Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Jan 6, 2015
Although protein folding and stability have been well explored under simplified conditions in vit... more Although protein folding and stability have been well explored under simplified conditions in vitro, it is yet unclear how these basic self-organization events are modulated by the crowded interior of live cells. To find out, we use here in-cell NMR to follow at atomic resolution the thermal unfolding of a β-barrel protein inside mammalian and bacterial cells. Challenging the view from in vitro crowding effects, we find that the cells destabilize the protein at 37 °C but with a conspicuous twist: While the melting temperature goes down the cold unfolding moves into the physiological regime, coupled to an augmented heat-capacity change. The effect seems induced by transient, sequence-specific, interactions with the cellular components, acting preferentially on the unfolded ensemble. This points to a model where the in vivo influence on protein behavior is case specific, determined by the individual protein's interplay with the functionally optimized "interaction landscape&qu...
We studied the motion of fluxons in a stack of intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) of Bi2Sr2CaCu... more We studied the motion of fluxons in a stack of intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta single crystals in a long junction limit. Driven by the tunnelling bias, current Josephson fluxons excite plasma oscillations and move in resonance with the plasma propagation modes. We examined two types of samples in this study; mesa structure (UD1) and a stack of junctions sandwiched between normal-metallic electrodes (DSC1). In a high magnetic field, the hysteresis in the I-V characteristics of both-types of samples vanished. The resulting single I-V curve exhibited a cusp structure at characteristic bias voltages which were believed to be boundaries of different moving fluxon configurations. We studied the sample-geometry dependence of the cusp characteristics by comparing the results from the two types of samples.
Advances in Microelectronic Device Technology, 2001
ABSTRACT Using a newly developed double-side fabrication method, an IJJ stack plus a bow-tie ante... more ABSTRACT Using a newly developed double-side fabrication method, an IJJ stack plus a bow-tie antenna and chokes were integrated in a slice 200 nm thick and singled out from inside a bulk Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x (BSCCO) single crystal. The junctions in the fabricated stack were very uniform, and the number of junctions involved was rather controllable. In addition to this method, which can be used to fabricate integrated circuits based on intrinsic Josephson junctions in high temperature (Tc) superconductors, also reported will be terahertz responses of IJJs, and the possible applications in quantum voltage standard, spectroscopy, and so on.
The Brazilian journal of infectious diseases : an official publication of the Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases
Sepsis is one of the major causes of death and is the biggest obstacle preventing improvement of ... more Sepsis is one of the major causes of death and is the biggest obstacle preventing improvement of the success rate in curing critical illnesses. Currently, isotonic solutions are used in fluid resuscitation technique. Several studies have shown that hypertonic saline applied in hemorrhagic shock can rapidly increase the plasma osmotic pressure, facilitate the rapid return of interstitial fluid into the blood vessels, and restore the effective circulating blood volume. Here, we established a rat model of sepsis by using the cecal ligation and puncture approach. We found that intravenous injection of hypertonic saline dextran (7.5% NaCl/6% dextran) after cecal ligation and puncture can improve circulatory failure at the onset of sepsis. We found that the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6 and intracellular adhesion molecule 1 levels in the lung tissue of cecal ligation and puncture rats treated with hypertonic saline dextran were significantly lower than t...
Black-oil, compositional and thermal simulators have been developed to address different physical... more Black-oil, compositional and thermal simulators have been developed to address different physical processes in reservoir simulation. A number of different types of discretization methods have also been proposed to address issues related to representing the complex reservoir geometry. These methods are more significant for fractured reservoirs where the geometry can be particularly challenging. In this project, a general modular framework
Experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN), an autoimmune inflammatory demyelinating disease of the p... more Experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN), an autoimmune inflammatory demyelinating disease of the peripheral nervous system, represents an animal model of the human Guillain-Barré syndrome. EAN can be induced by active immunization in several animals, including Lewis rats. In contrast, most strains of mice including the widely used C57BL/6 (B6) strain are reputedly resistant to the induction of EAN. In the present study, we demonstrate that in B6 mice, anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody administration in conjunction with immunization with the P0 protein derived peptide 180-199 can induce clinical and pathological definite EAN. Upregulating effects of CTLA-4 blockade on initial and ongoing EAN are demonstrated. CTLA-4 blockade augmented cellular infiltration and enhanced demyelination in the target organ sciatic nerves as well as increased T cell proliferation in lymph node cells. Moreover, serum levels of IFN-gamma and IL-4 were increased. Thus, manipulation of CTLA-4/B7 costimulatory pathway by CTLA-4 blockade can promote autoreactivity and break the relative tolerance to peripheral autoantigen P0 in resistant B6 mice.
Abstract Single-crystal whiskers of Y 1 Ba 2 Cu 3 O x with a length of approximately 4 mm were gr... more Abstract Single-crystal whiskers of Y 1 Ba 2 Cu 3 O x with a length of approximately 4 mm were grown from an Sb-doped precursor. The optimum nominal composition of precursors in this Sb-doping method is Y 2 Ba 2.75 Cu 3 Sb 0.5 O x. Sb is not detected in the whiskers ...
IEEE Transactions on Appiled Superconductivity, 2005
AbstractOscillations of Josephson vortex-flow resistance have been studied in narrow ( 2 4 ) Bi2... more AbstractOscillations of Josephson vortex-flow resistance have been studied in narrow ( 2 4 ) Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ intrinsic Josephson junctions as a function of magnetic field ap-plied parallel to junction edges. Lengths of junctions fabricated are 1 m in order to enhance pinning ...
IEEE Transactions on Appiled Superconductivity, 2003
I. INTRODUCTION IN ADDITION to the existing commercial backward-wave oscillators (BWO) and far-in... more I. INTRODUCTION IN ADDITION to the existing commercial backward-wave oscillators (BWO) and far-infrared (FIR) gas lasers, recently many kinds of terahertz (THz) generators have been actively developed such as free electron lasers [1], p-Ge hot-carrier lasers [2], THz ...
Experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) is caused by autoantibodies against the nicotini... more Experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) is caused by autoantibodies against the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) at the neuromuscular postsynaptic membrane and represents an animal model of myasthenia gravis in human. Recent studies highlighted the roles of TH1 cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-12), rather than TH2 cytokines (IL-4), in the pathogenesis of EAMG by using homozygous (−/−) knockout mice with an EAMG-susceptible genetic
We have found that by extensive current injection along the c-axis, the superconducting propertie... more We have found that by extensive current injection along the c-axis, the superconducting properties of can be changed effectively. We show that critical temperature, c-axis resistivity, and critical current of intrinsic Josephson junctions can be tuned in a large range from underdoping ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Jan 6, 2015
Although protein folding and stability have been well explored under simplified conditions in vit... more Although protein folding and stability have been well explored under simplified conditions in vitro, it is yet unclear how these basic self-organization events are modulated by the crowded interior of live cells. To find out, we use here in-cell NMR to follow at atomic resolution the thermal unfolding of a β-barrel protein inside mammalian and bacterial cells. Challenging the view from in vitro crowding effects, we find that the cells destabilize the protein at 37 °C but with a conspicuous twist: While the melting temperature goes down the cold unfolding moves into the physiological regime, coupled to an augmented heat-capacity change. The effect seems induced by transient, sequence-specific, interactions with the cellular components, acting preferentially on the unfolded ensemble. This points to a model where the in vivo influence on protein behavior is case specific, determined by the individual protein's interplay with the functionally optimized "interaction landscape&qu...
We studied the motion of fluxons in a stack of intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) of Bi2Sr2CaCu... more We studied the motion of fluxons in a stack of intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta single crystals in a long junction limit. Driven by the tunnelling bias, current Josephson fluxons excite plasma oscillations and move in resonance with the plasma propagation modes. We examined two types of samples in this study; mesa structure (UD1) and a stack of junctions sandwiched between normal-metallic electrodes (DSC1). In a high magnetic field, the hysteresis in the I-V characteristics of both-types of samples vanished. The resulting single I-V curve exhibited a cusp structure at characteristic bias voltages which were believed to be boundaries of different moving fluxon configurations. We studied the sample-geometry dependence of the cusp characteristics by comparing the results from the two types of samples.
Advances in Microelectronic Device Technology, 2001
ABSTRACT Using a newly developed double-side fabrication method, an IJJ stack plus a bow-tie ante... more ABSTRACT Using a newly developed double-side fabrication method, an IJJ stack plus a bow-tie antenna and chokes were integrated in a slice 200 nm thick and singled out from inside a bulk Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x (BSCCO) single crystal. The junctions in the fabricated stack were very uniform, and the number of junctions involved was rather controllable. In addition to this method, which can be used to fabricate integrated circuits based on intrinsic Josephson junctions in high temperature (Tc) superconductors, also reported will be terahertz responses of IJJs, and the possible applications in quantum voltage standard, spectroscopy, and so on.
The Brazilian journal of infectious diseases : an official publication of the Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases
Sepsis is one of the major causes of death and is the biggest obstacle preventing improvement of ... more Sepsis is one of the major causes of death and is the biggest obstacle preventing improvement of the success rate in curing critical illnesses. Currently, isotonic solutions are used in fluid resuscitation technique. Several studies have shown that hypertonic saline applied in hemorrhagic shock can rapidly increase the plasma osmotic pressure, facilitate the rapid return of interstitial fluid into the blood vessels, and restore the effective circulating blood volume. Here, we established a rat model of sepsis by using the cecal ligation and puncture approach. We found that intravenous injection of hypertonic saline dextran (7.5% NaCl/6% dextran) after cecal ligation and puncture can improve circulatory failure at the onset of sepsis. We found that the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6 and intracellular adhesion molecule 1 levels in the lung tissue of cecal ligation and puncture rats treated with hypertonic saline dextran were significantly lower than t...
Black-oil, compositional and thermal simulators have been developed to address different physical... more Black-oil, compositional and thermal simulators have been developed to address different physical processes in reservoir simulation. A number of different types of discretization methods have also been proposed to address issues related to representing the complex reservoir geometry. These methods are more significant for fractured reservoirs where the geometry can be particularly challenging. In this project, a general modular framework
Experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN), an autoimmune inflammatory demyelinating disease of the p... more Experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN), an autoimmune inflammatory demyelinating disease of the peripheral nervous system, represents an animal model of the human Guillain-Barré syndrome. EAN can be induced by active immunization in several animals, including Lewis rats. In contrast, most strains of mice including the widely used C57BL/6 (B6) strain are reputedly resistant to the induction of EAN. In the present study, we demonstrate that in B6 mice, anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody administration in conjunction with immunization with the P0 protein derived peptide 180-199 can induce clinical and pathological definite EAN. Upregulating effects of CTLA-4 blockade on initial and ongoing EAN are demonstrated. CTLA-4 blockade augmented cellular infiltration and enhanced demyelination in the target organ sciatic nerves as well as increased T cell proliferation in lymph node cells. Moreover, serum levels of IFN-gamma and IL-4 were increased. Thus, manipulation of CTLA-4/B7 costimulatory pathway by CTLA-4 blockade can promote autoreactivity and break the relative tolerance to peripheral autoantigen P0 in resistant B6 mice.
Abstract Single-crystal whiskers of Y 1 Ba 2 Cu 3 O x with a length of approximately 4 mm were gr... more Abstract Single-crystal whiskers of Y 1 Ba 2 Cu 3 O x with a length of approximately 4 mm were grown from an Sb-doped precursor. The optimum nominal composition of precursors in this Sb-doping method is Y 2 Ba 2.75 Cu 3 Sb 0.5 O x. Sb is not detected in the whiskers ...
IEEE Transactions on Appiled Superconductivity, 2005
AbstractOscillations of Josephson vortex-flow resistance have been studied in narrow ( 2 4 ) Bi2... more AbstractOscillations of Josephson vortex-flow resistance have been studied in narrow ( 2 4 ) Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ intrinsic Josephson junctions as a function of magnetic field ap-plied parallel to junction edges. Lengths of junctions fabricated are 1 m in order to enhance pinning ...
IEEE Transactions on Appiled Superconductivity, 2003
I. INTRODUCTION IN ADDITION to the existing commercial backward-wave oscillators (BWO) and far-in... more I. INTRODUCTION IN ADDITION to the existing commercial backward-wave oscillators (BWO) and far-infrared (FIR) gas lasers, recently many kinds of terahertz (THz) generators have been actively developed such as free electron lasers [1], p-Ge hot-carrier lasers [2], THz ...
Experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) is caused by autoantibodies against the nicotini... more Experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) is caused by autoantibodies against the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) at the neuromuscular postsynaptic membrane and represents an animal model of myasthenia gravis in human. Recent studies highlighted the roles of TH1 cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-12), rather than TH2 cytokines (IL-4), in the pathogenesis of EAMG by using homozygous (−/−) knockout mice with an EAMG-susceptible genetic
We have found that by extensive current injection along the c-axis, the superconducting propertie... more We have found that by extensive current injection along the c-axis, the superconducting properties of can be changed effectively. We show that critical temperature, c-axis resistivity, and critical current of intrinsic Josephson junctions can be tuned in a large range from underdoping ...
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