Basic fibroblast growth factor promotes meniscus regeneration through the cultivation of synovial mesenchymal stem cells via the CXCL6–CXCR2 pathway

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in promoting meniscus regeneration by cultivating synovial mesenchymal stem cells (SMSCs) and to validate the underlying mechanisms. Methods: Human SMSCs were collected from patients with osteoarthritis. Eight-week-old nude rats underwent hemi-meniscectomy, and SMSCs in pellet form, either with or without bFGF (1.0 × 106 cells per pellet), were implanted at the site of meniscus defects. Rats were divided into the control (no transplantation), FGF (−) (pellet without bFGF), and FGF (+) (pellet with bFGF) groups. Different examinations, including assessment of the regenerated meniscus area, histological scoring of the regenerated meniscus and cartilage, meniscus indentation test, and immunohistochemistry analysis, were performed at 4 and 8 weeks after surgery. Results: Transplanted SMSCs adhered to the regenerative meniscus. Compared with the control group, the FGF (+) group had larger regenerated meniscus areas, superior histological scores of the meniscus and cartilage, and better meniscus mechanical properties. RNA sequencing of SMSCs revealed that the gene expression of chemokines that bind to CXCR2 was upregulated by bFGF. Furthermore, conditioned medium derived from SMSCs cultivated with bFGF exhibited enhanced cell migration, proliferation, and chondrogenic differentiation, which were specifically inhibited by CXCR2 or CXCL6 inhibitors. Conclusion: SMSCs cultured with bFGF promoted the expression of CXCL6. This mechanism may enhance cell migration, proliferation, and chondrogenic differentiation, thereby resulting in superior meniscus regeneration and cartilage preservation.Goshima A., Etani Y., Hirao M., et al. Basic fibroblast growth factor promotes meniscus regeneration through the cultivation of synovial mesenchymal stem cells via the CXCL6–CXCR2 pathway. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage , (2023); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2023.07.010

First Data Release of the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program

The Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) is a three-layered imaging survey aimed at addressing some of the most outstanding questions in astronomy today, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy. The survey has been awarded 300 nights of observing time at the Subaru Telescope and it started in March 2014. This paper presents the first public data release of HSC-SSP. This release includes data taken in the first 1.7 years of observations (61.5 nights) and each of the Wide, Deep, and UltraDeep layers covers about 108, 26, and 4 square degrees down to depths of i~26.4, ~26.5, and ~27.0 mag, respectively (5sigma for point sources). All the layers are observed in five broad bands (grizy), and the Deep and UltraDeep layers are observed in narrow bands as well. We achieve an impressive image quality of 0.6 arcsec in the i-band in the Wide layer. We show that we achieve 1-2 per cent PSF photometry (rms) both internally and externally (against Pan-STARRS1), and ~10 mas and 40 mas internal and external astrometric accuracy, respectively. Both the calibrated images and catalogs are made available to the community through dedicated user interfaces and database servers. In addition to the pipeline products, we also provide value-added products such as photometric redshifts and a collection of public spectroscopic redshifts. Detailed descriptions of all the data can be found online. The data release website is https://hsc-release.mtk.nao.ac.jp/.Comment: 34 pages, 20 figures, 7 tables, moderate revision, accepted for publication in PAS

The Hyper Suprime-Cam SSP survey: Overview and survey design

Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) is a wide-field imaging camera on the prime focus of the 8.2-m Subaru telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. A team of scientists from Japan, Taiwan, and Princeton University is using HSC to carry out a 300-night multi-band imaging survey of the high-latitude sky. The survey includes three layers: the Wide layer will cover 1400 deg2 in five broad bands (grizy), with a 5 σ point-source depth of r ≈ 26. The Deep layer covers a total of 26 deg2 in four fields, going roughly a magnitude fainter, while the UltraDeep layer goes almost a magnitude fainter still in two pointings of HSC (a total of 3.5 deg2). Here we describe the instrument, the science goals of the survey, and the survey strategy and data processing. This paper serves as an introduction to a special issue of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, which includes a large number of technical and scientific papers describing results from the early phases of this survey

Lipid Cell and Micropapillary Variants of Urothelial Carcinoma of the Ureter

We report on a case of urothelial carcinoma (UC) with lipid cell and micropapillary variants in the ureter. A 64-year-old man presented with gross hematuria. Urinary cytology revealed the presence of atypical urothelial cells. Computed tomography and drip infusion/retrograde pyelography identified a mass-occupying lesion in the left mid-ureter, as well as left hydronephrosis. A clinical diagnosis of left ureteral cancer was given and the patient underwent left nephroureterectomy. Microscopically, the major component of the tumor was a conventional high-grade UC. In the invasive region, however, lipid cell and micropapillary variants of UC were also observed. Upon immunohistochemical analysis, all of the components were diffusely positive for cytokeratin 7 and p53. Intense membranous expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) was also observed in both the lipid cell and micropapillary variants of UC, whereas weak and incomplete staining was observed in most regions of the conventional UC. The pathological stage was pT3 N2. Multiple times, the patient experienced recurrence of the UC in the urinary bladder and urethra. Although the patient underwent total cystectomy and urethrectomy, 52 months following the initial surgery, signs of local recurrence developed, as well as multiple lymph node and bone metastases. The patient died 75 months following the initial surgery. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a lipid cell variant of ureteral UC. The overexpression of HER2 may be associated with both the lipid cell and micropapillary variants of UC

A 158 MS/s JPEG 2000 Codec with a bit-plane and pass parallel embedded block coder for low delay image transmission

金沢大学理工研究域電子情報学系This paper describes a 158 MS/s JPEG 2000 codec with an embedded block coder (EBC) based on bit-plane and pass-parallel architecture. The EBC contains bit-plane coders (BPCs) corresponding to each bit-plane in a code-block. The upper and the lower bit-plane coding overlap in time with a 1-stripe and 1-column gap. The bit-modeling passes in the bit-plane coding also overlap in time with the same gap. These methods increase throughput by 30 times in comparison with the conventional. In addition, the methods support not only vertically causal mode, but also regular mode, which enhances the image quality. Furthermore, speculative decoding is adopted to increase throughput. This codec LSI was designed using 0.18/Limprocess. The core area is 4.7 x 4.7 mm2 and the frequency is 160 MHz. A system including the codec enables image transmission of PC desktop with 8 ms delay. Copyright © 2008 The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers

Novel combination therapy of pedal arch angioplasty and dual distal bypass as an alternative treatment option for vasculitis in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia

A 68-year-old man with chronic limb-threatening ischemia caused by atypical vasculitis was successfully treated by the combination of pedal arch angioplasty and dual distal bypass. Angioplasty alone failed; therefore, we performed pedal arch angioplasty followed by distal bypass revascularized to the newly created dorsalis pedis artery and posterior tibial artery anastomosis sites. Restenosis occurred twice, and both cases were successfully treated by immediate angioplasty. Both branches of the graft remained patent for >2.5 years, and the wound healed completely. This unique combination of techniques can provide favorable results for selected patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia