High-temperature Superconductivity in Layered Nitrides \beta-Lix_xMNCl (M = Ti, Zr, Hf): Insights from Density-functional Theory for Superconductors

We present an ab initio analysis with density functional theory for superconductors (SCDFT) to understand the superconducting mechanism of doped layered nitrides \beta-Li$_x$MNCl (M=Ti, Zr, and Hf). The current version of SCDFT is based on the Migdal-Eliashberg theory and has been shown to reproduce accurately experimental superconducting-transition temperatures Tc of a wide range of phonon-mediated superconductors. In the present case, however, our calculated Tc$\leq$4.3 K (M=Zr) and $\leq$10.5 K (M=Hf) are found to be less than a half of the experimental Tc. In addition, Tc obtained in the present calculation increases with the doping concentration x, opposite to that observed in the experiment. Our results indicate that we need to consider some elements missing in the present SCDFT based on the Migdal-Eliashberg theory.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures, submitted to Physical Review

Vertical Jump Performance as a Discriminator of Playing Ability in Collegiate Female Soccer Players

Previous studies have assessed the importance of physical characteristics to soccer playing ability by comparing performance-based outcomes between starters and non-starters. Starters are often considered the most skilled players on the team. These players get more playing time than non-starters and have been shown to achieve higher performance outcomes on intermittent fitness tests. However, it remains unclear whether starters can achieve higher performance outcomes on a countermovement vertical jump. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of countermovement vertical jump height and peak power to discriminate between starters and non-starters in collegiate female soccer. METHODS: Twenty-seven collegiate female soccer players (age = 19.56 ± 1.28 years; height = 164.26 ± 5.74 cm; body mass = 66.65 ± 8.43 kg) were recruited to participate in the present study. All testing was completed during the 2021 preseason training period. The players were classified as starters (n = 12) or non-starters (n = 15) according to their average number of minutes played per game during the subsequent exhibition season. Each participant reported to the laboratory for a single visit where they performed three countermovement vertical jump tests on a jump mat. For each jump, participants stood on the mat with feet shoulder width apart and hands positioned on the hips. Participants were not allowed to take any steps prior to performing the vertical jump and a quick descending quarter-squat countermovement was allowed before the ascending takeoff phase. The participants were instructed to jump as explosively as possible with both feet at the same time and land on the jump mat in the starting position. Vertical jump height (cm) was estimated from the flight time recorded by the jump mat. Peak power output was estimated using a previously validated regression equation: peak power (W) = 51.9 × vertical jump height (cm) + 48.9 × body mass (kg) - 2007. Independent samples t-tests were used to compare vertical jump height and peak power between the starting and non-starting groups. RESULTS: Vertical jump height was significantly greater (P = 0.039) for the starters (38.60 ± 6.11 cm) compared to the non-starters (34.43 ± 3.75 cm). There was no significant difference (P = 0.448) between the starters (3076.72 ± 331.98 W) and non-starters (3182.23 ± 369.67 W) for peak power. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that vertical jump height is an effective measure for discriminating between starters and non-starters in collegiate female soccer. Vertical jump characteristics are critical to a player’s performance on the field. Because the starters in this study were able to jump higher than the non-starters, vertical jump height may be an important parameter for identifying players with a high degree of soccer playing ability

Magnetic Field-Induced Condensation of Triplons in Han Purple Pigment BaCuSi2_2O6_6

Besides being an ancient pigment, BaCuSi$_2$O$_6$ is a quasi-2D magnetic insulator with a gapped spin dimer ground state. The application of strong magnetic fields closes this gap creating a gas of bosonic spin triplet excitations called triplons. The topology of the spin lattice makes BaCuSi$_2$O$_6$ an ideal candidate for studying the Bose-Einstein condensation of triplons as a function of the external magnetic field, which acts as a chemical potential. In agreement with quantum Monte Carlo numerical simulations, we observe a distinct lambda-anomaly in the specific heat together with a maximum in the magnetic susceptibility upon cooling down to liquid Helium temperatures.Comment: published on August 20, 200

High-temperature Fluidized Receiver for Concentrated Solar Radiation by a Beam-down Reflector System

AbstractThis study proposes a novel fluidized receiver for absorbing concentrated solar light at high temperatures. Previously, a tubular receiver and a volumetric receiver were developed to make high-temperature air for a solar gas turbine system. The aim was to combine these elements with a tower reflector; however, it was challenging to install these heavy receivers on the top of the tower. Currently, a fluidized receiver prototype is tested by a 3 kWh solar simulator in preparation for a field test at the Miyazaki beam-down reflector system. The fluid dynamics of the prototype receiver is numerically investigated. The currently treated receiver is an inner-circulating fluidized bed spouted by concentric gas streams with high and low velocities in the center and outer annulus, respectively. The draft tube is submerged in the particles to organize particle circulation. Concentrated light irradiates the particles through a quartz window at the top of the receiver container. Such a fluidized bed was first adopted by Kodama et al. for thermochemical reactions; however, it is currently pursued for its potential as a high-temperature receiver aimed at concentrated solar power generation. Experiments of the prototype receiver (inner diameter = 45mm) demonstrated that the inner particles are heated to a temperature greater than 900°C and that an increase of the central gas velocity removes the excess temperature near the particle bed surface. A numerical computation suggests that the large-scale circulation of particles leads to the activation of thermal mixing. The currently proposed receiver is thus expected to attenuate re-radiation losses likely to occur in a conventional volumetric porous receiver. The scale-up of the receiver is being considered by the numerical computation for a field test in the Miyazaki 100 kWh beam-down reflector system

Super-long single-molecule tracking reveals dynamic-anchorage-induced integrin function

Single-fluorescent-molecule imaging tracking (SMT) is becoming an important tool to study living cells. However, photobleaching and photoblinking (hereafter referred to as photobleaching/photoblinking) of the probe molecules strongly hamper SMT studies of living cells, making it difficult to observe in vivo molecular events and to evaluate their lifetimes (e.g., off rates). The methods used to suppress photobleaching/photoblinking in vitro are difficult to apply to living cells because of their toxicities. Here using 13 organic fluorophores we found that, by combining low concentrations of dissolved oxygen with a reducing-plus-oxidizing system, photobleaching/photoblinking could be strongly suppressed with only minor effects on cells, which enabled SMT for as long as 12,000 frames (~7 min at video rate, as compared to the general 10-s-order durations) with ~22-nm single-molecule localization precisions. SMT of integrins revealed that they underwent temporary (<80-s) immobilizations within the focal adhesion region, which were responsible for the mechanical linkage of the actin cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix

Intratracheal trimerized nanobody cocktail administration suppresses weight loss and prolongs survival of SARS-CoV-2 infected mice

新型コロナウイルスを中和するアルパカ抗体 --マウス実験で有効性を確認--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-02-17.BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants are highly resistant to vaccine-induced immunity and human monoclonal antibodies. METHODS: We previously reported that two nanobodies, P17 and P86, potently neutralize SARS-CoV-2 VOCs. In this study, we modified these nanobodies into trimers, called TP17 and TP86 and tested their neutralization activities against Omicron BA.1 and subvariant BA.2 using pseudovirus assays. Next, we used TP17 and TP86 nanobody cocktail to treat ACE2 transgenic mice infected with lethal dose of SARS-CoV-2 strains, original, Delta and Omicron BA.1. RESULTS: Here, we demonstrate that a novel nanobody TP86 potently neutralizes both BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron variants, and that the TP17 and TP86 nanobody cocktail broadly neutralizes in vitro all VOCs as well as original strain. Furthermore, intratracheal administration of this nanobody cocktail suppresses weight loss and prolongs survival of human ACE2 transgenic mice infected with SARS-CoV-2 strains, original, Delta and Omicron BA.1. CONCLUSIONS: Intratracheal trimerized nanobody cocktail administration suppresses weight loss and prolongs survival of SARS-CoV-2 infected mice

Class IA Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase in Pancreatic β Cells Controls Insulin Secretion by Multiple Mechanisms

SummaryType 2 diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance and pancreatic β cell dysfunction, the latter possibly caused by a defect in insulin signaling in β cells. Inhibition of class IA phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), using a mouse model lacking the pik3r1 gene specifically in β cells and the pik3r2 gene systemically (βDKO mouse), results in glucose intolerance and reduced insulin secretion in response to glucose. β cells of βDKO mice had defective exocytosis machinery due to decreased expression of soluble N-ethylmaleimide attachment protein receptor (SNARE) complex proteins and loss of cell-cell synchronization in terms of Ca2+ influx. These defects were normalized by expression of a constitutively active form of Akt in the islets of βDKO mice, preserving insulin secretion in response to glucose. The class IA PI3K pathway in β cells in vivo is important in the regulation of insulin secretion and may be a therapeutic target for type 2 diabetes

Japanese epidemiological survey with consensus statement on Japanese guidelines for treatment of iron overload in bone marrow failure syndromes

Many patients with bone marrow failure syndromes need frequent transfusions of red blood cells, and most of them eventually suffer from organ dysfunction induced by excessively accumulated iron. The only way to treat transfusion-induced iron overload is iron chelating therapy. However, most patients have not been treated effectively because daily/continuous administration of deferoxamine is difficult for outpatients. Recently, a novel oral iron chelator, deferasirox, has been developed, and introduction of the drug may help many patients benefit from iron chelation therapy. In this review, we will discuss the current status of iron overload in transfusion-dependent patients, and the development of Japanese guidelines for the treatment of iron overload in Japan, which were established by the National Research Group on Idiopathic Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes in Japan

Cost-effectiveness of a hybrid emergency room system for severe trauma: a health technology assessment from the perspective of the third-party payer in Japan

Background: Hybrid emergency room (ER) systems, consisting of an angiography-computed tomography (CT) machine in a trauma resuscitation room, are reported to be effective for reducing death from exsanguination in trauma patients. We aimed to investigate the cost-effectiveness of a hybrid ER system in severe trauma patients without severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: We conducted a cost-utility analysis comparing the hybrid ER system to the conventional ER system from the perspective of the third-party healthcare payer in Japan. A short-term decision tree and a long-term Markov model using a lifetime time horizon were constructed to estimate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and associated lifetime healthcare costs. Short-term mortality and healthcare costs were derived from medical records and claims data in a tertiary care hospital with a hybrid ER. Long-term mortality and utilities were extrapolated from the literature. The willingness-to-pay threshold was set at $47,619 per QALY gained and the discount rate was 2$33,591 lifetime costs compared to the conventional ER system, resulting in an ICER of $32,522 per QALY gained. The ICER was lower than the willingness-to-pay threshold if the odds ratio of 28-day mortality was < 0.66. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis indicated that the hybrid ER system was cost-effective with a 79.3% probability. Conclusion: The present study suggested that the hybri

Assessment of risk factors related to healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection at patient admission to an intensive care unit in Japan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>(HA-MRSA) infection in intensive care unit (ICU) patients prolongs ICU stay and causes high mortality. Predicting HA-MRSA infection on admission can strengthen precautions against MRSA transmission. This study aimed to clarify the risk factors for HA-MRSA infection in an ICU from data obtained within 24 hours of patient ICU admission.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We prospectively studied HA-MRSA infection in 474 consecutive patients admitted for more than 2 days to our medical, surgical, and trauma ICU in a tertiary referral hospital in Japan. Data obtained from patients within 24 hours of ICU admission on 11 prognostic variables possibly related to outcome were evaluated to predict infection risk in the early phase of ICU stay. Stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors for HA-MRSA infection.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty patients (6.3%) had MRSA infection, and 444 patients (93.7%) were infection-free. Intubation, existence of open wound, treatment with antibiotics, and steroid administration, all occurring within 24 hours of ICU admission, were detected as independent prognostic indicators. Patients with intubation or open wound comprised 96.7% of MRSA-infected patients but only 57.4% of all patients admitted.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Four prognostic variables were found to be risk factors for HA-MRSA infection in ICU: intubation, open wound, treatment with antibiotics, and steroid administration, all occurring within 24 hours of ICU admission. Preemptive infection control in patients with these risk factors might effectively decrease HA-MRSA infection.</p