Black Hole Formation and Explosion from Rapidly Rotating Very Massive Stars

We explore the formation process of a black hole (BH) through the pair-instability collapse of a rotating Population III very massive star in axisymmetric numerical relativity. As the initial condition, we employ a progenitor star which is obtained by evolving a rapidly rotating zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) star with mass $320M_\odot$ until it reaches a pair instability region. We find that for such rapidly rotating model, a fraction of the mass, $\sim 10M_\odot$, forms a torus surrounding the remnant BH of mass $\sim 130M_\odot$ and an outflow is driven by a hydrodynamical effect. We also perform simulations, artificially reducing the initial angular velocity of the progenitor star, and find that only a small or no torus is formed and no outflow is driven. We discuss the possible evolution scenario of the remnant torus for the rapidly rotating model by considering the viscous and recombination effects and show that if the energy of $\sim 10^{52}$ erg is injected from the torus to the envelope, the luminosity and timescale of the explosion could be of the orders of $10^{43}$ erg/s and yrs, respectively. We also point out the possibility for observing gravitational waves associated with the BH formation for the rapidly rotating model by ground-based gravitational-wave detectors.Comment: 19 pages, 16 figures, submitted to Ap

Fermion Mass Hierarchy and Mixing in simplified Grand Gauge-Higgs Unification

Grand gauge-Higgs unification of five dimensional SU(6) gauge theory on an orbifold $S^1 / Z_2$ with localized gauge kinetic terms is discussed. The Standard model (SM) fermions on the boundaries and some massive bulk fermions coupling to the SM fermions are introduced. The number of the bulk fermions is reduced to realize perturbative gauge coupling unification, which could not be done in the previous model. Although this reduction will lead to the additional generation mixings in the bulk which makes our analysis more complicated and nontrivial, the generation mixing of the SM fermions is reproduced in addition to the SM fermion mass hierarchy by mild tuning the bulk masses and parameters of the localized gauge kinetic terms.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1911.0346

Programmable filament: Printed filaments for multi-material 3D printing

From full-color objects to functional capacitive artifacts, 3D printing multi-materials became essential to broaden the application areas of digital fabrication. We present Programmable Filament, a novel technique that enables multi-material printing using a commodity FDM 3D printer, requiring no hardware upgrades. Our technique builds upon an existing printing technique in which multiple filament segments are printed and spliced into a single threaded filament. We propose an end-to-end pipeline for 3D printing an object in multi-materials, with an introduction of the design systems for end-users. Optimized for low-cost, single-nozzle FDM 3D printers, the system is built upon our computational analysis and experiments to enhance its validity over various printers and materials to design and produce a programmable filament. Finally, we discuss application examples and speculate the future with its potential, such as custom filament manufacturing on-demand.Haruki Takahashi, Parinya Punpongsanon, and Jeeeun Kim. 2020. Programmable Filament: Printed Filaments for Multi-material 3D Printing. In Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST '20). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1209–1221. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3379337.3415863.UIST '20: The 33rd Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology [October 20 - 23, 2020

Antimicrobial prescription practices for outpatients with uncomplicated cystitis in Japan

To promote antimicrobial stewardship, we studied antimicrobial prescription rates for uncomplicated cystitis, a common outpatient disease requiring antibiotic treatment. This multicenter retrospective study was performed from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2020, in Japan, targeting outpatients aged >= 20 years whose medical records revealed International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codes suggesting uncomplicated cystitis (N300). The data of 1445 patients were collected and that of 902 patients were analyzed. The overall median patient age was 71 years and a proportion of those aged less than 50 years was 18.8% with a female dominance (82.6%). Antimicrobials were prescribed for 884 patients (98.0%) and a total of 623 patients (69.1%) were treated with broad-spectrum drugs, including fluoroquinolones (36.0%), third-generation cephalosporins (29.9%) and faropenem (3.1%). A logistic regression model revealed that the broad-spectrum agents were significantly prescribed for the older patients, male patients, and those who visited internists. Recurrence was observed in 37 (4.1%) cases, and the multivariate analysis suggested any of age, sex, or antimicrobial types were not associated with the recurrence. Collectively, approximately two-thirds of antimicrobials prescribed for uncomplicated cystitis were broad-spectrum agents. The present data would be an indicator for antimicrobial prescriptions in uncomplicated cystitis in Japan

