63 research outputs found

    Comparison of signal processing methods for the utilization of insect antenna as odor sensor

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    The 11th International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines. Kobe University, Japan. 2023-06-06/09. Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines Organizing Committee.Poster Session P5

    C-11 methionine positron emission tomographyによる初発神経膠腫および放射線壊死に関する検討

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    学位の種別: 課程博士審査委員会委員 : (主査)東京大学教授 岩坪 威, 東京大学教授 渡邉 聡明, 東京大学准教授 國松 聡, 東京大学准教授 清水 潤, 東京大学准教授 中川 恵一University of Tokyo(東京大学

    Field resilient superconductivity in atomic layer crystalline materials

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    The recent study [S. Yoshizawa et al., Nature Communications 12, 1 (2021)] reported the field resilient superconductivity, that is, the enhancement of an in-plane critical magnetic field Hc2H^{||}_{\rm c2} exceeding the paramagnetic limiting field in an atomic layer crystalline (7×3\sqrt{7}\times\sqrt{3})-In on a Si(111) substrate. The present article elucidates the origin of the observed field resilient noncentrosymmetric superconductivity in the highly crystalline two dimensional material. We developed the quasiclassical theory by incorporating the Fermi surface anisotropy together with an anisotropic spin splitting specific to atomic layer crystalline systems. The enhancement of the rescaled Hc2H^{||}_{\rm c2} by the critical temperature at zero field occurs not only due to the disorder effect but also to an anisotropic non-ideal Rashba spin texture depending on the field direction. We also study the parity mixing effect to show the enhancement of Hc2H^{||}_{\rm c2} is limited in the moderately clean regime because of the fragile ss-wave pairing against nonmagnetic scattering in the case of the dominant odd parity component of a pair wavefunction. Furthermore, from the analysis of the transition line, we identify the field resilience factor taking account of the scattering and suppression of paramagnetic effects and discuss the origin of the field resilient superconductivity. Through the fitting of the Hc2H^{||}_{\rm c2} data, the normal state electron scattering is discussed, mainly focusing on the role of atomic steps on a Si(111) surface.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

    Identification of the matricellular protein Fibulin-5 as a target molecule of glucokinase-mediated calcineurin/NFAT signaling in pancreatic islets

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    Glucokinase-mediated glucose signaling induces insulin secretion, proliferation, and apoptosis in pancreatic β-cells. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying these processes are not clearly understood. Here, we demonstrated that glucokinase activation using a glucokinase activator (GKA) significantly upregulated the expression of Fibulin-5 (Fbln5), a matricellular protein involved in matrix-cell signaling, in isolated mouse islets. The islet Fbln5 expression was induced by ambient glucose in a time- and dose-dependent manner and further enhanced by high-fat diet or the deletion of insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS-2), whereas the GKA-induced increase in Fbln5 expression was diminished in Irs-2-deficient islets. GKA-induced Fbln5 upregulation in the islets was blunted by a glucokinase inhibitor, KATP channel opener, Ca2+ channel blocker and calcineurin inhibitor, while it was augmented by harmine, a dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase (DYRK) 1 A inhibitor. Although deletion of Fbln5 in mice had no significant effects on the glucose tolerance or β-cell functions, adenovirus-mediated Fbln5 overexpression increased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in INS-1 rat insulinoma cells. Since the islet Fbln5 expression is regulated through a glucokinase/KATP channel/calcineurin/nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) pathway crucial for the maintenance of β-cell functions, further investigation of Fbln5 functions in the islets is warranted

    Case Report Usefulness of Infrared Thermal Imaging Camera for Screening of Postoperative Surgical Site Infection after the Nuss Procedure

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    Introduction and Objective. The Nuss procedure is widely used in the treatment of pectus excavatum worldwide. Postoperative pectus bar infection is one of the most serious complications associated with this procedure. Therefore, early detection of signs of implant infection is very important. However, this is difficult, and effective methods have yet to be established. Methods. We use a handheld infrared thermal imaging camera to screen patients for postoperative infection following the Nuss procedure. Here, we report a 28-year-old man with recurrent postoperative (Ravitch procedure) pectus excavatum. Results. Infrared thermography camera clearly indicated slight cellulitis in the right chest. Conclusion. Our technique may assist in preventing postoperative bar infection and removal caused by severe bar infection. Furthermore, this camera is potentially suitable for many situations in infection monitoring following subcutaneous implant surgery

    A critical role for dendritic cells in the evolution of IL-1beta-mediated murine airway disease.

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    peer reviewedChronic airway inflammation and fibrosis, known as airway remodeling, are defining features of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and are refractory to current treatments. How and whether chronic inflammation contributes to airway fibrosis remain controversial. In this study, we use a model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease airway disease utilizing adenoviral delivery of IL-1beta to determine that adaptive T cell immunity is required for airway remodeling because mice deficient in alpha/beta T cells (tcra(-/-)) are protected. Dendritic cells (DCs) accumulate around chronic obstructive pulmonary disease airways and are critical to prime adaptive immunity, but they have not been shown to directly influence airway remodeling. We show that DC depletion or deficiency in the crucial DC chemokine receptor ccr6 both protect from adenoviral IL-1beta-induced airway adaptive T cell immune responses and fibrosis in mice. These results provide evidence that chronic airway inflammation, mediated by accumulation of alpha/beta T cells and driven by DCs, is critical to airway fibrosis

    Role of IL-17A in murine models of COPD airway disease.

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    peer reviewedSmall airway fibrosis is a major pathological feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is refractory to current treatments. Chronic inflammatory cells accumulate around small airways in COPD and are thought to play a major role in small airway fibrosis. Mice deficient in alpha/beta T cells have recently been shown to be protected from both experimental airway inflammation and fibrosis. In these models, CD4+Th17 cells and secretion of IL-17A are increased. However, a pathogenic role for IL-17 in specifically mediating fibrosis around airways has not been demonstrated. Here a role for IL-17A in airway fibrosis was demonstrated using mice deficient in the IL-17 receptor A (il17ra) Il17ra-deficient mice were protected from both airway inflammation and fibrosis in two different models of airway fibrosis that employ COPD-relevant stimuli. In these models, CD4+ Th17 are a major source of IL-17A with other expressing cell types including gammadelta T cells, type 3 innate lymphoid cells, polymorphonuclear cells, and CD8+ T cells. Antibody neutralization of IL-17RA or IL-17A confirmed that IL-17A was the relevant pathogenic IL-17 isoform and IL-17RA was the relevant receptor in airway inflammation and fibrosis. These results demonstrate that the IL-17A/IL-17 RA axis is crucial to murine airway fibrosis. These findings suggest that IL-17 might be targeted to prevent the progression of airway fibrosis in COPD

    Seed-specific expression of truncated OsGAD2 produces GABA-enriched rice grains that influence a decrease in blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats

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    Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a four-carbon amino acid that is commonly present in living organisms and functions as a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in mammals. It is understood to have a potentially anti-hypertensive effect in mammals. GABA is synthesized from glutamate by glutamate decarboxylase (GAD). In plants, GAD is regulated via its calmodulin-binding domain (CaMBD) by Ca2+/CaM. We have previously reported that a C-terminal truncated version of one of the five rice GAD isoforms, GAD2ΔC, revealed higher enzymatic activity in vitro and that its over-expression resulted in exceptionally high GABA accumulation (Akama and Takaiwa, J Exp Bot 58:2699–2607, 2007). In this study, GAD2ΔC, under the control of the rice glutelin promoter (GluB-1), was introduced into rice cells via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation to produce transgenic rice lines. Analysis of the free amino acid content of rice grains revealed up to about a 30-fold higher level of GABA than in non-transformed rice grains. There were also very high levels of various free protein amino acids in the seeds. GABA-enriched rice grains were milled to a fine powder for oral administration to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKYs). Six weeks of administration showed that transgenic rice brings about a 20 mmHg decrease in blood pressure in two different kinds of SHRs, while there was no significant hypotensive effect in WKYs. These results suggest an alternative way to control and/or cure hypertension in humans with GABA-enriched rice as part of a common daily diet
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