Combined Spectral and Timing Analysis of the Black Hole Candidate MAXI J1659-152 Discovered by MAXI and Swift

We report on X-ray spectral and timing results of the new black hole candidate (BHC) MAXI J1659-152 with the orbital period of 2.41 hours (shortest among BHCs) in the 2010 outburst from 65 Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) observations and 8 simultaneous Swift and RXTE observations. According to the definitions of the spectral states in Remillard & McClintock (2006), most of the observations have been classified into the intermediate state. All the X-ray broadband spectra can be modeled by a multi-color disk plus a power-law with an exponential cutoff or a multi-color disk plus a Comptonization component. During the initial phase of the outburst, a high energy cutoff was visible at 30-40 keV. The innermost radius of the disk gradually decreased by a factor of more than 3 from the onset of the outburst and reached a constant value of 35 d_10 cos i^-1/2 km, where d_10 is the distance in units of 10 kpc and $i$ is the inclination. The type-C quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) frequency varied from 1.6 Hz to 7.3 Hz in association with a change of the innermost radius, while the innermost radius remained constant during the type-B QPO detections at 1.6-4.1 Hz. Hence, we suggest that the origin of the type-B QPOs is different from that of type-C QPOs, the latter of which would originate from the disk truncation radius. Assuming the constant innermost radius in the latter phase of the outburst as the innermost stable circular orbit, the black hole mass in MAXI J1659-152 is estimated to be 3.6-8.0 M_solar for a distance of 5.3-8.6 kpc and an inclination angle of 60-75 degrees.Comment: 27 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

Spectral Evolutions in Gamma-Ray Burst Exponential Decays Observed with Suzaku WAM

This paper presents a study on the spectral evolution of gamma-ray burst (GRB) prompt emissions observed with the Suzaku Wide-band All-sky Monitor (WAM). By making use of the WAM data archive, 6 bright GRBs exhibiting 7 well-separated fast-rise-exponential-decay (FRED) shaped light curves are presented and the evaluated exponential decay time constants of the energy-resolved light curves from these FRED peak light curves are shown to indicate significant spectral evolution. The energy dependence of the time constants is well described with a power-law function tau(E) ~ E^gamma, where gamma ~ -(0.34 +/- 0.12) in average, although 5 FRED peaks show consistent value of gamma = -1/2 which is expected in synchrotron or inverse-Compton cooling models. In particular, 2 of the GRBs were located with accuracy sufficient to evaluate the time-resolved spectra with precise energy response matrices. Their behavior in spectral evolution suggests two different origins of emissions. In the case of GRB081224, the derived 1-s time-resolved spectra are well described by a blackbody radiation model with a power-law component. The derived behavior of cooling is consistent with that expected from radiative cooling or expansion of the emission region. On the other hand, the other 1-s time-resolved spectra from GRB100707A is well described by a Band GRB model as well as with the thermal model. Although relative poor statistics prevent us to conclude, the energy dependence in decaying light curve is consistent with that expected in the former emission mechanism model.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables. PASJ accepte

Disappearance of lung adenocarcinoma after total en bloc spondylectomy using frozen tumor-bearing vertebra for reconstruction

Purpose: Total en bloc spondylectomy (TES) is a surgical procedure performed to achieve complete resection of an aggressive benign spinal tumor or a malignant spinal tumor. When reconstructing the spine after resection, we have been using liquid nitrogen-frozen resected spine bearing tumor as a bone graft, expecting an immunological response to tumor-specific antigen(s). The purpose of this article is to report a successful treatment case of lung adenocarcinoma metastasis with TES and this cryotherapy. Methods: A 59-year-old male presented with rapid progression of neurological deterioration of the lower limbs due to a spinal metastasis from T8 to T10. The primary lung adenocarcinoma had already been excised under thoracoscopy. The patient underwent TES with reconstruction using frozen tumor-bearing vertebra for the bone graft. Results: One month after surgery, a new nodule appeared at the right middle lobe of the lung. However, we carried out no biopsy of the newly emerged nodule and the patient received no adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Six months after surgery, the tumor vanished. No local recurrence or metastasis of the tumor has been observed until now. Conclusions: TES with a liquid nitrogen-frozen tumor specimen could be a promising therapeutic option for cancer patients with spine metastasis. © 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin HeidelbergEmbargo Period 12 month

Acupuncture Regulates Leukocyte Subpopulations in Human Peripheral Blood

Acupuncture has recently been attracting more and more people throughout the world as an alternative treatment, however little is known about its physiological activities (i.e. immune system). We examined acupuncture both quantitatively and qualitatively by measuring CD-positive cell counts and cytokine expression levels in the blood, to determine the activity of T cells, B cells, macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells. Fifteen milliliters of peripheral blood obtained from 17 healthy volunteers aged 21–51 years, were analyzed using flow cytometry before and after acupuncture treatment. There was a statistically significant increase in the number of CD2+, CD4+, CD8+, CD11b+, CD16+, CD19+, CD56+ cells as well as IL-4, IL-1β and IFN-γ levels in the cells after acupuncture stimulation of meridian points. These observations indicate that acupuncture may regulate the immune system and promote the activities of humoral and cellular immunity as well as NK cell activity. In this article, we discussed how acupuncture regulated leukocyte numbers and functions since they are considered to be potential indicators for evaluating complementary and alternative medicine

Neutrophil S100A9 supports M2 macrophage niche formation in granulomas

慢性炎症「肉芽腫」における好中球の新しい炎症制御系の解明 --M2マクロファージの新たな誘導メカニズム解明--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-02-17.In search of inflammatory Achilles heel. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-03-10.Mycobacterium infection gives rise to granulomas predominantly composed of inflammatory M1-like macrophages, with bacteria-permissive M2 macrophages also detected in deep granulomas. Our histological analysis of Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin-elicited granulomas in guinea pigs revealed that S100A9-expressing neutrophils bordered a unique M2 niche within the inner circle of concentrically multilayered granulomas. We evaluated the effect of S100A9 on macrophage M2 polarization based on guinea pig studies. S100A9-deficient mouse neutrophils abrogated M2 polarization, which was critically dependent on COX-2 signaling in neutrophils. Mechanistic evidence suggested that nuclear S100A9 interacts with C/EBPβ, which cooperatively activates the Cox-2 promoter and amplifies prostaglandin E2 production, followed by M2 polarization in proximal macrophages. Because the M2 populations in guinea pig granulomas were abolished via treatment with celecoxib, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, we propose the S100A9/Cox-2 axis as a major pathway driving M2 niche formation in granulomas

Spectral Properties of Prompt Emission of Four Short Gamma-Ray Bursts Observed by the Suzaku-WAM and the Konus-Wind

We have performed a joint analysis of prompt emission from four bright short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with the Suzaku-WAM and the Konus-Wind experiments. This joint analysis allows us to investigate the spectral properties of short-duration bursts over a wider energy band with a higher accuracy. We find that these bursts have a high E$_{\rm peak}$, around 1 MeV and have a harder power-law component than that of long GRBs. However, we can not determine whether these spectra follow the cut-off power-law model or the Band model. We also investigated the spectral lag, hardness ratio, inferred isotropic radiation energy and existence of a soft emission hump, in order to classify them into short or long GRBs using several criteria, in addition to the burst duration. We find that all criteria, except for the existence of the soft hump, support the fact that our four GRB samples are correctly classified as belonging to the short class. In addition, our broad-band analysis revealed that there is no evidence of GRBs with a very large hardness ratio, as seen in the BATSE short GRB sample, and that the spectral lag of our four short GRBs is consistent with zero, even in the MeV energy band, unlike long GRBs. Although our short GRB samples are still limited, these results suggest that the spectral hardness of short GRBs might not differ significantly from that of long GRBs, and also that the spectral lag at high energies could be a strong criterion for burst classification.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, accepted for Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japa

Reviewing E(sub peak) Relations with Swift and Suzaku Data

In recent years several authors have derived correlations between gamma-ray burst (GRB) spectral peak energy (E(sub peak)) and either isotropic-equivalent radiated energy (E(sub iso)) or peak luminosity (L(sub iso)). Since these relationships are controversial, but could provide redshift estimators, it is important to determine whether bursts detected by Swift exhibit the same correlations. Swift has greatly added to the number of GRBs for which redshifts are known and hence E(sub iso) and L(sub iso) could be calculated. However, for most bursts it is not possible to adequately constrain E(sub peak) with Swift data alone since most GRBs have E(sub peak) above the energy range (15-50 keV) of the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT). Therefore we have analyzed the spectra of 78 bursts (31 with redshift) which were detected by both Swift/BAT and the Suzaku Wide-band All-sky Monitor (WAM), which covers the energy range 50-5000 keV. For most bursts in this sample we can precisely determine E(sub peak) and for bursts with known redshift we can compare how the E(sub peak) relations for the Swift/Suzaku sample compare to earlier published results. Keywords: gamma rays: burst