Analysis of Magnetic Field-Angle Dependent Electronic Raman Scattering to Probe the Superconducting Gap

We study the field-angle resolved electronic Raman scattering in 2-dimensional d-wave superconducting vortex states theoretically by quasi-classical approximation, the so-called Doppler-shift method. An analytic expression is obtained for the field angle dependence of the Raman scattering amplitude at zero temperature. After numerical integration, we obtain the scattering intensity for various field angles by changing the Raman shift energy. Field-angle resolved electronic Raman scattering turns out to be an effective method for probing unconventional superconducting gap structures. It shows a novel phenomenon: reversal of extrema as a function of frequency without changing temperature or field magnitude.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. SCES2013 Proceedings (to be published in JPS Conf. Proc.

The mechanism and control of Jagged1 expression in Sertoli cells

AbstractThe regulation of Sertoli cells by some hormones and signaling factors is important for normal spermatogenesis. Notch signaling is considered to be necessary for normal spermatogenesis in mouse. In this study, we revealed two new facts about Sertoli cells by western blotting experiments on different types of primary cells and microdissected tubules. The first is that Sertoli cells express the Jagged1 ligand in mice testes. The second is that the expression level of Jagged1 oscillates in the seminiferous epithelial cycle. Therefore, we inferred that Jagged1 in Sertoli cells contributes to the Notch signaling involved in spermatogenesis. Furthermore, we examined the regulation of Jagged1 expression and found that Jagged1 expression was suppressed by cAMP signaling and was promoted by TNF-α signaling in Sertoli cells. When cAMP and TNF-α were simultaneously added to Sertoli cells, Jagged1 expression was suppressed. Therefore, cAMP signaling dominates Jagged1 expression over TNF-α signaling. These results suggest that cAMP signaling may cause the periodicity of Jagged1 expression in the seminiferous epithelial cycle, and controlling Jagged1 expression by adding TNF-α or cAMP may contribute to normal spermatogenesis in vitro

Bone mineral density estimation from a plain X-ray image by learning decomposition into projections of bone-segmented computed tomography

Osteoporosis is a prevalent bone disease that causes fractures in fragile bones, leading to a decline in daily living activities. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and quantitative computed tomography (QCT) are highly accurate for diagnosing osteoporosis; however, these modalities require special equipment and scan protocols. To frequently monitor bone health, low-cost, low-dose, and ubiquitously available diagnostic methods are highly anticipated. In this study, we aim to perform bone mineral density (BMD) estimation from a plain X-ray image for opportunistic screening, which is potentially useful for early diagnosis. Existing methods have used multi-stage approaches consisting of extraction of the region of interest and simple regression to estimate BMD, which require a large amount of training data. Therefore, we propose an efficient method that learns decomposition into projections of bone-segmented QCT for BMD estimation under limited datasets. The proposed method achieved high accuracy in BMD estimation, where Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.880 and 0.920 were observed for DXA-measured BMD and QCT-measured BMD estimation tasks, respectively, and the root mean square of the coefficient of variation values were 3.27 to 3.79% for four measurements with different poses. Furthermore, we conducted extensive validation experiments, including multi-pose, uncalibrated-CT, and compression experiments toward actual application in routine clinical practice.Comment: 20 pages and 22 figure

ヨシダ ニクシュ イショク ラット ノ ケッショウ オヨビ ソシキ ノ アミノグラム ノ ケントウ : シュヨウ リュウシュツ ジョウミャク ケッショウ アミノグラム

