Plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) facilitates the transfer of cholesteryl ester (CE) from high density lipoprotein (HDL) to apolipoprotein

Abstract. We have systematically estimated the possible temperatures obtained from an analysis of recent data on pt distributions observed at RHIC experiments. Using the fact that observed pt distributions cannot be described by the original Hagedorn formula in the whole range of transverse momenta (in particular above 6 GeV/c), we propose a modified Hagedorn formula including temperature fluctuation. We show that by using it we can fit pt distributions in the whole range and can estimate consistently the relevant temperatures, including their fluctuations.PACS. 25.75.-q Relativistic heavy ion collisions -12.40.Ee Statistical (extensive and non-extensive) models -02.50.Ey Stochastic models

We investigate the negative-parity baryon spectra in quenched lattice QCD. We employ the anisotropic lattice with standard Wilson gauge and O(a) improved Wilson quark actions at three values of lattice spacings with renormalized anisotropy ξ = aσ/aτ = 4, where aσ and aτ are spatial and temporal lattice spacings, respectively. The negative-parity baryons are measured with the parity projection. In particular, we pay much attention to the lowest SU (3) flavor-singlet negativeparity baryon, which is assigned as the Λ(1405) in the quark model. For the flavor octet and decuplet negative-parity baryons, the calculated masses are close to the experimental values of corresponding lowest-lying negative-parity baryons. In contrast, the flavor-singlet baryon is found to be about 1.7 GeV, which is much heavier than the Λ(1405). Therefore, it is difficult to identify the Λ(1405) to be the flavor-singlet three-quark state, which seems to support an interesting picture of the penta-quark (udsqq) state or the NK molecule for the Λ(1405).

To develop the high-performance filters and duplexers required for recent long-term evolution frequency bands in mobile handsets, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonator is needed that has a higher quality (Q) and a lower temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF). To achieve this, the authors focused on acoustic energy confinement in the depth direction for a rotated Y-X LiTaO (LT) substrate. Characteristics of multilayered substrates with low-impedance and high-impedance layers under LT layer were studied numerically in terms of acoustic energy distribution, phase velocity, coupling coefficient, and temperature characteristics employing a finite-element method simulation. After several calculations, a novel multilayered structure was developed that uses SiO for a low-impedance layer and AlN for a high-impedance layer under the thin LT layer. A one-port resonator using the new substrate was fabricated, and its experimental results showed that the developed resonator had a Bode-Q over 4000 and TCF of -8 ppm/°C, which are four times higher than and one-fifth as small as those of a conventional 4° YX-LT SAW resonator, respectively. By applying this technology, a band 25 duplexer with very narrow duplex gap was successfully developed, which shows extremely low insertion loss, steep cutoff characteristics, and stable temperature characteristics.

Low levels of HDL cholesterol have been clearly demonstrated to be associated with an increased incidence of coronary heart disease, strongly suggesting that HDL particles have an antiatherogenic function. However, little information has been available concerning the atherogenicity of a marked hyperalphalipoproteinemia (HALP). There is no agreement about whether plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) deficiency is associated with an antiatherogenic state or not, although this disorder was reported to be one of the major causes of marked HALP. In the current study, we have found a unique area (Omagari City, Akita Prefecture, Japan) where CETP deficiency caused by a G-to-A mutation at the 5' splice donor site of intron 14 in the CETP gene is extremely frequent. In Omagari City, the mutation was detected more than 20 times more frequently and the prevalence of a marked HALP with plasma HDL cholesterol > or = 2.58 mmol/L (100 mg/dL) was 5 to 10 times higher than in other areas of Japan. This discovery has made it possible to perform a large population-based study concerning the atherogenicity of a marked elevation of HDL cholesterol in a genetically more homogeneous population. There was a statistically significant U-shaped relationship between HDL cholesterol levels and the incidence of ischemic changes in electrocardiograms. In cases of HDL cholesterol < 1.81 mmol/L (70 mg/dL), the incidence increased in proportion to the levels of HDL cholesterol. The frequency of the CETP gene mutation was higher in patients with coronary heart disease than in healthy control subjects. In subjects aged > 80 years, the prevalence of both marked HALP and the intron 14 splicing defect was significantly lower than in the younger generation. The current study indicated for the first time that a marked HALP caused by CETP gene mutation may not represent a longevity syndrome, suggesting the importance of reevaluation of the clinical significance and pathophysiology of a marked HALP.