63 research outputs found
Therapeutic effects of antibodies to tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6 and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 immunoglobulin in mice with glucose-6-phosphate isomerase induced arthritis
Fluid-rock interaction recorded in black fault rocks in the Kodiak accretionary complex, Alaska
Ultrafine-grained black fault rocks (BFRs) in the Pasagshak Point Thrust of the Kodiak accretionary complex are
examples of fault rocks that have recorded seismicity along an ancient subduction plate boundary. Trace element
concentrations and 87Sr/86Sr ratios of BFRs and surrounding foliated/non-foliated cataclasites were measured to
explore the nature of fluid-rock interactions along a subduction thrust. Foliated and non-foliated cataclasites do not
show significant geochemical anomalies, suggesting that they were formed by slowly distributed shear. BFRs are
characterized by Li and Sr enrichment, Rb and Cs depletion, and a low 87Sr/86Sr ratio. These geochemical signatures
can be explained by fluid-rock interactions at >350°C, which result in preferential removal of Rb and Cs and formation
of plagioclase under the presence of fluids with high Li and Sr concentrations and low 87Sr/86Sr ratios. Geochemical anomalies recorded by the BFRs indicate both frictional heating and external fluid influx into the subduction thrust
Significance of antiprothrombin antibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: clinical evaluation of the antiprothrombin assay and the antiphosphatidylserine/prothrombin assay, and comparison with other antiphospholipid antibody assays
Antibodies against prothrombin are detected by enzyme immunoassays (EIA) in sera of patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). However, there are two methods for antiprothrombin EIA; one that uses high binding plates (aPT-A), and another that utilizes phosphatidylserine bound plates (aPS/PT). We aimed to evaluate and compare aPT-A and aPS/PT in a clinical setting. We performed EIA for anti-PT, anti-PS/PT, IgG, and IgM anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL), and IgG β2-glycoprotein I-dependent aCL (aβ2GPI/CL) with serum samples from 139 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients (16 with history of at least one thrombotic episode) and 148 controls. We observed that: (1) although titers of anti-PT and anti-PS/PT were significantly related with each other (P < 0.0001, ρ = 0.548), titer of anti-PT and anti-PS/PT differed greatly in some samples; (2) odds ratio and 95% confidence interval for each assay was 3.556 (1.221–10.355) for aPT-A, 4.591 (1.555–15.560) for aPS/PT, 4.204 (1.250–14.148) for IgG aCL, 1.809 (0.354–9.232) for IgM aCL, and 7.246 (2.391–21.966) for aβ2GPI/CL. We conclude that, while all EIA performed in this study except IgM aCL are of potential value in assessing the risk of thrombosis, aPS/PT and aβ2GPI/CL seemed to be highly valuable in clinical practice, and that autoantibodies detected by anti-PT and anti-PS/PT are not completely identical
Anelastic strain recovery reveals extension across SW Japan subduction zone
Sediment dominated convergent margins typically
record substantial horizontal shortening often associated
with great earthquakes. The convergent margin south of
Japan is arguably one of the most extensively investigated
margins and previous studies have documented extensive
evidence for accretion and horizontal shortening. Here, we
show results from anelastic strains recovered from three
partially lithified sediment samples (40~ porosities)
across the southwest Japan accretionary prism and
propose that the margin is dominated by horizontal
extension rather than compression. The anelastic strain
results are also consistent with stress directions interpreted
from two independent techniques - bore hole breakout
orientations and core-scale fault data. We interpret this
unexpected result to reflect geologically recent underthrusting
of a thick sediment package and concomitant
weakening of the decollement
Role of STAT4 polymorphisms in systemic lupus erythematosus in a Japanese population: a case-control association study of the STAT1-STAT4 region
IntroductionRecent studies identified STAT4 (signal transducers and activators of transcription-4) as a susceptibility gene for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). STAT1 is encoded adjacently to STAT4 on 2q32.2-q32.3, upregulated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from SLE patients, and functionally relevant to SLE. This study was conducted to test whether STAT4 is associated with SLE in a Japanese population also, to identify the risk haplotype, and to examine the potential genetic contribution of STAT1. To accomplish these aims, we carried out a comprehensive association analysis of 52 tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) encompassing the STAT1-STAT4 region.MethodsIn the first screening, 52 tag SNPs were selected based on HapMap Phase II JPT (Japanese in Tokyo, Japan) data, and case-control association analysis was carried out on 105 Japanese female patients with SLE and 102 female controls. For associated SNPs, additional cases and controls were genotyped and association was analyzed using 308 SLE patients and 306 controls. Estimation of haplotype frequencies and an association study using the permutation test were performed with Haploview version 4.0 software. Population attributable risk percentage was estimated to compare the epidemiological significance of the risk genotype among populations.ResultsIn the first screening, rs7574865, rs11889341, and rs10168266 in STAT4 were most significantly associated (P < 0.01). Significant association was not observed for STAT1. Subsequent association studies of the three SNPs using 308 SLE patients and 306 controls confirmed a strong association of the rs7574865T allele (SLE patients: 46.3%, controls: 33.5%, P = 4.9 × 10-6, odds ratio 1.71) as well as TTT haplotype (rs10168266/rs11889341/rs7574865) (P = 1.5 × 10-6). The association was stronger in subgroups of SLE with nephritis and anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies. Population attributable risk percentage was estimated to be higher in the Japanese population (40.2%) than in Americans of European descent (19.5%).ConclusionsThe same STAT4 risk allele is associated with SLE in Caucasian and Japanese populations. Evidence for a role of STAT1 in genetic susceptibility to SLE was not detected. The contribution of STAT4 for the genetic background of SLE may be greater in the Japanese population than in Americans of European descent
IODP Expedition 334: An Investigation of the Sedimentary Record, Fluid Flow and State of Stress on Top of the Seismogenic Zone of an Erosive Subduction Margin
The Costa Rica Seismogenesis Project (CRISP) is an
experiment to understand the processes that control nucleation
and seismic rupture of large earthquakes at erosional
subduction zones. Integrated Ocean Drililng Program
(IODP) Expedition 334 by R/V JOIDES Resolution is the first
step toward deep drilling through the aseismic and seismic
plate boundary at the Costa Rica subduction zone offshore
the Osa Peninsula where the Cocos Ridge is subducting
beneath the Caribbean plate. Drilling operations included
logging while drilling (LWD) at two slope sites (Sites U1378
and U1379) and coring at three slope sites (Sites U1378–1380)
and at one site on the Cocos plate (Site U1381). For the first
time the lithology, stratigraphy, and age of the slope and
incoming sediments as well as the petrology of the subducting
Cocos Ridge have been characterized at this margin.
The slope sites recorded a high sediment accumulation rate
of 160–1035m m.y.-1 possibly caused by on-land uplift triggered
by the subduction of the Cocos Ridge. The geochemical
data as well as the in situ temperature data obtained at
the slope sites suggest that fluids are transported from
greater depths. The geochemical profiles at Site U1381 reflect
diffusional communication of a fluid with seawater-like
chemistry and the igneous basement of the Cocos plate
(Solomon et al., 2011; Vannucchi et al., 2012a). The
present-day in situ stress orientation determined by borehole
breakouts at Site U1378 in the middle slope and Site
U1379 in the upper slope shows a marked change in stress
state within ~12 km along the CRISP transect; that may
correspond to a change from compression (middle slope) to
extension (upper slope)
IODP expedition 334: An investigation of the sedimentary record, fluid flow and state of stress on top of the seismogenic zone of an erosive subduction margin
金沢大学理工研究域地球社会基盤学
3D quasi-dynamic modeling of earthquake cycles of the great Tohoku-oki earthquake by considering high-speed friction and thermal pressurization
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