Ion current density profile of laser ablation plasma transported in multicusp magnetic field

Laser ion sources are capable of supplying ion beams with high current because a laser produced plasma has initially high number density same as that of solid. [1]..

Hierarchical Cluster and Region of Interest Analyses Based on Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Human Brain Tumours

Imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) has been rarely used to examine specimens of human brain tumours. In the current study, high quality brain tumour samples were selected by tissue observation. Further, IMS analysis was combined with a new hierarchical cluster analysis (IMS-HCA) and region of interest analysis (IMS-ROI). IMS-HCA was successful in creating groups consisting of similar signal distribution images of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and related multiple proteins in primary brain tumours. This clustering data suggested the relation of GFAP and these identified proteins in the brain tumorigenesis. Also, high levels of histone proteins, haemoglobin subunit α, tubulins, and GFAP were identified in a metastatic brain tumour using IMS-ROI. Our results show that IMS-HCA and IMS-ROI are promising techniques for identifying biomarkers using brain tumour samples

Randomized trial of amino acid mixture combined with physical activity promotion for abdominal fat reduction in overweight adults

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of arginine, alanine, and phenylalanine mixture (A-mix) ingestion at 1,500 mg/day in combination with the promotion of physical activity for abdominal fat reduction in overweight adults.Methods: A placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group, randomized trial for 12 weeks combined with a 4-week follow-up period was conducted at a single center in Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan, between December 2016 and May 2017. Data were analyzed between June and August 2017. The study participants were 200 overweight adults within the age range of 20–64 years. The participants were randomly assigned to the A-mix group (n=100) or a placebo group (n=100) and were administered 500 mL of test beverage containing 1,500 or 0 mg of A-mix, respectively, for 12 weeks. All participants maintained a physically active lifestyle between week 0 and week 12 through monthly sessions of physical activity. The primary outcomes were the 12-week changes in the abdominal total, subcutaneous, and visceral fat areas, as assessed by computed tomography.Results: Of the 200 enrolled participants, 199 (99%) accomplished the 12-week intervention and 4-week follow-up period. The per-protocol-based analysis for 194 participants demonstrated that the abdominal total fat area decreased significantly in the A-mix group compared with that in the placebo group (difference, 10.0 cm2; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.4–19.6 cm2; P=0.041). Comparable outcomes were obtained for the abdominal subcutaneous fat area (difference, 7.4 cm2; 95% CI: 0.1–14.7 cm2; P=0.047). No study-related unfavorable events occurred.Conclusion: A-mix supplementation in combination with physical activity promotion facilitated abdominal fat reduction in overweight adults

Three-dimensional Structure of Nylon Hydrolase and Mechanism of Nylon-6 Hydrolysis

This research was originally published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Seiji Negoro, Naoki Shibata, Yusuke Tanaka, Kengo Yasuhira, Hiroshi Shibata, Haruka Hashimoto, Young-Ho Lee, Shohei Oshima, Ryuji Santa, Shohei Oshima, Kozo Mochiji, Yuji Goto, Takahisa Ikegami, Keisuke Nagai, Dai-ichiro Kato, Masahiro Takeo and Yoshiki Higuchi. Three-dimensional Structure of Nylon Hydrolase and Mechanism of Nylon-6 Hydrolysis. J. Biol. Chem. 2012; 287, 5079-5090. © the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biolog

Dose-ranging pilot randomized trial of amino acid mixture combined with physical activity promotion for reducing abdominal fat in overweight adults

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effective dose of an amino acid mixture comprising arginine, alanine, and phenylalanine combined with physical activity promotion in reducing abdominal fat among overweight adults.Methods: A 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging, pilot trial was conducted in Mito, Japan, from January through April 2016, and the data were analyzed from May through November 2016. The study participants were 35 overweight adults, aged 20–64 years, with no regular exercise habit. Participants were randomly assigned to high-dose (3,000 mg/d, n=9), medium-dose (1,500 mg/d, n=9), low-dose (750 mg/d, n=8), or placebo (0 mg/d, n=9) groups, and the test beverage containing the amino acid mixture or placebo was administered for 12 weeks. All participants maintained a physically active lifestyle during the study period through monthly physical activity promotion sessions and smartphone-based self-monitoring with wearable trackers. Primary outcomes were changes in abdominal total, subcutaneous, and visceral fat areas, assessed by computed tomography.Results: Of the 35 enrolled participants, 32 completed the 12-week follow-up visit. The intention-to-treat analysis revealed that the changes in abdominal total fat area were −14.6 cm2 (95% confidence interval [CI], −39.6 cm2 to 10.4 cm2), −25.3 cm2 (95% CI, −71.0 cm2 to 20.3 cm2), −23.2 cm2 (95% CI, −48.0 cm2 to 1.6 cm2), and −12.5 cm2 (95% CI, −29.1 cm2 to 4.0 cm2) in the high-dose, medium-dose, low-dose, and placebo groups, respectively. Similar results were obtained for visceral and subcutaneous fat areas. No study-related adverse events were reported.Conclusion: Compared with placebo, a medium or low dose of the amino acid mixture may facilitate abdominal fat reduction among overweight adults. A larger randomized trial with sufficient statistical power should be implemented to validate the effectiveness of this supplement

Comparison of Targeted vs Random Biopsies for Surveillance of Ulcerative Colitis-Associated Colorectal Cancer

Background & AimsA random biopsy is recommended for surveillance of ulcerative colitis (UC)-associated colorectal cancer. However, a targeted biopsy might be more effective. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to compare rates of neoplasia detection by targeted vs random biopsies in patients with UC.MethodsWe performed a study of 246 patients with UC for 7 years or more, seen at 52 institutions in Japan from October 1, 2008 through December 31, 2010. Patients were randomly assigned to the random group (4 random biopsies collected every 10 cm in addition to targeted biopsies, n = 122) or the target group (biopsies collected from locations of suspected neoplasia, n = 124). The primary end point was the number of neoplastic lesions detected in a single surveillance colonoscopy. We estimated the ratio and difference in the mean number of neoplastic lesions between the groups. We also evaluated the non-inferiority between the groups as an exploratory study. A non-inferiority margin of 0.65 (0.13 of 0.20) was considered for the ratio of the mean number of neoplastic lesions between groups.ResultsThe mean number of biopsies found to contain neoplastic tissue per colonoscopy was 0.211 (24 of 114) in the target group and 0.168 (18 of 107) in the random group (ratio of 1.251; 95% confidence interval, 0.679–2.306). The lower limit was above the non-inferiority margin of 0.65. Neoplasias were detected in 11.4% of patients in the target group and 9.3% of patients in the random group (P = .617). Larger numbers of biopsy samples per colonoscopy were collected in the random group (34.8 vs 3.1 in the target group; P < .001), and the total examination time was longer (41.7 vs 26.6 minutes in the target group; P < .001). In the random group, all neoplastic tissues found in random biopsies were collected from areas of the mucosa with a history or presence of inflammation.ConclusionsIn a randomized controlled trial, we found that targeted and random biopsies detect similar proportions of neoplasias. However, a targeted biopsy appears to be a more cost-effective method. Random biopsies from areas without any signs of present or past inflammation were not found to contain neoplastic tissues. Clinical Trial Registry: UMIN000001608

The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna; DECIGO

DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to open a new window of observation for gravitational wave astronomy especially between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz, revealing various mysteries of the universe such as dark energy, formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and inflation of the universe. The pre-conceptual design of DECIGO consists of three drag-free spacecraft, whose relative displacements are measured by a differential Fabry– Perot Michelson interferometer. We plan to launch two missions, DECIGO pathfinder and pre- DECIGO first and finally DECIGO in 2024

DECIGO pathfinder

DECIGO pathfinder (DPF) is a milestone satellite mission for DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) which is a future space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to provide us fruitful insights into the universe, in particular about dark energy, a formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and the inflation of the universe. Since DECIGO will be an extremely large mission which will formed by three drag-free spacecraft with 1000m separation, it is significant to gain the technical feasibility of DECIGO before its planned launch in 2024. Thus, we are planning to launch two milestone missions: DPF and pre-DECIGO. The conceptual design and current status of the first milestone mission, DPF, are reviewed in this article

Circulating T follicular helper 2 cells, T follicular regulatory cells and regulatory B cells are effective biomarkers for predicting the response to house dust mite sublingual immunotherapy in patients with allergic respiratory diseases

The relationships between T follicular helper (Tfh) cells and antigen-specific immunoglobulins (sIgs) in patients with allergic respiratory diseases who are receiving antigen immunotherapy (AIT) have not been fully clarified. Therefore, we started to perform house dust mite sublingual immunotherapy (HDM-SLIT) for 20 patients with atopic asthma comorbid with allergic rhinitis (AA+AR) who were already receiving ordinary treatments including inhaled corticosteroid (ICS). We examined percentages of circulating T follicular helper (cTfh) and regulatory (cTfr) cells and percentages of circulating regulatory T (cTreg) and B (cBreg) cells by FACS and we examined levels of Der-p/f sIgs by ELISA. Based on the symptom score (asthma control questionnaire: ACQ) and medication score ((global initiative for asthma: GINA) treatment step score) in patients with AA, the patients were divided into responders and non-responders. The percentage of cTfh2 cells significantly decreased and the percentage of cTfh1 cells significantly increased within the first year. Der-p/f sIgEs decreased after a transient elevation at 3 months in both groups. Notably, the percentage of cTfh2 cells and the ratio of cTfh2/cBreg cells and Der-p/f sIgEs greatly decreased in responders from 6 months to 12 months. The percentages of cTfr and cTreg cells showed significant negative correlations with the percentage of cTfh2 cells. The percentage of IL-4+ cTfh cells were significantly decreased and the percentage of IFN-γ+ cTfh cells were increased before treatment to 24 months in 6 patients examined (4 responders and 2 non-responders). We performed multi plelogistic regression analysis based on these results, the ratios of cTfh2/cTfr cells and cTfh2/cBreg cells at the start of therapy were statistically effective biomarkers for predicting the response to HDM-SLIT in patients with AA+AR

The status of DECIGO

DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) is the planned Japanese space gravitational wave antenna, aiming to detect gravitational waves from astrophysically and cosmologically significant sources mainly between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz and thus to open a new window for gravitational wave astronomy and for the universe. DECIGO will consists of three drag-free spacecraft arranged in an equilateral triangle with 1000 km arm lengths whose relative displacements are measured by a differential Fabry-Perot interferometer, and four units of triangular Fabry-Perot interferometers are arranged on heliocentric orbit around the sun. DECIGO is vary ambitious mission, we plan to launch DECIGO in era of 2030s after precursor satellite mission, B-DECIGO. B-DECIGO is essentially smaller version of DECIGO: B-DECIGO consists of three spacecraft arranged in an triangle with 100 km arm lengths orbiting 2000 km above the surface of the earth. It is hoped that the launch date will be late 2020s for the present