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Objective We assessed the effect of canagliflozin, an sodium-glucose co-transporter type-2 inhibitor, on hepatic steatosis using three imaging modalities: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography, and transient elastography. We further determined factors associated with improving hepatic steatosis by canagliflozin among patients with type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods We conducted a six-month prospective single-arm study between August 2015 and June 2017. The primary outcome was the change in hepatic steatosis assessed using the hepatic proton density fat fraction (PDFF) on MRI before and after treatment with canagliflozin. The secondary outcomes were changes in measures of glucose metabolism, including the hepatic glucose uptake on fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography, and the inflammation and volumes of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. Patients Nine patients with type 2 diabetes and NAFLD completed this study. All participants received canagliflozin at a dose of 100 mg daily. Results Canagliflozin caused a significant reduction in hepatic PDFF from baseline [median 20.6% (interquartile range 11.7%, 29.8%)] after 6 months [10.6% (5.4%, 22.6%), p=0.008]. Canagliflozin also significantly reduced the body weight, glycated hemoglobin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and volumes of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle (all p<0.05). The reduction in hepatic PDFF was not correlated with changes in the body weight, HOMA-IR, hs-CRP, or volume of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle from baseline after six months. Conclusion Among patients with type 2 diabetes and NAFLD, canagliflozin improved hepatic steatosis. The effect may be independent of reducing adiposity, insulin resistance, inflammation, and skeletal muscle volume.

We describe efficient visible- and near-infrared (vis/NIR) light-driven photocatalytic properties of hybrids of Cu 2 O and plasmonic Cu arrays. The Cu 2 O/Cu arrays were prepared simply by allowing a Cu half-shell array to stand in an oxygen atmosphere for 3 h, which was prepared by depositing Cu on two-dimensional colloidal crystals with a diameter of 543 or 224 nm. The localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) of the arrays were strongly excited at 866 and 626 nm, respectively, at which the imaginary part of the dielectric function of Cu is small. The rate of photodegradation of methyl orange was 27 and 84 times faster, respectively, than that with a Cu 2 O/nonplasmonic Cu plate. The photocatalytic activity was demonstrated to be dominated by Cu LSPR excitation. These results showed that the inexpensive Cu 2 O/Cu arrays can be excellent vis/NIR-light-driven photocatalysts based on the efficient excitation of Cu LSPR.

We demonstrated the usefulness of Cu light-harvesting plasmonic nanoantennae for the development of inexpensive and efficient artificial organic photoelectric conversion systems. The systems consisted of the stacked structures of layers of porphyrin as a dye molecule, oxidation-suppressing layers, and plasmonic Cu arrayed electrodes. To accurately evaluate the effect of Cu nanoantenna on the porphyrin photocurrent, the production of Cu 2 O by the spontaneous oxidation of the electrode surfaces, which can act as a photoexcited species under visible light irradiation, was effectively suppressed by inserting the ultrathin linking layers consisting of 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid, titanium oxide, and poly(vinyl alcohol) between the electrode surface and porphyrin molecules. The reflection spectra in an aqueous environment of the arrayed electrodes, which were prepared by thermally depositing Cu on two-dimensional colloidal crystals of silica with diameters of 160, 260, and 330 nm, showed clear reflection dips at 596, 703, and 762 nm, respectively, which are attributed to the excitation of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). While the first dip lies within the wavelengths where the imaginary part of the Cu dielectric function is moderately large, the latter two dips lie within a region of a quite small imaginary part. Consequently, the LSPR excited at the red region provided a particularly large enhancement of porphyrin photocurrent at the Q-band (ca. 59-fold), compared to that on a Cu planar electrode. These results strongly suggest that the plasmonic Cu nanoantennae contribute to the substantial improvement of photoelectric conversion efficiency at the wavelengths, where the imaginary part of the dielectric function is small.

The initial adhesion of cells to biomaterials is critical in the regulation of subsequent cell behaviors. The purpose of this study was to investigate a mechanism through which the surface wettability of biomaterials can be improved and determine the effects of biomaterial surface characteristics on cellular behaviors. We investigated the surface characteristics of various types of hydroxyapatite after sintering in different atmospheres and examined the effects of various surface characteristics on cell adhesion to study cell-biomaterial interactions. Sintering atmosphere affects the polarization capacity of hydroxyapatite by changing hydroxide ion content and grain size. Compared with hydroxyapatite sintered in air, hydroxyapatite sintered in saturated water vapor had a higher polarization capacity that increased surface free energy and improved wettability, which in turn accelerated cell adhesion. We determined the optimal conditions of hydroxyapatite polarization for the improvement of surface wettability and acceleration of cell adhesion., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The surface modification of ceramic biomaterials used for medical devices is expected to improve osteoconductivity through control of the interfaces between the materials and living tissues. Polarisation treatment induced surface charges on hydroxyapatite, β-tricalcium phosphate, carbonate-substituted hydroxyapatite and yttria-stabilized zirconia regardless of the differences in the carrier ions participating in the polarisation. Characterization of the surfaces revealed that the wettability of the polarised ceramic biomaterials was improved through the increase in the surface free energies compared with conventional ceramic surfaces.

Purpose: To clarify the postmortem multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) vascular signs that occur shortly after death., Materials and Methods: The vascular signs in MDCT images were evaluated quantitatively in 96 early postmortem cardiac arrest patients, 47 cardiac arrest patients who survived due to resuscitation and 47 control patients without cardiac arrest., Results: Elliptical (40 cases) or collapsed deformity (2 cases, in only the abdominal aorta) and high-attenuated sedimentation (19 cases in the aorta and 10 cases in superior or inferior vena cava) were limited to the postmortem patients. The incidence of elliptical deformity was higher for the abdominal aorta, descending thoracic aorta and ascending thoracic aorta in rank. The sedimentation was observed in the ascending thoracic aorta with a higher frequency than in the descending thoracic and abdominal aorta. A high-attenuating wall in any portion of the aorta was observed in 34 of the postmortem patients, 11 of the surviving patients and 10 of the control group, with a predominance of the ascending thoracic aorta., Conclusion: Elliptical deformity in the abdominal and descending thoracic aorta and high-attenuated sedimentation in the ascending thoracic aorta were shown to be signs of postmortem MDCT shortly after death.

Droplets of several micrometers in size can be formed in aqueous solution by atomization under ultrasonic irradiation at 2 MHz. This phenomenon, known as atomization, is capable of forming fine droplets for use as a reaction field. This synthetic method is called SARM (sono atomization for reactive mixing). This paper reports on the synthesis of a novel amorphous calcium carbonate formed by SARM. The amorphous calcium carbonate, obtained at a solution concentration of 0.8 mol/dm(3), had a specific surface area of 65 m(2)/g and a composition of CaCO(3)•0.5H(2)O as determined using thermogravimetric/differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). Because the ACC had a lower hydrate composition than conventional amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC), the ACC synthesized in this paper was very stable at room temperature., (Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We have previously reported on the morphological control of calcium carbonate by changing synthetic conditions such as temperature, pH and degree of supersaturation in liquid reaction. The present study reports the effect of amplitude and frequency of ultrasonic irradiation on the particle size of calcium carbonate using a horn type ultrasonic apparatus at two different frequencies. The calcium carbonate precipitated by mechanical stirring had a particle size of about 20mum. By contrast, the particle size of vaterite formed under ultrasonic irradiation was about 2mum, with a specific surface area of 25-30m(2)/g. The major polymorph of calcium carbonate formed by ultrasonic irradiation was vaterite with some calcite present. For 40kHz ultrasonic irradiation, the specific surface area of the calcium carbonate increased with increasing amplitude. The particle size of vaterite formed at this frequency was about 2mum, and its distribution was sharper than that obtained at 20kHz. The mode diameter of the synthesized vaterite was found to decrease with increasing amplitude at 40kHz., (Crown Copyright 2009. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The mirror gap of a Fabry-Perot interferometer was stabilized with two laser diodes; one locked to the line frequency 385,243,555.14445 MHz of the F=3<--1 in 5D(3/2)<--5S(1/2) (87Rb) and the other to the 385,284,566.3663 MHz of the F=4<--2 in 5D(5/2)<--5S(1/2) (87Rb) [Opt. Commun. 102 (1993) 432]. The length of the mirror gap was adjusted to generate the zero-cross points simultaneously at both of the two line positions. The fringe signals obtained from an interferometer thus stabilized can be used as frequency markers having accuracies of the order of 10(10) depending on the finesse of the interferometer used. Based on measurement using Cs D1 hyperfine lines reported by Udem et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 82 (1999) 3568], the uncertainty of markers in the region 50 THz apart from the reference lines is +/- 5 MHz.

Doppler-free absorption spectrum from 5P(5)6S to 5P(5)6P transitions of Xe in a hollow cathode discharge was measured in the wavelength region from 810 to 910 mn. The saturated dip signals detected by a frequency modulated probe beam were doubly AM-modulated by a pump beam chopped using a conventional mechanical chopper. The Doppler background was greatly reduced by detection using a second lock in amplifier synchronous to the chopping signal. The isotope shifts of even mass (136-128)Xe in natural abundance were resolved for the five transitions from the metastable states of J = 2 and 0, while in the transitions from the J = 1 states were partially resolved. The nuclear magnetic and quadrupole hyperfine coupling constants of 131Xe and 129Xe determined are listed with those reported previously. The specific mass shifts and the field shifts were estimated using the relation given by King's diagram and compared with those obtained from the changes in the mean square-radii of the nuclear charge distribution.

The Doppler-limited vibration-rotation absorption spectrum of HBr in the near infrared wavelength region was measured using a GaAs semiconductor laser and a ring-type titanium sapphire laser. About 100 lines in the v = 3 <-- 0, 5 <-- 0, and 6 <-- 0 bands were assigned and 16 Dunham coefficients Y10-Y50, Y01-Y41, Y02-Y22, Y03-Y13, and Y04 for H79Br and H81Br species were determined by a global least-squares fit using the v = 0, v = 1 --> 0, and v = 2 --> 1 lines by V. Braun and P. F. Bernath (J. Mol. Spectrosc. 167, 282-287, 1994), the v = 7 <-- 0 lines by P. Bernage and P. Niay (C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris Ser. B 282, 243-245, 1976), and the v = 3 <-- 0, v = 5 <-- 0, and v = 6 <-- 0 lines by this work. Copyright 1997Academic Press

The Doppler-limited absorption spectrum of the vibrotational lines in the A3Pi1u <-- X1Sigmag+ system of I2 was measured in the region from 11,200 to 12,450 cm-1 using a Ti:sapphire ring laser. The Q-branch lines of J = 10 to 100 belonging to the v' <-- v" = (26' approximately 45') <-- 0", (19' approximately 45') <-- 1", (16' approximately 45') <-- 2", (16' approximately 42') <-- 3", and (22' approximately 31') <-- 4" progressions were assigned. The hyperfine splittings were observed at the vibrational states around the near-dissociation limit. The unperturbed line positions were obtained by first order approximation for the high-J rotational state. The values of nuQ0, Bvf' - Bv", Dvf' - Dv", and Hv' - Hv" were determined using a least-squares fitting procedure. The spectroscopic constants of Tv', Bvf', Dvf', and Hvf' of v' = 16 approximately 45 were calculated with the aid of the Dunham expansion parameters of the X state and were compared with those reported by D. R. T. Appadoo et al. (J. Chem. Phys. 104(3), 903 (1996)). Copyright 1997Academic Press