Cloud optical thickness and effective particle radius derived from transmitted solar radiation measurements : Comparison with cloud radar observations

A method is presented for determining the optical thickness and effective particle radius of stratiform clouds containing liquid water drops in the absence of drizzle from transmitted solar radiation measurements. The procedure compares measurements of the cloud transmittance from the ground at water-absorbing and nonabsorbing wavelengths with lookup tables of the transmittance precomputed for plane-parallel, vertically homogeneous clouds. The optical thickness derived from the cloud transmittance may be used to retrieve vertical profiles of cloud microphysics in combination with the radar reflectivity factor. To do this, we also present an algorithm for solving the radar equation with a constraint of the optical thickness at the visible wavelength. Observations of clouds were made in August and September 2003 at Koganei, Tokyo, Japan, using a PREDE i-skyradiometer and a 95-GHz cloud radar Super Polarimetric Ice Crystal Detection and Explication Radar (SPIDER). The optical thickness and effective radius of water clouds were derived from the i-skyradiometer. Then, the vertical profile of the effective radius was retrieved from SPIDER, using the optical thickness determined from the i-skyradiometer. We found that the effective radii derived by using these two instruments were in good agreement

BRCA1 Expression is an Important Biomarker for Chemosensitivity: Suppression of BRCA1 Increases the Apoptosis via Up-regulation of p53 and p21 During Cisplatin Treatment in Ovarian Cancer Cells

BRCA1 is a tumor suppressor which plays a crucial role in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks, and its abnormality is responsible for hereditary ovarian cancer syndrome. It has recently been reported that reduced expression of BRCA1 is also common in sporadic ovarian carcinoma via its promoter hypermethylation, and that ovarian carcinoma patients negative for BRCA1 expression showed favorable prognosis. To address if BRCA1 expression plays a role in the chemotherapeutic response, we analyzed the effect of BRCA1 suppression on the sensitivity to cisplatin and paclitaxel in ovarian cancer cells. Specific siRNA for BRCA1 gene was transfected into 3 ovarian cancer cell lines with various p53 status. Reduced expression of BRCA1 by transfection of BRCA1-siRNA resulted in a 5.3-fold increase in sensitivity to cisplatin in p53-wild A2780 cells, but not in p53-mutated A2780/CDDP and p53-deleted SKOV3 cells. Regarding the sensitivity to paclitaxel, BRCA1 suppression caused no significant changes in all the 3 cell lines. For ionizing radiation sensitivity, BRCA1 suppression also showed a significant higher sensitivity in A2780 cells. Growth curve and cell cycle analyses showed no significant differences between BRCA1-siRNA-transfected A2780 cells and control cells. However, cisplatin treatment under suppression of BRCA1 showed a significantly increased apoptosis along with up-regulation of p53 and p21 in A2780 cells. Accordingly, reduced expression of BRCA1 enhances the cisplatin sensitivity and apoptosis via up-regulation of p53 and p21, but does not affect the paclitaxel sensitivity. Expression of BRCA1 might be an important biomarker for cisplatin resistance in ovarian carcinoma

Mercury and cadmium immobilization in potassium-activated geopolymer: the effect of mixing design and heavy metals concentration

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Predicting the Route of Delivery in Women with Low-Lying Placenta Using Transvaginal Ultrasonography: Significance of Placental Migration and Marginal Sinus

Background/Aims: To examine the significance of placental migration and the presence of a placental marginal sinus to predict the eventual route of delivery in low-lying placenta. Methods: 49 women with a low-lying placenta after 30 weeks' gestation were studied. The distance between the internal os and leading edge of the placenta was measured weekly using transvaginal ultrasonography until 37 weeks' gestation. The relationship between the rate of placental migration, the presence of a placental marginal sinus and the eventual mode of delivery was investigated. Results: Although the cesarean section rate was 56.3% (9/16) in the 'slow' migration (0-2.0 mm/week) group, no patient (0/33) in the 'fast' (>2.0 mm/week) migration group underwent a cesarean section (p<0.01). The cesarean section rate was 71.4% (5/7) in patients with a placental marginal sinus, significantly greater than the rate of 9.5% (4/42) in patients without a marginal sinus (p<0.01). Conclusion:A decreased rate of placental migration until 37 weeks' gestation and the presence of a placental marginal sinus were associated with subsequent cesarean delivery because of antepartum vaginal bleeding. These parameters may be useful for predicting the route of delivery in women with a low-lying placenta.ArticleGYNECOLOGIC AND OBSTETRIC INVESTIGATION. 73(3):217-222 (2012)journal articl

