Niマイクロメッキ接合技術を用いた結晶シリコン太陽電池インターコネクションの信頼性の向上

早大学位記番号:新9198博士(工学)早稲田大

Disclosure appraisal mediating the association between perceived stigma and HIV disclosure to casual sex partners among HIV+ MSM: a path model analysis

HIV stigma is widely believed to be related to HIV disclosure. However, there is a dearth of studies examining the mechanisms that link stigma to disclosure. This is a specific study to assess the relationship between perceived stigma and HIV disclosure to casual sex partners based on a social cognitive theory. HIV+ men who have sex with men (MSM) from two U. S. cities (N = 297) completed questionnaires administered using audio computer-assisted self-interviewing. Path modeling analysis was used to assess the theory-based structural relationships. Perceived stigma was negatively associated with attitudes, intention and behavior of HIV disclosure to casual sex partners. The association was fully mediated by disclosure appraisal, including disclosure outcome expectations, costs and self-efficacy. Findings of this study add new knowledge regarding HIV stigma and disclosure, and provide timely data supporting more effective behavioral interventions to encourage HIV disclosure among MSM

Anti-asthmatic effect of Ping-Chuan Formula in asthmatic mice, and its molecular mechanism of action

Purpose: To investigate the anti-asthmatic effect of Ping-Chuan Formula (PCF) in a mouse model, and the associated molecular mechanisms.Methods: Asthma mice were induced using ovalbumin (OVA), and PCF (600 mg/kg) was administered to the mice for 4 weeks. Sections of lung tissues were examined microscopically. The expressions of interleukins (ILs), interferon (IFN)-γ, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β were assayed, while lung tissue expressions of Toll like receptor (TLR)-4, GATA binding protein (GATA)-3, Ox40 ligand (OX40L), indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), and forkhead box P3 (Foxp3) determined. The T box expressed in T cells (T-bet) was evaluated using western blotting. The expressions of MHC II and co-stimulators (CD 11c, CD 80 and CD 86) of dendritic cells (DCs) were determined by flow cytometry.Results: PCF decreased inflammation in lung, and also down-regulated IL-4, -6, -17 and TGF-β (p < 0.01), whereas IL-10 and IFN-γ expressions were up-regulated (p < 0.01). Moreover, PCF decreased the expressions of TLR-4, GATA-3 and OX40L in lung tissue, and promoted Foxp3, IDO and T-bet. Besides, PCF decreased the levels of MHC II and co-stimulators (CD 80 and CD 86) on the surface of DCs.Conclusion: PCF exerts anti-asthmatic effect in mice via inhibition of inflammation, and modulation of MHC II and co-stimulators on the surface of DCs. These findings suggest that PCF is a promising candidate drug for treating asthma in humans

Effects of tMa-Xin-Di-Tan decoction on ovalbumin-induced allergic asthma in mice

Purpose: To investigate the effect of the Ma-Xin-Di-Tan (MXDT) decoction on  ovalbumin-induced allergic asthma (AA) in mice.Methods: Asthma was induced in mice by ovalbumin (OVA) injection, and different doses of MXDT (150, 300, and 600 mg/kg/day) were administered orally for 28 days. Pathological changes in lung tissues were examined, while levels of cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-4, IL-6, IL-17, interferon (IFN)-γ, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4,  GATA-binding protein (GATA)-3, Ox40 ligand (OX40L), indoleamine  2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), forkhead box P3 (Foxp3), and T box expressed in T cells (T-bet) levels were determined in lung tissues by western blot analysis.Results: MXDT inhibited the inflammatory reaction of lung tissues in  OVA-challenged mice. After treatment with MXDT, levels of IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, and TGF-β were downregulated, whereas IFN-γ levels were upregulated. In addition,  MXDT decreased TLR-4, GATA-3, and OX40L levels in lung tissues but increased the expression of Foxp3, T-bet, and IDO.Conclusion: MXDT has antiallergic effects on OVA-induced AA in mice; the possible molecular mechanisms might involve the inhibition of inflammatory reactions and modulation of Th1/Th2 cytokine balance.Keywords: Ma-Xin-Di-Tan decoction, Allergic asthma, Inflammatory reactions, Th1/Th

Optical biopsy identification and grading of gliomas using label-free visible resonance Raman spectroscopy.

