Citizen science "Thundercloud Project" -- multi-point radiation measurements of gamma-ray glows from accelerated electrons in thunderstorms

38th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2023), 26 July - 3 August, 2023, Nagoya, JapanIt has been a long-standing question whether cosmic rays promote the triggering of lightning and how cosmic-ray air showers interact with the electric field of thunderclouds. The strong electric field in the thunderclouds accelerates electrons to the relativistic regime, of which seed electrons are thought to be supplied from cosmic-ray air shower. Such relativistic electrons emit bremsstrahlung photons in gamma rays, which have been detected by on-ground measurements called gamma-ray glows. Low-altitude winter thunderstorm in Japan provides an ideal environment for observations of gamma-ray glows. We newly launched the citizen science ``Thundercloud Project" to construct a multi-point radiation mapping campaign for glows from winter thunderstorms around Kanazawa, Japan. We developed a new handy radiation monitor and shipped about 60 detectors to citizen supporters. The radiation data are stored in the microSD cards in the detectors, and a part of them is remotely sent to the web server so that researchers and supporters can watch the real-time data. In addition, an automatic alert is sent to public Twitter from the server when a glow is detected. The purpose of this project is (1) to characterize the methodological condition of electron acceleration, (2) to investigate whether accelerated relativistic electrons can enhance the chance of the initiation of lightning discharges, and (3) to find a new way of the citizen science to join in the cutting edge science in the physics field. Here we report this growing citizen science project and examples of successful gamma-ray glow observations. Our first scientific result from this citizen science project was published in Tsurumi et al., GRL 2023, where we reported lightning discharges started in or near the electron acceleration site of a gamma-ray glow

Carriers of HLA-DRB1*04:05 have a better clinical response to abatacept in rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract HLA-DRB1 shared epitope risk alleles are the strongest genetic risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and potential biomarkers for treatment response to biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs). This study aimed to investigate the association between treatment response and individual HLA-DRB1 alleles in RA patients receiving different bDMARDs. We recruited 106 patients with active RA who had started abatacept, tocilizumab, or TNF inhibitors as a first-line bDMARDs. We examined the relationship between Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI) improvement at 3 months and HLA-DRB1 allele carriage. The results revealed that the HLA-DRB1*04:05 allele, a shared-epitope allele, was significantly associated with better SDAI improvement only after abatacept treatment (SDAI improvement 28.5% without the allele vs 59.8% with allele, p = 0.003). However, no significant association was found with other treatments. Both multivariate linear regression and mediation analysis confirmed that the HLA-DRB1*04:05 allele was independently associated with abatacept treatment response, regardless of anti-CCP antibody titers. The study concluded that in patients with RA receiving their first-line bDMARD treatment, carrying the HLA-DRB1*04:05 allele was associated with better SDAI improvement specifically in abatacept-treated patients. These disease-risk HLA alleles have the potential to serve as genomic biomarkers for predicting treatment response with co-stimulation blockage therapy

Early administration of dapagliflozin preserves pancreatic β‐cell mass through a legacy effect in a mouse model of type 2 diabetes

Abstract Aims/Introduction The preservation of pancreatic β‐cell mass is an essential factor in the onset and development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Recently, sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors have been launched as antihyperglycemic agents, and their organ‐protective effects are attracting attention. They are also reported to have favorable effects on the preservation of pancreatic β‐cell mass, but the appropriate timing for the administration of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors is obscure. Materials and Methods In the present study, we administered a sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor, dapagliflozin, to an animal model of type 2 diabetes mellitus, db/db mice, and investigated the adequate timing and duration for its administration. We also carried out microarray analysis using pancreatic islets from db/db mice. Results We found that dapagliflozin preserved pancreatic β‐cell mass depending on the duration of administration and markedly improved blood glucose levels. If the duration was the same, the earlier administration of dapagliflozin was more effective in preserving pancreatic β‐cell mass, increasing serum insulin levels and improving blood glucose levels. From microarray analysis, we discovered that the expression of Agr2, Tff2 and Gkn3 was significantly upregulated after the early administration of dapagliflozin. This upregulated gene expression might provide a legacy effect for the preservation of pancreatic β‐cell mass. Conclusions We expect that the early administration of dapagliflozin would provide a long‐lasting effect in preserving pancreatic β‐cell mass

The impact of outpatient chemotherapy-related adverse events on the quality of life of breast cancer patients.

The objective of our study was to clarify the impact of adverse events associated with the initial course of outpatient chemotherapy on the quality of life of breast cancer patients. We conducted a survey to assess the quality of life in 48 breast cancer patients before and after receiving their first course of outpatient chemotherapy at Gifu Municipal Hospital. Patients completed the European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions and Quality of Life Questionnaire for Cancer Patients Treated with Anticancer Drugs before and after 1 course of outpatient chemotherapy. European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions utility value and Quality of Life Questionnaire for Cancer Patients Treated with Anticancer Drugs total score decreased significantly after chemotherapy (p<0.001 and p = 0.018, respectively). The mean scores for the activity, physical condition, and psychological condition subscales of the Quality of Life Questionnaire for Cancer Patients Treated with Anticancer Drugs decreased significantly after chemotherapy (p = 0.003, p<0.001, and p = 0.032, respectively), whereas the social relationships score increased significantly (p<0.001). Furthermore, in the evaluation of quality of life according to individual adverse events, the decrease in quality of life after chemotherapy in terms of the European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions utility value and the Quality of Life Questionnaire for Cancer Patients Treated with Anticancer Drugs total score was greater in anorexic patients than in non-anorexic patients (p = 0.009 and p<0.001, respectively). This suggests that anorexia greatly reduces quality of life. Our findings reveal that anticancer drug-related adverse events, particularly anorexia, reduce overall quality of life following the first course of outpatient chemotherapy in current breast cancer patients. These findings are extremely useful and important in understanding the impact of anticancer drug-related adverse events on quality of life

Interleukin-10-producing LAG3+ regulatory T cells are associated with disease activity and abatacept treatment in rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract Background Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a role in the suppression of inflammation in autoimmune diseases, and lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG3) was reported as a marker of interleukin (IL)-10-producing Tregs. We aimed to clarify the function of human IL-10-producing CD4+CD25−LAG3+ T cells (LAG3+ Tregs) and their association with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods LAG3+ Tregs of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were cultured with B cells and follicular helper T cells to examine antibody suppression effects. The frequency of LAG3+ Tregs was evaluated in peripheral blood samples from 101 healthy donors and 85 patients with RA. In patients treated with abatacept, PBMC samples were analyzed before and after treatment. Naive CD4+ T cells were sorted and cultured in the presence of abatacept, followed by flow cytometric analysis and function assays. Results LAG3+ Tregs produced high amounts of IL-10 and interferon-γ, and they suppressed B-cell antibody production more strongly than CD25+ Tregs. Cell-to-cell contact was required for the suppressive function of LAG3+ Tregs. The frequency of LAG3+ Tregs was lower in patients with RA, especially those with higher Clinical Disease Activity Index scores. LAG3+ Tregs significantly increased after 6 months of abatacept treatment, whereas CD25+ Tregs generally decreased. Abatacept treatment in vitro conferred LAG3 and EGR2 expression on naive CD4+ T cells, and abatacept-treated CD4+ T cells exhibited suppressive activity. Conclusions IL-10-producing LAG3+ Tregs are associated with the immunopathology and therapeutic response in RA. LAG3+ Tregs may participate in a mechanism for the anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating effects of targeted therapy for costimulation

Survey on chest CT findings in COVID-19 patients in Okinawa, Japan: differences between the delta and omicron variants

Abstract To investigate the frequency of pneumonia and chest computed tomography (CT) findings in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the fifth Delta variant-predominant and sixth Omicron variant-predominant waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Okinawa, Japan. A survey on chest CT examinations for patients with COVID-19 was conducted byhospitals with board-certified radiologists who provided treatment for COVID-19 pneumonia in Okinawa Prefecture. Data from 11 facilities were investigated. Indications for chest CT; number of COVID-19 patients undergoing chest CT; number of patients with late-onset pneumonia, tracheal intubation, and number of deaths; and COVID-19 Reporting and Data System classifications of initial chest CT scans were compared by the chi-squared test between the two pandemic waves (Delta vs. Omicron variants). A total of 1944 CT scans were performed during the fifth wave, and 1178 were performed during the sixth wave. CT implementation rates, which were the number of patients with COVID-19 undergoing CT examinations divided by the total number of COVID-19 cases in Okinawa Prefecture during the waves, were 7.1% for the fifth wave and 2.1% for the sixth wave. The rates of tracheal intubation and mortality were higher in the fifth wave. Differences between the distributions of the CO-RADS classifications were statistically significant for the fifth and sixth waves (p < 0.0001). In the fifth wave, CO-RADS 5 (typical of COVID-19) was most common (65%); in the sixth wave, CO-RADS 1 (no findings of pneumonia) was most common (50%). The finding of “typical for other infection but not COVID-19” was more frequent in the sixth than in the fifth wave (13.6% vs. 1.9%, respectively). The frequencies of pneumonia and typical CT findings were higher in the fifth Delta variant-predominant wave, and nontypical CT findings were more frequent in the sixth Omicron variant-predominant wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Okinawa, Japan