Pre-stroke physical activity is associated with post-stroke physical activity and sedentary behavior in the acute phase

This study investigated the link between pre-stroke and acute-stage physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior. Forty individuals with stroke (aged 73.6 ± 8.9 years) were enrolled. Post-stroke activity, including metabolic equivalents (METs), sedentary behavior, light PA, and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), was measured using a tri-axial accelerometer (ActiGraph wGT3X-BT) over 11 consecutive days starting from the 4th day post-stroke. Pre-stroke PA levels were assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). We measured skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) and phase angle using a bioelectrical impedance analyzer (Inbody S10) upon admission. Physical therapists assessed the Brunnstrom recovery stage (BRS) within 3 days post-stroke. Total daily activity averaged 1.05 ± 0.05 METs. Throughout the day, 91.2 ± 5.1, 7.6 ± 4.1, and 1.2 ± 1.3% was spent in sedentary behavior, light PA, and MVPA, respectively. Only pre-stroke PA was independently associated with METs (β = 0.66), sedentary behavior (β = -0.58), light PA (β = 0.50), and MVPA (β = 0.71) after adjusting for age, sex, stroke severity, and activities of daily living. This suggests that pre-stroke PA might play a crucial role in reducing sedentary behavior and promoting PA during the acute phase

Utilisation of Cs-contaminated Fukushima soil as natural pozzolan for embedding into k-alkali activated materials

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Fetal Goitrous Hypothyroidism due to Maternal Thyroid Stimulation-Blocking Antibody: A Case Report

Most fetal goitrous hypothyroidisms are reportedly caused by the maternal use of an antithyroid drug or fetal dyshormonogenesis. However, fetal goitrous hypothyroidism due to the transplacental passage of maternal thyroid stimulation-blocking antibody (TSBAb) is extremely rare. A woman at 28 weeks of gestation was found to have a fetal goiter by ultrasonography. Because the maternal serum showed hypothyroidism with an elevated titer of TSBAb, levothyroxine sodium was administered. The patient delivered a male infant, 3,412 g, with a goiter at term. Umbilical blood revealed primary hypothyroidism with increased TSBAb, and the infant was given levothyroxine sodium. After a month, neonatal thyroid function and TSBAb levels became normal. Attention should be paid to possible fetal hypothyroidism when a fetal goiter is observed to avoid impaired mental development of the neonate.ArticleFETAL DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPY. 28(4):220-224 (2010)journal articl

Secondary motor areas for response inhibition: an epicortical recording and stimulation study

The areas that directly inhibit motor responses in the human brain remain not fully clarified, although the pre-supplementary motor area and lateral premotor areas have been implicated. The objective of the present study was to delineate the critical areas for response inhibition and the associated functional organization of the executive action control system in the frontal lobe. The subjects were eight intractable focal epilepsy patients with chronic subdural or depth electrode implantation for presurgical evaluation covering the frontal lobe (five for left hemisphere, three for right). We recorded event-related potentials to a Go/No-Go task. We then applied a brief 50 Hz electrical stimulation to investigate the effect of the intervention on the task. Brief stimulation was given to the cortical areas generating discrete event-related potentials specific for the No-Go trials (1–3 stimulation sites/patient, a total of 12 stimulation sites). We compared the locations of event-related potentials with the results of electrical cortical stimulation for clinical mapping. We also compared the behavioural changes induced by another brief stimulation with electrical cortical stimulation mapping. As the results, anatomically, No-Go-specific event-related potentials with relatively high amplitude, named ‘large No-Go event-related potentials’, were observed predominantly in the secondary motor areas, made up of the supplementary motor area proper, the pre-supplementary motor area, and the lateral premotor areas. Functionally, large No-Go event-related potentials in the frontal lobe were located at or around the negative motor areas or language-related areas. Brief stimulation prolonged Go reaction time at most stimulation sites (66.7%) [P < 0.0001, effect size (d) = 0.30, Wilcoxon rank sum test], and increased No-Go error at some stimulation sites (25.0%: left posterior middle frontal gyrus and left pre-supplementary motor area). The stimulation sites we adopted for brief stimulation were most frequently labelled ‘negative motor area’ (63.6%), followed by ‘language-related area’ (18.2%) by the electrical cortical stimulation mapping. The stimulation sites where the brief stimulation increased No-Go errors tended to be labelled ‘language-related area’ more frequently than ‘negative motor area’ [P = 0.0833, Fisher’s exact test (two-sided)] and were located more anteriorly than were those without a No-Go error increase. By integrating the methods of different modality, namely, event-related potentials combined with brief stimulation and clinical electrical cortical stimulation mapping, we conducted a novel neuroscientific approach, providing direct evidence that secondary motor areas, especially the pre-supplementary motor area and posterior middle frontal gyrus, play an important role in response inhibition

Effects of periodic robot rehabilitation using the Hybrid Assistive Limb for a year on gait function in chronic stroke patients

Using a robot for gait training in stroke patients has attracted attention for the last several decades. Previous studies reported positive effects of robot rehabilitation on gait function in the short term. However, the long-term effects of robot rehabilitation for stroke patients are still unclear. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the long-term effects of periodic gait training using the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) on gait function in chronic stroke patients. Seven chronic stroke patients performed 8 gait training sessions using the HAL 3 times every few months. The maximal 10-m walk test and the 2-minute walking distance (2MWD) were measured before the first intervention and after the first, second, and third interventions. Gait speed, stride length, and cadence were calculated from the 10-m walk test. Repeated one-way analysis of variance showed a significant main effect on evaluation time of gait speed (F = 7.69, p < 0.01), 2MWD (F = 7.52, p < 0.01), stride length (F = 5.24, p < 0.01), and cadence (F = 8.43, p < 0.01). The effect sizes after the first, second, and third interventions compared to pre-intervention in gait speed (d = 0.39, 0.52, and 0.59) and 2MWD (d = 0.35, 0.46, and 0.57) showed a gradual improvement of gait function at every intervention. The results of the present study showed that gait function of chronic stroke patients improved over a year with periodic gait training using the HAL every few months

Viral delivery of L1CAM promotes axonal extensions by embryonic cerebral grafts in mouse brain

遺伝子治療によるホスト脳の環境最適化が細胞移植効果を高める --ホスト脳へのL1CAMの強制発現によるマウス胎仔脳移植片の軸索伸長促進効果--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-03-24.Combining cell transplantation and gene therapy to enhance axonal outgrowth in the central nervous system. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-04-06.Cell replacement therapy is expected as a new and more radical treatment against brain damage. We previously reported that transplanted human cerebral organoids extend their axons along the corticospinal tract in rodent brains. The axons reached the spinal cord but were still sparse. Therefore, this study optimized the host brain environment by the adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated expression of axon guidance proteins in mouse brain. Among netrin-1, SEMA3, and L1CAM, only L1CAM significantly promoted the axonal extension of mouse embryonic brain tissue-derived grafts. L1CAM was also expressed by donor neurons, and this promotion was exerted in a haptotactic manner by their homophilic binding. Primary cortical neurons cocultured on L1CAM-expressing HEK-293 cells supported this mechanism. These results suggest that optimizing the host environment by the AAV-mediated expression of axon guidance molecules enhances the effect of cell replacement therapy