276 research outputs found
Interstitial Pneumonia Associated with Connective Tissue Disease: An Overview and an Insight
Interstitial pneumonia (IP) refers to involvement of the lung parenchyma by varying degrees of inflammation and fibrosis, in contrast to airspace disease typically seen in bacterial pneumonia. IP lies in the center of a heterogenous group of diffuse interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), either idiopathic or linked to underlying disorders. One of the major categories of disorders frequently associated with IP is a connective tissue disease (CTD), in which autoimmune-mediated tissue injury leads to multiple organ impairment. Today, IP represents the most critical pulmonary complication in CTD, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. Despite growing understanding of the pathology of IPs, as well as the accumulating knowledge from both basic and clinical studies of CTDs, the pathogenesis of CTD-associated IP remains unclear. This chapter will provide an overview of the general understanding of ILD and illustrate the current state of knowledge on IP associated with CTD, in order to fully comprehend the entirety of its complex pictures. Moreover, we will propose a new insight into the immune pathogenesis of CTD-IP by presenting evidence which robustly indicates that T cells trigger initial development of IP in polymyositis/dermatomyositis, suggesting potential approaches for controlling such particular T cells in therapeutic interventions for IP
Superlattice formation lifting degeneracy protected by non-symmorphic symmetry through a metal-insulator transition in RuAs
The single crystal of RuAs obtained by Bi-flux method shows obvious
successive metal-insulator transitions at T_MI1~255 K and T_MI2~195$ K. The
X-ray diffraction measurement reveals a formation of superlattice of 3x3x3 of
the original unit cell below T_MI2, accompanied by a change of the crystal
system from the orthorhombic structure to the monoclinic one. Simple
dimerization of the Ru ions is nor seen in the ground state. The multiple As
sites observed in nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) spectrum also demonstrate
the formation of the superlattice in the ground state, which is clarified to be
nonmagnetic. The divergence in 1/T_1 at T_MI1 shows that a symmetry lowering by
the metal-insulator transition is accompanied by strong critical fluctuations
of some degrees of freedom. Using the structural parameters in the insulating
state, the first principle calculation reproduces successfully the reasonable
size of nuclear quadrupole frequencies for the multiple As sites, ensuring the
high validity of the structural parameters. The calculation also gives a
remarkable suppression in the density of states (DOS) near the Fermi level,
although the gap opening is insufficient. A coupled modulation of the
calculated Ru d electron numbers and the crystal structure proposes a formation
of charge density wave (CDW) in RuAs. Some lacking factors remain, but it shows
that a lifting of degeneracy protected by the non-symmorphic symmetry through
the superlattice formation is a key ingredient for the metal-insulator
transition in RuAs.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure
Facile strategy for obtaining luminescent polymorphs based on the chirality of a boron-fused azomethine complex
A chloro-substituted boron-fused azomethine complex (BAmCl) having a stereogenic boron center was synthesized for obtaining a luminescent chiral crystal. We succeeded in isolating the (R)- and (S)-enantiomers of BAmCl and preparing the homochiral polymorphic crystal, while we obtained the racemic crystal with rac-BAmCl. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses suggest that a variety of intermolecular interaction patterns and intrinsic flexibility of the molecular framework should play a significant role in stabilizing the homochiral crystal. We found the difference in molecular arrangements between the racemic and the homochiral crystals, and we observed distinctly different emission colors. In particular, we observed heat-initiated homogeneous racemization without the need for a solvent or catalyst in the molten state of the homochiral crystal (R)-BAmCl. Our results mean that chiral resolution of a flexible fused-skeleton having a stereogenic boron center can be a platform for creating luminescent polymorphic materials
Oral lichenoid drug reaction with autoantibodies in peripheral blood: Case report
AbstractA 51-year-old man complained of oral roughness and pain. At the age of 49 years, he was admitted for 8 months for bipolar emotional disorder. Oral administration of lithium carbonate was started. Extensive, hemorrhagic, erythema-mixed white lace-like patches were noted on the lip, buccal mucosae, and lingual margins. On biopsy, all lesions were consistent with oral lichen planus. A drug lymphocyte stimulation test showed a positive reaction to lithium carbonate. Blood examination revealed marked increases in the peripheral blood levels of antinuclear antibodies. To relieve the symptoms, the systemic administration of prednisolone was performed while continuing the lithium carbonate
Behaviors of dissolved and particulate Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb during a mesoscale Fe enrichment experiment (SEEDS II) in the western North Pacific
During mesoscale Fe enrichment (SEEDS II) in the western North Pacific ocean, we investigated dissolved and particulate Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in seawater from both field observation and shipboard bottle incubation of a natural phytoplankton assemblage with Fea ddition. Before the Fe enrichment, strong correlations between dissolved trace metals (Ni, Zn and Cd) and PO43-, and between particulate trace metals (Ni, Zn and Cd) and chlorophyll-a were obtained, suggesting that biogeochemical cycles mainly control the distributions of Ni, Zn and Cd in the study area. Average concentrations of dissolved Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in the surface mixed layer (0–20m) were 70 pM, 4.9, 2.1, 1.6, 0.48 nM and 52 pM, respectively, and those for the particulate species were 1.7 pM, 0.052, 0.094, 0.46, 0.037 nM and 5.2 pM, respectively. After Fe enrichment, chlorophyll-a increased 3 fold (up to 3 mg/L) during developing phases of the bloom (12 days). Mesozooplankton biomass also increased. Particulate Co, Ni, Cu and Cd inside the patch increase in the concentrations, but there were no analytically significant differences between concentrations inside and outside the patch. The bottle incubation with Fe addition (1 nM) showed an increase in chlorophyll-a (8.9 mg/L) and raised the particulate fraction up to 3–45% for all the metals, accompanying changes in Si/P, Zn/P and Cd/P. These results suggest that Fe addition lead to changes in biogeochemical cycling of trace metals. The comparison between the mesoscale Fe enrichment and the bottle incubation experiment suggests that although Fe was a limiting factor for the growth of phytoplankton, the enhanced biomass of mesozooplankton also limited the growth of phytoplankton and the transformation of trace metal speciation during the mesoscale Fe enrichment. Sediment trap data and the elemental ratios taken up by phytoplankton suggest that export loss was another reason that no detectable change in the concentrations of particulate trace metals was observed during the mesoscale Fe enrichment
Betuletol, a Propolis Component, Suppresses IL-33 Gene Expression and Effective against Eosinophilia
Propolis, a resinous substance produced by honeybees, has been used in folk medicine since ancient times due to its many biological benefits such as antitumor, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects. Propolis contains flavonoids, terpenoids, aromatic aldehydes, and alcohols, which vary with different climate and environmental conditions. In our study, we examined the antiallergic activity of Brazilian green propolis (BGP) and isolated the active compound that can suppress an allergy-sensitive gene, IL-33, expression and eosinophilia. Ethanolic extract of BGP freeze-dried powder was fractionated with several solvent systems, and the active fractions were collected based on activity measurement. The single active compound was found by thin-layer chromatography. Using column chromatography and NMR, the active compound was isolated and identified as 3,5,7-trihydroxy-6,4’-dimethoxyflavone, also known as betuletol. Further, the antiallergic activity of that has been examined in PMA-induced up-regulation of IL-33 gene expression in Swiss 3T3 cells. Our data showed the IL-33 gene suppression both by BGP and the isolated active compound, betuletol. We also found that betuletol suppressed ERK phosphorylation, suggesting it could be effective in suppressing IL-33 mediated eosinophilic chronic inflammation and will provide new insights to develop potent therapeutics against allergic inflammations
Elastic properties of the Non-Fermi liquid metal and the Dense Kondo semiconductor
We have investigated the elastic properties of the Ce-based filled
skutterudite antimonides CeRuSb and CeOsSb by means
of ultrasonic measurements. CeRuSb shows a slight increase around
130 K in the temperature dependence of the elastic constants ,
(-)/2 and . No apparent softening toward low
temperature due to a quadrupolar response of the 4-electronic ground state
of the Ce ion was observed at low temperatures. In contrast CeOsSb
shows a pronounced elastic softening toward low temperature in the longitudinal
as a function of temperature () below about 15 K, while a slight
elastic softening was observed in the transverse below about 1.5 K.
Furthermore, CeOsSb shows a steep decrease around a phase
transition temperature of 0.9 K in both and. The elastic
softening observed in below about 15 K cannot be explained
reasonably only by the crystalline electric field effect. It is most likely to
be responsible for the coupling between the elastic strain and the
quasiparticle band with a small energy gap in the vicinity of Fermi level. The
elastic properties and the 4 ground state of Ce ions in CeRuSb
and CeOsSb are discussed from the viewpoint of the crystalline
electric field effect and the band structure in the vicinity of Fermi level.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, regular pape
Pyrogallol inhibits NFAT signal
As the expression level of allergic disease sensitive genes are correlated with the severity of allergic symptoms, suppression of these gene expressions could be promising therapeutics. We demonstrated that protein kinase Cδ / heat shock protein 90-mediated H1R gene expression signaling and nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT)-mediated IL-9 gene expression signaling are responsible for the pathogenesis of pollinosis. Treatment with Awa-tea combined with wild grape hot water extract suppressed these signaling and alleviated nasal symptoms in toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI)-sensitized rats. However, the underlying mechanism of its anti-allergic activity is not elucidated yet. Here, we sought to identify an anti-allergic compound from Awa-tea and pyrogallol was identified as an active compound. Pyrogallol strongly suppressed ionomycin-induced up-regulation of IL-9 gene expression in RBL-2H3 cells. Treatment with pyrogallol in combination with epinastine alleviated nasal symptoms and suppressed up-regulation of IL-9 gene expression in TDI-sensitized rats. Pyrogallol itself did not inhibit calcineurin phosphatase activity. However, pyrogallol suppressed ionomycin-induced dephosphorylation and nuclear translocation of NFAT. These data suggest pyrogallol is an anti-allergic compound in Awa-tea and it suppressed NFAT-mediated IL-9 gene expression through the inhibition of dephosphorylation of NFAT. This might be the underlying mechanism of the therapeutic effects of combined therapy of pyrogallol with antihistamine
Development and Performance of Kyoto's X-ray Astronomical SOI pixel (SOIPIX) sensor
We have been developing monolithic active pixel sensors, known as Kyoto's
X-ray SOIPIXs, based on the CMOS SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technology for
next-generation X-ray astronomy satellites. The event trigger output function
implemented in each pixel offers microsecond time resolution and enables
reduction of the non-X-ray background that dominates the high X-ray energy band
above 5--10 keV. A fully depleted SOI with a thick depletion layer and back
illumination offers wide band coverage of 0.3--40 keV. Here, we report recent
progress in the X-ray SOIPIX development. In this study, we achieved an energy
resolution of 300~eV (FWHM) at 6~keV and a read-out noise of 33~e- (rms) in the
frame readout mode, which allows us to clearly resolve Mn-K and
K. Moreover, we produced a fully depleted layer with a thickness of
. The event-driven readout mode has already been successfully
demonstrated.Comment: 7pages, 12figures, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation
2014, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. appears as Proc. SPIE 9147, Space Telescopes
and Instrumentation 2014: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ra
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