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Our objective was to develop a rapid-onset and durable gene-delivery strategy that is applicable at the time of transplant to determine its effects on both acute rejection and chronic lung allograft fibrosis using a mouse orthotopic lung transplant model.C57BL/6 mice received an orthotopic left lung transplant from syngeneic donors or C57BL/10 donors. By using syngeneic lung transplantation, we established a novel gene transfer protocol with lentivirus luciferase intrabronchial administration to the donor lung ex vivo before transplantation. This strategy was applied in allogeneic lung transplantation with lentivirus engineering expression of human interleukin-10 or lentivirus luciferase (control).Bioluminescent imaging revealed that the highest early transgene expression was achieved when lentivirus luciferase was administered both directly into the donor lung graft ex vivo before implantation and subsequently to the recipient in vivo daily on post-transplant days 1 to 4, compared with post-transplant in vivo administration only (days 0 to 4). Our previous work with adenoviral interleukin-10 gene therapy indicates that early interleukin-10 expression in the allograft is desirable. Therefore, we selected the combined protocol for human interleukin-10 encoding lentiviral vector therapy. In the allogeneic transplant setting, ex vivo and in vivo human interleukin-10 encoding lentiviral vector therapy reduced acute rejection grade (2.0 vs 3.0, P .05) at day 28. The percentage of fibrotic obliterated airways was reduced in the human interleukin-10 encoding lentiviral vector-treated group (10.9% ± 7.7% vs 40.9% ± 9.3%, P .05).Delivery of lentiviral interleukin-10 gene therapy, using a novel combined ex vivo and in vivo delivery strategy, significantly improves acute and chronic rejection in the mouse lung transplant model.

Purpose Mouse orthotopic single lung transplantation (LTx) is a vital scientific model to explore lung transplantation (LTx) immunology. Minor alloantigen-mismatched LTx using C57BL/10 (B10, H-2b) to C57BL/6 (B6, H-2b) has mild acute rejection and sometimes chronic fibrosis, mimicking human LTx where alloimmunity is dampened by immunosuppressants. We have observed variations in allograft histology depending on individual microsurgeons’ experience. The purpose of this study was to compare pathological variations between individual surgeons and over time. Methods We performed a retrospective review of B10 to B6 LTx performed in our lab and sacrificed 28 days after LTx. LTx with an experimental intervention (e.g., usage of immunomodulatory agents or knock-out mice) were excluded. All pathological grading was performed in a blinded manner using HE B grade, Pl0.0001; % parenchymal fibrosis, P=0.1164; peri-airway fibrosis, Pl0.0001; obliterative airway fibrosis, Pl0.0001). Intra-surgeon chronological changes in pathological scores were statistically significant for A grade, B grade, and % parenchymal fibrosis (P=0.0024, P=0.0416, P=0.0097, respectively). Conclusion Mouse single lung transplantation is one of the most technically challenging animal models. It remains a powerful model to study underlying mechanisms of LTx biology. However, the significant learning curve and surgeon-dependent variability in histopathological findings need to be taken into account when designing experimental protocols.

Purpose Mouse orthotopic single lung transplantation (LTx) is a useful scientific model to explore LTx immunology. C57BL/10 (B10, H-2b) to C57BL/6 (B6, H-2b) minor alloantigen-mismatched LTx exhibits mild acute rejection and sometimes chronic fibrosis, mimicking human LTx where alloimmunity is dampened by immunosuppressants. We have observed variations in allograft histology across experiments, which were not explained by animal vendor or experimental conditions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate those variations objectively. Methods We performed a retrospective review of B10 to B6 LTx performed in our lab and sacrificed 28 days after LTx. LTx with an experimental intervention (e.g., usage of immunomodulatory agents or knock-out mice) were excluded. Surgeons 1 and 2 had had previous rodent LTx experience whereas Surgeons 3-5 had not. Each surgeon's first 10, middle 10, and last 10 LTx in our lab were pathologically graded in a blinded manner. Nonparametric Spearman correlation was computed to compare chronological variation across surgeons. Inter-surgeon differences were compared using two-way ANOVA. Results Data from 143 LTx were available from five surgeons’ records. Surgeon 1’s and 2’s pathology scores were mostly stable throughout the period (e.g. for B-grade rejection, Surgeon 1 r=0.10 and p=0.60, Surgeon 2 r=-0.11 and p=0.55), whereas those of surgeons 3-5 changed over time (e.g. for B-grade rejection, Surgeon 4 r=-0.57 and p Conclusion Mouse single LTx is a powerful model to study the underlying mechanisms of LTx biology. However, the surgeon- and experience-dependent variability in histopathological findings need to be taken into account when designing experimental protocols, particularly when the model has recently been acquired by the surgeon.

