Semiconducting Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Heteronanotubes with Controlled Outer-Wall Structures.

Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) nanotubes exhibit unique physical properties due to their nanotube structures. The development of techniques for synthesizing TMDC nanotubes with controlled structures is very important for their science and applications. However, structural control efforts have been made only for the homostructures of TMDC nanotubes and not for their heterostructures that provide an important platform for their two-dimensional counterparts.

Synthesis and optical properties of WS nanotubes with relatively small diameters.

Tungsten disulfide (WS) nanotubes exhibit various unique properties depending on their structures, such as their diameter and wall number. The development of techniques to prepare WS nanotubes with the desired structure is crucial for understanding their basic properties. Notably, the synthesis and characterization of multi-walled WS nanotubes with small diameters are challenging.

RACE1, a Japanese Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei isolate, is capable of overcoming partially mlo-mediated penetration resistance in barley in an allele-specific manner.

Loss-of-function mutation of the MILDEW RESISTANCE LOCUS O (Mlo) gene confers durable and broad-spectrum resistance to powdery mildew fungi in various plants, including barley. In combination with the intracellular nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat receptor (NLR) genes, which confer the race-specific resistance, the mlo alleles have long been used in barley breeding as genetic resources that confer robust non-race-specific resistance. However, a Japanese Blumeria graminis f.

Photodynamic activity of C70 caged within surface-cross-linked liposomes.

[70]Fullerene (C(70)) encapsulated into a surface-cross-linked liposome, a so-called cerasome, was prepared by an exchange reaction incorporating C(70)gamma-cyclodextrin complexes into lipid membranes. Fullerene exchange in a cerasome-incorporated C(70) (CIC(70)), as well as in a lipid-membrane-incorporated C(70) (LMIC(70)), was completed within 1 min with stirring at 25 degrees C. CIC(70) was more resistant to lysis than LMIC(70) towards lysing agents such as surfactants.

Intracellular uptake and photodynamic activity of water-soluble [60]- and [70]fullerenes incorporated in liposomes.

Water-soluble fullerenes have attracted attention as promising compounds that have been used to forge new paths in the field of photo-biochemistry. To prepare water-soluble fullerenes, we employed lipid-membrane-incorporated fullerenes (LMICx; x=60 or 70) by using the fullerene exchange method from a gamma-cyclodextrin (gamma-CD) cavity to vesicles. LMIC60 have low toxicity in the dark and engender cell death by photoirradiation (lambda>350 nm).

Changes in PKB/Akt and calcineurin signaling during recovery in atrophied soleus muscle induced by unloading.

Protein kinase B [PKB, also known as Akt (PKB/Akt)] and calcineurin (CaN) are postulated to play important roles in integrating intracellular signaling in skeletal muscle in response to disuse and increased muscle loading. These experiments investigated changes in signal transduction of the downstream pathways of PKB/Akt and CaN during recovery following disuse-induced muscle atrophy. A 10-day period of hindlimb unloading (HLU) via tail suspension (male rats) was used to produce soleus muscle atrophy.