Tricontinuous cubic structures in ABC/A/C copolymer and homopolymer blends.

Using the Monte Carlo lattice-simulation technique, we present numerical evidence of the formation of gyroid and nongyroid tricontinuous cubic phases in high polymeric systems of ABC/A/C triblock copolymer and homopolymer blends. By increasing the volume fraction of homopolymer, a remarkable phase sequence G (gyroid) --> D (diamond) --> P (primitive) is observed, which is common to certain surfactant systems. Our results indicate that the ABC triblock copolymer system with blending homopolymers may be a zoo of cubic phases, suitable for comparative studies of these phases.

Synthesis of silylene and silyl(silylene)metal complexes.

In 1987, two research groups published the first-ever reports on the synthesis of silylene complexes and presented structural evidence. Since then, a range of synthetic methods have been developed and a number of silylene complexes have been prepared. In 1988, we reported on the first base-stabilized bis(silylene) complexes that can be regarded as being masked silyl(silylene) complexes.

Vibrational circular dichroism spectrum of 1-amino-2-propanol.

Vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of 1-amino-2-propanol, of neat sample and in dilute solution of CDCl3, were measured in 2000 to 800 cm(-1) region. Two VCD bands, which appear at 1272 and 1412 cm(-1) in dilute solution, were assigned, respectively, to the OH bending mode and the mode that is influenced by the OH bending of the most stable conformer. The assignments were confirmed according to the prediction by a high-level density function theory (DFT) calculation and the isotope shift of deuterated samples.

Molecular phylogeny of the Eichhorni group of Delias Hübner, 1819 (Lepidoptera: Pieridae).

The eichhorni group lies within the genus Delias (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) which has markedly diversified aposematic wing markings. The phylogenetic relationships among all species of the eichhorni group, representatives of each of the other 21 species groups of Delias butterflies, and some related genera were analyzed based on nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 gene. A supplemental study using the nuclear elongation factor-1alpha (EF-1alpha) gene was also carried out.

History and characteristics of Okinawan longevity food.

Okinawan food culture in the Ryukyu island is one of the world's most interesting culture because its consumers have the longest life expectancies and low disability rates. It is a product of cultural synthesis, with a core of Chinese food culture, inputs through food trade with South-East Asia and the Pacific and strong Japanese influences in eating style and presentation. The Satsamu sweet potato provides the largest part of the energy intake (and contributes to self-sufficiency), there is a wide array of plant foods including seaweed (especially konbu) and soy, and of herbaceous plants, accompanied by fish and pork, and by green tea and kohencha tea.

Kashin-Beck disease: a historical overview.

In 1919, the first report on Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) made by a Japanese doctor described an endemic occurrence in the northern district of Korea. In the 1930s, Dr. Takamori and his colleagues at Manchuria Medical College produced a series of reports on its endemiology, clinical and roentgenological findings observed in the north-eastern district of China.

High Resolution FTIR Study on NH(2)Cl Molecule: Inversion and Anharmonicity.

The high-resolution FTIR absorption spectra of the NH(2)Cl molecule have been measured in the region 500-3600 cm(-1). The rotational structures of all the fundamental bands and a number of overtone and combination bands have been analyzed. Every rotational line of the observed bands except the NH(2) twisting and stretching fundamental bands splits into two components due to the amino inversion motion.

Mechanosensitive Ca2+ release from intracellular stores in Nitella flexilis.

We found previously that the cytoplasmic drop isolated from internodal cells of Nitella flexilis releases Ca2+ in response to hypotonic treatment and named the phenomenon hydration-induced Ca2+ release (HICR). The HICR is assumed to be a result of activation of Ca2+ permeable channels in the membrane of Ca2+ stores in a stretch-activated manner. To prove this idea, mechanical stimulus was applied to the drop by means of shooting isotonic/hypnotic medium or silicon oil into the drop, or compressing the drop.

Neonatal phencyclidine treatment selectively attenuates mesolimbic dopamine function in adult rats as revealed by methamphetamine-induced behavior and c-fos mRNA expression in the brain.

One of the major hypotheses regarding the pathogenesis of schizophrenia is the implication of neurodevelopmental abnormality. However, the mechanism of delayed onset of schizophrenic symptoms, in which increased dopaminergic activity in mesolimbic or mesocortical dopamine systems plays a pathological role, is not known. In this study, we investigated whether the chronic blockade of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor by phencyclidine (PCP), an NMDA channel blocker, during development could disrupt the dopamine system during later life.

Polymer confinement in undulated membrane boxes and tubes.

We consider quantum particle or Gaussian polymer confinement between two surfaces and in cylinders with sinusoidal undulations. In terms of the variational method, we show that the quantum-mechanical wave equations have lower ground-state energy in these geometries under long wavelength undulations, where bulges are formed and waves are localized in the bulges. It turns out correspondingly that Gaussian polymer chains in undulated boxes or tubes acquire higher entropy than in exactly flat or straight ones.

Chronic lithium chloride injection increases glucocorticoid receptor but not mineralocorticoid receptor mRNA expression in rat brain.

Lithium has been used clinically for the treatment of bipolar disorders. However, the brain mechanisms, by which lithium acts, are still unclear. An impaired hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of mood disorders.

Role of Ca2+ in membrane excitation and cell motility in Characean cells as a model system.

