Fracture behavior of multiple adhesive postinstalled anchors subjected to shear force

In this study, experiments were conducted on post-installed anchors subjected to shear force  in order to enhance applicability when post-installed anchors were used for seismic reinforcement. Furthermore, since there were a large number of post-installed anchors when they were actually used, an experiment was conducted in which aăshear force was simultaneously applied to one to four anchors. In this study, it was focused on number and pitch of anchors. Major findings of this study were summarized as follows: in case of 22.46 (N/mm2) for concrete compressive strength, shear strength of anchors was not double, triple, and quadruple as number of those increased to 2, 3, and 4, and that gradually decreased as number of those increased, the boundary condition between anchor shear rupture and pry-out failure was found that concrete compressive strength was 25.12 (N/mm2) or less and anchor pitch was 30 to 50 mm, and anchor was tensile strength over SD390

Wireless optogenetics protects against obesity via stimulation of non-canonical fat thermogenesis.

Cold stimuli and the subsequent activation of β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) potently stimulate adipose tissue thermogenesis and increase whole-body energy expenditure. However, systemic activation of the β3-AR pathway inevitably increases blood pressure, a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and, thus, limits its application for the treatment of obesity. To activate fat thermogenesis under tight spatiotemporal control without external stimuli, here, we report an implantable wireless optogenetic device that bypasses the β-AR pathway and triggers Ca2+ cycling selectively in adipocytes. The wireless optogenetics stimulation in the subcutaneous adipose tissue potently activates Ca2+ cycling fat thermogenesis and increases whole-body energy expenditure without cold stimuli. Significantly, the light-induced fat thermogenesis was sufficient to protect mice from diet-induced body-weight gain. The present study provides the first proof-of-concept that fat-specific cold mimetics via activating non-canonical thermogenesis protect against obesity

Novel Molecular Mechanisms of Gangliosides in the Nervous System Elucidated by Genetic Engineering

Acidic glycosphingolipids, i.e., gangliosides, are predominantly and consistently expressed in nervous tissues of vertebrates at high levels. Therefore, they are considered to be involved in the development and function of nervous systems. Recent studies involving genetic engineering of glycosyltransferase genes have revealed novel aspects of the roles of gangliosides in the regulation of nervous tissues. In this review, novel findings regarding ganglioside functions and their modes of action elucidated mainly by studies of gene knockout mice are summarized. In particular, the roles of gangliosides in the regulation of lipid rafts to maintain the integrity of nervous systems are reported with a focus on the roles in the regulation of neuro-inflammation and neurodegeneration via complement systems. In addition, recent advances in studies of congenital neurological disorders due to genetic mutations of ganglioside synthase genes and also in the techniques for the analysis of ganglioside functions are introduced

グラス ファイバー デ ホキョウ サレタ コウキョウド コンポジット レジン オ モチイタ 3 ユニット ブリッジ チリョウ ニツイテ

Mechanical strength to withstand occlusal force is required to the crown restorations of molars. Ag-Pd-Au alloy has been used as the acceptable material of the National Health Insurance system in Japan. However, the metallic color of prosthesis does not meet the aesthetic requirements of the patients, and there is also a problem to the provider side of the treatment that the price fluctuation is large by soaring material costs. A fiber reinforced metal-less bridge is proposed to resolve these problems and we began clinical application of this prosthetic treatment from September, 2012 on the approval of Tokushima University Hospital ethics committee. So far, six patients have been treated with 8 fiber reinforced bridges, and this treatment in Tokushima University Hospital was approved in Shikoku Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare as the advanced medical. We have followed the treatment for a maximum of more than two years, and it has been passed successfully with patient's satisfaction. Slightly problems which were caused in the hybrid resin material, could be easily solved by the direct procedures. This clinical results in short term suggested that the fiber reinforced metalless bridge have a sufficiently high therapeutic effect as a prosthetic method

NMR Characterization of the Interaction of the Endonuclease Domain of MutL with Divalent Metal Ions and ATP

Mizushima R, Kim JY, Suetake I, Tanaka H, Takai T, et al. (2014) NMR Characterization of the Interaction of the Endonuclease Domain of MutL withDivalent Metal Ions and ATP. PLoS ONE 9(6): e98554. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.009855

NMR Characterization of the Interaction of the Endonuclease Domain of MutL with Divalent Metal Ions and ATP

Mizushima R, Kim JY, Suetake I, Tanaka H, Takai T, et al. (2014) NMR Characterization of the Interaction of the Endonuclease Domain of MutL withDivalent Metal Ions and ATP. PLoS ONE 9(6): e98554. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.009855

Development of early neutropenic fever, with or without bacterial infection, is still a significant complication after reduced-intensity stem cell transplantation

AbstractLittle information is available on the clinical characteristics of infectious complications that occur in the early period after reduced-intensity stem cell transplantation (RIST). We retrospectively investigated the clinical features of neutropenic fever and infectious episodes within 30 days after RIST in 76 patients who had received fluoroquinolones as part of their antibacterial prophylaxis. Preparative regimens included cladribine 0.66 mg/kg or fludarabine 180 mg/m2 plus busulfan 8 mg/kg. All but 1 patient survived 30 days after transplantation, and 75 patients (99%) became neutropenic within a median duration of 9 days. Neutropenic fever was observed in 29 patients (38%), and bacterial infection was confirmed in 15 (20%) of these, including bacteremia (n = 13), bacteremia plus pneumonia (n = 1), and urinary tract infection (n = 1). The causative organisms were gram-positive (n = 9) and gram-negative organisms (n = 7), with a mortality rate of 6%. Neither viral nor fungal infection was documented. Multivariate analysis showed that the presence of neutropenia at the initiation of preparative regimens was an independent risk factor for subsequent documented bacterial infections (P = .026; 95% confidence interval, 1.25–35.1). We conclude that neutropenic fever and bacteremia remain common complications in RIST

X-ray harmonic comb from relativistic electron spikes

X-ray devices are far superior to optical ones for providing nanometre spatial and attosecond temporal resolutions. Such resolution is indispensable in biology, medicine, physics, material sciences, and their applications. A bright ultrafast coherent X-ray source is highly desirable, for example, for the diffractive imaging of individual large molecules, viruses, or cells. Here we demonstrate experimentally a new compact X-ray source involving high-order harmonics produced by a relativistic-irradiance femtosecond laser in a gas target. In our first implementation using a 9 Terawatt laser, coherent soft X-rays are emitted with a comb-like spectrum reaching the 'water window' range. The generation mechanism is robust being based on phenomena inherent in relativistic laser plasmas: self-focusing, nonlinear wave generation accompanied by electron density singularities, and collective radiation by a compact electric charge. The formation of singularities (electron density spikes) is described by the elegant mathematical catastrophe theory, which explains sudden changes in various complex systems, from physics to social sciences. The new X-ray source has advantageous scalings, as the maximum harmonic order is proportional to the cube of the laser amplitude enhanced by relativistic self-focusing in plasma. This allows straightforward extension of the coherent X-ray generation to the keV and tens of keV spectral regions. The implemented X-ray source is remarkably easily accessible: the requirements for the laser can be met in a university-scale laboratory, the gas jet is a replenishable debris-free target, and the harmonics emanate directly from the gas jet without additional devices. Our results open the way to a compact coherent ultrashort brilliant X-ray source with single shot and high-repetition rate capabilities, suitable for numerous applications and diagnostics in many research fields

Effects of a trauma center on early mortality after trauma in a regional city in Japan: a population-based study

Background: Although the effects of the trauma center(TC) were researched in several studies, there have been few studies on changes in the regional mortality due to the implementation of a TC.An emergency medical center (EMC) and TC were implemented at Nagasaki University Hospital (NUH) for the first time in the Nagasaki medical region of Japan in April 2010 and October 2011, respectively, and they have cooperated with each other in treating trauma patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects on the early mortality at population level of a TC working in cooperation with an EMC. Methods: This is a retrospective study using standardized regional data (ambulance service record) in Nagasaki medical region from April 2007 through March 2017. We included 19,045 trauma patients directly transported from the scene. The outcome measures were prognosis for one week. To examine the association between the implementation of the EMC and TC and mortality at a region, we fit adjusted logistic regression models. Results: The number of patients of each fiscal year increased from 1492 in 2007 to 2101 in 2016.The number of all patients transported to NUH decreased until 2009 to 70, but increased after implementation of the EMC and TC. Overall mortality of all patients in the region improved from 2.3% in 2007 to 1.0% in 2016.In multivariate logistic regression model, odds ratio of death was significantly smaller at 2013 and thereafter if the data from 2007 to 2011 was taken as reference. Conclusions: Implementation of the EMC and TC was associated with early mortality in trauma patients directly transported from the scene by ambulance. Our analysis suggested that the implementation of EMC and TC contributed to the improvement of the early mortality at a regional city with 500000 populations. Level of evidence: Level III