Field emission from a single carbon nanocoil

科研費報告書収録論文(課題番号:13305010・基盤研究(A)(2) ・H13～H15/研究代表者:江刺, 正喜/ナノメートルの精度で動く分布型マイクロ・ナノマシン

Hydrophilic statin suppresses vein graft intimal hyperplasia via endothelial cell-tropic Rho-kinase inhibition

BackgroundRecent studies suggest that statins can protect the vasculature in a manner that is independent of their lipid-lowering activity through inhibition of the small guanosine triphosphate-binding protein, Rho, and Rho-associated kinase. Little information is available on the inhibitory effect of statins on vein graft intimal hyperplasia, the main cause of late graft failure after bypass grafting. We therefore examined the effects of a hydrophilic statin on vein graft intimal hyperplasia in vivo and Rho-kinase activity in vitro.MethodsIn the first experiment, rabbits were randomized to a control group (n = 7) that was fed regular rabbit chow or to a pravastatin group (n = 7) that was fed regular rabbit chow supplemented with 10 mg/kg pravastatin sodium. The branches of the jugular vein were ligated and an approximately 3-cm segment of the jugular vein was taken for an autologous reversed-vein graft. The carotid artery was cut and replaced with the harvested autologous jugular vein. At 2 and 4 weeks after the operation, vein grafts in both groups were harvested, and intimal hyperplasia of the vein grafts was assessed. In the second experiment, human umbilical vein endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells were cultured and then treated with 1 μmol/L and 30 μmol/L pravastatin for 24 hours and harvested. Immunoblotting was performed on the resulting precipitates. Quantitative evaluation of phosphorylated myosin binding subunit and endothelial nitric oxide synthase was performed by densitometric analysis.ResultsWe demonstrated that oral administration of the hydrophilic statin pravastatin to normocholesterolemic rabbits inhibited intimal hyperplasia of carotid interposition-reversed jugular vein grafts 4 weeks after implantation (pravastatin group, 39.5 ± 3.5 μm vs control group, 64.0 ± 7.1 μm; n = 7; P < .05) and suppressed cell proliferation and apoptosis in the neointima 2 weeks after implantation. In addition, we found that pravastatin inhibited Rho-kinase activity and accelerated endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells but did not inhibit Rho-kinase activity in vascular smooth muscle cells.ConclusionsThese novel findings clearly demonstrate that a hydrophilic statin can suppress intimal hyperplasia of the vein graft in vivo and also show endothelial cell-tropic inhibition of Rho-kinase in vitro. Furthermore, these results strongly support the clinical use of hydrophilic statins to prevent intimal hyperplasia of the vein graft after bypass grafting.Clinical RelevanceLate graft failure caused by neointimal hyperplasia limits the efficacy of vein grafting. Various treatments were examined to reduce neointimal hyperplasia, but a standard clinical treatment has not yet been established. We report here the inhibitory effect of pravastatin on the development of vein graft intimal hyperplasia. In addition, we demonstrate that pravastatin showed endothelial cell-tropic benefits through both the inhibition of Rho-kinase activity and acceleration of eNOS expression in vitro. Because the clinical benefits and safety of pravastatin have been established to a certain extent through long-term clinical usage, pravastatin may soon become standard treatment after vein bypass grafting

A concept of hazardous NEO detection and impact warning system

In 2013, the well-known Chelyabinsk meteor entered the Earth's atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia. It is estimated that the meteor exploded at altitude near 30 km[2], which damaged thousands of buildings and injured a thousand of residents[3–4]. The estimated size of the meteor is approximately 20 m[2]. Because the meteor approached to Earth from Sun direction, no ground-based observatories could not detect until the impact. Considering such situations, the paper proposes a concept to detect Chelyabinsk-class small Near-Earth Objects. The concept addresses a “last-minute” warning system of NEO impact, in the same manner of “Tsunami” warning. To achieve the mission objective, two locations are assumed for the space telescope installation point i.e., Sun-Earth Lagrange point 1, SEL1 and Artificial Equilibrium Point, AEP. SEL1 is one of the natural equilibrium points, on the other hand, AEP is artificially equilibrated point by Sun and Earth gravity, centrifugal force and low-thrust acceleration. The magnitude of the acceleration to keep AEP is sufficiently small near 1 au radius orbit around the Sun i.e., the order of μm/s2 which can be achieved by solar sail. Through some cases of numerical simulations considering the size of NEOs and detector capability, this paper will show the feasibility of the proposed concept

Activation of fibroblast-like synoviocytes derived from rheumatoid arthritis via lysophosphatidic acid-lysophosphatidic acid receptor 1 cascade

