Strong PL emission from Eu3+ ions was only observed at low temperatures, and was remarkably suppressed with increasing GSI-IX research buy temperature due to two types of nonradiative energy transfer paths. For the energy transfer process to Eu3+ ions, we suggest that the recombination energy of an electron-hole pair at the band tail near the band edge is close to that of high-lying excited levels in the Eu3+
4f shell, providing an efficient energy pathway for the excitation of Eu3+ ions in the ZnO system. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3549633]“
“Adipose tissue plays an essential role in energy homeostasis as a metabolic and endocrine organ. Accordingly, adipocytes are emerging as a major drug target for obesity and obesity-mediated metabolic syndrome. Dysfunction of enlarged adipocytes in obesity is involved in obesity-mediated metabolic syndrome. Adipocytokines, such as adiponectin released from small adipocytes, are able to prevent these disorders. In this study, we found that honokiol, an ingredient of Magnolia officinalis used in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicines, enhanced adipocyte
differentiation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Oil Red O staining showed that treatment with honokiol in the presence of insulin dose-dependently increased lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 preadipoyctes although its activity was weak compared with rosiglitazone. PP2 During adipocyte differentiation, the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma 2 (PPAR gamma 2) mRNA and PPAR gamma target genes such as adipocyte protein 2 (aP2), adiponectin, and GLUT4 was induced
by treatment with 10 mu M honokiol. However, honokiol failed to show direct binding to the PPAR gamma ligand-binding domain in vitro. In preadipocytes, treatment with honokiol in the presence of insulin increased the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated learn more kinase (ERK) 1/2 protein and Akt protein, early insulin signaling pathways related to adipocyte differentiation, compared with insulin-only treatment. Taken together, our results suggest that honokiol promotes adipocyte differentiation through increased expression of PPAR gamma 2 mRNA and potentiation of insulin signaling pathways such as the Ras/ERK1/2 and phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathways.”
“Background: A specific diagnostic test for Kawasaki disease (KD) is currently unavailable. Redness or crust formation at the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) inoculation site is listed as a positive sign in the diagnostic guidelines of KD. The purpose of this study was to investigate the epidemiologic features of KD patients with such changes at the BCG inoculation site and to evaluate the specificity of this sign in KD diagnosis.
Methods: Data on KD patients who received BCG vaccination were analyzed from a Japanese nationwide epidemiologic survey on KD conducted in 2007.