Study of Field-Induced Magnetic Order in Singlet-Ground-State Magnet CsFeCl3_3

The field-induced magnetic order in the singlet-ground-state system CsFeCl$_3$ has been studied by measuring magnetization and neutron diffraction. The field dependence of intensity for the neutron magnetic reflection has clearly demonstrated that the field-induced ordered phase is described by the order parameter $$. A condensate growth of magnons is investigated through the temperature dependence of $M_z$ and $M_{\perp}$, and this ordering is discussed in the context of a magnon Bose-Einstein condensation. Development of the coherent state and the static correlation length has been observed in the incommensurate phase in the field region of $5 H_{\rm c}$, a satellite peak was found in coexistence with the commensurate peak at the phase boundary around 10 T, which indicates that the tilt of the c-axis would be less than $\sim 0.5^{\circ}$ in the whole experiments.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Aging effect on microstructure of cold groove-rolled α′-type Ti-12 mass%V-2 mass%Al alloys studied by transmission electron microscopy

Microstructure and phase decomposition of hexagonal α′ martensite in cold groove rolled (CGR) Ti-12 mass% V-2 mass% Al alloys have been studied by transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Acicular structure of the α′ martensite changes into equiaxed α′ grains by CGR with a cold reduction of 75%. After aging at 573K for 500 h, local Moiré fringes disappear and diffraction rings become sharp due to recovery. However, Vickers hardness also increased in spite of the recovery. Partitioning of solute atoms and/or formation of fine precipitates can be possible cause for the observed age-hardening. Although a CGR alloy is characterized by a microstructure with polycrystalline equiaxed grains, following orientation relationship is locally observed between β precipitates and α grains after aging at 673 K: (101)β // (011̄1̄)α, [010]β // (101̄1)α. Electron tomography revealed a heterogeneous nucleation and growth of β precipitates in the deformed α′ matrix. © 2014 The Japan Institute of Metals and Materials

ARL3 and ARL13B GTPases participate in distinct steps of INPP5E targeting to the ciliary membrane

INPP5E, a phosphoinositide 5-phosphatase, localizes on the ciliary membrane via its C-terminal prenyl moiety, and maintains the distinct ciliary phosphoinositide composition. The ARL3 GTPase contributes to the ciliary membrane localization of INPP5E by stimulating the release of PDE6D bound to prenylated INPP5E. Another GTPase, ARL13B, which is localized on the ciliary membrane, contributes to the ciliary membrane retention of INPP5E by directly binding to its ciliary targeting sequence. However, as ARL13B was shown to act as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for ARL3, it is also possible that ARL13B indirectly mediates the ciliary INPP5E localization via activating ARL3. We here show that INPP5E is delocalized from cilia in both ARL3-knockout (KO) and ARL13B-KO cells. However, some of the abnormal phenotypes were different between these KO cells, whereas others were found to be common, indicating the parallel roles of ARL3 and ARL13B at least concerning some cellular functions. For several variants of ARL13B, their ability to interact with INPP5E, rather than their ability as an ARL3-GEF, were associated with whether they could rescue the ciliary localization of INPP5E in ARL13B-KO cells. These observations together indicate that ARL13B determines the ciliary localization of INPP5E, mainly by its direct binding to INPP5E

Remote and Feedback Control of the Flap Angle in a Wind Tunnel Test Model by Optical Measurement

We have developed a remote and precise feedback control system using optical measurement technology to alter the angle of a flap, which is part of a wind tunnel test model, automatically and to earn the aerodynamic data efficiently. To rectify the wasteful circumstance that Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)’s low-turbulence wind tunnel stops ventilation every time to switch model configurations, we repaired hardware for remote operation and generated software for feedback control. As a result, we have accomplished a system that dramatically advances the efficiency of wind tunnel tests. Moreover, the system was able to consider the deformation of the model through optical measurement; the system controlled flap angles with errors less than the minimum resolution of optical measurement equipment. Consequently, we successfully grasped the nonlinearity of three aerodynamic coefficients CL, CD, and CMp that was impossible so far

Modification of single-nucleotide polymorphism in a fully humanized CYP3A mouse by genome editing technology

Abe, S., Kobayashi, K., Oji, A. et al. Modification of single-nucleotide polymorphism in a fully humanized CYP3A mouse by genome editing technology. Sci Rep 7, 15189 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-15033-

JOA Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire: initial report

AbstractBackgroundThere is no widely accepted objective evaluation for lumbar spine disorders. New outcome measures should be patient-oriented and should measure symptoms and self-reported functional status in multiple dimensions. The aim of this study was to identify items to be included in the disease-specific quality of life (QOL) questionnaire for the assessments of patients with lumbar spine disorders.MethodsThe draft of the QOL questionnaire that consisted of a total of 60 items, including 24 items derived from the Japanese version of the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RDQ) and 36 items derived from the Japanese version of Short Form 36 (SF-36), were administered to patients and controls. After obtaining written informed consent, the following data were collected from the patient group (n = 328) and the control group (n = 213): (1) background characteristics, including age, diagnosis, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, and finger to floor distance; (2) responses to the questionnaire; (3) the identification rate by discrimination analysis to select the candidates for adoption and by adopting explanatory variables. The items to be excluded were determined by examining the explanatory variables, which were selected after the discrimination analysis, by setting the candidate to-be-excluded items as an objective variable.ResultsBased on the distribution of the responses, two items, RDQ-15 and RDQ-19, were excluded. From the results of the correlation coefficient calculation for each question in the patient group, 33 items were excluded and 27 candidate items were adopted. Based on the adoption explanatory variable used in the discrimination analysis, 25 of the 27 candidate items for adoption were accepted.ConclusionsThis study identified the 25 specific questionnaire items that should be included in the questionnaire to evaluate QOL of patients with various lumbar spine disorders

Japanese Orthopaedic Association Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire (JOACMEQ): Part 2. Endorsement of the alternative item

AbstractBackgroundA new self-administered questionnaire as an outcome measure for patients with cervical myelopathy was drawn up in Part 1 (Japanese Orthopaedic Association Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire, JOACMEQ). Because a question with regard to driving a car (C-41) was not suitable for this patient group, the authors composed an alternative question related to neck motion (C-41-2). The purposes of the present study were to perform a secondary survey on patients with cervical myelopathy and to statistically analyze the responses to validate the JOACMEQ, and also to determine if it was possible to convert item C-41 to the alternative question.MethodsA member of the Subcommittee on Low Back Pain and Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation from each hospital administered the questionnaire to more than 50 patients with cervical myelopathy in each hospital. The questionnaire consisted of 25 questions, 24 of which were extracted in the primary survey. The authors statistically examined whether it was possible to convert question C-41 to C-41-2.ResultsThree hundred and sixty-eight patients with cervical myelopathy were enrolled in the present study. No questions elicited no answer or “I am not sure” in more than 5% of patients except question C-41. There were no questions that the patients answered with difficulty. There was no tendency that was concentrated on one option as an answer to questions. There was a high correlation between questions C-41 and C-41-2. Spearman’s correlation coefficient and κ value showed that there was high coincidence between the two questions C-41 and C-41-2. It is possible to convert the question C-41 to the alternative question C41-2.ConclusionThe questionnaire has sufficient reliability for clinical use. It is possible that the JOACMEQ will prevail and become a global standard to evaluate outcomes in patients with cervical myelopathy

Japanese Orthopaedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire. Part 3. Validity study and establishment of the measurement scale: Subcommittee on Low Back Pain and Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation of the Clinical Outcome Committee of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association, Japan

AbstractBackgroundThe Japanese Orthopaedic Association decided to revise the JOA score for low back pain and to develop a new outcome measure. In February 2002, the first survey was performed with a preliminary questionnaire consisting of 60 evaluation items. Based on findings of that survey, 25 items were selected for a draft of the JOA Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire (JOABPEQ). The second survey was performed to confirm the reliability of the draft questionnaire. This article further evaluates the validity of this questionnaire and establishes a measurement scale.MethodsThe subjects of this study consisted of 355 patients with low back disorders of any type (201 men, 154 women; mean age 50.7 years). Each patient was asked to fill in a self-administered questionnaire. Superficial validity was checked in terms of the completion rate for filling out the entire questionnaire. Factor analysis was then performed to evaluate the validity of the questionnaire and establish a measurement scale.ResultsAs a result of the factor analysis, 25 items were categorized into five factors. The factors were named based on the commonality of the items: social function, mental health, lumbar function, walking ability, and low back pain. To establish a measurement scale for each factor, we determined the coefficient for each item so the difference between the maximum factor scores and minimum factor scores was approximately 100. We adjusted the formula so the maximum for each factor score was 100 and the minimum was 0.ConclusionsWe confirmed the validity of the JOA Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire and est ablished a measurement scale

Japanese Orthopaedic Association Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire (JOACMEQ): part 4. Establishment of equations for severity scores: Subcommittee on low back pain and cervical myelopathy, evaluation of the clinical outcome committee of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association

AbstractBackgroundThe project to develop a new Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score rating system for low back disorders, the JOA Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire (JOABPEQ), is currently in progress. Part 1 of the study selected 25 “candidate” items for use on the JOABPEQ. The purpose of this current Part 2 of the study was to verify the reliability of the questionnaire.MethodsA total of 161 patients with low-back disorders of any type participated in the study. Each patient was interviewed twice at an interval of 2 weeks using the same questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated by determining the extension of the kappa and weighted kappa coefficients.ResultsBoth kappa and weighted kappa were more than 0.50 for all but one item, which was 0.48. The lower 95% confidence interval exceeded 0.4 in all but two items, which was 0.39. This implied that the test-retest reliability of JOABPEQ was acceptable as a measure of outcome.ConclusionsThe tentative questionnaire of the JOABPEQ with 25 items was confirmed to be reliable enough to describe the quality of life of patients who suffer low back disorders

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection