Transformation of peptide nanotubes into a vesicle via fusion driven by stereo-complex formation.

Two types of peptide nanotubes, one is prepared from an amphiphilic peptide having a right-handed helix segment and the other from that having a left-handed helix segment, are shown to transform the morphology into a vesicle by membrane fusion due to stereo-complex formation between these helical segments

冠動脈高度石灰化病変に対するスコアリングバルーンラクロスNon-Slip Elementを用いた冠動脈形成術－光干渉断層法による有用性の評価

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for heavily calcified lesions is challenging because these lesions are resistant to balloon dilatation and stenting. Lacrosse non-slip element (NSE) may have the potential to dilate heavily calcified lesions. We aimed to investigate predictors of successful lesion modification using Lacrosse NSE angioplasty via optical coherence tomography (OCT)-guided PCI. We investigated 32 patients with severe target lesion calcification treated with OCT-guided PCI. Successful lesion modification was defined as the complete fracture of calcification after Lacrosse NSE angioplasty. Before PCI, 172 segments with calcification were identified. After pre-dilatation using Lacrosse NSE, successful lesion modification was achieved in 117 segments (68.0%). Calcification was significantly thinner in successfully disrupted segments than in non-disrupted segments (p < 0.001). Calcification angle tended to be larger in disrupted than in non-disrupted segments (p = 0.08). Convex types were less frequently observed in disrupted than in non-disrupted segments (p < 0.001). At minimal lumen area sites, 26 segments (81.3%) were successfully modified. Similar to the overall results, the disrupted group had significantly thinner calcification than the non-disrupted group (p < 0.001). The angle of the calcified plaque was similar between the 2 groups (p = 0.39). Convex-type calcifications were less frequently observed in the disrupted group than in the non-disrupted group (p = 0.05). Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis showed that calcification thickness < 565 μm was the best predictor of completely disrupted calcification. The thickness and shape of calcifications were predictors of successful lesion modification after Lacrosse NSE angioplasty.博士（医学）・乙第1426号・平成31年3月15日© Japanese Association of Cardiovascular Intervention and Therapeutics 2018This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Cardiovascular intervention and therapeutics. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12928-018-0553-6

Scaled dynamic loading tests on seismic isolation bearing excluding the contamination of friction and inertia forces

Conventional seismic isolation-bearing testing facilities require moving horizontal platens under high compression. However, these dynamic moving platens inevitably lead to the friction and inertial forces generated by large vertical loads and inertial forces due to the dynamic mass action of the moving platen, which eventually affects the accuracy of the measured force. To solve this problem, the authors have proposed a direct reaction force measurement system (horizontal-vertical separated type) that can exclude the contamination of friction and inertial forces. Measuring pure reaction forces without the contamination of friction forces and inertia is crucial for the reliability of test results. In this paper, prior to the construction of large-scale facility, reduced-size–mockup dynamic tests were conducted using the proposed measurement concept, and its validity and accuracy were discussed. Furthermore, this system was applied to hybrid simulation tests, and the significant improvement of the proposed measurement system was observed

入院初日の尿中好中球ゼラチナーゼ結合性リポカリンは急性心不全患者の重要な予後予測因子である

Background Urinary neutrophil gelatinase‐associated lipocalin (U‐NGAL) is an early predictor of acute kidney injury and adverse events in various diseases; however, in acute decompensated heart failure patients, its significance remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of U‐NGAL on the first day of admission for the occurrence of acute kidney injury and long‐term outcomes in acute decompensated heart failure patients. Methods and Results We studied 260 acute decompensated heart failure patients admitted to our department between 2011 and 2014 by measuring U‐NGAL in 24‐hour urine samples collected on the first day of admission. Primary end points were all‐cause eath, cardiovascular death, and heart failure admission. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to their median U‐NGAL levels (32.5 μg/gCr). The high‐U‐NGAL group had a significantly higher occurrence of acute kidney injury during hospitalization than the low‐U‐NGAL group (P=0.0012). Kaplan‐Meier analysis revealed that the high‐U‐NGAL group exhibited a worse prognosis than the low‐U‐NGAL group in all‐cause death (hazard ratio 2.07; 95%CI 1.38‐3.12, P=0.0004), cardiovascular death (hazard ratio 2.29; 95%CI 1.28‐4.24, P=0.0052), and heart failure admission (hazard ratio 1.77; 95%CI 1.13‐2.77, P=0.0119). The addition of U‐NGAL to the estimated glomerular filtration rate significantly improved the predictive accuracy of all‐cause mortality (P=0.0083). Conclusions In acute decompensated heart failure patients, an elevated U‐NGAL level on the first day of admission was related to the development of clinical acute kidney injury and independently associated with poor prognosis.博士（医学）・甲第675号・平成29年11月24日Copyright & Usage: © 2017 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial License(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes

OCT で検出された冠動脈のlipid-richプラークに対する至適薬物療法施行後の臨床経過

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate optical coherence tomography (OCT)-detected lipid-rich coronary plaques (LRCPs) with coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) 10 months after optimal medical therapy (OMT). Methods and Results: Baseline OCT detected 28 LRCPs in non-culprit lesions. High-risk plaque features (HRPFs), such as positive remodeling, very low attenuation plaques, napkin-ring sign, and spotty calcification, were observed in 67.9%, 67.9%, 21.4%, and 64.3% of LRCPs, respectively, at the 10-month follow-up CCTA. Lesions with ≥3 HRPFs were defined as high-risk LRCPs (n=12); the remaining were defined as low-risk LRCPs (n=16). The maximum lipid arc on baseline OCT was larger in high- than low-risk LRCPs (221±62° vs. 179±44°, respectively; P=0.04). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that a maximum lipid arc >154° on baseline OCT was the optimal cut-off value to predict high-risk LRCPs 10 months after OMT. Patients with high-risk LRCPs had worse clinical outcomes, defined as a composite of cardiac death, target lesion-related myocardial infarction, and target lesion-related revascularization, during follow-up than those with low-risk LRCPs (33.3% vs. 0%; P=0.01). Conclusions: A high-risk LRCP at follow-up CCTA was correlated with a larger maximum lipid arc on baseline OCT. Further aggressive treatment for patients with large LRCPs may reduce vulnerable plaque features and prevent future cardiac events.博士（医学）・甲第869号・令和5年3月15