Showing papers by "Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute published in 2006"

Rice plants take up iron as an Fe3+-phytosiderophore and as Fe2+.

Abstract: Summary Only graminaceous monocots possess the Strategy II iron (Fe)-uptake system in which Fe is absorbed by roots as an Fe3+-phytosiderophore. In spite of being a Strategy II plant, however, rice (Oryza sativa) contains the previously identified Fe2+ transporter OsIRT1. In this study, we isolated the OsIRT2 gene from rice, which is highly homologous to OsIRT1. Real-time PCR analysis revealed that OsIRT1 and OsIRT2 are expressed predominantly in roots, and these transporters are induced by low-Fe conditions. When expressed in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cells, OsIRT2 cDNA reversed the growth defects of a yeast Fe-uptake mutant. This was similar to the effect of OsIRT1 cDNA. OsIRT1– and OsIRT2–green fluorescent protein fusion proteins localized to the plasma membrane when transiently expressed in onion (Allium cepa L.) epidermal cells. OsIRT1 promoter–GUS analysis revealed that OsIRT1 is expressed in the epidermis and exodermis of the elongating zone and in the inner layer of the cortex of the mature zone of Fe-deficient roots. OsIRT1 expression was also detected in the ccompanion cells. Analysis using the positron-emitting tracer imaging system showed that rice plants are able to take up both an Fe3+-phytosiderophore and Fe2+. This result indicates that, in addition to absorbing an Fe3+-phytosiderophore, rice possesses a novel Fe-uptake system that directly absorbs the Fe2+, a strategy that is advantageous for growth in submerged conditions.

Novel Mechanism of Antibiotic Resistance Originating in Vancomycin-Intermediate Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract: As an aggressive pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus poses a significant public health threat and is becoming increasingly resistant to currently available antibiotics, including vancomycin, the drug of last resort for gram-positive bacterial infections. S. aureus with intermediate levels of resistance to vancomycin (vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus [VISA]) was first identified in 1996. The resistance mechanism of VISA, however, has not yet been clarified. We have previously shown that cell wall thickening is a common feature of VISA, and we have proposed that a thickened cell wall is a phenotypic determinant for vancomycin resistance in VISA (L. Cui, X. Ma, K. Sato, et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 41:5-14, 2003). Here we show the occurrence of an anomalous diffusion of vancomycin through the VISA cell wall, which is caused by clogging of the cell wall with vancomycin itself. A series of experiments demonstrates that the thickened cell wall of VISA could protect ongoing peptidoglycan biosynthesis in the cytoplasmic membrane from vancomycin inhibition, allowing the cells to continue producing nascent cell wall peptidoglycan and thus making the cells resistant to vancomycin. We conclude that the cooperative effect of the clogging and cell wall thickening enables VISA to prevent vancomycin from reaching its true target in the cytoplasmic membrane, exhibiting a new class of antibiotic resistance in gram-positive pathogens.

Divacancy in 4H-SiC.

Abstract: Electron paramagnetic resonance and ab initio supercell calculations suggest that the P6/P7 centers, which were previously assigned to the photoexcited triplet states of the carbon vacancy-antisite pairs in the double positive charge state, are related to the triplet ground states of the neutral divacancy. The spin density is found to be located mainly on three nearest C neighbors of the silicon vacancy, whereas it is negligible on the nearest Si neighbors of the carbon vacancy.

Electronic structure and spectroscopy of the quaternary Heusler alloy Co2Cr1−xFexAl

Abstract: Quaternary Heusler alloys Co2Cr1 xFexAl with varying Cr to Fe ratio x were investigated experimentally and theoretically. The electronic structure and spectroscopic properties were calculated using the full relativistic Korringa-Kohn-Rostocker method with coherent potential approximation to account for the random distribution of Cr and Fe atoms as well as random disorder. Magnetic effects are included by the use of spin dependent potentials in the local spin density approximation. Magnetic circular dichroism in X-ray absorption was measured at the L2,3 edges of Co, Fe, and Cr of the pure compounds and the x = 0.4 alloy in order to determine element specific magnetic moments. Calculations and measurements show an increase of the magnetic moments with increasing iron content. Resonant (560eV - 800eV) soft X-ray as well as high resolution - high energy (� 3.5keV) hard X-ray photo emission was used to probe the density of the occupied states in Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al.