INTRODUCTION: Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a bioactive lipid that binds to G protein–coupled receptors (LPA(1–6)). Recently, we reported that abrogation of LPA receptor 1 (LPA(1)) ameliorated murine collagen-induced arthritis, probably via inhibition of inflammatory cell migration, Th17 differentiation and osteoclastogenesis. In this study, we examined the importance of the LPA–LPA(1) axis in cell proliferation, cytokine/chemokine production and lymphocyte transmigration in fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) obtained from the synovial tissues of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. METHODS: FLSs were prepared from synovial tissues of RA patients. Expression of LPA(1–6) was examined by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Cell surface LPA(1) expression was analyzed by flow cytometry. Cell proliferation was analyzed using a cell-counting kit. Production of interleukin 6 (IL-6), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2), metalloproteinase 3 (MMP-3) and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 12 (CXCL12) was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Pseudoemperipolesis was evaluated using a coculture of RA FLSs and T or B cells. Cell motility was examined by scrape motility assay. Expression of adhesion molecules was determined by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The expression of LPA(1) mRNA and cell surface LPA(1) was higher in RA FLSs than in FLSs from osteoarthritis tissue. Stimulation with LPA enhanced the proliferation of RA FLSs and the production of IL-6, VEGF, CCL2 and MMP-3 by FLSs, which were suppressed by an LPA(1) inhibitor (LA-01). Ki16425, another LPA(1) antagonist, also suppressed IL-6 production by LPA-stimulated RA FLSs. However, the production of CXCL12 was not altered by stimulation with LPA. LPA induced the pseudoemperipolesis of T and B cells cocultured with RA FLSs, which was suppressed by LPA(1) inhibition. In addition, LPA enhanced the migration of RA FLSs and expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule and intercellular adhesion molecule on RA FLSs, which were also inhibited by an LPA(1) antagonist. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these results indicate that LPA–LPA(1) signaling contributes to the activation of RA FLSs

Balloon pulmonary angioplasty for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: its history and development, and regional medical cooperation in Fukushima

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is designated as an intractable disease by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, and has an extremely poor prognosis if untreated. Surgical pulmonary endarterectomy is the curative treatment for cases in which the organized thrombi are located in the central part of the pulmonary artery, but there had been no effective treatment for cases in which the thrombi are located in the peripheral part of the pulmonary artery. Recently, balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA), a transcatheter procedure to dilate stenotic or occluded lesions in the peripheral pulmonary artery, has been rapidly developed. Although BPA was once a globally abandoned procedure due to hemorrhagic complications, Japanese experts have improved the technique, and its safety and efficacy have been enhanced. As a result, BPA is now being reevaluated worldwide. This review describes the history and development of BPA in the treatment of CTEPH, as well as the status of this treatment in Fukushima Prefecture

A Case of Hiatal Hernia with Upside Down Stomach and Incarcerated Transverse Colon Successfully Treated by Laparoscopic Floppy Nissen Fundoplication

症例は50歳の女性。食後の呼吸困難感のため近医より紹介受診となった。上部消化管造影検査では胃全体が縦隔内に脱出していた。またCT検査では横行結腸の縦隔内への脱出も認めた。以上より，横行結腸嵌入を伴う upside down stomach を呈する食道裂孔ヘルニアと診断し腹腔鏡下手術を行った。食道裂孔より縦隔内の胃や横行結腸を腹腔内に還納したが虚血を疑う所見や狭窄所見は認めなかった。開大した食道裂孔を縫合閉鎖した後にメッシュを用いた食道裂孔の補強と floppy Nissen 法による噴門形成術を施行し，術後経過は良好であった。食道裂孔ヘルニアへの横行結腸嵌入はまれな病態であるが，狭窄・壊死・穿孔のため緊急手術の報告もあり早期に手術治療を行う必要があると考えられた。A 50-year-old woman suffering from dyspnea after meals consulted a nearby hospital. In the upper gastrointestinal series, the whole stomach had herniated into the mediastinum. An abdominal CT scan showed the transverse colon to have prolapsed into mediastinum. Esophageal hiatal hernia with upside down stomach and incarcerated transverse colon was diagnosed, and laparoscopic surgery was performed. We returned the stomach and transverse colon to the abdominal cavity, they didn’t become ischemic and constricted. We sutured a dilated opening of hiatal hernia by simple crural closure, additionally closed with a mesh, and a floppy Nissen fundoplication was performed. The postoperative course of the patient was uneventful. Although hiatal hernia with incarcerated transverse colon is very rare, it was necessary that surgical treatment was performed earlier because some emergency laparotomy were reported with transverse colon resection

Status of the RFQ linac installation and conditioning of the Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator

Abstract The Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) linac and 1.6 MW RF power system of the Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc) facility in the International Fusion Energy Research Center (IFERC) in Rokkasho (Japan) has been installed and conditioned. During the assembly and tuning process, the RFQ cavity was protected with a temporary tent from the potential deterioration of performance caused by dust. The vacuum in the cavity was improved through the 100 °C baking process of the cavity. The high power test of the 175 MHz RF systems up to 200 kW in CW for each of the eight RF chains was performed for checking its stable output reproducibility in Japan, before connecting 9–3/16 inch coaxial transmission lines from the RF chains to the RF input couplers of the cavity. It was confirmed that the eight RF chains provided the balanced RF power to the single RFQ cavity in-phase using a feedback loop and a synchronization system. The peak power in the cavity achieved 150 kW in the pulsed mode, which corresponds approximately to the required electric field to accelerate proton beam. Such RF conditioning process is ongoing to achieve 600 kW approximately required for deuteron beam commissioning planned in 2018

Temperature dependence of electronic optical absorption in (NMe4+· TCNQ-·)2TCNQ

The temperature dependence of the linearly polarized optical absorption spectrum has been measured in single crystals of (NMe4+·TCNQ−·)2TCNQ, where NMe4 and TCNQ are tetramethylammonium and tetracyanoqui nodi methane, respectively, in the temperature range between −100 and +150 ℃. In addition to intense TCNQ−· dimer bands, strongly temperature-dependent satellite bands appear at around 1.3 eV and 1.9 eV. The singular behavior of the intensity and peak position of the 1.3 eV band shows that a second order phase transition takes place at 126 ℃. The origin of this band is discussed in relation to the mechanism of the phase transition