A detection method for latent circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorder

Background Individuals with typical circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders (CRSWDs) have a habitual sleep timing that is desynchronized from social time schedules. However, it is possible to willfully force synchronisation against circadian-driven sleepiness, which causes other sleep problems. This pathology is distinguishable from typical CRSWDs and is referred to here as latent CRSWD (LCRSWD). Conventional diagnostic methods for typical CRSWDs are insufficient for detecting LCRSWD because sufferers have an apparently normal habitual sleep timing. Methods We first evaluated the reliability of circadian phase estimation based on clock gene expression using hair follicles collected at three time points without sleep interruption. Next, to identify detection criteria for LCRSWD, we compared circadian and sleep parameters according to estimated circadian phases, at the group and individual level, between subjects with low and high Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores. To validate the reliability of identified detection criteria, we investigated whether the same subjects could be reproducibly identified at a later date and whether circadian amelioration resulted in sleep improvement. Findings We successfully validated the reliability of circadian phase estimation at three time points and identified potential detection criteria for individuals with LCRSWD attributed to delayed circadian-driven sleepiness. In particular, a criterion based on the interval between the times of the estimated circadian phase of clock gene expression and getting out of bed on work or school days was promising. We also successfully confirmed the reproducibility of candidate screening and sleep improvement by circadian amelioration, supporting the reliability of the detection criteria. Interpretation Although several limitations remain, our present study demonstrates a promising prototype of a detection method for LCRSWD attributed to delayed circadian-driven sleepiness. More extensive trials are needed to further validate this method

Inducible colitis-associated glycome capable of stimulating the proliferation of memory CD4+ T cells

Immune responses are modified by a diverse and abundant repertoire of carbohydrate structures on the cell surface, which is known as the glycome. In this study, we propose that a unique glycome that can be identified through the binding of galectin-4 is created on local, but not systemic, memory CD4+ T cells under diverse intestinal inflammatory conditions, but not in the healthy state. The colitis-associated glycome (CAG) represents an immature core 1–expressing O-glycan. Development of CAG may be mediated by down-regulation of the expression of core-2 β1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (C2GnT) 1, a key enzyme responsible for the production of core-2 O-glycan branch through addition of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) to a core-1 O-glycan structure. Mechanistically, the CAG seems to contribute to super raft formation associated with the immunological synapse on colonic memory CD4+ T cells and to the consequent stabilization of protein kinase C θ activation, resulting in the stimulation of memory CD4+ T cell expansion in the inflamed intestine. Functionally, CAG-mediated CD4+ T cell expansion contributes to the exacerbation of T cell–mediated experimental intestinal inflammations. Therefore, the CAG may be an attractive therapeutic target to specifically suppress the expansion of effector memory CD4+ T cells in intestinal inflammation such as that seen in inflammatory bowel disease

Forgeability of AZ Series Magnesium Alloy produced by Twin Roll Casting

Plastic forming of magnesium alloy is hardly reported because of its low forgeability. The productions of magnesium alloy are mainly produced by casting. Typical wrought magnesium alloy is AZ31. Magnesium-aluminum alloy indicates maximum elongation when the composition includes 3% aluminum. When the magnesium alloy includes over 3% aluminum, its elongation slightly decreases. Therefore, AZ31 that include 3% aluminum and 1% zinc is generally used for plastic forming. The more increasing aluminum composition, the larger 0.2% proof stress becomes. However its forgeability is decreasing because of precipitation of β phase such as Mg17Al12. It is supposed that the β phase is refined by rapid cooling casting process such as twin roll casting. In this paper, the magnesium alloy thick sheet of AZ91, AZ121 and AZ131 for hot forging, that include 9%, 12% and 13% aluminum composition respectively, was produced by twin roll strip casting process. And the forgeability of high aluminum containing magnesium alloy was investigated by die forging. As a result, it was possible to forge their magnesium alloys

Proposal for Magnetospheric Research in the Polar Region (g. Future Plan) (Proceedings of the Second Symposium on Coordinated Observations of the Ionosphere and the Magnetosphere in the Polar Regions : Part II)

It is argued that the identification of the magnetospheric process that corresponds to individual phenomena observed on the ground is as yet a very important task that has to be pursued in order that we can properly combine ground and space observations to discuss physics of maenetospheric processes

World-wide changes in the geomagnetic field

The geomagnetic field is found to change quite frequently on a world-wide scale. In the three months' period near sunspot maximum, such changes are found on 90 "per cent of all days. Most of these changes are not registered either as sudden commencements or as sudden impulses, and are tentatively called in this thesis 'worldwide changes'. The frequent occurrence of world-wide changes seems to be consistent with the idea that world-wide features of the geomagnetic field are always influenced by a permanently flowing corpuscular stream from the sun. The physical state of the corpuscular stream may be as variable as that of the solar atmosphere, and sudden changes in it will give rise to sudden, world-wide changes in the geomagnetic field. The morphology of world-wide changes is studied, and the form of the change, the distribution of magnitude and the mode of spreading over the earth are clarified. It is found that world-wide changes can be classified into two groups according to the sign of the main part of the change which appears all over the world. Those with an increase in the total force are called positive changes and those with a decrease are called negative changes. Except for the sign of the change, negative changes are morphologically identicalto positive changes. Since the morphology of sudden commencements and sudden impulses is the same as that of world-wide changes, they must be produced by a common mechanism, and an explanation of negative changes is a new, fundamental requirement imposed upon any theory of these changes. The observed change in the geomagnetic field may originate at the magnetospheric boundary where the solar corpuscular stream interacts with the geomagnetic field. The change may be modulated by the screening effect of the ionosphere before it is observed at ground level. Although this effect has been shown to be negligible for changes with a time scale of the order of world-wide changes, incorrect assumptions have been made in existing theories. More accurate calculations show that this effect is actually significant for a certain mode of the incident field. [ ... ]Science, Faculty ofPhysics and Astronomy, Department ofGraduat

キョクイキ ニオケル ジキケン カンソク ヘノ ヨウセイ g. ショウライ ケイカク ダイ2カイ キョクイキ ニオケル デンリケン ジキケン ソウゴウ カンソク シンポジウム PART 2

極域における地上観測と飛しょう体による観測を比較し総合する努力は,すでに多年にわたって行われているが,地上で観測される現象と磁気圏に生起する事象との間の対応関係の確立は,今なお重点目標として掲げるに足ると思われる.It is argued that the identification of the magnetospheric process that corresponds to individual phenomena observed on the ground is as yet a very important task that has to be pursued in order that we can properly combine ground and space observations to discuss physics of maenetospheric processes