Determination of the equation of the state of the Universe using ~ 0.1 Hz Gravitational Wave Detectors

We show that ten(one) years operation of the ultimate DECIGO (DECihertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) can determine the cosmic equation of the state with such accuracy that 0.06%(3%), 0.08%(4%) and 0.06%(3%) for $\Omega_m$, $\Omega_w$ and $w$, respectively. In more realistic case of practical DECIGO or BBO (Big Bang Observer), $w$ will be determined within $\sim 10$ by ten years observation assuming the flat universe model. Hence, the DECIGO or BBO will give an independent determination of the cosmic equation of the state.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures; accepted for publication in Prog. Theor. Phy

Deci hertz Laser Interferometer can determine the position of the Coalescing Binary Neutron Stars within an arc minute a week before the final merging event to Black Hole

It may be possible to construct a laser interferometer gravitational wave antenna in space with $h_{rms}\sim 10^{-23}$ at $f\sim 0.1{\rm Hz}$ in $\sim 2020$. This deci hertz antenna may be called DECIGO/BBO,which stand for DECi hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory and Big Bang Observer, respectively. The analysis of 1-10 years observational data of the coalescing binary neutron stars or black holes at the distance of $\sim$ 300Mpc will give us the spatial position within $\sim$ an arc minute and the time of the coalescence within $\sim 0.1$ sec beforehand. With the knowledge of the accurate position and the time of final merging event, the follow up simultaneous observation using high frequency ($f\sim 100{\rm Hz}$) gravitational wave antennae as well as electro-magnetic wave antennae from the radio frequency to the ultra high energy gamma ray will reveal the physics in the enigmatic event of the coalescence and the formation of the black hole.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. Revised version accepted for publication in ApJ

Hepatocyte growth factor gene therapy reduces ventricular arrhythmia in animal models of myocardial ischemia.

It was recently reported that gene therapy using hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has the potential to preserve cardiac function after myocardial ischemia. We speculated that this HGF gene therapy could also prevent ventricular arrhythmia. To investigate this possibility, we examined the antiarrhythmic effect of HGF gene therapy in rat acute and old myocardial infarction models. Myocardial ischemia was induced by ligation of the left descending coronary artery. Hemagglutinating virus of Japan (HVJ)-coated liposome containing HGF genes were injected directly into the myocardium fourteen days before programmed pacing. Ventricular fibrillation (VF)was induced by programmed pacing. The VF duration was reduced and the VF threshold increased after HGF gene therapy ( p&#60; 0.01). Histological analyses revealed that the number of vessels in the ischemic border zone was greatly increased after HGF gene injection. These findings revealed that HGF gene therapy has an anti-arrhythmic effect after myocardial ischemia.</p

遠心性運動および求心性運動が腱に及ぼす影響

取得学位 : 博士（医学）, 学位授与番号 : 医博甲第1594号, 学位授与年月日 : 平成15年6月30日, 学位授与大学 : 金沢大

Integral Effects of Systemic Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibition on Carotid Arterial Compliance

Decreased arterial compliance (increased arterial stiffness) is associated with cardiovascular events. Nitric oxide regulates vascular tone, which can influence arterial compliance. We previously investigated the effects of systemic nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibition on arterial compliance under the systemic α-adrenergic receptor blocking. In the present study, we investigated the effect of systemic NOS inhibition alone on central arterial compliance (via carotid arterial ultrasound imaging and applanation tonometry). Eighteen apparently healthy young adults (26±1 years) underwent intravenous infusions of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) or placebo (saline) on separate days. In the placebo control condition, no significant changes were observed in mean arterial pressure, cross-sectional compliance, and β-stiffness index. Mean arterial pressure increased significantly (84±2 vs. 96±3 mmHg) after the administration of L-NMMA, whereas there were no significant changes in cross-sectional compliance (0.11±0.01 vs. 0.12±0.01 mm2/mmHg), β-stiffness index (6.44±0.37 vs. 5.51±0.41 unit), or isobaric arterial compliance. Theses results in young healthy adults are not consistent with the idea that carotid arterial compliance is modulated by nitric oxide. Grant Support: This work was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (18300215, 18650186), JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research Abroad, and NIH grant AG20966

Culture Conditions for Maintain Propagation, Long-term Survival and Germline Transmission of Chicken Primordial Germ Cell-Like Cells

Transplantation of primordial germ cells (PGCs), which are the progenitor cells of gametes, is a powerful tool for generation of transgenic chickens. However, the frequencies of transgene integration into the genome of purified PGCs still remain low. An in vitro culture system enabling chicken PGCs to propagate efficiently would be useful for efficient transgenesis of PGCs. In the present study, we optimized the culture conditions for chicken PGCs to enhance the proliferation and evaluated the germline transmission of cultured PGCs that proliferated for long periods of time. PGC-like cells (PGC-LCs), that have remarkably similar morphological characteristics to intact PGCs, could be derived by cultivation of blood containing PGCs obtained from 2.5-day-old chicken embryos according to the protocol of van de Lavoir et al. (2006). We determined which feeder cells and which growth factors were required to improve proliferation of PGC-LCs. Male PGC-LCs survival and proliferation were enhanced during culture in the basic medium containing either basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) alone or both bFGF and stem cell factor (SCF) on a feeder of buffalo rat liver (BRL) cells. Male PGC-LCs could be propagated in defined culture condition for extended periods. These cells expressed the germline-specific protein Vasa and undifferentiated cell marker stage-specific embryonic antigen-1 (SSEA-1) and pluripotency genes Nanog and PouV. Furthermore, Male PGC-LCs cultured for 225 d could migrate toward and colonize within recipient gonads and transmit to the next generation following transplantation. We succeeded in produce 3 offspring originating from long-term cultured PGC-LCs from a germline chimeric rooster (6%). The present study represents valuable steps toward defining a culture condition enabling PGC-LCs to propagate efficiently for long periods in vitro with maintenance of their commitment to the germline.ArticleJOURNAL OF POULTRY SCIENCE. 51(1):87-95 (2014)journal articl

IL-7 promotes long-term in vitro survival of unique long-lived memory subset generated from mucosal effector memory CD4(+) T cells in chronic colitis mice

Colitogenic memory CD4(+) T cells are important in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Although memory stem cells with high survival and self-renewal capacity were recently identified in both mice and humans, it is unclear whether a similar subset is present in chronic colitis mice. We sought to identify and purify a long-lived subset of colitogenic memory CD4(+) T cells, which may be targets for treatment of IBD. A long-lived subset of colitogenic memory CD4(+) T cells was purified using a long-term culture system. The characteristics of these cells were assessed. Interleukin (IL)-7 promoted the in vitro survival for >8 weeks of lamina propria (LP) CD4(+) T cells from colitic SOD mice previously injected with CD4(+)CD45RB(high) T cells. These cells were in a quiescent state and divided a maximum of 5 times in 4 weeks. LP CD4(+) T cells expressed higher levels of Bcl-2, integrin-alpha 4 beta 7, CXCR3 and CD25 after than before culture, as well as secreting high concentrations of IL-2 and low concentrations of IFN-gamma and IL-17 in response to intestinal bacterial antigens. LP CD4(+) T cells from colitic mice cultured with IL-7 for 8 weeks induced more severe colitis than LP CD4(+) T cells cultured for 4 weeks. We developed a novel culture system to purify a long-lived, highly pathogenic memory subset from activated LP CD4(+) T cells. IL-7 promoted long-term in vitro survival of this subset in a quiescent state. This subset will be a novel, effective target for the treatment of IBD