Gene Expression and Localization of High-mobility Group Box Chromosomal Protein-1 (HMGB-1) in Human Osteoarthritic Cartilage

We investigated the expression and localization of high-mobility group box chromosomal protein-1 (HMGB-1) in human osteoarthritic (OA) cartilage in relation to the histopathological grade of cartilage destruction, and examined the role of HMGB-1 in the regulation of proinflammatory cytokine expression in chondrocytes. An immunohistochemical study demonstrated that total HMGB-1-positive cell ratios increase as the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) histological grade increased. The population of cytoplasmic HMGB-1-positive chondrocytes was especially increased in the deep layers of higher-grade cartilage. The ratios and localization of receptors for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) expression by chondrocytes in Grade 2, 3, and 4 were significantly higher than those in Grade 1. In vitro stimulation with IL-1β, but not TNFα, significantly upregulated the expression of HMGB-1 mRNA by human OA chondrocytes. Both IL-1β and TNFα promoted the translocation of HMGB-1 from nuclei to cytoplasm. IL-1β and TNFα secretions were stimulated at higher levels of HMGB-1. The results of our study suggest the involvement of HMGB-1 in the pathogenesis of cartilage destruction in OA

Stress coping pattern among pre-operative patients and relations to their background

術前訪問のストレス状態を軽減するための一手段として，手術室の看護者により術前訪問が行われている。患者自身のストレスの状態とその対処法が異なっていることは従来の研究より明らかであるが，このような個々の術前患者の対処状況に応じた術前訪問については，充分に行えていないのが現状である。患者のストレス状態は患者背景と関係しており，さらにはその対処行為をパターン化できるものと考え，この対処行為のパターンと，背景因子との関わりを明らかにし，それらを考慮した術前訪問のあり方を考えることを目的として本研究を行った。対象は1週間以内に手術予定の患者20名とした。データは面接による半構成的な質問に対する対象者の自由な回答を記録して収集した。質問内容は，1．対象者の背景要因としての「経験」「自己認知」「環境要因」2．対象者の心理状態・ストレス認知・対処について，「病気を発見した時」、「入院の必要性の説明を受けた時」「手術の必要性の説明を受けた時」「現在」の4つの時点についての心理状態，ストレスの認知，対処法について回想法によるものとした。対象者は男性11名，女性9名で，平均年齢は57.7±15.9歳であった。各事例における4時点での対処行為をパターン化したところ，A ：「積極的対処」B：「回避」C：「おまかせ」D：「積極的対処」→「おまかせ」E：「回避」→「積極的対処」F：「回避」→「積極的対処」→「おまかせ」G：「回避」→「おまかせ」の7パターンに分類された。患者背景要因と対処法の関係については，次の2点が明らかとなった。1）ストレス対処に「問題状況の再認知」または「おまかせ」を用いていた患者は，癌告知を受けており，ストレス状態の軽減傾向が特徴的であった。それに対して，「回避」を主に用いていた患者は，未告知事例や疾患について曖昧な解釈の事例が集中しており，ストレス状態が特徴的であった。2）性格を「神経質」「辛抱強い」と自己評価した患者の対処行為として，「積極的対処」が共通して用いられていた。Operating room nurses visit the pre-operating patients before the operation. This visit is designed to inform the patients and reduce their stress. But the stress level of each patient and their ability for dealing with stress may vary. The purpose of this study is to investigate stress-coping patterns of pre-operative patients. Twenty patients at the University Hospital of Chugoku Region in Japan volunteered for this study. Subjects consisted of 11 males and 9 females with average of 57.7 years old. An interviewer obtained data using an original semi-structured questionnaire after getting informed consent. Items of questionnaire were patient's background, his/her psychological status, stress recognition. The patients' coping mechanisms were evaluated using the recollection method at 4 different time points: a) when the patient's disease was diagnosed, b) when the patient was informed of the need for hospitalization, c) when the patient was informed of the need for operation, and d) at the time of the operation. We found common patterns of coping among them, which were classified into 7 categories: A) positive action at any situations, B) evasion, C) leaving, D) positive action and leaving, E) evasion and positive action, F) evasion, positive action and leaving, G) evasion and leaving. The following 2 points were noted between the patients' background and coping mechanisms: 1) Patients using "re-acknowledgment or leaving" pattern were informed well about their disease and did not feel stress from their situation. 2) Patients taking positive actions recognized their character as "nervous about their situation" or "patient"

Structural aging of human neurons is the opposite of the changes in schizophrenia

Human mentality develops with age and is altered in psychiatric disorders, though their underlying mechanism is unknown. In this study, we analyzed nanometer-scale three-dimensional structures of brain tissues of the anterior cingulate cortex from eight schizophrenia and eight control cases. The distribution profiles of neurite curvature of the control cases showed a trend depending on their age, resulting in an age-correlated decrease in the standard deviation of neurite curvature (Pearson's r = -0.80, p = 0.018). In contrast to the control cases, the schizophrenia cases deviate upward from this correlation, exhibiting a 60% higher neurite curvature compared with the controls (p = 7.8 x 10^(-4)). The neurite curvature also showed a correlation with a hallucination score (Pearson's r = 0.80, p = 1.8 x 10^(-4)), indicating that neurite structure is relevant to brain function. We suggest that neurite curvature plays a pivotal role in brain aging and can be used as a hallmark to exploit a novel treatment of schizophrenia. This nano-CT paper is the result of our decade-long analysis and is unprecedented in terms of number of cases.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2007.0021

The Magnetoelastic Distortion of Multiferroic BiFeO3_3 in the Canted Antiferromagnetic State

Using THz spectroscopy, we show that the spin-wave spectrum of multiferroic BiFeO$_3$ in its high-field canted antiferromagnetic state is well described by a spin model that violates rhombohedral symmetry. We demonstrate that the monoclinic distortion of the canted antiferromagnetic state is induced by the single-ion magnetoelastic coupling between the lattice and the two nearly anti-parallel spins. The revised spin model for BiFeO$_3$ contains two new single-ion anisotropy terms that violate rhombohedral symmetry and depend on the direction of the magnetic field.Comment: 28 pages (main & supplementary), 2 figures (main article), 15 figures (supplementary material

The ASTRO-H X-ray Observatory

The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy universe via a suite of four instruments, covering a very wide energy range, from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. These instruments include a high-resolution, high-throughput spectrometer sensitive over 0.3-2 keV with high spectral resolution of Delta E < 7 eV, enabled by a micro-calorimeter array located in the focal plane of thin-foil X-ray optics; hard X-ray imaging spectrometers covering 5-80 keV, located in the focal plane of multilayer-coated, focusing hard X-ray mirrors; a wide-field imaging spectrometer sensitive over 0.4-12 keV, with an X-ray CCD camera in the focal plane of a soft X-ray telescope; and a non-focusing Compton-camera type soft gamma-ray detector, sensitive in the 40-600 keV band. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral resolution, will enable the pursuit of a wide variety of important science themes.Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, Proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical Instrumentation "Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray