Yuji Saito

Microbial synthesis of copolymers of [R]-3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) and 4-hydroxybutyrate (4HB), P(3HB-co-4HB), by Alcaligenes eutrophus, Alcaligenes latus, and Comamonas acidovorans from various carbon sources has been studied. The copolyester compositions varied from 0 to 100 mol% 4HB, depending on the microorganism and the combination of carbon substrates supplied. The thermal and physical properties of compositions with 0–100 mol% 4HB were investigated. The copolyesters represented a wide varie

Previous studies showed that the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) can be transactivated by platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) stimulation and that EGFR transactivation is required for PDGF-stimulated cell migration. To investigate the mechanism for cross talk between the PDGF beta receptor (PDGFbetaR) and the EGFR, we stimulated rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) with 20 ng of PDGF/ml. Transactivation of the EGFR, defined by receptor tyrosine phosphorylation, occurred with

Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) was inhibited by 50% within 5 min when A431 cells were stimulated with epidermal growth factor (EGF). The inhibition was unaffected by rapamycin at concentrations which blocked the activation of p70 S6 kinase, and reversed by incubation with protein phosphatase-1. EGF stimulation of A431 cells inhibited GSK3 alpha and GSK3 beta to a similar extent, and inhibition was accompanied by phosphorylation of the tryptic peptides containing the serine residues phosphoryl

In this paper, the sparse sensor placement problem for least-squares estimation is considered, and the previous novel approach of the sparse sensor selection algorithm is extended. The maximization of the determinant of the matrix which appears in pseudo-inverse matrix operations is employed as an objective function of the problem in the present extended approach. The procedure for the maximization of the determinant of the corresponding matrix is proved to be mathematically the same as that of

Cardiac tamponade is usually a consequence of increased pericardial pressure with accumulation of pericardial effusion. Pericardial effusion may be caused by acute pericarditis, tumor, uremia, hypothyroidism, trauma, cardiac surgery, or other inflammatory/noninflammatory conditions. In this article we describe four scenarios illustrated by case reports where a small or apparently small pericardial effusion may produce cardiac tamponade. The first scenario illustrates how a small pericardial effu