Bacteremia Caused by Yokenella regensburgei in a Patient with Diabetes Mellitus

Article信州医学雑誌 65(2): 113-116(2017)journal articl

Scattering polarization of 3-μ\mum water-ice feature by large icy grains

Water ice has a strong spectral feature at a wavelength of approximately $3~\mu$m, which plays a vital role in our understanding of the icy universe. In this study, we investigate the scattering polarization of this water-ice feature. The linear polarization degree of light scattered by $\mu$m-sized icy grains is known to be enhanced at the ice band; however, the dependence of this polarization enhancement on various grain properties is unclear. We find that the enhanced polarization at the ice band is sensitive to the presence of $\mu$m-sized grains as well as their ice abundance. We demonstrate that this enhancement is caused by the high absorbency of the water-ice feature, which attenuates internal scattering and renders the surface reflection dominant over internal scattering. Additionally, we compare our models with polarimetric observations of the low-mass protostar L1551 IRS 5. Our results show that scattering by a maximum grain radius of a few microns with a low water-ice abundance is consistent with observations. Thus, scattering polarization of the water-ice feature is a useful tool for characterizing ice properties in various astronomical environments.Comment: 19 pages, 17 figures, 1 table; Accepted for publication in Ap

Clinical characteristics of combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema

The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.comBackground and objective: Patients with combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) are sometimes seen, and we speculate that these patients have some different clinical characteristics from COPD patients. This study clarifies the clinical characteristics of CPFE patients. Methods: This was a retrospective study of 47 stable patients with concurrent emphysema and diffuse parenchymal lung disease with fibrosis, based on the findings of chest CT (CPFE patients). The clinical characteristics of CPFE patients were compared with those of emphysema-dominant COPD patients without parenchymal lung disease (COPD patients). Results: Forty-six of the 47 CPFE patients were male. Paraseptal emphysema was particularly common in the CPFE group. Honeycombing, ground-glass opacities and reticular opacities were present in 75.6%, 62.2% and 84.4% of CPFE patients, respectively. Twenty-two of the 47 CPFE patients (46.8%) had lung cancer. Pulmonary function tests showed that the CPFE group had milder airflow limitation and lower diffusing capacity than the COPD group. Desaturation during 6-min walking test in CPFE patients tended to be more severe than in COPD patients, if the level of FEV1 or 6MWD was equal. Conclusions: CPFE patients had some different clinical characteristics in comparison with COPD patients and may also have a high prevalence of lung cancer.ArticleRESPIROLOGY. 15(2):265-271 (2010)journal articl

Usefulness of the Measurement of Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide in Asthmatic Patients :Correlation with Pulmonary Function, Asthma Control and Health Status

Background and objective:This study was conducted to investigate whether or not FeNO correlates with lung function tests, the Asthma Control Test (ACT) for assessing asthma control or the Asthma Health Questionnaire (AHQ-33) for evaluating the health status in asthmatics. Methods :FeNO was compared with the results of spirometry,ACT and AHQ-33 in 57 non-smoking patients with asthma and 17 healthy individuals without pulmonary diseases who had never smoked. Sixteen of 57 asthmatics treated with inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)underwent step-down therapy if they showed good/total control or step-up therapy if they showed poor control, and were evaluated by spirometry, ACT and AHQ- 33 prior to and more than one month after starting step-down or step-up therapy. Results :FeNO in asthmatics was significantly higher than that in the control group.There were no significant correlations between FeNO and FEV1, ACT score or AHQ-33 scores. However, there were significant correlations between the changes in FeNO and changes in FEV1, ACT score or AHQ-33 scores following stepdown or step-up therapy. Conclusion :FeNO is a useful marker not only for the diagnosis of asthma but also for asthma control and determining the health status in an individual patient, although it is variable without any correlation with symptoms and lung function among asthmatics. Shinshu Med J 59 : 239 ―247, 2011Article信州医学雑誌 59(4): 239-247(2011)departmental bulletin pape

Differences in the function and secretion of congenital aberrant fibrinogenemia between heterozygous gamma D320G (Okayama II) and gamma Delta N319-Delta D320 (Otsu I)

Background: We encountered two patients with hypodysfibrinogenemia and designated them as Okayama II and Otsu I. Although the affected residue(s) in Okayama II and Otsu I overlapped, functionally determined fibrinogen levels and the ratio of functionally to immunologically determined plasma fibrinogen levels were markedly different.Methods: DNA sequence and functional analyses were performed for purified plasma fibrinogen. A recombinant protein was synthesized in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells to determine the secretion of variant fibrinogens.Results: A heterozygous A>G in FGG, resulting in gamma 320Asp>Gly for Okayama II, and a heterozygous deletion of AATGAT in FGG, resulting in the deletion of gamma Asn319 and gamma Asp320 (gamma Delta N319-Delta D320) for Otsu I, were obtained. SDS-PAGE and Coomassie staining revealed that the variant gamma-chain was not clear in Okayama II, but was clearly present in Otsu I. The lag period for the fibrin polymerization of Okayama II was slightly slower than that of the normal control, whereas Otsu I fibrinogen indicated no polymerization within 30 min. Both variant gamma-chains were synthesized in CHO cells and assembled into fibrinogen; however, the fibrinogen concentration ratio of the medium/cell lysate of gamma 320Gly was six-fold lower than that of gamma Delta N319-Delta D320.Conclusions: We concluded that the plasma fibrinogen of Okayama II, constituted by a lower ratio of the variant gamma-chain, led to the almost normal functioning of fibrin polymerization. However, the plasma fibrinogen of Otsu I, with a higher ratio of the variant gamma-chain, led to marked reductions in fibrin polymerization. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.THROMBOSIS RESEARCH. 136(6):1318-1324 (2015)journal articl

