Detection and in situ switching of unreversed interfacial antiferromagnetic spins in a perpendicular-exchange-biased system

By using the perpendicular-exchange-biased Pt/Co/α-Cr₂O₃ system, we provide experimental evidence that the unreversed uncompensated Cr spins exist at the Co/α-Cr₂O₃ interface. The unreversed uncompensated Cr spin manifests itself in both the vertical shift of an element-specific magnetization curve and the relative peak intensity of soft-x-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectrum. We also demonstrate an in situ switching of the interfacial Cr spins and correspondingly a reversal of the exchange bias without interfacial atomic diffusion. Such switching shows the direct relationship between the interfacial antiferromagnetic spins and origin of the exchange bias. The demonstrated switching of exchange bias would likely offer a new design of advanced spintronics devices, using the perpendicular-exchange-biased system, with low power consumption and ultrafast operation.Y.Shiratsuchi, H.Noutomi, H.Oikawa, et al. Detection and in situ switching of unreversed interfacial antiferromagnetic spins in a perpendicular-exchange-biased system. Physical Review Letters 109, 077202 (2012); https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.077202

Successful management of unstable angina in a ravulizumab-treated patient with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria

Ravulizumab is an anti-C5 antibody approved for treating paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). In August 2019, a 77-year-old Japanese man with PNH, who had been on ravulizumab treatment for 2 years, was hospitalized for chest discomfort and malaise. Electrocardiography identified a right bundle block, and elevated serum troponin I and d-dimer suggested ischemic heart disease. Cardiac catheterization revealed severe stenosis in the left anterior descending coronary artery, and intracoronary stenting relieved his chest discomfort. The final diagnosis was unstable angina unrelated to ravulizumab, and the patient's ravulizumab treatment was uninterrupted with no significant complications of PNH. This case report highlights the importance of continuing complement inhibition therapy during acute coronary events

Down-Regulation of miR-92 in Human Plasma Is a Novel Marker for Acute Leukemia Patients

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs are a family of 19- to 25-nucleotides noncoding small RNAs that primarily function as gene regulators. Aberrant microRNA expression has been described for several human malignancies, and this new class of small regulatory RNAs has both oncogenic and tumor suppressor functions. Despite this knowledge, there is little information regarding microRNAs in plasma especially because microRNAs in plasma, if exist, were thought to be digested by RNase. Recent studies, however, have revealed that microRNAs exist and escape digestion in plasma. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We performed microRNA microaray to obtain insight into microRNA deregulation in the plasma of a leukemia patient. We have revealed that microRNA-638 (miR-638) is stably present in human plasmas, and microRNA-92a (miR-92a) dramatically decreased in the plasmas of acute leukemia patients. Especially, the ratio of miR-92a/miR-638 in plasma was very useful for distinguishing leukemia patients from healthy body. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The ratio of miR-92a/miR-638 in plasma has strong potential for clinical application as a novel biomarker for detection of leukemia

Existence of a Neuropathic Pain Component in Patients with Osteoarthritis of the Knee

∙ The authors have no financial conflicts of interest. © Copyright: Yonsei University College of Medicine 2012 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Licens

Diabetes Mellitus is Associated With Low Secretion Rates of Immunoglobulin A in Saliva

Background: The association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and low secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) secretion rates is one mechanism suspected of influencing susceptibility to infections among DM patients. However, several studies have shown contradictory results. We examined these two factors to seek evidence of an association among older people. Methods: We analyzed a prospective cohort of 2306 subjects (1209 men and 1097 women) around 64 years old from the New Integrated Suburban Seniority Investigation (NISSIN) Project in Nisshin, Japan. DM statuses were ascertained from levels of fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c, and s-IgA secretion rates were obtained from 5-min saliva samples. We used an analysis of covariance adjusted for possible confounders to compare s-IgA secretion rates according to DM status. Results: s-IgA secretion rates in DM participants were lower than in those classified as normal (18.6 mu g/min vs 15.0 mu g/min, P = 0.03), even after elimination of the effects of possible confounders. Conclusions: DM was associated with lower s-IgA secretion rates. This suggests that lower s-IgA levels may be a mechanism of susceptibility to infection in individuals with DM

Pathological diagnosis of gastric cancers with a novel computerized analysis system

Background: Recent studies of molecular biology have provided great advances for diagnostic molecular pathology. Automated diagnostic systems with computerized scanning for sampled cells in fluids or smears are now widely utilized. Automated analysis of tissue sections is, however, very difficult because they exhibit a complex mixture of overlapping malignant tumor cells, benign host-derived cells, and extracellular materials. Thus, traditional histological diagnosis is still the most powerful method for diagnosis of diseases. Methods: We have developed a novel computer-assisted pathology system for rapid, automated histological analysis of hematoxylin and eosin (H and E)-stained sections. It is a multistage recognition system patterned after methods that human pathologists use for diagnosis but harnessing machine learning and image analysis. The system first analyzes an entire H and E-stained section (tissue) at low resolution to search suspicious areas for cancer and then the selected areas are analyzed at high resolution to confirm the initial suspicion. Results: After training the pathology system with gastric tissues samples, we examined its performance using other 1905 gastric tissues. The system's accuracy in detecting malignancies was shown to be almost equal to that of conventional diagnosis by expert pathologists. Conclusions: Our novel computerized analysis system provides a support for histological diagnosis, which is useful for screening and quality control. We consider that it could be extended to be applicable to many other carcinomas after learning normal and malignant forms of various tissues. Furthermore, we expect it to contribute to the development of more objective grading systems, immunohistochemical staining systems, and fluorescent-stained image analysis systems

Inhibitory Effects of Brazilian Propolis on Lipid Accumulation in 3T3-L1 Cells

We here investigated the inhibitory effect of Brazilian propolis on intracellular lipid accumulation. Seven ethanolic extracts of Brazilian propolis were tested for their inhibitory effect on intracellular lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells. Among the seven Brazilian propolis, the extracts AF-08 and AF-18 had inhibitory effects on intracellular lipid accumulation. In particular, the Brazilian propolis AF-08 exhibited a potential inhibitory effect on intracellular lipid accumulation.Thus, these results suggest that the Brazilian propolis AF-08 contributes to the prevention of metabolic syndrome. In addition, five known triterpenoids were isolated from the Brazilian propolis AF-08: betulonic acid, moronic acid, 3-oxo oleanolic acid, masticadienonic acid, and anwnweizonic acid. Four of the triterpenoids exhibited an inhibitory effect on intracellular lipid accumulation. Thus, these triterpenoids may be important as antiobesity agents that inhibit the metabolic syndrome

Inhibitory Effects of Brazilian Propolis on Lipid Accumulation in 3T3-L1 Cells

We here investigated the inhibitory effect of Brazilian propolis on intracellular lipid accumulation. Seven ethanolic extracts of Brazilian propolis were tested for their inhibitory effect on intracellular lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells. Among the seven Brazilian propolis, the extracts AF-08 and AF-18 had inhibitory effects on intracellular lipid accumulation. In particular, the Brazilian propolis AF-08 exhibited a potential inhibitory effect on intracellular lipid accumulation.Thus, these results suggest that the Brazilian propolis AF-08 contributes to the prevention of metabolic syndrome. In addition, five known triterpenoids were isolated from the Brazilian propolis AF-08: betulonic acid, moronic acid, 3-oxo oleanolic acid, masticadienonic acid, and anwnweizonic acid. Four of the triterpenoids exhibited an inhibitory effect on intracellular lipid accumulation. Thus, these triterpenoids may be important as antiobesity agents that inhibit the metabolic syndrome