Octant Degeneracy and Plots of Parameter Degeneracy in Neutrino Oscillations Revisited

The three kinds of parameter degeneracy in neutrino oscillation, the intrinsic, sign and octant degeneracy, form an eight-fold degeneracy. The nature of this eight-fold degeneracy can be visualized on the ($\sin^22\theta_{13}$, $1/\sin^2\theta_{23}$)-plane, through quadratic curves defined by $P(\nu_\mu\to\nu_e)=$ const. and $P(\bar{\nu}_\mu\to\bar{\nu}_e)=$ const., along with a straight line $P(\nu_\mu\to\nu_\mu)=$ const. After $\theta_{13}$ was determined by reactor neutrino experiments, the intrinsic degeneracy in $\theta_{13}$ transforms into an alternative octant degeneracy in $\theta_{23}$, which can potentially be resolved by incorporating the value of $P(\nu_\mu\to\nu_\mu)$. In this paper, we analytically discuss whether this octant parameter degeneracy is resolved or persists in the future long baseline accelerator neutrino experiments, such as T2HK, DUNE, T2HKK and ESS$\nu$SB. It is found that the energy spectra near the first oscillation maximum are effective in resolving the octant degeneracy, whereas those near the second oscillation maximum are not.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figure

Dependence of Structural and Electronic Properties of Uranium Monochalcogenides on Exchange–Correlation Energy Functionals

We study the dependence of the structural properties of uranium monochalcogenides, UX where X = S, Se, and Te, as well as their electronic ones on the exchange–correlation energy functionals within the spin density functional theory, carrying out all electron calculations by the fully relativistic full-potential linear-combination-of-atomic-orbitals method. We employ two functionals of the local spin density approximation (LSDA) and two functionals of the generalized gradient approximations (GGA); the former two are the Perdew–Zunger and Perdew–Wang functionals and the latter two are the Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (PBE) and PBEsol functionals. We also examine the effects of the relativistic correction to the LSDA exchange part of each functional. We find that, for lattice constants, bulk moduli, and cohesive energies, the results of the calculations using the PBE functional are in the best agreement with the experimental results. On the contrary, we find that calculated total magnetic moments and one-electron energies are almost the same for all the LSDA and GGA functionals employed in this work, failing to improve the agreement between the calculated and experimental results even if the gradient and relativistic corrections are included. We also find that the relativistic correction plays minor roles in both the structural and electronic properties

ヒト肝細胞癌においてherpesvirus entry mediatorの発現がもたらす影響

BACKGROUND: Herpes virus entry mediator (HVEM), also known as tumour necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily 14, regulates a variety of physiological and pathological responses in both innate and acquired immunity. Although HVEM is also suggested to be a critical regulator in tumours, actual roles in human cancer are largely unknown. This study aimed to clarify clinical importance of HVEM in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied HVEM expression in 150 HCC patients to explore its clinical relevance, and we examined tumour infiltrating T cells and local immune status of them. RESULTS: HVEM was expressed in HCC cells, while no or only limited expression was observed in normal tissues in the liver. Tumour HVEM expression was significantly correlated with age, serum protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II (PIVKA-II) level, vascular invasion and tumour node metastasis (TNM) stage. Furthermore, tumour HVEM expression significantly correlated with postoperative recurrence and survival. Importantly, multivariate analysis indicated that the HVEM status had an independent prognostic value. Furthermore, HVEM status was inversely correlated with tumour-infiltrating CD4(+), CD8(+) and CD45RO(+) lymphocytes. In addition, it was also associated with reduced expression of perforin, granzyme B and interferon-γ (IFN-γ). Taken together, tumour-expressing HVEM plays a functionally important role in HCC. CONCLUSION: Tumour-expressing HVEM plays a critical role in human HCC, possibly through regulating immune evasion. Therefore, targeting HVEM may be a novel promising therapeutic strategy for HCC.博士（医学）・乙第1359号・平成27年5月28日Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd

Efficacy of FimA antibody and clindamycin in silkworm larvae stimulated with Porphyromonas gulae

Objective: Porphyromonas gulae, a major periodontal pathogen in animals, possesses fimbriae that have been classified into three genotypes (A, B, C) based on the diversity of fimA genes encoding fimbrillin protein (FimA). P. gulae strains with type C fimbriae were previously shown to be more virulent than other types. In this study, we further examined the host toxicity mediated by P. gulae fimbriae by constructing recombinant FimA (rFimA) expression vectors for each genotype and raised antibodies to the purified proteins. Methods and Results: All larvae died within 204 h following infection with P. gulae type C at the low-dose infection, whereas type A and B did not. Among fimA types, the survival rates of the larvae injected with rFimA type C were remarkably decreased, while the survival rates of the larvae injected with rFimA type A and type B were greater than 50%. Clindamycin treatment inhibited the growth of type C strains in a dose-dependent manner, resulting in an increased rate of silkworm survival. Finally, type C rFimA-speci?c antiserum prolonged the survival of silkworm larvae stimulated by infection with P. gulae type C strain or injection of rFimA type C protein. Conclusion: These results suggested that type C fimbriae have high potential for enhancement of bacterial pathogenesis, and that both clindamycin and anti-type C rFimA-specific antibodies are potent inhibitors of type C fimbriae-induced toxicity. This is the first report to establish a silkworm infection model using P. gulae for toxicity assessment