The effect of leg hyperthermia using far infrared rays in bedridden subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus

We examined the effect of leg hyperthermia on oxidative stress in bedridden subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus using 15-min sessions of far infrared rays over a two-week period. Four subjects (male 1, female 3) incapacitated by a stroke were recruited for this study. All patients were admitted to Takahashi Central Hospital and ate the same hospital meals. Fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)alpha, free fatty acid, leptin, adiponectin and plasma 8-epi-prostaglandin F2alpha (8-epi-PGF2alpha) levels as a marker of oxidative stress were measured on admission, just before and 2 weeks after local heating of the leg. Results showed that plasma total 8-epi-PGF2alpha levels were decreased significantly while TNFalpha levels were increased significantly. On the other hand, glucose, HbA1c, free fatty acid, leptin and adiponectin levels were not changed during the study period. These results suggest that repeated leg hyperthermia may protect against oxidative stress.</p

The Subaru FMOS Galaxy Redshift Survey (FastSound). III. The mass-metallicity relation and the fundamental metallicity relation at z∼1.4z\sim1.4

We present the results from a large near-infrared spectroscopic survey with Subaru/FMOS (\textit{FastSound}) consisting of $\sim$ 4,000 galaxies at $z\sim1.4$ with significant H$\alpha$ detection. We measure the gas-phase metallicity from the [N~{\sc ii}]$\lambda$6583/H$\alpha$ emission line ratio of the composite spectra in various stellar mass and star-formation rate bins. The resulting mass-metallicity relation generally agrees with previous studies obtained in a similar redshift range to that of our sample. No clear dependence of the mass-metallicity relation with star-formation rate is found. Our result at $z\sim1.4$ is roughly in agreement with the fundamental metallicity relation at $z\sim0.1$ with fiber aperture corrected star-formation rate. We detect significant [S~{\sc ii}]$\lambda\lambda$6716,6731 emission lines from the composite spectra. The electron density estimated from the [S~{\sc ii}]$\lambda\lambda$6716,6731 line ratio ranges from 10 -- 500 cm$^{-3}$, which generally agrees with that of local galaxies. On the other hand, the distribution of our sample on [N~{\sc ii}]$\lambda$6583/H$\alpha$ vs. [S~{\sc ii}]$\lambda\lambda$6716,6731/H$\alpha$ is different from that found locally. We estimate the nitrogen-to-oxygen abundance ratio (N/O) from the N2S2 index, and find that the N/O in galaxies at $z\sim1.4$ is significantly higher than the local values at a fixed metallicity and stellar mass. The metallicity at $z\sim1.4$ recalculated with this N/O enhancement taken into account decreases by 0.1 -- 0.2 dex. The resulting metallicity is lower than the local fundamental metallicity relation.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in PAS

Immune Functions of Former Poison Gas Workers I. Mitogenic response of lymphocytes and serum factors

The relation of depressed immune function to carcinogenesis has been estimated in the living body. The authors have measured the immunological parameters in former poison gas workers, a group having a high risk of carcinogenesis, for comparison with age matched normal controls and the following results were obtained. 1) With regard to serum factors, no significant difference could be demonstrated between normal controls and poison gas workers in such immunoglobulins as IgG, IgA, and IgM, in acute phase reactants such as α1-AT, α1-AG, α2-HS and C3 and in such tumor markers as CEA, ferritin, and β2-microglobulin. Furthermore, no difference could be observed in the positive rate of immune complex and in complement activity. 2) No difference could be observed between the two groups with regard to tuberculin skin reaction and number of lymphocytes, but the longer the duration of work at the poison gas factory, the more significant was the increase in those who showed negative tuberculin skin reaction. 3) In comparison with normal controls, mitogenic response to PHA showed a significant decrease in poison gas workers, but no significant difference could be seen in mitogenic response to Con A and PPD and in mixed lymphocyte reaction. 4) No significant difference could be demonstrated between the two groups in the inhibitory effects of serum on mitogenic response to PHA and Con A and on mixed lymphocyte reaction

Cellular Immunity of Patients with Lung Cancer and Other Lung Diseases II. Analysis of interleukin-2 production

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) production by stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from patients with lung cancer and noncancerous respiratory diseases was determined. The results are as follows: 1) Neither sex nor age difference was observed for IL-2 production among healthy people. 2) IL-2 production showed a positive correlation with the Leu-3a/Leu-2a ratio and a negative correlation with the percentage of HLA-DR+ cells. 3) IL-2 production of patients with lung cancer and noncancerous respiratory diseases did not differ from that of healthy persons. 4) No difference in IL-2 production was found in relation to the clinical stage of lung cancer, but subjects with low IL-2 production were mostly observed in the advanced stage group (Stage IV)

Radically Different Thioredoxin Domain Arrangement of ERp46, an Efficient Disulfide Bond Introducer of the Mammalian PDI Family

SummaryThe mammalian endoplasmic reticulum (ER) contains a diverse oxidative protein folding network in which ERp46, a member of the protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) family, serves as an efficient disulfide bond introducer together with Peroxiredoxin-4 (Prx4). We revealed a radically different molecular architecture of ERp46, in which the N-terminal two thioredoxin (Trx) domains with positively charged patches near their peptide-binding site and the C-terminal Trx are linked by unusually long loops and arranged extendedly, forming an opened V-shape. Whereas PDI catalyzes native disulfide bond formation by the cooperative action of two mutually facing redox-active sites on folding intermediates bound to the central cleft, ERp46 Trx domains are separated, act independently, and engage in rapid but promiscuous disulfide bond formation during early oxidative protein folding. Thus, multiple PDI family members likely contribute to different stages of oxidative folding and work cooperatively to ensure the efficient production of multi-disulfide proteins in the ER

Inhibitory Effect of 1α-Hydroxyvitamin D3 on N-nitrosobis (2-oxopropyl)Amine-induced Cholangiocarcinogenesis in Syrian Hamsters

Sixty-three male 5-week-old Syrian hamsters received the carcinogen N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine (BOP) s.c. in 5 weekly injections (the first, 70mg/kg body, and the remaining, 20mg/kg each). The hamsters that received BOP were given intragastric administration of 0.2ml of medium chain triglyceride (MCT) with or without 0.04μg of 1α-hydroxyvitamin D3 [1α(OH)D3] through a feeding tube for 12 weeks. Thus, 3 groups were assigned:Group 1;BOP alone (n＝20), Group 2;BOP＋MCT (n＝18) and Group 3;BOP＋1α(OH)D3 (n＝25). The mean body weight of Group 3 was lower than those of Groups 1 and 2 at the end of the experiment (p＜0.001,Tukey-Kramer HSD test). At the end of week 12, all surviving hamsters were put to sleep. The incidences of liver tumors were 80%, 72% and 32% in Groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The incidence of tumors in Group 3 was significantly lower than in Group 1 and Group 2 (p＜0.05, χ2-test). All tumors were cholangiocarcinoma. These results indicated that BOP-induced cholangiocarcinogenesis was suppressed by the supplemental administration of 1α(OH)D3

Reactivity of the Serum from A-Bomb Survivors with the Tissues of Stomach, Liver and Kidney of Normal Rats

In order to evaluate delayed effects of radiation on pathological immune response an attempt was made to detect antibodies in the serum of atomic bomb survivors against kidney, liver, and parietal cells from rats. The following results were observed. Analysis of changes in antibody detection frequencies by age and exposure dose without considering sex showed that the rates for those exposed to 100 + rad showed a trend to increase with age for all three organs (P<0.01). However, in the 0 rad group, a significant trend to increase with age was noted for anti-kidney and antiliver antibodies only (P<0.01 for both). Analysis of changes in antibody detection frequencies by sex, age, and exposure dose showed that the detection frequencies increased significantly with age for all three organs in males exposed to 100 + rad (P < 0.05), but only the anti-liver antibody frequency increased significantly with age in males in the O rad exposure group. Females failed to shown any statistical changes in any exposure group

Subaru High-zz Exploration of Low-luminosity Quasars (SHELLQs). XVII. Black Hole Mass Distribution at z∼6z \sim 6 Estimated via Spectral Comparison with Low-zz Quasars

We report the distribution of black hole (BH) masses and Eddingont ratios estimated for a sample of 131 low luminosity quasars in the early cosmic epoch ($5.6 < z < 7.0$). Our work is based on Subaru High-$z$ Exploration of Low-Luminosity Quasars (SHELLQs) project, which has constructed a low luminosity quasar sample down to $M_{1450} \sim - 21$ mag, exploiting the survey data of Hyper Suprime-Cam installed on Subaru Telescope. The discovery spectra of these quasars are limited to the rest-frame wavelengths of $\sim$ 1200 -- 1400 \AA, which contains no emission lines that can be used as BH mass estimators. In order to overcome this problem, we made use of low-$z$ counterpart spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, which are spectrally matched to the high-$z$ spectra in overlapping wavelengths. We then combined the C~{\sc iv} emission line widths of the counterparts with the continuum luminosity from the SHELLQs data to estimate BH masses. The resulting BH mass distribution has a range of $\sim 10^{7-10} M_{\odot}$, with most of the quasars having BH masses $\sim 10^{8} M_{\odot}$ with sub-Eddington accretion. The present study provides not only a new insight into normal quasars in the reionization epoch, but also a new promising way to estimate BH masses of high-$z$ quasars without near-infrared spectroscopy.Comment: 18 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in Ap