Nuclear spin relaxation rate of nonunitary Dirac and Weyl superconductors

Nonunitary superconductivity has attracted renewed interest as a novel gapless phase of matter. In this study, we investigate the superconducting gap structure of nonunitary odd-parity chiral pairing states in a superconductor involving strong spin-orbit interactions. By applying a group theoretical classification of chiral states in terms of discrete rotation symmetry, we categorized all possible point-nodal gap structures in nonunitary chiral states into four types in terms of the topological number of nodes and node positions relative to the rotation axis. In addition to conventional Dirac and Weyl point nodes, we identify a novel type of Dirac point node unique to nonunitary chiral superconducting states. The node type can be identified experimentally based on the temperature dependence of the nuclear magnetic resonance longitudinal relaxation rate. The implication of our results for a nonunitary odd-parity superconductor in UTe$_2$ is also discussed.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure

Suppression of Peritoneal Fibrosis by Sonoporation of Hepatocyte Growth Factor Gene-Encoding Plasmid DNA in Mice

Gene therapy is expected to be used for the treatment of peritoneal fibrosis, which is a serious problem associated with long-term peritoneal dialysis. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a well-known anti-fibrotic gene. We developed an ultrasound and nanobubble-mediated (sonoporation) gene transfection system, which selectively targets peritoneal tissues. Thus, we attempted to treat peritoneal fibrosis by sonoporation-based human HGF (hHGF) gene transfection in mice. To prepare a model of peritoneal fibrosis, mice were intraperitoneally injected with chlorhexidine digluconate. We evaluated the preventive and curative effects of sonoporation-based hHGF transfection by analyzing the following factors: hydroxyproline level, peritoneum thickness, and the peritoneal equilibration test. The transgene expression characteristics of sonoporation were also evaluated using multicolor deep imaging. In early-stage fibrosis in mice, transgene expression by sonoporation was observed in the submesothelial layer. Sonoporation-based hHGF transfection showed not only a preventive effect but also a curative effect for early-stage peritoneal fibrosis. Sonoporation-based hHGF transfection may be suitable for the treatment of peritoneal fibrosis regarding the transfection characteristics of transgene expression in the peritoneum under fibrosis

Extreme Nature of Four Blue-excess Dust-obscured Galaxies Revealed by Optical Spectroscopy

We report optical spectroscopic observations of four blue-excess dust-obscured galaxies (BluDOGs) identified by the Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam. BluDOGs are a subclass of dust-obscured galaxies (DOGs; defined with the extremely red color (i − [22])AB ≥ 7.0; Toba et al., showing a significant flux excess in the optical g and r bands over the power-law fits to the fluxes at the longer wavelengths. Noboriguchi et al. have suggested that BluDOGs may correspond to the blowing-out phase involved in a gas-rich major-merger scenario. However, the detailed properties of BluDOGs are not understood because of the lack of spectroscopic information. In this work, we carry out deep optical spectroscopic observations of four BluDOGs using Subaru/FOCAS and VLT/FORS2. The obtained spectra show broad emission lines with extremely large equivalent widths, and a blue wing in the C iv line profile. The redshifts are between 2.2 and 3.3. The averaged rest-frame equivalent widths of the C iv lines are 160 \ub1 33 \uc5, ∼7 times higher than the average of a typical type 1 quasar. The FWHMs of their velocity profiles are between 1990 and 4470 km s−1, and their asymmetric parameters are 0.05 and 0.25. Such strong C iv lines significantly affect the broadband magnitudes, which are partly the origin of the blue excess seen in the spectral energy distribution of BluDOGs. Their estimated supermassive black hole masses are 1.1 7 108 < M BH/M ⊙ <5.5 7 108. The inferred Eddington ratios of the BluDOGs are higher than 1 (1.1 < λ Edd < 3.8), suggesting that the BluDOGs are in a rapidly evolving phase of supermassive black holes

Induction of liver-resident memory T cells and protection at liver-stage malaria by mRNA-containing lipid nanoparticles

Recent studies have suggested that CD8+ liver-resident memory T (TRM) cells are crucial in the protection against liver-stage malaria. We used liver-directed mRNA-containing lipid nanoparticles (mRNA-LNPs) to induce liver TRM cells in a murine model. Single-dose intravenous injections of ovalbumin mRNA-LNPs effectively induced antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes in a dose-dependent manner in the liver on day 7. TRM cells (CD8+ CD44hi CD62Llo CD69+ KLRG1-) were induced 5 weeks after immunization. To examine the protective efficacy, mice were intramuscularly immunized with two doses of circumsporozoite protein mRNA-LNPs at 3-week intervals and challenged with sporozoites of Plasmodium berghei ANKA. Sterile immunity was observed in some of the mice, and the other mice showed a delay in blood-stage development when compared with the control mice. mRNA-LNPs therefore induce memory CD8+ T cells that can protect against sporozoites during liver-stage malaria and may provide a basis for vaccines against the disease

Daily Physical Training Improved Coronal Imbalance of Adult Degenerative Scoliosis: A Case Report

Background and Objectives: Adult (de novo) degenerative scoliosis (ADS) develops through degenerative changes in the lumbar spine, leading to spinal malalignment, which usually progresses with age. Strong evidence for non-operative care in patients with ADS is lacking, and whether physical exercise can improve the scoliosis curve remains unknown. Materials and Methods: We present a case of early stage ADS in which the coronal imbalance was improved by daily training. A 65-year-old female patient complained of lower back pain (LBP) and bilateral leg pain. She was diagnosed with early stage ADS with lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis by imaging. She completed six months of daily physical training, including swimming, aerobic bikes, stretching, yoga, and Taijiquan. Results: Her LBP and neurological symptoms improved, and coronal–spinal balance was restored, which was maintained for four years by continued daily physical training. Conclusions: This is the first case of a 65-year-old ADS patient whose coronal balance was significantly restored through daily physical training. Substantial physical training focused on trunk muscle strength is important for spinal stabilization and for improving spinal malalignment in patients with early stage ADS