Magnetism in f electron superlattices

We analyze antiferromagnetism in $f$ electron superlattices. We show that the competition between the Kondo effect and the RKKY interaction in $f$ electron materials is modified by the superlattice structure. Thus, the quantum critical point which separates the magnetic phase and the Fermi liquid phase depends on the structure of the $f$ electron superlattice. The competition between the Kondo effect and the RKKY interaction is also reflected in the magnetic interlayer coupling between different $f$ electron layers. We demonstrate that in the case of weak Kondo effect the magnetic interlayer coupling behaves similar to other magnetic heterostructures without Kondo effect. However, close to the quantum phase transition, the dependence of the interlayer coupling on the distance between the $f$ electron layers is modified by the Kondo effect. Another remarkable effect, which is characteristic for $f$ electron superlattice, is that the magnetic interlayer coupling does vanish stepwise depending on the distance between different $f$ electron layers. As a consequence, the quantum critical point depends also stepwise on this distance

Clinical, radiological, and biochemical characteristics in patients with diseases mimicking polymyalgia rheumatica

To find out clues to differentiate between polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and other diseases that mimic PMR. We studied Japanese patients with PMR (n = 7), pseudogout (n = 1), remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema (RS3PE) syndrome (n = 1), and post-infectious polyarthritis (n = 1). The distribution of inflammation in patients was evaluated using a gallium-67 scintigraphy. We measured serum C-reactive protein (CRP), matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in patients before and after treatment. Further, we compared the clinical course of PMR with that of other diseases that mimic PMR. Patients with pseudogout, RS3PE syndrome, post-infectious polyarthritis manifested similar changes in scintigraphic findings and serum CRP, MMP-3, and VEGF levels to PMR before the treatment. A significant reduction in serum CRP levels at one week after use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is a good clue to differentiate pseudogout and post-infectious polyarthritis from PMR. Chondrocalcinosis in the radiographs of joints is also effective to differentiate pseudogout from PMR. A small reduction of CRP levels after NSAIDs use and promptly ameliorated CRP and symptoms by a low-dose steroid therapy, which was commonly observed in patients with PMR, were also found in a patient with RS3PE syndrome. Pitting edema of the back of hands and gallium uptake in metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints were useful to differentiate RS3PE syndrome from PMR. In conclusion, pseudogout, RS3PE syndrome, post-infectious polyarthritis should be included in the spectrum of diseases mimicking PMR. A promptly decreased serum CRP level by NSAIDs is a good clue to differentiate pseudogout and post-infectious polyarthritis from PMR. Pitting edema of the back of hands and symmetric gallium uptake in MCP joints are characteristic for RS3PE syndrome

Myositis, Vasculitis, Hepatic Dysfunction in Adult-Onset Still's Disease

Although hepatic dysfunction is common in adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD), sometimes it is difficult to differentiate hepatic dysfunction due to AOSD itself from drug-induced hepatic dysfunction. Further, myalgia often occurs in patients with AOSD; however, AOSD patients complicated with myositis are rare. We report a 43-year-old Japanese man with AOSD who developed myositis and hepatic dysfunction which were deteriorated by multiple nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and were dramatically ameliorated by a low-dose steroid therapy. A skin biopsy of salmon pink rash which is characteristic for AOSD showed leukocytoclastic vasculitis, and the markers for vasculitis, plasma von Willebrand factor, and vascular endothelial growth factor levels were elevated in this patient, suggesting an association between AOSD and systemic vasculitis

Antihypertensive effects of astaxanthin

Astaxanthin is a biological antioxidant naturally found in a wide variety of aquatic living organisms, and has shown various pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic activities. A recent study reported that the administration of astaxanthin induced a significant reduction in blood pressure and delayed the incidence of stroke in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats, suggesting that astaxanthin also has antihypertensive effect. In a study using aortic rings of spontaneously hypertensive rats, astaxanthin induced a significant reduction of the contractile responses of the aorta to α-adrenergic receptor agonist and angiotensin II, which may contribute to the antihypertensive effect of astaxanthin. In a histopathological study, astaxanthin decreased coronary artery wall thickness compared with the control, indicating the possibility that astaxanthin ameliorates hypertension-induced vascular remodeling. Astaxanthin has anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, and antioxidative activities; therefore, we should perform further studies to elucidate an antiatherogenic effect of astaxanthin

Single-Center Contemporary Clinical Outcomes after Endovascular Treatment in Patients with De Novo Femoropopliteal Lesions between 2017 and 2019

Background: Drug-coated balloons (DCBs) and drug-eluting stents (DES) were available for treating femoropopliteal disease since 2017 and 2019. However, there are few reports to investigate whether approval of DCB and DES improved primary patency in clinical practice. Materials and Methods: We divided consecutive 407 patients into 2017 (n=93), 2018 (n=128), and 2019 (n=186) groups, undergoing endovascular therapy (EVT) for de novo femoropopliteal lesions in our hospital. We retrospectively compared clinical characteristics, procedure, and one-year patency between the three groups. Results: Baseline characteristics were not different except for the lower rate of popliteal lesions in 2017 (p=0.030). Use of DCB increased from 7.5% in 2017 to 38.7% in 2019, and use of DES from 0.0% in 2018 to 24.2% in 2019. One-year primary patency increased significantly both from 2017 to 2018 (62.7% vs. 70.8%, p=0.036) and from 2018 to 2019 (70.8% vs. 80.5%, p=0.025). Cox proportional multivariate analysis revealed that restenosis was independently associated with advanced age (p=0.036) and hemodialysis (p=0.003). Conversely, use of paclitaxel-based devices (p\u3c0.001) and larger diameter of finalized devices (p=0.005) were protective factors against restenosis. Conclusion: One-year primary patency after EVT in femoropopliteal lesions was improved annually by utilizing DCB and DES, individually

A 90-day Feeding Toxicity Study of l-Serine in Male and Female Fischer 344 Rats

A subchronic feeding study of l-serine (l-Ser) was conducted with groups of 10 male and 10 female Fischer 344 rats fed a powder diet containing 0, 0.06, 0.5, 1.5 or 5.0% concentrations of l-Ser for 90 days. There were no toxicologically significant, treatment-related changes with regards to body weight, food intake, water intake or urinalysis data. In several of the hematology, serum biochemistry and organ weight parameters, significant changes were observed between some of the treated groups and the controls. All these changes, however, were subtle and lacked any corresponding pathological findings. In addition, the increased or decreased values remained within the range of the historical control values. In fact, histopathological assessment revealed only sporadic and/or spontaneous lesions. In conclusion, the no-observed-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL) for l-Ser was, therefore, determined to be at least a dietary dose of 5.0% (2765.0 mg/kg body weight/day for males and 2905.1 mg/kg body weight/day for females) under the present experimental conditions