Increasing evidence suggests that interleukin (IL)-17A plays an important role in chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD), characterized by airway and lung parenchymal fibrosis, after lung transplantation. Halofuginone is a plant derivative that has been shown to inhibit Th17 differentiation. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of halofuginone on CLAD development using a minor alloantigen‒mismatched mouse orthotopic lung transplant model.C57BL/6 recipient mice received an orthotopic left lung transplant from C57BL/10 donors, mismatched for minor antigens. Lung transplant recipients received daily intraperitoneal injections of 2.5 μg halofuginone or vehicle alone. Lung grafts were assessed on Days 7, 14, and 28 post-transplant.Compared with control mice, on Day 28 post-transplant, lung grafts of mice treated with halofuginone showed a significant reduction in the percentage of obliterated airways (6.8 ± 4.7% vs 52.5 ± 13.8%, p0.01), as well as significantly reduced parenchymal fibrosis (5.5 ± 2.3% vs 35.9 ± 10.9%, p0.05). Immunofluorescent staining for IL-17A demonstrated a decreased number and frequency of IL-17A‒positive cells in halofuginone-treated lung grafts on Day 28, as compared with controls. Halofuginone treatment also decreased IL-17A and IL-22 transcripts at Day 14, transforming growth factor-β1 and matrix metalloproteinase-2 transcripts at Days 14 and 28.The beneficial effect of halofuginone on development of airway and lung parenchymal fibrosis in the mouse lung transplant model highlights the important role of IL-17A in CLAD and merits further pre-clinical and clinical studies.

Objective We hypothesized that administration of a homodimer of recombinant annexin V, diannexin, could shield phosphatidylserine on the endothelium, and inhibit leukocyte and platelet adhesion, thereby potentially reducing ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) in lung transplantation. This hypothesis was tested using a rat syngeneic single left-lung transplant model. Methods Rats were randomly assigned to receive diannexin (DN group; n = 10) or normal saline (control group; n = 10). Diannexin (1000 μg/kg) was administered to the donor lung in the pulmonary flush solution, and to the recipient intravenously, 5 minutes after initiation of reperfusion. Grafts were reperfused for 2 hours. Results The transplanted grafts in the DN group performed significantly better in gas exchange with higher partial pressure of oxygen (control group: 179 ± 121 vs DN group: 330 ± 54 mm Hg; P = .007) and lower partial pressure of carbon dioxide (control: 55.1 ± 26 vs DN: 34.2 ± 11 mm Hg; P = .04), as well as lower peak airway pressure (control: 20.5 ± 8.5 vs DN: 12.0 ± 7.9 cm H 2 O; P = .035) after 2 hours of reperfusion. Wet-to-dry lung weight ratio ( P = .054), and alveolar fibrin deposition score ( P = .04), were reduced in the DN group. Caspase-cleaved cytokeratin 18 in plasma (a marker of epithelial apoptosis) was significantly reduced in the DN group ( P = .013). Furthermore, gene-expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines in the transplanted graft, including interleukin-6 ( P = .04) and macrophage inflammatory protein 2 ( P = .03) were significantly decreased in the DN group. Conclusions A homodimer of recombinant annexin V reduced ischemia reperfusion injury in a lung transplant animal model, by reducing cell death and tissue inflammation.

