55Mn NMR in Mn12 acetate: Hyperfine interaction and magnetic relaxation of cluster

The 55Mn NMR in oriented powder Mn12Ac has been investigated at 1.4-2.0 K in zero field and with external fields along the c-axis. Three kinds of 55Mn NMR composed of five-fold quadrupole-split lines for I=5/2 nuclei have been interpreted to arise from Mn4+ ion, and two crystallographically-inequivalent Mn3+ ions, respectively. It is found that the isotropic hyperfine field in the Mn4+ ion with 3d3 configuration indicates a large amount of reduction (26%) as compared with the theoretical evaluation. In the analysis for the hyperfine field of Mn3+ ions with 3d4 configuration, we have taken into account of the anisotropic dipolar contribution in addition to the Fermi-contact term in order to explain two kinds of 55Mn NMR frequencies in Mn3+ ions in inequivalent sites. By using the hyperfine coupling constants of twelve manganese ions in Mn12Ac, the total hyperfine interaction of the ferrimagnetic ground state of S=10 has been determined to amount to 0.3 cm-1 in magnitude at most, the magnitude of which corresponds to the nuclear hyperfine field he(0.32 kG seen by Mn12 cluster spin. The relaxation of the cluster magnetization was investigated by observing the recovery of the 55Mn spin-echo intensity in the fields of 0.20-1.90 T along the c-axis at 2.0 K. It was found that the magnetization of the cluster exhibits the (t-recovery in the short time regime. The relaxation time decreases with increasing external field following significant dips at every 0.45 T. This is interpreted to be due to the effects of thermally-assisted quantum tunneling between the spin states at magnetic level crossings.Comment: Text 25 pages, five figures and two table

Singular stress field near the edge of interface of bonded dissimilar materials with an interlayer

AbstractFor bonded dissimilar materials, the free-edge stress singularity usually prevails near the intersection of the free-surface and the interface. When two materials are bonded by using an adhesive, an interlayer develops between the two bonded materials. When a ceramic and a metal are bonded, the residual stress develops because of difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion. An interlayer may be inserted between the two materials to defuse the residual stress. Stress field near the intersection of the interface and free-surface in the presence of the interlayer is then very important for evaluating the strength of bonded dissimilar materials.In this study, stress distributions on the interface of bonded dissimilar materials with an interlayer were calculated by using the boundary element method to investigate the effect of the interlayer on the stress distribution. The relation between the free-edge singular stress fields of bonded dissimilar materials with and without an interlayer was investigated numerically. It was found that the influence of the interlayer on the stress distributions was confined within a small area of the order of interlayer thickness around the intersection of the interface and the free-surface when the interlayer was very thin. The stress distribution near the intersection of the interface and the free-surface was controlled by the free-edge stress singularity of the bonded dissimilar materials without the interlayer. In this case, the interlayer can be called free-edge singularity-controlled interlayer. If a stress distribution on the interface is known for one thickness of an interlayer h, stress distributions on the interface for other values of h can be estimated

Energy Dissipation and Fluctuation-Response in Driven Quantum Langevin Dynamics

Energy dissipation in a nonequilibrium steady state is studied in driven quantum Langevin systems. We study energy dissipation flow to thermal environment, and obtain a general formula for the average rate of energy dissipation using an autocorrelation function for the system variable. This leads to a general expression of the equality that connects the violation of the fluctuation-response relation to the rate of energy dissipation, the classical version of which was first studied by Harada and Sasa. We also point out that the expression depends on coupling form between system and reservoir.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Effect of Oligomers Derived from Biodegradable Polyesters on Eco- and Neurotoxicity

Biodegradable polymers are eco-friendly materials and have attracted attention for use in a sustainable society because they are not accumulated in the environment. Although the characteristics of biodegradable polymers have been assessed well, the effects of their degradation products have not. Herein, we comprehensively evaluated the chemical toxicities of biodegradable polyester, polycaprolactone (PCL), and synthetic oligocaprolactones (OCLs) with different degrees of polymerization. While the PCL did not show any adverse effects on various organisms, high levels of shorter OCLs and the monomer (1 μg/mL for freshwater microorganisms and 1 mg/mL for marine algae and mammalian cells) damaged the tested organisms, including freshwater microorganisms, marine algae, and mammalian cells, which indicated the toxicities of the degradation products under unnaturally high concentrations. These results highlight the need for a further understanding of the effects of the degradation products resulting from biodegradable polyesters to ensure a genuinely sustainable society

Advances in distraction techniques for craniofacial surgery

Distraction osteogenesis has been applied to the craniofacial skeleton as well as the long bones of the extremities. This technique does not require bone grafting and allows correction of craniofacial deformities with less invasion. Moreover, the distraction procedures can expand the overlying soft tissues simultaneously. We determined the indications of distraction osteogenesis, analyzed the types of devices available, and examined patients treated with distraction for the mandible, midface, and cranium. In all three sites, the devices tended to be the buried type and made of absorbable materials. Administration of some cytokines for shortening the consolidation period may be considered. Among disorders indicated for distraction osteogenesis, there are several syndromic craniosynostoses, which involve mutations in the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) 2 gene. The FGFR2 mutation was suggested to clinically accelerate osteogenesis at the distraction site. The usefulness and appropriateness of the distraction protocol must be assessed for each individual disorder. Although distraction osteogenesis in the craniofacial skeleton has advanced technologically, all possible risks must be discussed with the patient and family members when obtaining preoperative informed consent, especially until establishment of fully safe distraction procedures

Extended Clausius Relation and Entropy for Nonequilibrium Steady States in Heat Conducting Quantum Systems

Recently, in their attempt to construct steady state thermodynamics (SST), Komatsu, Nakagwa, Sasa, and Tasaki found an extension of the Clausius relation to nonequilibrium steady states in classical stochastic processes. Here we derive a quantum mechanical version of the extended Clausius relation. We consider a small system of interest attached to large systems which play the role of heat baths. By only using the genuine quantum dynamics, we realize a heat conducting nonequilibrium steady state in the small system. We study the response of the steady state when the parameters of the system are changed abruptly, and show that the extended Clausius relation, in which "heat" is replaced by the "excess heat", is valid when the temperature difference is small. Moreover we show that the entropy that appears in the relation is similar to von Neumann entropy but has an extra symmetrization with respect to time-reversal. We believe that the present work opens a new possibility in the study of nonequilibrium phenomena in quantum systems, and also confirms the robustness of the approach by Komtatsu et al.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figure

Anti-neutrophilic inflammatory activity of ASP3258, a novel phosphodiesterase type 4 inhibitor

a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Neutrophil-dominant pulmonary inflammation is an important feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Here, we evaluated the in vitro and in vivo anti-neutrophilic inflammatory activities of ASP3258, a novel, orally active, and selective phosphodiesterase (PDE) 4 inhibitor with anti-inflammatory potency comparable to that of second-generation compound roflumilast but with lower emetic activity in vivo. In in vitro experiments using human peripheral blood neutrophils, PDE4 inhibitors ASP3258, cilomilast, and roflumilast inhibited fMLP-induced superoxide production in a concentration-dependent manner with IC50 values of 5.0, 96, and 4.7 nM, respectively. ASP3258, cilomilast, and roflumilast also attenuated fMLPinduced neutrophil chemotaxis in a concentration-dependent manner with IC30 values of 18, 270, and 9.7 nM, respectively. In contrast, the glucocorticoid prednisolone inhibited neither superoxide production nor chemotaxis up to 1 μM. In a rat model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lung inflammation, orally administered ASP3258, cilomilast, roflumilast, and prednisolone (at 10 or 30 mg/kg) dose-dependently attenuated pulmonary accumulation of neutrophils. The inhibitory effect of ASP3258 was more potent than cilomilast and almost the same as roflumilast and prednisolone. Treatment with ASP3258 inhibited the elevation of TNF-α in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid following LPS instillation. Histological examination revealed significant inhibition of neutrophil and macrophage infiltration into alveoli by ASP3258. Overall, these findings suggest that ASP3258 has therapeutic potential for treating neutrophilic inflammation such as COPD, partly through direct inhibition of neutrophil activation as well as possibly through inhibition of the TNF-α-mediated pathway

Portosystemic Encephalopathy without Liver Disease Masquerading as Dementia

An 84-year-old woman was hospitalized due to consciousness disorder as hyperammonemia. She had no etiology of liver disease. Twelve months before the current admission, she had been diagnosed with dementia based on her low level of daily perception and physical activity. Abdominal computed tomography revealed a large portosystemic shunt between the medial branch of the portal vein and middle hepatic vein. After the improvement of her consciousness disturbance by medical treatment, percutaneous shunt embolization was electively performed. The patient showed a remarkable clinical improvement. Consciousness disturbance caused by hyper-ammonemia might be underlying in dementia patients. Increase of hepatopetal portal blood flow might have contributed to the improvement of her consciousness disturbance. Embolization of the portosystemic shunt might be more effective for patients without liver disease as in the present case

急性期虚血性脳卒中患者から機械的血栓回収術で得られた血栓の年齢と組成は血栓回収術転帰および臨床転帰と関連していた

Introduction: Understanding the composition of stroke thrombi retrieved by mechanical thrombectomy is essential to clarify the pathogenesis of stroke. However, it is difficult to evaluate thrombus composition precisely and objectively. Immunohistochemical staining was used to evaluate thrombus composition and age. Materials and methods: Consecutive thrombi (n = 108) retrieved from patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy for acute large-vessel ischemic stroke were retrospectively analyzed. Lytic features of granulocytes and CD163 were estimated as indicators of the age of the cardioembolic (CE) thrombus. Results: The stroke subtypes were as follows: CE, 74 cases; large artery atherosclerosis, 11; undetermined etiology, 12; and other determined etiology, 11. There were no statistical differences in thrombi composition according to stroke subtypes. The fibrin area was positively correlated with the red blood cell (RBC) and platelet areas. The following analysis was performed using CE only. Regarding age, the thrombus was judged as fresh in 30.0 % and older in 70.0 % based on the lytic features. The RBC areas of older thrombi were smaller than those of fresh thrombi. The puncture-to-reperfusion time of older thrombi was longer than that of fresh thrombi. Platelet-rich thrombi were associated with a greater number of maneuvers, a smaller prevalence of TICI 3, and unfavorable functional outcomes compared to platelet-poor thrombi. The number of CD163 positive cells in thrombi with anticoagulants was higher than in those without anticoagulants. Conclusion: Thrombus composition correlated with revascularization and clinical outcomes. The composition of an acute ischemic thrombus may reflect the pathophysiology of stroke and influence treatment efficacy.博士（医学）・甲第855号・令和4年12月22日Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved