Supernova Nucleosynthesis and Extremely Metal-Poor Stars

We investigate hydrodynamical and nucleosynthetic properties of the jet-induced explosion of a population III $40M_\odot$ star and compare the abundance patterns of the yields with those of the metal-poor stars. We conclude that (1) the ejection of Fe-peak products and the fallback of unprocessed materials can account for the abundance patterns of the extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars and that (2) the jet-induced explosion with different energy deposition rates can explain the diversity of the abundance patterns of the metal-poor stars. Furthermore, the abundance distribution after the explosion and the angular dependence of the yield are shown for the models with high and low energy deposition rates $\dot{E}_{\rm dep}=120\times10^{51} {\rm ergs s^{-1}}$ and $1.5\times10^{51} {\rm ergs s^{-1}}$. We also find that the peculiar abundance pattern of a Si-deficient metal-poor star HE 1424--0241 can be reproduced by the angle-delimited yield for $\theta=30^\circ-35^\circ$ of the model with $\dot{E}_{\rm dep}=120\times10^{51} {\rm ergs s^{-1}}$.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. To appear in "ORIGIN OF MATTER AND EVOLUTION OF GALAXIES: From the Dawn of Universe to the Formation of Solar System", AIP Conf. Proc. 1016 (December 2007, Sapporo), eds. T. Suda, T. Nozawa, et al. (Melville: AIP

Soft X-ray Transmission Spectroscopy of Warm/Hot Intergalactic Medium with XEUS

We discuss the detectability of Warm/Hot Intergalactic medium (WHIM) via the absorption lines toward bright point sources with a future X-ray satellite mission, XEUS. While we consider bright QSOs as specific examples, the methodology can be applied to bright GRB afterglows. We create mock absorption spectra for bright QSOs (more than 20 QSOs over the all sky) using a light-cone output of a cosmological hydrodynamic simulation. We assume that WHIM is under collisional and photo-ionization equilibrium. If WHIM has a constant metallicity of $Z=0.1Z_\odot$, approximately 2 O{\sc vii} absorption line system with $>3\sigma$ will be detected on average along a random line-of-sight toward bright QSOs up to $z=0.3$ for 30 ksec exposure.Comment: 34 pages, 17 figures. Substantial revision. PASJ, in press (2006, vol.58, August 25 issue

A Strategic Protocol to Improve the Process and Outcomes of Two-stage Revision Total Hip Arthroplasty

Two-stage revision total hip arthroplasty (THA) is the most commonly used treatment approach for deep prosthetic infection. However, in this approach the interval between the first and second stage tends to be prolonged. We devised a strategic protocol for improving the infection eradication rate and shortening the interval between the stages in two-stage revision THA. This study analyzed a series of 14 patients (14 hips) from 2008 to 2012, who were treated using an antibiotic-loaded acrylic cement (ALAC) spacer at the first stage and re-implantation at the second stage. The ALAC included vancomycin and amikacin for most of the cases. Patients with MRSA infection were additionally administered intravenous vancomycin in combination with either oral rifampicin or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. The average interval between the stages was 54.2 days overall, and 58.7 days for cases with MRSA infection. Our infection eradication rate was 100%, with no reported recurrence of infection. The presence of MRSA tended to be associated with a longer interval between the two stages. Our protocol for two-stage revision THA was associated with a high eradication rate of infection and a shortened interval between the stages

Osteocrin ameliorates adriamycin nephropathy via p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibition

Natriuretic peptides exert multiple effects by binding to natriuretic peptide receptors (NPRs). Osteocrin (OSTN) binds with high affinity to NPR-C, a clearance receptor for natriuretic peptides, and inhibits degradation of natriuretic peptides and consequently enhances guanylyl cyclase-A (GC-A/NPR1) signaling. However, the roles of OSTN in the kidney have not been well clarified. Adriamycin (ADR) nephropathy in wild-type mice showed albuminuria, glomerular basement membrane changes, increased podocyte injuries, infiltration of macrophages, and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation. All these phenotypes were improved in OSTN- transgenic (Tg) mice and NPR3 knockout (KO) mice, with no further improvement in OSTN-Tg/NPR3 KO double mutant mice, indicating that OSTN works through NPR3. On the contrary, OSTN KO mice increased urinary albumin levels, and pharmacological blockade of p38 MAPK in OSTN KO mice ameliorated ADR nephropathy. In vitro, combination treatment with ANP and OSTN, or FR167653, p38 MAPK inhibitor, reduced Ccl2 and Des mRNA expression in murine podocytes (MPC5). OSTN increased intracellular cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) in MPC5 through GC-A. We have elucidated that circulating OSTN improves ADR nephropathy by enhancing GC-A signaling and consequently suppressing p38 MAPK activation. These results suggest that OSTN could be a promising therapeutic agent for podocyte injury

Predictors of Survival in Patients With Ischemic Stroke and Active Cancer: A Prospective, Multicenter, Observational Study

BACKGROUND: Limited data exist on the prognostic factors for patients with ischemic stroke and active cancer. METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a prospective, multicenter, observational study in Japan, including patients with acute ischemic stroke and active cancer, to investigate the prognostic factors. We followed up the patients for 1 year after stroke onset. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to cryptogenic stroke and known causes (small-vessel occlusion, large-artery atherosclerosis, cardioembolism, and other determined cause), and survival was compared. The hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for mortality were calculated using Cox regression models. We identified 135 eligible patients (39% women; median age, 75 years). Of these patients, 51% had distant metastasis. A total of 65 (48%) and 70 (52%) patients had cryptogenic stroke and known causes, respectively. Patients with cryptogenic stroke had significantly shorter survival than those with known causes (HR [95% CI], 3.11 [1.82–5.32]). The multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that distant metastasis, plasma D-dimer levels, venous thromboembolism (either deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) complications at stroke onset were independent predictors of mortality after adjusting for potential confounders. Cryptogenic stroke was associated with prognosis in univariable analysis but was not significant in multivariable analysis. The plasma D-dimer levels stratified the prognosis of patients with ischemic stroke and active cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of patients with acute ischemic stroke and active cancer varied considerably depending on stroke mechanism, distant metastasis, and coagulation abnormalities. The present study confirmed that coagulation abnormalities were crucial in determining the prognosis of such patients.Gon Y., Sakaguchi M., Yamagami H., et al. Predictors of Survival in Patients With Ischemic Stroke and Active Cancer: A Prospective, Multicenter, Observational Study. Journal of the American Heart Association 12, e029618 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.123.029618

<Symposium> Regional Geography and Area Studies Reconsidered Discussion

地誌学とエリアスタディ : 現状と課

The ASTRO-H X-ray Observatory

The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy universe via a suite of four instruments, covering a very wide energy range, from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. These instruments include a high-resolution, high-throughput spectrometer sensitive over 0.3-2 keV with high spectral resolution of Delta E < 7 eV, enabled by a micro-calorimeter array located in the focal plane of thin-foil X-ray optics; hard X-ray imaging spectrometers covering 5-80 keV, located in the focal plane of multilayer-coated, focusing hard X-ray mirrors; a wide-field imaging spectrometer sensitive over 0.4-12 keV, with an X-ray CCD camera in the focal plane of a soft X-ray telescope; and a non-focusing Compton-camera type soft gamma-ray detector, sensitive in the 40-600 keV band. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral resolution, will enable the pursuit of a wide variety of important science themes.Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, Proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical Instrumentation "Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

The Quiescent Intracluster Medium in the Core of the Perseus Cluster

Clusters of galaxies are the most massive gravitationally-bound objects in the Universe and are still forming. They are thus important probes of cosmological parameters and a host of astrophysical processes. Knowledge of the dynamics of the pervasive hot gas, which dominates in mass over stars in a cluster, is a crucial missing ingredient. It can enable new insights into mechanical energy injection by the central supermassive black hole and the use of hydrostatic equilibrium for the determination of cluster masses. X-rays from the core of the Perseus cluster are emitted by the 50 million K diffuse hot plasma filling its gravitational potential well. The Active Galactic Nucleus of the central galaxy NGC1275 is pumping jetted energy into the surrounding intracluster medium, creating buoyant bubbles filled with relativistic plasma. These likely induce motions in the intracluster medium and heat the inner gas preventing runaway radiative cooling; a process known as Active Galactic Nucleus Feedback. Here we report on Hitomi X-ray observations of the Perseus cluster core, which reveal a remarkably quiescent atmosphere where the gas has a line-of-sight velocity dispersion of 164+/-10 km/s in a region 30-60 kpc from the central nucleus. A gradient in the line-of-sight velocity of 150+/-70 km/s is found across the 60 kpc image of the cluster core. Turbulent pressure support in the gas is 4% or less of the thermodynamic pressure, with large scale shear at most doubling that estimate. We infer that total cluster masses determined from hydrostatic equilibrium in the central regions need little correction for turbulent pressure.Comment: 31 pages, 11 Figs, published in Nature July