Direct observation of rectified motion of vortices in a niobium superconductor.

Using Lorentz microscopy to directly image vortices, we investigate vortex motion control and rectification in a niobium superconductor. We directly observe a net motion of vortices along microfabricated channels with a spatially asymmetric potential, even though the vortices were driven by an oscillatory field. By observing the individual motion of vortices, we clarify elementary processes involved in this rectification.

Optical selection rules and phase-dependent adiabatic state control in a superconducting quantum circuit.

We analyze the optical selection rules of the microwave-assisted transitions in a flux qubit superconducting quantum circuit (SQC). We show that the parities of the states relevant to the superconducting phase in the SQC are well defined when the external magnetic flux phi(e) = phi(0)/2; then the selection rules are the same as the ones for the electric-dipole transitions in usual atoms. When phi(e) does not = phi(0)/2, the symmetry of the potential of the artificial "atom" is broken, a so-called delta-type "cyclic" three-level atom is formed, where one- and two-photon processes can coexist.

A model of prediction system for adverse cardiovascular reactions by calcineurin inhibitors among patients with renal transplants using gene-based single-nucleotide polymorphisms.

The application of pharmacogenomic information to diagnostic assays is expected to improve the prediction of drug efficacy and toxicity, leading to appropriate therapeutic regimens for individual patients. Cardiovascular events are common and severe adverse drug reactions (ADRs) among transplant patients treated with calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs). We conducted case-control association studies using 50,947 gene-based single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to identify genetic variations that might be associated with cardiovascular risk factors in 72 renal transplant recipients with CNI therapy.

Citrullination of fibronectin in rheumatoid arthritis synovial tissue.

Objectives: Citrullination, catalysed by peptidylarginine deiminase (PAD), is the post-translational modification of peptidylarginine to citrulline, which is intimately involved in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Fibronectin (Fn), a large glycoprotein, is expressed at high levels in arthritic joints and it mediates various physiological processes through interactions with cell-surface integrin receptors and growth factors. We investigated the citrullination of Fn and its potential contribution to the pathogenesis of RA.

Cluster synchronization in an ensemble of neurons interacting through chemical synapses.

In networks of periodically firing spiking neurons that are interconnected with chemical synapses, we analyze a cluster state, where an ensemble of neurons are subdivided into a few clusters, in each of which neurons exhibit perfect synchronization. To clarify stability of the cluster state, we decompose linear stability of the solution into two types of stabilities, stability of a mean state and stabilities of clusters. Computing Floquet matrices for these stabilities, we clarify the total stability of the cluster state for any type of neuron and any strength of interaction even if the size of networks is infinitely large.

Controlling the motion of interacting particles: homogeneous systems and binary mixtures.

We elaborate on recent results on the transport of interacting particles for both single-species and binary mixtures subject to an external driving on a ratchetlike asymmetric substrate. Moreover, we also briefly review motion control without any spatial asymmetric potential (i.e.

Genome-wide association study to identify SNPs conferring risk of myocardial infarction and their functional analyses.

Myocardial infarction might result from the interactions of multiple genetic and environmental factors, none of which can cause disease solely by each of themselves. Although molecular biological studies revealed that a number of proteins are possibly involved in its pathogenesis, little, if any genetic findings have been reported so far. To reveal genetic backgrounds of myocardial infarction, we performed a large-scale, case-control association study using 92,788 gene-based single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers.

Presynaptic regulation of quantal size by the vesicular glutamate transporter VGLUT1.

A fundamental question in synaptic physiology is whether the unitary strength of a synapse can be regulated by presynaptic characteristics and, if so, what those characteristics might be. Here, we characterize a newly proposed mechanism for altering the strength of glutamatergic synapses based on the recently identified vesicular glutamate transporter VGLUT1. We provide direct evidence that filling in isolated synaptic vesicles is subject to a dynamic equilibrium that is determined by both the concentration of available glutamate and the number of vesicular transporters participating in loading.

Four-electron shell structures and an interacting two-electron system in carbon-nanotube quantum dots.

Low-temperature transport measurements have been carried out on single-wall carbon-nanotube quantum dots in a weakly coupled regime in magnetic fields. Four-electron shell filling was observed, and the magnetic field evolution of each Coulomb peak was investigated. Excitation spectroscopy measurements have revealed Zeeman splitting of single particle states for one electron in the shell, and demonstrated singlet and triplet states with direct observation of the exchange splitting at zero-magnetic field for two electrons in the shell, the simplest example of Hund's rule.

Using Josephson vortex lattices to control terahertz radiation: tunable transparency and terahertz photonic crystals.

The Josephson vortex (JV) lattice is a periodic array that scatters electromagnetic waves in the THz-frequency range. We show that JV lattices can produce a photonic band-gap structure (THz photonic crystal) with easily tunable forbidden zones controlled by the in-plane magnetic field. The scattering of electromagnetic waves by JVs results in a strong magnetic-field dependence of the reflection and transparency.

A functional SNP in CILP, encoding cartilage intermediate layer protein, is associated with susceptibility to lumbar disc disease.

Lumbar disc disease (LDD) is caused by degeneration of intervertebral discs of the lumbar spine. One of the most common musculoskeletal disorders, LDD has strong genetic determinants. Using a case-control association study, we identified a functional SNP (1184T --> C, resulting in the amino acid substitution I395T) in CILP, which encodes the cartilage intermediate layer protein, that acts as a modulator of LDD susceptibility.

Long-term depression at olfactory nerve synapses.

