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Photo-control of material properties on femto- (10 −15 ) and pico- (10 −12 ) second timescales at room temperature has been a long-sought goal of materials science. Here we demonstrate a unique ultrafast conversion between the metallic and insulating state and the emergence of a hidden insulating state by tuning the carrier coherence in a wide temperature range in the two-leg ladder superconductor Sr 14-x Ca x Cu 24 O 41 through femtosecond time-resolved reflection spectroscopy. We also propose a theoretical scenario that can explain the experimental results. The calculations indicate that the holes injected by the ultrashort light reduce the coherence among the inherent hole pairs and result in suppression of conductivity, which is opposite to the conventional photocarrier-doping mechanism. By using trains of ultrashort laser pulses, we successively tune the carrier coherence to within 1 picosecond. Control of hole-pair coherence is shown to be a realistic strategy for tuning the electronic state on ultrafast timescales at room temperature. Controlling material properties on sub-picosecond scales using photons could allow for ultrafast optoelectronic devices. Here, the authors propose an ultrafast photoinduced metal-to-insulator transition in a two-leg ladder cuprate superconductor based on time-resolved reflection spectroscopy.

Bovine mastitis is primarily treated with antimicrobial agents. Anti-inflammatory agents are also used to alleviate clinical symptoms or reduce antimicrobial use. Glycyrrhizin is an anti-inflammatory agent used in the treatment of bovine mastitis, but its effects are not fully understood. We therefore examined the anti-inflammatory effects of glycyrrhizin both in vivo and in vitro. We first tested whether glycyrrhizin exerts anti-inflammatory effects using MAC-T cells, an immortalized bovine mammary epithelial cell line. Glycyrrhizin decreased the expression of interleukin (IL)-1β mRNA in a concentration-dependent manner in MAC-T cells stimulated with lipoteichoic acid (LTA). We then investigated the effects of glycyrrhizin in bovine mammary epithelial cells (bMECs), which seem to retain more of the characteristics of actual mammary epithelial cells. Stimulation with LTA or lipopolysaccharide significantly increased cytokine mRNA expression in bMECs. Glycyrrhizin exhibited a slight inhibitory effect, but no significant difference was observed. The effect of glycyrrhizin on LTA-induced mastitis was examined in lactating cows. Quarters were divided into test and control areas (test quarter: n=8, control quarter: n=7). All quarters were stimulated with LTA at the start of the trial (0 h). In the test quarter group, glycyrrhizin was administered via intramammary infusion. The somatic cell count and relative gene expression of IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor–α were significantly lower in test quarters than control quarters. Both the in vitro and in vivo studies showed that glycyrrhizin reduces the expression of proinflammatory cytokine genes in response to LTA-induced inflammation and partially revealed the mechanism of the anti-inflammatory effect of glycyrrhizin on mastitis. Further investigations involving field cases of mastitis with bacterial infections are needed to demonstrate the anti-inflammatory effect of glycyrrhizin on bovine mastitis.

A 9-month-old Holstein heifer with a history of severely poor growth presented with diarrhoea. On physical examination, a metallic pinging sound was heard on the simultaneous percussion and auscultation of the left trunk. On the cranial abdominal radiography, the contour of a gas-filled balloon-like abomasum wall was delineated, which elevated to the dorsal abdomen. Radiopaque sand at the bottom of the abomasum had been pulled up caudodorsally by the gas-filled abomasum. After surgery, the gas-filled balloon-like appearance of the abomasum wall disappeared and the radiopaque sand was located in the normal position. To our knowledge, no reports on a displaced abomasum on plain radiographs are available. The radiographic findings described herein are characteristic imaging findings of a displaced abomasum. Abdominal radiography could be a new option as an auxiliary diagnostic approach for a displaced abomasum.

Uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1) is predominantly expressed in brown/beige adipocytes in mammals. Although myogenic cells have been suggested to commit to a brown adipocyte lineage through the induction of Prdm16 expression, Prdm16 is also expressed in skeletal muscle. Thus, we examined expression of Ucp1 in bovine myogenic cells. Considering that Ucp1 is a principle molecule that induces energy expenditure in brown/beige adipocytes, expression of Ucp1 is not preferable in beef cattle because of potential decrease in energy (fattening) efficiency. The RT-PCR analyses revealed the expression of Ucp1 in the skeletal muscle of cattle; expression levels were markedly lower than those in the brown fat of calves. Immunohistochemical analyses showed that Ucp1 surrounded muscle fibers, but not adipocytes residing in skeletal muscle. Myosatellite cells cultured in myogenic medium showed an increase in the expression levels of myogenic regulatory factors ( < 0.05), while those in cells cultured in adipogenic medium were decreased ( < 0.05). The Ucp1 expression was also detected in myosatellite cells; expression levels were greater in cells after myogenic culture for 12 d than in those after myogenic culture for 6 d ( < 0.05) and were decreased when cells were cultured in adipogenic medium ( < 0.05). The Prdm16 expression was not affected by culture conditions, suggesting that the expression of Ucp1 is not regulated by that of Prdm16. The results of the present study provide an insight into the unexpected expression of Ucp1 in bovine skeletal muscle, which suggests the necessity for further studies on Ucp1-mediated energy expenditure in bovine skeletal muscle.

A study was conducted for about one year on the fate and behavior of estrogens, namely 17β-estradiol (E2), estrone (E1), and estriol (E3) in an activated sludge process of a pilot scale plant supplied with domestic sewage. A simultaneous analytical method for these three substances using LC-MS/MS was developed and applied to sewage samples. The average removal of E2 was 94.7%, while that of E3 was 96.9%. In contrast, the average removal of E1 was relatively low at 69.2% with a maximum concentration of 55.4 ng/L detected in the treated water. The theoretical values of estrogenic activity calculated from the concentrations of each natural estrogen in treated water were found to correlate with the values of estrogenic activity measured by a yeast estrogen screening assay. The effect of E2 on estrogenic activity in influent was found to be high, while that of E1 in treated water was considerably higher. In batch treatment tests on E2, E2 turned into E1 immediately after being charged. After three hours of aeration, the values of both E1 and E2 were around threshold limits. It was determined from this that E1 and E2 were substances that could be degraded by biological treatment. As the removal of E2 was found to be sufficiently high at times, optimization of operational conditions based on E1 removal should be important for reducing estrogenic activity in treated water.

Nine of 250 cows on a dairy farm initially developed severe dermatitis on parts of their bodies that touched the floor, and it then spread over their entire body. The cause was suspected to be calcium cyanamide, which had been added to the material spread on the floor to prevent environmental mastitis. Experimental exposure of the skin of a cow to calcium cyanamide induced the same type of contact dermatitis, and histopathological investigations showed that it caused irritant and allergic reactions. To identify the cause of the dermatitis, a patch test with calcium cyanamide and its breakdown products, cyanamide, urea and ammonium bicarbonate, was carried out on four cows. Three of them had a positive reaction to calcium cyanamide and cyanamide; delayed and amplified reactions suggesting an allergic response were observed.

The coupling of electron and nuclear motions in ultrafast charge transfer at molecule-semiconductor interfaces is central to many phenomena, including catalysis, photocatalysis, and molecular electronics. By using femtosecond laser excitation, we transferred electrons from a rutile titanium dioxide (110) surface into a CH₃OH overlayer state that is 2.3 ± 0.2 electron volts above the Fermi level. The redistributed charge was stabilized within 30 femtoseconds by the inertial motion of substrate ions (polaron formation) and, more slowly, by adsorbate molecules (solvation). According to a pronounced deuterium isotope effect (CH₃OD), this motion of heavy atoms transforms the reverse charge transfer from a purely electronic process (nonadiabatic) to a correlated response of electrons and protons.

At interfaces of metal oxide and water, partially hydrated or \"wet-electron\" states represent the lowest energy pathway for electron transfer. We studied the photoinduced electron transfer at the H₂O/TiO₂(110) interface by means of time-resolved two-photon photoemission spectroscopy and electronic structure theory. At [approximately]1-monolayer coverage of water on partially hydroxylated TiO₂ surfaces, we found an unoccupied electronic state 2.4 electron volts above the Fermi level. Density functional theory shows this to be a wet-electron state analogous to that reported in water clusters and which is distinct from hydrated electrons observed on water-covered metal surfaces. The decay of electrons from the wet-electron state to the conduction band of TiO₂ occurs in