Immunoregulatory effects triggered by immunobiotic Lactobacillus jensenii TL2937 strain involve efficient phagocytosis in porcine antigen presenting cells

Background: Immunobiotic Lactobacillus jensenii TL2937 modulates porcine mononuclear phagocytes from Peyer?s patches (PPMPs) and induces a differential production of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in response to Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 activation. Objective: In view of the important role played by phagocytosis in the activation of antigen presenting cells (APCs), the aim of the present work was to examine the interaction of TL2937 with porcine PPMPs focusing on phagocytosis. In addition, this study aimed to investigate whether the effects of L. jensenii TL2937 in porcine blood monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDCs) are similar to those found in PPMPs considering that MoDCs do not recapitulate all functions of mucosal APCs. Results: studies showed a high ability of porcine CD172a+ PPMPs to phagocytose L. jensenii TL2937. Interestingly, our results also revealed a reduced capacity of the non-immunomodulatory L. plantarum TL2766 to be phagocytosed by those immune cells. Phagocytosis of L. jensenii TL2937 by porcine PPMPs was partially dependent on TLR2. In addition, we demonstrated that TL2937 strain was able to improve the expression of IL-1, IL-12 and IL-10 in immature MoDCs resembling the effect of this immunobiotic bacterium on PPMPs. Moreover, similarly to PPMPs those immunomodulatory effects were related to the higher capacity of TL2937 to be phagocytosed by immature MoDCs. Conclusions: Microbial recognition in APCs could be effectively mediated through ligand-receptor interactions that then mediate phagocytosis and signaling. For the immunobiotic strain TL2937, TLR2 has a partial role for its interaction with porcine APCs and it is necessary to investigate the role of other receptors. A challenge for future research will be advance in the full understanding of the molecular interactions of immunobiotic L. jensenii TL2937 with porcine APCs that will be crucial for the successful development of functional feeds for the porcine host. This study is a step in that direction.Fil: Tsukida, Kohichiro. Tohoku University; JapónFil: Takahashi, Takuya. Tohoku University; JapónFil: Iida, Hikaru. Tohoku University; JapónFil: Kanmani, Paulraj. Tohoku University; JapónFil: Suda, Yoshihito. Miyagi University; JapónFil: Nochi, Tomonori. Tohoku University; JapónFil: Ohwada, Shuichi. Tohoku University; JapónFil: Aso, Hisashi. Tohoku University; JapónFil: Ohkawara, Sou. Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd. Agricultural & Veterinary Division; JapónFil: Makino, Seiya. Meiji Co., Ltd. Division of Research and Development; JapónFil: Kano, Hiroshi. Meiji Co., Ltd. Division of Research and Development; JapónFil: Saito, Tadao. Tohoku University; JapónFil: Villena, Julio Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Kitazawa, Haruki. Tohoku University; Japó

Effect of a serum factor on IgE-mediated histamine release from whole blood.

IgE-mediated histamine release from whole blood was analyzed in 44 patients with bronchial asthma by observing maximum present release and dose-response curves of histamine release induced by anti-IgE and house dust extract. The maximum histamine release from whole blood induced by anti-IgE correlated with total serum IgE levels. There was a close correlation between allergen-induced release from whole blood and the serum levels of specific IgE antibodies. In the maximum histamine release from whole blood induced by both anti-IgE and allergen, the interaction with a serum factor was not clearly recognized. Effect of a serum factor was shown in the dose-response curves of anti-IgE-induced histamine release, but not in those of allergen-induced histamine release. The dose-response curves caused by anti-IgE showed that basophils from cases with a high serum IgE level require much more anti-IgE to produce maximum histamine release than basophils from cases with a low serum IgE level. The results showed that IgE molecules contained in the serum participate in anti-IgE-induced histamine release from whole blood.</p

