Statistical study of Doppler velocity and echo power around 75゜ magnetic latitude using data obtained with the Syowa East HF radar in 1997

We present the statistical relationship between the echo power and Doppler velocity of radar echoes observed with the Syowa East HF radar in Antarctica in 1997. The objective of this analysis was to clarify the mechanisms by which high-latitude (～75° magnetic latitude) F region irregularities are generated. Although data points are scattered over a large area, a positive correlation between Doppler velocity and echo power appears to be present. This relationship can be interpreted in terms of gradient-drift instability, which is the most probable cause of the decameter-scale irregularities in the F region. The positive correlation deteriorates in the afternoon and midnight sectors, probably as a result of other mechanisms related to particle precipitation (field-aligned current), such as the current-convective instability

Statistical analysis of echo power, Doppler velocity and spectral width obtained with the Syowa South HF radar

Statistical analyses are made of the physical parameters (echo power, Doppler velocity and spectral width) of Doppler spectra obtained in September 1995 with the Syowa South HF radar. We present time and range distributions and histograms of the parameters and cross-correlations among them. With K index at Syowa Station the distributions and histograms vary slightly but the correlations do not change so much. The most noticeable feature is that there is a positive correlation between the absolute values of Doppler velocity and echo power. This relationship can be interpreted in terms of the gradient-drift instability which is the most probable cause to generate decameter-scale irregularities in the F-region ionosphere

Half-turned truncal switch operation for complete transposition of the great arteries with ventricular septal defect and pulmonary stenosis

AbstractJ Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2003;125:966-

Expression and function of ephrin-B1 and its cognate receptor EphB2 in human abdominal aortic aneurysm

We examined the expression of ephrin-B1 and its cognate receptor EphB2, key regulators of angiogenesis and embryogenesis, in human abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and analyzed their functional roles in cell migration. From 10 patients (9 males and 1 female; age, 68.5 ± 2.4) who underwent vascular surgery for AAA, we obtained AAA and adjacent control tissues. Using real-time RT-PCR, we analyzed expression of ephrin-B1 and EphB2. We also histologically localized these molecules in AAA tissues. Finally, effects of ephrin-B1 and EphB2 on inflammatory cell chemotaxis were examined by cell migration assay. Expression levels of ephrin-B1 (0.410 ± 0.046 versus 1.198 ± 0.252, P = 0.027) and EphB2 (0.764 ± 0.212 versus 1.272 ± 0.137, P = 0.594) were higher in AAA than normal control. Both ephrin-B1 and EphB2 were expressed in macrophages, T lymphocytes, and endothelial cells within AAA. In chemotaxis assay, ephrin-B1 and EphB2 inhibited mononuclear-cell chemotaxis induced by stromal derived factor-1 down to 54.7 ± 12.7 (P = 0.01) and 50.7 ± 13.1 (P = 0.01), respectively. These data suggest that ephrin-B1 and EphB2 might be functional in human adult inflammatory cells and involved in the pathogenesis of AAA, although specific roles of these molecules should further be sought. © 2012 Aiji Sakamoto et al

Expression and function of ephrin-B1 and its cognate receptor EphB2 in human abdominal aortic aneurysm

We examined the expression of ephrin-B1 and its cognate receptor EphB2, key regulators of angiogenesis and embryogenesis, in human abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and analyzed their functional roles in cell migration. From 10 patients (9 males and 1 female; age, 68.5 ± 2.4) who underwent vascular surgery for AAA, we obtained AAA and adjacent control tissues. Using real-time RT-PCR, we analyzed expression of ephrin-B1 and EphB2. We also histologically localized these molecules in AAA tissues. Finally, effects of ephrin-B1 and EphB2 on inflammatory cell chemotaxis were examined by cell migration assay. Expression levels of ephrin-B1 (0.410 ± 0.046 versus 1.198 ± 0.252, P = 0.027) and EphB2 (0.764 ± 0.212 versus 1.272 ± 0.137, P = 0.594) were higher in AAA than normal control. Both ephrin-B1 and EphB2 were expressed in macrophages, T lymphocytes, and endothelial cells within AAA. In chemotaxis assay, ephrin-B1 and EphB2 inhibited mononuclear-cell chemotaxis induced by stromal derived factor-1 down to 54.7 ± 12.7 (P = 0.01) and 50.7 ± 13.1 (P = 0.01), respectively. These data suggest that ephrin-B1 and EphB2 might be functional in human adult inflammatory cells and involved in the pathogenesis of AAA, although specific roles of these molecules should further be sought. © 2012 Aiji Sakamoto et al

A novel method for determining functional LDL receptor activity in familial hypercholesterolemia: Application of the CD3/CD28 assay in lymphocytes

金沢大学附属病院循環器内科Background: The objective of this study was to develop a new and simple method for measuring low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) activity using peripheral lymphocytes enabling us to clinically diagnose familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and ascertain the involved mutations (such as K790X mutation), that might not be clearly detected in the conventional method. Methods: Our method comprised the following 2 features: first, we used anti-CD3/CD28 beads to stimulate T-lymphocytes to obtain a uniform fraction of lymphocytes and maximum up-regulation of LDLR. Second, we excluded the possibility of overestimation of lymphocyte signals bound only to its surface, by adding heparin to the cultured lymphocytes used for the LDLR assay. Results: Based on the genetic mutation, the FH subjects were divided into 2 groups, K790X, (n = 20) and P664L, (n = 5), and their LDLR activities was measured by this method, which was found to be 55.3 ± 8.9% and 63.9 ± 13.8%, respectively, of that of the control group (n = 15). In comparison, the LDLR activity was 86.1 ± 11.6% (K790X) and 73.3 ± 6.3% (P664L) of that of the control group when measured by the conventional method, indicating that impairment of LDLR function in FH K790X subjects was much more clearly differentiated with our method than with the conventional method (paired t-test, p < 0.0001). The levels of LDLR expression also showed similar tendencies, that is, 89.4 ± 13.2% (K790X) and 76.9 ± 17.4% (P664L) of that of the control group when measured by the conventional method, and 78.1 ± 9.7% (K790X) and 70.3 ± 26.5% (P664L) when measured by our new method. In addition, we confirmed that there was little influence of statin treatment on LDLR activity among the study subjects when our method was used. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that our new method is applicable for measuring LDLR activity, even in subjects with an internally defective allele, and that T-lymphocytes of the FH K790X mutation possess characteristics of that allele. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved