78 research outputs found
Human intestinal spirochetosis accompanied by human immunodeficiency virus infection:a case report
We present a middle-aged, heterosexual Japanese man with mixed infections including human intestinal spirochetosis, which led us to the detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The patient had syphilis without related physical or neurological findings. An examination for the serum antibody for HIV performed 9 years previously was negative. In a complete medical checkup at the present time, human intestinal spirochetosis and unspecified entamebic cysts were suggested by histological examination of colonic biopsy material and parasitic examination of the intestinal fluid, respectively. Moreover, a serological test for the antibody for HIV was positive. In specimens obtained by colonoscopy, Brachyspira aalborgi was diagnosed by ultrastructural study and the polymerase chain reaction method for bacterial 16S ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid. Although HIV infection remains at low prevalence in Japan, we recommend examination for HIV infection in patients with human intestinal spirochetosis, especially when other co-infections are apparent.</p
Intranasal immunization with an RBD-hemagglutinin fusion protein harnesses preexisting immunity to enhance antigen-specific responses
Kawai A., Tokunoh N., Kawahara E., et al. Intranasal immunization with an RBD-hemagglutinin fusion protein harnesses preexisting immunity to enhance antigen-specific responses. Journal of Clinical Investigation 133, e166827 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI166827.Intranasal vaccines are anticipated to be powerful tools for combating many infectious diseases, including SARS-CoV-2, because they induce not only systemic immunity but also mucosal immunity at the site of initial infection. However, they are generally inefficient in inducing an antigen-specific immune response without adjuvants. Here, we developed an adjuvant-free intranasal vaccine platform that utilizes the preexisting immunity induced by previous infection or vaccination to enhance vaccine effectiveness. We made RBD-HA, a fusion of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of spike derived from SARS-CoV-2 as a vaccine target with HA derived from influenza A virus (IAV) as a carrier protein. Intranasal immunization of previously IAV-infected mice with RBD-HA without an adjuvant elicited robust production of RBD-specific systemic IgG and mucosal IgA by utilizing both HA-specific preexisting IgG and CD4+ T cells. Consequently, the mice were efficiently protected from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Additionally, we demonstrated the high versatility of this intranasal vaccine platform by assessing various vaccine antigens and preexisting immunity associated with a variety of infectious diseases. The results of this study suggest the promising potential of this intranasal vaccine platform to address problems associated with intranasal vaccines
生徒指導で育まれる社会的リテラシーに関する研究 -大学生を対象とした予備調査からー
初等・中等教育は、学習指導の機能と生徒指導の機能を両輪としている。しかしながら、特別活動等を通した生徒指導が「社会的リテラシー」を始めとする資質・能力をいかに育成するのかを検証した数理定量的な研究は多くない。その予備的な考察として、本稿では22 大学の学生1826 名を対象に実施した質問紙調査の分析から、環境としての学級規律が積極的な生徒指導機能を果たしてことを示唆した。具体的には、自己主張に関わる資質・能力に関しては、校内成績の高低によっては学級規律の高低に左右される場合があり、集団の構成員としての自覚に関わる資質・能力に関しては、校内成績の高低に関係なく学級規律の高低に左右されていることを明らかにした
Eddy current analyses for vacuum vessel of CFQS quasi-axisymmetric stellarator
The design activity on the CFQS quasi-axisymmetric stellarator which is conducted as a joint international project is ongoing by National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS) in Japan and Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU) in China. The CFQS magnetic field generating coils consist of sixteen modular coils (MCs) in total with four different types, four poloidal field coils (PFCs), and twelve toroidal field coils (TFCs). In designing fusion devices, eddy currents and electromagnetic (EM) forces on the vacuum vessel (VV) have to be evaluated to verify the mechanical confidence and reliability. In this work, we consider the following three issues, (1) Influence of eddy current induced by external coil current change on the CFQS magnetic confinement, (2) Evaluation of EM force on VV by eddy current under a typical current of the MC and the PFC, and (3) Feasibility check of whether it is possible to heat the CFQS VV by using induction current
Preliminary design and analysis of the CFQS supporting structure
The Chinese First Quasi-axisymmetric Stellarator (CFQS) is now under design and construction. It will be the first quasi-axisymmetric (QA) configuration device to be operated in the world. The main parameters of the CFQS are as follows: the toroidal periodic number Np = 2, major radius R = 1.0 m, aspect ratio Ap = 4.0 and magnetic field strength Bt = 1.0 T. The low Ap makes it quite challenging to design a supporting structure because of the limited space and strong electromagnetic (EM) force. In this paper, a cage-like supporting structure is proposed for the CFQS modular coil (MC) system to sustain the EM force and the weight of entire device. A finite element analysis is carried out for ensuring the reliability of the supporting structure. The analysis results of the CFQS global model indicate that the cage-like supporting structure can basically satisfy the requirement
Configuration characteristics of the Chinese First Quasi-axisymmetric Stellarator
The Chinese First Quasi-axisymmetric Stellarator (CFQS) will be the first operational quasi-axially symmetric stellarator in the world. The physical and engineering complexities led to the cancellation of two famous quasi-axisymmetric stellarators, CHS-qa and NCSX. Therefore, the major mission of the CFQS is to experimentally achieve the canonical quasi-axisymmetric configuration. The CFQS has been designed to possess a number of advanced features in fixed and free-boundary equilibria. It is a compact stellarator with an aspect ratio R/a ∼4.0. The neoclassical diffusion coefficient is similar to that of tokamaks in the collisionless regime. The MHD equilibrium of the CFQS configuration is stable up to volume-averaged normalized pressure β ∼1.1%. A region of the second ballooning stability exists in this facility with a large region of plasma, becoming second stable for β ∼2.7% in free-boundary equilibria. The gap between the first and second stability boundaries is very narrow, which is greatly beneficial for the CFQS operation in the second stable regime with high β plasma. A modular coil system with 16 coils is designed which robustly reproduces the standard quasi-axisymmetric magnetic field
MOA-2020-BLG-135Lb: A New Neptune-class Planet for the Extended MOA-II Exoplanet Microlens Statistical Analysis
We report the light-curve analysis for the event MOA-2020-BLG-135, which
leads to the discovery of a new Neptune-class planet, MOA-2020-BLG-135Lb. With
a derived mass ratio of and separation
, the planet lies exactly at the break and likely peak of the
exoplanet mass-ratio function derived by the MOA collaboration (Suzuki et al.
2016). We estimate the properties of the lens system based on a Galactic model
and considering two different Bayesian priors: one assuming that all stars have
an equal planet-hosting probability and the other that planets are more likely
to orbit more massive stars. With a uniform host mass prior, we predict that
the lens system is likely to be a planet of mass
and a host star of mass
, located at a distance
. With a prior that holds that planet
occurrence scales in proportion to the host star mass, the estimated lens
system properties are ,
, and . This planet qualifies for inclusion in the extended MOA-II
exoplanet microlens sample.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables, submitted to the AAS Journal
KMT-2021-BLG-1077L: The fifth confirmed multiplanetary system detected by microlensing
The high-magnification microlensing event KMT-2021-BLG-1077 exhibits a subtle
and complex anomaly pattern in the region around the peak. We analyze the
lensing light curve of the event with the aim of revealing the nature of the
anomaly. We test various models in combination with several interpretations. We
find that the anomaly cannot be explained by the usual three-body (2L1S and
1L2S) models. The 2L2S model improves the fit compared to the three-body
models, but it still leaves noticeable residuals. On the other hand, the 3L1S
interpretation yields a model explaining all the major anomalous features in
the lensing light curve. According to the 3L1S interpretation, the estimated
mass ratios of the lens companions to the primary are and , which correspond to and
times the Jupiter/Sun mass ratio, respectively, and therefore the
lens is a multiplanetary system containing two giant planets. With the
constraints of the event time-scale and angular Einstein radius, it is found
that the host of the lens system is a low-mass star of mid-to-late M spectral
type with a mass of , and it hosts
two gas giant planets with masses of and . The planets lie beyond
the snow line of the host with projected separations of and . The planetary system resides in the
Galactic bulge at a distance of . The
lens of the event is the fifth confirmed multiplanetary system detected by
microlensing following OGLE-2006-BLG-109L, OGLE-2012-BLG-0026L,
OGLE-2018-BLG-1011L, and OGLE-2019-BLG-0468L.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
KMT-2021-BLG-1150Lb: Microlensing planet detected through a densely covered planetary-caustic signal
Recently, there have been reports of various types of degeneracies in the
interpretation of planetary signals induced by planetary caustics. In this
work, we check whether such degeneracies persist in the case of well-covered
signals by analyzing the lensing event KMT-2021-BLG-1150, for which the light
curve exhibits a densely and continuously covered short-term anomaly. In order
to identify degenerate solutions, we thoroughly investigate the parameter space
by conducting dense grid searches for the lensing parameters. We then check the
severity of the degeneracy among the identified solutions. We identify a pair
of planetary solutions resulting from the well-known inner-outer degeneracy,
and find that interpreting the anomaly is not subject to any degeneracy other
than the inner-outer degeneracy. The measured parameters of the planet
separation (normalized to the Einstein radius) and mass ratio between the lens
components are for the inner
solution and for the outer
solution. According to a Bayesian estimation, the lens is a planetary system
consisting of a planet with a mass
and its host with a mass lying toward
the Galactic center at a distance ~kpc. By
conducting analyses using mock data sets prepared to mimic those obtained with
data gaps and under various observational cadences, it is found that gaps in
data can result in various degenerate solutions, while the observational
cadence does not pose a serious degeneracy problem as long as the anomaly
feature can be delineated.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
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