• Rapid Communication in Photoscience
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.53-55
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• 2014

The shade avoidance syndrome is a morphological and physiological response when plants are exposed to shade. Recent work in Arabidopsis had begun to define the molecular components of the shade avoidance syndrome in dicotyledonous model plant. However, little is known about the shade avoidance response networks in agriculturally important monocotyledon crops such as rice. Here, we found that the degree of bending at the lamina joint is inversely proportional to the R:FR ratio. To elucidate which phytochrome is involved in this response, we did lamina joint inclination assay with the rice phytochrome-deficient mutants (osphyA, osphyB, and osphyC) and the wild type plants. Whereas the osphyA and osphyC knockout mutants bent at the lamina joint in the far-red rich condition as the wild type plants, the osphyB knockout mutants no longer bent at the lamina joint in the far-red rich condition. These results suggest that PHYB acts as a sole photoreceptor in the lamina joint inclination response in rice.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.615-620
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• 2009

The plant shoot meristem maintains a group of stem cells that remain active throughout the plant life. They continuously generate new cells that are then recruited for organ initiation in the peripheral zone. Stem cell proliferation and daughter cell differentiation has to be integrated with overall growth and development of the diverse functional domains within the shoot apex. Several studies have revealed extensive communication between these domains. The signaling mechanisms employed comprise diffusible peptides, directional transport of plant hormones, but also complex interactions between transcription factors, that together establish a panoply of regulatory inputs that fine-tune stem cell behavior in the shoot meristem.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.130-133
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• 2001

The amino acid sequences of 130 kDa and 72 kDa proteins responsible for the larvicidal activity of Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis (Bti) were analyzed by hydrophobic moment plots. A search for highly amphiphilic $\alpha$-helices was made in these proteins using the helical hydrophobic moment as a criterion of amphiphilicity The protein segments of the largest hydrophobic moments were analyzed. In the present communication we report the surface seeking helices in 130 kDa and 72 kDa proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis. It is assumed that the surface seeking segments may participate in one of the membrane-related functions of Bacillus thuringiensis.

• Rapid Communication in Photoscience
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.64-66
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• 2014

Synthesis of a deuterium-labeled derivative of nitrospirobenzopyran (NSP), one of representative photochromic compounds, has been described. Four deuteriums were successfully introduced on 1-methyl and ${\alpha}$-methyne relative to spiro-carbon in the title compound with more than 95atom%D purity. Main photodegraded products of NSP were two oxindoles in acetonitrile, and additional products were formed in poly(isobutyl-methacrylate) films possibly due to restricted molecular motion in polymer matrix. Quantitative HPLC analysis revealed that partial introduction of deuterium to NSP brought a noticeable isotope effect, recognizable enhancement in photo-resistivity of NSP, i.e.,8.3% in solutions and 29% in polymeric films.

• BMB Reports
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.537-546
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• 2002

NF-${\kappa}B$/Rel transcription factor family participates in diverse biological processes including embryo development, hematopoiesis, immune regulation, as well as neuronal functions. In this review, the NF-${\kappa}B$/Rel signal transduction pathways and their important roles in the regulation of immune system will be discussed. NF-${\kappa}B$/Rel members execute distinct functions in multiple immune cell types via the regulation of target genes essential for cell proliferation, survival, effector functions, cell trafficking and communication, as well as the formation of lymphoid architecture. Consequently, proper activation of NF-${\kappa}B$/Rel during immune responses to allergens, auto-antigens, allo-antigens, and pathogenic infection is crucial for the integrity of host innate and adaptive immunity.

• Rapid Communication in Photoscience
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.34-37
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• 2013

Two novel antenna complexes of $Eu^{III}$ with 1-naphthoic acid (NA) as primary ligand and two aromatic N-donor ligands namely N-hexyl-N-(pyridin-2-yl) pyridin-2-amine (1) and 4-((dipyridin-2-ylamino)methyl)benzoic acid (2) have been synthesized and characterized by various spectroscopic techniques. The room-temperature (298 K) photoluminescence spectrum of $Eu^{III}$ complexes composed of typical line like emissions, assigned to transitions between the first excited state $^5D_0$ to the $^7F_J$ (J = 0-4), resulting in red emission along with the residual emission from the 1-naphthoic acid moiety in the blue region. The determined CIE color coordinate value for the complex 2 is (x = 0.36, y = 0.34), which is in white region.

• Rapid Communication in Photoscience
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.9-17
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• 2013

Visible light-sensitive $TiO_2$ and ZnO nanostructure materials have attracted great attention as the promising material for solar energy conversion systems such as photocatalysts for water splitting and environmental purification as well as nano-biosensors. Success of their applications relies on how to control their surface state behaviors related to the exciton dynamics and optoelectronic properties. In this paper, we briefly review some recent works on single nanoparticle photoluminescence (PL) technique and its application to observation of their surface state behaviors which are raveled by the conventional ensemble-averaged spectroscopic techniques. This review provides an opportunity to understand the temporal and spatial heterogeneities within an individual nanostructure, allowing for the potential use of single-nanoparticle approaches in studies of their photoenergy conversion and nano-scale optical biosensing.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2008.07a
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• pp.1293-1294
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• 2008

The Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) method has been one of the most suitable techniques for fabricating organic thin films with well-controlled structures, compositions and thickness at the molecular level. We investigated the surface activity of dendrimer films at air-water interface by ${\pi}$-A isotherm. Also, we attempted to fabricate a 1G(4,3)-chloride dendrimer LB films. And their surface morphologies were observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM).

• Rapid Communication in Photoscience
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2014

We summarize recent studies on photoinduced electron- and energy-transfer processes of various supramolecules including imide group(s) as a component. Recently, imides have been employed in various functional molecular systems, because of their excellent photophysical and electron accepting properties. Our research group also employed imides in various supramolecular systems such as donor-acceptor dyads, quantum dots, DNA, and so on. First, we summarize fundamental properties of imides such as photophysical and electrochemical properties. Then, photoinduced processes of imides in the supramolecular systems are described to show their applicability in the various fields.

• Rapid Communication in Photoscience
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.72-75
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• 2013

Bulk nanobubble is one of the nanoscopic gaseous state found in the solution. We measured transient absorption spectra of eosin Y in the excited triplet state ($^3EY^{2-*}$) to elucidate differences in the dissipation process of the bulk nanobubble of oxygen molecule at air pressure. The time dependence of the oxygen dissipation process was classified three time domains (P1, P2 and P3). The comparison of ordinary bubbling method gave different results at P3 in contrast to similar results at P1 and P2, indicating the existence of characteristic dissolving state in the case of nanobubble.