Fast Vacuum Decay into Quark Pairs in Strong Color Electric and Magnetic Fields

We study quark-pair creations in strong color electromagnetic fields. We point out that, for massless quarks, the vacuum persistency probability per unit space-time volume is zero, i.e., the quark-pair creation rate w is infinite, in general homogeneous color electromagnetic fields, while it is finite when the color magnetic field is absent. We find that the contribution from the lowest Landau level (LLL) dominates this phenomenon. With an effective theory of the LLL projection, we also discuss dynamics of the vacuum decay, taking into account the back reaction of pair creations.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, contribution to the proceedings of International conference on the structure of baryons (BARYONS'10), RCNP, Osaka, Japan, Dec. 7-11, 2010; fig.2 delete

Curcumin (1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1, 6-heptadiene-3,5-dione) Blocks the Chemotaxis of Neutrophils by Inhibiting Signal Transduction through IL-8 Receptors

We investigated the impact of curcumin on neutrophils. Chemotactic activity via human recombinant IL-8 (hrIL-8) was significantly inhibited by curcumin. Curcumin reduced calcium ion flow induced by internalization of the IL-8 receptor. We analyzed flow cytometry to evaluate the status of the IL-8 receptor after curcumin treatment. The change in the distribution of receptors intracellularly and on the cell surface suggested that curcumin may affect the receptor trafficking pathway intracellulary. Rab11 is a low molecular weight G protein associated with the CXCR recycling pathway. Following curcumin treatment, immunoprecipitation studies showed that the IL-8 receptor was associated with larger amounts of active Rab11 than that in control cells. These data suggest that curcumin induces the stacking of the Rab11 vesicle complex with CXCR1 and CXCR2 in the endocytic pathway. The mechanism for antiinflammatory response by curcumin may involve unique regulation of the Rab11 trafficking molecule in recycling of IL-8 receptors

Utility of a simplified ultrasonography scoring system among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A multicenter cohort study

ABSTRACT: We aimed to evaluate the utility of a simplified ultrasonography (US) scoring system, which is desired in daily clinical practice, among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving biological/targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).A total of 289 Japanese patients with RA who were started on tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, abatacept, tocilizumab, or Janus kinase inhibitors between June 2013 and April 2019 at one of the 15 participating rheumatology centers were reviewed. We performed US assessment of articular synovia over 22 joints among bilateral wrist and finger joints, and the 22-joint (22j)-GS and 22-joint (22j)-PD scores were evaluated as an indicator of US activity using the sum of the GS and PD scores, respectively.The top 6 most affected joints included the bilateral wrist and second/third metacarpophalangeal joints. Therefore, 6-joint (6j)-GS and -PD scores were defined as the sum of the GS and PD scores from the 6 synovial sites over the aforementioned 6 joints, respectively. Although the 22j- or 6j-US scores were significantly correlated with DAS28-ESR or -CRP scores, the correlations were weak. Conversely, 6j-US scores were significantly and strongly correlated with 22j-US scores not only at baseline but also after therapy initiation.Using a multicenter cohort data, our results indicated that a simplified US scoring system could be adequately tolerated during any disease course among patients with RA receiving biological/targeted synthetic DMARDs

Omecamtiv mecarbil in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, GALACTIC‐HF: baseline characteristics and comparison with contemporary clinical trials

Aims: The safety and efficacy of the novel selective cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is tested in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTIC‐HF) trial. Here we describe the baseline characteristics of participants in GALACTIC‐HF and how these compare with other contemporary trials. Methods and Results: Adults with established HFrEF, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA) ≥ II, EF ≤35%, elevated natriuretic peptides and either current hospitalization for HF or history of hospitalization/ emergency department visit for HF within a year were randomized to either placebo or omecamtiv mecarbil (pharmacokinetic‐guided dosing: 25, 37.5 or 50 mg bid). 8256 patients [male (79%), non‐white (22%), mean age 65 years] were enrolled with a mean EF 27%, ischemic etiology in 54%, NYHA II 53% and III/IV 47%, and median NT‐proBNP 1971 pg/mL. HF therapies at baseline were among the most effectively employed in contemporary HF trials. GALACTIC‐HF randomized patients representative of recent HF registries and trials with substantial numbers of patients also having characteristics understudied in previous trials including more from North America (n = 1386), enrolled as inpatients (n = 2084), systolic blood pressure < 100 mmHg (n = 1127), estimated glomerular filtration rate < 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 (n = 528), and treated with sacubitril‐valsartan at baseline (n = 1594). Conclusions: GALACTIC‐HF enrolled a well‐treated, high‐risk population from both inpatient and outpatient settings, which will provide a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this novel therapy, as well as informing its potential future implementation

Heavy metal accumulations in Adelie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae, and their variations with the reproductive processes

This paper reports the concentrations and distribution of heavy metals in the organs and tissues of the Adelie penguin collected around Syowa Station, Antarctica, in 1981,and also discusses the changes of heavy metal accumulation with the reproductive activity. The metal concentrations of the whole Adelie penguin were in the order of Fe>Zn>Cu>Mn・Cd>Hg>Pb・Ni. High bioaccumulations of Cd and Hg were observed. Generally, higher concentrations of the metals were found in the liver and kidney. However, the concentrations of Pb, Ni, Hg and Cu were relatively high in feather, and Mn and Zn were higher in the bone. Relatively high concentrations of Mn, Zn and Cd were found in the pancreas. A majority (>60%) of the Fe and Cu burdens in the whole body was in muscle which constituted an average of 50% of the body weight. Relatively high burdens of Mn and Zn were in the bone also, and more than half of the body burden of Cd was found in the kidney. Comparatively high burdens of Cu and Hg were in the feather, especially Hg in the feather was approximately 60% of the body burden. Effect of egg-laying on the body metal contents of adult female was not significant. However, the Fe concentrations in livers of the starved males were higher than those of the females and other males, while the bone Zn showed lower concentrations in males than females. Furthermore, an increase of metal concentrations in the body and a redistribution of body Fe were observed as a result of advanced starvation