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Y Okimoto

Publications and source records attributed to Y Okimoto.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Coherent control of charge and lattice dynamics in a photoinduced neutral-to-ionic transition of a charge-transfer compound.

Coherent control of a charge-lattice coupled oscillation associated with the neutral (N)-ionic (I) transition was successfully demonstrated for a charge-transfer (CT) compound, tetrathiafulvalene-p-chloranil, with use of double femtosecond laser pulses. By changing the interval of the two laser pulses, amplitude of the oscillation in the reflectivity for the intramolecular transition band sensitive to the degree of CT was periodically changed. With increase of the pump intensity, the oscillation amplitude was dramatically enhanced. Such an enhancement is discussed in terms of the cooperative nature of the N-I transition.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Variation of the electronic structure in systematically synthesized Sr2MO4 (M = Ti, V, Cr, Mn, and Co).

We have systematically synthesized single-crystalline thin films of layered perovskites Sr2MO4 (M = Ti, V, Cr, Mn, and Co) which cannot be obtained in a form of bulk crystal apart from M = Mn. The two-dimensional electronic structure of these M4+ oxides, ranging from a correlated insulator to a ferromagnetic metal, has been investigated by using their optical conductivity spectra with polarizations E is perpendicular to c and E is parallel to c, which reveal systematic variation of the correlated charge gap, Mott-Hubbard gap, or charge-transfer gap. Temperature dependence of the gap-transition spectra is argued in the light of possible spin and/or orbital ordering.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

One-dimensional orbital excitations in vanadium oxides.

The d electron orbital is a hidden but important degree of freedom controlling novel properties of transition-metal oxides. A one-dimensional orbital system is especially intriguing due to its enhanced quantum fluctuation. We present a combined experimental and theoretical study on the Raman scattering spectra in perovskite oxides NdVO(3) and LaVO(3) to prove that the quasi-one-dimensional orbital chain described by fermionic pseudospinons bears orbital excitations exchanging occupied orbital states on the neighboring sites, termed a two-orbiton in analogy with two-magnon.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Optical magnetoelectric effect in a submicron patterned magnet.

The optical magnetoelectric effect, which is a nonreciprocal directional dichroic response, has been demonstrated in a submicron patterned magnet by monitoring the diffracted visible or near-infrared light intensity. An artificial magnetic superstructure is composed of chevron shaped ">" islands made of the ferromagnetic permalloy Ni(80)Fe(20) with a pitch of 1 microm on silicon substrate, in which both space inversion and time reversal symmetry are broken simultaneously. On the basis of the light-polarization angle and magnetic field H dependence, and also comparing the results with the those of the submicron square patterns, we show that the optical magnetoelectric effect emerges as the finite change (approximately 10(-3) at room temperature in H of 500 Oe) of the diffracted intensity.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Metallic ferromagnet with square-lattice CoO2 sheets.

A single-crystalline film of Sr2CoO4 with square-lattice CoO2 sheets (K2NiF4-type structure) was synthesized, and its electronic properties were characterized. The compound exhibited both ferromagnetic and metallic behaviors, with a fairly high Curie temperature T(C) of approximately 250 K, in contrast to the superconductivity recently found in a triangular-lattice CoO2-sheet compound. The film's large magnetoresistance with current perpendicular to the CoO2 plane showed field-hysteretic behavior analogous to tunneling magnetoresistance. The electronic structure of Sr2CoO4 was also investigated to characterize the quasi-two-dimensional ferromagnetic metal state in terms of optical spectroscopy and first-principles calculation.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Change of electronic structure in Ca2RuO4 induced by orbital ordering.

Optical conductivity spectra sigma(omega) were used to investigate the effect of orbital ordering on the electronic structure of Ca2RuO4. Our LDA+U calculation predicts Ru 4d(xy) ferro-orbital ordering at the ground state, and well explains the present sigma(omega) as well as the reported O 1s x-ray absorption spectra. Variation of temperature (T) causes a large change of spectral weight over several eV as well as collapse of a charge gap accompanied by elongation of the c-axis Ru-O bond length. These results clearly indicate that the d(xy) orbital ordering plays a crucial role in the metal-insulator transition and the T-dependent electronic structure on a large energy scale.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Management of haemophilia B inhibitor patients with anaphylactic reactions to FIX concentrates.

Allergic reactions to concentrates containing factor IX (FIX) are serious complications in the treatment of haemophilia B patients with inhibitor. We have established a therapeutic protocol for such cases using an initial skin test followed by step-wise infusions of FIX concentrates under hydrocortisone cover. We have successfully treated three patients whose treatment with FIX had been suspended.

Anaphylaxis↗
PubMed2001

Delay of the diagnostic lumbar puncture and intrathecal chemotherapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who undergo routine corticosteroid testing: Tokyo Children's Cancer Study Group study L89-12.