Chronic lung allograft dysfunction, the major cause of death following lung transplantation, usually manifests as irreversible airflow obstruction associated with obliterative bronchiolitis (OB), a lesion characterized by chronic inflammation, lymphoid neogenesis, fibroproliferation and small airway obliteration. Spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk), a tyrosine kinase that regulates B cell function and innate immunity, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammation and tissue repair. This study evaluated the role of Syk in development of OB, using an intrapulmonary tracheal transplant model of OB with the conditional Syk-knockout Syk(flox/flox) //rosa26-CreER(T2) mice and a Syk-selective inhibitor, GSK2230413. BALB/c trachea allografts were transplanted into Syk-knockout (Syk(del/del) ) mice or wild-type C57BL/6 recipients treated with GSK2230413. At day 28, histological analysis revealed that in the Syk(del/del) and GSK2230413-treated C57BL/6 recipients, the graft lumen remained open compared with allografts transplanted into Syk-expressing (Syk(flox/flox) ) and placebo control-treated C57BL/6 recipients. Immunofluorescence showed lymphoid neogenesis with distinct B and T cell zones in control mice. In contrast, lymphoid neogenesis was absent and few B or T cells were found in Syk(del/del) and GSK2230413-treated mice. These observations suggest that inhibition of Syk may be a potential therapeutic strategy for the management of OB following lung transplantation.

Chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) is a serious complication after lung transplantation and thought to represent chronic rejection. Increased expression of Pentraxin 3 (PTX3), an acute phase protein, was associated with worse outcome in lung transplant patients. To determine the role of recipient PTX3 in development of chronic rejection, we used a minor alloantigen-mismatched murine orthotopic single lung transplant model. Male C57BL/10 mice were used as donors. Male PTX3 knockout (KO) mice and their wild type (WT) littermates on 129/SvEv/C57BL6/J background were used as recipients. In KO recipients, 7/13 grafted lungs were consolidated without volume recovery on CT scan, while only 2/9 WT mice showed similar graft consolidation. For grafts where lung volume could be reliably analyzed by CT scan, the lung volume recovery was significantly reduced in KO mice compared to WT. Interstitial inflammation, parenchymal fibrosis and bronchiolitis obliterans scores were significantly higher in KO mice. Presence of myofibroblasts and lymphoid aggregation was significantly enhanced in the grafts of PTX3 KO recipients. Recipient PTX3 deficiency enhanced chronic rejection-like lesions by promoting a fibrotic process in the airways and lung parenchyma. The underlying mechanisms and potential protective role of exogenous PTX3 as a therapy should be further explored.

Fouling is one of the most significant problems in membrane bioreactors (MBRs). Membranes must be washed with chemicals at appropriate times before severe fouling occurs. Long-term transmembrane pressure (TMP) prediction is attempted to plan the schedule for chemical cleaning. TMP is directly proportional to membrane resistance caused by fouling under the condition of constant-rate filtration. Statistical models have previously been used to predict TMP from operating parameters in MBRs. However, TMP predictions are difficult when operating conditions or water quality varies. We therefore propose to introduce adaptation and selection mechanisms to statistical models. Multiple TMP prediction models are updated with new measurements and a target model is selected, based on the predictive ability of the models, for long-term TMP prediction. Through case studies using two data sets obtained from actual MBRs, we confirmed that the performance of long-term TMP prediction was improved by using the proposed method because the models can adapt appropriately to changes in operating conditions or water quality.