The synapses formed by the olfactory nerve (ON) convey sensory information to olfactory glomeruli, the first stage of central odor processing. Morphological and behavioral studies suggest that glomerular odor processing is plastic in neonate rodents. However, long-term synaptic plasticity, a cellular correlate of functional and structural plasticity, has not yet been demonstrated in this system.

A real-time inspection system using a terahertz technique to detect microleak defects in the seal of flexible plastic packages.

A method to detect production faults in flexible plastic packages with the use of terahertz radiation is presented. Relying on the large difference between the absorption coefficients of plastic and water (for water-filled channel defects) and on the refraction index difference between plastic and air (for air-filled channel defects), our technique consists of focusing and scanning a terahertz beam on the sealed area of the package, followed by detection of the transmitted signal. Compared with previous methods, such as visual and ultrasound inspection, our technique can be applied to optically opaque packages and does not require immersion in a matching liquid.

Dual roles of zygotic and maternal Scribble1 in neural migration and convergent extension movements in zebrafish embryos.

In the developing vertebrate hindbrain, the characteristic trajectory of the facial (nVII) motor nerve is generated by caudal migration of the nVII motor neurons. The nVII motor neurons originate in rhombomere (r) 4, and migrate caudally into r6 to form the facial motor nucleus. In this study, using a transgenic zebrafish line that expresses green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the cranial motor neurons, we isolated two novel mutants, designated landlocked (llk) and off-road (ord), which both show highly specific defects in the caudal migration of the nVII motor neurons.

Recent findings on genes associated with inflammatory disease.

Inflammatory diseases encompass a variety of medical conditions. In this chapter, autoimmune diseases and allergic disorders will be our focus. The autoimmune diseases include organ-specific autoimmunities, such as type I diabetes mellitus and autoimmune thyroiditis (AITD), and organ non-specific disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Effect of spin current on uniform ferromagnetism: domain nucleation.

A large spin current applied to a uniform ferromagnet leads to a spin-wave instability as pointed out recently. In this Letter, it is shown that such spin-wave instability is absent in a state containing a domain wall, which indicates that nucleation of magnetic domains occurs above a certain critical spin current. This scenario is supported also by an explicit energy comparison of the two states under spin current.

A functional single nucleotide polymorphism in the core promoter region of CALM1 is associated with hip osteoarthritis in Japanese.

Osteoarthritis (OA), a common skeletal disease, is a leading cause of disability among the elderly populations. OA is characterized by gradual loss of articular cartilage, but the etiology and pathogenesis of OA are largely unknown. Epidemiological and genetic studies have demonstrated that genetic factors play an important role in OA.

Inhibition of antithrombin by hyaluronic acid may be involved in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis.

Thrombin is a key factor in the stimulation of fibrin deposition, angiogenesis, proinflammatory processes, and proliferation of fibroblast-like cells. Abnormalities in these processes are primary features of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in synovial tissues. Tissue destruction in joints causes the accumulation of large quantities of free hyaluronic acid (HA) in RA synovial fluid.

Aglycon specificity profiling of alpha-glucosidases using synthetic probes.

We designed and synthesized hydrogen bond based probes 1-8 with the exception of known glycosidase inhibition mechanisms, and aglycon specificity of 11 different sources of alpha-glucosidases were investigated using their probes. Probe 4 (2,6-anhydro-1-deoxy-1-[(1-oxopentyl-5-hydroxy)amino]-D-glycero-D-ido-heptitol) showed a potent inhibition of S. cerevisiae alpha-glucosidase among all alpha-glucosidases.

Quantum noise in the josephson charge qubit.

We study decoherence of the Josephson charge qubit by measuring energy relaxation and dephasing with help of the single-shot readout. We found that the dominant energy relaxation process is a spontaneous emission induced by quantum noise coupled to the charge degree of freedom. Spectral density of the noise at high frequencies is roughly proportional to the qubit excitation energy.

Interacting particles on a rocked ratchet: rectification by condensation.

The transport of interacting particles subject to an external low-frequency ac force on a ratchetlike asymmetric substrate is studied via a nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation as well as via numerical simulations. With increasing the particle density, the ratchet current can either increase or decrease depending on the temperature, the drive amplitude, and the nature of the interparticle interaction. At low temperatures, attracting particles can condense randomly at some potential minima, thus breaking the discrete translational symmetry of the substrate.

Transport via nonlinear signal mixing in ratchet devices.

The nonlinear signal mixing of two driving forces is used to control transport in overdamped ratchet devices. The interplay between the relative phase and the frequency ratio of the two driving forces is sufficient to generate an intriguing transport action that can be put to work to optimize shuttling and separation of particles in a variety of physical and technological applications. Analytic results for a striking multiple current reversal behavior including prominent, spikelike current features are obtained for doubly rocked and rocked-pulsated Brownian ratchets.

Stochastic transport of interacting particles in periodically driven ratchets.

An open system of overdamped, interacting Brownian particles diffusing on a periodic substrate potential U(x+l)=U(x) is studied in terms of an infinite set of coupled partial differential equations describing the time evolution of the relevant many-particle distribution functions. In the mean-field approximation, this hierarchy of equations can be replaced by a nonlinear integro-differential Fokker-Planck equation. This is applicable when the distance a between particles is much less than the interaction length lambda , i.

Optical system for double-biprism electron holography.

A novel system of electron interferometry and holography using two electron biprisms has been developed. The first biprism is installed in the image plane of the objective lens and the second one is set behind the first magnifying lens, inside the shadow area of the first biprism. The system can independently control two important parameters for interferograms and holograms, the fringe spacing and interference width.

Porous and nonporous Ag nanostructures fabricated using cellulose fiber as a template.

Porous and nonporous metallic Ag nanostructures were fabricated with ease by using cellulose fiber as a template.