悪性腫瘍に対するアミノ酸インバランス療法の臨床応用を目的として、インバランスと するアミノ般を決定するために実験を行なった。 環境によく馴化した、生後約5週、体重150g前後の雄性ドンリュウラットを2群に 分け、4時間の絶食の後、エーテル麻酔下に以下の操作を行った。 コントロール群(以下C群)右腎部皮下に生食水O.1mlを注入した。15例。 腫瘍移植群(以下T群)右腎部皮下に1×17 7個の吉田肉腫を生食水にてO.1mｌと したものを移植した。18例。 以上の操作以後は経口自由摂取とし、操作後7日目にエーテル麻酔下に開腹し、腹部大 動脈・左総腸骨静脈(以後、健側静脈)およびT群からはさらに腫瘍からの流出静脈(流 出静脈は右総腸骨静脈に流入する)より採血した後、腫瘍を摘出した。大動脈血の一部は 血液生化学的検査に供し、残りの大動脈血と静脈血の血漿を除タンパク後、血漿遊離アミ ノ酸を分析した。腫瘍は摘出後重量を測定し、直ちに-2O℃以下にて凍結保存した。凍 結保存された腫瘍を、1g計測し、トリクロロ酢酸法に準じて処理して得られた5mlの上 清の一部にて腫瘍の組織遊離アミノ酸を、また、この際の沈殿物を6規定の塩酸で105℃ 、24時間の加水分解を行ない、腫瘍の組織蛋白構成アミノ酸を分析した。 開始時体重および屠殺時体重とも両群間に有意差を認めなかった。肝重量も両群間に有 意差を認めなかった。腫瘍重量は8.0±0.7gであった。血液生化学的検査では、T群の TP・Albが有意に低値をとり、CRE・Kも有意に低値をとり、肉腫による末期状態 と考えられた。血漿中の総アミノ酸濃度ではT群腫瘍側静脈はT群動脈・T群健側静脈と 比べ、有意に高値を示した。C群とT群で比較すると、必須アミノ酸でT群腫瘍側静脈の みがC群静脈より有意に高値をとった。個々のアミノ酸でみると必須アミノ酸では、ほと んどのアミノ酸が腫瘍側静脈・健側静脈・動脈の順に測定値が高かったが、Val・Il eu・Leuは動脈・腫瘍側静脈・健側静脈の順、Pheは腫瘍側静脈・動脈・健側静脈 の順に測定値が高かった。非必須アミノ酸でもほとんどのアミノ酸が腫瘍側静脈・健側静脈 動脈の順に測定値が高かったが、Asn・Glu・Ornは腫瘍側静脈・動脈・健側静脈 静脈の順、CySは動脈・健側静脈・腫瘍側静脈の順に測定値が高かった。個々のアミノ 酸の流れ(動脈→組織→静脈)をモル比で比較してみると必須アミノ酸では組織遊離アミ ノ酸・組織蛋白構成アミノ酸ともに動静脈血より高値をとるアミノ酸は認めなかった。非 必須アミノ酸ではAsp・Glu・Gly・Proの4種のアミノ酸は組織遊離アミノ酸 ・組織蛋白構成アミノ酸ともに動静脈血より高値をとった。個々のアミノ酸をそれぞれ、 動脈・組織遊離アミノ酸・組織歪白構成アミノ酸・健側静脈血中での測定値の高い順に並 べてみると、Glu・Aspの2つのアミノ酸が血中で低く、組織中で非常に高い順位に なる。以上の結果より、吉田肉腫に対してはGluとAspの2つのアミノ酸がインバラ ンス療法のターゲットになりうることが示唆された。An experiment was conducted to find amino acids which can be utilized as targets in amino acid imbalanced treatment for cancer. 1. A 150g male Donryu rat received a subcutaneous Yoshida sarcoma implantation. Then， amino acids contained in the inflowing artery，outflowing vein，contralateral vein，and tumor tissue were analyzed. 2. Plasma and tissue were measured for glutamic acid (Glu) and aspartic acid (Asp) concentrations，which were kept in low concentrations in plasma and high concentrations in tissue. 3. Glu and Asp were suggested as targets for imbalanced amino acid treatment for use in Yoshida sarcoma treatment

Psychosocial twin cohort studies in Japan: the Keio Twin Research Center (KoTReC)

The Keio Twin Research Center (KoTReC) was established in 2009 at Keio University to combine two longitudinal cohort projects — the Keio Twin Study (KTS) for adolescence and adulthood and the Tokyo Twin Cohort Project (ToTCoP) for infancy and childhood. KoTReC also conducted a two-time panel study of self-control and psychopathology in twin adolescence in 2012 and 2013 and three independent anonymous cross-sectional twin surveys (ToTcross) before 2012 — the ToTCross, the Junior and Senior High School Survey and the High School Survey. This article introduces the recent research designs of KoTReC and its publications

Comparative proteomic analysis of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium ppGpp-deficient mutant to identify a novel virulence protein required for intracellular survival in macrophages