Quantum light sources exhibiting one- and two-photon emission are the key requirement for quantum cryptography ultimately leading to truly secure data transmission [1]. Physical realization can be obtained by parametric down-conversion [2], atomic [3], or defect related transitions [4, 5] and quantum dot (QD) lumines-cence [6, 7]. Tailoring the electronic structure of a highly integrable [8] semiconductor QD even leads to tunability of the resulting photon streams [9] based on variation of vital parameters as the exciton fine-structure splitting [10–12] and the biexciton binding energy [13–16]. Hence, the precise determination of such parameters is mandatory for the design of quantum light sources, but the emission linewidth broadening due to spectral diffusion can make such task a tough challenge. The general phe-nomenon of spectral diffusion was first described in nu-clear magnetic resonance experiments [17, 18] and was then applied to light-emitting systems such as rare-earth ions [19], nitrogen vacancies in diamond [20], and semi-conductor QDs [21–23]. For the case of a semiconductor QD the emitter can be situated in a semiconductor matrix material containing defects that stochastically trap and re-lease charges and hence generate a fluctuating Coulomb field [24]. As a consequence an exciton inherent to the QD senses the charged defects in the matrix material mediated by a basic electrostatic interaction resulting in a continuous change of the associated emission energy. If the typical time scale of this as spectral diffusion known phenomenon is shorter than the integration time of the detection system, then the natural linewidth is obscured, and an inhomoge-neous emission linewidth broadening is observed [25].

Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Much of the long-term disability occurs in patients with Emergent Large Vessel Occlusion (ELVO). In fact, in these patients, occlusion of a major intracerebral artery results in a large area of brain injury often resulting in

Introduction: The effect of in vitro fertilization (IVF) on neurodevelopmental outcome is unclear. Probably, IVF does not affect traditional measures of neurological development in infancy, but little is known on long-term effects. Recently a new video-based instrument to evaluate neuromotor development was developed. The Infant Motor Profile (IMP) evaluates neuromotor condition in infants in terms of the quality of spontaneous motor behaviour. The IMP does not only assess traditional neuromotor domains, such as performance, symmetry and movement fluency, but also two novel domains: variation and variability. Movement variation denotes the size of the child's movement repertoire. Previous studies demonstrated that reduced movement variation is associated with early lesions of the periventricular white matter and - more generally - reflects the integrety of cortical connectivity. In addition, reduced variation during infancy is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in later life and reduced intelligence at school age. Variability denotes the child's ability to select from the repertoire of movements the strategy that suits the situation best. In this prospective, assessor-blinded cohort study, we address the question whether ovarian hyperstimulation and/or the in vitro procedure affect movement variation during infancy. Material and Methods: Singletons born following IVF with conventional controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH-IVF, n = 68), following IVF in a modified natural cycle (MNC-IVF, n = 57) and following natural conception born to subfertile couples (Sub-NC, n = 90) were assessed with the IMP at 4, 10 and 18 months. The assessment resulted in a total IMP score and 5 domain scores: variation (i.e. the size of movement repertoire), variability (i.e. the ability to select motor strategies), symmetry, fluency and performance. Primary outcome was the domain score variation. Outcome variables were analyzed with a mixed effects model. Results: The mixed model indicated an overall effect of treatment on variation (p Conclusions: The preliminary data suggest that ovarian hyperstimulation may be associated with reduced movement variation in infancy. These findings stress the need to carefully monitor neurodevelopment in IVF offspring.

Two-proton relative momentum distributions from the break-up channels 23Al→p+p+21Na and 22Mg→p+p+20Ne at an energy of 60–70 A MeV have been measured together with two-proton opening angles at the projectile fragment separator beamline (RIPS) in the RIKEN Ring Cyclotron Facility. The results demonstrate the existence of diproton emission component from single-step 2He for highly excited 23Al and 22Mg.

In recent years, there have been several devastations caused by the global climate change. Global climate change is considered as relating to the global warming and is becoming a serious problem. Global warming is related to the increase of carbon dioxide. The increase of the carbon dioxide is caused by the energy consumption increase. In addition, air conditioning dominates the large ratio of the energy consumption. Furthermore, according to the huge earthquake happened on March 11, 2011 in Japan, the country's energy policy is facing a turning point, which is to establish less harmful and less energy based society than ever. For that reason, to decrease the energy consumption, how to reduce the energy consumption by the air-conditioning is an important issue. There have been several research relating to the topic. However, those researches did not study on the effect of the environment sound on the human thermal sensation. For that reason, the purpose of this research is to clarify the effect of environment sound on human thermal sensation. As the result of this study, the environment sounds, such as "Rain" "Stream" "Water Bamboo" showed the effect to lower the human thermal sensation.

Climate change is getting more and more serious issue in the world. This is known as caused by the increase of carbon dioxide. To stop the increase, many countries agreed to the Paris Agreement in 2015. When to discuss the climate change, temperature drop and increase are focused more often. The big change of the temperature, especially the rise of the temperature, causes the more usage of air conditioning system, and it also causes more energy consumption. In addition, the usage of the air conditioning system is affected by both indoor and outdoor thermal environment. The temperature setting of air conditioning system tends to be lower in the countries situated in tropical region than the countries in the other region. This happens because the thermal sensation of human is easily affected by the outdoor environment. For that reason, to grasp the tendency of thermal sensation in outdoor space is important. In addition, the tendency of short time residence is necessary to wipe out the influence of the thermal environment adjustment by long time living. For that reason, this research targeted the thermal evaluation tendency of short time residents in Bangkok and carried out subject experiments in outdoor spaces to develop landscape design method. As the result of analysis, a different tendency was grasped at one of the measuring points with open sky.

An experiment of 22 Mg and 20 Ne beams bombarding on a 12 C target at an energy of 60~70 A MeV has been performed at the RIKEN projectile fragment separator (RIPS) in the RIKEN Ring Cyclotron Facility to study the two-proton correlated emission from 22 Mg and 20 Ne excited states. The two-protons momentum correlation functions have been obtained for 22 Mg and 20 Ne , respectively. The trajectories of the 22 Mg decayed products (20 Ne + p + p ) were also measured to get the angular correlations between the two protons in Center of Mass of decaying system by relativistic-kinematics reconstruction. The results exhibit that 22 Mg has the features of 2 He cluster decay mechanism.

Experiments of 23 Al and 22 Mg radioactive beams bombarding a 12 C target at an energy of 60 ~70 A MeV have been performed at the projectile fragment separator beamline (RIPS) in the RIKEN Ring Cyclotron Facility to study the two-proton emission from 23 Al and 22 Mg excited states, respectively. The trajectorie of the decay products, namely 21 Na + p + p from 23 Al and 20 Ne + p + p from 22 Mg , are clean identified. The relative momentum and opening angle between two protons in the rest frame of three body decay channels are obtained by relativistic-kinematics reconstruction. The results demonstrate that there are some di-proton emission components from 2 He cluster for the excited 23 Al and 22 Mg .

The β-NMR study of short-lived nucleus 58Cu (I π = 1 + , T 1/2 = 3.2 s) in Si has been performed. Spin polarization of 58Cu induced by the charge exchange reaction of 58Ni was observed in Si at 15 K. The 58Cu magnetic moment $|\upmu[^{58}\mbox{Cu}]| = (0.46 \pm 0.03)\upmu_{\rm N}$ deduced from the β-NMR spectrum is consistent with the previous results on the laser spectroscopy. The present result shows that the 58Cu nucleus is promising as a new nuclear probe for the microscopic study of Cu impurities in Si.

Chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) remains a major problem after lung transplantation with no definitive treatment except redo lung transplantation (re-LTx) in selected candidates. However, CLAD is not a homogeneous entity and different phenotypes exist. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effect of CLAD phenotypes on survival after re-LTx for CLAD. Patients who underwent re-LTx for respiratory failure secondary to CLAD in four LTx centers between 2003 and 2013 were included in this retrospective analysis. Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) and restrictive CLAD (rCLAD) were distinguished using pulmonary function, radiology and explant lung histopathology. Patient variables pre- and post-re-LTx were collected and analyzed. A total of 143 patients underwent re-LTx for CLAD resulting in 94 BOS (66%) and 49 rCLAD (34%) patients. Unadjusted and adjusted survival after re-LTx for rCLAD was worse compared to BOS (HR = 2.60, 1.59-4.24; p

PURPOSE Long-term follow-up data of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for patients with unresectable metastatic liver tumors from colorectal cancer have rarely been reported. This study was undertaken to evaluate long-term outcome of RFA in relation to its timing opposite chemotherapy, and to identify prognostic factors associated with survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients undergoing RFA from 1997 to 2003 were monitored. Data were prospectively collected and retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS RFA was performed for 100 patients in 146 procedures to ablate 507 colorectal metastatic tumors. All patients were followed up for at least 18 months or until death, up to 84 months: the median follow-up was 24.5 months. The overall median survival was 28 months, and 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival was 90.0%, 42.0%, and 30.5%, respectively. The recurrence-free median survival was 13 months. Median survival was 48 months among 55 patients (55%) who received RFA (first-line) before initiation of chemotherapy, versus 22 months among 45 patients (45%) who received RFA (second-line) for residual or progressive metastatic disease after chemotherapy. Significant factors affecting overall survival were carcinoembryonic antigen level (200 ng/mL), total tumor size (sum diameter of tumors, 100 mm), RFA approach, previous therapeutic chemotherapy by a univariate analysis, age (70 years) by a multivariate analysis, and extrahepatic metastasis by both analyses. DISCUSSION RFA can contribute to encouraging long-term survival. Prognostic factors have been identified. Compared with historical survival, RFA appears to confer a survival benefit over systemic chemotherapy alone, particularly when it is offered as part of first-line therapy.

We have developed a new photomultiplier tube (PMT) with high sensitivity for a wavelength-shifter fiber readout of plastic scintillators. Improvements of the photoelectron yield were made on a 2-in. PMT (Hamamatsu R329) by adopting (1) a prism-shaped photocathode, (2) an extended-green photocathode material, and (3) an optical mirror surface of the electrodes. As a result, the number of photoelectrons obtained by the new PMT has increased to be 1.8-times that by R329. Other PMT characteristics, such as uniformity of sensitivity, time response and darkcurrent are not so much different from those of R329 for practical applications.

Axillary lymph node status is an important factor for staging and treatment planning in breast cancer. Our study was performed in vitro on a node-by-node basis to evaluate the ability of B-mode ultrasonographic images to distinguish metastatic from nonmetastatic nodes. Immediately prior to histologic examination, individual dissected axillary nodes were scanned in a water bath using a 10 MHz B-mode ultrasonographic transducer. Four B-mode features (size, circularity, border demarcation, and internal echo) were evaluated for their ability to distinguish metastatic from nonmetastatic lymph nodes. Lymph node metastasis was indicated by (1) a large size (i.e., a length of the longest axis of 10 mm or greater); (2) a circular shape (i.e., the ratio of the shortest axis to the longest axis between 0.5 and 1.0); (3) a sharply demarcated border compared with surrounding fatty tissue; and (4) a hypoechoic internal echo, with obliteration of the fatty hilum. The sensitivity and specificity were compared for all combinations of features. We examined 84 histologically characterized axillary nodes from 27 breast cancer patients, including 64 nonmetastatic and 20 metastatic nodes. Of the criteria cited, circular shape was the best single feature for distinguishing metastatic from nonmetastatic nodes (sensitivity, 65%; specificity, 73%). The best combination of sensitivity (85%) and specificity (73%) was obtained using the criterion that a lymph node contained cancer when at least three positive features were present. The present in vitro study demonstrated that the sensitivity and specificity of B-mode ultrasonography for diagnosing lymph node metastasis were lower than 90%. Therefore, B-mode ultrasonography may not be an optimal noninvasive screening method for diagnosing axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer patients, particularly under in vivo clinical conditions.

s S107 value of psychosocial variables related to clinical outcomes. The present study is to determine the predictive value of the SIPAT for outcomes in candidates with end-stage heart failure who receive heart transplant and / or mechanical circulatory support (MCS) at one year post intervention. Methods: Consenting patients (n= 130) were assessed utilizing the SIPAT from 2012 to 2013 and scores analyzed with outcome data one year after data collection. Descriptive statistics were performed and p-values 40 who were declined for transplant. Overall, higher SIPAT scores associated with higher morbidity (p-value 0.03). An intriguing result of the analysis of the MCS population (n= 27) was paradoxical; lower scores (with less psychosocial risk) had more mortality and morbidity than the high risk group. Conclusion: The SIPAT is a useful instrument for stratifying clinical outcome risk with aspects of the psychosocial assessment in the heart transplant population, with higher SIPAT scores associated with higher mortality. We found little correlation between SIPAT scores and clinical outcomes in MCS candidates, indicating a need for further studies.

