Tohoku University

About: Tohoku University is a education organization based out in Sendai, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Magnetization & Alloy. The organization has 72116 authors who have published 170791 publications receiving 3941714 citations. The organization is also known as: Tōhoku daigaku.

High accumulation of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose in turpentine-induced inflammatory tissue.

Abstract: Fluorine-18-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]FDG) uptake and distribution in an experimentaily induced inflammatory tissue were investigated. Methods: Rats were subcutaneously inoculated with turpenthe oil to induce inflammation and used for tissue distribution studies and autoradiography. Results: Time couurse study of [18F]FDG tissue distribution showed that the uptake in inflammatory tissue increased gradually until60 min and then decreased. A longitudinal study of [18F]FDG tissue distribution showed that the uptake increased progressively to a peak 4 days after inoculation and then decreased. On the fourth day postinoculation, a section of inflammatory tissue showed characteristic changes of chronic inflammation. Macro-and micro-autoradiography showed a high density of silver grains in the abscess wall consisting of an inflammatory cell layer and granulation tissue. Grain counting on micro-autoradiography of the abscess wall showed that the highest grain density was found in the marginal zone of young fibroblasts, endothelial cells of vessels and phagocytes of neutrophils and macrophages, followed by that in the neutrophil layer and granulation tissue. Conclusion: Our results indicate that [18F]FDG PET may be useful in detecting and monitoring chronic inflammatory processes.

Positive regulatory role of strigolactone in plant responses to drought and salt stress

Abstract: This report provides direct evidence that strigolactone (SL) positively regulates drought and high salinity responses in Arabidopsis. Both SL-deficient and SL-response [more axillary growth (max)] mutants exhibited hypersensitivity to drought and salt stress, which was associated with shoot- rather than root-related traits. Exogenous SL treatment rescued the drought-sensitive phenotype of the SL-deficient mutants but not of the SL-response mutant, and enhanced drought tolerance of WT plants, confirming the role of SL as a positive regulator in stress response. In agreement with the drought-sensitive phenotype, max mutants exhibited increased leaf stomatal density relative to WT and slower abscisic acid (ABA)-induced stomatal closure. Compared with WT, the max mutants exhibited increased leaf water loss rate during dehydration and decreased ABA responsiveness during germination and postgermination. Collectively, these results indicate that cross-talk between SL and ABA plays an important role in integrating stress signals to regulate stomatal development and function. Additionally, a comparative microarray analysis of the leaves of the SL-response max2 mutant and WT plants under normal and dehydrative conditions revealed an SL-mediated network controlling plant responses to stress via many stress- and/or ABA-responsive and cytokinin metabolism-related genes. Our results demonstrate that plants integrate multiple hormone-response pathways for adaptation to environmental stress. Based on our results, genetic modulation of SL content/response could be applied as a potential approach to reduce the negative impact of abiotic stress on crop productivity.

Stable and controlled amphoteric doping by encapsulation of organic molecules inside carbon nanotubes.

Abstract: Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have strong potential for molecular electronics, owing to their unique structural and electronic properties. However, various outstanding issues still need to be resolved before SWNT-based devices can be made. In particular, large-scale, air-stable and controlled doping is highly desirable. Here we present a method for integrating organic molecules into SWNTs that promises to push the performance limit of these materials for molecular electronics. Reaction of SWNTs with molecules having large electron affinity and small ionization energy achieved p- and n-type doping, respectively. Optical characterization revealed that charge transfer between SWNTs and molecules starts at certain critical energies. X-ray diffraction experiments revealed that molecules are predominantly encapsulated inside SWNTs, resulting in an improved stability in air. The simplicity of the synthetic process offers a viable route for the large-scale production of SWNTs with controlled doping states.

Extragalactic science, cosmology, and Galactic archaeology with the Subaru Prime Focus Spectrograph

Abstract: The Subaru Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) is a massively multiplexed fiber-fed optical and near-infrared three-arm spectrograph (N_fiber = 2400, 380 ≤ λ ≤ 1260 nm, 1 $_{.}^{\circ}$3 diameter field of view). Here, we summarize the science cases in terms of provisional plans for a 300-night Subaru survey. We describe plans to constrain the nature of dark energy via a survey of emission line galaxies spanning a comoving volume of 9.3 h^−3 Gpc^3 in the redshift range 0.8 < z < 2.4. In each of six redshift bins, the cosmological distances will be measured to 3% precision via the baryonic acoustic oscillation scale, and redshift-space distortion measures will constrain structure growth to 6% precision. In the near-field cosmology program, radial velocities and chemical abundances of stars in the Milky Way and M 31 will be used to infer the past assembly histories of spiral galaxies and the structure of their dark matter halos. Data will be secured for 10^6 stars in the Galactic thick-disk, halo, and tidal streams as faint as V ∼ 22, including stars with V < 20 to complement the goals of the Gaia mission. A medium-resolution mode with R = 5000 to be implemented in the red arm will allow the measurement of multiple α-element abundances and more precise velocities for Galactic stars. For the galaxy evolution program, our simulations suggest the wide wavelength range of PFS will be powerful in probing the galaxy population and its clustering over a wide redshift range. We plan to conduct a color-selected survey of 1 < z < 2 galaxies and AGN over 16 deg^2 to J ≃ 23.4, yielding a fair sample of galaxies with stellar masses above ∼10^10 M_⊙ at z ≃ 2. A two-tiered survey of higher redshift Lyman break galaxies and Lyman alpha emitters will quantify the properties of early systems close to the reionization epoch.