Apparent Horizons with Nontrivial Topology and the Hyperhoop Conjecture in Six-Dimensional Space-Times

We investigate the validity of the hyperhoop conjecture, which claims to determine a necessary and sufficient condition for the formation of black hole horizons in higher-dimensional space-times. Here we consider momentarily static, conformally flat initial data sets each describing a gravitational field of uniform massive k-sphere sources, for k=1,2, on the five-dimensional Cauchy surface. The numerical result shows the validity of the hyperhoop conjecture for a wide range of model parameters. We also confirm for the first time the existence of an apparent horizon homeomorphism to S**2 x S**2 or S**1 x S**3, which is a higher-dimensional generalization of the black ring.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures. to appear in Phys. Rev.

Inflammation, a Link between Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease

Obesity, the most common nutritional disorder in industrialized countries, is associated with an increased mortality and morbidity of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Obesity is primarily considered to be a disorder of energy balance, and it has recently been suggested that some forms of obesity are associated with chronic low-grade inflammation. The present paper focuses on the current status of our knowledge regarding chronic inflammation, a link between obesity and CVDs, including heart diseases, vascular disease and atherosclerosis. The paper discusses the methods of body fat evaluation in humans, the endocrinology and distribution of adipose tissue in the genders, the pathophysiology of obesity, the relationship among obesity, inflammation, and CVD, and the adipose tissue-derived cytokines known to affect inflammation. Due to space limitations, this paper focuses on C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, leptin, adiponectin, resistin, visfatin, chemerin, omentin, vaspin, apelin, and retinol binding protein 4 as adipokines

Physiological Roles of Class I HDAC Complex and Histone Demethylase

Epigenetic gene silencing is one of the fundamental mechanisms for ensuring proper gene expression patterns during cellular differentiation and development. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are evolutionally conserved enzymes that remove acetyl modifications from histones and play a central role in epigenetic gene silencing. In cells, HDAC forms a multiprotein complex (HDAC complex) in which the associated proteins are believed to help HDAC carry out its cellular functions. Though each HDAC complex contains distinct components, the presence of isoforms for some of the components expands the variety of complexes and the diversity of their cellular roles. Recent studies have also revealed a functional link between HDAC complexes and specific histone demethylases. In this paper, we summarize the distinct and cooperative roles of four class I HDAC complexes, Sin3, NuRD, CoREST, and NCoR/SMRT, with respect to their component diversity and their relationship with specific histone demethylases

Remarks on Hubble Induced Mass from Fermion Kinetic Term

We evaluate the effective mass of a scalar field which interacts with visible sector via Planck-suppressed coupling in supergravity framework. We focus on the radiation-dominated (RD) era after inflation and the contribution from a fermionic field in the thermal bath. We find that, in RD era, the fermion kinetic term gives the effective mass of the order of Hubble scale to the scalar field.Comment: 8 pages, v2: minor corrections made, published in PL

Adverse effect profile of trichlormethiazide: a retrospective observational study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Trichlormethiazide, a thiazide diuretic, was introduced in 1960 and remains one of the most frequently used diuretics for treating hypertension in Japan. While numerous clinical trials have indicated important side effects of thiazides, e.g., adverse effects on electrolytes and uric acid, very few data exist on serum electrolyte levels in patients with trichlormethiazide treatment. We performed a retrospective cohort study to assess the adverse effects of trichlormethiazide, focusing on serum electrolyte and uric acid levels.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used data from the Clinical Data Warehouse of Nihon University School of Medicine obtained between Nov 1, 2004 and July 31, 2010, to identify cohorts of new trichlormethiazide users (n = 99 for 1 mg, n = 61 for 2 mg daily dosage) and an equal number of non-users (control). We used propensity-score matching to adjust for differences between users and control for each dosage, and compared serum chemical data including serum sodium, potassium, uric acid, creatinine and urea nitrogen. The mean exposure of trichlormethiazide of 1 mg and 2 mg users was 58 days and 64 days, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean age was 66 years, and 55% of trichlormethiazide users of the 1 mg dose were female. In trichlormethiazide users of the 2 mg dose, the mean age was 68 years, and 43% of users were female. There were no statistically significant differences in all covariates (age, sex, comorbid diseases, past drugs, and current antihypertensive drugs) between trichlormethiazide users and controls for both doses. In trichlormethiazide users of the 2 mg dose, the reduction of serum potassium level and the elevation of serum uric acid level were significant compared with control, whereas changes of mean serum sodium, creatinine and urea nitrogen levels were not significant. In trichlormethiazide users of the 1 mg dose, all tests showed no statistically significant change from baseline to during the exposure period in comparison with control.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study showed adverse effects of decreased serum potassium and increased serum uric acid with trichlormethiazide treatment, and suggested that a lower dose of trichlormethiazide may minimize these adverse effects. These findings support the current trend in hypertension therapeutics to shift towards lower doses of thiazides.</p

Elucidation of the Mechanism and Significance of the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate from Clinical Laboratory Data

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a widely used marker of inflammation, but the detailed mechanisms underlying the ESR remain unclear. We retrospectively collected laboratory data from our hospital’s laboratory information system, and performed multiple linear regression analysis and correlation analysis to determine relationships between the ESR and other laboratory test parameters. The alpha-2, beta-2, and gamma fractions from serum protein electrophoresis, serum immunoglobulin (Ig) G, IgA, IgM, and complement C3 levels, plasma fibrinogen levels, and platelet count showed positive effects on the ESR; however, the serum albumin level showed negative effects. Since erythrocytes are negatively charged, an increase in positively charged proteins and a decrease in negatively charged albumin were suggested to increase the ESR. Notably, C-reactive protein (CRP) showed the third-strongest correlation with the ESR despite having no significant effect on the ESR. We also reviewed cases with discordant ESR and CRP levels to compare the disease profiles of high ESR/low CRP patients and low ESR/high CRP patients. The patients with high ESR/low CRP had a completely different disease profile from those with low ESR/high CRP. Since the ESR and CRP have different roles, they should be used as markers in a context-dependent manner

A Concise Asymmetric Total Synthesis of (+)-Epilupinine

Asymmetric total synthesis of (+)-epilupinine was achieved in just 3 steps using only commercially available common reagents. The total synthesis involved alkylations of N-nosylamide, ozone oxidation, and sequential reactions of the removal of the nosyl group, intramolecular dehydrative condensation, intramolecular Mannich reaction catalyzed by L-proline, and a reduction