Blood eosinophilia in bronchial asthma and its relationship to IgE-mediated reactions

The correlation between blood eosinophilia and anti-IgE-mediated histamine release was investigated in 22 bronchial asthma patients with peripheral eosinophilia (over 8%). In the cases (Group A-1 and Group A-2) in which house dust was the specific antigen, significant histamine release from basophils was induced by anti-IgE and house dust. The result indicates a relationship between eosinophilia and the IgE-mediated mechanism of disease onset. In the cases (Group A-3) with RAST scores of 0+ and 1+ to house dust, the anti-IgE-induced histamine release varied from low to high percentages, and the participation of the IgE-mediated pathway was indicated in some cases. In the cases (Group B) with negative skin reactions, few patients had a family history of allergic disease. Their ages at onset were higher, and they demonstrated lower total IgE levels. These cases showed an extremely low percent of histamine release from basophils, which indicated the absence of a correlation between eosinophilia and IgE-mediated mechanisms.</p

Histamine release from whole blood induced by anti-IgE: relationship to patient age, age at onset and serum IgE levels.

Anti-IgE-induced histamine release from basophils was examined in 46 asthmatic subjects using a whole blood method. Basophils from subjects less than 30 years old released more histamine than those from subjects aged 41 to 50. The age at onset of the disease also affected the reactivity of basophils to anti-IgE: basophils showed a high response in subjects whose age at onset was between 0 and 10 years, and low response in the subjects whose age at onset was between 41 and 50 years. There was a correlation between histamine release and serum IgE levels. However, individual dose-response curves of histamine release varied greatly in whom serum IgE levels were low.</p

Evaluation of the immunomodulatory activities of the probiotic strain lactobacillus fermentum UCO-979C

Lactobacillus fermentum UCO-979C, a strain isolated from a human stomach, was previously characterized by its potential probiotic properties. The UCO-979C strain displayed the ability to beneficially regulate the innate immune response triggered by Helicobacter pylori infection in human gastric epithelial cells. In this work, we conducted further in vitro studies in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) and in vivo experiments in mice in order to characterize the potential immunomodulatory effects of L. fermentum UCO-979C on the intestinal mucosa. Results demonstrated that the UCO-979C strain is capable to differentially modulate the immune response of IECs triggered by Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activation through the modulation of TLR negative regulators' expression. In addition, we demonstrated for the first time that L. fermentum UCO-979C is able to exert its immunomodulatory effect in the intestinal mucosa in vivo. The feeding of mice with L. fermentum UCO-979C significantly increased the production of intestinal IFN-γ, stimulated intestinal and peritoneal macrophages and increased the number of Peyer's patches CD4+ T cells. In addition, L. fermentum UCO-979C augmented intestinal IL-6, reduced the number of immature B220+CD24high B cells from Peyer's patches, enhanced the number of mature B B220+CD24low cells, and significantly increased intestinal IgA content. The results of this work revealed that L. fermentum UCO-979C has several characteristics making it an excellent candidate for the development of immunobiotic functional foods aimed to differentially regulate immune responses against gastric and intestinal pathogens.Fil: Garcia Castillo, Valeria. Tohoku University; Japón. Universidad de Concepción; Chile. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Komatsu, Ryoya. Tohoku University; JapónFil: Clua, Maria Patricia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Indo, Yuhki. Tohoku University; JapónFil: Takagi, Michihiro. Tohoku University; JapónFil: Salva, Maria Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Islam, M. Aminul. Bangladesh Agricultural University; Bangladesh. Tohoku University; JapónFil: Alvarez, Gladis Susana. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Takahashi, Hideki. Tohoku University; JapónFil: Garcia Cancino, Apolinaria. Universidad de Concepción; ChileFil: Kitazawa, Haruki. Tohoku University; JapónFil: Villena, Julio Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; Argentina. Tohoku University; Japó