Quantum vortex identification method and its application to Gross-Pitaevskii simulation

A method to identify a quantum vortex in a three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii simulation has been developed. A quantum vortex was identified by the use of eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the Hessian of the mass density, together with a condition to distinguish a point to constitute a swirling vortex from other confusing data points. This method has been verified to identify vortex axes in a Gross-Pitaevskii simulation appropriately, being useful to elucidate various statistics associated with turbulent quantum vortices. This method provides us with a unified approach to studying vortex statistics in the turbulence of both classic and quantum fluids. Our study reveals that the maximum radius of a swirling region of a quantum vortex can be as large as sixty times the healing length. The characterization of the vortex core radius relative to the healing length is reported for the first time in this paper. Furthermore, the geometrical natures of vortex axes such as the probability density function of the curvature are characterized by the healing length

Medium-term impact of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine against disease activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

全身性エリテマトーデスへのコロナワクチンの影響を分析 --中期的な疾患活動性と再燃への影響について--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-10-25.OBJECTIVES: Numerous case reports have referred to new onset or flare of SLE after SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. Several observational studies showed that the short-term flare rate of SLE after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is low. However, well-controlled clinical surveys are unavailable and the medium-term impact of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines against the flare of SLE is uncertain. Therefore, we aimed to analyse the association between vaccination and medium-term subjective and objective disease activities of SLE and flares using matched pair methods. METHODS: Altogether, 150 patients with SLE from the Kyoto Lupus Cohort were included. Patients who received two doses of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines were 1:1 matched with unvaccinated patients based on the first vaccination date. The outcome measures were the SLE Disease Activity Index-2000 (SLEDAI-2K), the Japanese version of the SLE Symptom Checklist Questionnaire (SSC-J) and the Safety of Estrogens in Lupus Erythematosus National Assessment-SLEDAI flare index at 30, 60 and 90 days after vaccination. RESULTS: SLEDAI-2K levels were not significantly different in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients with SLE at 30, 60 and 90 days after the second vaccination (adjusted estimate (95% CI): 30 days: -0.46 (-1.48 to 0.56), p=0.39; 60 days: 0.38 (-0.64 to 1.40), p=0.47; 90 days: 0.40 (-0.54 to 1.34), p=0.41). Similar results were observed in the SSC-J score (adjusted estimate (95% CI), 30 days: 0.05 (-1.46 to 1.56), p=0.95; 60 days: -0.63 (-2.08 to 0.82), p=0.40; 90 days: 0.27 (-1.04 to 1.58), p=0.69) and flare index (adjusted OR (95% CI), 30 days: 0.81 (0.36 to 1.85), p=0.62; 60 days: 1.13 (0.50 to 2.54), p=0.77; 90 days: 0.85 (0.32 to 2.26), p=0.74). CONCLUSION: SARS-CoV-2 vaccination did not significantly influence the medium-term subjective and objective disease activities or flares of SLE until 90 days after the second vaccination

The clinical features of pulmonary artery involvement in Takayasu arteritis and its relationship with ischemic heart diseases and infection

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary artery involvement (PAI) in Takayasu arteritis (TAK) can lead to severe complications, but the relationship between the two has not been fully clarified. METHODS: We retrospectively investigated 166 consecutive patients with TAK who attended Kyoto University Hospital from 1997 to 2018. The demographic data, clinical symptoms and signs, comorbidities, treatments, and imaging findings were compared between patients with and without PAI. TAK was diagnosed based on the American College of Rheumatology Classification Criteria (1990) or the Japanese Clinical Diagnostic Criteria (2008). PAI was identified using enhanced computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or lung scintigraphy. RESULTS: PAI was detected in 14.6% (n = 24) of total TAK patients. Dyspnea (25.0% vs. 8.6%; p = 0.043), pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) (16.7% vs. 0.0%; p < 0.001), ischemic heart disease (IHD) (29% vs. 9.3%; p = 0.018), respiratory infection (25.0% vs. 6.0%; p = 0.009), and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection (20.8% vs. 0.8%; p < 0.001) were significantly more frequent, and renal artery stenosis (0% vs. 17%; p = 0.007) was significantly less frequent in TAK patients with PAI than in those without PAI. PAI and biologics were risk factors for NTM. CONCLUSIONS: TAK patients with PAI more frequently have dyspnea, PAH, IHD, and respiratory infection, including NTM, than TAK patients without PAI

