Theoretical study on novel electronic properties in nanographite materials

Antiferromagnetism in stacked nanographite is investigated with using the Hubbard-type model. We find that the open shell electronic structure can be an origin of the decreasing magnetic moment with the decrease of the inter-graphene distance, as experiments on adsorption of molecules suggest. Next, possible charge-separated states are considered using the extended Hubbard model with nearest-neighbor interactions. The charge-polarized state could appear, when a static electric field is present in the graphene plane for example. Finally, superperiodic patterns with a long distance in a nanographene sheet observed by STM are discussed in terms of the interference of electronic wave functions with a static linear potential theoretically. In the analysis by the k-p model, the oscillation period decreases spatially in agreement with experiments.Comment: 8 pages; 6 figures; accepted for publication in J. Phys. Chem. Solids; related Web site: http://staff.aist.go.jp/k.harigaya/index_E.htm

Competition between spin and charge polarized states in nanographene ribbons with zigzag edges

Effects of the nearest neighbor Coulomb interaction on nanographene ribbons with zigzag edges are investigated using the extended Hubbard model within the unrestricted Hartree-Fock approximation. The nearest Coulomb interaction stabilizes a novel electronic state with the opposite electric charges separated and localized along both edges, resulting in a finite electric dipole moment pointing from one edge to the other. This charge-polarized state competes with the peculiar spin-polarized state caused by the on-site Coulomb interaction and is stabilized by an external electric field.Comment: 4 pages; 4 figures; accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B; related Web site: http://staff.aist.go.jp/k.harigaya/index_E.htm

Hyperactive self-inactivating piggyBac for transposase-enhanced pronuclear microinjection transgenesis

We have developed a unique method for mouse transgenesis. The transposase-enhanced pronuclear microinjection (PNI) technique described herein uses the hyperactive piggyBac transposase to insert a large transgene into the mouse genome. This procedure increased transgene integration efficiency by fivefold compared with conventional PNI or intracytoplasmic sperm injection-mediated transgenesis. Our data indicate that the transposase-enhanced PNI technique additionally requires fewer embryos to be microinjected than traditional methods to obtain transgenic animals. This transposase-mediated approach is also very efficient for single-cell embryo cytoplasmic injections, offering an easy-to-implement transgenesis method to the scientific community

Inhibitory Effects of Antithrombin III on Interactions between Blood Cells and Endothelial Cells during Retinal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

PURPOSE. Infiltrating leukocytes have long been widely thought to be key mediators of ischemia-reperfusion injury. Recently, however, evidence suggests that platelets accumulating in postischemic tissues also contribute to ischemia-reperfusion injury because of their inflammatory properties and promotion of formation of thrombi. This study was designed to evaluate quantitatively the inhibitory effects of antithrombin (AT)-III on the interactions between blood cells and retinal endothelial cells in vivo after transient retinal ischemia. METHODS. Transient retinal ischemia was induced for 60 minutes in male Long-Evans rats by ligation of the optic nerve. AT III (250 U/kg) was administered intravenously just after induction of ischemia. Leukocyte and platelet behavior in the retina was evaluated in vivo with a scanning laser ophthalmoscope. Expression of P-selectin and intracellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 in the postischemic retina was investigated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. After 14 days of reperfusion, ischemia-induced retinal damage was evaluated histologically. RESULTS. Administration of AT III significantly inhibited leukocyte rolling along the major retinal veins and subsequent accumulation of leukocytes in the postischemic retina. Furthermore, the maximum number of rolling and adherent platelets was reduced by 76% (P Ͻ 0.01) and 48% (P Ͻ 0.01), respectively, at 12 hours after reperfusion. Immunohistochemical studies also revealed the suppressive effect of AT III on expression of P-selectin and ICAM-1. Finally, histologic examination demonstrated the protective effects of AT III against retinal damage after transient retinal ischemia. CONCLUSIONS. This study demonstrates the inhibitory effects of AT III on leukocyte and platelet recruitment to the postischemic retina, which may account for the neuroprotective properties of this ␣-2 globulin against retinal ischemia-reperfusion injury. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2003;44:332-341) DOI: 10.1167/iovs.02-0493 I nfiltrating leukocytes have long been acknowledged to be a feature of ischemia-reperfusion injury. 1-4 Recently, however, evidence suggests that platelets also play an important role in the pathogenesis of ischemia-reperfusion injury. 5,6 The importance of platelets is supported by many studies that have demonstrated the beneficial effects of platelet depletion against ischemia-reperfusion injury. 20,21 Thrombin, which is the terminal serine protease of the coagulation cascade, has the ability to activate platelets and fibrinogen. Recently, many investigators have focused on the role of thrombin in various pathologic conditions. It has been demonstrated that an increase in thrombin in postischemic tissues activates vascular endothelial cells. Such activated vascular endothelial cells express adhesion molecules, which contribute to the recruitment of leukocytes and platelets. We recently developed an in vivo method to quantitatively evaluate platelet-endothelium interactions in rat retina. 26 Using this method, we have found that platelets roll along and adhere to retinal venous endothelium during ischemia-reperfusion and that these interactions are mediated by endothelial Pselectin, not by platelet P-selectin. MATERIALS AND METHODS Animal Model Male pigmented Long-Evans rats (200 -250 g) were used in this study. Transient retinal ischemia was induced for 60 minutes in the right eye of each rat

Analysis of Radioactive Elements in Testes of Large Japanese Field Mice Using an Electron Probe Micro-Analyser after the Fukushima Accident

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (FDNPP) accident drew global attention to the health risks of radiation exposure. The large Japanese field mice (Apodemus speciosus) are rodents endemic to, and distributed throughout, Japan. This wild rodent live in and around the ex-evacuation zone on the ground surface and/or underground. In this study, we evaluated the effect of chronic radiation exposure associated with FDNPP accident on the testes of large Japanese field mice. Morphological analysis and electron-prove X-ray microanalysis (EPMA) was undertaken on the testes. Morphological analysis of testes based on H&E staining showed that the spermatogenesis was observed normally in the breeding season of wild mice in the heavily contaminated area. However, caesium (Cs) was not detected in all testes of wild mice from FDNPP ex-evacuation zone. In conclusion, even if the testes and the process of spermatogenesis are hypersensitive to radiation, we could not detect radiation effects on the spermatogenesis and Cs in the examined large Japanese field mice testes following chronic radiation exposure associated with the FDNPP accident

Research Activities in the Department of Medical Engineering

The Department of Medical Engineering is dedicated to the research and educational activities to fulfill its mission as educating medical professionals in medical engineering under the diploma policy and curriculum policy, that is, "research and education aiming for fostering professionals competent in comprehensive resolving capacity based upon a wide field of knowledge and vision in clinical engineering, which can be attained by wearing the basic knowledge of medical science and engineering." For this reason, the Faculty of the Department of Medical Engineering is composed of the two areas; PhDs in engineering-based clinical medicine, and mainly MDs in medical sciences and clinical medicine. To summarize the research activities at the Department of Medical Engineering, the authors will describe the overview of research activities being performed in the Department of Medical Engineering Fields, by dividing into 1) Research in Biomedical Engineering Fields, and 2) Research in Medical Science and Clinical Engineering Fields

Association between the SERPING1 Gene and Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy in Japanese

PURPOSE: Recently, a complement component 1 inhibitor (SERPING1) gene polymorphism was identified as a novel risk factor for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Caucasians. We aimed to investigate whether variations in SERPING1 are associated with typical AMD or with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) in a Japanese population. METHODS: We performed a case-control study in a group of Japanese patients with typical AMD (n = 401) or PCV (n = 510) and in 2 independent control groups--336 cataract patients without age-related maculopathy and 1,194 healthy Japanese individuals. Differences in the observed genotypic distribution between the case and control groups were tested using chi-square test for trend. Age and gender were adjusted using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: We targeted rs2511989 as the haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) for the SERPING1 gene, which was reported to be associated with the risk of AMD in Caucasians. Although we compared the genotypic distributions of rs2511989 in typical AMD and PCV patients against 2 independent control groups (cataract patients and healthy Japanese individuals), SERPING1 rs2511989 was not significantly associated with typical AMD (P = 0.932 and 0.513, respectively) or PCV (P = 0.505 and 0.141, respectively). After correction for age and gender differences based on a logistic regression model, the difference in genotypic distributions remained insignificant (P>0.05). Our sample size had a statistical power of more than 90% to detect an association of a risk allele with an odds ratio reported in the original studies for rs2511989 for developing AMD. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, we could not replicate the reported association between SERPING1 and either neovascular AMD or PCV in a Japanese population; thus, the results suggest that SERPING1 does not play a significant role in the risk of developing AMD or PCV in Japanese

Research Promotion in Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Medical Engineering - Appeal and Recommendation to the Colleague -

[Summary] Despite of the severe situations of insufficient money, labor, time, and communication, we want to promote the research activity in our university to the level of major institutions. The first step we propose is to acquire the external research grants from public resources. The specific proposal is described in grant application to increase the probability of successful adoption of the grant from the Ministry of Education and Science of Japan

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival