Nongyrotropic electron velocity distribution functions near the lunar surface

We have analyzed nongyrotropic electron velocity distribution functions (VDFs) obtained near the lunar surface. Electron VDFs, measured at ∼10–100 km altitude by Kaguya in both the solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere, exhibit nongyrotropic empty regions associated with the ‘gyroloss’ effect; i.e., electron absorption by the lunar surface combined with electron gyromotion. Particle-trace calculations allow us to derive theoretical forbidden regions in the electron VDFs, thereby taking into account the modifications due to nonuniform magnetic fields caused by diamagnetic-current systems, lunar-surface charging, and electric fields perpendicular to the magnetic field. Comparison between the observed empty regions with the theoretically derived forbidden regions suggests that various components modify the characteristics of the nongyrotropic electron VDFs depending on the ambient-plasma conditions. On the lunar nightside in the magnetotail lobes, negative surface potentials slightly reduce the size of the forbidden regions, but there are no distinct effects of either the diamagnetic current or perpendicular electric fields. On the dayside in the solar wind, the observations suggest the presence of either the diamagnetic-current or solar wind convection electric field effects, or both. In the terrestrial plasma sheet, all three mechanisms can substantially modify the characteristics of the forbidden regions. The observations imply the presence of a local electric field of at least 5 mV/m although the mechanism responsible for production of such a strong electric field is unknown. Analysis of nongyrotropic VDFs associated with the gyroloss effect near solid surfaces can promote a better understanding of the near-surface plasma environment and of plasma–solid-surface interactions

First Observation of Transport of Solar Wind Protons Scattered From Magnetic Anomalies Into the Near Lunar Wake: Observations by SARA/Chandrayaan-1

We report the first observational evidence for the transport of the solar wind protons scattered from the lunar magnetic anomaly (LMA) into the near wake region from SWIM/Sub‐keV Atom Reflecting Analyzer (SARA) aboard Chandrayaan‐1. These protons with high angular spread are observed in the near wake region for specific orientations of interplanetary magnetic field. The typical energy range is 600–1,000 eV, which is either smaller or comparable to that of solar wind. Using our backtracing model, the source region of these protons is found to be the large LMA at South Pole‐Aitken basin on the dayside, suggesting that these are solar wind protons forward scattered from LMA at the South Pole‐Aitken. The flux of these protons is ~5 × 10⁻⁴ of the solar wind proton flux, which is comparable to the proton population in near wake due to other known processes. Such protons can significantly affect the electromagnetic environment in near wake region

Evaluation of Candida peritonitis with underlying peritoneal fibrosis and efficacy of micafungin in murine models of intra-abdominal candidiasis

Candida peritonitis is a crucial disease, however the optimal antifungal therapy regimen has not been clearly defined. Peritoneal fibrosis (PF)can be caused by abdominal surgery, intra-abdominal infection, and malignant diseases, and is also widely recognized as a crucial complication of long-term peritoneal dialysis. However, the influence of PF on Candida peritonitis prognosis remains unknown. Here, we evaluated the severity of Candida peritonitis within the context of PF and the efficacy of micafungin using mice. A PF mouse model was generated by intraperitoneally administering chlorhexidine gluconate. Candida peritonitis, induced by intraperitoneal inoculation of Candida albicans, was treated with a 7-day consecutive subcutaneous administration of micafungin. Candida infection caused a higher mortality rate in the PF mice compared with the control mice on day 7. Proliferative Candida invasion into the peritoneum and intra-abdominal organs was confirmed pathologically only in the PF mice. However, all mice in both groups treated with micafungin survived until day 20. Micafungin treatment tends to suppress inflammatory cytokines in the plasma 12 h after infection in both groups. Our results suggest that PF enhances early mortality in Candida peritonitis. Prompt initiation and sufficient doses of micafungin had good efficacy for Candida peritonitis, irrespective of the underlying PF

Bronchoalveolar lavage galactomannan for the diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis

Diagnosing chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is complicated, and there are limited data available regarding the identification of galactomannan (GM) in clinical specimens to assist the detection of this infection. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the detection of GM in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum and to assess its utility for diagnosing CPA. We retrospectively reviewed the diagnostic and clinical characteristics of 144 patients, with and without CPA, in Nagasaki University Hospital, Japan, whose BAL and serum specimens were examined for the presence of GM. The Platelia Aspergillus enzyme immunoassay (PA EIA) was performed according to the manufacturer\u27s instructions. The mean values of BALF GM antigen were 4.535 (range, 0.06214.120) and 0.430 (range, 0.0629.285) in CPA (18) and non-CPA (126) patients, respectively. The mean values of serum GM antigen were 1.557 (range, 0.2325.397) and 0.864 (range, 0.0288.956) in CPA and non-CPA patients, respectively. PA EIA of BALF is superior to the test with serum, with the optimal cut-off values for BALF and serum of 0.4 and 0.7, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of PA EIA in BALF at a cut-off of 0.4 were 77.2% and 77.0%, respectively, whereas with serum at a cut-off of 0.7, they were 66.7% and 63.5%, respectively. GM testing using BALF showed reasonable sensitivity and specificity as compared to that using serum. Thus, assessing GM levels in BALF may enhance the accuracy of diagnosing CPA

Efficacy of aerosolized liposomal amphotericin B against murine invasive pulmonary mucormycosis

Invasive pulmonary mucormycosis is a life-threatening fungal infection encountered in immunocompromised patients. An intravenous high-dose lipid formulation of amphotericin B, such as liposomal amphotericin B (L-AMB), is the recommended treatment. The efficacy of inhaled L-AMB against mucormycosis has not been evaluated. We evaluated the efficacy of inhaled aerosolized L-AMB in murine invasive pulmonary mucormycosis. ICR female mice were immunosuppressed with cortisone acetate and cyclophosphamide and challenged on day 0 with 1 × 106 conidia of Rhizopus oryzae (TIMM 1327) intratracheally. Infected mice were assigned to one of the following 3 treatment groups: (i) control, (ii) treatment only (aerosolized L-AMB from day 1-5 after challenge), and (iii) prophylaxis followed by treatment (aerosolized L-AMB from day -2 to 5 before and after challenge). Survival was monitored until 12 days after challenge. For fungalburden and histopathological examination, mice were sacrificed 4 h after treatment on day 3. Numbers of colony-forming units per lung were calculated. To study the distribution of AMB after inhalation of L-AMB, immunohistochemical studies using AMB antibody were performed. Aerosolized L-AMB significantly improved survival rate and decreased fungal burden compared with control group, and histopathology findings were superior to those of control group. However, no significant differences were detected between the treatment-only and prophylaxis followed by treatment groups. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that L-AMB was promptly distributed in lung tissue after inhalation therapy. Aerosolized L-AMB showed modest efficacy against R. oryzae infection in mice treated after fungal challenge. Prophylaxis with aerosolized L-AMB was not effective in this animal model

Utility of a simplified ultrasonography scoring system among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A multicenter cohort study

ABSTRACT: We aimed to evaluate the utility of a simplified ultrasonography (US) scoring system, which is desired in daily clinical practice, among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving biological/targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).A total of 289 Japanese patients with RA who were started on tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, abatacept, tocilizumab, or Janus kinase inhibitors between June 2013 and April 2019 at one of the 15 participating rheumatology centers were reviewed. We performed US assessment of articular synovia over 22 joints among bilateral wrist and finger joints, and the 22-joint (22j)-GS and 22-joint (22j)-PD scores were evaluated as an indicator of US activity using the sum of the GS and PD scores, respectively.The top 6 most affected joints included the bilateral wrist and second/third metacarpophalangeal joints. Therefore, 6-joint (6j)-GS and -PD scores were defined as the sum of the GS and PD scores from the 6 synovial sites over the aforementioned 6 joints, respectively. Although the 22j- or 6j-US scores were significantly correlated with DAS28-ESR or -CRP scores, the correlations were weak. Conversely, 6j-US scores were significantly and strongly correlated with 22j-US scores not only at baseline but also after therapy initiation.Using a multicenter cohort data, our results indicated that a simplified US scoring system could be adequately tolerated during any disease course among patients with RA receiving biological/targeted synthetic DMARDs

Nationwide multicentre kidney biopsy study of Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系Background. The clinical and pathologic manifestations of nephropathy due to type 2 diabetes are diverse, but large-scale pathologic studies with long-termobservations are limited. Methods. Kidney biopsies and clinical data of 600 patients with type 2 diabetes were collected retrospectively from 13 centres across Japan. Thirteen pathologic findings (nine glomerular lesions, two interstitial lesions and two vascular lesions) were clearly defined and scored. Results. During the observation period, there were 304 composite kidney events [dialysis, doubling of creatinine or reduction of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) by half], 31 instances of chronic kidney disease (CKD) G5D, 76 cardiovascular events and 73 deaths. The mean observation period was 72.4 months. The distribution of CKD heat map categories for the 600 patients was 103 green or yellow, 149 orange and 348 red. Even in the cases in the green and yellow category, diffuse lesions (81.6%), polar vasculosis (42.6%) and subendothelial space widening (35.1%) were commonly detected. Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed that the presence of nodular lesions [hazard ratio (HR) 21.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.3-84.6], exudative lesions (HR 5.1, 95% CI 1.3-20.3) and mesangiolysis (HR 7.6, 95% CI 2.0-28.8) in cases in the green and yellow category were associated with significantly great impact on composite kidney events after adjustment for clinical risk factors. Conclusions. This nationwide study on kidney biopsy of 600 cases with type 2 diabetes revealed that pathologic findings (presence of nodular lesions, exudative lesions and mesangiolysis) were strong predictors of kidney events in low-risk patients. © The Author 2017.Embargo Period 12 month

Position-controlled formation of Si nanopores by chemical vapor deposition of SiC/SOI(100)

We investigated the position-controlled nanopore formation in the surface of thin Si layer of a Silicon on Insulator (SOI) substrate by utilizing chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The Si membrane was obtained by anisotropic etching of the handle wafer. The SiC film growth was carried out from the backside surface by utilizing CH3SiH3 pulse jet CVD at the substrate temperature of 900 degrees C. Square pits with the sizes of <= 0.5 mu m were observed on the Si membrane while no pit was formed on the top Si layer. This result indicates that the position of the nanopores on the top Si layer can be controlled without using SiO2 masks on the front side surface