PURPOSE: To determine the effects of eliminating initial lumbar punctures in 418 consecutively treated children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were enrolled onto a trial conducted in central Japan between 1989 and 1992. Treatment consisted of standard four-drug induction therapy followed by a risk-based intensification phase, reinduction therapy, late intensification, and remission maintenance therapy (total of 104 weeks). The initial lumbar puncture, with an intrathecal injection of chemotherapy, was performed after 1 week of prednisolone sensitivity testing (day 8). End points included response to prednisolone, CNS status at the time of the day 8 lumbar puncture, subsequent adverse events in CNS and bone marrow, and event-free survival (EFS). RESULTS: The remission induction rate was 93.1% with a 6-year EFS rate (+/- SE) of 68.7% +/- 2.4%, which is similar to historical results for patients who received their diagnostic lumbar puncture and first instillation of intrathecal chemotherapy on day 0. Overall, 84.5% of the patients had good responses to prednisolone, whereas 15.5% had poor responses. Clinical outcome was strikingly better for the good responders (6-year EFS, 74.1% +/- 2.5% compared with 40.1% +/- 6.4% for patients with poor responses), suggesting that omission of intrathecal chemotherapy did not alter the predictive value of drug sensitivity testing. Eighteen patients experienced CNS relapse as their first adverse event (cumulative risk, 5.1%; 95% confidence interval, 2.7% to 7.4%), coincident with reports from groups using conventional strategies of CNS clinical management. Bleeding into the CSF at the time of the day 8 lumbar puncture was apparent in 29 cases (8.1%), but leukemic blasts were identified in only two. CONCLUSION: Delay of the initial lumbar puncture and intrathecal injection of chemotherapy seems to be feasible in children with ALL. Further controlled evaluations are needed to establish the validity of this conclusion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Ferroelectric valence transition and phase diagram of a series of charge-transfer complexes of 4,4'-dimethyltetrathiafulvalene and tetrahalo-p-benzoquinones.

Variation of the ferroelectric phase transition has been investigated for a series of isomorphous donor (D)-acceptor (A) charge-transfer complexes composed of 4,4'-dimethyltetrathiafulvalene (DMTTF) and tetrahalo-p-benzoquinones by measurements of dielectric susceptibility, X-ray diffraction, and infrared molecular vibrational spectra. The neutral-ionic phase transition of DMTTF-p-chloranil at 65 K accompanies a dielectric peak anomaly associated with the DA stack dimerization. Successive halogen replacement by bromine in the component tetrahalo-p-benzoquinone molecule expands the lattice along the DA stack of the DMTTF complex, and reduces the critical temperature steeply toward zero temperature in an analogous way to the critical behavior of quantum ferroelectrics. The 2,6-dibromo-substituted compound showing the behavior of the quantum paraelectricity is located in the immediate vicinity of the quantum critical point of this phase diagram as signified also by enhancement of the ionicity, the dielectric susceptibility, and the dynamical dimeric distortion at the lowest temperature.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Severe factor VII deficiency with recurrent intracranial haemorrhages owing to double heterozygosity for a splice site mutation of an IVS4 and a novel nonsense mutation in exon 8 (Gln211-->Term).

Genetic analysis of a 10-month-old Japanese baby boy with recurrent intrathoracic bleeding, cerebral haemorrhages and gastrointestinal bleeding secondary to severe factor VII (FVII) deficiency revealed evidence of two distinct mutations of FVII: a splice site mutation of G-->A at nucleotide 6071 in the IVS4 splice site and a novel nonsense mutation (Gln211-->Term) in exon 8. His bleeding was difficult to control without prophylactic infusion of FVII. We detected a heterozygous splice site mutation of the IVS4 in his mother and a heterozygous nonsense mutation in exon 8 (Gln211-->Term) in his father. The parents' FVII levels are both 50% of normal controls. The FVII:C in plasma from the proband was < 1.5% of normal controls. FVII:antigen (Ag) was < 1% of normal controls, using a monoclonal antibody (mAb) hVII-B101/1 that specifically reacts with FVII epidermal growth factor 1 (EGF-1), and 5% of normal controls, using a rabbit polyclonal antibody against human FVII. After immunoadsorption with mAb hVII-B101/B1-Sepharose 4B, FVII levels of both the proband and his mother were 5% of normal controls; after immunoadsorption the FVII levels of normal subjects were < 1%. We hypothesize that secretion of a small amount of dysfunctional FVII lacking EGF-1 into the circulation accounts for this observation.

Codon, Nonsense↗
PubMed2001

How does heme axial ligand deletion affect the structure and the function of cytochrome b(562)?

We have recently generated a new mutant of cytochrome b(562) (cytb(562)) in which Met7, one of the axial heme ligands, is replaced by Ala (M7A cytb(562)). The M7A cytb(562) can bind heme and the UV-visible absorption spectrum is of a typical high-spin ferric heme. To investigate the effect of the lack of Met7 ligation on the structural integrity of cytb(562), thermal transition analyses of M7A cytb(562) were conducted. From the thermodynamic parameters obtained, it is concluded that the folding of M7A cytb(562) is comparable to the apoprotein despite the presence of heme. On the other hand, exogenous ligands such as cyanide and azide ions are readily bound to the heme iron, indicating that the axial coordination site is available for substrate binding. The peroxidase activity of this mutant is thus examined to evaluate new enzymatic function at this site and M7A cytb(562) was found to catalyze an oxidation reaction of aromatic substrates with hydrogen peroxide. These observations demonstrate that the Met7/His102 bis-ligation to the heme iron is crucial for the stable folding of cytb(562), whereas the functional conversion of cytb(562) is successfully achieved by the loose folding together with the open coordination site.

Amino Acid Substitution↗
PubMed2000

Neutral-ionic phase separation and one-dimensional ferroelectricity in organic relaxors

Microscopic phase segregation by chemical doping and resultant anomalous dielectric response have been investigated for tetrathiafulvalene-p-chloranil complex doped with trichloro-p-benzoquinone ( QCl3). Beyond a critical QCl3 content, the system shows a behavior of relaxor ferroelectrics, as characterized by strong frequency dispersion and a rounded peak shape of gigantic dielectric susceptibility. The relaxor phase arises from one-dimensional ferroelectricity, as evidenced by a diffuse x-ray scattering, in which interchain ferroelectric coupling associated with neutral-ionic transition is interrupted by impurity-generated neutral microclusters.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

An effective chemotherapeutic regimen for acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome in children with Down's syndrome.

In recent pediatric collaborative studies of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), patients with Down's syndrome (DS) have better outcome than other patients when they were treated according to their intensive AML protocols. This may be attributed to enhanced sensitivity of DS AML cells to selected chemotherapeutic agents. We evaluated a less intensive chemotherapeutic regimen which was specifically designed for children with AML-DS. Remission induction chemotherapy consisted of daunorubicin (25 mg/m2/day for 2 days), cytosine arabinoside (100 mg/m2/day for 7 days), and etoposide (150 mg/m2/day for 3 days). Patients received one to seven courses of consolidation therapy of the same regimen. Thirty-three patients were enrolled on the study and their clinical, hematologic and immunophenotypic features were analyzed. Of the 33 patients, all were younger than 4 years and diagnosed as having acute megakaryoblastic leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome. All patients achieved a complete remission and estimated 8 year event-free survival rate was 80+/-7%. Three patients relapsed and two died due to cardiac toxicity and one due to septic shock. The results of our study showed that patients with AML-DS constitute a unique biologic subgroup and should be treated according to a less intensive protocol designed for AML-DS.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed2000

Long-term follow-up of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Tokyo Children's Cancer Study Group 1981-1995.

The objectives were as follows: Firstly, to estimate the overall probability of event-free survival (EFS) and isolated CNS relapse in the studies for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) during the 1980s and 1990s. Secondly, to report the EFS according to presenting features and lineage. Thirdly, to evaluate the treatment results re-classified by the risks of NCI criteria. Four consecutive protocol studies were performed in the Tokyo Children's Cancer Study Group: L81-10 protocol (1981-1984, 189 patients), L84-11 (1984-1989, 484 patents), L89-12 (1989-1992, 418 patients) and L92-13 (1992-1995, 347 patients). Overall EFS at 5 years in each protocol was 56.5 +/- 3.8(1 s.e.)%, 71.0 +/- 2.1%, 67.8 +/- 2.3%, and 63.4 +/- 2.7%, respectively. The cumulative isolated CNS relapse rate at 5 years was 8.1 +/- 2.1%, 3.5 +/- 0.9%, 3.6 +/- 1.0%, 1.0 +/- 0.6. The EFS in SR/HR (standard risk/high risk) according to the NCI criteria in B-precursor ALL at 5 years was 61.9 +/- 4.3%/41.4 +/- 7.4% (lineage was not confirmed.), 72.5 +/- 2.6%/63.4 +/- 5.0%, 77.4 +/- 2.7%/56.3 +/- 4.7%, and 67.8 +/- 3.4%/56.7 +/- 5.4% in each protocol. Also EFSs according to NCI SR/HR at 5 years of T-ALL in protocols L84-11, L89-12 and L92-13 were 55.6 +/- 16.6%/60.9 +/- 10.1%, 72.7 +/- 13.4%/51.6 +/- 9.1%, and 77.1 +/- 14.4%/53.6/10.1%, respectively. The truncation of maintenance therapy to 6 months resulted in a decreased EFS in L92-13, particularly due to an increase of bone marrow relapse after cessation of therapy in SR and HR. The NCI risk criteria work properly even in the patients treated by different intensities, so that it makes the comparison possible among the patients in various groups. The overall EFSs in childhood ALL improved in 1980s, but it seemed stable or decreased in 1990s. The short maintenance therapy resulted in poor outcome in SR on the L92-13 protocol. Many of these late relapsers were effectively rescued and overall survival remained at a high level. The proportion of patients who received cranial irradiation reduced without any increase of the CNS events.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed2000

Six months of maintenance chemotherapy after intensified treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia of childhood.

