Structure of the Milky Way stellar halo out to its outer boundary with blue horizontal-branch stars

We present the structure of the Milky Way stellar halo beyond Galactocentric distances of $r = 50$ kpc traced by blue horizontal-branch (BHB) stars, which are extracted from the survey data in the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP). We select BHB candidates based on $(g,r,i,z)$ photometry, where the $z$-band is on the Paschen series and the colors that involve the $z$-band are sensitive to surface gravity. About 450 BHB candidates are identified between $r = 50$ kpc and 300 kpc, most of which are beyond the reach of previous large surveys including the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We find that the global structure of the stellar halo in this range has substructures, which are especially remarkable in the GAMA15H and XMM-LSS fields in the HSC-SSP. We find that the stellar halo can be fitted to a single power-law density profile with an index of $\alpha \simeq 3.3$ ($3.5$) with (without) these fields and its global axial ratio is $q \simeq 2.2$ ($1.3$). Thus, the stellar halo may be significantly disturbed and be made in a prolate form by halo substructures, perhaps associated with the Sagittarius stream in its extension beyond $r \sim 100$ kpc. For a broken power-law model allowing different power-law indices inside/outside a break radius, we obtain a steep power-law slope of $\alpha \sim 5$ outside a break radius of $\simeq 100$ kpc ($200$ kpc) for the case with (without) GAMA15H and XMM-LSS. This radius of $200$ kpc might be as close as a halo boundary if there is any, although larger BHB sample is required from further HSC-SSP survey to increase its statistical significance.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, revised version, accepted for publication in PAS

Early fracture of the modular neck of a MODULUS femoral stem

AbstractWe present the case of a 46-year-old woman who underwent revision surgery approximately 4 years after total hip arthroplasty because of a fracture of the modular neck of a MODULUS femoral stem. The fractured surfaces of the retrieved implant were inspected using optical and scanning electron microscopy. Three-dimensional finite element analysis was also performed to identify the stresses that might have caused the failure. We concluded that active, obese patients who are implanted with a high-offset, small-sized modular component could experience stress-induced fractures of the modular neck, with proper fixation and osseointegration of the distal stem, especially if residual bone or tissue is present on the inner surface of the neck that could contribute to micromovement and decreased proximal fixation

Plasma L-Cystine/L-Glutamate Imbalance Increases Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha from CD14+ Circulating Monocytes in Patients with Advanced Cirrhosis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The innate immune cells can not normally respond to the pathogen in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Previous studies reported that antigen-presenting cells take up L-Cystine (L-Cys) and secrete substantial amounts of L-Glutamate (L-Glu) via the transport system Xc- (4F2hc+xCT), and that this exchange influences the immune responses. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of the plasma L-Cys/L-Glu imbalance observed in patients with advanced cirrhosis on the function of circulating monocytes. METHODS: We used a serum-free culture medium consistent with the average concentrations of plasma amino acids from patients with advanced cirrhosis (ACM), and examined the function of CD14+ monocytes or THP-1 under ACM that contained 0-300 nmol/mL L-Cys with LPS. In patients with advanced cirrhosis, we actually determined the TNF-alpha and xCT mRNA of monocytes, and evaluated the correlation between the plasma L-Cys/L-Glu ratio and TNF-alpha. RESULTS: The addition of L-Cys significantly increased the production of TNF alpha from monocytes under ACM. Monocytes with LPS and THP-1 expressed xCT and a high level of extracellular L-Cys enhanced L-Cys/L-Glu antiport, and the intracellular GSH/GSSG ratio was decreased. The L-Cys transport was inhibited by excess L-Glu. In patients with advanced cirrhosis (n = 19), the TNF-alpha and xCT mRNA of monocytes were increased according to the Child-Pugh grade. The TNF-alpha mRNA of monocytes was significantly higher in the high L-Cys/L-Glu ratio group than in the low ratio group, and the plasma TNF-alpha was significantly correlated with the L-Cys/L-Glu ratio. CONCLUSIONS: A plasma L-Cys/L-Glu imbalance, which appears in patients with advanced cirrhosis, increased the TNF-alpha from circulating monocytes via increasing the intracellular oxidative stress. These results may reflect the immune abnormality that appears in patients with decompensated cirrhosis

血管平滑筋細胞の表現型変化に及ぼすエストロゲンと植物エストロゲンの影響の比較 : 動脈硬化抑制との関連からの検討

Randomized clinical trials on the effect of the hormone replacement therapy showed that oral administration of 17β-estradiol did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, it increased the risk of breast cancer in a studied population. In contrast, isoflavone, one of the phytoestrogens abundant in soy beans, is supposed to protect vasculatures from atherosclerosis, because of a low incidence of coronary heart disease in Asian countries where high level of soy products is consumed. Therefore we compared the effects of 17β-estradiol and isoflavone on the development of atherosclerosis using cultured smooth muscle cells. Previous studies mainly examined the reduction of risk factors such as lipid metabolism and the prevention of early lesion such as fatty streak by estrogen-like substances. In this study, we divided atherosclerosis into three stages and focused on their effects on vascular smooth muscle cells. We examined how estrogen and phytoestrogen affects on three phenotypes of smooth muscle cells: migration, uptake of modified low density lipoprotein (LDL), and type V collagen synthesis. Estrogen suppressed smooth muscle cell migration induced by platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB from the physiological concentration, enhanced uptake of modified LDL and synthesis of type V collagen only at the higher concentration. Isoflavone also inhibited cell migration at the physiological concentration, but this effect could not be detected at the higher concentration. As for the uptake of modified LDL, isoflavone did not enhance until 10μM. Also it induced synthesis of type V collagen at lOpM, but did not show significant difference at the higher concentrations. These data suggest that both estrogen and isoflavone prevent atherogenic plaque formation by vascular smooth muscle cells, but may promote plaque instabilization by the alteration of extracellular matrix. This study emphasizes the need to evaluate influences of estrogen and isoflavone on each step of the atherosclerotic plaque formation

Photoemission Angular Distribution Beyond the Single Wavevector Description of Photoelectron Final States

We develop a novel simulation procedure for angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), where a photoelectron wave function is set to be an outgoing plane wave in a vacuum associated with the emitted photoelectron wave packet. ARPES measurements on the transition metal dichalcogenide $1T$-$\mathrm{Ti}\mathrm{S}_2$ are performed, and our simulations exhibit good agreement with experiments. Analysis of our calculated final state wave functions quantitatively visualizes that they include various waves due to the boundary condition and the uneven crystal potential. These results show that a more detailed investigation of the photoelectron final states is necessary to fully explain the photon-energy- and light-polarization-dependent ARPES spectra.Comment: 6+14 pages, 4+15 figure

Proton beam therapy with concurrent chemotherapy is feasible in children with newly diagnosed rhabdomyosarcoma

BACKGROUND: The optimal treatment for rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) requires multidisciplinary treatment with chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy. Surgery and radiotherapy are integral to the local control (LC) of RMS. However, postsurgical and radiotherapy-related complications could develop according to the local therapy and tumor location. In this study, we conducted a single-center analysis of the outcomes and toxicity of multidisciplinary treatment using proton beam therapy (PBT) for pediatric RMS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: RMS patients aged younger than 20 years whose RMS was newly diagnosed and who underwent PBT at University of Tsukuba Hospital (UTH) during the period from 2009 to 2019 were enrolled in this study. The patients’ clinical information was collected by retrospective medical record review. RESULTS: Forty-eight patients were included. The 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates of all the patients were 68.8% and 94.2%, respectively. The 3-year PFS rates achieved with radical resection, conservative resection, and biopsy only were 65.3%, 83.3%, and 67.6%, respectively (p = 0.721). The 3-year LC rates achieved with radical resection, conservative resection, and biopsy only were 90.9%, 83.3%, and 72.9%, respectively (p = 0.548). Grade 3 or higher mucositis/dermatitis occurred in 14 patients. Although the days of opioid use due to mucositis/dermatitis during the chemotherapy with PBT were longer than those during the chemotherapy without PBT [6.1 and 1.6 (mean), respectively, p = 0.001], the frequencies of fever and elevation of C-reactive protein were equivalent. CONCLUSIONS: Multidisciplinary therapy containing PBT was feasible and provided a relatively fair 3-year PFS, even in children with newly diagnosed RMS without severe toxicity

Medical-legal aspects of drug-facilitated crime

O uso de substâncias modificadoras de comportamento para cometimento de delitos não é um fenômeno recente, elas já foram utilizadas para o cometimento de roubos, homicídios, estupro e violência sexual. A prevalência e o tipo de droga utilizada variam de acordo com o país estudado, mas seu número real ainda é de difícil mensuração frente à hesitação da vítima em contatar as autoridades policiais competentes ou, ainda, ao longo tempo decorrido entre o fato, a denúncia, a coleta de material(is) biológico(s) e a análise deste(s) espécime(s). No Brasil, diferentemente do observado no resto do mundo, os crimes facilitados por drogas têm como finalidade principal o roubo e têm como principais vítimas indivíduos do sexo masculino. São conhecidas mais de 100 substâncias empregadas para estes fins, sendo as principais o etanol, os benzodiazepínicos, o gama-hidroxibutirato (GHB) e a cetamina. Algumas características destas drogas incluem a produção de certos sintomas inespecíficos nas vítimas (desinibição, sedação/hipnose, confusão mental, amnésia anterógrada), além de serem de fácil obtenção, de difícil detecção analítica, permitirem uma administração discreta e início rápido dos efeitos. Diante do exposto e da gravidade dos crimes aos quais tais substâncias estão relacionadas, torna-se evidente a necessidade de investimentos em pesquisa e levantamentos epidemiológicos de qualidade, que possibilitem a geração e a divulgação de informações fidedignas que reflitam o problema.Drug-facilitated crime is not a recent phenomenon and crimes such as robbery, homicide, rape and sexual violence associated with substance consumption have already been reported. The prevalence and class of drugs vary worldwide, but these data are still difficult to measure given the victim's hesitation to contact the competent police authorities or, moreover, due to the extent of time between the fact, the complaint, the collection of biological specimens and their analysis. Unlike in the rest of the world, drug-facilitated crimes in Brazil involve mainly theft and the main victims are men. More than 100 substances are known to be used for this purpose, the main ones being ethanol, benzodiazepines, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and ketamine. Some characteristics of these drugs include the production of certain nonspecific symptoms in the victims (lowered inhibition, sedation / hypnosis, mental confusion, anterograde amnesia), besides being easy to obtain, difficult to detect analytically, allow discreet administration and rapid onset of effects. Given the significance of the crimes related these substances, action is required. Investment in research and quality epidemiological surveys that result in reliable information are urgent