Annual changes in pulmonary function in combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema: Over a 5-year follow-up

Background: Combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) is a unique disorder that has been previously described, and the distinct features of CPFE in comparison with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been reported. However, the yearly dynamics of pulmonary function parameters in CPFE patients compared with those in COPD patients have not yet been reported. Methods: We retrospectively enrolled patients with CPFE and COPD who had undergone pulmonary function tests more than five times during a follow-up period of more than five years. The baseline clinical characteristics and the annual changes in pulmonary function during the follow-up period in 16 stable CPFE patients were compared with those in 19 stable COPD patients. Annual changes in pulmonary function were estimated from linear regressions, with assumptions for time-dependency and linearity. We analyzed the time-dependent fluctuations in pulmonary function for the two disorders. Results: Annual decreases in VC and FVC in the CPFE group were significantly higher than those in the COPD group. Annual decrease in FEV1/FVC in the COPD group was significantly higher than in the CPFE group. During the follow-up period, FEV1/FVC in the CPFE group appeared to improve because of annual decrease in FVC. Annual decreases in DLco and DLco/VA in the CPFE group were significantly higher than those in the COPD group. Conclusion: This is the first report showing the yearly dynamics of pulmonary function parameters in CPFE patients compared with those in COPD patients during a follow-up period of more than five years. This study revealed that the physiologic consequences of CPFE including the rate of progression of pulmonary function impairment were different from those of COPD. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.ArticleRESPIRATORY MEDICINE. 107(12):1986-1992 (2013)journal articl

Additive efficacy of short-acting bronchodilators on dynamic hyperinflation and exercise tolerance in stable COPD patients treated with long-acting bronchodilators

The purpose of this study was to clarify the additive efficacy of short-acting beta(2)-agonists (SABA) or muscarinic antagonists (SAMA) on dynamic hyperinflation and exercise tolerance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who had been treated with long-acting bronchodilators. Thirty-two patients with stable COPD who had been treated with long-acting bronchodilators, including long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA), were examined by pulmonary function tests, dynamic hyperinflation evaluated by the method of step-wise metronome-paced incremental hyperventilation, and the incremental shuttle walking test before and after inhalation of SABA or SAMA. The additive efficacy of the two drugs was analyzed. Inhalation of SABA and SAMA improved airflow limitation and dynamic hyperinflation in stable COPD patients who had been treated with LAMA. Inhalation of SABA decreased respiratory resistance and the difference in respiratory resistance at 5 Hz and 20 Hz. On the whole, the additive efficacy of SABA on airflow limitation and dynamic hyperinflation was superior to that of SAMA. Furthermore, inhalation of SABA resulted in relief of breathlessness during exercise and significant improvement in exercise capacity. Inhalation of SABA resulted in significant improvement in exercise tolerance, which may have been due to improvement in dynamic hyperinflation. Single use of SABA before exercise, in addition to regular treatment with LAMA, may therefore be useful in stable COPD patients.ArticleRESPIRATORY MEDICINE. 107(3):394-400 (2013)journal articl

siRNA down-regulation of FGA mRNA in HepG2 cells demonstrated that heterozygous abnormality of the A alpha-chain gene does not affect the plasma fibrinogen level

Introduction: We encountered two afibrinogenemia patients with homozygous and compound heterozygous FGA mutation. Of interest, the patients' parents, who are heterozygous, had normal levels of plasma fibrinogen; thus, we hypothesized that liver FGA mRNA levels were higher than those of FGB and/or FGG mRNA. Materials and Methods: To test the hypothesis, we quantitated mRNA levels of a normal liver and a human hepatocyte cell line, HepG2 cells, and performed siRNA-mediated down-regulation of the fibrinogen gene in HepG2 cells. mRNA levels were determined using real-time quantitative RT-PCR for three normal livers and HepG2 cells. Down-regulation of FGA, FGB, or FGG in HepG2 cells was performed by the addition of siRNA corresponding to each of the three genes, and the mRNA levels determined in the cells and the secreted fibrinogen concentration in media. Results: The mRNA level of normal human liver was FGA=FGB>FGG and the FGG mRNA level was about 2-fold lower than the others, that of HepG2 cells was FGA>FGG>FGB and FGA mRNA was approximately 2- or 4-fold higher than FGG mRNA and FGB mRNA. When FGA, FGB, or FGG mRNA expression levels were down-regulated by nearby 50%, fibrinogen concentrations in media were 78%, 49%, or 57% of the control, respectively. Conclusions: Our results suggest that FGG mRNA levels limit fibrinogen expression in normal liver and HepG2 cells and that 50% reduction of FGA mRNA levels would not limit fibrinogen expression in normal liver and HepG2 cells.ArticleTHROMBOSIS RESEARCH. 131(4):342-348 (2013)journal articl

Estimation of Newtonian noise from KAGRA cooling system

KAGRA is the first km-scale gravitational wave detector to be constructed underground and employ cryogenics to cool down its test masses. While the underground location provides a quiet site with low seismic noise, the cooling infrastructure is known to generate large mechanical vibrations due to cryocooler operation and structural resonances of the cryostat. As cooling system components are relatively heavy and in close proximity to the test masses, oscillation of gravity force induced by their vibration, so-called Newtonian noise, could contaminate the detector sensitivity. In this paper, we use the results from vibration analysis of the KAGRA cryostat to estimate cooling system Newtonian noise in the 1-100 Hz frequency band. Our calculations show that, while this noise does not limit the current detector sensitivity or inspiral range, it will be an issue in the future when KAGRA improves its sensitivity. We conclude that KAGRA may need to implement Wiener filters to subtract this noise in the future