PURPOSE: We postulated that intensification of chemotherapy immediately after remission induction might reduce the leukemic cell burden sufficiently to allow an abbreviated period of antimetabolite therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three hundred forty-seven children (ages 1 to 15 years) with previously untreated acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were enrolled onto the Tokyo L92-13 study, which excluded patients with mature B-cell ALL and patients less than 1 year old. One hundred twenty-four patients were classified as standard risk, 122 as high risk, and 101 as extremely high risk, according to age, peripheral-blood leukocyte count, selected genetic abnormalities, and immunophenotype. All subjects received four drugs for remission induction, followed by a risk-directed multidrug intensification phase and therapy for presymptomatic leukemia in the CNS. Maintenance chemotherapy with oral mercaptopurine and methotrexate was administered for 6 months, with all treatment stopped by 1 year after diagnosis. RESULTS: The mean (+/- SD) event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival rates for all patients were 59.5% +/- 3.4% and 81.5% +/- 2.2%, respectively, at 5. 5 years after diagnosis. EFS rates by risk category were similar (60. 2% +/- 6.0% for standard risk, 57.7% +/- 5.6% for high risk, and 62. 5% +/- 5.7% for extremely high risk), whereas overall survival rates differed significantly (91.2% +/- 2.7%, 80.0% +/- 4.1%, and 72.1% +/- 4.5%, respectively, P <.0001 by the log-rank test). There were 107 relapses. Eighty-five (79.4%) of these 107 patients achieved second complete remissions, with subsequent EFS rates of 61.5% +/- 7. 9% (standard risk), 42.6% +/- 8.1% (high risk), and 9.6% +/- 6.4% (extremely high risk). Of the five risk factors analyzed, only the response to prednisolone monotherapy among extremely high-risk patients proved important. CONCLUSION: Early treatment intensification did not compensate for a truncated phase of maintenance chemotherapy in children with standard- or high-risk ALL. However, 6 months of antimetabolite treatment seemed adequate for extremely high-risk patients who were good responders to prednisolone and received intensified chemotherapy that included high-dose cytarabine early in the clinical course.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Current-induced insulator-metal transition and pattern formation in an organic charge-transfer complex

Organic molecular Mott insulators, in which carriers are localized as a result of the electron correlation, showed nonlinear electric conduction upon application of a high electric field along the molecular stacking axis. The current-driven low-resistive state of potassium 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethanane was stabilized down to 2 kelvin, where a metallic path was visible with a microscope. The current flow caused a stripe-like periodic phase-segregation into the carrier-rich and carrier-poor regions along the current path.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

An in vitro coculture model of transmigrant monocytes and foam cell formation.

To analyze in vitro the migration of monocytes to the subendothelial space, their differentiation into macrophages, and the subsequent formation of foam cells in vitro, we have developed a 2-coculture system with rabbit aortic endothelial cells (AECs), aortic smooth muscle cells (SMCs), and a mixture of matrix proteins on polyethylene filters in chemotaxis chambers. AECs were seeded on a mixture of type I and IV collagen with or without various types of serum lipoproteins (method 1) or on matrix proteins secreted by SMCs (method 2). In these coculture systems, rabbit AECs can maintain a well-preserved monolayer for up to 2 weeks. When human CD14-positive monocytes were added to the upper medium of the system, with monocyte chemotactic protein-1 treatment approximately 60% of the monocytes transmigrated within 24 hours and were retained for up to 7 days, whereas without MCP-1 treatment, <30% of monocytes transmigrated. On day 1, transmigrant monocytes were negative for immunostaining of type I and II macrophage scavenger receptors but by day 3, became positive for scavenger receptors as well as other macrophage markers. When oxidized low density lipoprotein was added to the matrix layer of the method I coculture, on day 4 transmigrant cells exhibited lipid deposit droplets, and by day 7, they had the appearance of typical foam cells. Some of the transmigrant cells recovered in the lower medium on day 7 also appeared to be foam cells, indicating foam cell motility and escape from the coculture layer through the filter. In summary, this coculture system is a useful in vitro tool to dissect the cellular and molecular events that make up the process of foam cell formation.

Animals↗