From nonassociativity to solutions of the KP hierarchy

A recently observed relation between 'weakly nonassociative' algebras A (for which the associator (A,A^2,A) vanishes) and the KP hierarchy (with dependent variable in the middle nucleus A' of A) is recalled. For any such algebra there is a nonassociative hierarchy of ODEs, the solutions of which determine solutions of the KP hierarchy. In a special case, and with A' a matrix algebra, this becomes a matrix Riccati hierarchy which is easily solved. The matrix solution then leads to solutions of the scalar KP hierarchy. We discuss some classes of solutions obtained in this way.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, International Colloquium 'Integrable Systems and Quantum Symmetries', Prague, 15-17 June 200

A Criterion for Photoionization of Pregalactic Clouds Exposed to Diffuse Ultraviolet Background Radiation

To elucidate the permeation of cosmic ultraviolet (UV) background radiation into a pregalactic cloud and subsequent ionization, the frequency-dependent radiative transfer equation is solved, coupled with the ionization process. A spherical top-hat cloud which is composed of pure hydrogen is assumed. As a result, it is shown that the self-shielding, although it is often disregarded in cosmological hydrodynamic simulations, could start to emerge shortly after the maximum expansion stages of density fluctuations. The present analysis reveals that the Stro"mgren approximation leads to overestimation of the photoionization effects. Also, the self-shielded neutral core is no longer sharply separated from surrounding ionized regions; a low but noticeable degree of ionization is caused by high energy photons even in the self-shielded core. The present results may be substantial on considering the biasing by photoionization against low-mass galaxy formation.Comment: 12 pages, Latex, 3 figures, To appear in ApJ, July 20, 1998 issue, email: [email protected]

Infliximab- and Immunosuppressant-Resistant Crohn's Disease Successfully Treated with Adsorptive Granulocyte Apheresis Combined with Prednisolone

Activated granulocytes, monocytes, and platelets appear to be closely involved in active Crohn's disease (CD). Adsorptive granulocyte apheresis (GCAP) is a new treatment for inflammatory bowel disease. GCAP was used to treat a 23-year-old female patient with CD resistant to both infliximab (IFX) and azathioprine (AZA). At 16 years of age, the patient underwent a partial ileal resection for peritonitis caused by perforative ileitis. On pathological examination of the resected specimen, the diagnosis was CD. Mesalazine was started, but the patient did not comply with therapy. She was admitted to our hospital again in 2007 due to an acute exacerbation. IFX induction therapy was started. The combination of both AZA daily and IFX every 8 weeks was continued as maintenance therapy. However, she developed severe abdominal pain in September 2009. Computed tomography revealed ileitis and ascending colitis, and blood tests showed high inflammatory response marker levels. She was considered to have IFX- and AZA-resistant CD. Initial intravenous steroid therapy did not result in any improvement. Therefore, weekly GCAP therapy was given for 5 weeks, which immediately improved the inflammatory response markers. GCAP combined with prednisolone could be effective for IFX- and AZA-refractory CD

A dimension-breaking phenomenon for water waves with weak surface tension

It is well known that the water-wave problem with weak surface tension has small-amplitude line solitary-wave solutions which to leading order are described by the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation. The present paper contains an existence theory for three-dimensional periodically modulated solitary-wave solutions which have a solitary-wave profile in the direction of propagation and are periodic in the transverse direction; they emanate from the line solitary waves in a dimension-breaking bifurcation. In addition, it is shown that the line solitary waves are linearly unstable to long-wavelength transverse perturbations. The key to these results is a formulation of the water wave problem as an evolutionary system in which the transverse horizontal variable plays the role of time, a careful study of the purely imaginary spectrum of the operator obtained by linearising the evolutionary system at a line solitary wave, and an application of an infinite-dimensional version of the classical Lyapunov centre theorem.Comment: The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00205-015-0941-

Structural evolution in the neutron-rich nuclei 106Zr and 108Zr

The low-lying states in 106Zr and 108Zr have been investigated by means of {\beta}-{\gamma} and isomer spectroscopy at the RI beam factory, respectively. A new isomer with a half-life of 620\pm150 ns has been identified in 108Zr. For the sequence of even-even Zr isotopes, the excitation energies of the first 2+ states reach a minimum at N = 64 and gradually increase as the neutron number increases up to N = 68, suggesting a deformed sub-shell closure at N = 64. The deformed ground state of 108Zr indicates that a spherical sub-shell gap predicted at N = 70 is not large enough to change the ground state of 108Zr to the spherical shape. The possibility of a tetrahedral shape isomer in 108Zr is also discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Outside-in Shrinking of the Star-forming Disk of Dwarf Irregular Galaxies