Use of a long-duration ns pulse for efficient emission of spectral lines from the laser ablation plume in water

Abstract: The effect of pulse duration upon the line profile of Cu I emission observed by laser ablation of a copper metal plate immersed in water has been examined. By irradiating a pulse with the duration longer than 40 ns the spectral profile with clear narrow emission lines of Cu atoms is obtained, while the emission spectra always suffer from broadening and self-absorption by the irradiation of the 20 ns pulse for the ablation. The results show that the use of a long-duration pulse enables in situ elemental analysis of the solid surface in contact with a bulk liquid.

The roles of specific glycosylases in determining the mutagenic consequences of clustered DNA base damage

Abstract: The potential for genetic change arising from specific single types of DNA lesion has been thoroughly explored, but much less is known about the mutagenic effects of DNA lesions present in clustered damage sites. Localized clustering of damage is a hallmark of certain DNA-damaging agents, particularly ionizing radiation. We have investigated the potential of a non-mutagenic DNA base lesion, 5,6-dihydrothymine (DHT), to influence the mutagenicity of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG) when the two lesions are closely opposed. Using a bacterial plasmid-based assay we present the first report of a significantly higher mutation frequency for the clustered DHT and 8-oxoG lesions than for single 8-oxoG in wild-type and in glycosylase-deficient strains. We propose that endonuclease III has an important role in the initial stages of processing DHT/8-oxoG clusters, removing DHT to give an intermediate with an abasic site or single-strand break opposing 8-oxoG. We suggest that this mutagenic intermediate is common to several different combinations of base lesions forming clustered DNA damage sites. The MutY glycosylase, acting post-replication, is most important for reducing mutation formation. Recovered plasmids commonly gave rise to both wild-type and mutant progeny, suggesting that there is differential replication of the two DNA strands carrying specific forms of base damage.

Comparison of transient electron heat transport in LHD helical and JT-60U tokamak plasmas

Abstract: Transient transport experiments are performed in plasmas with and without internal transport barriers (ITB) on LHD and JT-60U. The dependence of χe on the electron temperature, Te, and on the electron temperature gradient, ∇Te, is analysed with an empirical non-linear heat transport model. In plasmas without an ITB, two different types of non-linearity of the electron heat transport are observed from cold/heat pulse propagation: the χe depends on Te and ∇Te in JT-60U, while the ∇Te dependence is weak in LHD. Inside the ITB region, there is none or weak ∇Te dependence both in LHD and JT-60U. Growth of the cold pulse driven by the negative Te dependence of χe is observed inside the ITB region (LHD) and near the boundary of the ITB region (JT-60U).

Evidence for Novel Pairing State in Noncentrosymmetric Superconductor CePt3Si: 29Si-NMR Knight Shift Study

Abstract: We report the measurements of the 29 Si Knight shift 29 K on the noncentrosymmetric heavy-fermion compound CePt 3 Si in which antiferromagnetism (AFM) with T N =2.2 K coexists with superconductivity (SC) with T c =0.75 K. Its spin part 29 K s , which is deduced to be K s c ≥0.11 and 0.16% at respective magnetic fields H =2.0061 and 0.8671 T, does not decrease across the superconducting transition temperature T c for the field along the c -axis. The temperature dependence of nuclear spin–lattice relaxation of 195 Pt below T c has been accounted for by a Cooper pairing model with a two-component order parameter composed of spin-singlet and spin-triplet pairing components. From this result, it is shown that the Knight-shift data are consistent with the occurrence of the two-component order parameter for CePt 3 Si.

The phase boundary between wadsleyite and ringwoodite in Mg 2 SiO 4 determined by in situ X-ray diffraction

Abstract: The phase boundary between wadsleyite and ringwoodite in Mg2SiO4 has been determined in situ using a multi-anvil apparatus and synchrotron X-rays radiation at SPring-8. In spite of the similar X-ray diffraction profiles of these high-pressure phases with closely related structures, we were able to identify the occurrence of the mutual phase transformations based on the change in the difference profile by utilizing a newly introduced press-oscillation system. The boundary was located at ~18.9 GPa and 1,400°C when we used Shim’s gold pressure scale (Shim et al. in Earth Planet Sci Lett 203:729–739, 2002), which was slightly (~0.8 GPa) lower than the pressure as determined from the quench experiments of Katsura and Ito (J Geophys Res 94:15663–15670, 1989). Although it was difficult to constrain the Clapeyron slope based solely on the present data due to the kinetic problem, the phase boundary [P (GPa)=13.1+4.11×10−3×T (K)] calculated by a combination of a P–T position well constrained by the present experiment and the calorimetric data of Akaogi et al. (J Geophys Res 94:15671–15685, 1989) reasonably explains all the present data within the experimental error. When we used Anderson’s gold pressure scale (Anderson et al. in J Appl Phys 65:1535–1543, 1989), our phase boundary was located in ~18.1 GPa and 1,400°C, and the extrapolation boundary was consistent with that of Kuroda et al. (Phys Chem Miner 27:523–532, 2000), which was determined at high temperature (1,800–2,000°C) using a calibration based on the same pressure scale. Our new phase boundary is marginally consistent with that of Suzuki et al. (Geophys Res Lett 27:803–806, 2000) based on in situ X-ray experiments at lower temperatures (<1,000°C) using Brown’s and Decker’s NaCl pressure scales.

Finite size effects on kaonic pasta structures

Abstract: Nonuniform structures of mixed phases at the first-order phase transition to charged kaon condensation are studied using a density functional theory within the relativistic mean-field model. Including electric field effects and applying the Gibbs conditions in a proper way, we numerically determine density profiles of nucleons, electrons, and condensed kaons. Importance of charge screening effects is elucidated and thereby we show that the Maxwell construction is effectively justified. Surface effect is also studied to figure out its effect on the density profiles.

Quasi-Kondo phenomenon due to the dynamical Jahn-Teller effect.

Abstract: A mechanism of the nonmagnetic Kondo effect is proposed on the basis of a multiorbital Anderson model coupled with dynamical Jahn-Teller (JT) phonons. An electron system coupled dynamically with JT phonons has a vibronic ground state with double degeneracy due to clockwise and anticlockwise rotational modes with entropy of $\mathrm{log} 2$. When a temperature is lower than a characteristic energy to turn the rotational direction, the rotational degree of freedom is eventually suppressed and the corresponding entropy $\mathrm{log} 2$ is released, leading to quasi-Kondo behavior. We discuss a simple relation between the ``Kondo'' temperature and the JT energy.

Enrichment of Very Metal Poor Stars with Both r-Process and s-Process Elements from 8-10 M☉ Stars

Abstract: Recent spectroscopic studies have revealed the presence of numerous carbon-enhanced, metal-poor stars with [Fe/H] < -2.0 that exhibit strong enhancements of s-process elements. These stars are believed to be the result of a binary mass transfer episode from a former asymptotic giant branch (AGB) companion that underwent s-process nucleosynthesis. However, several such stars exhibit significantly lower Ba/Eu ratios than solar s-process values. This might be explained if there were an additional contribution from the r-process, thereby diluting the Ba/Eu ratio by extra production of Eu. We propose a model in which the double enhancements of r-process and s-process elements originate from a former 8-10 M☉ companion in a wide binary system, which may undergo s-processing during an AGB phase, followed by r-processing during its subsequent supernova explosion. The mass of Eu (as representative of r-process elements) captured by the secondary through the wind from the supernova is estimated and is assumed to be proportional to the geometric fraction of the secondary (low-mass, main-sequence) star with respect to the primary (exploding) star. We find that the estimated mass is in good agreement with a constraint on the Eu yield per supernova event obtained from a Galactic chemical evolution study, when the initial orbital separation is taken to be ~1 yr. If one assumes an orbital period on the order of 5 yr, the efficiency of wind pollution from the supernova must be enhanced by a factor of ~10. This may, in fact, be realized if the expansion velocity of the supernova's innermost ejecta, in which the r-process has taken place, is significantly slow, resulting in an enhancement of accretion efficiency by gravitational focusing.

