Suzaku Spectroscopy of an X-Ray Reflection Nebula and a New Supernova Remnant Candidate in the Sgr B1 Region

We made a 100 ks observation of the Sagittarius (Sgr) B1 region at (l, b) = (0.5, -0.1) near to the Galactic center (GC) with the Suzaku/XIS. Emission lines of S XV, Fe I, Fe XXV, and Fe XXVI were clearly detected in the spectrum. We found that the Fe XXV and Fe XXVI line emissions smoothly distribute over the Sgr B1 and B2 regions connecting from the GC. This result suggests that the GC hot plasma extends at least up to the Sgr B region with a constant temperature. There are two diffuse X-ray sources in the observed region. One of the two (G0.42-0.04) is newly discovered, and exhibits a strong S XV Ka emission line, suggesting a candidate for a supernova remnant located in the GC region. The other one (M0.51-0.10), having a prominent Fe I Ka emission line and a strongly absorbed continuum, is likely to be an X-ray reflection nebula. There is no near source bright enough to irradiate M0.51-0.10. However, the Fe I Ka emission can be explained if Sgr A* was ~ 10^6 times brighter 300 years ago, the light travel time for 100 pc to M0.51-0.10, than it is at present.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure

新規な磁気共鳴イメージングを用いたメニエール病の高精度診断法

Background: Pathologically, Meniere's disease symptoms are considered to be associated with endolymphatic hydrops. Examinations revealing endolymphatic hydrops can be useful for accurate Meniere's disease diagnosis. We previously reported a quantitative method for evaluating endolymphatic hydrops, i.e., by measuring the volume of the endolymphatic space using three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the inner ear. This study aimed to confirm the usefulness of our methods for diagnosing Meniere's disease. Here, we extracted new explanatory factors for diagnosing Meniere's disease by comparing the volume of the endolymphatic space between healthy volunteers and patients with Meniere's disease. Additionally, we validated our method by comparing its diagnostic accuracy with that of the conventional method. Methods and Findings: This is a prospective diagnostic accuracy study performed at vertigo/dizziness centre of our university hospital, a tertiary hospital. Eighty-six patients with definite unilateral Meniere's disease and 47 healthy volunteers (25 and 33 males, and 22 and 53 females in the control and patient groups, respectively) were enrolled. All participants underwent 3-Tesla MRI 4 h after intravenous injection of gadolinium to reveal the endolymphatic space. The volume of the endolymphatic space was measured and a model for Meniere's disease diagnosis was constructed and compared with models using conventional criteria to confirm the effectiveness of the methods used. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the method proposed in this study was excellent (0.924), and significantly higher than that derived using the conventional criteria (0.877). The four indices, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value, were given at the threshold; all of these indices achieved higher scores for the 3D model compared to the 2D model. Cross-validation of the models revealed that the improvement was due to the incorporation of the semi-circular canals. Conclusions: Our method showed high diagnostic accuracy for Meniere's disease. Additionally, we revealed the importance of observing the semi-circular canals for Meniere's disease diagnosis. The proposed method can contribute toward providing effective symptomatic relief in Meniere's disease.博士（医学）・甲第807号・令和3年12月21日Copyright © 2021 Ito, Inoue, Inui, Miyasaka, Yamanaka, Kichikawa, Takeda, Kasahara, Kitahara and Naganawa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms

イメージフリーナビゲーションを用いた人工膝関節全置換術 : 回旋設置精度向上のための手術手技の工夫およびその手術成績について

学位の種別: 論文博士審査委員会委員 : （主査）東京大学教授 芳賀 信彦, 東京大学准教授 國松 聡, 東京大学准教授 永松 健, 東京大学講師 廣瀬 旬, 東京大学講師 有田 淳一University of Tokyo(東京大学

THE EXPRESSION OF THE fms GENE AND THE GENE PRODUCT IN THYROID TUMOR

The amplification of the fms gene DNA was investigated in 5 human thyroid tumors. No significant amplification or rearrangement was observed in tumor DNA. The expression of the fms gene product was also investigated in 20 thyroid tumor tissues embedded in paraffin using a polyclonal antibody to the fms oncogene product immunohistochemically. Ten out of 20 samples showed clearly positive, 6 out of 20 were weakly positive but 4 out of 20 were negative. Therefore, the fms oncogene might play an important role for thyroid carcinogenesis, and it might also be of possible importance for understanding the mechanism of thyroid carcinogenesis

Iron and Nickel Line Diagnostics for the Galactic Center Diffuse Emission

We have observed the diffuse X-ray emission from the Galactic center (GC) using the X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS) on Suzaku. The high-energy resolution and the low-background orbit provide excellent spectra of the GC diffuse X-rays (GCDX). The XIS found many emission lines in the GCDX near the energy of K-shell transitions of iron and nickel. The most pronounced features are FeI K alpha at 6.4 keV and K-shell absorption edge at 7.1 keV, which are from neutral and/or low ionization states of iron, and the K-shell lines at 6.7 keV and 6.9 keV from He-like (FeXXV K alpha) and hydrogenic (FeXXVI Ly alpha) ions of iron. In addition, K alpha lines from neutral or low ionization nickel (NiI K alpha) and He-like nickel (NiXXVII K alpha), and FeI K beta, FeXXV K beta, FeXXVI Ly beta, FeXXV K gamma and FeXXVI Ly gamma are detected for the first time. The line center energies and widths of FeXXV K alpha and FeXXVI Ly alpha favor a collisional excitation (CE) plasma for the origin of the GCDX. The electron temperature determined from the line flux ratio of FeXXV K alpha / FeXXV K beta is similar to the ionization temperature determined from that of FeXXV K alpha /FeXXVI Ly alpha. Thus it would appear that the GCDX plasma is close to ionization equilibrium. The 6.7 keV flux and temperature distribution to the galactic longitude is smooth and monotonic,in contrast to the integrated point source flux distribution. These facts support the hypothesis that the GCDX is truly diffuse emission rather than the integration of the outputs of a large number of unresolved point sources. In addition, our results demonstrate that the chemical composition of Fe in the interstellar gas near the GC is constrained to be about 3.5 times solar.Comment: 11 pages, 19 figures. Accepted for publication in PASJ Suzaku Special Issue (vol. 59 sp. 1

Three-Dimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Reveals the Relationship Between the Control of Vertigo and Decreases in Endolymphatic Hydrops After Endolymphatic Sac Drainage With Steroids for Meniere's Disease

Meniere's disease is a common disease, that presents with recurrent vertigo and cochlear symptoms. The pathology of Meniere's disease was first reported to involve endolymphatic hydrops in 1938. The endolymphatic sac is thought to have a role to keep the hydrostatic pressure and endolymph homeostasis for the inner ear. As a surgery for intractable Meniere's disease, endolymphatic sac drainage with intraendolymphatic sac application of large doses of steroids is performed to control the endolymphatic hydrops and preserve or improve inner ear function. In the present study, to observe the effect of this surgery, we calculated the endolymphatic space size using 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 4 h after intravenous injection of gadolinium enhancement at two time points: just before surgery and 2 years after. To reveal the condition of the endolymphatic space, we constructed three-dimensional MR images semi-automatically and fused the three-dimensional images of the total fluid space of inner ear and the endolymphatic space. After fusing the images, we calculated the volume of the total fluid space and endolymphatic space. Two years after surgery, 16 of 20 patients (80.0%) showed relief from vertigo/dizziness and reductions in the ratio of the volume of the endolymphatic size to the total fluid space of inner ear. Endolymphatic sac drainage with intraendolymphatic sac application of large doses of steroids could control vertigo/dizziness and decrease the endolymphatic hydrops. These results indicate that endolymphatic sac drainage is a good treatment option for patients with intractable Meniere's disease. In addition, volumetric measurement of inner ear volume could be useful for confirming the effect of treatments on Meniere's disease

Comparison of scapular upward rotation during arm elevation in the scapular plane in healthy volunteers and patients with rotator cuff tears pre- and post-surgery.

[Background] Function loss caused by rotator cuff tears alters the scapular orientation, however, few prior studies have reported on scapular movements after rotator cuff repair. The purpose was to determine the scapular orientations before and after rotator cuff repair. [Methods] We recruited 14 healthy controls, 10 small and six massive rotator cuff tear in patients. The scapular upward rotation during arm elevation was analyzed using fluoroscopic imaging. [Findings] Before surgery, both rotator cuff groups demonstrated greater scapular upward rotation compared to healthy controls. Two months postoperation, the analyses showed significant differences between the patients with small rotator cuff tears and healthy controls at arm elevations of 90°, and between patients with both rotator cuff tear groups and healthy controls at arm elevations of 120°. At five months post-operation, significant differences still existed between the healthy controls and both rotator cuff groups. In regard to the temporal effects in the patients with small rotator cuff tears, the scapular upward rotation decreased significantly over time (2–5 months postoperation) at arm elevations of 120°. We did not identify a main effect owing to time in the patients with massive rotator cuff tears. [Interpretation] In patients with small rotator cuff tears, scapular upward rotation was reduced over the period of 2–5 months postoperation, however, the patients with massive rotator cuff tears showed greater scapular upward rotation throughout the experimental period. The results suggested that the execution of the rehabilitation program should consider that the tear size could affect scapular motion

Agreement in rotator cuff muscles measurement between ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging

[Background/objective] It is important to assess the atrophy of the rotator cuff to better understand shoulder function and pain. Previously, magnetic resonance imaging has been used for the evaluation of atrophy of rotator cuff muscles, which is time consuming. Therefore, a measurement tool requiring little time and easy accessibility is clinically desirable to be used frequently in rehabilitation. Recently, rotator cuff muscles have been evaluated using ultrasonography. However, little is known about the agreement of evaluation in rotator cuff muscles between magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the agreement between the muscle thickness measurements of supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor muscles by ultrasonography and the cross-sectional area measured by magnetic resonance imaging in the patient with rotator cuff tears. [Methods] A total of 47 patients with rotator cuff tears were enrolled. There were the 37 small tears, four medium tears, and six large tears, and the involved rotator cuff muscles were the supraspinatus in 37 shoulders, and the supraspinatus and infraspinatus in 10 shoulders. The measuring variables were muscle thickness and cross-sectional area of supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor muscles by using magnetic resonance imaging. Further, the muscle thickness of the rotator cuff were assessed using ultrasonography. A single regression model was used for demonstrating the agreement between the cross-sectional area measurement by magnetic resonance imaging and the muscle thickness measured using ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging of rotator cuff muscles. Additionally, the Bland-Altman plots between magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography was analyzed. [Results] The cross-sectional area were correlated with the muscle thickness measurement of rotator cuff muscles by magnetic resonance imaging, significantly (supraspinatus: r = 0.84, infraspinatus: ρ = 0.63, teres minor: ρ = 0.61, all p < 0.001). There were significant agreements between the cross-sectional area measured by magnetic resonance imaging and muscle thickness measured by ultrasonography (supraspinatus: r = 0.80, infraspinatus: ρ = 0.78, teres minor: ρ = 0.74, all p < 0.001). Bland-Altman plots revealed significant correlations between the average and the difference of the two measurements in supraspinatus (r = 0.36, p = 0.012), infraspinatus (r = 0.38, p < 0.001), and teres minor (r = 0.42, p < 0.001). These results clarified the proportional bias between MRI and US. [Conclusion] This study showed that, similar to magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasonography is a useful tool for assessing muscle atrophy of supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor muscles

Uniaxial negative thermal expansion in an orthorhombic superconductor CoZr3

We investigated the temperature evolution of crystal structure of orthorhombic CoZr3, which is a superconductor with a transition temperature of 4.3 K, by synchrotron and laboratory (CuK{\alpha}) X-ray diffraction. Uniaxial negative thermal expansion along the c-axis, which is similar to that observed in tetragonal CoZr2, has been observed at a wide temperature range of T = 90-800 K in CoZr3, while a-and b-axis exhibit positive thermal expansion.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, supplemental material

Eucalyptus Leaf Extract Suppresses the Postprandial Elevation of Portal, Cardiac and Peripheral Fructose Concentrations after Sucrose Ingestion in Rats

Overintake of sucrose or fructose induces adiposity. Fructose undergoes a strong Maillard reaction, which worsens diabetic complications. To determine whether Eucalyptus globulus leaf extract (ELE) suppresses the postprandial elevation of serum fructose concentrations (SFCs) in the portal, cardiac, and peripheral blood after sucrose ingestion, we performed gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and measured SFC without any interference by contaminating glucose in the samples. Fasting Wistar rats were orally administered water (control group) or ELE (ELE group) before sucrose ingestion. Blood was collected from the portal vein, heart, and tail. The increase in the SFCs in the portal and cardiac samples 30 min after sucrose ingestion was lower in the ELE group than in the control group. The coefficient of correlation between the SFCs in the portal and cardiac samples was 0.825. The peripheral SFC in the control group progressively increased and was 146 µmol/L at 60 min. This increase was significantly lower in the ELE group. In contrast, the serum glucose concentrations in the 2 groups were similar. ELE suppressed postprandial hyperfructosemia in the portal, cardiac, and peripheral circulations. ELE may counteract glycation caused by high blood fructose concentrations induced by the consumption of fructose-containing foods or drinks