s S53 All 10 rejection samples (figure 1, shown in red) were associated with a DS-cfDNA level of greater then 1.3%, yielding a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity 80% (figure 2). Two of these demonstrated elevated DS-cfDNA before the onset of any clinical symptoms. Conclusion: DS-cfDNA has high sensitivity in the non-invasive detection of rejection. Patients with elevated DS-cfDNA but without rejection had a higher incidence of valvar regurgitation, quilty lesions, and graft vasculopathy suggesting the utility of DS-cfDNA as a biomarker for ongoing injury to the donor organ.

We have numerically investigated the co-operative magnetization reversal of magnetic particle arrays with fringe fields coupling. Demagnetization processes of one-dimensional particle arrays are studied taking the inter-particle separation S and uniaxial anisotropy K u as parameters. Particles are found to rotate toward same or opposite directions depending on the values of S and K u .

A current perpendicular to plane giant magnetoresistance structure with a cross contact geometry was fabricated by a two-step ion-milling technique. Multilayer pillars with various layer structures and a lateral dimension down to 0.4 μm were embedded between orthogonal top and bottom electrodes. The microfabricated cross point structure minimizes the influence of electrode resistance in measurements of magnetoresistance in current perpendicular to plane geometry. Individual switching of Co layer was observed in a pillar with layer structure of [Co(10 nm)/Cu(4 nm)/Co(2 nm)/Cu(10 nm)]3 and lateral dimension of 0.4×2.0 μm2. Distinct three-step resistance change was observed for the rising part of the magnetoresistance (MR) curve, corresponding to the switching of Co(2 nm) layers. Somewhat complicated MR behavior in the falling part suggests the existence of a local minimum configuration during the switching of Co(10 nm) layers. The switching behavior of magnetic layers with interlayer dipole coupling was stu...

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of lentivirus-mediated IL-10 gene therapy to target lung allograft rejection in a mouse orthotopic left lung transplantation model. IL-10 may regulate posttransplant immunity mediated by IL-17. Lentivirus-mediated trans-airway luciferase gene transfer to the donor lung resulted in persistent luciferase activity up to 6 months posttransplant in the isograft (B6 to B6); luciferase activity decreased in minor-mismatched allograft lungs (B10 to B6) in association with moderate rejection. Fully MHC-mismatched allograft transplantation (BALB/c to B6) resulted in severe rejection and complete loss of luciferase activity. In minor-mismatched allografts, IL-10-encoding lentivirus gene therapy reduced the acute rejection score compared with the lentivirus-luciferase control at posttransplant day 28 (3.0 ± 0.6 vs. 2.0 ± 0.6 (mean ± SD); p = 0.025; n = 6/group). IL-10 gene therapy also significantly reduced gene expression of IL-17, IL-23, and retinoic acid-related orphan receptor (ROR)-γt without affecting levels of IL-12 and interferon-γ (IFN-γ). Cells expressing IL-17 were dramatically reduced in the allograft lung. In conclusion, lentivirus-mediated IL-10 gene therapy significantly reduced expression of IL-17 and other associated genes in the transplanted allograft lung and attenuated posttransplant immune responses after orthotopic lung transplantation.