Complexation of Eu(III) with Dibutyl Phosphate and Tributyl Phosphate

Abstract: The complexation of Ln(III) with tributyl phosphate (TBP) in the presence of dibutyl phosphate (HDBP) is of importance for the smooth operation of the plutonium uranium refining extraction (PUREX) process. The time resolved laser‐induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS) and extraction experiments were employed to study the complexation of Eu(III) with TBP or HDBP and their mixture. The emphasis was on the inner‐sphere hydration numbers and emission spectra of the Eu(III) extracted complexes. The results show that the HNO3 loading in the organic phase influences not only the distribution ratio but also the emission spectra, as well as the hydration numbers of the complexes. For the Eu‐TBP complexes, one water molecule remained at low HNO3 loading in the organic phase, and it would be removed at enhanced HNO3 loading. For the Eu‐HDBP complexes, one water molecule remained at low or high HNO3 loading. For the Eu‐HDBP/TBP or Eu‐HDBP/30%TBP, more than one species formed and third phase with different...

Effect of crosslinkers on the preparation and properties of ETFE-based radiation-grafted polymer electrolyte membranes

Abstract: This study concerns a comparative study of three crosslinkers, divinylbenzene (DVB), 1,2-bis(p,p-vinylphenyl)ethane (BVPE), and triallyl cyanurate (TAC) crosslinked poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE)-based radiation-grafted membranes, which were prepared by radiation grafting of p-methylstyrene onto ETFE films and subsequent sulfonation. The effect of the different types and contents of the crosslinkers on the grafting and sulfonation, and the properties such as water uptake, proton conductivity, and thermal/chemical stability of the resulting polymer electrolyte membranes were investigated in detail. Introducing crosslink structure into the radiation-grafted membranes leads to a decrease in proton conductivity due to the decrease in water uptake. The thermal stability of the crosslinked radiation-grafted membranes is also somewhat lower than that of the noncrosslinked one. However, the crosslinked radiation-grafted membranes show significantly higher chemical stability characterized in the 3% H2O2 at 50°C. Among the three crosslinkers, the DVB shows a most pronounced efficiency on the crosslinking of the radiation-grafted membranes, while the TAC has no significant influence; the BVPE is a mild and effective crosslinker, showing the moderate influence between the DVB and TAC crosslinkers. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 4565–4574, 2006

Preparation and characterization of methacrylate-based semi-micro monoliths for high-throughput bioanalysis.

Abstract: Hexyl methacrylate (HMA)-based monolithic semi-micro columns were prepared by in situ polymerization within the confines of 1.02-mm-i.d. silicosteel tubing for reversed-phase and/or precipitation-redissolution liquid chromatography. Practically useful monolithic columns with adequate separation efficiency, high permeability, and good mechanical strength were successfully obtained using a polymerization mixture comprising 24% hexyl methacrylate (HMA), 6% ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA), 44.5% 1-propanol, and 25.5% 1,4-butanediol. The column performance was evaluated through the separations of a series of alkylbenzenes. At a normal flow rate of 50 microL min(-1), the produced HMA-based monolithic columns typically exhibited 3,000 theoretical plates for a 20-cm-long column, and the pressure drop was generally less than 1 MPa per 20 cm. The monolithic columns were resistant to at least 15 MPa, and could be properly operated at 15-20 times higher flow rate than normal, reducing the separation time to 1/15-1/20. The HMA-based monolithic columns were applied to rapid and efficient separations of proteins such as ribonuclease A, cytochrome c, transferrin, and ovalbumin in the precipitation-redissolution mode. Using a CH(3)CN gradient elution at a flow rate of 1,000 microL min(-1), four proteins were baseline separated within 20 s.