We have studied multi-band surface brightness profiles of a representative sample of 34 nearby dwarf irregular galaxies (dIrrs). Our data include GALEX FUV/NUV, UBV, H\alpha, and Spitzer 3.6 \mum images. These galaxies constitute the majority of the LITTLE THINGS survey. By modeling the azimuthal averages of the spectral energy distributions with a complete library of star formation (SF) histories, we derived the stellar mass surface density distributions and the SF rate averaged over three different timescales: the recent 0.1 Gyr, 1 Gyr and a Hubble time. We find that, for \sim 80% (27 galaxies) of our sample galaxies, radial profiles (at least in the outer part) at shorter wavelengths have shorter disk scale lengths than those at longer wavelengths. This indicates that the star-forming disk has been shrinking. In addition, the radial distributions of the stellar mass surface density are well described as piece-wise exponential profiles, and \sim 80% of the galaxies have steeper mass profiles in the outer disk than in the inner region. The steep radial decline of SF rate in the outer parts compared to that in the inner disks gives a natural explanation for the down-bending stellar mass surface density profiles. Within the inner disks, our sample galaxies on average have constant ratios of recent SF rate to stellar mass with radius. Nevertheless, \sim 35% (12 galaxies, among which 7 have baryonic mass < 10^8 M\odot) of the sample exhibit negative slopes across the observed disk, which is in contrast with the "inside-out" disk growth scenario suggested for luminous spiral galaxies. The tendency of SF to become concentrated toward the inner disks in low mass dIrrs is interpreted as a result of their susceptibility to environmental effects and regulation through stellar feedback.Comment: 40 pages. The Astronomical Journal, in pres

Toward Personalized Cell Therapies: Autologous Menstrual Blood Cells for Stroke

Cell therapy has been established as an important field of research with considerable progress in the last years. At the same time, the progressive aging of the population has highlighted the importance of discovering therapeutic alternatives for diseases of high incidence and disability, such as stroke. Menstrual blood is a recently discovered source of stem cells with potential relevance for the treatment of stroke. Migration to the infarct site, modulation of the inflammatory reaction, secretion of neurotrophic factors, and possible differentiation warrant these cells as therapeutic tools. We here propose the use of autologous menstrual blood cells in the restorative treatment of the subacute phase of stroke. We highlight the availability, proliferative capacity, pluripotency, and angiogenic features of these cells and explore their mechanistic pathways of repair. Practical aspects of clinical application of menstrual blood cells for stroke will be discussed, from cell harvesting and cryopreservation to administration to the patient

Identification of lenvatinib prognostic index via recursive partitioning analysis in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: After the advent of new treatment options for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the identification of prognostic factors is crucial for the selection of the most appropriate therapy for each patient. Patients and methods: With the aim to fill this gap, we applied recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) to a cohort of 404 patients treated with lenvatinib. Results: The application of RPA resulted in a classification based on five variables that originated a new prognostic score, the lenvatinib prognostic index (LEP) index, identifying three groups: low risk [patients with prognostic nutritional index (PNI) &gt;43.3 and previous trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE)]; medium risk [patients with PNI &gt;43.3 but without previous TACE and patients with PNI &lt;43.3, albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade 1 and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage B (BCLC-B)]; high risk [patients with PNI &lt;43.3 and ALBI grade 2 and patients with PNI &lt;43.3, albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade 1 and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C (BCLC-C)]. Median overall survival was 29.8 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 22.8-29.8 months] in low risk patients (n = 128), 17.0 months (95% CI 15.0-24.0 months) in medium risk (n = 162) and 8.9 months (95% CI 8.0-10.7 months) in high risk (n = 114); low risk hazard ratio (HR) 1 (reference group), medium risk HR 1.95 (95% CI 1.38-2.74), high risk HR 4.84 (95% CI 3.16-7.43); P &lt; 0.0001. The LEP index was validated in a cohort of 127 Italian patients treated with lenvatinib. While the same classification did not show a prognostic value in a cohort of 311 patients treated with sorafenib, we also show a possible predictive role in favor of lenvatinib in the low risk group. Conclusions: LEP index is a promising, easy-to-use tool that may be used to stratify patients undergoing systemic treatment of advanced HCC

Acute Pancreatitis due to pH-Dependent Mesalazine That Occurred in the Course of Ulcerative Colitis

We report the case of a 26-year-old male who presented with acute pancreatitis during the course of treatment for pancolitic ulcerative colitis (UC) with a time-dependent mesalazine formulation, prednisolone and azathioprine (AZA). Despite a review of his clinical history and various tests, the cause of pancreatitis could not be determined. Since drug-induced pancreatitis was considered possible, administration of the time-dependent mesalazine preparation and AZA was discontinued, and conservative treatment for acute pancreatitis was performed. The pancreatitis promptly improved with these treatments, but drug lymphocyte stimulation test (DLST) for both the time-dependent mesalazine formulation and AZA was negative. A pH-dependent mesalazine formulation was given for maintenance therapy of UC. Subsequently, as the pancreatitis relapsed, drug-induced pancreatitis was strongly suspected. Administration of mesalazine was discontinued, and pancreatitis was smoothly in remission by conservative treatment. According to the positive DLST result for the pH-dependent mesalazine formulation and the clinical course, a diagnosis of pH-dependent mesalazine-induced pancreatitis due to this formulation was made. During the clinical course of UC, occurrence of drug-induced pancreatitis must always be considered