MRSA感染症は重要な術後感染症の一つであるが,下部消化管手術症例についての報告は散見するにすぎない.下部消化管手術症例381例についてMRSAの検出,腸炎発症の現状と誘因について検討した.MRSAの検出率は11.3%,腸炎発症率は4.5%であった.侵襲の大きな術式で検出率,発症率ともに高率であった,検出部位は,会陰創の検出頻度が30.2%と高率であった.H2プロッカー投与例は,非投与群に比べて検出率,発症率共に高率であった(P

The patient was a 68 year-old woman who had a history of treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis 35 years ago. She has experienced dyspnea and hemosputa since several years ago and has been followed up as having chronic empyema. She was admitted to our hospital due to recent exacerbation of symptoms. X-ray films and computed tomography scans of the chest showed the right thoracic cavity to be totally filled with a mass and the shift of mediastinum to the left side. After several days from admission, she needed mechanical ventilation support due to dyspnea exacerbation. Emergency decortication with right pneumonectomy through median sternotomy with anterolateral incision was performed. Postoperative course was uneventful. Pathlogical diagnosis was chronic expanding hematoma.

Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax (SSP) such as lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) is intractable or repeated the recurrence of pneumothorax. The most effective chemical pleurodesis for intractable pneumothorax is talc poudrage and so on that is associated with a reduction in the rate of pneumothorax recurrence. However, severe and broad pleural adhesion due to the pleural interventional procedures sometimes cause serious bleeding when the patients undergo lung transplantation. We must be considered for new approaches to these intractable secondary pneumothoraces which replaced traditional conservative and surgical approaches. We had proposed new 2 approaches of total pleural covering (TPC) and awake surgical intervention (ASI) for intractable pneumothorax. We applied the TPC modified with coverage of air leak points with polyglycolic acid (PGA) sheet to 5 patients with intractable bilateral pneumothorax to reduce the risk of excessive bleeding by chemical pleurodesis in lung transplantation. The bilateral pneumothorax was well controlled, and no recurrence has been observed. TPC is reliable procedure for management intractable bilateral SSP. For 12 high-risk patients with other underling pulmonary diseases on general poor conditions, a surgical intervention was performed in awake condition. The air leaks were stopped in 11 cases except for 1 case. The recurrence of pneumothorax after surgery was 2 cases. ASI for intractable secondary pneumothorax can be applicable to selected patients with deteriorated general condition.

Exciton bright-state fine-structure splitting (FSS) in single GaN/AlN quantum dots (QDs) is reported, presenting an important step toward the realization of room temperature single-qubit emitters for quantum cryptography and communication. The FSS in nitride QDs is up to 7 meV and thus much larger than for other QD systems. We find also a surprising dependence of FSS on the QD size, inverse to that of arsenide QDs. Now we are able to explain why FSS can only be observed in small QDs of high-emission energies. Our calculations reveal a shape/strain anisotropy as origin of the large FSS allowing different approaches to control FSS in nitrides.

We have measured two‐proton momentum and angular correlations for the 23Al excited states from the 23Al radioactive beam on a 12C target at an energy of 60∼70 A MeV at the projectile fragment separator beamline (RIPS) in the RIKEN Ring Cyclotron Facility. The decay products, namely 21Na+p+p from 23Al are clean identified. The relative momentum and opening angle between two protons in the rest frame of three body decay channels demonstrate that there are some diproton emission components from 2He cluster for the excited 23Al.

The gelation of standard Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) is triggered by the addition of a small amount of beta-glucan (1-1000 ng/ml plasma), but in the presence of an excessive amount of beta-glucan (1 mg/ml plasma), the gelation becomes insensitive to beta-glucan. Utilizing this property, a method to determine quantitatively the amount of endotoxin circulating in humans was developed. When a modified LAL, or LAL-ES, which contains an excessive amount of CM-curdlan as beta-glucan, was used for the assay, a linear relation in the logarithmic scales was obtained between the gelation time measured by the turbidimetry (min) and the concentration of endotoxin. This relation was not affected by a considerable amount of beta-glucan (100 ng/ml). The sensitivity of the endotoxin assay was estimated to be as low as 3 pg/ml. The following aspects of the method were found by clinical application to normal and febrile subjects. (1) Using both LAL and LAL-ES, it was possible to distinguish the effect of endotoxin from that of beta-glucan in plasma, i.e., bacterial sepsis from fungal sepsis. (2) The amount of circulating endotoxin determined by the present method showed good correlation to those obtained by chromogenic assay using modified LAL devoid of Factor G which could be activated by beta-glucan.