A slotted post-wall waveguide array with interdigital structure for 45/spl deg/ linear and dual polarization

This work proposes a dual-polarized planar antenna; two post-wall slotted waveguide arrays with orthogonal 45/spl deg/ linearly-polarized waves interdigitally share the aperture on a single layer substrate. Uniform excitation of the two-dimensional slot array is confirmed by experiment in the 25 GHz band. The isolation between two slot arrays is also investigated in terms of the relative displacement along the radiation waveguide axis in the interdigital structure. The isolation is 33.0 dB when the relative shift of slot position between the two arrays is -0.5/spl lambda//sub g/, while it is only 12.8 dB when there is no shift. The cross-polarization level in the far field is -25.2 dB for a -0.5/spl lambda//sub g/ shift, which is almost equal to that of the isolated single polarization array. It is degraded down to -9.6 dB when there is no shift.     

An analysis of a waveguide T junction with an inductive post

The authors analyze the T junction with an inductive post, taking its diameter into account for the case where the current distribution is assumed on the surface of the post. A single cylindrical post placed in a T junction improves the impedance matching and compensates the junction discontinuity in a wide frequency band. The effects of the design parameters, such as the diameter of the post and its location, are clarified. The measured return loss is accurately predicted. On the basis of this analysis, an effective design procedure for the T junction is proposed, and the reflection below -30 dB is realized over 4% bandwidth     

Oxyphilic cell variant of endometrioid adenocarcinoma

A case of oxyphilic cell variant of endometrioid adenocarcinoma is presented. To the best of our knowledge, there have been only three such cases reported in the English literature. The patient was a 35-year-old Japanese female (gravida 0, para 0). She was slightly obese with profuse vaginal bleeding. Histological examination of the resected uterus revealed endometrioid adenocarcinoma with an exclusive oxyphilic cell component. There was no evidence of myometrial invasion nor lymph node metastases. Reported cases of oxyphilic cell variant of endometrioid adenocarcinoma, including the present case, were stages 0-1 and grades 1-2. Although further study is necessary to evaluate this variant, oxyphilic cell variant seems to be an early stage of adenocarcinoma and should be differentiated from eosinophilic metaplasia and other types of adenocarcinoma of the endometrium.     

Spectral transmittance of organic dye-doped glass films obtained by the solgel method

The spectral transmittance of colored glass films synthesized by the solgel method is presented. The film was formed on a glass slide by dipping it into an organic dye-doped solution and, thereafter, by putting it into a furnace for solidification. Three dyes, Methylene Blue, Eosin, and Uranine, were used that exhibit transparent blue, pink, and yellow colors, respectively, when they are dissolved in the starting solution. We clarify how the spectral transmittance of the films varies with the solidification temperature. The films doped with two of the three dyes that exhibit violet, orange, and green colors are also synthesized, and their transmittance is measured. Moreover, the chemical durability of the films and the transmittance change caused by aging and illumination are examined.     

Photoluminescence and doping mechanism of theranostic Eu3+/Fe3+ dual-doped hydroxyapatite nanoparticles

Theranostic nanoparticles currently have been regarded as an emerging concept of ‘personalized medicine’ with diagnostic and therapeutic dual-functions. Eu³⁺ doped hydroxyapatite (HAp) has been regarded as a promising fluorescent probe for in vivo imaging applications. Additionally, substitution of Ca²⁺ with Fe³⁺ in HAp crystal may endow the capability of producing heat upon exposure to a magnetic field. Here we report a preliminary study of doping mechanism and photoluminescence of Eu³⁺ and Fe³⁺ doped HAp nanoparticles (Eu/Fe:HAp). HAp with varied concentration of Eu³⁺ and Fe³⁺ doping are presented as Eu(10 mol%):HAp, Eu(7 mol%)-Fe(3 mol%):HAp, Eu(5 mol%)-Fe(5 mol%):HAp, Eu(3 mol%)-Fe(7 mol%):HAp, and Fe(10 mol%):HAp in the study. The results showed that the HAp particles, in nano-size with rod-like morphology, were successfully doped with Eu³⁺ and Fe³⁺, and the particles can be well suspended in cell culture medium. Photoluminescence analysis revealed that particles have prominent emissions at 536 nm, 590 nm, 615 nm, 650 nm and 695 nm upon excitation at a wavelength of 397 nm. Moreover, these Eu/Fe:HAp nanoparticles belonged to B-type carbonated HAp, which has been considered an effective biodegradable and biocompatible drug/gene carrier in biological applications.     

Association of Ligamentum Flavum Hypertrophy with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Progression—Comparative Microarray Gene Expression Analysis

The role of the ligamentum flavum (LF) in the pathogenesis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is not well understood. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we investigated the degrees of LF hypertrophy in 18 patients without scoliosis and on the convex and concave sides of the apex of the curvature in 22 patients with AIS. Next, gene expression was compared among neutral vertebral LF and LF on the convex and concave sides of the apex of the curvature in patients with AIS. Histological and microarray analyses of the LF were compared among neutral vertebrae (control) and the LF on the apex of the curvatures. The mean area of LF in the without scoliosis, apical concave, and convex with scoliosis groups was 10.5, 13.5, and 20.3 mm², respectively. There were significant differences among the three groups (p < 0.05). Histological analysis showed that the ratio of fibers (Collagen/Elastic) was significantly increased on the convex side compared to the concave side (p < 0.05). Microarray analysis showed that ERC2 and MAFB showed significantly increased gene expression on the convex side compared with those of the concave side and the neutral vertebral LF cells. These genes were significantly associated with increased expression of collagen by LF cells (p < 0.05). LF hypertrophy was identified in scoliosis patients, and the convex side was significantly more hypertrophic than that of the concave side. ERC2 and MAFB genes were associated with LF hypertrophy in patients with AIS. These phenomena are likely to be associated with the progression of scoliosis.     

Downregulation of miR-122-5p Activates Glycolysis via PKM2 in Kupffer Cells of Rat and Mouse Models of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has pathological characteristics similar to those of alcoholic hepatitis, despite the absence of a drinking history. The greatest threat associated with NASH is its progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The pathophysiology of NASH is not fully understood to date. In this study, we investigated the pathophysiology of NASH from the perspective of glycolysis and the Warburg effect, with a particular focus on microRNA regulation in liver-specific macrophages, also known as Kupffer cells. We established NASH rat and mouse models and evaluated various parameters including the liver-to-body weight ratio, blood indexes, and histopathology. A quantitative phosphoproteomic analysis of the NASH rat model livers revealed the activation of glycolysis. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry results indicated that the expression of pyruvate kinase muscle 2 (PKM2), a rate-limiting enzyme of glycolysis, was upregulated in the liver tissues of both NASH models. Moreover, increases in PKM2 and p-PKM2 were observed in the early phase of NASH. These observations were partially induced by the downregulation of microRNA122-5p (miR-122-5p) and occurred particularly in the Kupffer cells. Our results suggest that the activation of glycolysis in Kupffer cells during NASH was partially induced by the upregulation of PKM2 via miR-122-5p suppression.     

Competitive adsorption of fibronectin and albumin on hydroxyapatite nanocrystals

Competitive adsorption of two-component solutions containing fibronectin (Fn) and albumin (Ab) on hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanocrystals was analyzed in situ using the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) technique. Adsorption of the one-component protein (Fn or Ab) and the two-component proteins adjusted to different molar ratios of Fn to Ab at a fixed Fn concentration was investigated. The frequency shift (Δf; Hz) and the dissipation energy shift (ΔD) were measured with the QCM-D technique, and the viscoelastic changes of adlayers were evaluated by the saturated ΔD/Δf value and the Voigt-based viscoelastic model. For the adsorption of the one-component protein, the Fn adlayer showed a larger mass and higher viscoelasticity than the Ab adlayer, indicating the higher affinity of Fn on HAp. For the adsorption of the two-component proteins, the viscoelastic properties of the adlayers became elastic with increase in Ab concentration, whereas the adsorption mass was similar to that of Fn in the one-component solution regardless of the Ab concentration. The specific binding mass of the Ab antibody to the adlayers increased with increase in Ab concentration, whereas that of the Fn antibody decreased. Therefore, Fn preferentially adsorbs on HAp and Ab subsequently interacts with the adlayers, indicating that the interfacial viscoelasticity of the adlayers was dominated by the interaction between Fn and Ab.     

Direct Reprogramming and Induction of Human Dermal Fibroblasts to Differentiate into iPS-Derived Nucleus Pulposus-like Cells in 3D Culture

Intervertebral disc (IVD) diseases are common spinal disorders that cause neck or back pain in the presence or absence of an underlying neurological disorder. IVD diseases develop on the basis of degeneration, and there are no established treatments for degeneration. IVD diseases may therefore represent a candidate for the application of regenerative medicine, potentially employing normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs) induced to differentiate into nucleus pulposus (NP) cells. Here, we used a three-dimensional culture system to demonstrate that ectopic expression of MYC, KLF4, NOTO, SOX5, SOX6, and SOX9 in NHDFs generated NP-like cells, detected using Safranin-O staining. Quantitative PCR, microarray analysis, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting revealed that the induced NP cells exhibited a fully differentiated phenotype. These findings may significantly contribute to the development of effective strategies for treating IVD diseases.     

Attribute-based quality classification of academic papers

Investigating the relevant literature is very important for research activities. However, it is difficult to select the most appropriate and important academic papers from the enormous number of papers published annually. Researchers search paper databases by combining keywords, and then select papers to read using some evaluation measure—often, citation count. However, the citation count of recently published papers tends to be very small because citation count measures accumulated importance. This paper focuses on the possibility of classifying high-quality papers superficially using attributes such as publication year, publisher, and words in the abstract. To examine this idea, we construct classifiers by applying machine-learning algorithms and evaluate these classifiers using cross-validation. The results show that our approach effectively finds high-quality papers.