Portosystemic Encephalopathy without Liver Disease Masquerading as Dementia

An 84-year-old woman was hospitalized due to consciousness disorder as hyperammonemia. She had no etiology of liver disease. Twelve months before the current admission, she had been diagnosed with dementia based on her low level of daily perception and physical activity. Abdominal computed tomography revealed a large portosystemic shunt between the medial branch of the portal vein and middle hepatic vein. After the improvement of her consciousness disturbance by medical treatment, percutaneous shunt embolization was electively performed. The patient showed a remarkable clinical improvement. Consciousness disturbance caused by hyper-ammonemia might be underlying in dementia patients. Increase of hepatopetal portal blood flow might have contributed to the improvement of her consciousness disturbance. Embolization of the portosystemic shunt might be more effective for patients without liver disease as in the present case

Expressions of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)-D and VEGF Receptor-3 in Colorectal Cancer: Relationship to Lymph Node Metastasis

Angiogenic factors play a major role in tumor growth and metastasis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)- D is a ligand for VEGF receptor-3 (VEGFR-3/Flt-4), which mainly expressed on the lymphatic endothelium. Recent experimental studies have shown that VEGF-D induces tumor lymphangiogenesis and promote metastatic spread of tumor cells via lymphatic vessels. However, the contribution of VEGFD to lymph node metastasis in human colorectal cancer is less understood. We therefore examined VEGF-D and VEGFR-3 expression in patients with colorectal cancer. Sections of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens from 76 colorectal cancers were immunohistochemically stained for VEGF-D and VEGFR-3. Staining for VEGF-D was positive in the cytoplasm of tumor cells in 43 of 76 examined tumors (56.6%). Staining for VEGFR-3 was positive in endothelial cells in 38 (50.0%) tumors. Univariate analysis showed that both VEGF-D and VEGFR-3 expressions correlated significantly with lymph node metastasis, histological type and depth of tumor invasion. However, logistic regression analysis indicated that VEGF-D expression, but not that of VEGFR-3, was an independent predictor for lymph node metastasis. Our data suggest that VEGF-D plays an important role in lymph node metastasis in colorectal cancer

Elevated Expression of Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase-1 is Associated with Liver Metastasis in Colorectal Cancer.

Activation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) and its subsequent cleavage are early markers of apoptosis. PARP-1 is associated with DNA repair and so chromosome stability, cell cycle regulation, as well as tumorigenesis. To investigate the role of PARP-1 expression in colorectal carcinoma and its metastasis of liver, we compared the expression of PARP-1 in primary colorectal cancers with (n=15) and without liver metastasis (n=17) using a semi-quantitative reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction. We also examined the expressions of poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) and p53 in these tumors by immunohistochemistry. A significantly higher PARP-1 mRNA expression was noted in tumors with liver metastasis than those without liver metastasis (p<0.01). Colorectal cancers positively stained for p53 exhibited significantly higher PARP-1 mRNA expression than p53-negative tumors (p<0.01). The PAR labeling index (LI) of tumors with metastasis (0.33 ﾂｱ 0.33) was not significantly different (p=0.35) from that of tumors without liver metastasis (0.38 ﾂｱ 0.19). p53-positive tumors tended to have higher PAR LI levels than p53-negative tumors (p=0.08). Our findings suggest that PARP-1 may contribute to liver metastasis due to its DNA repair activity, resulting in survival of the tumor cells with accumulation of metastaticrelated gene\u27s damages. Detailed analysis of PARP-1 may be useful in cancer research and/or cancer therapy

Familial Occurrence of a Congenital Portosystemic Shunt of the Portal Vein

A congenital portosystemic shunt of the portal vein is a very rare vascular anomaly associated with the liver. We report the case of a 5-year-old girl with a patent ductus venosus and her 31-year-old mother with a congenital portosystemic shunt. The child presented with a history of an extremely low birth weight in addition to an atrial septal defect and a patent ductus venosus. At the age of 2, she underwent ligation of the ductus venosus. Her mother was also diagnosed with a congenital vascular anomaly at the age of 16. We have followed up and evaluated her asymptomatic mother for 15 years. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing the occurrence of a congenital portosystemic shunt in both a mother and her child