Rate control of cell sheet recovery by incorporating hydrophilic pattern in thermoresponsive cell culture dish.

Thready stripe-polyacrylamide (PAAm) pattern was fabricated on a thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PIPAAm) surface, and their surface properties were characterized. A PIPAAm surface spin-coated with positive photoresist was irradiated through a 5 µm/5 µm or a 10 µm/10-µm black and white striped photomask, resulting in the radical polymerization of AAm on the photoirradiated area. After staining with Alexa488 bovine serum albumin, the stripe-patterned surface was clearly observed and the patterned surface was also observed by a phase contrast image of an atomic force microscope.

Interleukin-1β induces tumor necrosis factor-α secretion from rat hepatocytes.

Aim: Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is a pleiotropic cytokine involved in various inflammatory diseases. The only production of TNF-α in the liver is thought to be from hepatic macrophages known as Kupffer cells, predominantly in response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Methods: Primary cultured rat hepatocytes were used to analyze TNF-α expression in response to the pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-1β (IL-1β).

Stabilization of human interferon-α1 mRNA by its antisense RNA.

Antisense transcription is a widespread phenomenon in the mammalian genome and is believed to play a role in regulating gene expression. However, the exact functional significance of antisense transcription is largely unknown. Here, we show that natural antisense (AS) RNA is an important modulator of interferon-α1 (IFN-α1) mRNA levels.

Imaging of light and heavy atomic columns by spherical aberration corrected middle-angle bright-field STEM.

Simultaneous detection of both light and heavy atomic columns is theoretically and experimentally explored with spherical aberration (C(s))-corrected middle-angle bright-field (MABF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Optimized MABF STEM visualizes both light O atomic columns and heavy Sr and Ti-O atomic columns for SrTiO₃(001) as distinct bright spots and dark spots with characteristic bright rings, respectively, over practical ranges of the probe-forming lens defocus and sample thickness, although medium-heavy Ti-O atomic columns appear as blurred dark spots. The difference in contrast between heavy and light atomic columns is greater than that of annular BF STEM images.

[Psychological effects of emotional crying in adults: events that elicit crying and social reactions to crying].

This research focused on both the psychological benefits and costs of crying. We investigated the relationships of intrapersonal and interpersonal consequences of crying. Female nurses (N = 300) were requested to describe one of the most impressive negative episodes where they had cried.

Nuclear and cytoplasmic effects of human CRM1 on HIV-1 production in rat cells.

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) regulatory protein, Rev, mediates the nuclear export of unspliced gag and singly spliced env mRNAs by bridging viral RNA and the export receptor, CRM1. Recently, rat CRM1 was found to be less efficient than human CRM1 in supporting Rev function in rats. In this study, to understand the role of CRM1 in HIV propagation, the mechanism underlying the function of human and rat CRM1 in HIV-1 replication was investigated in rat cells.

Novel cis-active structures in the coding region mediate CRM1-dependent nuclear export of IFN-α 1 mRNA.

We recently reported the chromosome region maintenance 1 (CRM1)-dependent nuclear export of intron-less human interferon-α1 (IFN-α1) mRNA, which encodes a main effecter of host innate immunity. We show that the coding region of IFN-α1 mRNA forms novel secondary structures that are responsible for the CRM1-dependent export of the transcript. Deletion-mutagenesis, in vivo export assays, and computer analyses of the folding potentials of export-competent fragments revealed the presence of a domain, termed the conserved secondary structure (CSS), comprising two adjacent putative stable stem-loop structures (nt 208-452).

Effect of convergent beam semiangle on image intensity in HAADF STEM images.

In this study, we experimentally and theoretically show that the intensities of bright spots in a spherical aberration (C(s))-uncorrected high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) image of [011]-oriented Co(3)O(4), which has two different numbers of Co atoms in the projected atomic columns, are reversed with increasing sample thickness. However, C(s)-corrected HAADF STEM images produce intensities that correctly depend on the average number of atoms in the projected atomic columns. From an analysis based on the Bloch-wave theorem, it is found that an insufficient semiangle of the incident convergent beam yields intensities that do not depend on the average atomic number in the atomic columns.

Effect of chromatic aberration on atomic-resolved spherical aberration corrected STEM images.

The effect of the chromatic aberration (C(c)) coefficient in a spherical aberration (C(s))- corrected electromagnetic lens on high-resolution high-angle annular dark field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) images is explored in detail. A new method for precise determination of the C(c) coefficient is demonstrated, requiring measurement of an atomic-resolution one-frame through-focal HAADF STEM image. This method is robust with respect to instrumental drift, sample thickness, all lens parameters except C(c), and experimental noise.

