Giant Magnetoresistance in Bulk, Liquid-quenched Ribbon and Film Granular Alloys

Magnetoresistance has been investigated for bulk, liquid-quenched ribbon and film noble metal(NM)-rich granular alloys. Solid solutions were obtained in the water- , liquid- and vapor-quenched state and nano-structured magnetic precipitates in NM-rich matrix were evolved by subsequent heat treatments. After aging, the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) is observed in these bulk, liquid quenched ribbon and film granular alloys. In particular, the room temperature value of Magnetoresistance (MR) ratio of 5 % in the Co_Au_ bulk granular alloy aged at 300 ℃ for 1 h is larger than that reported in Co/Au multilayers. The Co_Cu_ alloy ribbons aged at 500 ℃ for 90 min exhibits the MR ratio as large as 6.3 % at room temperature in a field of 15 kOe. Small amounts of Ni improve the MR ratio. Especially, the Co_Ni_5Cu_ alloy ribbons aged at 500 ℃ for 60 min exhibits the ratio of 7.6 % larger than the value of the aged Co_Cu_ ribbon. Furthermore, the anisotropy in GMR in bulk Fe_5Ni_Cu_ alloy aged at 500 ℃ for 170 min is obtained by compression

A Study of Lifelong Education for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities at the University Level

Background: In recent years, there has been growing interest in developing lifelong education for persons with disabilities at universities and other institutions of higher learning. However, there is still a lack of practical research on people with intellectual disabilities who participate in lifelong education. Objective: This study analyzes the experiences of participants with intellectual disabilities obtained from the practice of the Lifelong Education Program for Persons with Disabilities (AULEPP). It discusses perspectives for the future development of lifelong education. Methods: Eleven persons with intellectual disabilities who participated in the AULEPP from October 2021 to February 2022 were included in the study. Three surveys were administered to these participants before and after the AULEPP and for each lecture. Results: The average number of participants in each lecture was 5.2, and four participants attended more than eight lectures. Qualitative analysis of the survey results revealed that participants acquired new knowledge, expressed the need for continuous learning, and proposed new questions. The lectures helped them recognize changes in their perspectives on daily life and society. Most of the lectures were conducted online, but there were no negative comments about this modality. Conclusions: The study revealed the need to create opportunities for participants to find meaning in lectures, the effectiveness of online media, and the role of lifelong college education in the community. It is necessary to investigate the transferability of these results to urban areas and explore outcome measures and program content to build an evidence-based lifelong learning program

Antimicrobial and immunomodulatory effects of tedizolid against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a murine model of hematogenous pulmonary infection

Tedizolid (TZD) is a second-generation oxazolidinone and demonstrates potent in-vitro activity against multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria. Phase III studies in patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) have demonstrated the non-inferiority of TZD to linezolid (LZD). However, there are only a few studies that show the effect of TZD in pulmonary infections. In this study, we investigated the effect of TZD in a murine model of hematogenous pulmonary infection caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The mice were treated either twice daily with saline (control), 25 mg/kg of vancomycin (low-VAN), 110 mg/kg of vancomycin (high-VAN), 120 mg/kg of LZD or once daily with 20 mg/kg of TZD. As compared to the control, the low- and high-VAN treatment groups, LZD and TZD significantly improved the survival rate, reduced the bacterial count in the lungs. Furthermore, TZD decreased the area of central bacterial colony zone (CBCZ) at 36 h post-inoculation, compared with the control. In addition, we investigated the immunomodulatory effect of TZD by evaluating the plasma concentrations of the inflammatory cytokines. Although there were no significant differences in the bacterial count in the lungs amongst the drugs at 26 h post-inoculation, TZD and LZD significantly improved the plasma concentrations of TNF-alpha, IL-6 and MIP-2, in comparison with the control. In this study, both TZD and LZD demonstrated antimicrobial and immunomodulatory efficacy in a murine model of hematogenous pulmonary infection caused by MRSA

Efficacy and pharmacokinetics of ME1100, a novel optimized formulation of arbekacin for inhalation, compared with amikacin in a murine model of ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Background: Arbekacin is an aminoglycoside that shows strong antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, including MRSA, as well as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The therapeutic effectiveness of arbekacin is directly related to Cmax at the infection site. To maximize drug delivery to the respiratory tract and minimize the systemic toxicity, arbekacin optimized for inhalation, ME1100, is under development. In this study, we investigated the efficacy and pharmacokinetics of ME1100 in a murine model of ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by P. aeruginosa by using a customized investigational nebulizer system. Methods: The mice were treated for 5 min, once daily, with placebo, 3, 10 or 30 mg/mL ME1100 or 30 mg/mL amikacin. Results: In the survival study, the survival rate was significantly improved in the 10 and 30 mg/mL ME1100 treatment groups compared with that in the placebo group. The number of bacteria in the lungs was significantly lower in the 30 mg/mL ME1100 treatment group at 6 h after the initial treatment, compared with all other groups. In the pharmacokinetic study, the Cmax in the 30 mg/mL ME1100 treatment group in the epithelial lining fluid (ELF) and plasma was 31.1 and 1.2 mg/L, respectively. Furthermore, we compared the efficacy of ME1100 with that of amikacin. Although there were no significant differences in ELF and plasma concentrations between 30 mg/mL of ME1100 and 30 mg/mL of amikacin, ME1100 significantly improved the survival rate compared with amikacin. Conclusions: The results of our study demonstrated the in vivo effectiveness of ME1100 and its superiority to amikacin