is well known for the steep increase of the amount adsorbed through capillary condensation in the region of the relative pressure P/P0 smaller than 0.4.

Threshold values of visceral fat and waist girth in Japanese obese children.

Background: In order to define the diagnostic criteria for visceral adipose tissue (VAT) accumulation and abdominal obesity in Japanese youths, a cross-sectional, multicenter study was conducted.

Methods: Subjects were 194 boys and 96 girls ranging in age from 6 to 15 years. Obese youths were classified according to the occurrence of abnormal values in serum triglyceride, alanine aminotransferase or insulin level.

Evaluation of thermoporometry for characterization of mesoporous materials.

The accuracy of thermoporometry (TPM) in terms of the characterization of SBA-15 is examined based on a model that classifies the water in the mesopores into two different types: freezable pore water, which can form cylindrical ice crystals, and nonfreezable pore water, which cannot undergo a phase transition during a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurement. Applying the empirical relationship between the sizes of the ice crystals formed in the mesopores and the solidification temperature of the freezable pore water to a thermogram (a recording of the heat flux during the solidification of the freezable pore water) yielded a size distribution of the ice crystals. The size of the ice crystals increased slightly with repetitive freezing, indicating that the mesopores were enlarged by formation of the ice crystals.

Synthesis, structure, magnetism, and spectroscopic properties of heterobinuclear copper(II)-zinc(II) complexes and their copper(II)-copper(II) analogues in asymmetric ligand environments.

Heterobinuclear copper(II)-zinc(II) complexes and their homobinuclear dicopper(II) counterparts (1-4) of two asymmetric ligands (H2L1 and H2L2), based on 2-aminocyclopent-1-ene-1-dithiocarboxylate, are reported. The ligands are capable of providing both donor set and coordination number asymmetry in tandem. Metal centers in these complexes are connected by a micro-alkoxo and a bridging pyrazolate moiety, as confirmed by X-ray structure analyses of 1, 3, and 4.

Development of neutron-monitor detector using liquid organic scintillator coupled with 6Li + ZnS(Ag) Sheet.

A phoswitch-type detector has been developed for monitoring neutron doses in high-energy accelerator facilities. The detector is composed of a liquid organic scintillator (BC501A) coupled with ZnS(Ag) sheets doped with 6Li. The dose from neutrons with energies above 1 MeV is evaluated from the light output spectrum of the BC501A by applying the G-function, which relates the spectrum to the neutron dose directly.

Identification and characterization of zipper-interacting protein kinase as the unique vascular smooth muscle myosin phosphatase-associated kinase.

Excitation-contraction coupling in smooth muscle involves activation of myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation, which increases activity of the myosin actin-activated ATPase, resulting in contraction. Phosphorylation of MLC phosphatase (SMPP-1M) by Rho-associated kinase or endogenous SMPP-1M-associated kinase inhibits SMPP-1M, enhancing MLC phosphorylation and contraction. However, the precise identity of SMPP-1M-associated kinase remains unclear.

Measurement of depth distributions of (3)H and (14)C induced in concrete shielding of an electron accelerator facility.

The estimation of radioactivity induced in concrete shielding is important for the decommissioning of accelerator facilities. Concentrations of (3)H and (14)C in the concrete shielding of an electron linear accelerator were measured, and the depth distributions of (3)H and (14)C and gamma-ray emitters were discussed in relation to their formation reactions.

A novel two nucleotide deletion in the apolipoprotein A-I gene, apoA-I Shinbashi, associated with high density lipoprotein deficiency, corneal opacities, planar xanthomas, and premature coronary artery disease.

Familial HDL deficiency (FHD) is a rare autosomal dominant lipoprotein disorder. We describe a novel genetic variant of the apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) gene resulting in FHD. The proband is a 51-year-old woman who was hospitalized due to severe heart failure.

Selective inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) identifies a central role for VEGFR-2 in human aortic endothelial cell responses to VEGF.

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFR) are considered essential for angiogenesis. The VEGFR-family proteins consist of VEGFR-1/Flt-1, VEGFR-2/KDR/Flk-1, and VEGFR-3/Flt-4. Among these, VEGFR-2 is thought to be principally responsible for angiogenesis.