Mitochondrial dynamics in exercise physiology.

A growing body of evidence suggests that exercise shows pleiotropic effects on the maintenance of systemic homeostasis through mitochondria. Dysregulation of mitochondrial dynamism is associated with metabolic inflexibility, resulting in many of the metabolic diseases and aging. Studies have suggested that exercise prevents and delays the progression of mitochondrial dysfunction by improving mitochondrial metabolism, biogenesis, and quality control. Exercise modulates functions of mitochondrial dynamics-regulating proteins through post-translational modification mechanisms. In this review, we discuss the putative mechanisms underlying maintenance of mitochondrial homeostasis by exercise, especially focusing on the post-translational modifications of several signaling proteins contributing to mitochondrial biogenesis, autophagy or mitophagy flux, and fission/fusion cycle. We also introduce novel small molecules that can potentially mimic exercise therapy through preserving mitochondrial dynamism. These recent advancements in the field of mitochondrial biology may lead to a greater understanding of exercise signaling.

Nearly diffraction-limited hard X-ray line focusing with hybrid adaptive X-ray mirror based on mechanical and piezo-driven deformation.

We have developed the new hybrid adaptive X-ray mirror based on mechanical and piezo-driven deformation to realize precise shape controllability on a long-length mirror. The mechanical bender approximately provides the required ellipse, while the piezoelectric actuators attached to the mirror correct very small residual errors to satisfy the diffraction-limited condition. The mechanical bender significantly reduces the role of the piezoelectric actuator, resulting in the suppression of accuracy degradation due to the drift and/or junction effect of the piezoelectric actuators. In addition, line focusing was demonstrated with two different numerical apertures at SPring-8, and the obtained beam sizes were 127 and 253 nm (FWHM), which agree well with the diffraction-limited sizes.

Generation of apodized X-ray illumination and its application to scanning and diffraction microscopy.

X-ray science has greatly benefited from the progress in X-ray optics. Advances in the design and the manufacturing techniques of X-ray optics are key to the success of various microscopic and spectroscopic techniques practiced today. Here the generation of apodized X-ray illumination using a two-stage deformable Kirkpatrick-Baez mirror system is presented. Such apodized illumination is marked by the suppression of the side-lobe intensities of the focused beam. Thus generated apodized illumination was employed to improve the image quality in scanning X-ray fluorescence microscopy. Imaging of a non-isolated object by coherent X-ray diffractive imaging with apodized illumination in a non-scanning mode is also presented.

Nearly diffraction-limited X-ray focusing with variable-numerical-aperture focusing optical system based on four deformable mirrors.

Unlike the electrostatic and electromagnetic lenses used in electron microscopy, most X-ray focusing optical systems have fixed optical parameters with constant numerical apertures (NAs). This lack of adaptability has significantly limited application targets. In the research described herein, we developed a variable-NA X-ray focusing system based on four deformable mirrors, two sets of Kirkpatrick-Baez-type focusing mirrors, in order to control the focusing size while keeping the position of the focus unchanged. We applied a mirror deformation procedure using optical/X-ray metrology for offline/online adjustments. We performed a focusing test at a SPring-8 beamline and confirmed that the beam size varied from 108 nm to 560 nm (165 nm to 1434 nm) in the horizontal (vertical) direction by controlling the NA while maintaining diffraction-limited conditions.

Hard X-ray nanofocusing using adaptive focusing optics based on piezoelectric deformable mirrors.

An adaptive Kirkpatrick-Baez mirror focusing optics based on piezoelectric deformable mirrors was constructed at SPring-8 and its focusing performance characteristics were demonstrated. By adjusting the voltages applied to the deformable mirrors, the shape errors (compared to a target elliptical shape) were finely corrected on the basis of the mirror shape determined using the pencil-beam method, which is a type of at-wavelength figure metrology in the X-ray region. The mirror shapes were controlled with a peak-to-valley height accuracy of 2.5 nm. A focused beam with an intensity profile having a full width at half maximum of 110 × 65 nm (V × H) was achieved at an X-ray energy of 10 keV.

Niobium(V) chloride catalyzed oxidation of dithioacetals with 30% hydrogen peroxide: a concise preparation of bissulfonylmethylene compounds.

The oxidation of dithioacetals with 16 eq of 30% hydrogen peroxide in the presence of 10 mol% niobium(V) chloride at room temperature provides bissulfonylmethylenes in high yields.

Radiation therapy for limited-stage small-cell esophageal cancer.

Between 1985 and 1999, 20 patients with limited-stage small-cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCEC) received radiation therapy at Tohoku University Hospital and Miyagi Cancer Center Hospital. Twelve patients received definitive radiation therapy and eight patients received postoperative prophylactic irradiation after surgery. The 1-, 2-, and 5-year survival rates of all cases were 44%, 37%, and 19%, respectively. Distant metastasis was the most frequent pattern of recurrence. Survival rates differed significantly between the 6 patients who were not treated with chemotherapy (median survival time, 5 months) and the 14 patients who were (24 months) (p = 0.0061). Good local control rates can be obtained by definite or postoperative radiation therapy for SCEC. However, SCEC should be regarded as a systemic disease, and chemotherapy should be given. Multiinstitutional studies are needed to obtain sufficiently large populations for investigation and optimization of local therapy for this disease.