The Characeae internodal cell is excitable and generates an action potential. The depolarizing phase of the action potential primarily reflects the activation of Cl- channels, which takes place in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Namely, an increase in the Ca2+ influx takes place at the very beginning of the action potential and heightens the Ca2+ concentration in the cytoplasm ([Ca2+]c).

Neonatal treatment with L-name (NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester) attenuates stereotyped behavior induced by acute methamphetamine but not development of behavioral sensitization to methamphetamine.

1. The neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia postulates that disturbed nitric oxide (NO) function during neuronal development is one of premorbid factors for schizophrenia in later life. 2.

[Clinical significance of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) in the treatment of depression].

SSRIs have had a great impact on the diagnosis and treatment of depression, as well as the search for its pathophysiology. Since SSRIs have relatively few adverse effects, it is also effective for treating in a mild forms of depression, which were formerly thought to be treated adequately with only psychotherapy or anti-anxietics. Recent studies on the natural history of depression have revealed the chronicity of this disease.

Congenital Minamata disease: warnings from Japan's experience.

Minamata disease is alkylmercury poisoning causing Hunter-Russell syndrome due to ingestion of seafood polluted by industrial waste. Two epidemics occurred in Minamata (1956) and Niigata (1965), Japan. Many infants with "cerebral palsy" in villages where adult cases occurred were established as having congenital Minamata disease.

Rotational Analyses of Several Infrared Bands of NH(2)Cl.

The high-resolution absorption spectra of several infrared bands of NH(2)Cl molecule have been observed and analyzed. Rotational lines of amino wagging and scissoring fundamental bands are split by about 0.2 cm(-1) through the amino inversion motion.

Preferences in quadrangles reconsidered.

Through about 130 years of the history of experimental aesthetics, preferences of figures have been summarized in representative values such as the golden ratio. Researches especially in the golden-section hypothesis overshadowed the basic and profound problem of how people's individual preference would be decided. In the present study I returned to simple quadrangles, and investigated each person's subjective preferences by a production method, recording eye movements, and having qualitative interviews.

Differential effects of acute and chronic treatment with typical and atypical neuroleptics on c-fos mRNA expression in rat forebrain regions using non-radioactive in situ hybridization.

The regional difference in the expression of c-fos mRNA in rat forebrain after either acute or chronic administration of typical (haloperidol and fluphenazine) and atypical neuroleptics (clozapine and (+/-)-sulpiride) was investigated. Rats were injected intraperitoneally with vehicle or neuroleptics daily for 14 days. Twenty-four hours after the last injection, the rats were challenged with vehicle or neuroleptics.

[Glycine therapy of schizophrenia; its rationale and a review of clinical trials].

A major ground of dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia is that all antipsychotics share dopamine D2 antagonistic activity. However, they are less effective in ameliorating the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Recently, glutamate hypothesis of schizophrenia has been developed from the observation that phencyclidine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, induces a psychotic state closely resembling schizophrenia in normal individuals.

Regional differences in the effects of glutamate uptake inhibitor L-trans-pyrrolidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid on extracellular amino acids and dopamine in rat brain: an in vivo microdialysis study.

The effects of the glutamate transporter inhibitor, trans-PDC, on extracellular amino acids, were investigated in the frontal cortex, striatum, hippocampus and cerebellum of rats using in vivo microdialysis. Trans-PDC infusion (0.1, 1, 10 mM) dose-dependently increased Glu and Asp levels, and these increases in the cerebellum were smaller than those in other brain regions.

Antidepressantlike effects of chronic nicotine on learned helplessness paradigm in rats.

Background: The association between smoking and depression has been widely investigated. Smoking cessation is known to induce depression to a variable extent, and patients with a history of depression are more likely to experience depressive symptoms. To investigate the hypothesis that nicotine may have an antidepressantlike effect, we used learned helpless rats as an animal model of depression.

Nicotine protects against the dexamethasone potentiation of kainic acid-induced neurotoxicity in cultured hippocampal neurons.

To elucidate the neuroprotective effect of nicotine, we investigated whether nicotine may attenuate dexamethasone potentiation of kainic acid-induced neurotoxicity. Primary hippocampal culture was pre-treated with nicotine for 24 h followed by dexamethasone (10(-4) M) for 24 h. Then, cultures were exposed with kainic acid (10(-4) M) and cellular viability was determined by LDH effluxmetry.

NG-monomethyl-L-arginine, an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, increases extracellular GABA in the striatum of the freely moving rat.

We investigated the effect of an NO synthase inhibitor, NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), on the levels of endogenous GABA in the rat striatum using in vivo microdialysis. Rats were perfused with the artificial CSF containing L-NMMA (0.1, 0.

Behavioural and neurochemical effects of OPC-14597, a novel antipsychotic drug, on dopaminergic mechanisms in rat brain.

OPC-14597 is a new antipsychotic drug with a unique pharmacological profile. In a behavioural study in rats OPC-14597 did not show cataleptogenic activity even at the highest dose (40 mg/kg, i.p.

Characterisation of extracellular amino acids in striatum of freely moving rats by in vivo microdialysis.

To investigate the characteristics of extracellular amino acids released from the striatum, we performed in vivo microdialysis in non-anaesthetised, freely moving rats. Amino acids were determined after precolumn derivatisation with o-phthalaldehyde by high-performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection. The omission of Ca2+ in the perfusion medium partially decreased the basal concentration of aspartate and glutamate.