Nucleocytoplasmic transport of luciferase gene mRNA requires CRM1/Exportin1 and RanGTPase.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Rev (regulator of the expression of the virion) protein was shown to reduce the expression level of the co-transfected luciferase reporter gene (luc+) introduced to monitor transfection efficiency. We studied the mechanism of the inhibitory Rev effect. The effect, caused by nuclear retention of luc+ mRNA, was reversed if rev had a point mutation that makes its nuclear export signal (NES) unable to associate with cellular transport factors.

Many-beam dynamical simulation for multilayer structures without a superlattice cell.

A many-beam dynamical theory for plan-view high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images of multilayer systems without the limitation of a superlattice cell is proposed. The accuracy of our method is examined by comparing convergent-beam electron-diffraction calculations of Si(011) and HRTEM calculations of a system of epitaxial Al(100) on GaAs(100). Furthermore, this method is applied to CdSe clusters embedded in MgO, where it is revealed that the relative shift of their crystal-lattice planes produces moiré-like fringes.

Quantitative structural analysis of twin boundary in alpha-Zn7Sb2O12 using HAADF STEM method.

The structure and composition of the 1/4{110} twin boundary in alpha-Zn7Sb2O12 have been determined by using quantitative high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF STEM) analysis. The noise in the experimental HAADF STEM images is reduced by using the maximum entropy method and average processing, and the parameters used in dynamical simulations are experimentally determined. From the analysis, it has been found that octahedral sites in the twin boundary slightly shift parallel to the [110] direction, and a reduction of the Sb concentration at the octahedral sites on the plane adjacent to the twin boundary was detected.

Quantitative and easy estimation of a crystal bending effect using low-order CBED patterns.

The quantitative measurement of a crystal bending effect is performed using low-order zone-axis convergent beam electron diffraction (CBED) patterns. Although the accuracy of the present method is inferior to that of the method of using split higher order Laue zone lines, this method enables us to estimate the crystal bending effect at a region very close to the interface and to easily judge whether the crystal bending effect results in a tensile bend or a compressive bend. As an application of the present method, the crystal bending effect at a region close to the SiGe/Si interface was measured.

Natural antisense transcript stabilizes inducible nitric oxide synthase messenger RNA in rat hepatocytes.

Unlabelled: During inflammation, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is induced to generate the important mediator nitric oxide (NO). Interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta) induces iNOS messenger RNA (mRNA), iNOS protein, and NO in rat hepatocytes. We found that the stability of iNOS mRNA changed during the induction and that the antisense (AS) strand corresponding to the 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) of iNOS mRNA was transcribed from the iNOS gene.

Measurement of twofold astigmatism of probe-forming lens using low-order zone-axis ronchigram.

By using a low-order zone-axis ronchigram of a crystalline sample, a simple method for measuring twofold astigmatism of a probe-forming lens is proposed. This method allows precise measurement of the value of astigmatism from only one experimental ronchigram.

Extended dynamical HAADF STEM image simulation using the Bloch-wave method.

An extended method is proposed for the precise simulation of high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron-microscope (STEM) images for materials containing elements with large atomic numbers and for thick specimens. The approach combines a previously reported method utilizing two kinds of optical potential [Watanabe, Yamazaki, Hashimoto & Shiojiri (2001). Phys.

Precise measurement of local strain fields with energy-unfiltered convergent-beam electron diffraction.

A simple and robust method to precisely determine local strain fields using energy-unfiltered convergent-beam electron diffraction is presented. This method involves the subtraction of background intensity, the extraction of higher-order Laue-zone lines by tracing using a Radon transformation and a system of analytical strain determination without the need for an optimization routine such as chi2-based minimization. As an example, the measurement of residual strain in a silicon-on-insulator wafer is demonstrated.

CRM1-dependent, but not ARE-mediated, nuclear export of IFN-alpha1 mRNA.

While the bulk of cellular mRNA is known to be exported by the TAP pathway, export of specific subsets of cellular mRNAs may rely on chromosome region maintenance 1 (CRM1). One line of evidence supporting this hypothesis comes from the study of mRNAs of certain early response genes (ERGs) containing the adenylate uridylate-rich element (ARE) in their 3' untranslated regions (3' UTRs). It was reported that HuR-mediated nuclear export of these mRNAs was CRM1-dependent under certain stress conditions.