Glioma is one of the most refractory types of brain tumor. Accurate tumor boundary identification and complete resection of the tumor are essential for glioma removal during brain surgery. We present a method based on visible resonance Raman (VRR) spectroscopy to identify glioma margins and grades. A set of diagnostic spectral biomarkers features are presented based on tissue composition changes revealed by VRR. The Raman spectra include molecular vibrational fingerprints of carotenoids, tryptophan, amide I/II/III, proteins, and lipids. These basic in situ spectral biomarkers are used to identify the tissue from the interface between brain cancer and normal tissue and to evaluate glioma grades. The VRR spectra are also analyzed using principal component analysis for dimension reduction and feature detection and support vector machine for classification. The cross-validated sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy are found to be 100%, 96.3%, and 99.6% to distinguish glioma tissues from normal brain tissues, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the classification is about 1.0. The accuracies to distinguish normal, low grade (grades I and II), and high grade (grades III and IV) gliomas are found to be 96.3%, 53.7%, and 84.1% for the three groups, respectively, along with a total accuracy of 75.1%. A set of criteria for differentiating normal human brain tissues from normal control tissues is proposed and used to identify brain cancer margins, yielding a diagnostic sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 71%. Our study demonstrates the potential of VRR as a label-free optical molecular histopathology method used for in situ boundary line judgment for brain surgery in the margins

Leukocyte transcriptome of Cushing’s disease are associated with nerve impairment and psychiatric disorders

Introduction: The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and its end product cortisol is a major response mechanism to stress and plays a critical role in many psychiatric disorders. Cushing’s disease (CD) serves as a valuable in vivo “hyperexpression” model to elucidate the effect of cortisol on brain function and mental disorders. Changes in brain macroscale properties measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been detailed demonstrated, but the biological and molecular mechanisms underlying these changes remain poorly understood. Material and methods: Here we included 25 CD patients and matched 18 healthy controls for assessment, and performed transcriptome sequencing of peripheral blood leukocytes. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed to construct a co-expression network of the relationships between genes and we identified a significant module and hub gene types associated with neuropsychological phenotype and psychiatric disorder identified in enrichment analysis. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis preliminarily explored the biological functions of these modules. Results: The WGCNA and enrichment analysis indicated that module 3 of blood leukocytes was enriched in broadly expressed genes and was associated with neuropsychological phenotypes and mental diseases enrichment. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis of module 3 identified enrichment in many biological pathways associated with psychiatric disorders. Conclusion: Leukocyte transcriptome of Cushing’s disease is enriched in broadly expressed genes and is associated with nerve impairment and psychiatric disorders, which may reflect some changes in the affected brain

Facilitating Self-monitored Physical Rehabilitation with Virtual Reality and Haptic feedback

Physical rehabilitation is essential to recovery from joint replacement operations. As a representation, total knee arthroplasty (TKA) requires patients to conduct intensive physical exercises to regain the knee's range of motion and muscle strength. However, current joint replacement physical rehabilitation methods rely highly on therapists for supervision, and existing computer-assisted systems lack consideration for enabling self-monitoring, making at-home physical rehabilitation difficult. In this paper, we investigated design recommendations that would enable self-monitored rehabilitation through clinical observations and focus group interviews with doctors and therapists. With this knowledge, we further explored Virtual Reality(VR)-based visual presentation and supplemental haptic motion guidance features in our implementation VReHab, a self-monitored and multimodal physical rehabilitation system with VR and vibrotactile and pneumatic feedback in a TKA rehabilitation context. We found that the third point of view real-time reconstructed motion on a virtual avatar overlaid with the target pose effectively provides motion awareness and guidance while haptic feedback helps enhance users' motion accuracy and stability. Finally, we implemented \systemname to facilitate self-monitored post-operative exercises and validated its effectiveness through a clinical study with 10 patients

Pulse Generation Behavior of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube/Polyoxometalate Complex Random Network

Replacing von-Neumann architecture with walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) with new neuromorphic chips is vital for computers to perform polyoxometalate POM) ion ([SV2W10O40]H4TPP) complex cognitive problem with low power and see the effect of higher POM concentration. We consume like our brain. The synaptic part of the use simple sonication method for SWNT/POM brain has been well studied via memristors but fabrication and study the spiking and spike time research on the artificial neurons is only limited to high interval behavior via electrical measurements. The power CMOS circuitry. Following the previous work, results show that the device can behave as an artificial by H. Tanaka et al.[2] herein we functionalize single neuron even at low voltages and hence can be used for low power neuromorphic computing.Proceedings of International Symposium on Applied Science 2019 (ISAS),18-19 October, 2019, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietna

Comparison of Efficacy of Deep Brain Stimulation of Different Targets in Parkinson's Disease: A Network Meta-Analysis

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is considered an effective treatment option for Parkinson's disease (PD). Several studies have demonstrated the efficacy of neurostimulation in patients with advanced PD. The subthalamic nucleus (STN), the internal globus pallidus (GPi), ventral intermediate nucleus (Vim), and pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) are reportedly effective DBS targets for control of Parkinsonian tremors. However, there is no consensus on the ideal target for DBS in patients with Parkinson's disease. Only a few studies have directly compared the efficacy of DBS of the Vim, STN, and GPi. Therefore, we searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and other databases for observational studies, extracted data on unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) scores and performed a comprehensive network meta-analysis of different strategies of DBS and compared the efficiency of DBS at different targets.Methods: Forest plot was used to examine the overall efficiency of DBS; cumulative probability value was used to rank the strategies under examination. A node-splitting model was employed to assess consistency of reported outcomes inconsistency. A total of 16 studies which focused on UPDRS improvement were included in the network meta-analysis.Results: By comparing the overall efficiency associated with each target, we confirmed the efficacy of DBS therapy in PD. Our findings revealed similar efficacy of DBS targeted at GPi and STN in the on-medication phase [GPi-3.9 (95% CI −7.0 to −0.96); STN-3.1 (−5.9 to −0.38)]; however, in the off-medication phase, Vim-targeted DBS was associated with better improvement in UPDRS scores and could be a choice as a DBS target for tremor-dominant Parkinsonism.Conclusions: Our findings will help improve clinical application of DBS

A de novo Variant in CROCC identified in a Chinese family implies the potential association with Atlanto-occipital Fusion (AOF)

Poster presentation for the Physoc 2021 annual conference. Atlanto-occipital fusion (AOF) is a rare skeletal malformation causing nerve compression with high risk of fatal. Its genetic information is currently lacking. Through whole-exome sequencing (WES) on a Chinese family having a sporadic proband son of AOF but other healthy family members, we identified a novel variant (chr1: c.4702C>T: p.R1568C) in ciliary rootlet coiled-coil (CROCC). The variant had different genotypes between the proband and healthy family members but with high conservations of “damage” to protein structure based on MutationTaster and SIFT forecast. CROCC gene can be obtained in both healthy (n=220) and non-mutated AOF patient samples (n=68) but absented in five sporadic patients with the novel variant. Furthermore, abnormal of cilia was observed after editing the target sequence on CROCC using CRISPR-Cas9. These results suggested that AOF might be caused by the mutation of the variant c.4702C>T:p.R1568C in CROCC. With strong amino acid conservation and interaction regulation, the variant mutation could cause the signal disorder of skeletal development which may lead to the defective bone formation and finally cause the development of AOF