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The global ppGpp-mediated stringent response in pathogenic bacteria plays an important role in the pathogenesis of bacterial infections. In <it>Salmonella enterica </it>serovar Typhimurium (<it>S</it>. Typhimurium), several genes, including virulence genes, are regulated by ppGpp when bacteria are under the stringent response. To understand the control of virulence genes by ppGpp in <it>S</it>. Typhimurium, agarose 2-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) combined with mass spectrometry was used and a comprehensive 2-DE reference map of amino acid-starved <it>S</it>. Typhimurium strain SH100, a derivative of ATCC 14028, was established.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 366 examined spots, 269 proteins were successfully identified. The comparative analysis of the wild-type and ppGpp⁰mutant strains revealed 55 proteins, the expression patterns of which were affected by ppGpp. Using a mouse infection model, we further identified a novel virulence-associated factor, STM3169, from the ppGpp-regulated and <it>Salmonella</it>-specific proteins. In addition, <it>Salmonella </it>strains carrying mutations in the gene encoding STM3169 showed growth defects and impaired growth within macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells. Furthermore, we found that expression of <it>stm3169 </it>was controlled by ppGpp and SsrB, a response regulator of the two-component system located on <it>Salmonella </it>pathogenicity island 2.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A proteomic approach using a 2-DE reference map can prove a powerful tool for analyzing virulence factors and the regulatory network involved in <it>Salmonella </it>pathogenesis. Our results also provide evidence of a global response mediated by ppGpp in <it>S. enterica</it>.</p

Clinical Usefulness of Multiplex PCR Lateral Flow in MRSA Detection: A Novel, Rapid Genetic Testing Method

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with exogenous cassette DNA containing the methicillin-resistant gene mecA (SCCmec) poses a problem as a drug-resistant bacterium responsible for hospital- and community-acquired infections. The frequency of MRSA detection has recently been increasing rapidly in Japan, and SCCmec has also been classified more diversely into types I–V. A rapid test is essential for early diagnosis and treatment of MRSA infections, but detection by conventional methods requires at least two days. The newly developed multiplex PCR lateral flow method allows specific amplification of femA to detect S. aureus, mecA to detect SCCmec, and kdpC to detect SCCmec type II; moreover, PCR products can be evaluated visually in about 3 h. In the present study, we developed a PCR lateral flow method for MRSA using this method and investigated its clinical usefulness in the detection of MRSA. The results showed a diagnostic concordance rate of 91.7% for MRSA and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus between bacteriological examination and PCR lateral flow, and a high level of specificity in PCR lateral flow. In addition, a higher detection rate for S. aureus using the same sample was observed for PCR lateral flow (70.2%) than for bacteriological tests (48.6%). The above results show that PCR lateral flow for MRSA detection has high sensitivity, specificity, and speed, and its clinical application as a method for early diagnosis of MRSA infections appears to be feasible

An operative case of hepatic pseudolymphoma difficult to differentiate from primary hepatic marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue

Hepatic pseudolymphoma (HPL) and primary hepatic marginal zone B cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma) are rare diseases and the differential diagnosis between these two entities is sometimes difficult. We herein report a 56-year-old Japanese woman who was pointed out to have a space occupying lesion in the left lateral segment of the liver. Hepatitis viral-associated antigen/antibody was negative and liver function tests including lactic dehydrogenase, peripheral blood count, tumor markers and soluble interleukin-2 receptor were all within normal limit. Imaging study using computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were not typical for hepatocellular carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, or other metastatic cancer. Fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography examination integrated with computed tomography scanning showed high standardized uptake value in the solitary lesion in the liver. Under a diagnosis of primary liver neoplasm, laparoscopic-assisted lateral segmentectomy was performed. Liver tumor of maximal 1.0 cm in diameter was consisted of aggregation of lymphocytes of predominantly B-cell, containing multiple lymphocyte follicles positive for CD10 and bcl-2, consistent with a diagnosis of HPL rather than MALT lymphoma, although a definitive differentiation was pending. The background liver showed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/early non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. The patient is currently doing well with no sign of relapse 13 months after the surgery. Since the accurate diagnosis is difficult, laparoscopic approach would provide a reasonable procedure of diagnostic and therapeutic advantage with minimal invasiveness for patients. Considering that the real nature of this entity remains unclear, vigilant follow-up of patient is essential