We have measured the W-boson mass M_{W} using data corresponding to 2.2  fb^{-1} of integrated luminosity collected in pp[over ¯] collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96  TeV with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. Samples consisting of 470 126 W→eν candidates and 624 708 W→μν candidates yield the measurement M_{W}=80 387±12_{stat.}±15_{syst.}=80 387±19  MeV/c^{2}. This is the most precise measurement of the W-boson mass to date and significantly exceeds the precision of all previous measurements combined.

The angular distributions of muons from Υ(1S,2S,3S)→μ^{+}μ^{-} decays are measured using data from pp[over ¯] collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96  TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 6.7  fb^{-1} and collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. This analysis is the first to report the full angular distributions as functions of transverse momentum p_{T} for Υ mesons in both the Collins-Soper and s-channel helicity frames. This is also the first measurement of the spin alignment of Υ(3S) mesons. Within the kinematic range of Υ rapidity |y|<0.6 and p_{T} up to 40  GeV/c, the angular distributions are found to be nearly isotropic.

We recently cloned a paired-related homeodomain protein Prx2 as a novel factor in the pituitary. Here, we investigated ontogenic profiles of Prx2 and another cognate Prx1 in the rat embryonic pituitary. Quantitative Real-Time PCR showed low expression of Prx2 and marked increase of Prx1 on rat embryonic day (E) 20.5. Immunohistochemical analyses using an antibody, which recognizes both proteins, to investigate their roles in the pituitary organogenesis demonstrated that PRXs first appear in the Rathke's pouch on E13.5 in the pituitary stem/progenitor cells expressing Prop1 and Sox2. After E16.5, the number of Prx-expressing cells was increased in both anterior and intermediate lobes. SOX2(+) stem/progenitor cells in the intermediate lobe started to produce PRXs, and PRX(+)/SOX2(+)/PROP1(+)-cells were present on the anterior side of the marginal cell layer and were scattered in the parenchyma of the anterior lobe. On the other hand, PRX(+)-cells negative for PROP1 and SOX2 were located in the anterior lobe. Analysis of the relationship with pituitary endocrine cells revealed that a part of PRX(+)/PROP1(-)/SOX2(-)-cells in the anterior lobe co-expressed all kinds of hormones. The proportion of co-localization of PRXs and hormones was highest on the day each hormone first appeared. These data indicated that PRXs are produced in the pituitary progenitor cells and may play roles in the process of terminal differentiation during early pituitary organogenesis. An in vitro siRNA-knockdown experiment in the pituitary-derived cell line, TtT/GF, revealed that PRX1 and PRX2 play roles in proliferation by different mechanisms, since knockdown of Prx2, but not Prx1, induced the p21 expression. Furthermore, immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that 76% of PRXs+ cells were positive for a cell proliferation marker Ki67 in the E18.5 pituitary. This is the first report of the involvement of PRX1 and PRX2 in organogenesis of the tissue originated from ectoderm other than mesoderm. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Neuroendocrinology © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Recently, we developed polyethyleneglycol (PEG)-modified liposomes (Bubble liposomes; BLs) entrapping ultrasound (US) gas and reported that the combination of BL and US exposure was an effective tool for the delivery of pDNA directly into skeletal muscles of an ischemic hindlimb model with local injection. To achieve gene delivery to deeper tissues, we attempted to prepare novel Bubble liposomes which were able to be loaded with pDNA and useful for systemic injection. We prepared BLs using cationic lipid and analyzed the interaction with the BLs and pDNA using flow cytometry. The solution of pDNA-loaded BLs (p-BLs) was further injected into the tail vein of hindlimb ischemia model mice and transdermal US exposure was applied to ischemic hindlimb. The effects of transfection on angiogenic factors were investigated by real-time PCR. Blood flow was determined using a laser Doppler blood flow meter. The interaction with BLs and pDNA increased by the presence of DOTAP and short PEG chains and resulted in increased stability of pDNA in the serum. Transfection with pDNA encoding the bFGF gene using p-BLs and US induced various angiogenic factors and improved the blood flow. The gene delivery system into the ischemic hindlimb using the combination of p-BLs and US exposure could be an effective tool for angiogenic gene therapy via systemic injection.

Although EGFR is expressed at high levels in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) and mutations are extremely rare, monotherapy with EGFR inhibitors has shown limited success. The PI3kinase/Akt pathway is responsible for cellular survival, and inhibition of phosphatidylinositol (PI) synthesis has antiproliferative, anti-invasive, and antiangiogenesis effects on HNSCC. Molecular crosstalk has been observed between EGFR and IGF1R signaling through the PI3kinase/Akt pathway in HNSCC, as has molecular crosstalk between the NFκB and STAT3 signaling pathways. Therefore, the combination of an EGFR antagonist with an agent that inhibits the activation of both Akt and NFκB may overcome resistance to EGFR antagonists in HNSCC.

We demonstrate a new high-order harmonic generation mechanism reaching the "water window" spectral region in experiments with multiterawatt femtosecond lasers irradiating gas jets. A few hundred harmonic orders are resolved, giving μJ/sr pulses. Harmonics are collectively emitted by an oscillating electron spike formed at the joint of the boundaries of a cavity and bow wave created by a relativistically self-focusing laser in underdense plasma. The spike sharpness and stability are explained by catastrophe theory. The mechanism is corroborated by particle-in-cell simulations.

Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (SEZ) is a zoonotic pathogen that causes respiratory tract infections in man and animals. SEZ infections are very rare in felids. This report describes purulent meningoventriculitis caused by SEZ in an approximately 16-year-old male snow leopard (Panthera uncia). The animal exhibited neurological signs and died 1 month after their onset. On necropsy examination, the surface blood vessels of the brain were swollen and there was an increased volume and turbidity of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Microscopically, suppurative inflammation accompanied by gram-positive cocci was observed in the meninges and near the ventricles. SEZ was isolated from the brain tissue and CSF. This is the first report of infection with SEZ in a felid other than a domestic cat. This animal had not had direct contact with horses, but it had been fed horse flesh that may have been the source of infection.

Plastid division is controlled by numerous nuclear genes. Arabidopsis thaliana CRUMPLED LEAF (AtCRL) is a plastid division-related gene, and the crl mutant exhibits a dwarf phenotype with abnormal cell division and a significant reduction in plastid numbers. However, the function of AtCRL is not fully understood. Here, we identified and characterized two AtCRL homologs, PpCRL1 and PpCRL2, in the moss Physcomitrella patens. PpCRL1 and PpCRL2 shared 77% amino acid identity with each other and 47% identity with AtCRL. Single PpCRL1 or -2 gene knockout (KO) mutants could not be distinguished from the wild-type mosses, but PpCRL1 and -2 double KO mutants displayed growth retardation of protonemata and gametophores and harbored ∼10 large chloroplasts per cell. This indicates that PpCRL1 and PpCRL2 have redundant functions in chloroplast division and plant growth. Unlike the A. thaliana crl mutants, however, the PpCRL double KO mutants did not display abnormal orientation of the cell division plane. Complementation experiments showed that AtCRL partially rescued the defects in chloroplast size and number of the PpCRL double KO mutant. This suggests that PpCRL has a similar, but not identical, function to AtCRL. Time-lapse microscopic observation of the double PpCRL KO mutants revealed that some dumbbell-shaped chloroplasts failed to complete division at the late stage of plastid division; enlarged chloroplasts were thus generated. This strongly suggests that PpCRLs are involved in the complete separation of dividing chloroplasts.

By using a new member of the neurotropic equine herpesviruses, EHV-9, which induced encephalitis in various species via various routes, an ocular infection model was developed in suckling hamsters. The suckling hamsters were inoculated with EHV-9 via the conjunctival route and were sacrificed after 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96, 120, and 144 hours (h) post inoculation (PI). Three horizontal sections of the brains, including the eyes and cranial cavity, were examined histologically to assess the viral kinetics and time-course neuropathological alterations using a panoramic view. At 6 to 24 h PI, there were various degrees of necrosis in the conjunctival epithelial cells, as well as frequent mononuclear cell infiltrations in the lamina propria and the tarsus of the eyelid, and frequent myositis of the eyelid muscles. At 96 h PI, encephalitis was observed in the brainstem at the level of the pons and cerebellum. EHV-9 antigen immunoreactivity was detected in the macrophages circulating in the eyelid and around the fine nerve endings supplying the eyelid, the nerves of the extraocular muscles, and the lacrimal glands from 6 h to 144 h PI. At 96 h PI, the viral antigen immunoreactivity was detected in the brainstem at the level of the pons and cerebellum. These results suggest that EHV-9 invaded the brain via the trigeminal nerve in addition to the abducent, oculomotor, and facial nerves. This conjunctival EHV-9 suckling hamster model may be useful in assessing the neuronal spread of neuropathogenic viruses via the eyes to the brain.

Tuliposides, the glucose esters of 4-hydroxy-2-methylenebutanoate and 3,4-dihydroxy-2-methylenebutanoate, are major secondary metabolites in tulip (Tulipa gesneriana). Their lactonized aglycons, tulipalins, function as defensive chemicals due to their biological activities. We recently found that tuliposide-converting enzyme (TCE) purified from tulip bulbs catalyzed conversion of tuliposides to tulipalins, but the possibility of presence of several TCE isozymes was raised: TCE in tissues other than bulbs is different from bulb TCE. Here, to prove this hypothesis, TCE was purified from petals that have the second highest TCE activity after bulbs. The purified enzyme, like the bulb enzyme, preferentially accepted tuliposides as substrates, with 6-tuliposide A the best substrate, which allowed naming the enzyme 'tuliposide A-converting enzyme (TCEA)%rsquo;, but specific activity and molecular mass differed between the petal and bulb enzymes. Following peptide sequencing, novel cDNA (TgTCEA) encoding petal TCEA was isolated, and the functional characterization of the recombinant enzyme verified that TgTCEA catalyzes conversion of 6-tuliposide A to tulipalin A. TgTCEA was transcribed in all tulip tissues, but not in bulbs, indicating the presence of a bulb-specific TgTCEA, as suggested by the distinct enzymatic characters between the petal and bulb enzymes. Plastidial localization of TgTCEA enzyme was revealed, which allowed proposing the cytological mechanism of TgTCE-mediated tulipalin formation in tulip defensive strategy. Site-directed mutagenesis of TgTCEA suggested that the oxyanion hole and catalytic triad characteristic to typical carboxylesterases are essential for the catalytic process of TgTCEA enzyme. The enzyme, TgTCEA, was the first identified member of the lactone-forming carboxylesterases, specifically catalyzing intramolecular transesterification.